Chapter 12:

Mandila waited until most of the guards had left for duty as she sat on someone's front doorstep. It was way too early to be awake, but that was part of the job, and she didn't want Lex to be anywhere near her as she rifled through his belongings. She had considered sneaking into his room at night while he slept, but given how alert the man was, she was terrified of waking him. The consequences of such a predicament would be ugly, for she could she herself standing there, stunned as Lex attacked her for intruding. Gods, but that would be a mess the likes of which would probably scar her for the rest of her life.

Mandila watched as a few more guards left the tower before she tiptoed forward. No one was around, but she knew that there would be some men downstairs, so she opened the door by a fraction and scanned the area. Two guards were keeping watch over the room, but that was easily remedied, for their attention was on their conversation, and Mandila was quick and silent as she snuck by them. She used the tower's very design against it, taking advantage of the lack of windows to keep to shadows even at this time in the morning, and with the guards' backs to her, she was up the ladder and to the second floor in seconds.

The captain's room will be on the third floor, she thought as she observed her surroundings. Several men occupied the room's numerous beds, but they were sound asleep, having been on night duty. Mandila had only to mind her step as she climbed another ladder and lifted herself up through a large hatch. This had to be Lex's room, for only a captain would have a large bed and his own furniture in a private room. The floor was even graced with a thick carpet that muffled Mandila's footsteps as she openly and curiously eyed everything around her. She wasn't sure what she would do if someone tried to join her in this room, for there were no windows and hence no easy escape routes. Damn, but she was trapped if the job took a turn for the worst.

The dread soon deserted her as she carefully walked toward Lex's bed and saw that a book sat on his nightstand. Imperial History, she realized, touching the book's cover with interest. It was amazing to her that she was here, in his room, where he slept, and where he perhaps let the 'I am the law' attitude subside. Every little object was imbued with a sense of wonder that inevitably demanded Mandila to explore the area with both hands and eyes. She opened the chest at the foot of Lex's bed to discover that he owned an entire wardrobe of everyday clothing, including several very expensive outfits that she couldn't even imagine him wearing. She also looked over his books, equipment, and a small chest of coins, which she decidedly left alone. Somehow his money was of minor consequence compared to everything else, and as she ignored the possible funds, she found herself at his desk.

This is where he does his work. She could imagine him sitting at this desk late into the night, driving himself crazy in conjuring plots to snare the Grey Fox, and answering letters from his superiors. A trace of melancholy accompanied her movements as she ran a hand across the desk's wooden surface, her fingers stopping short of a stack of papers that contained warrants for search and arrest, notifications, and even notes summarizing his plans, which caused Mandila to quickly avert her eyes. She didn't want to know what he was plotting, for that would put her in an obligatory position of being an informant against him for the guild. No, she'd best leave that alone and accept ignorance this once, difficult as that was.

"And what are you doing here?" she softly asked as her retreating hands grazed across a pendant. She lifted the black stone with its silver chain and examined the initials carved into its back: SL. She wondered what it stood for as she caressed the stone's smooth surface, finding the necklace an odd addition to the room. Jewelry in Lex's possession was strange enough on its own, but given the lack of anything overly personal in his chamber, it stood out with an acuity that baffled Mandila. His room was devoid of personal warmth or tokens, so why would the captain have an engraved necklace? She immediately wondered if he didn't have some sort of lover that had gifted it to him, or perhaps it was a family heirloom. Whatever the reason, she found herself attached to it, even fixated by the idea of holding a piece of Lex's personal history.

Bad idea. She knew it, yet to have something of his struck her as a rare opportunity. The taxes didn't matter when compared to this, and she'd never had a necklace before. Sure, Methredhel sometimes made her flower necklaces on holidays or for dances, but this was different. This was Lex's, and considering that she was a thief who'd grown accustom to stealing the occasional item for mere personal gratification, she only hesitated slightly as she looped the silver chain around her neck. The weight of the pendant felt reassuring against her skin, and she tucked it inside of her shirt so that no one would notice it. Her collar was high enough to hide the chain, and she instantly decided that the pendant would remain on her person for as long as she possessed it.

