PELAGIC - Ace x Reader x Law

CHAPTER TWO: Ma'am

*(Y/N) POV*

"What the hell've you brats got behind your backs, huh?! You better not be tryin' to smuggle in another snot-nosed buddy of yours!"

Now I kind of understood why Ace had referred to this woman as a hag. She was a beast in both appearance and language, and I struggled not to cower and hide behind Sabo and Luffy as they tried to keep me concealed. 

"Listen, this time it's totally different! Think of it as more of a compassionate grounds kinda deal!" Sabo started to try and calm her down, but the hulking ginger woman wasn't having a bar of it.
"Since when have I ever been compassionate?! Does this look like a play-house to you?! Tell your stinking little friend to get lost, and while you're at it, you get lost too!"

Despite her aggressive tone spiking my already rattled nerves, I could see her point. Why was it her problem? This was her house, after all.
"For once, I had nothing to do with it. It was their idea, not mine." Ace muttered, dragging the corpse of a wild hog they had killed on the trip home into the middle of the room.

"But she's hurt, ya big meanie!" Luffy barked, standing his ground even though he was the smallest of the boys. The woman paused for a moment, eyes narrowing into slits as they flickered to the top of my head, the only part visible to her in the moment.
"Lemme see her."

Okay, I'm probably going to die...

The boys shared a look before they stepped to the side, revealing me in full. Holding my own arms in an attempt to allay my quivering, I held my breath as she stepped forward, inspecting me as though I were a piece of meat. That part I was used to, at least.

I couldn't help but flinch as she took my chin in her hand, but as she knelt down, I saw her gaze soften, and I began to calm myself.
"You're a pretty young thing, ain't ya? Did these shitty little brutes kidnap you or something? You can tell me. I'll kick their asses across the Grand Line if they did."

Shaking my head, I released my breath when she pulled her hand away.
"No...They didn't, Ma'am." It was like a lever had been pulled. No longer was the woman seething. No, in fact, she was almost beaming after I had spoken.
"Ma'am? Gotta say I like the sound of that! Finally, someone with respect!" Her words had more bite towards the end as she glared around at the boys and men filling the building. "What's your name, girly?"

"(Y/N)." I stated softly, finally confirming that she was not going to be a threat to me like I had originally thought. "I promise, I won't be any trouble. I don't eat much, and I can clean." Standing up, the woman started ushering me towards the door at the back of the room.

"I'll hold you to that. Let me take a look at ya then. Magra, get the first aid kit. Dogra, start cuttin' up that hog." Ordering her men around, she took me to the bathroom, helping me to carefully peel off my shredded dress and wash out my cuts.

Dadan was kinder than she let on, it seemed. Gruff as she may have been, she was surprisingly gentle with me, and agreed to let me stay for the time being, as long as I was willing to help with chores. To me, that was more than fair.

Once bathed and patched up by the kindly bandit named Magra, I was given a T-shirt and a pair of shorts that belonged to Luffy, having to tie the bottoms with a rope belt so they wouldn't slip down to my ankles.

Dinner was an experience, to say the least. Never before had I seen such ravenous, almost violent behaviour during a mealtime, and I was lucky that Dadan had saved me a little. After that, the boys all took a bath, Ace loudly complaining that he hated the idea of having to bathe in water a 'weak little girl' had used before him. It was obvious that he already had a problem with me.