The sapphire necklace shone brightly on her neck.
“O-Oh.”
Her mind stopped working. She thought she could actually
feel the inner gears of her mind just… stop.
She felt as if she were watching this from afar. As if she was no longer in her own body, but standing outside, watching these events take place.
Turning around, still feeling strangely detached, Minerva saw August beaming at her. Rather smugly so. She wished she could just reach out and slap that awful expression from his face.
The balcony was silent, and the noises from the ball sounded muffled. The sounds of a cricket relentlessly chirping in the gardens below echoed loudly in the tense quiet. Glancing upwards, Minerva realized that the balcony doors were shut. She had not realized.
Abruptly, her mind once again entered a vicious overdrive, more urgent than before, as everything managed to fall together and fit perfectly. Despite the generous amount of things to be said, only one thing managed to escape her lips.
“You are infuriating.”
A genuine smile spreading on his face, a small crinkle next to his bright blue eyes, and the man in front of her burst into a merry laughter. Minerva could not keep her eyes of him. It was a rather delightful sound…
Sighing, Minerva bowed her head, covering it with her hands. She peeked at the man through her fingers. “How did you know it was me?”
His eyes widened, and he gave her a disbelieving look. “It wasn’t that hard,” he said, his hand reaching out to her.
Minerva’s eyes widened, and her back stiffened. Her mind suddenly shifted gears, as if whispering to her
fight or flight fight or flight fight or fli-
The thought took an abrupt halt as August’s hand reached for her uniquely coloured hair. He took a single lock in his hands, twirling it around his index finger. Smiling, he whispered, “You really aren’t that hard to spot.”
Suddenly, laughter unexpectedly bubbled from her throat. “And you are a master of disguise yourself, aren’t you?”
August paused, his hand still holding her hair. “Yes, yes I am.”
Finally taking her hand off her face, Minerva looked up. There was a strange look on August’s face.
Seeing him standing there, his posture suddenly stiff, Minerva gasped. Her mouth quirked upwards at the sides, and a strange giggle finally let itself out. She absentmindedly blamed her sister for it.
“Oh, I’m sorry, my dearest
Striking Thief, did I
offend you?” The giggle turned into a full blown laughter, and Minerva felt like she had not laughed this hard since she had first taken this case.
August’s eyes narrowed at her, though they seemed to soften at the sight before him. Minerva, what with her head thrown back in mirth, did not notice. Then, breathing hard, Minerva finally started to recover, a few stray chuckles coming out by accident. The idea of the Striking Thief
himself looking so insecure about her jabs at his talents just seemed so… absurd.
“S’alright, didn’t mean it like that, you are rather good at what you do,” she breathed, grinning.
He nodded, distractedly. Then he nodded in her direction. “Blue suits you well, you know.”
Minerva frowned. Her gown wasn’t really blue, to be specific, but rather like a pale, baby blue. Seems the man lacked a bit of specifity. She started to mutter a thank you when she stopped.
Her eyes were once again drawn to the necklace tied around her throat, sitting innocently above the line of her dress. She felt her face heating up, be it because of her embarrassment, or her anger at being such a stupid
fool- she could not tell.
Minerva looked up, frowning intensely at August. A wicked grin was spreading on his face. For what felt like the hundredth time that night, Minerva resisted the urge to slap that expression off his face.
August then moved towards her, putting less distance between them each second. Looking downwards, her face turning absolutely scarlet, Minerva cursed under her breath. The man’s long legs seemed to cover more distance per step than what was fair.
When he paused, standing in front of her, Minerva only then dared to look up. Her face stared directly at his chest. For a second, she admired his waistcoat, which had buttons which looked like legitimate diamonds (
but then again, of course they do, just look at who I’m speaking with) before her head tilted upwards, and their eyes finally met. Before she could stop herself, she spoke,
“B-Blue suits you as well.”
Unexpectedly, he smiled, an actual sincere,
candid smile appeared on his face, and his eyes brightened.
He waved his hand around, then pointed to his eyes as if in question, then nodded, his face turning slightly pink, so slightly that Minerva would not have noticed had she not been looking. Then he cleared his throat, putting his momentary embarrassment aside, and his face was suddenly blank, as if there was nothing on there just moments ago. Minerva was taken aback.
