Big Things in Small Sizes (One Piece Fanfiction)

Chapter 13: Holy Ship

Hattie yawns, stretching her legs into the air. She was on her back, looking up at the clear, blue sky from her spot in the crow's nest. For the past couple of months, she had basically moved up there. The small space was littered with coconuts. Her hammock was hanging off to the side, and her swords rested against the wooden caging of the nest. A telescope stand and a stool stood directly behind her head. A few of her other possessions were amongst the coconuts, which made the clutter even worse.

She drops her little arms, and her fingers nudge something. She turns her head to the side to see what she touched, then gasps. Pushing herself up to sit Indian-style, she quickly grabs it. The metal glimmered in the bright sunlight. Hattie runs her index finger over the engravings on the front, smiling to herself. She's had this pocket watch ever since she was born. Her heart then constricted at the flood of memories that came to mind. Turning it over, she stares at the carved letters she couldn't read. The letters were all capitalized. She had always wondered what they said. Quietly, she counts the letters to herself.

Six. Six letters. Just like last time, and the time before. She taps the pocket watch with her finger, tongue sticking out of her mouth. If only she knew how many letters were in her first name and family name. Maybe one of the two were what the letters spelled. It has been so long since she has seen her name written out for her. She faintly remembers herself scanning the paper hungrily, desperately wanting to know what it said. She was, of course, told by her mother, and it made her giddy with excitement knowing she was staring at her identity. But that was so, so long ago.

Hattie stands, pulling open her tights and dropping the pocket watch into her bloomers. Hey, when you don't have pockets, your bloomers are the next best thing. With a grin on her face, she bounds over to the stool and climbs on top of it. Her hands grasp the telescope, and she peers into it, her right eye squeezed shut. Ocean, ocean, more ocean. She plucks the telescope off the stand and slowly turns as she surveys the distant waters. Nothing over there. Or over here. Or−

"HOLY S***!!" She screams, bending forward to look closer.

Hattie hops off the stool (well, "falls" would be a better word) with the telescope still in her hands. Hurdling over the wooden caging, grabbing her swords and cap in the process, she snatches a rope that hung from the nest as she fell. She swings on it, then lets go, and grabs the end of another rope hanging from the canopy of the ship. The wind whipped and lashed at her hair and face, but she was used to it. She descends onto the quarter deck where her captain was, and sees him look up at her from the steering wheel. Fingers let go of the rope, and she lands a few feet away from him gracefully. Lucius smiles at her.

"Hey, Little Bit, what's got you−?"

"SHUT UP! I FOUND A THINGY!" She shouts, running to him while putting her swords around her waist. Her hat was already placed on her head, but it was misaligned. "Look at it! Look, look, look!"

She shoves the telescope into his hands and points in a specific direction, bouncing up and down while urging him to hurry. With his back to the steering wheel, Lucius looks through the telescope while fixing her hat. His jaw drops.

"HOLY S***!" He exclaims.

"That's what I said!" Hattie tells him.

He darts down the steps and across the deck, Hattie trailing behind. He descends into his crew's quarters and passes all the rooms in the hallway. Skidding to a stop, he throws the door to the kitchen open. Reed, Ryan, and Keaton shoot up from their seats, playing cards going everywhere as they try to hide them from Lucius's sight. Their captain's excited look turns into one of confusion.

"H-Hey boss!" Reed stutters, stepping in front of the evidence.

Hattie steps into the room, looking around. The three of them, besides Keaton, had guilty looks on their faces. Lucius straightens, stalking farther into the room until he stood in front of the three.