The thief was haphazardly thrown into the confines of the dingy jail cell. As he landed with a heavy thud against the cracked stone tiles, the door would then swing shut behind him, permanently trapping him within the small living space.
The redheaded boy hurriedly scrambled to his feet, yanking uselessly at the heavy bars that blocked his access to freedom. Not only were his trinkets confiscated, but he would be put to death by tomorrow morning for the crime of sneaking into the royal treasury in order to line his pockets with wealth.
After giving one more tug at the bars, Gaius would slump his shoulders and heave a sigh. Well, this was perfect, he thought bitterly. He hadn't expected his lifelong partner to suddenly sell him out in order to save his own worthless hide. Snatch had been nothing short of a mentor, perhaps even a twisted fatherly figure to the teenager. Orphaned at a young age, Gaius had no one to turn to except for the cold and unrelenting streets of Ylisstol. It was there Snatch had seen his promise as a criminal and took Gaius under his wing in order to teach him the ways of a petty pickpocket. Over time, an uneasy trust had built between them, though it quickly unravelled once beset with the threat of swift punishment should Snatch refuse to give a name that was not his own.
With a scowl, Gaius kicked at the thick walls of the cell. He hadn't expected it to budge, but he had hoped that this would at least relieve him of some of his anger and feelings of betrayal.
"You there. You are the youth who so brazenly broke into the treasury, are you not?" a voice suddenly called out.
Gaius stopped his assault upon the wall to instead swivel his head in the direction from which the voice came from. When his green eyes locked upon the beady eyes of a nobleman, the thief would immediately scoff under his breath and retort, "depends who's askin'." To say Gaius didn't trust nobility would be a severe understatement.
A chuckle was emitted from the nobleman, who then waved his finger patronizingly at the boy enclosed behind bars.
"Temper, temper. And here I was, hoping to offer you a bit of a trade. But seeing as you are content to be hung by sunrise tomorrow, I see no point in aiding a street rat such as yourself who cannot be bothered to show even the slightest bit of respect to an esteemed member such as I. And for that, I bid you farewell."
Before the nobleman had a chance to turn, Gaius would again retort, "oh yeah? And who says I need help from a peacock like you, hotshot? Tch, typical of nobles to think the sun shines outta their arses, huh? Crivens, you sure fooled me." His tone dripped with sarcasm, which was unsurprising from the Ylissean youth. Gaius was known to have a sharp tongue as well as a swashbuckling personality to accompany it.
A smirk lit his features when he noticed irritation momentarily flash across the man's face. However, the noble was quick to smooth his features over to instead fix his irritating smirk upon the pickpocket once more.
"Oh? Then I suppose the rumors I hear of you are nothing but hot air? Dear me, and I was so hoping you might see things my way. You see, boy, here is the thing... I am in a rather tight bind, and I am in need of one's skill in the act of lying and deceit. Considering the fact you are in no position to bargain, I am willing to offer you an ultimatum: do as I ask and I will see to it that you are free to spare your worthless hide come the morning. Surely you cannot resist this act of generosity?"
Gaius hesitated. He knew there was a good chance the noble had no intentions of holding his word, but at the same time, Gaius was in no hurry to forfeit his life just yet. The boy always dreamed of dying on a sugar binge, not being made into a spectacle by being hung in the town's square for daring to steal from a bunch of stuffy nobles who thought themselves above all others.
"And what's that you want me to do? Not saying I'm gonna do it, but color me curious..." Gaius replied. Slowly, the thief inched towards the bars, earning a twisted smile from the man on the other side.
"It's rather simple. I'm sure you're aware of House Themis?" the noble asked. When Gaius frowned, he continued, "Duke Lowell, bless his soul, is quite the thorn in my side. Myself and Arves have no use for a man who openly campaigns for the rights of peasants. You see, boy, with rights there is no order within society. Consider this: should the peasant population not have nobles to govern their lives, then havoc is free to strangle society as we know it. We cannot have that now can we?" Noting Gaius' look of disgust, the nobleman pressed on, "and that is where you come in. Myself and my partner have devised a rather fool proof plan in order to dispose of the Duke once and for all. With his presence lacking, we are free to continue our quest to better society as a whole under the eyes of Naga."
"So what you're saying is: you want me to kill this Duke. That it? Or is my peasant brain missing something?"
"Precisely. Surely you won't attest to this? After all, what have you got to lose?"
Hearing this nobleman speak as if he had the upper hand made Gaius' stomach turn. As silence settled between them, the boy would then spit at the feet of the noble before turning on his heel and stalking towards the mouldy bench that sat in the corner.
"I might be put to death tomorrow, but you're not gonna use me in your little games, sorry to say. I might be a thief, but even I know not to kill some bloke who's tryin' to better society. The right way, mind you, not your own twisted version. So you can count me out." Looking up again, his green eyes did nothing to hide his revulsion for his unwelcome guest, "so if you don't mind leaving, that'd be appreciated. See, I'd like some time to myself before I'm cast into the seven hells tomorrow, no offense." With that said, Gaius turned his back to the noble and waited for his heels to click down the winding halls of the desolate chamber.
Instead, they did not come, prompting Gaius to bristle in annoyance.
"You understand Ylissean, old man?"
"Hmm, how unfortunate. I was hoping not to come to this, but you see, boy... the Duke has a daughter." The nobleman smirked once he noted Gaius' attention was now piqued. "It would be a shame should something happen to her. She is no more than fifteen, but I already know she will be quite a loudmouth just as her father is. While true she is guarded at all hours of the day, it would be too easy to bribe her guards with riches and women galore. We could make her death look like an accident, or perhaps sell her off to one of the slavery rings. A noble girl, one that is undoubtedly still pure, would catch quite the hefty sum, wouldn't you agree?"
Gaius said nothing, though his eyes were filled with apprehension for the unknown girl and his jaw remained taut.
"Think carefully and choose wisely. Either you kill her father, or we shall kill his daughter. What will it be? Choose now, or I shall make the choice for you."
When Gaius gave no response, the noble sighed once more theatrically before moving to leave Gaius where he was.
"Then so be it. She will be dealt with tonight. I cannot promise I will go easy on her, even if she is the daughter of House Themis."
"W-Wait!" Gaius suddenly called out. Hurriedly forcing himself onto his feet, Gaius made haste towards the bars and fixed his panicked expression upon the man. He didn't know why he cared so much about what happened to some noble brat, but he refused to live with the fact that he would be responsible for her demise should he refuse to comply. After all, she had her whole life ahead of her, and who was Gaius to take that away from someone?
"I'll do it! Just... just don't hurt her, damn you!" Immediately, Gaius felt guilt settle into his stomach. While he might be saving the life of a girl, he was still subjecting another innocent man to his premature death. Gods, how did it come to this?
That same twisted smile lit the nobleman's features again as he nodded and responded, "splendid, I knew you would see things our way. I suppose we ought to get acquainted? You may call me Leval."