Raine

TW: Zou Spoilers

Two days.

It had been two days since you were taken by the man who was meant to be your betrothed. Two days since you felt that weightless sensation of being moved through air and disorientation from the sudden change in location of your room to outside. Two days since you were blindfolded and placed on…something that had a constantsound that hummed in your ears. Gears turned in time with your thoughts.

Two days.

Of a steel room around you. Blankets taught against your skin from the cold. Of being in the same clothes you were captured in. Of not knowing what your captors wanted from you or where the fuck you were.

Two days of madness.

And no…out of the blue—quite literally—appearances from Cap'.

Just from a polar bear. Wearing an annoyingly vibrant orange boiler suit with the same symbol the man in the orca hat from last night—Shachi—had on his outfit.

That first day when the door opened, you poised, ready to attack and defend. All you had was the pillow on the small bed that was bolted onto the floor, which was practically shoved in the corner to make the tiny room seem bigger.

You removed the pillowcase—strangling was your only option.

Considering you weren't trying to get into some cozy pillow fight with your captors.

The metal door creaked open, you raised your arms.

Only, you couldn't reach your intruder's face.

Instead, you barreled into a hard tray, dishes clattered to the floor as the contents spilled out of them.

"Sorry!" Your captor apologized.

'What the fuck?'

Your body tensed, seeing white ears, black eyes, and sharp teeth. Large paws gripped the tray.

You backed into the bed, almost tripping onto the surface. Your plan for violence long forgotten. A new plan forged in your head.

'Don't get mauled.'

Your hand instinctively reached for a weight that was always there at your side.

Except it wasn't.

"S-stay away from me." You attempted to keep your voice firm despite your stumble and the empty feeling in your chest. Your hand.

The polar bear's ears and face drooped. What you couldn't fathom was why you felt bad. They were the one who scared you. That was keeping you here.

"I brought you food, but uh…" Black eyes dropped to the floor. Yours followed with it, finally registering what was on the tray and now an offering scattered across metal panels. "I'll bring more out…sorry for the mess. I'll clean it up."

Your brows scrunched together from the sincerity. Like the…entity before you was actually guilty.

Impossible.

You couldn't tell how much time had passed—be it thirty minutes or an hour—but the polar bear came back with another round of dishes.

Paws extended out to you, where you were huddled onto the bed. You eyed the tray apprehensively.

"It's not poisoned—if that's what you're worried about."

Your eyes slanted.

"I don't believe you." Your voice was low—distrusting.

The bear entered the room further, carefully avoiding the disaster on the floor. You tensed in the bed and shrunk into the far corner further.

'Coward.'

You gritted your teeth.

Instead of reacting outright, the bear placed the tray onto the end of your bed. With a delicacy you weren't expecting from someone who had paws for hands, they plucked a piece of rice and thin slice of chicken from the bowl and placed it into their mouth before chewing and swallowing—also delicate. Then, came practiced ease of lifting the cup and successfully water falling a few drops into their mouth before placing it back onto the tray.

"See? Not poisoned."

You hated how cute they looked afterwards—placing their paws onto their hips with satisfaction and pride sparkling in black eyes. Like they were a child completing a skill successfully and showing off to their parents.

'What is wrong with me?!'

Your instincts appeared to take a rapid decline since last night.

The smell of the food wafted towards you—causing your stomach to growl in reaction. A part of you wondered if the poison just happened to not work on bears. The other part was too hungry to care as your hand reached tentatively towards the tray as if it would burn you on impact.

It didn't.

While you ate the food (in a very un-princess like fashion), the bear started gathering the dishes that had fallen to the floor from your failed escape plan.

"Are there any female bears in your kingdom? I haven't been home in years."

Your fork paused right before you were about to take another bite.

"…What?"

"Well, you know—I thought I'd ask. Penguin and Shachi were so excited at the prospect of having another girl around rather than just Ikkaku. It's hard being the only mink." Their black eyes were full of innocence and…

Hope?

You cleared your throat. "Uh…no. No…minks on my island. Sorry."

'Why are you apologizing?'

You didn't have an answer.

