Three months after the events on Sabaody...
Inside the Drum Castle, a cold and extremely beautiful girl was sitting on the throne, listening to a report that the Head of the Winterheim's Royal Guard was giving.
".... and the construction work is on schedule." Dalton finished his weekly report to the Queen Consort, Boa Hancock, whom Sin, after taking the crown, had introduced to the Country as his wife.
In his absence, she was the one they had to listen to and obey, and she had stayed on the Island ever since the short and quick coronation ceremony.
After the chat with the Princess of Arabasta, Dalton had gone to talk to Dr. Kureha, seeking her advice, and the old woman had told him to do what his heart said, not helping much.
It was not easy for him to reach a decision, but on the eve of the New Year, he finally walked in front of Sin and knelt to him, asking him to be allowed to remain as the Head of the Royal Guards under his rule, and took his Oaths as a Royal Guard again, and this time, in Sin's name.
The day of the Coronation Ceremony was quite a hectic affair, and though short and quick, it was still a grand affair because King Nefertari Cobra and his daughter attended the ceremony. There were also a few news reporters, even a Rear-Admiral from the Marines, representing them, was present at the Coronation with a battalion, making it clear that the Government was not against it.
And it was the day the name of the Kingdom was changed to Winterheim.
At first, Dalton had been quite sceptical if the two even knew how to rule and realised what being a Monarch meant, but only within a few weeks, his worries had been put to rest.
If he did not already know that they were Pirates, he would have never believed it if someone said it to him.
The two were Royals in and out, and both carried themselves with a presence that demanded respect and weighed on your hearts.
By the end of the first month, there was hardly anyone in the Kingdom who had reservations against them taking over their country.
And why would they?
Everyone now had free access to the best Health Services in the world, and the Drum Castle was declared as the future Medical University, which would start teaching a few months later.
The towns of Gyasta and Bighorn were declared the main cities of the Kingdom, and people from around the country, who were living in remote areas, were being relocated there.
There was no increase in taxes. Instead, the taxes has been lowered to levels from decades ago.
It was abundantly clear to the people that the new King and Queen were bearing all the expenditure of the new city from their personal wealth. And in their hearts, they could not help but feel grateful and indebted to them.
Several schools were under construction, and even Military Academies had been set up for the people who wished to serve in the Army of Winterheim.
The trade pacts of the precious ores on the Island had been drawn again, and with the help of technology from Karakuri Island, the extraction was made a lot easier and safer for the miners.
Even the Marine presence on the Island had improved, and in the last three months, not a single incident of piracy had happened on the Island.
The people of the country were happy, and they were excited about the times ahead of them. And it was the same for Dalton.
"A few ships with raw materials will arrive today at the port, you will oversee the transfer and make sure that no accidents happen."
"Yes, Your Highness!" He knelt to her, accepting her command, and then walked out of the throne room.
At the door, he frowned as he looked at the blonde Real-Admiral, who had been staying on the Island, and in the Castle, for three months now. She was heading inside the throne room, and since he had received his instructions, to allow her to move around the place freely, he did not stop her.
Inside the throne room, Hancock indifferently watched Kalifa approach her.
"Your Highness!" The blonde Agenet bowed to her and then straightened her back.
"Yes?"
"Your husband left the Arabasta Kingdom two weeks ago together with your crewmate, Hachi. The two of them were sighted on the Sabaody Archipelago, and for the last twelve days, Hachi has been staying on Fishmen Island. However, there has been no sign of the Warlord." The girl said. "May I ask where he is?"
"You may not." Hancock lightly smiled. "It's not your concern." She said and then stood up, walking down the platform. "A new shipment of raw materials is arriving today, perhaps you should follow Dalton and make sure that nothing illegal enters the country from those ships." She said as she walked past the Agent, heading outside the throne room.
Kalifa stood alone in the hall now, frowning, and clenching her gloved fist tightly.
In the last three months that she had stayed on the Island, and in this desolate Castle, she had not received even a single opportunity to catch Sin alone. She had only ever seen and met him a handful of times, and other than a polite greeting, he had not said anything to her.
