Dragon's Dismay with Absent Family

Chapter 4

Artemis felt as if her feet were gliding a crossed the floor not even making contact with the soft carpet beneath her bare feet. The sound of the man behind her stumbling out of their room was the least of her current worries at the moment. She was still mostly focused on the loud noises that came from her daughter's room. She knew that if anything were to happen to Peyton that her grief and guilt would not even compare to that of which Sting would hold. She knew that he would probably hate himself for days, or maybe months on end for not being able to protect his first and only child. Sting would probably plummet down into pit of depression and then what use would he be to run his own kingdom? It would probably be Rogue running it by himself for the time or probably forever if they were to never get Sting to go back to his old self. It wasn't said but everybody knew that wasn't something Rogue wanted to do. It was not as obvious but what he wanted was to spend more time looking after the people instead of the personal internal affairs, crimes, and economical situations. Sting wouldn't be fit to rule the country in such a state. Nor would she, this was their daughter that was in danger here. These thoughts only made the queen push herself to run faster.

Upon rounding the corner to the hallway where her daughter's room was located the brunette found two guards sprawled out in front of Peyton's door. Artemis assumed that the two had heard the noise and came running from their respective posts to check if the princess was alright. Sadly enough it seemed like whoever was here when they arrived was too much of a match for them. She leaned over to see if the two were completely lifeless or simply unconscious quickly. It seemed one of them was out cold and breathing and the other was still trying to stay awake by a string of faith. Her green orbs locked with the guards for only a quick moment as she stood up and hopped over their heap of limbs, the spark of dragon slaying hearing she inherited from her ancestors allowing her to hear the two words the guard choked out.

"Princess . . . Peyton . . ."

Artemis slammed her hand onto the white marbled door as the other one grabbed the gold handle and flung the door open with rapid speed that it slammed against the wall. The other side of the door greeted Artemis with mess of a mangled and ripped bed, Peyton's mirror being broken, and indents on the walls and carpeted floor that looked as if it were Sting's power that had left its traces here. Artemis knew that the indents hadn't been created at all by her husband though and that they were simply from her own daughter and her fear letting her father's inherited magical power run rampant. Not a single sight of Peyton could be found anywhere in the room. Artemis tried her best to keep as calm as she could so that her head could think clearly but the panic dissolved any bit of sensibility that she had left leaving her with jumbled thoughts and a panic consumed body that was shaking terribly.

"PEYTON!"

Her cry of grief echoed out of the room and down the halls. It probably woke all of those who were resting in room even halls further down. Guards were most likely abandoning their posts to see what had their one queen shouting in pure stress and emotional agony. Artemis didn't wait though for anyone to arrive in the doorway of her daughter's room. Thinking that whoever was stupid enough to try to kidnap her and Sting's daughter might not have gotten that far she was quick to go dashing down the hall to find her daughter herself. It was at a time like this that Artemis wished she had the stronger side of the dragon slayer senses in her family, or even possible had Celestine, Rogue, more preferably her husband to help smell out or hear out this bastard who had dared to kidnap Peyton. The brunette's feet carried her as fast as they could down many corridors and in all directions. It wasn't long before she found her vision blurred slightly by tears, the sign that showed she was slowly losing any hope she had of finding her one and only child. How the negative feeling in her were already eating away at her. Artemis was losing hope and fast. She could only hope that one of the guards or someone else had more luck then she did and found her little girl before it was too late.

*Sting's P.O.V*

He curled and uncurled his hands as he rested at the edge of his 'brother's' bed. It seemed like he would always have a tendency to sit in that exact spot every time he came here. Yes, even Sting who was said to be first king would seek comfort here in Rogue's room when he lost it, well more specifically Rogue and Celestine's room. It would have been obviously more normal for him to go to his own wife, Artemis, for such a thing but seeming's how this predicament was between the both of them going to her would seem completely pointless. Talking to any of the guards didn't seem comfortable and Yukino seemed to have her own things to handle. Talking to Celestine didn't seem fitting either even if she was Artemis's cousin so seeking comfort from Rogue he came and hid himself in his 'brother's' room after the fight earlier in the night since he knew that Artemis would be lingering mostly around the room they shared as a way to cool herself off.

