Amazon Lily
The night wrapped Amazon Lily in its starry cloak, the gentle breeze rustling through the lush trees of the island forbidden to men. Boa Hancock's castle rose majestically, its towers brushing the sky, but the interior was silent… Empty.
Fwosh!
The air warped. Energy crackled around the space as golden light slowly dissipated.
Riser's feet touched the polished stone floor of the palace's grand hall. Robin, Alvida, and Zala appeared just behind him, their bodies enveloped by the strange sensation of transitioning between realities.
Zala dropped to her knees.
"Ugh…!"
Her arms trembled. Her breathing was shallow. The world still spun around her.
'This… this isn't normal…!'
Slowly, she lifted her face. Her blurry vision settled on the hall's columns, the imposing statues, the flickering light of torches fixed to the walls. There was no one there. No reception. No army awaiting their arrival. Just an oppressive silence.
Her eyes darted to Riser.
The blond stood impassive, his golden eyes glowing in the dimness, sweeping the hall with a lazy glance.
"Hmph. I expected a better welcome."
Alvida crossed her arms, her club resting on her shoulder.
"What kind of shitty empty palace is this?"
Robin slid her fingers along her arm, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"Wherever we are, it wasn't designed to receive us."
Zala felt a chill crawl up her spine.
She was still reeling from the panic of the teleportation.
That power made no sense.
He was already terrifying enough when he toyed with people's minds, when he appeared out of nowhere, when he made everyone feel like pawns on a board where only he knew the rules.
But now…
He could just vanish and reappear wherever he pleased?!
"No… this isn't normal…"
Her voice came out shaky, almost breathless.
Alvida gave her a lazy glance.
"First time?"
Zala didn't reply. She just swallowed hard.
Robin smiled faintly.
"You'll get used to it."
Zala clenched her teeth.
'I don't want to get used to this.'
The sound of Riser's footsteps echoed through the grand hall. He walked to the center, his boots reverberating on the cold marble floor. The absence of Hancock and her warriors was glaring.
"What kind of queen leaves a visitor waiting?"
Alvida twirled her club between her fingers.
"Maybe you got it wrong, blondie. The island's abandoned."
Robin tilted her head.
"Unlikely. The structure's still maintained… Someone's here. Or should be."
The wind blew through the hall, swaying the scarlet silk curtains.
The air trembled.
Fwosh!
Zala felt something shift.
Her stomach sank.
'Not again…!'
A bluish light tore through the space.
The vacuum of reality seemed to suck the very air away.
A presence emerged in the center of the hall, as if it had always been there.
Merlin.
Her purple cape fluttered with her sudden arrival. The staff in her hands glowed faintly, and her sharp gaze swept the room before landing on Riser.
"Riser-sama."
Her tone was respectful yet casual.
She completely ignored the others.
Zala's eyes widened.
Robin merely smiled.
Alvida…
"Ugh. This woman."
The pirate rolled her eyes, gripping her club's handle a little tighter.
Zala, meanwhile, felt despair rising.
'Another one like this?!'
She couldn't move.
Her body shook, cold sweat trickling down her neck.
It was the same.
The same thing he did.
The same sensation that space and time meant nothing to these people.
"Y-you… teleported too…"
Merlin's lilac eyes slid toward Zala.
For a moment, the mage simply observed her.
Then, a small, calculated smile curved her lips.
"Yes."
Zala's lungs faltered.
Her body stiffened, her fists clenching despite the weight of her shackles. Merlin's cold gaze seemed to pierce her skin, analyzing her like an unfinished experiment.
'Another monster…'
The sound of Riser's footsteps echoed softly through the hall, breaking the suffocating silence.
"Merlin."
The mage's eyes snapped away from Zala instantly, as if the other woman had already lost all interest.
"Yes, Riser-sama?"
"Take care of them."
Zala's gaze shot up in an instant.
Her stomach plummeted.
'He's leaving us with her?!'
Riser slid his eyes lazily toward the kneeling prisoner.
"Treat Zala the same way you treated Mikita."
Panic erupted in her chest.
Her breathing quickened, thoughts crashing into one another.
'Mikita?! What happened to Mikita?!'
She knew the woman. They'd worked together in Baroque Works. And then, one day, Mikita vanished. No warning. No trace. Just… gone.
And now…
Now she was here. In the same place.
Her hands gripped her legs, trying to stop the trembling.
'Whatever happened to Mikita… it's going to happen to me too.'
The silence weighed heavy.
Merlin's presence dominated the hall, cold and enigmatic.
Her lilac gaze assessed Zala with restrained interest, like a scientist studying a new specimen.
Zala's heart hammered in her chest.
'It can't be… It can't be…'
Robin tilted her head, observing the prisoner's nervousness.
