Dragon's Dismay with Absent Family

Chapter 9

Artemis's eyes flew open as tiny hands shook her back into her conscious state. She grumbled and quickly sat up, the sound of her daughter's voice pleading for her to still get up next to her. Slowly the brunette opened her eyes and noticed one of her captors standing outside of their cell. She was quick to wrap her arms around both Peyton and Rio and hold them close, a harsh scowl melting itself upon her features. From here it looked as if this one was Xander, the one who drove the carriage here and warned them about Sting falling unconscious. He stood there on the other side of the bars, a frown imprinted on his lips. He was staring straight at her intently and it sent a cold chill down her spine.

"What do you want?" she growled.

"I thought you'd like to know what they had planned for each one of you." He whispered as his hand moved towards the cell door.

Artemis watched a key dropped in his hand and turned into the lock clicking the door open. The man walked in and closed the door behind her before shoving the key back into his pocket. The two little ones crawled behind Artemis afraid and the brunette put her hand up in warning. Xander took that as a signal to stay by the door to which he surprisingly obeyed the command. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and looked down at his feet. For some reason he was definitely off from the last time he had came in here, he was more calm, less cocky and he had dropped his attitude. To the Sabertooth queen this seemed odd, she didn't know whether he was acting for the sake of trying to get close or if something was seriously wrong with him. She slowly rose to her feet in case she had to move fast enough to avoid him if he attacked her but it was then that she remembered that magic didn't work in here and even if it did his magic was nowhere near being helpful to attack with.

"Well?" Artemis hissed out defensively.

"You're daughter is being sold to a wealthy man to become a maid for him when she is older, you'll become a slave in the northern continent for a well known plantation, and your little niece here will be killed for her eyes, something that's highly wanted on the black market at this current time." Xander explained while running his hand through his dark blue hair.

"W-What? Mommy I don't want to get separated from you! I wanna go home and I wanna see daddy!" Peyton shouted gripping onto the sleeve of her mother's dress tightly while Rio seemed completely out of herself after hearing that it had been planned for her to be killed.

"You won't Peyton . . . I won't let them take you or Rio from me." Artemis growled, her eyes not leaving Xander's figure once.

Xander narrowed his eyes before fully closing them and running his hand through his hair once more. He took a step forward only for Artemis to fling her hand up towards him again. He quickly stopped and pressed his lips into a fine line. His brow crinkled and two lines appeared on his forehead. He seemed frustrated and the brunette couldn't seem to figure out why this was. He definitely seemed different about him, why was he talking to them anyway? What use would it do him to tell them what's to happen to them anyway? Then it hit the queen that he was also the only one that had come in here this whole time that Artemis and the two little ones had been locked up. Slowly she lowered her hand and stood up straight with proper posture, something she was forced to be taught shortly after getting engaged to Sting.

"Why go through all of the trouble to tell us that anyway? Why are you the only one coming in here to talk to us and tell us what is planned for us anyway? What do you have to gain from it Xander." She asked calmly.

"Nothing, I have nothing major to gain from it but you do. You want out of here don't you? You want to go home to your husband and continue your lives peacefully then I'm willing to ask for your trust . . . your highness." Xander replied bowing slightly.

"How should I believe that I can trust you after you were the one to drive us here to have us locked up? You never looked willing to help us when you came in here earlier." Artemis snapped.

"I know that but still . . . look I don't like having to do this we're all being forced to do this but the others seem to think that the bribe we were given is actually going to happen. I don't want to do this to you your highness and I'm willing to help you out of this in exchange that you will help me and my own family, my wife and my little boy. Their lives are being threatened and if I didn't help to kidnap you our boss would have killed them. I'm sorry your highness but that is the truth, I have no reason to lie about such a thing."

The desperation in the blue haired fellow's voice actually caught Artemis off guard. From the look in his eyes it was easy for her to tell that he was indeed telling her the truth. Suddenly the Queen began to feel sympathy towards this man before her and she drew in a slow and deep breath. She took a step forward and pushed Peyton and Rio back gently when they tried to follow. She drew her hands up to Xander's shoulder and his golden eyes snapped up to met with her olive hued ones. His eyebrows pulled together confused by her actions but the brunette smiled softly at him.

"How old? How old is your little boy?" Artemis asked him.

"I'd say about the same age as the two behind you. I can't say I know what he looks like right now, I haven't seen him for a few years now ever since I was taken away to start working for our boss. Last time I heard about him he had fallen ill with a fatal disease. I don't even know if he's alive anymore." Xander choked.

Artemis frowned and gently pulled the man into a hug. She knew it must have been hard for him, not being able to see his own child that could possibly now be dead. Artemis felt upset when Peyton came down with a small cold but to think of what would happen if she had caught a deadly virus. She truly felt sympathy for Xander and was ready to believe that he was going to help her.

