Catch Me If You Can

3

My friends' faces are slack with shock.
"You met the Duke of Meropide?" Delphine gasps.
"Was he hot?" Manon asks at the same time.
"Yes... and yes." I answer, doubling over from laughter at their faces. I flick the water from my clothes as they rush me back to our base to give them all the details.

When I'm done, Manon's jaw is hanging open and Delphine is staring, deep in thought, at the wall.
"Do you think he knows?" Manon asks as I take off my hat and cape.
"I don't think so." I respond, wiggling the clasp and slipping off my cape.

"He definitely had some angle though." Delphine murmurs. I can see the gears in her brain turning.

"That's what I can't figure out." I plop down onto the floor, scrubbing off my eyeshadow in a basin. All the water we have down here has to be purified by me.

"Maybe he's in loveee with youu. Like love at first sight and he saw you sitting there and was like ahh." Manon flops down on a ripped cushion we have sitting in the corner.
Delphine and I roll our eyes in sync.
"He knows something, or wants something." I point out, drying my face with a clean cloth.
Delphine and I chat for a little, talking about our dinner and how good it was to have real food. Puzzled by the fact Manon wasn't chiming in, I glance over and find her asleep on the cushion.

"Guess we should probably get some sleep too, eh?" Delphine observes.
I give her a hug goodnight, and we head off in opposite directions in adjoining pipes. I click off the light at the end of the pipe and flop onto my bed.

6 DAYS LATER

In the morning around 8am, after fixing my hair, I stroll into the main "room" to find Manon and Delphine staring down at their alert watches, watches given by the fontainan government to every citizen for news purposes, in shock.
"What is it?" Confusion fuels my movements as I snatch my watch off the charger.

Famed Fontaine Magicians Lyney and assistant Lynette Arrested
      The accused's trial will occur later today, for charges of stealing. If found guilty, they will be sent to the Fortress.
     Yesterday the magicians had hosted one of their daily shows in the main square. Madame Richelieu discovered a prized necklace she had just bought previous to show was missing afterwards. The magicians have been convicted for this crime.

I curse. Now the authorities are going to be looking closer at their aquaintances, or their Father. Arlecchino and I had never met, but I had received a letter from her after I distracted the crowd when one of the twin's magic shows went wrong. She had given me a enveleope of money, which I had used to buy boots more suited for running.

"You're gonna have to do something." Manon says, interrupting my train of thought.
"Like what?"
"Like, make a scene so they can't go on with the trial for today."
"Again, like wh-"
Delphine huffs, and I stop and look at her when she says;
"Like the biggest heist of your career."

All the pieces are falling into place. I think.
We stayed in the sewers until 10am, planning and plotting exactly what I'm about to do. I'm armed with a screwdriver and my vision. Oh, and an extra set of clothes, my signature style, since i'm currently wearing Manon's fiery red.

I slip into the Courtroom, watching carefully as Monseuir Neuvillette claims his seat, Focalors perched above him. I claim a seat, eye on the bathroom, watching as the line dwindles.

Finally, just as the trial is about to begin, everyone has taken their seat, and I slip out of mine and into the bathroom.
Locking the door, I slip out of Manon's clothes and into mine. I throw Manon's clothes into my bag and grab the screwdriver, working carefully on the screws around the ventilation grate. I suck in a breath and squeeze myself inside the vent, shoving my bag in front of me, before sliding the vent in after me with my feet. I'm on my back, scooting the grate awkwardly into place with a squeak that makes me cringe.

My ribs scrape against the thin metal of the walls as I turn onto my side and scoot through the tunnel. Testing, I exhale slightly, sucking in some much needed air. A couple of treacherous minutes later, I see light at the end, and peer down through the grate. Glimmering below lies the Oratrice. Winking in the orangish light of the courtroom atop of it, sits a sky blue gem.

The tricky part is getting behind it, and grabbing the gem itself.

15 minutes later, I have my opening. Lyney's defendant, a dark haired woman, lurches out of her chair in defiance at something the other party said; sending her chair crashing down.
In the resounding boom and the silence of all eyes on her, I've slipped out of the vent and behind the Oratrice. I climb up behind it, carefully hidden from view, before slowly reaching an arm around it, palming the cold gem in my hand.

I hear a loud shout and freeze, but its just Lyney's lawyer arguing again. I slip my arm back around the Oratrice, barely holding onto the gem. I'm terrified of dropping it, I can barely grasp it in my hand, it's massive.

I slip it into my bag, and then I'm back in the vent, sliding it shut with a slight shhh of metal.
I have about about 10 minutes till the trial concludes, when everyone will see what's amiss.

The creak of the great Palais Memoria doors sends me into a sprint, clutching my bag against my hip as shouts of recognition fuel my sprint.

I hear the gasps and screams echoing as I slip into the fountain not far from the doors, a slight smirk on my face.