AoGM Side Story Sketches

Tale Of The Thieving Birds

Black Raven & White Swan

Treasure Of The White Castle

The Masked Thief & The Unhappy Duchess

Blended into the darkness of the night, only a pair of bright grey eyes shone as they watched the warm light filtering through the only open window of the pompous castle. The evening breeze caught up the white curtains, playing with them and waving them like a flag. What was all that, if not invitation enough?

His partner, a small creature, darker than the night, returned to his side, waiting for his orders.

"The target is right in front of us. You know what to do," a hollow, emotionless voice called from behind a mask.

His companion gave a vicious snicker before they both sprang from the rooftop, a pair of black wings spreading and carrying them lightly to the edge of the open window. He was prepared for anything, except for what he actually found in that room, full of fineries and expensive ornaments. Something even more precious caught his eyes: a young maiden, dressed in all white, sobbing quietly as she was kneeling beside her canopied bed, her head resting on the soft covers. A picture from a fairy tale.

"I wish I could be free to make choices of my own." That small sigh and those words spoken with so much emotion intrigued him to talk.

"Might I ask what reason a duchess has to cry so woefully like that?" he asked in a low voice, watching as the girl turned around in alarm to face him – if he had a face – a shriek almost escaping her lips, but got caught in her throat as his trustworthy companion clapped a clawed paw over the delicate mouth.

A pair of golden eyes looked back at him, surprise replaced by the flames of indignation. A gemstone more precious than any other treasure could be. The sparks of will in those golden eyes told him that she was no ordinary duchess.

"Forgive my intrusion," he began, assuming his smoothest tone. "I'm only here to take what you have plenty of, and then we shall never cross paths again." Even as he said that, his other companions – birds fond of glittering treasures – began methodically cleaning the room from all the valuables, stacking them away in sacks. He could see the girl struggling against the grip, confirming to him again that her will might have been stronger than her delicate-looking body.

"Noir," he called to his companion. "That's no way of treating nobility."

To his words, the creature lowered his paws from the girl's mouth, but only to place the edge of his sharp claws against the white throat.

'My Master is quite merciful, but let out a scream, and it'll be your last one,' the creature told those vicious words, but neither of the two humans could understand his language.

Yet, the sharp claws against the skin of her neck conveyed the cruel message. The girl knew by instinct that she wasn't supposed to raise her voice, or her head would roll, onto the softly carpeted floor, right before the feet of her mysterious visitor: the masked man she had only known from stories before.

"It's you, isn't it?" the girl asked in a low voice, her eyes never leaving the cold silver gaze. "Black Raven, the thief."

"You are right about my name, but I prefer to call myself a collector," he replied with a dismissive wave of his hand, "but most things you rich people have are worthless trash for me. You, however…" He took a step closer to the girl, his shadow towering menacingly over her. "Your necklace. Give it to me," he ordered in a voice hollow but menacing.

"No," the girl replied, raising her voice in protest. "You can take anything, but not this one. I won't part with it. Never."

'Then you shall part with your pretty head,' the dark creature snickered behind her, looking at his Master expectantly. However, he shook his head almost imperceptibly.

"I am no fairy godmother," he told the girl at his feet, "but still, I can offer you a deal. However, there is an important thing I have to know first. My only condition in exchange of granting you freedom from the dreary confines of this dazzling castle. That is, if you are interested."

"What is it?" the girl asked, her eyes betraying a hint of suspicion. He leaned closer to her as he put his very important question.

"Can you clean?" he inquired in a low, but serious voice.

The girl, a bit intimidated by the sudden, close proximity of the masked thief, only nodded in reply.

"Good," he said with a hint of satisfaction in his cold voice. "You can keep your precious treasure if you agree to come with me, to my castle, and live there, as one of us."

"Are you offering me the life of a thief?" the girl questioned dubiously.

"I'm offering you a choice to live free."

As if mesmerized by the intent, silvery gaze, the girl took the cold hand offered to her, and before she could utter as much as a surprised cry, she was pulled out through the open window and into the night.

A pair of birds in flight, one black as night, the other pure white…