The Harpy took her high up into the sky. Over the town, the trees and eventually the whole ass mountain where she then dropped her down a dark crevice.

Kelly only bounced off the walls three or four times before she crashed into a softly lined nest. Kelly lay there amongst the abandoned feathers and other soft oddities that clearly had either been found or stolen, just catching her breath.

She was surrounded by ripped clothes and blankets, there was a jean jacket beside her. But it wasn't just clothes there were hides of different animals and a layer of just soft feathers that must have been some kind of down, except they were massive. Not regular bird down.

And with the soft things were the other things. Trinkets that were also clearly stolen.

CDs without their cases, batteries, a few lighters and a beach chair just to name a few.

Kelly groaned as she pushed herself up and looked around. She was definitely in a cave, and there didn't seem to be any way for her to get out of this place unless she climbed back up the way she fell. There were no tunnels to disappear through, it looked like this place had been carved out of the very stone that made up the mountain.

She felt at her shoulders first as that was how the Harpy had been holding onto her. She had struggled at first until she realized that was making it worse. She was bleeding, but she didn't think that it had pierced her, more like scratched her up.

If she had been pierced, she wouldn't bleed out just yet. It hadn't dealt her mortal damage. But if it wasn't trying to eat her then what did it want from her?

A shadow spanned over her and then the harpy landed in front of her. It glared at her with it's beady yellow eyes. Kelly backed away from it, but even though she was terrified her eyes lingered on that pink sparkling necklace around it's neck.

"I won't hurt you."

Oh my god it could talk.

Kelly looked down to her own hands which were coated with her own blood. That was the only visual she had to illuminate the lie, as the Harpy had already hurt her. And if given the chance she'd be sure to tell her how much it hurt to have that massive half-bird-half-lady slam her into the ground.

"I need you."

The Harpy's voice was low and raspy, it sounded like a villain, but Kelly sensed that it was sincere.

It really did just want her for something.

"Okay..." she said softly. "What... what do you need me for?"

The Harpy's eyes narrowed but eventually it said: "To trade for my daughter."

Whoa. Wait. What?

"What uh... what happened to her?"

Now the Harpy was flat out glaring at her, like a proper glare. "She was stolen. By your mate," she growled and now Kelly was just confused, because she did not have a mate. "The undead mayor will trade her for you."

Wait a second. Franklin? That thing thought she was with... Franklin?!

"Who, hold on, no. You've got the wrong idea here. Franklin and I... we're not... he's not... I'm not his mate," she said. "Seriously. He hates me and I don't like him much either for that matter. He's not... he's not going to trade me for anything."

The Harpy's face remained unchanged. Like she didn't believe her.

"He follows and protects you. He will come for you."

Kelly tried to bite back her groan but she couldn't stop her hand from flatting against her lips to hold it in.

If this Harpy was seriously thinking that the only way to get her daughter back was to ransom her to Franklin she was going to be very disappointed. Franklin wasn't going to trade her for anything, he didn't care about her.

She had to figure out a way to keep herself alive, she had to figure out a way to get out of here. Because she couldn't rely on him.

"Why uh... why did Franklin steal your daughter?" she asked. "And where is he keeping her? Cause I know I'm new, but I feel like I would have noticed someone who looks like you."

The Harpy shifted on it's feet. "She was stolen to make me bend to their terms." Okay, she wasn't sure what that meant. "She was taken as a hatchling. She'd be the same age as yours."

Oh! So it was a kid? He had kidnapped a little kid? Jesus Christ, Franklin really was a monster.

"Oh my god, that's awful!" she cried. "That is so like him. Did you know that he threw me the first time I really met me? Knocked me about his office too. Wow, he really shouldn't be allowed to get away with treating people that way. What terms did he want you to agree to?"

The Harpy narrowed its eyes at her again. "Why do you care? Your kind cares nothing for me!"

"That's not true. I'm not like the others in that village. I got tricked into coming here, and I'm stuck, against my will. And I... I know it's hard to believe but I know what it feels like to lose someone one, to worry that someone is going to take someone I care about away. And... uhm... honestly... Franklin's not coming for me, he really isn't, so maybe... maybe you and I could figure out some sort of deal?"

"A deal?"

