Hi there! It's time for another AlxCa fic from the scarlet butterfly!

(All of fanfic. net simultaneously groans: "God…not more AlxCa. No one likes AlxCa! Why doesn't she get it?") Sorry everyone, but I love my fandom. However this is a very very special AlxCa fic.

This is a fanfiction that I submitted to the 2009 Anime North Competition where it took "Best Use of Setting."

Man, when I got up there to talk about it, (I was dressed as Alvida) and I said it was an Alvida/Cabaji pairing, man, there was this guy in the front row and the look on his face was priceless. As a note, we don't actually find out the story is about Alvida and Cabaji until like, 5 pages into the chapter, but that was just so I could 'surprise' the judges.

However…might I add…this is not just Carousel¸ this is CAROUSEL THE DIRECTOR'S CUT!

Oh yes my friends, THE DIRECTOR'S (or rather 'author's') CUT. See, the rules of submission were that the fic had to be under 7000 words. The original draft of Carousel was over 11000. Hence, edits had to be made, and some of my very favorite scenes couldn't make the final cut for submission. BUT NOW these scenes are available to the public eye for the first time ever! *gasp!*

I don't own One Piece. :( Thanks so my super-special-awesome beta Ricardo! Alright, enough with my chatter. On with the show!

"Just one more shop!"

"That's what you said the last time."

"Please? I promise this will be the last."

"Do we have to?"

"Well, you can go back to the ship, but I'm going to look around some more."

"No…it's my job to make sure you're not carried off my bounty hunters in the middle of an afternoon stroll."

"Hmph. As if I can't take care of myself. Do you honestly think I of all people need a bodyguard?"

"I personally couldn't care less if you did end up carried off by a troupe of Marines, for one thing the ship would be a lot quieter. But the captain seems to think you need an escort whenever you go out on these expeditions of yours. I can think of a dozen other things I'd rather be doing than traipsing around town playing 'bodyguard' and carrying all your shopping bags, but it's what the captain wants, so I'm stuck here."

"How dare you. I am so insulted." the woman snapped at her 'escort' though trying to suppress a smile because she knew he was only teasing her. "And what do you mean the ship would be quieter if I wasn't around, it's always been a circus."

"Touché, Madame."

"Really, I promise this is the last shop."

"Honestly, if you buy any more jewelry you'll sink the ship, and if you ask my opinion on one more outfit I swear I will leave you here."

"But this is an antique store."

"Antiques are for old rich women with too much time on their hands."

"Oh fine. You can just wait out here and stave off any Marines that might be lurking nearby, if you think you can handle them."

The woman pushed open the door to the antique shop. A small bell on the inside chimed with her arrival.

The shop was like one great glittering array of clockwork. Old timepieces and wind-up toys stood on shelves beside beautiful vases and dusty paintings. A collection of miniature ships inside bottles stood on a window display beside several old sea maps and a large globe marking out all four of the Blues.

"Welcome, Miss." said a wizened old man by the store's counter, who was wearing a pair of jewelers spectacles and tinkering with the cogs of a wristwatch. "Is there anything particular you might be looking for?" he asked, looking up from his work. "Jewelry, ornaments, decorations? We've got it all."

"I'm just browsing at the moment." said the woman, tilting her head away slightly and pulling her hat down a little lower as she noticed the collection of wanted posters tacked up behind the store counter.

"Suit yourself Miss, but don't hesitate to ask." said the man, returning to the wristwatch.

The shop reminded the woman rather of an old toy store. Dozens of little windup animals stood in rows on their shelves, all seemingly begging for her to wind their little keys so they could spring to life.

Smiling to herself, she moved on along the row, looking absentmindedly at a set of ornamental music boxes. However something glittering at the very end of the shelf seemed to suddenly catch her eye.

It turned out to be a miniature carousel. The base and canopy were delicately carved and painted gold, while four petit horses stood waiting on their poles. Each was exquisitely detailed and decked out in full harness, with flowers and ribbons decorating their manes and tails.

"How pretty." she murmured, running her finger along one of the horses manes. She saw that the carousel too had a miniature key in the back of its base. She reached out and gently turned it, listening to the little chink of the cogs and gears within as she did.

Slowly the little carousel came to life, the base and canopy turning as the horses rose and fell on their staffs. A waltz-like melody accompanied the carousel's dance.

The woman stared in delight. The song was vaguely and sweetly familiar.

"I know that song." she mused aloud.

"Step right up, boys and girls!" the man called in a booming voice. "That's right! Come ride horse you like on the magnificent carousel!"

