Title: Curled Feather

Pairing: Hungary x Liechtenstein

Rating: Um T I guess

Requester: Dr. Maxtalia

Elizaveta sat down at the table, chest heaving, face coated in a light layer of sweat, curly hair tangled and crazier than usual. She breathed in a huge breath, then pushed her hair out of her face.

"That was exciting," she said to no one in particular. She got up and grabbed a slip of paper from a writing desk situated next to the table. She scratched down a short note, signing with her usual flourish, then added the underline of a curling feather.

She slid it into a custom-made parchment envelope, then stamped it closed with wax and her seal.

She walked over and placed it in the dumbwaiter in her room, then smiled, red-painted lips nearly sparkling in the light from her crystal chandelier.

"I've given you my warning," she murmured to herself. "Heed it well. Or, as well as you can…" She pulled on a string by the dumbwaiter, then moved back to the table. Moments later, a dark-haired servant walked in with a tall glass of wine balanced on a polished bronze tray.

She grabbed the glass of wine, then shooed the servant away. She brought the glass to her mouth, allowing the cool, dark liquid to slide down her throat.

"They'll never see me coming," she whispered.

AYE**LUV**YOU

Elise watched as her older brother directed men to and fro in the courtyard below her. Her small hand gripped the embroidered curtains beside her and she wished mournfully that she could go outside.

Of course, that was a foolish wish. She couldn't be allowed outside when there were people out there as well- especially men. Her big brother hated when she was around men, especially when they were a lot older than she was.

The security around their castle was being beefed up for some reason. Big Brother hadn't told her the reason yet, and probably never would, actually. She wondered what it could possibly be. Nothing bad ever happened to them- they were a family of Royals! No one could touch Princess Elise or her brother, Prince Vash.

She moved away from the window, allowing the curtain to fall shut behind her as she gently let it go. She would go play with her doll. That was what Big Brother wanted her to do: play with her doll. She was fourteen though, and would much rather read a book, but… playing with dolls was okay too.

She wondered when the extra men would go away and she would be allowed to go downstairs.

AYE**LUV**YOU

Down in the courtyard below, Alfred and his crew were setting up protections. Prince Vash was overseeing them, but everyone knew that Alfred would have the final say.

"When do you think she will come?" Prince Vash asked, sidling up beside Alfred and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Probably tonight, if I'm being completely honest. She always strikes fast. Just two days ago she sent warning that she would steal the prized possession of the Vargas family of Rome, and she managed that yesterday."

"Will you be able to fortify the place in time?" Vash asked, gazing around.

Alfred sighed, then grinned determinedly. "Hell yeah, man! We've got her this time! Fifty-seventh time's the charm, RIGHT MEN?!"

"RIGHT," his men shouted, not even pausing in their work.

Vash stared at this blue-eyed American doubtfully, then sighed. He had no other option; this man and his crew of five were the leading experts on the Curling Feather- as she was called by the masses. As he had said, they had scraped with her fifty-six times before now, and who knew? Maybe this time they would get lucky against the magician thief. This time they had better get lucky, because the thief's new mark was their family heirloom: a gorgeous ruby necklace that would be worn by his sister when she became his queen.

There was no way in hell he was letting her take it.

AYE**LUV**YOU

As Elise was making her doll walk back and forth across the floor of her room, the door was opened quite harshly and a man walked inside. Elise scrambled to her feet, dropping her doll to the floor.

The man had long, dark hair tied in a sideways ponytail and eyes as brown as tea. He smiled mischievously at her, then placed a finger to his lips. "Shh… I'm not here."

"Wh-what are you doing?" she squeaked. "Y-you are not supposed to be up here with me!"

He closed the door behind him, walking forward. "Do you know what's going on, Princess?" he asked slyly.

She frowned. "No… Big Brother hasn't told me anything. He probably will soon, though," she lied at the pitying look on his face.

He sat easily down on the floor next to her doll, then patted the ground before him. "Come, sit down with me. I will tell you what's going on."

