A crash wakes me up.

The bed is cold and there's no sign of Eko so I fumble my way through the dark to find my clothes. I locate my sweater and pants but the shirt seems to have been swallowed by the dark and another crash has me abandoning my search. Quietly, I open the door and begin creeping down the blackened hallway.

I had only meant to sleep for a little while but based on the lack of light and the groggy feeling in my head, I've missed dinner and we're now well into the early hours of the morning. I'm not sure where the sound came from but I make my way back towards the living room, doing my best to retrace my drunken path from a few hours ago. Thanks to Eko's magic I'm completely hangover free but the memories are still a bit of a blur.

"Grab the legs," a gruff voice says from deeper in the house. "Ow, fuck. See? That's why I told you to grab them."

My mind immediately goes to the worst case scenario. The Arc has found us and they have Eko. I pick up my pace.

Rounding a corner I come face to face with two black clad figures carrying a thrashing figure with a bag over his head. It must be Eko. They're so close I almost crash right into them and I let out a startled scream.

Recovering faster than they do, I attack. I go for the bigger one first, aiming a kick between his legs. When he doubles over I elbow him in the nose. Eko's body crashes to the floor.

"Ow! Lexi, what the fuck!" The man cries.

Startled, I jump back. He fumbles in the dark until he finds a light switch. The hallway lights flicker on to illuminate the faces of Vimmy and... Eko? I'm dumbstruck.

Vimmy is bent over, clutching both his groin and face. The person he was half carrying is now sprawled on the ground, struggling against their bindings.

"Pin her down! No, not like that! Pin her! She's going to wiggle loose!" Vimmy orders Eko.

Eko does as he's told, putting his whole weight on the person to immobilise them while I try desperately to figure out what's going on.

"Don't just stand there, Lexi! Get her legs!" Vimmy shouts at me as he rushes off down the hall.

I come out of my stupor with a start and do as I'm told, flinging myself at the two kicking limbs. The woman lands a solid blow on my chest before I'm able to get things under control.

"We did not mean to wake you," Eko tosses over his shoulder. "I apologise."

"Forget that," I grunt at him. "What's going on? Who is this?"

I already know the answer before it comes out of his mouth but I want more than anything to be wrong. Not because we don't need her but because I don't want to believe that Eko could be so cruel as to capture her and tie her up like this. To take away her choice and freedom the same way the Arc took away his.

"Amaelia."

My heart sinks.

Vimmy returns with another length of rope.

"I thought we were going to go talk to her and ask her for her help. I thought we were going to convince her," I say as Vimmy begins to bind her legs more firmly.

"We are doing what is necessary," is all Eko says in response.

He doesn't meet my eyes as he and Vimmy pick up Amaelia and carry her down the hall while I follow closely behind. Vimmy takes us to a part of the house I haven't seen yet that has a more clinical feel. There are no pictures or decorations to speak of, only plain grey walls and polished concrete floors.

Vimmy punches in a code on a keypad next to a metal door and it swings open. Overhead lights flicker on, illuminating a staircase. Vimmy and Eko take careful steps down into the belly of the house while Amaelia continues to kick and struggle against them. Her screams are muffled under the bag and there's no doubt that she's gagged under there.

At the bottom of the stairs is another sterile hallway, another keypad, and another metal door. This one opens to reveal a room cased in iron. Iron floors, iron ceiling, and iron walls, one of which has a mirror framed in iron. The room is empty except for a large circle drawn with salt where Eko and Vimmy dump Amaelia. As soon as she's inside, she stops struggling. They leave her there, exiting the room and locking it behind them.

Without a word, Vimmy takes us to another room adjacent to the first. It's an observation room that looks into the first room via the one way mirror. It has two metal chairs and a control panel in front of the window with buttons like 'lights','talk', and, concerningly, 'electrocute'. The room has a perfect view of Amaelia's huddled form. She's still bound and gagged, but she's managed to sit herself up and free herself from the bag that covered her head.

She's a pretty girl with wild, golden curls, milky skin, and big topaz eyes. A smattering of freckles across her cheeks makes her look young and innocent. Her figure is deceivingly slight and she looks like she wouldn't be able to hurt a fly. I rub the blossoming bruise on my chest from where she kicked me, knowing better. She stares at the glass as though she can see right through it to her captors beyond and strike us down with just the venom of her gaze. Goosebumps prickle my flesh as she meets my eyes.

"We'll leave her there to cool down and come back in a few hours when it's time to negotiate," Vimmy says, yawning as though this is just another Wednesday for him.

