A Dragon And His Princess

Your Majesty
Impel Down was hell. It was true what they said about the prison, that it would break you, it was designed to make criminals see the error of their ways, to repent for their crimes against humanity but Helen was different. She was not like the scoundrels that scurried around Level Three. Doing anything for food and water, their ribs protruding from their skin as they begged and pleaded, but never received. The people in here were murderers, kidnappers, thieves. Helen was a revolutionary fighting against tyranny. She did not deserve to be here and her will kept her alive.

With sea stone cuffs around her arms, she was unable to use her Devil Fruit abilities, but you do not need a Devil Fruit to survive. Her beauty was no illusion, no glamour, it was a blessing and sometimes even a curse, but now it would help her more than ever. While others struggled for rations of food and water, the guards simply gave her more. Often wanting something in return, though never getting it. Helen was desperate but her dignity had not fled when her freedom was stolen.

This time, it was different. A large group of guards came, the other prisoners crawling towards them, their weak bodies reaching out, their raspy voices calling out for help, only for them to be kicked away and laughed at. Helen hated to see this, the cruelty, the carelessness, they might have been pirates but did they truly deserve to be treated this way? Surely there was a better way! Her thoughts were interrupted by the guards, hardly bothering to address her before they grabbed her arm, yanking her up and extending their batons, ready to beat her if she resisted. "Don't worry doll, we won't hurt that pretty little face of yours. Tabart wouldn't like that." One of the guards said, a hefty chuckle escaping his mouth as they shoved her along.

Helen kept quiet. That name. She recognized it. A pirate? A celestial dragon? She couldn't remember but as she was brought into a small stone room and placed onto a chair, she knew that she was soon to find out.