Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.
No fucking way is the only thought that remains in Law's head as a wave of utter astonishment washes over him. He just stands there, absolutely flabbergasted, speechless, mouth hanging open, eyes wide – a rather comical look- but he really doesn't think he can be blamed for that. What else is he supposed to do when there's a dragon in front of him – a creature that should only exist in myths and children books-, spitting in the face of everything he was taught? People have been deemed insane for claiming such impossible things as meeting a living, breathing dragon for centuries, and now it's there, all in its grace, larger than any beast he had seen, even with being restrained by shackles every part of it screams danger – the pair of horns, the blade-like claws, the spikes that follow the line of the spine to the very end of the tail, it seems that everything about the drake is suitable for killing – he'd dare say that it is made for killing.
He takes a hesitant step forward, regretting it instantly when the red dragon raises its head, showing its yellow eyes and narrow pupils. He curses himself for not memorizing the tales about dragons, maybe if he paid attention he would have at least a little clue that how he should act, if he should look away or stand the gaze – he wouldn't want to anger it for the world, but he finds himself unable to look away, enthralled by the wild beauty of the dragon. How can something be so terrifying and beautiful at the same time is beyond Law, and really, he'd spend the whole day just admiring every detail of the dragon – and maybe try figure out that in exactly what shade of red those scales plays- weren't it for the chuckle behind him.
His posture remains stiff, only his fingers twitches, itching for break something – preferably the bastard's neck. Not even the astonishment is enough to make him forget the deep hatred towards his lord. He turns around with a frown firmly plastered on his face, meeting with a disgusting, toothy grin that still makes him shiver, even after all those long years.
''Like what you see, Law?'' Doflamingo – his liege lord- asks, putting unnecessary pressure on his name.
''How did you…no, that's...it's impossible! .. ''
The massaging of his temple is a futile attempt to stop the upcoming headache, but he does it anyway. He lets out an exasperated sigh, his mind's reeling, the rational part of him just cannot believe his eyes. It has to be a bad, twisted, sick joke - one that'd only be born in Doflamingo's head. Or is it a part of a plan to get rid of him? Just a tiny slip, a leaked word of this…incident, would be enough for him to be executed – the world does not need an insane knight. And he agrees with them, if he was insane, he'd better be dead, not threatening others.
But he is not, it's just someone – or the fate itself- that is fucking with him.
Not that it makes the situation any easier – no, it just makes everything more difficult. Resigning himself into thinking that he went mad, that'd be easy. But convince himself – and possibly others- that it is the reality, it is true, dragons aren't just creatures of vivid imaginations… well, that is a difficult thing.
'' It was sure an interesting hunt '' the blond begins, '' to find a dragon… Admittedly, I never believed in fairy tales'' he laughs '' I thought my eyes tricked me… That I went mad...'' well, you being insane isn't anything new, Law thinks. He stays still when Doflamingo begins to pace, getting carried away by his own story.
'' I must admit, it left me unable to think... What am I to do? Kill it? Capture it? Would we even be able to fight with it? Dead or alive? How do I make it believable? We must have the devil's luck, that we caught it, and were able to bring it here... And then what? '' he asks, with a sinister smile directed at Law, waiting for him to figure it out to himself.
Law narrows his eyes. Then what? Let the world know, be famous, make people doubt the dogma, weaken the reign of the church and go to hell for it. Oh. Understanding washes over him – what the Gorosei says is sacrosanct – and so, if the Gorosei says dragons don't exist, then dragons do not exist. Religion is what keeps balance among the oppressed peasants – the threat of going to hell keeps them disciplined – and the discovery of dragons' existence would make people doubt the dogma. If once they were mistaken, they could be wrong about everything else. The reign of church would weaken; the superstitious peasants would be driven into despair as their beliefs of a sacrosanct power would turn out to be lies. Going against the church – the biggest power ruling the Grand Line- one must have a death wish, which unfortunately Doflamingo doesn't have.
'' And what'd be my role in this? '' he finally asks, and his lord's grin widens '' The less people know, the less the chance of leaking. What's be known to two isn't even a secret anymore.''
Law suppresses a smirk of his own when the blond's lips pull into a taut line. '' A man of mine was killed two days ago '' the balled fists don't go unnoticed by Law '' We found the knife, but not the perpetrator. A commoner was guided into Marijoes, having a meeting with pope Sengoku himself '' he spits like the words are venom.
Law scowls, not understanding where is it going, but not liking it a bit – call it a hunch, but he can just feels that his head will be put on the line.
''Also – a broken glass was found in the bear meat '' Doflamingo nods his head in the direction of the eerily white and clean pile of bones, and his gaze wanders towards the dragon that is looking at them lazily, with one eye open, and as if sensing the knight's wondering about the remains of its dinner the drake licks its mouth, and had Law less self-control he would shudder at the sight. It's like a cat's tongue – full of tiny hooks,with the sole purpose of licking the meat off to the fullest, only it's a lot bigger and without doubt would tear down all the skin and flesh from a human within seconds. '' Luckily, this hellion was smart enough to pick out the glass shreds before eating''
Law doesn't think some glass shred would have been enough to actually kill it, but it might have been caused some internal damage. Still, the fact that somebody actually tried it is unnerving.