Is it Wednesday? I'm not sure anymore.

He walks out of the room and Eko and I file behind him. I hesitate at the door, debating staying to watch over the girl but as I look back I see that her eyes have followed me across the room.

"She can't see us, right?" I ask.

"Nope," Vimmy replies. "It's a one way mirror infused with iron. She'd need some real freaky magic to see in here."

I meet her gaze and mouth, I'm sorry, before leaving and closing the door behind me just in case she somehow can see me.

The three of us don't speak until we're in the living room. The bottle of alcohol from the night before is still there and I notice that it isn't rum or tequila. It's scotch. For some reason, that makes my temper flare and I turn on Vimmy and Eko.

"Does someone want to explain to me what's going on!? We were supposed to take today and come up with a plan. A peaceful one. So tell me why you two clowns decided to leave me behind and kidnap her instead. What were you thinking!?"

"Whoa, whoa," Vimmy says, holding up his hands in surrender and backing away. "I was just following the fairy's orders. He said you were cool with it!"

"Do I look 'cool with it?'" I demand.

He searches my face, frowning. "Not really, no. Shit, did he lie to me?"

"The Fae can't lie," Eko and I say in unison.

"But they can deceive," I continue, glaring at Eko.

"Not cool, man," Vimmy says as he makes his way over to the bar, not actually sounding all that upset by it.

He comes back with two glasses of amber liquid and offers one to me. I shake my head. He shrugs in a 'more for me' gesture and raises a glass to his lips.

"So what changed?" I ask Eko and when he doesn't respond I raise my voice. "What changed?"

He turns his head so he doesn't have to meet my eyes.

"Forget it," I growl. "I can't even look at either of you."

I storm off towards the guest wing.

I locate the room farthest away from Eko's and set myself up there. A clock on the bed side table tells me it's three a.m but I'm wide awake so I opt for a cold shower and a change of clothes instead. Each of the guest rooms I searched have a limited assortment of clothes in a variety of sizes so I go room by room until I find a set that fits. It's just a plain black t-shirt and pants but the material is comfortable and I can move easily in them.

The shower hits me like ice and I tense up under its spray. I scrub vigorously at my body, trying to wash away the stench of sweat and sex. Questions race through my head and I want to punch the hard tiles of the shower or maybe sob into them, I don't know. Why did they leave me behind? Why did they hide this from me? And worst of all, did sleeping with Eko somehow drive him away? I try to shake the thoughts from my head, sending droplets of water flying.

Clean, dressed, and with my hair pulled up into a severe bun, I go to the kitchen to make myself breakfast. Eggs, bacon, buttermilk pancakes, and cheesy hashbrowns. I make it big to make up for missing dinner and non-vegan so that Eko won't be able to have any of it. I also make a big pot of coffee and douse my cup with cream and sugar.

The smell of the food attracts Vimmy, who's salivating so hard when he's practically dripping.

"Any leftovers for a poor, apologetic Ogre like me?" he asks.

I level a glare at him then sigh, pile a plate high and hand it over. He sits at the counter and digs in, moaning as the taste hits his tongue.

"Oh sweet spirits of the ethereal plane," he gushes. "Where did you learn to cook like this? This is incredible!"

I roll my eyes and blush, sinking into the seat beside him and taking a bite of my own food. "I've had a lot of practice."

Vimmy laughs. "Right, I'll add chef to the list along with doctor, charm maker, and master ward weaver. You sure are accomplished for someone so young."

"I'm older-"

"Older than you look, I know. And tell me, exactly how old are you?"

"Too young for you, old man," I quip, deflecting.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Vimmy chuckles. "I'm younger than Eko and you seemed more than happy to hop into his bed. No, don't worry, I don't mind sharing. You're a succubus, after all, us lesser beings would be fools to think you could belong to any one of us. I'm more than happy to just exist in your harem for now. Eventually, though, I hope I'm your favourite."

That's the moment that Eko chooses to join us. I lower my head and shovel food into my mouth so he won't see my burning cheeks. Vimmy deposits his own empty plate in the sink and gives me a wink and a smile.

"You think about what I said," he grins as he leaves the kitchen. "I'll leave you two to deal with your lovers' spat and I'll go check on our prisoner." I glare at him. "Oh, I mean... our guest?"

Eko ignores me as he meanders around the kitchen, looking at the food I've cooked. He lowers his nose to the pan on the stove and sniffs. He recoils, disgust written all over his face.

"Not a fan of eggs?" I ask casually.

