Kaya's eyes blinked op slowly.
Her first instinct was to scream bloody murder upon finding herself in a dark, musty godown, lying on a bed of hay, but her mouth was tied with sothing decidedly unappetizing.
Whispers floated over from two goons loitering in the corner.
"—we are so dood if Count Clipton ever figures out Marquess Estelle made us kidnap his beloved daughter," one was saying, his voice dripping with anxiety.
Marquess Estelle? Kaya let out a tiny, inadvertt gasp.
Her gasp alerted the goons to her conscious state. One of them looked over, his face a mix of sheepishness and annoyance. "Oh, she is awake. Hope she didn't hear us. Hey, go call Boss."
The other goon scurried out.
Of course, it's that sniveling snake! I warned Father he wasn't trustworthy! Kaya thought to herself until that goon returned momts later with the man who had orchestrated her kidnapping.
He was still sporting a ski mask like last night.
As he approached, Kaya's instinct was to back away, her heart pounding in her chest.
"No, no, don't be scared. I won't hurt you. You are our precious treasure, after all," he crooned, reaching out to remove the cloth gagging her.
His voice was unsettlingly familiar as she narrowed her eyes on him.
Wait a second. Doesn't that sound like Marquess Estelle's pompous son? Lord Lyon, was it?
"Stay away," Kaya warned, her voice shaky but determined.
"Tch, kindness has no value in this world anymore," the masked man sighed dramatically. "I just wanted to take off your gag and check on you. But if you insist, I will keep my distance. We will release you tonight anyway, assuming your father coughs up the ransom."
She gritted her teeth and shouted, "He will pay you! Now, leave alone!"
"Geez, woman, make up your mind. Do you want to stay away or do you want to leave you alone?"
"Stay away! Leave alone! Just go away!"
"Fine, fine. I am going. Bye," he huffed, throwing his hands up in mock surrder.
Once the boss was out of the godown, he yanked off his ski mask, revealing gold blonde hair that practically sparkled in the dawn light.
"Hello, Lyon," chirped Vyan, a grin spreading across his face.
The man rolled his eyes, and with a shimr, his eyes and hair morphed into a shade of light gray and his height grew by a few inches.
"Hello to you too, Clyde," Vyan greeted again, his tone dripping with faux cheer.
"At least one of us is joying this," Clyde retorted sarcastically.
"As a matter of fact, I am. I am positively tingling imagining the consequces Marquess Estelle will face for this. Who says revge doesn't bring happiness? I sure am happy."
"Well, I am thrilled for you," Clyde said, running a hand through his hair and grimacing at the sweat ruining his style. "But not for . This mask is the worst," he groaned in annoyance. "You can shape-shift too, can't you? Th why am I the one doing all the work?"
"Shape-shifting makes feel all, I don't know, weird," Vyan cringed.
"And what makes you think I joy it?" Clyde frowned.
"Well, our plan is going smoothly so far. We have just got tonight's hand-off left," Vyan said, completely ignoring his aide's complaints.
"Yes," Clyde sighed, realizing Vyan was hell-bt on maximizing his suffering. "I will wear this mask one last ti. I just hope nothing goes wrong."
"Okay, to sure that, let's go kidnap that asshole now."
"More kidnapping?" Clyde groaned again.
"Yes! More kidnapping. It will be fun, trust ." Vyan's eyes glead with mischief.
"Fun for you, maybe," Clyde muttered. "For , it's just another day of wondering 'why do I work for this guy?'"
———
In the Valley of Divos, Vyan and Clyde stood with Kaya, whose hands and eyes were tied. The two m were wearing masks so elaborate they could have doubled as disco balls.
The moon cast a dim glow over the bridge as a carriage ca to a stop. The tsion in the air was thick as a man in a black suit stepped out.
Vyan and Clyde exchanged casual glances.
'No matter what, do not use magic,' Vyan telepathically warned, his mtal voice dripping with exasperation. 'You are not Clyde now. You are Lyon Tylor Estelle—soone who cannot use magic.'
'Yes, boss,' responded the blonde, 'but it doesn't look like he brought anyone.'
'That is exactly what makes more suspicious. I an, not ev a guard?'
Clearing his throat, Clyde spoke up, his voice carrying across the still night, "Have you brought what I asked for?"
"Yes, the gold coins are in a trunk inside the carriage. You can take the carriage along with it. Just give back my daughter!" Marlo bellowed, his desperation evidt.
"Father!" Kaya cried out, her arm gripped by Clyde.
"We will cross the bridge and hand over your daughter. Don't try to outsmart us or you will pay for it," Clyde warned, as the three of them took cautious steps over the bridge.
As they reached the other side, Clyde pushed Kaya into Marlo's waiting arms.
Marlo hugged his daughter tightly, while Vyan muttered under his breath, "Next ti, I want less dramatic outfits. These sequins are killing ."
"Careful, my lord, you are breaking character," Clyde quipped, taking revge on his boss for making him wear the ski masks earlier. "Rember, you are supposed to be a ruthless kidnapper, not a disgruntled fashion victim."
Vyan sighed, "I will keep in mind to not let you be in charge of our outfits. Now, shall we?"
"Absolutely," Clyde grinned. "Onward to more fabulous cris."
On the other hand, Marlo inquired, pulling apart from the hug, "Oh, Kaya, are you alright, my dear?"
Kaya started crying, finally feeling the sweet release of relief.
Clyde and Vyan didn't linger to watch their touching reunion; they had more important matters to attd to, like getting their hands on those gold coins.
Vyan, who was ard with a sword, dramatically pulled it out and pointed it at the coachman. The poor man's eyes wt wide with terror and he quickly scrambled down from his perch, allowing one of their own m to take his place.
"Is the money alright?" Vyan hollered, more for show than concern.
"Yes, they are perfect," Clyde gloated, running his fingers through the gold coins as if they were his lover's—er, Althea's— hair. "Let's be off. It was great doing business with you, Count Clipton!"
Marlo gritted his teeth, fury radiating off him as the carriage drove off with his hard-earned ransom.
"Everything wt perfectly, but—" Vyan started to say wh the carriage ca to a screeching halt.
"There are rocks in front of us, my lord," the coachman reported. "There seems to have be a landslide. I will go remove them."
"It will be quicker if soone helps him." Out of habit, Clyde oped the door first to assist, because, of course, he wouldn't let his liege do manual labor, ev if Vyan was pretding to be the lackey in this heist. "Let's hurry up. It's already late—"
Before Clyde could ev step a foot out, a pair of violet eyes narrowed like a hawk and a sharp dagger ca flying at him.
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