Disclaimer: I do not own Treasure Planet in any way, shape or form, not matter how much I wish for it for Christmas.

-xxXxx-

Rune paced back and forth in her room, the soft rustle of fabric of the ridiculously long train bringing her back to the painful reality that she couldn't escape. She was getting married. After Jim had left her to the will of the maids, the seamstress had gotten straight back to work on making the dress of the century. Lengths of fabric were cut to size and sized up to the unwilling Halfling; she was pricked with pins and needles as the maids worked and to add insult to injury, Rune had been forced into a tight corset that left the poor girl in its rib-crushing embrace. The Halfling ground her teeth together as anger coursed through her body. That thrice-dammed snake! He would pay. Oh, he would most definitely pay.

But only as soon as Kiwi was safe in her arms once again.

Rune's composure dropped like a stone in water and had her ears not been pinned down securely, her ears would have drooped against her head. Her poor, poor daughter was somewhere in the mansion; she could feel it, but she couldn't pin-point exactly where. But for now, her daughter was unharmed. It frustrated her to no end to be so useless but there was nothing she could do about it.

"God dammit!" Rune all but roared out in frustration as her fist found the nearest wall. The pain was immediate but instead of nursing her now-bleeding fist, she grasped onto the feeling of uselessness and made sure to remember it well.

'Never again,' she thought venomously to herself, 'Never again…'

Rune was brought out of her thoughts when the door, the only door in and out of the room she was currently being held 'captive' in, clicked open revealing the last person she'd ever have hoped to see again. Widening her stance slightly in case he attacked, Rune bared her teeth and hissed.

"You."

Nastas stood before her in all his colorful glory, all decked out in gold and white wedding finery and clearly ready for tonight's celebrations. Rune felt the bile rise in her throat as she realized that her dress, that dammed wedding dress that was crushing the very air from her lungs with the elaborate gold and ivory embroidery on the bodice, was perfectly color-coordinated to match his outfit. All in all, it was truly something to marvel at considering the amount of time spent on it, but Rune thought its extravagance was wasted on someone as worthless and traitorous as the man who stood proudly before her. If she had been in any other situation, she gladly would have bagged the clothing along with the matching jewelry and sold it to the highest bidder.

At first, Nastas said nothing, opting instead to look her up and down, taking in her appearance. He raised a questioning eyebrow at her defensive stance and the blood-smeared fist. Putting up his hands as a sign of goodwill and that he had no intentions of attacking her, he slowly stepped into the room.

"No closer!" Rune barked as soon as the man's first step hit the carpeted floor, pointing an accusing blood-streaked finger in the man's direction, "Not a step closer, or I'll-"

"You'll what?" the darker-skinned man interrupted. His tone was not angry or even agitated at being treated the way he was being treated; just genuine curiosity with maybe a tint of amusement, "Oh, don't stop talking on my account. Well, go on…if I, oh I don't know, take a step forward," he took a confident step forward, the corner of his mouth creeping up slightly as Rune took two steps back, "What will you do? What can you do to me, when your precious dragon is currently in my possession?"

Rune opened her mouth to protest but when nothing came out, she shut her mouth with a click. Nastas smiled and took another confident step forward, choosing to completely ignore the way Rune tensed in her spot. The Halfling remained where she stood, standing as tall and stubborn as she could, even as Nastas invaded her personal space and soon there was barely any space between the two. There was no way she was going to let this man think he scared her.

"That dress really suits you, you know," Nastas murmured sweetly as he reached out to stroke the smooth ivory material that delicately covered Rune's shoulder before cascading down in soft folds, decorated at the ends with small, evenly-placed white pearls. But before his hand could so much as brush up against the cloth, did Rune slap away his hand.

"Listen here, 'dear husband'," Rune spat sweetly, as her hands reached up and pretended to fix Nastas' collar, making sure her claws scraped against the exposed flesh of his neck painfully, "I may be dressed up like the dolls you used to play with as a kid, but I'm sure you know by now, I am not happy with being treated like someone's toy," Rune grabbed the collar forcefully and pulled Nastas down to stare at him with her mismatched eyes as hard as stone and slit in anger, "Don't think you'll get away with this, you lying sack o' shi-"

Nastas' hand came flying out suddenly and struck Rune across the cheek with enough strength to force her to release her grip on Nastas' clothes. Rune stared in shock at the floor for a few precious seconds before smiling with a disbelieving release of air.

