I silently thanked the female servant who was leaving the room and gratefully grabbed the cup of coffee she had put down for me. As I tried to lower the coffee's temperature with my breath, my eyes wandered off towards Law.
He looked so peaceful: His eyes closed, his breathing steady and his body covered in white bandages. Aside from a few scratches on his face, there wasn't a single indication of wounds left. If you didn't count the bandages that was.
Law's words floated around in my head, unable to settle in a place that gave them a meaning I could grasp.
The corners of my mouth took the form of a sad smile as I thought back about his question.
His childishly pure question.

"Do you like life on Dressrosa?"

Of course I didn't. The Family was horribly corrupted and Doflamingo himself was nothing more than a monster.
A vile and cruel monster that had ordered me to stay in this room until further notice. I had already been here for nine hours, I could use a break. Being locked up like this had made me crave for some fresh air.

As if he had heard my thoughts, Doflamingo suddenly entered the room, followed by Sugar. He strode along calmly, making his way towards the bed and inspecting Law's bandages.

"How is he?"

"He's stable, but asleep now."

Doflamingo focused his attention on me, leaving me with a shiver running down my spine.

"Fufufufu, why do I get the distinct impression you don't like being in this room?"

I tried to stare him down coldly, but as soon as the Young Master started to grin, all bravery faded away.

"Well," I muttered. "I have other patients to look after. Plus, Diamante had ordered me to be ready at nine." I glanced at the clock above the door. "That's only an hour from now."

One step in my direction was enough to make me flinch. After all, Doflamingo was almost twice as tall, compared to me.
Besides: How could I win against someone who had obtained such a terrifying ability? Against someone who was so much stronger than me.

"Change of plans. You can go outside for a few minutes, but after that I want you to stay in here until morning. Fufufufu, aren't I generous? Make sure he heals quickly but properly."

Doflamingo quickly pointed towards Law, who was still sleeping, surprisingly. After that he strode away, leaving Sugar behind.

Even though the average temperature on Dressrosa was relatively high, it got significantly colder during the evening. The cold air brushed along my cheeks with every step I took.
Sugar quietly walked in front of me, until suddenly, she turned around and smiled with her eyes closed, her head tilted.

"What is it?" I asked warily.

"Bellamy is going to die, you know."

It was as if she was singing the words. How could she be happy about something so horrific?
I confidentially took a step forward as I tried to shake off the "worst-case-scenarios" that were trying to overtake my mind.

"What do you know?"

I had trouble preventing myself from grabbing her, but I knew Doflamingo was watching us. Sugar would never have said anything if it hadn't been a direct order from that monster. He was definitely scheming something.

Sugar kept on smiling and raised an explanatory finger.

"Dellinger is going to kill him during the Colosseum finals. If you want to save him, you have to hurry."

"The elimination rounds don't start for another two days, let alone the finals. Why would I have to hurry?"

I wanted to turn around, towards the palace, but I found myself unable to move.

"Doflamingo." I hissed.

It was as if he was trying to get a message across. 'You have to hurry because I'm unpredictable. I can kill him whenever I want to.'
I could hear his smug laugh in my head, as the short vision of him standing over Bellamy's corpse came with it.
As soon as I felt the strings being removed, I fell to my knees and placed my hands on my head. All kinds of scenarios and possibilities started to occupy my mind. How was Dellinger going to kill Bellamy? On stage, for everyone to watch? Behind the scenes, where nobody would find out? Was Doflamingo even going to wait for the tournament finals to begin? What if he was on his way to Bellamy right now?
And what about Law? Even though I had heard many stories about him, I had never known his precise connection to that monster.
And of course, there was also the possibility of agreeing to Law's proposal.
Suddenly, Sugar's sweet voice tore me away from my thoughts and brought me back to reality.

"Hihi, time is ticking away, Saria."

"Wait, Sugar!"

But the little girl had already run past me on her way back to the palace.

"You should check on Law," she sang. "Maybe Doffy got bored and killed him, hihi."

As Sugar disappeared inside, I took a deep breath and rushed back inside as well; my mind occupied with Sugar's words and the sight of lifeless bodies.

"Please be alright, both of you."

"What are you doing?"

Law slightly sat up -he tried his best to hide any indication of being hurt- and looked at my panting being as I leaned against the doorpost, trying to catch a breath.
On my way over here, I had spend some time contemplating whether I should tell Law about what had happened and had concluded that he was worth trusting. He had rebelled against the Young Master himself, after all.
And he was going to do so again real soon.

"I... Don't know what you're talking about."

Afraid that someone would be eavesdropping, I depicted the use of Law's ability.
He knew what I wanted.

"Room."

Right after he had said it, the same blue orb as yesterday appeared. As soon as it had engulfed me, I felt a certain sense of relaxation. As if I were absorbed in Law's calm and composed aura itself. It was the same feeling I had had yesterday, during our talk.

"I want to talk to you about yesterday."

Law rose an eyebrow and nodded quietly.

"I accept your proposal: Law, let's escape together."

Law wanted to say something, perhaps express an emotion of sorts, but I wasn't done talking yet.

"I have one condition, though. I want to make sure my brother is safe as well."

"Brother?"

I nodded.

"He is one of Doflamingo's lower leveled followers."

I averted my eyes from Law's and tried to prevent them from welling up.

"Doflamingo is going to have him killed."

"How do you know?"

I took a deep breath and told Law everything that had happened yesterday in the corridor and just now, outside the palace.
All he did was listen, genuinely.

As soon as I had finished speaking, we both looked around us, trying to find the right words to break the silence that followed.

"Then-" Law grinded his teeth as he tried so sit up straight. He came surprisingly far, but couldn't reach behind him to reposition the pillow. I sighed and slightly smiled as I fluffed it up for him. He didn't thank me.

"Then, can't you bring him?"

There they were again, those tears; trying to make it to the outside, trying to show my vulnerability. I did by best to blink them away, though and shook my head.

"His sense of loyalty will never allow him to run away like that."

"Why don't you leave him behind then?"

"He's my brother. Of course I can't leave him behind." I abruptly turned towards Law. "And stop using your ability, you're going to wear yourself out."

I could hear Law mumbling something under his breath.

"Hm?"

"You were the one who asked me to produce this room."

I didn't have a valid counter argument and decided to admit defeat.

"So," Law beckoned me with a smile. "What's your brother's name?"

I took a few steps forward and took place on the side of the bed.

"Bellamy."

Even though the silence had ironically said it all, I still had to take a look at Law's expression.
The combination of disgust and contempt made me remember one of Bellamy's older stories.

"Oi, Saria. I killed six guys today! They were lowlife pirates, looking for One Piece. Their Captain had this weird ability where he could create blue orbs. Those inside the orb would get sliced and diced. But hey, at least they're number are reduced a little now! Your brother is amazing, huh?"

Finally, Law broke the silence and with that, immediately created a new one.

"You can do as you please, but I will never rescue or team up with that brute. So either leave him behind, or stay here yourself, it's your call, doctor."

To be continued