7: Hey y'all!
10:Hehehe… Hello, people! Most of you haven't really heard from me before, unless you read my stories… still, I don't like very long author's notes a lot
7: Oook, as you can see, CaptainS10 is a little camera shy...or author's note shy…
10: Or reader shy, I suppose.. speeches aren't my thing.
7: Yeah, anyway...we just shortened our names, but unless you've read BATB or any of our stories on our separate profiles, you won't know who we are...if you have, good for you!
10: Yep, I hope most of you are coming into this story with prior knowledge of us.. if not, oh well. And anyhow, this is starting to drag. To the point, 7!
7: Haha! Alright, here's the disclaimer!
10: You know what I think is stupid?
7: What?
10:That these people make us do these stupid disclaimers! For one thing, if we owned this, it wouldn't be posted on FF. For another, if we owned it, why the heck would we get on and mutate it so badly?
7: Haha! True...We do make Artemis torture poor Holly a lot…
"Artemis?" Holly called, as she dropped in the window of his bedroom. "Are you there?"
She looked around, but the human she had come to see was nowhere to be found. Instead, she heard Butler's voice call out from inside his closet, "He's in the barn with his dad, Holly."
"Oh," she muttered. "He was supposed to be here... Never mind. Thanks," she called as she climbed back through the window again. She faintly heard the manservant call out in response, but it was soon gone with the wind as she flew away from the window and across the yard to where Artemis was.
A year ago, hearing that Artemis was with his father somewhere would have made her think twice about swooping down in there, her wings strapped to her back and her LEP suit on. Now, however it made no difference, because now Artemis Senior knew about The People.
She landed a few feet from the barn door, turning off her wings as she approached the door cautiously.
She was about to open it and enter when suddenly she heard a yell from inside the barn. She jumped, then carefully pushed the door open a crack to look in and see what was going on. She knew that wasn't Artemis that had made that sound; it was too feminine. But then who was it? And what was going on?
When she got her answer, she wished she didn't.
Holly peeked in to see Artemis and his father across the barn, by the far wall. They were right to each other; Artemis II was kneeling, and his father was standing... and in front of them was a young woman, probably no more than sixteen, whom Artemis Senior held pinned to the wall. She was quite obviously the one who cried out; she was held against the wall, her hands tied over a branch above her head, and she was crying.
Artemis took off his tie and handed it to his father from the ground, already working at the woman's pants buttons. "Gag her," he growled. "It's killing me to listen to her screams."
"It is sort of annoying," Artemis Senior agreed, taking it and holding it in front of the woman's mouth. He looked into her eyes, a deep green color that was even darker now because of how terrified she was. "If you cooperate and open your mouth for me, I can make this a lot more gentle than otherwise," he told her softly.
The woman ignored his offer, shaking her head rapidly and sobbing still. "Why are you doing this?" she asked, her voice cracking as she spoke.
The younger Artemis answered that one. Pulling her pants down around her knees, he said, "We need to feed, miss. But don't worry; that's all we want you for. We'll take you right back to where we got you from as soon as we're done with that, okay?" Then, not waiting for an answer, he pushed her legs apart and leaned his head up in between, sniffing around softly for a minute before turning his head and sinking his teeth into the inside of her upper left thigh.
As Holly continued to watch, horrorstruck, the woman drew in a deep breath to scream again only to have Artemis Senior stick the tie in her mouth and stop her before she could. Her eyes flicked down to Artemis, and as she watched, her friend sucked heartily through the bite marks he'd put in the woman's thigh, not stopping until his father tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Son. That's enough; we don't want to kill her, remember?"
Artemis growled against the woman's skin, unclamping his jaws reluctantly from her thigh. Scowling, her pulled her pants back up. "I didn't intend to, but still... I suppose you're right. She has already passed out."
"Yes, she is. Now take her out to the car, and then you can go to your room. Your little elf friend should be getting here soon." He untied the woman and handed her to Artemis, who took her and turned around to see a streak of auburn disappear as the elf quickly hid from the human's sight.
"Ah... Dad. There's someone there," Artemis said quietly, seconds later. Artemis Senior nodded, and at another motion from him he laid the woman on the ground and they both silently walked over to the doors, taking a handle and swinging them open.
"Ouch!" Holly yelped, as one cracked her in the side. Apparently, she hadn't gotten far enough away... And now she was seeing stars, laying on her back in the dirt.
Artemis turned gave his father a quick 'I told you so' look, then they both pounced on the elf.
Artemis Senior got the elf's arms, pulling them back behind her and getting her on her knees, and holding her there. Artemis Junior looked sadly at his friend. "How long were you watching?" he asked.
