Everything was dark. It had been dark for so long, but at the same time, not long at all. I was confused. The light hurt when I opened my eyes.

I was in an infirmary on a ship. How did I get here? Where were the marines? Why was I wearing a giant yellow shirt with a weird face on it? All of the men here were in white boiler suits. All but one, I corrected myself when I saw him. He was the captain. He was the one giving out orders with confidence and slight annoyance. I saw some of the white boiler suits were stained with blood.

He must be a doctor. My bed was on the far side of the room, across from the entrance, giving me a good view. I watched as the captain/doctor worked to treat his crew. He was tall. He wore a yellow and black hoodie with a weird smily face on it, the same one on my shirt, and jeans with spots. He also wore a white fur hat with spots that matched the ones on his jeans. His eyes were a shade of grey that could be either cold and piercing, or warm and inviting.

After he finished with his patients, there were four of them, he pulled off his gloves and turned his attention to me. He had "DEATH" tattooed on the fingers of his left hand.

On instinct, I reached for the ornament I kept in my hair. It was gone.

...

"Hello, Miss," Law greeted the girl Shachi had brought on the sub. He was going to scold him later. A girl as frail as this one would only cause trouble. Even if she did follow directions and stay out of the way, her presence alone would distract the crew.

Law watched her as she sat up. She was small, barely five feet, but she had gone through puberty. Her eyes were wide and innocent, but here deep blue irises showed intelligence. Law wondered briefly how smart she was.

Not very, he decided when she reached around to the back of her head. The pain she felt should have been coming from her back, not her head. Her fingers ran slowly through her long, black hair. The marines had held her prisoner. There were fresh cuts from a whip on her back. What had she done?

"I was hoping you could answer a few questions for me," he continued. She returned her attention to him and nodded. "What is you name?" he asked her. She remained silent at the question. "I asked you a question, answer it," Law ordered after several minutes. She frowned at him and mouthed something. When he just stared at her, she mouthed the word again.

Law sighed. She couldn't speak. Wonderful. Shachi was going to get laundry duty for a week for making him deal with something so annoying.

Law crossed the room and opened a file cabinet. He pulled out and sheet of paper and handed it and a pen to the girl. The paper was a basic information sheet for a patient. He would get the most basic answers from that. He turned to go to his desk to fill out paper work on his injured crew, but before he could take a step he heard paper rattle. He turned back to the girl. She was holding the paper out to him, the pen pointing to something on the paper. She had circled the word "Date" and placed a question mark by it. He told her the date. She frowned, but went back to the form and began writing.

Her name was Rahzellia. Pronounced Rah-zel-li-ah, as she had so kindly written out. She was twenty-two, her birthday in October. She didn't know her height or weight, which Law quickly rectified by measuring both. She was right at five feet, and way too light to be healthy.

Under previous injuries she wrote: Broken bones: limbs, ribs Past Surgeries: bullet removal: shoulder, chest, left thigh and stab wound, abdomen.

He had slid his rolly chair over to her bed when she had rattled the paper again to indicate she was done. "Do you have experience fighting Miss Rahzellia?" Law asked. He had not noticed the scars when he stitched and bandaged her back. He had been more occupied with finishing quickly so he could attend to his crew. She nodded. "On a scale from one to ten, how much pain are you in right now?" She held up a single finger. "You have at least ten different wounds on your back from a whip, Miss Rahzellia," Law stated coldly. The girl shrugged.

Law returned to his desk to retrieve one of his notebooks. he flipped to a new page and handed it to her. She immediately started writing.

Who are you? You can shorten my name to Lia.

"Trafalgar Law. I am captain of the Heart Pirates. You are in the North Blue, in case you were wondering, Miss Lia." She nodded to indicate she understood what he told her. It surprised Law that she was apparently fine with being on a pirate ship. "What were you doing on a marine ship?" She began writing. It took her a few minutes to finish.

I don't really know why. They came to me and asked if I wanted to join them for the good of mankind. I said no, then everything went black. I woke up a few times and they gave me food, then they would ask me to do something and I would say no. Then they would try to make me say yes. When I didn't, they would sedate me again. Three years.

"What did they ask you to do?" Law asked after he had finished reading her reply.

