A Jolly Beginning Unfolds! Today, I am a Pirate!

A Kingdom in Crisis. The Day of Destiny Has Arrived.
The Grand Line, a stretch of sea that spans from one end of the Red Line to the other, is where this story takes place. In it sits a particular island, known quite commonly as Pleasure Island. Located near the end of the Grand Line, and situated between the Florian Triangle and Sabaody Archipelago, it's considered to be the entertainment capitol of the world, where the finest and greatest artists and performers call home. On this island, is a kingdom under the control of the World Government, the highest and most powerful authority in the entire world. And living in this kingdom, is a particular young man who would later shape the lives of those he met, as well as the fate of the entire island.

Walking down a grassy path, with the forest set behind him, a figure calmly started to approach the city ahead of him. His white shoes made a faint thud as they hit the ground with the man's relaxed stride constantly in motion. Elsewhere, in a house somewhere within the city, a little girl was sitting at a desk with her head resting on her arms. She seemed to be staring forelornly at a portrait on the desk. A woman, somewhere in her thirties or so, stepped out from behind a wall, and took notice of the girl sitting like a statue. "So that's where you've been," she addressed the girl, with a small tone of relief in her voice. The girl continued to stare at the picture in front of her, as if in a daze. "Marble, are you OK? I haven't seen you for quite some time."

"..." The girl, Marble, continued her stare, as if she couldn't hear her mother's words. Marble's mother then walked closer to her daughter, and saw what she was looking at. The mother's eyes began to droop, as they soon matched Marble's own pitiful expression. "I see... You still miss him, don't you?" Marble, too fixated on the picture, hadn't the heart to respond. It was too painful to even mention him, let alone think about him. But it was maddening. That was all Marble could do to console herself at the moment. Her mother tried once more to get through to her daughter. "Don't you worry a thing, sweetie. I'm sure your father's doing OK at the castle." The mentioning of her missing father was enough to make Marble lower her forehead onto her arms in despair. "Why did he have to be taken away, mommy...?" Marble's voice sounded as if she was about to cry. Her mother tried her best to comfort the depressed girl by placing her hands on Marble's shoulders. Although, she couldn't ignore the aching pain in her own heart as well. After all, Marble wasn't the only one who lost someone important. Her mother had lost the love of her life, and the father of her only child. Her voice started to weaken in strength, and was almost matching Marble's own sorrowful tone.

"I don't know, dear... They said it was the king's orders..." The two of them started to quietly reflect on the pain they were feeling. With Marble's father gone, the house didn't seem as lively or pleasant to be in as it once did. Marble's mother looked over at the family portrait on the desk, and while doing so, she could feel herself growing sadder by the second. The only thing keeping her from bawling outright, was the desire to be strong for Marble's sake. Such is a mother's duty for their child. After minutes had passed, doing nothing but silently staying put and allowing their sorrow to consume them, they could hear a knock at the door. Marble's mother sluggishly headed for the door as Marble herself continued to sit with her head on her arms. When the door opened, a young man, wearing a grey sweatshirt and blue trousers was seen standing in the doorway. His hands were stuffed into his trouser pockets, and his face was covered up in a veil of darkness and shadow, cast by the hood of his sweatshirt pulled over his head. The mother looked a bit alarmed at first, as this appearaed to be an untrustworthy fellow. Wasting no time, the young man got down to business.

"Hello Miss, mind if I borrow some food and water? You see, i've been out in the-" Knowing this must have been a simple beggar, and not feeling all too generous at the moment, Marble's mother started shutting the door on the young man in mid-sentence. Not taking no for an answer, the young man managed to stop the door with his right hand, and forced it to stay open. "I'm sorry, but you didn't let me finish."

"There's no need to. We don't have anything to offer. I'm sorry, but you need to go."

"But like I was saying, I was out in the forest for about a week, and i'm running low on supplies. So could I please borrow a few things? I promise I won't take too much." Marble's mother stared on at the strange young man. He was out in the forest for a week? He was quite obviously a no good vagabond who was down on his luck. Though then again, it seemed that was the atmosphere of this island nowadays. The kingdom may have been in terrible shape due to the recent politics of the king, but with things as bad as they were, there really wasn't any strong desire to help one another. Surely this hobo of a man must've realized this himself. Undeterred however, he tried once more to appeal to the woman in front of him. "What if I said I could offer you something in return?" Marble's mother arched an eyebrow in response. Just what was this homeless man getting at? Willing to give him one chance to make good on his word, she finally gave him permission to enter her home. After going through the food and beverages in the house, and stuffing them into a large white sack, the vagabond stood in the middle of the room where Marble and her mother had been reminiscing about their missing family member. Marble was able to pull away from her growing sadness just enough to give the homeless young man an indifferent, melancholic stare.

"Now then, seems you two could go for some cheering up..." With that said, the vagabond managed to show the two family members a content smile, as if he had something in store for them. Both Marble and her mother, still feeling miserable, yet a bit curious, stared carefully at the strange person before them. The young man glanced around the room, as if he was trying to think up some sort of idea. His eyes fell upon the family portrait on the desk nearby, and he walked over to pick it up. This immediately grabbed Marble's attention, who tugged furiously at the vagabond's sleeve. "Put that down! That's not yours!" Not bothered in the slightest by Marble's protest, the vagabond looked closely at the picture. After finally taking in everything he felt he needed to see, he placed it back down on the desk. This only further confused Marble and her mother, who were beginning to wonder what this man could be thinking of. He walked over to the other side of the table, and placed his right hand over it. From his palm, a white substance manifested outward. It looked like a blobbish ball of sorts. To the shock of Marble and her mother, the blob started morphing, as if it was bending to the will of the vagabond it was attached to. Within seconds, the blob took the shape of a white pedestal. On it stood a familiar sight. It was Marble, her mother, and her father, all together in a family hug, looking happy and content. Satisfied, the vagabond left the miniature statue, roughly equaling seven inches or so, on the desk in front of Marble.

