At eight o'clock sharp, the Donquixote family, joined by Caesar, Juliette, and Elanor, found themselves waiting for Nuvovniya at the dining room table to begin the banquet. It had been dressed for the occasion; decorated lavishly with a cream-colored table runner with lace edges and topped by silver dishes and dining ware. Candelabras laden with candles provided the only lighting, by which the group was able to read the notes at each setting, inscribed with names to designate where each person was expected to sit. Doffy was at the head of the table, of course, followed on his right by Diamante, Machvise, Gladius, Dellinger, Juliette, and Elanor, respectively. Trebol, Giolla, Senor Pink, Pica, Sugar, and Caesar lined the left side, leaving the opposite end of the table for Nuvo. By the time everyone was seated, it was ten minutes past eight, and she was still nowhere to be seen.
"Late to her own banquet." Juliette tsked. "Not very punctual, is she?"
"It is not my banquet. It is to celebrate our King's safe return and to welcome Sir Caesar to our home."
Nuvo arrived at her chair in a flurry of black silk. Juliette stiffened. Her disdain for the younger woman was replaced by fear in her presence. She was sure that the threat that had been made against her daughter was not empty. She would have to remember to watch her words in this house more carefully. Someone is probably always listening…she thought, then risked a glance toward Elanor. The little girl had brightened when Nuvo arrived, and seemed thrilled to have a seat next to her. Still clad in her own black silk dress, the pair looked more like parent and child than Juliette was comfortable with. I'll have to mind my tongue around Elanor as well… she trusts the witch too much…
Caesar was perfectly thrilled with his seating arrangement. Positioned on Nuvo's right gave him ample opportunity to gaze at her, and with lovely Juliette directly across from him, he felt he had the best seat in the house. Sugar's presence on his right made him slightly uneasy though. Best not to be too flirtatious if I don't want to be a whoopie cushion by dessert!
"Forgive my lateness, everyone. I was distracted and lost track of the time. But now that everyone is present, let the banquet begin!"
There must have been a cue in there somewhere, because suddenly three child-sized dolls dressed in formal suits entered the dining hall. One carried a violin, the second a cello, and the third pushed a miniature piano across the room. They stationed themselves on the left of the table, poised to begin.
"Play!" ordered Nuvo, and the pianist began a relaxing song, joined melodically by the string instruments.
They seem so familiar somehow…thought Elanor as she allowed her body to gently sway with the music.
She used to play with us…thought the violin doll sadly. His name was Philadendron. I wonder if she can remember playing the trumpet. I suppose she can remember how to play it…she just can't remember playing it with me. He wanted to stop playing and shout at her, force her to remember, but he knew she could not, and if he dared to try, Lady Sugar or Lady Marlettow would likely rip his head off. Poor Lady Marlettow can't remember Elanor and I practicing in her parlor either… The boy was only nine, but he felt that he was dealing with a very grown-up sort of sadness, and he wasn't sure how to manage it.
With the band now in full swing, Nuvo returned her attention to the diners. She gave them a foxlike grin, then raised her hands in front of herself, as though she was preparing to push something.
"Let us eat!"
She did not sing the words, exactly, but rather spoke them with rhythm, as if she were reading poetry aloud. There was a rush of wind over the table, and everyone gasped to see their favorite dishes presented before them on dishes which, only a few seconds ago, had been empty. A spicy curry for Gladius, a full roast pig for Machvise, and so on. She had never conjured so many different entrees at once, and never in so few words.
She's been training while we were away, Doffy realized. And this is likely not the full extent of it. She's showing off, and I'd bet that the show has only just begun…
She had indeed been training. Frustrated with her lack of progress in determining how to access the new power she had discovered while rescuing Dellinger from the manticore in Impel Down, she had decided to focus on further developing her known abilities instead. She'd been working on her skills since they had settled in Mariejois, but Doffy's escapade with Juliette had really given her motivation to buckle down. Food had been her very first specialty, and she was determined to outdo herself this evening.
On top of raw conjuring prowess, she had recruited Dellinger to assist her in learning what sort of foods the rest of the crew enjoyed. It had been nice to work with him on this; they hadn't had much time for conversation since arriving in the Holy Lands, and she had missed her fishman friend. He had recovered his personality completely, albeit a little changed from his imprisonment, as they all were. He had also realized that his romantic feelings for Nuvo were nothing more than a trauma response, and while he did love her, he understood that he loved her in the same manner in which he loved the rest of his crew.
