• Today was no different from any other. Bands played in the streets, ships docked in the port, and street vendors sold things to the tourists.

    Then again, it wasn't such a bad day for one of the Crescent City's infamous citizens; after "The Frog Prince" incident, Dr. Facilier had sworn off his talent of being able to talk to "The Other Side". It had brought him nothing but trouble, not to mention he was forbidden from practicing magic at street festivals, special order of the Royal Family of Maldonia, because of it.

    The voo-doo man sighed as he packed up his stand and started back towards his shop/living space. 'Not a bad haul,' he thought, chuckling at the satisfying clink of silver coins in his pocket. 'Maybe honest work, that actually helps people, isn't so bad after all. Even still, it would've been nice if someone had-' His musings were interuptted by a soft but sudden wailing.

    Facilier smiled. "Maybe I'll make a little extra today," he said to himself. Then, just as fast as he could, he turned on light heels and walked towards the desperate wails. Wailing meant unhappiness, and unhappiness meant business, even if it had nothing to do with magic as it had in the past. That didn't mean he didn't miss it though; he couldn't remember the last time his feet had felt the rhythm of skeleton dances it had been so long.
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    Marie sat on the sidewalk, crying her eyes out. The Thousand Sunny had docked in New Orleans for a couple of days. It had been meant to be a chance to experience France's influence on the Grand Line before heading out to sea again. For Robin and Nami, that meant shopping. For Luffy, it was food, and Chopper, Usopp and Franky were excited to get supplies/special items. (Zolo just stayed on the ship and trained.)

    All were completely oblivious for her true reason behind coming here, all but her brother. "Why do you want to go to a city named for the moon?" he had asked her one day, his French accent adding to the innocence of the question.

    "Because, Cabaji, I want Sanji to experience Caijun cuisine," Marie had told him. "J'espere qu'il aime la surprise."

    "Anglais, s'il te plait. In English please. You really must practice, little sister. Just because you taught Sanji French, and it is our first language, is no excuse for not using a language everyone can understand."

    Marie turned her head, gazing out at the growing island in the distance. She responded, without turning her head, "All right, Monsieur Persistance, if you insist. I hope that he likes the surprise."

    Cabaji smiled and put his hand on his sister's shoulder. She really had been the best thing to happen to him, even when he could only speak French. Taken away from his home by pirates at age 7, leaving his then 4-year-old sister behind, they had been separated for 10 years, during which time they had both learned English and Marie had become the best cook on the East Blue. They had met again at Rogue Town in a brawl between Buggy's Pirates and the Strawhats, and after being reunited, nothing could keep them apart. Cabaji had deserted Buggy so he could be near his sister, despite the fact that the crew held the one man who had been able to defeat him, Roronoa Zolo.

    "J'espere qu'il l'aime aussi, ma petite soeur," he whispered to her. "J'espere beaucoup."
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    The crying got louder, so Facilier knew he was going the right way. "It's probably a woman," he muttered, "judging from the sound of it." And just as he said that, he found her. A young girl, not more than 16, crying her eyes out on the sidewalk, soft cries escaping her fine lips.

    The girl looked up when she saw his shadow, looming over hers in the fading sunlight. She jumped slightly when she saw "Shadow" make claws out of his hands and try to scare her. Facilier glared at the impish little thing and "Shadow" fell to order. "Bonjour?" she said, turning her head to find him standing over her.

    He gave his customary greeting. "Mademoiselle, enchantez." He offered her his orb-topped cane to help her up. She took it, allowing him to lift her to her feet and face him properly. "A tip of the hat from Dr. Facilier." Instead of taking off his hat, like he usually did with male clients, he put two fingers on the brim of his hat and bowed to her slightly. He straigtened up and offered her his card. "And how are you doing this fine evening?"

    "Tarot readings," she said, reading the card. "Charms, Potions... Dreams Made Real?"

    "Yes. I'm a bit of a miracle worker in my spare time, and from the sound of things, it sounds like you could use one."

    "You heard me crying?!" She turned around and started to walk away, but Facilier came behind her and turned her back towards his shop. She was too distraught to resist.

    "Was I not supposed to?"

