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bvidzsoo · 3 years

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Playing with fire

Author: bvidzsoo

Warnings: mentions of sexual situations, light violence, sexual assault mentions

Pairing: Wen Junhui x female reader

Word count: 14, 360

Summary: You are on your own in a man-ruled world. Whatever you do, whatever you say, just make sure it doesn’t piss them off. And you feel alone, you never experienced any parental love let alone a partner. But things change for the better when five mysterious men show up in town, but maybe they aren’t who everyone thinks they are? After all, five bandits are on the loose for robbing numerous places.

A/N: Hello, hello lovelies! Welcome back to a wild-west themed oneshot! This story was totally inspired by Baekhyun’s Bambi MV and well, I couldn’t help myself! There’s nothing very graphic in the story, just wanted to point that out. There might be a few things that couldn’t have happened in that era, but this is fiction, so please turn a blind eye to it. I hope the jump between the timelines won’t be confusing as I tried out something new! Hope you like it and your feedback is always appreciated! Enjoy now.

Present time

My teeth clattered against each other involuntarily. Mainly it was due to the chill air that surrounded me, but fear also played along. I’ve never been inside a prison cell before, but I guess the time comes for everything. My robes were covered in dirt and torn in various places due to the events that took place not even an hour ago. Many people would regret getting involved into something like this, but I wasn’t. I knew my inevitable death was approaching, but I couldn’t feel sorry for finally having chosen to live a bit. Do something that I wanted to do without being forced into doing it. My eyes got used to the darkness surrounding this underground place, but I couldn’t help squint when footsteps echoed around in the far end. The silhouette was tall and wore dark clothes as his feet dragged along the cold tiles, menacingly approaching me.

Two weeks ago

My fingers were covered in wrinkles from the excessive scrubbing I had to do with a wet rug. Mornings were always a little bit rough, having to clean up the mess the customers left at night was bothersome at first, but then it became bearable. It brought money; I couldn’t complain too much. I worked at an Inn, because quite frankly, this was the best I could do. We lived in a man ruled world, where the woman was created to please him left and right, with no right to an opinion. You just bow your head and go on with your life, acting like a house rat. Squeak once too loudly and tomorrow you won’t be breathing anymore. It was unfair, how little respect women were offered, after all, these dirty bastards wouldn’t be here if we didn’t give birth to them. But as a woman, you weren’t supposed to think about such things…actually, you weren’t really supposed to think at all. Just entertain blindly, do the house chores, feed the hungry, make dozens of children and please your husband…or any man, really. I learned it the hard way, after multiple beatings when I dared to speak back to a man, I learned my place.

My family was poorer than the already poor ones, no one really raised me, I just grew up and learned by myself how things worked in this world. When I turned fifteen, I realized if I wanted to live a longer life, I would have to earn my own money as my parents provided none for me. I ran away from my hometown, which was two hours away in the middle of the hot desert from the current town I was living in, and settled down here. This town was bigger and paid better, after all, the second headquarter of the National Bank was here. All types of people came and went, yet the locals knew everyone and paid close attention to the newcomers. They were wary, especially ever since a gang of five bandits started robbing banks all around the South. No one knew what they looked like; however, they were able to find out their leader’s name could be Kwan. All sheriffs were looking for this bandit group, so far, they weren’t very successful.

The door opened and the bell chimed atrociously loudly, ringing through the quiet Inn. It was nine in the morning, no one bothered to come in, unless they stayed at the lodge upstairs or forgot to go home last night. I was at the bar, wiping the glasses dry with a yellow towel, when the customer approached me. I glanced up to see a very handsome, young, man standing and looking around. His lips were full and his hair fell neatly onto his forehead. He wore clean clothes, even smelt good, and I straightened my posture, totally forgetting about the rags I was wearing.

“Well…why don’t you sit down, young sir?” I let my voice take a soft tone, dare I say, seductive as the man turned his gaze onto me. He hummed and took a seat on the stool, leaning his hands against the bar.

“Good morning.” His voice was warm and my lips pulled into a big smile. Handsome and well mannered? Was this my lucky day?

“Good morning,” I bat my eyelashes at him timidly, hoping he’d find it attractive, “Would you like to have anything specific?”

“Well…” His eyebrows furrowed as his eyes fell on the shelves behind me, “Do you have something that’s not alcohol?”

I chuckled, leaning against the bar, “Sir, with all due respect, does it look like you walked into a Caffe? This is an Inn…”

“Ah,” He muttered, smiling at me embarrassed, “I must have missed the street…”

“It happens to new people in town.” I muttered, placing a clean glass in front of the stranger.

“You know I’m new in town?” The man’s eyebrows rose and I laughed, head falling a bit backwards. I grabbed the chamomile tea I prepared an hour ago for myself and poured half of it into the glass.

“Sweetheart,” I licked my lips, taking a gulp of the tea that remained in the tall bottle I was holding, “Only two types of people dressed like that come in here. The rich boys looking for a fun night from the north side of the town or the tourists who happen to be passing through the town.”

The man eyed the content of the glass I just poured tea into and then looked back at me, “The name’s Joshua. What did you pour for me?”

“Chamomile tea,” I said with a sigh, finding his name unusual, “You are lucky I woke up a little stressed today. Chamomile tea has the ability to calm your nerves a bit, you know?”

“I did not know.” Joshua muttered and raised his glass to take a sip of the tea, “And it’s not even bad.”

“Of course, it’s not bad!” I exclaimed with a laugh, “I made it.”

“And you must have a name?” Joshua’s eyebrows rose and I glanced around, making sure no one was listening to our conversation. I didn’t use my real name at the Inn.

“It’s Y/N.” I muttered lowly and Joshua hummed, looking around.

“It seems to be deserted here…”

“Sweetheart,” I laughed again, truly amazed by how naïve this man seemed to be, “Inn’s are only full at night, people don’t come here at day, only if they are drunk already.”

“That’s a pity,” Joshua’s lips pulled into a grin, and I returned it as it was contagious, “They are missing out on some luscious chamomile tea.”

I laughed loudly as the bell chimed again, signaling a new client. It wasn’t a client this time, it was Little James, the boy who delivered the newspaper.

“Newspaper!” He hollered loudly as if the place was noisy, throwing down a stack of newspaper at the entrance.

“Bring one here, Little James!” I beckoned the boy, “And stop shouting, everyone can hear you crystal clear if you speak at a normal volume.”

Little James ran up to me with a pout, holding a newspaper to his chest, “But Big James told me to shout while I distribute these.”

“Big James probably forgot to tell you that you only need to shout at the market.” I ruffled the boy’s blonde hair, taking the newspaper from him. I glanced at Joshua, he was staring down at his tea, so I swiftly grabbed a little sack of cookies from the counter and gave it to Little James. He stuffed it into his pocket and offered me a wide grin.

“Miss Katie, you are the best!” He exclaimed as he ran off, leaving the door of the Inn open behind him. I didn’t mind, the fresh air of the morning was welcome.

“Miss Katie?” Joshua’s eyebrows rose as I sat in the chair by the sink, a few steps away from where I was just standing.

“That would be me.” I hummed as I unfolded the newspaper, checking the first page as the hot news were there.

“I thought your name—”

“People know me as Katie here, I don’t use my real name.” I explained absentmindedly as my eyes ran over the words. A big WANTED sign and underneath five black figures with question marks on their faces, coated most part of the first page. There was a new robbery, but at a pawnshop this time, just two hours away from this town. My hometown. Jewelry and money were taken, quite at a high value, and sheriffs were desperately asking people to keep their eyes and ears open, to help capture these bandits. They also made an estimated map of where these five men were headed, and this town was next. I huffed as I browsed through the other news, eyes falling on Joshua when I heard rustling of paper. He was also reading a newspaper, left leg crossed over the right as a subtle, smug, smile slipped onto his lips. I narrowed my eyes at him as I folded my newspaper, leaning forward to rest my elbows onto my knees.

“Found anything you like?” I spoke up, making Joshua jump. He peeked at me through his eyelashes as he cleared his throat, then evened his expression.

“Not really…just the usual news about these five bandits stealing some more.” I couldn’t help but notice the smug tone of his voice as he spoke, controlling his expressions this time.

“Yeah…they’ve been causing quite the chaos for these past three months, haven’t they?” Joshua hummed in agreement as he flipped through the newspaper elegantly, as if he was afraid, he’d rip the paper.

“Well…word says they are headed here.” I raised my eyebrows at Joshua and he mirrored my actions, “You should be careful when you speak to a stranger again.”

“I’ll keep that in mind next time your friends come around.” I winked at Joshua as he stood from his seat.

His eyes narrowed just the slightest bit as he searched his pockets, “Who said I’m traveling with friends?”

“A man like you wouldn’t be traveling alone.” I just shrugged and dryly gulped when I saw the amount of money, he threw on the table. He folded the newspaper and tucked it underneath his armpit; I stood to grab some change to hand back.

“I’ll take this with myself.” He referred to the newspaper as he bowed his head a little and I nodded, crouching down to count the money I needed to hand back.

“Sweetheart, here’s your—” I stood alone in the Inn, behind the bar, as Joshua disappeared, door closed now. I stared down at the change in my hands, then at the money on the table. Without a second thought, I grabbed it before my greasy boss could see it, and tucked it carefully into the top of my corset. This money will last me for a week at least.

The next day, another two strangers walked in. It wasn’t in the morning this time, but almost lunch time. I was actually getting ready to place out my cold rice onto the counter to eat, when the doorbell chimed. With a heavy sigh, I ignored the churning of my belly, and tried to smile. Unlike Joshua yesterday, who blatantly approached me, these two men sat at a table close by the exit. One was shorter and his eyes seemed to be narrowed as he glanced at the few people already inside the Inn, and the other one was a little bit taller as he stood with his hip jutting to the right a little bit. The shorter one must have felt my eyes on them because he turned around and glared at me. He was intimidating and as I was about to look away, but he raised his arm and called me over. I dusted my hands off on some rug from the counter as I walked around it to approach their table. They both took a seat and watched me as I stopped a few feet away.

“Welcome to our Inn,” I greeted politely, using the same tone I used on Joshua yesterday, “Anything you’d like?”

“What’s your best drink?” The taller one asked and I glanced back at the bar, to see if we still had Bourbon.

“It would be the Bourbon, young sir.” My answer made the man laugh, as the other one smirked amused.

“That’s a horrible way to call me, don’t you think?” He raised his eyebrows and I shrugged my shoulder; I called everyone like that.

“It’s Seungkwan,” He grinned, extending his hand, “I’ll take that Bourbon…”

“Katie,” I shook the man’s extended hand with a small smile, “I’ll bring it over just in a second, and for you…”

The shorter man, who was actually about my height, looked at the bar, “What are you drinking?”

I stared at him surprised before clearing my throat, “Chamomile tea, young—”

“That’s really awkward, my name’s Woozi.” He cut me off before I could finish my sentence, “I’ll drink Chamomile tea.”

