Master of Lust

As she scanned the room, a sense of unease gnawed at her. Something didn\'t quite add up, and her sharp eyes darted around, scrutinizing every detail for signs of trouble. Evelina\'s instincts tingled, alerting her to the unusual atmosphere that suggested all was not as it seemed.

The room seemed oddly empty, devoid of the expected sparkle of treasures she\'d pictured. Suspicion etched across her face as she combed through the space, her eyes sweeping every corner for any trace of the missing riches.

Her probing gaze eventually fell upon a peculiar patch on the floor, a faintly lighter area that contrasted with the rest of the floor. Her intuition kicked in, urging her to investigate the conspicuous spot.

Evelina regarded that unusual spot with a skeptical glance, her suspicion deepening as she turned her gaze toward Rick. She narrowed her eyes and shot a skeptical glance in Rick\'s direction, but he threw up a shoulder-shrug like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

But Evelina wasn\'t buying what Rick was selling. Their quiet stare-down was like a game of poker where nobody\'s folding, and you could cut the tension with a butter knife.

"I didn\'t say anything," Evelina retorted, shooting a pointed gaze in Rick\'s direction.

"Me neither," Rick fired back, pretending to be as pure as the driven snow.

Evelina couldn\'t shake the feeling that the room was way too void of valuables for her liking, considering what she\'d heard about it. Her inquisitiveness got the better of her, so she soldiered on, venturing deeper into the room.

Evelina\'s sly grin grew wider, her suspicion hanging out like a sore thumb as she carried on with her careful recon. She had her sights set on a specific goal, and she wasn\'t about to let it slip through her fingers.

Rick chimed in, pointing to a corner. "Plants are stashed over there," he motioned. "There\'s a whole bunch. Grab what you want, and I\'ll grab the rest."

Evelina, didn\'t even spare a glance in Rick\'s direction, brushed off his offer with indifference. "You can have them all."

Perplexed, Rick prodded for more info. "What do you mean? Weren\'t you after that flower? What was it again?"

"Sunfire Lotus," the Rabbit chimed in, giving them a nudge.

"Yeah, Sunfire Lotus," Rick added, eyeing Evelina for a response.

Evelina\'s focus shifted as she rummaged through the room, her mission clearly diverging from what Rick had anticipated.

"What about that flower?" Rick inquired.

Evelina, unbothered, kept combing the room. "Well, what I told you earlier, it wasn\'t exactly the whole truth," she confessed.

Rick cocked an eyebrow, not too thrilled about being fed a line, "So, you lied to me?"

"I wouldn\'t say that," Evelina\'s lips curved into a sly smile, she brushed off Rick\'s inquiry, digging through cupboards and shelves without acknowledging him. "How about we split it 50-50?"

Rick, not one to let things slide, prodded for clarification. "What in the world does that mean?"

Evelina\'s answer came swift and unexpected. "It means... Oh, hold the phone! Look what we\'ve got here!" she suddenly exclaimed. She had shifted a painting, unveiling a hidden safe behind it.

"Hey, don\'t just ignore me," Rick blurted out, his frustration obvious. He hustled over to her, closing the gap.

"What\'s the deal with the 50-50 thing?" Rick interjected, wearing his bewilderment on his sleeve, trying to keep up with the rapid plot twist.

In the meantime, Evelina didn\'t miss a beat, fingers dancing over the safe\'s keypad as she swiftly entered the passcode.

Click!

Rick caught the sound of the safe swinging open.

Evelina cautiously pushed the door ajar, and a mist gushed out, wrapping itself around Rick and Evelina. The chilling touch of the fog crept over their faces, leaving behind an eerie sensation.

As the fog cleared, Rick found himself standing next to Evelina, intrigued about what she had unearthed. She held a box, a smirk of satisfaction playing on her lips.

In a swift move, she unsealed the box and delicately removed a vial filled with a yellowish-gold liquid. Her expression transformed from mischief to pure relief, painting a genuinely content smile across her face.

"What\'s that?" Rick inquired, puzzled by the significance of the vial.

Evelina didn\'t waste a moment, explaining, "This right here is the jackpot, Rick. The Frostfire Serum, whipped up with the Sunfire Lotus. It\'s the whole reason I came to this place. That\'s why I said that 50-50 thing, you know, half-truth, half-lie."

Rick mulled over the newfound information, his intrigue growing. "Frostfire Serum? What\'s the lowdown on it?"

Evelina\'s focus remained locked on the vial. "It\'s a potent elixir. My grandmother is very much ill, and this serum is the last chance for me to save her. It\'s super rare and super difficult thing to make."

Rick\'s expression softened, understanding the weight of the situation. "I get it now. I had no clue it was this crucial. But, um, isn\'t there just the one vial?"

Evelina confirmed with a nod, a hint of concern flickering across her features. "Yeah, it is just one vial."

"But it\'s going to be enough, as long as we handle it with care," Her expression a mix of relief and concern.

"So, you don\'t want anything else from here?" Rick, his curiosity still piqued, turned his attention away from Evelina. He looked to the Rabbit for confirmation, and a nod from the Rabbit gave him the green light. Rick sprang into action. The Rabbit darted around the room, scooping up the remaining plants and delivering them to Rick.

Contrary to Rick\'s expectations, the room hidden behind the iron gate turned out to be quite the letdown in terms of rare plants. There was next to nothing, just a handful clustered in one corner. All those gold bars, jewels, wooden crates, and whatnot were actually the stars of the show inside the room.

Rick\'s inner Scrooge came to life, and he let his greed take the reins. Ignoring Evelina\'s valid concerns about the vials, Rick deftly shifted his focus to the other wooden crates in the room. When Evelina\'s attention was drawn away, Rick sneakily spirited the boxes away, leaving the room looking absolutely deserted except for the furnishings and a pile of papers perched on top of them.

