Hey! Just want to remind y'all this is a CO-AUTHORED STORY WITH CAPTAINS10!

Butler looked up from his work. "She's awake?"

Artemis resisted the urge to make a sarcastic comment in response and simply said, "Yes. And she's already being unreasonable." He out his hand on the counter, exhaustion seeping over him.

The man sighed and held out a spoon to Artemis, "Alright. Stir the food while I'm gone. I'll be back in a few minutes." The boy nodded and took the spoon, so Butler left.

He walked up to Holly's room silently, wondering what she could have said to make Artemis deem her 'unreasonable' already.

He stopped outside the elf's door, not knocking as he already knew where she was, and peeked in through the crack in the door.

She was propped up on the bed with a pillow behind her, presumably because of Artemis, and her hands were bound to the sides of the head board. But that wasn't what he really noticed. It was her face.

Her eyes were squeezed tightly closed, biting her bottom lip. She was leaned forward slightly, straining against her bonds. Holly tugged and pulled and twisted, but the didn't come loose.

Butler sighed and shook his head, slipping into the room and walking over to sit on the edge of the bed beside her. She didn't even seem to notice that he was there until he reached out and squeezed her knee.

She jumped, a small yelp escaping her lips. She seemed to relax a little when she opened her eyes and saw it was him, but she was still tense.

Neither of them said anything for a long minute. Then she spoke.

"Untie me." She requested, tugging her arms for emphasis.

"No," Butler muttered, looking away, not able to look her in the eye.

"Why?"

"I'm not letting you hurt yourself."

"Why not? Its not like you care what happens to me anyhow."

"I do." Butler said, looking back up at her.

"Not," she muttered, this time her eyes wandering down into her lap, struggling ceased.

He gave her a look. "Really, Holly, I do care. And, though it may be hard to believe at times, so does Artemis."

She scoffed, looking at the wall to get left. "Yeah right. Am I really supposed to believe that?"

"Its the truth."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. But I'm not buying it. If he cared about me, then why did he do that?"

"What?" Butler demanded.

"Everything!" She snapped, looking up into his eyes.

"Artemis... He..." Butler sighed. "Honestly, Holly, I don't know." He confessed.

"Great," she sighed sarcastically, nodding slightly. "Just great."

A silence fell over the room again. But this one, unlike the last one, was relaxed. Or, at least, less tense.

It was Butler who broke the silence this time. "Why did you do it, Holly?"

She blinked, looking up at him. It was obvious she had been deep in thought. "Hmm?"

"Why did you do it?" He repeated.

She started to say "did what?" but decided against it. She was silent for a minute before speaking. "You wouldn't understand." She shook her head and looked back at her lap.

"Perhaps not," he agreed. "But maybe Artemis would."

Her next sentence was practically a snarl, eyes snapping up to his. "I am not telling anything to that monster!"

Butler raised an eyebrow. "I seem to recall you two getting along just fine not even a week ago."

"I... I mean, that..." Holly sighed, obviously at loss for words. "I don't know. That was different."

"How so?"

She frowned, thinking about it. "I don't know," she finally said. "It just is."

He gave her a reapproachful look, and she sighed. "It isn't, I guess... and maybe he isn't as terrible as I originally would have thought. But that doesn't mean I'm comfortable talking to him about that."

"And that's fine. I won't force you to," Butler said gently, putting his hand on her shoulder. "But you need to talk to someone, Holly. I know you're depressed, and you feel like no one understands you, which on some angles may be true, but still... there's better ways to deal with this than... than..."

"Killing myself?" she said wryly, glancing at his hand. "I know. But none that are available to me."

"What do you mean, Holly? If you needed anything, you could have just asked. You aren't a prisoner, but a guest. As such, we are obligated to treat you like one."

"So?" She asked, shaking off his hand.

"So, for future reference, if you ever need anything, come ask me." He paused for a while before continuing, "And also..." he hesitated again. "If you ever need, or even just want someone to talk to, I'm available at practically any time. If I'm not, Juliet generally is."

"Okay. Thank you." She sighed. "But...if I did, anything I say is between us, right? No offense Butler, I don't really think you'd nark on me, I just want to make sure... Its just that, if I wanted Artemis to know that kind of information,I would tell him myself. I-"

"Holly," Butler interrupted, cocking his head to the right. "I understand. Anything you say will stay between the two of us. I won't tell Artemis anything. I promise."

"Good," she breathed. "That's good to know."

A brief silence followed. Unsure of what to say, Butler started to get up and leave, but Holly stopped him.

"Don't think this means anything," she called.

Butler turned. "What do you mean?"

Holly sighed. "I'm still going to fight him. Don't think this little agreement means I'm not."

Butler shook his head. "Holly, its really in your best interests to listen to Artemis. He-"

She didn't even let him finish before cutting in. "No. Absolutely not. I don't care what you or him says or does about it, but I will not give in to that Mud Boy."

"I didn't say give in," the man chastised. "It's more like... a compromise."

She snorted. "Compromise my foot."

Butler gave her a warning look that made her cringe slightly, and chided gently, "Holly..."

The elf shook her head stubbornly.

His expression hardened and he took a small step back in her direction, and she flinched slightly, though she didn't say anything. "Holly, I'm serious. You need to listen to me. It's not like I'm saying that you have to bow down to his every whim, but at least be reasonable. If he tells you to do something for your own health or safety, listen to him, understand?"

She frowned, but said, "fine, I guess..."

"And you have to swear that you won't try to harm yourself again," he added as an afterthought.

She made a face. "I never agreed to that..." She muttered.

"Holly!" Butler yelled, raising his eyebrows.

The elf winced at his sharp tone. "Alright! I promise that I'll listen to Artemis and I swear that I won't intentionally harm myself again. There, happy?"

"You will keep your word, correct?"

"Yes, Butler," she sighed.

"Good." He paused. "Now, I have to go down and take dinner from Artemis before he catches the manor on fire. Are you hungry, Captain?"

"Uhhh, a little," Holly responded hesitantly. "Though I don't really know how well that will work..." Her eyes flickered to the headboard, where her hands were still bound.

He hesitated. "I'll ask Artemis about it," he finally said. "Don't fight with your bonds. I'll see what I can do though."

"Okay." He turned to leave. "Oh, and Butler?" He turned back around to face her. "Thank you. For... for everything." She ducked her head down.

The man nodded, growing a small smile. "Of course. Your welcome, Holly."

Then he turned and walked out of the room, Holly struggled once before giving up and laying her head on the pillow behind her.

350 total! Sorry! But y'all can do it!