Thieves and Magicians

Chapter 3

"What is all this?" Lizzie asked as she pointed to all the things on the coffee table Xavier had brought out from somewhere. Perhaps a better question would have been why you have all this. "You wanted to change your appearance - well, here are tools to do just that." There were hair dyes, zero-glasses, scissors, hats, makeup kits and even a few wigs. "You could use some new clothes as well - you're a bit taller than me, but I think some of my clothes should fit you," Xavier added and sat down on the couch. Lizzie looked at the items on the table but didn't say anything for a while.

At some point, she picked up a pair of glasses and tried them on. "I'll take the glasses. Also," she said and put the glasses back on the table, "do you dye your hair yourself?" Xavier pushed his long electric blue hair back. "Indeed, are you thinking of dying your hair instead of wearing a wig temporarily?" "Not just dye them, I think they should be shorter as well." Lizzie undid her bun and let the dark chocolate brown strands fall on her back. "You can do that, right? Just a straight cut, shoulder length." "Seems...simple enough. What colour do you want?" Lizzie picked up one of the hair dye bottles. "I believe purple would look good on me, no?" "Purple it is!" Xavier set all the necessary things ready and the home salon was open for customers.

After about three hours, she was ready. "Well, what do you think?" Xavier asked as he handed Lizzie the mirror. She checked out her new short and dark lavender-coloured hair. "It looks great, thanks," she replied, playing with her hair. Xavier let out a quiet sigh of relief and went to get her a change of clothes. "Try these on," he said while laying some clothes on the sofa. Lizzie put down the mirror and grabbed the clothes. "Where's the restroom?" "Down the hallway, first door on the left." She nodded and scurried to the bathroom. The door locked, she removed her clothes and checked what Xavier had brought her - two pairs of black jeans, a grey T-shirt and a green flannel. Though the jeans were a bit short, they more or less fit. The shirt was good, the flannel however was too small. She changed back into her clothes and exited the restroom.

She gave Xavier back his clothes and told him which ones fit. "Alright, I'll set those aside for you until you can go out again and get your clothes." Lizzie nodded and sat back down on the sofa. "How's your leg?" Xavier queried when he came back. "The pain is starting to fade, fortunately. Still, I don't think I can run properly for a while. Anyway, since we're gonna be roommates for a few days, where am I gonna sleep? You have a quest room?" Lizzie asked, massaging her leg. "Unfortunately I don't have a guest room. I can offer you a sofa and a mattress." "I'll take the mattress." "Okay, should I get the mattress out right now?" "I'm a little tired so yeah, I'd appreciate it." As if wanting to prove it, Lizzie yawned after finishing the sentence. Xavier nodded and went to get the mattress and dragged it to the living room.

"Need any help?" Lizzie asked. "No, I'm okay," Xavier grunted and let the mattress drop to the floor behind the couch. Her lips curved into a small smile, which she instantly wiped off her face, as she was watching him mess with the mattress. The knot in her stomach which had been forming there all evening loosened a little, being almost 100 per cent positive that if they ever had to engage in a fight, he'd be the one who had to go to a hospital. Mattress in place, he then also got her some clean sheets and some clothes for sleeping.

Lizzie went to the restroom, changed her clothes again and also borrowed his toothpaste and put it on her finger. It wasn't as effective as it was with an actual toothbrush, but better than nothing. Once she was done, she got out and went to the lamp. "May I switch the light off?" "Yes," Xavier responded, grabbed an oil bottle for makeup removal from the kitchen and went to the restroom. Though the light was turned off, the room was still quite bright due to the streetlight flowing in from the windows.

She kneeled next to her bag, took out a small knife and placed it under her pillow. This further loosened the knot in her stomach. This bastard better not try any funny business or I will make him regret it. She zipped her bag shut again and laid down. After a while, she could hear the bathroom door open and click shut again. "Good night," Xavier said before going to the bedroom. "Night," she responded somewhat sleepily. After that another click could be heard and then silence. Well, almost, except for a few scrapes against the floor from the bedroom.

As she laid awake there for hours on end, still occasionally hearing a chair scrape against the floor, Lizzie wondered whether Xavier was just a night owl or couldn't sleep due to paranoia - or perhaps it was both. She was also thinking about sneaking out, but for now decided against it - the cops were most likely still patrolling and though Gemma didn't see her very well and just for mere seconds, Xavier saw her a little too well and with his cooperation, the cops could have a very detailed sketch of her.

***

About a week went by and the situation in the city started to calm down. Lizzie, who hadn't escaped nor been outside all week, finally got to go out. She went to her apartment first to grab some stuff and pack her emergency backpack just in case she had to leave urgently. Once she was done with that she paid a visit to her old friend.

The bell rang as she stepped into the shop, notifying the staff of a new customer. "Hey, aren't you a nice sight for sore eyes. How's life?" Melissa, who worked at an antique shop, greeted Lizzie from behind the till. "Life's decent, what about you?" She replied as she walked up to the till. "Same old, same old. What brings you here?" Melissa rested her head on her palms. "To see you, of course. I went on a trip lately and brought back some souvenirs for you." Lizzie's lips curved into a small and devious smile. "How kind of you, why don't you tell me more about the trip while we drink some tea in the back?" Melissa stood upright and led her to the back rooms.

"So, what do you have for me?" Lizzie took off her backpack and emptied the insides on a table. "What do you think? Suit your tastes?" She queried as she sat down on one of the chairs at a table. Melissa inspected each piece of stolen jewellery with great precision. "You most certainly know how to pick them, those are good." She stated as she put the last one down. Lizzie looked at her friend expectantly. Melissa fell in deep thought for a few moments. "Visit me again in a couple of weeks, I'll have all of this," she hovered her hand over the jewellery, "turned to gold pieces by then. Of course, I can't give you an exact amount right now but expect a minimum of 200 gold, most likely more." Lizzie nodded, stood up and hoisted her backpack.

"I'll be looking forward to our next meeting. And, as always, you can keep 20% of the profit from the sale." Melissa smiled and escorted Lizzie back to the shopping area. "It's always a pleasure to do business with you. See you in a couple of weeks." The dames said their goodbyes and Lizzie headed to the forest near her home.

After some walking in the thick forest, she made it to the Connection Cave - a place where she and her informants left each other letters. She grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from her bag. Done with the letter, she put the pen away and gouged out a small plastic bag into which she inserted the freshly written letter. Once she had made sure the plastic bag was closed properly, she placed the bag into a small pocket inside a big rock underneath several smaller rocks to prevent it from flying away. Since she had crossed off everything on her to-do list, she headed back to Xavier's place.