I nodded my head and walked to the bar, stopping by a table when they waved me down. The man didn’t have anything to ask for, he just called me over for a snide remark. I remained emotionless as I walked to the bar, ignoring the laughter that followed the table after the man’s words. They were the worst customers, always pissing me off. They were from the north side of the town and only came here to make fun of others and bully them. The man who called me over for nothing, his name was Sehun, and he loved to torment me. I grabbed two glasses and poured Bourbon into one and Chamomile into the other after I placed them on a tray. I held the tray with both hands and walked to the table of the strangers, making sure to avoid walking by Sehun’s table as it wouldn’t be the first time, he’d try tripping me while I was carrying something.

“Here,” I whispered as I placed the glass of Bourbon in front of Seungkwan, and the glass of Chamomile tea in front of Woozi. I held the tray to my chest and went to walk away when Woozi pointed at the newspaper on the table.

“Didn’t this make the first page yesterday too?” He asked, eyes watching me. I craned my neck to see the same news as yesterday, the one both Joshua and I read together.

“I suppose,” I said with a shrug, standing back straight, “People must be panicking since the sheriffs said the group is headed this town.”

Woozi and Seungkwan chuckled at the same time, sharing a knowing glance, and my eyebrows furrowed. First Joshua, now these two. They weren’t dressed as fancy as Joshua, or Sehun’s group for that matter, but their clothes were clean and their cologne smelt nice. Even if they weren’t from the north side of the town, they definitely had enough money to take care of themselves. There wasn’t a middle class in this town, you were either poor or rich, so they too weren’t from around here.

“Even if they wanted to, they couldn’t possibly stop these boys.” Seungkwan chuckled at Woozi’s words and I raised my eyebrows intrigued.

“Why not?”

“Woozi likes investigating crimes, Katie,” Seungkwan explained, his lips forming into a pout, “He has a lot of knowledge and evidence point out that these bandits are well prepared and hard to catch, they leave no traces.”

“You said Woozi likes to investigate, but seems like you know a lot too, sweetheart.” I smirked at the two men, their lips pulling into amused smiles.

“Well, Woozi is my brother, we share the same interests.” Seungkwan explained and I hummed, widening my eyes. Did they really expect me to believe that lie?

“You don’t look very much alike.”

Woozi hummed then pushed the newspaper away, “We get that a lot.”

I narrowed my eyes at them, but when they looked away, I knew it was my cue to leave. I nodded to myself, turned to leave, but a thought made me halt, “You don’t happen to know Joshua, do you?”

Seungkwan laughed as Woozi glared at me, staying silent as he took a gulp of the tea, “Who is Joshua?”

I shook my head as I started to walk away, “Just a tourist, like you two.”

And these tourists seemed to have a lot of money as they tipped me even better than Joshua did yesterday. It made up for the few dollars Sehun, accidentally as he said, forgot to pay.

The third time more strangers showed up, it was the afternoon and more people populated the Inn this time. When the first man entered, he seemed lost and confused, it almost made me laugh. You could hear the bell chime, but the loud chatter of men and women slowly would grow louder and louder. This stranger seemed like he didn’t know if he wanted to stay or not, so I approached him.

“Good evening, would you like a seat at the table or at the bar?” I asked with a smile, raising my eyebrows when the man remained silent for a few minutes.

“I’m with someone…” He trailed off and I hummed, looking around for an empty table. I found one next to a bigger group of people that were the loudest in the Inn so far, and I led the stranger to it. He thanked me quietly and looked around awkwardly.

“Anything you’d like to have?” I raised my eyebrows and he looked back at me with a grimace.

“Bourbon, and do you have anything to eat?”

“Smashed potatoes and stew, as of now, if you wait longer the cook will return to prepare more dishes.” The stranger hummed and seemed to be thinking for a second.

“No, it’s fine, bring me two portions…please.” I smiled at him and nodded my head, walking to the bar. I prepared the glass of Bourbon and asked Aleksi to prepare two plates of smashed potatoes and stew. When I got back to the table, I placed the two glasses on top of it, and smiled at the man sitting there awkwardly.

“My name is Katie, if you need anything, just call out my name!” The stranger nodded and I left to gather the empty beer bottles from the loud table nearby. I placed them on my tray, there were at least six, and turned to walk back to the bar when my shoe got stuck in a misplaced floorboard and I was sent flying forward. I yelped and got ready to feel the hard floor, but instead I was hauled backwards, bottles clinking together, but none fell. A few eyes fell on us as I let out a deep breath, gaze connecting with Aleksi’s, who was shaking his head with a grimace. I let myself lean into the body that was holding me for a second, glad that I didn’t cause a bigger scene. The frame was taller and leaner than mine, the top of my head reached their shoulders. Big, calloused hands held my waist firmly and I jumped when the man chuckled from behind. I quickly stepped out of their hold and turned to thank them for their help. But when my eyes fell on his face, I was awestruck. I haven’t seen a man as handsome as him before. His nose was long and well defined, his lips plump. His dark eyebrows complimented his face nicely and his sharp eyes felt like they were staring into my soul. He stood there too, watching me, looking just as amazed. It was a weird feeling and I walked away giggling when Aleksi shouted my name. Their food was prepared and I cleared my throat before walking back over, subconsciously pushing the few stray strands that fell out of my braid behind my ear. The first stranger to enter stopped looking so awkward and he was actually smiling now as he conversed with the handsome stranger. When I got close enough to hear what they were saying, I couldn’t understand anything, they were talking in a different language I haven’t heard before.

“Dinner’s ready.” I cursed myself quietly for the breathy voice, but I couldn’t help it when the stranger looked at me so intently.

“I hope you like smashed potatoes and stew.” I said with an innocent smile as I placed the plate in front of the man that caught me from falling. He glanced at the food before looking back at me.

“Anything that you bring I will like.” His voice was light, but it had a deep ring to it, as he spoke. I chuckled, blinking rapidly before biting my lower lip. I knew the charm was working when a smirk crossed his lips and he stared at my lips.

“If you see anything else you’d like to have…” His eyes lit up with mischief, “Call for Katie.”

“I need a few tissues…” The other man muttered with a grimace, very displeased by the exchange happening between his friend and I.

“Anything, you say?” He sharp eyed man raised his eyebrows, ignoring his friend’s remark.

“As long as it’s on the menu…” I said with a chuckle, playing with the tray in my hands.

“Do you not have special treats here?”

“Only on Friday’s.” The stranger bit his lower lip and I smirked, feeling heated all of the sudden.

“If you have a list…put me on it as first,” I giggled and nodded my head, “The name’s Junhui.”

“Junhui.” I repeated after him, the two of us sharing a small smile, “Consider it already done.”

“Great.” He winked before grabbing his fork to eat his dinner, “Oh, and…I think Minghao asked for tissues?”

“Yeah, I did.” Minghao threw Junhui a glance before he offered me a small, uncomfortable, smile.

“Of course, one second!” I grinned at the two foreigners and went to the bar to grab a few tissues for them. I didn’t know who these two were, but I sure hoped they’d stay for a little longer. Were they with Joshua, Woozi, and Seungkwan? It could be possible, but they could be just tourists passing by. It’s not so rare. However, people stopped traveling so often out of fear of getting robbed. We haven’t had tourists in over a month. These five strangers felt…fishy. But what do I know? I’m just a waitress at an Inn.

Present time

I didn’t look up when the figure stopped in front of my prison cell. I knew it was an officer; a very familiar one; and that he would mock me. They couldn’t wait for someone to commit a crime so that they can torture them for it.

“Well, look at that!” The officer’s voice was mocking, like I expected it, “If it isn’t Katie…”

I didn’t react as I continued staring at my feet, trying to hide the shake of my body. It was from the cold, but the officer standing in front of me, made me realize just how real everything that happened was. How my death was closer each second.

“Won’t you look at me?” I didn’t want the officer to enter the cell, so I shook my head. He scoffed and hit something hard against the metal bars, the loud clank made me jump. The officer laughed loudly and I could feel his burning gaze on me.

“I told them all not to trust the little whore you are, now you’ll finally go where you belong to.” I bit my lower lip, palms clenching into fists as I tried to remain silent. If I spoke back, I’d die in a beating and not by getting hung. And quite frankly, I prefer getting hung in the town square. Maybe I’ll make headlines and my parents will see their only child is now dead.

There was a scoff before the officer started walking, his hard footsteps echoing around the place, “See you in hell, officer.”

Two weeks ago, Friday

The Inn was full of people. A local lousy band was playing some music, but the chatter and laughter of men and women was louder. There were no empty tables, some customers even sat on the front porch and enjoyed the party there. The staircase leading up to the lodge was also occupied by drunk men who didn’t find a table. Aleksi and Andrei worked at the bar, while Joy, Maria, Luna, and I rushed around the place, trying to please everyone. Fridays were the most hectic days besides Saturdays, when you couldn’t take even a second long break. It was hard to maneuver around drunk people, especially the dancing women, but thankfully I always found the safest route to the table I had to rush to. That table excluded the one where Sehun and his boys were sitting at, playing some card games and throwing money on the table. They even managed to charm into their gambling game a few men from the table next to theirs, men who were already poor and had nothing to offer. And they wouldn’t win as Sehun and his boys cheated at any given chance. He made a comment about how tonight I wore clean clothes instead of the rugs I’m usually in, when I was delivering their fifth round of expensive beer. I only glared at him and walked away before he could comment anything. Yes, it was true, I wore my most expensive dress tonight. It was white and no one in their right mind would wear it to a place like this one, where you can stain it easily, but I was expecting someone. Junhui. He said he would be here tonight…well, he didn’t explicitly say it, but it’s what he meant. And I glanced at the clock to see it hit midnight with him nowhere around. I was disappointed, but I couldn’t focus on what I was feeling as an old man gripped onto me. It was Mr. Lee, the biggest drunk of the town.

“Oh,” His eyebrows were furrowed and I grimaced at the foul scent, “Katie?”

I nodded and his eyes were barely open as he raised a hand, “Walk me to the exit!”

His slurred words were barely audible over the loudness inside the Inn, but he was a regular here, I already knew what he wanted. I called out for Joy, to ask her to take over the order from the table I just served, and placed one of Mr. Lee’s arms around my shoulders.

“Let’s get you out, old man.” I shouted and he grinned, his yellow teeth showing. We stumbled around the tables, hitting a few people on our way out, and I groaned when his stumbling made us run into the corner of the entrance. The old man laughed loudly and I threw him a glare, that I knew he couldn’t see, as we finally made it outside.

“Katie!” It was an officer, leaning against the railing, “Did you forget to bring me my beer?!”

“Of course, not!” I exclaimed as we walked around a half-asleep woman, “I asked Joy to deliver it to you.”

The officer grimaced and looked at Mr. Lee, leaving me the impression that he’d offer to help, but when he started laughing, I realized he wouldn’t help. He was here to have fun and suddenly what I was doing was entertaining him. I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from throwing him a menacing glare and held Mr. Lee’s side as firmly as I could as we had to walk down the few stairs of the porch.

