Spring Song
Author's Note: Hello, guys! I'm terribly sorry for having to give you slow updates all the time. I'm in my last sprint till the end of high school and I have so much on my plate right now. HOWEVER, I'm not abandoning this story just yet! And I hope you stick with me until I reach the end. Thank you so much for reading and giving me so much support in the reviews. I love youuuu :D
x
Chapter 10
I woke up with startle. Was it all a bad dream?
Then, I realized I was in an unfamiliar room. Where's Sabo?! My instincts cried and I quickly forced my sleepiness away. I sat up and peered down, observing that I was on a soft pink bed, a high-quality silk blanket draped over me. Confused, I touched the fabric, and I couldn't help but think that it was one of the most comfortable sleeps I had ever since I left Eria Kingdom. I glanced around the room and it was almost a replica of one of the guest rooms at the Lacie household, minus the absence of any windows and the utterly horrible metal door that immediately made me realize the kind of situation I was in. I was in prison. Worst, my brother's my captor.
I wanted to say that I was grateful for the room. It was beautiful and unfitting for a prisoner. In front of the bed was a glass table. On top of it was a delicious-smelling dish, wrapped in plastic. The smell was enticing and I could hear my stomach growl in response. I stood up onto the pastel-colored carpet, laid across the room. It was difficult to label this as a prison but I did feel like a prisoner. My feet was bare; Kiku must've taken them off for me.
I walked over to the glass table. A card was placed on top of the wrapped dish. I opened it. Scrawled in Kiku's handwriting, it said:
Dear Haruna. Please excuse the situation you are in but do make yourself at home. Do not hesitate to ask my guards for anything else you might require. You'll come around, I just know it. I love you. From your brother.
I clenched the card in my fist and threw it at the floor in anger. Why have you changed this much? I couldn't stop asking myself and the tears forming in my eyes didn't help either.
I ripped the plastic wrap off the dish and reached for the delicious-looking and very innocent croissant. Then, I stopped. I remembered Sabo's comrade's unusual blue lips. They were poisoned. The thought of Kiku resorting to poison me broke my heart but I wasn't willing to throw away that possibility. I spotted my backpack on the corner of the room, untouched, except that the weapons Koala had prepared for me were missing. The metal spikes and the pistol strapped onto my thighs before were missing as well.
Instead, I located the two plastic bottles, the 'S' and the 'H' bottles, filled with Sabo's peach tea. I intuitively reached for mine. I had barely drank it at all for the duration of this trip. Longing for Sabo's comforting presence, I quickly unscrewed the cap on my bottle and took a long sip while I couldn't stop my tears from streaming down my faces. After drinking a bit, I decided to save the rest and secured the bottle on the side of my backpack. I felt much more refreshed now that I was hydrated once more. I was sad but I felt the fire inside of me; I was determined to get my friends back and leaving this wretched place, even if it means having to abandon Kiku once more.
I removed my dark bobby pin that was pinning my bangs away from my face. Then, with all my might, I snapped it into two, each with equally sharp ends. Then, I moved to the ugly rusted metal door and examined the round metal knob. Then, I stuck the two pieces of my bobby pin inside the hole and began working. It wasn't my first time picklocking. When I was in the Lacie household, I often ran away from meetings and appointments with my parents' important guests. Because of that, there were times when they had to lock me inside my room to prevent me from escaping before said meetings. But that didn't stop me. I found other ways to escape. To freedom. I smiled at the memories of me either picklocking or climbing trees from my room to the ground. Then, the knob snapped open with a clank. Success!
I grinned in triumph as I quickly stuffed my feet inside the boots lying beside the tableside and ran outside. Sure enough, the guard met face-to-face with me and he was shocked. Before he could react, I slammed my elbow in his face and gave him a strike to his stomach with my heeled boot. Out cold, I was finally free from my cell. I grabbed the guard's pistol that was tied to his belt and made my way out of the basement of wherever I was.
