Hello dear readers, before I allow you to get to the story there are some things I need to cover. First, please be kind to me, for this is my first Doflamingo fanfiction.

Second, DISCLAIMER: I own not a single part of One Piece, I make no money off of writing fanfictions for this, but the oc's are mine, that's all I'm taking credit for.

And now, without further ado…With Strings Attached.

Some called her the Brokers Bitch and others called her Matter Changer Anberlyn, which was her epithet, but of course there were other things people called her, some to her face, and others behind her back, all of which annoyed the woman of such high standings. Despite her position, there was one man who had the audacity to call her Sweetheart. But, that man wasn't just anyone.

Her rise to fame had to start somewhere and it just so happened to start with the audacious man who went by several names himself.

He sat among the crowd cast into shadow thanks to the dim lighting of the room, smiling to himself as proud pirate captains, broken men, quivering women and yes, even children were marched onto the stage, bided on and then headed off.

The Human Auctioning House on Sabaody was nothing less than sensational. It was flourishing, just as he knew it would, with the main room filled well past its capacity and people still wandering in

The business was flourishing and even as old captives were bought and taken away, new ones were filling up the back. As he watched, he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride in his handy work.

Disco of course was doing a decent job at keeping the crowd pumped the human- or otherwise- merchandise moving and the money flowing. No one seemed to notice his presence at the Auctioning House. That or they weren't perturbed by the sight of him. But, for now, the grinning blond was perfectly content with just watching the spectacle.

She had not been there long but, already she had seen the soldiers of the auction house break the iron will of several men, bring women to their knees and make children cry out. They all hoped that someone would hear them and save them, free them from their chains and not allow their future to be one of slavery and misery.

The soldiers and slavers were truly despicable people, or so she thought. The walls were thin enough that through them you could hear the roar of the audience, of the auctioneer and maybe even catch some of the numbers the young women, strong men and small children went for.

As the once crowded holding room grew sparser and sparser, she began dreading the stage more and more. She knew that her time was getting closer and closer.

And even though she herself had yet to act, the now placid men were a disgrace, the quivering women shameful. Only the young and foolish children tried were the ones who had not yet bowed their heads and accepted their fates and neither would she. She was merely working through her plan, trying to plan it from beginning to end, because she was going to be free. She was going to free herself and then the rest of the prisoners out. The chances of even getting out of the door was slim, she knew that such, but she would rather be fried or scared than bow to anyone and their will.

Too soon a hulking man marched into the room, grabbed her by her forearm and dragged her to the edge of the stage, just out of sight of the sea of bidders and forced her to listen as the auctioneer cried, "And now, the highlight of today's sales, a middle aged devil fruit user, still filled with lives fire."

Middle aged?! She mentally raged. I'm just over 25! Which is hardly middle aged! She was indignant, especially so when she heard his next remark,

"Endowed with a marvelous body sure to please and an iron will, taming this beauty will not be an easy task. But, I assure you, once you have succeeded in breaking her, you will be quite satisfied with your purchase!"

And with that she was roughly shoved from behind.

As a girl with long maroon hair stumbled onto the stage, the bidders around him held their breaths just long enough for them to review, access and determine whether or not they wanted to invest in the girl before them or pass. And, if they did wish to invest, they had to determine just how much they were willing to pay for her.

Once those few seconds had passed, the room burst into chaotic cries, all pining for the ownership for the girl before Disco could even blurt out a starting price.

Well this was interesting. He thought with a pleased grin.

She was a beauty, he must admit, with long strong legs, a slender, fit body, a presence that demanded ones attention and a calculating gleam in her eyes that made him wonder what she was thinking, or what she was planning on doing.

From the reverberating shouts that filled the room, she was able to pick out numbers of impossible heights, numbers that made her sick to her stomach. From the bidding crowd she also felt hungry stares from men and women alike that made her shudder uncomfortably.

Soon she would be sold, but, sometime before that she would have to make her move. It was free herself or die trying. And if success was not hers to be had, then she would rather die.

Instead of standing there, shaking in her heels and trying to cover all the skin her clothes didn't cover, she sent death glares into the audience. She stood upon the stage like no other slave-to-be had. She stood with her back straight and her head held high. The only emotion on display was anger. There was no visible embarrassment due to her none too graceful entrance upon her face, nor shame from being bound and on display for whoever wanted to gawk at her, and that's definitely what most of the audience was doing, raking their eyes across her body until they had their fair share. She was adept at hiding the things she didn't want them to see, hiding her emotions quite well.