"Yeah, like... like maybe I can help you break your daughter out. Do you know where Franklin is keeping her?"

"With the other children," it told her. "In the children's building. Some are only there for a few hours of the day... she stays there all the time."

The school. It was Mother Hubbard's daycare. They were holding her in Mother Hubbard's Day care.

"Right, okay, well Sammy goes to school there, maybe they're friends? Maybe I could sneak her out and get her to you? I mean, I'd need to make more of a plan but I can't do that from here."

The Harpy stared at her hard. "You... want to help me?"

"Well... yeah."

"Why?"

"I just told you why. I know how you feel and I don't like Franklin."

The Harpy just hmmed at her. Clearly it didn't believe her and that was problematic. Maybe she just had to change the topic, they'd come back to this.

Her eyes fell to the necklace around her neck. It literally just looked like rat bones. Little tiny pieces of prey with a bird skull as an ornamental piece, all strung together with twine.

Why the hell was it sparkling pink like that then?

"Uhmmm... what is your necklace made out of?"

Now that seemed to confuse the Harpy but she glanced down to her neck and then to her. "Bones."

A nice curt response, clearly unsure why this matter.

"Like... magic bones? From like... another mythical creature?"

The Harpy blinked her eyes slowly. "No..."

"Oh... are you sure?"

"Why does this matter?"

"Well, it's just that they're sparkling and since magic things sparkle I thought that maybe..."

"You can see magic?" it suddenly asked and Kelly nodded. "No wonder he chose you as his mate."

That time Kelly couldn't bite back her frustrated groan. "I'm serious. I am not his mate. He literally just screamed in my face and kicked me out of his office. He doesn't want me as a mate, he's not coming to save me, but I promise, I promise if you take me back, I'll figure out a way to get your daughter back to you..."

"You think I'll be stupid enough to trust the likes of you?" it snarled.

"No! I don't think you're stupid. But I'm not lying. Franklin doesn't like me! I know you want your daughter back but this is not the way. Cause he doesn't care about me! Not enough to trade anything for me, let alone your daughter! I mean think about it? Don't you think if he cared he would have come by now?"

Yeah because they had to be talking for at least an hour at this point and he still wasn't there. The Harpy seemed to take this in and then deflated.

"But I'm not lying about wanting to help you," she said softly, taking a step forward. "I want to help you get your hatchling back. Ad if I can, I totally will. But you have to take me back, cause I can't help from here."

The Harpy regarded with her cold eyes, she had begun to shift from one clawed foot to the other. It was clear she was starting to realize that Franklin wasn't coming, and that her best bet was to trust Kelly. Or at least, it was her only option at this point.

"Alright," it said after a moment's pause. "We will try things your way. But if they don't work, I'm going to take you back and he can collect your pieces."

Oh Jesus. She better not fail then.

"Fair," she said breathlessly and the Harpy took to the air again. That time, Kelly held her arms out so it could get a better grip of her. She winced, she go a bit of a pinch from the claws but she knew it wasn't doing it on purpose.

It lifted her into the air and up and out of that crevice with no problem. Kelly felt her stomach drop at the sight of the trees far beneath her feet. She had always been afraid of heights, had always hated rollercoasters. God forbid she drop, she'd probably have a heart attack.

"Where... where are you going to drop me?"

"On the road," the Harpy called down to her and she nodded.

"You're gonna put me down gently, right?"

"I'm going to try."

Great. So getting returned might kill her. Wonderful, wasn't that just her luck? Okay, maybe it wouldn't kill her but it might really hurt her. Who cares, so long as she ended up back in town.

And then there was the gunshot.

This ear-splitting bang that echoed through the air, shattering the silence between them. The Harpy let out a deafening screech, flapping wildly to take them back.

"What the hell was that?!" Kelly screamed. "Who the hell is shooting?"

"Your mate!" The Harpy called back to her. "He's coming for you!"

"He is not my mate!" Kelly screamed to her and another shot rang out. "Franklin! Stop it!"

There was one last bang, this one must have hit it's mark. Because the Harpy screeched, lost it's hold on Kelly, and promptly dropped her. Kelly tumbled out of the sky and towards the trees below, screaming the name of the man who caused all this.