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Vivi believed that some things in life were worth the danger.
Sneaking out of the castle as a child to see her friends was worth the danger. Abandoning her identity and joining a criminal organization to save her people was worth the danger. Setting off with the Strawhat Pirates to help bring peace to the world, to travel with her friends, and to spend her days adventuring with the most amazing woman she had ever met were all worthy of a little danger.
But she took on that danger by choice. Her kingdom, her people, did not. If the Marines and World Government discovered Alabasta’s princess was a pirate, they would come to one of two conclusions.
“One,” Vivi said over dinner, “they will think I was kidnapped and am being held against my will. As my kingdom is affiliated with the World Government, they may try to rescue me and return me to Alabasta.”
“I won’t let them take you!” Luffy said, spitting out bits of food and pounding his fist against the table with such force that their plates clinked and clattered. “You’re my nakama.”
“I’ll protect you from the wicked Marines, my sweet princess,” Sanji said from further down the table with such love, Vivi could imagine hearts floating in the air around him. Then, Sanji suddenly jumped before reaching down to rub his shin. “Dearest Nami, your kicks are as strong as ever!”
Across the table, Nami was eating like she didn’t just kick Sanji in the shin. She said, “I would suggest hiding you whenever we fight Marines, but I know you wouldn’t sit still while the rest of us fought.”
“Aren’t you always hiding when we get into fights?” Zoro said to Nami. He, too, jumped then reached down to rub his shin. He cursed and glared at Nami, who was only looking at Vivi. More often than not, she could be found looking at Vivi.
“You are correct,” Vivi said, a subtle nod to her head. “I am a part of this crew and I will not hide while the rest of you fight.”
Luffy smiled proudly.
“Alternatively,” Vivi said, “they will realize I am a pirate and am aboard this vessel willingly. Because I am a princess, my actions reflect my kingdom and Alabasta will be targeted by the World Government.”
“But we just saved your kingdom!” Chopper cried.
Carue quacked loudly, equally distressed at the idea of Alabasta being harmed again. They may have left Alabasta behind for now, but it was still their home.
“It’s not like the World government can destroy an entire kingdom that easily,” Usopp said. His voice was confident, but soon his eyes flicked nervously around the table. “Right?”
“The government has destroyed kingdoms before—entire islands, in fact,” Robin said ominously, not explaining any further.
“If they try, then we’ll stop them,” Luffy said as his arm stretched down the length of the table to steal Usopp’s drumstick.
He said it like it was easy, like facing the strongest power in the world was just something anyone could do. He was so sure, Vivi actually believed he could do it.
Nami said, “We’ll figure it out,” and Vivi believed her, too.
They would keep her safe. Vivi just had to keep them safe in return.
Days passed more quickly on the Merry now that the race to save her kingdom was over. Still, in-between moments of reprieve in Nami's orange grove, and sitting in the kitchen while Sanji cooked, and reeling in the next giant fish for dinner, anxiety overwhelmed her. She found it hard to breathe, the salt in the air more physical, rough scratchy grains caught in her throat instead of a familiar comfort. She felt shackled all over again. Only this time, it was not Crocodile and Miss All Sunday that threatened her kingdom. She was the threat to the people she held dear and the thought consumed her.
Nami brushed her hair, the room smelling of roses and oranges, and the thought lurked. When she woke Zoro at the end of his watch so she could take over, the blanket he handed her was still warm with his body heat, it snuck up on her and consumed her. As Sanji poured drinks for Nami, Vivi, and Robin, it itched in the back of her mind. Even burying her face into Carue's thickest patch of feathers could not remove the thought from her head.
Then, a giant boat fell from the sky like something out of a fable and the topic of her identity seemed to disappear from everyone’s minds, including her own. For a while, even Vivi forgot that when they inevitably returned to the blue sea beneath the clouds, her presence on the Merry would be a danger to the things she cared about most in the world—her crew and her people. Her body and mind free from the shackles of the blue sea below, she danced around a fire with wild wolves, and tucked a flower behind Nami's ear ("A lovely flower for a lovely woman," Vivi said and Nami kissed her cheek), and grinned alongside Luffy when he suggested stealing the treasure and running like a pirate should.
But nothing lasts forever and soon, they were back on the blue sea and once again, her thoughts became suffocating.
She needed a way to protect them and she needed it fast.
