One Piece: Sorrow's Cold Embrace (SSW Backstory)

Chapter 28

Saphira's POV

It was winter and behind the manor, the dark woods moaned - a deep, eerie sound. My breath hovered in front of my face in a little white cloud. The chilly air sent a shiver down my spine. At my right, a torch crackled as the flames fought to stay alive against the freezing wind. I looked up as a silver ray of light broke through the dark clouds, illuminating my surroundings. The moon was full and bright tonight.

"So, what do you think?" Silver was trying to stay warm, rubbing her arms and blowing a warm breath into her palms. Her cheeks and nose were red from the cold. We've dressed to stay warm, but now that we have stopped moving, the cold is quickly seeping in. "You mean, about Charlie?" I nod my head as I kept my eyes on the moon. Silver was quiet for a few seconds before speaking up again, "When did you notice he went missing?" I could hear the worry in her voice, but she's trying to keep calm.

"I noticed right away." I tucked my hands into the pockets of my thick jacket as another freezing wind howled. "We share classes and we share a room. It's hard not to notice." Charlie, just like us, love going to class. He, after all, didn't get a chance to go to school back home. So, he was dedicated and never skipped a lecture. At night, when we usually go to bed, he would always walk to my bed to have a chat before going to sleep. But, last night, Charlie wasn't there and this morning when he still didn't show up, I started worrying.

"Should we ask around if anyone have seen him?" Silver started bouncing where she stood, trying to stay warm. "I already did." I swallowed a heavy lump in my throat, "And, I'm not liking where this is heading." Silver stopped bouncing in place to turn and look at me properly, "What did you hear?" I finally let my eyes leave the moon to instead stare into my sister's beautiful heterochromia eyes. "My worst fear." I took in a deep shaky breath as I try to calm my racing heart, "They took Charlie, just like they did to those other missing kids."

"Took them where?" Silver saw the fear in my eyes and immediately started searching our surroundings for any kinds of danger. "I don't know where, exactly. But, you know of the missing children, right?" Silver nods her head as she kept an eye on the dark forest. "Yeah, Chelsea came to us that one time asking where her sister went. That's when we started hearing the rumors of the dissapearing kids." I nod my head at her word as I, too, remember that day when a frantic Chelsea asked for our help. Only, we never found her sister. That was years ago.

"The rumors are about, that many of the kids believe that there is a kidnapping organization somewhere on the island. They kidnap kids and sell them to slave auction houses. But..." Before I said my next words, I checked our surroundings again, to make sure no one was near to hear us. "But, there is another rumor. Some of the kids believe that the Lady and the Lord of the manor are the ones taking the kids." Silver's eyes widen at my words. "Why would they do that? They're helping orphans, adopting strangers and lost souls to help them..."

"Doesn't that sound too good to be true? I'm not trying to sound ungrateful here, its just that what they do and how they do it doesn't make sense." I took my hands out my pocket to fidget with the strings of my jacket. "Adopting kids are great and all, but adopting thirty of them? Doesn't that sound strange to you? And, the homeless they bring in too, they aren't even kids!" Silver shakes her head, "There are shelters for homeless people, even though I haven't seen one on the island. Maybe that's why?" Silver tried to make sense of it all.

"Not when does homeless people are a bunch of drunks and drug using scumbags. I'm sorry if I sound cruel, but those kinds of people need special help, not this. Not when all that they did was leave them to do as they pleased." I let go of my strings and started marching through the snow, towards the dark forest. "Where are you going?!" Silver quickly followed behind me. "To go see for myself if the rumors are true." I could feel my legs starting to burn from the effort I'm putting in to track through the thick snow. I could hear Silver breathing heavily from the effort as well.