Sorry it took so long to update, I've had this mostly done for a while but I just couldn't write the last few pages. I mean yeah I had finals and stuff but it's been summer for a while and I just couldn't write but now I finally have it finished. Well anyway I'm going to do a story called five real truths and it's going to be five stories branching off from this that you guys want to hear more about. The first chapter is going to be the story of her mother but you guys get to send in ideas for the other four stories. Jesushomie: any preference about what you want your story to be about other than it should be ZoNa?

The door slammed shut with a sense of finality and the fought down her despair as she heard the click of the lock. She supposed that it had been her fault, she had dropped her mask and allowed her face to be seen by her step-family but she hadn't known that her mask had fallen off until she was on her way home, and she didn't think that many people had saw her. Too bad for her that her family had noticed and they had gotten very suspicious causing them to leave the ball early and arrive home just scarce minutes after she did, not nearly enough time for her to remove all traces of the ball. They had locked her in her room that night least she run away, they had only allowed her out that day to make their meals and do chores, all of which under the watchful eye of one of them at least. They had taken the opportunity to push her down even more than usual; they insulted her, tripped her, laughed at her, and yelled at her whenever she so much as lifted a finger.

It wasn't like she was surprised by their treatment, she had grown used to it over the years, but she couldn't help feeling worse than usually for the simple reason that she wouldn't be able to attend the ball for the one last night. She hadn't been able to sneak away to the dressmaker that day and now her step-family had left for the ball leaving her locked in her room, and even if she did get out she wouldn't have a dress, even the dressmaker went to the ball. She put her head in her hands and allowed herself a moment of weakness. After a minute or two she lifted her head and wiped away the tears, she wasn't going to cry over missing the last night with the swords man, at least she didn't have to be there for the prince to choose his vapid, egocentric bride. She shook her head to try and clear away the storm cloud of her thoughts before they brought about another bout of rain.

She stood up from her bed, she wasn't one to wallow in self-pity after all, and tried to think of a way out of her room. So what if she couldn't attend the ball, she at least didn't want to be trapped in her room for Zeus knows how long. She tried the door handle, no luck, her family may be stupid but they did know how to lock a door. She sighed, she wasn't really surprised but she at least had hoped that they would have forgotten just this once. She then turned around to survey her room like an architect surveying a build sight. She tried to look for every possible escape route but there weren't many save the door and breaking a hole in the floor. Growling in frustration she turned towards her window, it was her last bet before trying to learn how to pick a lock. She made her way to the window and peered out, it was a long way down. She shuddered at trying to make that drop, let's just say that if she jumped Darth Vader would look beautiful compared to her.

Not wanting to die but still wanting to get out of her room she searched for fabric that she could use to make the decline easier, like a rope to climb down. All she ended up with was the two sheets that she had on her bed and the nightgown in her closet; her step-family had taken most of the dresses that she had worn to the ball, they had only been in her closet, and the only one she had left was the one that had been her mothers, there was no way that she was going to risk breaking that. She stared down at the fabric in her hands, willing it to grow longer, but to no avail; this wasn't back to the future after all. (1) Just when she had given up the last of her hope she heard noise on the stairs and froze.

"Who's there?"

Zoro's pov

He felt the stiff material of the cat mask under his suit coat and it reminded him of the woman that he was looking for. He swept his eyes over the room of shallow women in to tight dresses just trying to catch a glimpse of the woman who had been dominating his thoughts and he didn't even know her name! He felt a sharp pain in his foot and knew that he had just lost another dance partner, not that he cared, he was too busy trying to find the cat woman. He made his way to the balcony; it was basically the last place he could think to look and now that he had just lost his dance partner her didn't have any reason not to go there. Stepping out into the cold he felt a stab of great disappointment to find the balcony as empty as Blackbeard's heart.

"Where is she?" he mumbled to himself, the sadness and longing evident in his voice as he gazed out at the kingdom that stretched before him. He knew that his father would berate him for not paying attention to any of the woman, especially on a night as significant as this, but at this point he couldn't muster any care for his father's thoughts. He leaned over the balcony as he thought about the woman that had made such an impact on his life in such a short period of time. He put his hand inside his coat and let it rest on the cat mask while he thought about that beautiful red-head.

Nami's pov

"Who's there?" Nami called through the door, she tried not to let her fear show in her voice.

