Chapter 1: Gol D. Hogosha

Birth

The impressive looking man took the little bundle from the rose colored woman in the bed. While he took in the pink face and delicate fingers his thoughts wandered to the baby's future, it wouldn't be a normal future of that he was sure, but at least for now he could protect her and her mother from the so called justice of the marines, because should they ever discover her or her mother, they would hunt them through the seas to the end of the world to make sure that the blood of the pirate king wouldn't continue. Gol D. Roger was for the first time in his life afraid of something, afraid for his little daughter that just arrived in his life, afraid for his lover Rouge, the woman that gave this gift to him and afraid of a future where he couldn't protect them.

The whimpering of the baby stopped during his musings, and now that he glanced down on her again she had opened her little eyes. They were still newborn blue. Soon they would turn either black or red brown like her mothers. This tiny little thing had the heart of the most dangerous man in the world in her little hand and she didn't even know it. Yes this child wouldn't lead a normal life.

"Have you decided on the name?"

The tired new mother asked the pirate king while she watched how he carried their daughter through the room. The normally booming voice was turned into a whisper while he reverently stroked over the soft fuzz of hair.

"Her name will be Gol d. Hogosha, the guardian of this old man's heart."

Smiling Rouge took the little girl from him. Hogosha, not a bad name for the daughter of the pirate king.

Earliest memories

The first time little Hogosha remembered the booming loud voice and strong face was when she was two years old and in the arms of a massive man that held her so gently. He kissed her ma and then lifted her of the ground and into his arms. They were massive, rough but oh so warm. Sighing and relaxing little Hogosha enjoyed the feeling of being shielded from the world while she was lying in this arms.

She was running in the big garden, chasing butterfly's and collecting flowers for her mama. Today was her third birthday, that her mama told her and that somebody would visit her today. She was exited, she hoped it was that loud, warm man again that would always hold her in his arms until it was time for bed.
Humming she ran around the house on the hills and then saw two men coming up from the small path going down to the sea. Mama had forbidden her to go down there alone so she sat down and waited until the two men had reached the property. The first man she easily recognized, it was the loud man that she wished for, but the second one was a stranger, with blonde hair, blue shirt and nearly as big as the first one.
While her loud and warm man laughed his booming laugh and swept her up of the stone she set on while she burst into giggles, the other man was utterly silent and his mouth was open. She breathed in the smell of sea water and whiskey while he carried her back to the house. The other man following behind them, he was watching her, not once his eyes moved from Hogosha's little form, encased in the pirate kings arms.
Her mama was waiting at the back door with a warm smile. She took the flowers from her and then turned to greet the second man. He introduced himself as Raylee no Rayleigh. Still curious but not overly so she turned back to her loud man and snuggled into his embrace, she couldn't really say when she last saw him but it had been quite a lot of days that she spend crawling and later dancing around.

"Hogosha-chan, look what I have for you, this doesn't fit you yet but in a few years you will grow into it."

And with that he took out a princess crown from the big bag he had with him as well as a royal red colored silk scarf that completely swallowed her when he put it around her. Hogosha squealed while she reached for the shining silver crown that looked just like the one in her favorite book, her little hands just a tad too small to get a good grasp, but still determined she lifted it to eye height and stroked over the pretty blue and silver stones in the middle.

She turned around and said to her big man "Pwetty! Mine?".

Laughing again the man nodded and stroked her dark strawberry blonde hair, that just reached bellow her shoulders. Hogosha wanted it to be long just like her mama's.
After that they had cake and the other big man gave her a small, thin silver bracelet and a picture book with ships in it. She said "Thank you" to both and while she still wasn't sure about the new man her loud man listened to her babble while she told him of her days spend without him and also what her mama had been doing.

Hogosha got bigger and then she turned four, her big man as she still called him secretly because mama told her he was her Otou-san came again. But this time he wasn't so loud and his skin was pale. Still he was strong and warm while he held her and stroked over her hair. When it was time for bed he took her up into her room and sat on her bed while she changed into her pretty princess nightgown. He tucked her in and then told her that he loved her and that she was the most precious thing in the world.
While she listened to him it slowly began to dawn her that her big man wouldn't come back and that he was sad about it. While she didn't understand why, she still wanted to comfort him. She laid her little hands on his face and told him that everything would be alright and that she loved him too. After that he was choked up and just stroked her head and cheeks while he told her the story about an isle in a wild sea and where a big treasure was hidden and waiting for to be discovered.

After the story ended he gave her a pretty but very heavy necklace with a big round gold pendant.

"This will explain a lot of the things that you don't understand now, my little Hogosha. I have to go now." And with that he left and never came back.

The next thing that Hogosha realized was that her mama got bigger and bigger and then one night a brown haired woman came to the house and talked to her mama. Her mama was crying but nodded while she packed shiny things as well as her princess crown and the red scarf into a duffel bag. After that she put some of Hogosha's dresses and shoes into the sea sack too.

With tears in her eyes her mama kneeled in front of her and told her "I'm so so proud of you baby, you are going to be something really special, just like your daddy, I love you, your daddy loves you and this little baby in here does too! Auntie Asuka will take care of you, so please be a brave girl for mommy!"

"Yes mommy!"

And with that she was taken into the arms of the brown haired woman and left for the first time in her life her mama's house.
The woman was breathing heavily while she struggled to carry both her and the sea sack. Her grip was a bit too hard but Hogosha didn't say anything. Slowly the sky got lighter and lighter while they travelled down the hill. Shortly before the sun was going up they arrived at the port that she had only seen from the top of the mountain. Curiously she looked around while Asuka paid a rough looking man some money and they were brought onto one of the big ships. Shortly after they were sailing away from the isle that Hogosha had lived on her whole life. While she watched the water glistening she thought back to her mama and younger sibling on the island. Grabbing her gold pendant under her dress she hoped that she would see them again.