Lady Luck

Everything with single quotes is in the character's head, not spoken aloud.

Enjoy!

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This was not the first time that Thayer found himself gagged, restrained, and beaten in the back of a guard carriage. And if his past luck was an indicator of anything, it wouldn't be the last.

'That's the third time in four months, isn't it,' he thought. 'I'm not losing my touch, I hope.'

Only one way to find out. It didn't take much to sit up, bring his bound wrists from behind him down to his feet and back up, so that they were in front of him. However, it would take a good bit of skill to take the special pick out of his shoe and free himself before the carriage arrived at a jail.

Thayer dig into the sole of his shoe with his fingers until he managed to reach the hole in his boot where it was kept. No guard had ever found it, but they always found the generic lock pick that he left sticking out, which made them feel very clever about themselves. A simple diversion

He twirled it around his fingers and inserted the bent metal into the keyhole on his manacles. He felt the carriage take two left turns, then a right. That meant they were getting close. His light brown hair stuck to his face with sweat. He doubled his effort, muttering a prayer to the shadows for luck. Thieves were a lot more superstitious than most people realized. Came with the territory of staying out at night and having your fate up to chance.

------

"Pull 'em out, Lester."

'Lester,' he thought. 'Hope you aren't due for a promotion anytime soon.'

The rear door of the carriage opened to the bright midday sun. A silhouetted figure of a guard that was living proof that the physical test to be on the city watch was a complete farce. The man wasn't that portly--in fact, he was of somewhat average build--but Thayer spotted the lack of care in his steps. It would be all too easy to force him off balance.

"Alright, your majesty," sneered the man. "Your humble carriage has arrived at your palace." He pulled the gag out of his mouth, hoping for a retort to use as an excuse to start hitting him.

'I take it all back. I hope you're three days from promotion.'

Thayer spared a glance at the man's hand. A golden ring, with a small diamond.

'And three days from a divorce you don't see coming.'

"Fuck you," he replied. Better to act angry than cocky. Plenty of time for taunting once he made his escape. He grunted as he stood up, and squinted at the light. Look as pathetic as you can. Give people a reason to be haughty, and they'll take it without question. May as well be a law of physics to him.

Lester pulled him out by the hands. Thayer took a quick glance around. Only one other guard off to the side. Busy street. Not even pulled up to the entrance of the jail; merely across the street. This would be easy. He made the split-second decision to enact the first step of his master plan.

He fell right on his face into the mud.

"Ha! Clumsy moron. No wonder you got caught," Lester mocked.

That did anger him. He'd been attempting to lift coins off a wealthy merchant, when said merchant's pet monkey jumped onto his shoulder from a nearby awning and started screeching at him. A fucking monkey. What are the odds that he decides to pickpocket the only merchant in two hundred miles with a pet monkey?

"Get up! You're not going to delay this further." Lester reached down to yank him up by the chain of his manacles.

Right as he pulled upward, Thayer kicked off the ground and shoved him with his shoulder. Lester fell backward, pulling the unlocked manacles off of Thayer's wrists. Quick as the wind, Thayer grabbed his arm and pulled that ring off Lester's finger.

"Ow--hey!! Thief! Stop!"

An odd suggestion. Instead of taking it, Thayer introduced Lester's face to his shoe's secret lockpick cache with a kick, and whirled to face the other guard, who looked as though he was about to dive-tackle Thayer.

'The standards are so low these days,' he thought as he slammed his knee into the man's head as he dove, sending him into the mud along his friend. By now, the townsfolk nearby were looking on. Some were in shock, others laughed, some looked like they were working up the courage to stop Thayer themselves. More watchmen were pouring out from the jailhouse. Time to leave.

Thayer sprinted through a crowded group of onlookers, who barely even realized he was headed toward them before he was past. The midday sun would make it difficult to hide on the streets, so Thayer turned into an alley as soon as he could. He scanned the walls in search of--there! Street marks etched into the bricks left by the poor and other thieves. They told him of an escape route nearby, likely used to break prisoners out quickly. It told him to turn right into the back room of a smithy, one that wouldn't ask questions about what he was doing.

He took that right, and found himself staring right at a freshly made wall. The mark was old.

