Her future imperial majesty

'Ooo' Lerena huffed in a low voice and knocked down the tower of wooden blocks with all the strength of her little hand. Fossa, who refrained from smoking while playing with the child, laughed with a hoarse cough and involuntarily reached into his pocket, in which there were no cigars.

The little girl was bored with playing with blocks and decided to climb down from the table at a breakneck pace on all fours. Since she didn't like anyone to cross her plans, she yelled warningly as soon as she saw Fossa extend her arms toward her. Unfortunately, Fossa not only did not withdraw his hands, but showed no sign of having heard the warning; he picked up the little one and began calmly say that dinner would be coming soon, to which time Lerena had never been wrong. So, since they had settled the matter, it was time to explain, quite seriously, that the next day Marco could not take the girl on his rounds, for her father had sent him to the other ship on an important errand.

The child did not seem to accept this, and was not even going to let Fossa speak, for when she had finished whining (which took from a few to several moments) she took to teasing. First Fossa, listening to her joyful babbling, took the girl to the galley where warm milk was already waiting. Since Lerena Saphira had a sharp mind and liked to show off her power, she tugged on the Thach's scarf as soon as she was near it. This was clear evidence that Moby Dick's youngest resident wished to have the scarf at this moment. Thach, unwilling to give way to a girl of eleven or even twelve months, threatened to take away the dinner, at which there was a shriek, and the young cook earned a slap on the head from Fossa.

'Stop being a brat" he admonished. 'The kid likes it, what's the harm in giving it to her for a while? She'll get bored and leave it.'

'That's exactly the problem here! She'll throw it in the corner or drool on it. She's a malicious cuttlefish' answered Thach, but he did not take the bottle away.

Lerena, having more or less mastered doing two things at once, ate and looked around the galley. And in the process, she began to wriggle so long that milk dribbled onto Thach's clothes. Accustomed to this, the pirate just looked at her, helped her get comfortable and continued feeding her.

'You did this on purpose, huh? I have no strength for you. If I ever meet you somewhere, you'll pay me for everything. Not that I'm going to whip you, I won't beat a girl, but when you grow up and have a boyfriend, I'll make you feel so ashamed...' he threatened vaguely, but on the girl, as he suspected, it did not make the slightest impression.

When Lerena was brought aboard after lunch, the Emperor was just talking to Rida and some of his sons.

Rida was starting to feel more and more comfortable around Edward, though she was still very guarded with her words and still felt that the entire crew was watching her closely, especially when she was near the child. As for Rida herself, the toddler was the only bond between her and Bethesda, though she couldn't understand it. And while she didn't approve of Newgate and his crew's method of upbringing the little one, she admitted that they were crazy about her and would spoil her completely if girl were to stay with them any longer. Besides, the sight of the Mightiest Man in the World cradling such a little critter in his big hand and carefully shielding her from wind and sun was worth everything.

'Well, old man, it's your turn. Hold this devilish spawn' Thach gave the sleepily sighing child into her father's care. Edward took the little one and watched for a moment as the golden eyes disappeared under her eyelids.

'It is an unusual thing that she falls asleep as soon as I take her' Edward pointed out, trying to speak more quietly than usual.

'It just means you're boring, pops' Thach remarked, shrugging his shoulders. 'And anyway, there's nothing to get excited about. We'll leave her on the Tourmaline in a week or so. She'll have to learn to fall asleep without you, Marco's fire and me feeding her a bottle at two o'clock in the morning.'

'Indeed...' muttered Whitebeard thoughtfully. Thach figured that if Phoenix was there, he could tell what Father was thinking about at that moment. Because to his, Thach's eye, it looked like captain was thinking about something. And it involved a small crawfish.