Thrilled with their personalized menus, the banquet's attendees dug in. Only Caesar's plate was left empty.
"I'm afraid I do not know what sort of cuisine you prefer, Sir Caesar. What would you like for your dinner? Fish?" She spoke in that rhythmic way again, and a platter of tilapia appeared before the clown. "Duck? Chicken? Escargot?" With every word, more food appeared on the table. Caesar was delighted.
"Please, you must stop! It all looks fantastic, but if you bring forth any more, you'll have to roll me out the door afterward!" he laughed, golden eyes glinting. "I am very impressed with your talents!"
"I assure you; my talents include much more than this." she winked saucily at him, and he blushed. Doffy felt a forehead vein pop.
The table was quiet as its guests stuffed themselves. Finally, the clutter of forks and knives desisted.
"Shall we clear the table for dessert?" Nuvo asked.
"Absolutely!" cried Elanor, much to her mother's chagrin.
"Manners, Elanor." she lectured.
"Oh, come, Juliette. What child isn't excited for dessert? Dishes, to your place!"
And with a snap of her fingers, the soiled plates and cutlery disappeared into thin air.
"Amazing!" exclaimed Caesar. "Where did they go?"
He made a grand show of looking under the table and around the room. Nuvo laughed to hide her relief. Vanishing had never been possible in her childhood, and her recent training with it had produced mixed results. The rest of the crew was also excited. She had never made anything vanish in their presence before, and she had explained that vanishing was difficult.
"In truth, Caesar, I've played a trick on you. I did not really make the dishes disappear. I simply sent them to the kitchen to be washed."
She had sent them specifically to the sink, but unfortunately, she had underestimated the distance and had given the kitchen staff a nasty surprise when a mountain of silver had plopped down in the middle of the stove. But they would clean the mess, of course, and the family would never know.
"I don't know how we'll manage dessert." Giolla groaned. "I don't think I could manage even walking after that feast."
"Why walk when we may float?" Nuvo announced, and the table and chairs began to gently levitate from the floor. The ceilings of the dining hall were high like the rest of the house, and within minutes the entire room's contents had drifted fifteen feet into the air. The crew all clutched at their chairs and the edge of the table as they bobbed so far from the floor.
"Oh, no need to fear! You wont fall if you let go. See?"
Elanor bravely stood upon her chair, then jumped. Juliette released a frightened cry, but it died quickly in her throat. Elanor was floating lightly in the air, as if she were submerged underwater. The chair drifted aimlessly behind her. Her curled hair lifted around her head ethereally as she spun herself, forcing her skirt into a silky circle around her waist like a tutu. Nuvo had also left her chair behind and was gliding toward the child, taking her small hands in her own and spinning them both in a wide circle, the both of them positively giddy.
Trusting that they would not plummet to the floor, the rest of the family released their wooden holds and let themselves float. Giolla was in hysterics over Pica's large form rolling by her like a fluffy cloud. Machvise was perfectly at ease, having experience lifting weightlessly into the air. Gladius and Senor Pink had made a game of shooting bits of slime off of Trebol's body, which was bobbing helplessly about, much to Caesar's amusement. Deli used his strong legs to push himself whichever direction he chose, playing a one-sided game of tag with Sugar, who only laughed harder each time she failed to tag him back. Diamante was the only one of the bunch who could still manage to look stern, even while levitating sideways. The candelabras had risen from the table and twirled quietly through the air, the candle flames creating a soft pyrotechnic light show.
"Elanor, choose a color!" Nuvo shouted at the happy child.
"Magenta!"
"Alright candles, you heard her, let's go magenta!"
Each candle flame tripled in length and took on the pink-purple hue. Ela clapped her hands loudly together and screamed again.
"Blue! Gold! Red! Lilac! RAINBOW!"
Nuvo complied eagerly with each change until each candle flame was a different color, casting the ballooned group in a multicolor glow. She released Elanor's hands and nudged her toward her mother, who grasped the child's hands and became her new dancing partner. Doffy made his way through the chairs and candles to her, one arm encircling her waist and the other taking her hand.