"Plaisir d'Amour." she murmured, remembering the melody's title.

"Ah yes!" the shopkeeper suddenly said from behind her, jolting her out of her reverie. She hadn't noticed he had been watching her. "The clockwork carousel! Delightful, is it not? We picked it up from a tradesmen in the West Blue. Very old. Very special."

"It's beautiful." said the woman in agreement. "How much?"

"Hmmm…for an artifact of such complexity and elaborate design, I'd say …500 beli."

"500 beli?" she repeated, raising an eyebrow. "That much? How about, 450?" She loved to haggle. It always added a bit of dramatics to the bargain.

"450, Madame? Really, I need to make a living you know! What would you say to 480?"

"Hmm…I don't know.

"Really, Madame! For an antique of this quality….475 beli! And that's as low as I'm going."

"Hmm….475 beli?" repeated the woman, running one hand through her long black hair and casually toying with the buttons of her coat with the other, allowing a generous amount of chest to spill out. "I really don't know if I can afford that much."

She watched with satisfaction as the storekeeper's eyes traveled slowly downward and into her cleavage, widening to surprising proportions that were magnified even more in his jeweler's spectacles.

"What a dirty old man." thought the woman, as his protuberant eyes seemed to drink in every detail of her chest.

"Well…er…Madame, I…er…I suppose I'm feeling a bit generous today. Alright! 450 beli it is then!"

The man carefully picked up the little carousel and carried it over to the store counter, where he placed it into a small box which he tied shut with a bit of twine. The woman then deposited her 450 beli on the countertop.

"Thank you very much for your purchase Madame!" he said, giving her bosom another none-too-subtle stare. "And I wish you the joy of it!"

The woman murmured a word of thanks and turned to leave, when the shopkeeper suddenly stopped her.

"Hang on." he said, peering at her from over his spectacles. "Aren't you…someone?"

"Someone?" she repeated nonchalantly. "Aren't we all, someone?"

And knowing full well it was time to leave, she beat a hasty retreat to the door, letting it jingle shut behind her, leaving the old man to scratch his head bemusedly at his wall of wanted posters.

"We're leaving." the woman announced once she was outside the shop. The last thing she wanted was the shopkeeper poking his head out the door and yelling to the whole street that he'd just had a wanted pirate in his shop.

"What did you buy?" asked her companion as they walked briskly down the street.

"A carousel." she replied, clutching the little box happily.

"A carousel?" her escort repeated incredulously, peering at the box. "Good luck riding it."

"Idiot, it's a miniature carousel."

"Oh really? I couldn't tell. How much was it anyway?"

"The greedy old man wanted 500 beli, but I managed to knock it down to 450."

"So that's why your coat is unbuttoned."

"If you've got it, make good use of it."

"You're shameless."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"Really, button your coat."

"Well you walk around without a shirt on too."

"Maybe that's because I'm a guy, and in case you haven't noticed we're built a bit differently."

"Oh stop pretending to lecture me. As if you really care how I dress. Personally I think you actually enjoy looking at my chest."

"You're such a little trollop Alvida."

"Trollop? What kind of a word is that? Never mind. Come on Cabaji, I'll get you lunch for taking me shopping."

"Isn't it pretty?" Alvida murmured, removing the carousel from its box and placing it on the café table between herself and Cabaji.

Cabaji shrugged indifferently. "I guess. If you like frilly ponies."

"It even plays music." said Alvida, happily winding the little key and letting Plaisir D'Amour chime as the little horses began to rise and fall under their canopy.

"Hey, I know that song." said Cabaji, looking up. "That's Plaisir D'Amour, isn't it?"

Alvida nodded.

"I've heard it before." she said. "On another carousel. A real one that is."

Alvida stared in delight at the miniature prancing horses as they fell up and down to the waltz. She cupped her chin in her hands and watched the horses through the gentle opaque steam of her coffee as the horses fell up and down to the waltz.

"It's beautiful." she murmured.

Okay, I know, it's not hugely exciting. This isn't a hugely exciting action-packed melodramatic fic like I usually write. It's calmer, sweeter, a little slower paced with shorter chapters and a healthy dose of fluff. I totally understand it's not for everyone. I totally understand that AlxCa is certianly not for everyone. But, like any other author, I love reviews! If you were game enough to click story and have made it this far, why not click that other little button right under this sentance? (Alvida will hug everyone who reviews...totally, I'm paying her to.)

Thanks for reading everyone!