A Summoner's Story of Love and War

In the Dark and Terrible - Part 14

Yo. I wanna give a shoutout and hello to @protroll1526 for spamming my notifications and honestly making me feel better, and everyone else for commenting and voting. Warning, this chapter is going to get a bit violent, so if that's not your thing, sit this one out. And here, have a meme. I made 12, so imma give 1 each chapter.

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Fletcher fixed the rim of his hood and sighed. It had been three weeks since the meeting with Verity, and after escorting the four teenagers home, Arcturus and Elaine had left departed. They had not seen them since, and they were running low on provisions; so Fletcher and Seraph went out to the nearby town to get some. They had been there for two hours now, and Fletcher, wet and cold and tired, just wanted to go back to their barn. As they were getting the last of the products, they heard scuffling and commotion behind them. They turned.

Two men were groping and punching each-other in the muddy street, cursing and spitting. A rough crowd of people milled about, shoving to get a better view of the brawl.

Fletcher and Seraph were soon caught in the midst of people and pulled in. Fletcher grabbed Seraph's sleeve and hauled them out, getting severely knocked and pushed. When they emerged, they were ruffled and creased. Seraph's eyes shot to Fletcher's head, and quickly reached up to attempt to grab the hood that had fallen from his head. He was too late. Random people had caught a glimpse of him, and began murmuring,

"That's Lord Raleigh, isn't it?" The two summoners ran for it, threading through small lanes between houses to escape. They heard angry shouting behind them, and a sharp, white light suddenly thrown shadows over the walls they were passing. Fletcher attempted to pick up pace, but was suddenly knocked on his front. His head thumped the ground, and everything went black.

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Fletcher groaned, his mouth stark dry. He coughed and blinked his sticky eyes open. Darkness greeted him. he tried to bring his hand down to rub his eyes, until he found he couldn't. Looking up, manacles chained his arms to the wall above him, and chains wrapped and clinked around his feet. He shifted his weight on his ass and grimaced. Everything hurt, especially his head. He could feel something crusted and dry on his forehead. He glared around the dark room, and saw a dim figure with him, also in chains.

"Seraph," Fletcher croaked, voice quavering. He coughed again. The figure stirred, and wheezed.

"Fuck. What the fuck." Seraph responded, cursing. Fletcher saw Seraph's head turn to face him. He watched as Seraph came to figure out what had happened to him, as Fletcher had done moments before.

"We fucked up good." Fletcher mumbled. Seraph groaned in agreement.

They sat in the cold and dark, talking sparsely. Fletcher couldn't tell how long it had been when light spilled into the room like a flood. The two teenagers squirmed and shut their eyes, trying to shy from the bright attack. A laugh echoed around them.

"I see the rats are awake at last." A smooth voice spoke. Fletcher forced his eyes to adjust, and looked up. There stood Zacharias Forsyth, Rook close behind. They shut a door behind them, and Rook hung up the lantern he was holding on a hook. They looked down at Fletcher and Seraph in glee. Zacharias reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife that glinted evilly in the lantern-light. Fletcher swallowed the little amount of saliva in his mouth.

"Now," Zacharias said, waving the knife under Fletcher and Seraph's nose, "Let's all have a bit of fun. You are going to behave, and tell us what you know, and me and Rook are going to play around with you for a bit." He grinned menacingly. Fletcher looked him in the eyes, summoning the most courage he could.

"What would you want to fucking know?" He said, sounding braver than he felt. The looks in the eyes of the two older nobles made Fletcher want to curl into the wall.