[ magic ]

[Pandora]

[ sorry for the delay! ]

Tonight was a beautiful night. Up above the velvet sky, as dark as a ravenâ??s wing, countless specks glimmered with all their might. But none could possible out bright the glorious moon, round as a button and hiding shyly behind the veil of clouds.

Thankfully there just enough of the pale light to illuminate the heavy-bind book in hand of the witch-to-be. With quick occasional references to the yellow aged pages, multitude of object were dumped into the bubbling cauldron on her other side. Yet even with her careful precautions, the young Millicent Stellithaumaty was already doomed to another horrible failure.. again.

â??..and roots of a mandrake..â? Instead ginger roots, all thanks to a hurried cramming of ingredients in the wrong jars after a slip of the fingers, dissolved instantly into the gurgling concoction. Reaching for the liquid vial of dragonâ??s blood, the wooden cork went flying before Millie bit her lip nervously with another glance towards the neon green mixture that should have been a crimson red. â??..Maybe itâ??s suppose to be like that until I add the finally ingredient?â? Muttering hopefully to herself as she pressed a long nail, painted black to match her long wavy locks, against pursed lips. Not a second later, an explosion of pink smoke engulfed her completely, assaulting all her senses. Leaving her with wave of nausea, a terrible headache and watering eyes.

She prayed that no one caught sight of another of her spells gone awry. Yet as the thick mist eventually dispersed, it was clear her prayer had been ignored, that or she had not been specific enough, as her once ebony strands and matching nails were now an eye-catching hue of green. No doubt that she was going to be laughing stock of town again for some time. Shoulders slumped forward with a heavy groan. And to think she was the granddaughter of a great and highly respected mage. I must be adopted.

[ bah! got a little long.. and mehish.. sorry again ]​

 

[Seythe]

The moon was bright tonight, not much good for his line of work. Vincent the thief was on the prowl tonight, and he cursed the amount of light the damned silvery orb emitted. No matter... He stood at the gate of the grand mage's mansion, a full garden between him and his target, this was the bigtime for the not so renowned thief. He wore a black cape as he studied the distance he would have to run in a few seconds to avoid being caught by the unnatural security the old man had put up... Vincent took a deep breath, turning about and walking away, out of the line of sight through the cast iron gate. Pressing himself up against the stone wall he removed his cloak with a flourish. Revealing his crimson red leather outfit, built for perfect mobility. Flexing his biceps and knees testingly he felt the enhanced fabric compliment his movements.

Vincent was ready.

((So... Where exactly is Milli making potions? Outside I'm assuming? Near her house or?))

 

[Pandora]

[ yes, at the back, some ways from the estate ]

Deciding to take a stroll, with deep breaths along the way, the churning in the pits of her stomach eventually settled. Not a few feet from the small clearing where she had abandoned the remaining mess of her latest failure, she reached a lake, the surface perfectly still as she peered into the dark waters. At once she noticed that the green strands, too, had faded away and overturned with a shade of deep ocean blue that reflected her gloom.

Pinning her long locks into a messy pile on top of her head, without even a glance about, Millie stripped until she stood bare beneath moon. Slipping into the chilling water the gentle waves caused by her intrusion lapped just beneath her navel. Tilting her pointed chin to the sky, a handful of water trickled down her pale cheeks, her slender neck, and along the curves of her supple breasts now taut from the cold. A relaxing sigh escaped through parted lips.

Hardly anyone wandered about in the forest that encompassed the rear portion of the grand estate, let alone to the very heart of the dense pact of tress, so it was here that the young girl escaped to on most of her days, rain or shine. After all, to her the great outdoors were always better then being crammed within a room with walls on all sides, even the largest of rooms always felt suffocating to her.
​

 

[Seythe]

Vincent scaled the wall with hardly an effort thanks to his gear, taking a large leap from a hunched position atop the wall, he couldn't help but grin to himself beneath his dark red veil. Focusing ahead he bolted between the spillings of light on the ground from the mansion, his experience in stealth obvious to anyone that saw... Too bad anyone didn't see. The thief made it about to the side of the grand home, not even out of breath after the frenzied sprint. He carefully looked behind him over the elaborate garden and to the front door, no trouble. Good.