"Oh wow!" Rune massaged her jaw as she turned back to Nastas who stood as tall as he could, looking down on her in superiority, "I gotta hand it to you, M'Lord; you don't hit half as hard as I thought you would." Rune fixed her gaze on him, staring him down as she wiped her chin of the thin line of ruby red blood that trickled slowly from the cut in her lip. Nastas fidgeted slightly under the scrutiny before regaining his confidence, reaching out and taking Rune's hands in his before she could protest. Rune only took slight pleasure at the face Nastas made when his hand slipped slightly in the blood that was now smeared all over the back of her hand and wrist.

"Oh, you'd be surprised about a lot of things about me," Nastas whispered sweetly, reveling in the way Rune unintentionally flinched away from him. It sent shivers down his spine to see a woman as strong as herself, cower before him, "and you'll have plenty of time to find out how to act as my wife after tonight."

And with those words, Nastas pulled back, smiling smugly at the look of outrage on Rune's face. But before the Halfling could so much as open her mouth to spit out a venomous threat, the man shushed her, "Ah, ah, ah!" he clicked his tongue as if scolding a misbehaving child, "Wouldn't want anything to happen to your precious 'daughter' now, would you?"

He reached slowly into his pocket and raised a single hand, holding something small and black in his palm. Rune stared in confusion at the little black object as Nastas pressed his thumb against it.

The anger that was beginning to boil to the surface froze instantly as wave after wave of electricity coursed through the Halfling's body, leaving her nerves feeling both fried and freezing. It felt as if a man the size of a galactic whale was sitting on her chest, forcing the air from her lungs. Her knees buckled and she collapsed onto the ground before Nastas' booted feet. Rune could only lay staring and panting into the elaborate rug that covered the ground in shock, as Nastas crouched in front of her, lazily grabbing a lock of her straightened hair and twirling it between his fingers. The motion vaguely reminded her of the day Jim first found out her horrible secret, except Nastas made the innocent action so much more menacing. A wave of chills shot down her spine as Nastas sighed deeply, the breath ghosting lightly over the back of her neck.

"You know, you really should think more carefully about who you make to be enemies," Nastas sighed and dropped the lock of hair. Rune raised her head from the ground and stared wrathfully at the smugly smiling man above her. But the man no longer seemed intimidated by the furious slits that burned into his own eyes. He chuckled and shook his head, again, treating Rune as if she were a disobedient child.

"You still don't seem to understand the situation you're in, my dear little Halfling," Nastas raised his hand and wiggled the black item from before. Rune's eyes widened.

"Is…is that-" Rune winced as her burning lungs protested against the use of her voice. Nastas smiled and wiggled the remote again.

"The remote that controls the nanobots?" he asked rhetorically, finishing Rune's question, "Yes it is."

Her claws dug into the rug unconsciously and she ground her teeth to keep herself from lunging at her groom-to-be. Not that her body would have complied; the effects of the electricity coursing mercilessly through her body just moments before had seen to that.

"But if that activates the nanobots, why'd it affect me?"

Nastas smiled.

Rune opened her mouth to demand he hand over the remote but a sudden, terrifying realization washed over her. Kiwi, her poor, poor, magically blood-bonded child…

Pain long forgotten, Rune launched herself at Nastas in a mindless fury. Nastas barely had any time to realize what was happening before the Halfling was upon him; hissing and spitting like a ravenous beast. Rune knocked Nastas clean off of his feet and together they landed with a hard thud on the carpeted ground. The furious Halfling's claws dug painfully through the man's clothes into his shoulders, drawing blood almost instantly. Nastas released a roar of pain and tried pushed Rune off of him. As soon as the enraged Halfling felt the resistance tearing her away from her prey, the animal part of her took over. For threatening and harming her kit, Rune sunk her sharp teeth into the soft flesh of Nastas' neck.

Nastas howled in pain and pressed the button on the remote.