"Can you dance in these conditions?" he asked in that voice like smoked honey. She grinned.
"Only one way to know."
Slowly, they began a mid-air waltz. The band was floating alongside their instruments, and they continued to serenade the dinner party. Philadendron made a small effort to drift closer to Elanor, but Juliette shooed him away. Elanor made a face at her mother and pushed back toward the doll.
"My name is Elanor of the Marlettow family. I can play the trumpet! Maybe Madame Nuvovniya will let me play with you and your band! I'll ask her later!"
Philadendron nodded so vigorously that he would have dropped his violin, if he were able to drop it without it wandering off with the candles.
"My, my, you have been busy." Doffy muttered into Nuvo's hair as they danced. From merely conjuring wind and changing its direction to changing the air pressure of an entire dining hall. Well done."
She wanted to be annoyed that he'd figured it out so quickly, but then it really wasn't complicated considering how familiar he was with her abilities, and he had payed her a compliment, after all.
"Thank you."
They continued moving gracefully, stepping and dipping as naturally as if they were on the ground. Not wanting to ignore the rest, Nuvo called for dessert, and spheres appeared all over the room in an array of colors. Giolla grabbed one a took a bite.
"It's mochi!" she shouted gleefully. "This one is vanilla!"
"This one's mango!"
"Green tea over here!"
Elanor couldn't stop giggling.
"Make more, Madame! More! More!"
A voice, distant, whispered in her mind, one she had almost fooled herself into thinking she had forgotten. Bubble storms, dress-up, the ballroom at home, in Harmelude…
"Make more, Nu! Make more"
Scabor.
Then the members of the dining hall were falling. No, not really falling, just a jolt. It only lasted a half-second, but it was long enough to scare the crew. They looked to Nuvo with fearful expression. She laughed nervously.
"Only spooking you! Carry on!"
When the couple had finished three dances, Trebol had nearly no slime left, and Elanor had eaten enough mochi for six people, Nuvo gingerly lowered the party to the floor. The family and Caesar went their separate ways, each headed for his or her respective bedchamber. Nuvo and Juliette were walking Elanor to her room.
The two women stood stiffly beside each other while the little girl changed into a nightdress and crawled into bed. Nuvo moved to tuck her in, as she had done every night since transforming the girl, but Juliette elbowed her aside.
"I'll do it."
"You've never tucked me in, mother. Even before King Doflamingo came. Do you know how?"
"I'll manage."
"But Madame Nuvovniya always does it. Can't you both do it?"
"Why don't we let your mother do it tonight? We can take turns in the future."
Juliette's eyes shot daggers at the red head, but softened when she pushed the blankets in on either side of her daughter. She kissed the sleepy girl's forehead and whispered.
"I'm so sorry I've never tucked you in. I'll do it as often as I can from now on."
"It's ok. Can I play my trumpet with the band?"
"I don't know if it would be appropriate for you to play with servants."
The girl sighed, then turned her head to Nuvo.
"Can I play with them, Madame?"
"I think that's a great idea. You could use the practice."
Ela smiled. Juliette glowered. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. Goodnight."
Elanor was asleep before the two women left the room. As soon as the door closed, Juliette whirled, fuming.
"Is it difficult to mother her knowing that you murdered her father?"
"It's very easy when I remember what my parents were like with me before her father shot them."
Juliette stomped into her room, slamming the door as Nuvo stepped lightly toward her own, then decided that a visit to Doffy's bedchamber was long overdue.
…
It took her longer than she expected to find his room. She had only been inside it once, and it hadn't been a pleasant time, so she wasn't surprised at her difficulty remembering where it was. Nevertheless, she had eventually found it, and knocked twice before Doffy answered the door. He answered it unclothed.
"What brings you here?"
She rolled her eyes.
"Should I have waited for an invitation by post?"
He chuckled.
"You never need an invitation to my bed, Nuvovniya."
He moved to allow her to pass over the threshold, and before she had time to worry over what to say, he had pinned her to his bed, stringing her hands together above her head with his devil fruit power.
"I have missed playing with you." He mumbled into her neck, kissing his way toward her face.
She scoffed.
"Up!"
With more wind force than necessary, she slammed them both into the ceiling. Doffy let out an 'oof' as back cracked the stone at the point of contact.
