𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙡 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨 (A One Piece Fanfic)

Chapter 3- Princess Kurama Juli

Juli groggily opened her eyes and blinked up at the ceiling. 'Where am I?' That question sounded faintly through her pounding head as she slowly stemmed herself up. Her throat felt dry and hoarse as she tried not to cough when remembering the sea water she had swallowed. Yet, all thoughts vanished when she realized it. Was she one a ship? Cautiously, her gaze wandered around the unfamiliar room before she laid back down. 'That's right! I'm not with him anymore... I escaped!' She sighed softly in relief and rested her head on the pillow.

'But how did I get into a bed? Where even am I?' She questioned herself and frowned. She couldn't remember anything after passing out in the ocean. Perhaps, she had died? But that really wouldn't explain this.

Her frown turned thoughtful as she closed her eyes again. With a deep inhaler, she tried to sense the emotions on this ship to determine if she was in danger or not. 'Love, Happiness, Curiosity, Affection, Fondness, Carefree emotions...' She smiled softly and opened her eyes. 'Looks like I'm safe for now...' With her safety confirmed, she finally gave in to her exhaustion and fell back into a deep slumber.

A few hours later, Juli slowly was startled awake by the other presence in the room. This time, she wasn't alone. Carefully yet curiously, she opened her eyes and looked in the direction of the person with her. However, when she spotted a little, fluffy reindeer with a cute blue nose and a pink hat on the chair next to her, her eyes widened in surprise. Not able to hide the smile that spread on her features, she slowly sat up.

As soon as the reindeer noticed that, he panicked, crawled away from her and tried to hide behind the chair.

Juli couldn't help but giggle at that, her eyes shining with soft amusement. "You don't need to be frightened. I mean you no harm." She spoke softly in a soothing tone.

The reindeer looked at her surprised and fidgeted for a moment. But then he slowly stepped away from his hiding place. "I'm Chopper, the doctor of this ship." He said shyly.

Juli's eyes widened for a moment in surprise before she smiled softly again. "Hello Chopper, my name is Kurama Juli. Thanks for taking care of me." She thanked him genuinely and bowed to him.

Chopper blushed and did a happy dance. "That doesn't make me happy, you bastard!"

Juli merely giggled again, raising her hand to cover her mouth properly. "Can you tell me on which ship I am?"

Chopper looked at her uncertainly for a moment. But when he spotted Juli's encouraging smile, he couldn't help but relax and smile back at her. "You are on the Going Merry of the Strawhat Pirates!" He exclaimed in childish pride.

"The Strawhat Pirates..." She repeated in surprise before gazing thoughtful down at the blanket. But then she shook her head and looked back at him with a cute smile. "I have a feeling you are the good kind of pirates."

Chopper's eyes widened in surprise. "Of course we are good pirates!" He shouted enthusiastic.

Juli giggled amused, her eyes twinkling with livelyness like they hadn't ever since she had been kidnapped. Out of habit, her hand wandered up to her collar, only for her fingers to merely brush against her skin. That's when she realized her collar was gone what caused panic to spark within her.

"What's wrong?!" Chopper looked at her concerned as he noticed her sudden panic.

"When you found me, did I have a collar on me?" She asked silently, yet her turquoise eyes gazed back to his with a deep twinkle of sadness. "It's my treasure and if I lost it I will never forgive myself..."

Chopper smiled at that in realization and pointed at the furniture next to the bed. "Don't worry, it's on the bedside table."

"Thank God..." Juli sighed relieved and quickly took her collar. She grasped to it gently yet desperately and held it close to her chest, knowing if she ever lost it she would be devastated.