Hesitantly, she sat down before him, arranging her skirts around her knees. "What is going on?"

"A thief has sent a message saying that she will steal your heirloom ruby necklace," the man said in a confidential tone. "She has kept a habit of showing up just after she sends the letters, and so everyone is in an uproar trying to protect your rubies."

Elise frowned. "Why would anyone want to steal that? It's just a silly family heirloom."

The man shook his head. "No, not at all, Princess. It's worth a lot of money…" His eyes flashed greedily, and Elise felt uncomfortable. Maybe… she should send him away. He didn't seem quite trustworthy.

But… this was the first news she had gotten all day, and probably the only news she would get! She had to make him keep talking…

"Who is this… this thief?" she asked in a quavery voice.

He leaned in conspiratorially. "She's a legend among thieves and infamous among the rich! She sends a letter stamped with a curling feather and says what she is going to steal, and then she steals it! She's a master thief… And, because of her seal, she is known as 'Curling Feather'."

Elise felt her heart beat faster. "Who are those setting up defenses in the courtyard?"

"They are her opposition! They come to every place she says she will attack, and they do their best to stop her. They have tried fifty-six times now, and yet they haven't even caught sight of her!"

"If they haven't ever seen her then how do they know she's a woman?" Else asked, suspicious.

"She signs her name 'The Lady,' which is the only clue we have to who she is." He leaned back again and shook his head. "Of course, we haven't caught her yet…"

"Are you with the group below?" Elise asked, intrigued.

"Yep! I'm part of Alfred's police team. We're doing the best we can to catch her, but…" He sighed. "It's been over fifty times that we've tried. Some of us have lost hope."

"Oh."

Elise looked this man over very carefully. Something wasn't quite right about him- something was a little bit off. He didn't seem… quite right. Maybe this was how all men were like? Maybe that was the reason Big Brother didn't want her going near men- they were suspicious and untrustworthy!

"I feel you'd really ought to go now," Elise said, straightening her back primly. "I… I… Big Brother said that I must be left alone in my chambers!"

The man grinned at her, eyes hooded and hid by his bangs. "Okay, Princes… I'll go, if that's what pleases you."

She lifted her chin. "That is what pleases me!"

He opened the door silently as a shadow, then slipped outside, not closing the door all the way. Elise felt a sudden anger bubbling inside her, but she forced it down. She got to her feet, walked primly over to the door, and gently closed it. Humph! That would show him!

Suddenly the door opened once more, and he poked his head around, so close that their noses were almost touching.

"By the way…" he said in a sultry tone, "my name is Yao."

He left as suddenly as he had come, and she slammed the door after him, shutting the lock as quickly as she could.

Men… were terrifying!

AYE**LUV**YOU

During dinner, Elise and Yao were somehow made to sit next to each other. It was a long table, so they had plenty of room to maneuver, but that didn't stop Yao from sitting as close to her as he could get away with, what with Big Brother at the head of the table, which was to her immediate right.

Again, Elise got the feeling that she could not trust Yao. Every move he made seemed… wrong, somehow. No one else seemed to notice it, but she did, and it frightened her. Not to mention how every once in a while, when no one else was looking, he would send her the same mischievous look from before, up in her room. It sent shivers of fear down her spine, but she never moved closer to Big Brother because she didn't want to get Yao in trouble.

It was now after dinner. Elise was walking up the stairs to her room- with Yao, Big Brother, and the rest of Alfred's gang -when a servant came panting and huffing from behind them. They turned around and watched him, worry crossing their minds.

"What is it?" Big Brother asked sharply as the servant came to a stop before them.

"The… the… the…" The servant paused to regain his breath, then said, "The necklace is gone!"

"What?!" roared Big Brother. "How?! We were all just there!"

"I don't know," the servant said, fear in his eyes. "We just checked on it, and it was gone!"

The entire group went crashing down the stairs, roaring and yelling and making a general ruckus. Yes, they all left… all but Yao.

He turned to Elise, grinning. As she watched, he reached into his pocket and pulled out- The necklace!

