CHAPTER 03

CHAPTER 03: FAR FROM HOME

It's dark.

I couldn't see anything but nothing but pitch black. But one thing is for sure, the whole place is moving and it's making me dizzy, no it's making me sick. I tried moving but both my hands and feet are tied up. I also tried shouting but a cloth gag was out in my mouth.

Ha! This is ludicrous.

This thing, I can't believe it. Me? Kidnap? Holy. Preposterous.

I tried calming myself while thinking about how to get out of this absurd situation.

The movement of the place and the salty breeze that somehow enters the sackcloth that was placed in my head, boat- no, the footsteps that I hear are too distant to where they put me which I think it is spacious to be called a boat, it must be a ship. No, I'm literally on a ship sailing in the middle of the sea.

Everyone seems busy carrying something due to their heavy footsteps. Laughter is also surrounded so hearing other things are quite difficult but one thing is for sure, I'm not alone. My anger erupted when I heard a crying child.

"No take m-me back to my mother, mother!!" she pleaded and cried but the one who guarded us just laughed.

"Kid, why would we take you back to your mother, we paid her fortune you know!" a man said that made me freeze.

Don't tell me?

"Seems like you still don't get it, little girl, we bought you from your mother so you can't go back unless you'll gonna pay us back, three folds." a deep voice interrupted.

"M-my m-mom sell m-me? No, my mom won't do that, she loves me!" the girl shouted.

I tried moving again. Forcing myself to be free from these annoying gripped.

"Love is not enough in this world," he said again.

I struggle more and more just to escape but lady luck hates me. I lost the balance that made me fall back. I winced.

Dang. It hurts, especially my wrists. I couldn't help but cry in silence. It's frustrating, I can't help but hate myself.

"This one is quite tough. She knows how to fight and she's really strong." a guy said and I figured it was the one who kidnap me. I tried struggling again but I keep wincing. Damn it. 

"Hmmm hmmm!!?!!" -I tried shouting.

"Take off the sack and hold her tight!" the deep voice guy commanded.

"Roger Ser!" the other guy said and he started coming near me based on its footsteps. I forced myself to move backward but he still keep coming. Damn this rope.

"Ser it seems like she saw me. Look at her reacting!" the guy said with annoyance. I heard the Ser chuckle.

"Interesting." He said and he started walking towards me. I gulped. This sensation, it's familiar. But today is not the right time to remember it, let's run and escape.

Or so I called but my end hugs me. A wall hit my back saying that I'm doomed.

"You think you can escape? Nice try." He stated then removed the sack from my head and before he saw my face, I looked down and made sure my hair covered my face too. He hold my chin but I resisted. I kept looking in the other direction so that our eyes won't be met.

As I look at the other side, my eyes dart the guy who captured me and I look at him deadly. 

"S-Ser t-this lady w-will kill me. H-her eyes. She's crazy!!" the guy looks frightened. That's right. I will kill you. You just wait bastard.

While looking at the man, I forgot that their boss is in front of me. He got me. He easily turned my head and I can't help but face him too. My eyes widened when I saw his face. Hazel-nut eyes and a shoulder-length hair, and his voice. He was the same guy I bumped into before when I got lost.

"Hmmm!!" - I exclaimed.

"You look familiar to me." He calmly said and squatted comfortably in front of me while looking directly at my face. So do I bastard.

I raised my eyebrow. This guy and his audacity. He is the one who stole my necklace! I fucking swear.

I wanted to shout at him but my voice is nowhere to be found. Damn it, this must be because of what I did at the port.

"Hmmm hmmm!!?!" I keep saying and also moving my hands trying to untangle it myself.

"Oh, you want me to remove the gag in your mouth?" He asked. I raised my eyebrow again. Obviously.

He nodded and started removing it, I can't help but look at his face. It's familiar, very. After he removed it he stepped backward. I'll keep my mouth shut and think how to get out from here. I looked around and I almost jumped in glee when I can still see the port but the sun is almost setting down.

But it was on fire. The whole port is on fire, even the newly build port. My strength run away from my body as I can't help but fell from the ship's floor in awe.

"W-what the hell did you do?!" I angrily shouted at him.

"Y-your the worst. You bastard!!" I added while wiping the tears that are now streaming down my face.

"Call me whatever you want lady. Now stand up and shut up." he coldly said as he forcefully made me stand up.

