Chapter Text
She has no idea what's happening to her. The last thing she remembers is having gone to bed as per usual and now she's woken up in what appears to be a sack of potatoes, scratching uncomfortably against her bare skin as she is being carried over somebody's shoulder.
She's been trying to scream, but there's a weird, disgusting substance in her mouth preventing her from doing so. It smells horrible and makes her panic for breath, even though her nose is thankfully not blocked.
Her struggles are to no avail as whoever is carrying her has a terribly tight grip on her. Her legs kick out as she trashes around, but nothing helps. She pounds her bound hands on her assailant, but it feels like she's punching some mushy liquid instead of a solid person.
The thick liquid in her mouth makes her gag, its pungent smell filling her nostrils, making her mouth feel foul where she can feel it, not wanting to touch it with her tongue again after how disgusting that had felt upon first trying it out.
Eventually the attacker stops in his step and a deep voice can be heard. "Trebol, did you gag one of our guests again? She's so suspiciously quiet."
"Behehehe, I did, Doffy! You're so smart."
She's let down on the ground slowly. The opening of the potato sack is opened and she blinks painedly at the invading light. When her eyes work again, she notices that she's in some sort of throne room, her position on a red carpet leading towards a series of thrones. Before them stands a tall man, a glass of wine in hand.
He's clad in a white, unbuttoned shirt, wearing red pants with white stripes over some incredibly long legs. She looks up at him, terrified of what this kidnapper could possibly want from her.
"Give her some room to breathe, Trebol. Maybe our guest has a few words to say?" He swirls the wine in his glass, completely at ease with the situation.
The disgusting substance covering her mouth trails off and flows over to another large man standing off to the side with a thick cloak surrounding him, the weird substance attaching itself to the cloak.
She takes a few deep breaths, getting accustomed to being allowed to breathe through her mouth again. Her voice is hoarse in her panic as she asks in terror. "Who are you? Why am I here?"
The tall man in the white shirt scoffs. "Such basic questions. Besides..." He steps a little closer, inspecting her closely. "I am deeply wounded that you don't recognize me. Don't you read the news, sweetheart?"
The news? So he's some sort of publicly known figure. She racks her brains but comes up short. "I guess I don't."
The tall man snickers. "My name is Donquixote Doflamingo. This here is Trebol. You'd do well to remember our names. After all, your fate is so inextricably linked to ours now."
Donquixote. Donquixote? She's definitely heard that name somewhere before. But where?
The man sighs in faux disappointment. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. To think we've encountered such an uninformed individual. Information is power and yet you don't even recognize a warlord when he stands before you."
She can't help the tremble that goes through her body at that. A warlord? If that's true, then he's a pirate. One accepted by the World Government, if he's one of the seven. Which means that she won't be able to count on the Marines to save her at any point.
He takes her silence as a cue to speak again. "I see your situation has become a little clearer to you now. But worry not, sweetheart. I have only the purest of intentions." He snickers happily as if laughing about a joke only he understood, Trebol joining in with his previous, disturbing "Behehehe" laughter.
Doflamingo steps closer, circling around her, making her feel more and more uneasy as she sits there on her knees. She tries to get up but is held in place by some invisible force.
She feels like she's barely more like a piece of meat on display, his eyes searing into her form. What would a warlord want with her? Why go through the trouble of kidnapping her from her home? She's nothing special.
Sure, she's done the odd job of bounty hunting once or twice before when pirates came around the island she lived on, but she's never hunted any of the bigger fish, which is also why she's never paid much attention to who the warlords were.
A glaring oversight, as it were.
She swallows hard, trying to moisten her dry throat, licking her lips to try and wet them. "You have the wrong person. I have no business with you. Just let me go." She foregoes adding a "please", assuming that it won't make much of a difference with this type of pirate anyways.
Doflamingo grins, crouching down in front of her. "You'd leave so soon? I'm hurt, sweetheart. I haven't even yet gotten to offer you my hospitality." Another "Behehehe" from Trebol.
Doflamingo seems to be annoyed with the noise as he waves in Trebol's direction. "Leave. I'll call for you if I need you again." Trebol promptly complies, grinning widely as he takes his leave.
Somehow, the air feels even thicker with just her and Doflamingo left in the room. "I appreciate the offer, but I'd rather go home.", she manages to choke out.