    "I thought this was a secluded place, Doctor. I came here so they wouldn't see me... see me..."
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    The minute Sanji had set foot in New Orleans, the girls had been all over him like a fresh batch of jambalya on dirty rice. And Sanji, being the notorious ladies' man he was, was all too happy to oblige them with all his crazy, yet romantic, antics. And what was worse, those nasty females had dragged her brother off with them. Alone and hurt, she had wandered aimlessly, ducking into shops wherever she saw something culinary related to take her mind off of her misery.

    During her wanderings, she had found some cayenne pepper (something in paucity on the sea), a new whisk, 3 packages of "dirty rice" spices, and powdered sugar for a beigne recipe she had picked up from a restaurant called "Tiana's Palace". Just as she had come out of the restaurant, she heard two women talking. One looked like she could be a female version of Sanji; the other had skin as dark as fresh mocha and eyes to match. "Did ya' hear, Tiana?!" screeched "Sanji", a distinct Southern drawl in her voice. "There's a new bachelor in town!"

    "That's great, Lotte," said the other woman, who, Marie realized, must be the owner of the restaurant. "Maybe you'll finally get your prince."

    "Oooooooooh! If he's known as "The Next Prince Naveen", I sure as heck ain't passin' up that opportunity."

    "I know you wouldn't. But, what exactly do you know about him?"

    "I know he's handsome, he's got blue eyes, and Tia, get this! He can cook like it's nobody's business!"

    That had done it. Marie had run off in tears, dropping her shopping in front of the restaurant. She had tolerated his flirting with other women before, but this was just too much. As far as she cared, Sanji could burn in the hottest oven for eternity. Now, she would never have him; as soon as she was far enough away, she had collapsed on her bum, still crying, and that's how Dr. Facilier had found her when he walked by a little later.
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    The girl looked like she was on the verge of a fresh version of "the waterworks". "Drink this," Facilier said, offering a vial of sweet smelling liquid to the young woman. She sniffed it suspciously. "It's heartsease. It'll make you feel better."

    She whimpered a little and then downed the vial in a single gulp. Her eyes ceased leaking tears and she stopped sniffling, but she still shivered a little under his arm as they rounded a corner into the alley that led to his shop. "Merci, Doctor. I needed that," she said.

    He stopped abruptly in front of a gnarled ash tree. He left her there as he came in front of her and indicated a door. "Before we enter my world," Facilier said, "I need to know your name. It makes it easier to know what I'm looking for if I do."

    She hesitated, glancing around warily at the deserted square, but only for a minute. "If you must know, Monsieur, my name is Marie. And I'm sorry you had to hear me crying like that." She wiped the last tears from her face.

    "It's quite all right, Marie, but really. You shouldn't be out by yourself. It's-"

    "I know what you're going to say, and I can take care of myself!" She crossed her arms indignantly and pouted. Facilier shrugged and illuminated the torches on the sconce below his painted sign, signifying his shop was open for evening business, which was rare these days. He indicated the door, which had opened by itself. "Shall we?" he asked. Marie simply stepped by him and said nothing, taking advantage of the age old concept of "Ladies First".
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    Inside, soft lights illuminated the purple wallpaper, which had skulls on it. It would have been ominous, but Marie was not one to be easily scared. (She wouldn't be sailing with one of the craziest pirate crews on the sea if she was.) Marie heard the door shut behind her and suddenly, Facilier was in front of her again. She stepped back, startled. "Do you always pop out unexpectedly in front of people?" she asked.

    "I apologize," the doctor replied, shrugging. "Force of habit. I used to be a dancer in lieu of being a fortune teller, but that was before... before..."

    "Before what?"

    "Am I the client, or are you?" he said, his tone implying he was eager to change the subject. When she looked down at the floor, he said, "Come and sit down at my table. If you're relaxed, it makes it easier for me to find out what your problems are."

    "Merci," Marie said, taking a seat in the closest chair. "You're very kind."

    He shrugged again as he sat down in the chair across from her, and "Shadow" pushed it in for him. "It's nothing really." He produced a deck of cards from under the table. As he shuffled, he muttered some old Tarot spell, used for invoking the power of the cards:

    "The cards. The cards. The cards will tell
    The Past, the Present, and the Future as well.
    The cards. The cards. Just take three." He fanned out the deck, and placed it before Marie. After she chose 3 cards, he finished the rhyme. "Take a little trip into your future with me."

