Chapter 2

There was a bit of an annoying beeping sound that was working itself into my peaceful sleep. I let out a soft breath as I opened my eyes, What is that noise? My blurred vision slowly focuses on the wooden ceiling above me. Where am I? I turn my head to the left to see a porthole and then to my right to see the rest of the room I was in. It only took me a few seconds to realize I was in a ship's infirmity room. Question is: whose ship? Did Captain Smoker manage to rescue me from the stormy water or did I wash ashore somewhere? I began to sit up, and let out a few pained groans as my body protested the movement. Okay, okay, this must be what it feels like to be a rubber ducky battered around in a bathtub. I looked at my arms to see wires sticking in them and glanced towards the beeping sound to see a heart monitor, How long was I out for? I look back to my arms as I remembered why I was tossed into the ocean to begin with and began to panic as I patted down my body. "No! No!" I toss the blanket off of my body to see what was left of my Navy uniform. The ocean had ripped giant tears into my shirt and that my pants were missing one whole pant leg and half a pant leg. My shoes and Navy blue ascot was missing. I patted through my pockets before forcing myself off of the bed and stumbling over to the desk that was only a few feet away. "Where is it!" I grabbed randomly for whatever drawer I could reach and jerked it open, moving all the papers out of my way. I steadied myself and began to tear all the other drawers and medicine cabinets open. "Please be here, please be here!" I could feel the tears well up in my eyes, making it hard to focus on what was in the cabinets. My body was beginning to shake from the rush of adrenaline but I tried to ignore it, "Please..." I let out a loud breath, "P-please..." I had to pause to wipe my eyes. I was so focused on my search, I didn't hear the footsteps of people approaching until someone spoke up "Woah-!" I turned to see a man with brown hair, he seemed to be wearing a chef's uniform. He was carrying a tray of soup and I could only guess that they had been spoon or tube feeding me. He leaned out the door "Marco!" Before he walked in and set the tray down on the paper covered desk. He gave me a gentle look as he held up his hands in a manner that I could only read as that he meant me no harm. "Are you alright...?" He asked me slowly. I wiped away some more tears as I turned to fully face him. I must have looked a complete mess. Tattered clothes, unkempt hair, red blotchy face, swollen eyes, and a running nose from all my uncontrollable sobbing. "H-have you seen..." I blubbered my words as I continued to wiped away my tears and snot with my shirt, probably confusing the poor man even more. He looked at me, clearly trying to make out what I was saying when a man with blonde hair arrived at the doorway. He was dressed in an unbuttoned purple shirt to show off his blue tattoo on his chest. He immediately walked over to the other guy, "What did you do?"  Assuming that the chef was the reason for my tears. "Me? I didn't do anything! I was coming to feed her some more soup and open the door to find the room a complete mess and her crying in the corner!" He explained quickly, gesturing to the messy room and then to my sobbing form, which I had calmed down a bit more. The man with blonde hair narrowed his eyes at the chef before he turned back to me and carefully took a few steps towards me, "Why don't we sit down and you can explain what's wrong?" He spoke so gently to me. I looked him up and down really quick before nodding my head as I took a few shaky steps towards him. He reached out his hands and took my left arm in his hand and placed the other on my upper back to steady me, "Easy..." He walked my pace until I was sitting back on the bed and took a few deep breaths to calm myself down all the way. "Okay. Now what's wrong?" He stepped in front of me. I glanced at him, I felt like a complete fool. I had just ransacked their infirmity room looking for my lost ring in a panic and instead of being angry with me, he was talking me with the utmost care. I cleared my throat a bit, "I..." I looked down at my hands so I didn't have to see the annoyed look from them. "...was looking for my ring. It's very important to me. It's a little red and black rose." "Oh!" The chef lit up like a Christmas tree and then pulled out a chain from around his neck. On the end of it was my ring. "I wanted to make sure that we didn't lose it on our giant ship after it fell out onto the deck once we fished you out of the water." He took off the chain and walked over to hand it to me. "You held onto for me?" I asked him as I hooked the chain around my neck. "Of course, it seemed really important to you since your fist was doubled around it." He smiled at me. I blushed a bit "Thank you." I glanced around at the room, "Ah, sorry for the mess. I'll clean it up." The blonde shook his head, "It's quite alright." He looked over to the chef "Thatch, why don't we find her some better clothes and then take her to talk to Pops?" "Sounds like a plan." Thatch smiled as he handed me the tray of soup, "Any specific clothing?" I gave him a shrug as I never really was into fashion. He glanced me up and down, "She seems roughly Ace's size. I'm sure he won't mind you borrowing his clothes." Thatch said with a glint in his eye and a smirk as he walked out the door. Marco just rolled his eyes and let out a sigh, "Ace isn't here to ask!" "That's the point!" Thatch hollered from down the hall. Marco turned back to me and then to the desk, where he began to pick up the papers that I had thrown everywhere. "Please let me help." I asked as I went to set the tray aside and he shook his head, "No, you just eat." I looked down at the soup and my stomach grumbled. I was hungrier than I thought and just picked up the spoon, carefully blowing on the still steaming soup. After a few moments of silence, I worked up the courage to ask where I was. Marco didn't even halt in his cleanup as he replied "You're on the Moby Dick." 
I gasped right as I put the soup to my mouth and choked "Wha-?" The tray clattering to the floor as I tried to stop coughing. "Are you okay?" He asked with concern and I waved him away, "Fine," I wheezed out, "Down the wrong tube!" I patted my chest to try and help clear my throat before looking at him again. "I'm on Whitebeard's main ship?" My voice a bit hoarse. He nodded "Yeah you are." He gave me a look, "I guess hearing that "dangerous pirates" saved you is a bit shocking." I just nodded. He doesn't know I'm a Navy solider! And I'm on the most dangerous ship in the world!!
I ruffled my hair as I tried to think about what to do. I had no access to a transponder snail to call for help. I couldn't exactly leave because that would blow my cover and put me in danger.  And my body was in absolutely no fighting shape.
"Hey, hey," I blinked as a hand waved in front of my face and I glanced up to see Thatch with a big smile on his face and clothes tucked under one arm. He pulled out the shirt, "I hope you down mind yellow." I took it from him and looked it over. It was short sleeve shirt but it was better than what was left of my Navy shirt. And then he held up what looked like short pants, except kind of big. "These might be a little big for you but I am sure we can just get you a belt." Thatch spoke up and laid them down next to my on the bed. Marco walked over and he pulled Thatch out of the room to give me privacy to change.

