Chapter 2 – A Changed Destiny

The area commonly known as The Gardens referred to a sprawling park adjacent to the palace. It was fully open to the public, and on weekends and holidays it was a popular relaxation spot among citizens of all ages and social status.

In one corner lay Queen Rouge's beloved flower garden, with clusters of flourishing roses in a myriad of colors and carefully tended shrubs of the Queen's favorite hibiscus flower, bright red blooms native to her homeland in South Blue. But the feature that was always the fast favorite with the young ones was really the huge hedge maze spread across half of the sizeable plot of land. Ace, Luffy and Sabo had spent many hours there in the past either chasing each other around the maze or competing to see who could get out first. While Ace had the home advantage of being more familiar with the maze, Sabo's quick mind and sharp memory made him a tough rival even without a handicap in the game.

It always amused the older boys when they had to go back into the maze to fish Luffy out, which truthfully happened more often than not.

The maze wasn't their destination for today, however, but instead it was the big grassy field that covered the rest of the garden area. The boys and Robin found a nice sunny spot to spread out the checkered picnic blanket the head cook had given them along with three generously packed wicker baskets filled with food. The Oharan scholar watched with amusement as all three boys immediately attacked the baskets just moments after sitting down, happily digging in. She selected a delicious-looking strawberry tart for herself, sitting back to enjoy the sunshine and the sound of children's laughter echoing from the maze.

It was a different kind of atmosphere from what she was used to in Ohara, where scholars practically outnumbered regular villagers. To add to that, Robin had spent most of her childhood not running around with the few other children her age but instead tucked into some alcove in the library pouring over books as her mother and Professor Clover discussed their latest project. This was different, but nice.

"So this is where you brats ended up," a familiar voice drawled from behind, cutting into their little picnic. "Stuck with babysitting duty, Robin-ya?" They turned as one to meet the crinkled dark eyes and amused smirk of their old friend. From behind the teen's lanky form, a young girl with brown twin-tails peeked out and beamed at them.

"It's Torao!" Luffy cheered around a mouthful of sandwich. "Lami too!"

Ace waved. "Hey, Law, Lami."

In contrast the other two boys, Sabo bowed his head in a respectful nod. "Prince Law, Princess Lami."

The older prince's lips twitched slightly as he dropped down casually to sit on the grass like the rest of them. "Always so formal. You know you can just call me Law like the other brats do."

Four years older and one year younger than Ace and Sabo respectively, the prince and princess of North Blue's Trafalgar D royal family were familiar playmates to the young princes, especially given that neither the Jaguar nor Portgas family lines had children near their age.

Instead of sitting down immediately like her brother, Lami instead ran around their little circle to hug Robin. The older girl returned the greeting warmly. "It's good to see you again, princess."

The three boys looked between Law, Lami and Robin. "You know each other?"

"Robin stayed with us all of last year!" Lami chimed up as she took a seat between her brother and Robin, folding her feet under her in an attempt to imitate the older girl's graceful posture. "Robin's really, really smart," she added. "She's an archaeologist, and she's almost as good as Big Brother at reading the poneglyphs."

That caught Ace and Sabo's attention. "The poneglyphs?"

"What are poneglifs?" Luffy piped up, head tilted as he chewed. "Are they good to eat?"

"Poneglyphs are not food, Luffy," Sabo returned with the resigned patience of one long used to the smaller boy's ways. "Dragon-san has been teaching you how to read them since last year, remember?"

"Ohh. The mystery letter thingies."

"But I thought only the descendants of the D families are taught how to read the poneglyphs?" Sabo questioned towards Robin, curious.

Robin inclined her head in acknowledgement. "That is correct for most part, and is also what is most commonly known to the public. However, to be accurate, two other groups of people aside from the descendants of the Great Kingdom are taught how to decipher the secret poneglyphs – direct descendants of the Kozuki clan, the stonemasons who etched the first poneglyphs; and select scholars of Ohara, each who have sworn an oath only to use the knowledge for scholarly purpose. I qualified to be one of them not too long ago, and was sent to North Blue to further my studies."

Sabo could guess, even though she didn't mention it, what a feat it was for her to have been qualified so young. A group such as that must surely be brilliantly exclusive, after all.

"But what poneglifs for?"

All eyes turned towards the youngest prince. "You really don't know, Luffy?"

"Can you tell us the story about the poneglyphs again, Robin?" Lami suggested brightly. "Robin's really good at telling stories," she told the boys. "I miss hearing them."