'' What do you want me to do? Guard it? '' he asks, insulted at the mere idea. What is he, a shepherd to look after animals?
''Fufufufu, yes, that's exactly what I want you to do. Or have you, perhaps, forgotten that under whose command are you? I am your liege lord; to you I am mightier than God himself! '' the blond laughs again, a malicious and humorless laugh, before his expression turns to a grave one. '' I do not forgive betrayal, Law. I am sure you are aware of that? '' oh yeah, he knows that by own experience. Contrary to his words, Law has a feeling that the blond wouldn't mind it, that he wouldn't mind some...hunting.
''Yes, my lord.'' the words are bitter on his tongue, just uttering them burns it, but has he had a choice?
While his pride as a knight have just died, he can't just risk to be labeled as an oath breaker – and that's exactly what he would be if he didn't fulfill Doflamingo's every wish – not without any back-up plan. And so, he resigns himself into accepting this humiliating job, suppressing the thought that he was just degraded into a guard dog, that from now he'll have to stay there, and breathe the same air as the bastard who he despises so much, to who he'll be linked forever by the damned oath he made, who he can't escape, not while living on these lands, not while his pathetic human life lasts.
It's been two weeks since he had started guarding the dragon, his dragon, as he had come to refer to them. At first, he was nervous and reluctant, never going within six feet distance, barely stopping his spacing, never relaxing his rigid posture. Truth be told, he's had a hard time not to show just how freaked out he was after seeing the way the drake eats. How the razor-sharp teeth tear the raw flesh and muscle like it's made of butter, just how terrifyingly effective the rough tongue works at cleaning the bones. Law's no fool to believe that they could ever actually control or God forbid, surpass a beast like this, oh no. He has a hunch that the dragon is just playing with them, just see them as toys, and he realizes that fuck, actually, that is what they are to something as mighty as a dragon.
If he wants to compare the dragon to other animals, surprisingly they would show the most resemblance with cats, Law thinks. He knows that they're smart; he can tell it just by looking into their eyes; he knows they understand everything he says, they just don't cooperate, don't care. They might even find them and their efforts amusing, and the thought of humans having superior species is a horrifying thought.
About a week ago, some servants attempted teaching them to sit down by offering a big piece of deer meat, and when the dragon stood, all in their 15 foot height, he was quite alarmed and thoroughly pissed at their stupidity, his slightly trembling hands were already on the sheath of his eastern type sword, but the dragon just leant down, and with gentleness that should be impossible for a beast of their size, they took the chunk, and swallowed it in one piece. Then they trotted back where they were lounging just minutes ago, like nothing had happened, leaving a young servant shaking but otherwise unmoving, with plate-sized eyes glued to the red beast, and with an unmistakable smell and dark stain on the lower part of his pants.
Seeing that the drake never attempted to attack him, never made a menacing movement, he unconsciously let his guard down, his spacing stopped, and more often than not, he finds himself sitting under a tree, constant with just staring at the dragon. Or sometimes, the other idiots try to teach tricks, not giving up on training them like a dog, but they fail miserably every single time. Again, it's not because of the lack of intelligence, it's because of the lack of willingness.
Even if spending days with a dragon not half as bad as he imagined it would be, he still wants to get the hell out of there and never set a foot on these lands again. He hates Dressrosa from afar – he can't help it, the name is connected with Doflamingo's name in his head – and utterly despises it from close. The liege lord wants no word from him though, not about his release.
Maybe his walking is louder than usual, but he definitely isn't stomping, oh no, knights do not stomp and do not fuss. He lets out a 'tzheh' when he thinks about his earlier conversation with his lord, sitting down a little rougher than he intended to. He feels the dragon's eyes on him, but ignores it, being too occupied with his anger to notice how close he had gotten.
It's not until he hears the clanks of the chains that he realizes his mistake, and when the dragon towers over him, he officially deems the day as the worst day of his life. He closes his eyes, and a shiver runs up on his spine when a hot and reeking breath ghosts over his skin, giving away how unnaturally close are they to him, and also reminding him of the carnivorous nature of the beast, but his eyes soon snaps open when instead of the expected pain he only feels something heavy on his legs.
He glances down, and he meets with the familiar yellow pupils of the dragon staring back at him, with such intense yet unreadable emotions that his throat feels dry of all sudden.
'' What are you doing?'' he croaks out, then with the tip of their nose the dragon nudges his hands, and nuzzles into him, giving out a sound of satisfaction – an almost purring sound- when he pets their head tentatively. Soon, the short and undeniably awkward pets turn into long, soothing strokes, and they both close their eyes, and Law relaxes, his anger long forgotten.