"Jack and Gus," responded the unmistakable voices of her friend Habille's twin little cousins and Nami breathed a sigh of relief coupled with a jolt of hope.

"Sorry I was late, the twins took forever to get here and since I kept taking the carriage dad said that I had to babysit them while they visit," Habille called out, her voice growing closer as she climbed the stairs.

"Habille," Nami's voice was pure delight, if anything could get her out of there it would be Habille's intelligence and the twins' talent at getting where they weren't wanted. "My step-mother found out that I was going to the ball and she locked me in here."

"Oh Nami," Habille cried, "don't worry, we will get you out of there right away, if we work fast you can still make it to the ball."

"I'm not going to the ball Habille," her excitement was dampened by that fact, "I don't have a dress and even if I did I lost my mask last night and my family would defiantly find out."

"Don't be silly, of course you're going to the ball."

"Habille, I can't."

"Look we don't have time to argue right now, we can have this conversation after we get you out of there," Nami didn't respond, she knew her friend meant business and was content to just bide her time and make her arguments so she could convince her friend when she did get out.

"Okay Nami," Habille called through the door, "we are going to go search your step-families rooms to see if we can find anything to get you out." Nami just nodded against the door as she heard the footsteps of her last hope grow dimmer as they descended the stairs. Leaning against the door she thought about the green haired man with the sword mask. After a while she got torn out of her thoughts by the hurried footsteps on the stairs.

"Nami!" it was Habille and it sounded like something had happened.

"Habille, what's wrong?" what could have happened to her friend?

"Nothing's wrong but I found something in your step-mother's room that I have to show you!"

"What is it?" she had no idea what Habille could have possibly found in the dragon's lair.

"Oh Nami, I found your parents will." All the air seemed to leave the room as what she comprehended what her friend was saying.

"What does it say?" she barely could force the words out and the moment that it took for Habille felt like years.

"They left everything to you once you turn 16." Nami felt the rage overcome her; she had been suffering under her step-family for two years when they should have been in the poor house! If she had had access to the will she would have had power over them as well!

"Habille we couldn't find anything," the voices of Jack and Gus called up the stairs.

"Neither did I," she called back to them, "sorry Nami they must have taken the key with them."

"I thought they would," Nami responded with a growl that was more attributed to what she had discovered about the will then about the key.

"Do you have any pins in there?" the high pitched, somewhat mouse like, voice of Jack asked.

"Yes," Nami responded after looking around for a moment.

"Okay, do you know how to pick a lock?"

"No."

"Okay, then do what I say," (2) Jack then proceeded to explain exactly how she should go about breaking herself out of her attic prison. For some reason it didn't surprise her that Jack knew how to pick a lock. Finally she heard the satisfying click of the lock being opened and she pushed the door to reveal Habille holding a piece of paper and Jack with a giant grin on his face.

"And that is how you pick a lock," Jack said, his grin widening.

"Where's Gus?" Nami asked looking around.

"Here I am." The chubbier of the twins said as he ran up the stairs, his arms filled with food.

"Did you just raid my kitchen?" Nami asked raising her eyebrows while Jack helped himself to a roll from Gus's pile.

"Yeph?" he answered causing Nami to shake her head.

"Habille," she said turning toward her friend, "can I see that?"

"Of course," Habille handed over the wrinkled piece of paper, "but hurry up so we can get you to the ball. Nami gave her friend a pointed look before looking down at the paper of her inheritance.

"To our daughter Nami we leave our entire estate and fortune to be given to her on her 16th birthday."

She wiped away the tears that threatened to fall as she looked down at the proof out her parents love for her.

"The moment that I can I am going to get what is rightfully mine." Her hands were gripping the paper hard and her eyes were steely as she brought her gaze up to her one and only friend's face.

Zoro's pov

He knew that his father wasn't going to be happy about this but there was no way that he was going to marry any of those marriage grubbing, vapid, egoists that were dominating the ballroom; the only woman that he would even think about marrying was the beautiful woman with the red hair, the one that hadn't even shown up that night. He growled as he made his way to his father's balcony that overlooked the ballroom, he was pissed as Hades that she hadn't shown up, even if she had rejected him it would have been better if she had been there so he could prove to his father that he had at least tried. He finally reached the top of the stairs and he immediately threw open the door, he wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.

"I'm not marrying a single woman in that ballroom," he growled angrily the moment that his father came into view.

"Yes, you are," his father didn't even turn as he responded to his willful son.