"You know you'll have to go back to your own room sooner or later Sting."

The blonde grunted and barely flicked his eyes in the direction of which Rogue was standing. Of course he knew that Rogue's room wouldn't protect him from his own wife forever. Sting wasn't planning on staying away from her like that either. He still loved her but it always hurt to yell at her, the guilt that followed after stung harshly. What was still haunting him and resided so close to the front of his mind was how close he was to swinging at her, the picture of him raising his hand to his beloved made his muscles tense up and a shuddering breath release from his lips. Rogue looked at Sting and removed himself from the shadowed wall. Sting didn't really explain everything to Rogue on what happened, just how much the yelling hurt but the raven haired male was far from stupid and could easily realize that there was something bigger than just the yelling that was causing his 'older brother' to tense up in such a way.

"There's something more than the yelling Sting. How stupid do you think I am? I've known you practically all my life." Rogue muttered with his eyes still glued to the door of the room as he stood in front of Sting, the side of his body directed to the blonde.

Sting was hesitant to say it, afraid of the reaction that Rogue would give off. ". . . I raised my hand to her . . . I almost hit the one I love."

He noticed the slight cringe in Rogue's face. How it hurt the raven haired male because of what he had done to Celestine all those years ago, that almost fatal accident where he comatose his own wife. Sting knew that Rogue would carry that guilt with him forever more but the two were still able to fix their issues in the least. Rogue didn't give anything more in his reaction though but a soft sigh. He knew how bad Sting really felt now and maybe suggesting going back to Artemis at this exact moment wasn't the best. His gleaming red eye looked down at his 'brother' from the door and he saw that even more was buried inside of him. Prying it out wasn't something Rogue normally did but with Sting's current state resolving this feud between him and his wife as soon as possible would probably be better. Rogue abandoned his actions of intently watching his bedroom door and took a seat on the bed next to Sting who was now proceeding to tap his foot lightly against the floor.

"What else did you do Sting?"

The older King flinched slightly and looked as far away from Rogue as possible. "When she told me to take an example from you I . . . kind of . . . said that . . . She should go marry you." Each time he would pause and speak again his voice would drop in volume but it was never enough to escape Rogue's own set of dragon ears.

". . . Idiot . . . This just proves her points about you needing a break and some rest . . . You aren't thinking straight at all." Rogue grumbled.

"I . . . I can't-"

"Yes you can. You're a king and even though we aren't supposed to abuse the fact that we can do as we please we are allowed to take breaks so that we don't make stupid mistakes such as this. . . Plus don't you think your daughter deserves time with her father? I can even tell that Peyton is lonely even if she has her mother and her cousins there to spend time with her. She needs you Sting or else it'll be like she never had a father there as she was growing up." The shadow king interrupted not wanting to hear his 'brother's' pathetic excuse.

Sting clenched his hands into tight fists. Who was he kidding; both Rogue and Artemis have been right this whole time. Sting shook his head and pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes trying to press back the tears of guilt squeezing their way up. He was stupid for not listening to his wife in the first place but he felt as if he took the breaks he felt he needed it would seem as if he was neglecting the work that needed to be done for his country. This is what had worried him that day of his wedding, he didn't want to seem like a terrible king and Sting couldn't understand how his father did all of this yet seemed perfectly fine all at one time. The comments Rogue had made about Peyton as well crushed him. He was neglecting his daughter and her feelings. That wasn't something a parent was supposed to do and yet here he was . . . neglecting what his daughter needed. He was surprised that whenever Peyton did see him anymore she didn't turn away from him and say she hated him for not being there as much as he should . . . hell even his father had spent more time with Peyton than he had and that was completely awful.

"What kind of a husband am I? . . . . . What kind of a father am I?" Sting choked rubbing his eyes.

"Sting, Peyton still loves you . . . you just need to take a step back and think through things, make time and balance things out for both work and family."

"I know but-"

"PEYTON!"

Both dragon slayers froze in their spots on the bed. Sting and Rogue looked at each other before Sting hoisted himself off of the bed and slammed Rogue's door open, his 'brother' right on his heels. Sting could feel the pounding against his ribcage; his heart was set into a beating frenzy. It had been so long since he heard that scream, Artemis's scream. He never wanted to hear it again yet it happened only mere seconds ago. The sound of his daughter's name reaching his ears in a cry of emotional grief like that wasn't helping. Sting only stopped for a moment when him and Rogue had past Celestine emerging from another corridor while holding tightly onto her son, Riku's hand.

