Elena's P.O.V.
Today was going to be a good day; it was finally summer break, and I was going to use most of my break in the 16th century. I was ecstatic about today's piano lesson with Francis. He was finally going to teach me some advanced technics, sharing the secrecy of playing in a harmonic tune.
Besides, later in the evening, I would be visiting Ethan in the castle. He promised to show me the library, and in return, I pledged to play his favorite composition, Mariage D'Amour.
Today is going to be a great day.
A smile was brought into the theater, carried all the way to the stage room. However, the gleam was strangled. The disquiet air sucked all of the dancing joy, pulling it to the black hole where it vanished.
My presence had barely warmed the room, yet, I could feel the poison in the atmosphere, the obnoxiousness sneaking to my nose and lungs.
It was too quiet. Too cold. Too thick.
Although the theater is abandoned, it is far from lifeless. Never has a day passed without winds birthing music, creaking planks synching in harmony, and a laughing gleam from time to time.
However, it was different today. The theater was speechless, almost as if it was holding its breath. And yet, it did not feel like my soulless house.
"Francis?" His name was built on anxiousness, the tones coming from the unresting fear beating inside my chest. I hoped for a quick response, but only my shadow replied. "Frans, are you here?"
Why am I so jittery?
Suddenly, there was a sound: a grunt. The faint groan came from the scene, yet, I could not see anyone standing there.
"Hello?" I slipped my shoulder bag off, gently placing it on one of the red seats as I walked deeper into the heart of the room. "Hey, what is- Francis!"
My feet ran to the monk, quickly trying to awake his static body that was wrapped in wounds. He was laying on the cold, hard ground, moaning in pain as he tried to wake up from the unconsciousness.
A gasp of horror left my lips when I saw how bruised and beaten his face was, the sight almost bringing tears to my eyes. "Francis, what happened?" I tore my hood off me, quickly making a pillow for his head. Without hesitation, I checked for the rest of his injuries, finding it difficult to not tremble. "Oh, Francis. . ."
His lips were bleeding, painting his teeth red. The right eye was blackened and shut closed, shielding his brilliant gray orbs from the world. A cut on his forehead dripped with blood, soaking through the ripped piece of clothing I gently pressed against his skin.
The touch on his chest caused him to flinch, and although the contact was faint and swift, I could still feel the broken ribs.
Not only was he swaying between consciousness and darkness, but he trembled in ache, tears threatening to spill.
It was a nightmare. I felt tormented to see such kind and beautiful person breathe air of pain. The sight would forever scar my mind.
"We need to get you to a doctor," I looked around, hoping desperately that someone would help. "Francis, stay with me, I'll get you some medical-"
Without a warning, he pushed my hand away, using the little of his strength to fill his silent words.
I frowned, "Francis? What are you-"
"Go," his voice was raw and hoarse, and the simple word was shaking with fear, quickly followed by a painfilled spasm. He coughed, spitting drops of blood. "You need to leave, Elena. Go." Francis pushed me away again, but his arms held no power.
He was too weak and hurt, shaking in agony and distress. It killed me to see him like this. My heart choked for him, my stomach twisting and turning.
I can't leave him.
"Go? Are you crazy?" The warmth of my hand quickly melted into his frigid, ancient one, feeling the coldness and wrinkles in the embrace. I brought his hand closer to me, giving a gentle touch of my lips on his palm in an attempt to comfort him. "Francis, you can't mean that. I'm not leaving-"
"Ye should've listened to him, ye know."
The unfamiliar, rough voice startled me, causing my heart to run. Confused and afraid, I turned around to face a dirty-clothed man.
When our eyes met, the grown man smiled, something I found disturbing due to the gold and rotten, black teeth filling his mouth. His hair was long and messy - just like his brown beard - and it looked like he hadn't showered in weeks.
Not only were his clothes dirty and covered with holes, but he was wearing a black hat on his head where the blonde, broken hair was sticking out like burnt hay.
"Did the cat get yer tongue, sweetheart?" His green eyes narrowed as they watched me, finding my anxious expression amusing. "Silent as a frightened mouse, I see."
He was right. As much as I hate to admit it, but I was scared senseless. I didn't know who he was, how he found the theater, and what he wanted.
But whatever his intentions are, they can't be anywhere near good.
Despite the fear that was pounding in my chest and ears, I rose from the ground to shield Francis from the stranger. "Who are you?" Firm words masked most of my tensed expression, but those verdant-colored orbs cut right through the veil.