The mighty crew of the Whitebeard was divided into fourteen divisions, and these divisions were distributed among three ships. On the Moby Dick, the mothership, the captain alone sailed with the first four divisions, the other two being usually two to three days away on a leisurely voyage. It should be mentioned here that although Newgate himself, for physical reasons, could not be on the other two vessels, they were provided with flags and identifying marks embroidered on the sails - no one could doubt that they belonged to the Emperor's fleet. For a long time, the crew could not complain about attacks of other pirates, the name of the father - as the subalterns called him – deterred even the bravest.

Edward suspected nothing when, in the evening, he tried to link up with the Moby Junior on which the tenth through fourteenth divisions were sailing, but when, in the next morning, he still received no answer, he became concerned. The third, "Emperor," had to stop at a previous port for some minor repairs, but they reported seeing Junior passing near them, even firing a salute of welcome, which had happened two days earlier. Since then, both ships had lost sight of him.

Newgate decided to send Marco, whose Devil Fruit allowed him to move quickly, and waited for news with an impatience he did not show. He guessed that perhaps because of an error in navigation Junior had run aground or they had run into a naval vessel, which always ended in the usual salvo of cannons, but never in a real fight, and in view of this the crew might be busy for some time. Not so much, however, that there was no one among the four hundred or so who could answer the captain's call.

When no news from Marco arrived by noon, Whitebeard began strolling about the ship, looking out for Marco's burning shape on the horizon. What's more, the captain of the first division, Edward's right-hand, was not answering like those others, and this made Edward start to get more anxious, and even show impatience. He didn't notice that he was stepping harder, from which the ship began to rock harder. The atmosphere was getting thick, the pirates were somehow talking quieter, haggling quieter when they played cards, even breathing quieter.

Rida watched this with trepidation - she saw the clear sky turn into a single amaranth cloud, and waves formed from the captain's heavy footsteps, which by some miracle resonated in the ocean itself, hitting the hull more and more furiously.

She knew that Edward wielded a Devil Fruit that could move the earth, but realizing this on the ocean, she decided it would be better to sit on the Bethesda. The previous sense of comfort dissipated in an instant, especially as Lerena refused to lose sight of her father and chatted cheerfully to him every now and then. Rida considered it completely out of place, because the child, for obvious reasons, did not respect the seriousness of the situation - hearing about the Emperor's ship disappeared, it could mean only one thing: an attack of other pirates.

Below deck, almost two divisions were at work, preparing a place for the new cargo, and they did so for as long as they could. The third division in which Thach served, and which consisted of twenty percent cooks, was struggling in the galley, preparing more modest meals than usual, for a sumptuous dinner would have conflicted with the captain's anxiety.

And, somehow to Rida's surprise, only Thach was sitting on the gunwale, spitting grape seeds into the ocean and wiggling his feet in the air.

'Hey, Thach...'

'Don't come near me with that little demon. I don't want her' he protested, not even turning around. Rida nevertheless approached, and Lerena grabbed the halyard and cooed in her own way, looking at the water, ostentatiously not paying attention to the pirate.

'You look like you're enjoying yourself' she remarked, seeing the big grin on the thach's face, in between chewing grapes. He laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

'And you wouldn't laugh?'

Rida looked triumphantly at Edward, standing at the stern, and muttered quietly:

'No time for that. Aren't you worried that something has happened?'

'Marco flew over there, what could possibly be wrong? They probably got drunk. I'm actually glad about that. If the old man's angry, that means someone's gonna get hurt. And it's gonna be the captain of the first division, Marco, damn it, Phoenix!'

'This is about the whole crew!' the woman shrugged, not believing that Thach had such a reason to laugh.

'Come on, it's the Emperor's crew. Whitebeard, the demon of the seas, the most powerful and all that. You seriously think someone would be stupid enough to attack his ship? Do you have any idea what pops did with such bravados? Ask the Admiral...'

'To your stations!' Edward's voice rang out, and the captain himself walked briskly to his cabin 'Turn! Course southeast!'

