Hearts in Chains

Chapter Six: Tell-tale Heart

My feet carried me down the stark white corridor that led to where I could vaguely recall my room was. This place was so gigantic, that trying to memorize the entire layout of each floor would take a fair amount of time. As I continued to wander towards the assumed position my room was, I began to mull over some of the info I had picked up on during the conversation I had just previously had with everyone.

Speaking of them, I wondered why Namine had opted to stay and continue to chat even though the conversation was lasting far past midnight. I would have loved to stay, but from all the events and action in this past day, I needed rest or my body would just shut down on its own.

Some of the info however, kept my mind active and working while I sauntered on ahead. Cloud and Sephiroth were the two main focal points of what I picked up on. I soon understood that while they were slaves, they had much more freedom than any normal slave would. Well, I guess that goes for all of us here. I doubt any slave in all of this…'district' was treated this well. Anyways, I am digressing here.

They were both bodyguards for Namine. That didn't come as much of a shock considering each of them seemed more than physical fit for the task and they just had sheer intimidation working for them. Mainly Sephiroth, just the way his eyes would trace over you and examine every little feature. It was as if he was searching for a weakness…He reminded me over Sora in that way. Always searching for a weakness to take.

Cloud on the other hand didn't need to really analyze for weaknesses. The glare alone was enough to kill, and there were a few times I was sure I'd be pushing up daisies. So the whole bodyguard thing came as no real revelation, but what was a revelation was the fact that they were not originally Namine's. They were here parents.

I obviously didn't get the full story but I managed to read between the lines and what I do know is that Namine's parents had been assassinated. I couldn't gather how or why but I was able to deduce that Sephiroth and Cloud felt a great amount of guilt and responsibility for whatever happened. Whenever I brought the subject up they either looked away or immediately forced the topic to change.

This is just assumption, but I imagine that is why they stayed Namine's bodyguards. To make sure the same didn't happen to her. Or perhaps they had no choice and the law forbid them to change masters. I truly had no idea on this and it was mere speculation. I didn't have the guts to just outright ask. It was because of the environment I had been in these past few years.

At the Coliseum digging too deep into the past of some people could make easy enemies. If someone wanted to tell you about what they went through, they would. On top of that, some people didn't enjoy people digging too deep because some people didn't want to come to terms with things from their past.

Sora was one of those people…He gave me a brief rundown of his experiences, but after that completely refused to go on. He didn't wish to give any detail on the matter. I remember one time I had asked one question too many times and he snapped, telling me to 'worry about myself' before storming off. If I had to guess, he just didn't want to face his past. This was usually the case with younger people who suffered traumatic experiences.

I handled things differently however. I let everything out when someone asked, it helped me come to terms with a lot of it and while I still feel resentment for those who did it, I no longer feel sorrow. I know it may seem odd, but I am numb to any sort of feeling of sadness attached to that memory. All that comes from it now is a strong desire for revenge. It has all melded into one singular purposes that I will use.

Even now, while I am under the rather hospitable care of Namine, I cannot help but feel fury directed to this entire nation I am trapped in…However, right now I didn't have much of anything I could do in the matter. Trying to arm myself and go rogue had a very slim chance of working out for me; especially since my knowledge of the area was so little. The only two places I knew of were the Coliseum and this estate…

I soon managed to find my room, to which I lazily pushed open the door and inspected my surroundings. The room was lit mainly by the moonlight pouring in through one of the windows, so I saw no need to flip on a light switch.

If I had to guess, this was a guest bedroom. This was evident by the lack of furnishing. There was only one spare bed, that was of course covered in white sheets and the pillows enveloped in white pillowcases. One metallic desk resided in the corner. Other than that, the room was covered in a blaring stark white.

Figures.

I honestly felt too fatigued to truly complain about the poor design choice for this room, and the whole entire house honestly. With a few weary strides, my form utterly collapsed upon the bed, collapsing my eyelids and letting myself be carried off into a blissful slumber.

The sleep was well needed, letting some fatigue wash away from my aching muscles. My eyelids no longer felt weighed down by the weight of the World. On top of that, it allowed my mind a chance to restart and prevents itself from being overloaded with all the new information thrust to it. Sleep was truly wonderful.

I wish I could have gotten more of it.

I had no idea what time it was or for how long I had been asleep for, but out of nowhere, a scream pierced the air and my eardrums; abruptly kicking me out of my semi-comatose state. Even in my weary state I could tell the scream was clearly a female one coming from the room over. My body lurched and went too sit up as soreness now screamed through my body and begged for me to stay.

Don't ask me what it was, but within seconds my feet regardless of pain swept themselves off the bed and onto the floor as I then forced myself into a standing position. I then sprinted with whatever energy I could muster to the door and every muscle in me was now yelling at me to quit and my own two legs threatened to give out underneath me.

Somehow I managed to reach the door and practically hurdled into it while twisting the knob, swinging it open as I tumbled into the wall parallel.

"I'm this far, may as well not head back now…" I whispered as I pushed myself off the wall and tumbled towards the door adjacent to mine where I could vaguely recall the scream coming from. Of course, this was Namine's room as well but that was the farthest thought within my mind.

I twisted the silver knob, feeling the cold metal send a wave of bone-chilling cold down my spine. It caused me to hesitate momentarily but memories of the Coliseum flooded my memories as I couldn't help but smile a bit. Weird right? Smiling at the memories of the hell I went through.

"Phil didn't raise a quitter…" I muttered as I pushed the door wide open and took a few cautious steps inside. I saw nothing that would cause someone to scream…No intruder or ghost or anything that could incite fear.