"No, I'm not, there is only one woman in this entire kingdom that I would even think about marrying and she's not down there, therefore I am not marrying a single woman in that ballroom."

"And what is the name of this maiden that has finally captured your elusive heart?" his father finally turned to face him and the curiosity was evident in his eyes as was the disbelief that was mixed in with it.

"I'm not sure," he admitted grudgingly, "but she is still the only woman that I will even think about marrying."

"And how do you plan on finding this fair maiden if you do not even know her given name?"

"I would know her if I saw her."

"And you plan on looking at every maiden in all the lands to find her, which hardly seems practical, it would be much easier on everyone if you just gave up on this maiden and chose one out of the abundance of suitable young woman who have gathered here. Anyway if this maiden did not feel it necessary to attend tonight's ball than it is highly likely that she would not make a suitable queen."

"She didn't come because her step-family must have discovered that she had been sneaking out to attend this ball and kept her from coming somehow!" he hated his father badmouthing this girl when he had never even met her! So enraged was he that he missed the unidentifiable flicker that passed through his father's eyes.

"And how do you know this? Isn't it possible that she just didn't want to come?"

"YOU DON'T KNOW HER!" Zoro roared causing the guards to flinch.

"No I don't, I'm just saying that can't know her either. Now be a good boy and go back down there and pick a wife."

"I refuse," his voice was quiet and dangerous, "I will find her; just you watch."

"Fine, if you insist on being this difficult I will give you a month's time to find this woman and convince her to marry you, if you cannot do this than you must choose a bride from among the eligible ladies that I select. Is that more to your liking?"

"I will find her, you'll see." With that he stormed to his room, he couldn't go back to the ball in the mood he was in.

Nami's pov

It had taken a lot of convincing but she had finally convinced Habille that she would not be attending the final night of the ball, what did she care for who the prince married. She shoved down the regret of not being able to see the swords man one last time as she sat on her bed waiting for her family to return. She had convinced Jack to re-lock her in so her family wouldn't suspect anything; she was waiting to drop the bomb of surprise in the morning with a lawyer on her side. There she sat with a silly smile on her face as she thought about the outrage that her step-family would feel and the hopelessness that would go along with it when she finally heard the click of a key in the lock and began the last night of her maid duties. She probably caused her family some suspicions when she seemed not at all mad that she had been locked up and downright giddy to complete the tasks they gave her. If she had been thinking straight she may have realized that giving her family suspicions wasn't a good idea.

She awoke the next morning with an excitement burning under her skin, today would be the day that she finally freed herself from the overbearing grasp of her step-family and gave them what they deserved. She sat up and stretched with a smile, for once she was happy that morning had come. After getting dressed she excused herself from her room, they hadn't felt the need to keep her locked up any longer, and if they did they would have to let her out before they could get their breakfast. Smiling she made her way down the stairs and out the door, she was on her way to the only lawyer she knew of and he better be up. It wasn't until she reached the bottom of the stairs that she realized that in her life nothing could ever go as planned.

"Going somewhere?" Nami froze as the voice that she had come to hate rang out in the supposedly empty entry hall. She raised her head slowly wishing the voice to only be in her imagination and was met with the sickening feeling that she wasn't going to get her way as she met the cold eyes of Kalifa.

"And what's that in your hand? Did you happen to steal that from my room?" the dragon woman's voice called.

"Oh so our little servant decides to repay our kindness with this?" this time it was the shrill voice of Porche.

"Well you won't be needing this," she felt her last hope of freedom being pulled from her hand and she was helpless to stop it as the hopelessness closed in around her. She heard the sounds of ripping paper (3) and laughter and felt tears start to fall down her face (4).

It didn't take long for Nami to realize that she had no chance of escaping the house will or not. Whenever she went to town Porche wanted to go shopping, whenever she was cooking Kalifa wanted to read in the kitchen, and so on. It seemed as if the only places she could be alone were her room in the attic and the basement, there was no way to escape down there so her family didn't care. During the next three weeks that followed she got used to the routine that her step-family had established and learned when she could slip away to the basement without them noticing, they weren't really that admit about watching those stairs after a while. It was soon after she figured out that schedule that she grabbed her mother's dress and made her way down the basement to return it to its chest before her step-family could get a hold of it. She didn't meet any of them on her way down, after three weeks with no escape attempts they had relaxed and since the doors were still locked and they didn't know about Nami's new lock picking ability they thought that she had no way out.

