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The cold winter winds bite at Tulip's exposed skin, and he shivers, wishing he'd thought to bring warmer clothes with him. Well, no matter- he'll be in and out in a blink, if all goes according to plan. And things always go according to plan.
Tulip squints at the mansion located a few hundred feet away; it seems merry as ever. Lighting shines bright through the glass windows, a stark contrast to the evening darkness that has begun to fall. If he strains his ears, he can hear the laughter and chattering of the many men and women inside. Vera Nair is a popular woman of high social standing, so it only figures that she would invite practically every noble and "important figure" available to her party. Tulip's heard she'd even gotten some war heroes to attend, but he isn't sure of all the details; he'd learned of the gathering by chance, passing through the local market. At one of the stalls, two women who'd been invited had been gossiping, debating with each other as to whether they should attend or not. Tulip couldn't blame them. Lady Nair may be rich, attractive, and prestigious, but she isn't exactly the nicest person to be around; he'd gained that unfortunate knowledge firsthand a few years back, in an experience he would rather not dwell on.
But none of that matters now. What does matter is that this is a good opportunity, a perfect opportunity for him to strike. All of these people will be distracted, and he'll be able to slip in and out of a second-floor room easily. Nair won't know what's hit her. Tulip chuckles quietly to himself as he approaches the mansion, sticking to the line of trees set against the path so he won't be spotted in case anyone happens to be looking outside. Reaching a particularly large oak, Tulip glances up at its branches. Several seem to be decaying, but there are a few that still look strong. Tulip grips onto one of the lower branches, hooks a leg over another, and began to climb.
It's harder than he'd originally anticipated, especially with the sounds of talking and music so much louder now that he's closer to the building, but he's had to deal with worse before. Tulip's just about to scoot down the length of one of the sturdier branches to make a grab for a second-floor windowsill when the sound of a door swinging open below causes him to freeze. Damn. From the sounds of footsteps and voices, he guesses whoever has just exited is right below his tree; they will certainly see him if they look up.
"God, I can't stand to be in there a second longer," one of them complains.
Another voice replies, more monotone. "You know we can't leave. I would have done so by now if I could. But Nair will be too offended. Do you want her to slander both of our names?"
The first person groans. "Come on, Carl. You know she already doesn't like either of us anyway."
Tulip feels his grip on the branch alarmingly beginning to slip. He's virtually stuck; he can't go back down or they'll see him for sure. But he can't jump to the windowsill, because they would also look up for sure. The only thing he can do is pray that they leave soon.
"Mm." The second voice doesn't sound too sympathetic. "And she would like us even less if we left." A pause. "However, it's up to you. Go ahead if you'd like to test it out. I'll suffer enough tonight for the both of us anyway."
A sigh. "No, you're right. Let's get it over with, then." The footsteps recede, and the door opens and shuts again.
Tulip lets out an audible breath of relief as he hoists himself back up over the branch, vaulting across to the open window with a soft thud. Hanging onto the sill, he brings one leg up over the edge, then the other, rolling over the edge of the window into the room itself. Standing quickly, he surveys his surroundings. As he'd anticipated, there's nobody in this room; everyone is enjoying the party (or perhaps suffering through it, in some cases) downstairs. His eyes flick to the large chest of drawers on the far side of the room, and then to the nightstand with a single drawer next to the giant bed.
Tulip digs around in his pockets, retrieving a few long pieces of metal. Kneeling in front of the nightstand, he eases the tools into the keyhole of the locked drawer, jiggling them around a little before he hears the telltale click. He pauses again, listening for any noises outside the door, but there are none. As he slides open the drawer, his eyes fall instantly on the ring of keys inside. Bingo. Aristocrats are certainly predictable, to say the least. Tulip picks up the keys, twirling them around his index finger as he moves over to the chest.
It takes a few tries, but he manages to figure out which keys go to which drawers in a few minutes. Tulip makes quick work of the top lock, peering inside. Nothing but fancy clothes in there, colorful silks and satins. Not what he's looking for right now, and not what he came here for, though they certainly catch his interest. He forces himself to move on to the second drawer. A simple wooden box is placed in there, surprisingly without a lock. Tulip withdraws it from the drawer and opens it up eagerly. He's greeted instantly with the sight of shimmering jewelry, golds and silvers gleaming in the faint evening light pouring from the windows. Scooping up the adornments, he empties them quickly into the bag attached to his belt before replacing the box and locking up all the drawers once more. Nair won't know a thing is off until she actually looks inside the box. Tulip crosses back over to the nightstand swiftly, intending to put the ring of keys back before making his exit, but then there comes the sound of the door opening.
Time seems to move in slow motion; Tulip, panicking, drops the keys back into the drawer and slams it shut with his hip, reaching for the windowsill, but it's too late. The door swings back, revealing a man in the doorway. He and Tulip stare at each other for what feels like an eternity, one clearly surprised and the other clearly guilty. Fuck, this wasn't supposed to happen. Nobody was supposed to come up here. Tulip swallows, offering a sheepish grin. The other man doesn't look charmed.
"Who are you?" the stranger speaks bluntly. In a flash, Tulip realizes it's one of the same voices he'd heard while in the tree. Not "Carl," but the other one.
Tulip shrugs. "I'm..." He hesitates. No point in lying; surely the other had seen him drop the keys. "Who are you?" he asks, stalling. For what, he isn't sure.
"I asked you first." The man's eyes narrow, pale blue jacket shifting across his shoulders as he steps closer. "Though on second thought, I suppose it doesn't really matter. It's only too clear what you're doing here, so who you are doesn't change anything."
