Fan Fiction ❯ Own Me ❯ Goodbye ( Chapter 3 )

PeachBerry: How is everyone? I'm fine…the super update is here. Chapter three!

Wingy: YAY! Chapter three! It's a little short though….

PeachBerry: Huh? It's not short! Well, shorter than chapter two, but it's longer than chapter one!

Wingy: Whatever, PB ish a lazy bum…

PeachBerry: ::smacks head:: Just do the thingy.

Wingy: OK!!! PB does not own any KH characters or the word `munny' But she does own Takumi! That's her character so don't steal him!!! (without giving Wingy chocolate first)

PeachBerry: Chocolate? Where!!!

`*,'~',*'

Own Me

By: PeachBerry

Chapter Three- Goodbye

Sora watched silently as Ansem dismounted his horse and handed Riku his black cloak and Sora's leash. He hadn't noticed before, but Ansem had rather dark skin, unlike anyone Sora's seen before. Many different buyers came to the slave holder's house, but never any as dark skinned as him. Though Sora heard rumors about foreigners having darker skin and lighter hair. Perhaps Ansem was one of these foreigners from across the seas.

He seemed to be used to hot weather. He wore a light silver shirt under a black long knee-high coat with matching silver trimming. In this heat, just looking at Ansem made Sora sweat. Yet Ansem looked as cool and collected as he did the first day Sora saw him. And he hated him for that. Sora noticed Ansem whispering in Riku's ear and leaned in closer to listen, but the man stopped whispering and the corners of his mouth turned up into a delighted smile. Sora's senses spiked and then a cold shiver ran down his spine. Ansem's smile broadened at the reaction, then he patted Riku's head as if he were a lost puppy.

"Stay with Riku." He said to Sora. "I'll be back shortly after checking with the ships crew." He ruffled Riku's silver locks, then walked through the hustle and bustle that was the docks.

The docks. Sora had escaped from the slave holder's house as far as here one night. But at night, the docks were quiet and deserted…empty. Now there were crowds of people hurrying back and forth, making last minute trades before they crossed the open sea. The blazing sun shone overhead and down upon Sora's back, making a sweat spot between his shoulder blades. Damn heat.

He took a glance towards Riku and noticed even with his long black cloak on, he still looked unconcerned of the heat. Riku caught his gaze and Sora was startled by his eyes. They still had that glazed over look and Sora turned away because it pained him to see such eyes. `That's gonna be me' thought Sora. `I'll become a mindless slave serving under the beck and call of a cold master until the day I die.' Tears pricked Sora's eyes, but he held them back. `Crying is a weakness I cannot afford to show.'

So instead, Sora concentrated on his new surroundings. Most of the passing people were dressed for the weather; light shirts and pants, some even wore wide brimmed hats to shield their faces from the sun's rays. A mixture of sailors gambled around a barrel. Traders were shouting out what they had on sale and waving their hands to catch people's attentions. Everyone looked light they had something to do, and were late in doing so. Suddenly, a huge shadow fell down upon the ground.

A gigantic ship came into Sora's view. It floated calmly in the water, the waves lapping at its wooden frame. Its massive size alone caused Sora to stumble back a bit. Three tall masts shot up from the deck and Sora wondered what it would look like with the sails opened up and blowing in the wind. What really caught Sora's eye was that it was painted black, yet at another angle, he could have sworn it was a deep dark blue. The color almost seemed to soak in the sun's rays as Sora stared at it in awe. On the very tip top of the center mast, was a black flag with a strange emblem in the center. It looked like a fancy heart with a cross in the middle. Strange.

Sora felt eyes bore into his back and turned to see Riku looking straight at him. He was still holding Sora's leash, almost taunting him, daring him to run away. Sora wasn't sure what Riku would do if he slipped the loop off around his neck and made a run for it. But Riku was a slave too, right? They should help each other to escape. Sora tried to telegraph his message using his unknown telepathy, but Riku seemed uninterested and ignored Sora. `Well, it was worth a shot.'

