The Marionette

Chapter 2: To Be Loved

The calm lapping sounds of the ocean waves greeted you as you planted yourself on the wooden dock located in your country's harbor. Your father stood stiffly beside you as he strained his eyes on the horizon, scanning the sparkling water for any sign of an approaching vessel. You shifted your weight from one hip to the other, a large black duffel bag casually  slung over your shoulder. You let a yawn slip past your lips as you lazily scanned the ocean, forcing your eyes to stay open. You'd be lying if you said you got a good nights rest, as your dreams were plagued by nightmares of a large silhouette figure laughing maniacally. Every time you'd lull yourself back to sleep, your mind would flip like a switch and immediately plunge you into darkness once more.

"I see something ahead," your father grimly pointed towards a ship just barely peeking over the horizon. You squinted your eyes as you shielded your face from the sunlight by using your hand, your lips parting as you struggled to find its location. You nervously gulped once the ship came more into view, struggling to suppress the knot growing in your stomach. You had to mentally reiterate to yourself not to allow your emotions to take hold of you and instead focused on calming your breathing. Your home and life was about to be torn away from you, but you knew this is what you needed to do in order to protect the peace. To protect your father.

"Is he really that bad?" You quietly asked your father, dread hanging over the two of you in almost a taunting manner. You've never heard of this Doflamingo before, but maybe it was due in part to you focusing all of your time to your studies. Or maybe it's someone your father didn't want to tell you about, as he did mention something about him being involved in the black market.

"Yes, he's as dangerous as they come," he solemnly sighed, "which is why I'm so worried about you." He tore his gaze away from the impending ship and instead looked hard into your eyes, a sad expression etched on his aging face. Silence fell between you two as he lovingly brushed your hair behind your shoulder, "have I ever told you how much you looked like your mother?"

You looked down at your feet, the smallest hint of a smile poking its way through as you reminisced on the times he reminded you of her features. "Yeah, actually, all the time," you laughed as you felt your heart grow heavy, your eyes beginning to sting. You inhaled deeply while you shook your hands almost as if trying to shake the feelings away.

"Sometimes I forget you're still a child," the ship was now coming closer, growing larger and larger by the second, "I forced too many rules onto you and for that, I'm sorry." You looked back up at your father as he continued to talk, "I made you grow up when I should have just let you be a kid." He was struggling to hold back his tears, his nose turning red as he engulfed you in one last hug, "I should never have tried to turn you into something you're not."

"I was going to become a member in your ranks eventually," you wrapped your arms around him, barely able to hug him back from the sheer size difference. "I promise, I'll do my best not to bring shame to the family. I'll carry out any order Doflamingo gives me!"

"Spoken like a true assassin..." your father's voice trailed, "but what about as my daughter?" He let go of you as the sound of the once calm waves began to splash rapidly, the ship now beginning to dock itself on the other side of you two.

You bit the inside of your cheek as you thought what it meant to be his daughter, what it even entailed. "I won't die," you whispered, remembering him telling you that your mission was to survive.

"One more thing," he struggled to speak, "don't forget that I love you." He nearly choked out those words, his voice barely audible over the sound of the crashing waves. Your eyes widened, that was the first time you've ever heard him tell you that. It had always been your mother to coo those words to you so many years ago.

Your hand clutched at your chest as you felt your bottom lip begin to quiver, something inside of you warming up at the words. You hadn't felt this feeling since before your mother died, it had been so long you didn't even realize you had forgotten how it felt. You nodded your head, "yeah, I love you too dad," you shakily breathed out as you blinked your eyes in order to keep the tears at bay.

"Hey, hey, hey!" A voice boomed from a top of the ship, "well that was a heart warming moment!" A man who you could only describe as goo-like grinned down at you two, a pair of black glasses adorning his face.

"You must be Trebol," your father grimaced at the sight, clearly displeased by the man's presence. You watched as Trebol began to descend down, your eyes watching his every movement. He wore a long blue coat with a white fleece, a small brown hat on top of his short, greasy black hair.

"And you must be King Warren," he snorted as he waddled over, a droopy smile on his face. "And this must be our new family member!" The man giggled as he leaned down to get a better look at you, "Doffy's quite interested to meet you," he exclaimed.

You took a step back as you leaned away from him, feeling uneasy at the lack of space between you and the hunchback man. "I hope I meet his expectations," you responded while stealing a glance towards your perturbed father, "and what do you mean by family?"

Trebol let out a guttural laugh, "you'll find out soon enough child! If Doffy likes you enough, maybe he'll let you become apart of his family, a high ranking officer!" He sniffled after he was done laughing, almost as if taking note at your lack of interest. It's not like you needed another family, you already have one, and he's standing right beside you.

"One more thing King Warren," Trebol's voice took on a sudden serious tone, "I have some men I'll be stationing here... just in case."

Your father grit his teeth while balling both of his hands into fists, "and why's that? That was never apart of our agreement!" You watched as a group of men emerged from off of the ship and took their stances beside Trebol, each saluting.

"Hey, hey, hey! You can't blame Doffy can ya?" Trebol laughed, "don't worry, they won't disrupt your citizens or your business." He waved the soldiers on, their synchronized steps beginning to march towards the town center. Your father watched with hardened eyes, his jaw line sharp from how hard he was clenching his teeth shut.

"Very well," he coldly spat as he lit up a cigar, something you noticed he did when something troubled him. The sun was reaching midpoint, the sky completely clear, and you knew that it was going to take a few hours to get back to Dressrosa. Which meant that Trebol would probably want to disembark at any moment.

Almost as if reading your mind, Trebol turned around and began to slink back on to the ship, "c'mon let's not keep Doffy waiting any longer."

You swallowed as you clutched your duffel bag closer to your body, your hands beginning to tremble with anxiety.

"Please watch over her," you could hear your father quietly plea behind you as you felt your heart beating hard in your chest. Like a prayer in your mind, you kept repeating over and over 'I am no one, merely a tool to be used. I know no feelings, my only focus is the mission.'