Death Do Us Part

Prologue

The last rays of sunlight settle behind the clouds when a veil drapes over Lovely Fortun, soon to be Monkey D. Lovely's face. She shivers when the freezing autumn air licks her arms and chest. Makino, a friend of the groom who was getting her ready, notices the bride's chattering teeth and hands her a shawl before closing an open window.

"Put that on, Love," she says. "It's quite chilly out there. You don't want Luffy to think you're terrified to wed him, do you?"

"He knows I'm not," Lovely smiles, wrapping the shawl around her shoulders. "We've been planning this day for six months, and it's finally here. If anything, he'll think I'm ecstatic."

"Perhaps a little too ecstatic." Makino fixes the veil and takes a step back. "Just one more thing..." She picks up a bouquet of gardenias and hands it to Lovely. She smiles and entangles her fingers together, sighing at the vision of loveliness in front of her. She was the groom's childhood friend at one point in his life, and now she's about to become his wife. "Oh, Lovely...he'll fall in love with you even more like this. You look absolutely, well, lovely."

Lovely giggles. A cheerful sound echoed around the walls of the room. She was indeed the embodiment of her name. A knock sounds at the door, making both women jump.

"Yes?" Makino calls.

"It's Rinus," a voice calls back.

"Oh! Father!" Lovely exclaims.

"You can come in, Mr. Fortun! I just finished!"

The door opens, and Rinus Fortun, the bride's father, walks into the room, wearing his best suit for the occasion. His breath is taken when he sees his daughter in the sunset's glow. Tears pool at the corners of his eyes before slowly falling down his cheeks and creating small puddles on his chest. He puts his hands on his face to keep his daughter from seeing the tears and to hide his embarrassment for reacting in such a way.

Lovely rushes to him and places a hand on his shoulder. "Father! Whatever is the matter?!"

He embraces her. Her veil presses unpleasantly against her face, squishing her nose and pressing her eyes shut.

"Look at you," he sobs. "My beautiful, lovely girl."

"Oh, father," Lovely gulps back a sob. "Don't cry. You're happy but anxious to give me away, aren't you? There's no need to fret. It's Luffy. And he loves me very much."

He takes her hands and faces her, wiping his tears on his sleeve. "I know."

She smiles warmly and places a hand on his cheek. "Are they ready?" she whispers.

He nods, trying his hardest to keep more tears from spilling out. "Yes."

Her heart begins to pound in her chest. She takes a breath to slow it down and stands upright, chest up and shoulders back. "Then I'm ready." She loops her right arm around his left and switches the bouquet from her right hand to the left.

Makino runs out of the room to take her seat in the white-draped, gardenia-decorated pews.

At the front, the groom, Monkey D. Luffy's, lips pulled up into a smile. He fidgeted on his feet, anticipating the arrival of his bride. Roronoa Zolo, his best man, looks down at him.

"Keep still, Luffy," he says. "She'll be here soon."

"I wanna see her now!" he exclaims. "If I have to wait another minute, I'll go crazy! I wanna get married!"