ROMANCE DAWN

11

Don't forget that English isn't my first language, so if you notice any mistakes, don't hesitate!

Don't hesitate to leave a comment!

"You're one of those kids he kidnapped, aren't you?" Boa asks, I nod. "The children of the Celestial Dragons.

— You're a Celestial Dragon?!" Luffy wonders.

"I was and only a half. I was born in Mary Geoise. My father is a descendant of one of the 20 families that founded the World Government. My mother, on the other hand, comes from a faraway continent where the plains never end, and she used to tell me that she could run there without ever stopping. A place where there are no navy or pirates.

— You're not a thoroughbred. And do you know why, out of all those children, he chose you?" Boa questions me.

I shrug. "No, After I tell you all about my magnificent history can I go ?

— No one goes near Amazon Lily. If you leave, all the pirates and hunters will rush to hand you over to the government. Stay here at least long enough to recover your strength."

I sigh and Hancock nods, encouraging me to continue with my story.

"In Mary Geoise, pirates didn't exist. They were only real in the books our parents read to us. Until Doflamingo's crew broke into Mary Geoise and kidnapped a hundred children."

I open my eyes, woken by the sobs around me and a pain in my head. Around me, children around my own age are sitting in a row. I feel myself tipping slightly from right to left and the wooden structure of the room tells me that I'm on a boat. My hands are trapped in a wooden plank, as are my feet. I start crying like the others.

"Three days after being captured, his crew branded us with red hot iron, the Celestial Dragon slave symbol on our bodies. That's when we saw their captain's face for the first time."

The man with round teeth and snot dripping permanently from his nose presses the hot iron against the back of a little girl screaming in pain. Her scream joins those of the children already branded on the boat. I put my hands over my ears, trying to forget the pain and the screams. The pain in my back doesn't diminish. It even feels like it's getting worse, like the air is burning me.

"It's for your own good that we're doing this". Says a deep voice.

I look up, my eyes still watering, at the man who has just spoken. A blond man with sunglasses and a pink feather scarf looks down at us, a smile on his face.

"We're here to stop you becoming like your parents."

"Then they locked us up again. They were cruel, and he was a monster. They gave us their leftovers. We fought over carcasses and drinking water. We had become animals. We didn't really know his intentions, we didn't know what we were going to become. He kept us locked up except when we had to do chores on the boat and one day when they were bored they thought of a way to distract themselves. The pirate crew organised fights between the children, and a victory meant a small ration of food.

I was terrified. I was pushed into a circle made of barrels against another girl.
The blonde pirate's crew watched us leaning on the wooden barrels and making bets. I was frail and exhausted. It was the first time I'd been made to fight and all I wanted to do was run away. The wooden planks that imprisoned our limbs had been replaced by bracelets and iron chains to give us mobility.

The girl threw herself at me in a rage. She beat me until I had no strength to move and I cried and cried. It was all I could do.

"One boy agreed to share his ration with me. The pirates didn't even bother to feed us any more; if we didn't win, we'd starve to death. Then one day, a shot rang out."