Elysian

The sun had long set, and even the most thorough servants of Castle Rose had gone to bed after the festivities, a banquet celebrating yet another victory from its knights. Stories had been embellished, stomachs had been filled, and most importantly… spoils had been displayed. Because what was a hunt against monsters without hidden treasures to reward the bravest knights ? Forgotten by their drunk owners, gold and jewels were now accumulated within safe walls, waiting for the sunrise to dazzle once again the festive crowd.


And yet… the treasure wasn’t safe from the castle's own occupants’ greed. The moonlight spilling from stained-glass windows reflected moving hues of rubies and sapphires across the floor, betraying the one soul escaping sleep tonight. The gleaming shadow made no sound as it progressed carefully through the dimly lit corridors, feet silent on the velvet-covered marble floor. A clumsy stumble once reaching the perron made the silhouette drop his plunder to the ground. Jewels caught the light —not on their pedestal, not in their vault— and scattered loosely, and Elysian had to reveal himself fully in the moonlight to gather once again his fleeing goods.

The rattle should have roused the guards, but they did not stir, oblivious —or pretending to be— of the theft. Polished stone now echoed Elysian’s steps as he walked through an inner garden, the gurgles of the fountain masking the clinking of metal against metal in his arms. A door opened in a precarious balance and a flight of steps climbed, and here he was on a high balcony, large wings as ornate as his body unfurling from his back.



However… he was not as unseen as he thought. A noise in his back announced a witness. Inconvenient. A single amethyst earring winked as he turned his head —slowly, deliberately— to assess the intruder. The void was waiting mere feet away, and with it, freedom… but where was the fun in fleeing like a thief ? Which, technically, he was, but nobody in Castle Rose would dare say so, his oh-so-tragic past ensuring their silence.

"Oh, didn’t expect an audience… Tell me now, will you denounce me… or be my partner in crime?" he said, voice smoother than honey, a faint smirk arching his lips. "Well, crime is an ugly word. Those were simply left… unattended. Repurposing them, since they would have burdened already wealthy knights. I hate to see beauty wasted," he winked playfully, while shrugging as if he was actually doing a good deed by taking those treasures. "Look, if you stay silent… I will show you the rest," he added with a secretive smile, clearly trying to coax complicity. He even dropped half of his plunder to free one hand, offering it gallantly as he stepped onto the railing, jewelled membranes splayed languidly behind him to take flight. His tail curled idly behind him, the ruby-tipped end flicking once before wrapping around an ornate vase handle, reluctant to leave it behind even if he might actually get a bigger prize tonight…