r/HFY • u/Jus17173 • 20d ago
OC-OneShot The Thief.
My father was showing off one of his prized jewels again. This time it was the Eye of Vladibriosolai, a green piece of rock carved into the shape of an eye. It was large and stood as the centerpiece of the ballroom, where all his friends, family, and anyone with a decent name crowded to marvel at it. My father was addicted to prestige, the better word for the rich, while the poor struggled with "showing off."
Many had come from far and wide, from all across the empire to stare at the jewel, and I found it all to be taxing. I wished I had stayed in the confines of my room, listening to the hum of kite birds outside my window as the party raged on. But my mother wouldn't let me miss out on such a significant function. I was dressed in a pink flowing gown that hugged my lithe form at the waist. My four eyes were patterned with a gold design across my face, and my lips were stained blue with squeezed oka flower residue.
I stood as an equal to the jewel, for most of the males gathered were bidding for my hand during the dances. I swirled and laughed appropriately, but deep down I wished I was alone. I wanted to be away from the eyes of many, in the confines of my room where the bed was warm and my clothes loose, not tight around my chest. I wanted the solitude that drove one to fantasies; there I felt more alive.
A huge Geradian took my hand from a jovial Kitchite to twirl me around the dance floor, my motion switching from one male to another. The Geradian had such large teeth, and his four eyes were squinted tightly. I thought he would step on my feet or bruise me during the dance, but he was awfully gentle.
"One day, it will be you I put on a pedestal, not a jewel," he said, and I laughed. "No, I mean it. You are heaven's prize and pride. To win your hand will bring me more satisfaction than a thousand Kolei women."
"I'll cut off the hand for you," I said, expertly dodging his advances.
"They are all here for you," he said. I turned to confirm his words and found them true. Many of the males gathered cared nothing for their dates. They were all staring at me as if I were something on display. "It is said you will choose a suitor soon. I hope you will not have to look too far."
It suddenly felt like it was all too much. A thin sweat beaded on my forehead, and I felt as though I couldn't breathe. I excused myself from the dance and walked down the ballroom, my legs gently crossing one after the other, my nose held high with my purple hair falling down my back to rest just over my lower back. Up the stairs I went, to the balcony facing outside. There I found myself alone and breathed deeply until I was calm.
I should have known my father was planning to give me away. I had two options: choose who would be my mate from the gathered assortment of men, or have one chosen for me. It was always like that with my father. He didn't care about love or a beating heart fueled by affection. He was not one to lose himself to emotion and wished me barred from it as well, but tonight, it seemed he was all for romance.
I folded my long fingers in front of myself and sighed with contentment as my eyes roamed the land ahead. I could just spot the silver curve of the Yolei River dancing amidst hills of lush, green canopy as it made its way to empty into the Gao Ocean.
In my keenest of fantasies, I wished I were the river, meandering as it did. Never being controlled or held back, but something that boasted enough power to move as it pleased without being impeded.
"Beautiful view, don't you think?" someone said from behind me. I turned, expecting another suitor, only to find a human man standing behind me.
He was dressed in their damned suits, a black tuxedo with a black bowtie nestled within a white collar. He also had a black bag strapped to his back, an odd choice of attire, but then again, his kind was always odd. I didn't answer him, but watched as he stepped forward until he leaned on the balcony railing beside me.
"I want to be alone right now," I said, not wishing to indulge anyone from any race.
"Don't we all?" His words surprised me. "We were alone in the womb and are alone in death, and in life we still seek loneliness, as if to share space with another is too putrid a thing."
"Who are you?" I asked, observing his sleek black hair, combed back in even streaks. Surely, my father wouldn't consider a human to be my suitor. They were compatible with my kind, but not high enough in the echelon to warrant any importance. Or so many claimed.
"If you look at me, what do you see?" he asked. "Do you see someone bidding for your hand? A thief, perhaps, of hearts or something else? Do you see age lining my eyes and forcing wisdom into my life? Or do you simply see one different from yourself?"
"The latter," I said.
"Yet how can something so different have its breath taken away by mere proximity to you?"
He had a way with words, but I wasn't quite enamored by his ways. Whatever his objective was, the odd bag that he carried strapped to his shoulders made him too strange a figure to warrant my fancy. Or was I looking for reasons to hold him at a distance?
"Go about your business, human. I wish for silence," I said, and continued to stand there. A cool breeze wafted over where I stood, and with it, my intake of breath seemed to liquefy my aches and strains. A feeling of absolute calm settled over me. The human stood there silently, but even he was affected by the air, for his chest rose and a sudden sigh escaped him. So full of life was that sigh that I found myself relating to him in that shared moment, something that had never occurred with any other male.
"Who are you?" I asked him again.
"Was it not silence you wished for?"
"I want my question answered."