“Now, Mr. Lee—” I turned my head towards him, trying to gain his attention, “I need you to focus and keep your balance, alright? The stairs aren’t easy to conquer!”

“Conquer it all!” Mr. Lee exclaimed, making the people laugh who heard him, as he stumbled forward. I shrieked, unable to untangle myself from him, as he pulled me after him. We were supposed to tumble down the stairs, maybe twist an ankle or something, but I never made it down the stairs, unlike Mr. Lee. His feet became a tangled mess and he was rolling down the stairs, people hollering in laughter around us. My eyes widened as I watched the old man sprawl out on his back, mouth in a wide grin. He seemed amused by what happened but I feared his old bones weren’t strong enough for even a small fall like that one. No one seemed to want to help him up and as I went to step down the first stair, I realized someone was holding onto my waist tightly. My shoulders tensed and I turned my head, eyebrows furrowed. However, it wasn’t the person I was expecting to be, it was even better. Junhui. My eyes must have lit up because the man started smirking, squeezing my waist.

“Well, if it isn’t Katie…” He muttered smugly and I bit my lower lip, gazing into his eyes, “Do you stumble on purpose when I’m around? You want me to catch you?”

I giggled and did nothing to move out of his hold, “It’s not on purpose, but it certainly is more fun.”

“Just admit it—” I raised my eyebrows as Jun leaned his head a little down, “You want me to hold you.”

I raised my chin, to be closer to his face, and returned his little smirk, “Why would I want that when you could do other better things to me?”

Junhui’s eyes narrowed and I blinked up at him, my smirk turning innocent as he chuckled. His hold loosened on my waist as he opened his mouth to speak, but someone interrupted him.

“Is this how you treat your customers?” The officer’s voice rang out as I turned my head, “You leave an old man lying on the cold ground?”

I couldn’t help but throw him a glare as a second ago he wasn’t even willing to help.

“No need to cause a scene, now,” The soft voice alerted a few people as they turned towards the stranger standing next to Mr. Lee. It was Joshua, and he was helping the old man up, “You can’t expect a woman to carry around a drunk, heavy man, officer. Maybe if you helped before they stumbled this wouldn’t have happened.”

A few people started muttering as they threw Joshua various glances, making the officer’s jaw clench. Mr. Lee was on his feet and Joshua dusted his pants a little as the old man tried to stand straight.

“Will you find your way home?” Joshua asked politely, gripping Mr. Lee’s shoulder.

“Yes, sir, yes!” Mr. Lee did a slopy salute and everyone laughed, making Joshua smile. He returned the salute and Mr. Lee turned his body as he started singing loudly. He slowly started walking away and I moved out of Junhui’s hold.

“When did you arrive?” I asked as I faced him, ignoring the glares of the officer.

“A good hour ago.” Jun answered as Joshua approached us.

“Good evening.” He greeted politely and I giggled, letting him place a kiss against my knuckles. When Jun and Joshua shared a look, I realized they knew each other. And suddenly, standing a few feet away, were Seungkwan, Woozi, and Minghao. When my eyes connected with Woozi’s, I realized my suspicions were all along right. The five strangers knew each other, in fact, they traveled here together.

“Well,” I placed my hands on my hips, “Why did you stay outside?”

“There’s nowhere to sit.” Minghao answered with a pout and I rolled my eyes.

“Maybe if you would have tried looking for me, you would have found a table.” Woozi rolled his eyes as I threw them a displeased glare.

“Lead the way, lady, then.” He gestured inside the Inn and I grinned, gripping Joshua and Junhui’s arms to drag them after me. Once inside, the loudness of the Inn was almost deafening after having stood outside for so long. My eyes scanned the space, of course there were no empty tables, but I spotted some empty space at a table. I grinned to myself and lead the way, losing my grip on Junhui a few times as he seemed unable to keep up with my long strides. When we got to the table, it quieted down as Sehun threw his card on top of the stack with a grin.

“I win—”

“Excuse me, you’ll have to share your table!” I informed Sehun and his boys and didn’t wait for an answer as I pushed Joshua down into the empty seat, “You took the biggest table when you don’t even have enough people for it…now, you share it!”

I could hear Woozi cackle behind me as he passed by and patted a glaring Sehun on the back, plopping down next to Joshua. Minghao seemed reluctant to sit at the table but when I released my grip on Jun, he pulled his friend with him and sat them across from Woozi and Joshua.

“Seungkwan, is the name.” He extended his hand towards Sehun, who took it quickly and shook it, Seungkwan’s face all serious and cold. It was different from when him and Woozi came by, it seemed like he knew Sehun was the leader of the band of baboons and wanted to show him he wouldn’t put up with bullshit coming from them tonight. My eyes landed on Jun and he threw me a flirty wink, I blushed.

“Bring over your finest beer, Katie!” He cheered loudly and I chuckled, turning around to bring the beers for him and the rest.

The Inn was just as full as hours ago, however, it had quieted down a notch as the somewhat sober people headed home and the drunk ones remained. The lousy band departed a long time ago after we gave them free drinks, and finally all workers of the Inn could take a little break. My feet were killing me and the corset of this dress was a lot tighter than I initially thought it would be, my lungs were screaming to be released. But we still had two more hours of work, it had to wait. My eyes scanned over the empty tables, Joy and Luna have cleaned them up already, as they stopped on the biggest table. They were making a mess, three were standing on the table and singing loudly some old song, while the others continued playing cards between each other. Somehow, they got Jun and his friends involved into the game too, however, Sehun lost each round. Which made him angry and therefore it made him drink even more. He disappeared a while ago and I assumed he just went somewhere with a woman, like he does every time he’s here, and would return the next day. My eyes were drawn back at Junhui, who watched me closely the whole night, and I smiled at him. His sharp eyes narrowed before he looked down at his single card in his hand, then threw it on the table. Seungkwan and Woozi started cheering loudly as Junhui smirked and looked at me. He won again and Sehun’s friend pushed a smaller pouch of money onto the table, Woozi grabbed it greedily. I chuckled as Jun winked at me, then turned to look at his sleeping friend. Minghao’s head was resting on the table, he was sitting a bit further from them, as he slept. Joshua was walking around the Inn, which was surprising, and making conversation with people. He even had two men trailing after him as he conversed with various people, sometimes even offered to bring them drinks. Aleksi didn’t like it much, but when Joshua brought the money, they paid, over Aleksi stopped complaining.

“My break is up, go take a breather.” Luna’s voice caught my attention as she walked up to me, tying her small apron around her hips. I hummed and undid my own apron, throwing it at Andrei. He caught it with a hiss, throwing me a small glare. I just shrugged and walked around the counter, downing the glass of water he placed there for me. Andrei and I had a complicated relationship, we weren’t on good terms but we looked out for each other. He helped me get this job when I moved into town but after we started working together, we realized how annoying the other was. I downed another glass of water in one good, humming in appreciation as the water finally washed over the dryness of my throat. My dress had a small pocket, I sew it there, and I tapped it to see if it still contained what I have placed there at the beginning of my shift. When I felt the thick object, I headed to the backdoor and pushed it open, the chilly air of morning greeting me. It was refreshing to be outside after a night of running around and pleasing everyone, I would have to wash up before going to sleep as I had sweat more than usual this time. I fished the match and tobacco out of my little pocket, leaning against the wooden planks of the Inn. I lit the match and placed the tobacco in my mouth, sucking on it hard to make it light up. Tobacco was expensive, I would smoke it from time to time if the girls had it, but Junhui and his friends left so much money during their visits that I could finally afford to buy one for myself. The taste burned the back of my neck and I coughed quietly as I let it settle, blowing out the smoke. Finally, I had time to think and rest. I was expecting Junhui to approach me at some point of the night, but all he did was constantly order drinks and he’d refuse to take them unless it was me serving them. I could feel the tension between him and Sehun, as both were immersed in playing cards, and both were cheating. Sehun finally found his match. I chuckled when I remembered how pissed Sehun looked after the third round was won by Jun once again, and looked at my half-finished tobacco. I quickly put it out, not wanting to smoke it in one go. I could save it for later when I was chilling in my room. I placed it back into my pocket and leaned my head against the wooden planks, staring up at the starry sky. It was turning a lighter shade as the sun would soon rise. My quiet peace of moment came to an end when someone’s body heat invaded mine. I straightened up as I looked the person in the eyes, grimacing.

“Finally got you alone…” Sehun’s raspy voice was low, his eyes were narrowed as he still wasn’t sober enough.

“Did you want to get me alone?” I raised my eyebrows, off-thrown by his statement.

“Well…what do you think?” He asked with a chuckle, leaning one hand against the Inn, trapping me between him and the wall.

“I think…” I bit my lower lip, glancing away, “That you’re really annoying and a douchebag.”

Sehun started laughing as I looked back at him with a glare, crossing my arms in front of my chest, “Come on…stop playing so hard to get now. I know you dressed up just for me—”

“What?!” I snapped outraged, scoffing, “You wish, rich filth, I don’t give a damn about you!”

“You’re always so rude!” Sehun suddenly exclaimed, and I jumped before I quickly pushed him back. His tallness was intimidating and he used it to his advantage as he stepped back and gripped onto my hair.

“Let go!” I screamed, clawing at his arm, trying to free myself.

“I’m going to teach you a lesson.” He hissed out and my eyes widened when I felt his other hand trying to undo the front of my dress. I yelped and gripped his hand, pushing him again. His grip on my hair was painful as I struggled against him but I didn’t care, I wanted to free myself.

“Sehun!” I yelped when he gripped my jaw tightly and slammed me against the wooden planks, my head colliding with them. I groaned and fisted his shirt, trying to still push him away. This wasn’t anything new, men did this often, but I didn’t want his filthy hands on me. Especially since it was Sehun. I knew he’d be bragging about it to everyone, I didn’t want this. Suddenly, there was a new voice that exclaimed in a different language and I struggled more against Sehun, knowing who it was.

“Piece of shit!” This time I understood what he said, and the next second Sehun was pushed off me. Junhui and Sehun stared up each other and in a swift motion, Junhui landed a punch to his jaw. Sehun stumbled backwards, clutching the area, as he turned to look at me.

“Whore.” Was all he said before he turned around and ran off. I scoffed and spat on the ground, angered by his words.

“You throw yourself at me but I’m the whore?!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, hopeful that everyone would hear it, as I took deep breaths to calm myself.

“Katie,” Junhui’s voice was soft and I looked at him taken aback, “Did he hurt you?”

“Nothing I’m not used to…” I muttered and undid the ribbon that kept my braid together. Junhui followed my hands with his eyes as I ran my fingers through my wavy hair, massaging the back of my head where I hit it.

“Does he bother you often?” Junhui continued asking and I shook my head with a sigh.

“Not like this.” I answered and attempted to smooth down my, now wrinkled, dress. Why did I even wear it? Junhui is just a tourist, he will be soon gone, and for all I know, he might just be a little bit overly flirty. Why do I always assume people find me attractive?

