Busted

The night was silent as the world slept peacefully thirty years after the battle with the Darkest Faerie. Tormund and a Green Ixi knight named Gerald were keeping watch over the kingdom of Meridell, as was their nightly duty. Tor, now older and much stronger, was a large, handsome yellow Lupe compared to his younger years when fighting against the Darkest Faerie. He now held a large silver shield with gold lining blessed by King Altador himself. His sword was a long silver sword with runes engraved in the blade. He was a well-respected Master Knight now, head of the armies of Meridell. He was thinking of Roberta as he stared into the moon. He didn't love her like that, of course, but the two of them were emotionally inseparable after the great battle.

His thoughts were interrupted by a rustling sound in some bushes a few yards away. His keen Lupe ears picked up the sound before Gerald even noticed, and when he did it was only because Tor was cautiously heading toward the sound. He drew his sword from its sheath and his shield was on his arm in a flash. 'Thank Fyora that the faerie craftsman made this perfect for my size,' he thought thankfully. The bushes shifted again, and then all was still.

"Robber?" Gerald whispered. Tor held a finger to his lips (if paws have 'fingers') as he approached the bushes. He saw a glimmer in the darkness and then took the blade of his sword in his shield paw and swung the hilt downward hard. There was a screech as the hilt connected with something and he thrust his paw into the now shaking bushes and pulled out what looked like a Purple Kougra in the darkness. However, he saw that it had wings and black stripes and realized that it was a Darigan Kougra he was holding.

"Put me down you Lupe!" It shouted as he continued to hold it upside-down above the ground. The Kougra clawed at him, but he held it out of reach and when it tried to scratch his paw holding it, it was protected by chain-mail and a shield. "Put me down now or I'll make sure you regret it for so many years you'll wish you..."

"Find anything?" Tor asked as Gerald was searching dropped goods that the screaming Kougra, apparently female by her voice, had dropped. Neither knight was paying any attention to her threats and curses, but they were very interested in the food and jewelry lying at their feet.

"Looks like she's been quite busy," he said. "She's got an excellent eye, too. These all appear to be genuine stones in the jewelry, and the food looks like the expensive stuff only rich people would have. One of these even appears to be a family heirloom from King Scarl's bedchamber!" He held up a necklace and Tor recognized it to be the crest Scarl wore at a special feast at one time.

"It's not my fault the guy shows off his valuables so obviously!" the Kougra countered. "Besides, the King's got some sweet jewels up in there that I didn't touch! I should get an award for that!"

"Awards aren't given to thieves," Gerald retorted. He bagged the rest of the items and pointed towards the castle. Tor nodded and they both headed back, unaware of the glowing red eye watching them from the bushes before disappearing completely.

When they came into the castle, a patrolling knight looked at them as he walked through the hall in front of the door. 'Convenient,' Tor thought.

"I need you to take over my station while I put this one down in the dungeon," he said. "We'll figure out what to do with her in the morning." He took the squirming Kougra down and locked her in one of the cells. It had a bed with pillows, but other than the accessory chains on the wall right above it the room was empty.

"I'll get you some food from the kitchens, but everything you stole will be returned tomorrow," he said sternly. "Also," he continued after he locked the door, "what is your name?" He hooked the keys onto his belt before she replied. She just pulled down the skin under her eye and stuck out her tongue. He shrugged and walked up the stairs before closing the door with a soft thud.

"Everything you stole will be returned tomorrow," she mimicked in mockery as she lay down on the bed. "I'll just get it all back when I get out of here." Just after she spoke, the door opened again. However, she smiled as no footsteps were heard before she saw a ring of floating keys in front of the bars. "Bout time, slow-poke!" she teased as she correct key eventually fit itself into the lock and turned with a click.

"Mrow," a small voice replied. A Ghost Meowclops appeared out of thin air as the door opened.

"Yeah, yeah, I know how it goes," she said with a smile. The smile disappeared when they heard the door open for a second time. "Shoot, hide!" she whispered before jumping down an open hole in the floor. From the smell it was a sewage tunnel.

Tor froze in front of the empty cell with a tray of prisoner mash in his paws. He set the tray down, pulled out his sword and turned to look behind him. He knew full well where she was and was going to bring her back to her cell. He looked back at the cell door and was surprised to see it open without being forced.

"She has a partner," he growled, and he ran over to the sewage hole and jumped down into the darkness.

His nose was assaulted long before his feet hit the flooded bottom. The stench was very familiar from thirty years ago. He hated having clog duty, and now he had to come back down to this infested place.

"I know you're in here!" he called. He saw some Slorgs in the distance as well as an occasional tentacle. What did those tentacles even belong to anyways?

"Aer!" Tor turned quickly to see a sad little Meowclops covered in muck. He picked it up and brushed it off, but it was soaked. Suddenly the muck shot off of its fur and into his eyes. The ghost followed its Kougra master as she jumped for the ladder. Tor, now able to see again after brushing the muck off of his eyes, grabbed her and tore her off of the ladder. He whipped her to his right and had her pinned against the wall. The ghost tried to attack but his mail had a protective spell on it. The only reason it was able to touch him before was because the muck was what he was touching, not the petpet itself.

