Albert looked down at the chest of gold, running his finger over the shiny coins with awe. He'd never seen so much money in his life. Picking up a few, he felt their smooth surface before letting them drop back onto the pile. Suddenly, two of the Heart Pirates come up from behind him and take the chest by the handles.
"Hey! What's the big idea?" They ignore him and exit the tent. Albert, confused to what was happening and angry that his gold from telling fortunes was being stolen, ran after them.
"Give me back my gold!" He cried, trying to pull the chest from their grasp but they were too strong. Their steps took them closer and closer to the yellow submarine docked at the harbor. The captain was leaning against the hull, arms crossed and a small grin on his face.
"What is the meaning of this?" Albert demanded when the two men dropped the chest in front of the pirate. Pushing off the wall, the captain crouched down and picked up a few coins.
"Acting upon our deal." He said. Albert cocked his head.
"What do you mean?" Dropping the coins and closing the lid, the captain looked up.
"The conditions of helping you were very clear. You would relinquish half your profits to me. Did you forget?" He chuckled darkly.
"Now, just one minute-" Albert went to pick up the chest but Law put his foot on the top, preventing him from moving it. The con looked up into the man's cruel eyes, seeing something there he didn't quite like.
'Maybe I shouldn't have made that deal.' He thought.
"Unlike you, I don't easily forget agreements." Nodding to the two pirates, they took the handles once more and brought it aboard the sub. Albert started to scramble after it but Law's sharp voice stopped him.
"You'll get it back once we divide it up. Until then, I suggest you go find something else to do. Maybe a palm reading or two." He chuckled, heading back inside the vessel. Albert was left outside, gawking at the captain who didn't seem to notice his anger. Clenching his fists, he bared his teeth.
The nerve of that pirate! How dare he just take the gold away from him. He was willing to bet he wouldn't see a single coin returned to him. They were just robbing him of his money…
Suddenly, shouting rang out through the town coming from the direction of the castle. A man, dressed in the official robes of a scribe or scout, ran as fast as possible to the center of the market. Stopping to catch his breath a moment, he drew a long breath.
"Her Majesty, The Queen has given birth to twins! A boy and a girl! The celebrations will commence on the morrow!" A great cheer rose up from those around and they scuttled off to tell the rest of the people.
Albert watched as the man began to run back to the castle, but he was still too stunned to move. His prediction had been right. Or, at least, lucky. He'd no idea what gender the baby would have been, but some kind of god was on his side if this was the result of his stalling the day before with the king.
The runner stopped in the middle of the road, seemingly forgetting something, before turning around and running back. He glanced at all the faces of those around him, finally landing on Albert. Running up to him, he bowed slightly. Albert raised his eyebrows. He'd never been bowed to before.
"Master Seer, the King requests your presence at the castle." He waited for his answer.
"Ah...oh, yes. Yes, of course. Please, escort me there." With a nod, the runner lead the way to the castle.
'Things are getting serious now.'
'You lie, silent there before me.'
Summer's mind was foggy, sluggish from lack of food and sunlight. From being restrained in the same position for over a week, from not knowing when she would die…
A woman's voice floated through the room...or was it in her head? There wasn't any light in the room, at least that's what she thought. A tiny ball of light floated through the air. She blinked rapidly to try to get the grogginess out of her vision.
'Your tears, they mean nothing to me.'
Again, the voice drifted on the edge of reality and a hallucination. Summer's head craned at an awkward angle so she shifted it to the side. A sharp pop went through her spine as the misplaced joint there went back into its position. A drop of cold liquid dripped from her face, and she realized she was in fact crying. When had she started? She looked around for the glowing orb, but it had disappeared.
'The wind, howling at the window.'
The orb reappeared from behind her shoulder, floating directly in front of Summer. The light hurt her eyes, despite how dim it was. As she watched, the orb slowly grew in size and shape. Before long, the silhouette of a person, no, a woman stood before her.
'The love you never gave,
I give to you.'
The melodic singing she'd heard before was now more audible. Obviously coming from the figure of light before her, Summer tried to speak. Her throat was nothing more than a dry husk at that point, but she tried to swallow in an attempt to talk.
'Really don't deserve it.'
The figure leaned down towards her, fingers gently stroking her chin. Although she knew the figure was touching her, she could not feel it. There was no pressure or heat or anything.
'But now, there's nothing you can do.'
The figure retreated slightly, gliding around her to behind the chair. Summer wasn't sure what to think about what was happening. Who was this?
'So sleep, in your only memory.'
She appeared at her other side, fingers trailing the chair and Summer's shoulder. Summer tried to speak, to utter a sound to try to communicate with this strange apparition, but her throat would not cooperate.
'My dearest daughter.'
"M-moth-?" She started, but the woman's singing interrupted her.
'Here's a lullaby to close your eyes.'
There was no way. No way at all. It wasn't possible. This couldn't be happening. She'd never even met…
'It was always you that I despised.'
"D-des-pised?" She croaked in confusion. Why would her mother despise her? Because she was a pirate? She'd never even met her! This didn't make sense.
'I don't feel enough for you to cry.'
She stood in front of the chair now, facing her. Her mother had no face as all she was was a figure of pure, dim light. Summer's tears came harder, dripping onto her legs and shirt.
"Why?" She couldn't understand. The woman gave no reaction other than to continue singing.
'Here's a lullaby to close your eyes.'
"No." She shook her head, wincing when the movement started her raging headache once again.
'So insignificant, sleeping dormant inside of me.'
She walked around her small cell, gently touching the metal bars. Summer could no longer speak, too choked up to utter another word.
'Are you hiding away lost, under the sewers.
Maybe flying high in the clouds'
If this was her mother, what exactly was she talking about? What did any of this mean?
'Perhaps you're happy without me.'
'No!' Summer wanted to scream. 'I'm not happy! My life has been miserable! I hate my life! I hate everything!'
'So many seeds have been sown in the field,
And who could sprout up so blessedly,
If you had died.'
'If...if I had died? Do you hate me because I lived and you did not? Is this why you're here? Do you really hate me?' A feeling of desperation went through her, seizing her up into a panic-induced attack. She couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. Her vision went black, but still the woman's voice floated through her head.
'I would have never felt sad at all,
You will not hear me say I'm sorry.
Where is the light,
I wonder if it's weeping somewhere.
.
Here's a lullaby to close your eyes,
It was always you that I despised.
I don't feel enough for you to cry,
Here's a lullaby to close your eyes.'
When Summer was finally able to open her eyes, most of the panic and despair having gone away, she found that the light was gone and her cell was once again plunged in darkness. There wasn't a sound, only the wind pushing against the wood of the hull. No one walked above on the deck, so Summer assumed it was the middle of the night.
Her breathing came uneasy and weak. Finally, she thought she understood.
'Mother, you want me to die. You want me to feel what you felt when you died. You want me to pay for getting to live the life you would have lived.'
She gulped, trying to clear her throat. A small grin spread across her lips.
'I'm sorry Mother, but I can't do that. I have to live. For them, those pirates, my family.'
Arriving In: 22 days
NOTE: The song used in this chapter is entitled 'Room of Angel' from the Silent Hill soundtrack. It has been adapted to fit this situation, so some of the lyrics will be different.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
