"Take a good look at your final view of the sky.." The admiral's voice droned on in my ears.
His words were pointless; of course my eyes were on that clear blue sky.
Was he having fun mocking me with this talk?
It didn't matter, all I could see was the crystal clear expanse that stretched above me, it had been so long it seemed; I couldn't remember how long anymore, since I had last seen that sky..
I shifted, the chains were uncomfortable, and their weight pulled me down into the chair I sat upon on the deck. Maybe they thought they were being kind to me somehow, or it was another way to drive home the point that my life was limited to mere hours..
Luffy, he was heavy on my mind now. I wondered if he had managed to escape that place he'd come to in hopes of saving me. I didn't want Luffy to end up dead, or injured, for the sake of my own life. He was always so reckless, he did things without thinking about how they would affect others, but he always did it for everyone but himself.
"For once you are restrained upon the execution platform…"
As if that could be worse then Impel down, in fact the idea seemed nicer. At least upon the execution platform I would know my suffering would end. The sun would beat down upon my skin; the wind would blow through my hair. I could almost feel the cold steel of the drawn blades pressed against my neck and the warmth of my crimson blood spreading over my chest as those spears pierced my body..
No, I had to simply avoid that line of thought. I couldn't give up so easily. I had to capture Blackbeard, to see Luffy become the pirate king, to feast with my nakama again.
A shadow passed over the sun, darkening the sky above me..
"You will never be able to gaze up at it again.."
My lips parted slightly as my gaze shifted downward enough to look over at the man who paced the deck before me. His words were so final, so cold. But to him I was nothing more then a nuisance, a problem that would finally be eliminated from the world.
Never was such a long time, I wasn't much of one for such things.
My gaze lifted again as the cloud passed and the sun beat down upon my bare shoulders the warmth enveloping me much like my fire had. The sea stone chains seemed heavier somehow, as the minutes of my life ticked away.
"I'll see it, every day.." I said softly, the words barely a whisper, unheard by all of those who stood so nervously around my helpless form. Today would not be my last day upon this blue sea, I was certain of it.