Doflamingo sighs dramatically. "Such a shame. But oh well, if that's your wish..." He gets up and suddenly she feels herself able to move again, able to stand up herself.
"Th-thank you.", she mutters, utterly confused with this. Wasn't he the one who kidnapped her? Did he actually kidnap the wrong person?
As she turns around to leave, she suddenly freezes in her step. Her limbs start to move against her will, turning her back around again, making her walk towards Doflamingo, wrapping her arms around his neck as she can only look on in horror.
Doflamingo raises an eyebrow. "Excuse you?"
She stutters. "Wh-what?! I'm not doing anything! My limbs are moving on their own!"
Doflamingo chuckles. "Such a silly tale. And I'm supposed to believe that? You know, most women are a little more... subtle about wanting me."
She shakes her head, scared out of her mind. She's desperately trying to get her limbs to move away but they just won't budge. "No... This isn't me doing this... Please... you've got to believe me..."
Doflamingo simply scoffs. "Look, sweetheart, I don't know what game you're playing here, but this is a little very forward."
Suddenly her limbs are freed once again and she manages to stumble backwards. "Thank god...", she mutters.
Doflamingo grins. "There, that's better. Look, why don't you stay the night? It's already dark out. I know a nice little spot in the village nearby that has very comfortable accomodation. A lady like you shouldn't be out on her own in the dark."
She nods hesitantly. "Uh. Okay. Are we still on Precipice Island?"
Doflamingo's grin fades away entirely. "Oh, sweetheart, no. Precipice Island is quite a few days from here by ship. You're in Dressrosa now."
Her face falls, complete disbelief and horror warring on her expression. "H-how's that possible? I was kidnapped at some point after going to sleep last night. By... you?"
Doflamingo shakes his head. "Not quite. Actually, Trebol found you as some men were hurling you to a rather unsavory part of Acacia, the port town of Dressrosa. We don't tolerate any slavery in Dressrosa, so he rescued you and brought you here."
He smiles apologetically. "Of course, Trebol isn't the brightest bulb in my kingdom. I'm so sorry he gagged you, sweetheart. That must have been uncomfortable."
Her head is swimming with all of this information. "But how'd I get so far out into the New World if Precipice Island is so far away from here?"
Doflamingo shrugs nonchalantly. "I'm not sure. You'd have to ask your kidnappers to know that."
She nods slowly. "O-okay. Thank you. For saving me. I am in your debt."
Doflamingo grins. "Oh, I'm not the one you need to thank, Trebol is the one that did all the work. But you are very welcome. So what about it? Would you like me to get you a guest room in the nearby village?"
Something about this offer makes the hairs on her neck stand up, but she decides to ignore it. She'll need some sort of place to sleep anyways and it'd probably be better not to affront this warlord. Something about him just oozes power. She hasn't been around any pirates of his caliber, but she's got a pretty good head on her shoulders and her gut instinct is telling her that this man is incredibly powerful. Definitely better not to antagonize him.
"Thank you. I'd like that."
Doflamingo's grin widens. "Sweet. It'd be fastest if I swung us there. I trust you're not afraid of heights?"
"Why-?", she's about to ask her question when Doflamingo suddenly steps closer, delicately wrapping an arm around her waist before quickly striding over to the window, open it wide and jumping out.
She screams in terror, terrified of what's about to happen as they are suddenly pulled up by some force or another.
"Relax", Doflamingo's deep voice commands. "I've got you, sweetheart."
With all of their surroundings blurring around them she closes her eyes and hides her face against Doflamingo's body. She has no idea what's going on but she definitely feels like she's about to puke.
With an abrupt stop, she can suddenly feel herself be set down on the ground again. It feels like everything is spinning as she can barely look on straight, still feeling like she's about to puke.
Doflamingo's hands steady her shoulders. "You alive?", he asks, voice dripping with amusement.
She wants to shake her head but knows it'll only make her dizzy feeling worse so she mutters out a weak "No.", eyes still closed tightly.
"It'll pass." Doflamingo's voice is incredibly soft and sweet now. "It takes some getting used to."
Once she's finally gained her bearings again, she opens her eyes, looking up at Doflamingo who's smiling down on her. "Better?"