Seeing an open shot, Minerva spoke up. “How? How did you find this? I’m quite sure this isn’t the fake one because the fake one was
much lighter- oh god this thing is
heavy how do people
wear this?- and the place is practically swarming with guards and I don’t even understand! How did they let you in? Only people with invitations are allowed in, and I was a bit of an exception because
obviously I’m here to
work- and then I spent all night in this stupid poufy marshmallow thing looking for
YOU, mister! And then- You don’t even
need to steal anything, you’re technically retired! And then-”
Her mind suddenly stopped again, altogether for a completely different reason. August’s finger pushed against her lips, shushing her.
God, she thought, after several moments of pulling a blank,
this man is a menace.
His head approached hers, putting only inches between them. She could feel his warm breaths against her skin, leaving it tingling.
He spoke quietly, his voice barely heard over Minerva’s loud heartbeat.
“You
are a detective after all, I’m positive you can figure it out yourself, my dearest
Rookie.”
Her heart stopped. Her heart legitimately stopped and her knees buckled before she quickly caught herself and leaned on the balcony fence.
“B-but… this necklace means
everything to this family-”
“Just as this case means everything to you?” He interrupted.
She ignored him, continuing, “and if you don’t return it they’re going to be
devastated!” Her voice had almost turned into a screech, her breaths coming fast and shallow.
Once again, his hand moved towards her, but this time, it landed just in the part between her neck and her shoulder. His face was glowing, and his eyes looked almost peaceful.
Minerva stopped breathing.
August’s other hand reached up, pulling a lock from her face, tucking it behind her ear. He momentarily admired her earrings, an unbecoming frown gracing his features, before his eyes once again bore into hers. With the same hand, he slowly slid Minerva’s mask off her face, and once it was off, he took a deep breath.
It all felt so surreal. The man she’d been chasing for the past few months, standing in front of her, so intimately. Her knuckles gripped the fence so tightly, turning white.
She’d been staring pointedly at a spot right next to his head, but now she looked at him. His striking blue eyes sparkled, his handsome features highlighted dramatically by the moonlight.
“I will return it if you give me…” he whispered, his eyes glancing at her lips. “One kiss.”
Minerva gulped. She felt as if her knees would give up and stop supporting her any minute.
“Why are you so interested in me?” She breathed, her throat raw.
August did not move, did not back up. He grinned. “I will tell you all about that on our next meeting.”
Her eyes widened, and before she could stop herself, Minerva leaned up, towards him, and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. August looked so surprised, so shocked, for just a moment, before he abruptly leaned into her again, his forehead touching hers.
Minerva mused,
he probably didn’t see that one coming, before tentatively placing her hands on his face. She tilted her head up and kissed him. This time, he kissed her back.
For moments that felt like ages, they kissed, their heads moving as one. Her hands moved in his soft hair, ruining his carefully messed up hairstyle, while both his hand ran around her neck, then settling to cup her cheeks. It felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted from her chest.
They were interrupted by the sound of a high-pitched beeper going off. Minerva quickly turned, pulling a small radio that was tucked inconspicuously between the ruffles of her dress, and clicked the button, putting it by her ear.
A muffled but urgent voice sounded through. “
The Spellbound Sapphire is gone! I repeat, the necklace is gone!”
Minerva’s eyes widened, dropping the radio. It clattered loudly on the stone floor. Her hands flew to her neck, to find it disappointingly empty.
She turned around, and found the necklace shining between August’s hands. He looked at her. His hair was messy, and his face red, his lips slightly swollen. He looked almost apologetic.
Minerva’s entire body seemed to have stopped working. Not a muscle in her body seemed to move.
He reached out and touched the earrings she wore.
“Perhaps, the next time, I’ll bring you a pair of earrings truly worth being worn by you, Minerva.”
He placed a kiss on her forehead, a hand caressing her hair, and she still could not move.
