Author's note: I sort of feel the need to warn all of you guys that there is in fact some mature content and themes at the last third of the chapter. So…yeah, you've been warned.
Even though Anberlyn had resolved to not only keep Doflamingo alive but, to use any means necessary to ensure that she would be the one to kill him, she made several more attempts on his life, not coming close to even scratching him once. There was a difference in their power that wasn't near as vast now as it was in the past.
Anberlyn had transformed from a sheep in wolf's skin to a snake lying in wait in the grass.
Her mind had been set.
One day she would take him out, it was only a matter of time.
Not if, but, when.
Most of Anberlyn's efforts were unplanned and rather whimsical, like the time they were returning to the ship, using the clouds as stepping stones.
They were nearing a clear patch of sky that stretched on for miles and Doflamingo was depending on her to crystalize that liquid in the atmosphere and produce another stepping stone and continue doing so until her services were no longer needed.
Having often considered not giving into Doflamingo's expectations and simply not making another cloud, Anberlyn had cooked up a plan in a matter of, oh, say ten seconds. Death by sea would be a fitting way for Doflamingo to go, or so Anberlyn thought. It would be slow and torturous, made even worse if there were any sea kings around, and that's the only kind of death a man like him deserved.
And so, once they were on the edge of the clear patch of blazing blue skies, with Doflamingo's complete and utterly blind faith that his strings would attach to a cloud that would magically appear over and over until the patch of clear skies was behind them, she set her plan into action. When the free falling began, she pushed off of Doflamingo's back and solidified the air beneath her feet.
Looking down, Anberlyn was able to watch as complete and utter surprise flashed across the man's face. Satisfaction filled her chest; there was no better feeling in the world than knowing that she was the reason behind that expression. He would hit the water and then been immobilized as he slowly drifted to the bottom of the ocean, like a leaf to the ground. Even though it wasn't his death by her hand, it would work, the man would be dead and gone and that was all Anberlyn had ever really wanted.
Unfortunately, Doflamingo was a very quick witted man, connecting his strings to the bottom of the air she was standing on.
To say that he was surprised that Anberlyn had it in her to actually make a flat out attempt on his life was an understatement. Even though he was not happy with the predicament she had gotten them into, there wasn't much she could do now that he was connected to the bottom of her shoes. If she ran, he could keep up, if she stepped off of her little platform or broke it the same fate awaited the both of them.
So, squinting through his glasses and the glare of the sun, Doflamingo let out a long peel of laughter before the taunting words, "I have the strangest feeling that you're trying to kill me."
"I AM!" She shouted down at him. He was just like a spider, hanging at the end of his thread, freaky purple eyes looking up at her, that stupid smile still on his face!
He cocked his head to the side and said, "Well Sweetheart, did you really think it would be that easy? You've-"
"THIS ISN'T A GAME DONQUIXOTE!" Anberlyn roared, her fists shaking at her sides, her blood boiling in her veins. He thought this was funny. He was mocking her! Why couldn't he act like a normal person, just the slightest bit concerned…maybe? Why did he have to rob her of the satisfaction of scaring the shit out of him, out of making him fear for his life?
Even from his vantage point, staring up into the sun, it was more than crystal clear that Anberlyn was pissed. His words and his reactions were not what she had been looking for, though she shouldn't have expected much of a reaction from him.
She was so close to the edge, push just the right button and she was going to explode and what was more fun that pushing his little projects buttons?
"Anberlyn, sweetheart, you've got to try harder than that to take my head. Why don't we just return to the ship and you can try again later? I'll even give you some time to plan."
"Would they consider it suicide if we both go down?" Anberlyn growled fiercely.
Doflamingo laughed yet again. One would think that laughing at the only thing that was prolonging your demise would be an unwise thing to do, most people were not foolish enough to do such a thing. But, the blonde man in the pink feathered jacket, hanging on by a thread, was not most people.
"You don't have the guts Sweetheart." He flat out told her, interested in seeing what kind of reaction those words would perpetrate.
To his delight, she didn't let him down.
Looking skywards, Anberlyn took a deep breath in, then a deep breath out then, stepped off of the platform she had created. The air rushed passed her ears, pulling at her hair with fingers that couldn't quite grasp the maroon strands, her eyes clenched as tightly closed at the fists at her sides were, her stomach was in her throat with her heart beating in her ears, just under the whoosh of the wind.
And then she slammed to a stop, unable to stand the sensation of falling towards the ocean a second longer.
When she opened her eyes and looked down, she saw that the smile that was usually present was whipped clean from his face and was instead replaced by some kind look of annoyance.