For a moment the crew seemed to be in a panic - they shouted the captain's orders as if the loud voice had not been heard. But with every moment their actions made more sense to Rida - some ran to the ropes, others to the sails. With a great effort the mighty Moby Dick set to starboard against the waves, the ropes trembling, straining from the bulging sails. Edward, wearing a white captain's coat, stood at the bow, supporting the bisento - his trademark - on his shoulder.

'Take the child' ordered Thach, jumping off the starboard side, and his tone did not sound at all like the joking one from a few moments before. Rida almost instinctively pressed Lerena against her. 'If father is preparing to attack, it's better not to see it.' And ran across the bow to Edward.

'Pops?'

'It's Marco' said the captain, keeping his head on straight even as the Moby swayed dangerously, taking its course. 'Junior's grounded, the crew decimated, and he himself attacked by Kaido's crew.'

'Kaido? Who the hell is Kaido?!'

'It doesn't matter anymore, son.'

It might have seemed that the voyage would take at least a few hours, as the distance between Junior and Moby must have been dozens of nautical miles. But the Emperor was not famous for his patience - Rida saw the effects of the Devil's Shock Fruit for the first time then. Edward, who was standing on the bow, swung his left hand and slammed into space, the air beginning to crumble under the impact. As the waves churned beneath the ship, they pushed it forward, each wave getting larger and faster.

The woman locked herself in her cabin, trying hard to control her nausea as the ship rose and fell with a splash. She wasn't helped by Lerena's crying, to whom the whole situation seemed very suspicious, because one, Marco hadn't been there since morning, two, the captain wasn't there either and three, she had to go back to the cabin instead of hooking up with Thach, which together with the rocking of the ship was almost a tragedy for her. She didn't understand at all what was going on, lost her patience and at one point managed to shout down the crew on deck.

For a split second Rida felt like screaming for the child to be quiet. She barely managed to hold the little one in her arms, but she had no strength for calming her down, she was too busy being herself. She tried to tell herself that it would all be over soon, that the ship would only go up that much one more time and then it would go terrifyingly down one last time, making her stomach rise in her throat. She was shaking all over, huddled in the corner of the cabin, one hand holding Lerena, the other squeezing the edge of the hammock with all her might. She swore to herself that once they reached the Tourmaline, she would never get on another ship, ever again.

She looked at Lerena with a confused look - the baby had turned blue from crying - and with the last of her strength she remembered that she was on the Emperor's ship and if anything happened to the infant in her care, she would answer to Edward.

'Lerry...' she groaned 'the captain was about to come...' she had to break off, holding back the nausea. 'And Marco... but don't cry... Shh, baby...' her voice was changing to a whisper, stifled from crying. She tried, speaking to the little one, to convince herself, again, that in a moment, in a moment, and never again but the realization of where and why they were sailing was taking away her ability to think logically.

The Moby flew up once more, on deck someone shrieked, down, but as if lighter.... Softer...

Lerena was still crying, but not so loudly anymore. She stopped writhing until she froze in stillness, and the crying turned into a quiver. The ship was slowing down, Rida was able to take a deeper breath and open her eyes, though she couldn't remember when she closed them.

And then she heard a voice intruding into her soul, similar to thunder announcing a scowl. She opened her eyes wide and clutched the child more tightly to her, when there, on the deck, between heaven and earth, it thundered:

'Wounded men on deck! Do not interfere! I'll manage!'

Moby's bow dropped and jutted out one last time as Captain Edward Newgate motioned for a pirate named Kaido.

Rida really wanted to sit in the cabin until it was all over - the screaming would die down, Edward would take his chair, and Marco would take care of Lerena, but she couldn't.

She sat locked in the cabin with the little one, who was growing more and more impatient by the moment. It wasn't even the nervous atmosphere that the child sensed, nor the rocking of the ship that she wasn't used to. She stopped liking the fact that she had no one but her guardian, and on top of that she was slowly getting hungry.

'Oh, for God's sake, you spoiled crawfish!' shouted Rida, as Lerena started to sob warningly. 'You have to be quiet now or else...!'