Once in the basement she hurried to the chest that had contained the dress and when she opened it she noticed a journal both sitting at the bottom of the chest. She picked up the journal curiously wondering why she hadn't noticed that it was there before. She took the journal out of the chest and put the dress back in. She then stood up and made her way back to her room holding the journal close. When she closed the door to her room she breathed a sigh of relief, she hadn't been caught and gotten the journal confiscated by the dragon woman. Sitting on her bed she opened the journal to the first page and began to read.

Her eyes widened as she realized it was her mother's journal, though it really shouldn't have surprised her, who else would have put a journal there? She smiled as she read through her mother's thoughts and looked at the sketches. The journal began before she was born but she learned that her family had been close to the royals, so much so that her father was the prince's godfather. She smiled as she read about her parent's excitement over her birth but looked on in shock when she read that the king was her godfather. For a moment a new bubble of hope formed in her chest, she could just ask the king to right this wrong, but it quickly disappeared when she realized that she couldn't even go to the bakery much less the palace.

Zoro's pov

He couldn't find her. He had been searching for weeks, calling on house after house but he hadn't found the woman that he was looking for and his month was nearly up. He growled as he stalked down the hall on his way to the throne room to report his progress to his father. He hated that look his father got every evening when he reported that he once again had found neither hide nor hair of the woman he had been so desperately searching for. He frowned as he thought of all the measures he had already undertook to try and track her down, she hadn't turned up after he sent a messenger to each house, nor after he had gone on house calls to every house in the town (5). He had even gone so far as to give her description to servants in the palace for hope that they would spot her whilst they were out in the town, no one saw her. He growled again as he entered his father's throne room and saw a woman with long blue hair standing beside his father's throne (6). He knew then that his father was up to something and he didn't like where it was going.

"Good evening father," the prince spoke as he bowed before the throne, he figured he had better get as far on his father's good side as he could before the inevitable argument came.

"Good evening my son, how did the search fare today?"

"We have still not located her, father."

"Ah I feared as much, and your time is waning. I do believe that I only allotted you another two days for your search."

"That is something that I wanted to talk to you about father."

"What is it?" Zoro saw his father's eyes flash and knew that it was going to be a hard sell.

"I was hoping that you could extend my time by another month," he saw disbelief appear in his father's eyes only to be replaced by annoyance with a tinge of anger.

"I graciously give you a month more than I originally promised and you beg for more?" the anger was evident in his voice.

"I need to find her father!"

"Enough you promised that you would find her in within the month or marry another and a Prince needs to keep his word!"

"Please father, I would do anything (7)."

"Anything you say, well than I will grant your wish, but for a price."

"What is it father?" Zoro felt the sickening feeling of dread settle in the bottom of his stomach as he thought about what he had just gotten himself into.

"I will give you one more week to find this woman but in exchange if you don't find her I will be picking your bride."

"But father…" he didn't get to finish his statement.

"No buts, a prince has to learn to make good on his promises. You have my permission to leave."

"But…" his sentence was cut short by his father's glare. Annoyed that he wouldn't get his way but afraid to anger his father more he left the room with a scowl appearing the moment he turned out of his father's view. His scowl didn't vanish as he stalked to his bedroom and was still present as he thought about how he possibly could find that beautiful red-headed woman.

Nami's pov

It had been a month since she had attended the ball and seen the man with the sword mask and she was starting to miss him, okay scratch that she really missed him. She didn't know why she kept thinking about that mad, it wasn't as if she was in love with him or anything…right? She just missed the playful banters that they had participated in. She really didn't like him or anything, she just, oh screw it yes she did, not that admitting it would help her since she couldn't go anywhere or see anyone. She didn't know why the fates were so determined to mess with her, when she finally fell in love of course it had to be with someone that she couldn't be with, she didn't even know his name.

She sighed as she picked up her mother's journal again; she had to get her mind off of him. She flipped it open to the page that she had ended at. She thought back upon the story of her life that she had learned. Since she was a baby she had been playmates with the young prince, they often did spat but overall they were as thick as thieves. She read about how happy her family had been and how close they were to the royals, to the point that her parents and the king (the queen had died giving birth) had often joked about a marriage between her and the prince. She really enjoyed seeing the sketches that her mother drew, a majority of them were of her and the young prince and the adventures that they had.