"Interesting."
Her voice carried an almost gentle tone, but Zala felt the hidden weight behind it.
Alvida rolled her eyes.
"This is getting boring. Let's get on with it."
Riser stayed where he was.
His golden eyes showed no haste, only an analytical gleam that made Zala feel even smaller.
Merlin moved first, a silent step.
"Come."
Robin and Alvida followed without hesitation.
Zala couldn't move.
Her eyes were locked on Riser's figure.
He knew.
He knew what had happened to Mikita.
And now he was handing her over to Merlin like it was nothing.
The blond caught her stare, the evident terror, and merely raised an eyebrow.
"Get up."
The command was calm, unhurried.
Her body reacted on its own. Her legs shook as she forced herself to stand.
Robin watched, intrigued.
Alvida huffed.
"You gonna keep trembling there or start walking?"
Zala didn't respond.
'If I run, I die. If I fight, I die. If I do nothing… I die too.'
Riser gave a faint smirk.
"Smart enough to figure that out."
Her chest tightened.
Merlin turned slowly.
"Let's go, Zala. I don't like waiting."
Her lilac eyes glinted with something Zala couldn't place.
Fear and horror squeezed her chest.
But she had no choice.
The first thing she felt as she took her first step was that she wouldn't leave this place the same.
The hall's door closed with a dull thud.
Silence returned.
Riser stood still for a few moments, his eyes lingering where Zala had been.
The night enveloped Amazon Lily with a dense, heavy air.
The castle was empty, but not deserted.
He closed his eyes.
Observation Haki spread through the surroundings like an invisible breath, sweeping every corridor, every shadow, every trace of hidden presence.
And then…
There she was.
A subtle glow, a unique signature.
Exactly where he expected.
His golden eyes opened slowly.
"Found you."
His footsteps echoed through the hall as he vanished into the palace's darkness.
---
The warm water of the bath enveloped her body like a silent embrace. Steam hung in the air, forming faint clouds that dissipated with the night breeze drifting in from the open balcony. Moonlight spilled across the marble floor, reflecting on the crystalline surface of the bath.
Her long lashes fluttered.
A sigh slipped from her lips.
"He's here."
Her heart tightened in her chest, a sudden, forceful beat. Her eyes opened slowly, as if waking from a sweet, forbidden dream. A faint smile played on her ruby lips.
Thump. Thump.
Her breathing quickened. Her chest rose and fell in an uneven rhythm.
For a moment, she considered rising, donning her finest robe, adorning her hair with jewels, preparing to receive him as the empress she was.
But then…
Her eyelids lowered slightly, and her smile widened a little more.
'No.'
Her fingers glided gently over the warm water, breaking the shimmering reflection of the moon.
'He'll come to me.'
Droplets trailed down her skin, tracing glistening lines along her collarbone. The warm steam accentuated the flush on her cheeks.
Something inside her burned.
An emotion she didn't understand.
She'd never felt this way before.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Her fingers gripped the edge of the tub lightly. Her chest heaved.
'Why do I feel like this?'
Memories surfaced, soft shadows of a distant past. His warm blood running over her tongue. A taste she'd never forget. The cure he'd granted her, freeing her from an invisible torment.
The mark that had plagued her for years… gone.
Nothing remained.
Except him.
Her savior. Her lord.
Her…
'No. I mustn't think that.'
Her breathing grew heavy. Her eyes closed again.
His presence overwhelmed her senses. She didn't need to see him to know he was drawing near.
Every fiber of her being felt it.
Fwosh.
The wind shifted.
The candle flames flickered for an instant.
And then…
The door opened, slowly, effortlessly.
Gently.
The water rippled around her.
He was there.
At the threshold, cloaked in the room's shadows, only his golden eyes caught the light, gleaming like distant stars.
Her body reacted before her mind could catch up.
Her chest rose and fell faster. Her legs pressed together instinctively.
Her lips parted, but no words came.
He was looking at her.
That same lazy, enigmatic gaze he always carried.
The gaze that stripped her bare without a touch.
The silence stretched, thick, laden with something that didn't need to be spoken.
Her throat went dry.
Her hands slid slowly across the water's surface.
A hesitant movement.
A silent plea.
His eyes took in the scene.
The steam, the faint candlelight, the moon's reflection in the water.
And her.
The flush on her skin, her wet hair clinging to her shoulders, her wide, intense eyes…
The unspoken desire in every curve of her body.
Riser's smile grew slightly.
"Hancock."
His voice was low, deep, laced with something that made her stomach twist.
Her heart skipped a beat.
'This isn't normal.'
'This isn't right.'
But she didn't move.
She didn't resist.
She just waited.
He'd always been a predator.
And she…
Was willing to be hunted.
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