Stolen Heart (yandere! King x reader)

6. Silk and Smoke

You fiddled with the perfume bottles that Tremaine left open. Many contained phoenix feathers, which were quite expensive to obtain since several cargo ships containing the ingredient went down in flames.

The designer of this guest room was aiming to show off, with a whole display of these perfumes in front of an ordinate mirror. Everything was disgustingly expensive. Even the wax of the candles was fine, emitting very little smoke. The fumes of the perfume met the tiny flame and set off a small flash of white fire. The smoke rose to the ceiling, and you capped the little bottle and stared at the dissipating smoke.

Wait, what if I just -- Your mind, previously empty with nothing but bitterness, was now overflowing with stupid ideas.

The gas rises, so if someone were to open each of the perfumes in the ballroom, the fumes would ignite on the chandeliers and cause an explosion, a guaranteed diversion. You weren't entirely sure how endangering this little show of yours might be, but you had a hard time caring. After all, the more chaos, the better the distraction.

You took a deep breath, untying the silk scarf and fastening it in your (h/c) hair. The location of the guard's barracks was still fresh in your mind from the last castle's heist -- a little far from where you are now, but you'd make it nonetheless.

Stealing another set of armor would be easy, as would defeating whatever unfortunate guard is tasked with watching over Damien's cell.

Damien can make his disguise by concealing his mask and cape and leaving in another set of armor.

You smirked, the plan becoming more solid and fleshed out with every passing second as you hid the little bottles under your dress. Damien won't even have to dispose of the armor since he is going to be a soldier. When you go crying to that horrible king, Caspian, that by some stroke of cruel, cruel fate the thief escaped, he'll send reinforcements to the outer wall in an attempt to keep Damien in. Reinforcements that Damien will conveniently sneak away on by pretending to be the very thing that was meant to keep him contained.

The lights in the ballroom were brighter now as the sunset reflected in the stained glass windows, elongating the shadows of the dancers.

Afterward, Damien can hide out with Verdant for a while- and maybe even join the rebellion! Your hopes rose, but you kept them in check. You knew that things were bound to go wrong -- they always do -- but maybe, just maybe, luck will be on your side this time.

The nobles kept to themselves, in gossipy clusters around the ballroom. Many of them were gossiping about you, not knowing that you were close. Gentle music wafted through the room, drowning out your struggling with the little bottles. Many of the tops were sealed on, to prevent the exact problem you were trying to create. Once each bottle was open, you left them unattended on a table, hoping that no intoxicated dancer would mistake them for a beverage and ruin everything.

None of the guards even looked at you as you moved toward an exit, ready to bolt as soon as the gas ignited. You held your breath and bounced on your toes in anticipation, but nothing happened. Even a minute later, when a clumsy couple knocked over and spilled several bottles, the aroma became overpowering for many nearby dancers. Still, nothing happened.

A warm hand landed on your shoulder and you jumped.

"May I have this dance?" It was Caspian, a pleased smile dancing across his face. You wanted to refuse. The fumes should be aflame any second now. But you didn't have a choice if you wanted to keep up appearances.

He kissed the back of your hand, "I see you're wearing the silk scarf. It looks lovely on you."

The two of you talked for a while, and you had to resist looking back at the little bottles. Shouldn't they have done something by now? Even with such a potent magical ingredient, nothing was happening. What if the whole plan was flawed?