He smiles to himself, realizing how true his previous statement was, the one about the resemblance between cats and dragons. Because, as messed up this situation is, he actually likes it, likes it despite how goddamn heavy is just their head, despite how he shouldn't be attached to a beast like this. But to the hell with it, Law thinks, because in the end, his dragon is just like a cat, comforting their owner in a way only a cat could. It's so warm, and so unbelievably soft that it's hard to tell that those are scales under his fingertips.
They stay like this, basking in the presence of each other, and it feels so intimate that Law can't believe it. He doesn't know how much time has passed when the unique atmosphere is disturbed by a maid, and it absconds like a bubble when touched, leaving him in with plenty of things to ponder later on.
He ignores the gawk, the shrieked "what?" question directed to him, and when the drake allows him – meaning when they takes his head from his lap – he stands up, with slight difficulty due the numbness in his limbs. Wincing, he massages his calves before he makes his way towards the castle, knowing that the maid was sent to inform him about the dinner, and absently notes that bugs would fly into her mouth if she doesn't close it, and all the while, under the nonchalant attitude, he might freak out a little.
A few weeks quickly pass, and as he thinks about it, he finds out that they – he and his dragon – have a routine now. That fateful day turned upside down their unwritten rules, expended their boundaries and drew new lines between the two of them. Ever since then, it has become a normal thing that the drake lays next to Law – they attempted to play lap-cat again, but after Law told them that he was uncomfortable in that way, they settled with their head pressed against Law thighs.
And that's how they are right now, sitting – or in the drake's case, resting- under a huge tree that gifts them with sweet shadows, offering a hiding spot from the cruel rays of sun. A warm, but nonetheless welcomed breeze caress them, and it's seemingly so peaceful, so fucking nice that it's just plainly surreal, it's just like the calmness before a huge storm, it carries a foreboding and gut-wrenching feeling in it, it feels like an invisible hand around their necks, sneakily preparing to strangle them.
Law knows he isn't the only one feeling it; after all this time he had come to read his dragon fairly well, though it's the first time he sees them like this: tail swinging back and forth, whipping against the ground restlessly in uneven patterns, letting out occasionally huffs and snorts.
Soon enough, scarcely audible steps are heard, and they look up. Law tenses up in an instant, at the unpleasant sight of Vergo; the mere presence of the man is a bad omen in Law's eyes.
''They're there. Hide it.'' Vergo commands, and Law's blood runs cold, he doesn't ask who just prays for whatever god is out there that he's just misunderstanding it, but he notices the flaws of Vergo's mask; the barely noticeable wavering in his tone, the nervous twitching of his hands; and he instantly knows that they are in deep shit, so deep that even the ever stoic Vergo displays emotions. He shakes his head, and hops on his feet.
'' Where? '' it's a shame now, that he had never been interested in Dressrosa, if he was, finding a hideout for a dragon might have been an easier task. His sudden panic doesn't help his situation; not when he's so clueless that why he is so bothered about the dragon in the first place. What if they're- no, it's killed? It's just trouble anyway, a burden that's holding him back. It's what keeps him in Dressrosa. So why is there this heavy feeling in his chest?
Hearing the footsteps, Law actually freezes, panic and a nausea mixes in his stomach. He forces himself to turn around, readily gripping his sword, his brain already making scenarios about escaping routes and ways to get rid of a corpse, but all of his thoughts die in half way when he sees the intruder.
''You got to be kidding..'' he whispers in a shaky voice. Fear washes over him, something he thought he killed in himself years ago, his heart stops for a second.
A good 10 feet distance from where he is standing three men, each of them wearing identical white robes, their face covered with abstract masks that makes them appear more threatening, inhuman even. The CP-0, a secret organization under the Celestial Dragons' personal command. Law isn't a short man, with being almost 6 feet tall, but he easily dwarfs even next to the shortest member.
The tip of his sword scratches the ground as his arm goes limp in helpless resignation, his brain shutting down once again. A voice in his head screams at him to run, fight, kill, to do something, anything to escape, but his body doesn't cooperate. He curses, his free hand balling into fists. Goddamn it.
A/N: Basically, I made the World Government into the Church there, the Gorosei is like the pope, only it's 5 person instead of one, the Celestial Dragons are the priests, the Cipher Pol are crusaders. I'm so terrible at explaining things OTL Feel free to ask if you have any questions!
So, what do you guys think? I think I'm gonna regret posting this, since I'm a little tipsy now, but oh well. Actually, I've written this in July I think, but I kinda forgot about it? ^^ I'm kinda excited since this is the first time I post an actual story, not just an one shot. I'm not sure when will I update ( if anyone is interested in the next chapter) since there's the OP BigBang project to work on and I'm pretty slow so yeah. But I hope you enjoyed it! :D