Present...
Elizabeth's Pov
"H-He... I-I"
My words couldn't form but the moment Lami started to speak again I turned my head to give her my full attention. "You need to leave this place. The button key may be gone but there is another way to leave this cursed place. Find the key to unlock the door which leads to a window. There you may return to your own world. However, use caution he does not like when his game is interrupted" She had sounded so calm and nothing about her tone just away any traces of fear. "W-What key are you t-talking? H-How are you so calm after retelling such a terrible thing? I-I am so sorry"
"My death was my own fault there is no need for you to be sorry. Why I am like this is partially due to having the time to reflect. I may have the body of a mere child but I am no longer that foolish little girl" Lami did make a good point and since I didn't want to force out any negative emotions I decided to ask about her situation. "C-Can you not leave this place?" I was still freaking out inside but I was trying my best to not let it show in my voice. "Without my eyes, I am bound to this world. None of us can leave. We are trapped until what was once ours has been returned"
"We?" I had only thought it was Lami here and even now I didn't see anyone else. "Yes, we. I am afraid they will not come out of hiding so I will act on their behalf. One had been here before me and I had failed to listen to his warning. You must not waste any more time, Elizabeth. Go before he causes you to forget"
'Clap' 'Clap' 'Clap'
When the sound of clapping filled the hall, I immediately felt my skin grow cold as my head slowly turned to look behind me. "Fufufufu. This again? I had thought I made my orders clear. Perhaps you need a little more force to stay away from what belongs to me. Elizabeth, go eat your supper. Your innocent eyes should not witness this" The way his fingertips brushed against my neck as he walked past caused me to start shaking but I refused to do as he said. "No, stop! Stay away from her!"
Putting myself in front of Lami I watched as Doflamingo stopped a few feet short of us. I knew it was only a matter of time before he tried something so I started to think of a plan. "You have caused my queen to become upset with me. That is un-" Before he could continue, I had made the decision to sink my teeth into his wrist. It wasn't my finest moment but since Doflamingo had started to move forward I had panicked. "Elizabeth, you should not bite people it is not nice. Let go my darling... I said let go!"
When his fingers pushed themselves into my mouth, I forced released my hold. Despite that, I still remained in front of Lami acting as a wall between the pair. "Y-You will not go near them!" I was terrified but even though I was shaking I stayed in place. There was no way I could live with myself if I abandoned her. "Come along my darling. We will have to go through the process once again" I hadn't been prepared for him to pick me up but the moment he did I began to try to break free. "W-What are you doing!? Put me down!"
My fists were banging against his back although I knew it wasn't going to make him let me go. "I will deal with them later. For now, I will ensure you are taken care of. Why did you have to wander into this part of the palace again? I can not continue to erase your memories. Your health will only suffer"
"Put me down! Stop it!" I couldn't keep hitting him for long but I was determined to at least cause him some pain. He probably didn't even feel my hits and despite that, I continued the assault. "Such a fighter you are, my darling. Fufufu. Do not worry this day will all be erased and then we may start again. Wait here for a moment. Oh, do not try to break the strings it will only cause you harm" I hadn't realized he had taken me to the kitchen but as I was forced into a chair my wrists were bound to the arms of it. He told me it would cause harm although I didn't care as I started wiggling my wrists around.
"W-Where are their eyes! You are a monster! T-They never did a thing to you a-and look at what you did!" He had his back to me mixing something together in a glass however spared a minute to reply. "Sweet Elizabeth you should not listen to ghosts. They have filled your head with such lies and I do not care for it" I watched as he knew the spoon in the sink although even though I was terrified I still gave a reply. "L-Lami never lied! S-She told the truth!"
"This drink will fix everything. I need you to open your mouth or else I will be forced to assist you. What is your choice, Elizabeth?" He was just standing in front of me and as I thought it over, I finally said something. It was soft but I knew he would still hear me. "Let them go" My tone had calmed down and it surprised me since moments before I was struggling to get my words out. "Hm, let who go?" It would a difficult choice to make and maybe it was wrong although I knew I was never leaving this place. At least this way they would be able to have their freedom back.
"Those children. G-Give them back what you stole. If t-they stay here I will only find out the truth again. Let them go and I will drink whatever is in that glass" He was close enough to force it down my throat but instead of doing so he thought over my request. "That is all you want?" When he crouched down to my eye level, I swallowed my fear before I slowly started to nod my head. "Yes" He had only stared at me but in time his fingers reached out to touch my cheek. I realized when Doflamingo pulled away that he was wiping away my tears.
