Corel stood next to me with the crystal in his hand. To my other side stood Law. The rest of the crew stood around the circle. My hands clinged to the straps of my backpack so they wouldn't wrap themselves around anyone here. I was too used to hugs from back at home. I had the urge to hug every single one of them, but I knew they'd be uncomfortable with that, so I pulled myself together.
"[Why is Corel still standing next to me with the crystal?]", slowly, but surely, I got the feeling they were waiting for me. Besides Law, everyone stared at me.
"Am I supposed to say something?", I whispered to Corel.
With a clear voice, Law answered the question. "A 'Thank you' would be the least, don't you think?"
"Of course. Uhm... So, uh... Yeah well, thank you. For all the time you spent helping me. I know you didn't need to and probably would have rather continued your journey towards the One Piece, so I really appreciate what you did for me. It was a fun time.", thereafter, the captain ordered Corel to place the crystal at the center of the circle. The medic payed attention to not step onto the lines of the circle to not damage them. The air was full of expectation.
As soon as the crystal lay in place, we waited for something to happen. My thoughts raced through my head. "[Did we do something wrong?]", I looked at the ritual circle in a concentrated gaze. The sketch in my hand, I compared the two. But as I couldn't find any difference, a scary thought struck me.
"[What if this isn't the sketch for the portal?]", I mumbled, despair crawling up my spine. "[Then everything would have been in vain. How was I even so sure this was the right sketch? I was blinded by joy, to have found such an important clue. It could have just been any insignificant drawing.]", now thinking about it, the sketch didn't even look important. For all I knew, it could have been just a sketch of some teenager for an art project or something. I fought back tears. All the excitement of getting home turned into disappointment.
"Captain, it's going to start raining soon.", Bepo reported.
"Rain?!", I interrupted my own thoughts. "No. It must not rain now. What if the chalk is washed away? And the crystal!", in a panic, I wanted to get the crystal to protect it from the rain, but I was held back by Law. "Don't panic.", he said.
"But the crystal! It's made of salt! It's going to be damaged by the rain!", I tried wriggling myself free of his grip, even though I knew how much stronger he was. The only thing he responded with, was the order to stop shouting.
"Law!", I pleaded, but he wouldn't let go of me.
"You'll destoy your own work, running over it like that.", with a calm voice and a penetrating gaze he forced me to pause for a moment to let my mind clear up a bit. Only after he was sure I wouldn't panic anymore, he let go of my arm.
Just in that moment, I felt a rain drop landing on my nose. A downpour. Just like everyone else, I looked at the crystal in shock. For a split second, I felt my hope shattered by the rain and within seconds, we were drenched. But nobody cared, because with the rain, the circle began to glow. There was a glowing liquid flowing from the crystal over the lines to the stones. The wind blew in every direction and got stronger until every symbol on the stones lit up. Rays of light shot out of them, meeting at the center above the crystal. They formed a ball of light, which grew bigger and bigger, until the edge of the circle underneath worked like a cage and put a stop to it's growth.
No one moved. Everyone stared at the giant ball of light. I thought I heard sounds from within. The singing of birds. I wasn't sure at first, but when the rain stopped as suddenly as it began, I could hear it clearly.
"The... portal?", some crew members asked in disbelief. They started to murmur.
The only ones remaining silent were Law and I. It was as though we were hypnotized. I listened to the sounds, coming out of the portal, so closely, I completely ignored everything else. I guessed hearing the noise of some engine besides the singing of birds. Cars. Or a tractor? Doesn't matter. They were noises so familiar. I hadn't heard those sounds for so long, I honestly enjoyed them. Of course, there were birds singing in this world as well, but they sounded different than the birds at home. This was familiar. This was home.
"[Those chosen may travel through space. You may travel to another world against pledged items by calling it's name.]"
It was a deep, but soft voice. The portal seemed to be it's source. It was as though the portal itself spoke to me.
"[Where would you like to travel to?]"
"[Home.]", was my instinctive answer. I noticed the inability to influence that answer, but I didn't question that any further. I simply accepted my situation. The warmth, surrounding me, felt right.
Only after opening my eyes did I realize I had them closed. I also noticed that I was not on the island in front of the portal anymore, but in a big lobby. It looked grand and elegant, but old. Cared for, but not escaping the traces of time. I could feel I was back in my own world. A smile grew on my lips to a grin. I didn't care where exactly I was in my world. I was finally back home!
And then I found a tall, slender man with a spotted hat and a yellow pullover standing next to me. His nodachi leaning against his shoulder. "Law?!"
# "English" "[OP local language]"
"Who are you?", a female voice asked. A woman in a plain bordeaux coloured dress approached us from up the stairs. They were placed at the center in the back of the lobby, seperating to the left and right side, they leaded to the upper floor. As the woman in the red dress reached the bottom of the stairs, another one appeared. She wore a creme white maid outfit.
It took the woman in red only a few more steps to freeze in her motion, her hands holding her breath. I couldn't see it from afar, but her shaky voice indicated tears in her eyes. "L-Lord Law. I-Is that really y-you?", she asked.
My confused gaze wandered immediately to the captain to see his reaction. 'Lord Law'? What was that about? I could only see his widened eyes for the slpit of a second before he frowned again and pinched the bridge of his nose.
The brunette woman approached us further, now in a hurry. "It really is you, milord. Quick Carmilla, call for Mr. Sheffield! The young lord has finally returned.", she called out to the other woman behind her. The maid turned around and hurried back up the stairs.
As the woman in red finally reached us, she made a curtsey to Law, before asking in a submissive way: "I hope you have been well, my lord. Is there anything I can do for you?", her head still bowed down.
"What date is it here?", he asked.