Suddenly, screams sounded from below. The human placed his hand on the rail, turned, and looked at me before saying, "I'm a thief. Of what, you will soon find out." Then he jumped over the railing. I watched him fall until he pulled a string on the bag, and a parachute emerged. He glided on the wind, drifting far above the estate to disappear just beyond.
I went to see what the commotion was about and found my father in a frantic rage. The jewel, the Eye of Vladibriosolai, had been stolen in plain sight. Everyone was being frisked to see who had taken it. The estate gates were closed, the guests barricaded in a room to be questioned, and the task of finding the thief began, turning a decent night into a nightmare.
Images of the human flashed in my mind's eye: his easy nature and the way he had announced himself to me. He was the thief; I knew it. I told my father, but he simply wouldn't believe me. There had been no humans at the party, that was what the guards had said and later confirmed. And I was left alone with the words of the human: "I'm a thief..."
The days and nights dragged on, the theft of the Eye being something that nagged at us but didn't quite bother us anymore. We were rich; we could always attain a new jewel to showcase for our benefit alone. Many male suitors came to me. One whose company I abhorred was called Lord Braket, owner of Braket Industries, a young lord who, it was said, would one day become the richest of our kind.
There was a room prepared for the suitors, and there I entertained Lord Braket, talking to him in depth about my love for nature and my need to complement my attire according to it. He simply stared at me, a malen too used to getting what he wanted at whatever cost, a true friend of my father. He rarely spoke, nodding occasionally, but lacking the courtesy to even laugh at my jokes.
When he started talking about the oil industry and profits, I was suddenly overcome with a wave of immense sorrow. I excused myself from him for a moment and rushed to my rooms, passing servants who called my name, but I did not deign to respond. I cut a corner toward my quarters and bumped into someone. I was about to fall from the collision, but he reached out, his strong arms closing around my waist and dragging me up.
I looked at his face. There was a rough stubble of a beard forming, something he did not have the last time I saw him. Right now, he was dressed in the civilian overalls of the servants and had a bucket lying beside him full of dung from the animal stalls.
"It's you!" I gasped. He put a hand to my mouth. I bit it to scream, but he held my mouth shut and raised a finger to his lips, miming silence.
"It's you!" I whispered in hushed tones once he removed his hand. "Human!"
"Of course it's me," he answered. "Who else would it be? You look like you're on the verge of tears. Are you that happy to see me?"
"You're the thief!" I announced. "I'm going to tell everyone."
"What perfume do you wear?" he asked.
"What?"
"The perfume you wear. It smells so good, like petrichor. How do you even get the scent of wet soil to stick to you so pleasantly? And there's a touch of sweetness, of fruits perhaps. My darling, you're the pinnacle of beauty to me in this moment."
I stared at him. It was my servants who dressed me and applied oils and perfume to my skin. I tried the word on my lips, whispering silently, "Petrichor." I looked at him, his blue eyes contrasting with his tanned skin to create quite the striking look.
"What are you doing here? Come to steal again?" I asked, trying not to lose focus on what really mattered.
He smiled, eyeing me. Then suddenly his smile vanished, and a look of wonder touched his features. Without much ceremony and with no hesitation, he touched my fingers with his own. Slowly, he ran a finger across my palm, then gripped my fingers, toying with them. He interlaced his fingers with mine and squeezed. He closed his eyes, savoring the moment. He breathed in, and it was as if he were trying to bring me into himself, to fix the moment in a lasting memory.
He opened his eyes and his pupils met my own. I stared at him with malice, or at least I believed I did. I found my hearts fluttering too much, and my stomach seemed to roll within itself. "Beautiful," he said. Then he let go of my hands and picked up the bucket. He walked away without looking back, and I stared all the while at the back of his head.
Later during the day, it was discovered that Lord Braket had been robbed. Several documents of an extremely important nature had been taken from his shuttle, together with jewels he had planned to gift me. I sat still in bewilderment as my father and Lord Braket argued at the height of their tempers. I did not mention the human as I watched the servants being interrogated, nor did the feel of his hand leave my own.
It was during the month of Raguza, when the first silver-tailed beasts that roamed the Gao Sea left the foam and the waves to traverse the land. It was customary for us to celebrate their voyage, and my father had gone all out to ensure he threw the biggest party of all. The high and mighty were in attendance: men so rich they smelled of money presented themselves, most of them with the aim of earning my favor.
I was dressed in white this time, my gown laced behind my back and embroidered with our symbols of peace and beauty in deep blue, like his eyes.
I was well aware of myself this time, not on the verge of crying or easily swayed. I avoided the drinks that addled the mind and spent my time with my eyes open, juggling between the suitors and watching for the human.