“Tell me where he lives and I’ll make sure he won’t set foot inside this place ever again.” Junhui’s sharp eyes were narrowed and I laughed as I leaned back against the wooden planks.

“You’re funny!”

“I’m being serios.” I chuckled embarrassed and looked away from Jun, gazing at my feet. He sighed and approached me, taking Sehun’s previous place. This time, I wasn’t bothered. I went stiff when his hands ran up my arms and hovered over my chest. I looked up into his eyes and he gulped as he averted his gaze.

“He undid it…” He muttered, voice weak, and I smiled, “It’s a—pretty dress.”

I giggled and looked down to see his fingers delicately tying the dress back together, “Thank you, I wore it because I hoped you’d come tonight.”

Junhui paused and I smiled at him innocently, “You did ask me to sign you up as first customer on the ‘special treats’ list, didn’t you?”

Junhui opened his mouth to say something but he couldn’t as he gulped again, it made me giggle once again. I took his hands away from the top of my dress and placed them around my hips, pulling Jun into me.

“It seems like you really like holding me.” I teased him with a grin and he rolled his eyes, sneaking his arms around my hips tightly. His eyes dropped onto my lips and I quickly licked them, pressing up onto my tip toes to connect our lips. My eyes fluttered closed as Junhui’s lips pressed back against mine eagerly. His lips were cold and rough, he tasted like all the alcohol he’s been drinking all night, but I wasn’t bothered. My arms sneaked around his shoulders as I urged him to lean lower down so that I wouldn’t have to stand on my toes and made a surprised noise when he tried to push his tongue into my mouth. His scent was mixed with sweat and aloe vera, a very weird scent indeed. I opened my mouth to grant him access and he moaned as he sucked on my tongue, making me suck in a harsh breath. He pushed me up against the wooden planks, trapping me further between himself and the Inn, my body curving up into his. I moaned and pulled on the ends of his hair when he groped my breast through my dress, squeezing it appreciatively. Perhaps I wasn’t so wrong this time, this handsome stranger might have found me pretty attractive as he still hasn’t pushed me away.

One week ago, Monday

The Inn was closed for today, Aleksi wanted to do a thorough clean as Saturday’s little party left a big mess. Besides, he now had enough money to repair the bathroom for the workers and rebuild the back of the barn, where the wooden planks had rotten over time. Andrei and him were busy, they probably wouldn’t finish by dusk but with the money, he could afford to call over a few men tomorrow to finish the construction instead of them. Only Luna and I worked today, as they other girls asked for a free day and well…I live upstairs, so I really had no excuse but to come and work. And Luna…she hates her husband nowadays so she spends most of her time at the Inn with me. Which kind of brought us closer, I didn’t really have friends in this town. I didn’t have the time nor the energy to invest it into making connections.

I let a sigh fall from my lips as I finally finished scrubbing the floor clean, it was practically shinning now. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen it this clean…what a pity it’ll be ruined by tomorrow. Luna was singing along to the soft tunes of the radio, cleaning off the storage room as she had finished with the bar already.

“You’re in a good mood.” I commented as I raised to my feet, approaching the woman. She glanced back at me with a cheeky smile before giggling.

“Indeed, I am.”

“Well…won’t you tell me why?” I pressed on, my curious nature pushing through. Luna sighed before she turned to face me, leaning against the shelf.

“Yunho was called to work in the mines that are five hours from here.” She answered with a grin, sighing dreamily, “I finally get to be on my own—for two months!”

I chuckled and raised my eyebrows, feeling a little confused, “Isn’t that bad though? Working in mines is dangerous nowadays…”

“Oh, please!” She exclaimed, rolling her eyes as she turned back to the shelf to continue scrubbing it, “I don’t even care if he never comes back. He’s a sick bastard! I’m done bending to his wishes, everything is about him all the time!”

I hummed and rubbed my hands together, trying to warm them after they froze from having to rub the floor with cold water, “Didn’t you marry him because you loved him?”

“That was five years ago!” Luna laughed, shaking her head, “Nothing lasts forever, you know, Y/N…”

I hummed and bit my lower lip, thoughts flying to Junhui. Indeed, nothing lasts forever. I’m not even sure he’s still in town. After we kissed, he left without a word and by the time I went inside, everyone who came with him were also gone. It was really disappointing, I thought I’d get to spend more time with him. Maybe, get to know him better, maybe, we’d end up sending letters to each other. It was nice to dream.

“Y/N?” I looked at Luna questioningly, not having heard what she said, “I asked…how are things going with lover boy?”

“Lover boy?” I asked confused, thoughts instantly swerving to Sehun. Maybe she heard me scream after him or maybe Sehun already started spreading lies about what happened.

“The handsome foreigner!” Luna exclaimed, coming to stand in front of me, and gripped my hands into hers, “Please! I saw the looks you exchanged and—”

“And…what?” I urged her on to speak as I watched a mischievous smirk spread on the woman’s lips.

“And…I saw you two having that very fiery make-out behind the Inn on Friday.” My cheeks suddenly felt hot and I averted my eyes from Luna’s, looking anywhere but at her.

“Look who’s shy now!” Luna teased and I rolled my eyes, snatching my hands out of hers.

“Shut up…” I muttered embarrassed, taking a few steps away from her.

“Honey, I’m glad you’re finally enjoying yourself. All you do is work and run away from people—”

“That’s not true!” I opposed with a scowl but Luna just chuckled.

“Sure, honey…besides, he seemed like a genuine man.”

“Yeah,” I sighed, hearing the front doorbell ring, “He’s also probably gone by now and I’m—”

“Anyone there?” My throat closed up and my eyes went wide as Luna smirked, retreating back inside the storage room.

“Go!” She whisper-shouted, quietly closing the door. I scoffed but walked to the front quickly, eyes falling on the tall young man. He wore clean clothes, his hair was a bit tousled, and he held his hat in his hands in front of his torso.

“Hello,” I offered him a shy smile, “We’re currently closed, maybe tomorrow—”

“I’m not here to drink.” Junhui’s words cut me off and I gulped, hope filling my thoughts. Was he here to see me? Maybe he’ll ask me to go with him on his journey? Will I finally be free?!

“I heard there’s a lodge attached to this Inn; I’d like to rent a room for a few days.” Oh. I cleared my throat and tried to mask how disappointed I felt hearing his words.

“Yeah, you heard right, Junhui, we have a lodge…” I muttered and went to the bar, “What kind of room do you want?”

“Fitting for a person.” He answered quickly as he came closer, leaning against the counter as I crouched down to search for the keys.

“One person?” I asked as I grabbed one key, “Aren’t you traveling in five?”

Jun looked away before clearing his throat, “The others are staying somewhere else, I—didn’t find a room there—”

“Right.” I gave him a look as I straightened up. He was lying, I knew it by the way he avoided eye contact and played with his fingers. But who was I to ask anything? He was acting like the kiss didn’t even happen, so, I didn’t know how else to act but oblivious.

“Follow me.” I called as I walked around the counter and headed for the stairs leading upstairs. Junhui was hot on my tail and I glanced back to see him raise an eyebrow at me.

“Anything wrong?” He asked wonderingly and I shook my head, biting my lower lip.

“No, nothing in particular,” I lied as we went up to the third floor, “Just—aren’t you afraid to travel during these times?”

“Why? Should I be?” Junhui asked with a chuckle and I shrugged again as we came into the long hallway, on both sides, numerous doors stood to our service.

“The sheriffs have estimated the group of five bandits was headed this town…and…well, no one has been really traveling ever since they started robbing out of fear of getting robbed as well.” I spoke as I lead Junhui down the long hallway.

“Are you trying to assume something here?” Jun asked with a chuckle, but his voice held an accusatory undertone to it, and I shrugged again. We stopped in front of room nr. 888 and I pushed the key into the hole to unlock the door.

“I don’t know…does it sound like I’m assuming something?” I muttered, more to myself, as Jun walked in after me, “I don’t know, honestly…It’s just weird the five of you show up here, you are strangers to this town, and one of you is called Seungkwan. Don’t you think? I’m not trying to accuse you of anything, I’ve just been thinking—”

The door was suddenly slammed closed behind me and Junhui was standing in front of me in a second, his hand gripping my neck tightly as I was walked backwards and into the door. The collision wasn’t as harsh as with Sehun, Junhui’s eyes have darkened and his expression was fierce, but I didn’t feel threatened right now.

“Thinking is dangerous, Y/N…” My eyes widened a bit at the hearing of my real name, Jun’s lips pulled into a cocky smirk.

“How do you know?” I whispered, feeling a bit lightheaded by the hold he had on my neck but also by his closeness. He still carried the scent of aloe verra and it was so foreign that it felt intoxicating.

“From Joshua, of course,” Junhui chuckled and I gripped his wrist, trying to loosen his grip, “Now…this can go two ways, sweetheart. You either shut up and keep this revelation to yourself or��I will have to get rid of you…”

“What?!” I exclaimed quietly, eyes growing wider than ever before, the air leaving my lungs from shock, “You’re—the—bandits—”

“Why are you acting so surprised?” Junhui chuckled as his finger started stroking the skin of my neck, “Didn’t you just accuse me of—”

Junhui stopped talking, realizing his mistake, and I remained gaping.

“I didn’t accuse you of anything! I was just…assuming?” Junhui hissed and closed his eyes, letting go of my neck. I rubbed the skin with my own hand and took two deep breaths, watching a distressed Junhui.

“Fuck!” He hissed to himself, opening his eyes to look at me. He didn’t step back, and I didn’t move away either. I wanted to be close to him.

“Listen, I—”

“If you tell anyone, Y/N, I swear I will kill you.” His voice dropped octaves and became dangerous, finally, I felt like a prey and a shiver ran down my spine, “I don’t care how pretty and nice you are—I will kill you.”

Realization dawned on me, that in fact, the man standing in front of me wasn’t any kind of tourist. He really is part of the bandit group. He is a bandit, himself. I gulped and licked my lips, trying to mask how nervous I felt.

“I won’t tell anyone—”

“How can I know that?” He snapped, but it felt like he was more frustrated with himself than me.

“I—” I huffed, running a hand through my hair, “You can’t. You will have to trust me, I guess.”

“But can I trust you?” Junhui’s gaze latched onto mine and I felt hypnotized.

“Maybe.” I muttered and my eyes fell on his lips when he sighed out. I knew he saw it when he took a tiny step, to be even closer to me.

“What if…” A smirk came onto his lips and my heart started racing as he looked me up and down, “I offer you something in exchange of keeping our secret?”

My skin felt on fire when Junhui’s fingers trailed over my exposed collarbones, coming to rest on the front of my dress, “I don’t need anything to keep your—”

My words got muffled by Junhui’s lips pressing on mine and I reacted instantly, fingers curling into his hair. The next thing I knew, I was naked, and then, Junhui’s naked body was laying on top of mine, moving in sink with mine. I tried to keep quiet, but no one’s ever made me feel what Junhui did. My heart was beating furiously the whole time and Junhui’s skin felt on fire as he kissed my lips hungrily. And then, I realized, maybe I liked this man a little bit too much. This bandit…how was I going to let go of him now?

