It wasn't long before the sun set. The group stopped, and settled in for the night. Supervised by Lyon, all the guards set up camp around a fire. They had tied Jyri and Faye to a nearby tree, and Nephele to a chair next to Lyon's carriage. Kern and Roark kept a watchful eye on her. The smell of roasted meat filled the air, causing Faye's mouth to water. But of course, they weren't offered any.
"We got it!" a voice called. Everyone turned to the source. Two guards marched in, each holding an arm of a man wearing anti-magic cuffs pressed in between them. Ran. Jyri gasped.
Lyon stood up from in front of the fire, and met the guards halfway. One of the guards shoved Ran to the ground. Lyon gave the guard a smile of approval, then sneered down at Ran. "Thought you could get away from us, did you?"
"I- I'm sorry, I..."
Lyon bent down, and grabbed a fistful of Ran's hair, yanking him upright. "Despicable creature. You'll come to regret that."
Next to Faye, Jyri's body tensed.
"As much as I appreciate the effort, which you will surely be rewarded for, why do you have this animal walking on its hind legs?" Lyon asked the guards.
"That's, how it was walking," one of the guards said.
Lyon kicked Ran in the shin. "We've already been over this. You're an animal, so you walk on four legs. Understand?"
Ran mumbled something. Lyon kicked him again. "I said, do you understand me?"
"Your majesty, how can it understand you?" the other guard asked. "It's an animal."
"Oh, right." Lyon eyed Ran for a moment, then yanked him by the shirt collar, and half-dragged him past Jyri and Faye, towards the campfire. Ran locked fearful eyes with Jyri as he struggled to remain upright.
"Stop!" Jyri shouted.
Lyon turned to scowl at him. "Did you just try to tell me what to do?"
"Your majesty-"
Lyon stepped up towards Jyri and Faye, Ran's collar still in fist. "You are not in any position to shout commands at me."
"Apologies, your majesty. Please. Just... could you leave him here with us?" Jyri asked politely.
Lyon raised an eyebrow at him. "No, that would be giving you what you want."
"But-"
"No. I have special plans for this one."
"Your majesty," a guard cried from the campfire. "The nymph escaped!"
"WHAT!" Lyon almost released his hold on Ran. Then, shoved Ran into the guards who brought him in, and rushed over to the guard. "What do you mean, she escaped?"
"She's not tied to the chair anymore."
"How? WHO LET THIS HAPPEN!"
The guards looked among each other, and shrugged.
"It was Kern's turn to watch her."
"Kern? Where is that imbecile?"
A guard shrugged.
"And where's Roark?"
The guard shrugged again. Lyon pinched the bridge of his nose. "Those two... When I see those two..." He pointed at two guards. "Find them, and if that nymph has gotten away, I swear to Odis..."
"Your majesty," one of the two guards with Ran called out. "What do we do with the shapeshifter?"
"Does it look like I care?" Lyon shouted. "We have bigger concerns right now. Tie it up somewhere!"
And so the guards tied Ran next to Jyri, grabbed a couple of chairs, and watched over them from several feet away. All was quiet, with whispered conversation between Jyri and Ran.
"We'll get out of this," Jyri muttered.
"How?" Faye asked.
"We'll think of something."
"I'm hungry," Ran whispered.
"I know," Jyri said. "I am too."
Faye's mouth watered at the scent of some sort of meat in the air. She turned her head to find the guards had plates of food in hand. The last thing she had eaten was a pear, and so she hissed at one of the guards. "Can we get some food over here?"
It was difficult to see the guard's expression, the only light being the glow from the fire far behind him. She could see his teeth, as he took a bite of his food, chewing it slowly. He swallowed, and held up the remainder. "You want this?"
"Yes."
"Too bad." The guard smirked, and shoved it in his mouth.
"What's going on over here?" Lyon asked, walking over towards the guard.
"They're begging for food," the guard said.
Lyon stroked his chin. "Really?"
"They asked for mine."
Lyon snorted. "Greedy little creatures. But what else would I expect from huminals?" He crouched down to Faye's eye level. "You're hungry?"