I opened the infirmity door and stepped out into the brighter hallway and turned to see Marco and Thatch patiently waiting for me. "Uh? How to I look?" They both turned to me and gave me warm smiles. "You look great!" I had the yellow shirt unbuttoned, my breasts covered with bandages as my bra had been shredded. The short pants were a little bit big on me and I had to secure them in place with some shoestrings I found. "Well," Thatch started, "Your hair is a bit of a mess."
"Well I would like to see you get dragged through the ocean and not look like a drowned rat." I huffed in reply. Marco cleared his throat, "We can ask Izo if you can borrow a brush to fix the knots." "Sounds good to me." I glanced around the hallway before they both led me up onto the sunny deck. I winced and closed my eyes tightly, "So bright..." Once I could open my eyes without feeling like the sun was drying them out, I looked around to see probably the biggest ship I had ever seen in my life. "Wow, it's so big!" I could help but be amazed. As I looked around the ship, I couldn't help but lock eyes with the strongest man in the world.
Edward Newgate.
Captain Whitebeard of the Whitebeard Pirates and one of the four Emperor's of the sea.
He was like a mountain of muscle and he was merely sitting down in a seat that looked like a giant throne. I let out a shaky breath and then looked down. How could I look such a powerful man in the eyes!? I felt a cold chill roll down my spine as I easily reminded myself that I wasn't a pirate. Navy and Pirates were sworn enemies. They are sure to tear my throat out if they find out who I am. "You alright?" Marco asked as he gently touched my arm. I gave him a weak smile, "I'm sorry. I think I am just a bit overwhelmed." "Do you need a chair?" Thatch asked as he looked ready to go run and grab one. "No, no." I reassured him. "Hey Pops," Thatch called as they led me over to Whitebeard. "The young woman woke up." He gestured to me with excitement as if he was showing off a prize. I looked up slowly to glance at Whitebeard as he gave a small smile, "How are you feeling, young one?" It was a little odd. I had always heard that Whitebeard and his crew was dangerous but his tone seemed to tell a different story. Was he putting on a show? As far as they know, I am just a citizen.
A nobody.
You're basically a nobody, you don't know half of your life.
I kept the frown off my face at the negative thoughts. "Uh? Better? To be honest, a little overwhelmed." I rubbed my arm and glanced at him then back to the floor. "Thank you for helping me out of the ocean." "I am surprised that you were alive. When we pulled you aboard you looked like a dead body." A woman? Or man in a dress spoke as he walked forward and set me down roughly in a chair. "Your hair is a mess." And began to rake a brush and comb through the drowned rat's nest that set on top of my head. I recalled back to earlier where Marco said someone named Izo could do my hair. "How did you end up so far away from an islands?" Whitebeard questioned. I thought back about how I had fallen off of Captain Smoker's ship because I couldn't let the ring around my neck just jump into the ocean.
"I actually suffer from amnesia and I am on a search to find out who I am and who gave me this ring." I replied, pulling it up a bit for him to see. "A sudden storm caught my little boat and I capsized." I wasn't lying to him. I just wasn't telling him the full truth. "So you have no memory of who you are?" Thatch asked as he squatted down in front of me. "I don't." I squeezed the half lie through my teeth. "What about your name?" He sat down and got comfortable as I, again, lied. "I don't really have a name." Shrugging slightly, causing Izo doing my hair to roughly adjust my shoulders, "Please stay still." I blushed in embarrassment and just gave Thatch a slight look. He grinned at me "Why don't we try and give you a name?" "Well I don't really want to impose any more of your hospitality. You can just drop me off at the next island and I will get out of your hair." I, then, let out a small gasp as I saw tuffs of my hair float to the deck. "Are you cutting my hair?" "I'm giving you style." Izo replied and continued his work. Thatch began to list off names, telling me to stop on one that I like. "Pops, we can't let her go on her own. She basically has no one." I heard a small whisper coming from Marco's side. Whitebeard didn't give any kind of audio reply that I could hear.

Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top