Young Writers Society

Dakota stared at Artemis. "Your first time... do you get attacked often?"

Dakota snuck a glance at the mercenaries, but they seemed distracted by one man's off-key rendition of some song Dakota hadn't heard of.

Artemis sighed. "It comes with the job. Between the accent, the eyes, and the nonhuman, I'm lucky if I last twelve hours without getting harrassed. Though I must admit, I'm usually not caught."

She winced at the mercenary's singing. "Oh, that's awful."

"Nonhuman?" Dakota frowned, but they let it go. They stole another glance at the mercenaries, then leaned towards Artemis. "If we can get out of these bonds and towards some civilization, I could call for help. That is, if no one's looking for me already."

"This is civilization, unfortunately. You're human, a pretty rich one from the looks of it. You got it easy for the most part. I don't have the luxury of strolling into London and asking for help." Artemis huffed. "Our best chance is to wait until nightfall and then bolt."

Dakota eyed Artemis. They hadn't always been well-off, and it most definitely hadn't been easy... They didn't particularly want to think about that, however, so they just nodded and tried to ignore the feeling of dirt and rocks beneath them. "Nightfall sounds good. I'll see if I can loosen my ropes a little."

"Good luck. I'll be more useful once nightfalls." Artemis struggled against her bonds, a deep growl escaping her throat.

A mercenary approached them. "Hey! The captives aren't allowed to speak."

Artemis groaned and stopped struggling.

Dakota glared at the mercenary. Oh, they'd get their payback. Kidnapping was certainly not legal, especially if one didn't even bother to feed their captives. "Mind sharing some food with us?"

The mercenary guffawed, then turned serious. "No. Quiet now, or we'll be forced to knock you both out again."

Artemis shook her head. "Don't try anything. They'll keep their word."

The mercenary snorted. "At least the dog knows how to behave."

Artemis sighed.

Dakota frowned but kept quiet, and the mercenary eventually wandered back to the fireside. They sighed and waited for the sun to set. Ugh, they really needed a hot shower, and they didn't even want to think about all the work that would be piling up on their desk.

Artemis looked around, her ears carefully poised towards the forest. "The tall one, over there, uses a pipe. If this backfires we might be able to bribe him with it."

Dakota shot a careful glance at the mercenaries, then nodded at Artemis. They tried to wriggle their hands a little to loosen the rope bonds, which were beginning to chafe their wrists.

“Don’t move, you won’t loosen the knot and you’ll only cut your wrists.” Artemis sighed. “That’s not personal experience, but I’ve seen it happen before.”

Dakota frowned. "Then what can I do?" They glared at the rope, then at the mercenaries, who were laughing uproariously and having some kind of soup-drinking competition.

“Wait. Let them think you’re ‘well-behaved.’ And then, once you can, you fight.” Artemis grinned, her teeth seeming to have grown slightly longer than before. “They’re much easier to beat when they’re surprised.

“Alright, boys. It’s almost nightfall. Did you make sure to tie the Igni extra tight?”

Dakota gave a subtle nod to Artemis, then glared at the mercenaries but kept their mouth shut.

Two of the mercenaries walked over and checked Dakota's bonds, then attempted to tighten Artemis's restraints.