Too bad it wasn't fear. Anberlyn bitterly thought before spitting,
"Believe me now?"
The smile wasn't gone for long, but what for the few seconds that it was, she reveled in satisfaction that she had succeeded in snatching it off of his face like a Marine snatching up his rifle during a pirate attack.
"Your fear tactics are coming along quite nicely." He gleefully complemented the angry girl. Then, deciding that he could bribe her into behaving nicely for the rest of the trip asked, "What is it your little heart desires?"
Anberlyn didn't hesitate even a second "Your life."
Feigned hurt thickly covered not only his face, but saturated his words. "I'm afraid that is one of the few things you cannot have Sweetheart. Is there not anything else you would like?" He asked cocking his head to the side.
"Nothing." She muttered crystalizing the air above her, looking away from Doflamingo.
"Don't be too upset." He crooned as his strings attached to the cloud. His only response was stony silence in which he replied to her saying, "Baby 5 is still hasn't succeeded and she'd been at it far longer than you."
Anberlyn wrapped her arms around his neck, her legs around his middle and said nothing.
It would be a lie to say that she did not consider just choking the life out of him, or of unsheathing one of the Katars on her hip and stabbing him in the back until death came and dragged his soul down to the deepest pits of hell.
But, at the time, Anberlyn was also quite discouraged by the fact that Doflamingo had laughed in her face and brushed the attempt on his life off like nothing had ever happened, as if she hadn't even come close.
And despite all wishful thinking, she had not come even remotely close to drowning the man named Doflamingo.
"After all of that, you don't want anything?" He asked as if he were a mother asking her child why he didn't want to accept the free candy that a cashier was offering.
"No." Anberlyn muttered, burying her face into the soft, completely dry, feathers. Their scent cleared her mind of all of the embarrassment she had caused herself yet filled her with a strange mix of rage and peace at the same time.
That wasn't her only harebrained attempt however.
Yes, there were several other times in which Anberlyn whimsically decided that she would try to take Donquixote Doflamingo's life.
Not a single one of those times were even close calls, though they resulted in several close calls when it came to her health, well-being and life.
Another one of those not thought out plans was acted out one sunny morning when he was basking not only in the sun, but also in the aftermath of latest catastrophe caused by the one and only Donquixote Doflamingo. Sugar was on the couch next to him, eating the grapes, or blueberries, or whatever they were from her fingers, Baby 5 sound asleep, her head lolling on his shoulder, the stupid pink transponder snail of his resting in his lap.
On one of their previous outings she had received a seastone ring, one that she kept wrapped up in her pocket as not to hinder her abilities, but so that she could have it on her should the need for it ever arise.
Needless to say, that morning, she had found a reason for it.
The plan was simple, but everything had to work.
And the first step of her plan was to convince the man to eat the muffins she had made.
"You must be famished, sitting there, basking in your own glory." She sneered into his ear, her hand creeping over his shoulder as the other held a mini cupcake just under his nose.
They had not taken long to cook, Baby 5 had helped her, unable to resist her request for help to make the crew said cupcakes. It had taken most of the night and of course, they were almost all gone, the crew having eaten most of them in far less time than it had taken to make.
"Is it poisoned?" He asked taking the pastry in hand, examining it from all angles.
Sugar looked over with interest and with a smile, Anberlyn jerked her head towards the kitchen, there might be some left for you if you hurry up." She told the little girl who was only little in size.
"Going through the trouble of hand delivering one to me, I can't help but be suspicious." Doflamingo mused. The thing looked ok, but that didn't mean that it was safe to eat.
"What do you want me to do? Eat some of it for you?" She grumbled with a roll of her eyes.
"That'd be delightful Sweetheart." And with that the cupcake was shoved back in her face.
Anberlyn pulled away the paper and took a small bite, chewed it well and once she had swallowed it down, she stuck her tongue out to show that it was gone, that she had survived and so would he. The rest was a breeze.
He popped the entire thing into his mouth and went as far as complimenting her, raising her hopes. With the seastone ring inside of him, killing him would be considerably easier. He probably had the skills to fight back, but would he have the energy?
Her hand was inching towards the handle of the Katar, aiming to stab him though the neck and then make a quick getaway.
However, just as her fingers curled around the weapon, he leaned back, a smile on his face as he said,
"A proposal?" And as the confusion clouded Anberlyn's expression, before she could respond, before she could deny what a ring was doing in his cupcake, Doflamingo stuck his tongue out, the ring balancing on its tip, smiling broadly around the appendage.