Not two seconds had passed before Rune was reduced to a whimpering mass curled up on the floor as the spasms took over. She didn't see Nastas push himself off the floor as wave after wave of electrifying pain washed over her body. She didn't hear Nastas sneer and call in a small group of his flunkies as her body arched and bent in ways that shouldn't have been possible.

She shouldn't do it. She couldn't let Nastas feel as if he's broken her; as if he'd won. But the pain was slowly driving the Halfling out of her mind. She could feel the pain being inflicted on Kiwi, her baby, magical blood-bond or not, and it was killing her. She could hear the little dragon crying out in her head, begging her mommy for help, to please, please, please make the pain stop.

Rune knew she shouldn't give in.

But she did anyway.

She screamed.

Jim felt the little hairs on the back of his neck rise and goosebumps ran down his arms. He looked around. Nothing had changed from the last time the jumpy captain had checked his surroundings. Jim still stood in the shadows near the backdoor Rune had commanded him to wait at, heart in his throat, waiting for Rune to come bursting through the door with Kiwi wrapped around her neck like a scarf.

The sun was sinking in the horizon. It would soon be sundown. Then the ceremony would start and Rune's life would officially belong to another. Jim ground his teeth and breathed heavily through his nose.

No, he refused to let it end like this. Rune would more than likely beat the information on nanobots out of Nastas, beat the tar out of him for trapping her and threatening Kiwi, free Kiwi, then find Jim and they would make their escape before Sepla or any of the guests would know a thing. Jim only wished he could get in just a little piece of Nastas but he was pretty sure Sepla would find his son's beaten and bloody body, courtesy of one angry Halfling, disturbing enough. Jim smiled at the thought. Nastas would only get what he deserved for kidnapping and threatening Kiwi and then doing the same to Rune.

Jim shook himself out of his fantasy world and focused on the here and now, in the dark behind the mansion, the servants and maids working tirelessly for the ceremony to begin. The seconds ticked by slowly as Jim could hear more and more townsfolk entering the mansion and conversing with each other. He could even hear Sepla's booming voice echoing throughout the mansion as he accepted the congratulations from the aforementioned townsfolk and other city officials and council members that had come to be a part of the celebrations. Jim glanced up the building to the countless windows that were aglow with a soft, welcoming light. Rune was in one of those rooms, trapped like a princess in one of those stories his mother used to try to read to him when he was little. But being the adventurous little boy he had been, young Jim had wanted to hear stories about cut-throat pirates, treasure troves, brave heroes and adventure; not frilly love-stories about knights in shining armor and beautiful princesses in castles.

A sudden scream from one of the lady guests startled Jim into action. The lady's screams were soon joined by hysterical cries of others by the time Jim had managed the kick the door in and run into the main banqueting hall. Shoving his way through the crowd of increasingly complex and elaborate outfits, each one trying to outshine the other with an extra feather or exceedingly long shoulder spikes, Jim caught sight of what the crowd was screaming at.

Standing in the middle of the ballroom floor, the crowd giving her a wide berth, was Rune, hair disheveled and sticking out at odd angles, eyes wild with a feral anger and fangs bared at anyone that dared come too close. The long white satin gown she wore was torn at the edges and there were rust-colored smears of what Jim only hoped wasn't blood. While the crowd was doing its utmost to avoid setting foot into the deranged woman's unmarked circle, she wasn't alone. She was holding onto Sepla, the large man gaping like a fish and turning slightly purple in the face by the power of the chokehold she had him in. A few of the manservants stood around her, trying to coax her into letting their lord go. One of the servants stepped too close; Rune twitched violently and tightened her hold on Sepla's neck. The man sputtered a mad attempt at words, probably an order to back away, but all that came out was a gurgled wheezing. The servant backed up immediately and Rune loosened her hold, allowing Sepla air which the man gulped down greedily. The message was clear: Don't come near. The man's eyes spun wildly until they landed on Jim.

"Jim!" Sepla almost gasped, "Jim, m'boy! Help me! The woman's insane!" His chins wobbled as he trembled in Rune's grasp.

Jim gulped and elbowed a few remaining guests out of the way, stepping into the circle the crowd had made.