She was at the part of the journal where she was five years old; it was near the end since her mother died the next year. She was reading through when suddenly her eyes widened, her parents had met Alvida and her two daughters. Sure she knew that her parents, or at least, her father must have known them but it still was strange to read about it, especially when her mother was the one who had met them first. She read about how her mother had an uneasy feeling around Alvida, like she was around a thief, but she hadn't wanted to say anything. Nami's eyes rushed over the words as she read her mother's suspicions about Nami's step-mother that were becoming increasingly common until they outnumbered the entries about everything except Nami herself. She read faster and faster the closer to the end she got and finally she was at the entry of the day her mother died.

When she was almost at the end a piece of paper fluttered to the floor. Curiously Nami picked it up and began to read and the moment she did her eyes widened. On the paper was a note addressed to her.

Dear Nami,

If you are reading this then I must be dead already and for that I apologize. I wanted to watch you grow up and help you through all the struggles that you would face but I had no choice in the matter of my death. I want you to be wary of a woman named Alvida, if my suspicions are right than she was the one who killed me. I have watched her eyes fill with malicious intent when she sets them upon me and I can see the plotting expression plain on her face. I promise you that I didn't go down without a fight but in some matters I must have lost.

I knew that the possibility of my death was high so I am preparing for your future. I did also give in to a bit of vanity with the dress that I bought you for your 16th birthday but a girl needs at least one beautiful dress, does she not? Well I suppose it wasn't the most helpful thing in the world but I couldn't resist. Now I want you to stay strong through all of this because I will secure your future. Your father and I wrote it in our will that you will receive everything that we own when you turn 18 and I am going to talk to the king tomorrow about something even more important, since I don't know if I can make that happen I won't worry you with it.

Nami, I love you and I always will.

Love,

Your mother

Wiping away tears Nami flipped to the last page of the journal. That entry had no trace of joy in it, her mother talked about how she didn't think that much more time would go by without Alvida doing something to her. She talked about how she wanted to protect her daughter, that brought tears to Nami's eyes, and she talked about how she needed to warn her husband that something evil was brewing. Nami read as her perfectly healthy mother described her observations about the fat woman that was after her and her fear for her own life. Nami could barely hold back the tears for she knew that her mother would not survive that day, and she could barely contain the rage that she felt against her step-mother for taking her mother away from her. About to be overcome with emotion Nami could barely continue reading until the last line of the entry froze her in shock, causing her to drop the journal on the floor of her bedroom.

After a moment she shook herself off and decided that the matter which had caused her to freeze could wait, for now she had to get revenge on the dragon woman for what she had done. Trembling with rage she made her way to the front door with the journal in a pocket sown on the inside of her dress, in her mind that journal was more than enough to get Alvida beheaded. She was too absorbed in her own bubble of anger to notice the metal club that knocked her out.

Zoro's pov

It was the last day of the week his father had given him and he still had found no sign of the woman with the cat mask. He felt himself close to tears with frustration and exhaustion as he stormed down a back hallway in the palace. He was only one day away from being forced to forever give up on the woman he had fallen for and when you were as loyal as Zoro that was not okay. He growled as he thought about that desert princess with the blue hair that his father had brought to marry him off too, he knew that he could never love her and she would just be a barrier between him and the woman he wanted. He felt a wave of despair roll over him as he thought about the dwindling time he had left to find the one that held his happiness, and it caused him to punch a wall before collapsing on his knees; not that that helped since it just caused him to remember when he had done the same thing after chasing her at the ball.

Suddenly he heard a clatter sounding from the storage room behind the wall he had just abused and his sorrow was momentarily pushed aside by curiosity. Making his way into the storage room he saw a picture frame leaning against the wall. Curiously Zoro picked it up and brought it into the light of the hallway for inspection. A moment after looking at the picture his eyes widened and he grabbed the picture and made off for the throne room at full speed.

"It's her!" Zoro yelled the moment he entered the large, overly decorated room.

"What?" his father turned away from the advisor he had been speaking with to face him.

"It's her!" Zoro repeated as enthusiastic as if he had just beat Mihawk as he held up the painting he had found.

"What do you mean it's her?"

"The girl in the picture, she's the one I have been looking for!" Zoro's smile was about to break his face in two but it faltered when he saw the look on his father's face.

"That's impossible," the man said and Zoro saw genuine sorrow in his eyes.

"What do you mean?" he felt a sense of dread growing in the bottom of his stomach.