Anberlyn's eyes went wide, followed by a sharp intake of breath. He knew damn well that she was aiming to take his life on this fine morning.
Her body began moving around the couch, her hand slipping away from the Katar, as she sauntered over to him and sat where Sugar had just been seated. Doflamingo wrapped an arm around her shoulder, took the ring off the tip of his tongue and slipped it onto her awaiting middle finger.
"Perfect." He sang as he released the control he had over her body and watched her slump against him, scowling so pathetically up at him.
"I hate you."
"You sure have a funny way of showing it Sweetheart."
"An…ber…lyn." She panted. All strength was drained from her body, if Doflamingo wasn't sitting next to her, she'd be a puddle on the couch or on the deck, unable to truly do anything.
He shushed her, cupping his hand around hers so that she couldn't remove the ring from her finger. "Not so pleasant is it?" He crooned stroking her hair away from her forehead, giving her a smirk of snide satisfaction.
The plan of having Doflamingo consuming seastone and then killing him had been a fail as well. And unlike the other attempt, there was actually a consequence and that was being forced to wear a seastone ring until he deemed it fit for her to take it off.
It had been torture to say the very least.
Not all of her plans were spontaneous. While there were a considerable amount of plans that had only been spared two seconds of thought then acted out, there were a small handful of plans that had actually been contemplated and planned for a period of time before being set into action.
It wasn't to say that those planned assassination attempts ended any differently, well the main example she could think of had a very different result than the numerous other times she had tried to take his life.
The only reason Anberlyn went on all of Doflamingo's excursions was because she was a tool, there only to do her job, which was to minimize travel time by producing clouds when the sky was too damn lazy to do so itself.
Once their destination was reached, she was free do to whatever until it was time to return to the Donquixote Pirate's main ship.
When their destination was a pirate ship filled with leering men that eyed her like a lion eyes an injured zebra, Anberlyn opted to stay close to Doflamingo, confident that he wouldn't let anything happen to her.
After all, the only times he truly hurt her was, after all, when she tried to hurt and or kill him or when she had greatly displeased him.
She had completely groundless faith that he would not feed her to the, oh so hungry, lions. There were, of course, times in which he delighted in watching her squirm and swipe her claws at them, but he had yet to let the lions sink their claws or teeth into her.
But, when they were on land and when his protection wasn't necessary, Anberlyn opted to get as far away from Doflamingo as she possibly could.
It was during these times, while they were on these islands, that there were a great many examples of not at all thought out plans. Anberlyn had once thought it wise to hide from Doflamingo because she could not run. So, logically, hiding was her only other option. And even though it hadn't worked so well the first time, she kept on trying and trying. This was of course before she had resolved to kill him.
The extremely risky game of hide and seek was always won by Doflamingo, he always found her and the end result was always pain. It didn't matter if she did it to herself in her haste to change hiding spots or to get out of her previous one, or if it were his way of trying to deter her from attempting to hide from him again, it didn't matter. Once the game of hide and seek was over, Doflamingo's game of pain began and she played it quite well, obtaining nasty burns that blistered, scrapes and cuts that scared and breaks and fractures that were never quite the same after they healed.
Even after she had resolved to kill him with her own two hands, the desire to escape arose every once in a while and temptation was given into.
Doflamingo may credit the sudden stop of Anberlyn's hiding escape attempts to the small pouch of money that was all hers to spend when islands were their destinations. But, in truth she had given up on obtaining freedom through hiding.
And one day, while Doflamingo was doing whatever it was he needed or wanted to do, after she had brought herself a new outfit, Anberlyn stumbled across a little shop, at the end of a rather dark alleyway that boasted the world's widest array of poisons, elixirs, potions and ointments and creams.
Anberlyn should have continued on. She shouldn't have even given the store so much as a first glance, let alone a second one. But, since Anberlyn wasn't the best at resisting temptation, she gave in, slipping into the alley after double checking to make sure that no one noticed her before disappearing into the store.
When the door was thrown open, a chime sounded and a woman seemed to appear out of absolutely nowhere. She was tall and bony, with big curly hair and dark, latte, colored skin, clothed in brightly colored garments.
Anberlyn had little to know knowledge on elixirs and poisons; however, she knew that one of them could very well solve all of her problems.
"Hello and welcome my dear child." The woman sang with rather showy movements that reminded her of Doflamingo.
"It's Anberlyn." She instantly corrected. Just because Doflamingo ignored her constant corrections did not mean that this woman would be so infuriating and would actually listen to her when she told her that her name was Anberlyn.
