Hungry For Justice: A Hero For Lvneel Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Let Them Eat Cake
“I don’t think there’s anyone in this village anymore,” muttered a royal guard.
Two guards were sent to check on Rosalina Town, in case there were any survivors, I mean, habitants.
“Quit your muttering Javier and just check the houses!” the other guard ordered. “You don’t want the King to drown you in the lake with the rest of the traitors, do you?” The man chuckled.
“That hasn’t been done since the last decade.” The one called Javier rolled his eyes. “Besides, Auguste, the old chap barely steps out of his glittering castle anyway.”
“Fine, would you prefer the crazy imposter that’s trying to take over the throne then? The one who is responsible for all this shit happening? The one who’s made us become the bad guys?” Auguste laughed harshly.
“Silence, you imbecile! What if someone hears you?” He heard shuffling in the dry bushes. Javier surveyed the area, to look for any spies. Satisfied, he continued on.
“As if they would send someone here.” Auguste snorted at the thought. “We’re beneath those pompous idiots, remember? We’re the riffraff that are not worth their time.”
“Fine, let the old man stay put. I just wish he did something about this whole situation.”
“Like how we’re stuck in the middle of an abandoned village to collect taxes?”
“Sure, Auguste.”
“And how there’s no one here to collect them from?”
“Right, Auguste.”
“Meaning that we came here for a reason and it was all for nothing?”
“Yes, Auguste! Whatever! Just do your freaking job already.”
“Javier?”
“WHAT?!”
The man nudged him, pointing at the weaponry store. “I think there’s someone in there,” he whispered. “We can’t surprise them if you keep yelling.”
Javier forced himself not to punch his partner in the face. He nodded.
Three, two, one.
“We are here to collect taxes on the order of…” Auguste began announcing.
No one but a swordsman stood there in the room. He looked like a visitor, judging from his clothes. He was irritated. “Who the hell are you?!” he demanded.
“Psst, Javier, do we still charge taxes for tourists?” Auguste whispered.
“How am I supposed to know?” Javier angrily whispered back. “We just got this position ever since Jean and Vincent quit their jobs.”
“Maybe we can lie and say that he does have to pay for tourism.”
“I highly doubt that’s going to work. It’s not like he’s going to listen either. He’s got three swords with him!”
“True. Fine then, instead, we lie and charge him a fine for stealing.”
“How the heck is that different from your other idea?! Besides, how are we supposed to tell if those goods are his? And there’s nothing worth stealing here.”
“He’s holding those wiping thingies with him.”
“That doesn’t mean he stole them.”
“He doesn’t have proof that proves he didn’t steal it.”
“I said, who the heck are you people?” The swordsman was getting annoyed, and he was advancing towards them.
“Oh you wouldn’t dare harm the palace guards.” Auguste smirked. “Please pay your visitor tax on behalf of his majesty and your fine for stealing…whatever those are.” He pointed to the packages the green-haired man was holding.
“Shut up Auguste!” Javier realized who the man was.
“Why are you sounding scared?” Auguste turned back to the man. “That will be 43 000 berries, please.”
“I said stop it! That man is Roronoa Zoro, the right hand man fromthe Straw Hat Crew! He just defeated the Yonko and his fleets last week. Remember the article you read, THE ONE WHICH YOU FOLDED INTO A PAPER AIRPLANE?!”  Javier was panicking.
“Oh yeah, that article. Remember I drew a moustache on the…oh…” Auguste turned back to Zoro. “Please don’t hurt me,” he squeaked.
Zoro took a hard look at the guards. “So you’re the guys that forced those two into starvation, huh,” He grasped the hilt of his sword.
“That man is going to kill us!” Javier wailed.
“Gust Sword!”
A whirlwind slammed the two guards against Zoro. All three men fell down to the floor. The guards were unconscious, while Zoro got himself off them. He glared menacingly at Nami.
“What was that for?!” he asked the navigator. “And where’s Chopper?”
“First of all, you could have killed those two. No need for unnecessary bloodshed or waste of money. Two, I saw those guards coming here on horseback. I figured that they were up to no good, so I came back here.” She pointed at Javier her staff. “This one nearly blew my cover.”
“What do mean I could’ve killed them?!” Zoro scowled. “I would’ve just knocked them out. Besides, that could have killed them.” Nami rolled her eyes at his thought.
“Well now, we’ll get you guys to Chopper.” Nami looked at the girl hiding under the counter. “What’s your name sweetie?”