One week ago, Wednesday

It was lunch time but the Inn was unnaturally buzzing with people. Most people only came in to get their shot of vodka for the day, but some came to have lunch. Most were working men from the market as this was all they could afford; the Inn wasn’t expensive and they loved it here. I wiped a few glasses clean as Andrei poured some liquor into three tall glasses, calling out my name.

“What?” I muttered as I walked over, looking at him tiredly. I haven’t slept much ever since Junhui’s last visit. My heart raced every time I thought of him and what we had done, and I couldn’t help it but feel sad. Now I knew he was one of the bandits, I never even considered telling anyone, but I knew once they made their robbery they would leave and I’d have no one once again. I longed to have someone who would comfort me and love me, but I accepted that I just wasn’t meant to experience these things. Junhui’s room was right above mine and him walking around and dragging something heavy against the floor for the past two nights made it also hard to sleep.

“Our little new friends ordered these.” Andrei’s finger was pointing at a table of five people. Seungkwan, Woozi, Joshua, Minghao, Jun. I hummed and took the glasses placed on a tray and walked over to their table. Their previous conversation ceased as all eyes fell on me and I gulped nervously as I placed the glasses on their table.

“A bit early to be drinking liquor, isn’t it?” I tried to joke, ease the tension, but it didn’t do anything. Seungkwan and Woozi were glaring daggers at me and it actually scared me, even Joshua had a cold expression as he reached for a glass. Minghao wasn’t paying attention to me as he was muttering something to himself, he was also scribbling something on a paper. And Junhui sighed quietly and placed a hand on my waist to squeeze it swiftly, before grabbing a glass to drink the liquor from it.

“Well…” I cleared my throat and turned to walk away, “Raise your hands if you need anything else.”

“What I need is you keeping your damn mouth shut.” Woozi’s voice was low as he snapped and I bit my lower lip, trying to hold back the tremor of my hands. He was scary, too scary, as he stared me dead in the eyes with the most vicious glare I have ever seen.

“Seriously!” Junhui snapped, slamming a fist onto the table, “I told you I took care of her!”

“How?” Woozi chuckled and Minghao glanced at Junhui then at me, and then proceeded to ignore what was happening.

“I have my ways—”

“Pushing your dick down someone’s throat is not a very convincing way, Junhui.” This time it was Seungkwan who snapped and I gulped, averting my eyes at the accusation. That didn’t happen, even if we had sex. It wasn’t their business what Junhui and I do behind closed doors.

“Shut up.” Junhui snapped, his eyes glaring at both Woozi and Seungkwan threateningly, “Don’t mind them, go do your work.”

I nodded my head slightly and then bolted back to the counter, coming to stand next to Andrei. He was preparing a few drinks and I placed the tray down for him to take when he was done. I went to wash my hands and took deep breaths, trying to calm my racing heart and push back the tears that threatened to escape my eyes. I wasn’t expecting their personalities to take such a turn, but I guess I was a threat to them now. I wouldn’t tell anyone, but I guess they couldn’t just blindly trust me like that. Maybe they are planning my death and that’s why they are here, to observe my every move. I groaned at my thoughts and ran my fingers through my wavy hair, deciding to braid it really quick. I was fed up with always getting disrespected by men and I hated how they could always make comments freely without anyone telling them they were inappropriate. If I wasn’t afraid of Woozi and Seungkwan, I would’ve told them a piece of my mind, but once again, that’s never a good idea.

The bell chimed and I looked up to see two officers walking in. One was the same officer who was here on Friday night and didn’t help with Mr. Lee. His eyes swept over the place as the other officer walked around the tables which were occupied. The familiar officer, however, was headed straight our way. Andrei groaned and gave me a side glance.

“Did you do something?” He hissed lowly and I shook my head quickly, straightening my back when the officer stopped across from us.

“Hello.” Andrei greeted with a half-hearted smile and I bowed my head a little bit, eyes falling on the other officer for a split second. He was talking to everyone who was sitting at the tables and I suddenly felt hotter, like I was inside an oven.

“Yeah, yeah…” The officer muttered rudely and then placed a crumbled piece of paper on the counter for us to see. It was the newspaper from last week, the one that was talking about the five bandits headed our town.

“I’m sure you all know by now the bandits are headed this way, have you seen any suspicious movements? Heard anything?” The officer continued and I was itching to look towards the table Junhui was sitting at, but I was afraid it would trigger something in the officer that would make him realize it was them.

“Not really,” Andrei shrugged his shoulders, crossing his arms in front of his chest, “People say a lot of crazy things, but nothing about the bandits.”

“And you?” The officer’s eyes landed on me and I gulped nervously, hiding my trembling hands behind my back as I corrected my posture and opened my mouth to speak.

“There’s five strangers here,” The other officer approached us, cutting me off before I could even say something, “They say they arrived last week and will be leaving this Friday. Apparently, they are some travelers looking for some old artifacts or something like that.”

“Yes,” I spoke up before anyone could say anything else, I cringed at how loud my voice sounded suddenly, “They told me the same thing. I heard they found some old vases in one of their researches! They’ve been renting a room here, even attended the parties last week.”

I made sure to maintain eye contact with the officers as best as I could, to keep my voice leveled and my expression clear and soft. My heart was beating like crazy and my hands were shaking a lot more now, but I tried to ignore those. If I said anything wrong their cover would be screwed up and then I for sure would be dead by tomorrow. Andrei gave me a confused glance but when the officers looked at him questioningly, to confirm what I said, he just shrugged.

“I was on a leave for the past month, only returned recently, so what she says must be true.” I almost sighed out in relief but managed to catch myself before doing it.

“Very well then,” One of the officer’s said as his eyes ran over the place again, my eyes followed his and I smiled a little when I saw Junhui’s table laughing about something, clanking their glasses together, no doubt pretending like they were having fun.

“We’ll be going.” The same officer spoke and turned around to leave. The familiar officer gave me a look, as if he sensed I was lying, but turned and walked out with his partner. I finally relaxed and let a breath out, I felt Andrei’s confused gaze on me.

“Did you lie to them?” He asked skeptically, going back to doing what he was before the officers interrupted us.

“What? Why would I?” I scoffed and wiped my brows, unaware of the sweat that has accumulated there. Andrei just shrugged in response and my eyes inevitably fell on Junhui’s table. Joshua and Minghao were gone but I made eye contact with Woozi. He raised his glass, an amused smirk on his lips, as he tilted it in my direction. Seungkwan also looked smug and when I made eye contact with Junhui I felt a sense of calmness wash over me, as if I just passed an important evaluation. I guess Woozi and Seungkwan were pleased that I didn’t rat them out. When the doorbell chimed again, Joshua and Minghao were holding some big bags in both of their hands as they walked inside. Junhui rose from the table and he played with the keys to his room as he approached the two men, leading the way upstairs. He gave me one last look, and a tiny smile, before all three men disappeared upstairs. I let out a small sigh and took the tray with the drinks when Andrei complained about me being as slow as a snail. They were planning something, and suddenly I was feeling uneasy about knowing who they really were. Was I putting myself in danger indirectly?

Present time

My head snapped up at the sudden sounds echoing through the cold hallway. It sounded like two people struggling and the echo that carried their words here made no sense. My heart started beating quickly and my fingers latched onto the cold bars of the prison cell. I didn’t know what was happening and when keys startled rattling, I knew the end has come for me. This was it; I was going to die at the age of twenty-five for being the accomplice of a robbery. I shut my eyes closed tightly and took deep breaths as heavy footsteps neared me, the sound almost maddening as it felt like forever. I didn’t dare look nor breathe when I felt eyes on me, I didn’t even know how to react. I didn’t want to show fear, but when the cell was unlocked, my whole body started trembling. And then I couldn’t keep quiet anymore.

“Please!” My voice broke, but I still tried to speak, “I didn’t know! I swear I wasn’t helping them—”

I yelped when a strong grip on my forearm yanked me forward, and I didn’t want to open my eyes, but I was afraid I was going to fall and proceed to look even worse.

“Calm down.” My heart somersaulted at the calming voice and my eyes snapped open. Before I could control myself, I jumped into Junhui’s arms, gripping his shirt like my life depended on him. Quite ironically, it did depend on him right now.

“What are you doing here?!” I gasped, unable to let go of him, I was afraid I’d collapse to the ground.

“To get you out, of course.” Jun’s voice was hurried as I felt him move around before pushing me slightly off him, “I know you’re scared, but we have to go now, if we want to get away. Can you gather yourself and do as I say?”

I was still shaking but I took a deep breath and tried to reassure myself that I was capable of doing this. If I didn’t, I would die. And I wasn’t ready to die, not yet, not when I had Junhui in front of me.

“Yes.” We made eye contact and Jun’s lips pulled into a small smile, he patted my head affectionately. I stepped away from him and Jun’s eyes ran over my body quickly, stopping on the end of my skirt. I looked down confused and got even more confused when he kneeled down and gripped the fabric.

“You can’t run in this.” He muttered and suddenly, my dress was getting torn apart. I gasped but didn’t try to stop him, he was right, the long skirt didn’t offer much mobility for my legs. Jun ripped the fabric up until my knees, the feeling was weird, I supposed the dress now looked really ugly. It wasn’t just dirty, but torn too. Junhui stood up and remained still for a second, but then he pressed a quick kiss against my lips and my heart started racing. Did this mean I was going with them?

“Let’s go.” An excited grin appeared on his lips and I took his extended hand, but couldn’t share his enthusiasm. I was supposed to die a few minutes ago, I was still supposed to be dead, if they catch us for the second time. My heart raced as Junhui ran us through the hallways, towards the door through which light flooded the dark and cold dungeon. We were breaking free.

Earlier today, around 9 a.m.

My attention was drawn towards the ruckus coming from the stairs that led upstairs. Aleksi was in the storage room so I allowed myself to abandon washing the dishes and walk to the stairs to see what was happening. My lips formed into a pout as I watched Woozi pull a heavy looking bag after him on the floor, which was the one causing the ruckus. My eyebrows furrowed as I watched him confused while he descended the stairs.

“What are you doing?” I asked, curiosity lacing my tone. Woozi’s head snapped up and he looked at me, his eyes narrowed into intimidating slits. I gulped and pushed myself away from the railing, not wanting to piss him off so early in the morning.

“None of your business.” He snapped with authority in his voice and I nodded once, stepping away.

“Right, sorry…” I muttered and went back to washing the dishes, ignoring the second pair of boots that loudly descended the stairs. The front door opened and Woozi was outside, leaving me alone in the Inn with Junhui. I didn’t turn around when I felt his eyes on me, if Aleksi was to come back now and see that I wasn’t doing my duties, he’d be really angry.