"Ryos! I-I can't find her I can't find-" Celestine stuttered glancing towards the younger king who nodded. "It's Rio; I can't find my little river of hope." Celestine whispered her voice shaking as Riku look towards her receiving a pat on the head from Rogue. "Take care of mommy I'll be right back." He whispered. The blonde could see that Rogue was set into a panic when his wife said something about their daughter being absent from her room and that Celestine couldn't find her.

"I have to find Rio! I'll meet up with you elsewhere in the castle!" Rogue shouted.

Sting gritted his teeth as he watched Rogue book it down the hallway Celestine had come from. He shook his head and continued on down the corridor he was running to after telling Celestine to get to someplace safe. It looked like he'd have to find Artemis and his daughter on his own; Rogue had his own family to deal with. Coming a crossed an intersection of hallways Sting skidded to a halt. Every way he looked he could smell an abundance of Artemis's scent like she had ran down every single hallway. If that were the case it would take forever for Sting to figure out which way she really went. Was this how normal humans without a dragon's nose felt while trying to find someone? Now Sting knew how much a nuisance that was. If his sense of smell wasn't going to help his ears were his next try and though they could pick up footsteps in every direction there was a pair that seemed even more in a rush then the rest. It may not be Artemis but it was the best lead he had. His decisions as a father and a husband lately haven't been the best but there was no way that he was letting any harm come to them now.

*Artemis's P.O.V.*

Artemis panted and pressed the palms of her hands onto her knees. Nowhere had she even caught a glimpse of her daughter. Trails of tears stained her face and she was sure she would cry herself dry any moment. Her legs buckled out from beneath her and she collapsed onto the cobblestone pathway of the garden. She was too weak to keep carrying herself any further. She didn't like it but Artemis had lost all hope of finding Peyton. They were gone she was sure of it by now. Cupping her hands over her ears she leaned forward and tried to choke down her sobs threatening to come out to show that she had lost all of her hope.

"Peyton. . ."

"Over there!"

Artemis's head shot up. She instantly made out one of the men standing on the other side of one of the flower bushes, the same man who was at her wedding and who had attacked her in her room a little while ago had a finger pointed at her. The other one she had no clue about but her breath bundled up in her throat at the sight of her daughter unconscious and thrown over his shoulder like a sack of flour. A quick boost of adrenaline gave Artemis the strength she needed to push herself back onto her feet and reach her hand out thinking she could touch Peyton from even that distance. Sadly enough she cried out in pain and face planted to the floor while a shock of electricity kept her from having mobility in any of her limbs. The queen only had enough strength now to move her head to the side to see a third companion of the other two hovering over her while a crack of tiny gold lighting swarmed his hand.

"I told you that we'd be able to get them both. Looks like that money we had betted is all mine now!"

"Oh shut it Conner, after we bring these two back we'll have more money then we'll be giving you anyway."

Artemis gritted her teeth as she listened to them bicker back and forth. Such vile and heartless creatures they were to have placed bets on completing a job such as this. Wasn't it bad enough that they were already kidnapping a queen and her daughter without the bets in the picture? Her weak sense of dragon hearing allowed her to hear a groan come from Peyton's slightly parted lips. It gave Artemis some relief to know that her daughter was still at least breathing. Artemis slowly regained the feeling in her hand and it slowly moved up her arm leaving a tingling feeling to it. Moving it as fast as she could Artemis tried relying on only that one hand to help herself up but a steel-toed boot to her back definitely wasn't going to lose to her still numb arm.

"I'm surprised she can still move after that shock." The one who had been hovering over her sounded like the one who was talking and a puff of smoke followed his words making Artemis cough from accidentally inhaling some of it.

"She's the queen; married to a dragon slayer you really think she'd be that weak?" The one sounded like he was from the wedding. At least he was smart enough to not boast like an over confident imbecile.

"Let . . . Peyton . . . go."

"Eh? You mean that little brat? Sorry no can do sweetheart."

