Orion Disappeared
875 Words
Splash!
"AH!"
Orion let out a cry as the cold water hit his face.
"Cough! Cough! Cough!"
He coughed the water that entered his nostrils and mouth.
"Wh-what's happening...?"
Orion opened his eyes slowly and saw two people in front of him. The two of them were wearing a mask covering their entire faces.
"Finally awake."
One of the masked men asked, his voice was muffled by the mask.
"Wh-what ?"
Clang!
Orion tried to move but he couldn't.
Looking below, he froze.
He was chained to a chair and he couldn't move at all.
Then he remembered what had happened. He was heading toward his dorm when suddenly someone knocked him out from behind.
He didn't even remember who knocked him out because of his blurry vision.
He glanced around him and all he saw was stony walls. It was like he was in a cave.
His surroundings were dark.
He turned toward the two men in front of him again.
"W-what do you want...?"
Orion asked in a quivering voice.
"You will know it soon."
The burly man in front of him said in a playful tone.
Orion got chills when he heard that.
"How long, Boss ?"
The burly man asked the tall man behind him.
"Two months."
"...!"
As soon as the tall man replied, Orion shivered. He recognized the voice albeit it was muffled. It was the one who knocked him out back then.
"Oh~ two months ? As cruel as ever, Boss."
The burly man laughed.
"Just do your job until I call you."
The tall man replied in a cold tone.
"Y-yes don't worry Boss, I will do it properly."
He replied stutteringly. There was no doubt that he was afraid of the tall man.
"W-wait! Please, why are you doing that ? I have no value, so please..."
Orion pleaded with a tearful face.
*Sobs*
He finally broke out crying.
"Ple-please..."
It was too much for him. Liana, Ryan and now that.
He was enduring one pain after another, but someone like him couldn't always remain composed after what happened to his family.
"Oh, he's already crying, and I haven't even begun yet."
The burly man said, disappointed.
The tall man stared at Orion for a few seconds before walking off.
"Keep him barely alive."
"Yes Boss."
***
The morning after the banquet...
The class reunited like always for Riona's training session but there was a problem.
Riona looked a few more times and confirmed that Orion wasn't there.
For her it was strange, albeit he came late two days before, he wasn't the type of guy who would make the same mistake.
"Where is Orion ?"
Riona asked directly his classmates.
"Huh ?"
"Now that she said it, Orion isn't here."
"He was turned down after all! Ahahaha!"
"It was obvious!"
The classmates mocked Orion instead of answering Riona, which angered her.
"Austin, bring Orion here."
"Eh ?"
"You didn't hear me ?"
"Y-es!"
Austin ran toward the boys' quarter.
A few meters behind, Elena looked at Austin's back.
"Lena."
"Yes...?"
Elena turned toward Daisy.
Though she slept well, she had a bad complexion.
"What are you going to do ?"
Daisy asked, worried about her friend.
"About what ?"
"Sigh...Austin."
"...!"
Elena lowered her head.
"I-I don't know...I will try to make him accept me..."
Elena replied, uncertainly.
Her discussion with Austin and nightmares took quite a toll on her.
She lost the confidence she had on Earth.
A few minutes later, Austin came back out-of-breath without Orion.
Riona frowned at seeing that.
"What happened ?"
"O-Orion is not in the palace...!"
"What do you mean...?"
"He apparently left the palace yesterday and didn't come back..."
Austin said in a worried tone.
Bustle!
The class turned noisy upon hearing that.
"Did the princess' rejection hit him that hard...?"
"So he ran away, hmm..."
They were all making their own theories.
""Orion...""
Aura was worried, like Elena.
Anna was impassive but she had a frown on her face.
"Today's training is cancelled."
Riona said before leaving.
Orion was a hero, so they couldn't lose him. It would just show a bad image and the Empire would fall into panic.
***
Clank!
"Father!"
Liana barged into the imperial hall of the palace with a worried expression.
"Wh-where is Orion ?"
She asked, panicked.
"Calm down, Lia. Our knights have been looking for him since the morning."
Helio replied to Liana.
"And th-they still didn't find him ?"
Liana asked with a pale face.
"W-why did the guards let Orion leave the palace yesterday ?!"
She raised her tone in anger.
Orion was a hero, so they had the responsibility to protect them.
"They said that they couldn't refuse a hero."
Helio replied, shaking his head.
Liana bit her lips at that. She was sure there was something wrong.
"I already made it clear yesterday that there was nothing between us by my actions, so wh-why...?" Liana said with a quivering voice.
"Lia, we are not sure if he was kidn*pped or..."
"No, I know him father, he wouldn't stay out late like that..."
Liana replied, confidently.
"We will bring him back safely soon, don't worry" Margreth tried to reassure her daughter.
Liana just nodded and left.
'Orion...'
- Writer