“Sophie…” She got up. “Thank you for giving us your food, but…Philippe wouldn’t want to leave the shop.” Sophie stared at her older brother.
“I’m sorry.” The man whispered below. “It’s just that my parents have worked too hard to keep this place…I just can’t abandon this place to those two guards. This is the only home we have left.” He frowned. “I don’t even have the strength to stand on my own.”
Nami crossed her arms. “Who said anything about leaving this place with them? I knocked them out, not killed them (she looked at Zoro at this moment) for a few hours at the most. When they come around…” She walked to a dusty cabinet and took out a coiled piece of rope. “Those two will be tied up nice and tight. I’ll unarm them first in case they try to cut themselves loose.” Nami looked at the siblings for a response.
“Fine, I’ll come with you guys.” Philippe gave in. Sophie helped him walk around the counter. He gestured her to stop.
“Those guards said you were a pirate,” staring at Zoro, “and I’m guessing so are you.” He glanced at Nami. She was tying up the unconscious men.
“They’re the Straw Hats, Philippe! They’re the heroes who saved Dressrosa!” Sophie told him in excitement.
“Heroes?” Zoro shook his head. “We’re pirates.” Nami nodded in agreement.
“Then why are you helping us?” Philippe now had a guarded expression.
“It’s for getting these.” He showed them the packages of wipes. “It’s bartering; we offer you a service in exchange for goods.” He picked up the frail man, carrying him on one shoulder. The other held the weight of the lighter packs. “Nami, I’m afraid I have to leave your geography instruments behind.”
“If you’re worried about me charging you the original 15%, then it’s true. I’ll lower it back to 10% when we do have the chance to map this place.” Nami told him.
Zoro grunted. “Whatever.”
‘Let’s go, Sophie.” Nami took the girl by the hand, and the four left the store.
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Robin heard shuffling outside of the room. “More people are here,” she whispered to Franky.
‘I don’t understand why we’re in here.” The cyborg didn’t like missing out on the action. “If those people are troubling her, we can help her out.”
“She knows who we are Franky, and so do the other villagers. There must be a reason why she kept us in here.”
“I think I hear something,” Franky signaled to lower the volume.
“…sell the library right now. The kingdom cannot afford it,” Said another female voice.
“Bull,” Paris insisted. “You’re telling me that the king now can’t buy anything, even after collecting all these high taxes over the last two decades?!”
“I’m sorry, miss, but now isn’t a good time to sell anything back to the kingdom…”
“Don’t go all formal on me too, Therese. Now, here’s the money that is for ‘the good of the kingdom’, or at least his majesty thinks so. I want you to tell the old geezer that I’ve had enough of this moping and get a grip on himself…”
“You will not speak of the king that way.” The woman called Therese tried to sound strict. She sounded like she was on the verge of tears.
“Don’t melt into a puddle. Now, go and do your job. The last thing I need is getting stuck in the royal affairs again.”
The shuffling of feet seemed to go away from the room.
“I’m sorry, Miss Ciseaux.”
The hinges creaked. The pirates heard the sound of the doors being shut.
They remained in the room. After a few moments, the librarian called to them. “All clear,” she confirmed.
“Who was that?” Robin asked. “She’s a palace guard. I knew her parents.” Paris lowered her head. “I didn’t mean to sound harsh…this situation has been tough on us all.”
“So that’s why the villagers look like they’re starving,” realized Franky. “The money they needed for food is going into paying taxes.” He cracked his robotic knuckles. “Yosh, let’s go talk to the ruler of this place.”
“Stay put, pirate. I didn’t make you stay in that room because I wanted to have people in there,” Paris commanded. “A guest from Mariejois is docking here at any moment. If I didn’t have Lvneel’s fate on my shoulders, I would’ve called him scum and spit in his face. I cannot believe King Francois is still trying to impress that devil.”
“Mariejois? You mean a World Noble is going to visit this island today?” Robin was shocked.
“Exactly. You pirates don’t deserve to end up in the slammer just yet. If you attacked Therese, you’d be hunted down. I heard those Celestial Dragons want you and your crewmates dead. Plus, I would never forgive you if you hurt the child. She’s already had it tough enough.”
“I see. Come on Franky, we got to warn Luffy.” Robin and Franky headed towards the exit.
“Hold on, don’t leave just yet.” The two glanced back.