Artemis moaned in pain as the boot in her back dug itself deeper. If Sting got his hands on them they better cherish their last moment, that's all she had to say. Gasping for air, Artemis would have thanked the man for removing his boot but it seemed like he only did it to pick her up bridal style and carry her off. The brunette tried reaching out for her daughter's hand but she had no strength to do so. All that running around from earlier really wiped her clean of energy to protect herself. What a stupid idea to run everywhere and not save any energy for an event like this, boy that was awfully bright.

"A-Aunt Artey . . . I-I'm scared. . ." Rio whispered with a shaking voice.

Artemis's eyes widened. Turning her head as much as she could her eyes caught sight of the raven haired girl who had definitely taken after her father. Artemis couldn't figure out why Rio would be out here all alone. Where was Rogue or Celestine? The man carrying her had ceased to walk and he himself turned to look at the other little princess. His companions had done the same as well. Artemis gritted her teeth and tired anything possible to get the rest of her body to move. She couldn't let them get to Rio; Artemis didn't want to live with the guilt of having her cousin's daughter hurt because she could do anything to protect her.

"Another one? Where'd she come from?" The man carrying Peyton asked annoyed.

"Don't know but there's no way I'm letting her go after seeing this." The man with the Phantom-Lord tattoo behind his ear sighed.

"No! Rio run! Get away from here and find your mom or dad! It's not safe!" Artemis shouted wishing she could stop the advancing man from going near the little one.

The dark haired princess looked up towards the two intruders into the castle, gulping down her breath. She had seen that symbol somewhere before. Her father and mother had made sure that the old symbol was ushered into her mind. The symbol of when PhantomLord was evil. "And when they kidnapped little princess-" It all sounded like a fairy tale, the way Celestine and Rogue had described it to her for fear of telling her the truth of her mother's past. So Rio had taken these Phantom-Lord members to be fictional themselves even with all of the picture flashing. PhantomLord was a safe place, its where Uncle Gajeel was…but these people- "M-mom-mmy-yyyy.. I'm sorry I won't wander the gardens at night! Make the bad shadows go away!" Rio whispered her tears starting to form on her eyes. Rio bit her lip staring up as the two intruders approached her slowly as if they were about to pound on some new delicious juicy prey. "D-D-daddy always said the good shadows will protect me from the bad s-shadows." Rio whispered tears spreading further. Obviously the little girl's heart was pounding with fear. "Too bad maybe he lied. Shadow only scare people anyway child!" One laughed, mocking her, mocking her daddy. "DADDY DOESN'T LIE!" Rio cried ushering her hand up as one swooped for her being thrown back out of shock as a black shadow emerged surrounding where she had just brushed her hand. "Daddy?" Rio whispered the shadow quickly evaporating. "No Rio! Keep that up like a shield!" Artemis shouted, a moment too late. "D-daddy?" Rio whispered again looking around for where the shadow had appeared from.

Artemis couldn't believe that Rio was using magic after all of these years that it had seemed she never had any. Clearly though the little girl mistook it for her father's own power. Slowly the tingling feeling crept up her other arm and into her feet as she regained feeling in them. The man with the tattoo had backed off slightly from the shadow shooting upwards but the other man who had been holding Peyton didn't bother to back away and he simply shifted his foot to the side. Artemis gasped slightly as Rio was engulfed in a block of earth, caged now like a helpless animal.

"No! Rio! Let her go she has nothing to with this you wanted me right! Take me I'll go without a fight if you just leave her and my daughter alone please!" The queen begged, the fear of something drastic happening to Rio from this point on made her heart pound at speeds most likely impossible.

"Look at you, thinking we'll listen to you just because you say'll go without a fight. Now that I think about it maybe this one might give us a bonus, I remember now that this one was one of those twins, King Rogue's daughter right?" The tattooed man took no hesitation in lifting Rio up as she was still trapped in a solid block of earth and carried her off without a care in the world.

"No! Dammit! Celestine! Rogue! . . . Sting!"

"I don't want to go! I've got to stay with mommy and daddy! Mommy gets sick too much and Daddy's a worrywart! I've got to take care of everyone!" Rio cried as the attackers looked towards her, slight smiles on their faces.