“Y/N,” Junhui quietly called out, knowing it was just the two of us inside for now, “I have something to ask of you.”

I sighed but didn’t turn around to face him, “Don’t worry, I won’t say anything to anyone. Even after you disappear…I’ll bring this secret with myself to my grave, I suppose.”

Junhui hummed and remained silent for a few seconds before I heard him sighing, “That’s not what I wanted to ask of you…today…just stay around the Inn, alright? If you want to walk around town, just stay here instead, it’s safer.”

“Whatever you say.” I muttered, drying my hands as I finished washing the dishes.

“And…I wish we had more time to spend together…” I turned to face Junhui, and was surprised when he actually looked sad, “Your company is really pleasant, I think…I think we could have been something more…”

I chuckled and crossed my arms in front of my chest, ignoring the pang in my chest, “Well, yeah…our lifestyles don’t match, I guess. Don’ worry, this happens all the time. I’m sure you’ll find a pretty woman in the next town and forget about me…I’m better off alone, after all.”

Junhui didn’t comment anything further, he just gulped and nodded his head in agreement. The words I said didn’t fit well with me, but after all, I was just saying the truth. I haven’t known this man for long, but he was the first one to respect my boundaries and the first one who didn’t look down on me. It was a nice feeling, but nothing lasts forever.

“Goodbye.” He whispered and I offered him a last smile, disappointed we were parting ways this way.

“Goodbye, Junhui.” His lips pulled into a tight line at the hear of his name and he walked away with a sigh, not looking back. I pursed my lips and looked around the empty place, what if I went with him? Would the others allow me to join him? Would I want to become a bandit myself? But before I could dwell more on these thoughts, Aleksi was standing right next to me.

“Why are you standing there and doing nothing?” He raised his eyebrows and I cleared my throat, evening my expression.

“The guy who occupied room nr.888 just left, I’ll go clean up.” I muttered to Aleksi and walked around the counter, headed for the stairs.

“Good, and after that, go to the market,” He extended his hand and pushed a piece of paper into my hand, “We are running low on a few supplies.”

“Sure…” I muttered and placed the piece of paper into my small pocket, heading up the stairs.

Earlier today, around 1 p.m.

It was a sunny day and the hot sun shone down on us. I was covered in sweat already and I have barely left the Inn five minutes ago. The market was just around the corner so I didn’t have to walk much, which was to my benefit as I wouldn’t have to carry the heavy things for a long time. The market was buzzing with people, sellers and buyers, and the cacophony was worse than most nights at the Inn. I avoided bumping into a woman and her three children as I side stepped them and my eyes fell on the National Bank from across the street. People were coming and going casually, everyone minding their own business. I sighed and stopped at the first stand to buy the vegetables Aleksi had written on the list. My eyes fell on the blonde-haired boy sitting to the back, in the shadow, and I smiled at him.

“Miss Katie!” He exclaimed with a smile, offering me a small wave.

“Enjoying your day off, Little James?” I asked with a chuckle and the young boy nodded with a grin.

“The kid runs so fast he delivers the newspaper way faster than I ever could,” Big James spoke up as he filled my bag with potatoes, “Figured he deserved a day off.”

“That’s nice of you,” I said politely, handing him the money, “He’s a hard-working kid!”

“Like you, Katie!” Big James winked at me and I walked away with a small laugh, eyes falling on the flower stand. It was standing on the side of the Bank and I couldn’t help it but walk there. I always loved flowers, sometimes I would buy some and sneak them inside my room. Aleksi didn’t know about them because I bought them from the money, he gave me to purchase the items he needed. If he were to find out, I’d probably be kicked out, something I didn’t wish for.

“Hello!” The lady offered me a warm smile and I bowed my head in greeting as I touched the petals of the lilies. They were beautiful and I let out a small sigh, glancing down at the money in my other hand. Should I buy some for myself? Would Aleksi notice this time? He didn’t give me much money, maybe I shouldn’t—suddenly screams erupted and as I looked towards the noise, a loud BANG went off and next thing I knew I was thrown to the ground. My side was throbbing as I lay on the sandy ground and my ears were ringing like never before. I was shocked to see people laying on the ground around me, even some of the flowers littered around me. I was confused as I pushed myself up to all fours, trying to gain a sense of the situation. What has happened? Why does everyone look so scared and disoriented and why can’t I hear anything expect the ringing in my ears? I tried to get up to my feet, but I felt a little light headed so I took deep breaths, closing my eyes. But next thing I knew, someone crashed into my body and I cried out, my side throbbing even more. The person said something, I couldn’t understand from the ringing still going on, and then I was roughly hauled up and I froze when I felt something cold pressing against my temple. Suddenly, I became aware of the sirens in the distance and I became even more scared when I saw various vendors pointing their shotguns in my direction. I didn’t understand what was happening, why was I being held at gunpoint? The voices started coming back, my hearing clearing, and then I understood everything.

“If anyone dares to move even one inch, I will shoot this woman to death!” My capturer screamed at the top of his lungs, squeezing my side, making me cry out in pain. The body holding me was solid and firm, I wanted to look who was holding me, but I was afraid if I moved, I’d be dead.

“Leave Katie alone and we can talk this through!” It was Big James, his eyes were narrowed, he was the only one not pointing his shotgun at me directly.

My capturer laughed crazily behind me and I shivered, “You think I’ll fall for that?!”

I whimpered and turned my head slightly when he pressed his chin, which was covered with something, against my cheek, “If you don’t come with me, I will kill you.”

My lips were trembling and I raised my hands in surrender, showing everyone, I was unarmed, “He—he said he’ll—let me go, if—if you don’t shoot—”

The man holding me made an appreciative sound and pulled his head away from me, “Move and you’ll never see Katie again!”

I whimpered again, biting my lower lip when his hand left my side to grip my forearm. The grip was strong and I felt fragile as the man started running, pulling me after him. The shotguns went off and I cried out in fear of getting hit by a bullet, but the man holding me swerved around and made us run behind the bank. As we were running, my eyes fell on the side of the building, and I was shocked to see a huge hole in it. They blew up the bank! These were the bandits! Eyes falling on the man that finally slowed down as we came to a stop next to a black car, I realized it was Woozi. I jumped when he opened the backdoor and pushed me inside harshly, making me hit my face in the cushion. Suddenly, he was sitting inside and the engine of the car was ignited to life and put into movement. I sat up straight in the seat, I’ve never sat inside a car before, my whole-body trembling in fear as I bit my lower rip, trying to stop myself from crying. It was quiet inside the car and I realized five men were sitting inside. Three in the front, the seats were connected, and two on the backseat with me. I knew immediately who they were and it made me more fearful.

“Will—will you kill me?” I choked out and one whipped his head around, his eyes being the only thing I could see through the rag that he wore as a mask to protect his identity.

“I don’t know, should we?” I shook my head furiously ‘no’ and someone hissed.

“Stop fucking around with her! She’s already scared shitless!” Junhui snapped from the driver’s seat and my heart started thumping furiously.

“Why did you even take her?” Joshua’s soft voice was cold and I looked down at my lap.

“She was good distraction, I only got away because the town people didn’t want to shoot her.” Woozi said and suddenly Seungkwan started cackling loudly, throwing his head back. I didn’t understand what was so funny but I didn’t want to find out.

“What are we going to do with her?” Minghao muttered, glancing at me from beside me. I looked away and prayed to myself no one would say ‘kill her’.

“We’ll think about that later!” Junhui snapped before the others could say anything else. And then suddenly, loud sirens could be heard coming from behind us and I turned my head to see the sheriff’s car chasing after ours. Then gunshots rang through, the boys screamed at each other inside the car, and then all I could remember was a loud screeching noise, and the car in the air flipping over. Then, I woke up in a prison cell all alone, hurt and scared.

Present time

Junhui and I had to be silent as we ran through the corridors of the station, having successfully escaped from the dungeon. Jun was guiding me from behind and as we rounded the corner, I ran into a solid body. My cry was silent as my face was pressed into the chest of the man, but before I could start further panicking and making a scene, Junhui pulled me away and I saw it was Joshua. He gave me a glare before exchanging a glance with Junhui and disappearing around the corner.

“What are we doing?” I whispered confused to Jun, raising my eyebrows at him as I pressed myself up against the wall.

“Breaking out.” Junhui answered with a chuckle, looking around the corner. Then he gripped my hand into his and we were running down the long hallway once again, coming to a stop in front of the closed door.

“Listen, once we get out…nothing is guaranteed. Are you ready to make this commitment?” Junhui’s voice was low, warning but reassuring at the same time. I took a deep breath and looked into his eyes as I let the breath out slowly.

“Do you promise not to abandon me then? Will you let me become one of you?” I whispered at Jun, squeezing his hand.

“We don’t have much of a choice, do we?” A smirk pulled onto his lips and I mirrored him, suddenly feeling excited about the promise of a new life.

The door got cracked open suddenly and I jumped scared, looking at Jun, “If you’re done being disgusting, take this.”

It was Woozi and he pushed a handgun into my hand, then another one. I looked at Junhui confused as he took one but left the other for me.

“Don’t shoot any of us—the rest we don’t care about.” My mouth fell open as Woozi opened the door and pulled me outside, shielding my body as he looked around.

“Coast is clear.” He muttered almost so quietly I didn’t hear him, “We only have to get to that car.”

It was the sheriff’s car and it was a good one-hundred-fifteen meters away from where we were standing. I readied myself to run, when suddenly a bullet wheezed past our heads. I screamed and ducked down, Junhui and Woozi forming a barrier around me.

“Fuck, they noticed too quickly!” Junhui hissed as we were ducking behind some old wood kept for heating in the winter.

“Whatever, we have to go!” Woozi shook his head and turned his head to look at me, “You start running first and we’ll make sure you don’t get shot, yeah?”

“What?!” I exclaimed but before what he said could settle in, I was pushed forward and even almost faceplanted into the dirt. Gunshots almost immediately went off and I screamed as I scurried off the ground and started running. I couldn’t help but scream the whole time, gun waving around in my hand, until I got to the car. I rammed into the side of it, chest rising and falling as I tried to shield myself from any further danger, but the shooting didn’t stop even for a second. The driver’s door got thrown open and suddenly I could see Jun and Woozi running our way. They were running in zig-zag as they sprinted towards the car and my eyes widened when one officer, the one I was familiar with, started running after them with his shotgun raised high. My heart thumped wildly and all I could think of was, what if he shoots Junhui? With trembling hands, I raised my arms, gripping the handgun with both tightly, and stepped away from the little safety the car offered. And then I started firing as well, on the verge of screaming once again. But as Junhui jumped inside the car, I pulled the trigger for the last time, and got dragged inside the car by Woozi. My eyes widened when I saw the officer falling to the ground with a loud cry, holding onto his leg. The car door got slammed shut and almost immediately we took off, kicking up dirt behind us. I remained looking ahead shocked, unphased by the dangerous maneuvers Junhui was making. I just shot a man. And then suddenly, everyone in the car was cheering loudly. I yelped when my back was patted roughly by Seungkwan, who was sitting in the back, a wide grin on his lips.