"Just be quick about it!" a voice ordered, and Mandila panicked. Someone was coming upstairs. Quick! She darted for the bed and scrambled beneath it, regulating her breathing as the trapdoor was thrown open and a guard's helmet appeared. She laid her head on the floor and peered out from beneath the bedskirt as the man fully climbed into the room.

"Are you sure that he won't kill us for this?"

"Of course not," a voice answered from below. "The captain's serious, but he's not crazy, and besides, someone needs to do something for his birthday. It's not right the way he never celebrates."

"Alright. Just give me a moment." The guard moved toward the desk and left a bottle of wine on its surface, carefully propping a note up against it. "His birthday isn't for another two days anyway. Why do we need to do this now?"

"Because he's out right now. Now hurry! You want him to come back and catch us?" The guard needed no second bidding as he exited the room and pulled the trapdoor shut behind him, leaving a startled Mandila beneath the bed. Birthday? Lex's birthday was soon, and he didn't celebrate? That didn't surprise her, and she was actually happy to see that the guards cared about their captain on some level, but the overall situation was undesirable. Lex probably worked every single holiday too, which seemed beyond obsessive to Mandila as she crawled out of hiding and straightened to examine the gifted wine. The letter accompanying it simply said, "Have a happy birthday"--short and concise, impersonal to the upmost, just like Lex tended to be. Mandila nearly forgot about the taxes as she considered her findings, but a sound from downstairs spurred her to action.

A thorough search of a nearby chest led to the discovery of the tax records and the paltry sum that Lex had collected. Again, she felt a stab of annoyance with the man, but the feeling passed as she looked to the wine with its curt message. Perhaps she should...No, Mandila, you've got to leave before someone comes. But she walked back to the desk and removed a blank piece of paper from the top drawer anyway. Then, using Lex's own quill, she jotted a quick note that he would be unable to attribute to her since he'd never seen her writing. Very few people even knew that she could write, for she hardly employed the skill.

Dear Captain Lex,

Take your birthday off. That's a direct order.

Mandila smiled as she placed the letter at the center of his desk and cleaned the quill. Putting her supplies away where she'd found them, she snuck back down the ladder, passed the guards, and made her way toward the waterfront, taxes and tax records secured in the bag on her back. She wanted to put as much distance between herself and the guard tower as possible, for Lex's reaction to the theft would not be pretty, and so she wanted to deposit her stolen goods in Armand's hands before a storm erupted. The older thief would be pleased with her, and that was fine, but only if Lex never accused her of the crime. In fact, maybe she would stay inside her house for a few days, but there was something else that she needed to handle first...

***************

"Excuse me, sir," Mandila interrupted with her best pleading eyes. "But is the Commander of the Watch here?" She was asking after Lex's boss, and of course the man sitting at the desk before her wouldn't take her request seriously. He peered down his nose at her, his face as flat and bored as a man could look, and his fingers tapping the desk's surface impatiently.

"What business do you have with the commander?" he questioned.

"It's about Captain Lex, sir, and it's urgent. I won't take more than a few seconds of his time, I promise." Big eyes, quivering lip, make him feel horrible for saying no. The man's eyes narrowed in annoyance, and his mouth twisted into a frown, but he still stood with a sniff of contempt.

"Just a moment." Mandila smugly smiled at the man's back as he disappeared to return within a few minutes. He then held open a door for her and motioned her through it. "He'll give you five minutes, so don't waste them, girl."

"Thank you!" Mandila beamed as she bounced by him, the man doing his best to avoid touching her as he shut the door on her heels. She was thinking about how stingy and rude the secretary was when she realized that a much larger and imposing personality was confronting her. The commander was standing before his desk, half-sitting on its edge as he examined her. He looked as stern as Lex, and equally dominating as she took several steps closer to him.

"What do you need, citizen?" he asked in his deep baritone, but it was not as unfriendly as Mandila had expected. He sounded more like a father who was humoring a child. "If this is a complaint against one of my captains, you'd best leave a note with my secretary." The man sounded as if he was sick of receiving complaints, but Mandila wasn't here for that, and so she smiled sweetly in an attempt to cheer him.

"I don't have a complaint, sir," she clarified.