"What is it you're looking for honey?" She asked, but, provided no room for a response and instead continued on talking. "Something to keep you from again or to help fertility? No, you look plenty fertile; you don't need any help in that area."
Her index finger skimmed across the wooden shelf, on the hunt for something as she talked on and on.
"How about a love potion or something to take your pain away? Oh! I've got just the thing to erase those scars of yours." She suddenly grabbed Anberlyn's wrist and turned her arms so that the underside, where a burn was. "Yes, I've got just the thing for that." She pocketed a small rectangular case and continued rambling on. "Need anything to help you sleep at night or forget a certain person, place or event? No, no, memories are a terrible thing to waste. Oooh! Do you need-"
"Something that kills." She muttered under her breath.
Looks like this little trip was going to take longer than she had thought. Who knew that the dimly lit, rather shady little store at the back of an alley was this big? And who knew that the items floating in jars, the putrid looking liquids and strangely shaped…things…could do any of the things that the woman had rattled off without so much as a breath of air?
The woman suddenly straightened with a devious little smile springing onto her face as the words, "Taking a life, my specialty," slipped from her mouth.
Bony fingers then wrapped around Anberlyn's wrist and she was dragged to the front of the shady little store and up to the desk in which the woman disappeared behind. From behind the desk, her voice wafted out from seemingly nowhere and made the demand, "Tell me more." As there was rattling, clinking of glasses and banging behind the desk.
"Really all I want is for him to be dead."
"A man huh? Well hell hath no fury next to a woman scorned." The woman said then, asked, "Do you not want this man to suffer honey?"
"That's preferable." Anberlyn grumbled, huffily crossing her arms under her chest. It seemed that no one liked listening to her when she corrected their pet names with her real name. She really did not like pet names; they bothered her like so very few things could.
Popping up behind the desk, the woman smoothed her skirt down and then leaned forwards, propping her elbows on the glass surface of the desk and held up two small vials, one the color of red wine, the other the color of a sunset. The devious smile twisted up the corners of the woman's mouth and she began explaining everything she needed to know about the liquid that the vials contained.
Three weeks later and the only thing that was left to do was to enact the plan.
Two weeks after that, the perfect chance presented itself.
It was one of those rare times where Doflamingo left the ship without her, though she never found out why he opted not to drag her around by the chain wrapped around her neck for that particular outing of his. But, he did tell her that they could expect him to return the next night. So, after quite a lot of impatient waiting, Anberlyn was finally able to put her plan into action.
Success was so close, just out of reach even though she was stretching her arms out and straining to grasp it in her hand already.
But, in a few hours he would be hers, his body would be an empty husk, his life would be his and she would be free. Free to…well she would worry about what she would do when she managed to get that far, because in all honesty, Anberlyn didn't know what the hell she was going to do with herself.
All her time and energy as of late had been spent hating Doflamingo and plotting his demise.
Now that she thought about it, it was pathetic.
When the soles of Doflamingo's shoes touched down on his deck, the full moon was high in the sky, sinking down towards the horizon, the stars twinkling brightly in the sky, his deck absolutely lifeless. Besides the billowing sales filled with gusts of wind, not a soul moved, the shadows were void of everything but darkness and ones imagination.
All was as it should be.
And so, with nothing pressing to do or take care of, with nothing that couldn't wait until tomorrow, or hell, next week, Doflamingo headed towards his quarters, his bed his destination.
For the briefest of moments he wondered just how much Anberlyn would hate him if he were to wake her up so that he could sleep with her in both senses of the word. She would kill him, or try to, but they had all seen how well that was working out for her.
Approaching the door, he noticed the sliver of light spilling out from under his door.
But, despite this observation and the flicker of a million different thoughts as to why the light was on, Doflamingo proceeded on as though he hadn't noticed the light, lazily opening the door and strolling through the doorway, even though he was on high alert, his body tense and ready for action.
But, instead of finding his quarters ransacked, instead of finding an enemy waiting patiently for him, instead of finding some kind of disaster, he found Anberlyn sitting, cross legged on the tan, cloth couch not far from his bed, a glass of red wine in hand, held up her to lips oh so casually, a bottle and another filled glass on the table beside her.
And when Anberlyn's eyes locked with his, a grin formed around the rim of the wineglass and she lowered it from her lips, uncrossing her gorgeous long legs and gracefully rising to her feet. She was wearing black heels and black dress that reached her ankles and hugged her body, highlighting just the right contours of her body. The dress also sported a plunging neck line and a single slit clear up to her thigh.
