Kidnapping the Princess (Lady x Star)

Being a princess sucked.

One would think living in a castle and having servents would be nice, but she was just as free as any slave, only her cage was a little prettier. Her clothes, though rich, amounted to nothing more than a doll being dressed up. Her father controlled her every move, and she could not disobey his commands. He had now commanded her to be wed to some prick, a duke from the lands to the east. The wedding would take place in less than a week, and the loathed her husband to be. Her father of course would get to further his influence and increase his tax revenue so she had no choice.

It was night now, the last hand maiden finally gone and her red hair done being roughly brushed, her pretty clothes removed and a comfy night gown in their place. Her aquamarine eyes gazed out her window, but it was black as pitch. It was a new moon and it was a cloudy night. She couldn't even get to see the stars on one of her last days as a bachelorette! Her furry ears drooped and with a sigh she decided it was best to go to bed. She flopped down on her matress and after much tossing and turning, fell asleep.

Dustin had been waiting in the trees outside her chambers for hours, a dark cloak covering him, hiding him from sight amongst the trees. He silently makes it to a closer tree as the last maid leaves for the night, he watches her and climbs higher to get a good look as she finally heads to bed. He stands on a thick branch and pulls a pipe from his side, slipping a dart in one end. As she finally lays still, Dustin takes aim and blows, the dart hitting her upper arm, if she was awake, she would have been out in seconds. He waits a few more moments before silently slipping into her room and towards her bed. "Well hello princess..." He grins and pulls back the covers, then picks her up and tosses her over his shoulder, the drug would keep her out until morning. He drops a rolled parchment on the bed and makes for the window, he takes a running leap into the trees once more.

Several hours later, he carries his cargo through a hidden entrance in the side of a mountain and down a long tunnel. After a few meters torches glow softly along the wall, he enters a large room with several off tunnels. The main room held a fire pit in the center, a small tunnel above led the smoke outside; off to one side was a table covered in glass jars and bottles, mixing bowls and strange plants. He heads away from the table towards a large bed set into an alcove on the opposite wall. He lays her down and goes to check on his food, he left it to cook while he was gone.

Aerith awoke several hours later. She sat up with a groan, clutching her throbbing head. Her ears pinned back as a wave of dizziness passed over her. "Hand maiden! Fetch me water!" She ordered, noticing that her voice echoed strangely. She also noticed out of place smells with her keen neko nose; cooking food and strange herbs. Her aquamarine eyes blinked open and she gasped, finding not the brick walls of her castle bedroom, but the stone interior that looked like a cave. That would explain the echoes. She surmised the symptoms she was experiencing were from drugs, she had been warned of such effects from poisoned drinks. Did someone spike her meal or drink at supper? Curious she stood up, groaning again from the headache, and glanced around the cavern.

While his captive slept, Dustin set about finishing his dinner and eating, once finished with that he had set a spell over the main entrance tunnel, hiding it from view. He was working on a few potion mixes when he heard her call out, he chuckles softly and goes about making her drink. He walks over slowly as she was standing up. "I wouldn't stand just yet... Too much movement will make you sick..." He stops a few feet from her and holds out the glass "This will help calm your stomach princess..." He smirks and watches her as she turns to look at him for the first time.

"Thank you." She said, automatically accepting the drink and sitting back down. She eyed him casually and she took a few sips. He was certainly odd looking (and easy on the eyes), or perhaps that was how all elves were? He could also be a magician she figured. She hadn't met very many of either, and it was uncouth to judge a book by its cover. She took another sip, noting the strange taste of the drink. Her eyes went wide as she considered him again. "Wait, who are you? Where are we? Did you poison me? What is in this drink!?" The questions rapid fired out of her mouth, her tail swishing back and forth.

Dustin smirks again and moves to lean back against the nearest wall, looking back at her. "You ask these questions AFTER you take AND drink something from a stranger... Do they teach you nothing..." He crosses his arms and looks her over "You can call me Dustin... I'm a rouge forest elf..." He grins slightly "And drugging you is quite different from poisoning you... If I had poisoned you.. You wouldn't be here to ask any questions...." He pushes from the wall and turns to walk away again "As for where you are... My home... And you'll remain here until I get my payment for your return..."

