Chapter Text
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This kingdom was fun.
A few days after you’d snuck around and snatched the occasional fancy vase and bag of gold, there had been a spell of slippery windowsills waiting for you, made of ice no match would melt. And each day that passed, as night fell and as you creeped into the castle by slipping through some cracks, there would be another trap waiting for you.
A royal sorcerer’s doing, obviously; a creative one, at that.
A few weeks go by of playing cat and mouse with a stranger before you decide to finally find this mysterious sorcerer- would you be the cat or mouse in this scenario, giving in to such curiosity? You spend the night rummaging through drawers and softly blowing sleeping powder on the heads of unsuspecting guards who got much too little sleep already.
And as you step in front of a stone set of spiral stares, you narrow your eyes in delight as the realization comes to you all at once.
Maybe, if you’re lucky, you can catch a look at their sleeping face before you leave with their own little treasures in your pockets. You sneak up the stairs, hand trailing along the rough wall, eyes squinting through the dark as you reach the top and find a door there.
Shaking your head with a little smile at the grim decor around it, you press the door open as quietly as you can, shutting it behind you just the same as your eyes trail around the room, trying to spot anything valuable.
You go to take a step forward, when something lurches in the dark, taking hold of you and pushing you harshly against the wall- you let out a hiss as your back hits the rough stone texture, and your bag falls against the floor with a clang.
Now, you’ve always been fairly confident in your night-vision; it’s never failed you before, after all! Except it failed you now. It definitely, definitely failed you now.
“Well, well… just what do you think you’re doing?” A man, who must be the kingdom’s royal sorcerer, grumbles out from above you, hand firmly pressed against your shoulder to keep you in place against the wall- his voice is rasped and heavy with sleep. “Sneaking into my tower, hm? Trying to take something that’s not yours?”
Wow. Alright. So the royal sorcerer here has a pretty nice voice, apparently.
Okay then, you think to yourself, let’s re-evaluate here. Maybe it hasn’t failed you. Now that he’s close though, you can certainly see him better in the dark- that is, see the way his buttoned-up shirt is loose, and how his purple robe is falling off his shoulders on one side.
“You’ve been quite the thorn in my side,” He continues, eyes narrowed as his lips curl back to show a set of sharp teeth.
You can do this. You will not flirt with the royal goddamn sorcerer. You will not .
“I mean, well surely I haven’t been that-” You begin with your infamous charming smile, cutting yourself off as the man’s face sours, hand tightening on your shoulder. “Okay, maybe you’re a little mad, then. Just a teensy bit.”
“You got any idea how many of my spells you’ve completely ruined?” He hisses, leaning forward a bit as he stares you down. You really, truly don’t think he realizes how close he is. “And this is what gets you? Really? Waiting in the dark for you to try and rob me?”
“I wouldn’t call it robbing. Just taking something and not returning it, ever.” You correct him offhandedly.
The sorcerer closes his eyes, bringing his free hand forward to pinch the brink of his nose, grumbling to himself under his breath. You take the chance to move your head around, trying to spy an exit of some kind.
The sun will be rising soon, and you really should be gone before then.
Within a few seconds, your face is pushed back forward; your eyes land on the man’s other hand, holding onto a white wooden wand, its curved point now resting under your chin.
“Ah, ah,” The sorcerer tuts, smirking now with a sly glint in his eyes. “Looking for an escape of some kind, is that right? Can’t have that, now can we?” He drawls.
His expression sends a shiver down your spine- and you cannot for the life of you get the thought out of your head that if you were to just lean forward and tilt your head a little…
Well- actually. That might work.
“Well, what can we have then?” You hum back, fluttering your eyes a little. God damn, you still got it. “You’re standing awfully close there for someone trying to capture me.”
A good few quiet seconds pass. You get the delightful sight of a red hue blooming from his ears to his face.
“You’re blushing,” You comment, giving a toothy grin of your own.
“Quiet,” He fumes, attempting to glare at you through his flushed expression. It’s not really working. “I am- I’m restraining you, not- not-”
“Not seducing me?” You drawl, smirking as you bring a finger up to curl under the ribbon tied around his neck- you tug him down a little closer to your own face. “You just like pinning people against the wall for no other reason, then?”
You hear his breath hitch; the hand on your shoulder shakes for a moment before tightening its hold again, the wand he’s holding tilting your head up ever so slightly.
“I’d say you’re the one trying to- to seduce me here,” He huffs, face pulled in a defiant frown, gnawing on his lower lip with his face painted red. “You’ve no room to talk.”
“We could certainly do less talking,” You reply, letting go of the ribbon to trail your hand back around his neck, fingers curling in his hair. “If you’d like. Shut this running mouth of mine up. You’d enjoy that, I bet.”
You chuckle a bit, eyes falling to the side as you look through the window as casually as you can- the sky is only turning a dusty pink along the horizon. You really, really hope this works. It’s far too big a hassle to plan a whole jailbreak.
The sorcerer has fallen silent, much to your dismay. You quite liked your back-and-forth.
“How scandalous would that be, huh? A roooyal sorcerer, having relations with a common thief. Wouldn’t that be some tasty gossip.” You drawl, voice taking on a teasing tilt to it. “But what do I know… Maybe you’re into tha--”
You feel the sorcerer’s hand fall from your shoulder to your hip, voice trailing off weakly when you flick your eyes back over to him and he crowds closer to you all at once. His other hand tucks his wand back into his sleeve, and goes grabs your face, bringing it closer.