August moved back, towards the door, and just as she felt that he was going to open them and escape, he quickly changed direction and ran towards her. She shoved herself to the side, shocked, to see him jump off the fence. Her heart sped up, and she felt the blood flowing through her veins,
Oh my goodness what has this man done what did he just do did he just fly off a stinking fence-
Pulling herself up, Minerva spun and held on to the fence, her eyes scanning the gardens for him. She found him sprinting away, towards the edge of the estate, successfully avoiding all the guards. Suddenly blinded by anger, both at him and at herself, she shouted, “You horrible, infuriating man!” She panted. “You stink!”
She vaguely heard the doors of the balcony being opened, the footsteps of guards running, clacking loudly on the stone floor. The radio by her feet blared. And she knew, she just knew, the man had a huge, smug grin on his face. Had they not been separated by such a long distance, she would have most certainly reached out and slapped it off his face.
Feeling a strange betrayal at the sight of him finally climbing the fence and running off, Minerva walked back, her occupied mind not at all registering the pressing questions of the guards around her. Her radio was still blaring.
…………………………………..
No searches on the name August Milenario had come up with any results, except for a middle-aged man who was sent to jail in the nineteen eighties for having shoplifted a thousand dollars’ worth of women’s underwear. Ruling him out on the spot, Minerva spent her next day in the office with her hands covering her face, completely ignoring the hassle of the other detectives around her.
When she’d gone to give Juno back her dress, her sister had instantly known that something had happened. Though Minerva had refused to give anything away, Juno had known by her ruffled hair and generally distressed manner that something
interesting had happened.
Interesting indeed, Minerva mused, scoffing.
She’d spent the entire night wondering what his real eye colour was.
“Hey, Rookie, you got more mail!”
Minerva sighed, stretching one arm out, her palm open. The heavy package landed in her hand, pulling it down with it. Screeching rather ungracefully, Minerva fell out of her wheel chair, her paperwork flying around her. While the general consensus was to laugh at the Rookie’s misfortunes, what felt like the entire instead office glared at her. Her failure on the previous night to stop the robbery earned her more than a few hostile scowls.
Instead of letting herself get phased, Minerva directed a scowl of her own to everyone in her vicinity. One detective in front of her scoffed indignantly and went back to his work.
Deeming her chair as too much of a hazard to use at the moment, Minerva scooped up her paperwork and plopped it on her desk. She then sat on the floor, legs crossed, before looking at the package in front of her.
The brown covering was soft to the touch, unlike any other packaging she’d seen. She carefully unwrapped it, taking care not to tear it.
Her hands stopped.
Underneath the brown exterior, a small black box with a blue ribbon sat.
Her hands shaking, she untied the ribbon. Lifting the box to eye level, a small note fell to her lap. She narrowed her eyes at it, realized it was identical to the one a few days ago; all white, with the exception of a small unidentifiable black emblem.
Shaking her head, Minerva looked up to find the detective she’d previously scowled at looking at the package with interest. She frowned. “Mind your own business, will you?”
He pouted at her, and turned back to his desk.
Minerva pried open the cover of the box, steeling herself. A little velvet cloth covered the contents. She snatched it, moving it out of the way. Her breath hitched.
Inside, the Spellbound Sapphire necklace was placed, held by little hooks in the box. It looked like something one would put in a museum, behind double-layered glass and a dozen security cameras.
Perhaps if they had those at the Minauderie mansion, she thought,
none of this would have happened.
But she sure as hell wouldn't have wanted for last night to not have happened.
In the empty space in the middle of the necklace, a little note was written in the same tidy, flowing script.
“
Blue suits you very well.
Until the next time.”
Minerva stared unblinkingly at the box for at least an entire minute before she reacted. Once again, she felt detached from her own body. Her hand reached to the necklace, pulled it out of the box. She then stood up, affirming her presence in the office. The hand with the necklace moved upwards, her arm sticking it in the air, until the necklace was in sight of everyone in the office. The shouts turned into whispers, then into murmurs, before the entire office went quiet.
A cry of joy sounded from every detective.
Minerva watched as everyone in the office erupted into cheers, and pulled the necklace down again. She carefully placed it into the box, vaguely aware of the congratulations from her colleagues. Discreetly, she pulled the small note out of the box, placing it in her bag.
The Spellbound Sapphire necklace had been returned.
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