Instead, all I heard was a soft weeping that resonated throughout the cube-shaped room. My eyes immediately went to the bed that was flooded with the Moon's vibrant white light. It was then I was reminded that I was within Namine's room, when I saw her laying there curled into a ball. Her pale blond locks in tied back into a bun and her usually bright shining sapphire orbs were squeezed shut as her lips were visibly trembling along with the rest of her body.

I slowly walked forward, feeling my lips turn down into a frown as I called out to her a few times and received no response. It wasn't long before I was now standing before her bedside and I slowly let my form sit down upon the mattress.

As soon as my body made contact with the bed, her hand jolted out in one pale blur and grasped the very front of my shirt. In one surprisingly powerful tug she had me to the side; closer to her. In sheer seconds, her arms wrapped themselves firmly around my neck to the point of where it was painful. The gap that was between us was closed as her face was now buried into my chest and I could feel her tears soaking through the fabric of my shirt.

Needless to say, I was a bit surprised as I just laid there and stared down at her in slight shock. "N-Namine…?" I spoke as the weeping started back up. "I was having night terrors." Was the curt response I was given, her voice only a shadow of what it once was. Before it was so…lively and energetic now she simply sounded crestfallen.

"What should I do…? Do you want me to get Cloud or-" I spoke hesitantly before the grip around my neck tightened and cut me off. "No, you're my friend…Just hold me…Please hold me…" That was a weird excuse for me not to get him but regardless I slowly lifted my arms and brought them around her back to hold her close to my chest as I looked down with a small frown. In time, the vice grip she had on my neck with her arms ceased and it became a lax. I looked down to her as I noticed her form had slowly begun to stop trembling so much.

"What was the nightmare about?" It may have been an insensitive question but it was one that deserved an answer. She was silent for a time and I almost assumed she had fallen asleep once more. "I had a dream of the day I saw my parents assassinated."

Oh.

I silently hoped she didn't expect me to respond to that because I had zero clue at all how to. Thankfully, she didn't and continued to talk after noting my silence. "I see it almost every night…You would think I'd be able to do something to control it since it is my dream… But no matter how hard I try, all I see is my father moving to cover me from the assault and I can only hear the anguished screams of my mother…"

I could feel her head look up to me and I shifted my eyes down to meet her dual sapphire gems that now reflected the Moon's light. "Do you have dreams like that, Roxas?"

There was a question and statement I didn't expect. I hadn't given her enough credit...Dreaming of those things must have been like hell. Was that why she had stayed up so late talking to the others? However, the way she asked the question also took me back. How had she become so composed in a few minutes when she was just a trembling ball of fear? Regardless to this little fact, I racked my brain to try to think of any dreams that could induce such terror. There were a few scary dreams I had but nothing like watching my own parents die night after night.

I slowly shook my head as my voice came out like a whisper. "No, anytime I had a bad dream I always managed to…Stop it. I always woke up before the fall, or I dreamed my way out of it." Namine moved closer to my face as she examined my visage a bit, her brows furrowing together. It was like she was looking for some trace of dishonesty.

I would have moved back or tried to get her out of my personal bubble but to be blunt, I was too tired to care. I felt myself slowly drifting farther and farther back into a slumber. It didn't help her bed felt like one gigantic feather and she was like a miniature heater. My eyelids began to slip.

"How do you do it?" Why did she have to be so difficult? Couldn't I get some rest for my heroic efforts? "Roxas!"

I groaned quietly as I struggled to keep my eyelids open. "I don't know, I just do it. I don't know how, just when things start to go wrong I force them to fix and be right…" "Stop grumbling I can barely understand you…" Namine whined softly as she gently prodded my stomach with her finger.

I jolted a bit. Oh no you don't. My stomach is a huge no go area. One arm came from her back and swatted her hand away as my eyes became slits. Partially because I was tired, partially because of her childish antics. "Don't you touch me there…Can we talk about this when the sun comes up? I want to sleep."

Namine seemed to have a devious smile on her visage now. Was she just faking it earlier? "Come on Roxas, I just want to know…" Oh don't you try whining, my eyes may be 85% closed but I still see that grin. "I could always go back to my bed." "I could always follow you."

"Why are you making this so difficult?" "I am curious." "You're difficult- agh! Don't poke me there!" "Awww, is the little baby sensitive there?" "Who are you calling little, baby face?"

Namine fell silent as she looked away with a pout, staring at me with pseudo-ire in her irises. "Quit pouting, you're not a good actor. Except when I first came in, I legitimately thought you were scared." I joked, chuckling a little bit. The ire that was fake soon became real right before my eyes, and in one swift motion her hand became a fist and hit me straight in my weak spot.

I coughed in slight pain and ended up rolling onto my back away from her. Problem was, I was laying right on the edge of the bed. Subsequently, I fell right off and landed with a solid thump on the ground below. "Ow! The hell was that for!?" I shouted, wide awake now.

"I wasn't faking you jerk! I was legitimately scared! You think I'd lie about something like that!?" "Then why the hell were you calm after like a few minutes!?" Silence.

I was about to call her on it, before her voice came out once more. "You calmed me down. You made me happy."

…What?

"Knowing you cared enough to check on me made me happy. Plus having someone there made it all…easier…" I slowly sat up and peered at her on the bed only to find that she was facing away from me. She really knew how to make me feel like an ass…

I pulled myself onto the bed and slowly lay beside her, remaining silent. It would stay that way and no more words would be exchanged this night. All that would happen was that she scooted back closer to me, her back against my chest. Then, she grabbed both of my arms and wrapped them around her waist as she huffed and kept her back to me all the same.

I figured it was the least I could do as I drifted back to sleep.