Chapter Text
“Are you sure you’re alright, Shakky?”
“I will be. Thank you.”
Roger sat down at the table where Rayleigh and Shakky were sharing a drink, still feeling his heart pounding a thousand clicks a second and an ache deep in his bones that wouldn’t go away. Everyone was hurting after the huge battle at God Valley. All of Roger’s men had various injuries from scuffles they’d gotten into. Shakky had a huge wound on her thigh left by one of the Holy Knights, which was now bandaged, but it made walking painful, so Rayleigh offered to carry her around until she was able to walk on her own. Roger’s entire body was in pain after exerting himself past his limits to fight...
He didn’t even know what that thing was. Whatever that murky mass of nightmares was, he wanted to stay the fuck away from it. Holy shit.
Regardless of how he was still reeling from all that, Roger couldn’t stop thinking about the people hurting most of all—the red-haired family of three taking up one of the empty rooms on the Oro Jackson. They had lost their homes, friends, and any other family that didn’t make it off the island in time.
Roger couldn’t imagine it.
“Are you thinking about them, Roger?” Shakky asked, turning to look at him.
“Yeah. Wondering what to do. They’ve been through a lot today,” Roger said, sighing. In times like this, he had to be a captain.
“Has the mother woken up yet?” Rayleigh asked.
“Crocus said she did about two hours ago, but she was unresponsive. Wouldn’t answer any questions he asked,” Roger said. He’d only caught a glimpse of her once since God Valley, and it was eerie how despondent she looked. On the island, he supposed survival instincts and desperation pushed her to a highly emotional state, but since getting to safety on Roger’s ship, she’d receded into herself. He’d try talking to her later, try to figure out more about her. That way, he’d know how to help her get back on her feet.
“Poor girl,” Shakky said sympathetically. “Her home is gone… I don’t know what I’d do if Amazon Lily sank into the sea out of nowhere.”
God Valley had been left so destroyed that its remains had simply been drowned. It was as though the island never existed. Roger couldn’t believe a huge battle had taken place there just a few hours ago. It was surreal to see a place you’d had some of the scariest, gut-wrenching moments of your life sink and disappear as though none of it had happened.
That red-haired mother and her babies had a whole life there that had now stopped existing. No wonder she wouldn’t speak.
Roger couldn’t get his mind off them, so he left Rayleigh and Shakky to talk amongst themselves to check on the family. He made his way to the guest room, where Crocus was quietly reading a newspaper in the corner. A makeshift cot Gaban built sat beside the main bed, where two tiny babies slept. Roger peered in and saw them curling into each other, almost hugging, and they made little snorts and sighs as they slept. For the most part, they looked fine. At their age, they likely wouldn’t remember a thing from today, anyway. That would be good.
Their mother wasn’t so lucky. She was lying down, staring up at the ceiling with empty eyes. Still, Roger could tell there was probably a lot on her mind.
He turned to Crocus first. “No change?”
“Nope. Been sitting here to monitor any, but she’s just been lying there silently,” Crocus informed him. “The kids are great, though. I ran basic checkups on them, and it’s like nothing happened. Just minor scrapes that will heal within a week.”
Roger nodded—at least the kids were fine. “What about her?”
“I’m just making sure her injuries don’t get aggravated. It was a fatal stab wound. If you found her later than you did, she might not even be here right now,” Crocus said. “Listen, I gotta go take a piss. Mind staying here in my place?”
“Sure, go.”
Once Crocus left, Roger pulled his chair up to sit by the bed. Gently, he greeted, “Hey. How are you?” When she didn’t respond, he continued talking. “Your children are fine. A couple scratches, but they’re sleeping peacefully right now. They’re adorable. What are their names?” He figured that if there was anything that could get her to talk, it’d be her kids. He still remembered her desperately pleading with him to rescue them for her…
He cleared his throat, unused to speaking without a response, but knew it was for the better. It’d probably help having someone just talk around her, so she wouldn’t be left alone with her thoughts. Roger was sure it was dark in her mind after such a traumatic event. “They look so cute. Y’know, I always wanted a kid or two. I’d love a son. I think about names all the time. I had ‘Ace’ on my list…”
“Shanks and Shamrock,” she murmured.
