The Captive (ClaudexReader)

Part One:  One Last Job

The cool night air blew mercilessly against your face as you stood outside of the large manor. It has been several weeks since your partner, a man by the name of Johnny Price, made plans to break into and rob the Trancy Estate. He promised that this place would be your ticket to easy street. No more living on the streets, no more begging for food like a dog; and most of all, no more stealing.

This was going to be your last robbery.  When it was over the two of you could finally buy homes of your own, something you have both wanted for such a long time.  Robbing this place seemed like an easy enough job, especially for the likes of two of London's most notorious burglars, but there was something about the estate that made you very uneasy. It was almost as if there was a sinister presence lurking about.

"Are you sure about this place, Johnny?" You asked, pulling your black coat tighter around yourself. "I don't know why but it's really giving me the creeps."

Johnny sighed as he pulled the blue prints of the manor from his black satchel.  You had no idea how he obtained the blue prints, but you figured there was no point in asking.  Johnny Price always had his ways. 

He looked up at you and smirked.  "Not losing your nerve, are you, love?"

"No.." You breathed, shaking your head. "Of course not."

"Good, because this kid is loaded.  Apparently his folks died and left him with a massive fortune.  Some folks have all the luck, eh?"

You didn't reply so he rolled the blue prints open and began to explain the lay out of the large manor.  "We shouldn't have any complications.  Everyone will be asleep by now, and from what I could tell the brat only has five servants anyway."  He ran his finger across the prints and pointed to a hallway located in the west wing.  "Their rooms are here, so if we strike in the east wing we should be fine."

"What about the kid?"  You asked.

"Don't worry about him.  His room is upstairs in the north wing."  Johnny folded the blue prints up and stuck it back into his satchel.  "You will take the south end of the east wing and I'll take the north."  He pulled a stolen gold watch from his pocket and checked the time.  "We'll meet back out here in an hour.  Sound good?"
 
"Sure.." You answered, though uneasiness echoed in your voice.

Johnny smirked at you again and put his large hands on your shoulders. "Stop worrying so much, kiddo. This is just like any other job, we'll be in and out before you know it. Just like taking candy from a baby."
 
He removed his hands from you shoulders and ran his hand down to his coat, pulling it open to expose his pistol.  "Should we run into any trouble we can shoot our way out.  You brought your gun, right?"

"Of course I did, but I don't plan on killing anyone tonight."

"Neither do I.  So let's make this quick, yeah?"

You nodded your head and forced yourself to smile at him.  Johnny had been like an older brother to you for nearly two years, ever since your family died in a tragic carriage accident.  He was the one who found you when you were forced to live on the streets.  He took you under his wing and taught you everything you knew about surviving under the harsh conditions.

Johnny Price was the only reason you were alive today.  So you owed it to him to be brave for one last job.

You pulled a black wool hat from your satchel and pulled it over your head.  "Alright, let's go.."

****

You stood outside of the manor an hour later, but your partner was still inside.  "Always late, Johnny.." You sighed, pulling the heavy satchel off of your shoulder.  You decided to examine the contents while you waited.  It was a pretty hefty lot for only having an hour to rummage the place; five solid gold candle sticks, several solid gold spoons and forks, and numerous stocks and bonds.

It would definitely be enough to put down a down payment on a small house. 

You set the satchel onto the ground and hugged yourself as the night air continued to blow on you.  Twenty more minutes passed before you glanced at your wrist watch.  "What the hell is taking him so long?" 

You were starting to worry about your partner.  It wasn't like him to run more than five minutes late.  What if something had gone wrong?

"Damn it.." You muttered.  You were going to have to go back inside and look for him.

Leaving the satchel behind, you climbed into the unlocked window and began sneaking through the manor.  The inside was even creepier than you remembered.  The crimson walls were adorned with disturbing paintings, and there were spider webs in every corner.  'Someone needs to fire his servants..'  You thought, 'They aren't doing a very good job at keeping the place clean.'

You poked your head in several of the rooms but there was no sign of Johnny anywhere.  You were officially starting to panic.

Would he have just left you here!? 

No, of course not!  Johnny would never do that. 

So where in the hell was he?

"Johnny..?" You whispered as you continued down the halls.  "Johnny, where are you..?"

