literature

Daggers and Jewels (Gaius x Thief!Reader)

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Sometimes, you wonder if you have a bona-fide addiction to danger.

With hardly-shaking fingers, gemstones, gold billions and all manner of loot are systematically stuffed into the many pockets lining your clothing, inside your jacket and anywhere else they can conceivably fit. This castle is small and doesn't seem to have as many guards as the norm, but that doesn't mean you're willing to chance it. As it is, your knees are already beginning to cramp from crouching beside this large chest positively bursting with goodies. Really, if they don’t want things to get stolen, maybe they shouldn’t keep all their goodies in such an obvious hiding place? You didn't bring a sack- they tend to be noisy once full and if you don't make a quick getaway, then you're dead meat.

Of course, if you leave with no treasure, then death would be preferable.

A sudden rustling interrupts your train of thought, and you immediately whip around, a dagger hidden up your sleeve appearing in your hand so quickly, you don't even have to think about reaching for it anymore. The blade glimmers in the sparse moonlight spilling into the room through the windows, but you see nothing, even though you stand there frozen, ears straining, like a rabbit that has sensed a predator. But nothing greets you but the sight of the rest of the room, wall-to-wall plush carpeting and furniture. Which is ironic, considering this particular castle is definitely past its glory days. Apparently its owners are trying to make up for the fact with the lavish decor on the inside, or perhaps they're simply in a state of denial. Clicking your tongue, you turn back around-

"Hey there."

A scream almost flies from your mouth, despite yourself, blindly reaching out with your dagger to slash at something unseen- when a gloved hand wraps around your mouth, another one gently but firmly seizing your wrist. You have your back against a chest- you can tell by the slow rise and fall you can feel against your own body.

"Sorry, couldn't resist," a smooth male voice said, and you can smell...what is that? Treacle? Syrup? Something sugary. How weird. "But I think screaming would put us both in hot water...so I'm gonna count to three, then I'll let you go. Okay?"

You nod frantically, still clutching the handle of your blade so hard your knuckles are turning white. At the count of three, the hands retreat and you spin around, nearly head-butting the owner of the voice. You look up into green eyes, and you are temporarily distracted from your shock at the colour. A red-haired man smirks at you; a black headband tied to the side in his bright hair, and is that a lollipop sticking out of his mouth?

"Sup," he drawls, in a way that causes heat to rise to your cheeks.

"Sup?" you hiss, putting your hands on your hips. "You nearly gave me a heart attack! What are you doing in here, anyway?"

"Same things as you, looks like," he points out calmly, switching his ridiculous lollipop from one cheek to the other.

"Yeah- well- I was here first!" you spluttered, flustered at him managing to get the drop on you like that. You like to think of yourself as a professional, but clearly this guy knows what he's doing. "I need these jewels, okay, so find another fancy room! It's a castle, there are lots of them!"

"Whoa, calm down there, Peaches," says the green-eyed man, holding up his hands in form of surrender. "If I wanted to rob you, would I have drawn attention to myself first? And it's Gaius, by the way."

You roll your eyes at the nickname.

"Maybe, if you were really confident,." you shrug, slowly lowering your knife. "Look...I have...certain people I owe. And if I don't pay them off, then..."

You don't finish the sentence, because if Gaius is half the thief he seems to be, then he knows exactly what type of people you must owe, if you were desperate (or ballsy) enough to break into a castle to do it. Instead of shrugging and getting on with things, Gaius cocks his head and studies you.

"Look like you've got quite a problem there, Peaches."

"Okay, first, that is not my name, and secondly-"

A sudden thud from outside the room shuts you up, and both you and Gaius freeze as you hear the unmistakable sound of clinking armour. You don't know if it's because someone heard you and Gaius up here, or if they just happen to be making rounds, but either way, it does not bode well. Your heart immediately begins to pound hard in your chest as you try to calculate how many guards are there- definitely more than one, that's for certain.

"Dammit!" you gasp out, eyes locked onto the thick, wooden door, the only thing separating the two of you from the guards. And, thanks to you, it’s no longer locked.

“C’mon, the window!” Gaius says, hoisting himself up and slipping out onto the outside sill, quick as a cat.

Cursing to yourself, you follow him, noting that Gaius has moved onto another sill, two windows down, his fingers clutching the smooth white stone, though his face is rather relaxed. The only problem is that you can’t simply drop down from the windowsill to the ground floor and make a break for it- at the back of the castle lies first the forest surrounding it, and then a dead end thanks to the swamp, which is why it was built here- it’s virtually impossible to attack from behind, thanks to nasty rumours of the swamp sucking down boats and their passengers, never to be seen again. Hiding in the forest is a bad idea too- guards patrol through the forest, specifically searching for bandits who hide in the bushes and trees. You’ll have to find some way of getting back out through the front- there’s a beaten path that leads to the two nearest towns. If you can just get to the forest facing the castle without being caught, you’re home free. Relatively speaking, that is.

Glancing at Gaius, you can tell he’s thinking of something similar, judging by the way he’s squinting at the treetops that lead towards the swamp. Another bang makes you jump- the guards are getting closer to the room you two were just in, and when they find the chest empty, they’ll likely sound the alarm.

With admirable stealth, the two of you carefully climb down from the sills until you reach the ground floor. By some stroke of luck, there is a window open- from the smell coming from it; you’d hazard a guess at the kitchen. Carefully, the two of you make your way inside, and you almost retch at the strong smell of fish- clearly they opened up the window to try and air the room out after preparing a particularly large dinner. It’s dark and virtually silent, which is good, but there are only two doors, one that leads to the pantry (which has a window far too small for either of you to fit through), and a second door leading out to another corridor.

However, as you exit, you hear the cry you’ve been dreading;

“GUARDS! GUARDS! THEY HAVE- THE MONEY- THIEVES!”