He cut himself off and turned to her, surprised to hear her speak. Her voice was hoarse—of course it was, she’d been screaming her throat raw hours ago—and soft. “Sorry?”
“Shanks and Shamrock,” she repeated, slightly louder this time. “My babies.”
“Oh. How cute,” Roger said, standing up to walk over to the cot to look at them, now knowing their names. However, they were clearly identical twins wearing matching onesies in the same colour, so he couldn’t tell them apart. One of them shifted, then slowly opened his eyes and looked up at Roger.
“Ro,” the baby babbled, stretching his tiny hands out to Roger. “Ga.”
Roger glanced at the mother, checking if she was wary; she only looked exhausted, but otherwise relaxed. Roger reached into the cot and picked up the awoken baby.
God, these babies were so fucking cute. He had a weak spot for babies; he just wanted to protect them. It stung a little to know they’d probably drop this family off somewhere once they could live on their own, and he’d likely never see these adorable kids again.
The baby babbled, reaching out to tug on his hair. “Ba.”
“You poor thing,” Roger mumbled, thinking about all the things they’d lost that day. He turned to the mother and asked, “How old are they?”
“Almost one,” she said, her voice now as weak as the first time. Roger had to strain to hear her, but he didn’t want to ask her to speak up in case it made her shut off again.
“One year old!” Roger said, carefully bouncing the little baby. It made him giggle and babble more, but Roger didn’t want to move him too much, given how young he was, so he gently set him back into the cot. The baby looked up at him with a little frown, begging to be held again, but Roger left him be for now.
He turned back to the mother again and asked, “What’s your name?”
“Magnolia,” she whispered.
“Beautiful name,” he said with a smile, trying to set her at ease. “Mine’s Roger. The doctor taking care of you earlier is Crocus. I’ll introduce you to everyone in time. How’s your stomach feeling?”
Magnolia’s hand moved to run over her bandaged stomach. The crew didn’t have any shirts for girls on board, and she’d been wearing a dress when Roger found her, so Shakky had helped to undress and bandage her so no man could look at her exposed body. It was fair, and after what she experienced back at God Valley, Roger wasn’t surprised that Shakky took it upon herself to ensure Magnolia’s privacy. She’d come from Amazon Lily, after all, the land with the most respect for women in the world. After the bandages were done, Roger lent Shakky one of his shirts—a red T-shirt with a lion graphic on it that he sometimes wore to sleep—to put on her. He was a couple of sizes too big for her, of course, but they didn’t have any pants on board that suited such a petite woman, so Roger was hoping the big shirt would cover her enough. At the very least, Shakky said Magnolia had been wearing safety shorts under her dress, so she could just leave those on her.
“I can’t believe he did that to me,” Magnolia said, her voice shaking. “I thought he loved me.”
Roger could put a picture together just from that, and he was already angry. “Who?”
“Their father,” Magnolia said, glancing at the cot before she started to cry. “Garling. I’m such an idiot!”
Roger hurriedly sat at the edge of the bed, shaking his head. “No. Hey, come on. No, you’re not. I don’t know you that well, but you seem like a smart lady to me. Listen, whatever that jackass did to you wasn’t your fault.”
“I thought he’d come back to be with our kids and me, but he brought all those horrible people,” Magnolia said, beginning to weep quietly, and then Roger realised this ‘Garling’ guy must’ve been one of the Holy Knights. They were the highest rank present when Roger first arrived, so they must have been the ones to bring in the Celestial Dragons. Roger squeezed his eyes shut, trying to remember all the Holy Knights he’d seen earlier today. There’d been some dark-haired lady with a cropped jacket, a larger woman with sharp teeth, and a blue-haired woman with mismatched eyes, but Magnolia referred to her ex-lover as a male, so Roger disregarded those three.
The other members included an orange-haired man with a cross-shaped beard, but he looked older than Magnolia. He didn’t think she would be into someone that much older than her… There had been a short guy with long hair, but he just didn’t think Magnolia would’ve been with him… Besides, neither man seemed to resemble the babies even slightly.