Your footsteps faltered when you heard what sounded like a muffled scream.  "Johnny..!?" You said, forgetting to whisper.  You ran down the hall and followed the sound of the soft screams until you reached a small office.  Your (e/c) eyes widened when you saw your partner hanging upside down.  His body was completely wrapped in some sort of white substance, and there was a black cloth secured around his mouth.

His left eye was swollen with a large purple bruise and blood was pouring from his nose.  Someone had beat the crap out of him.

"Johnny!" You gasped.  "My God, who did this to you!?"

He shook his head frantically as you stared running towards him.  You pulled the black cloth from between his teeth.  "Are you okay!?  What the hell happened!?"

"Get out of here, (F/N)!" He screamed, "It's a trap!"

"A trap?  What are you talking-"

"Behind you!"

You spun around to see three identical looking men standing there.  The emotionless way they stared at you through crimson eyes sent a shiver down your spine.  There was something terribly wrong with this place, and now you wondered if you were going to make it out of here alive.  One of the men reached out to grab you and you jumped back, pulling your pistol from your coat pocket. 

You held it high in front of you.  "Untie my friend right now or I'll blow your heads off!"

The men glanced at each other and began whispering amongst themselves. 

You wrapped a shaky finger around the trigger.  "I mean it!  I will not hesitate to kill you!"

"Do it!" Johnny cried, "Kill them!"

Without even thinking about it, you tightened your finger around the trigger, ready to fire, until one of the men slapped the weapon from your hand.  The other two swiftly seized your arms and held you there.  "Let me go!" You demanded, struggling in vain to free yourself. 

"My goodness, this one has a temper.."  A voice said from the doorway. 

You looked up to see a young boy standing there with a wide grin on his face.  Standing behind him were two more servants; one a tall man dressed in black and the other a woman garbed in a maid's uniform.  The man had your satchel draped over his shoulder.

"It appears we have caught another naughty creature trying to break into our web." The boy said, stroking the back of his hand down your face.  "Isn't this exciting!?"

The tall man in black stepped forward and pushed his silver glasses up with a gloved finger.  "What shall we do with them, Your Highness?"

"I think I want to keep this one." He said, pulling your hair down so that your face was level with his.  The smile on his face grew.  "I've never had my own pet before!  This should be fun!"

"Take your hands off of me, you little brat!" You spat, pulling yourself away from him.  The men who held you tightened their grips on your arms, silently warning you to behave yourself. 

The boy picked his hand up and backhanded you across the face.  "How dare you speak to me, Alois Trancy, in such a revolting way!  I shall have to teach you a lesson."

Alois returned his attention to the man in black.  "Kill her friend.." He said, "I have no use for him anyway."

"How shall I kill him?"

"I don't care, Claude.." Alois mumbled, waving his hand in the air.  "Cut off his head or something."

"No!" You screamed, trying to pull away from the men that held you.  "Please, I'll do anything!"

Alois only ignored your pleas as he made his way towards the door.  "When you are finished lock the girl in the cellar.  I will deal with her personally in the morning."

Claude put a hand to his chest and bowed.  "Yes, Your Highness."

The boy took his leave with the maid following closely behind him.  When he was gone, Claude pulled a large blade from his coat and started walking towards Johnny.  "Please!" You screamed again, "Don't hurt him.  I swear I will do anything you want!  Just let him go!!"

"Save your breath, (F/N).  He's already made up his mind."  Johnny said.  He lifted his eyes to meet yours.  "Just make sure you get yourself out of here!  Do what you have to do to survive but get the hell out of-"  His sentence was permanently halted when Claude raised the blade in the air and cut off his head.  You screamed as the head rolled towards your feet, the lifeless eyes staring up at you.

Tears began streaming down your face and Claude gazed at you for a moment before looking at the men who held you.  "Take her away.." He ordered, his voice void of any emotion.  "Lock her in the cellar as Alois instructed."

The men nodded and dragged you down the hall until they reached the cellar.  They threw you inside and locked the door behind them, leaving you alone in the darkness.  You fell to your knees and began weeping uncontrollably for your fallen friend, then you remembered the words he said to you before that bastard had killed him. 'Do what you have to do to survive.'

You wiped the tears from your face and stood up.  You knew that crying would get you no where. 

"I'll survive this, Johnny.." You said, "I promise..."