Salutations fellow creatures, sorry about the slow build up, but I feel like setting a scene makes the sexy bits a lot more rewarding. From here on out it will become more and more intense. Thanks for sticking with me!
*****
Artemis woke to the sound of the door creaking open. Her hands had been released from their bindings when she was unconscious. She rubbed her wrists and sighed with relief. Remus entered the room and approached her as she became fully aware of her surroundings. She had been left passed out and sprawled on top of the bed. "Get up," he said impatiently.
Artemis reluctantly sat up, trying to shake herself completely awake. But Remus seemed to be in a hurry. He grabbed hold of her arm with his strong hand and yanked her off the bed. "Come with me," he said as he dragged her out of the room.
Artemis stumbled next to him, trying to keep her balance. She tried to pull her arm from him, but he just held on tighter. Just as she expected she was in the Kingdom of the Giants. It seemed lazy to her that Remus would just name his castle after the forest, but it worked all the same.
Remus took her through a hallway, going down a flight of stairs and finally to their destination. He unlocked the door with a key that looked like it had seen better days. He opened the door and pushed Artemis inside roughly.
"A hot spring runs underneath the castle," he said and directed her to the water. "You are absolutely disgusting so please wash yourself." Artemis huffed. He was the reason she was so dirty in the first place. "I said get in," he ordered again, pointing towards the water.
Artemis was extremely stubborn, but he was right. She slipped into the water carefully. The warmth was already soothing her aching muscles the moment the water touched her skin. She hadn't been this comfortable in a very long time. She slunk down so the only thing above the water was her head.
"So, you get clean. I don't have time for you right now so I'm putting my best guards here to watch you. You have access to the hot springs and the bedroom, but that's it." Artemis fumed at this. "So I'm your dog now?" she asked. Remus cocked his head to the side slightly and said, "Well, no. More like a pet in general. I know of your little tricks." Artemis's brow furrowed, angered by his arrogance.
Remus snapped and in came two horrific looking guards. Their bodies were somewhat human, but mostly monster. They were nothing but shear muscle, and just about matched Remus in height. Once you got up to their shoulder's they were nothing but gruesome wolves. Their heads were easily the size of a bear's. Drool dripped down their enormous fangs and crooked, snarling teeth. Their eyes were wild and bulged. They both were grey and patchy, fur in messy tangles. The only difference Artemis could see between them was one had little stripes of black scattered on his face.
Remus motioned to the terrifying creatures, introducing them. "This is Cosmas and Thaddeus. If you attempt to escape, they will kill you. They may not be gods, but they're close enough." The creatures snarled at her, growling and gnashing their teeth threateningly. Artemis wasn't afraid of much, but these two made her exceptionally uneasy.
Remus left Artemis in the spring, leaving her with the two gruesome monsters. Artemis took her time, pretending the wolf-creatures were not there. The steaming water whisked her away into a world of relaxation and peace.
When Artemis was thoroughly clean and practically glowing, she searched the dimly lit room for something to dry herself with. Luckily someone was nice enough to leave thick cloths on a large rock next to the spring. She quickly dried herself off and approached Cosmas and Thaddeus, both still growling under their breaths quietly. Cosmas reached out his exceedingly long hand, with claws the size of a wildcats, and squeezed her arm tightly. They both escorted her to the bedroom, dragging her along behind them and ignoring her fighting.
They made their ways through the stairs and the long hallway until they reached the bedroom. They tossed her in and guarded the door from the inside, facing her. Artemis finished drying herself off and then quickly hopped on the bed, wrapping herself in blankets to cover her body. For a while there was silence. The two guards had stopped their growling and snarling, but every once in a while, Artemis would hear huffing and sneezing.
Though Artemis was wrapped up, she was still cold and slightly shaking. "Oh dear, do you need some tea?" Artemis turned and saw Thaddeus nudge Cosmas roughly and said, "No, we do not need tea." Their voices were very high pitched, the complete opposite of what she expected.
"But I want some of those cookies the cook made yesterday," Cosmas nagged. Thaddeus huffed and replied, "Fine, we'll have tea. But we don't need cookies." Artemis interjected and said, "I want cookies." Thaddeus grumbled loudly, showing his crooked teeth. "FINE. We can have tea and cookies. But that's it."
Artemis was laughing hysterically on the inside at these two horrifying monsters fighting over cookies. Cosmas turned his enormous head to the hallway and barked loudly. There was silence again, the only thing to be heard was their breathing and Thaddeus's sneezing.
At last someone had come with their tea and cookies. Immediately Artemis recognized her, though she was deceivingly human-looking, she was so pale she was practically blue. You could see all of the individual veins through her skin. Artemis had much experience with water nymphs and unlike most could recognize her right away by her smell.
The nymph entered the room and placed the platter of tea and cookies on the table nearby. Cosmas and Thaddeus took their tea carefully and continued to dutifully stand in front of the doorway. They sipped in silence, their cups looking tiny in their huge hands.
Thaddeus sneezed and spilled some of his tea. "Oh dear," he grumbled. Artemis clasped her tea, warming her cold hands. "You two certainly are polite," she said. Cosmas giggled. She didn't even know a monster like him could have such a high-pitched voice, let alone giggle.
"Oh dearie, we're not worried. Though we will have to kill you if you try and escape." Thaddeus nodded and added, "The usual punishment for someone disobeying the King is to rip their arms and legs off and eat them alive. And no offense intended but you do look quite tasty. You should fear the King more than anything."
Artemis sighed. Cosmas sipped his tea and said, "Oh he's not all that ba-" But before he could finish Thaddeus stepped on his foot. "Ow! I mean, he's a murderer. He's the most viscous killer alive. You best be scared of him, he decapitates all of his so-called lovers. And then lets us eat them. We're his favorite so we always get first pick on bodies."
Artemis shrugged and said, "Well you're so polite I can see why you might be his favorites. But I really don't want to be eaten." Thaddeus leaned to the table and grabbed a cookie. "Well then do what the King says."
Artemis stewed on this while they ate their cookies in silence. The only thing to be heard was the crunching of cookies and Thaddeus's dreadful sneezing. Approaching footsteps broke the silence. Remus entered the room, standing tall and looking as intimidating as ever.
"Did she try anything?" He asked the guards. Cosmas smiled and began to say in his pleasant high-pitched voice, "Oh she was lov-" but Thaddeus elbowed him in the side. Cosmas coughed and lowered his voice to a deep, terrifying growl. "No."