The child in no way liked the woman's tone and excessive shaking - she cried heartily, not noticing that Rida was crying along with her.

On deck the running could still be heard, but orders were given by only one voice -Marco. He shouted to pull out the wounded and fallen, his voice was closer and farther away, but Rida did not dare to go outside. After a few minutes, when the worst of her stress had blended into one with her tears, she tried to take herself in. She walked around the cabin with a slow step, trying to reassure Lerena, but the child was already concerned with nothing else but Marco, as she recognized his voice perfectly.

'Yes,' Rida agreed, guessing it 'we're going there, to see...'

She grabbed the handle, squeezing the child tighter with her other hand, and opened the door. The setting sun involuntarily prompted her to think that Lerena's feeding time was long past, and Rida grinned - to yell at a baby just because it was hungry! Lerena's scream drew the attention of the nearest pirates leaning against the gunwale. The sight of a woman with a baby on Moby Dick was the second abstraction of the day, and they began to point it out to each other and ask one another about the phenomenon. Some were all wet from the water, others had wounds and were eager to tell the crew of the mother ship about them. Rida - instinctively - walked to the gunwale, ignoring Lerena's grumbling, and looked at the wreckage of the Junior, which was stranded. There was a fierce battle between the Emperor and a man of the same size on the damaged, nearly broken in half deck.

The frantic Kaido, who had easily wrecked Junior's crew, was now weak on his feet and more than fighting, he was dodging Edward. Newgate operated the bisento with as much ease as if it were nothing more than a toothpick in his hands, he cut once from the right, once from the left and out of five only twice was his opponent able to dodge. Edward guessed that there were shreds left of his shoe, that Kaido was trying to figure out a way to escape, so he decided to end this game of tag.

The man who had boasted of his victory over the Imperator's crew a few hours earlier could now barely see through the blood flooding his eyes. His left hand refused to obey, something Kaido had never encountered before. He panicked, unable to gather his thoughts, and the Whitebeard's aura became increasingly overwhelming. The Emperor was furious, and it was hard to understand how the sea didn't shy away from that anger. The deck planks crackled warningly, the broken masts drifted, dragging the white flaps of sail behind them, and the shoals effectively prevented Kaido's ship from coming up to get its captain. He knew it was up to Edward to decide whether to finish off his opponent or spare his life, but he did not expect the Emperor to be in the mood to show mercy.

Watching from the deck of the Moby Dick, Rida couldn't believe how the two pirates were able to keep their balance as the waves battered against the hull with such ferocity. Clouds billowed in the sky, heralding a storm, thunder rumbled somewhere in the distance, and the woman couldn't take her eyes off the incredible battle that made the air so heavy.

The young, inexperienced pirate had no idea what the actual power of the man who confronted the Pirate King was. For a moment it seemed to him that he would manage to escape, that he would mislead Edward and tire him out, for the Emperor had been standing for a long moment with Moby behind him. But the moment Newgate took a swing, and the bisento blade lit up with white light, Kaido knew he had counted.

'Rakshasa's halberd!'

The world had ended.

'...Yes, my little one, and then Daddy will teach you to fight. All you have to do is stand on those little legs. Marco will show you how to fly, and Vista will make you the best swordsman, so no one can hurt you...' perorated Edward in a low, tired voice as Lerena - finally fed and changed - rested in his arms. They both needed sleep after an exhausting day. The captain had made the decision to stop at the Isle of Wooden Hands, which was on the route to the Tourmaline, but he did not tell anyone for what purpose. The four divisions from the Junior were now sailing on the mother ship and bow to bow the "Emperor" was sailing, because Ed did not want to deal with any more pirates and preferred to keep his cool.

Lerena, on the other hand, did not intend to go to sleep at all until she had sat for a while on Marco's lap, teased Thach and was looked at by the rest of the crew. She received understandable admiration for her blue eyes and cheers when she was gracious enough to take a few steps. She did it only because the captain urged her to.