"It always amazes me what you non-fae are willing to put inside your bodies. Cow excretions and unfertilized chicken embryos. How do you stomach such things?"

I shove some 'unfertilized chicken embryo' into my mouth and sneer at him.

The sun is beginning to peak over the trees and the kitchen is flooded with morning light. Reflections off the glass and steel make rainbows dance on the walls and I watch them for no other reason than to avoid Eko's pointed gaze. He waits for me to acknowledge him and, when I don't, he lets out a long suffering sigh.

"I did it for us," he says softly.

"From where I'm sitting it seems like you did it for you."

He opens his mouth and closes it again as though he wants to say something but isn't sure how.

"Are we really any better than the Arc now?" I ask into the silence.

I think that will make him angry but it doesn't. Instead, his shoulders sag and he shakes his head.

"I am unsure."

"Well, you should get sure," I say, standing and dropping my own plate into the sink next to Vimmy's. "You should get really clear on if we're the bad guys or not."

"We are not the 'bad guys.'"

I shrug. "Bad guys do bad things. We did a very bad thing. So what does that make us?"

"Good guys are capable of doing bad things as well."

"There's a pretty big difference between stealing a pack of gum or skipping a line and kidnapping." I snort.

"I did it for us!" he says, exasperated.

"You keep saying that but I don't believe you!"

Vimmy comes jogging back into the kitchen. "Sorry! Sorry!" he says. "I don't want to interrupt but you both really have to come see this."

"Can it wait?" I ask. "We're in the middle of something."

"No."

We follow him down and to the observation room but he stops us short of the threshold, blocking our view with his massive body.

"I'm going to preface this by saying I've double checked the security log for the keypad and no one has been in or out since we put her in there. I also looked at the tapes and there's fifteen seconds of missing footage so I have no idea how she got in. I need you both to take a deep breath and not panic. Especially you, Eko."

Then he stands back and lets us walk into the room. At first, I don't know why he seems so panicked. Amaelia is sitting cross legged on the floor. She's somehow worked herself free of the ropes and she's facing the mirror with her hands in her lap, staring at us. At me. It's not until I actually look at her hands that I see the problem. The tiny ball of black fur.

"No!" Eko cries, getting so close to the glass his nose is practically pressed against it. "Open the door! I am going in!"

"I told you specifically not to panic!" Vimmy calls after him as he marches out of the observation room and to the cell door.

"Open. The. Door."

Vimmy sighs and presses a button on the control panel. A buzzer sounds and the door swings open. Eko stalks into the room, stopping just shy of the salt ring.

"Release the small creature."

Amaelia doesn't react, doesn't even look at him. Her eyes are still trained on mine even though there should be no way she can see me.

"And why would I do that?"

Her voice is husky and soft with a strong french accent. Except it isn't French, it's something much older.

"If you hurt her," Eko warns, his tone menacing.

"Oh no," Amaelia says with mock concern, finally turning to look at him. "What will you do? Kidnap me and hold me against my will? Put me inside of a protection circle in an iron room to prevent me from using my magic? A little bit of overkill, don't you think?"

Eko's hands clench into fists. "Just let the little one go and we can discuss releasing you."

"So you can offer me another blood pact? No, I would rather make a deal with a literal snake than a metaphorical one such as yourself. I keep the cat."

This causes Eko to lose his temper and he slams his fist into the wall. His hand comes away smoking, the iron searing his skin and leaving behind blisters. He doesn't even seem to notice.

Amaelia is unphased by his show of anger and turns her eyes back to me. "I want to talk to the girl."

"What girl?" asks Eko.

"Don't play dumb," she snaps. "The girl that made the stupid one drop me on my head. The girl whose cat is on my lap, purring like she's filled with bees. The girl."

"Give me the creature and I will consider letting you speak to the girl."

"Send in the girl and I will consider not snapping the creature's tiny neck."

My heart rate spikes and I push Vimmy aside, pressing the 'talk' button on the console before Eko can say something stupid that gets Snot killed. "Promise you won't hurt her and I'll come in right now."

A slow smile spreads across Amaelia's face.

"Lexi," Eko warns.

"Be quiet," I tell him, my voice hissing and cracking over the speaker system. "You've done enough for one day." Then to Amaelia, "Promise."

"I promise," she says sweetly, stroking Snot's back with gentle fingers.

Eko turns around without a word and storms out, slamming the door shut behind him.

Vimmy puts a heavy hand on my shoulder. "Whatever you do, don't go into the circle."