Sora wasn't too frightened of what Riku would do, but most likely what Ansem would do. Punishment at the slave holder's house was a bad beating, which Sora was used to by now. Ansem looked…creative. Who knows what he could inflict on Sora. He didn't even want to think about it. But then again, Ansem could be different. He hasn't really treated Sora badly as of yet. He hasn't hit him or anything. That was Riku and he only did it because Sora showed disrespect. `Maybe Ansem isn't as bad as I may think' thought Sora as he looked at Riku.

Don't be fooled, Sora. Riku's words rang in Sora's head and then he remembered that Ansem treated Riku like a dog. And like the dog he is, Riku would have Ansem walk all over him, feed him grapes, then jump off a cliff if that's what his master wanted. Ansem had Riku wrapped around his little finger. And Ansem probably gave Riku those eyes. So empty and emotionless. `Nice people don't give other's such eyes' thought Sora. He sighed, then glanced past Riku to the busy crowd. A flare of red hair caught his eye and he gasped.

Takumi was standing directly in the center of the crowd, searching for something. Or someone. Sora saw him call out, but couldn't hear him over the chatter of the sailors and traders. Sora wanted to yell out to him, but wasn't sure. Riku seemed not to notice Sora's new interest. That, or he didn't care, so Sora decided it was ok. Besides, he needed to at least say goodbye.

"Takumi!" shouted Sora and Riku place an amused look on his face as if saying `Your extremely loud, shut up.' Takumi turned at the voice, but couldn't see Sora through the thickness of the crowd. "TAKUMI!" shouted Sora, this time waving his hands in the air and Takumi spotted him.

"Sora!" yelled the red haired boy as he fought his way through the crowd. Sora started to walk over to him, but the leash was still attached to his neck, so he stopped at the rope's length. When Takumi reached Sora, he stood bent over on his knees, catching his breath. Sora's mind was racing. `What do I tell him?'

"Takumi, I…"Sora stopped short when Takumi grabbed him in a warm embrace. Sora returned the hug, all the while smiling his best. `Will I ever see you again? My friend?'

"I thought I wouldn't be able to see you one last time Sora," said Takumi and Sora's smile widened, not wanting to bring down his friend's hopes.

"So did I," said Sora softly. They released and Takumi instantly noticed the leash. His eyes followed the ropes length to the hand that held it and he glared daggers at Riku. The silver haired boy didn't acknowledge Takumi's presence, or the fact he looked like he was going to pounce on him any minute. Sora shook Takumi slightly to get his attention.

"Takumi, don't start any fights. I don't want you getting into any trouble," said Sora calmly.

"Is he the punk who `owns you'?" Takumi spat those last two words out as if they were disgusting and vile.

"No, he's…" and then it hit him. "Where's your owner?" Sora felt confused because he knew Takumi had been bought by that blonde man, but he was nowhere in sight. "You didn't run away did you?"

"What? No, Sora. You won't believe it, but Mr. Cid isn't a normal buyer. He lives up North from here, a little ways inland and he owns a plantation. He buys slaves, then lets them work off how much he bought them for. He sets them free."

Free. Sora had forgotten what it was like to be free. It's been so long since the last time he felt true freedom. Before he was brought to this awful place. Before they came. Sora shook himself. `Mustn't think such things. They will only make me depressed. And right now, I need to be happy for Takumi. And Kairi.'

"That's great. Actually, it's wonderful! And you get to be with your sister too. See Takumi, people can change their destinies." Takumi's smile slowly got smaller as reality slapped him across the face.

"Oh Sora. What's going to happen to you?"

"Don't worry about me. I'll be ok," said Sora reassuringly.

"Sora, I don't know." He glanced over at Riku who ignored him in return. The younger boy smiled, but it was a fake smile. One only to be used to fool others.