It was different every time. Sometimes they wanted to know something, other times they wanted me to get information out of someone, or something.

"Why would they ask that of you?" Law wanted to know what she was.

It is my job. I gather information and sell it.

"You are a spy?" Law asked, immediately feeling weary. The girl grimaced.

NO! Ew. I've met a few. All of them were self centered and not at all worth what they were being paid.

"Then what are you?"

I told you, I gather information and sell it. I price information on how volatile it could be. Spies charge for the actual work it took to get the information.

She let Law read this before writing more.

I'm like the directory at a library. Someone asks me a question. and based on the answer and result, I give them a price, or remain silent.

The last word brought another question to Law's mind. "Are you physically or mentally mute?"

Mentally. It happens when I receive a shock. A big shock. It will wear off eventually. I don't know how long though.

Law had heard enough for now. In her current state he doubted she was dangerous.

"You will stay here the rest of the day. The restroom is through there," Law pointed to her right at a metal door. "You are not to get up for any other reason. You can shower tomorrow when I change your bandages. Someone will bring you dinner within the hour," Law got up to leave but he saw her scribble something in the notebook.

Have you seen a hair ornament with a butterfly on it? Its blue and purple. Its very important to me!

"I removed it when I treated you. You could have used it as a weapon," Lia visibly calmed.

It is a weapon. Daggers to be exact. I understand if you do not want to return them until you have a better grasp of my character or you have completed a threat assessment on me.

"You are too trusting Miss Lia," Law smirked. He had left doctor mode and turned into a pirate again.

Says the man who accepted a complete stranger on to his vessel and treated her injuries.

She smirks back.

You may be a pirate captain, but you are also a doctor. As long as I am injured, there is no reason not to trust you, Dr. Trafalgar.

Law chuckled as he walked out of the infirmary. The girl had just read him like a book.

"How is she, Captain?" Shachi asked Law. He was waiting outside the infirmary.

"She is awake. She has wounds from a whip on her back. They are not infected. She is mute from shock."

"So she'll be okay?" Shachi was worried about the girl. For as long as Law had known him he had been soft towards the opposite sex. Actually, most of his men were. That would be why no one protested Shachi when he decided to save her.

"She will be fine. Have Cook prepare her something light. She is too thin to have been eating properly."

"Yes, Captain," Shachi moved to leave but hesitated. "Um, Captain? Did she tell you her name?"

"Rahzellia,"

"Lia-chan then," Shachi smiled and left to find Cook.

"What did we get?" Law asked when he entered the galley.

"They didn't have much, Captain," Penguin told him. He began to list some items, cannonballs, food, medical supplies, guns and ammo, sheet metal and wood for repairs. There wasn't much of any of the items. Apparently, the marines were having a rough time at sea. "We found a bag that we think belongs to the girl too," That grabbed Law's attention.

"What was in it?"

"Basic stuff really. Clothes, toiletries, some books. We found a journal but its in code. Its all numbers."

"No money?"

"If there is, she hid it pretty good," Penguin held the bag out to Law. It was a faded light blue and obviously old, but sturdy. It was meant to be worn as a back pack and had purple flowers and a butterfly embroidered on the top flap. The butterfly matched the tattoo Miss Lia had on the back of her left shoulder. Law decided he would give the bag to her in the morning. He would keep the journal though.

The crew was talking about the girl while they moved to store the goods they had stolen. Shachi had already been there to get food from Cook, so she was known as Lia-chan all around. Law poured himself a cup of coffee and took a seat to listen to what his crew thought. Most of them were happy to have a girl aboard. A few were skeptical. They wanted to know what she did to be held prisoner by the marines.

"Are we going to keep her, Captain?" one of the men asked.

"I haven't decided." he responded. The men groaned. They began to shout reasons why a woman in general would be good to have on board. Law chuckled and waved their opinions away.

Everyone in his crew was useful in some way. Some were able to help him in the infirmary, others were engineers and mechanics, some could cook and others could read maps. Everyone in his crew could fight. Law wasn't about to make an exception because his men wanted something pretty to look at and flirt with. Miss Lia would have to be more useful than distracting in order for her to become part of his crew.

...