'Pops' Vista the Flower Blade, one of the best swordsmen in the world, whose moustache greatly absorbed the little one, was sitting on the Emperor's left side and noticed with amazement that the child was reacting to the captain's voice and every time he corrected himself in his chair, Lerena immediately turned her full attention to him 'and why not keep her? I know a baby on a pirate ship is a challenge, but she seems to be getting used to it. And so are you.'

Below deck, in the mess hall, Ed's sons were relaxing and laughing as they recounted the events of the past day. The captain, who had listened to these accounts at least a dozen times, decided that only Kaido's stupidity had prompted him to speak out against the Emperor, but deep down he knew that he was only one of many who would come for his head, and that of his sons.

'She has been with us for seven days," said Ed in the quietest voice he could muster, "and she rules over the entire crew. But the greatest thing she ever did was with Namur.'

'What are you talking about, old man?'

'She took charge of his convalescence. You'll understand when you see them together, it's a truly remarkable sight. Marco...' Edward saw the captain of the First Division coming out of the mess hall - take Lerena Saphira, it's time for her to rest.'

'And to give us all a rest, yoi. I'm surprised her screaming today didn't distract you from Kaido, she wasn't happy about your absence.'

'I told you, she's a little despot," he spoke up to Vista, not hiding the pride in his voice.

The Isle of Wooden Hands was located near the Calm Belt, very dangerous for sailors not able to navigate it. It was famous for its wooden products, hence its name, and for its excellent carpenters.

Marco guessed that the captain wanted to build a new ship to replace Junior, so when they arrived at the port of Hanamachi he was ready to head off to the craftsmen's guild with something around four million berri. When he announced this to his father, he heard laughter in response.

'Let Thach, Sevilla and Raban go into town with the ladies, Lerena Saphira needs new clothes and toys. Thach is to take care of that' he ordered, stepping off the gangway and gesturing for Marco to go with him.

The crew was given leave with the stipulation that they would be in port in the evening, as the captain had several things to announce. Rida and Lerena happily wandered around the stores - the former because she had never seen such handicrafts on Bethesda, the latter because her every whim was catered for.

Thach noticed that the passing girls looked at him enchanted when he entertained Lerena, so he firmly forbade anyone else to wear her - he sacrificed his priceless yellow scarf for this purpose.

When they turned up for the captain's call in the evening, the Moby was bursting at the seams and only a miracle kept it in port. Edward sat in his chair and contentedly drank beer given to him by the locals during his absence from the ship. The crew seemed to be celebrating, only it wasn't clear what exactly - defeating Kaido, reaching their destination or the fact that Fossa had won against Vista, Izumo and Namur at Scythe.

The captain greeted Rida and Lerena and asked about errands, as if he hadn't noticed the escort sent with them, stuffing bags in the cabin.

'I'm afraid our voyage to the Tourmaline will be delayed' he finally said and straightened up in his chair. 'The Kaido incident must not happen again! As captain, I took responsibility and split the crew between the three ships! The consequences of this decision will haunt me for the rest of my life - we have lost many people!'

The crew listened in silence, and although no one dared to interrupt their father, they were eager to deny it and ask him not to take the blame.

'Therefore, starting tomorrow, we will start building one ship to accommodate our entire family, so that I will never have to leave you alone again!' He ordered, causing dismayed joy. The construction of such a huge ship would have to take at least several months, so questions immediately arose about the Emperor's temporary base, who replied with a short "here". Edward then gave permission to celebrate Moby Dick and the Emperor, which amounted to an all-night drinking party.

Rida decided that Lerena had had enough excitement for one day and planned to carry her off the deck and lay her down until the festivities began in earnest, but before she returned to her cabin the ritual wish for a good night followed. The Emperor took Lerena in his arms and froze in mid-motion.

'Daddy' the girl whimpered and kicked her legs up high.

Edward got drunk blissfully and noisily that night.