Keep yourself composed, I told myself. He did this to Francis. Don't show fear, show anger and confidence.
"Oh, ye don't know who I am?" He took a step forward, finding it entertaining how I did the same. "Maybe ye should ask that old weakling over there? Perchance he will help." A twisted laughter left his lips as he saw nothing but amusement in the monk's pain.
"Leave him out of it! Tell me who you are or else-"
"Or else what?" The uneven tanned-faced man taunted, taking another step forward. He waited for an answer while he stared into my eyes, the hue of his orbs showing a form of satisfaction. This suddenly triggered his amusement, filling the thick air with another of his sick, twisted gleams. "Ah, such a feisty little thing. Very well. If ye must know, I am Claes Gyppsi - Captain Claes Gyppsi."
A pirate? The thought sent an uneasy feeling down my stomach. There was something wrong - something terribly, terribly wrong.
His presence disgusted me. Despite the great distance between us, the disturbing smell still hit my nostrils as if a rotten fish had been showed up my nose.
"To be a pirate, you're quite far away from the sea. Did you take the wrong turn while you were sailing or something?" I found my familiar courage, taking whatever I could gather to conceal my fear.
He was breathless with laughter when he spoke. "Ye are a funny one, aren't ye? Reckless words are always the most amusing ones, don't ye agree? Though ye have to be careful to use them right, or else ye'll end up on the floor bleeding."
Warm rage colored my cheeks, painting my vision with red fury. "What's wrong with you?" I took a step forward, "How could you hurt an innocent person like that? It's inhumane and wicked and-"
Captain Claes' laugh interrupted my rebuke, "Oh, no, stop! It's too much." His sickening gleam had a longer life than it deserved, and he had the audacity to smile at me, "Aye, such a sweet, little thing." I did not say anything, just bit my words and waited. "Ah, yes, the old man. Well, ye see, Doll, the cripple refused to give me what I wanted, and therefore, some. . . actions needed to be taken to get the information-"
"How could you do such cruel thing?" My loud words cut him off, sharp as they tried to make their way into his thick skull. "What could have been so important that you had to beat up an old man to-"
"If it makes ye feel any better, Love, I'm not going to touch him anymore. The information is suddenly not needed." His green eyes narrowed, sending a crafty and scheming smile.
"The only thing that can make me feel better is that you leave - and that now."
"Ah, can't do that, Doll."
My eyebrow furrowed, my face filled with anger and frustration. "Why not? He has done nothing to you. Besides, you don't need anything from him, you said it yourself-"
He chuckled, "Who said we were here for him?"
We? Before I could ask or comprehend his words, they all came at once.
The pirates appeared so abruptly, revealing themselves from their hiding spaces as they surrounded their captain. Their hygiene were worse than Claes', dirtier and more greasy as their heavy smells poisoned the air.
It wasn't before I heard my heart beat the drums of aghast that I realized the dark clouds behind his words. The storm had only begun disclosing.
Captain's sly smile returned, and it only grew wider when he stepped forward and watched how I finally backed up.
It was like we had been playing a game - a game where a doubting step could make one forfeit. And I had just given him the victory on a silver plate.
My feet were weak and boneless, almost paralyzed. The confidence and bravery I once had were burnt to ashes, replaced with a beating fear. Scrambling the small courage I could find, I managed to ask the question that I wasn't so sure if I wanted an answer to.
"If you're not here for him, then wh-who are you-"
Yet again, he cut me off with another sickening gleam, watching me with hilarity filtering his cold, malevolent eyes. "Isn't it obvious?" The captain turned around to meet the other pirates' faces, sharing a laugh with them.
Shaking with fear, I took another step backward, standing close to Francis in an attempt to feel some kind of comfort - some kind of warmth in this toxic atmosphere.
Then Captain Claes' eyes met mine, his orbs icy and dark. "We're here for you."
The monk's hand suddenly grabbed my foot, snatching my attention to him. His gray, worried eyes said it all: he wanted me to run while I still had the chance.
My gaze altered between the group of pirates and the hurt monk. I was put in a complicated role conflict, feeling troubled about what I should and shouldn't do.
I didn't want to leave Francis behind. It felt like I was betraying him, almost as if I was hurting him by doing so.
I would never be able to live with myself knowing that I just left him to drown in agony - left him to die.
"Go." His whispering word seemed more distant and colder, almost as if a vulnerable wind carried his vocal. The message gave no room for arguments nor disagreements. It was clear as a cloudless day.