A week had passed. I didn't get many visitors, only Law and a man named Shachi, who brought me meals. He was very nice to me. He was the one that decided to set me free from the marines and ask Law to treat me. Like the rest of the crew, he wore a white boiler suit. He also wore pointed sunglasses over his eyes and a blue hat with a red brim over his shoulder length red hair.

It was through him that I learned Law had ordered all the other men away from the infirmary and that Law would drop me off at the next island once I was fully healed.

I didn't fully believe that. Law was the type of person that would demand compensation.

Shachi also told me stories of the crews' adventures to keep me entertained while I ate. He exaggerated the stories a bit, but through them I learned about the crew dynamics and that Law had a devil fruit ability. From what I could piece together from Shachi's stories, it was a powerful one. Law could apparently cut people in pieces, but they would continue to live. I did not want to wake up one day with my body missing.

I spent most of my time staring put of the port hole above my bed. I watched fish swim by when the sub was submerged, and the flow of the waves when it was not. Though I loved watching the water and the sky, things I had not seen for years, I was growing board. When Law changed my bandages the next morning, I asked him if I could have any old newspapers to read. He thought about it while he washed his hands.

"How exactly do you gather information, Miss Lia?" he asked. I shifted uncomfortably, but began to write anyway.

Where I come from, people are born with a sort of guardian, or mascot. It is an animal or a plant of some sort. If someone is born under a owl guardian, they are wise. Wolves are usually good leaders, foxes are sly, so on and so on. We are born with the animal or plant on our body.

I let Law read that.

"I'm guessing you are a butterfly," I nodded and smiled, happy he was so quick to catch on.

Butterflies are connected to the psyche. This gives me access to peoples' memories. At this point it would be easier to show you how I gather information. An explanation would be rather complicated.

He frowned at the idea of an example. "I don't want you rummaging around in my head," he said coldly. I shook my head and pointed to myself.

I held my left hand out and touched the inside of my wrist with my right fore finger. The spot I touched glowed blue and a purple butterfly emerged. It fluttered around for a moment, then landed back on my left hand. It spread its wings out and above it appeared an image of when I first spoke to Law. He watched, wide eyed, for a moment before asking me questions about my power. The first question was if I had taken the memories of him or any of his crew. I had not. He then proceeded to warn me that if I took his or his crews' memories, he would strap me to an operating table and proceed to perform very dangerous and painful experiments on me.

I owe you a debt, Captain Law. Though my profession makes me seem like I lack morals and honor, I assure you that is not the case. It has been three years, but there should still be rumors about me. I have never falsified information or betrayed an informant

"What are you known as in the rumors?" he asked

Butterfly, or The Orchestrator.

"You only have to touch someone to take their memories?"

It is a bit more complicated than that considering I work with the mind, but its the basic understanding of what I do. Also, when I want to take a memory, a person doesn't forget it and I have to decide what memory I want before I can take it. I don't just take everything. That would be overwhelming.

"Decide what memory you want?" He wanted me to elaborate.

Say I am in a country undergoing a revolution, and the king wants to know about the rebel army. I go to the bars on the island and talk to the bartender. I introduce myself and hold out my hand. They shank my hand while I think "rebel army" and I get all the memories they have concerning the rebels.

"That's all you do?"

It is the basics. It is like learning addition and subtraction before learning how to multiply and divide.

Law nodded. "I'll see what the crew can find." He had left before I realized he was talking about the papers I had asked for.

...

"Shachi," Law called when he saw his crew mate. "Have the crew look for old news papers. Put them in my office when they find them."

"Yes, Captain!" Shachi hurried off to tell the crew.

Law figured Lia wanted information. Three years was a long time for someone who dealt information to be out of the loop. Actually, being behind for a few days could hurt her business greatly. No wonder she wanted to know the date so badly, and was so displeased with it.

She was useful though. All she had to do was shake hands with someone and she could learn all the useful things about an island that it took his crew hours to find out. She could collect information on hidden treasure, marine plans, enemy pirates, and so much more. The possibilities were truly endless. She could be the key to unlocking the secrets of the Grand Line and One Piece.

Or she could take them for all they were worth, slit everyone's throats in their sleep and laugh on the way back home.

She said she would trust his doctor side. She did. She didn't complain or even hesitate when Law asked her to take her shirt off so he could change her bandages. Most girls refused and blushed heavily. That had to count for some level of trust.