He crept along the side of the home, stone wall to his back as he sidled along to the other edge where his target was... supposed to be practicing her witchcraft. He scowled, instinctively fingering the pack attached to his belt, had his plan gone south? He flipped the latch, ready for the trap... "No." He closed the latch on the pack with another coy grin, looking to the nauseous looking girl with oddly colored hair... Odd, his informant had told him she would have ebony hair. As Millicent dissappeared into the trees, he began to pursue, this part much easier then the front yard had been... He went out of sight not a minute after she had...

All the way to the lake he had kept quiet, experienced toes taking care not to make a sound over the fallen leaves. He watched with a mild curiosity as the back of the girl's head turned from the odd color to something perhaps more odd... But strangely suited her. He would have to ask her what happened when he had her in his grasp. She came to the water's edge and Vincent stopped at the clearing, instead opting to move to the side to get a better view without being seen as she... Stripped?

Vincent was now far off to her side as opposed to behind her, hidden in the trees as he hunched over to one knee, watching as she unleashed her breasts, black billowing dress falling right down to her bare hips and beyond. Vincent's eyes widened as the beauty revealed more and more of her, watching with perverted interest as she bathed... Suddenly... He couldn't breathe through his nose. He felt for his upper lip beneath the red veil feeling blood? "Guh!" He staggered with the slightest sound, quickly silencing himself along with a mental curse at his stupidity.

 

[Pandora]

Golden eyes widened with alert. Tendrils of amber streaked locks escaped the loose bun and fell around her porcelain features when she snapped her head to right in the direction of the sudden noise. Hands instinctively crossed over her bosom while brows knitted closely together with eyes shifting about. Of course even with the moon full, Millie would fail to see past the heavy shadows cast by the thick canopy of ancient tree tops. An animal? No, fleeting as it was, it sounded like no animal she had ever heard before. The dye of amber seeped through the rest of the midnight blue strands.

The change of color would halt not a foot from the tips of her hair. It was then the remembrance of the numerous protective spells that had been placed around the entire estate by her grandfather himself. Instantly her hair returned to dark blue, only perhaps, a few shades later than before. Yet what could the sound have been then? Curious and curiouser, a hesitant step was taken forward, ears strained with a narrowing gaze, but with no more then two steps she froze sharply and abruptly glanced towards the sky.
â??I shouldâ?¦ head back.â?

Already she was out later then usual and she had yet to clean up the mess in the clearing. Millie could only imagine what would happen if she was caught out again. For reason beyond her, her grandfather hated for to leave the manor, which was she was home schooled. Or had yet to even wander any further then the small town at the foot of the hill where the estate stood on top of.

The young woman gave a wistful sigh as she slipped into her undergarments. A little difficult given that she didnâ??t care to dry herself off first, while her hair darkened considerably once more. As she adjusted the outer corset of her dress her eyes drifted to the spot to where she had heard the noise before. A tinge of her curiosity returned with wandering thoughts. While she was no certain that an animal of sorts had wandered into the area at that time, strange then that she was faintly away of eyes upon her being, but unwisely believed it was only her weary mind playing tricks on her. Fingers twirled with the thin leather lace that bound the the corset as her thoughts jump tracked once more, her gaze now cast into the distant while she stood in place with lips pursed in a childish manner.
​

 

[Seythe]

Vincent quickly silenced himself, wiping away the sudden spurt of blood from his nostrils and retreating quietly back into the trees for fear of being caught. What a body... The thief thought to himself as he bolted up a tree, taking a moment perching upon a branch to check his nose again. It was now or never, she was headed home, and he might've never got a shot at her. Jumping keenly from branch to branch until he came to one just above the path Millicent walked, he waited until she was just below him...

He unlatched the pack at his belt, drawing a single card, it came between his middle and index finger. Swinging over his perch and taking a hold of the branch only for a moment, he swung the card hard into the ground just before Millicent, the projectile magically becoming sharp as a razor knife, it dug into the ground, startling the girl backwards...