Paris went through her pockets, and took out a large photo. A red-haired man with a golden crown smiled. He was standing between a blond woman, who was assumed to be his wife, and an adolescent girl with strawberry blond hair.
“You have a man named Sanji on your crew, right? Does he look like anyone in this picture?” she asked.
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Sanji was wondering why all the villagers were running back into their homes. “Wait,” he heard Chopper cry out. “I still need to treat the rest of you!”
Even Adelaide was struggling to move away from the centre of the path. “We have to hide, Antoine,” she yelled. “Go on, ahead, I’ll catch up.”
“I’m not leaving you nee-san!”  He tried to pull his sister along.
Sanji scooped them up, and hid behind the space between two homes. Chopper ran to hide with them, carrying their packs.
Five people on horseback came into the town. Two turned to the direction of a large building. The other three dismounted, and started pounding on the doors of the houses.
“Time to your taxes for the service of our king!” one man yelled. A woman opened the door, and dumped some money into his hand. She went back in and slammed the door hard. The man sighed. “I guess I can’t propose to her anymore,” he mumbled dejectedly.
“So you can’t pay the 70 000 berries you owe the kingdom?” questioned another. He was speaking to an elderly man. He shook his head. “I only have 66 000 berries, but if you give me more time…” “No.” The guard grabbed the bag of coins from the man. “Along with this payment, you will offer…” He walked over to the wooden fence. “You will offer up this cow.” “Please, not this one too!” the old man begged. “It’s supplying the milk for everyone in the village.” “Well, too bad,” the man tried to snarl. He tied the harness onto the animal, and brought him along. The owner cried. The guard couldn’t bear the sight of his old teacher.
“Who are you people?”
Sanji saw a familiar person wearing a straw hat come into view. “What do you think he’s going to do?” Chopper whispered. Sanji shrugged. After all, their captain was unpredictable.
“Ooh cow!” Luffy ran to the sobbing elderly man. “Can I have some milk? I haven’t had anything to drink.”
“Sorry, kid, this cow is ours now,” said the guards.
“Luffy! There you are!” Usopp and Brook ran to him. “I thought we told them to keep an eye on him,” muttered Sanji.
“Did he say your name was Luffy?” A brief flash of hope was in the man’s face. It was covered up with a scowl. “We got pirates!” he called to his two colleagues.
“Please!” a man screamed. He was being dragged across the ground by the third guard. A few young kids tried to tug him back to their home.
“Spare them! I need that money to feed my kids! I don’t care if I have to die! Just let me keep the money. I’ll pay you double tomorrow!” Sanji realized the father was trying to hold onto a ragged bag filled with coins.
“So you say your kids are starving, huh?” Unlike the other guards, he didn’t have an ounce of kindness in him. He smiled coldly at the pleading man. The guard let go, sending the man tumbling. The bag ripped, and coins rolled onto the floor. The merciless man picked them up, and stuffed the coins I his pockets. He dipped next to the defeated man’s ear. “Well I say…let them eat cake!” he mockingly spat.
“Cake? Where?” The naïve captain looked around him. Usopp and Brook stood silent in horror. So did the other two guards. “Max,” one growled, “you were not supposed to say that…”
Sanji didn’t hear it. He had knocked out the guard before he could process the words. He was outraged. “Damn it all!” he cried. He grabbed the guard called Max. “Sanji, don’t” yelled Chopper. He ignored the reindeer.
“Never, EVER, laugh at the starving. Not until you’ve experienced it yourself!” He kicked the man a good ten feet away.
He pursued the other guard, and gave him the same treatment. He wanted to give all three a bigger piece of his mind, but Chopper transformed and subdued him.
The two guards from the other side of the village came. “Those are the Straw Hats!” one of them cried in alarm. “Not now, Ferdinand!” the other one, who was a woman, ordered. They grabbed the unconscious guards on their horses, and left.
“Sanji!” The chef heard the shipwright call. He was with Robin, and another dark-haired woman. She had tears in her eyes.
“I can’t believe it,” she said in a hushed voice. She knelt in front of Sanji. “Thank the heavens!” she praised.
Suddenly, the cook couldn’t feel his legs. He collapsed. “Sanji-kun!” Nami screamed in worry. She approached the group with a little girl in her hand, along with Zoro. He was carrying another man, along with the packs he had given them.
The last things he heard before losing his conscious was the weeping woman’s words. “Cosette’s child is alive! Cosette’s child…is alive!”