Tulip bristles, standing straighter. Despite the height difference between them, the stone-cold gaze of the stranger is all too piercing. "What do you intend to do, then?" he challenges. "Stop me? You can't. Go ahead, try it." His hand wanders to the sword at his waist; he's confident in his own abilities.
The man just shakes his head, heaving a sigh. "What did you take?"
The question takes Tulip off guard. "Pardon?"
The other huffs. "You stole something. What was it?"
"Why do you want to know? And why should I tell you?" Tulip eyes him suspiciously.
"Alright, then. If that's how you want to do this." The man steps back towards the open door, taking in a deep breath like he's about to call someone else up. Tulip sputters, lunging forwards to catch his wrist. "Wait! Wait. It was just-" He fumbles for the bulging pouch at his belt, undoing the drawstrings and exposing the glittering chains, gemstones, and pendants within.
The man peers closer. "Just?" he echoes, looking vaguely amused. Tulip frowned, unsure of what's so funny about this situation. "Well?" he drawls at last, closing the bag again. "You gonna turn me in now?" What a way to go, getting caught looting a rich woman at her own party. Tulip curses his stupidity for what feels like the thousandth time in the last five minutes. He should have heard footsteps outside the door, but he'd been too preoccupied with the jewelry.
To his surprise, the man squints at him for a second before saying something that seems completely unrelated to the situation. "Colonel Dax."
"Huh?" Tulip quirks a brow.
"You asked who I am earlier. That's what everybody knows me as." Dax crosses his arms.
"A colonel, huh." Tulip barks a humorless laugh. "So that means I'm definitely in trouble."
Dax simply shakes his head. "I recognize you now. You're the one they call the Black Tulip, aren't you?"
"What gave it away?" Tulip is being sarcastic, but he is a bit surprised that the man knows of him. Though... he's certainly made a name for himself, especially in the past few months. Perhaps he shouldn't be so taken aback.
Dax crooks a brow in a way that Tulip finds strangely fascinating. "Where should I start... the unnecessarily long sword? The excessively open collar? Or the black tulip on your hat?"
Tulip coughs, feeling heat rise to his cheeks. "Well, what are you planning to do with me? I'm at your mercy, sir." He gives a mock bow, but he really is curious on what Dax has in mind.
The colonel hesitates, glancing back towards the door for a fraction of a second before his eyes flick back to Tulip. Tulip realizes that Dax's eyes are a distracting shade of blue, deep and rich as an ocean but stormy as the tide that laps at the bay. Well, that's certainly a helpful observation. Good job, Norton.
"I'm not going to turn you in."
Tulip blinks as he realizes, slightly belatedly, what Dax has just said. "Pardon?"
Dax steps closer. Tulip steps back. "I'll let you go, this one time," he repeats, clarifying.
"... Why?" Tulip knows he should take it and go before the colonel changes his mind, but he's genuinely curious. He can't think of a single reason why Dax would let him go scot-free.
Dax purses his lips. That draws Tulip's attention to a set of scars at the side of his mouth, and he finds himself staring for a second before coming to his senses. God, what's going on with him? Snap out of it.
"I think... the aristocracy could stand to be taken down a peg," Dax says slowly, choosing his words deliberately. "And while what you're doing is certainly illegal, I don't see how it could really harm anyone. Nair's life won't be too affected if she loses her jewelry, but she'll certainly be furious."
"But aren't you a colonel?" Tulip says, a bit stupidly.
Dax's eyes darken, and Tulip knows he shouldn't have said that. "Not by choice," is all the other says on the topic. He glances back up and takes another step forward. Tulip takes another step back and feels the back of his knees hit the edge of the bed.
"Listen. I don't care what you do, as long as you don't kill anyone, or hurt anyone innocent," Dax says. "And I'm trusting my instincts, which tell me you aren't that kind of person anyway. So you're free to go. Just... don't get caught again." His lip quirks up in the faintest of ways as he says the last part.
He's so close that Tulip can smell him, which might be a strange thing to say, but he smells good. Like a combination of pine and ash that somehow go well together.
Dax snaps his fingers in front of Tulip's face to get his attention, and Tulip realizes he's spaced out again. "Um... yes. Thank you," Tulip manages. Dax doesn't move back, and Tulip feels himself begin to sweat. "Should I... go now?" he asks, very intelligently.
"Hmm." Dax reaches out and pats his silver cross necklace, right over his heart. "Yes, you can go," he echoes, finally stepping back. Tulip is sure his entire face is red, but he does his best to hide it, reaching up to tip his hat down and clear his throat. As he turns away to head back to the windowsill, he sees Dax smirk after him from his peripheral vision. Fuck, that bastard probably knows exactly what he's doing.
Tulip eases himself through the window, making an impressive leap for one of the sturdier branches of the tree outside. Miraculously, it holds under the sudden weight. He looks back up and sees Dax leaning against the window, watching him.
"Thank you, again," he says, just because it feels like the right thing to say.
"Mm." Dax nods in acknowledgement. "I'm sure we'll meet again, Black Tulip. But for now, I bid you luck." Then he's gone, jacket fluttering behind him as he disappears from sight around the corner.
Tulip eases himself down the trunk of the tree. He feels... strangely, a bit more contented than he really should, given he was just caught and nearly apprehended. He, too, is sure he'll meet the colonel again, though he doesn't know why. He faces the moon, taking a breath of the night air and exhaling slowly. Things may not have gone as planned, but they certainly ended up being a little more interesting.