19
The boy immediately leaned closer. Beneath his furry spotted winter hat, dark circles ringed his eyes.
He was Trafalgar Law.
"Lami, you're awake."
He rubbed his cheeks, softening his expression.
"Does it hurt? Do you want something to eat?"
"It doesn't hurt, and I'm not hungry..."
The girl's voice was faint, as though it might dissolve into the air at any moment.
Prolonged illness had made her especially sensitive to changes around her.
"We're on a ship,"
the boy said, holding her icy hand. "Someone is willing to help us.
Once we get there, I'll find a way to cure this disease."
There was a brief silence.
"What about Mom and Dad?"
Law's fingers tightened almost imperceptibly for a moment.
The corners of his mouth twitched, as though he were struggling to hold them at a certain angle.
"They're both fine,"
he said, turning his face away and pressing down the brim of his hat. "I'm taking you to get treatment first. They'll... get better soon, too."
He stood up.
"Stay in bed. I'll get you something to eat.
You need a full stomach to keep your strength up."
The girl nodded gently.
She was only three, but she was already familiar with the scent of parting.
The cabin door closed behind him.
A little head poked through the gap in the opposite door. The girl with twin ponytails lowered her voice.
"Is Lami okay?"
Only World Government ships assigned individual cabins to everyone aboard-even if each held only a bed and a chest.
The children who had escaped Flevance had been housed in pairs in these cramped spaces.
Law did not stop, answering only in a low voice.
"I'm getting her something to eat."
Law nodded to the little figure with horn-shaped pigtails across from him.
"Watch Lami