Shadows of Avarice (BxB)

Chapter 6

The day of the ceremony arrived quicker than Xia had anticipated. He wasn't ready to sacrifice his freedom to the sultan, but he needed to do something to turn things around for his family. If Xia was the chosen one, then he didn't have much of a plan. He had a general idea of what to do and if things went awry, then he would simply run away. He was good at disappearing whenever he was in trouble.

While Xia knew that he could make himself scarce, that didn't make him any less nervous. Today he would be walking into the lion's den. Alishba would be by his side, which helped calm his nerves a little bit. At least he wouldn't be alone in this endeavor.

Alishba was adding the finishing touches to Xia's makeup. Afterward, they would be on their way. Xia wished that he could say one last goodbye to his grandmother before they were separated for who knew how long. However, he knew that he couldn't approach her in this attire. If she knew that it was him, then she would scold him and forbid him from going. She didn't know all the trouble that her children got up to. Their goodbye from this morning would have to suffice.

"If you want to back out, then now's your chance. Once we go to the palace, then we won't have this opportunity again. The sultan will choose you, Xia," Alishba said as she added the last bit of eyeshadow. She was confident that her brother would be chosen. The makeup made Xia look gorgeous, as well as his unusual features that made him stand out. The sultan would choose this exotic beauty.

As much as he wanted to, he knew that he couldn't back out of this now. This was the quickest option to get out of Rasea. The sultan was rich, so who better to steal from? Xia shook his head, then stood up. "I'm ready."

They left Alishba's bedroom and joined their brothers in the front room. Tariq had already seen Xia dressed up before, but this was Zakariya's first time seeing it. Their brother looked amazed. He had to blink twice to make sure that he wasn't seeing things. Xia looked like a completely different person. Even if people recognized the purple hair and elf ears, they wouldn't think that it was him. They would believe that Xia must have had a twin sister who was hiding this whole time. Only people who were familiar with their family would know that it was him, and not many knew them. They were only known for being thieves, nothing else.

Zakariya was left speechless. If anyone was going to pull this heist off, then Xia would. The sultan wouldn't look at any of the other women once Xia came walking through those doors. He would win everyone's attention, that was a guarantee.

Xia nervously shifted back and forth as his siblings stared at him. He sighed, then said, "We won't be seeing each other for a while, so take care of yourselves, okay? And make sure to take care of grandmother as well. Help her out at the market as much as possible."

He hated having to say goodbye. He would only be at the palace, but they would still be separated for an amount of time. Xia trusted his brothers to take care of things here while he and Alishba were gone. Their grandmother would be safe with the brothers around. In order to be reunited with them again, he would do whatever he needed to be successful. He would get them out of Rasea.

"You're the one who needs to take care of yourself. I still worry about what you're getting yourself into, but I know there's no convincing you once your mind is made up. Who knew you would go this far over a joke . . ." Zakariya said, a small smile creeping its way onto his face.

"After some thinking, your little joke made a lot of sense. It'll be easy to make money this way. Besides, if I expect that Alishba and I will be in danger, then we'll get out of there." Xia was confident in his abilities. All of the siblings were talented in what they did, but Xia knew that he was the best. He would get this job done.

"Still, be careful. We don't want to hear about the two of you being executed," Tariq added.

That was a real possibility that loomed over their heads. If things went wrong, then Xia and Alishba would suffer the consequences.