“Welcome to your new life, Y/N.” Seungkwan said with a smirk and a breathy chuckle left my lips as I looked at the five men sitting inside the car.

“I just shot a man!”

“Won’t be your last time.” Joshua said with a proud smirk and I couldn’t say anything.

I never thought my life would turn into this, but oh boy, this was the best choice I made after leaving my hometown.

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batmanisagatewaydrug · 5 years

Note

*Victorian England little orphan boy voice* please sir, tell us a story. Any story you like. Just hopin' tho if ye please that it be gay? Thank you kindly sir. Thank ye

June I’ve had this sitting in my inbox for AGES with no idea what to write for you even though that’s absurd because EVERYTHING I write is gay so I’ve decided to just. give you the 4400 word first chapter to a possible future fantasy heist novel that I wrote the other day. hope you like it, I liked writing it.

Fen Davos was no stranger to being woken in the dead of night. It had been a hallmark of the neighborhood in which she had grown up, soothing as any lullaby, and was a staple of her current line of work. One did not last long as a guard in the Royal Palace of Deralia, not even a low-ranking guard, if one was not willing to jump out of bed and snap to attention at the oddest of hours.

Even taking that into account, it was not often that her wakeup call came from excitable urchins who had plainly clambered in through the window. Alarmed to find the ragamuffin child shaking her and leaning right into her face, Fen did the only thing that made sense at the moment: she swung a fist to put some distance between them.

“Oof!” The child hit the ground like a sack of potatoes, rolling and clambering back to her feet immediately to sulk. “Why’d you have to do that? I only wanted to wake you up, you big skunk. It’s an emergency out there.”

Fen knew that voice. Groaning, she slid out of bed and touched a hand to the globe of moon moths that stood on her night table. Startled, the insect began to flutter around their enclosure, filling the room with a soft white light.

The urchin girl’s mismatched eyes went wide, either marvelling at the splendor or adding up how much she could earn selling such a thing to a pawnshop. “Get a load of that! That’s fancy!”

She would be impressed by that, wouldn’t she? Fen had, when she was first promoted into the palace lodgings. She’d spent a fortnight worrying about the poor moths living and dying in that glass prison before it dawned on her that they were only little wisps of magic, not real flesh and blood creatures that could live and die. Grouty came from the same neighborhood, only a few blocks poorer; of course she’d want to have a good look.

Fen to a firm step to the left, putting herself between the moon moths and Grouty. “Focus up. Why are you here? Is someone from the neighborhood hurt?”

“Not exactly.” Grouty rocked back and forth on her heels with a sly look on her face. “I don’t know, wasn’t really that important. You’re probably too busy. Guess I could scurry off and grab a constable…”

“I’m not going to pay you for the pleasure of being woken up,” Fen snapped. Nevermind that she couldn’t have even if she wanted to; guards’ wages were doled out in the form of credit that was handled by the palace’s Master of Credit so that they never saw a single cold, hard coin. The idea was that they were more likely to live more virtuously if all their purchases had to be approved by someone else - or that they would at least have to pay for their guilty pleasures with their own coin. For someone like Fen, with nothing in the way of family money or extra income, that meant living an upright life indeed.

Still, she wasn’t without a few little luxuries. Knowing perfectly well that Grouty was unlikely to budge without bribery, she yanked open the drawer of her bedside table and withdrew a bag of sweet, soft caramels. She hurled it at Grouty, who let out a little yelp of surprise.

“There, you little louse. Now, for the last time, what’s going on?”

The urchin girl had already fumbled a candy halfway unwrapped, looking gleeful. “Lighten up, would you? It’s Maricelli, over at the theatre. She’s gotten in some trouble with a burglar.”

“You mean she’s been burgled?”

Nah, of course not,” Grouty said, teeth already caramel-bound together. “I mean some idiot tried to burgle her and she’s got him tied up to a chair with a crossbow pointing between his eyes. I don’t know what she needs you for.”

Fen sighed, then started on gathering up her boots, jacket, and sword. It was amazing, really, how the old neighborhood had a way of dragging you back.

A flying carpet for two across the city at such an unorthodox hour didn’t come cheap, but Fen consoled herself by thinking of it as an investment - as in, by not running the entire way on foot, she wouldn’t have to worry about her heart or lungs bursting from the strain, which was surely investing in her future.

The carpeteer let them off in front of the Perlicker Theatre, which proclaimed its name loudly with a sign that had been done up by some enchanter so that the words shone in a truly eye-watering shade of pink. After a few piteous early years of struggling for respectability the Perlicker had accepted its lot and proudly declared itself ‘The Best Worst Theatre in Town,’ becoming known for shows that featured death-defying fire stunts, incomprehensible musical numbers that frequently ended in nudity, and fake blood that could squirt fifteen feet into the audience - sometimes all at once, if you were lucky. Throughout the early evening the whole street was rocked by the laughter, screams, and music emanating immodestly from the Perlicker.

Peak hours were long over, though, and even scandalous entertainers needed their sleep. Fen followed Grouty around to the back door, where a low-rent guard nodded and let them into a stairway that led up to apartments reserved for the Perlicker’s best and brightest.

In the finest of these suites - a spacious arrangement with its own bathroom built in and a balcony that overlooked the theatre’s discrete maze garden - was Mericelli Rabineaux, sitting daintily cross-legged in a claw-footed armchair. She was wearing a gauzy floral robe, her purple hair in curlers, balancing a cup of tea on one knee, and, as promised, aiming a crossbow at a most unfortunate fellow who was bound and gagged with a variety of silk scarves in a chair that matched the first.

“Lovely to see you, Fen. It’s been too long,” Mericelli said with an unnerving calm. “I’d love to catch up, but I was hoping you might be able to help me with this teensy little situation first.”

Fen gave the man in the chair a long, hard look, and wasn’t sure whether or not she was relieved not to recognize him. Things would be messier if he were some unfortunate from the old neighborhood, of course, but at least she’d be in her element. Without that sort of advantage she wasn’t sure what would make Mericelli assume she was the right person for this job.

“No promises. I’m assuming there’s a good reason you couldn’t grab a constable off the street to handle this?”

Mericelli laughed in a showy way that belied no actual humor. “Naturally. This is no petty theft. We’re dealing with heartbreak! Betrayal! Scandal! The potential ruination of a perfectly good career!And worst of all, the potential to inconvenience someone irritably wealthy. Would you like to tell it?”

This last question was directed at the man tied to the chair; Mericelli even jabbed the crossbow a little in his direction for emphasis. He was looking a little queasy from the odreal, and the appearance of Fen - a strapping young woman, armed with a sword and an expression that said she wasn’t very fussed about using the sword on someone if it meant getting back to bed sooner - had done very little to put him at ease. He shook his head as well as he could.

“Fine. It’s about those,” Mericelli said. She nodded at a hatbox on her coffee table, overflowing with handwritten notes and pressed flowers the like. Groaty, who’d never met a personal possession she didn’t want to put her hands all over, descended on it at once, pawing through the papers with abandon.

“Gosh, this still reeks of perfume!” she announced. “The really hideous-smelling kind that you know must be expensive!”

“My former lover is a man of good breeding, not good taste or sense,” sighed Mericelli. “I always urged him to try a new scent, and every time he’d return with something more offensive. I found that charming, for awhile.”

Fen looked between the actress, the burglar, and the box of letters and thought she could see the equation answering itself as plainly as if the numbers were floating in the air before her. “Good Brights, please don’t tell me you’re blackmailing him.”

“Me? Blackmail him? I would never! Unlike him, I have no need for other people’s money,” Mericelli sniffed. “This a cowardly preemptive strike, according to our friend Mister Burglar, because the little gibbon is afraid of me doing something to ruin his wedding.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because he broke up with me a week ago by sending me the newspaper announcing their engagement.”

“It’s right here!” Groaty piped up, waving the offending clipping with obvious glee. “I remember hearing the newsmongers talking about this. ‘Lady Ifi Suwayama to Marry Sir Edwin Nicely in Surprise Ceremony.’ It’s all very suspicious on account of how sudden it was and how much more money her family’s got than him.”

“I can’t stand rich people,” Fen said with feeling. “I still don’t understand why I’m here, though. You clearly handled the burglar all on your own.”

Mericelli looked solemn, drawing her robe more tightly around herself as if the diaphanous flowers could protect her from what was coming. “There will be more, though. Neddy is a nervous boy, and once he’s got an idea in his head he can’t shake it until he’s done everything in his power to get rid of it. At risk of sounding like some fainting damsel, I am afraid of what he might do to me if he’s gotten the idea that I’m dangerous to him and his new bride.”

And I want you to fix it, was the unspoken end to that sentence. That had been Fen’s role for as long as she could remember, ever since she’d been old enough to toddle and hold a bottle and started getting left in charge of other children around the neighborhood. When you were flat out of luck and couldn’t out a single step in the right direction, good old Fen Davos would always be there to figure it out. She’d spent her whole childhood running herself ragged to fix other people’s messes, then grew up and decided she might as well get paid for it.

There could be no getting paid to straighten things out between Mericelli and Sir Nicely. Fen would have to be very discreet indeed, as it would look unseemly for a palace guard to be meddling in the affairs of actors and high society. She was pretty sure she couldn’t get all the way fired, not with her track record and connections, but there was every chance she’d get demoted back down to the city beat. No more cozy room of her own in the palace, that was for sure.

Mericelli gazed at her imploringly, the effect greatly magnified by her smudged black eye makeup making her appear extra tragic.

“Fine,” Fen said. “But let’s show Mister Burglar out before we give him any valuable information.”

He was small and wiry, as many of the best burglars were. Unfortunately for him this also made him extremely easy to pick up for somebody built like Fen, which is to say, the opposite of small and wiry. She untied him and hefted him easily, holding him by the seat of his pants and back of his neck before he could so much as squirm.

“Better luck next time,” Fen told him. “Don’t hit the pavement on your way out.”

Easier said than done, considering the way she tossed him over the balcony. The good news was that the burglar - who had some experience with this sort of thing - managed to aim his fall so that he landed on the heaps of trash set out behind the Perlicker, which had a bit of a cushioning effect. The bad news for him was that this trash drew stinging possums by the dozens, and they were fiercely territorial critters.

Don’t worry, he didn’t die.

As soon as he’d topled out of sight Mericelli put aside her teacup and crossbow and got to her feet, stretching so dramatically that you’d have thought she had spent a century in that chair. “Goodness, that was unpleasant. I really do appreciate you getting over here in such a hurry, Fen, you’re a pal. Can I get you any refreshments? I’m about to ravage some instant ramen, personally.”

