Summary: In order to save her life, she reluctantly agrees to marry Hawk Eyes Mihawk. Soon after the marriage, Mihawk helps her escape from the pirate ship to a small village. However, things are more complicated than it seems. Why are the Marines after this newly named Lady Mihawk? Does her past have to do anything with her future? (Summary sucks. I know. It may subject to change when I think of a better one to fit the story)
Warning: The M rating is just for precautions. I'm not sure how high the rating will go. Don't be surprise when characters die and, I believe everything in this story is not real in the series. It's all a fabrication of my imagination. (e.g. Mihawk's father is named Karel. Of course, that's not true. I made it up.)
An: Well, here's my second story of One Piece. Enjoy.
Chapter One – Remembering
The sky was painted light orange as the sun began to set. A lone figure stood looking for a grave. It was an unmarked grave, but he knew it was there because juniper trees marked the head of the grave. The mound of dirt would be nearly gone since years has passed by and had eroded into the earth.
The figure's face hardened when he arrived tosee that the trees were gone. They were cut down with only the stumps remained. The figure knew this island was abandoned and no one sane would land on the dense forest island. It was deemed a haunted island… many years ago…
He searched the edge of the island and found as he stood on a cliff about fifty ships. They were sailing away. As he peered at the closest ship, he saw a pirate flag swaying in the wind. The pirate make was a skull and cross. Unlike any other, the flag had two hourglasses on the each side of the skull.
The man stood unmoved by the symbol as if it meant nothing to him. He remembered the flag incase he ever saw it again. Those pirates would pay a price for defiling the grave. The price would be their lives.
He went back to his small ship and let out a frustrated sigh. There was nothing he could do about the trees. They had to grow back on their own, but those pirates shouldn't get away when they were so close. However, he had an obligation to attend to and could not chase the pirates down. Finally letting out another sigh, he set sail toward his destination and not after the pirates.
He sat in his large chair and slept. It was the best solution to pass time. He had calm sailing for a few hours until he was woken by a few consistence waves. His eyes opened to see a dozen ships within his view. They must have seen his two green candles in the fog and had slowed down. A smirk crept on his face as he drew his large falchion from his back. The ships had the same pirate mark as one from the island.
The pirates didn't know what hit them. Within a few seconds, the ships were sliced and shredded. When he came to the last ship, the largest of the fifty, he cut down the sails, but he couldn't destroy the whole ship. The familiar scent of juniper filled the air around the ship.
He couldn't bring himself to attack the ship with the scent of fresh juniper in the air and sea. The large ship took this chance to sail away. He cursed himself for not finishing the job and sat down with a heavy heart. With a sigh, he started the sails toward his destination.
With in an hour, the small boat arrived at a small village called Lutie. The man docked his boat before walking into the village. The time was midnight and the villagers were deep asleep in their warm beds. The swordsman walked through the village toward a lone house deep into the mass of houses.
It was the only house with its lights blazing. He could hear someone was already there inside. He took a deep breath before knocking on the door. The noise inside stopped as he heard foot steps walk toward the door. The door opened to expose a middle age woman dressed in a long grey shirt with a black corset and a long skirt.
"I'm glad you came," she smiled, "No one should be alone today, especially you. Come in. I'll make some tea." She side stepped to open a path for him to enter. She closed the door behind him. Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around him. He tensed up, but slowly relaxed and returned the embrace. She released him to fix a pot of tea.
The man looked up to see another man sitting at the table near the fire.
"You're late, Mihawk." His face was an enigma as he concealed his emotion. "May I ask why you were delayed?"
"I had to take care of business." Mihawk shot back with equal emotion.
Their eyes locked, and for a mere second, the woman thought they were going to start fighting. She released a sigh of relief as the man sitting let out a laugh.
Mihawk sat down beside his friend, "Shanks, you were never early. Don't chastise me."
Shanks laughed louder, "True, true."
"Thanks… for coming." Mihawk looked over to the mantel where a picture frame stood.
Shanks lowered his laughter to a chuckle, "Yes." He followed Mihawk's eyes to the picture. "It's my pleasure, anything for a friend."
"She would be glad to know you're both here," the woman brought a pot of tea and a small tea cup for Mihawk. "How long will you be staying this time?"
"Maybe one day or two, it depends when the villagers chase me off the island." Shanks joshed.
The woman rolled her eyes. She was really asking Mihawk, but she saw the nostalgic look in his face. His gaze was locked on the picture frame on the mantel. She looked at the young woman in the photo as she sat down.
The three leaned back in their chairs as their thoughts slowly winded back in time…
AN: Well, that's only chapter one to set things up.. What do you think? Should I continue or should I stop and work on something else? Constructive Praise and Flames are welcomed.