He then proceeded to head for the door, with a content smile on his face. He didn't make it beyond three steps without being stopped by Marble's mother. "Hold it, you!" The vagabond calmly came to a stop, and stood in place as he awaited what he assumed to be more of the mother's reaction to what he had just done. "What...?! What ARE you?! What did you just do right now?!" The vagabond slowly turned around to face the mother. His voice sounded casual and relaxed, as if nothing could faze him at the moment. A big grin appeared on his face, revealing his teeth, and he crossed his arms over his chest in an X formation, while he gave the victory/peace sign with both of his hands. "Who, me? I'm just your traveling freelance artist, that's all." Marble's mother silently gasped in response, as if it was no different than allowing a homicidal maniac into her house. "What are you doing here?!! Get out!! I won't allow Marble or me to be seen with you!!" The vagabond's grin dissapeared, and from behind the shade of his hoodie, he gave a confused look. "Look, I know i'm hated and all, but I really wasn't expecting this kind of reaction." In an instant, Marble's mother ran up to the vagabond and slapped him hard on the cheek. The vagabond took one step back as he stared on in the direction his face was slapped in.

"I said shoo!! If the king's guards see you here...!!" Marble's mother trailed off, as her mind wandered. She began thinking of the worst possible scenarios that could occur if this "freelance artist" were to be found here. Still unfazed, the vagabond slowly returned his gaze back at Marble's mother. However, instead of being enraged from the assault he just received, he seemed to sound somewhat understanding. "OK, OK, i'll go. But seriously, it's not like the royal guard is here in town today anyway."

"You didn't know?"

"..."

"The royal guard showed up for their annual inspection a few days ago. It's only a matter of time until they come here and see what you did!"

"...!!" The homeless artist's shocked, speechless expression was all that was needed to portray just how serious everyone seemed to take this inspection. "So please, just get out of here! We don't want any trouble!" The artist silently begun to let the situation sink in. It was an all too familiar reaction he'd get during his travels. Slinging his sack of food and drinks over his shoulder, he silently made for the front door. "Right, i'm off then. Sorry for the trouble." He non-chalantly raised his right hand in the air, showing the back of his hand in a lazy sort of wave goodbye. He only stopped once he finally reached the door. "Oh yeah, and thank you. The food and drinks is a nice payment." Marble's mother quietly glared at the artist, hoping he'd just leave already. The artist turned his head around afterward, as he tried to wrap up his farewell to the family. "But that smile's all the thanks i'll need." Confused, as she was obviously not smiling, Marble's mother turned to look at her daughter, who was too fixated on the small white statue the artist had made earlier. Marble, through her tears, was genuinely smiling for what her mother thought must've been the first time in days. "It feels good, doesn't it? That smile? ...Let that smile fill your heart with happiness, so that everytime you see that statue I made, you'll continue to smile again. And in time, that new smile will bring even more happiness." The artist turned his head back to the door, now preparing to leave for good. "Never let it die, Marble."

"...?"

"That smile, your happiness, and the hope you have in your heart. If they live on, then in time, good things will come. And always remember this important fact..."

"...?"

"What you just witnessed, that's the true power of art. Best not let that die either, or life will be dull. And a dull life, is kinda like that sadness you felt a while ago, before I showed up with my art. So do me that favor, and never let it die... OK?" Marble, still a bit choked up by the artist's gift, managed to let out a simplified answer. "O... OK..." With tears falling down her face as well, Marble's mother let out one last thing she felt she needed to say to the artistic hobo. "Thank you...!" Hidden from their view, and under the shade of his hood, the artist let out a huge, toothy grin again. "It was no problem. The pleasure's all mine." With everything finally out in the open, the big-hearted artist opened the door, and stepped back outside, shutting the door behind him. He managed to only make a few steps forward before someone noticed him. "Hey, you!!" The artist looked over his shoulder and saw something he wished he hadn't. "You're that freelance artist again!!" Grimacing, the artist realized he was in trouble once more. "Ah crap!! The royal guard!!" Having been found by the king's militia, the artist knew he had to either escape, or face a massive punishment for his efforts. Choosing the safer option of the two, the artist made a massive leap onto an adjacent building, located across the road from Marble's house. Feeling secure at last, the artist made an immature taunt at the royal guard, by sticking his rear end out at them, and patting it with his free hand, as if to tell them they could bite him for all he cared. He looked at them with a silly grin on his face. "Can't get me now, you losers!!"

Gun shots rang out seconds later, as bullets flew by the artist. Realizing he was being shot at, a look of shock appeared on his face next. "AAAAAHHHHH!!" Putting an end to his teasing, the artist broke into a run, and started leaping off of the rooftops of nearby buildings with tremendous acts of speed and grace. "After him!!" The group of soldiers, with rifles in hand, then gave chase after the artist, with something of a muredrous intent raging in their souls. The artist could be heard in the distance, screaming at his pursuers. "STOP SHOOTING AT ME, DAMN IT!!" As the artist ran off for the safety of the forest, something else of particular interest was beginning to happen off the shore of Pleasure Island.