"That can't be the girl you're looking for."

"Why?"

"She's dead." Zoro saw tears appear in his father's eyes before he looked away.

"But I just saw her…"

"You must have mistaken her for someone else."

"I couldn't have, they look…"

"My son, that girl that you see died ten years ago."

"I don't believe you, I saw her with my own eyes!"

"Would I lie? I loved that girl like my own daughter and it near broke my heart when she died along with her parents."

"I know that it's the same girl and that she is alive!"

"I wish it were true, if she hadn't died than I wouldn't have had to worry about who you would marry at all."

"I know that… wait, what do you mean you wouldn't have had to worry?"

"She's dead so it doesn't matter; now please leave before you open up the wounds in my heart more." Too confused to argue further Zoro picked up the portrait he had found and made his way to his bedroom. Once there he sat on the bed and inspected the portrait more closely. He took in the two children, they seemed to be about five years old and the boy was definitely him. He then looked at the small girl and inspected her features closely. He took in the short red hair and the large brown eyes and compared the adorable girl with the beautiful woman that he had seen at the ball. He thought on this problem for a good half hour before finally determining that it was the same woman, but why on earth did his father believe that she was dead and why couldn't he remember ever seeing this girl before. It was while he was pondering this that he fell asleep.

He was running down a sparsely lit hallway after a little red haired girl who was laughing joyously as she evaded him. With a small frown he willed his short legs to move faster while he cursed his seven year old body. He watched as she looked back at him with a smile on her small face then turned a corner. Rushing to the corner he turned it quickly but the girl was nowhere to be seen. Looking around he saw the corner of a black gown turning down a hall behind him. As he ran his legs grew and as he turned the corner and saw the woman standing there he was in the body of a man. The woman turned towards him and he watched as she reached a hand up and removed the cat mask from her face revealing her beautiful smile.

"Found you."

Zoro awoke with a start as his dream came back to him, but his mind didn't stop there, his mind was flooded with memories of his childhood friend, Nami.

Nami's pov

"You have no right to keep me in here!" Nami yelled as she banged on her door, not that it did any good. She had been locked in her room for a week and there was no sign that they were going to let her out soon. She growled as she remembered her stupidity on the stairs, she should have noticed her step-mother behind her; she had years of practice avoiding her after all. She didn't even know how her step-family had known that she was planning on doing anything, it's not like she had given them any clues and since they hadn't searched her room or her person it seemed like they had no suspicions at all. Sure she was glad that she still had her mother's journal but she almost would have given it up to know what her step-family had locked her up for.

"Step away from the door." It was the no nonsense voice of Kalifa.

"I'm not by it sister dearest," the last part came out as a sneer; she felt no reason to even feign civility to her jailers. Kalifa didn't bother responding as she opened the door and deposited Nami's daily meal on the floor.

"Just so you know, there was an accident in a certain bookstore yesterday and a girl died," with that Kalifa shut the door leaving Nami to look at it with an expression of shock and horror.

"No," she whispered softly, "it can't be."

Suddenly she felt a fit of rage overcome her, she knew that her step-family had played a role in this and she would get her revenge. Growling she listened at her door and upon hearing nothing picked the lock, creped down the stairs and snuck out into the December day. She rushed to the bookstore to hear for herself just what had happened to her friend, she would plan her revenge accordingly. Upon arriving she immediately stormed in and was greeted by the sight of Habille humming to herself while shelving books.

"Habille," she almost screamed with joy as she threw herself into her friend's arms.

"Nami?" Habille sounded surprised.

"I thought you were dead," she could feel the tears of relief spilling down her face as she hugged her friend closer.

"Why would you…" Habille was cut off by Nami's sobs.

"They said you were."

"Who did, and where were you?"

"My step-family, they said that someone died here and they had me locked in my room."

"For an entire week?"

"Then they told me you were dead and I broke out."

"Oh Nami," Habille hugged her sobbing friend closer, "now you have to get out of that house, who knows what they will do next."

"I know; I'm going to leave now and get them thrown out of that house." With that Nami gave her friend a final squeeze before leaving the shop with hardly a backward glance. She walked down the street with a sense of purpose as she made her way to the village lawyer.

Zoro's pov

"But you promised me…" the prince was cut off by his father raising his hand for silence.

"No buts, I was generous with the time that you were allowed and now that the week I granted you has run out I expect you to hold up your end of the deal and marry Princess Vivi. Now I don't want to hear another word out of you until you are saying I do. Off with you, the wedding will commence in an hour."