As soon as Jim's foot broke through the invisible border of the circle, Rune spun in her heel, dragging Sepla along with her, tightening her hold on his neck once more. Jim froze mid-step. He could barely recognize her. Were the whites of her eyes always so…dark? No, dark wasn't the right word. It was like someone had accidentally spilled a cup of coffee on a perfectly white sheet, forever staining the pure material an antique, yellow-brown. Jim swallowed the lump building in his throat.

"Rune?"

The Halfling blinked at the sound of her name. Jim could barely hold back a sigh as Rune slowly loosened the grip on Sepla and the feral look left her eyes. She still looked like she was off in her own little world, looking in his direction but not really at him.

"Rune? Are you alright?" Jim asked slowly, raising his palms and taking a slow step forward. Rune pulled Sepla closer, using him to shield herself but not cutting off his air supply. The man let out something like a whimper before falling silent. Jim put his hands up in a display of surrender, "Rune? I'm gonna need you to let Lord Sepla go. Can you do that?"

Rune's eyes narrowed in confusion before finally focusing on him.

"He has her," Rune croaked, voice cracked and hoarse, as if it hadn't been used in ages. Or as if she'd screamed until she couldn't scream anymore, "He has her, Jim. He has her."

Before Jim could respond, a single pair of hands clapping echoed loudly from the top of the stairs, effectively interrupting him.

"Captain James Hawkins! How nice of you to join us!" Nastas called from the top of the staircase leading to the next floor; clapping lazily all the while, the sound echoing throughout the almost silent banquet hall. Rune drew her gaze from Jim and glared at Nastas as he confidently descended the staircase slowly, arrogantly, one step at a time. One could practically see the arrogance oozing from the man in question and it set Jim on edge. His father's life was practically in Rune's hands. Unless this was some ploy, Nastas shouldn't be this confident.

Rune ground her teeth and unconsciously tightened her grip around Sepla's thick neck causing the man to pull fruitlessly on her arms to pull himself free.

"Son! Nastas! Help me!" the large city official reached out desperately for his son while trying to keep the arm around his neck from tightening any further. The resulting image would have been downright laughable if the situation hadn't been so menacing.

Nastas continued his decent down the stairs as calmly as one would on a Sunday stroll, completely ignoring his father as he struggled to form words, "I didn't truly think you would leave just like that," he stated simply, before smugly adding, "After all, you couldn't leave your things here, now could you?" Nastas cast a glance directly at Rune. The woman ground her teeth and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Nastas!" she roared, jerking Sepla violently between herself and the man coming down the stairs like a shield. The older man was forced to hold back a cry of fear as Rune silenced him with a not-so-quiet growl without so much as taking her eyes off Nastas; like an animal watching its prey. The corner of Nastas' lip twitched upward in amusement. The tiny motion only pissed off the enraged Halfling off even more.

"Nastas!" she roared again, this time just barely refraining from choking Sepla to death, "Nastas, you bastard! Give her back!"

Jim edged closer to her slowly, as to not startle her, worried. Was that her blood smeared on the white dress? Dear God, he hoped not.

She didn't respond to his presence in any way. Jim thought for a moment that Rune's eyes darted to him but it must have been a trick of the light because the woman hadn't taken her eyes off Nastas since he entered the room. Jim took a second to look at the man. He noticed to his disgust, that Nastas was wearing an outfit of white and gold, a perfect match to Rune and her wedding dress. There were rust-colored stains along his shoulders and his collar was crumpled and stained with red as well. Jim had a distinct feeling Rune had a part to play in that.

Nastas stopped on the last step and took a haughty look around the terrified guests, Jim, and then finally at Rune who still held his father by the neck. He raised an eyebrow and cocked his head all too innocently, almost tauntingly, at the Halfling.

"Give back whom?"

"You know who I'm talking about, you bastard!" Rune shouted, shaking all over her body, incidentally digging her claws into Sepla's shoulder and the man winced, "Give me my child!"

A collective gasp ran through the room. Sepla forgot his struggle with the arm around his throat and turned to stare up at Rune with wide, disbelieving eyes. An eerie silence fell over the crowd as the onlookers stared at either Nastas or Rune in shock. Neither Nastas nor Rune showed any signs of being bothered at being the center of attention; Nastas smiled politely and without malice whilst Rune barred her teeth and emitted a low and feral-like hiss from the depths of her throat.