"I'll trust you Xander and I'll help you and your family. I'm sorry to hear about your little boy though."

"Thank you your highness this means a lot to me."

Xander clasped his hands around one of Artemis and bowed out of gratitude. His change in attitude made the brunette smile but she could see that her daughter and niece were still iffy about this whole idea with the way they were huddled together. Artemis beckoned them closer and they hesitantly obeyed her clasping onto her dress as they looked up at Xander with big beady eyes. The dark blue haired male smiled down at them and then looked back up at Artemis with a serious look upon his features.

"Our boss was planning on coming to get you today so that he could take you to your destined locations. We were told that he knew you but not the little ones." Xander explained.

"Knows me? Knows me how?" Artemis asked.

"I'm not sure but he's supposed to be here at any time so it's either I get you out now or you're never getting out."

He turned around and quickly unlocked the cage with the key he had in his pocket. Swinging the door open he waved his hand telling them to come out but the door behind him opened before Artemis and the other two had a chance to even take one step. All three of them froze and the eldest female looked behind Xander to spot her other three kidnappers coming in through the door, Azazel, Conner, and Ryu. Azazel was quick to step forward and grab Xander's shoulder pulling him back before slamming the cell door on Artemis's face.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!?" He snapped.

"She insulted me so I was going to show her who she was messing with is all." Xander lied without a flash of panic on his face.

He quickly pulled a dagger from the inside of the long jacket he was wearing and held it up for the other three to see. Artemis eyes widened but Xander was quick to flash his eyes to her signaling her to play along with what he was doing so that neither of them would get hurt in anyway. Azazel didn't seem to be buying it though but when Conner came up and slapped a hand over Azazel's shoulder the man backed off and breathed out a violent sigh. Artemis let out the breath she didn't even realize she was holding and back away from the cell door pulling Rio and Peyton with her to the back wall. Ryu walked up to the door and grabbed the bars with his one hand, a devious smile forming onto his lips. Artemis eyes narrowed at him threateningly and she shoved the two little ones further behind her.

"What do you want?" She hissed.

"Still feisty eh? Well that will change soon because our boss is just outside and he is just dying to meet a pretty little thing like you. In fact why don't you go escort him here Xander." Ryu said as his eyes flickered over to driver of their group for only a mere second before going back to her.

Xander nodded his head and swiftly made his way out to the front of their little hideout. Ryu pulled out a key when he disappeared and opened Artemis's cell door. The moment the door opened Artemis flung her hand up creating a shield around them. With the door open her magic was in good use but her vision blurred and she collapsed to her knees quickly after that shield shot up. Artemis had went longer then this without using her magic but she assumed that because the bars were blocking the magic from flowing inside of her that that's what was making her weak, that her magic hadn't reached certain parts of her body for a long period of time. Before she almost passed out her shield shattered and she leaned over on all fours. She heard one of them hovering over her laugh while Peyton grabbed onto her shoulder.

"Well, well, you look a little weak there your highness." Conner sneered leaning over her as she looked up in-between her strand of hair to see them.

"Screw you!"

"That's not how a Queen should talk now should she?" Azazel mocked bending down to grab Artemis arm.

"Leave Auntie Artemis alone!"

The sudden swarm of shadows in front of Artemis caused her and Azazel to jump back so that they wouldn't get hit with any of them. The brunette watched the black blob waver in front of her before her eyes snapped over to the little raven haired girl next to her, shaking. Artemis's eyes widened in shock that Rio was indeed using magic. That only concluded that the bracelet she was missing wasn't what protected her the night they were kidnapped, Rio really did have her own magic, magic that must have been dormant until now since she had been pushed at the moment of her using it. It was just like how Artemis was; her magic didn't come out until she was pushed to protect Natsu the day Pyre had been burned to the ground by her cousin Celestine's advisor Totomaru.

"D-Daddy?" Rio stuttered drawing her hand back quickly and clutching onto her aunt. "Was that daddy? Did he come and find me?"

"I'm afraid not my little one, that was all your doing, your own power you inherited from your daddy."

Artemis froze at the sound of that voice. That voice that cause so much trouble in her past, the voice of the man that had almost killed her if it weren't for her blue haired cell mate all those years ago. He was the one who had someone kidnap Celestine, the one who tried so hard to take over everything by destroying each kingdom one by one. Slowly her eyes drew past the three who spread out for the man to see her, Xander by his side. Her breath hitched and she tugged on both Peyton and Rio's arm hiding them behind her without a second thought. She wasn't going to dare let this man touch them.

"It's been such a long time my dear, I'm sure you've missed me haven't you?"

" . . . Jose . . ."