Not him again! Elizabeth barely snuck out of the ballroom when she noticed Mr. Wilson in the corridor she’s taken refuge in. Wealthy enough that her mother kept pestering her to try to catch his eye, though neither of them were interested. He surely was handsome as well, as confirmed by the cloud of girls surrounding him at most social events. But what she came to detest in him the most is that he seemed to pop up in the most inconvenient places right when she was about to implement her secret plans.
She turned into another corridor before Mr. Wilson could notice her. She crammed into a broom cabinet and pulled out black fabric from a hidden pocket in her ball dress. Taking off the hoops from under her skirt would be impossible without help, so she’ll need to manage somehow to complete the task in this ridiculous form. The most she could do is hide the recognizable yellow fabric. And her face, of course.
She pulled the black dress on top of the yellow and tied her mask in place.
She left her hiding place and stole toward the stairs. Leaning on her toes, to avoid hitting the heels against the floor, made her speed up. Soon, she reached the basement where she tracked the package delivered a few days before. This time, it was empty, besides two guards standing by the brick wall. Waiting for the ball seemed to work out perfectly.
She pulled out the metal bolas and tossed them at the closer guard. He tried to cut the bond, but the chains held.
By the time the second guard attacked her, she had her nunchaku ready. She blocked the spade with one part and swung the other at the guard’s temple. She reached the tied guard and easily avoided his attack, as he couldn’t get proper force with tied legs. She quickly knocked him out as well and untied her boles from around his legs.
Facing the wall, she pressed the first of the bricks from the sequence she remembered. The brick gave in and slid into the wall softly, until she could hear a click. She repeated with four other bricks and pressed the wall in front of her. A part of it separated, sliding sideways once she pushed it past the depth of the bricks.
She stepped into the dark room, only lit by the dim torchlight streaming from the basement. It was enough for her to see the chest at the other side of the room. She studied the uneven floor and walls. Her unspoken question if the room was booby trapped was answered by a flying dagger.
Dodging the attacks, she reached the middle of the room, but with her focus on the daggers, she activated another trap - spikes growing out of the ground. She avoided them, of course, but the silly hoop skirt got caught on one of them. Before she could free herself, a heavy iron ball hanging on a chain swung right at her.
She tried to figure out if she could get out in time or if laying down between the spikes would be a better option - if she’d find enough space to do so, especially in the metal-enforced skirt.
A dark figure appeared before her and lifted her off the spike. In dance-like moves he manoeuvred out of the spike field. She felt a sting of regret when his strong arms put her down and released the grip.
That’s the wrong floor to swoon over a man. Regardless of her thoughts, she studied the face of her rescuer. Or, the part of his face that wasn’t covered by a mask. After all, how often do I meet a man who’s able to rescue me?
Dark blue eyes looked back at her, with the same curiosity that filled her.
Circular blades rushed at them and it was her turn to pull the mysterious man to safety.
They reached the chest and each of them grabbed a handle.
“Seems that we have a problem.” The man said with a deep, soft voice.
“It hardly seems a place to argue about it.” She smiled.
“Indeed. What about we escape together and have a duel over who gets the chest?”
“Deal.” She extended her right hand, hoping slightly that the man would instinctively release his grip on the chest, even though she wasn’t sure if she’d try to actually snatch it away.
Instead, the man caught her hand in his left hand and lifted it to his mouth.
“As you wish.” He whispered, his breath tickling her skin before he gently kissed her hand.
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