Chapter 9: Heartbreak

It took a full hour before Skye was subdued enough that the four men pinning her could release her long enough to shackle her ankles to the mast. She was standing on the deck of a large wooden ship, glaring furiously at her three captors, as well as the four guards standing behind her that had been the ones pinning her. Both of her ankles were chained to the bottom on the mast, giving her about a three foot radius around the mast to walk. Her lip was swelling, split and bleeding from a nasty punch she took to the jaw. It was predawn and the air was grey with mist. She didn't have any idea where she was, or where there might be land, as the fog shrouded everything from sight that was more than ten feet away. She tugged absently on the chains.

"I don't care what you want, you aren't getting it from me." She stated firmly. The leader pulled back his hood. He had striking blue eyes and hair as black and curly as her own, though his was cropped short.

"It would be wise not to cross me." He answered coldly, tossing a small knife to her feet. Suspicious, she watched it for a long moment and then looked up at him.

"What's this for?" She asked, nudging the handle of the weapon with her foot. The leader crossed his arms.

"You see Skye, I need a blood sacrifice." He began. She crossed her arms.

"And you went all the way to the Islands and kidnapped me for some blood sacrifice? Why not use one of your goons?" She asked, her voice just as cutting and cold as his.

"Because I need yours. You have the blood I need and no one else. Of course, I could use mine, but why take my own life when I can take someone else's instead?" He replied, smiling viciously. She swore at him, spitting out colourful words that she didn't even know she knew, scooping up the knife and throwing it at him. He barely sidestepped it and the metal slammed into the wood of the cabin behind him, embedding itself.

"I already told you I won't do anything you ask of me." She said defiantly. "Why don't you just kill me yourself?" She asked, wondering why he apparently wanted her to commit suicide.

"Because I need my sacrifice to be willing." He answered.

"I won't do it." She told him. He pried the knife out of the wood and shook his head.

"I think I might know how to change your mind." He said, his gaze hardening. He turned to his two cloaked companions and they held a whispered conversation. Skye took the chance to see if there was any way she might escape. Her outlook was pretty low; even if she could get out of the chains, she had no where to go from there but into the water, which wouldn't be the best idea seeing as how she didn't know which direction she might find land. Her attention was drawn back to the man with the creaking of a door opening. The door to the cabin was open. It was dark inside, and the two cloaked man were standing in the doorway, blocking Skye's view of what was going on inside. She caught glimpses of the four guards shuffling around, and then the two cloaked men stepped aside, and she gasped, horrified. The four guards were dragging an unconscious Riku out onto the deck. There was blood running freely down the side of his face from a wide wound.

"Riku!" She tried to get to him, momentarily forgetting the shackles. She tripped once there was no length left in the chains and she dropped to her hands and knees, watching as the guards dropped him unceremoniously to the ground. The man looked at her.

"So, have you changed your mind?"

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Riku woke up with a splitting headache. He groaned, touching the dried blood on his forehead. There was a long gash running from just about his right eyebrow to just below his temple on that same side. He sat up and the room began to spin. He groaned again and held his head in his hands, waiting for the ground to right itself as his head swam. He looked up again in a few moments. He was sitting on a little cot in a stone cell, which contained nothing but himself, the bed and a bucket that apparently served as a toilet. The entire wall to his left was made of bars, and a hall ran along it. He could see only the cell opposite his, but he assumed that there were lots of other cells running along the hallway. There was a metal bridge running from above his cell to above the cell opposite, where there was a door and a thin walkway running along the wall, and though he couldn't see it, he could only assume that there was a similar door and walkway above his own cell. Only then did he notice the pitcher of water sitting just inside the cell. He tried to stand up and swayed, dizzied again. He sat down, and a moment later, tried again. It took him a few tries before he could stay on his feet, and then a few more tries before he could put one foot in front of the other and keep his balance. He walked carefully forward, collected the pitcher of water and then made his way back to the cot and sat down. He swallowed a mouthful and realized just how thirsty he was. He downed the entire pitcher in moments, despite the staleness of the water. Riku heard the sound of feet on stone and walked over to the bars, looking down the hallway. A man, about an inch shorter than himself, wearing leather armor and carrying a short sword, was walking down the hallway towards his cell. The man paused in front of him, grinning cruelly.