They reconvened around the table jammed in the tiny corner kitchenette, over which a small facsimile of a chandelier twinkled. It seemed every inch of the place shimmered or shone in some way, every surface festooned with cast-off pieces of costumes, wigs, dancing shoes, masks, and outrageous costume jewelry, interspersed with candles, empty cups, and old magazines. It was an impressively ostentatious sort of clutter, and suited Mericelli well. She was much more at ease now that the burglar had gone, bustling around fixing up eggs and a mix of spices to dress up the cheap noodles.

“I have no excuse for not inviting you over sooner,except that it’s been one thing after another. Ned was taking up a shameful amount of time for awhile, and of course there’s always work - shows almost every night, choreography to learn and costumes to fit during the day. I suppose I don’t have to tell you how that is; the guard must keep you busy. You got the cactus I sent when you were promoted to the palace, didn’t you? Did you think it was funny? I thought it suited you better than flowers, and it lasts longer anway. And that’s all going well? It must be. You look good, definitely better fed than I’ve ever seen you. What’s the food like up there?”

“Can’t hold a candle to your ramen,” Fen said as a bowl was set in front of her - chipped, secondhand, with faded images of saccharine puppies gamboling around the rim. “You look nice. Purple hair suits you.”

Mericelli, seated now at the head of the table, preened happily. “It’s lilac, actually. Isn’t it something? You’d be astonished how often they make me dye it some fiendish new color. Pretty soon I’ll have to go blue and green again, for the Mermaid Festival, and before that I spent practically forever with silver hair for The Widow of Salamander Street.”

Groaty momentarily paused slurping up her noodles and looked thoughtful. “I liked the posters for that one, they were scary. Only you’re too young to be playing the Widow, though.”

“Forgive me, I didn’t realize you were a discerning theatrical critic. I’m playing the Littlest Fairy in Springtime Follies now; is that better for you?”

“You’re too old for that!” Groaty protested.

Fen raised an eyebrow. “You do the Follies here? That’s a children’s story.”

There was just enough reproach in her voice to make Mericelli look ever so slightly ashamed of herself. “Yes, well, we’ve made some changes. Fluffed up the songs a bit, added some conflict and drama and the like, threw in a few jokes. Not much actually happens in the original, if you think about it.”

“Not much needs to happen,” Fen said stubbornly, “it’s a lovely poem about doing good and helping others.”

“Exactly, and now it’s a lovely poem about doing good and helping others that happens to have a bit of racy stuff added in for flavor. I have a very suggestive dance with the flock of satyrs, it’s great fun!”

“Thrilling. Not that I don’t want to hear more about you defiling nursery rhymes, but why don’t we talk about your Nicely fellow now. Namely, how you think I can help.”

Mericelli’s face fell immediately, but as always she was able to collect herself and carry on. “Of course. First point of order, I’d like his letters kept somewhere safer, because I may need them if he tries to force me out of the city.”

“Is that likely?”

“He didn’t just send me the newspaper,” Mericelli said. “There was also a very long, rambling, painfully insincere letter about how he’s cherished our time together but feels he has to grow up and do the responsible thing by marrying a woman wealthy enough to let him be a kept man. He unsubtly suggested that it might be best for me to leave Brighthaven altogether, on the grounds that it would be terribly embarrassing for both of us if certain details of our relationship were to get out. You know how the upper crust are - they get terribly fussy about their children mingling too much before marriage, and I have enough of his awful attempts at erotic poetry to potentially call his whole wedding off.”

“Gross,” Groaty said vehemently.

“Seconded,” Fen agreed. “What about you though? No offense, but I thought actors were supposed to list scandals on their resumes. How does this hurt you?”

“Well, the sex part certainly doesn’t. But I’m afraid that in the course of our relationship I may have shared certain other intimate secrets with him, pertaining to my profession. I said some things about certain senior members of the theatrical community that wouldn’t reflect kindly on me at all, and could possibly keep me from ever coming near a leading role again if they were feeling petty. And I may have revealed one or two things about a few of the… less advertised events we put on here at the Perlicker. Those could get the whole place shut down, if I’m not mistaken.”

She delivered the monologue well, with clear eyes and hardly a quaver to her voice, but Fen could see how much the idea of it distressed her. Her work, her art, was everything to Mericelli, and she’d spent years taking undignified, unmemorable roles to get as far as she had. The Perlicker may have been a hotbed of ill-repute and tackiness, but it did command a certain kind of glamour and the dependable audience that Mericelli craved. The idea of having her entire career yanked away so soon after her star had finally started to rise had her more scared than she could admit.

“Right, then,” said Fen. “Here’s what we’ll do. You don’t panic, okay? I know someone who knows everything that happens in this city; I want to talk to her before we decide how worried we should be. He might just want his bad poetry back.”

“So I’m just supposed to live with burglars letting themselves in at all hours at my former lover’s behest?” Mericelli demanded.

“Absolutely not. If you trust me to, I’ll take them with me now and move them to the safest place I know later today. Groaty? You’ll need to run over to Ardessa’s and let her know I’ll be stopping by. Tell her I need a favor and that she’s probably not going to like it.”

Groaty pursed her lips, thinking it over and weighing it on her mental scales. “That’s a pretty big ask. You know how cranky she gets about same-day appointments. What’ll you give me for it?”

“What about this delicious meal I fixed for you, little ingrate?” Mericelli asked.

“Nah. That just covers me getting Fen in the first place, ‘cause you made me do it in a hurry and promised you’d pay me back later,” Groaty insisted.

“Alright, a week of baths here in my own tub. I’ve got fancy soap for bubble bath and everything.”

“Urgh, a week? What do I want that many baths or?”

Fen was feeling wildly out of her depth here. She didn’t want any of this showing up in her credit records, not to mention she didn’t think the Master of Coin would approve of her using palace funds to bribe a little urchin girl.

“How about this, then?” Mericelli went to her coffee table and fished around in the mess of handkerchiefs and playing cards, coming up with moonstone brooch painted with sinister black spiders. “I wore it when I was playing the Widow. Pawn it, wear it, put it in our slingshot, I don’t care. It’s yours.”

“Geez, that’s great! I’ll go hang around Ardessa’s right now, so I can get her first thing in the morning!” Groaty snatched the brooch up eagerly, immediately disappearing it into one of the many coats that comprised her shapeless gray coat. She slurped down the last of her ramen and hurried out the door, giving Fen and Mericelli an awkward little salute as she went.

“I should be on my way as well,” Fen said quietly, getting to her feet. “It will be sun up soon, and there will be questions if I’m not accounted for. Get some rest, alright? I’ll let you know as soon as I know anything, I promise.”

She gave her old friend a hug, during which Mericelli squeezed Fen a little extra tight, then departed with the incriminating hatbox tucked under her arm. She considered finding another carpeteer but ultimately decided against it. Saving money never hurt, and in any case she needed a chance to think. Prestigious as working at the palace was, there was nothing like a walk through the streets of Brighthaven in the wee hours of morning to really get the brain working. Fen had told Mericelli not to panic and she meant it, but she would personally be planning for the worst case scenario so that she could be twelve steps ahead if it arrived. Already there were more moving parts to this than she liked, and she had a gut feeling things would only get more convoluted.

By the time she got back to the palace she was tired in body and mind. She nodded to the guards on the gate, who gave her an odd look but didn’t make a fuss about it, and headed straight for the most secure place she could currently access. Ardessa’s tower was the ultimate goal, of course, but a princess’ chambers would do until then. No one stopped her there, either; everyone was well aware of the young princess’ special fondness for Fen.

Twelve was already awake when Fen entered her room, hunched over her workbench in pajamas and a pair of enormous magnifying goggles and tinkering with the mechanical innards of her latest cuckoo clock.

“Hello, you,” the princess said vaguely when Fen hugged her from behind and kissed the top of her frizzy head. “This is awfully early. Would you like some breakfast?”

Someone had been around with a tray, fat blue pancakes and fresh fruit and bacon done perfectly crispy. Fen helped herself to a few grapes as she kicked off her boots, then had a heavy seat on Twelve’s canopy bed.

Twelve wasn’t her given name, of course, but the Deralian royal family were sticklers for tradition and only had so many names to go around. Twelve’s given name was shared with two of her eleven older siblings, several aunts and uncles, and innumerable distant cousins, so being referred to by birth order had honestly seemed more affectionate to everyone involved.

Her family did cherish her, truly, but they were also large and sprawling and had quite a lot on their royal platters, but given how far removed she was from any chance of ever sitting on the throne she did tend to slip through the cracks from time to time. Twelve’s parents had long since lost their patience with arranging for etiquette lessons and politically advantageous marriages by the time their last child was of age for such things, and as such she was largely left to do whatever she liked so long as it didn’t embarrass the family too badly or cause any international incidents. For the most part Twelve was perfectly content to spend this freedom in pursuit of increasingly niche hobbies.

There were a few downsides, of course, namely practical ones: when it came to protecting the line of succession, the palace guards started cutting corners somewhere around number six. Still, even the worst-protected princess enjoyed security miles better than the average person.

“I need to hide this here for a few hours,” Fen said, sliding the hatbox beneath Twelve’s bed. “Sorry, it’s a long story. I’m trying to help a friend.”

Twelve spun her chair around, pushing her goggles up to get a better look at her girlfriend. She was concerned by what she saw. “Helping friends is always a yes from me, but you look exhausted. What have you been doing?”

“Had to get across town to help clean up after an almost-burglary,” Fen said, yawning through half the explanation.

“Good Brights, is your friend okay?”

“She’s fine. The burglar had a rough time though.”

“Ah. Atta girl.”

“You know I hate to ask for favors,” Fen said, “but I still need to do a few more things today to wrap up the loose ends. Could you tell the Captain you need me all day, to stop her harassing me about it?”

“Only if you’ll get a few hours of sleep before you go. Uh uh, no arguing about it!” Twelve said, swiftly anticipating the next words out of Fen’s mouth. “The sun’s not even up yet. You can at least have a nap before you go running off to be dashing and noble and heroic.”

Fen lay back on the bed, smiling as she shut her eyes. “Not hardly that exciting, goose. I’m doing what’s right, that’s all.”

Twelve clucked her tongue. “Get under the covers, would you? Get comfortable. I’ll go see about getting you the day off.”

She dropped a kiss on Fen’s cheek and disappeared into the hallway for a bit, having some word or other with the other guards about a dire need to requisition Sergeant Davos for the day in order to have her run some very important personal errands. No one was likely to question that too closely; the last time Twelve had requested Fen’s presence for personal reasons neither of them had left the princess’ room for a solid day.

By the time Twelve returned Fen had dutifully crawled under the covers and was already half asleep. Fen could hear her girlfriend taking great pains to move as quietly as possible and slide into bed with as little jostling as possible, and it made her smile into the pillow. Twelve was not particularly graceful or stealthy by nature, but it was sweet how she tried. She wrapped an arm around Fen’s middle, cuddling her close and planting a kiss on her neck, and Fen exhaled contentment. It took a lot to quiet her mind and put a pause to her planning, but falling asleep cuddled up with Twelve worked better than any sleeping potion she’d ever tried.

#a writing #trans-zatanna

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