Where Vincent would drop with open arms. She fell into his body, he was a good foot taller then she. His hand cupped over her mouth to quell any screams, another hand wrapped around her lower body, holding her close and threateningly. She would find herself gripped strongly as he peeked his mouth over his bloodied mouth cover, "Now now, no noise." He said with a creepily soothing tone, "I'm taking you with me, and your dear old grandfather's not going to know a thing.. Okay?" He loosened his grip upon her mouth, allowing her to speak a slight bit, poised to come back if she opted to scream out to any possible help.

 

[Pandora]

The back of her neck tangled as if something was near her back. Before she could turn so much as an inch away from her intended path, a small cry escaped her, eyes widened to the size of saucers at the sight of something plummeting into the earth before her at a blinding speed. Backing to a something firm yet undoubtedly not a part of the natural landscape, not even a squeak of distress would pass through the large hand clasped firmly over her parted lips. Any struggled would evidently be futile with an iron arm wrapped about her small frame and that pinned her arms securely by her side. Regardless, she continued to squirm against the hold up until the cooling voice brushed against her ear. Countless amber streaks that had appeared inked black just as fear dominated her panic.

Millicent froze with quickened breaths.
The gears in her head spun at a maddening pace. â??What do you want?â? An automatic question she could actually careless to know at the moment, instead she used such a question to buy more time to devise a plan to escape instead. If only they were a few steps further then they would have reached the clearing once more. Something there would be bound to be of some use..
​

 

[Seythe]

Vincent blinked a bit behind her as his victim's hair began to change color, bloody witchcraft... "What do I want? Good question." He chuckled a slight bit, feeling down to her restrained hand and swinging her outward from his body, the fledgling witch's back slammed against a nearby tree. His mind worked fast, he did want her for ransom... But maybe it was best she did not know that until he had her safely at his hideout. The thief moved with her as he tossed her to the side, and suddenly she found herself pressed up against a tree, his body close to hers, his legs pushing the wide skirt of her dress back. "Maybe... I just wanted to meet a nice girl..." He reached up to his face, undoing the face cover and revealing a slick grin, carried by perfect white teeth. His grey wolfish eyes bore into her as his face neared hers...

Could she resist?

 

[Pandora]

Millicent winced as she was slammed roughly into a tree and then another. Golden eyes narrowed thinly with a rough bite upon her lower lip as she recovered. Yet before she could do anything else she found herself immobilized once more. A breath caught in her throat as their gazes locked. Resist, how was a girl who very well lived in a cage with restricted and intently monitored visitors, â??resistâ?? such attention from other, especially one of the opposite gender. However, hormones be damned, she would sooner cut off all her hair then to admit as such. No, of course it was only fury that heated her cheeks so and caused her hair to streak with red, nothing more, never!

And when one believed enough in a lie, the lie became a fact with enough desperation, thus giving her enough courage to laugh mirthlessly in return. â??If this is how you greet woman, Iâ??m not surprised you would lower to such means. Now unhand me this instant!â? Hissing with as much venom as she could muster, if only her voice didnâ??t quake, it would have undoubtedly been more potent.

​

 

[Seythe]

"You're making the demands now?!" He hissed right back, his own tone truly menacing and overpowering her own retort. He looked both ways up and down the forest path, and then back to the fuming girl's now red hair. His anger turned to one of exasperation, sighing longingly. Without a warning an open palm came up and across Millicent's face, slapping her hard and making her fall to the ground. "I really have to do this the hard way...?" He asked rhetorically, coming back to the middle of the path and drawing the card from the ground, he held it between his two fingers, studying it and dusting it off, he looked to Millicent on the ground, almost as if she were an after thought. He walked softly up to her, re-doing his face cover and kneeling down before her. "Now, I want you to tell me what's the easiest way to get out of here." He studied her cooly, with an arm resting on his knee he held his weapon, the Ace of spades cooly.

 

[Pandora]

[ last post for the night. g'night and pleasent dreams ]

Shrinking back, her courage flickered as he responded in tern, that is until he slapped her. A cry was emitted as she collapsed to the ground. Tears sting her eyes as a hand gingerly cradled her throbbing cheek. How dare he strike her! Not even her grandfather had ever laid so much as finger on her! Dark crimson flashed to fiery red. Escalating anger and her foolish pride overrode what sensible fear Millicent had left. Blinking back the tears, a moment passed before she shot him an icy glare, a gamble made. With a jaw clenched she lifted her chin indignantly.

