Chapter 2
May Hale ran upon the abandoned stone roads away from the castle. The cold rain penetrated her moccasins and thin clothes making the wind seem icy.
Usually colorful houses looked gray in the flash of lightening. She turned a corner into a small ally way and stopped to catch her breath. Her heart was beating rapidly along with the rain.
May wished she could turn back. Retrieve her child , and hold him closely at this moment. She hoped that Ansem would have a heart and take care of Ienzo. What he did was now, anonymous to her.
Did she regret? No. This was the right decision. It was time to face her fears. Even if she would not survive them, May had to try.
"Well, your here." A harsh voice sounded from a tall man in the shadows.
"Yes." Her voice cracked, no longer brave but scared.
A faint street lamp lit the space in which they both stood apart. She could see the man's face clearly, with a permanent scowl and blue eyes that reminded her of the disturbed sea.
May nervously brushed a tangled lock of black hair out of her pale face.
"Where's my money?" he questioned.
"I'm sorry but I can't pay you tonight-"
"Woman I've gave you enough time, wheres my money!" He interrupted angrily.
"I don't have it," May said softly not daring to move by fear. "Look, just give me another chance." She begged.
"No, your time is up. " He pulled out a silver pistol from his pocket. Tears filled her eyes and slowly began to pour.
"Please, just give me another chance."
"No more chances. You were suppose to pay that mortgage months ago. You have to pay somehow." His voice sounded flat but the smile on his face that appeared said there was no changing of his mind.
"No..No..Please No." May whispered over and over again as the man turned his gun towards her. She fell to her knees and shakily pulled out a picture from her dress pocket.
It was Ienzo, curled up in her arms at the central hospital across town. She looked happy and joyful in this picture as she smiled down upon him in his blanket.
May's green eyes welled with more tears,
"I love you baby, I love you." She whispered so quietly that the man could not hear her.
Suddenly a single shot was blown from the gun and she found herself on the cold ground in pain, grasping onto the picture of her son.
"Its okay, mamas got you." Was her final words and she closed her eyes to go on in an everlasting sleep.
-_-_-_-
At the break of early dawn, Ansem awoke to a bright light seeping into his eyes from a small curtained window. Quickly he recalled the events of the stormy night before.
It already felt like a million years ago, but time fly's by so fast now and days he himself could not keep track of it.
He was sitting in a mahogany wooden chair with his arms firmly wrapped around little Ienzo.
He must have fell asleep rocking the child to slumber last night. On the nightstand beside a twin sized bed in the corner a digital clock read ' 9:00am ' . Ansem sighed and the child stirred in the blanket.
Carefully , he stood up and paced his way across the Guest Room floor. Awkwardly he opened the large door with his right hand and began his way to the dinning room once out in the elegant hallway.
Slowly, the child awakened every minute they were walking. Ienzo's bright silver eyes starred at Ansem. He smiled slightly and stopped to a door in front of him.
Ansem pushed the large door open with his shoulder and stepped into the dinning room of the castle. At the long wooden table sat the five apprentices eating a delicious breakfast or reading.
One of them known as Aeleus stood up "Good morning Master An-" He cut off when he saw the tiny child in his arms. The others started to notice too , one at a time giving each other a weird glance.
The youngest, Xehanort, came up to him " Who's that?"
Ansem looked to every one of their questionable faces,
"Excuse me, but this is our new family member. His name is Ienzo."
The name was unforgettable now, beaten into his head like a jackhammer.
Brothers, Braig and Dilan was now at his side glancing at the child,
"Uh, cute?"
"Dude, He's the size of my football!" Braig said with amusement. Ienzo's eyes darted to each one of them, saying no words.
Even also stood to come and see the new guest,
"Hmm." He rubbed his chin, "What I want to know is how Ienzo got here." Even looked towards Ansem and he saw that all of them was looking at him with curious eyes.
Ansem sighed once again and waved his hand towards the brown leather couch in the corner of the room. They all sat down and for a moment silence lingered.
Ansem began to tell them everything that had happened for the next half hour. Knowing that this was a special time. He wanted to see the child grow, how he acted.
Ansem did not know why.
-_-_-_- Two Days Later
Afternoon sunlight shown against the white walls in the castle library. Book shelves rose upon two sides like dominoes. Ansem was reading the Radiant Garden Newspaper that most recently came out.
Ienzo was stacking up alphabet blocks at Ansem's foot , happily laughing when they fell down. He had become a part of their family now. They had guessed the child's age was around one year old.
Ienzo also enjoyed the castle too. He was starting to learn to walk but he still crawled at some times. The apprentices seemed to take a liking to Ienzo and care for him.
Something caught his eye on the black and white page. An article about a paragraph long,
' A woman's body was found yesterday in an ally beside the Flower shop. The woman is identified as May Hale who died from a gun shot wound in her head. The murderer is not known yet and no suspects have been brought forth. '
Ansem starred in disbelief at the article. Could this be..Ienzo's mother?
A death was rarely seen in the peaceful town of Radiant Garden.
But why? Ansem looked to Ienzo who starred at him for a moment before starting to cry. For a second, Ansem did nothing. He was still shell shocked from what he had just read.
Then, he carefully bent over and took the child into his arms like he had done two nights ago. Whispering quietly,
"Its Okay, I got you."
