Elizabeth's Pov
'Rrrrrr' 'Bark' 'Bark'
"Oh, it's you! Hey, give that back!" I had been looking for that puppy all afternoon but I hadn't expected him to steal my doll. Well, maybe I should have been more careful since it probably looked like one of his chew toys. Even so, I needed to get it back but from the looks of it, I had already lost him. "He's a quick little one... Where am I?" I couldn't have gotten that far away from the house. "Was it this way? Or maybe this way? Great, this is hopeless"
I could have sat around and waited to be rescued however I doubted my parents would notice I was gone until at least the morning. "Excuse me may we have a word with you?" The moment I heard a new voice other than my own I turned around although I was surprised to see it was the man from yesterday. He wasn't the one to speak, it was the other guy standing behind him. Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised to see him since his pup had stolen my doll not even five minutes ago.
"You're that creep from yesterday. What do you want and where did Bepo go? He stole my do- He stole something very important to me" I wasn't about to tell him I was carrying around a children's doll. Oh no, that would definitely make me out to be the weirdo here. "You're not getting that bastard's doll back. In fact, I might burn it later" This man was beginning to piss me off. He had no right to take my things and on top of that, he clearly had been stalking me to be aware I had a doll in the first place. "Excuse me! Sir, who the hell do you think you are!?"
"Watch your mouth Brat-ya. I am only here to warn you about that house" He had said something else about my house the other day as well. I could have stuck around and heard him out but I was already mad at him so didn't care enough to stay. "We're done here" I had gotten about five feet away from the pair when the leader of the duo said something that just sent a chill down my spine. "Smoker-ya, make sure that brat doesn't leave until I'm done with her" When the other man wrapped his arms around my chest, I tried to wiggle free but realized it was iron tight.
All I could do was see exactly what this creep wanted to do with me. "W-What do you mean by t-that?" His eyes narrowed at me although I avoided his glare by looking at the ground. "I'm here to give you a warning that's it besides you are not attractive. Why would I lower the bar for someone as ugly as you" If I hadn't been held against my will, I might have found that comment disrespectful to the point of getting violent but that would need to wait until later. "Law, stop provoking her"
"What was that Smoker-ya?" These two knew each other but I could tell they weren't exactly on the same page. One was a crazy person and the other just seemed like his assistant in a way. Either way, I needed to keep my mouth shut before I said something I regretted. "Forget it. Hurry up before he realizes you're toying with his new plaything"
"Let her go. If she runs that's fine, I will break a few of her bones. I really enjoy hearing the cracking sound" I was released although remained still as my chin was gripped between his fingers. "There is a door in that house unlike any other. It's behind some wallpaper and requires a special key. If you find a key with a button on the end of it; burn it, throw it away, or lose it. I don't care what you do just don't open that door"
We hadn't been in that house more than a day but somehow, he knew about that little door. There must have been an explanation, or maybe it was just he lived there once. I didn't know although decided to tell him nothing was behind that door. "There's nothing behind that door. I opened it yesterday. It's just old brick" The way his eyes started to glow threw me off and I started to back away. "You opened the door!? Are you a moron!?" His anger was only getting worse but for an unknown reason, I made the wise decision of whispering my thoughts out loud. "Someone is off their meds"
"What did you just say!?" His hearing was good but I wasn't about to stick around with him another second longer. "Law, calm down. You need to relax" With those two distracted I knew getting far away from them would be easy. However, I still didn't know the way back to the house. If I just picked a direction that would only make my situation far worse so I needed to think this through. "She opened the door!" As they continued to fight amongst themselves, I finally recognized a mark on a tree. That had to be the way back since I remembered walking passed it yesterday.
"Law, she didn't know. You can't blame her. Just relax and try to explain just the type of ma- monster Doflamingo is" I wanted to go home but hearing that name caused me to freeze in place. At first, I thought I had heard wrong although when I turned back, I could see the hurt reflecting in his eyes. This Law character if that was, in fact, his name had reacted to Doflamingo however that hurt quickly changed back to anger. "Don't you dare speak that demons name"
"H-How do you know that name?" I didn't want to be scared but this encounter was becoming too much. My mind needed answers although I knew it wasn't quite as simple as I thought it would be. "Have you meant him?" It was Smoker who replied this time and I was thankful since his voice was much softer. "He was a nice person... I don't understand that was all a dream. You shouldn't know his name"
"That beast is real it killed my little sister... and turned me into a monster for his sick pleasure! I'm only warning you about him once, if you decide not to listen it will be your funeral but there won't be a body for them to bury!" Everything had become overwhelming; I couldn't stay another moment so before my mind even realized it, I had already started to run away. My pace refused to stop until I had thought I got far enough away from them. "G-Good, that should be enough d-distance" I was trying to get my breathing under control but when a hand found its way to my shoulder I panicked before spinning on my heels.