"I don't want to assume…but…what is your gender? It's…kinda hard to tell—considering…" You gestured towards the bear and their appearance, temperature rising in your cheeks.

"Oh. Right. I'm a male mink. My name is Bepo."

You nodded once. "Bepo."

The only thing that came to mind was, 'it's nice to meet you.'

Maybe it would have been—under different circumstances.

You recalled the…island Zou from your lessons and how it was home to the Mink Tribe. Human-animal hybrids. Your fear felt foolish now that your memory caught up.

Seeing and experiencing were different than hearing about it—lands far from the sheltered life you grew in behind castle walls.

"Is it true that your…island is an elephant?"

Bepo's onyx eyes lit up. "Yeah! Zunesha is everything to us! He sends us water twice a day through his trunk and blesses us with fish!"

'…What?'

"Oh. Interesting," was all you could offer, trying to picture the…blessing.

No other words were spoken between you and the mink as you processed what else he said and he continued cleaning up the mess on the floor.

There was apparently only one other female among the…team that captured you. Four distinct names.

Shachi. Bepo. Penguin. Ikkaku.

Was…Cap' Penguin? Or was Penguin another mink and Cap' a fifth person?

You recalled Bepo's words about him being the only mink. You barely resisted the urge to dramatically claw at your face.

'A man named Penguin?'

Too many questions.

Bepo opened the door to leave, broom and dustpan in hand as he balanced the tray now filled with twice the amount of dishes.

"Bepo?"

He paused, briefly turning towards you.

"What am I doing here? What is it that your…leader—this Cap'—want with me?"

Dark eyes avoided your gaze, flickering around the room before looking down at his feet. "Uhm…I can't tell you… Sorry, your highness."

Huh. Out of the other two, the humanoid animal seemed to have the best manners. A thought that stung with the bitter taste of irony.

And then the door shut behind him. The lock clicking was loud and final. A reminder of your true position here—even if the polar bear was too friendly to be a warden to your role of prisoner.

The other times Bepo came in with more food or water, his head remained bowed, his mouth silent.

You tried to ask questions about your captivity.

"Where is Cap?"

"When will I meet the others?"

"How long am I going to be here?"

He'd open his mouth—close it. Then came an apology.

Always an apology.

It made you want to smack him upside the head. Something told you he wouldn't fight back.

But you couldn't bring yourself to do it.

The bear was just too damned adorable.

So much for cutthroat. You were kidnapped for Nika's sake and unable to boink the one person you had interacted with the past two days.

Whatever. You'd conserve your energy and strength for the people who deserved it. Not the fluffy, cuddly looking mink that apologized every time he so much as breathed too loudly.

Yeah, your instincts were fucking broken after everything.

You twiddled your thumbs. Counted to 100. Paced the small room that took only seven steps to cross. Counted to 200. Paced the room again.

At least there was a bathroom attached to it with a toilet and sink. Although, you felt like that was on purpose. No reason for you to leave.

Two hours? Four? Passed after Bepo had left for the first meal of the day.

You were losing your fucking mind.

"You could at least give me some entertainment if you aren't going to do anything with me!" You bellowed through the door.

Silence.

It was hard to know if they could hear you, considering everything was in cased in metal panels. Maybe you were in the backrooms of some factory. That would explain the constant hum you heard.

But wouldn't father or Padrino have found you by now if that were the case?

Maybe not.

You wondered how they were reacting—if the World Government knew yet. No doubt crossed your mind that father would be scouring every inch of the Grand Line for you. His only heir stolen in the middle of the night.

Your heart wrenched. He was probably losing it or blaming himself. Likely both.

The upside was that maybe he would realize the whole finding a betrothed was unnecessary.

"I'm getting real ripe in my nightgown. I could use a shower about now. Bepo's probably going to convulse from my stench alone the next time he comes in!" You yelled towards the door.

No response.

"Hey! Are you listenin—"

"Nika, you're annoying."

You flinched. A squeak left your mouth before you could stop it.

"Fuck—can you not just appear out of thin fucking air?" You clutched your heart to your chest, thumping loudly.