But what about his pirate side? That would be who she dealt with on a daily basis when she was healed. Law doubted he would be on the list of the people she "chose" to sell information to. He was the Surgeon of Death. A cruel pirate. The Dark Doctor, who experimented on his enemies. The girl seemed honorable, and that she took into consideration the aftermath of the information she sold did not help his case.

He needed her to willingly join his crew and give him unlimited access to her powers.

She admitted she was in his debt. Maybe he could use that. No, he needed her trust, her loyalty. He couldn't underestimate her for a second, or his plans would blow up in his face. He hated it when his plans didn't work.

...

"Penguin," Law grabbed his crew mate's attention at lunch. "Have you heard of anyone that goes by the name Butterfly, or The Orchestrator?"

"Sorry, Captain," Penguin shook his head.

"I wouldn't go messin around with him," Cook growled.

"Really?" Law was pleased someone had heard the name before. Most of his men were from the North Blue. Cook was the oldest of the crew though, and he had been to the Grand Line and back as a former marine. The big man had been kicked out for drinking on the job. Law offered him a job after seeing him being violently fired from the inn his crew was staying at. Cook's drinking was more of a habit than anything else. Law didn't care if it didn't effect his work.

"Heard the name in the Grand Line. Orchestrator will work for anyone, town folk, royalty, pirates, war lords, marines. Equal opportunity kinda guy. He got rules though. You pay up front. You don't lie to him. You don't ask how he got the information. You don't say how you got the information." Cook took a gulp of his coffee spiked with rum.

"I don't see how that could be dangerous," Law pointed out. It sounded like a clean cut deal with simple and reasonable rules.

"I heard what happened to a guy that crossed him. It was a king. He wanted to know what the rebels in his country wanted so he could work with them, make his country peaceful again." Cook took another gulp of his drink. "'Cept he didn't. He wanted the information to get rid of the rebels. He bought the information an went back to his castle, started plannin. Well, one of the Orchestrator's informants to him the king was lying. Said he was plannin on killin the rebels and their families. King lied to him. Next morning the king was dead." Cook took another gulp of coffee, finishing his mug. "He wasnt the only one dead," he continued refilling his mug with coffee and adding a healthy dose of rum. "Everyone that wanted the rebels dead was killed too. The queen's throat was slashed in her bed. Nobles' limbs were cut off or their wrists slashed to the bone. Even the servants were killed. Only the princess and her personal servants were left and they woke to find the castle covered in blood. The same thing has happened to marine ships and pirate ships who mess with that guy." Cook took a swig of rum from the bottle. "Guy is level with the Warlords I tell ya. I wouldn go out lookin for him Captain," he warned again.

Law was grinning. Miss Lia would be an excellent asset to his crew. "I believe the 'he' you are referring to is a she. And she is currently in our infirmary." The whole room froze.

"Lia-chan couldn't hurt a fly!" Shachi protested.

"She has scars indicating that she is at least an average fighter. She has also shown me her ability to collect information. I am going to have her join the crew," Law expected cheers to erupt from finally allowing a girl to join his crew, but the men remained silent.

"Captain, I support you," Bepo said loyally. Silence followed.

"Dumb ass king got what he deserved," Penguin said suddenly. "Lying to a girl," he shook his head in disgust. The crew suddenly started to agree with him.

Law chuckled at how fickle his crew was. He looked at Cook who still looked shocked. "I'll have her verify the story you just told us if you want," Law grinned. Cook shook his head.

"You always got our back Captain, so we got yours," Cook mumbled as he wandered back into his kitchen.

Law would let her wander around the sub tomorrow with Shachi so the crew could meet her. He needed to empty a room for her as well. He couldn't let a girl bunk with the rest of his crew. She would need other things too, like clothes. He doubted she would want to continue to wear the over sized t-shirts he had been giving her. The clothes in her bag were too big now because of the weight she had lost.

Plans started forming in Law's head. She liked honor. He would give her honor. He would be the shining knight to her damsel in distress. He wouldn't try to hide his cruel ways because she did not like when people lied. She would learn about him in the papers soon any way. The stack of them in his office was growing very large. No wonder the sub was so cluttered