    'Just what is he up to?' Marie thought. 'He seems nice enough, but something's telling me I should rather not be here.'
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    Facilier put his old deck away and spread out the cards. To his suprise, a fourth card appeared as he fanned out Marie's cards in front of him. He turned it over immediately because in Tarot, "jumping cards" could provide key insight as to what the client's problem was. The card showed two lovers in each other's arms, a knight and a princess, mutual affection between them. "So, you have romance troubles," he said, raising his head to look her in the eyes.

    Marie stiffened, sniffled a little, and then said, "Sad but true, Doc. Sad but true."

    "Are you being forced into marriage and you are in love with another?" (He had had problems like that before.)

    "No, it's the other way around. I want to be someone's girlfriend, but he seems to be in love with every girl but-" She looked down at the card and gasped. "That looks just like Sanji!" she exclaimed, pointing to the blonde knight on the card.

    "Hmm," Facilier said, turning over the first card, which signified her past. The card showed the knight again, with a fish-shaped ship on the water in the background. This time, Marie appeared on the card as well, looking fine in a knight's outfit of her own and a big smile on her face. "So, you've known this boy for a long time. You trained on the same ship and grew to be close friends. During that time, you found out you had feelings for him that spanned beyond mere friendship."

    Marie nodded. "That's right. Sanji and I worked under the same chef. He both discreditted our cooking for less than it was worth, and we had fun making fun of it. I taught him French, he taught me English, and we both taught each other cooking techniques. Before long, we had risen to the top of the kitchen staff."

    "I was wondering why your French sounded so authentic. But, something else happened besides all these good things, correct Marie?"
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    Marie nodded again, nervously. It was if this shady gentleman knew her heart backwards, and she had only told him her name. Facilier turned over the second card, the Present. This one showed Sanji pleading for the love of a princess, a "princess" named Nami who loved to play hard-to-get, on one half, and showed her kneeling on the ground, weeping, next to a gnarled ash tree on the other.

    The young girl clutched her heart, feeling as if it would break, again. This illustrated Sanji's filandering ways perfectly, leaving her alone to bear the pain of unrequited love. She had been discarded so many times in favor of "pretty women" like Nami, who could care less about men like Sanji, valued money above all else so that they would sell their bodies to get it, or both.

    Dr. Facilier shook his head sadly. He looked across the table at her, concern in his violet eyes. "Your little playboy's hurt you real bad, hasn't he?"

    Marie said nothing, letting a few silent tears serve as her response. Facilier came around behind her and put his hand on her shoulder, a comforting gesture. "Shadow" perked her shadow's head up so that he could whisper in her ear. "It'll be all right, Marie. And if I'm lying, turn over that card there and see for yourself."

    "Shadow" guided her hand to the Future and helped her turn it over. She blinked in disbelief when she saw the illustration: Sanji was defending a princess from a dragon. Only this time, the princess wasn't Nami; it was her. "How can I make this happen?" she asked desperately, hugging the card to her like it was a child.
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    It was Facilier's turn to be silent. To speak for him, "Shadow" pointed to the door and then to the place where Marie's shadow's heart would be. Not too soon after, noise could be heard just outside.

    "I thought she went this way," said a determined voice that sounded like Tiana.
    "Why is it so dark here?" whimpered a scared, and, as always, clueless, Charlotte Le Boeuf.
    "Where is she? Oh, I hope she's all right," came a male voice that Dr. Facilier did not recognize. 'Probably this "Sanji" person', he assumed.

    Marie stood up and went towards the voices. Before she opened the door, she smiled said, "Merci, Docteur. Je ne vous oublie jamais." Then, she left, leaving the Shadow Man smiling in the fading candlelight.

    "So shines a good deed in a cruel world," he whispered to himself, "even if only one person appreciates you for it. I hope she'll be happy now that she realizes just how worried he was." He turned towards the wall. "We did good my friend," he said, addressing "Shadow". "We did good." "Shadow" did a crazy, twisting, magic thing and then gave Facilier a high-five. The candles blew out and darkness pervaded the now closed shop.