Since Robin joined them, the woman's quarters gained a new scent. Before, it was the sharp citrus of Nami's oranges, ink from her maps, the faint floral perfume Vivi brought with her from Alabasta, and the occasional scent of feathers whenever Carue slept with them instead of with the boys. Now, there was the scent of coffee and a more mature floral scent that was heavier than the perfume Vivi used. The new scents quickly mixed with the old, each one now familiar and blended with the next.
She was alone in the woman’s quarters surrounded by that comforting scent and uncomfortable thoughts. when she heard a knock at the door. Not a moment later, Usopp excitedly called out, “Hey, Vivi! I’ve got something to show you.”
Vivi stood, steadied herself, hid what needed hiding, and opened the door for Usopp to join her inside. They ended up sitting on the rug, cross-legged, Usopp bounding with excitement as he dug through his bag. Carue stood behind Vivi, his head tilting from side to side as he watched curiously.
Eventually, Usopp pulled out a brilliant blue-colored mask with a tan beak and feathers rising up from the temple and forehead. He handed it to her to look over, the mask lighter than she expected but heavier as well, the intricate details of each feather and the subtle variations in color much clearer up close.
Usopp said, “I saw some of the warriors in Skypiea wearing masks and thought that maybe you could use a mask to hide your identity. I carved it out of some driftwood and then painted it. What, um, what do you think?”
Vivi's thoughts quieted. She inhaled the scent of flowers and citrus and coffee, her fellow women-in-arms, and held it in her lungs. With this mask, she could join them without fear.
“This is amazing, Usopp,” Vivi said in awe and the man bustled with pride. Carue quacked in agreement.
The feathers looked so vividly real that when she reached out to stroke its surface, she was surprised it did not bear the same softness of Carue’s feathers. Vivi attached the mask to Carue’s satchel so that when she needed it, it would be within arm’s reach.
“Thank you,” she said. “Truly, Usopp, this means more to me than you could know.”
“As long as you start feeling better!"
Perhaps he did know how much it meant to her. Perhaps they all did.
Vivi nodded. “Yes, I hope so.”
The first time Vivi donned the mask was to save the woman that nearly destroyed her home, Miss All Sunday, the Devil Child, her friend, her crewmate, her nakama, Robin.
Saving her was worth the danger, Vivi thought.
With Robin by their side, Vivi cried and held Nami’s hand as Merry burned.
As they awaited the creation of a new ship, they received their bounties. Like Usopp’s poster which only had the name Sogeking, Vivi’s poster did not have her real name, much to her relief. Instead, she saw the nickname Bluebird, alongside a picture of her masked face. A deep groove ran through the wooden mask, scrapped by a marine’s bayonet when they were surrounded on the bridge.
18,000,000 bellies.
Robin appeared behind her.
“Eighteen million will put quite a target on your back,” Robin said, chuckling. “Seems like you’ve made quite a mess for yourself, Princess.”
Robin said it with care and affection. Vivi smiled and said, "It seems I have."
Nami came over to lean against Vivi, who still held the poster, almost afraid to let it go. She searched it again for any scene of her identity, but her name was not printed in small letters beneath the word Bluebird, nor was her face visible.
For the first time since joining the Strawhats, she felt truly free.
“You look beautiful in this picture,” Nami said. Any despair she had earlier from seeing her own bounty had disappeared.
“You can’t even see my face,” Vivi replied.
Nami said, “But you look strong. It's beautiful."
“Indeed,” Robin said in agreement.
Then, they heard Chopper shout, "Wait, why is Carue's bounty higher than mine?" and turned to see him holding his poster along with Carue’s. While Chopper’s bounty was a measly fifty belly, Carue’s was one hundred.
“This means you can take your enemies by surprise,” Zoro said.
Chopper looked at her. “You think so?”
Zoro nodded.
Chopper bounced to his feet and looked up at Carue, his hooves tightened into tiny determined fists. “We’re going to get higher bounties, Carue, both of us! But mine is going to get higher than yours one day so you better watch out.”
Carue nodded, determined as well.
Vivi was certain that everyone back home would be worried sick when they saw it. They would know who she was, mask or no mask, but to the rest of the world, she was nothing more than a moniker and a mask, a bluebird. To the World Government, she was just another pirate, not a princess. Her people were safe and her crew was safe, too, or as safe as pirates could be. After all, being a pirate would be a lot less fun if there wasn't a little danger.