Chapter 11 : Vanished
Wow, I'm rather proud of that last chapter, despite the fact it took me like two weeks
Well, I haven't updated in rather a long while, what with coursework and studying and stuff, so here's hoping that I can make this chapter somewhat worth it...hopefully :D
The Magistrate reached across the table for the crystal decanter of red wine and poured himself a generous helping. He sat in Rimuris Sorgota's study room, whcih was lavishy decorated in dark mahogany wood and thick red velvet. In the middle of the southern wall sat a marble frieplace, with a roaring blaze within. Above that hung the Sorgota family's crest, a shield with two scythes crossing it, and the bronze-cast face of an ancient ogre-demon. Aristala grimaced. Every child in Vila Civitas knew that face. That was the face that haunted you while you snuck to the toilet late at night, the face that owned the claws that crept up from beneath your bed to scrape your flesh, the face that looked back at you from broken mirrors. The face of a horrible nightmare. Aristala knew that there were scythes in the Sorgota crest because they were, at first a poor peasant family on the outskirts of Vila Civitas. The some Sorgota boy some time ago began a newspaper business and so they became wealthy. Rimuris, however, had embarked on the road of politics. The Magistrate chuckled at this, Rimuris was no orator, he was weak and a pushover, he had no concern with the running of the city, all he cared about was hoarding money. It was like his hobby. Even though Aristala hated Rimuris deeply, he was forced to work with him, for the protection of Vila Civitas. What he was doing now, it was all so everyone in the city could have a better life. That face...where it tied into the Sorgota heritage, Aristala did not know. Yet, in the language of Tet, a neighbouring country, Sorgota meant "ogre" or "monster". A title that hardly befitted Rimuris.
Aristala leaned back in the red velvet chair he was occupying. He closed his eyes and supped at his wine.
"So, Rimuris."
Rimuris Sorgota twitched slightly at the sound of the Magistrate's powerful voice.
"Y-Yes...Magistrate?" Sorgota bowed slightly, so his long golden beard touched the ground.
The Magistrate's steel-grey eyes flicked open. His throat made gentle movements as he swallowed his wine.
"The other Lords and Ladies are becoming suspicious Rimuris. Why? They ask. Why would a man is such power as the Magistrate bother himself with a lowly man such as Rimuris?" Aristala's thin lips curved into a nasty smile. Rimuris' head bobbed up.
"I'm sorry your Excellence? I consider that a trifle impertinent. You are, after all in my house," Rimuris said indignantly, "You are at my mercy also. Must I remind you, who holds the most power, right in his own home?"
Aristala did not even blink. Instead he lazily leaned his head on his hand.
"I can have you thrown into jail in an instant, Rimuris, so watch your tongue."
Rimuris' triumphant look vanished in an instant. Aristala drained the last of his wine and stood up, he wandered around the room with his hands behind his back, examining the cascades of books on the shelves nonchalantly.
"I hear your young son, and heir, has disappeared?" he enquired in his sweetest voice. Rimuris stiffened.
"He was always so much trouble, to be honest, I'm quite relieved he's out of my hair-"
"Not that there's much of it." Aristala jested. Rimuris glared daggers at him.
"Yes...well...anyway, ever since the wretched boy vanished, his mother has become very ill."
Aristala glanced up at Rimuris from a book called Campaigns of General Gruff he was inspecting. There was only one thing that Sorgota loved as much as his money, and that was his wife. Rimuris's wife was a beautiful woman, much younger than Rimuris as she was only in her early thirties, around the same age as Aristala himself. She was as lovely as the ancient women whose beauty was immortalized forever in the stone statues that stood in Rimuris' hall. She had lovely, silvery hair and vivid green eyes. Aristala did not deny to himself that at that moment he felt some pity forRimuris, for it would be a tragedy for any man to lose a wife as lovely as she. Aristala was unmarried and perhaps, he smiled, I am sorrowful for her illness too because Ihave always desired her. However, this he would never admit to Rimuris, for plainly obvious reasons. A man is always protective over what is his. Aristala lowered his eyes and nodded to Rimuris.
"My condolences." Rimuris nodded back to the Magistrate, to show his sorrows were acknowledged and accepted.
"Before your son left," Aristala said,"did you find out if he knows about the Place?" Rimuris clasped and unclapsed his hands together, his eyes glazed over in a daze.
"I...I don't know. I really don't."
"You know, Rimuris," Aristala turned to face him, the firelight casting odd shadows in his eyes, "When all this is over, and Vila Civitas becomes pure once more, you and I will be Gods."
"Yes, Magistrate." The Magistrate looked up to the ceiling in a daydream and a rare, genuine smile of happiness crossed his normally stony features.
"For we are the ones, that shall use the eternal light of the Heart to heal Vila Civitas."
