Devilish

Thriller Bark

Flashback - Thriller Bark.

2 years before the Strawhat's arrival - Leila is 17 years old.

Leila quickly moved down the hallways of the Thriller Bark palace, almost running but careful not to make a sound. She adjusted her blouse and tried to fix her hair as she had just come from a romantic rendezvous with a young knight. One of many but enjoyable nonetheless. She peered around one of the large archways that led into the main hallway and almost jumped out of her skin as she felt someone pat her shoulder.

"Oh... Absalom it's just you" Leila breathed a sigh of relief, her heartbeat slowing back down to its normal pace.

"Who did you think I was?" Absalom smirked down at her before taking in her appearance. The young girl kept her hair short as it framed her face cutely in dark waves but at just the age of 17, she still had a curvy body. "You look rather disheveled my dear"

"Shut up, no I don't" Leila blushed as she buttoned up her blouse once more, feeling the pervy eyes of the 30 year old on her.

"Xander's looking for you" Absalom told Leila.

"When isn't he looking for me..."Leila sighed.

"Go. Now. Don't you dare try and blame your absence on me again, I almost lost my head because of that last week" Absalom warned, clearly frustrated before wondering off to find Moria.

Leila sat on the edge of her balcony, watching the dark forests of Thriller Bark move swiftly in the breeze. The cold breeze hit her skin but she didn't shiver, it reminded her that she still had feeling. She felt eyes on her and she turned to look over her shoulder, seeing one of Perona's hollows floating towards her. Leila smiled softly to herself and looked back towards the forest.

"Don't you think it's weird...", Leila began speaking, the hollow floating and looked at her. Leila waited and didn't continue. Perona phased through the wall, settling down next to her friend on her balcony.

"Happy? I'm here" Perona huffed, crossing her legs and twirling her hair.

"It's still not you... but it'll do" Leila huffed. She refused to talk to Perona through her hollows, she only liked to talk to her face to face but it was hard to persuade the spoilt girl. This was as good as she was going to get.

"So? What's weird?" Perona interrogated Leila, looking at her sad face. "Don't be sad, it's not cute"

"Well we wouldn't want that would we..." Leila sarcastically replied before speaking quietly to Perona. "Don't you find it weird that Moria has so much trust in us?"

"Why would that be weird? He's basically our father figure isn't he?" Perona cocked her head in confusion, not understanding. Leila looked her close friend in the eye, trying to tell her something but not willing to chance it. Someone could be listening to them, they just don't know. Perona saw that Leila was having some inner conflict and tried to think of something she could say to comfort her friend.

"There's a reason he trusts us, just as there's a reason why we serve him. Right?" Perona asked her. "He treats us well, I mean....just look at your room Lei" Perona gestured to Leila's room, a large bedroom with a queen sized bed equipped with an en-suite and a glamourous dresser. "It's still so much bigger than mine"

"Have it if you want, I'd be happy to swap" Leila offered, disliking the large empty room. She hated her large room, what seems like a gift is actually a curse. From an outsiders perspective, it looks like Moria gifted his dear subordinate a nice room. But Leila knew it didn't come from Moria at all, but from his second in command – Xander. He purposefully gave Leila the biggest room in the castle in order to torture her mentally, slowly, subtly. In a way only she would understand.

"You know they wouldn't let us...so uncute" Perona pouted.

Leila sighed heavily, resting her head against the brick wall. "This is why I like your real form...I need a hug right now"

Perona giggled at Leila's honesty and smiled at her sweetly, she cared for her friend deeply. She saw her more as a sister and she probably understood the most out of anyone in this castle, even if it wasn't much.

Suddenly, the bedroom doors were burst open and a zombie solider came to beckon Leila. She sighed deeply, rubbing her temples and waving the soldier off before he could relay the message. "I know...I know, I'm coming."

Perona observed Leila warily, following her out the door. "He's been on your back a lot recently hasn't he ...."

"I know, he's keeping tabs on me constantly" Leila scoffed. "I don't think he likes that his little girl's growing up."

"Where have you been all day?!" His voice boomed across the empty hall, enveloping her entirely. "I called for you three hours ago, is this a sick joke?"

Leila looked up at the man, hatred hidden behind her eyes. Xander Brady was a broad man with dark brown hair and sharp eyes that could look through any lie. He was tall and held the presence of man with a lot of power, regardless of his actions. Despite his powerful stature, he only had one arm – the other had clearly been severed years prior near the shoulder. He was middle aged, in his 40's with a ripped and muscly build. But his face was far too sharp to be considered handsome, at least to Leila. He grabbed ahold of Leila's shoulder, pushing her down to the floor and onto her knees.

"Answer me" He demanded

"What do you mean, I never even got your ca-" Leila began to babble, trying to save her own ass before he cut her off by grasping her small chin in his hands, silencing her immediately.

"Don't even try that with me you little bitch. Absalom came to me right after he told you"

'Shit...I'm screwed' Leila thought to herself, clenching her teeth as she prepared to get hit.

He held her chin tightly in his hands, lifting it to assess her neck. Leila's mind was working a hundred times faster than normal. 'Did that knight kiss my neck?...Fuck I can't remember. Who else have I been with recently, have I got a mark anywhere?'

Xander let out a dissatisfied grunt as he didn't find any visible mark of her fooling around and he pushed her face away aggressively, making Leila consciously breathe again. 'Hold it together, just a bit more'. Xander sat back in his chair, eyeing up the young girl in deep thought.

"Moria's been talking about putting you in a commanding position, like Perona." Xander spoke with disdain. "I told him he was being ridiculous; give you your own little fuck party? What is he thinking..."

"You know I'm not like that Brady-sir" Leila spoke softly, keeping eye contact with the man.

He scoffed, almost seeming amused by her attempts. "Yeah, of course. My little Leila...if only you were that easy"

"What was the decision?" Leila asked him calmly. She didn't want to be in a position like that, she wished that Xander would put a stop to it. Even if he had to insult and abuse her, if it meant she got to retain a little bit of freedom she would be okay with that.

"He said to wait and see how you cope on your next mission." Xander replied, clearly stressed out by the prospect. He looked down at Leila in her blouse and jeans, and her hair lose in a short bob. "You look like a boy, where's that dress I got you?"

Leila stiffened at the mention of his 'gift' to her. A luxurious wine-colored dress with a heart-shaped choker attached to the fabric. Normally, it would be a cute-gothic outfit, something Perona would happily wear, but the choker attached had an entirely different connotation when gifted from her boss. She couldn't stand it, any fabric constraining her throat would sent her into hyperventilation, all down to his doing. The pair did not have a father-daughter relationship in the slightest, he thought of her as his property - his own personal toy that had to be beside him at all times like a trophy. Despite this, he didn't make many advances at her sexually, his interest in her in that aspect only started to picque when she turned 15 as her curves started to fill out. Instead, he wanted her to remain pure and conservative, causing Leila to feel absolutely suffocated.

"It is in my dresser sir" Leila spoke hesitantly.

"Wear it at dinner. I want to see you looking your part, my little red princess" Xander sneered at her, stroking her head as if she were a damaged bird.