She shrinked away, gaze focused on her feet. Lyon let out a laugh, and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at his face. She shivered, breath caught in her throat. "You've done nothing to deserve food, you wretched creature." He looked over to Jyri. "How long can half-fairies survive without food?"
"One day," he answered.
Shoving her head aside, Lyon moved in on Jyri. "You're not in a position to play games. How long can a half-fairy survive without food?"
"I don't know."
"If you don't know, I suppose we can find out." Lyon glanced over at Faye. "It would be a shame to let your little friend die of starvation. But, science is important, wouldn't you agree?"
Jyri let out a breath. "About a fortnight."
"That's more like it." Lyon looked to Faye. "I'll be generous. I'll give you food next week." He finally seemed to have noticed Ran tied up on Jyri's other side, and turned to the guards. "Why is this creature tied up with its friends, when I specifically said I did not want that?"
"You said you didn't care where we put it," the guard answered.
Lyon rolled his eyes, muttering something about incompetence under his breath.
Ran had been staring at his feet the entire time, and Lyon grabbed a fistful of his hair, yanking it up to meet his eyes. Jyri stiffened.
"Between you and the fairy, I'd rather you starve." Lyon yanked his hair, and he let out a whimper. "You're lucky your kind are rare, because that's the only thing keeping me from killing you on the spot." Ran sniffled, and Lyon pulled his face closer. "Are you crying?"
Ran jerked his head away, shaking. Lyon released his grip, and raised his hand as if to slap him. Ran flinched. Lyon and the guard laughed, then walked away.
"I'm off to bed," Lyon's voice carried from afar.
"Pleasant dreams, your majesty," the guard said. Lyon spoke to another guard. Together, they went inside the carriage.
Faye shouldered Jyri's side. Jyri bent his head down, and Faye whispered in his ear. "How are we going to escape?"
Jyri let out a breath. "I don't think we can."
"Do you still have the key? To get us out of these cuffs?"
"Yes, but it won't work on these new ones. And it's not like we can do anything now."
"But if we-" Something thunked at Faye's head, and landed next to her leg. A rock. She scowled at the guard, who scowled back.
"No talking!" The guard stood up, and walked towards the guards. "Who wants to watch them next? I'm tired."
Just then, Kern and Roark waltzed into camp, looking quite unkempt. Everyone turned to stare at them.
"Where have you been?" a guard asked.
"Out for a midnight stroll," Roark answered. "What's up?"
"What's up?" The guard asked. "What's up? Where is that nymph you were supposed to be watching?"
Kern looked bewildered. "We were supposed to be watching the nymph?"
"Yes!"
Roark shrugged his shoulders. "She's tied to a chair, with those magic cuffs on. She's secured enough."
"No, she was not! She escaped. On your watch! King Lyon is furious with you two!"
Kern and Roark shared a concerned look. Kern looked back in the direction they came from. "I... think we forgot something, right Roark?"
"What? Oh yeah. We'll be right back-"
"YOU ARE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!" Lyon had left his carriage, and stormed up to Roark and Kern. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you two have caused?"
"Uh-"
"That nymph was valuable! And you let her escape!"
The guards muttered in agreement among themselves.
"Apologies, your majesty," Kern said. "It won't happen again."
"Demons it won't! You two have caused me nothing but trouble and misery and I swear to Odis, I ought to call for your heads on sticks!"
Kern and Roark shared another worried look.
"But I won't, because the more guards I have surrounding me, the more impressive I look." Lyon narrowed his eyes at them. "But for your incompetence, I will take away your benefits and dock one month's pay."
"Does that include our insurance?" Roark asked hesitantly.
"Especially your insurance!" Lyon snarled. "Now get to bed!"
The two men hurried into one of many tents set up. Lyon rubbed his temples as he looked among the rest of his guards. "You should all get some rest as well, but I want at least three guards keeping watch at all times, especially on them." Lyon jerked his head towards Faye, Jyri, and Ran. "Now I am going to sleep and do not want to be disturbed for the rest of the night." With that, he returned to his carriage, slamming the door shut behind him.
ns 15.158.61.21da2