At that moment Sora was standing on a bustling street corner. He was in his own little world, dreaming of his old friends and all the people he had met during his journey. When he was alone, Sora found he could cope with the seperation better, but now that Onihime was with him, he found that he was comparing Onihime to his old friends and reminiscing more and more. It wasn't Onhime's fault he knew, but the sudden appearance of a new companion in his life had opened up old wounds,made the longing in his heart for his home grow so painful that he felt it might burst.
"SORAAAA!"
Sora was wrenched out of his dreams, to see Onihime's happily waving figure running towards him. Sora smiled, trying to put the pain out of his mind.
"Hey, you done shopping?" Onihime came to a halt beside Sora, his smile spread across his beaming face.
"Yup! I got some really good bargains too, I didn't realise haggling could be so fun!" Sora smiled at him. Just like a little kid.
"Well, come on. I'm going over to the harbour district today." Onihime's eyes widened.
"I can come too?"
"Yeah sure, why not?" Onihime lowered his eyes to the ground and blushed a little.
"It's just...usually you always make up some excuse just so you can go around alone. For a while, I was worried you didn't like me at all, but were too nice to say anything..." He paused. Sora was a little surprised that the boy would think that.
"Ai-ya..."Onihime wiped his face with a hand, and looked up at Sora, grinning.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. It was just, me being selfish..." Then he started to run on ahead, laughing back at Sora, "Hey! Come on! The next Umbris train to the harbour district leaves soon, we don't wanna be late!"
Ignoring the painful tug in his heart that reminded him of Kairi, Sora grinned and easily caught up to Onihime.
"Race you there!" He laughed.
Sora and Onihime caught the Umbris train just as it began to pull out of the station. The two boys were made to stand because the seats were all full of people going about there daily business. Sora enjoyed the train, it made him feel like he was close to everyone there. The happy, talkative atmosphere was infectious and soon Onihime was engaging a young woman in a talk about botany. Onihime had a strange love for flowers, Sora had never quite understood about that. Sure they were pretty and smelt nice, but Onihime could tell you the name of every single flower, what season it grew in, name the different parts...his knowledge of them was seemingly endless.
The train journey lasted about fifteen minutes. It had twisted like a snake around the main spiral tower of the Umbris to the lower regions of the city, thenheaded off east to the harbour. When it puffed its way into the station, the girl that Onihime had befriended had given him her address, should he ever want to "drop round". Sora had teased him.
"Let's see that address..." he said, whipping the piece of paper out of Onihime's hand. Sora read it. His eyebrows raised. Onihime put his hands on his hips and pouted slightly.
"What is it?"Sora looked at Onihime out of the corner of his eye.
"Do you know where this is?"
"No, why...should I?"
"Ummm...how do I put this..." Sora put his hand to his mouth to stifle a chuckle.
"What? What?" Onihime bounced about a little in annoyance.
"This girl...she's a...ahem"
"Ahem what?"
"You know...a lady of the night."
"What's that?" Sora sighed. Evidently, Onihime had never had "the talk".
"Never...never mind. Just don't go near her until you're older." Sora patted Onihime's head.
"Huh? Why? Tell me!"
"Nope." Sora grinned at Onihime and strode onwards. Onihime skipped frustratedly after him.
"What's wrong? I wanna know! Come on, Sora! SORA!"
Sora had stopped so suddenly that Onihime had bumped into his back.
"Hey! What-" Onihime saw that Sora was staring intently at something. Onihime looked fearfully in the direction of Sora's eyes. At the bottom of a dingy little slum street full of little inns and fishermen's shops, stood a huge crowd. Someone was shouting. Onihime gasped.
"What...what do you think is going on?"
Sora's brow furrowed.
"I dunno, but I'm going to find out." Sora ran towards the crowd and Onihime followed him. He reached the mass of people and began to elbow his way through. Onihime followed in his wake, apologizing to a lot of disgruntled individuals.
"I'm very sorry, please excuse me." Sora stumbled into the centre of the crowd and what he saw there caused his heart to leap into his mouth. A doctor was kneeling beside a man who was lying spreadeagled on the ground, obviously dead.The man'splain, sailors clothes were dirty, wet and torn. Something, however, caught Sora's eye. Around the man's neck were four handmarks that had caused the neck to become red, raw and calloused. He had been strangled.The face of the sailor was blank, the brown eyes open, staring into oblivion. An expression Sora knew all too well.His stomach twisted itself into a sickening knot, this man had been taken by a Heartless.
"No...no..." Sora shook his head. Not here too...
"Sora?" Onihime's voice sounded so distant...
Sora turned away, he could not bear to look at the man's face any longer. This would lead to more fighting. More fighting...he just wanted the fighting to stop.
"Onihime, we have to leave." He pushed his way back through the crowd again.
"Oh..." Onihime took one last look at the dead man, and shuddered. He had never seen a corpse before, "Okay."
Sora gritted his teeth.
Now, I need to find the Heart more than ever...