“I’m seeing the appeal of shutting you up, alright,” he growls, glare fixed firmly upon his face yet again, though the blush stays strong upon it.
He muffles your response before you can make it, taking your breath away with the sudden kiss. Exhaling in delight, you tangle your hand in his hair, shutting your eyes tightly closed. He makes an almost possessive sound at that, and you grin a bit, or as much as one can when being kissed so fervently, and tug on his hair.
He breaks the kiss once, breathing heavily, then dives back in hungrily, and those spare seconds you see his flushed face and blown out pupils are heaven to you.
Whoever said you couldn’t enjoy a successful seduction?
His sharp teeth catch your lips now and then, sending shivers down your spine, the feeling making you dizzy. The hand gripping your chin shakes and falls down to rest above your collarbone, almost resting on your neck, and surely then he must feel how your heart is practically beating out of your chest.
But alas, good times must always come to an end at some point, especially when you have an escape to get to.
You do your best to feel around for the sorcerer’s sleeve as sneakily as you can, satisfaction growing in your chest as you grab onto the wand tucked into it, and bask in the heavy kisses while you can, nearly overwhelmed by it.
But soon you pull him back by his hair with a gasp, making sure to keep his face close, as to keep him from noticing the wand you’re now holding out of his sight.
The sorcerer pants a bit, looking surprised at his own actions, and bites his lip again, fangs pulling at it as he stares at you, almost awestruck. Your eyes soften a little- such a handsome man deserves to be known to you by name and not just title.
“Your name,” You ask, albeit breathless. “What’s your name?”
He stops then, eyes widening, and opens his mouth to speak, though he only manages to get the words out after a moment of silence.
“Cedric,” He replies in that hoarse voice of his- it is then you notice a line of drool at the corner of his mouth, and you mourn the lost chance of another kiss.
“Cedric…” You repeat slowly, trying the name out in your own voice, giving him a small grin as you chuckle. “Well, Cedric… I’ve one thing to say.”
Cedric furrows his brow, and begins to back up with a look akin to suspicion- which, rightfully so, of course. You twirl the wand in your hands, bringing it into his line of sight and delighting in the expression of oh, fuck right before you wave it in his direction.
“Flotilla sorcero,” You sing, an impish smirk on your face as your eyes trail up along with him, watching him sputter as he floats up into the air. Those magic books you stole from the library the other night really did come in handy, didn't they? “And that’s another score in the tally marks for me.”
“You, you- you-!” He stutters, trying to swim through the air to grab at you, but he just keeps floating up and up… It’s adorable.
“I won’t steal the wand, don’t you worry about that, hot stuff,” You call up with a wink, and lean down to pick up your bag filled with jewels and gold, stretching your arms up above your head with a yawn. “In fact, I don’t really have time to steal anything in here. Sleeping powder doesn’t last forever, y’know.”
You spin around a bit, sighing and taking in the sight of Cedric’s tower as the sun peeks up and light pours in through the window bit by bit. You coo a little teasingly, bringing a hand up to your cheek.
“What a lovely little workshop you have,” You comment, tilting your head up to look at the wallowing sorcerer.
There is none of that back and forth when you were pressed against the wall, however- in fact, he’s not looking at you at all.
Well… There are a few mixed signals you’re placing here and there. Hm.
You wave the wand around a bit more, lowering him from the ceiling but still keeping him suspended in the air, and turn him to face you with a raised eyebrow.
“I do enjoy all those spells you put out, you know,” You mention quietly. “It’s always so much fun seeing what you’ve conjured up for the night.”
He still doesn’t reply, arms crossed and everything- which would be silly if you weren’t also pouting. Maybe he didn’t take it the right way?
“I enjoy it,” You continue, trailing off and waving him closer. “I enjoy you.”
“Yes, which is why I’m your scapegoat,” He huffs sarcastically with a roll of his eyes, a pink in his cheeks leftover from the vibrant red it was before.
You hum at that, smiling wryly before leaning forward and planting a kiss right below his eye. His shoulders rise up at that, and he turns his face to look at you, finally.
“I love this little cat and mouse thing we’ve got going on,” You tut playfully, a finger under his chin. “I don’t think there’s any use telling the King about this though, hm? Much better to save the good news for when you’ve really got me, ah… pinned against the wall.” You grin, hoping he gets the memo; by the nervous gulp, you’re sure he does.
“Yes, I… Suppose I will tell King Roland I saw no sight of you to-tonight.” He stammers, licking his lips nervously. “And that I will keep… trying to catch you.”
“And I do so hope I get caught every now and then,” You sigh wistfully, lowering your hand from his chin and turning around absent-mindedly. “Else that’ll take all the fun out of it…”
You turn around just in time to see his face glow a little red again, and reach into your pocket to grab at the small pouch there, turning it around in your hands nonchalantly.
“Oh, and make sure you tell King Roland…” You begin, voice dragging out as you loosen the string to open it, grabbing a pinch of the dust inside. “He really ought not to make you stay up so late again.”
You blow the dust pinched between your fingers onto his face, and within seconds he is fast asleep, snores and all.
When he awakes later, in the middle of the day, he will pointedly ignore any comments of the annoying thief that’s been scouring the castle, and perhaps even go a little red in the face if asked about it.
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