In the blink of an eye, the room that had once been brimming with treasure was now devoid of its valuable possessions, leaving only the remnants of the furniture and scattered papers.

Evelina turned to Rick, gratitude in her eyes. "Thanks. These are going to make a big difference. Now, let\'s hustle and get this back to my grandmo...ther."

But Rick\'s lightning-fast moves didn\'t slip past Evelina\'s keen observation. Her brow knitted as she surveyed the now-empty room, comprehending that the riches had vanished right before her eyes.

"Hold on a sec. Did you clear the place out?" Evelina inquired, her suspicion hanging in the air.

Rick did his best to keep his innocence act going, but his guilty expression might have spilled the beans. "I-I didn\'t do a thing."

Evelina\'s eyes honed in, full of suspicion. "So, where did everything in the room vanish? You took them, didn\'t you?"

"I swear, I didn\'t lay a finger on anything," Rick stammered, struggling to maintain a casual facade while squirming under her intense scrutiny.

He quickly attempted to defend himself. "Look, the room was always as empty as a politician\'s promises. You think I could stash a treasure in there? Come on, up my ass? That\'s just... no way, I don\'t have those kinks."

"I guess I should\'ve seen it coming," Evelina muttered, her voice tinged with disappointment.

She shook her head with a sense of resignation, choosing to change the subject. Evelina pivoted away from Rick and headed for the disheveled papers strewn across the table. With a methodical approach, she spent a minute or two sifting through the documents, her expression growing increasingly focused.

When she found what she sought, she expertly rolled up the papers and discreetly slipped them into the back of her jeans.

Evelina turned towards Rick, her demeanor composed and determined. "I\'m all set to leave," she declared, her voice steady and resolute.

"Sure, not much to keep me around here anyway," Rick replied nonchalantly, casually looking around the surroundings before shrugging.

"Is that so?" Evelina shot Rick a disdainful glance.

Rick, unfazed, pressed the issue. "So, are we hitting the road or not?"

"Of course we are going," Evelina affirmed.

"Your way or my way?" Rick quizzed, "You call the shots, babe. I don\'t have a spare wardrobe, so I am going the way I came from. You can tag along or take a dip up the waterfall."

With that, Rick made his exit, leaving Evelina to make her own choice.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A young man, probably in his late twenties, stormed into the room, and he flung open the door with an explosive bang. Dressed in a sharp black suit that seemed ill-fitted for his agitated demeanor. He was sweating profusely, his face glistening with perspiration, and he continually dabbed his brow with a handkerchief, leaving a faint trail of smudged sweat and anxiety.

"Bad news, sir!" the young man exclaimed with a mixture of urgency and agitation. His voice trembled, and his hands quivered as he announced his arrival.

An old man sat on the other end of the room and had a disapproving frown on his face. His aged hands picked up the recently cleaned pawn, and he gently wiped it with a soft cloth, as if the outside world\'s problems were as insignificant as the dust on the chess pieces.

"What is it? Why are you acting this way?" The old man inquired, his voice like gravel scraping against gravel. He leaned back in his leather chair, his posture upright, his composure unwavering.

The young man, his face still flushed and his breathing uneven, struggled to find the right words.

"What\'s got your knickers in a twist, boy?" He mumbled, his voice gravelly and filled with disapproval. "You need to work on that temperament of yours if you ever plan to step into your father\'s shoes. Your old man never flustered like this."

"Sir, it is not that simple this time," the young man replied, his voice barely above a whisper. The ominous weight of his revelation hung in the air.

"There has been an issue with one of your chambers," the young man declared, and the room seemed to grow colder, as if a shadow had just passed over it.

And hearing him the old man paused for a moment before he resumed cleaning the pawn, and asked, "Which one?"

"C5, sir" he added, his anxiety undiminished.

The old man looked up from the chessboard, fixing his gaze on the young man for the first time since he entered the room. The old man\'s withered face was a mask of contemplation, and he seemed to be lost in thought for several long, silent minutes.

"C5?" The old man repeated, his face etched with an eerie calmness. He leaned back in his ancient wooden chair, which creaked in protest. His eyes bore into the young man, a glint of unsettling amusement flickering within.

"C5… huh," he muttered to himself, and the room seemed to grow quieter. The young man felt an inexplicable unease, as if he had unleashed a sleeping beast.

Suddenly, before he could comprehend what was happening, the old man snatched up the pawn in his hand and hurled it with surprising accuracy at the young man\'s face. The crystal pawn struck him squarely on his face, right below his eye, and pain shot through his face like a lightning bolt.

The pain was immediate, and the young man cried out, collapsing to the ground, clutching his face in agony. He writhed and squirmed, his eyes watering, while the old man\'s bloodshot eyes bore into him with an intensity that sent shivers down his spine.

"What the hell were you fucking doing?" the old man bellowed, his eyes bloodshot and filled with fury. He looked like an ancient warlord defending his castle from invaders, the chessboard transformed into his battlefield.

The young man writhed in agony, his face contorted in pain, as he lay sprawled on the floor, clutching his nose. He couldn\'t comprehend what had just transpired.

"Stop whining," the old man sneered, his voice dripping with disdain. His anger swelled as he watched the young man\'s dramatic display. "Or else, I\'ll stick this stick up your ass and roast you on the barbecue, then serve your entire goddamn family. So, shut the hell up."

The young man tried to muffle his cries, but the pain in his nose and the burning humiliation overwhelmed him. He lay there, clutching his face.

"Now tell me what happened."

* * * * *