One Piece (SSW Backstory)

Chapter 4

Saphira's POV

"What was it like?" We were rowing again, the sun was at its highest, burning our skins pink and our mouths dried-out. "Living on a farm, I mean." Charlie was panting like me, regretting not sleeping last night. Silver was entertaining Winifred with some strings she found in the crate. "It was always busy, I guess." He gave me a look, "You guess?" I rolled my eyes, "Silver and I had school, we helped at the farm once in a while, mostly during weekends." He looked amazed and I frowned. "What?! What is it?" He shook himself out of his daze, "You went to school?" I raised my brow, "Yeah, didn't you?" He looked deflated now, "No."

I was confused obviously, didn't all kids go to school? Seeing my confusion he explained, "We didn't have the money." He said simply, "My dad worked at the blacksmiths, the pay was only enough for rent and food." He was smiling at a memory, his smile didn't stay long and his brows started to furrow. He shook his head, "I shouldn't talk about my dad like his dead already." He looked genuinely angry with himself. "Hey, it's gonna get better, okay?" I stopped rowing to look him in the eyes, something he's trying damn hard to avoid. "It's hard, but we'll get through this, together. Right?" He froze at my words, I literally see the smile he's trying to hide from me. "Yeah, you're right." He whispered.

"What? I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you." I used my pinkie to pretend to clean out my ears, "You're right." He grumbled under his breath, he's ears were red now. "Huh? Can you repeat that?" I cupped my ears for dramatics. He turned around, red faced and frowning. "You heard me!" He shouted, I was fighting a smile. "No, seriously, I didn't hear you." I shook my head, "You're lying, you did hear me!" , "Noooo, I'm not lying." I looked away to hide my smile, he grabbed me by the shoulders, turned me to face him and started shaking me. "Liar! You did!" I grabbed his wrist, "Am not!" Now I was shouting.

"Abuse!Abuse!Abuse!" Silver was jumping around while pointing at us, Charlie kept shaking me. "This isn't abuse!" Silver ignored him and continued shouting. "Stop shaking me!" My neck was starting to hurt, but I couldn't stop laughing, "Not until you admit you were lying!" He was laughing too, "Never!" I could even hear Winifred's giggles in the background. I think this was the most fun we had in a long time. But, like anytime someone is having fun, it always has to end.

A big splash near us made us all freeze. Silver quickly put a finger in Winifred's mouth to stop her giggles. There was this serpent like Sea King with purple and green scales, it was looking around, sniffing the air. I was confused until I saw it's milky white eyes and knew that it was blind. That didn't mean we were save, if it can smell us, it will find us. We all stood (sat) completely still, trying to breathe quietly. It was only for a few second, but it felt longer when the serpent finally decided to head back under.

We all breathed out shaky sighs, but we didn't relax. Charlie turned to me with a trembling smile, "Wait for a few minutes before continuing?" He whispered, I only nodded my answer, I didn't trust my voice in this situation. So, we waited. The hot summer sun was cooking us, but we waited. Even when hunger and thirst came with a vengeance, we waited.

"How much longer?" Silver whispered, she shifted around silently as she kept her finger in Winifred's mouth. I only shrugged. 'It should be safe now, right?' I turn my gaze to Charlie. He was already staring at me, like he was waiting for me to do something. I frown, 'Since when did I become the leader?' I didnt want to be the leader. Sure, I got us this far but I had help. Aren't we a team? They shouldn't rely on me, we are suppose to make decisions together.

I lean in forward so that Charlie could hear my whispering, "What do you think? Should we risk it?" Instead of arguing over the forced leadership, I'm just going to ask for their opinions. I'll talk about the appointed leadership that was suddenly forced on me later. Charlie looked around at the undisturbed waters. The water rocked the boat gently. There was no sign of any dangers on the surface, but we are unsure of what is beneath.