The only thing that she learned about the Blackstar Crew that the government was not aware of was that they had one more member, a boy of the age of 15 called Law, who was living in the Drum Castle and studying to become a doctor under the tutelage of Witch Doctor Kureha.
And other than Hancock, the rest of the Blackstar Crew had stayed on Arabasta in these three months.
Deciding to make a call to the Headquarters, and checking again if there was any possibility of being transferred to the Arabasta Kingdom, she left towards her room.
On her way, she came across Law, who was practising with a wooden sword in the sheer cold, hacking and slashing a wooden dummy.
It was his daily routine, and the boy had once told her that he did it during breaks because it helped him concentrate on his studies.
At any other time, she would have walked over to him and tried to initiate a conversation, hoping he would let something slip, but she now knew that even if she stood there and talked for hours, Law would not speak to her or engage in a conversation.
As usual, he would just return her greeting and keep focusing on his practice. So, she decided to not bother with it today.
Law glanced at her from the corner of his eyes as she walked away, and he was rather glad that he would not be having her scrutinising eyes on him during his practice. And then his focus returned to his sword practice.
It was something he had picked up on a whim, and over the moths, he had developed an interest on Swordsmanship.
Far away from Winterheim, in the Kingdom of Arabasta, a young Marine Rear-Admiral approached a group of girls, who were sitting together and playing a board game.
"Robin." She called out to the Vice-Captain of the Blackstar pirates, and her call made them all turn to look at her.
"Simca!" Vivi happily waved to her. "Join us!" And Nami invited her to play with them.
"Some other time. I have to submit my report today." She said and then met the younger Black's eyes. "May I ask where Sin is? It has been two weeks since he was last sighted on Sabaody."
"He likes travelling, and I am not sure where exactly he is right now. Perhaps, he is looking for some treasure or maybe something has caught his interest." She shrugged.
"Is he headed someplace that we should know about?" Simca nodded to her and asked.
"No. He's not going to cause some trouble for the Government." She smiled and shook his head.
"Thank you." Simca smiled and nodded before she left to make her report.
Robin found Vivi, Nami, Nojiko, Kuina, and Paschia curiously looking at her, and she knew that they were curious about Sin's whereabouts as well.
Other than her, Hancock, and Bonney, Sin had not informed anyone where he was going, and she was not going to reveal it to them.
"Master's safe, right?" Pascia suddenly asked, and Robin gently smiled at the girl.
"He will be fine." She continued, but in her heart, she was a little worried too.
"Is lunch ready?" Bonney yawned as she arrived in the room, and Nami immediately stood up to rush to her, hugging her.
"You are up!"
"I am." The pink-haired girl gently patted her head, and her heart warmed up a little at the excitement in the girl's eyes.
Seeing the warm smile on Bonney's face, everyone was relieved in their hearts.
The girl had been sulking since she returned from the Sabaody.
And everyone could tell after some time that the smile she wore was not really a smile.
They became even more sure of it when Nami and Nojiko came running into their training ground and anxiously informed Sin that Bonney was crying in her sleep.
She was hurting inside, and everyone knew it for sure now.
Once their anxiousness rose, Sin finally revealed to them the reason and told them about Bonney's relationship with Bartholomew Kuma.
They could only imagine how devastated Bonney might have been when she learned that she was not Kuma's biological child but an orphan whom he had adopted.
She had looked at the man as her father for as long as she could remember and grew up believing that she was the daughter of the former King of Sorbet Kingdom. But it was not the case.
However, despite everything, they knew that she deeply cared about him as she still referred to him as her father. And they all have this gut feeling that Sin had not told them everything or the true reason why Bonney was hurting.
And none of them ever insisted on learning about it, fearing that bringing up the topic would push Bonney into the pit of sadness again.
"Lunch is about to be served. Let's go." Robin stood up, informing them, and then the all excused themselves too freshen up before they meet in the dining hall.
Once Bonney was alone in the room with Robin, she looked into her eyes.
"Is he there yet?" She worried asked.
"He hasn't called today." Robin shook her head.
Bonney nodded to her and then took a deep breath, setting aside her worries.
"Well, there's no one in the world who can catch him, not even a drgaon." She grinned, and Robin giggled at her words, nodding her head.