Dracule Mihawk

     Her eyes remained on him, struggling to keep from traveling along his figure too much lest the sight fueled the daydreams that already did not need any incentive to populate her mind. She’d never been so aware of her limbs and their placement before, forcing herself to stand still and not drift closer to him when they weren’t alone. 

The fact that his presence was a natural deterrent came to her as an afterthought. It’d been one of the reasons why she’d first sought him at that dreadful party, after all. But right then, all she wanted was to spend time with him, find a way to convey these consuming feelings without using words. Alice had considered his attention to detail, however, having personally experienced his insight when he saw through the mask she’d been donning for over a year, and was confident in her ability to make a solid and inconspicuous case for it in the event of being questioned later on. 

Several frantic lines of thoughts were crossing her mind at the same time, so Alice found herself wondering if she’d imagined that pause. Watching the way his eyes shifted between the marine and her a little more carefully, she noticed a lack of… something, anything in his gaze. And it had her stomach sinking.

Did she do something wrong? Was it too late? With a steadying breath, she wrestled with the surge of emotions to keep her face in control, only the slightest crease between her drooping brows escaping the grip of her composure. Delicate fingers clenched around the book she would be using as reference, and she had to retrieve her voice in order to answer him. 

“Yes. I’ve been studying since yesterday. I won’t know for sure until I get a look at the trees and plants at the actual site, but I’ll be focusing on insects and I’d appreciate your keen sight, if you’re free.” As afraid of seeing flat out rejection in his eyes, she held his gaze, and without even noticing, her breath, only letting go of it when he seemed to agree to come along.

The area wasn’t too far beyond the luxury of the castle, but past the treeline. Since Calista had visited it alone, Alice wasn’t worried about the big predators that lurked deep within the forest she’d read about. Of course, for someone who’d grown up around the area, the former princess knew how to keep herself safe, but still. As they walked towards the clearing where she’d first noticed that the sickly feeling wasn’t going away, a very distinctive rattling noise caught everyone’s attention.

The marine immediately closed his hand around the hilt of his sword with every intention of unsheathing it, but the doctor held a hand in front of him and very quietly urged him to walk backwards with her until the noise ceased, carefully adding a wide curve to the mostly straight path. Her eyes remained trained on the direction the sound had come from, trying to catch a glimpse of the serpent. “I know for sure it’s not any type of snake venom ailing Miss Calista but I wish I could study them too…” She mused with a small sigh. 

Shaking his head, the young officer wasn’t sure if he’d rather have to deal with a rattlesnake or the Warlord casually strolling along with them, only that he couldn’t handle both of them. “I don’t understand you, Doctor Fletcher.” He pointed out with a small smile, an incredible understatement considering her choice of interests and current company.

“I don’t have any problems with reptilians. I think they’re quite gorgeous in their own terrifying way.” There was a chirp in her voice as she went on to express her excitement at getting to visit the vivariums at the lab. 

Arriving at the location without any other surprises, Alice took a moment to look over it in admiring silence. The shimmering pond with crystalline waters made the area pleasantly cool, large colorful flowers blooming from the ground and bushes and vines in a stunning view that felt more like a painting than something real.

Snapping back to reality and the task at hand, she searched for the plants she’d singled out during her studies. With the help of the book she’d been given, she confirmed one of the tall trees and noticed a peculiar discoloration on a patch of leaves. Green eyes measured the height, following the path up the trunk and along the branch before looking between the two men accompanying her.

“Mister Dracule.” She turned to face him, trying to push down the weight of her rampaging desire for the man enough so she could focus on her job, or at least sound professional. “If I may borrow your towering height for a moment. Could I ask you to pluck one of those oddly colored leaves as gently as possible?” Taking a plastic bag from her pack, she held the bottom and pushed it as to turn it inside out, showing how he should keep his hand from coming into direct contact with the leaves. 

     It was an immense relief to find Sam and the others agreeing with her and Alice was able to work out a schedule with them that had them rotating to keep her company throughout the day. It’d allow them proper rest and maybe even let them enjoy the gorgeous island they found themselves in along with the King’s hospitality.

Part of her felt guilty. Everything she’d said was true, and she believed that it would have been something she approached them with regardless, but there was no denying the fact that diminishing the amount of guards surrounding her would also benefit her attempts at properly conveying her interest to the Warlord. It didn’t take away from her professionalism or her abilities, but she’d never had such strong ulterior motives before and was still adapting to the way they were influencing her behavior.

They were led to their quarters by a servant who, per Floreo’s orders, placed the young doctor on a luxurious suite with a view facing outwards towards the gardens, and the officers on the two rooms directly in front of it, arranging it so they could revel in comfort while still being close enough to each other and their charge to do their job well. They were also informed that the Warlord was staying a few rooms down the corridor and Alice felt her pulse quickening considerably at the thought.

With her luggage settled, she went with Sam to meet the Royal family’s doctors and heard about Calista’s condition from them, taking the time to see the tests they’d already run and discuss their ideas. Given how different the climate was from what she was used to, she’d have a lot to study beforehand and scheduled a meeting with both the King and his sister for the next day for a private talk.

Once she had all the material, Alice returned to her suite and started taking notes. She was able to go for an hour before having to stop and take a cool shower. The warm weather made it hard to concentrate, so she dressed in something lighter and relocated from the interior of the gorgeous room to the balcony. Smiling to herself, she spent a long moment just admiring the gardens from such a vantage point. She missed being able to travel around freely, experiencing different islands and learning from all kinds of people, but if she hadn’t settled and made a proper name for herself, she wouldn’t have been privy to these privileged experiences. In the expanse of a few months, she’d been invited to a Noble’s palace and a faraway Kingdom. Her job had always been rewarding, but it’d been a while since she was so excited about it. 