"I am not a plaything." she whispered slyly before releasing the wind, allowing them both to fall full speed back into the mattress. They bounced for a moment before Doffy was able to attach either of her legs to a bedpost with his strings.
"Oh, I am well aware of that at this point. Forgive my poor choice of words."
He flicked his wrist and slit her dress right down the middle, yanking the fabric from beneath her bound body and flinging it across the room.
"I've wanted to do that all day." he moaned, trapping an exposed nipple in his mouth.
"What stopped you?" she gasped as he moved to give her other breast equal attention.
"You aren't the only one with a knack for good timing."
He was still fondling her breasts when she felt a soft push at her ass. Something firm and smooth traced her hole delicately, then slowly pushed forward. It felt like a finger, but how? His hands were holding him up while he kissed her chest. So, what was fucking her a-
The mysterious probe removed itself, then rammed back in, just hard enough to cause a little pain. It pushed itself in and out of her ass, alternating its pace often enough to keep her gasping.
"Wha-at? What is that?" she groaned as it quickened again. Doffy chuckled against her skin.
"Whatever do you mean?" he asked loftily, and she was ready to hit him with her tied hands when another object slid from the base of her labia to her clit, cutting off any retort she might have had. The new thing continued to caress her clit, rubbing in time with the thing pushing in and out of her ass. She leaned into the sensation and felt her wetness growing. She closed her eyes and barely noticed when he removed himself from the bed, moving to stand at the foot and watch her.
She wasn't sure when he'd blindfolded her. She only knew when she had opened her eyes, she still couldn't see. She thought she heard feet moving along the floor, but the things were distracting her, still working at her asshole and clit when she felt the tip of his cock brush hotly against the lips of her labia. At least, it felt like his cock. She really didn't know, but she really didn't care once it began methodically easing in and out of her cunt.
She moaned loudly as the cock nudged deeper inside her, but she closed her mouth around something else, another something that felt and tasted like his cock. As it pushed further into her mouth, she felt his balls brush against her nose. He had to be hovering just over her head, pushing himself into her mouth. That's definitely his cock then…so what the fuck is inside me right now?
She tried to draw some logical conclusion, but the fire rushing through her blood wouldn't allow logical thought. The stimulation was overwhelming, and it wasn't long before she was squirming with orgasm. The things removed themselves from her and she was still panting when the blindfold was removed, and she looked up at Doffy's figure, leaning over her head exactly as she had thought.
"Would you like to see what made you cum?"
She nodded, breathless. He released her from the bondage and she sat up to see that she was correct in that it was a couple fingers and a cock that had made her come undone, and they did belong to Doffy, they just weren't attached to him. Rather, they were connected to strings, which swirled together to form the cock and fingers themselves.
"You aren't the only one showing off new tricks tonight, either." he laughed, that true, jackal-like cackle that sent chills through a room. "Did you know that I can make an entire clone of myself from string?"
She only processed what he said after he'd shoved her from behind, shoving her face-first into the bed. He grabbed her hips harshly and yanked her ass into the air. He fisted her hair and forced her to look up, where the clone Doffy stood naked, as convincing and beautiful and erect as the real one. The clone stepped forward and got on the bed with them, wedging itself between her and the mattress. She felt the clone's stiff dick tease her inner lips while she heard Doffy spit and then the tip of his cock was at her asshole.
The clone buried himself to the hilt, thrusting rapidly. The real Doffy slowly pushed the head of his cock into her asshole, watching her carefully for signs of discomfort. There were none. He pressed himself further and felt her muscles tighten around him impossibly hard. He eased himself out and then back in repeatedly, until he had established a perfect rhythm with the clone.
Nuvo had never been so aroused. One in, one out, one in, one out, then both of them inside her together, slipping against each other through a thin layer of skin within her, faster and faster. She thought she'd surely combust if they didn't slow down, and yet she didn't want them to. The real Doffy reached around her to play with her clit, and only a moment later, her second orgasm forced all her muscles to contract, shattering his resolve and pushing him over the edge of his own climax. The clone disappeared and they both crumpled into the sheets, sticking to them with sweat.
When precious air finally returned to her lungs, she inhaled deeply and nuzzled against him.
"What an eventful evening."