I opened the basement door and I was confused to see no one in sight. Wow. Smart Kiku. I thought sarcastically. The corridors of wherever I was was decorated with an expensive-looking rug. I ran to the nearest door and peeked inside. I gaped. It was a lab. Thinking that it's best to search for whatever hints I can, I stepped inside. The lab was dark with messy tables, full of vials and flasks that contains the liquid of the most eerie color. On the left, there was a huge glass flask with familiar blue liquid bubbling. That's the poison! I immediately recognized it and without a moment to waste, I pulled out my pistol and shot the flask. The liquid burst out of the broken container.
"What the hell are you doing?!" a muffled voice screamed scornfully. A scientist clad in white emerged. He has messy dark hair, some of it which was covering his eyes. Has he not brushed his hair or looked at the mirror in years? I thought in disdain and made a face at his disheveled appearance.
"Y-Y-You!" he stuttered at the sight of me.
"You're the one drugging these pirates to do your bidding?" I ignored his surprise and raised my eyebrows, unafraid at the man.
"Well, yeah," the scientist said like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "the question is, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be in prison!"
"I escaped." I replied matter-of-factly, grabbing my pistol and immediately aiming at him.
"W-Whoa!" he stumbled, raising his hands up, "calm down, lady! What do you want?"
"An antidote," I slowly spoke, carefully observing his every move, "for the drugs you made..."
"Are you kidding me?" he exclaimed.
"Quiet!" I shouted, "you're going to do it or you're gonna die! Choose!"
"F-Fine..." the scientist stammered, "just, just don't kill me!" He almost pleaded.
"Get to work," I told him harshly. This was perfect. I'm going to free Sabo's subordinates and then, I'm going to find him and get him out of here.
After an hour, I was still in the lab, my gun pointed at him. I was sitting on the table across from the scientist's and he was working his butt off making and heating chemicals. I knew he wasn't buying time because I recognized how antidotes were made. Maybe the only useful thing that my parents had truly given me was education.
"What's your name?" I asked.
"..."
"Why, is it an ugly name or something?"
"...It's Albert..."
My eyes became wide.
"You're that famous scientist from Eria Kingdom!" I said, "I thought you were just a few years older than me. You look older than my dad!" At my declaration, he stopped working and tilted his safety goggles up.
"Excuse you. I'm only 23!" He glared icily at me.
"Are you serious?" I burst out laughing. He rolled his eyes and readjusted his goggles back to his face.
"How can you laugh at this. Don't you see the kind of predicament I'm in?" he muttered incredulously under his breath.
"I'm sorry, but why are you working for my brother?" I wondered.
"I'm quite thankful for all the small talk but will you please put your gun down?" he said without looking away from what he was working on.
"Will you kill me?" I asked.
"Will you kill me?!" he echoed, "I'm the one who should be asking you that!"
"Well, fine. I won't kill you if you don't betray me as well. I'm just a girl who just wants to rescue her boyfriend." I put my gun back onto my pocket.
"All right, fine." Albert turned away from his work and stared right into my eyes, "I was forced to work here. The Lacies had my family hostage back at Eria Kingdom. I was brought here, Miss Haruna. Even if I don't agree with Master's ways of dealing things or doing business, I'm just trying to survive."
His dark brown eyes bore into mine and I understood. He wasn't lying. His eyes were so honest and so sad that I couldn't help but trust in what he was saying.
"I believe you." I said.
"You do?" he queried skeptically.
"Yeah. Thanks for helping me, Albert." I smiled warmly at him, "I can feel like you're not a bad guy."
Albert stared at my face a little longer and scoffed. Then, he turned back to the messy scattered desktop. Without a word, he continued working and I waited patiently in silence.
A while after, he stood up, removed his plastic goggles and handed me a glass vial of yellow liquid.
"Just give a drop to each person and that should be sufficient," he stated coldly and waved me away. "You can go now. I won't tell anyone you were here."
"Albert..." I received the vial from him and attached it safely in my belt, "thank you so much, but what are you going to do from now on?"
"I'll be fine, Miss Haruna," he shoved me lightly, "just save your friends and get away from his place as far as you can go."
"'Haru' is fine, Albert," I said and ran to the door of the lab, "and you know what? I'll come back for you, and we'll go save your family."
