Nathaniel Thorne

Nathaniel was born on Hex Island to Bishop and Alice Thorne, a renowned magic duo act known throughout the South Blue. They performed to thousands, commoners and royalty alike. Tragically however, Nathaniel’s mother died during child birth. Heartbroken, Nathaniel’s father retired from Magic altogether, much to the shared disappointment of his many fans. He wanted to escape completely from that world, and therefore sold all of his equipment, costumes and even the theatre him and his wife had bought for their shows. He couldn’t bring himself to leave Hex Island however, despite all of its links to magic and the occult, and so naturally, Nathaniel discovered magic and in time, became enamoured with it – much to his Father’s grief. The more Nathaniel learnt, the more it threw his father into despair. He began drinking. Drinking led to Gambling, Gambling led to Drugs, Drugs led to more Alcohol and so on and so forth. This vicious cycle was in no way cheap, and before he knew it, Bishop had built up too much debt for any single father to handle.
Nathaniel knew nothing of this of course. He realised his father was out most nights, but he thought nothing of it, he instead focused on learning the ways of the magician. He went to all the shows he could, and on more than one occasion was caught back-stage in an attempt to learn the magician’s secrets, and had to be evicted from the premises. While other kids were selling lemonade and climbing trees, he was out in the streets of the city, performing for the public, trying to earn enough petty change to buy his own equipment and improve his talent. At one point, when Nathaniel was about eight, he was performing his usual card tricks when he happened to see a person, shrouded in rags so you couldn’t make out their face, place a small bag inside his top hat along with the change he had already been given, before taking off. After the crowd had dispersed and Nathaniel had packed up his equipment, he looked into the bag he had been given and pulled out what appeared to be a bunch of grapes. Only these grapes were white and had black swirls patterned across them. Without thinking much of it, he grabbed a few and ate them, much to his regret when the putrid taste of them burst through. It was only a few months after that he realised what it was he had eaten, along with how to control and use his new found abilities. To this day, he has no idea who it was that placed the Devil Fruit in his Top Hat, or why for that matter, but he was sure there was a reason behind it and that he’d find out that reason one day
A few years later after Nathaniel had turned 17, during one of his performances he had managed to gather a rather large crowd, and had already made at least twice as much as he usually did. He was halfway through his ‘Bring the decapitated chicken back to life’ trick when he happened to notice a man standing near the back on those watching.
He was stocky, with broad shoulders and a large protruding stomach, but he wasn’t tall. He was quite small in fact, at least half a foot smaller than Nathaniel. He wore an all-black three piece suit that barely seemed to fit him, a bowler hat and a pair of black sunglasses. He stood twirling his small, well-gelled moustache with one hand – covered in gold rings – while his other hand– also covered in gold rings – leant on his small bejewelled cane that seemed to be bending under the weight of the man. Nathaniel realised suddenly that he had stopped doing what he had been doing and that the spectators were wondering what had happened. He shook himself out of it and finished the trick, much to the amazement of those watching. He bowed to the applause he had received and walked forward to retrieve his top hat from the floor, of which held all the change he had been given.
As he bent down to pick up the hat, a pair of large black leather shoes appeared in front of him, Nathaniel looked up to the sight of the man from earlier looking down on him grinning.
‘A marvellous show boy,’ he said in a low gravelly voice, ‘you truly are your parent’s son.’
Nathaniel stood up and was about to ask who he was when he spoke again.
‘The names Flint, Bailey Flint, and speaking of parents, I’m looking for your Father, Bishop. I’m an old friend, and I’ve travelled a long way to say hello. You wouldn’t mind leading me to him would you boy…?’
At this point, Nathaniel had nothing to be suspicious about, perhaps he knew his parents from back in their glory days. Maybe seeing this Flint-fellow would cheer his father up.
‘Sure,’ said Nathaniel, ‘follow me.’ Mr Flint tipped his hat in appreciation and followed Nathaniel out of the city, grinning all the way.
When they reached the small cottage Nathaniel and his Father lived in, Nathaniel unlocked the door and walked in along with Mr Flint, calling out for his Father:
‘Dad, I’ve brought a surprise with me!’ he said as he closed the door behind him. He heard his Father call from down the hall, saying that he’d be there in a moment. Before he could reply, Nathaniel suddenly felt a large throbbing in the back of his head, quickly followed by a dizzying sensation. He raised his hand to where the throbbing was and found that the area was unusually warm. When he looked at his hand he quickly realised the warm sensation was blood, as his hand was now covered in it. Nathaniel fell to the ground, and was in too much of a daze to use his abilities. The world was spinning. He could just about make out his Father running into the room and screaming something at Mr Flint.