Even Gaius looks rattled now, and he swears and darts off down a corridor, one hand going to a sword hidden beneath his cloak- down a hallway that you know that leads to the main entrance hall, and you baulk in horror- the guards on the ground floor are bound to congregate there, to get up the main stairway. If they catch Gaius-

You lung forward and grab his arm.

"No, not there, this way!" you hiss. “Come on!”

You see him raise his eyebrows, but he follows you as you pull him down another way- the way you got in. You bite down so hard on your lip it starts to go numb as you sprint down the corridor, your footsteps muffled by the carpeting. Where is it...your eyes flick from wall to wall, the relentless noise of soldiers moving up ahead almost taking over your ability to rationalise. But then, in the flickering glow of a torch, you finally spot it. One of the walls near the kitchens is especially old- it's obviously survived a fire or two in it day, judging by the charred look to some of the bricks. What's less obvious is the tiny gap between wall and ground- thanks to all the constant rain, the otherwise tightly-compacted earth has shifted, giving you just enough space to squeeze through. Of course, you spent a few days staking out the castle, keeping an eye on the soldiers and digging at the hole to make it bigger, and of course gathering the courage to actually go through with it. More voices ring out, even closer;

“Who’s there!?”

“Come on! They might still be in the castle!”

Without stopping to explain, you practically throw yourself onto your belly by the hole, and began crawling through the gap, nearly gasping in relief as the cool night air caresses your face. The wall scrapes at your back as you push yourself through the whole, and you wince as tiny stones scrape your upper arms. For a moment, the wall pushes down on your legs and you can't move them, and for a horrible minute you think that you might be trapped and panic floods you, your heart leaping into your mouth- but as you push with your arms, you manage to slide yourself through the gap. The scent of earth and rain is thick in the air and you almost laugh with relief as you skitter away from the gap, brushing dirt off your clothes. A moment later, Gaius' orange head appears as well, and he scrambles out of the hole with a somewhat bemused expression, lollipop still firmly wedged between his teeth.

"Good call there, Peaches," Gaius comments, straightening up and following you as the two of you slip, unnoticed, away into the forest surrounding the castle. "Kind of a risky move, but we might've had to fight our way out otherwise."

You nod, barely holding back a grimace at the thought. You're pretty handy with your knives, but they aren't very effective against armoured guards, at least not ones protected from head to toe like they were.

"Thanks..."

Glancing at Gaius as you push an overhanging tree branch from view, he has on this sardonic little smile and you notice suddenly that, like you, he has no visible sack of stolen goods on him.

"What about you?" you ask, nodding towards his free hands. "You probably broke in there for something specific, right? If you just needed some quick cash to tide you over, a castle is a big gamble, even one that size."

"Nah, I got what I came for," Gaius shrugs, showing you what must be a real gold necklace, encrusted with jewels that glitter in the moonlight like eyes.

It's so beautiful that you almost reach out and touch it, but resist by reminding yourself of how close you were to getting caught. Distantly, you think you can hear the sound of a stream somewhere, and the thought gives you comfort that you have something to follow, even if you can't see it right now.

"So," Gaius says, snapping you out of your reverie. "I'm curious...these people you said you owe money to...think they'll leave you alone for good, with this bounty?"

Something about the way he says this makes you think he'd see through a lie, so you sigh and opt for the truth.

"Probably not."

After all, even if this loot was enough to pay off your loans, it proves that you're a competent thief to get away with the job you took on, and people like the ones you're currently running jobs for, they'll always need thieves. Plus, you don't really have anywhere else to go.

"You could come with me."

You almost trip over a fallen branch at both the abruptness and the accuracy of these words- it's like Gaius just read your mind. You stop and stare at him, both disbelieving and a little surprised. He looks back at you with a nonchalant expression, like he asks this kind of thing all the time.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Do I have something stuck on my face?"

"Well- I'm just- taken aback!" you snort. "Go with you? I barely know you!"

Gaius smirks a little at this.

"Didn't seem to stop you from bailing me out earlier, Peaches. And it sounds like you could use a helping hand in shaking these guys."

“Do you ask all random women you bump into to start travelling with you?”

“Only the cute ones," He drawls, looking amused as you give him an incredulous look.

Your face heats up and you grumble in annoyance, but his words make you pause and consider this. He has a point- at the point you were at your most nervous, was at the prospect of Gaius getting caught. And you know you’re not the only person who’s being blackmailed by the group of knaves you’ve found yourself tangled up with. You’re not close with anyone in your town, so there’s not much danger in any of them being able to guess where you could possibly run to. And the idea of travelling with him…well, it’s not such a terrible concept, though an annoying blush rises to your face at the thought.

“Well…I guess it’s better than being made into their mule,” You say, shrugging, as if it doesn’t matter to you either way. “So why not?”

You smile a bit, and then as an afterthought, tell Gaius your name. He cocks his head, finally flicking away the stick from his finished lollipop.

“Sounds good to me. Let’s get going then, Peaches.”

“Stop calling me that.”

Gaius chuckles, the sound pleasant in the otherwise quiet ambiance of the forest. And as you follow him, footsteps lightly crunching over fallen leaves from the previous autumn, you can't help but laugh a little too. Of all the things you were hoping so get out of tonight, a friend wasn't one of them. Yet somehow, you can't help but think it's one of the biggest rewards you've ever had.
Goddamn it, Gaius, why do you have to be so damn smooth? (Also he was totally checking you out when you were crawling under the wall. XD) My first Fire Emblem x Reader story, I hope you enjoyed! <3

Image not mine, google images.
© 2014 - 2024 UnluckyAmulet
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Luna-Mini-Milka's avatar
Haha this sounds so much like Gaius, it's great! Lovely fic :D