"What!" Albert suddenly raised his voice, "Why would you do that? For me..." His voice trailed off, his eyes widened at my declaration.
"Because I want to save you." I winked and without another word, I ran off. Behind me, I didn't notice that Albert was moved by my words and was finally smiling. I wish I had seen that smile. But, now, I had the antidote in my hands and once I get Sabo and the others, I can save the people that was forced to comply with Kiku's orders. I had so much hope as things were finally going my way.
x
With a little exploring and getting rid of the annoying guards blocking my way, I found the door to the dungeon where Sabo, Hack and Koala were being held. I knocked out each guard and fought endlessly till there was no one left that was able to stop me. Sabo shouted for my name and I came face to face with him, minus the metal bars that was between us.
"You found us!" Koala exclaimed happily from the neighboring cell.
"I did!" I smiled back at her but Sabo was grasping my hands, and I saw his trembling as he held onto me.
"I thought I wouldn't be able to see you again," Sabo whispered, his voice was so miserable and melancholic.
"I wouldn't allow that." I said back, smiling warmly at him. I noticed how dehydrated he is, so I grabbed onto the side of my backpack and handed him the 'S' plastic bottle full of tea. "Here, drink this." I unscrewed the cap and led the rim of the bottle to his lip, gently pouring the unpoisoned liquid onto his mouth. After a long drink, I gave him a serious expression and gave him a brief explanation about the antidote. I reached inside from between the metal bars and stuffed the vial into his hands.
"...I've been away from my cell for hours, Sabo," I told him, "I'm pretty sure that Kiku's going to come for me. I won't have any more chance to escape again. Can you be the one to free your comrades and other pirates that were drugged?"
Sabo nodded weakly. He received the glass vial from me and both of his hands were grasping onto it, like he was unsure or uneasy about something.
"A drop will be sufficient." I continued to innstruct him but I noticed that his eyes were not focusing. His hands were unstoppably trembling. I paused. Without another word, I put both hands onto his cheeks and gently tapped them.
"Focus, Sabo! Please," I stared into his tired eyes, "I'm fine. We're fine. We're going to get out of here together. Nothing's gonna stop us." Then, I stopped and give him a small mischievous wink, "We didn't even have our first date yet. This wasn't exactly what I had planned."
Sabo closed his eyes and when they opened again, they weren't downhearted anymore; instead, they were full of resolve and the fear that he had a moment ago was finally gone.
"You're right. I'm sorry, Haru, I was so worried about you," he confessed and gave a big sigh.
"He was crying like a baby!" Koala piped in, almost laughing.
"Shut up, Koala," Sabo said, embarrassedly.
"Ahaha, it's okay, guys. I know. First, let's get out of here," I fumbled on the metal door before a large pair of arms grabbed me from behind and slammed me onto the wall. I shrieked in pain.
"Haru!" Sabo yelled.
"Oh my god, Haru!" Koala cried.
"Get away from her," Hack growled from the next cell. Hack banged the metal bars but the bars stayed sturdy, unmoved, even from Hack's incredible strength.
"Ouch..." I was on the ground, rubbing my head and the room was whirling in circles. I glared up at the vision of the large man but I couldn't exactly pinpoint where he was. The damage he did to my head stunned me. But I could recognize him. He was one of Kiku's close guards that held Sabo down before.
"Let's get you back to the cell, sissy," he snarled frostily at me. Effortlessly picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder, he began making his way up the dungeon. He was going to put me back into my prison. Let me go! I couldn't resist his strength. Before he could walk away, I instinctively grabbed the snapped bobby pin I've used from my pocket and threw it to Sabo. Get out of here! I shouted in my mind. From the corner of my eye, I saw Sabo catching it with a grave expression on his face. Nevertheless, Sabo caught it. It gave me a sense of relief and I finally gave in and passed out from the thumping headache the man had given me from slamming me onto the dirty brick wall. The darkness slowly enveloped me but all I could think of is Sabo and whether he'd escape. He will. A strong encouraging voice chirped in my head before everything just went pitch-black.
x
-END OF CHAPTER 10-