"I'm sorry Elizabeth although Law means well. You need to understand it's only in your best interest to not open that door again. Please, he is tired of watching the cycle continue" His words were spoken with care although I couldn't believe a word he was saying. "He is crazy and so are you! Get away from me!" He had backed off however still continued to speak. "You'll see his true colors in time but once you do it'll be too late... Make the right choice. I am sorry for bothering you"
He had walked away but I remained in place for a while just staring at the treeline where he had disappeared. I thought about going home and calling the police. It would have been the best thing although I knew my parents didn't want to deal with that. "Maybe I'm the crazy one... I don't know anymore" My mind was conflicted and as I made my way back home, I caught a glimpse of something sitting on my porch. As I got closer, I realized it was the little doll that Bepo had taken earlier.
"How'd you get here?" Bepo must have dropped her but I wasn't complaining. Picking her up I noticed there was a slight tear along her side causing the sand to leak out. "Let's get you fixed up" Even if my sewing skills weren't great, I figured this would be easy enough I only needed some thread. Our stuff was still in boxes so instead of heading inside, I walked around the house and down the steps that lead to the neighbor's front door.
'Knock' 'Knock' 'Knock'
It took a minute although as the door opened, I took in the appearance of the lady who answered. She was older but I almost chuckled when I noticed her duel-colored hair. One half was blonde while the other was orange. You definitely didn't see that every day, it was nice though. "Oh, hello. Can I help you, dear?" She seemed nice so I didn't think much about asking for the items needed to repair the little doll. "I'm sorry to bother you but do you have a needle and thread I can borrow?"
"I do! What are you trying to fix?" I needed to be careful since the gash was pretty big but with care, I held her up so the neighbor could see. "My doll. She has a tear and the sand is spilling out" I thought she would just give me the items although that wasn't the case as she quickly took the doll from my grip. "Ah, please come in. Allow me to properly repair her. This is quite the doll you have. May I ask where you obtained it?"
"I'm not sure. It just kind of appeared when I moved in... I'm Elizabeth by the way" Her lips were drawn into a line but when her smile spread out, I found mine doing the same. "What a lovely name it almost outshines my own. I am Giolla but a few like to call me Jora. For you to receive such a doll you must be a special girl... So, tell me have you seen him?" I had immediately gotten confused since I didn't know to whom she was referring. "Who?"
"The Young Master of course" That could have been anyone although with her age maybe she had meant the Land Lady's husband. I wasn't sure but decided to ask about it just to see her reaction. "I'm sorry I don't understand what you mean" She looked over at me and I could have sworn she was glaring at me for a second. I brushed it off since by the time I had blinked she was back to smiling. "Don't worry dear I'm just speaking out loud again. You're the first child to move into this place in quite some time"
I was tired of people thinking I was a little kid. "I'm not a child" She again looked over at me but only shook her head before returning her attention to the little doll. "Everyone is a child at heart. Would you care for a candy?" Taking a look at the bowl she pointed at I recognized they were those gross candies that all stuck together making them impossible to enjoy. "No, thank you"
"If you change your mind, feel free to take one... Are you aware of the legend surrounding this house?" I had heard a lot of things about this house today alone although didn't want to be rude to someone who was helping me out. "A legend? No, I haven't heard anything about a legend"
"Well, a long time ago it was said that a young girl traveled to a land unlike our own and married a king. Life was wonderful until it wasn't although the girl was torn between her two lives, one where she'd only be a mere servant girl and another where she couldn't bear to abandon her two sons. If she left, they couldn't join her, and if she stayed the abuse would only grow worse. The King was a cruel man so much so one day her life was ended by him causing the eldest son to grow cold, heartless even. He spent his life hating his own father until one day he became the king. The pain in his heart didn't leave him however and eventually, he took his own life"
Her story was interesting although I needed be interrupt her. "Wait, what do you mean? He just died?" If this was meant to be a fairy tale it was pretty dark considering. "No, my dear child. He became something else. You have meant the King once before. How is the Young Master? I haven't seen him in quite some time" This lady had been a little older although I was starting to think her mind was going. However, I didn't want her to get upset with me so I just went along with it. "I'm sorry but I haven't meant any kings"
"That's a shame. Perhaps one day you will. He is truly a good man... he is just a little lost at the moment. If you do meet him, will you do me a small favor?" Again, she was nice enough to repair my doll so I needed to repay her by playing along with her fable. If this was her mind at work then I had no right to ruin her reality. "What kind of favor?"
"Bring life back to him"
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To Be Continued...