"Better." She takes a deep breath, letting the fresh air of the country soothe her troubled mind, regaining her bearings as she takes a look around at the surroundings. It is a small village that he has brought her to, many small cottages lined up beside one another, surrounded by wide fields filled with flowers. There's no light on in any of the cottages but the clothing on the washing lines outside in the gardens suggests that people do live here. Maybe it simply is too late in the evening, she has no idea how late it is after all.
"There you go." Doflamingo pats her shoulders one last time before letting go of her. "Follow me. I'll show you what cottage you can stay in for the night. I'll make sure you find your way back home come tomorrow."
"Thank you. You're being so kind to me, even though I'm a total stranger." She smiles up at him coyly. "I- I can pay you once I have my hands on my money back home. To compensate you for the trouble you've gone through to help me." If there's one thing she knows pirates love, it's treasure.
Doflamingo waves her off, the grin still plastered on his face. "Please don't worry about that. I am the king of this country, I have riches aplenty. I'd be a lousy ruler if I didn't aid a damsel in distress, wouldn't I?"
Somehow she can feel herself blushing at that. Between how decidedly handsome he is, how he keeps calling her sweetheart and how benevolent he's being towards her, she's starting to feel a little flustered. "I guess so! Still. I'd feel bad not expressing my gratitude."
Doflamingo laughs softly. "Please don't worry about that. Sleep over it for the night first, why don't you."
They arrive at a cottage, Doflamingo grabbing a set of keys from his pocket to open it up for her. "Head to the first floor. There should be an empty bedroom there. Don't make too much noise, there's one other person currently staying here if I remember right. Wouldn't want to disturb her sleep."
Another person in the cottage? She supposes that beggars can't be choosers, but that still seems odd, invading their house - or current accomodation, at least, without their knowledge and consent.
Doflamingo seems to be able to read the worry off her face as he immediately reassures her. "Don't worry about her. She's an older lady, a kind soul, so you won't be in any danger or anything."
She briefly wonders what a pirate warlord would classify as "kind", but she doesn't have much of a choice here. "Alright. Thank you. Again." She smiles apologetically, wishing she was able to thank him better.
"Don't mention it. Go on, off with you. Sleep well and don't let the bed bugs bite!", he says, strolling off down the street, leaving her standing there in the entrance to the cottage.
Taking a deep breath, she braces herself and walks inside the dark hallway. If it wasn't for the full moon, she wouldn't be able to see a thing. Walking up the stairs she happens to enter the bedroom first when she tries the first door.
She heads inside, turning on the light and looking around. It's bare, but looks clean, at least. A wardrobe with only a few inconspicuous pieces of clothing hanging in it, a nightstand with a strange book laying in it which she decides not to pay any attention to for now.
She really is dead on her feet. Who knew that the excitement of being kidnapped would tire her out so much? But still. Multiple days of journey away from her home island. She can't understand how any of that has worked out. But she'll have to mull it over tomorrow.
She yawns heavily, already having taken off her shoes, about to climb into bed when she's nearly startled out of her skin by a sharp intake of breath coming from the door frame.
Apparently she had awoken the other resident of the house, a middle-aged woman of about 40 years, a little overweight with smooth, long, brown, flowing hair, looking at her like she's just seen the devil. "You're new.", is all the woman manages to say.
She quickly moves to reassure her. "Oh, yes, sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. I'll only be here for the night, I'll be gone tomorrow morning."
"HAH!" She stares at the woman in shock as she starts cry-laughing hysterically. "LEAVE AGAIN! LEAVE AGAIN! Do you have any idea where you are? HAH! As if any of us could leave again."
She moves back as if by instinct, trying to put a bit more space between herself and the crazed woman. "I didn't see anything preventing me from leaving again."
"You don't get it." The crazed woman moves closer, a hint of madness flashing through her eyes. "We're his. We're all his. His breeding bitches. His worthless whores that he uses and tosses aside like yesterday's trash."
She starts shaking slightly, unsettled by the insanity that the other woman is radiating. "I- I don't know what you mean."
"Oh, you'll know. You'll know soon enough. Enjoy your obliviousness while you can. HAHAHAHA!" The woman turns on her heel and slams the door behind her, leaving behind one deeply unsettled individual. She sits down on the bed, staring at the door.
"Breeding bitches." "Worthless whores." Just what the hell is going on here?
Sleep doesn't come easily to her that night, feeling deeply unsettled by the encounter as she tries to find a comfortable spot on the foreign bed.