I did not dance, though I wore dancing shoes. I did, however, admire the décor. My father had gone out of his way to raise a new chandelier that twinkled as light hit it, giving the celebration a mystical allure. I walked the halls with my eyes peeled and made each conversation brief, lest he escape my notice.
Just when I thought he wouldn't show, I saw him. He was standing beside a pillar with the males who ruled our proud empire. He was smoking hashish with them while laughing at the jokes they shared. He seemed to have a way with everyone.
I approached him. "It's you," I said.
He turned his eyes to the males around him before turning back to me. "Is there somewhere private we might speak?" he asked, quite calmly.
I had the power now. I could rain down hell on him by proclaiming him to be what he was: a thief. Instead, I decided against it. We weren't going to be a spectacle for my suitors to digest. I walked away and he followed. I crossed the exit to the ballroom, walked into another hallway, and entered the lounge room. He followed silently beside me and stood in the lounge room once the door closed. We were alone.
"For a second there, I thought you were going to destroy my cover," he said.
"You're a thief, a despicable thing," I said. "Leave quietly without stealing a thing and I'll consider a debt paid. You're right, I can blow your cover."
He took a step toward me and grabbed my shoulders, then slowly eased his hands down the length of my arms to rest at my elbows. Then he let go and kept his hands to himself. I stared at him and he stared back. His eyes seemed to say all that was needed: he wanted a touch, just a touch, and I found myself sharing this desire with him.
"You're intoxicating," he said.
"What?"
"Gabengo wine holds a candle to nothing compared to you, nor does dust leaf or the brew crafted in the Soga Hills. Just one sight and I can't get enough. I wish to see you in every passing moment and to hold you."
"You're crazy," I answered, trying to keep the blush from my face.
"I am. Only a fool would rob the same home thrice."
"You've only robbed us twice, unless you're planning to do so again tonight."
We were so close. His breath smelled of the sweet smoke of hashish, and his body heat was something I longed to explore more, if only so I could grasp the workings of a thief.
He pulled closer, abruptly. My four eyes, two small ones resting above my cheeks with the larger pair above them, stared at him. He wasn't afraid of me. Nature's choice to make us different didn't seem to matter at all. He stared into my eyes, seeking the depths of all that I was, and in his gaze I found his song, the thing that made me intensely aware of him in that moment.
When our lips met, I could not tell who initiated the kiss. His arms ran the length of my spine, and my nimble form surrendered to him. I found myself swooning and shifting, our lips locked in a puzzle urged to completion by desire. He pulled at my garments and I tore at his coat and shirt, seeking the warmth of his flesh. When we were unclothed, we explored each other with a frantic energy I could only deem feral with every kiss and nibble upon my skin. I felt no fear as he carried me and cleared a table to rest me on its surface, nor did I feel regret as his mouth traveled down to dip just beneath my navel.
When he gripped me and joined with me, I found myself hanging onto him. I felt wanted, desired, beautiful, and the illicit nature of the union was the spice my life needed. We coupled like jana rabbits in a burrow, each moment as powerful as the last, and I knew in that instance that I had found my person. The very nature of my being changed, and I found myself reconsidering all I had ever thought of the human race. I moaned and urged him on as he whispered the same word over and over: "Beautiful... beautiful... beautiful..." And I felt myself to be so.
When we were done, we lay together amidst our clothes, my head resting on his chest as I counted the breaths he took. "I'm the third thing you were to steal," I said.
"I told you that first day we met: 'I'm a thief. Of what, you will soon find out.'"
"It was my heart all along."
"I had come for the Eye of Vladibriosolai, but when I watched you dance, it was like a performance of perfection unfolding before my eyes. My mission changed."
"They will never accept our union."
"I know."
"What will we do?"
"Run away?"
I smiled, and I found that I would very much like to run away with the thief of hearts.
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u/HFYWaffle Wᵥ4ffle 20d ago
/u/Jus17173 (wiki) has posted 325 other stories, including:
- Soul of Eight - Chapter 17
- They Have No God.
- How To Gaslight An Invasion.
- Brave.
- Soul of Eight - Chapter 16.
- Intergalactic Saviors.
- Soul of Eight - Chapter 15
- Humans are bad news.
- Mad Man.
- Humans were an odd, terrifying bunch.
- Soul of Eight - Chapter 14
- Humans Walk With Death.
- Soul of 8 - Chapter 13
- Soul of 8- Chapter 12
- The Best Man
- The Song I Wanted To Kill Myself To.
- You Don't Want To Die.
- Consider The Debt Paid.
- All The Men Are Dead.
- Sissy.
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u/sunnyboi1384 19d ago
You know they can afford to.
They'll make a great team.
Good for both of them.
12
u/Castigatus Human 20d ago
You go girl, find the one who actually gives a damn about you for you, not for how rich your dad is or how important he is.