In the taverns of the Abandoned Reach, Human patrons are advised to keep their voice low, and their presence scarce. But even Vrubel forgot this when the conversation turned to diamonds.

“Just tell me, one more time, how big is this planet?”

The Sovian turned his heads and sighed, draining his drinks before repeating, “about the size of the Earth-moon, give or take.”

Vrubel shook his head, “and she lives there all by herself?”

“Yes, I already told you.” the Sovian snapped, his three sets of needle teeth glinting in the bars blue light, “she’s lived there for god knows how long.”

Vrubel felt the excited thumping of his heart and tried his best not to look so eager. “Do you know the co-ordinates?”

“Sure, won’t do you any good though, that whole system is entry-forbidden.”

It took only one more bottle shared with the Sovian before Vrubel had the planet’s co-ordinates scrawled down on a ring-stained napkin. Stumbling drunk to his cruiser, he couldn’t help himself from laughing wildly.

Making a note to get rid of the Sovian afterwards, Vrubel lurched his ship off the ground. Aiming it into the empty heart of the Reach.

###


The Tatrer engine’s he’d stolen sailed beautifully, and soon a speck appeared in the endless night. So miniscule, a clump of red dirt, it was hard to imagine the treasure it hid.

Coming closer, he saw nothing on its surface, just a barren desert across its entirety. Nothing, except wooden house that sat in the centre. Its Old-Earth style looked alien under the star-less sky and amidst the utter nothing.

Gently guiding her, Vrubel tipped the ship down and began to descend. Just as he broke through the atmosphere, a dark purple light surrounded the ship. The cruiser rumbled, swaying wildly, and warning systems began to shriek.

Swearing, his fingers rushed to the command boards, when nothing responded he grabbed the manual controls and pulled back, hard. It wasn’t his first crash, but it surprised him when he opened his eyes and was still alive.

Dragging himself out and into a small crater, he winced at the state of the ship. Smoke trailed pathetically out the engines

He could afford an entire fleet once it was done, he thought, and began to walk.

He found her on the porch. An old shrivelled creature, wrapped in furs, not even resembling a human anymore. Estimating her age was impossible, ageing worked differently in the Abandoned Reaches.

Her eyes, a watery blue and completely vacant, fixed on him as he approached, and her mouth parted.

“You shouldn’t have come here,” she said. Her voice a dry croaking whisper.

“I’ll leave as soon as I have the diamonds, Madame Baroness.”

“Diamonds?”

” Your family fled with a whole chest of stones as I hear it,” he said, his face twisted into a smirk.

She laughed, her voice harsh, “Those? They’re in the house, I think.”

She was still chuckling to herself when Vrubel kicked the door to splinters and entered the house, his gun drawn.

“You should not have come here.” Her voice followed him as searched the house, tossing aside albums and dresses, knocking over boxes and pillaging through their contents.

“I disagree,” he called back as he opened a dusty box.

 On a faded red pillow the purple diamonds shimmered, casting dancing lights onto his face. Each one the size of his fist.

“You’ve made a mistake, thief.” she said as he marched out of the house and to his ship.

Over the sound of the diamonds tinkling in his pockets he didn’t hear her.

The ship doors lurched open, and Vrubel pulled himself in, set the diamonds on the dash and turned on the ignition. Nothing happened. Nothing happened the second time either, or the third. Not even when swearing, and cursing the old junk pieces, he attempted to brute-force the engines. His monitors and controls were as black as the sky above them, and in their reflection, his smirk had turned into a furious scowl.

The red dust rose around him as he marched towards the house. The withered Baroness did not stop her dry laughing, even when he pulled his gun.

She was still wheezing when Vrubel twisted the safety and aimed it.

“I want your ship, right now.”

“If it worked, do you think I’d still be here, with nothing but diamonds and dust for company?”

Vrubel noticed his hands were shaking, his teeth picked at his lips until blood filled his mouth.

She laughed again,”well I suppose now, I have you here too.”

Nothing happened when he squeezed the trigger. The gun gave a pathetic click, and Vrubel threw it on the ground.

Coated with sweat and dust, red-faced and seething, he spat out the word, “ozone.”

The Baroness nodded, “an electromagnet field. Took my guards a month to figure out why we couldn’t leave. They hung themselves, after a decade on the only tree here.”

She smiled, exposing brown gums and black teeth, Vrubel collapsed on the dirt.

“You’re lying.”

“I’m afraid I’m not, my dear thief.”


###

In the beginning Vrubel sat by his cruiser, day and night, rolling the diamonds in his hand. His face became creased with wrinkles and a matted beard sprawled out on his face. Every search for an escape yielded nothing.

When his own food ran out, he stumbled to her. She would laugh at him and he would sit silent. Still, he was fed and in return helped her dig in the ground for water.

Years later, they told each other stories. From his first heist to his last and from her first ball, to the massacre in the palace.

###

Once the Baroness died, Vrubel buried her in the clay, marking the grave with a ring of diamonds.

On the nights where he’d stumble home, still searching for  escape, they would shine. The most beautiful light he had ever seen, glinting up at the empty star-less sky.


END