It didn’t take long at all for her mind to divert back to the subject that’d been constantly drifting between the back and foreground of her thoughts. Whether he’d meant to or not, Mihawk had taught her so much, but more than that, he’d reawakened a part of herself that she’d been sorely missing, the part that was willing to go after what she wanted. And she wanted him. Badly.

Just as she was about to turn her attention back to her studies, she caught sight of Mihawk silently walking past the gardens. Her lips parted around the shape of his name, but no sound came out. She wanted to call out to him, invite him closer, but it wasn’t something she could simply shout from the balcony, so she let the moment pass and simply watched him until he disappeared past the treeline instead. Being in a place he’d visited in the past, around people who’d witnessed who’d been while still growing into the man he was now, it only made her want to know more about him.

Sighing quietly, she focused on the task at hand and lost herself in the books about the local plants and creatures, hoping she would be able to help Calista as quickly as possible, but also wishing for enough time to study what Silva had to offer. It wasn’t until she began having difficulty to read that she realized how late it was and decided to turn in, leaving the balcony door open so the night breeze could help her cool down.

Still, she had trouble falling asleep, mind cluttered by potential lines of treatment, but mostly by the memory of Mihawk’s kiss combined with the knowledge that he was only a few doors away in an effort to keep her body almost feverishly hot.

Waking up to a warm morning after a hot night of tossing and turning wasn’t the best way to start the day, so she jumped into the shower and made it as cool as she could handle, coming out of it refreshed. After dressing herself accordingly, she met with Renato and Calista and asked them about any history of disease in their family, allergies or even mild discomfort when exposed to any sort of substance. Making note of anything relevant, Alice listed the former princess’s routine and all the places she remembered going to around the time she started feeling sick.

After taking some blood samples and leaving them to react to the testing agents, she decided to visit the closest location on the list. Regardless of the weather, going out hiking through the nature, especially when in search of possible sources for toxins, required pants and long sleeves, so Alice changed and asked one of the officers to come with her. They were on their way out when coming across the Warlord.

“Mister Dracule.” Glad that she was able to tone down the excitement in her voice at seeing him, one of her hands curled around the strap of her bag absentmindedly. “I could use another set of sharp eyes. Would you mind coming with us to one of the places Miss Calista visited before falling ill?” 

     At the sound of his name on the woman’s lips, Alice turned her attention to the Warlord along with everyone else in the room. Part of her felt bad for him, and she realized that even though he could do almost anything he wanted, he wasn’t as free as she’d once thought. Mihawk himself seemed perfectly fine with it, if anything it seemed to fit with his quiet and detached personality, but as much as it was a direct result of the path he’d chosen for himself, she now understood what he’d forgone. Holding a normal conversation wasn’t something he was allowed anymore, not even with people who’d known him before everything.

Her brows furrowed slightly in displeasure when the King addressed the officers accompanying her. She’d been afraid that their overprotective demeanor might insult the people they were there to help, something that Jack should have thought of before harassing the four men. When Sam approached her, she nodded with a slight smile, knowing she would have to talk to them and hoping they’d see her point.

Turning her attention back to her patient, Alice slipped some gloves on to give her a preliminary check up, both explaining and asking a few questions along the way, mentally getting started on her chart. When the former princess spoke, she lifted her gaze to meet hers, trying not to look too interested as Calista talked about Mihawk yet finding herself unable to keep her lips from matching her smile when noticing the fondness that rose to the surface of her expression.

He still is. She wanted to say. Part of her wanted nothing more than to reassure this woman that she wasn’t the only one who’d nurtured such thoughts. As conflicted as she’d been towards her previous patient, this time around, Alice was personally motivated to make sure someone this lovely and full of life had a complete recovery. 

The mention of her ring had her hand twitching slightly, and she had to make a conscious effort to fight the immediate instinct to hide the proof of her connection to someone she hardly felt anything but annoyance towards under her other palm. All the practice on those insufferable parties came in handy for the moments she needed to look perfectly content with her sham of a marriage and she bowed her head in appreciation.

“You flatter me, Your Highness.” Alice drew from how much she liked Calista already and focused on it as to continue with the farce. “It can be exciting, I guess. But it can also be quite lonely and worrisome.” She returned her honesty in kind without revealing the actual depths of those feelings, speaking of what had been true in the beginning of her marriage, which suddenly felt so incredibly distant. 

Chuckling softly at her confession, she let the brief moment of seriousness pass. “For today, I’ll meet with your doctors and study your charts on my own. Tomorrow we can start running some tests and I’ll have you tell me about your daily routine. Try to think of anything out of the ordinary that might have happened around the time you started feeling unwell and we’ll work our way back to find exactly what’s making you sick.” Holding onto her hand, she gave her a reassuring squeeze and then offered to answer any questions she might have before leaving Calista to her rest.

Given that both the Warlord and the King had gone elsewhere, she took that time to talk to Sam and the others. “I know you guys are just doing your job, but there’s no need to be this vigilant. The King and his family are suffering so much, and he was so gracious in personally welcoming us into his home.” She explained, seriously concerned about it. “Regardless of what Jack told you, if Mister Dracule wished me any sort of harm, he had plenty of opportunities to do so when we were alone in Mister Goyle’s palace. So please, treat this mission as any other. I don’t need the four of you with me at all times, just one would suffice.” 

Sighing softly, she let her shoulders sag a bit, lowering her gaze as well. “They seem like such lovely people. We’re here to help them through a difficult time, not cause them more grief. I don’t want to risk insulting them anymore than we might already have.” Alice’s relationship with her security detail had always been a good one, and she hoped that they would follow her lead instead of Jack’s on this instance.