"Ugh this is the worst!" Sugar exclaimed throwing the book onto the ground. "I don't understand why we have read all this crap anyway."
Dulcinea looked up from the history book she was reading and shrugged. "I don't know… because it's what papa told us to do? Besides, I find it pretty interesting."
"Of course you do." Sugar scoffed, crossing her arms as she sat back in her chair, glaring at the stack of books. "Look at me, I'm Dulcinea… blah blah blah I'm little miss perfect and love being a nerd."
"Why do you always have to be like that." Dulcinea said with a pout. "All I said was that I found the book interesting. Not my fault you don't appreciate reading."
"Not my fault you don't appreciate reading." Sugar mocked.
Dellinger giggled. "Just ignore her Dulci-chan!~ She's always like that. If she was nice I'd be worried…"
"Shut it you stupid fish."
Dellinger stuck out his tongue at her and turned his attention back to the book. "Anyway, Dulci-chan, I find this pretty interesting too… I mean the way they described the war... it's simply delicious."
"Who the hell cares about a war that took place hundreds of years ago?"
"Well…" Dulcinea offered, "History is circular... and has a tendency to repeat itself. Perhaps in different areas and in different time lines… but mama always said that in order to have a proper understanding of what's happening around us today, one must first understand what has happened in the past. It really is a shame we don't have any information on the Void Century though."
"That's stupid." Sugar retorted with a pout. "You guys are lame… let's ditch this joint and hide rotting meat in Trebol's slime…"
"Fuffuffuffuffu, that's perhaps not the best idea, Sugar." Doflamingo said with a laughed as he entered the library where the children had been studying for the better part of the morning. "You do realize that I have to spend hours in the same room as him."
"Heh, sorry Young Master… I promise not to put rotting flesh in Trebol's slime on the the days you have meetings lined up with him." Sugar said as she placed her right hand over her heart in mock pledge as a wicked grin crossed her face.
"Fuffuffuffuffu, very good. Now that that's settled, pick up your book Sugar. That's no way to be treating books." He said settling down in the oversized sitting chair across from the table they had been reading at. "Now come here and tell me what you've all learned today."
Dulcinea and Dellinger jumped up excitedly, climbing onto the the chair and enthusiastically recounted the detailed destruction of Shandora and the formation of the World Government after the end of the great war, while Sugar grumbled in her chair refusing to get up and rolled her eyes at them the whole time.
"Nerds." She mumbled with a scowl.
"Fuffuffuffuffu, so tell me Sugar, what did you learn this morning?" Doflamingo asked, petting Dulcinea on the head as she settled down on his lap, while Dellinger hung upside down off the arm of the chair, scraping the floor with his nails.
"Well…" Sugar started, absently pushing the book around the table. "I learned that those two are nerds... and that Dulcinea crinkles her nose whenever she finds something repulsive in a book, and Dell bounces in his seat when he reads something that excites him. Also that this table is made of a rich mahogany and I would have to train a little harder if I want to hit it with enough force to split it in two… all I can do now is this slight crack right here." She said pointing to a small crack running halfway up the center of the table.
"Well, you're in luck my little Sugar. You and Dell have lessons with Lao G this afternoon, and you sweetheart," He said smiling down at Dulcinea, "You, will be starting your lessons with Gladius."
"Ugh Gladius." Sugar said with a roll of her eyes. "He's the worst."
"You think everyone's the worst… besides, Gladius-niisan is only the worst to you because you're always late." Dellinger said with a giggle. "Don't listen to her Dulci-chan, Gladius-niisan is the best. It's so funny when he blows things up by accident…" Sitting up he grinned at her. "Just ask him about Violet-neechan his reactions are so funny."
"Ugh." Sugar groaned again. "I don't get it… Violet's not even that pretty… her face is kinda busted if you ask me."
"Well no one asked you." Dellinger retorted, pulling down his lower eyelid and sticking out his tongue at her. "Violet-neechan's beautiful, right Young Master?"
"Fuffuffuffuffu," Doflamingo laughed, "Violet's pretty enough I suppose. Besides, Sugar, one doesn't exactly have to look at her face to appreciate the rest of her." He said with another laugh.
Sugar rolled her eyes again in disgust, "Of course you would say that." She said in a tone that indicated she knew exactly what it was he was inferring. "C'mon Dulcinea, let's get outta here and freshen up for lunch, pretty sure you don't want to hear the rest of where this is going."
"Why wouldn't I… Oh…OH!" Dulcinea exclaimed, jumping off her father's lap and following after Sugar. "Well then, that was an unpleasant thought…"
"You don't know the half of it…" Sugar said as they exited the room, Dellinger running to catch up with them as Doflamingo's laugh echoed in the background.
Letting out a sigh Dulcinea settled down onto the large balcony, the way she did every night since she first arrived in Dressrosa a few weeks ago. Looking down at the pool below her, she wondered how it would feel to dive into it from this height, painful, the little voice in the back of her head said,very painful, perhaps even deadly. Scoffing to herself she pushed the thought out of her mind as she went over the events of the day.
The day had certainly been interesting to say the least. Lessons with Gladius went far smoother than she had anticipated, for she had ensured she was on time, since punctuality was evidently a big thing with him. She did not have to bring up Violet, not that she was going to anyway, since near the end of their lesson Violet had shown up to deliver a message from her father, which caused the clipboard he had been holding to unexpectedly explode. Dulcinea decided in that moment, that it was perhaps never a good idea to bring up Violet around that man, although she could see why Dellinger would find it amusing. Unfortunately, she couldn't quite shake what Sugar had been insinuating out of her head, and every time she looked at Violet, she couldn't help but throw up a little in her mouth.
"Is what Sugar said true?" She asked when he eventually came out and took a seat beside her.
"Fuffuffuffu, is what Sugar said about what true?" He asked, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her into his warmth. "Sugar says a lot of useless things."
Leaning back into him Dulcinea let out a small laugh. "Yes, I suppose she does, but I mean about you and Violet."
Bending down he kissed her gently on the head. "There are some things that are better off left unsaid, don't you think so, sweetheart?"
Dulcinea frowned, it was not direct confirmation, but she was smart enough to know it was confirmation. Either way, she wondered why she even cared. It was not like it made a difference, it was not like he was disrespecting her mother in anyway. For starters, her mother wasn't even there with them anymore, besides, she had tossed him aside years ago. Although if she was honest with herself, Dulcinea still wasn't sure how she felt about that either. A little part of her was still bitter about the fact that her mother decided on her own that she was better off without her father. Her father. The man who was and is her everything, her sun and her stars. The man who she cannot even imagine spending a moment apart from, let alone a lifetime. How could her mother possibly believe that she would have been better off without that man's love? She felt like she wouldn't be able to breathe if she had to endure without his love.
"Does it really bother you that much?" He asked as she fell into a deep melancholy silence, that smile he wanted to preserve so badly, fading from her face.
"Huh, what? No." She said shaking her head. "I don't really care about that… I just got lost in my thoughts again…"
"And pray tell sweetheart, what exactly is it that you're thinking about with such an expression?" He asked, although a little part of him already knew the answer.
She sighed and leaned her head back so she could look up at him, a sad smile filtering across her lips as she said, "Mama."