In fact, the glint in her eyes, the one he rather enjoyed, almost had him quite literally on the edge of his seat, waiting and ready for action.

"Going once!" The despicable auctioneer shouted, beri signs popping through the lenses of his sunglasses, with absolutely no regard for the people that walked across his stage or their lives. "Going twice!"

For the first time since having stepped upon the stage, the girl's eyes turned from the audience, her glance sliding discreetly over to Disco.

Hi smile broadened, knowing full well that the girl would be making her move soon. Yes, the action was about to start and he could not wait.

He must admit, he had fallen for that defiant nature and that gleam in her eyes hook line and sinker. It was not to say that he had fallen in love at first sight, which was a tool he sometimes used to play some women into doing his bidding, he was merely interested in the girl.

Her plan was to snatch the ring of keys on from the belt loop of the eccentric auctioneer's pants and get the hell out of the auction house. It was a half brained escape attempt, but it would have to do.

With the reverberating, "SOLD!" , she lurched into action, like a racehorse shooting out of the gates as they swung open at the sound of the gunshot. Her finish line was the streets of Sabaody, keys in hand, collar at her feet. But, to get to that point, she needed to get the keys first.

She turned and raced towards the white haired auctioneer, jumping into the air as she rushed towards him. Her aim was to knock out a few of his teeth at the very least. However, just before the heel of her stilettos slammed into his face, her body froze up.

And when she tried to move, well it wouldn't obey. Instead of her heel colliding with the nervously sweating man's face as one of her legs, with a mind of its own, swung over his head, and caused her to land slightly behind him, her back to him. She didn't know what was happening, this must be a marionette felt like, their bodies not under their own control. But, marionettes had puppeteers, people who pulled at their strings to make their bodies move.

The expression on the girls face was priceless as he forced her to miss Disco.

Panic, fear, and confusion, together, they destroyed her confident façade. It was a joy being the cause of these emotions, of shattering such confidence. It was a shame she had folded so easily. But, the room was abuzz with excited chatter, some people sparing him a knowing glance, others didn't have a clue and the girl was one of the clueless ones, but not for long. His face was sure to ring a bell. And if it wasn't his face, then his trademark jacket should do so for sure.

Of its own accord, her body turned around and walked slowly past Disco and she couldn't so much as lift a finger. The keys were so close and yet they were getting farther and farther away as she crossed the stage. She fought every step with every fiber in her body. All she wanted to do was to grab the keys, or hell, just stop moving of someone else's accord.

As she walked, her head turned to the side and she was forced to see a man hunched over a rectangular device, his index finger only seconds from hitting a red button, the very button that would cause her collar to explode. But, to her relief, he was frozen and not a second too soon.

This sight raised the question of who the puppeteer was and why they wanted anything to do with her, even as her legs brought her to the edge of the stage. She felt as though she were standing at the edge of a cliff, with a long ways to down if she were to fall. But, with a leap of faith, as some would see it, she landed on solid rock, well it wasn't a rock per se, actually it was someone shoulder, in which she used to land on someone's face, the thin heel of her shoe sinking into somebodies eye.

As she was forced to use the people of the crowd as stepping stones she was unable to look back and apologize for the injuries she was causing, but, that gave her the chance to see where it was her body was taking her. And, it just so happened, that she was heading straight for a blond man wearing a pink feathered jacket and a large smile upon his face.

He watched with delight as recognition flashed in her eyes. She wanted to resist, she was trying as hard as she could, but, her efforts were bearing no fruits. No, instead of running the opposite direction, like she so plainly wanted to, she draped herself across his lap with one arm thrown almost casually across his shoulders, and allowed him to wrap his arm around her waist before pullingher close.

"You have some nerve attacking my subordinate like that." He chuckled darkly, the undercurrent on his voice carrying an unspoken threat that spoke to her loud and clear. Before she could utter even the slightest of responses, he said, "I'll make you a deal Sweetheart."

A/n: Well I certainly hoped that you have enjoyed this chapter and I will be back to you with a new one soon.

I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions thus far and if necessary, ways in which I can get Doflamingo more in character, if I haven't already acheived the feat.

Thank you for reading and I hope to 'see' you next chapter.