"I was being polite." She muttered, glancing down. Ok, maybe not the best idea to take drinks from strangers, but she had been taught to not ever come off as rude. "So you did drug me then. And I am guessing I am being held ransom...that still does not answer what is in this drink." She sighed heavily, finding herself once again a tool to further a man's wealth. "Wait, when are you planning on getting this payment?" If it was after Saturday, the wedding to the prick would be delayed!

He turns back to her again, "It's a herbal mix to counter the drug I hit you with before... It will settle you stomach... If i wanted you dead, we wouldn't be talking..." He turns to walk away again "As for when I get my money and from who... That is up to your father..." He stands by the firs and stirs a pot of food "Are you hungry... Its fish stew... Figured a cat would like that..." He dishes a bowl for himself and starts to eat slowly, was she going to ask this many questions all the time.

She frowned a bit. Knowing her father, he would probably want her back as soon as possible as to not delay his plans for her. That was too bad. She downed the rest of her drink and slowly made her way over to the fire, sitting opposite him. "I am a bit peckish, thank you." She said, accepting the food he offered. At least with tasty food and whatever concoction he made, she was feeling better, her red ears even pirked up.

He stares at her a moment "Peckish... Have you ever actually been outside of the castle kitty cat... Or are you just house trained..." He smirks to himself and goes back to his meal, she was just a means to an end, he would be rid of her once he hand his gold. The letter he had left behind gave a place and time to drop the requested amount or money, then a second letter would be given with a place to pick up the girl. In the meantime, he was currently stuck with her.

“I have been outside, thank you very much.” she said, indignant. She neglected to mention it was mostly on trips to neighboring kingdoms as an “ambassador” but really she was being shown off as a marriage candidate. Her ears drooped a bit thinking of what she would be going back to soon enough.

Her eyes narrowed and she decided to forgo etiquette for a moment. He was the one who has drugged her and was teasing her now. “I’ll have you know that I never asked for this. Do you think I like being locked up in a castle all day? I never got to play with other children, I don’t get to chose what pretty clothes they dress me up in, I don’t even get to chose my own husband. Please don’t comment on my imprisonment and I won’t comment on your chosen profession, thief.” She crossed her arms and huffed. Outside the looked calm but inside her heart was racing. She never dared talk back to anyone like that! This was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to her after all.

Dustin looks up at her as she starts to talk back to him, he smirks slightly again, so he had ruffled the kitty's fur, then he glares slightly. "Excuse me princess... But just because I took you and live out here... Does NOT make me a thief..." He stands from the small table and moves over to his work table, he starts to put a few things together. "As sheltered as you say your life has been... I bet you've need had this... It should be interesting to see how you handle it princess..." He turns back to her and tosses her a small cloth ball, he had stuffed it with catnip.

“If not a thief, then most certainly a criminal.” she muttered. Kidnapping wasn’t legal after all.

She caught the lobbed object (and gave herself a pat on the back for managing such a feat). It looked like some sort of sachet and her keen neko nose picked up a slight scent, vaguely reminding her of herbs and mint. Curiously, and she wasn’t sure why she did so, but she raised the cloth to her nose and inhaled deeply. Her pupils dilated and her tail swished back and forth.

She felt light-headed and her nerves seemed electrified. Absentmindedly she gnawed a bit on the cloth, still breathing in that lovely scent, her small fangs nibbling on the cloth.

Wait. What was she doing? “I...I need to lie down.” she said in a far-away voice. Her eyes were unfocused as she walked back over to the bed. She laid down on her side, her tail thumping against the mattress and her cat ears twitching. She absentmindedly played with the cloth ball, batting it around the bed lazily with her hands.

Dustin watched as she caught it and looked it over, then smirks as she finally sniffed it, he hadn't thought the reaction would be that fast. "Full then..?" He said softly after she started to walk away, the ball still close to her nose, he grins and moves a bit closer to the bed to watch her. "Feeling any better princess..." He leans against the nearby wall and watches her, she looked dazed, but was focused on the ball. 'So... Found a way to shut her up... Odd she's never heard of catnip...' He thought to himself.