"It is the 20th of November 2019, my lord. It's been 19 years since you left the estate.", she answered right away. "Three and a half months...", I thought. I was never away for that long. The woman in red raised her head after answering Law's question and her eyes widened immediately.
"My lord, you're soaking wet! And you too! Please let me prepare a bath and a change of clothes.", she asked for permission. It was so weird to hear that man next to me being called 'lord' all the time. But I guessed the woman had to be a maid to always call him that way. Law nodded to her request.
"Your father is not here at the moment. Regarding your mother... I'm afraid I cannot tell you. Mr. Sheffield will be the one to give you more information.", she explained.
While being shown to a second bath, my mind raced. Law's father? Did that mean he was born in my world? How did he get to the One Piece world? And what about his past there? This was so confusing!
"I will put new clothes for you onto the table here, milady.", her friendly voice cut through my thoughts. "Thank you.", I replied briefly, a bit uncomfortable with the way she addressed me.
Once in the bathtub, my mind cleared up a bit. The temperature of the water was perfect to relax. "So, Trafalgar D. Water Law. He was born in this world. And then went to the One Piece world 19 years ago? He must have been a little child. So his family in Frevance probably took him in. That's it! That is why he can speak modern english! That also explains his british accent. And since he was still a child, he probably hadn't learned how to read yet.", I concluded. That must have been why he accepted my story of coming from another world, too. It was still only a theory of mine, but it sounded possible, given the information I had.
Getting out of the bathtub after a while, I looked at the clothes the old maid had prepared for me. I was a bit disappointed to see a dress on the table. I had really hoped for pants, but I guessed a dress was easier to fit in if the size wasn't a perfect match.
After taking some time to get ready, I finally walked out the bath. The turquoise dress fit me rather well. It was a simple summer dress with adjustable straps, just covering my knees. A dark blue cardigan warmed my upper body. Though, since the estate was well heated, I left the zipper open.
I looked around the hallway to find a hint where to go. The bath Law was brought to was just a few doors next to mine. I knocked on the door and listened. After not hearing a single sound, I carefully opened it. "Law? Are you still inside?", I called into the room. "Thought so.", I said to myself, as I saw the room empty. It would have surprised me to see him taking longer than me. With no more clue where to go, I walked back to the lobby.
Rose, as the old maid in the bordeaux dress introduced herself, approached me from the lobby. I guessed her age to be somewhere in the fifties. There weren't many wrinkles in her face, but there were some. Her brown hair, containing single grey strands, was braided together and put up into a bun. Her slightly chubby firgure gave off a very friendly vibe. I followed her to the lobby where Law already stood waiting.
He wore standard blue jeans and a dark red shirt. The first two buttons were undone. I had to admit, it suited him well. Especially the blood red colour. But I could see him not comfortable in it, as he tugged at the sleeves a few times and apparently couldn't decide whether to leave the third button undone or not. Only his hat covering his hair and the nodachi leaning against his shoulder remained the same.
"What took you so long?", he asked me in annoyance. "You look good as well.", I replied with a smile. I would not explain to him what I did in the bathroom. Law frowned even deeper upon my answer, not liking his own clothes.
"Mr. Sheffield is awaiting you, my lord.", Rose interrupted before Law could say anything back at me. We followed her up the stairs until we reached a closed door. Rose knocked and immediately the door flung open. A neatly clothed man stepped out the door and welcomed Law happily. I guessed his age to be around the same as Rose's. He was almost as tall as Law.
While I watched the scene in awe, Law pushed Mr. Sheffield off him, breaking free of his heartful embrace.
"I can't believe you have finally returned after all this time!", he said, his hands still resting on the pirate captain's shoulders. "How have you been? My god, you're tall, boy."
Mr. Sheffield showed Law into the room and let the maid prepare something to drink.
He opened the window and indicated us to sit down. "First of all, Law, do you remember me?", Law, sitting next to me, shook his head. Mr. Sheffield sighed.
"That was to be expected. You were four years old when you suddenly disappeared through that mysterious portal, after all. I am your fathers friend, James Sheffield. I often took care of this mansion, including you at the time, when your parents needed to leave due to work.", I could see the nostalgia in his eyes, fueled by the memories that had to flood his mind.
"How have you been? Say, what did you experience in all those years? Were you alone for long? No wait! Don't tell me anything. Let's wait for your father to return. Carmilla must have called him by now. He will be back by tomorrow, if not today.", Mr. Sheffield took a sip of his tea to calm down a bit. His words had quickened with his excitement, not giving Law a chance to answer his questions before deciding to wait for the master of the house.
I took notice of Law's tension out of the corner of my eye. He gritted his teeth, probably being reminded of Frevance and de Flamingo. I didn't really know what to do. I wanted to lay a hand on his shoulder or back to offer him some comfort, but I wouldn't say we were friends yet. He would not welcome me doing that. So I just sat there like an idiot, until Mr. Sheffield spoke again.
"But you could tell me who this lady with you is, at least. Is she a friend or-", Law cut him off.
"Her name is Catherine. She somehow got thrown into my- the other world and I helped her get back.", he explained.
"You went through a portal as well?", I was asked with excitement. Maybe he hoped to find out anything about the circumstances of Law's disappearing. It sounded as though they didn't know much. But, "I'm sorry I don't exactly remember how it happened. I just suddenly woke up on his submarine.", I pointed at the captain of the Heart Pirates.
"You own a submarine? Do you work for the marine forces?", the last question must had provocated Law. He part of the marines? Never.
"I do own one, but I am not part of the marines. I have my own crew as well, which is waiting for me. So I do not intend to stay for long.", he made his intentions clear. Mr. Sheffield's disappointment was written on his face, although he didn't speak it. He stood up to show us to our guest rooms.185Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsoHPf709sb