Where is Kiwi? Where is my child? Those thoughts were the only things floating around in her mind. She could hear her child crying out in pain in the back of her mind, begging her for help through the magical bond that tied the two of them together. It hurt so much.

Nastas straightened and inspected his fingernails of any possible dirt or flaws. He smirked, a cruel, diabolical smile.

"What child?"

Rune's pupils shrunk and she gave an ear-piercing screech as she threw Sepla aside and charged at Nastas, claws at the ready. Nastas' façade vanished as the Halfling bounded toward him, eyes alight with mindless fury. The man only had enough time to open his mouth to bark an order to his manservants, but the words never came as Rune descended upon him in a flurry of white satin and auburn hair, snarling like a wild animal.

Nastas brought up his arms in time to avoid getting his eyes clawed out but his arms paid the price. They crashed awkwardly backward onto the staircase, Nastas taking the brunt of the fall with the weight of the Halfling on him adding to the pain. He howled in pain as Rune's claws bit through the thin material of his sleeves, further adding to the blooming red that stained his white apparel.

Jim watched in horrid fascination as Rune attacked Nastas ruthlessly. The crowd screamed and ran en masse for the exit, shoving each other aside and stumbling over each other in their hurry to get as far away from the violent psycho of a woman before she turned on them. Only Jim and Sepla remained in the vast banqueting hall. Something was very wrong with Rune, Jim knew this, but he couldn't bring himself to move from his spot. The harder Nastas tried fighting back, the more violent Rune became. Blood seeped out from the wounds in Nastas' arms and Rune was doing her utmost to tear him to pieces.

Rune snarled and hissed, wrenching Nastas' arms away from his face and prepared to turn his face into mincemeat when Jim found the ability to move. Moving quickly, Jim caught Rune's hand before she drove it into Nastas' skull. It wasn't that Nastas didn't deserve any of what Rune was giving him; he just didn't think Rune would want his death on her conscience. The Halfling screamed and lunged after the trembling young man, trying her hardest to break free from Jim's grip and finish what she'd started but Jim grit his teeth and kept his hold on her. She heaved and jerked this way and that frantically, but to no avail. She whipped around to claw at her captor's face but Jim moved on instinct, brought upon by years of training at the academy, and brought up his free hand and blocked it. Quickly wrapping his hand around her wrist and pulling her in close, Jim swept a leg under her, kicking her legs out from under her, effectively knocking her to the ground. Rune hit the ground hard with Jim's weight on top. Flashing lights and stars danced in her vision and the throbbing pain in the back of her head intensified, a sure sign that the bond between mother and daughter went both ways and Kiwi had felt Rune's pain. Rune clenched her teeth hard to keep from crying out but Jim's elbow in her back forced out a painful groan.

Nastas scrambled back up several steps, trying to put as much distance between himself and the raging female that was twisting and bucking furiously under the weight of Jim's body. Jim spared a precious second to cast a quick glance in the young man's direction and was pleased to see that he looked haggard and was breathing hard.

"Nastas!" Sepla cried dramatically as the large man swept forward past Jim and Rune struggling on the ground to check on his son. Nastas barely moved from his spot even when Sepla shook him gently, his eyes seemingly glued to Rune's still struggling form in horror.

"Nastas, my son, are you injured anywhere? Oh, where are those dammed maids when you need them! MARYLIN!" Sepla roared. Turning to cast a deadly glare at Rune and Jim, the former still trying to break free from Jim's death grip, Sepla scowled "Guards!"

Almost immediately, guards in heavy clanking armor came flooding in through every doorway, creating a sort of human shield between the still-struggling Halfling and Jim, and Sepla with his precious son. The circle of bodies surrounding the two of them reminded Jim of the way the guests from earlier had stood, only this time, sharpened metal pikes and spears were pointed in their direction making the scene all the more menacing. Rune ceased in her struggles to free herself from him, only to hiss violently at the new threat.