Incredulously Zoro left the room in a state of shock. He knew that he would have to marry the blue haired princess in theory but now? And to top it off it was only the day after his week had run out. He had gone to the throne room solely for the purpose of telling his father that he had discovered the name of the cat masked woman and instead of that he was greeted by his father telling him that he would be married in an hour. He growled as he entered his room and found a tub of water surrounded by attendants, seriously he could bathe himself, and a suit laid out on his bed. It was a nice suit made out of silk and very attractive but all that he saw when he looked at it were black and white stripes.

An hour later found Zoro in a suit standing at the front of a room filled with people waiting for a wedding, but not just any wedding, no, they were waiting for his wedding. He looked at his dad only to be met with a pay attention glare and quickly returned to staring with a hopeless expression down the aisle. He felt the seed of despair grow as he saw the doors at the end of the aisle open and the blue haired princess step out. Sure she looked beautiful in her white dress but he couldn't see that, all he saw was the end to his freedom and his love. He watched as she walked towards him and he died a little more with each step and his heart was broken into shards by the time that she stood across from him. He barely listened as the priest read off what was supposed to happen and all too soon it was time for him to say I do. But just as he was about to open his mouth the doors slammed open.

"My King!" one of Zoro's fathers closest advisors called out as he ran into the wedding hall.

"Why are you disrupting my son's wedding?" His father looked furious as he gazed upon the man that had postponed Zoro's eternal doom.

"I express my sincerest apologizes for this my king but there is an urgent matter that must be known to you!"

"It can wait until after the wedding, now go and think over what you have done," with that the king turned away and looked at the priest to resume the wedding.

"But this matter can't wait my king, you are about to break your solemn vow!"

"What do you mean?" Zoro's father still looked irritated but there was a hint of curiosity in his eye now.

"Many years ago your son was promised to marry another."

"What of that? That girl is long dead."

"My King, she is not, earlier this morning I was taking a turn around the village for exercise and I saw the very girl to whom you promised the prince's hand all those years ago."

"That's impossible!"

"I am sorry my king, but isn't it necessary to look into this possibility before you marry your son to another?"

"If it wasn't for the fact that I have never broken my word before I would say no, but as that is not the case I suppose we must ascertain that I am not breaking my promise that I made all those years ago."

Zoro had watched this exchange with growing interest as it seemed that his wedding would be either postponed or canceled forever. He allowed the smallest seed of hope to plant itself in his heart as he heard them say that the girl was supposedly dead, his father had told him the same thing about the girl in the painting. He watched as his father hurriedly left the room and he himself quickly followed. He walked through the halls and to the door where he was stopped by an attendant.

"Your father requires that you stay in the palace," the shaking boy told him and squeaked, in a very manly way, when he was caught in Zoro's glare. Angry Zoro glared one more time at the boy who went against his whims before sitting down in a chair near the door to await the verdict that would change the outcome of his life.

Nami's pov

She glared at the locked door of the lawyer's office, why did they have to be closed on Sunday! She had no place to return to and now she had no way to get her step-family out of her house! To engrossed in her annoyance and self-pity to notice her surroundings she was taken by complete surprise when hands grabbed her and turned her around.

"Is your name Nami?" an excited man asked and Nami looked around to see about six more men wearing the same eager expression surrounding her.

"Yes?" she was really weirded out by the current situation.

"We found her!" one of the men yelled out into the street causing a swarm of richly dressed men to swarm towards her.

"Are your parents' dead?" one of the new arrivals asked.

"Yes?" she was still lost.

"When did they die?" it was yet another of the newly arrived men.

"My mother died twelve years ago and my father ten."

"And how old are you know?" the excitement in the air seemed to be growing with every question that she answered.

"18?" she really had no clue where this conversation could possibly be going.

"It's really her!" the men seemed really excited at this point, to the point that some of them were jumping up and down.

"Wait," a man pushed his way to the front of the crowd and Nami thought that he looked vaguely familiar, "do you have any proof of your lineage?" Nami looked into his eyes and saw the hope, despair, mistrust, and love all mixed in together.

"All I have is my mother's journal," she didn't know why but she felt that it was necessary to prove to him who she was and with that she handed him her connection to her mother. The man's eyes widened as he held the journal and the pain and mistrust vanished from his eyes.