Cap' was sitting on your bed near you—pillow gone. His face was hard, mouth in a straight line with his arms folded against his chest and legs crossed.

Arms that were exposed in a white tank. More tattoos on display. Shoulder, forearms. A large chest piece peeked through the white fabric and above the neckline.

Nika, you hated how attractive the man was.

Hated it with every part of your being. Your body betrayed your loathing.

Because of course the only person you had felt any sort of attraction to had to be your kidnapper.

What kind of fucked up version of fate was that?

"'Bout time you made your appearance, Chance. Or should I call you Cap'?" You sneered.

Raven brows raised. A slight twitch of his mouth insinuated he was holding back a smile. "You think my name is Cap'?"

His question came out too amusing—making you blush in embarrassment.

"I don't know shit," you snapped. "How am I supposed to know what the fuck your name is after you lied?"

Cap's expression didn't falter at the clear anger and betrayal you voiced. Instead, he leaned his back into the wall.

"Did you ever think to question why I'm called that in your solitude here? For a princess, you sure are dense. Guess I should've expected it from someone who had a silver spoon dangling from their mouth the moment they were born."

You clenched your jaw.

Fucking asshole.

The heat in your cheeks seared and spread into your neck. Without thought, your hand reached for that invisible weight.

Instead of allowing that hole in your chest to fester when it came up empty, you grabbed the extra blanket, and flashed towards your captor in vengeance.

It could do the trick if you wrapped it hard enough around his neck—attractiveness be damned.

You reached towards his face, ready for round two. Amber eyes only widened slightly before slanting and mouth setting back into its straight line.

He reacted too quickly—saw what you were doing before the blanket could land on his face and around his neck. His arms pinned your wrists as he shoved you against the bed—torso hovering only a few inches above yours.

Despite the rage you felt, your…lower region betrayed you. An unfamiliar pulsing sensation came from below.

'Traitor,' you hissed to it. You were way better off when it remained dormant.

Golden eyes glared at you from above. "Let's get one thing straight, princess. Names have power. Titles have power. You're prisoner—on my ship. Cap' is short for captain." He leaned into your ear, breath tickling it. Goosebumps rose around the area his warm breath hit, your mouth parted without your permission, and the scent of sea salt, wood, and something familiar you couldn't place in that moment invaded your senses. "If you had used that sorry excuse for a brain, maybe you would've figured that out yourself."

You couldn't register his words at the moment as brain and body screamed at each other about right and wrong. His smell swirled around you, keeping you more captive than the hold on your wrists and torso that brushed against yours.

"You're just like him. Violence on the forefront of your mind over anything else. It's repulsing." Hatred and disgust twisted his voice into something volatile. Rough and gravely. "Be a good princess, and maybe I won't scalpel your tongue and keep it in my desk until I'm ready to hear you speak."

Before you could ask who him was and respond to the…maiming threat with one of your own, the grip on your wrists vanished. All that was left of the encounter was your pillow that fell onto your chest and a stench that wouldn't leave the room for hours.

Nor your memory for a lifetime.

That's what scared you the most.

XXX

The king and the kingdom of Mystoria were in disarray.

He paced the throne room as Doflamingo sat in the chair next to his.

"It had to be him—Mr. Castillo. Otherwise, he would be here, demanding for her hand and searching for her as well." Your father was certain.

Doflamingo frowned and looked at his nails in disinterest. "Perhaps. This is why I don't let commoners into my home. Any minuscule opportunity for power, and they sprint with it. Kidnapping the princess. Mi bella."

The king ignored the implied jab. "Every News Coo will be spreading the word. By morning, there shouldn't be anyone in the Grand Line who doesn't know. Her face will be plastered everywhere in the New World. The Marines and half of my troops are already looking."

A request fast-tracked by the warlord in the room for him. He always looked out for family—someone your father could rely on for anything—especially considering there were no leads or evidence follow.

"Yes—it's been confirmed… As long as you stick to your end of the bargain." Tinted sunglasses peered intently at the king.

"Of course—but the princess mustn't find out. Not until she's back safe." Your father turned away. "Or she might never come back if she did."