Chapter 4: Mayor

Star saw a wide variety of stores as she looked on her father's back, while the people she saw merely smiled at her while waving.

"Hey John, I see you finally stop hiding your little girl."

"Make sure you bring her to visit my cake shop, I'll give her one on the house."

"I'll have to ask Ann if I can set up a playdate with my kids for her."

Star was stunned by the friendliness of the people, though she was straining her neck to find the lady who told her she could get a free cake, making her father laugh as he continued.

The duo finally entered a tall white building, with Star marveling at the intricate designs on it.

"This is the town hall of the island. This island has existed for almost 200 years, and is said that in the past, a powerful figure came from our town and donated his wealth to us, allowing us to build great facilities such as this. And with our island being so close to Marineford, we rarely even hear news about pirates, let alone have them make it to our island. And my job here is to serve as the mayor. I handle all official documents and information about the day-to-day facilities of the island." John explained as he sat at his desk, while Star stared at him in shock.

"So, I'm a princess?" 

It was John's turn to be shocked as he had never thought of it like that, though seeing a future where he dressed his daughter in dresses with jewels in the, made him immediately nod his head in agreement to her question.

"YAYYY!!!" Star said, happy at the revelation.

It was at this time that John's assistant entered the room and placed a massive amount of paperwork onto his desk, while the elderly woman looked down at the little girl with a large smile. 

"Hi dear, my name is Abigail. Would you like to go with me to draw in the coloring books while your father finished his paperwork that he didn't do yesterday?" Abigail asked after the introduction.

John looked at Star pleadingly, knowing that Abigail would let him off the hook for the time being if she stayed with him.

"Yes." Star said without looking back at her father, with Abigail lifting her up while John stared at Star with a betrayed expression, feeling an imaginary arrow going through his heart.

He went in the corner of the room to draw circles while a depressing aura surrounded him.

"Ensure that all the work is finished today, sir." Abigail said as she turned back with cold eyes that sent shivers up John's spine, making him immediately return to his desk to finish the work.

~

Star spent the entirety of the day meeting the Villagers who entered the Hall and drawing pictures that Abigail framed and placed on her desk. 

At some point, Star had begun referring to Abigail as "Granny", a title she seemed to enjoy very much.

Just as the Sun was beginning to set, John finally exited the office, his soul seemingly gone from his boy as he looked completely pale.

However, he regained his vigor once he saw his daughter, with him picking her up and spinning her around in the air.

"Did you enjoy your day Star?" John asked.

"Yeah Dad. Granny framed all the pictures I drew." Star said as she points at the now smiling Abigail, who looked at Star as if she had melted her heart.

"Thanks for watching her today, Abi." John said with a heartfelt smile upon his face.

"No problem, John. Anytime actually. And here Star, enjoy one more peppermint for the road." Abigail said before pulling another hard candy from her purse and giving to it Star who happily accepted. 

The duo of Star and John then returned to their home, happy about the events of the day as they recounted it all to a happy Ann.

The happy family then all went to bed, each of them ready to see what the new day would bring.

~

"Captain, are you sure about this? They say that the Marines do regular routine trips near this area." A man on a ship said to his Captain, as they sailed towards an island.

"Even if the Marines come, we will already be gone and have taken everything of value from them." The captain said with a vicious smile upon his face.

He was a pirate on the younger side, though the cruelty that he committed throughout the first half of the Grand Line was extremely excessive.

The man's name was Marco Berhino. With a bounty of 288 Million Berries, his strength could also be considered powerful in Paradise.

And now, that sort of man had set his sights on a small and peaceful island.

The choice he made to attack this island would be a major contributor to the future of the Pirate World as a whole, as it would launch someone on a entirely new path that they hadn't given much thought to.