Nami and I go down the large staircase that leads us to the main entrance, where Zoro is placing the swords in his belt but with such an elegant outfit he struggles to find the proper way.
"Careful not to ruin the shirt too with the swords Zoro" he was so concentrated that he didn't hear our steps, but when he raises his head and focuses on us he puts on a weird expression, as if he wanted to speak and couldn't.
"Uh, we found a way to shut him up, who knew" Nami smiles mischievously, thinking that her momentary silence is due to seeing my black dress.
"She's just creepier than usual" he reacts immediately this time, eager to prove her wrong.
"Lucky for us you light up the room with your smiles" I join the conversation, not even wondering if what Nami said is true or not. I do not care. Although, I must admit, when I looked at myself in the mirror I didn't fully recognize myself. I have an austere vibe, it almost reminds me of my mother at the parties they threw at our house. It is from her that I inherited the passion for the colour black, and perhaps unconsciously I chose this dress for this reason.
While my mind was lost in memories, I noticed that Nami passed me and took Merry by the arm, it almost seems like she's flirting, judging by the poor guy's embarrassed and flattered expression.
"What is she doing?" I ask Zoro, who in meantime didn't bother to move.
"That's Nami doing Nami" he shrugs and I let it go, he knows her better than me. I sincerely have no idea what game she's playing. While we stand aside observing the room, Zoro gulps a glass, probably with alcohol in it.
"And that was Zoro being Zoro, I guess" he ignores the dig because his eyes are focused only on Krahador
"I insist, he looks familiar" and again with this. His voice is so low I don't even know if he's talking to me, but I jump in the conversation anyway.
"Perhaps you've seen him at the Butlers gala I host every year in my castle." Something in his glare tells me he's in no mood for jokes. How not surprising.
"I'm serious"
"What do you think, he's a pirate in hiding?!" again, a rhetorical question, not that he bothers to answer. But something's going on in that twisted and lively mind of his.
"Shall we move to the dining room?" Krahador politely asks. But he's already on the move, apparently he wasn't waiting for an answer either. There's a big table in front of us, ready for what seems to be a huge meal. Two more 'waiters', if we can call them that, move the chairs for us to sit.
"So, Nami, do you want to sit next to Merry so he could tell you all about shipyard financial investment?" I whisper to Nami before I choose where to sit.
"You're spot-on" she winks. One moment, is she for real?
"I was being sarcastic" she's gone already. I go sit down next to Luffy, but he moves as soon as he realises the food's too out of his reach, so of course I slip near Zoro, who is instructing the help.
"Keep this coming" he's asking for more wine as I scan the table, full of food. Some things look yummy, but others are just too blue for my tastes. We live in a strange world, I'll give them that, and they bragged there's a good chef here, but still. Blue food is not inspiring.
"Why is everything blue in this place?!" I ask a lady, with also blue hair.
"IT is our specialty, miss" yeah still tells me nothing. And I am not the only one, because as I pay attention to the conversation I hear Kaya asking for fish. She's probably not too happy to taste blue stuff, like the soup that just arrived in front of her. Piping hot blue stuff. Nami's trying to persuade the butler to indulge the birthday girl at least today, but he doesn't budge.
"Kaya has precise dietary needs. The soup is made specifically for her"
"Fish is known to have healing powers too, it's recommended in all diets" I support Nami's fight. But we don't persuade him.
"Not in this one" And to avoid making the dinner awkward we shut up. The conversation continues on a normal note, until Kaya asks about our adventures after Usop told her we're here for a ship.
"We're not sailors. We're pirates" Luffy blurts out, and we almost choke on our food. Why does he think he can just throw it out like that?! It's not something you usually share with the first people you bump into.
"He's either a genius or a lunatic" I murmur to Zoro.
"Or both" he adds. But he doesn't care about our pale faces, Kaya looks interested so he pushes harder. He talks about dreams and the very essence of being a pirate. And I have to say, he sounds convincing. Unfortunately someone will call the marines on us any minute.
"Ok I'll admit it, I would have save said to this little speech" I probably say it out loud, but no one replies. They're all too busy observing Krahador, on the edge of a nervous breakdown.
"That's quite enough! You have upset her" ok buddy, this is not true. She was enjoying the conversation. So when he takes this opportunity to make us leave, despite Kaya's protests, I step up.
"We'll go as soon as Kaya, the hostess, tells us it's time to go. And maybe that blueish slop is what got her tangled up" this shuts him up for a second, but if looks could kill I think I'd be six feet under already.
"Let them stay the night" she insists, and he has to let her have it her way, he's not in charge and he knows that.
"We should try and talk to her" Nami approaches me, ready to follow Kaya up the stairs when she retires for the night. And us with her.
"I'll go check on Aileen first"
I find my baby puppy lazily lying around, sniffing.
"Are you ok honey?" she heard me of course, I saw her ears move in my direction.
Yes, the most boring garden I've ever seen
"Are you hungry? I will go ask the kitchen. Please sneak into my bedroom, I won't leave you outside for the night" it was already hard for me to leave her out for dinner. So when I made sure she entered the house I find my way to the kitchen. Late at night, when the house is sleeping too. but a noise keeps me on guard and I become invisible for a second. Then I recognise a familiar straw hat.
"Luffy? Is that you?"
"Hey Xia, what are you doing?" he's at the end of the longest corridor I've ever seen. And to make himself heard he speaks way too loud.
"Lower your voice, I am sneaking Aileen in. And I am in need of the kitchen" he comes towards me, and throws his gaze over my shoulder, where Aileen's silently going upstairs.
"Me too! but I'll escort her to make sure no one sees her. If she gets in Usop's room by accident he could have a heart attack" it's a little funny to picture the scene. you might think I am mean.
"Thank you Luffy" the walls go back to being silent. Everything in this house reminds me of a museum. And I've lost count of all the things I could steal and sell. But I detain myself, I promised. I turn around the corner that looks more familiar to me, and again there's someone.
"Sh*t, were you coming to sneak up on me again?!" of course Zoro's not sleeping. He naps all the time, but when you need him to sleep he's wide awake.
"I'm looking for a drink" yeah, I thought as much.
"What were you thinking Zoro?" he knows I am not talking about the drink, but rather about what happened earlier. He waits for me to keep up the pace and then keeps walking slowly. I follow him, maybe he knows where he's going. And what's more important is I want to hear his answer.
"You have the nasty habit of never answering a question. I had to catch you in a disadvantage to hope you'd be truthful" rationally, I know he's not wrong. But still, it pissed me off very much.
"You do that again, I'll throw you out of the window for real" he imperceptibly nodes. I decide to let it go, for now.
"Where are you going?"
"Kitchen, I need food for Aileen. You're looking for the wine cellar, let me guess" he nods again.
Perhaps the after dinner will be silent and quiet. One can only hope.
YOU ARE READING
XIA | (Zoro x OC) - One Piece Netflix FF
Fanfiction"Her name's Aileen, means 'bright light' in Irish" "Bright light, but she's a panther, as black as night" "Zoro you have the depth of a puddle. Wasting my breath" "After what you've done to me you're lucky I don't throw you overboard" "I'd like to s...
