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The blistering sand felt like ushering waves under her feet, pulling her towards the temple ahead of her. Rouge had been planning this heist for a while; a colleague at GUN had mentioned this location in passing, and she couldn’t give up the free opportunity to score a few irreplaceable artifacts.
Cool air filled the temple's interior. Had it been built with the intention to fend off the scalding heat of the desert? It was an intelligent civilization living here, it seemed. Rouge's steps echoed inside its lengthy tunnel. Soon, she found herself in what appeared to be the temple's main area. The expanse was beset with mesmerizing patterns, ones she had never seen in all her years of exploring. In the four corners of the room were miniature columns, all holding some object, hidden by the rag draped atop them.
But Rouge's eyes were drawn to the uncovered object in the centre of the room, sitting upon its own larger, cleaner column. It was suspicious how well kept it was; how dust didn’t sleep on the surface like it did for everything else in the room, but Rouge’s feet had already started taking purposeful steps towards the middle of the floor.
It was a lamp. Copper? No, a coloured gold. Rouge wondered how much an artifact like this would go for. Not that she would sell it. Cautiously, she picked up the lamp, watching how it shined in the light that peaked through the tall temple walls. A spec of dust got on the pristine lamp, likely from herself. She blew it off gently–
Woosh!
Rouge coughed as a pink, glittery cloud blocked her sight and entered her lungs. It cleared quickly, and she was now face to face with a figure, seemingly taller than herself. She wasted no time, releasing her wings and swiftly jumping back and planting herself far enough to where she could fight or flee if necessary.
“Who are you?” She cut through the prolonged silence.
“...who are you?” The person replied.
Person…. Rouge assessed the individual ahead of her. Was that a person? She picked up on the transparency of his skin, the way it seemed his whole body was under a red hue, while the rest of the world remained unaffected. And his height….he wasn’t especially tall like she had presumed.
“Where are your legs..?”
“That’s awfully brash. Where are you manners?” The man gained a dignified attitude he lacked moments earlier.
She assessed that this presence wasn't a threat. More of the coloured gold hung from the apparition’s ear. In a moment, Rouge was at the man’s throat, hands reaching up to swipe the lustrous jewellery. Her fingertips slipped through the ripple of his body. She stepped back and laughed.
“What are you, a genie?”
“Yes.”
“Huh?” Rouge blinked. Everything added up, but was he really..?
“Your wishes?”
“Um….”
“Your three wishes. Don't play dumb.”
Rouge gritted her teeth. This temple mascot was very unceremonious… Rouge had always heard about genies, seen them in movies, etc, but she had never believed them to be real. What was the point of listening to the end of such fictitious stories?...Was she being played for a fool?
She brushed off any dust that had collected on her suit.
“I'm not interested in your wishes. I’m just here to collect that lamp.” Rouge pointed a strong finger towards the gold lamp the man had come out of.
“Then it’s yours.”
After the those words, the lamp she was eyeing silently disappeared from her line of vision, without any theatrics, and its presence immediately replaced by the genie– yes, genie; there was no denying it now– who was far too close for comfort, holding the lamp in the little space between them like a cradled child. He placed the artifact in her arms, though Rouge’s eyes were no longer glued to the lamp.
Had she ever seen someone so…beautiful? She’d only admired treasures, valuable pieces that could never be replaced, not humans. Humans were beautiful things, but they hurt, through lies and unkempt promises. The being in front of her seemed to be the bridge between these two things, and somehow had managed to be the most encapsulating of them all. His hair was red and locked, ordained with bits of gold. On his arms were geometric bangles, like honey dripping off his skin– or whatever it would be called. Rouge’s suit, built for missions, looked unappealing beside the too perfect drapes of the cloth he wore. He had been trapped in the lamp she held, but was kissed if not blessed by the sun nonetheless.
She felt an unfamiliar pit in her stomach. Was she sensing danger? The man opened his mouth to speak, but she quickly quieted him, unsheathing her wings and dusting up a storm between them. The wall of grey between them grew tall enough in a second to where she was able to retreat through one of the holes on the high walls.
Of course she didn't leave empty handed. The lamp was a nice gift, but she honestly wanted nothing to do with the apparition, especially one that incited such an… alien feeling in her. She flew back to GUN’s base, feeling mostly satisfied with her secret rendezvous.
She was greatly unaware that a genie would not rest until it granted its three wishes to the holder of the lamp, but she would soon find out.