â??And If I donâ??t?â? Eying the deadly card in his hand briefly before her attention returned to him. â??What will you do? Kill me?â? Silly she hadnâ??t thought of the possibility first, especially when this wouldnâ??t be the first occasion where attempts were made to steal her away from her grandfather. Which meant this man was after three things, power, magic, money, or possible all three, all of which would be impossible to achieve if she was dead.. right?
​

 

[Seythe]

Vincent's face remained cool as she challenged him, shaking his head. "Hot headed you are." He felt along the ground at her side until he found a leaf. "I could kill you... I suppose you haven't pissed me off quite that much..." He raised the leaf so it barred off her vision of him. With his other hand, he took one edge of the card to the leaf without any pressure she would see, he slid the edge against the green surface of the leaf. The impossibly sharp playing card cut through the fibers easily, the leaf remained as a whole until he had made the entire cut across the half. And softly, intimidatingly he would hope, it fell softly to her dress. He dropped the other side.

"Then again..." With the demonstration he took the card downwards to the bottom hem of her skirt, slowly he slid the card up between her legs, parting the fabric, "I've a bit of a short temper." He said, his eyes were fixed upon hers, absorbing the fear, gauging it.

 

[Pandora]

[ sorry about the late reply, work got to me ]

Millicent swallowed thickly. Golden eyes boring into the cleanly cut remains of his alarming display. Not far from the fallen leaf, shaking hands discreetly weaved together until the knuckles of her hands whitened, resting high upon her lap. While she was able to maintain the stoic façade a bead of sweat formed and clung to her temples. There just had to be a way out.

With each second that passed, her pulse quickened, thoughts pushed into overdrive. At the soft hiss of fabric giving way and a sudden rush of cool air enwrapping her long and slender legs, her eyes flickered to the sound, widening before she tensed stiffly instantly. Slowly the card reached her knee, past, and inched closer toward her clasped hands. Eyes squeezed tightly together before she finally blurted out in response. â??Stop!â? Barely audible and spoken through a short exhale, biting her lip roughly, her gaze fluttered to his with a pang of desperation, breath short. â??Iâ??ll show you the way.â?
​

 

[Seythe]

Vincent stopped shortly after she pleaded with him to stop, only going up another centimeter for more intimidation, and to see a little bit of that leg... "Good, you'll learn that I'm in charge yet, Millicent." He stood up, placing the weapon back into its holder on his belt. Readjusting his facemask to conceal his wicked smile at the victory, he leaned downwards to offer the shaken girl his hand, with the other he put a finger to his mouth, his piercing grey eyes boring into her warningly...

"You start walking, and you stay quiet until we get back to town and back within my hideout. Understand?" He asked, extending a gloved hand.

 

[Pandora]

A small breath of relief was released to see him replaced the accursed card. How nerve wracking it was for her to hold her tongue in response, even more so when she caught the corners of upturned lips just before it was obscured by the crimson veil. Well she would show her him.. or die trying any way. Holding onto whatever little pride she had left for herself, she stood without his assistance and strode forward, keeping as much distance between them as possible at a pace that wouldnâ??t cause the damnable man to tear any more of her dress ruined dress. With one hand clenching the torn gap together, the other pulled the helm of her dress and inch from the ground. Now where were those alarms her grandfather had set up?

Some ways deeper into the forest, she had made a sharp turn, then another once the trees became sparser. With each step she took her heart quickened. Eyes widened with excitement as she finally spotted one of the discreet triggers that would set of the spell to alert of an intruder. Trying to contain the pace they had maintained, just a little further and they would pass between the fences of enchanted trees.
​

 

[Seythe]

Vincent followed her closely, keen eyes watching the trees as she walked. Something in the back of his mind told him he should've kept her on a tighter leash, the girl was smart enough to listen he hoped... Not an absolute hot head, right? He knew little of the traps the girl's grandfather had placed, but little did she know that he had... His pouch vibrated on his waist, making little noise. Vincent reached forward, putting his hand heavily down upon Millicent's shoulder, stopping her just before the trap. "I should have known." He said, reaching to his belt he drew a card, examining it for himself and turning it about to show her...