"Get off!" she shouted. She pulled her hands to her side, drew out two daggers and twisted around to stab at him. He pulled away when he saw the weapons and drew his sword, his shield already on his arm.

"I didn't want it to come to this," he growled. She lunged out and he side-swiped, knocking one of the daggers out of her hand. The Meowclops attempted another strike but failed as it was repelled by the magic armor.

"Neither did I!" she exclaimed with exasperation as she picked up her dagger off of the slimy floor. "But I don't like cells, thank you!" With that, she made another go for the ladder. This time she kicked his chest-plate, sending him onto his back. She scrambled up the ladder, jumped out of the hole and ran to the stairs. When she got to the stairs she stopped as she looked up to see three knights blocking the way out. Her Meowclops hissed and prepared to lunge before being caught in a brown cloth bag by Tor. She put her daggers away, not down on the ground and just stood there waiting. She knew it was over.

"Ha, not so tough now are you?" the Ixi knight from outside called triumphantly. She hissed in response as her paws were bound behind her back.

"Always be gracious in victory, Gerald," the Lupe rebuked, causing the Ixi to flinch. "This was no easy battle. If I had a year's less experience, I might not have survived myself."

"Bring her up, Tor!" an Electric Ogrin called. "She's not easy to keep in check!"

"This is her accomplice," he stated, holding up his cloth bag, which was moving around in his hand. "A ghost petpet is difficult to tame. If you're lucky enough to have one, you've got a great deal of protection. Fyora's blessing on this armor and King Altador's blessing on this shield is the only reason that I'm alive right now."

"Lucky, stupid Lupe..." the Kougra muttered under her breath as she stared at the bag with anger at her petpet being caught inside.

"You'll do well to show him respect," the Blue Ogrin sneered. "He's a senior warrior."

"Great," she sighed, rolling her eyes. "Get him a walker and some prunes." With that she was escorted out the door before Tor stopped them.

"Let me take the rope," he ordered, and it was handed to him without question. "She'll be staying in the spare squire room tonight and we'll have it physically and magically locked. There's a tray of cold mash down there that I want you to get, and bring it to me there. Understood?" They saluted him and rushed off in three different directions. Gerald went to get the mash, the Electric Ogrin went to get a fire mote to warm it up again, and the Blue Ogrin went to get a mage to magically lock the spare squire room.

The two of them walked there quietly, Tor holding the rope and the Kougra looking around for a way to escape. However, she wouldn't leave without her Meowclops, so no matter what idea she came up with it was foiled by the fact that she couldn't think of how to get it back.

"What is your name?" He asked when they stopped in front of the door into the spare room.

"Demona," she grunted. "The Meowclops is Taunt." He nodded once before footsteps behind him told him the knights had returned from their separate errands.

"So you need a magical lock?" the old Split Lenny asked as he made his way to them. "That sounds easy enough. Put her inside and I'll place the spell on the door, if you would be so kind." Tor bowed slightly and pushed her inside, untied her hands, threw in the Meowclops and placed her tray on the ground just inside the door. He promptly shut it just as she threw herself against it. She wasn't getting out.

"I'll get out of here somehow," she fumed to herself. She always got out of situations like this, but that was with the help of Taunt. Now he was struggling to get out of an obviously magical bag, locked in the same room as her. Never before did a situation seem so hopeless.

She untied the bag and Taunt burst out of it, ready to attack until he saw that they were alone.

"Mrrrooow," he moaned pitifully.

"It wasn't your fault, don't apologize," she said comfortingly. "They're going to do something with us tomorrow. We need to be ready to escape as soon as they open the door." She pulled out her two daggers and ran her right paw down the top of both short, black blades. One had a sapphire stone imbedded in the hilt, and that was the dagger blessed with light-weight when in the hands of its master and silence even when swung with great speed and force. It could move through water like it was moving through air, without any resistance from liquid at all. The other had a ruby stone, and that one was a cursed blade, poisoned forever with whatever poison she desired for the moment to cause a slow and painful death. She was very happy that neither dagger could cut her.

Her clothes were normal, a loose-fit black shirt and shorts for easy mobility. She did not need shoes because her paws were use to Darigan terrain, rough and rocky. Besides, everyone knows that shoes make too much noise. This place was smooth and grassy, which felt like pillows compared to her old home.

She put her daggers back in their sheaths and lay down on the bed, every escape plan she had ever concocted ran through her head as she fought off sleep. She needed to get out as soon as the opportunity was hers, but to do that she needed her strength, so she grabbed the still-warm mash from off the ground and ate hungrily, not leaving a single morsel left over. After she finished, she lay down on the bed, closed her eyes and was quickly asleep with Taunt on her chest, kneading until he finally decided to lie down.

She was awakened by the sound of a lock clicking. 'Shoot!' she thought. 'I slept for too long.' Before she could form a coherent, non-drowsy thought the door opened and Tor walked in with another tray of mash.