Sepla scoffed, his expression changing into something that could be described as hostile. Gone was the happy, oblivious Sepla from the party, and in his place was a powerful man whose anger Rune had just triggered.

"Arrest this wretch of a woman, for the attempt on my son's life!"

The guards stepped forward intact, as one moving entity, their armor clanking as they moved. Rune felt the bottom of her belly drop as she broke out in a cold sweat. It was like she had gone from being the predator to the prey, being able to do nothing but sit around and wait for the wolf to stop pacing and gobble her up.

"W-wait a sec," Jim stared up at the oncoming walls of expressionless helmets, armor and spears, "Wait, Sepla! Hang on!"

Sepla scowled but did nothing to stop the advance of the guards and their spears, "Captain Jim, if you throw your lot in with this attempted murderess, I won't have any choice but to arrest you as an accomplice."

"No! Sepla, please wait! Hear me out! Rune wasn't trying to kill your son!" Even as the words left his mouth, Jim knew they were useless. Sepla had clearly seen Rune diving after Nastas with every intent of ripping his head from his shoulders.

"What's going on here?!"

Amelia's commanding voice echoes through the room, causing everyone to stop and stare. Jim's First Mate stood flabbergasted in the doorway, staring at the most peculiar scene. Jim was practically sitting on Rune to keep her from moving; Nastas was cowering behind his father, and all the while armored men with spears all pointed their weapons at Jim and Rune.

Jim had never been so happy to see Amelia. The guards seemed unsure as to where they should point their spears, at the violent woman and the man in the middle of the circle they'd created, or at the newly arrived threat.

Sepla drew himself up to his full height from where he stood, but even with the help of the several stairs he stood on, he was nowhere as tall as Amelia.

"This couple has conspired to murder my son!" Sepla yelled across the room, the room instantly falling silent, with the exception of Rune who was still determined to break free from Jim's hold. Amelia's eyes darted to the half-crazed Halfling, eyes narrowing slightly. "I invite you people into Domono!" Sepla spat angrily, "I invite you to do business with me, I open the doors to my home to you, I treated you respectfully and this," he motioned to everything before him with a great sweep of his arm, "is how you repay me? By attempting to slaughter myself and my son! My only son, right in front of my eyes?!" At this, Sepla glared red-faced and accusingly down at Rune who'd stopped her struggling to stare at Amelia.

"If you please, Lord Sepla," Amelia stood straighter, arms folded calmly behind her, "order your men to stand down. Nothing good can come of this if we resort to violence"

A vein twitched in Sepla temple, "Violence, you say?! There is already violence here!" Amelia stepped slowly into the room, each click from her footsteps reverberating through the room. "Violence your captain brought here with him! That damned woman!" Sepla Stabbed a fat finger in Rune's direction as if to prove a point.

Amelia stopped a few feet from where the guards stood unsurely. Her eyes narrowed sternly at the uncomfortable shifting they made as she approached. "Move aside."

The guards shuffled uneasily under her scrutiny. Amelia glared at the one directly in front of her.

Sepla glared at the exchange, "Soldier, don't you dare move from your post."

"Move."

The guard visibly gulped and eventually stepped aside. Amelia's glared softened and she walked into the ring of guards. Sepla stood flabbergasted on the stairs.

"This is an outrage!" Sepla yelled. Amelia walked confidently to the center of the armored circle and knelt beside Jim and Rune. The Halfling was staring at Amelia through hooded eyes.

"A-Amelia?" she stammered, almost like a child just waking from her nightmare to see her mother hovering protectively above her. The humanoid female directed her hard gaze to the Halfling; Rune tensed up under Jim but made no move to fight. It was almost as if she were using Jim to shield herself from Amelia's hard glare. The First Mate's gaze softened ever so slightly.

"Rune," Amelia started and Rune's attention was immediately on her, "Until I say so, do not move from your spot." Rune swallowed loudly, and in the end nodded her cooperation. It felt wrong to go against Amelia's commanding voice, and under Amelia's intense gaze, the Halfling felt safe. She always knew what to do; why should that change now?

