One Piece (Love Story) [Part Two]

Chapter Two Hundred and Ninety Nine [Rewritten]

-Chapter Two Hundred and Ninety-Nine-

-Everybody's P.O.V-

"Please, let me go! Stop it!" a young nurse pleaded as she struggled against the Celestial Dragon's tight grip. Everything around Skylar seemed to freeze the moment she spotted the man as her body seemed to almost react on its own—hastily dropping her to her knees as she suddenly began to bow like the rest of the people in the area. Zoro halted at this, peering down at the brunette in confusion before narrowing his eyes when he noted the slight tremble in her body.

"Skylar...?" he quietly asked, raising an eyebrow at her strange behavior as she dared not raise her head. She could only shake, her cheeks flaring up in embarrassment and humiliation as she mentally cursed herself for her automatic response at seeing the Celestial Dragon. But...

Could anyone really blame her?

This sort of mannerism had been beaten into her head as a child—the World Nobles were the highest-ranking social class in the world and were meant to be treated with respect much to her and many other's displeasure. She was taught to remember that everyone was the same as the dirt beneath their feet when it came to the Celestial Dragons, she was taught to respect them and be thankful for all that their family has done for the world. Zoro's frown deepened when he noticed that her trembling was getting worse by the second the longer she listened to the nurse's pitiful pleas.

It hurt...it hurt...it hurt...it hurt...it hurt...

It hurt so damn bad and Skylar hated it.

She knew that it was wrong to turn a blind eye—she knew that it was wrong to ignore someone who was clearly in need of help. She knew it made her a hypocrite to just sit here and do to this woman what everyone had always done to her and her brothers growing up. But...but her mind could not let go of the lesson it had been taught. This, just like many other things, had become second nature to her. But...

"Skylar...?" Zoro murmured before flinching as the brunette slowly and shakily lifted herself off the ground, a dark look on her face as she blankly stared at the man and pleading woman whose cries could still be heard not that far ahead of them. Hesitantly, Zoro reached out and rested a hand on her shoulder.

-Skylar's P.O.V-

"You shouldn't stand!"

"You're breaking the rules! He won't be happy!"

"You're trash compared to that man, you need to be groveling at his feet just like the rest of them!"

I jumped as I was harshly dragged from my thoughts at the feeling of Zoro's hand on my shoulder.

"I'm fine..." I murmured, casting a quick glance toward him before looking down as I motioned for us to continue. Despite my words, the sense of dread in my stomach was ever-growing as steadily, the pain in my chest worsened with every quick beat of my heart...

I was breaking the rules by doing this...I was doing something that I knew I shouldn't. I was doing something wrong by not bowing before this...this disgusting pig along with everyone else and because of that, I didn't know what would happen...and that's what scared me the most. It was the lack of knowing what might happen now.

"Take her back to the hub for me!" the Celestial Dragon barked as I lowered my head until I was staring at my own two feet...even if I wasn't going to bow, I knew better than to make eye contact. As Father used to say, a mere mortal such as ourselves has no right to look in the eyes of such divine beings. Slowly, my gaze eventually wandered toward Zoro as I silently watched him chug the drink in his hand as if he didn't have much of a care in the world. There was something envious about the way he could just walk by everyone without a care as they continued to bow at the feet of the nobleman. Their heads lowered all the way down to avoid making eye contact as they silently prayed not to be noticed like the poor nurse currently crying was.