Anberlyn then stooped down low, eyes not leaving his as she grabbed the other glass and then stepping around the table, sauntered up to him, her hips swinging in an exaggerated manner that he couldn't say that he minded too terribly much.
"Welcome back Donquixote." She purred, stopping about an arm's length away, offering him the untouched glass of wine in her hand, the scent of said wine wafting from her words.
She must be drunk. He joyously thought to himself. It looked as though he wouldn't have to wake Anberlyn up tonight since she was already here and waiting.
Doflamingo couldn't recall a single time in which Anberlyn was happy to see him, though; he was always delighted to see her.
As a smile cracked across his face and he accepted the outstretched glass, the song like words, "I got lonely tonight without you. It's just not the same when you're not around to torment me so," filled his ears as fingertips lightly traced down his semi-bare chest.
Typically, Anberlyn cursed his return in the event that he decided to travel without her. For being such a good little girl for an extended period of time, he had decided to give her a break from all the good work she did making clouds and resisting the acclaimed urges to kill him. But, Doflamingo wasn't about to complain about her sudden change of heart.
With Anberlyn's current display and the promise of what was to come, why would he?
Doflamingo stooped slightly down and with his free hand, lightly gripped her chin and tilted her head back before crooning, "My most sincere apologies Sweetheart. Had I known you were waiting for me…" He trailed off, letting implications fill in the blanks.
And, before she could utter a response, he pressed his lips against hers testingly.
Instead of resisting, instead of fighting back or even trying to run, instead of being stiff and rigid and forcing him to, not only do all of the work, but, to also use his devil fruit ability to get what he wanted, Anberlyn yielded to him.
She responded to the flick of his tongue across the crease of her lips not by setting her jaw, clenching her teeth together or pursing her lips, but, by giving into him, by parting her soft lips and giving what he least expected, compliance.
Anberlyn wasn't just complying with what was transpiring, but, she was, one hundred percent, willing.
The kiss was long and deep, filled with hunger and lust. And, to Doflamingo, it tasted like wine and victory. He had conquered her mind body and soul, and even if she didn't yet fully accept this fact, she was letting him know that she had accepted, at least a little bit, that she had been conquered, not just her soul and mind, but her body as well.
The taste of victory was so sweet on his tongue, even sweeter than the wine Anberlyn tasted of. Doflamingo could not wait until the day when Anberlyn fully accepted the fact that he had tamed her, the wild stallion that had been captured and sold into captivity.
Surprisingly enough, Anberlyn was the one to pull away, silkily asking about the short trip and how it had gone.
Not wanting to discuss business, he simply said, "It doesn't matter."
"Sure it does. We have all night no?" Anberlyn asked, her hand sliding down his arm before gently pulling him over to the couch she had been lounging on upon his entry by his wrist.
"It's two in the morning Sweetheart." Said Doflamingo as he sat down and pulled Anberlyn down onto his lap before taking a drink from the glass.
Wine sloshed over the rim of the thin stemware and onto the worn couch and her hand, but, still a smile lit up Anberlyn's face as she purred, "Oh, I know. I told you, I've been waiting for you for quite some time now."
And she had been, since the sun had started setting around nine thirty. During her wait, she had downed quite a few glasses of wine; the bottle only containing about half of its contents by time Doflamingo had waltzed into his room.
But, she was far from drunk.
There was no way she was going to be anything that completely sober for the undoing of Donquixote Doflamingo.
Like he reveled in her pain and misery, she was going to revel in his death. Being drunk would only put a haze around the experience, which was one she wanted to remember for the rest of her life. Anberlyn wanted to see his expression, watch the smile dissolve from his face and the light fade from his body and she wanted every single detail to be nothing but crystal clear.
The wine, well it was just a mirage that was hiding something much more dangerous beneath the surface. Her act was just a gimmick, a mask to conceal her true intentions and, judging from how Doflamingo was responding, he was falling for the act. Of course there was always the possibility that he was stringing her along, waiting for the perfect moment to call her out and tell her that he knew that she was acting all along. And Anberlyn hoped that the later wasn't the case or else she was in deep trouble.
Under normal circumstances, Doflamingo would have to pull a few strings to get her in bed with him, even though they weren't always on the bed. But, if this was to be the last time, if she was never going to have to put up with the monster under her thumb, if he was going to suffer and perish in the end, then Anberlyn didn't mind.
Anberlyn quickly finished the wine in her glass and then tossed it to the side, ignoring the sound of shattering glass and the little voice in her head that told her that she would be the one picking it up later, as she shifted her weight, throwing a leg over his lap so that she was straddling his waist and facing him.