"Finally awake eh? I'll bet you're starting to regret following Dax now, aren't ya?" He chuckled as if he's made some terribly humorous joke. Riku glared at him.

"Who's Dax?" He asked carelessly. The man stopped laughing.

"You'll learn soon enough." With that he continued marching down the hallway. Riku sighed and looked around. There was a small barred window over the cot, and he could just see the stars outside, and he could hear the dull thumping of water against rocks. It lulled him to sleep, bringing with to relief from the pains in his head.

Riku woke later to the sound of rattling. He sat up and shook the grogginess out of his head. The same guard from before was standing at his cell, fiddling with a large ring of keys and scowling. He found the key he was looking for and unlocked the door to the cell, though his expression became even more unpleasant, if possible, as he spoke, sliding the door open.

"Miss Skye wishes to speak with you." He said. Riku blinked. They kidnapped her and abused her, and now she's being called Miss Skye, as if she was some noble lady. It put him on edge. There was something weird going on, what was for sure. He followed the guard out of the cell and down the hallway. It was long enough that there had to be at least a hundred cells along its walls. There were multiple 'bridges' crossing over the hallway above them at even intervals, each with its own doors at either end. There was a spiral stone staircase at the end of the hallway that led to a landing, which connected the metal walkways running along each of the walls. There was a large impressive looking door at the center of this landing, and it was apparently where Riku was going. His eyes kept flickering about of their own accord, scanning for any sign of movement. He didn't trust anything here. The guard led him up the staircase and to the door. He knocked three times, and Skye's voice called through the door to come in. Riku's heart leapt into his throat. At least she's okay. The guard opened the door and motioned for Riku to go in, before the slamming the door shut again, and apparently locking it. The room was much darker than the cells, even with their minimal light; this room was quite big, but was only lit by two small torches on either side of the door. The room was cold and stone, with no furniture or decoration other than the chair in the middle of the room, on which Skye was sitting. She was dressed completely in black, in a Victorian style, with boots, and gloves and a long dress with a high collar so that next to no skin showed. Riku assumed that this was the fashion in this world, but he was wrong; she had requested an outfit that would cover her completely so that he wouldn't see the bruises that had formed thanks to their abuse as punishment for her constant and violent resistance on the ship. Riku rushed forward, catching her in his arms. She allowed him to, but didn't return the embrace. He tried to kiss her and she turned her head so that his lips met her cheek. He let her go, looking worried, and a little hurt. She kept her eyes on the floor.

"You've been out cold for almost three days. We arrived at the Fortress yesterday. I'm sorry for what they did to you." She said slowly. He frowned, reaching out and tilting her face up to his. He looked into her eyes for a moment before she pulled away and looked back at the floor. She looked like she'd been crying.

"Skye… what's wrong?" He asked carefully. She took in a shaky breath, as if she was going to start crying again. There was a long silence before she finally spoke.

"I'm…I'm sorry Riku. I-I remembered and…well…there's someone else…" She said, turning her eyes to the wall to her right. Riku froze, his heart dropping like a stone into the pit of his stomach.

"W-what?"

"There's someone else in this fortress…I love him…" There was another long silence. "I'm sorry Riku." It felt like time stopped and he found that his mind took a painfully long time to understand what had just been said to him, leaving his heart with the feeling of being twisted and crushed. His own eyes dropped to the floor, and then he looked up at her again, his gaze hard with anger. He turned on his heel and marched towards the door. Hearing the noise, Skye looked up.

"Riku! Wait!" She tried to call, but he interrupted her.

"No, tell your guard I want out." He said, slamming his fist against the door. It opened instantly, and he stalked out, disappearing down the staircase as the guard hurried to keep up with his pace. If he'd waited just a little longer, he would have seen the tears shining in her eyes. He would have seen the pained look on her face. He would have seen her words for what they were.

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Poor Riku! I know this chappie is short, but….oh well….be happy for the fast updates! And make sure to review!