"Why are you still crying? I do not mean to hurt you. This is necessary darling. You need to understand that" My fear quickly rushed back to the surface but so did a certain amount of anger. "K-Killing those children was necessary?" I wanted nothing more than to put a knife through his stupid throat although that would never be possible. He was stronger than me and that fact was never going to change. Even this deal was a joke since if he really wanted to have his way, he could there was no doubt in my mind about that.
I must have let my thoughts distract me since when Doflamingo started to speak I noticed his hand had two small orbs in it. "Here, these are her eyes. Once you are done, I expect you to return to this room. Do we understand each other, Elizabeth?" There was only one set in his hand and while I took them, I wanted the others as well. "Where are the others?"
"What others? Lami is the only other person in this palace" That confused me since Lami had told me there were others. "She said there were others with her" If I was going to believe Doflamingo then I needed a good explanation and within a second he gave me one. "That is her power at work. She is the only one I turned and allowed to stay here. There were more turned but none live within these walls" I might have believed him if I knew her power so I asked about it. "What is her power?"
"She speaks to the dead and allows them to walk beside her. A powerful gift but not one I have a need for" That could explain why she thought others were here. She might not have even realized they were dead. That would be a scary thought but right now I had other things to worry about when it came to her. "I want to bring her back to Law" By the way Doflamingo's smile dropped I was surprised he even let me finish my sentence. "No! That is out of the question!" I didn't hear any anger in his voice but his tone did raise to the point where I thought my ears were starting to ring.
He had already made a deal with me and even if he didn't agree to this I still tried. "Please, I promise to come back. There is nothing left for me in that world" My words fell on deaf ears since he had already made up his mind. "I said no. You are to remain here with me" He was obsessed with me although for now, I was glad that was going to give me a certain level of protection until he decided otherwise.
"Are you able to lead her back to him safely?" Lami shouldn't be in this world. She needed to be with her brother and he needed her. I wanted her to have at least that so I was glad when Doflamingo started to give in to my request. "I suppose that can be arranged. You may retrieve her and I will take care of the rest" I let myself stand up from the chair before I walked over to the exit. "Thank you... Don't think this means anything. I still hate your guts"
"Fufufu. It will not matter. This day will be erased before supper"
~~~~~~~~~~~
Thirty Minutes Later...
It had taken some time to convince her but as we stood in front of the open window Lami only clung to my waist. She didn't want to leave me here alone although she couldn't be here, not anymore. I wasn't going to be the reason she and Law were kept apart. "Y-You can not do this Elizabeth! He does not love you! Please, you can not do this on my behalf!" Despite her screaming at the top of her lungs, I waited patiently before I gave an answer of my own. "When you find Law tell him I'm sorry for not listening. Go Lami and don't look back"
"Elizabeth, you are taking too long" Doflamingo had been sitting there quietly for a while although it didn't surprise me that he was getting reckless. "Good luck Lami" I gave her a little push away from me and she did the rest but did turn back to give one last goodbye. "I will not forget you, Elizabeth. Thank you" She had taken her step through the window but I had made the mistake of taking a single one forward. "Elizabeth, stay away from that window. You are not allowed to leave"
"With your strings wrapped around my waist, I wouldn't get very far... Do you think I could have supper before I drink that stuff?" I wanted to prolong this day a little longer and Doflamingo just had to open his mouth to say something that wasn't necessary. "That would be for the best. You became terribly sick the last time and I had to care for you the entire week" This had been our agreement although I felt the need to try to save myself from drinking that potion or whatever the hell it was. "Is it really necessary? I mean Lami is gone an-"
"Shhhh! Yes, it is necessary. If you remember anything your opinion of me would change to be negative. Come along" Again I had been picked up from the ground and held in his arms. "I feel like a pet" We would reach the kitchen within minutes at this rate. I'm sure he knew that but at least I'd have another hour or so. "No, you should feel like a queen"
"I really don't like you" My comment was said under my breath but he still picked up on it. "See. This is why I need to erase the memories of today. You already are becoming hostile and I can not have that" I was hostile in the beginning, that didn't bother him. Something must have changed in his little screwed-up head of his. "You better make me a good last supper" I wanted to enjoy my final hours and having a good meal was going to help with that. "Fufufu. You make it sound as if your life is ending"
He was obsessed with me although I didn't share the same feelings so making a sharky comment was made to shut him up. It mostly wouldn't work but I needed it. He needed to be put in his place even if it didn't phase him. "My life has already ended. You did that the moment you forced me to stay here. Playing around with my memories isn't going to make up for the fact that you're a terrible excuse for a person. Tomorrow you might have a second chance to play out your sick fantasy but-mfffff"
"Drink up darling"
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To Be Continued...