Thieves and Magicians

Chapter 7

About half an hour later, the duo had arrived at their destination. As planned, Xavier went to knock on the front door while Lizzie sneaked away to the backyard to locate the backdoor. The lock wasn't particularly hard to pick and soon enough she was back at the front door to let Xavier inside.

"So, remind me again, what exactly are we looking for? 'Cause to me it seems like this room alone could cost more than my entire home." Xavier said, looking around in awe. The furniture seemed all pretty new, very fancy and expensive. At the back of the room, there was a glass vitrine with a bunch of trophies and items that at least resembled historical artefacts, something you'd find in a museum. "Loose change and light valuables, such as jewellery. We're not gonna steal artefacts and other items with historical value." Xavier nodded and they got to work.

An hour had passed and though they had found quite a lot of jewellery and even some money, Lizzie had expected way more. "What's with that look?" Xavier asked as he exited one of the bedrooms and saw Lizzie standing in the hallway. "This place - it's so...empty." Xavier looked around at the hallway walls which were covered with paintings. His gaze then moved into the bedroom which he'd just combed through, where the furniture covered up most of the walls and the floor and drawers were littered with all sorts of mementoes. "A lot of words come to mind that could describe this mansion but 'empty' isn't one of them." Xavier turned to face Lizzie again, raising an eyebrow.

Lizzie tapped her chin, trying to figure out what exactly she was missing. "I don't mean 'empty' in the sense it lacks furniture, I'm referring to the fact that we've only found bread crumbs. The owners are wealthy, they must have invested at least part of it into some precious metals or jewellery to battle the inflation." Due to inflation and the risk of a financial crisis most people all over the Liverdeen Islands invested some money into something. The three most common things were real estate, precious metals or jewellery made from rare materials as they would always be valuable. Though not everyone had enough money to invest in real estate, most people at least had made themselves a little emergency fund consisting of smaller-scale valuables. Or if you were rich enough, then even a quite big emergency fund.

"They must have a safe hidden in here somewhere." Lizzie finally said and headed over to the next room. Xavier went in the opposite direction and also got started with yet another room. Another hour passed, and the duo had finished looking through the first floor and were now busy with the second. "Have you found anything?" Lizzie asked as they ran into each other in the hallway. "Some rings, a few bracelets and a little money, no traces of a safe though." Xavier sighed and shook his head. "We'll just have to keep looking, there must be at least one." They went their separate ways again. Lizzie ended up in what could be best described as a reading room while Xavier stumped into an office.

The office was surprisingly minimalistic - compared to the rest of the house at least. There was a big window and a desk in front of it, the walls were covered by four tall bookshelves and a beautiful long red carpet was decorating the floor in the middle of the room. Upon a quick investigation, Xavier noticed that the desk had drawers so he went to check them out.

As he was approaching the desk, an unusual sound caught his attention. He came to a halt and took a step back. As he did the same sound could be heard - as if there was a hollow beneath his feet. He dragged the carpet away and dug his fingers into the crack between the floor panels to reveal that some of them were loose and covering up a secret hideout in the floor.

"I think I found it," he called out from the doorway. "You found a safe?" Lizzie poked her head out from the room next to the office. "Seems like it." Xavier went back to the hideout and waited for Lizzie to help him get it out. "Nice!" Lizzie exclaimed and immediately started to pick the lock sealing the box shut. After about ten minutes the lock was no more and the two could peek inside. Just as Lizzie had expected, it was filled with jewellery and precious metals. Once they'd emptied the safe and looked through the drawers they headed out again to check the remaining rooms. As they reached an intersection, the thieves got quite a shock upon running into another person - judging by the ears, an elf.

Lizzie and Xavier screamed out of fright, which in return scared the stranger who then started screaming as well. At some point they all realised something about the other party - none of them lived or worked in this mansion. "So, this is awkward..." the stranger finally said. "Can't say I disagree..." Lizzie responded, not sure what to do in this situation. Though she'd been burglarizing houses for quite some time now, she'd never encountered another intruder on the job.

"How about we...pretend like we never saw each other?" Xavier suggested, taking a good look at the stranger. She had two knives on her belt. He glanced at Lizzie to see whether she'd noticed that - the look in her eyes said yes. "Sure, we never met." The stranger continued down the hallway, making almost no sound at all. The two partners in crime looked at each other, their faces shadowed by uneasiness. Though they hadn't gone through all the rooms on the second floor, neither of them was particularly enthusiastic about staying in the house with the stranger. After some silent discussions, they agreed on their next course of action - booking it for the exit.

The two exited through the backdoor and quickly got back on the street, ready to head home. When they had gotten far enough Lizzie gently brushed her hand against Xavier's and said: "We did it." Xavier took her hand and responded: "We did indeed."

***

Another busy two months went by in the blink of an eye. The duo managed to pull off the other two burglaries as well - and very successfully so, they got over a thousand gold pieces out of the three heists. Not only that, but their magician's careers were flourishing like never before - the public already loved Xavier but they were getting more and more fond of Lizzie as well with every performance. As did Xavier, who at some point ended up falling in love with Lizzie. When the day came to mark the end of their temporary partnership, the question that they, ironically, both dreaded, came up once again - what's gonna happen to us?

"So is this really our final goodbye? The last time we'll ever see each other?" Lizzie asked as she put her jacket on, ready to head home. "If that's what you want," Xavier replied, trying his best not to let the sadness seep into his voice. "No, not really, I'd like to stay and continue this relationship with you. But if that's not what you want then obviously I respect your wish." "My wish? I don't want you to leave, quite the opposite. You're very dear to me and I would love it if you stayed. And not just for a few months, for a year, for a decade...even if we're not gonna be business partners, I want you to stay. I...don't want to lose you." Xavier's voice cracked at the end, while Lizzie was feeling like she might just melt into a puddle.

"You're very dear to me as well and I...really don't want to...lose you either." Her voice was trembling as she was trying her hardest to get her thoughts in order and form coherent sentences. She couldn't remember the last time when someone had told her words this sweet. When someone was interested in her as a person, not just as a business partner - when she last had anyone to call a friend. Sure, she and Melissa were somewhat close but first and foremost, they were still business partners. Xavier looked a bit concerned, placed his hands on her back and gently guided her to the sofa.

"Are you feeling alright? Do you want anything? Water for example?" Lizzie turned her head and gazed at Xavier. Water? Sure, I am thirsty but no water's gonna distinguish that- Oh c'mon, brain, this is so not the time! She turned her head away as she was trying to quiet her internal dialogue. Throughout the time she'd spent with Xavier, she became quite fond of him - as a friend, as a potential life partner. However, besides appreciating him as a close companion, she would have also really appreciated him in bed.

"No, I think I'm alright, thanks. Though I do have a question, which I'd like an answer to." She peeked over at Xavier. "And that question is...?" "Why did you agree to help me? Why risk it?" Xavier let out a deep sigh. "Because you remind me of myself." Not what she expected. "What?" Another sigh. "It's a long story." "I have time." There was a moment of silence before Xavier opened his mouth again. "In that case, buckle up and let me tell you a bit about my past." He turned himself a bit, so he was facing Lizzie and started talking.