The last guy, though, with the stupid blonde crescent hair. He looked to be in her age range, and the babies had red eyes just as he did…
“You’re safe, okay?” Roger swore, daringly reaching out for her hand. He hovered over it, giving her time to pull away if she didn’t want to be touched, but she left it where it was. He gently grabbed it to give moral support and to convey his sincerity. “He’s not touching you guys here.”
“But when we leave?” Magnolia asked, trying to hold back tears. She sniffed and wiped her eyes dry. “I’m sorry, I usually don’t cry this much.”
“Don’t be sorry. If I’d had the day you’ve been having, I’d be crying, too,” Roger said, sympathising and assuring her. “Don’t worry about all that right now. Just focus on getting better. Our doctor Crocus is really reliable; if you work with him, you’ll be all better in no time. He’ll monitor your kids, too, but so far, he thinks they’re too young to remember anything. If he suspects any issues, you’ll be the first to know.”
“Thank you,” Magnolia said. Then, after a moment, she asked in a broken voice, “Why did you help me?”
Roger stared at her blankly. Had she really been that beaten down by this Garling dude? “Because you asked me to.”
Magnolia looked at him with so much sadness in her eyes. It really wasn’t fair; no woman should ever have to look so desolate. She bit her wavering lower lip and said, “But I asked him to stay with me, and he wouldn’t.”
Roger felt his blood boil every time Magnolia mentioned Garling. He was a Holy Knight, so his being an asshole was already a given, but somehow, he kept pushing that bar down lower and lower. “Forget that shitbag! Look, he won’t touch you and your kids again, I promise you that! There’s no way he can get you while you’re still on our ship, anyway. I saw him fight; he’s just small fry.”
The ‘small fry’ comment made her smile, and it spurred Roger to add, “Really, he was so bad at fighting! I had no idea if he could tell his right hand from his left foot!” When her smile extended into a soft laugh, he knew he had to keep going to cheer her up. “Xebec did a number on him; it was like when you beat a cockroach with a newspaper, but it kept getting back up. It should’a stayed down and saved us all the time!”
Magnolia laughed a little louder, amused by Roger’s attempts to make her feel better, and he smiled at the sight. She looked identical to her children when she was delighted, and it made him feel good that the kids would look a great deal like her instead of an asshole like Garling.
“Thank you for helping me,” Magnolia said again. “I’m sorry to have to burden you for a while. I don’t think I can move much with this injury for now.”
“Don’t worry. And don’t rush it, either. You can stay with us for as long as you need,” Roger assured. He didn’t usually take people in like this—he often opted to drop off injured non-crew at a hospital or clinic, or take them home if they healed enough on the journey. However, Magnolia and her kids were now survivors of an island that should’ve been wiped clean. Roger did not doubt that the World Government would be working hard to find anyone who got away, so nobody could tell anyone what happened. Wiping an entire island off the map was hardly good press. Until Roger figured out a safe place for them, he’d let the family stay on the Oro Jackson. That way, he could ensure their safety. He also wanted to know if Garling would come after the kids…
He got up and offered, “Hungry? I could get you something to eat. What do your boys eat? I’m sure they’ll be hungry, too, after all that.”
“Soft food like steamed vegetables would be nice… Or pasta,” Magnolia thought aloud. “They started teething a while ago, so they can eat some soft solids.”
“How old are they, specifically? I’ll talk to Crocus, and we can figure out some suitable food for them,” Roger asked.
“About ten months old,” Magnolia said, the happiest she’d looked since Roger met her hours ago.
“Adorable,” Roger said, delighted. “How do you tell them apart?”
Magnolia leaned forward on the bed, and Roger instinctively hurried to her side in case she’d need support. With such a grave wound in her gut and the fact that she didn’t face these sorts of injuries as regularly as Roger did, he wasn’t sure if she’d need help. She carefully got up, and Roger hovered around her—now that they weren’t amidst the chaos of God Valley, he could see how small her frame was compared to his own. She stood roughly where the bottom of his ribs were. Garling was a pretty massive dude, Roger remembered—about his own height, actually. Magnolia was such a small lady; Roger couldn’t believe Garling thought he had to do this to her.