"Shit," he muttered. The guards couldn't be far behind, and the alley continued into a wide open plaza where they would spot him for sure. If he turned back, they'd spot him again, and he had no idea if there was another way through the alley.

"Erinlay hide my passage," he said under his breath. If there was ever a time he needed luck on his side, then this was it. Thayer stepped into the busy plaza, filled with artisans selling fine goods, farmers selling produce, and guards selling ten year sentences to any escapees they found. He broke line of sight with the alley and began trying to mingle in.

Someone tapped his arm. He jerked to see who it was. A shop patron, holding an amber and emerald pendant to her chest.

"Tell me," she said with an oblivious smile. "Does this match my complexion, or does it clash too much?"

Despite his predicament, Thayer couldn't help but smile. She had no way of knowing that she was talking to someone that currently had a five-hundred glint bounty on his head, nor that she could get in trouble just for speaking to him. 'Innocent thing.'

"It accents it perfectly, and brings out the green in your eyes. I'd love to fall into them, but I'm rather pressed for time," he said with a glance around. He could hear footsteps in the alley he came from.

The woman brushed her deep brown hair behind her right ear. "It's so expensive, though. Maybe I could steal it."

Thayer's turned his eyes back to her. Was she serious? No one else seemed to react to what she said. Even the jeweler, who paid them no mind whatsoever.

"Want to escape?" she asked, not even bothering to lower her voice. She held out the pendant. "Hold onto this. Now."

"I..." Thayer searched for words. The guards were about to round the corner.

'Screw it.' He took the pendant.

The woman grew a wide smile. "For me? Thank you, Cole! I love you so much!" She grabbed hold of his shirt and pulled him out of the street and into the shade of the awning of the shop. She tilted her head and took him into a deep kiss.

By far, this was the most ridiculous five minutes of Thayer's life. From escape to botched escape to free jewelry to romance with a woman he had never met in his life.

The guards ran past, not even sparing a glance toward him or the mysterious woman. She kept him in the kiss, though, and he didn't protest. She was his height, dressed in a gown colored black and green, with golden lace. Silken as well, he realized by the texture he felt as he placed his hand against her hip. And...an excellent kisser. Her lips were soft, and each movement was deliberate.

She pulled away, nipping at his bottom lip as she did so. It got a small reaction from him, a short and quick gasp.

"Who...who are you?" he questioned.

The woman smirked. Did she know who he was? Was she a plant from some thief guild, trying to lure him into a trap?

"A good friend of yours," she replied, "but we've never met properly. Not even now. Would you like to? I can offer many opportunities for someone like yourself."

'A trap, then.' She might be trying to plant the pendant on him to frame him.

"Unfortunately, I'll have to decline your offer. You see, I don't work well with others."

She eyed him up and down. She was gorgeous, but he couldn't let that sway his mind. But if he was rude, she may be tempted to call the guards on him again. He had to make her think he could be persuaded.

"Well," she replied. "I'll check in again tonight to see if you changed your mind."

'What?'

He moved aside, and stuck his head past the awning to search the street for any watchers. A guild would have people keeping an eye on their agent in plays like this. No one seemed suspicious, for the moment at least.

"Look," he said, turning back toward her. "If you--"

He froze. She was gone.

'What in the seven saints is going on today.'

He felt something cool in his hand. The pendant. She was framing him, for sure. He held it out toward the jeweler. "Here. Sorry about...whatever that was."

The man looked up from his work at him, and the pendant. "You looking to sell that or something?"

"Wh--no. Isn't it yours?"

The man raised an eyebrow. "I don't make pieces like that. I will buy it, though, if you're offering."

"I...sure."

The jeweler took the pendant, and used a lens to study it. He whistled.

"Fine quality. Real emeralds I can give you two thousand glints."

Thayer barely kept himself from gawking. Two thousand? That was more than he would make in an entire year. That was enough to set himself up as a crew leader with his own hideout.

...His own hideout.

"I'll need some time to consider," he replied, and held his hand out.

The man sighed, and handed it back. "Come right back once you do, you hear?"

"Certainly," he said. As he left, a smile grew on his face.

------

He managed to get two thousand five hundred glints for the necklace. He had to be extra sure that the jeweler wasn't in on a scam set up by the woman, and ended up selling it to someone else.

