Shadows of Avarice - Book #1 (BxB)

Chapter 5

After Alishba had fun with Xia, they returned home. Tariq was waiting inside, and he had to try not to laugh when he saw Xia's attire. Tariq smiled, then quickly tried to hide it by covering his mouth with his hand.

"Don't say a damn word." Xia glared at his brother.

Though Tariq was usually the quiet one, that didn't stop him from picking on Xia. All the siblings picked on each other from time to time. It was all in good fun, and for the time being, Xia was at the receiving end of their jokes. He did this to himself by choosing to apply to the selection ceremony. This was only until he stole enough from the sultan for them to escape Rasea.

"Aww, but you look so pretty, Xia. I really outdid myself with your makeup. You don't look like my brother anymore." Alishba took in her work as she looked at Xia's face, proud of herself. She asked Tariq, "What do you think?"

"You did a good job. If I didn't know any better, I would be convinced that Xia is a girl. The ceremony is in a few days, so if this is seriously what we're doing, then make sure to replicate what you've done today. Also . . . Alishba, I know that you don't want to, but I think that it would be a good idea for you to go with Xia. As like a lady-in-waiting. If you're attending to him, then others might not find out his secret," Tariq suggested.

Alishba thought that she had gotten out of going, so she was stunned that Tariq suggested this. But she couldn't deny that he had a point. If anyone else attended to Xia, then they would quickly learn that Xia is a male. If she was there with him, then she could at least continue applying his makeup. Alishba crossed her arms, and commented, "But I don't have anything nice to wear."

However, despite her final protest, Xia had a solution. Wrapped up in his own clothes that he had been wearing previously, Xia unraveled them to reveal the light pink dress that his sister seemed attracted to at first. Before Alishba had the chance to drag him out of the dressing room, Xia managed to hide and steal these garments.

He handed the fabrics to his sister, and with a sly smile he said, "A gift, dear sister."

Seeing the dress made Alishba scowl at him. As much as she liked the dress, it prevented her from having an excuse to not go. She ripped the dress out of Xia's grasp. "You suck. Fine, I'll go with you. If it'll keep you out of trouble for as long as possible then I guess I have little choice."

Knowing that one of his siblings would go with him did ease Xia's mind. With her there, he might actually have the confidence to go through with this. It might also be a little fun bossing Alishba around. She had fun teasing him about the dresses; now it was his turn. He knew how much she hated taking commands from others.

Now that that was settled, Xia excused himself to return to the room that he shared with Tariq and Zakariya. While he had privacy, Xia wanted to change out of the dress and remove the makeup from his face. He glanced at himself in the mirror as he passed by. He couldn't deny that his sister did a good job. Even he had a hard time recognizing himself. If it weren't for his hair and pointy ears, then he could have passed as any normal woman from Rasea.

But he wasn't normal, and he wasn't a woman. He was Xia; an elf from who knows where. He only knew that he didn't belong here. Elves were rare throughout the Four Kingdoms. They weren't native to Rasea, Ambria, Shéchéng, or even the fallen kingdom of Zuvelia. As far as he knew, The Winterlands weren't home to elves either. So where did he come from? Who were his parents and why did they leave him here in Rasea?

These were questions that he would never have answered. As curious as he was, he would never know. It wasn't that he cared or was heartbroken by it, but he did hate feeling different. For once, he didn't want people to treat him like an object or a curiosity. Besides his family, no one ever took the time to learn the real him. Everyone that he ever met only cared about him because of his looks.