Wow, guys, I am so sorry for taking so long in updating. Life has been crazy and writer's block is such a b**** I tell you. DX Anyways, I hope you enjoy and thank you all so much for your wonderful comments and critique! It's very very much appreciated and encouraged!

Chapter 4: Second Thoughts

"It's going to get a little steep and quite dark down this way, my dear," Ratigan said as he led her to a dark passageway to which he had opened a door to behind his throne. "So I would stick close to me if I were you."

"All right," she said, taking hold of Ratigan's arm and tightening the straps of her violin case to her back. She was about to step inside when Ratigan suddenly stopped her.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Ratigan laughed, pressing his fingertips to his head in amusement. "Fidget!" he called. In a moment, a small crippled bat with a wooden peg leg appeared, his bright, devious yellow eyes looking up at the two rats. Cimarron inwardly cringed at the rogue bat, but nevertheless she still smiled politely as ever, though she did take a few small steps back. She couldn't help it; there was something about that bat that put her on a bit of an edge.

"Yes, Boss?" he asked, his voice hoarse and cackling.

"The blindfold, if you please," he said, holding out his white gloved paw.

"You got it, Boss!" the bat called Fidget replied, pulling out a long handkerchief from his pocket in his wing. Cimarron eyed the cloth with a raised eyebrow.

"A blindfold? Why would you—" Cimarron started to ask, but her eyes widened as the answer clicked.

"Wait…you want to blindfold me? Whatever for?"

Ratigan gave a quirk of his brow, looking at her as if it was the most obvious thing in the world."Well, my dear, we can't have you revealing the way to my lair to the Scotland Yard, can we?" Ratigan said as he took the blindfold from Fidget and carefully folded it lengthwise before stepping closer to her.

It was then second thoughts and fear came swooping in on her mind. Wait a minute…What. On. EARTH am I doing? Her mind screamed at her as she stepped away from the professor. I am about to walk down into dark hall surrounded by some of the roughest thugs in London, including the infamous Napoleon of Crime who is supposed to be DEAD, going to his lair to that's who knows where, and he wants to blindfold me so I may never tell where his other hideout is and probably never find my way back! Hell, this is THE Professor Ratigan we're talking about here, he probably wants to KIDNAP me, not give me a place to stay!

Even with all these thoughts racing through her mind, she kept a small smile on her face as she stepped away from him. If she kept up her polite façade long enough, she could probably escape. "On second thought, Professor, I really do appreciate your offer for me to stay at your place, but I think it is really no problem for me to go camp somewhere else," she said.

Ratigan tilted his head, a small smile on his face. Try as she might to hide her feelings, he could read faces really well and he could see all those questions flitting across her nervous eyes. Nevertheless, he pretended not to notice and played along."Oh? Leaving so soon? But I thought you wanted to have a more comfortable place to spend the night and possibly have more time with me. Did you not enjoy our lovely little dance and musical number?"

"Oh, of course I did," she assured him, which, she had to admit, was the truth. Ratigan was truly a wonderful dancer, not to mention a brilliant harpist, and she really did have a good time talking and dancing with him. But that did not mean he could have put on all that for show just to seduce her and put her off her guard so he could capture her when she least suspected it. She inwardly cursed her weakness for romantic charm and fantasies and promised herself to get a reign on it if she ever got out of this alive.

"Then why the rush to leave?" Ratigan asked, a smirk on his face. "Surely you're not nervous?"

Cimarron shook her head, almost too quickly for a lie. "Oh, no, it's not that. It's just…I don't think I might be used to such luxurious living quarters," she thought up quickly. "I mean, I am quite used to living the life of travel where it can get rough at times."

"Surely one night would do no harm?" he asked, hiding his amusement of her stalling.

"You'd be surprised," she said, shrugging, taking another step back. "Can't help it, really. We gypsies don't do well inside stone walls. We are free spirits, and for some, even one night can cause a little cabin fever, since we are always for adventure, you know?" Getting a tighter hold on her violin case, she stepped a little more away from him. "So…yes. I do appreciate your offer, Professor, and I did have a lovely time with you. But I think I better head out now. Perhaps we can catch up another time." She turned around, but found herself blocked by some of Ratigan's thugs who were smirking at her.