"Long enough," Holly growled at him. "What the hell did you think you were doing?"
"Feeding," Artemis admitted softly as he knelt in front of the elf. "I didn't want to, but I have to. I'm sorry you had to see that... But trust me, I didn't hurt her, and I won't, either. We're going to take her home now... But it seems we'll have to deal with you first."
Holly's eyes widened. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Artemis didn't answer. He got up from the ground and moved up, putting his hands over Holly's ears so she couldn't hear him and looking at his father. "You know I can't hurt her," he whispered.
"If you can't, then I will," Artemis Senior said firmly. "We might not have to go to as drastic measures such as killing her, but we're low on other options. As far as I see, we can lock her up, we can change her, or we can kill her." When Artemis started to protest, he said, "that's all your options, Artemis. I'll let you choose, although I have to admit I think it would be best to kill her."
"We can't kill her! Are you crazy?" The boy demanded.
"Maybe. But its the truth." When Artemis Junior looked at his father, appalled, and the man sighed. "Look, Artemis, we can't risk this. Even for your friend, we can't. You may believe you can trust her, but if she's terrified of us, or she thinks we've hurt people, she'll report us, and if that happens, we're dead. For now, let's just lock her up for the night, and that will give you a little time to think about your decision. Alright?"
Artemis's face was a mix of emotions, and most dominant was the pain and sadness that having to agree to this caused. "Alright," he sighed. "We'll lock her up for the night. But couldn't it be in like my room or a guest room or something?" His father gave him a pointed look that clearly answered that question, and he frowned. "Fine, basement it is," he muttered.
He stepped back and released Holly's ears, and she looked up at him with wide eyes. He looked down at her and sighed, then told his father, "Give me her hands. You get her feet."
They switched, and Holly exclaimed, "Is somebody going to tell me what's going on here?"
"Tomorrow," Artemis Senior told her. "In the meantime, we're going to put you down for the night and then get that girl back where she belongs. However, we'll talk bright and early tomorrow."
"Until then?" Holly asked.
"Until then you're going to go to sleep," Artemis Junior snapped. "This is stressful enough without you acting like one of us is suddenly going to turn around and kill you, Holly, so just knock it off. We'll come down and answer your questions tomorrow. In the meantime, shut up."
With that blunt answer, he turned stopped and turned to carry her forwards up the steps, and he didn't speak again.
Holly nodded, her eyes downcast. The fact was, she trusted Artemis. But all trust, in any relationship, has a limit, and this was coming awful close to hers.
They carried her silently through the manor. Not even Holly spoke... That is, until they hit the steps leading down to the basement.
Being far enough down they knew there was no chance of her getting away, they set her down and started to continue walking, an Artemis on either side of her. However, after continuing walking for a few steps, Holly stopped moving.
Both Artemis I and Artemis II turned to look at her. Artemis Senior looked questioning; Artemis Junior just looked irritated.
"Come on," Artemis I said, holding out his hand to her. "I know you're probably afraid of us, considering what you just saw, but-"
"It's not us she's afraid of," his son interrupted, walking up to Holly and kneeling in front of her. He took her by the shoulders, shaking her lightly. "You have to come with us, Holly."
"I'm not going in the basement, Artemis," the elf said, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, but I can't."
"You can, and you will. Please, don't make me fight you. It's only temporary, I promise." He squeezed her shoulders. "I know it brings up bad memories, but we don't have any other choice."
"You could put me somewhere else," Holly suggested. He was shaking his head before she even finished, though.
"I can't do that. I have to make sure you can't escape."
Bad choice of words. Holly shook off his hands and crossed her arms. "I'm not your hostage anymore. You can't do that."
"You are now." He stood up and grabbed her arm. "I didn't want to say it, but there it is. And I don't want to get rough with you, but I'm running out of options here." He nodded to his father. "Get her other arm."
Artemis Senior walked up and grabbed her other arm, and Holly gasped as they lifted her off the ground. "Artemis, don't do this," she pleaded, as they carried her in and set her down on the caught in the basement cell. She tried to get up, but Artemis I pushed her back down before she could.
"Stay here," he said softly, looking her in the eye. Artemis winced at the order, and Holly shoulders slumped in disappointment. He may not have known it, but Artemis Senior had just given her an order, and since they were in his dwelling, she had to follow it.
However, the male didn't notice either reaction, and merely looked at his son and said, "Let's go."
7: Oh, yea...see, if you read BATB, you should know already...5 reviews= we put up the next chapter...