"What, my stories aren't good enough for you, Lami?" Law interjected teasingly.

Much to the two older youths' amusement, the girl was immediately contrite, sending puppy-eyes to her brother who gently flicked her cheek to show he had been teasing.

"Well then, if you would like to hear it, I'm happy to do so…" Robin smiled as the younger children nodded eagerly, sprawling down in more comfortable positions across the picnic blanket. The wind rustled softly through her hair as she started the tale, as if in gentle encouragement as well.

"This is a story that started long ago, with the Great King D himself. King D had travelled widely across all the seas in his time, encountering all sort of wonders, some of which no one else had ever seen. He found lands where summer and winter could change in an instant; islands where time had stood still; mysteries which had sunk beneath the waters. He dove down to the furthest depths of the sea and befriended the mermaid princess, Poseidon; flew up to the clouds where he met the majestic creature of flight, Uranus. At the end of his travels he returned back to the Grand Line where he built his great empire of peace, so loved by the people that they referred to it as the Great Kingdom.

The legend continues centuries later, long after King D's passing, during the Uprising of the Twenty Kingdoms. Descendants of former vassals of King D rose up to rebel against the rule of the Great Kingdom, bringing an unspeakable power that spread terror wherever they landed. The descendants of King D called on a hundred of the best shipwrights from Water 7 to build the great warship Pluton, but even then they were no match for the malevolent weapons of the Twenty Kingdoms.

It was in this time of great danger that Poseidon rose from the sea to their aid, bringing with her the great Sea Kings from the very depths of the sea floor, where the sea creatures grew larger and stronger than any surface dwellers had ever seen. The Sea Kings circled around the besieged islands, shielding them from further harm. Then down from the sky soared Uranus on wings of fire, and together they successfully quelled the destruction wrought by the Twenty Kingdoms.

With the defeat of the Twenty Kingdoms, the world settled back to its peace. The warship Pluton, having completed its purpose, was hidden away; and Poseidon returned home to the sea and Uranus to the sky.

But before their departure both Poseidon and Uranus left parting words with the Descendant Kings of D, instructions on how they could be summoned again should another great peril befall the world. These instructions, along with the resting place of Pluton, were transcribed by a trusted family of stonemasons upon great stone slabs, to be preserved for future generations long past the Kings' deaths. To prevent such great knowledge from falling into the wrong hands, the Kings crafted a secret language, the poneglyphs, which is now passed down from parent to child among the descendants of King D. The stones themselves were scattered across the seas, each guarded carefully by loyal vassals. It is the wish of all humankind that we never be faced again with such a calamity to need to draw upon the power of the Ancients, but what they left with us is the reassurance that they will once again come to aid us should such a misfortune arise. And it is thus through the power of the Ancients that our peace was preserved till this day, just like King D had envisioned when he built his kingdom upon the endless horizon of the blues."

Robin smiled warmly at the rapt attention all the children were giving her even after she gently closed her story.

Ace's eyes were bright with interest and curiosity. "But there are more than just three stones, right?"

Robin nodded. "The Kings had additional stones carved as well, partly as decoys for the real Stones but also to maintain historical notes in a more lasting form than ink on paper. The stone at Ohara, for one, contains the history of how the great library was built, and there is another supposedly on Fishman Island, though I have not yet seen it for myself, which tells of how the ship Noah was brought to the surface by Poseidon's power."

"So the mystery letters are a mystery language about the Mystery People," Luffy summed up comprehensively, tapping one fist against his palm in an epiphany.

A brief silence followed as all of them stared at the small boy, before everyone simultaneously burst out laughing.

"Well if you want to put it that way, it really isn't too far off," Ace conceded, grinning as he leaned against Sabo, both of them having toppled over into each other from laughing too hard.

Law shook his head with a fond grin still quirking his lips. The younger boy never failed to catch him off guard.

Their laughter echoed across the grounds, bright and sweet, drawing the attention of the citizens also relaxing around the gardens. The people smiled, waving warmly to their young prince when Ace looked their way, which he (and an ever-enthusiastic Luffy as well) returned without reservation.

A kind and just ruler, King D loved his people and was much beloved in return.

The Kingdoms of D were at peace.

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PS - Updates will still be slow-going with me focusing mostly on "From the Decks of the Sunny" for now, but rest assured that I do have more chapters for this story in the works. The chapters so far have largely been world-building and character-introduction chapters, but we'll be having a major time-skip in probably 2 chapters' time where we'll then properly kick off the plot, so do stay tuned for that!

Till next time! Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Happy Holidays to all!