The Puppet Master [One Piece]

The Stow Away Pt.2

~Shanks POV~

                Some of the rookies of the crew were starting to fall ill due to the fluctuating weather patterns of the Grandline. The weather would shift from summertime heat, spring showers, and winter snow storms throughout the course of a day with temperatures skyrocketing and plummeting. I was worried about the stow away hiding in the storehouse where the temperature wasn't kept sufficiently regulated due to insulation like the crews' quarters.

On our tenth day on the Grandline we were hit with a hellish snow storm. Temperatures plummeted to below zero and many of the crew was suffering from frost bite and hypothermia. We were all holed up inside the cabin waiting for the storm to pass when a scary thought crossed my mind. Our little stow away was down in the storehouse braving the harsh temperatures.

"What's wrong Boss? You look like you've seen a ghost." Yassop commented as he pulled a fleece hat over his blond dreads.

I scanned the cabin quickly for Benn and waved him down as soon as I located him.

"What's wrong?" He asked curiously as he made his way through the crowded cabin to my side.

"We need to get that girl out of this storm." I panicked.

"Girl?" Yassop raised an eyebrow at this, "What girl?" He'd already completely forgotten about her.

"She's the stow away." Benn amended.

"A cute stow away?" One of the younger rookies pondered.

Cute wasn't the right word for it. I ignored the rookie's comment and turned my attention to Benn and Yassop once more, "Even if she is from the Grandline this storm is too much for her to handle."

Benn smiled softly for a moment as if remembering a fond memory, "You're right, let's find her."

Despite the protests of the crew, Benn and I bundled up and made our way on deck. The air was bitter cold and instantly chilled me to the bone. Harsh screeching winds whipped about fiercely pelting us with miniscule shards of ice. I couldn't let a storm stop me from rescuing that girl.

We slipped and slid our way across the deck to the hatch leading to the storehouse. The wind and ice relentlessly whipped around us as if trying to delay our rescue attempt. Ignoring the ice covered ladder, I jumped down the hatch landing swiftly in the storehouse below.

It was so cold that ice clung to the walls from the freezing rain that managed to break through. Even a native to this hellish place couldn't stand such cold climates with the little supplies she had.

"Do you know where she's hiding down here?" Benn asked quietly.

I shook my head and made my way through the maze of crates with Benn in toe. After a few minutes I spotted a small clearing in the crates with a simple thin blanket across the floor next to a small black backpack and a burnt out candle, but the stow away wasn't in sight.

"Over there!" Benn pointed to a small sliver of space between crates. Snow white hair spilled from the space splaying out across the ground. She must have crawled into a smaller space to conserve her body heat and escape the harsher cold.

I knelt beside the crates and looked into the small dark space. My heart dropped as I took in her fragile appearance. She'd collapsed from the cold, her skin had taken on an unhealthy purplish tinge and her porcelain cheeks were now flushed with fever. Her breathing was in short shallow gasps. She was wrapped in a thin blanket and shivering uncontrollably from the cold.

"Help me move her." I ordered quickly as I shoved aside one of the crates so I could reach her.

Benn nudged the other crate out of the way and knelt beside the girl. He swept her into his arms and headed back toward the hatch, "She'll be alright, she's still breathing; we can help her." He reassured me, knowing full well I was worried about the girl.

I nodded and followed after the pair of them. We raced back to the cabin our steps surefooted with determination not even the slightest bit hindered by the ice clinging to the deck. Yassop opened the door upon hearing our approach and everyone quickly jumped into action producing blankets and mugs of hot tea to warm us upon our arrival.

"She doesn't look too good." One of the rookies commented as Benn set the girl down near the fire pit and pulled away her half frozen blanket to replace with a fresh warm one.

"She'll make it." Benn said softly as he wrapped her in a new blanket, "She's a fighter, I can tell."

After awhile, most of the crew turned in to their private quarters for the night. Benn, Yassop and I stayed with the girl. The purplish tinge to her skin slowly began to fade as she warmed up. Her fever broke a few hours later and she slept peacefully next to the fire for the rest of the night.

Who was this girl? Why did she stow away aboard our ship? She was a mystery and I found my curiosity was piqued. I wanted to know more about this strange girl. Why was she in Loguetown, where did she come from, and why could she command a giant sea serpent?