She gaped at the necklace in horror, then met his tea-brown eyes. "It's you!" she gasped accusingly. "You're the… the Curled Feather! You… Yao!"

Yao grinned, swinging the necklace around precariously on his pointer finger. "Oh yes, I am indeed the Curled Feather," he said in a sultry whisper, "but, I am not Yao."

Elise stared at him confusedly, backing up a couple of steps, nearly tripping on the stairs behind her. "Wh-what do you mean- Of course you're Yao, who else could you be-"

Yao snapped his fingers, and suddenly he wasn't Yao anymore- now he was a beautiful woman clothed in a form-fitting catsuit.

"I'm the Curled Feather," she said, and even her voice was different- even her eyes were, they were green now, not brown, and the shape was different, and the hair was no longer sleek and dark but bushy and brown.

Elise stumbled back over another couple of stairs, then tripped over her own feet. Before her body even hit the floor, the Curled Feather had swooped down and grabbed her 'round the waist, pulling her to her feet and pressing her against the wall. Before Elise could ask what was going on, or even bother to thank the thief, the woman's lips were pressed to hers. Elise felt her heart beat faster in her chest- she could feel it in her hands, which were balled together just above it.

The woman's arms reached up from her waist to her neck; Elise felt a heavy weight at her throat, then a clasp latching on the back of her neck.

The woman finally pulled away, leaving Elise's lips tingling, her heart pounding so hard she thought she would faint, and a sudden sweat beading her forehead.

The woman's dark, dark lips opened, and she whispered, "The real Yao is in the closet by the front door." Their faces were so close that, with every word she spoke, Elise could feel her breath wash over her face.

"O-okay," Elise stammered. Her eyes felt so wide that she herself was surprised they weren't popping out of her head.

The woman leaned in and placed another light kiss just to the corner of the girl's mouth. "You're so pretty… I've never met a woman as beautiful as you." She grinned again, then pulled farther away. In the space between them, a pure-white lily seemed to blossom out of thin air.

The woman grabbed the lily by the stem as if she was yanking it from the sky, then reached out and tucked it behind Elise's ear.

"We'll meet again, I think, dear Princess," the woman said softly. "You can count on that." She turned suddenly, opening the nearest window and jumping out. Elise cried out in surprise, rushing forward. To her shock and horror, she couldn't see the woman anywhere.

She staggered backward, one hand going to her ruby necklace and the other going to the stem of the lily, which was weaving itself through her hair.

She turned and rushed down the stairs, feet flying so fast that she thought she might trip. She skidded slightly at the bottom in her tractionless child's shoes, then raced toward the closet by the front door. She yanked the door open, finding a surprisingly calm Yao bound and gagged.

"Oh goodness- Are you alright?" she exclaimed, falling to her knees beside him. He nodded, gesturing for her to undo the ropes on his wrists. She did so with clumsy fingers, but finally the ropes were untied.

He reached up and flexed his hands, then pulled the gag from his mouth, tossing it to the floor beside him. "Are you okay?" he asked, voice hoarse.

She nodded frantically. "Oh, yes, yes I am- But are you?"

He nodded, reaching down to undo the ropes on his ankles. "I'm just fine. She does this all the time, you know. It's most of the reason we're so adamant about catching her."

"Oh…" She trailed off, wringing her dress in her hands, then got up and ran to the nearest window. Looking out, she thought she could just make out a fleeting figure running toward the many lights of the city.

"It's probably my imagination," she murmured to herself, but the beating of her heart told her it was not.

"I hope she comes back soon," she continued in an undertone. "That was the most fun I've had… ever." She touched the petals of the lily in her hair, then looked up at the moon rising overhead.

She smiled.

A/N Ahhh... How I wish a sexy magician thief would steal my stuff and make out with me! *O*

Three cheers for yuri! Remember, I like to write it, so request iiiiiiiiiiiit! X3

(Also, want to know how obsessed I am? I decided that the "dark-haired servant" is Romano and he and Spain are servants at her house tbh. I am freaking obsessed I'm sorry.)