Amelia turned her attention to Sepla who was beside himself with fury. "Sepla, tell your men to lower their weapons. Using violence to solve violence will only bring about more pain. Or is this how you treat all of your guests, difficult or no? Or are you so blind as to not see that that woman, is clearly not herself?" Amelia did not avert her heavy gaze from Sepla, even as the man cast a quick look at Rune to see if Amelia was speaking the truth.

"Lord Sepla, please listen to reason!" Jim begged, still cradling Rune gently, as she had long since gone still, "At least hear us out; Kiwi has been kidnapped! Rune is only trying to get back what was stolen from her!"

Rune perked up at the sound of her daughter's name. Lifting her head from where she'd let it rest against Jim's chest, she blinked at the world around her, "Kiwi? Where's my baby? Where's my Kiwidinok?"

Jim visibly saw Nastas gulp.

"And," Jim added confidently, eyeing Nastas as the cowardly snake retreated behind further behind Sepla., "we know who did it."

Sepla stared down at Jim cradling Rune who was still muttering Kiwi's name repeatedly, and to Amelia who stood tall and unwavering in her stance. After a while, the lord of the mansion hesitantly put up a hand, motioning to the guards to lower their weapons, "Escort them to my office. We'll discuss this immediately-"

"No!" Nastas screamed, hands balled into fists and shaking. Everyone; Sepla, Jim ,Rune, the guards and even Amelia, jumped at the sudden outburst.

"Son, wha-"

"No!" Nastas screamed again, "Father, you can't be serious! These people tried to kill me; tried to kill you! And you're going to go talk to them?!"

"Listen to reason, Sepla!" Jim yelled, cutting through the murmuring of the guards, "We've got nothing against you! Only with the one who stole Kiwi!"

"Where's Kiwi? Where's my baby?" Rune cried, clutching desperately to Jim's shirt.

"No! Father! Don't listen to them! They tried to kill me! Kill them! Kill them before they kill us!"

"Sepla, you can stop this! We just want Kiwi!"

"Kill them now!"

"ENOUGH!" Sepla roared. He turned to Nastas, "Killing anyone is out pf the picture, Nastas! I thought I raised you better!" Jim thought of several comments, all consisting of thoughts that Nastas was not raised at all, but kept those thoughts to himself as Sepla rounded on him. "You! You come into my home and bring chaos with you!" Jim had the curtesy to flinch at the accusation, "And yet you and yours are the only ones who remains sane in this time of turmoil. I will hear you out, Captain James Hawkins."

Jim dared breathe a sigh of relief. Everything would be okay now.

Nastas was shaking. His fists were clenched. A bead of sweat ran down the side of his face. His eyes darted from one face to another, not truly seeing any of them. But one face in particular stood out in the crowd. Rune. Her smiling smugly at him, looking down at him, looking down on him. That thing that wasn't even human, smiling like she was better than him. He would show her. He would show her just like everyone else.

"Come now, Captain Jim, let's go to my office," Sepla gestured to the stairs to the left and the guards parted to make way, "I'll be there in just a moment. I have to have a quick word with my son." Jim nodded and wrapped a gentle arm around Rune. Her head shot up, eyes swimming with tears she refused to let fall.

"C'mon Rune. Let's go get Kiwi back?"

The exhausted Halfling smiled and allowed herself to be directed to Sepla's office by Jim.

As Jim and Rune began their slow trek to Sepla's office, the large man himself stood beside his son who was standing stock still on the stairs.

"Nastas, my poor son," Sepla sighed, clasping his fat hands together, "Things haven't gone nearly how you planned, eh?" Nastas tensed at the comment, "It doesn't appear as if you'll be marrying anyone tonight." The large man chuckled sadly, trying to lighten the mood, but failing. Nastas didn't move, didn't show a single sign that he knew his father was standing right beside him. Only stared at the retreating couple: Rune with her torn and blood smeared wedding dress walking slowly alongside Jim who had an arm draped protectively around her. Rune paused for a second to look back and glare menacingly at Nastas before Jim gently redirected her to Sepla's office whispering reassuring words that they would get Kiwi back.

Nastas jumped back roaring. Grabbing a rifle-spear from an unsuspecting guard's hands and shoving Sepla to the ground in a pile of golden silks and cloth, Nastas pointed the heavy weapon directly at Rune and fired.