Lester's ring sold for a hundred. That was the kind of life-changing fortune he was used to. The money in his bag was a noticeable weight as he walked, once he was unaccustomed to. How would he even spend this? It was enough to start his own enterprise, but he had no idea how. Did he just walk into one of the shops he passed on his way back to his meager dwelling, ask to buy the basement out? He had a lot of work ahead of him.

That woman...he hadn't gotten her name. But he wouldn't forget her face. Deep brown hair, and lightly tan skin. A small, cute nose between green eyes. Her accent, not easily placed. The smoothness of her lips, and the sweetness of her tongue in his mouth. The firmness of her chest against his own as she stepped into him.

Thayer felt his cock grow in his pants. He couldn't think business right now. And it had been a long day. Maybe he ought to buy a room at an inn for the night. He deserved to rest now, didn't he? Besides, it would be dangerous to keep his new money at his usual spot.

He looked up at the sign for the luxury inn at the corner. Twenty-five glints for a night. Lady Luck, he was rich right now. Time to learn what that was like.

------

As Thayer sipped his wine and peeled off the last bit of pork from the stack of ribs before him, he came to a conclusion.

He really liked being rich.

He had never known such luxury. A bath with heated water. It had been so long since he had a proper bath, and he enjoyed his greatly. He didn't need to go to a bathhouse either, this place had one right in his suite. His suite! The only times he had been in a suite before were when he was nicking some noble's valuables in the night. Well, that, and when he seduced someone well enough for them to invite him up. And even then, that was done to steal their valuables. And enjoy their company, of course, but that was secondary.

Silk sheets. They reminded him of the woman's dress. He would be thinking of her tonight; imagining himself sinking into her bosom like a cloud...

...this was an expensive inn, wasn't it? Expensive inns usually had their own brothels. How long had it been since he had gotten off? Four--no--five days, certainly. It had gotten distracting. He should call up some company.

"Service," he said aloud. A blue light near the door lit up, indicating that he wanted a butler to come by. A mirroring one was on the outside of his door, which one would see and know to enter.

The knock came a minute later. Thayer unlocked the door, through which a woman entered. Dressed in the button-up uniform of the inn. A rather handsome outfit that stretched against her breasts in a way that made Thayer wish she was the company.

"Yes, sir?" she asked.

"I'm done with my food. Please, take the dishes, and bring desert and another bottle of wine."

"...And some company as well," he said quickly. He'd been to brothels all the time, but not one like this. He wasn't sure what the right words were.

It didn't seem to matter. "At once, sir. Have you any preferences?"

Preferences. "A woman." Did he need to be more specific? Would she send several up for him to select?

"Certainly," she replied as she gathered the dishes and lifted them into the air. "I will send them up with your desert and wine."

'Them.' So...yes? He'd select one? He wasn't sure, and he didn't want to make an ass of himself by asking. So he just nodded, and locked the door behind her as she left. The blue light snuffed itself.

He idly fiddled with his vest as he waited. He had bought some fresh clothes as well. He wouldn't have been able to get a room without looking the part, no matter the amount of money he had.

There was a knock at the door. He opened it slowly, and saw before him a woman, her face obscured by a thin translucent veil. She held a platter with chocolate cake and a corked bottle of wine with two glasses on it.

"Good evening, sir," she said. Her voice was soft. Her gown was a loosely fitted red robe with streaks of white through it. Cut near the skirt, so her legs would peek out as she walked. "May I enter?"

"Come right in," he replied, opening the door fully for her. He glanced at her rear as it peeked out from the robe. Smooth. Tan. It jiggled with each step. She bent over to set down the platter next to the table, revealing a whole half of her ass.

She began pouring the wine into both glasses. "Are you in a mood to share this, or will I only get to taste it off your lips?"

Rather forward. "Depends," he replied. "I don't share dessert with someone I don't know the name of." He walked behind her, placing his hand on her exposed rear.

She giggled, and lifted a glass. She turned her head to the side, looking at him from under the veil. "Come now, Thayer."

She used her other hand to lift up the veil. Thayer nearly jumped out of his skin. The woman from the market! He pushed her away and stepped back.

"You! What's going on? Why are you here?"

The wine in her glass didn't spill. It was almost like he hadn't even shoved her at all.