"Really Takumi. You don't have to worry about me. I'll be fine. I'll be ok." Takumi shook his head in disbelief. "Trust me. Ok?" Takumi looked doubtful, but the boy nodded his head and Sora could tell he was holding back tears.

"Thank you Sora. If it wasn't for you, my life would have been a living hell. But you gave me hope. Something no ones ever given me before. And now I owe you my life."

"Keep it. You need it more than I."

~*~*~*~

When Sora had seen the enormous black ship, he wasn't expecting to be sailing on it. But here he was now, standing aboard the largest ship he's ever seen in his life, watching the shore getting smaller and smaller. He was slowly growing farther and farther away from the only home he had left. The slave holder's house was looking pretty homely while being on this ship. The crew members were big and ugly who didn't seem to speak unless they were insulting one another. Sora felt very small, and he just wanted to huddle in a corner and shield his face from everything that has happened.

You can say that Sora was still kind of shocked about everything that has happened, even though he didn't show it. In just a couple hours, Sora's life had turned for the worst and now he was heading for an unknown future. What is to be expected from the new home he would be arriving at? Ansem had mentioned its beauty, yet beauty belongs in the eye of the beholder.

Ansem. A strange foreigner who seemed to have immensely fearful presence by the way the sailors cowered away from him every time he walked by. The cool and collected man strode around the deck like he was perfection. Who was this dark skinned man that took Sora from his home and away from his friends. And his freedom.

Sora felt such a lost that he was denied freedom. Freedom that he longed for since the first day he realized that he was a slave. But over time, the freedom kept fading slowly farther and farther away. And now it seemed that Sora's freedom was out of reach. Only stars above his head. Pretty to think about and look at, but nearly impossible to touch…to reach. Nearly. Sora still had a bit of hope, though he didn't know what it was for or where it came from, he just knew that everything was going to be alright.

At least, he believed that. When a particularly ugly sailor with three missing teeth lead Sora forcefully by the arm down to the haul of the ship, and darkness clouded Sora's vision, beliefs were looking pretty grim.

The short goodbye with Takumi echoed in Sora's mind as he remembered Ansem stalking up and grabbing his leash. Sora was barely able to choke out his last goodbye to his friend before he was lead onto this god forsaken ship. Takumi kept yelling out to Sora, trying to force his way through two sailors blocking him from boarding the ship. The last sight of Takumi was of him kneeling on the wooden dock, watching with disbelief as his friend sailed away from him. Tears prickled Sora's eyes as he sat in the lonely darkness of the ship's haul.

"I'm so weak."

TBC

`*,'~',*'

PeachBerry: I was really gonna make this longer, but I decided to make the goodbye scene separate from the voyage across the sea scene.

Wingy: And because PB didn't feel like writing the next part.

PeachBerry: Yeah…I'm kind of dreading the next chapter. We reveal Ansem's true intentions with Sora. ::snicker::

Wingy: Unless PB changes her mind again.

PeachBerry: Yeah, I tend to do that a lot. Next chapter will be loooooong. I know, cause I've already wrote it.

Wingy: PB already has chapters up to five planned out, she just needs to write them.

PeachBerry: I dunno about you guys, but it's hard for me to write. I gott a have the right words, I can't sound like I'm repeating myself…blah blah blah. It's a hassle cause even though I like double check and stuff, I still feel like the chapter could have been written better and then I get the urge to delete and start all over again. *rereads chapter 4* MUST DELETE AND WRITE OVER!

Wingy: No! Don't do it PB! It's fine…no worries! Just post it already!

PeachBerry: Oo…fine…

Wingy: Phew…PB appreciates all opinions and comments, so go ahead and tell what peeps think is screwed up about this story. Flamers are welcome, as long as they flame about the story, not the author. Otherwise, they will be deleted. ::mimics pushing delete button:: Wingy is good at deleting!!!

PeachBerry: Just don't delete the fourth chappie…::sweatdrop::