Dragon's Dismay with Absent Family

Chapter 7

*Sting's P.O.V*

Sting carefully ducked and maneuvered around the branches that hung just at the level of his head. The leaves and twigs beneath his feet snapped and crunched with each step and he breathed out an exhausted sigh. He had decided to begin looking out in the woods in the direction he watched the carriage take off in after their idea to scan the city turned out to be a fail. Rogue had decided to be the one to go to Phantom Lord after the two had read the note and even though Sting had agreed he was still slightly worried that Rogue was going off on his own since his "brother" now too was suffering from Magic Deficiency for holding his wife when she fainted. The blonde shook his head thinking how one thing after another just decided to keep popping up now. The sun had risen higher now and Sting was beginning to feel the slight heat, the shade of the trees he was at least grateful for. The White Dragon Slayer frowned as he saw the tracks the carriage left begin to diminish. Artemis and Peytons' smells weren't too strong here either so it was beginning to become hard for him to figure out which way they had went exactly.

"Damn it." He growled and crouched down to get a better look at the trail. "Artemis . . . Peyton . . ."

He could only hope that Rogue was having better luck wherever he was trying to find the kidnappers weakness. The blonde brushed his fingers over the dirt leaving his own marks there before standing up again. Deciding it would be best if he at least continued to follow the faint scent of his wife and daughter he brushed away some more branches and continued walking. As the faint became less noticeable Sting became more frustrated. Obviously none of this was going to be easy, it never was before when he had to save Artemis all those years ago from Jose hunting her down but still . . . this time it felt so much worse, his daughter now gone too as he yearned for both of them to there, only inches away from him so that he could grab both his wife and daughter and hug them telling them that it was alright but sadly all that stood before him was mother nature at its finest. It wasn't long before the entire scent had faded away and ceased to even reach his nose. Grumbling under his breath he took a seat underneath one of the trees and ran his fingers through his hair.

"This isn't going in my favor very well . . . Let's just hope that Gajeel has something for you, Rogue." He muttered and looked back in the direction that he had been walking.

The path had split into three different directions and without his daughter or wife's scents left to lead his way it made his odds in picking the right path terrible. He had always been grateful for having a good nose and a great sense of hearing but he hated it now, his mumbled words being scolds to his sense that he really shouldn't have had time to be doing. Sighing he stood to his feet again, his footing being lost slightly as a new scent breached his nose making his eyebrows pull down in confusion. He turned his head towards the three paths and slowly made his way towards them, his feet leading him down the one on the right. For Sting this scent was all too familiar but he knew it shouldn't have been here. It smelt just like his scent with someone else mixed in, that scent almost like . . .

"Rogue?" Sting whispered adding some noise to the crunching of the leaves beneath him.

His "brother" shouldn't have been out here, not when he was supposed to be so far away, supposed to be at Phantom Lord. He froze when he felt as if the smell was as strong as it could have been. Rogue was nowhere to be in sight either but when the white dragon slayer looked up he found something caught up in one of the lower branches that hung from the tree. Reaching up he carefully pulled it off and took a good look at it. Catching the scent once more Sting was sure that slight difference from Rogue's had been Rio's scent lingering on it. Sting knew very well what this was, this gem had been something Rogue had Celestine wear so long ago when she first arrived at Sabertooth, something that prevented her from being attacked. The only reason that Sting could smell Rogue on it was because the gem held the Shadow Dragon's Slayer's magic. This was something Rio never went anywhere without, the little girl had found it so precious so finding it here was definitely not a good sign. Thinking it would be best for Rogue to know about this soon without waiting for his return Sting rushed back to the castle, his magic indenting some trees along the way so that he would remember which way to go when he came back.

"Totomaru!" The blonde yelled upon opening the castle's back doors.

"What is the matter?" Celestine's advisor questioned.

"This . . ." Sting panted holding up the little girl's bracelet. "I want you to send it to Rogue and attach a note telling him I found in discarded in the woods."

"Ok but, your highness, are you alright? You look as if you're catching what Rogue and Celestine have. You don't need me to fetch medicine for you as well?" The multi-colored haired man stated carefully walking closer before noticing the dark bags under Sting's eyes and realizing that the elder king was deprived of all his energy by now. "You're highness I think you need to get some rest."

"N-no . . . I'll be fine . . . just need to get . . . Peyton and . . . Artemis . . ."

"Your Highness!"