"What?" she laughed. "You asked for company, and I told you I'd check in with you again. You didn't forget about me already, did you? I thought I left a wonderful impression." She lifted the other glass up, and offered it to him.

He took it, not knowing what to say. If this was a scam or trick, then it was being played marvelously. How did she know where to go? She couldn't have possibly known he'd go here, could she? And how in the world would she have been hired so quickly if she didn't?

"Forgive me for being a bit surprised at today's events, 'madame'. Who are you?"

Her smile faded, and was replaced with a disapproving smirk. It was strangely enticing, like the look a lover gives to you when you pull a trick on them. Intimate and knowing. With her left arm folded under her right, which held the glass, she took a few slow, confident steps toward him.

"You asked me for help, Thayer. You've done many things in my name, things I'm proud of. It was only appropriate that I gave you some recognition."

She lifted her left hand out toward him, slowly. Her fingers traced down his ear, brushing though his thick hair and lightly scratching his neck along their way.

"You know who I am."

The color of her eyes flared in intensity. Thayer gasped, and felt a surge of power flow through her fingers and into his body. It was like divine inspiration. His body felt looser, faster. He felt completely in control--he could do anything! He only felt this way when...

"Erinlay? Lady Luck? Wh--why?" He stumbled backwards and bowed? Was he supposed to bow or kneel? Just bow. "I'm so sorry, I didn't--"

She placed a finger upon his lip. "Do not apologize. You have done nothing to offend me." Erinlay flicked his lip with her nail with a smirk. "Have some wine. It's an expensive vintage, no point letting it go to waste."

Thayer nodded dumbly and picked it up. His instincts told him to check it for poison, but...this was Erinlay. He had no doubts there. Looking her in the eye, he took a cautious sip, and she followed suit. Delicious, but he was far too scrambled to enjoy it properly.

"...why? Why give me that pendant? Why come to my suite like...this? What's going on?"

Erinlay set her glass upon the table, and snapped her fingers. The room suddenly dimmed, the chandelier flames snuffing themselves and the curtains closing off the light of the sunset. A small gold candelabra appeared on the table, already lit. Its flickering cast shadows across her face as she sat down, motioning for Thayer to sit opposite her. Who was he to refuse? He sunk into the chair.

"Am I about to wine and dine a goddess?", he wondered.

"I've had my eye on you for a while. You pray to me often, Thayer. You may not feel as though I help you often, but I do when it counts. You may not live a life of luxury, but I help you to live when you shouldn't be able to. I've...grown fond of you, and your actions. You take risks, and leave luck up to fate, and me. It shows honor.

"Today, I gave you more help than I normally give anyone. Think of it as...a trial. A taste of what I offer you as a patron."

She stared into his soul, waiting for an answer. Thayer was entranced through and through by her beauty. Not in a lustful manner, but a reverent one. She was worthy of worship and prayer. He swallowed.

"I'm the one who is honored, Erinlay, I--"

She stuck her hand up.

"Please. 'Erin' is fine."

"Erin. I can't thank you enough for the pendant, and your protection. How would this work, exactly?"

'Erin' crossed one leg over the other. "Similar to how it did today. If you are in trouble, I will offer assistance when necessary. Guide you toward bigger scores."

"And make out with me while I feel you up?" he thought to himself. This whole experience was far too erotic to be so simple as this.

"And...and what do I give to you in return?"

Erin smiled, and leaned forward on the table, uncrossing her legs.

"You keep worshipping me," she replied. "Honor me with your actions. And perhaps..." She slid her arm across the table, hand raised up, and took hold of Thayer's own.

"Perhaps we can get to know one another more intimately."

Thayer's heart skipped a beat. She was serious. That kiss was a part of it. She really did come here intending to 'know' him.

"I..." His mind raced. What should he say? Was he allowed to refuse? Why would be refuse anyway?

"So that kiss, at the market. That wasn't just to help me hide. You wanted to do it."

To his surprise, she looks downward and nods. Did gods get flustered?

"I've had my eye on you for some time now, as I said. What do you say, then? I give you assistance, power, and wealth, and in return you devote your deeds to me and we see what kind of fun we can have with each other?"

Thayer laughed. "You say this like there's a downside to any of it. What happens if we...don't get along in that way? Is the entire deal off then? What do you even...heh. What are you into?"