"Eat up," he ordered as he set the tray down. To Demona's surprise he was unarmed and was in fact wearing his pajamas. Why is he suddenly being so trusting? She eyed the tray hungrily for a moment before folding her arms and tilting her head in defiance. However, he just stood up and walked out the door, closing it quietly.

As soon as he was gone she dove for the tray and gulped it all down. It may not be the best tasting, but it is food, so who cares?

"Reear," Taunt teased from the bed.

"If you could feel hunger, you wouldn't be making fun of me!" she hissed back as she put the tray down. "You're only a pig if you eat more than your share, and I haven't had my share for the past week, so don't you dare."

"Neeya," it mewed before lying down and going back to sleep.

"Well," she mused to herself, "At least one of us is able to relax." She propped her back on the side of the bed and just sat there as the sound of footsteps went by every now and then. Suddenly one of them stopped in front of her door and broke her daydream as she stood up, daggers ready at her sides.

"Hello, little thief!" the Ixi named Gerald called in as he opened the door. Tor was behind him in his knight attire now, an improvement from the blue pajamas she had seen. "It's time for you to meet all the knights so we can decide what to do with you!" She glared as Tor entered with the rope from the night before.

"Can't take any chances," he said as he bound her up. Taunt was still sleeping soundly on the bed, and Demona knew that waking him up will not do any good since he is unable to touch the Yellow Lupe.

"Excuses, Excuses," she said as she was taken out of the room and the door was closed, locked and left.

When they entered the main hall, many knights were there waiting for them. They all turned to see the thief, who was becoming very nervous as she became surrounded. Tor unbound her but stayed at her side, though she had no idea why. She knew how easy it would be to take him hostage, but she was too nervous to reach for her daggers. She hates crowds.

"Well," rasped a deep voice as King Scarl came in to join them. "There's the little thief!" He coughed when he stopped, his old blue-grey skin dull and almost lifeless. "Think you can get away with my trinkets, do you? Well, you little demon, I'm here to disappoint you!" He took out the necklace she had stolen, and it glittered teasingly in the light as she stared. She loves shiny objects.

"My king," Tor said with a bow, "I trust the other items have been returned?"

"Of course, dear boy!" he boomed. "The other items are all safely in the hands of their proper owners now, no thanks to her." He pointed a gnarled finger at her and she hissed in return, earning a slap on the head from Tor.

"Learn to show respect to your king," he growled.

"He's not my king!" she countered. "Being my king and being the king of Meridell are two very different things." The king's face was outraged at her insolence and she smiled.

"Her punishment must be severe for talking to the king like that!" a knight shouted, getting a loud agreement from the others.

"The greatest punishment," Tor said, causing the other knights to fall silent, "would be to teach her respect and to bind her to someone." Demona looked at him in surprise. What the heck did that mean? "I will bind her to myself, and she will become my squire." That got an uproar. The surrounding knights were arguing with each other loudly and some were shouting insults down to Demona. She would become this knight's squire?

"No way in heck am I serving you!" she shouted, backing away. "You must be mental to think I'd serve this senior wannabe!"

"My name is Tormund," he said, "and you'll do well to remember that, young squire."

"I'm not a squire!" she hissed. "I don't do servant work to anyone other than me!" She looked around as she realized that the surrounding onlookers became very quiet as she spoke.

"This is the hero of Neopia!" Gerald called. "He saved the world from the Darkest Faerie! You should be honored to be his squire!"

"You?" she said incredulously. "You defeated the Darkest Faerie?"

"With help from Roberta the Brightvale mage, but yes, it is true." Tor folded his arms across his chest-plate and stared at her. "Normally the squires are sent to the captain for training, but I will take care of yours personally. You will do as I say and nothing else unless it is your free-time. However, for the time being you will stay in your room until we find a way to permanently bind you to me to where anywhere you go I know exactly where you are."

"Perhaps we can go to Fyora!" Gerald stated excitedly as he made his way to them. "She could make a spell, or perhaps she has an item we can use." Tor nodded once and grabbed Demona's shoulder.

"Now, off to your room," he ordered. "You'll be staying there until I return, is that understood?"

"What the... I don't take orders from you!" She knocked his hand off and he swatted her head.

"You will respect any knight you serve," he stated, "and since you're my squire you will show me respect."

"Respect you my butt," she muttered as she was bound up again, taken to her room and closed in.

"Nya," Taunt greeted.

"Don't act so happy," she snapped. "Now I'm that Yellow Lupe's squire! Who the heck does he think he is, anyways? I'm not going to show him any respect and he'll let me go because he'll eventually get tired of me, that's how I'm getting out of here. He's going to see Fyora right now to get something to 'bind us together.' This is going to be a long week. That's probably how long it'll take for him to come back. This is gonna suck, you know that?" Taunt floated over and landed on her shoulder, rubbing his furry face on hers and the two of them just sat in silence until boredom eventually put them both to sleep. She had dreams of her wearing loud and heavy chain-mail and carrying a clumsy, heavy sword way to big for her.