I felt drained. I couldn't even stop the tears from falling to my face while looking at the burning port. My body's been trembling and I almost lost my balance.

How can they easily turn the loveliest place I've been through in my whole life for the very first time into ashes in just a small amount of time. Those colorful decorations all around the town, those lofty buildings, the amazing music as well as the people's laughter. It's gone.

"C-Clara.." I murmured to myself while looking at the burning manor where I last saw her.

I walked toward the other part of the ship where I can see the manor and while walking, my knees started to weaken I just got lucky that before I reached the edge of the ship making it my support not to collapse. I know that someone's following me but I couldn't care about it anymore, this is too much for me.

Every time I looked at it, it became unclear. The ship is leaving faster as time passed by. The whole port became fuzzier in my eyes.

"Oi, you there. Stop being dramatic and start working you filthy woman!" a man shouted at me and started coming to me. I couldn't help myself, like something, someone in me freed in a cage. I laughed my heart out like crazy that it made the others stop what they were doing and stared at me.

"Oh pardon me that gentlemen but HOW DARE YOU ORDER ME." I coldly said and looked at the man who called me filthy.

"Filthy? Dramatic? Stop? DO YOU HAVE ANY DEATH WISH?" I added. They seem to be shocked. 

"You, the bastard who dare called me filthy, what's your name?" I asked at him while walking closer to him, his trembling and making me smirk.

"J-jun." He unconsciously answered. Is he that afraid of me?

'H-hoy we should stop them.'

' But she's crazy!'

' She'll kill us if we intervene.'

' Dangerous. Very. '

'Those two brought a demon in our ship!'

I rolled my eyes and focused on this man named, Jun. I stepped closer to him while not cutting my gaze to him and when I'm an inch away from him he ballistically take his fell on the floor out of fear which made me laugh more.

"Ahh, this feeling. I never felt this free in my entire life." I said while fixing my hair. The Jun guy crawled backward, I don't like the sight of it so I kicked his face and it made him pass out.

"Oh? Are you okay? I hope so." I said then shift my gaze to the left side and saw their captain. Confused and amazed are written in his face that made me laugh again.

He chuckled and started walking in my direction.

"You are an interesting lady," he said. " How can you change into a different person when you look like a fragile one crying in the corner with a gag on your mouth."

"Says who?" - I coldly said and eye lock him. " How can you assume that I'm a fragile one easily?"

" I'm not assuming--"

"Is what you want to believe because that what you see? Right?" I cut him and remove the gap between us. He's taller than me but I still tried to reach him. Everything in this world has its own deepest secret and so do I. I've been someone I am not in my entire life, and no one even noticed it.

"Looks can be deceiving Captain," I stated and pushed him and used that opportunity to run towards the other edge of the ship and climbed at it. The people in the ship got shocked even their captain whose back is still facing me.

Even I. I'm also shocked that I considered jumping out on this ship knowing that I never took swimming classes because I hate waves, I don't know how to swim but it's now or never. I don't care if I broke my ribs as long as I can go back home.

"That's a dangerous lady." he coldly said and faced me. Goosebumps travels my body when I felt his crazy gaze in me. I gulped and smiled bitterly at him. "Just by looking at you, one can identify that you don't know how to swim." He added.

"Not really, it's quite windily here than there" I coldly conversed ignoring the fact that he added and steps backward, almost at the end of the wood.

"You are something," he replied and walked towards me. "Just who are you?" He asked.

"Who knows?" I replied and shrugged. Who am I? A puppet or a human?

"Who cares anyway. I don't even know myself, the only thing that reminds me of who I am was devoured by the fire." I coldly professed that made him stop and look at me pitifully.

"Oh how I hate that look on your eyes, the stars on the night are the only thing I want to see before dying you know, well I still can," I said and looked at him one last time and stepped backward, directly falling unto the deep seawater.

Ah Too bad. There's no star in the sky, not a single one. The water hit my body and I didn't expect that it hurts that much.

As I felt the coldness of the water envelop my entire body, my consciousness is also slowly losing. My eyes are so heavy and I couldn't breathe anymore. I wanted to struggle but my body wouldn't move anymore. My fatigues finally showed up.

My eyes are slowly closing on their own but before they are completely close, I saw not one but two silhouettes coming in my direction. 

I smiled. Are they fetching me that early? That's when I realized, it's the ending of my story.

I died. It may not be physically. But I died. Mentally.

Please, someone, save me.

Save me.