Totomaru knelt beside Sting who collapsed to the floor with no energy left to do anything. The advisor paged Rufus and quickly told him to send the bracelet to Rogue in Phantom Lord with a note attached telling him where Sting had found it and that his "brother" had just passed out from lack of energy. The fire mage tossed one of Sting's arms around his neck and lifted the blonde off of the floor so that he could carry him to his room. He rolled his eyes as he heard Sting mumbling things in his unconscious state about needing to save his wife and daughter.

"What am I to do with you and Rogue?" Totomaru grumbled.

*Artemis's P.O.V*

"Sting?"

It fell out of her mouth instinctively, her body feeling as if something was wrong with her husband. Frowning she twisted the ring on her finger hoping she was just imagining things. She looked to find Peyton already staring at her with a worried look on her face. Of course her daughter would have heard her she had inherited her father's better dragon sense after all. Artemis smiled in reassurance before flinging her eyes to look back at the door down the hall that had opened. Behind it popped out Xander, the dark blue haired man that had been driving the carriage here. She narrowed her eyes and instinctively she had slowly begun raising her arm out towards her niece and daughter as if to protect them with it. He stopped and grabbed onto one of the bars, his gold eyes boring into the brunette.

"What do you want?" She hissed.

" . . . Seems like your knight in shinning armor has finally began searching for you." He muttered just loud enough for her weak inherited dragon hearing to pick up on.

"Daddy's coming!" Peyton shouted standing to her feet and placing herself in the middle of the cell.

"I wouldn't say that exactly . . ."

Artemis frowned feeling that something was off about this guy. Just how exactly did he know all of this that Sting was just now beginning to search for her and Peyton. He had to of been lying, Sting would have started the moment that carriage disappeared she knew that it was just how her husband was. Slowly she stood to her feet and glared harshly, Xander not even flinching form her intense gaze.

"How should I believe you?" She growled.

"Because I'm the smartest one in this group. I have magic but it is nowhere near any use in combat. My magic allows me to see things in the future that I wish to see about certain people, memories that are yet to happen. All I have to do is think of the person whose future memories I wish to see and the back of my eyelids become like a T.V. screen . . . it's how I can tell you that you felt something was wrong with your husband only a few moments ago." He explained.

Artemis's glare dropped and was replaced by a look of slight disbelief. He really wasn't lying since that was exactly how she had been feeling. Frowning deeply she walked forward to stand next to her daughter as she felt Rio pull at the back of her dress. Xander smiled at her knowing that she now believed him. He dropped his hand from the bar he was holding and turned his back o them.

"I guess you would also like to know that Sting isn't doing so well, not after collapsing on the castle floor like that."

A shaky gasp escaped the brunette's lips before she gritted her teeth. Peyton rushed forward and reached her small hand out of the cage and curling it into a fist so that she could pound on his back. Rio shook as she gripped tighter onto Artemis's dress, her fear growing for her own father's well being as she watched her blonde haired cousin cry her eyes out and shout at the man who she was beating on. Artemis quickly walked forward and pulled Peyton away when she saw Xander glare down at her daughter, a look that seemed as if he was getting annoyed. Artemis wasn't going to dare wait until he decided to turn around and hit her baby girl through the cage.

"How dare you hurt daddy! How dare you! You jerk! Leave my daddy alone!" Peyton screamed as Rio hugged her from behind hoping it would help to calm her down.

"I seriously don't know what you are yelling about. I never touched your precious father; I had no part in what had happened to him. Maybe you should get your father to stop worrying about his work and have him get more sleep and maybe he wouldn't be so ill." The captor snapped.

Artemis shuddered knowing exactly what he meant as he looked directly at her. She realized that he had probably seen their fight occur before it even happened by using his magic. She growled as tears threatened to brim her eyes and spill over as she watched Xander walk away, the door down the hall slamming shut behind him. Artemis grabbed onto her terrified daughter tightly as Peyton sobbed that the guards had been right, that her father was ill. Stroking her daughter's hair the emerald hued female couldn't help but let those tears slip as guilt filled up her insides, guilt for not being able to take care of her significant one well enough, for letting Sting become in this terrible state. Now she was forced to deal with her grieving over it and her hopes that he would be ok . . . she was also forced to deal with her own daughter's grieving as well. She could only imagine the dark thoughts that plagued her daughter's mind as what the little blonde had said earlier came rushing back to her now.

"Daddy won't die will he mommy?"