When Mattheau finally reached the gates of the orphanage he wouldn't have even been able to see his hand in front of his face, had it not been for the light of the moon. He could see that there was at least one or two hundred feet between the gates and the front doors, and not a lot of cover in between. Taking a deep breath, he slowly pulled the gate open, wincing when it made a long, slow creak. Panicking, he dashed through the gates and dropped to the ground, his head peeking out over a shrub bush.
After what felt like forever, he began crawling army style up the lawn, making his way to the closest window on the east side of the orphanage. He lifted himself off the ground and crouched down under the windowsill, which was just brushing the tip of his head. He slowly stood up and peered at the window, finding that it was slightly open, but the curtains were drawn.
"Great," Matthew thought with a frustrated grunt. "I know how to get in, but I don't know where to find Fèlicie." Suddenly the sound of loud footsteps jarred him from his thoughts, and he ducked under the window again, trying to stay as quiet as possible. He spied a loose shard of glass by his foot and picked it up, not wanting to step on it. He heard a swishing noise and deep, ragged breathing. Someone was looking out the window directly above him, and if Mattheau made a sound, he'd be caught for sure.
Thinking quickly, he angled the shard of glass in the moonlight so that he could see who was standing a foot away from him. What he saw disgusted him, but at least he knew who he was dealing with now. A fat, hairy, troll of a man was looking out of the window, apparently scanning the landscape around him for any troublesome meddlers. Thankfully, the man only stayed for another minute before drawing the curtains again and walking away. Mattheau breathed a sigh of relief and ran a hand through his hair, enjoying the cool night sky against his face. Finally, after determining that it was safe to come out from his hiding place, he tucked the glass shard in his belt loop and carefully squeezed through the window into the orphanage. "I'm in," he thought to himself.
He took a moment to survey his surroundings, noting that there was an unlit candle and some matches on a table next to him. He took the items and was shocked to find how dirty the table itself was. Nevertheless, he wiped the dust and grime off his hands and pressed on, quietly sneaking down a long corridor to the front of the orphanage. He was nearly at a large pair of double doors when he heard faint footsteps heading his way. Fearing the worst, Mattheau ducked around the corner and stayed as quiet as a mouse. When he heard the footsteps stop, he assumed that whoever they belonged to had stopped outside of the large double doors. When he heard the handle turn and the hinges creak, he knew he was correct.
Mattheau remembered that he was wearing a square metal contraption on his back, and was surprised to see that it had remained in perfect condition during his infiltration of the orphanage. He couldn't hear anything now, and that frightened him. The last thing he wanted was for some angry nun to appear out of nowhere and blow his cover. Steeling himself, he peeked around the corner again, and saw that the large double doors had been opened, but he couldn't see who had done it. He was just about to take a few steps out into the corridor when he heard a light shuffling sound. He froze in place, but didn't see anyone in the corridor. "Must've just been the wind," he muttered. Suddenly he felt a presence, like someone had snuck up behind him. He quickly turned his head and found himself staring at a familiar freckled face. "Psst. Whatcha looking at?"