It was only when Nathaniel turned his head on the floor that he realised what had happened to him. Stood above him was the sight of Bailey Flint holding a blood-stained pistol of which was aimed at his father. Flint chuckled and looked down at Nathaniel.
‘Still awake I see,’ He said while still laughing, ‘very impressive, boy. You’re a hell of a lot tougher than you look. I suppose you’re wondering what’s going on, well you see, you’re Daddy owes me, and I’m here to colle-’
‘You know I can’t do it Flint! Just give me a few more weeks! I swea-’ Bishop was cut off by the sound of a large bang, quickly followed by screaming. Nathaniel’s screams. Nathaniel felt a sharp pain riddling through his leg, barely conscious now, he looked at his leg to see that it, along with his head was now bleeding.
‘I advise you don’t interrupt me again Thorne, now then, I think you should come with Me.’ said Flint, now having lost his devilish grin.
Bishop walked over to Nathaniel, bent down and placed his head on his lap,
‘Let me say Goodbye Flint, I’ll come, but let me say Goodbye.’
Flint tutted, lowered the gun and looked at me once again,
‘30 Seconds, I’ll wait outside.’ He said before stepping out the front door. Bishop looked down at his son, now having lost a substantial amount of blood.
‘I’ve got to go Natty, I’ve got to go overseas and I’m not sure when I’ll be back.’ He said in between tears, ‘I’m so sorry for what’s happened to you; you did nothing wrong. It’s my fault he did this to you… But I’ll know you’ll pull through. You’re strong Natty, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.’ He bent down and kissed Nathaniel on the forehead. What he did next truly surprised Nathaniel, and to this day, the image has never strayed far from his mind. He smiled. There were still tears in his eyes, but his smile was genuine, as if nothing was wrong, as if it was just another day.
‘I love you son.’ He said before placing Nathaniel back down, standing up and walking out the door, closing it behind him. At this point, Nathaniel was in too much pain to stay conscious, and instead let the darkness wash over him.
When Nathaniel next awoke a few days later, he found himself lying in a hospital bed, leg and head both tightly bandaged. When the nurse came in, Nathaniel was informed that a postman had come by to deliver a package, when he saw Nathaniel lying on the floor through the window. She then went on to explain how he had gotten help to carry him there and the troubles they faced on the way, but in truth, Nathaniel wasn’t listening. All he could think about was his father and the man that had took him – Bailey Flint.
Of course he asked questions, but no-one had seen Bishop since the day of his disappearance, and no-one knew anything about Bailey Flint. When the Police had everything they needed and his injuries had recovered, Nathaniel returned home. The place had been cleaned up after the Police had been and searched for clues, and sat on the dining room table was the package addressed to his father the nurse had said the Postman delivered when Nathaniel was found. He sat down and opened the small, well taped box to reveal an old leather bound book inside along with a golden Stopwatch and a handwritten note. Nathaniel first grabbed the Stopwatch and held it in his hand, it was a beautiful thing. He could clearly see all the intricate gears moving within. He turned it over to reveal a small inscription on the back which read,
                                                      ‘To My Dearest Bishop,
                                                          With Love, Alice.’
Nathaniel immediately realised what it was he was holding, a watch given to his Father from his Mother, years before he was born. Next Nathaniel snatched up the note and read it, it didn’t say much, nor reveal who it was that sent the items, instead it simply said,
                                             ‘You always were lost without these.’
Nathaniel placed the Stopwatch and the note back on the table and picked up the book, it was heavy and was clearly very old. Nathaniel opened the front cover to see what was clearly his father’s handwriting sprawled across the page. He quickly flicked through the pages. They were notes; notes on all of his and Nathaniel’s mother’s tricks; all their secrets were in this book. When he reached the back of the book, he saw written in the corner, in a completely different handwriting:
‘Remember Bishop, no matter what happens, keep smiling! Keep smiling because if you do, that’s what you’ll be remembered for, not the mistakes you’ve made, I love you Darling! – Alice x’
Nathaniel was reminded of his Father sat over him, making the face that at the time made no sense. Then, for the first time since it had all happened, Nathaniel cried. He completely broke down. But despite the pain, despite the tears, despite everything, he smiled. He smiled just as his Father had done, and within this moment he swore that he would find his Father and Flint, he would sail out to sea and find out the truth.
After no less than a year of hard work, gruelling training and extensive research, Nathaniel was ready. He donned his Top Hat, grabbed his briefcase and his Father’s Stopwatch and opened the front door. He breathed in deeply,
‘Right then, let’s get this show on the road!’