"I'm afraid that it wasn't an offer to come with me, my dear," Ratigan said with a devilish grin, gazing at his nails on his gloved paws as he leaned casually against the wall. "It was more of a…demand, shall we say."

Cimarron felt the color drain out of her face as she turned back to face him, her heart pounding, her ears flicking back with nervousness. "W-what do you mean?"

Ratigan chuckled deviously, shrugging off the wall and moving towards her. "You see, Miss Starbright, I too enjoyed our short but perfectly marvelous time together, and believe me, it has been such a dreadful long time since I had the pleasure of the company of a lovely young woman like you. But though you do seem like a dependable girl, I've only just met you. And I doubt whether or not I can trust you yet." He tapped his gloved fingertips together as he continued to explain, looking more sinister than he already did. "You see, my dear, besides you, no one outside my faithful servants knows that I still live. And I plan to make a big…surprise party out of it, if you will." He came closer to her, almost stalking her, with a predatory grin on his face as he gazed down at his trembling prey. "And I must be sure there is no one to spoil the surprise, or else the fun is ruined for everyone."

Cimarron's heart pounded harder as she backed away from him more, her eyes widening, her fears confirmed. "You…you're g-going to kidnap me?" she gasped.

Ratigan smiled deviously, clucking his tongue. "Tsk, tsk. I would hardly call it 'kidnapping', my dear," he said. "Think of it as a…compromised change in your plans, if you will, at least for the time being. Just until I know I can trust you not to reveal my whereabouts."

Cimarron was now panicking and her heart was racing. She should have known he was up to no good! Quickly, she whipped out two of her throwing knives, glaring at him.

"S-stay away from me!" she said. She was shaking, but she stood firm, her ears pinned back and her eyes locked on the rat standing before her, poised and ready to fight. Ratigan raised his eyebrow, wary of her weapons, but still pleasantly smiling.

"Now, now, my dear, there's no need for such hostility," he said. "I gave you my word as a gentleman that I mean you no harm, and I intend to keep it."

"No matter how you say it, no matter if you hurt me or not, Ratigan, it's still forcing me against my will, and I refuse to be taken!" she growled, backing away from him and keeping her eyes on his thugs as well. "If you let me go, I promise I will never reveal to a soul where you are hiding. But you better back off before I turn you into a living pincushion!"

Ratigan's smile slipped a little, his expression turning into more of a leering smirk than a smile. "Such a brave woman," he purred. "But this doesn't have to get any messier than it has to be. If you come quietly—"

"NOT going to happen!" she yelled, suddenly throwing a punch at the nearest henchman blocking her path, sending him flying back. Using her small throwing knives in the pouch on her hip, she threw them at another thug, pinning him to the wall by his shirt. Seeing another thug lunge for her, she quickly dove out of the way and kicked him out from under his feet and kicked him in the gut, causing him to cry out and hold his stomach, curling up on the ground. She was just about to toss another throwing knife at another thug when she felt a powerful grip on her wrist, making her cry out and turn around. Ratigan had grabbed her by the arm, forcing her to let go of the knife in her hand.

"Miss Starbright," he said, his eyes narrowing at her. "I would suggest you stop before you get hur—AARGH!" He cried out when Cimarron bit his paw, hard, forcing him to let her wrist go. Yowling in pain, he clutched his hand, his eyes flashing angrily at her. "Why you little-!"

Cimarron didn't wait around for him to finish his sentence. Clutching her case to her back, she sprinted as fast as she could, her bangles on her wrists and feet jingling madly in her retreat. She was almost there to the exit when suddenly she tripped on the long red carpet, crashing to the floor and banging her head hard on the marble tile. White flashed before her eyes at the same time stars exploded, causing her brain to reel with pain. As she began to slip out of consciousness, she saw shaky shadows of the henchmen surrounding her and the tall shadow of the Napoleon of Crime, his sinister yellow eyes gazing down at her.

"Ouch, that was quite the fall. She's going to have a massive headache when she wakes…But my, she's a brave woman…she will make a very entertaining guest in my home…" was the last thing she heard the Professor say before she heard him chuckle wickedly. Then, her world went black.

Oh dear...things have just went from romantic and charming to scary and I'm-outta-here for our heroine! So what's in store her now? Stay tuned to find out! Comments and critique appreciated!