"Unlucky number three, absorbs bad luck and keeps me out of trouble." The card magically stopped vibrating at the crisis being averted, and was quickly pocketed. "Do you know who I am Millicent?" He pushed her aside once again, sauntering forth smartly and looking left and right. He laughed, noticing the two trees that were linked together, "I," he turned about, stepping towards her with intimidation, an Ace appearing in his hand, and a rope in the other, he stood before her, "Am the dealer, and I shall be known as the greatest thief of all time. Savvy?" He took a rough hold of her wrist, turning her about so she faced away from him. He tied her wrists, making sure to push her hard against the tree, his waist pushing indecently against her. He leaned down over her body so that his face came down beside hers, he whispered his warning, "I am the dealer, and you play by my rules... And if you decide not to," he displayed his Ace, the card's edge razor sharp, "I won't hesitate to slit your throat. And then your grandfather will be paying for a pretty dead body..." He stared at her a moment, then pushed her sideways harshly, "March." He said.

 

[Pandora]

A sense of foreboding raised the hair on the back of her neck when she caught a sudden noise sounding behind her. Too late would Millicent be able to react as a hand clasped her shoulder roughly and held her firmly in place. Brows furrowed as her lips pulled back in a silent hiss. They had been so close! A little more, if only she had quickened her pace, just a little more and the alarm would have been set off.

A good portion of his snotty words entered through one ear and trailed right out the other until he forced himself into her line of vision. The next thing she knew she pressed harshly against the rough bark of the closest tree once more. Only able to release a cry of despair when she felt the rope winding tightly around her small wrists to bind her hands usually behind her back. â??I hate you!â? Biting back angrily just before he swatted her to the side to walk onwards. Gnawing her poor bottom lip to keep from making a sound as tears streamed freely down her pale cheeks.

They continued in silence, save the scolding thoughts, her thoughts blanked in temporary defeat with a heavy heart. With her hands bound, Millicent stumbled many times when her dress did not part ways and revealed to more of her slender legs then she had in years, cheeks reddened in both shame and embarrassment. When they finally reached the iron fence, with a her gaze remained adverted to the side, simply waiting for his instruction.
​

 

[Seythe]

Vincent followed her closely, hand upon his pouch the whole way to the iron fence. He regarded it thoughtfully, walking past Millicent and making sure to shoulder her a bit as he did so. He placed a hand upon his chin beneath the red face mask, eyes studying it. He noted his number three made no indication of a trap. It did however did not pick up on violent feelings in humans, which sometimes did get him in trouble with people he owed money. He turned about to Millicent and looked down to her dress, the bottom half of the skirt torn in two, allowing her some mobility... But not enough.

"Well, you can't climb can you?" He toyed with the idea of hopping over the fence with her in his arms, but didn't want to seem like the gentleman type quite yet. He drew his ace, "I guess I'll have to kill you." He moved towards her in a flash, card raised high before slashing it down. She would think he was about to slay her.

She would find however after a hanging second that the skirt of her dress fell in a fluffy pile, giving Vincent a nice view of her thighs.

 

[Pandora]

Millicent cursed silently when the male practically shoved her aside.. Or at least it felt as such to her as she stumbled forward quite a bit. Arms laced together with a mixture of annoyance and uneasiness as she watched his back intently. Although she had failed to trigger the alarms, she had hoped that her grandfather would pull throw, as he always managed to do. Yet it was clear that things were different this time as she seized up the looming fence of iron herself.

The girl turned her anxious gaze away from the direction of the estate, far off the distance, just in time to catch what was being said to her. It would take a moment longer for the words to compute completely before a helpless squeak escaped with the sudden proximity of the intruder. Millicent barely had enough time to raise her arms to her head when she felt a sudden chill in her lower region. Daring to crack an eye open when the expected pain did not come, blowing away a green strand for her eyes, a horrid sheik sounded as she futility pulled at what was left of tattered gown on her being in attempts to regain some manner of modesty.

Cheeks blazed with embarrassment while angry tears stung her eyes. Thanks to the influence of her grandfather, she had never, in all her life, reveal so much flesh were bathing herself was not involved. A small part of her almost wished he had been serious with his threat rather then what he had decided to do instead. â??What do you think your doing!â?


[ i'm really sorry for the horribly delayed reply! (>O< ]​