"Guess the house is going to collapse than."

"Maybe it'll go down in flames?"

The second one's joke didn't go over very well with Rio who began sobbing loudly. "Totomaru wouldn't do that! You're a bunch of meanies! I'm going to tell him you said that!" Rio sobbed being silenced by a quick shake of the earth cage.

Desperate for a miracle Artemis silently prayed for one of them to round the corner a strike hope back into her. This wasn't happening none of this could possibly be happening after all of that time without anything drastic like this happening, not after all that time of peace. Squinting her eyes it seemed as if they all were heading to the back gate of the garden, there beyond it resided a carriage, it's black exterior hiding it away as if Rogue's shadows were trying to hide its presence. This really was happening wasn't it? Artemis felt the sharp knife known as guilt stabbed her in the chest as she watched Peyton, her frightened "niece", and herself get carried off to the vehicle. It would be her fault that all of them were taken away, her fault because she was too weak to protect them. She was tossed into the carriage while the two little ones were simply carried in nicely and remained huddled on the intruder's laps. The man holding Artemis was pounding on the wall of the carriage and instantly the carriage began to move.

"Artemis!"

The brunette's head shifted and her eyes widened as she spotted her husband rushing towards the carriage. She could tell he was more than just angry from this, she knew that he was probably about ready to tear this carriage apart inch by inch. Her hand snapped up and she tried to reach out hoping it would help him to reach her sooner. Not too far behind him she spotted Rogue running towards the carriage as well. Celestine was there with Riku in her own arms. The three each wearing frantic, confused, and frazzled faces as they stared at the scene wondering what monsters if would take to attempt to kidnap their children after all that the Sabertooth royals had been through.

"Rogue! Use a shadow! Grab the wheel or something!" Sting shouted frantically trying to catch up while Rogue extended his power already on the case. "I can't reach!" Rogue shouted back frantically as the shadows curved attempting to make debris.

"Wait! Don't do that!" Celestine called out just in time causing Rogue to stop. "If the carriage crashes someone will get injured." Celestine looked towards the carriage shamefully unable to help her precious cousin.

"Is that the sickly queen?" One of the men whispered as the other nodded looking towards the other.

"Do you want to go back for her?" One of the intruders whispered towards the other as the other sighed.

"She's not worth much being sick all the time, even the villagers know that Queen Celestine gets sick once she uses her powers. Don't even bother, besides see they aren't pursuing? King Rogue has drawn back to protect the two and they are both going to make advancements on us in the night." One intruder sighed as the other nodded.

As much as the conversation between the intruders disgusted Artemis she had to feel slightly relieved that they had thought Celestine wasn't worth their time and continued. Only leaving Artemis wishing that these attackers were stupid enough to go back. Her hand that had been outstretched dropped limp to her side and tears pricked her eyes as she watched her family become smaller figures as the carriage drove further away. Her eyes suddenly snapped over hearing her "niece" cry out in pain and a cold sweat broke over her as she watched the gold lighting swirl around the dark haired princess who was now knocked unconscious. The dragon slayers back at the castle could probably definitely hear her crying of pain back at the castle where they would all be thrown into a panic and rage strong enough to kill an onslaught of dragons.

"Hey...do you think this one will be as much seeing as her mom has that problem?" One of the kidnappers grumbled glancing towards the raven haired princess. "What do you mean?" The other replied.

"That problem where if Celestine uses any magic she gets sick, collapses, faints, or somethin'"

"She'll be fine, if she's not we can always just sell her to the slave market if she ain't good enough like the other two. We'll put the description as work her till she drops and then some" The second giggled as if they had everything planned out if anything went wrong. At the same time Artemis looked up beginning to speak:

"Rio?. . . . How could you hurt an innocent little girl!? You sick twisted-"

A hand clamped over her mouth and the one holding her, the one who produced the lighting himself chuckled sadistically. Raising his hand to her back Artemis herself felt a surge of electricity flow through her joints and bones. Her own cries of pain were muffled by his over sized hand. It went silent between them as her eyelids dropped down and her body threatened to shut down and knock her unconscious as well. Before the darkness enveloped her though her husband's cry of grief reached her ears.

"ARTEMIS!"