Nevermoor oneshots (book 2)

Ghastly Market

This oneshot was originally posted on WundrousPotato 's acc! It was written by me for the "Secret Santa" event we participated in.

Hawthorne was walking around some park. Strangely, there were no people here. He was thinking about some things that he should have done, but then he missed the chance, and now he had to come up with a new plan.

Without really noticing, he had walked into a darker alleyway. Few seconds later, he heard a noise that made chills run across his spine. Bone crackling. This is not good at all..

When he woke up again, he couldn't remember what exactly had happened, and why he had passed out. Now he could feel that his hands were tied together. He was in a dark room, but outside, he could hear some voices discussing something. Then the realisation hit him.
He has been taken to the ghastly market.

This was horrible! He had heard enough to know that he's going to either die, or loose his knack, or both! He felt frightened. Hawthorne tried to scream, but there was some cloth that was over his mouth, so obviously, he couldn't.

He heard some shuffling on the other side of the room he was in. Then a lot of light flooded the room. Now Hawthorne could see that this wasn't actually in a room. It was a big tent, made from leather. He didn't even want to know what leather it was made of.

"So, you're a dragon rider boy?"
Some old, really disgusting looking old man with some rotten teeth asked. While talking, the man spat, as if he couldn't keep his tongue behind his teeth. Disgusting.

Hawthorne tried to move, tried to get the ropes and cloth more loose, but obviously, that didn't work.

"Stop trying to escape. There's no use to that anymore."
Someone from the entrance of the tent said. His voice was somehow familiar. Gosh, if Hawthorne wasn't panicking that much, maybe he could actually recognise who that was, and if he somehow escaped, it would be possible to tell a cop.

"Yes, that's the dragon rider. Tell me again, how exactly do you plan on selling him? Many people would be scared to ride a dragon, so I don't think it would be safe to separate him and his knack. Sell him whole. I recommend that. Now, I have some more places I have to attend."
The familiar voice said. Then he walked away.

The older man started to talk about what more he had planned for the auction. He was planning on putting Hawthorne in an outfit that should resemble a dragon, and the worst part was that he would also be chained up, as "to show that dragons are dangerous". That was hilariously stupid.

For the next few days, he was kept in a small room that he was moved into, while asleep. Every day, he got only a little bit of food. It was devastating. He wanted to escape so much. The outfit that he will be destined to wear soon was horrible too. Like seriously, it didn't even fit his knack that much! It's not like he was the dragon that had to be kept in chains!

The next morning he woke up, he realised that he was already in the outfit. He felt so intruded. So disturbed by the fact that he was so trapped. His hands were hurt after trying to bang the door open.
Being chaired up, he couldn't do anything more. Just cry like a trapped child. He really was exactly that, wasn't he...?

One thing that he feared the most right now, was the fact that any time soon, someone might unlock the door, open it and take him in front of many people in this embarrassing outfit.

Just as he thought of that, he heard someone try to pick the lock. He couldn't understand if it was some evil salesman who lost his key, or someone trying to pick the lock to get him out.

Five minutes of silence, with the only noise being the clicking of a pin and the lock, the door opened.
There stood someone that Hawthorne didn't really expect to see. It was Arch!

"Don't say anything. I this is the 1st time I've ever picked a lock with actual success. Oh! Let me free you."
Arch said and rushed up to Hawthorne, taking off the cloth that was in front of his mouth.

"Arch! I'm so happy to see you here. How did you find me?"

"I saw someone enter a tricksy lane, and it was a really dangerous one, so it was a bit too suspicious. Because of that, I went in. Then I heard someone mention your name, so I went to Investigate. Then I found you."

"Please make these chains let go. I hope that those won't take as much time as the lock, right?"

"Definitely less. I got the key."

Quickly, Arch unlocked the chains and they started to run. No other people really noticed them. Then the tricksy lane became more visible. When they ran into it, they heard someone call out. Hawthorne recognised that voice. It was the mean, old man.

He really would have loved a warning of what exactly the tricksy lane does. It was horrible. Arch kept moving forward, at one point Hawthorne tripped, knocking even more air out of him. But then it was over. They were okay, finally on the other side of the tricksy lane.

"We should continue to run. I think that someone noticed us."
Hawthorne quickly said. The wings of his outfit had ripped off. From the texture of them, he understood that they might have been made from actual dragon skin. He felt so much sorrow from that realisation. Those people really killed a dragon, who was most likely quite ancient.

"How about we run to my place. You could get some rest, and then we could get things sorted out."
Arch suggested.

"Good idea, let's go now!"
The other was getting really impatient and worried.

Now they continued to run. Both of them felt like they will pass out from how tired they were, but soon, they were at Arch's house.

By the time they were in Arch's room, Hawthorne felt more calm. Arch lent him some comfortable clothes, and let him rest peacefully.
Before Hawthorne really fell asleep, he asked:
"How did you know how to pick a lock?"

"Learnt it. It's actually quite complicated. Do you feel better now? I'll get you some food."

Hawthorne smiled at the other, laying down in the bed. Finally he was at a more comfortable place, being able to not worry and be scared all the time.
Now Arch was Hawthorne's hero. It was truly interesting that someone with a "stealing" knack could save him so quickly. To be honest, he wanted to destroy the Gha
Ghastly Market. Make it all be gone forever, but he didn't have the power to do so. One important question remained: Who was the familiar voice that he heard those days ago?

When Arch got back from getting some food, he saw that his guest had fallen asleep. He much have been really tried..
Arch was tired too, and only because Hawthorne has occupied his bed, didn't mean that he won't move to the corner of it to sleep too. Now they were both safe.