With a knee on either side of his waist, she settled down on his lap, hands traveling from the broad shoulders still covered in pink feathers, down the V of bare, muscular chest that his open shirt left exposed until the three buttons that held the bottom of his shirt closed, were reached, bringing her hands southwards progress to a screeching stop.
If he didn't know any better, Doflamingo would say that Anberlyn actually liked being on top, he certainly did, even if she was going a bit too slow for his taste.
Anberlyn looked up at him through a veil of thick, dark lashes, her lips curved ever so slightly upwards, as the hands on his lower abdomen began fumbling with the first of the meager three buttoned buttons on his button up shirt. Through purple shades, he watched Anberlyn watching him, her eyes not leaving to look down at her hands as he sipped at the wine in the glass she had so generously offered him.
Ordinarily, Anberlyn was a fine woman with her gorgeous, long legs, thin waist and ample bust. But, it was times like now, when she was trying, that sexy was a word that wouldn't even begin to describe the maroon haired woman.
When the wine was gone from his glass, instead of throwing it over Anberlyn's shoulder, Doflamingo leaned forwards, reached past Anberlyn and placed his glass next to the nearly empty bottle. Bringing his hands up to rest behind his head, he sat back, carefully watching Anberlyn's expression and body language for any sign of displeasure or annoyance, as there should have been had she not been out of her mind.
But, there was none.
She did not frown in annoyance or roll her eyes, sigh deeply or haughtily, or utter so much as a word, let alone spit fire, as she would have under normal circumstances.
Under normal circumstances, Anberlyn would have been pissed at Doflamingo's attitude and she would have expressed as much. Hell, in normal circumstances, she would not be in this position, not willingly at least. But, the annoyance was stuffed down, the anger drowned by just how elated she was that the jaws of the trap had snapped shut and all that was left to do was to finish Doflamingo off.
Soon, all of her hard work would pay off. Soon, her pain and suffering would have all been for something. And once Doflamingo was eradicated from not only the earth but from her life, she was going to wipe all traces of him from not only her memory, but from her body, erasing all of the scars that had been accumulating since that first day, not just some of them.
Soon, was the only thought that kept her grounded, that kept Anberlyn moving along, that kept up the act.
So, because this entire situation wasn't normal, instead of snapping at him or even hinting at her annoyance, she silkily asked, "Enjoying yourself?"
But, before even a sound could be uttered, the final button was undone and the shirt fell open and with that, a sly smile of delight sprang onto Anberlyn's face. Just above his pants line, she began pushing flattened hands up his sculpted body, pushing open not only the white shirt, but the pink feathered jacket that covered the shirt. Both articles of clothing were pushed off of his shoulders at the same time.
Thankfully, he was kind enough to unfold his arms and even go as far as pulling them out of the sleeves before they were wrapped around her body, holding her fast, like a constrictor, as she brought his mouth to his for another kiss.
The lust from before was still present only, it was no longer simply simmering but, instead boiling and threatening to spill over, to take over their actions and thoughts.
Much slower and Doflamingo would be forced to take control. It wasn't to say that he wasn't thoroughly enjoying Anberlyn taking the initiative, but, at this point, he wanted nothing more than to ravage her body and satisfy his needs.
A calloused hand slid up her thigh, much like it had upon their first meeting at the auction house, but, unlike that time, his hand didn't just travel up the slit of the skirt and stop on her thigh, it slipped under the fabric of her dress and rested on the curve of her behind, his other hand on her waist, holding her fast, as though he feared that she would suddenly change her mind and leave.
But, Anberlyn wasn't about to miss the greatest show on earth. The poison had been consumed and all that had to be done was for it to take effect, which the woman had explained would take a few minutes. But, she could stand that; Anberlyn could string Doflamingo along for a few more moments.
When they broke away from each other, Anberlyn was breathing heavily, her chest heaving as Doflamingo finally answered her question. "Would you believe me if I said no?" He knew full well the answer.
With a knowing smile spreading across her face as little kisses and nips littered her neck, jaw and what was exposed of her chest, Anberlyn murmured a breathless, "Not a chance."
Doflamingo smiled against the warm skin of her chest, just above her rapidly beating heart, and drawled the word, "Good," as he reached for the zipper of the simple, black dress that covered everything he wanted on display.
Cool air hit her back, sneaking into the spaces between the black fabric and her skin as the zipper was drawn slowly down her back, with an amount of control Anberlyn didn't know Doflamingo possessed in this setting.
By now, the man beneath her was probably ready to tear her dress from her body, with no regards to the fact that she had paid for it herself, and get the show on the road. He was probably itching to get the sweat rolling down their bodies.