Magnolia ambled over to the cot, careful not to aggravate her bandaged wound, and leaned down to point out the twin on the left’s hair. By now, both twins had awoken, but they’d been silently lying in their cot. “Do you see how this one’s eyes are a little smaller? Like he’s narrowing them a little.”
Roger could see the difference. The one on the right giggled and reached out for him, and the left one narrowed his eyes a little as he stared curiously at Roger.
“That one’s Shamrock,” Magnolia explained. “This other giggling one is Shanks. He laughs a lot. Shamrock, not so much, but he likes being held and playing with his brother. I’m going to try to get them different onesies so people can tell them apart easier. We had more at home, but…”
He knew he had to distract her before her mind started going down that path. Roger indicated Shanks and asked, “Can I pick him up?” The baby was desperately waving his little hands at Roger, babbling incoherent pleas to be held.
“Yes, but be careful,” Magnolia allowed.
Roger whispered a ‘thank you’ as he cautiously picked up Shanks. Roger was larger than the average guy, and the twins were the tiniest babies he’d ever seen. He still tried using both hands to hold Shanks as that was the safest way, but it wasn’t easy when one hand almost closed entirely around the baby’s width. It felt like holding a small doll. Shanks giggled again when Roger held him at eye level, reaching his hands out to him.
“They look a lot like you,” Roger said, smiling at Magnolia.
“Thank you,” Magnolia replied, staring adoringly at Shanks.
“Why’d you name them like that?” Roger asked. Then, deciding his question sounded a bit insulting, Roger tried to rephrase it. “Sorry. Meant it like… what inspired their names?”
“A shamrock is most known as a three-leaf clover, but it’s really for any three-leaf plant,” Magnolia explained, a light smile touching her soft features. Roger could tell she loved talking about her kids. Using the topic of them to ease her into opening up was a good choice. “A shank can be the stem of a plant. I wanted them to be together always, the way a flower always has a stalk… And I wanted to always be with them, so Shamrock is a three-leaf clover, one leaflet for each of us. My name is a flower as well, so it fits.” She hesitated before adding, “Garling’s name sounded like ‘garland’, so I wanted the twins’ names to be flower-related.”
As far as name choices went, Roger thought this was one of the most meaningful ones he’d heard. He gently set Shanks back inside his cot, where he immediately slipped his tiny hand into Shamrock’s, and they cooed at each other.
“I don’t think there’s any reality they grow apart or leave one another,” Roger said, grinning assuringly at her.
Right then, Crocus returned, and Roger teased, “Constipated? You were in there for ages!”
“I told you we need more bathrooms around the ship! Half the time I was gone, I was just walking to the bathroom!” Crocus complained. He finally noticed Magnolia standing and looked surprised, asking, “How do you feel?”
“A bit better. It hurts, but not as much as before. Thank you,” Magnolia said, crossing her hand over her thighs as she began to bow. She stopped almost as soon as she began, then apologetically said, “I’m sorry. I wanted to bow to show my gratitude, but I can’t bend much without hurting.”
“Don’t worry about it! The captain wanted to help you, so you will be helped!” Crocus assured, hurrying over to usher her back into the bed. “Right. I’ll see about getting some food for you and the kids. Any health issues with any foods?”
“Nothing,” Magnolia assured. “Oh, Shanks doesn’t like blueberries. He spits them out.”
Roger laughed at the image of Shanks spitting blueberries out with a disgusted face. With how cute the babies were, he already knew how cute it would've looked. Crocus gave her a thumbs-up and went off. They had a cook, Max Marx, but some of the existing members also knew how to cook.
Once Crocus was gone, Roger turned back to Magnolia. She was settled back in bed, touching her stomach where the bandages were. Shyly, she asked, “How did you guys…”
She blushed, which made Roger realise what she was trying to ask, and he quickly assured her, “None of us saw you. We have a lady onboard named Shakky. She did the bandages and dressed you.”
Magnolia nodded, a bit relieved. “Thank you.”
“She’d love to come meet you, now that I think ‘bout it,” Roger said. “I’ll go get her, alright? Unless you’d like to rest for now.”
