Kidnapped

When Jack came to, he was relieved to see that if nothing else, he and Brielle were alive and in the same place. He felt better knowing she was in his line of sight and not being hurt somewhere else. He tried to say something and just then realized he was gagged. Instead he scowled and groggily turned his head.

While Brielle got a whole bench of the carriage to herself, Jack was squished next to one of the kidnappers and his broad shoulders. When Jack looked at him, he looked back at Jack with only one eye, the other obscured by an eyepatch. Jack sort of wiggled and looked down to show he wanted to say something, but the gag was in his way. The kidnapper just grunted and looked away, so Jack nudged him with his elbow. The kidnapper rolled his eyes and removed Jack's gag.

"Ah," Jack said, taking a deep breath. "Thank you. Stuffy under there. I appreciate the soft cotton you used, though. Very thoughtful."

"What the hell do you want?" the man asked.

"I just wanted to know where the fuck you're taking us?" Jack asked, keeping his tone polite. "And why, perhaps, you decided to grab us in the night?"

Brielle's eyes flit between Jack and Eyepatch, who seemed annoyed and went to put the gag back on Jack. Jack leaned back.

"Uh, no thank you," he said. "I don't need a gang. Uh, neither does my friend here. We promise to be quiet. Right?"

He looked at Brielle, who nodded quickly. Eyepatch seemed annoyed, but he eventually reached out and snatched the gag off Brielle too. She yelped when he pulled some of her hair with the gag and Jack wanted to smack him for it, but he did his best to remain calm for now.

"Thank you for doing that gently," Brielle said, matching Jack's energy.

"Very gentle, isn't he?" Jack said. "Good sir, what is your name? We're travel buddies after all."

Eyepatch didn't give an answer.

"Can I call you Bruce?" Jack asked.

"Ooh yes, Bruce suits him," Brielle agreed.

"You said you would be quiet," Eyepatch grunted.

"Right, quiet."

They stayed quiet for all of thirty seconds before Brielle swung a leg out and kicked the bench Eyepatch was sitting on. He glared at her, and she sank in her seat a bit.

"Sorry," she said. "Leg cramp."

Another thirty seconds passed and she kicked the bench again. Eyepatch gave her another frustrated glare, and Jack bumped him with his arm again.

"Oops, sorry," Jack said. "Kinda stuffy in here. Do you have any snacks?"

Finally they had annoyed Eyepatch to the point of him banging his fist on the top of the carriage. Brielle and Jack exchanged a smug look, but faked innocence and distress again as another man stopped the carriage and came to the door. Jack was grateful Brielle had caught on quickly to what he was doing rather than panicking and screaming. They were a lot more in sync than he expected.

The man who appeared at the carriage door had a massive scar across his face, and Jack was now sure that these people weren't part of Willowgate's staff. Eyepatch practically burst out of the carriage, shaking the entire thing and finally giving Jack some space to breathe.

"They're driving me insane," Eyepatch said. "I'm done being the babysitter. I've been doing this for three days."

"We've been out for four days?!" Jack exclaimed.

"Why aren't they gagged?" Scar snapped at Eyepatch. "We only take them off to give them water and knock them back out."

"I told you, I'm done," Eyepatch argued. "I'm sick of this stupid little carriage and taking care of the newlyweds."

"Newlyweds?" Brielle repeated.

"Shut up," Scar said, pointing to them. "Just because you married the son of a stupid Duke doesn't mean you've got any authority over us. And you never have."

There was a beat of silence as Jack realized he and Brielle must have been mistaken for Byron and Nadine. This whole plot was to get to them.

"You're right," Jack said. "And my wife... My new, lovely wife... and I... have no authority over you. Me, the son of a duke."

"Right," Scar said, giving Jack a weird look.

"No authority," he repeated. "Just... a lot of shoes. And pocket squares. You won't believe the amount of pocket squares I have. Every color of the rainbow."

"Get on with it," Scar demanded.

"Right," Jack said. "My wife and I would like to politely ask where we're going. That's all. And then we will quietly sit back in our seat until we get there. And if we could perhaps have a light snack as well? Seeing as we apparently haven't eaten in four days-"

"You can last a little longer," Scar said, cutting him off. "The boss wants to talk to talk to you. We'll be in Elmsdale in another hour."

Eyepatch was forced to sit in the carriage with them again, and this time Brielle and Jack actually stayed quiet. It was a lot to process. From what Jack got, he and Brielle had been mistaken for Byron and Nadine. Probably because they had been seen outside of Byron's room when Jack went to return the shoes. And now they were on their way to Elmdale, which was miles away. So, if they could get away from whatever the hell was going on, they would have to somehow walk along desolate dirt roads for days, in their night clothes, with no money and no real shoes. Piece of cake.

They finally pulled up to a sketchy looking shed on the outskirts of Elmdale, and they were forced out of the carriage and inside the dirty building. They were surrounded by at least ten other sketchy looking thugs, who jeered at them as they were forced to their knees in front of someone.

"So, this is the illustrious new couple Duke Montesse is adding to his collection," a deep voice said.

Jack raised his head to look at the speaker, and felt the blood drain from his face. It was easy for him to mess around with Scar and Eyepatch, but this was a face he recognized. Blaise Merton. This was the marauder leader who ordered the onslaught that killed Jack's parents.