But, any moment now the poison was going to kick in.
Doflamingo's reign over her would end, the underworld's Joker's insides would seize up and after a few long moments of excruciating pain, his soul would flee his body and the deed would be done.
Freedom would be hers.
She might return to Sabaody, the island that had been her home for the ten years prior to Doflamingo's waltz into her life, until the unfortunate day she was caught by a gang of slavers, but, then again she might not.
It was so close though. So close that Anberlyn could almost taste it and it was sweeter than anything that had graced her tongue's taste buds.
Once the zipper had reached the end of its track, once the back of Anberlyn's dress was opened, calloused hands slid from her back and waist up to her shoulders, where they proceeded to push the tank top like sleeves down off of her shoulders, slowly, but surely exposing her brilliant body to greedy eyes.
"You like what you see?" She asked in a velvety voice, almost wishing that she could see the look in his eyes when he saw that some of the scars he had gifted her with had disappeared thanks to that little shop that was hopefully going to help her kill Doflamingo.
Anberlyn was no longer confident that he was going to die tonight, however.
The woman had said that there was a set time limit that would be required before the poison would take effect. That wasn't the problem anymore. No, the time limit had long since run out, Anberlyn had been carefully keeping track, but, he was not writhing in pain, or so much as grimacing. His insides were probably normal, not on fire or clenching, as they were supposed to be until death came to ease his pain.
Upon her question, the dress was torn away and Doflamingo saw that not all of his lessons, punishments and, loving blemishes were gone. The bite mark on her breast, as well as the bullet wound under her last rib and the grotesque line caused by a Marine who though they were going to gut his precious project were still there, but, the other wounds from other misadventures and punishments were no longer there for his enjoyment. The lacerations from a Marine's whip no longer laced her back, the permanent welts from a riding crop, the scar on her left foot and leg that she had received from some wire she hadn't seen while trying to run from him, and many more scars were gone.
Anberlyn's body was not riddled with a single scar or imperfection that he did not want on it. There were a great number of ways to make scars disappear that Doflamingo knew of, but, it seemed Anberlyn had taken it upon herself to get rid of them.
The fact she had had erased his beautiful scars did not please the man at all; however, the fact that Anberlyn had been thoughtful enough to make more room for future artworks canceled out the displeasure, leaving him somewhere in the middle.
Prior to tonight, Doflamingo thought that he was going to be unable to physically scar Anberlyn without maiming her body, the body he planned on enjoying for quite some time.
"I love that you made more room." He slyly informed the waiting Anberlyn, his fingers tracing over the place on the inside of her thigh where a bullet had once embedded itself.
Instead of squirming uncomfortably under his touch, she leaned forwards and huskily whispered, "Are you going to leave something to make me remember tonight?"
"If that's what you want Sweetheart." Doflamingo had no idea that Anberlyn was a masochist she had always shied away from the idea of pain, of punishments. But, to him, it sounded as though she were asking for him to leave a mark, to leave a scar on her perfectly flawed body.
To that, she forced a smile, praying that things would not come to that. Anberlyn hoped with all of her heart that they would not reach that part of the night, or morning, or whatever time it was.
She was already naked and the only things left to really go were her underwear, his pants and their shoes. So, Anberlyn was depending on the poison to take effect within the near future.
But, she was worried, frightened that her plan might not actually work. So, Anberlyn began retracing her steps, trying to figure out where it was things could have possibly gone wrong.
At about nine o'clock, Anberlyn had taken a seat on the couch in Doflamingo's room, downed the antidote for extra precautions and to fortify her seduction act. Because, if she hadn't taken the antidote beforehand, she wouldn't have had the guts to kiss Doflamingo on the mouth after he had taken a drink of the poisoned wine and her act would have been suspicious. And if suspicions had been raised then things wouldn't have gotten as far as they had.
She had then emptied the poison into a second wine glass and then filled the rest of the glass with wine.
After that, she had waited about a half hour and then poured her first glass of wine and began sipping at it.
And waited.
And waited.
And poured another three glasses.
And waited.
And waited.
And waited.
And then Doflamingo had finally walked in.
And then, after handing him the poisoned wine, she had kissed him.
Her train of thought was suddenly broken by a sharp pain on her neck, by the breaking of flesh against shark like teeth.
Anberlyn gasped and her eyes refocused on him.
"What were you thinking of Sweetheart?" Doflamingo asked already knowing why Anberlyn had spaced out.