"My daughter," he whispered as he embraced her in a hug.

"Wait," she said as she tried to push him off, "I'm not…" she was cut off by the men cheering then dragging her off down the street.

"We have the Princes bride!" the men yelled as they pulled her through the doors of the palace.

"Wait, what?" her eyes widened, that's why they had wanted to find her, she had to get away, there was no way that she would marry the prince. She thrashed around but the men showed no sign that they even noticed her as they dragged her into the entry way of the palace.

"My son, we have found your bride," she heard the man that had hugged her say and she stopped struggling for a moment, she knew that voice from somewhere. She couldn't see the man or his son through the throng of men and she tried to use the excitement to slip away from them but she had no such luck.

"Who is she? No one told me you all just ran off." Nami froze again, that voice she knew, it was familiar but she couldn't quite remember where it was from. It sort of sounded like the voice of the man with the sword mask but it couldn't be him…could it? While she was frozen the men took the opportunity to clear a path way and drag her to her prince.

Zoro's pov

It was her. He felt time just stop as he stared into the face that had haunted his every thought since the ball. She was as beautiful as he remembered if not more so. He felt his dead heart come back to life as he realized that the person he was going to marry would be the woman that he had fallen in love with already, he now had a chance at happiness.

"Nami," he breathed as he gazed upon her, he felt as thrilled as if he had just defeated the world's greatest swordsman.

"I don't know who you are but I have enough to deal with right now without marriage added in the mix," Zoro felt his heart crush as she said those words and he changed his face into an emotionless mask.

"So the cat took out her claws," he commented and watched her face change to one of confusion.

"Do I know you?" she tentatively asked and he could see that she was struggling to place him.

"So I don't say anything about what happened and I listen to your whole life story and you don't remember me!" he may love her but he couldn't help but get irritated at her for not knowing who he was.

"The man with the sword mask?" there was definitely a question in that voice but he could hear the hope and despair that was mixed in with it and once again his heart his heart rose up from the pits of despair that it had so often been acquainted with this particular day.

"So the cat remembers." He saw her eyes fill with disbelief that was quickly replaced by joy.

"It is you!" she cried as she threw herself into him and wrapped her arms around his neck. He smiled softly down at her as he held her to him with one arm and stroked her hair gently with the other.

Nami's pov

It had only been a week since she had come to the palace and already so much had happened. She had been ecstatic to find the man that she had fallen in love with at the ball and for a few days they just couldn't seem to get enough of each other, though it wasn't long before they had started bickering. Since she was about to be the queen, a fact that she still couldn't believe, she had enough influence to kick her step family out of her house. It had turned out that the lawyer's office had kept a copy of her parents will even though she was believed to be dead and now she could get all the rights that it offered. She also got the dragon woman thrown in prison for the murder of her parents, hey when you're about to be the queen you don't need more proof then a journal.

"Are you ready?" a young maid asked as she entered the room and Nami smiled at her before standing up and following the maid out of the room. All the pain and suffering that she had gone through melted as she stepped out into the brightly lit garden and saw the man at the end of the aisle. He was wearing a dark green suit and though he wore a mask with three swords on it that covered his face she still thought he was the most handsome creature to walk this earth. She walked down the aisle with her radiant smile being hidden from the guests by the cat mask that she wore. When she reached the end she gazed into the eye holes of the mask in front of her and tried her hardest to pay attention to the words that the priest was saying. She felt her breath and heart speed up as the priest neared the end and finally the moment had arrived.

"I do."

Thank you for reading now please review and/or tell me what you want to hear more about in the five real truths :D

1. In back to the future they have the size changing clothes.

2. Apparently Nami has some weird lock that can be broken open from the inside only and in this fic she hasn't had the opportunity to learn how to pick a lock yet. Also in this world you can magically teach someone to pick a lock.

3. The only reason that Alvida kept the will is because she wanted it as power over Nami if she ever tried anything.

4. I know that I am turning Nami into a cry baby but she is very emotional about her family.

5. Zoro got lost (big shocker) and missed her neighborhood.

6. For those of you who wondered why I didn't just use Vivi as Nami's friend here is your answer, I needed her to come in later, okay that's a lie I forgot about her until my friend and I were having a conversation about original characters and she told me that I should have just used Vivi so I decided I should put Vivi in so it could at least look like I had a legit reason for Habille.

7. I know he is acting weird but his love got taken away so…