“I think it’d be nice to meet another woman, actually,” Magnolia said softly. After what Garling did to her, Roger wasn’t that surprised that she wanted to have the comfort of another woman. He nodded and left her to get Shakky.
❤︎
Shakky was almost relieved to talk to another woman after what happened at God Valley. She felt disgusted at the way they’d paraded her around like a trophy. Sometimes, the title of “the most beautiful woman in the world” felt like a curse.
Rayleigh helped her into Magnolia’s room, and she carefully hobbled over to lean against the cot for support. She could walk for short distances before her leg began to hurt. Looking inside, she saw two red-haired, red-eyed, adorable babies smiling up at her. Crocus hurriedly moved a chair over so Shakky could sit by the bed, and then left the two ladies to talk alone.
Shakky hadn’t had a chance to see the lady for herself until now. All she had known was that a resident of God Valley had been rescued by Roger. She was an understatedly pretty lady with uniquely vibrant red hair and pale red eyes, close to a pastel pink shade.
Magnolia gave her a little smile. It reminded Shakky of the younger, shyer girls at Amazon Lily. “Thank you.”
“No woman ever has to thank me for anything,” Shakky said, giving her a bright smile as she reached out to hold Magnolia’s hand. “I’m sorry about what happened.”
“It’s not your fault,” Magnolia said quietly. “It’s mine.”
Shakky frowned. “Why would you think that?”
“Garling brought them there,” Magnolia said, her pain evident in the strain in her voice.
Of course, her kids. Shakky recognised the name from what that one orange-haired Holy Knight said. He’d told her, “Even if you survive this, Garling will ultimately claim you as his… No one else really gains anything…” Garling must have been with her before, and she had her children with him. Shakky remembered seeing a blonde man with crescent-shaped hair beside the orange-haired one in the crowd when she was being shown off as the top prize of the “tourney”. He must have gone to God Valley several months to a year ago, had a short fling with Magnolia, then left… just to return today with Celestial Dragons, ready to kill everyone she’d ever known.
The idea that Magnolia had probably been bleeding out in fear somewhere while he was there, eyeing another woman up, made Shakky feel anger surging through her. There was no limit to the cruelty of man. She bore him two children, loyally waiting for his return, and he still did that to her!
“It was not your fault,” Shakky said firmly, gently squeezing her hand. “Cruel men will do cruel things, regardless of your actions.”
“It’s not that, it’s just…” Magnolia trailed off, then shook her head. “Never mind. You’re right.”
Shakky thought Magnolia wanted to talk more, but probably didn’t feel like saying it right then. She decided to back off and give Magnolia time to open up. There was no point rushing her into saying such sensitive things when she was already so vulnerable. She nodded and decided to change the subject. “The Roger Pirates are going to take me back to Amazon Lily. Once I’m back there, I’ll get you some nicer clothes than Roger’s ratty old shirt.”
Magnolia laughed. It was such a light, dainty sound. “Okay.”
“They’re good guys. You don’t have to worry,” Shakky assured. “And even outside of them… if anyone dares to bully you, they’ll deal with me!”
Magnolia gave her a grateful smile. “Thank you. Your name is Shakky?”
“Short for Shakuyaku,” Shakky affirmed. “And you’re Magnolia, I heard. Your children?”
“The one lying on the left in the cot is Shamrock, the other is Shanks.”
Shakky stood up, careful not to strain her leg as she peered into the cot again. Shamrock had rolled onto his stomach, pulling himself into a corner of the cot, while Shanks had sat upright. He looked up at Shakky and giggled. She smiled and reached a hand in to extend a slender finger to Shanks, who encircled his little stubby fingers around it. She smiled and said, “They’re so cute. They look like you.”
“Roger said that, too,” Magnolia said. She looked happy to hear it—after Garling’s actions, Shakky wasn’t surprised that she was relieved to hear that her children looked like her.
“I’ll leave you to rest now,” Shakky said, staying standing. “If you need anything, especially girl help, just ask the guys for me, okay?”
Magnolia nodded, grateful, and Shakky made her way out of her room.