For a moment, she blanked, and then began scrambling to organize her thoughts and step back into character, into the shoes of a seductress with only one thing on her mind, tossing aside the role of a murderer desperate for the kill if only for a moment.
Suggestively pushing her hips down against his, she smirked and said, "What happens next, of course."
He knew it.
The smile that was always on his face, remained there, tweaking itself so that it could convey the smugness of having been correct he felt at that moment.
"I hope you don't disappoint." She whispered leaning forwards and lightly kissed him on the lips, pressing her bare chest against his and sitting heavily on his lap.
Whatever his response, Anberlyn heard it, but it didn't register in her mind.
She had kissed him before he had taken a drink of the wine. Maybe the antidote she had taken had worn away at the poison, maybe was delaying the reaction.
With renewed hope, Anberlyn returned to the task at hand, playing Doflamingo until the poison took hold and killed the man. As long as he died in the end, she didn't quite care how far the seduction act went, after all, this was going to be her last time with him.
Once she was free, she was going to erase all of the scars on her body and forget every second she had to spend with this monster.
She could feel his excitement, there was only one thing in his way however, and that was the clothes that still remained on their bodies.
But, Anberlyn was hesitant to remove the barriers, or to let Doflamingo do so, afraid that if she were to go past this point, then there was going to be no turning back. Because, even though her hope had been renewed, there was still an inkling of doubt tugging at her mind, telling her that there was no delay but, the poison would not be the catalyst that would end Doflamingo's life.
The room was suddenly a blur of movement before her head slammed against a relatively hard surface, a dark, smiling figure looming above her, hands braced on either side of her shoulders, knees on either side of her thighs.
"You didn't think I'd let you tease me all morning did you?" Doflamingo's voice sang as he chuckled at the expression of surprise on her face.
When she had her wits about her, Anberlyn realized what had just happened. The time limit had long since been surpassed. Even a slight delay shouldn't have prolonged his death by this long. Anberlyn's thoughts rushed as his long fingers hooked the band of her undies and began dragging them down her legs.
It was kind of amusing that Anberlyn hadn't started squirming until now. It was as though she had never intended on letting the seduction get this far.
But, 'this' was only the beginning. Anberlyn knew full well what she was getting into when she approached him with the glass of wine and a sexy smile. And he couldn't disappoint now could he?
Anberlyn hands shot down to her thighs, to grab her panties and pull them back up, to cover herself once again because, that uncomfortable feeling of being so exposed under the eyes and body of such a vile man, setting in the pit of her stomach.
But, realizing that she had to keep up the act, to make sure that Doflamingo didn't suspect a thing, she stretched her finger tips to push the lingering side of her underwear down her thighs with a smile that was sure to delight with the teasing words, "Was I moving too slow for you?"
The confidence that had been on display since his return to the ship was flickering like a dying light bulb.
Anberlyn looked so uncomfortable now that she was naked beneath him; it was as though something had been torn away along with the dress.
But, maybe she was just worried now that she wasn't being forced to do anything, now that she was beneath him of her own volition.
Trying to keep up the charade, Anberlyn kicked her underwear away from her legs and steeled herself for everything that would happen next.
Anberlyn wasn't being controlled by Doflamingo, but, she had backed herself into a corner and, from where she stood, there wasn't anything she could do to get out of what she had gotten herself into. If Anberlyn were to suddenly throw off the mask, if she were to decide that she didn't want to sleep with the man, then she would be placed under the control of his strings, and he'd have his way with her as he would if she kept up the act.
Regardless, she would be getting no sleep.
Her previously newfound hope was shattered with the realization that no one would be dying tonight.
Anberlyn had screwed herself over from the very beginning.
Her chance had been so perfect, Doflamingo had been so unsuspecting, the plan so well thought out, but, it was one simple and very minute mistake that had caused her to throw out the very foundation of her plan.
The freedom was in the plam of her hands, was in fact not hers. The sweet taste of victory had turned sour in her mouth and, the success she had been so close to grasping was so far out of reach it was almost foolish to keep pursuing it.
It was no fault but her own that the only thing that was to be taken tonight was her.
Salty tears slid past glistening temples, into a mess of maroon colored hair and onto the tan couch.
A/n: The seduction part of the chapter was so embarrassing to write, I'm sorry. The good news is that I might have a clue as to what to write next, how to connect point B to point C.
Guest (both of them): Guys, thank you very much for your support and encouragement. It really helps. I hope I do not disappoint in the future.
Review please. I would be delighted to hear your thoughts and opinions. Please, if you think that I have gotten anyone OOC, tells me. Thank you much for reading and I hope to see you next chapter.