With one pained look falling on Francis like a soft blanket, silently making a promise to him for a return, I made a run for it.
My feet sprinted towards the exit, running to the door as swift and quickly as possible. I knew I was fast enough to outrun them, to surpass their speed and find help.
However, there were pirates coming from all kinds of directions, cutting off every possible escape route and ambushing me in every way. Behind me, to my sides, in front of me, on the balconies - they were everywhere.
I elbowed one in the face when he got a hold of me, kicked another one where the sun doesn't shine and repeated the two motions at a third one.
But just as I escaped one pirate's grip, another one raided at me, and then a second.
They outnumbered me before I could outrun them.
"No! Let go of me! Let go!" Both of my arms were captured by two pirates that held each of my limbs. Their grips were strong and painful, causing my frantic struggles to be weak and hidden.
It wasn't before one of them twisted my arm at an odd angle that I stopped the violent struggles, controlled by the agony as I had to submit to the pain.
"What do you want from me? I haven't done anything to you," my words were firm with fear and panic as I spoke to the grinning Captain, trying to mask the ache that crushed my arm. "I don't even know you."
"No, ye don't," he roughly took a hold of my chin, forcing me to look at him. "But that squiffy prince does."
There is only one person that fits that description like a hand in a glove.
"Ethan?"
His grip tightened, making me flinch in pain as his dirty nails planted deep into my skin. "That's the rapscallion's name, aye - the person I wish was in my hands now instead of ye." The captain withdrew his hand to signalize the pirate to release the twinging grip on my limb.
A sigh of alleviation left my lips when the agony finally ended. It felt as if my arm could finally breathe again. Although my body was relieved, my mind was a frantic mess of despair and forlorn.
God, I have never felt so small in my life before.
I avoided looking into his green, nefarious eyes, trying to avoid the situation for just a second. The realization was clear - too clear that I did not bear to face it yet.
I'm trapped. And this time, there is no way out.
He crackled with another laugh when he looked at me shaky state. "Oh, don't ye worry, sweetheart," he lifted my chin again, finding joy to see the frightened picture in my eyes. "I'm not going to do much harm to ye - I just need ye alive and breathing. It may not seem like it, but I am quite the gentleman."
They all laughed, finding hilarity in his sick joke.
Abruptly, he put more pressure on my jaw, leaving bruising fingerprints before he finally decided to let go.
"Why?" I asked in a disheartened tone, trying to comprehend the situation as I wished for nothing more than an escape.
Captain Claes pulled out a dirty cloth, bathing it in some kind of liquid that I knew was used to put someone out. Its horrendous smell gave it away.
I shook my head before I made another attempt to free myself, trying helplessly to back away from the ripped piece of clothing. The pirates that had me caged in their hands only pushed me forward, holding me still by tightening their iron grasps.
My bones screamed and cracked in agony, especially my left arm that was twisted earlier. It was just barely that I managed to muffle my cries of pain, but I could not mask the grimace of ache that cut my face.
"'Why'? Oh, the little thing still doesn't know why." Laughter filled the thick air, adding more poison to the atmosphere. "Because, darling, if I'm going to kill the prince I have to lure him into my trap somehow. And who else could be a better bait than his little girlfriend who is always visiting this empty building without any guards around?" He smiled, entertained by the conversation, "It would be too difficult to go after his brother, he's always surrounded by knights. His mateys, on the other hand, are with the prince at all times - it would take too much planning to separate them." His fingers played with my fallen hair lock, twisting it before he tucked it back to its place. "Obviously, ye were the easiest target." A single finger lifted my chin, forcing me to look at him as he leaned towards my ear. "Not weird the scallywag is always hanging around ye, Doll. Ye are entertaining."
And then he put the cloth over my nose and mouth, forcing me to inhale the liquid's smell that made dark stars form on my sight, growing bigger and bigger with each breath and struggle.
I shook my head, fought with everything I had. But the more energy I put into my efforts, the weaker and smaller I felt.
Little by little, I was dragged into a darkness that made my body go limp and foreign.
The two pirates holding my arms slowly put me on the ground, which was quickly followed by my wrists tied up in another grasp.
Francis' hand stretched out, trying to impotently reach me - despite the great distance between us. The word 'No' was painted on his bloody lips, and he watched helplessly how I was taken away.
But he was too weak to do anything, too weak to fight the darkness that finally took him.
It's over.
And then I disappeared.