Fighting Fate

Cups and Kidnapping.

I hated the plan. It was unsettling and unstable, and if it went wrong, we were screwed.

The satchel was in Rent's tent. Along with Rent, and his guards.

"We're so screwed," I whispered, walking back to camp, Bonolo by my side.

"It's going to be fine."

"You realize we still have bombs in our necks right?"

Bonolo nodded grimly. "I know."

"What if we get caught?"

She looked forward and shrugged.

"We won't get caught."

"Oh, good." I nodded, "that's reassuring."

I was dutifully ignored.

We reached the camp and got into position. Minutes later Ben, who had run to the other side of the wood began to howl. Rent, Dante and the guards scrambled up out of the tents.

"It sounds like Ben."

Yelled Rent over the howling.

"I'll stay with Carrie, go!" Bonolo cried,

She was kneeling next to me, as I sat, clutching my stomach.

"What's wrong with her?" Rent yelled.

I let out a groan, clutching harder at my tummy.

"I don't know yet, I think she's having a reaction to something. Go find Ben."

I looked up at Rent, my words coming out like a groan.

"Please Rent, he might be in trouble."

He nodded, gesturing to his guards and Dante, and within seconds, they were gone.

I stood quickly and we rushed to the tent. I pulled out the cup and Bonolo studied it, her face serious. She pulled out a tin camping mug from one of the other bags and set it down, lining the stone cup up next to it. 

She began chanting, moving her hands over the two cups. Dark swirling smoke poured from her hands and ten minutes later, the stone cup and an identical copy of it stood squarely next to each other, the smoke dissolving.

"Nicely done." I breathed, looking at the objects.

"Bonolo grinned at me, then swapped out the two cups, putting the copy in Rent's bag.

"What do we do with the original?"

Bonolo looked up at me, "do you trust me to keep it?"

I nodded, "of course."

She smiled and slipped the cup under one of the many folds in her red coat.

My ears poked up, "they're coming back."

We rushed to the spot we were in, and seconds later the group, including Ben were back at camp.

"And you're sure?"

"For God's sake Rent. I'm sure. You just missed them. They could have killed me."

"You look fine." Dane chipped in.

Ben's eyes snapped to Dante and he growled so deeply the ground shook a little. Bonolo stood, and gripped Ben's shoulders, steering him away,

"Lets all just get to bed. It's been a really long day."

There were grunts of approval and agreement as people began shuffling back to bed.

"Hey Carrie, feeling any better?"

I looked up at Rent and smiled weakly.

"Yeah. Guess I just ate something weird."

He nodded at me, but his eyes held a hint of suspicion. I brushed it off and headed toward my tent, my body still buzzing with adrenaline.

-------------------------

I woke up and my head was pounding. Not sounding like- I'm under a lot of stress and I escape death constantly -kind of pounding. Pounding like I'd been hit. Hard.

The ground beneath me was muddy sludge, and the damp smell of slime and swamp filled my senses. Thick twisty roots served as metal bars in the dunk little dungeon and the light was minimal.

"You get used to the smell after a while." A little voice whispered from the corner.

I squinted into the shadows, "who's there?"

A small creature with big saucer eyes, leathery knobby skin, and long perked up fluffy white bunny ears sprouting straight out its head stepped into the light.

"If you please miss, my name is Spindleton Charles Flickerflackwind The Third. But people call me Spindle."

I smiled weakly at the small creature. He was so weirdly out of place it made me want to laugh.

"It's nice to meet you, Spindle. I'm Carrie."

His eyes widened, "its nice to meet me, miss? No one's ever told me that before miss. I thank you kindly."

 I, raised my eyebrows, "sure. No problem."

Spindle's funny little face broke into a huge grin and he began to chatter like a bird, so fast I could only catch half the words.

"Spindle! Spindle!"

The creature fell silent. "Listen, I'd love to talk, but I've kind of got a lot going on. Have you seen my friends?"
Spindle shook his big head quietly, his huge blue eyes wide.

"No miss. They brought you in late last night. But I heard some voices miss, growling.

I think they took your friend to the other dungeons."

I ran a hand through my hair.

"Other dungeons?"

"Yes miss, just across the hallway. That's where they will have taken him, miss."

"Who are they? And, and, where are we?"

Spindle's gigantic eyes got impossibly wider.

"Why miss, don't you know? You're at Green Swamps miss. It's the trolls. The trolls got you to you miss."

I looked about the dungeons, nibbling my lower lip. "Trolls?"

Spindle nodded, "they want something from you miss. You and your friend, apparently he's a,"

"Prince. Is that what they were saying? They took him cause he's a prince?"

Spindle nodded, "and you're his princess."

I leaned back, letting the back of my head hit the muddy wall.

"Its the fucking Luri's all over again."

Spindle let out a light chuckle,

"Oh miss, Luri's are nothing compared to trolls. If you don't give them what they want. You won't survive."