Adventure
5 min
The Ballad of Two Thieves
Vivian Lai
How does one outwit themselves? Ever since I met Ruse, I've been trying to figure it out. Ruse is my mirror image. He thinks like me, schemes like me, steals like me. We are two thieves born of the same twisted soul, which means I have to betray him before he does me.
Ruse and I met when I was down on my luck. I had no money, so I'd collected a bunch of rocks and some of my leftover paints. I painted the rocks to resemble rare gemstones. I'd taken them to the market and waited for buyers when a young man my age came wandering by.
"These are gorgeous gems," he said, blue eyes glittering. "How much for all of them?"
I gave him the price, and he handed me a bulging bag of coins.
"Keep the change," he said with a smile, before taking my rocks and vanishing into the crowd.
That night I discovered the bag of coins was a dupe. They were all chocolates in wrapper that made them look like real coins. The next day I returned to my post at the market, clutching the bag with an angry fist. For some reason, I knew the man would show up there again looking for me once he realized the gems weren't real. I was right.
"These gems are fakes," he snapped.
"So are your coins," I said plainly.
We stared at each other, neither wanting to break eye contact first. Then, the man laughed. It was such a musical laugh that I couldn't help but join in.
"I'm Ruse," the man said, holding out a hand.
I shook it. "I'm Fey."
From that day on, Ruse and I decided we would be unstoppable if we worked together rather than against each other. It's now two weeks later, and we've found a group of four traders to rob after staking out this hotel the entire afternoon. It's Ruse's idea to act as weary travelers needing a place to crash.
"Excuse me, good sirs," Ruse says, approaching the traders with a fake limp, attempting to look as pitiful as possible. "Do you kind souls care to take in two exhausted travelers for the night? We have no money to rent a room for ourselves."
The traders glance amongst themselves. They agree to take us in. We follow them up to their hotel room and are given the couch to sleep on.
As the night goes on, the traders tell us stories of their adventures. Ruse encourages the traders to drink bottle after bottle. Meanwhile, I discreetly direct the conversation to the types of valuables they were selling.
When the traders pass out from the alcohol, Ruse and I spring to action. We raid the room and shove everything we can into our bags. I dig out all the valuables from the secret corners hidden all over the room. How foolish that they were to willingly give me that information.
Ruse is waiting for me in the hotel corridor when I come out of the room. Our bags are heavy with stolen goods, and his winning grin tells me he's thinking the same thing I am.
We're about to be rich.
But we can't just leave the traders and their raided hotel room. It would be obvious it was us who robbed them. They know our faces, and will go straight to the police.
Ruse and I dash down to the lobby, bursting into the streets busy with nightlife. Even though it's dark, the streetlights are enough to keep me from losing Ruse, never taking my sights off his glinting silver hair. We arrive at a sewer hatch and Ruse pulls it open.
We throw our bags of treasure down the dark hole. We'd scouted out this sewer hole specifically because it was no longer in use and hadn't been for the past thirty years. Anything nasty in there should have long since festered away. It was also in an isolated corner, meaning nobody would be around to witness our activities. Ruse turns to me with an impish smile.
"Mission accomplished, Fey," he says, and I can't help but release a joyful laugh. I can see myself reflected in his icy eyes, my long black hair tangled from the run.
We return to the hotel and try to rest. The excitement in my stomach eludes me from sleep, so I settle on laying still. I'm not sure how Ruse is able to drift off, but I hear him snoring beside me on the couch before long.
I know when the traders begin to wake when one of them yawns loudly. As they get up one by one, I wonder how long it will take them to realize the place has been robbed. Ruse stirs beside me, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
We say our goodbyes and get out of there before breakfast time. We arrive back at the sewer, but one problem remains. One of us will have to go down the sewer and tie the bags to the end of a long rope, while the other brings it up.
"Ruse, you can see better in the dark," I say, an innocent mask falling upon my face. "You go down."
Ruse blinks, a smirk dancing across his lips. "No, I insist, Fey. You're smaller and can fit better."
Ruse knows exactly what game I'm playing. Unfortunately for him, it's the same one he is. I chuckle. "I have better grip strength, you're going to drop the rope. I'll stay up here."
"I have stronger arms, I can lift them faster. I'll stay."
An idea sinks into my brain, and I smile dangerously. "Fine, I'll go down."
I don't break eye contact with Ruse as I tie myself to the rope and he lowers me down, down, down into the heart of the sewer. I can't help but note the glimmer of triumph in his expression, so faint it wouldn't have been noticeable if I didn't have the same glimmer every time I secured a victory.
The bottom of the sewer is dark, the water having long since dried. I tie the bags to the rope and Ruse pulls them up. He's supposed to lower the rope again to hoist me out, but I know he won't. He's just like me, and if the roles were reversed, I wouldn't lower the rope either.
I look up at the hatch, my only beacon of light. Ruse's face appeared, ringed with sunlight, and he smiled fiendishly. "I'm sorry Fey, but these treasures are mine."
No rope appears. I'm not surprised or hurt as he vanishes from view, probably slinging the bags of goods that we worked together to steal over his shoulder and dashing off, laughing at my foolishness. Little does he know, I thoroughly studied the map of the sewers when planning this mission. And if Ruse is like me, he's going to run straight for his little apartment to sort out the goods.
I sprint through the darkness, relying on my sharp memory on where to turn. Venomous glee spread in my veins and propelled me forward. Ruse thinks he got the last say, getting rid of me once and for all. I can't wait to see the look on his face.
I arrive at the correct hatch twenty minutes later. The sewers in this area are shallower, so I'm able to jump and push off the lid, then clamber out onto the street. I'm right on time, for I hear a set of light, familiar footsteps stop dead at the sight of me crawling my way out.
"Hello, Ruse," I smile with my teeth bared.
Ruse stares at me in shock, all the bags of goods still slung over his shoulder, then breaks out in a cold smirk. "I'm sorry it has to end this way, Fey."
"I'm sorry too," I snarl, and before Ruse can react I pick up a fallen wood plank and smash him over the head. Ruse goes down, unconscious. I hum a tune as I yank the bags from his stiff hands and run off.
That was the last time I saw Ruse for the next fifty years. I'm surprised I managed to make it this long, but I suppose when you know the streets, you can make it pretty far. That means Ruse is still out there, no doubt thinking of me after all these years like I still think of him. It's a shame we're both twisted liars, stabbing each other in the back at the first chance.
I'm an old woman now, and nothing has changed. I am still standing in the same corner of the market, selling rocks I've painted as gemstones. Every day, buyers still stop by and trade coins for these "gems." Every day, I make money. It's a good life.
Until my path crossed with an old man, a crooked smile spreading across his handsome face as he studied my painted stones. He palmed a bulging bag of coins, one I hadn't seen for fifty years.
"These are gorgeous gems," he said, blue eyes glittering. "How much for all of them?"
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