"Oh? Then what have you to report on the ever stubborn Captain Lex?"

"His birthday is in two days," Mandila explained. "Perhaps he could have the day off?" The man nearly choked on his laughter, and he finally flashed Mandila a smile.

"Lex won't take a day off. I've been trying to make him take a vacation for years. Don't tell me that he sent you to request some free time. Very cute joke, citizen. At least you gave me something to laugh about today."

"But you're his superior!" Mandila asserted. "He needs a day off. Can't you...you know, force him?" The commander gave another chuckle and scratched the stubble on his chin.

"I could, but why would I force him to do something against his will at your request?"

"He's been very hard on the waterfront lately, and perhaps a break would unwind him a little."

"He doesn't unwind."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Mandila smiled. "He's not always so stern."

"Ma'am, the last time that I ordered him not to work, he wore civilian clothing and went to the docks to 'relax'. Like hell he was relaxing. The man works even when he's trying not to. He might as well get paid for it."

"If you order him to take a break, I'll make sure that he doesn't work." The man eyed Mandila like she might have a plan, but then again, she might also be crazy.

"I'm interested to see if you can accomplish what no one else has," he pondered aloud. "Alright, citizen. I'll send the order. You keep him occupied." He moved around his desk to remove paper and ink, but Mandila cleared her throat and stepped closer.

"I already left him a note," she explained. "So maybe you could simply tell him that it came from you if he asks? And please don't tell him that I left the note, or he'll work just to spite me. He's like that, and I also want you to know that I broke no laws in delivering the letter. I left it with a guard to put in his room so that he can't arrest me if he finds out what I've done." And I need to cover my tracks. Lex would assume that she'd taken the taxes if he knew that she'd been in his room, which would mean jail or death for her.

"I'll help you, young lady," the commander grinned. "But be careful. Lex bites." It was a wonder that they didn't hear the indicated man's yells as they parted ways, for the guard tower nearly shook apart with three bellowed words: "Where are they?!"

*************

People were staying away from him today, and well they should, for Lex was in no mood to be trifled with. His very presence burned with controlled anger, his mouth ready to lash out at anyone who so much as littered, and it was all because of the Thieves' Guild. They were the only ones who would break into his room and dare to steal back the waterfront records and taxes, and as such, he had never wanted to hurt Armand as much as he did now. The man, his fox, and his followers were making a mockery of him yet again, and there was nothing that he could do about it, because there was no evidence.

Lex's hands clenched into fists, and he stormed across the harbor, sending a death glare at Armand as the thief carefully kept clear of his path. Even the man who should be gloating was not fool enough to antagonize the captain today, which lent Lex some small satisfaction. He was feared, and he should be, because he would never let this go. He would hunt down every single last thief in this damned city and make them suffer for defying him. They had broken into the guard tower for Akatosh's sake! The entire force looked ineffective!

The captain paused, wrathful eyes scorching across the harbor with its calm waters. Why couldn't he ever get ahead? It was time to use his mole and strike a blow that would leave the thieves running, perhaps denting their pride as much as they had his, but that was for his meeting with the woman tonight. For now, he tried to focus on what little evidence there was of the theft against him, and for once, he had the backing of his fellow guards, who were equally outraged and ashamed that someone had snuck by them. He would solve this if it killed him, especially since the culprit had taken something personal from him.

The pendant, he inwardly growled—the only remnant that he had of his family, and the only personal treasure to which he allowed attachment. He had promised his mother that he wouldn't lose it, but now that had been torn from him too, and he would never forgive himself if he didn't reclaim it. His mother had been too good for a man like his father, and keeping a promise to her among the many broken ones that had littered her life was of the utmost importance to him. No one else had the right to wear that necklace unless it was in fulfillment of his mother's wishes, and now...

The evidence, he reminded himself. Yes, he had to focus, for several people had been in his room yesterday. First there were the two guards that had confessed to leaving him the wine after they'd learned of the theft, but they were innocent. He had spoken with them, and neither had seen anything amiss on their visit, so that meant that the thief had entered his rooms sometime between nine am and one pm, when he had briefly returned to retrieve some documents. That's when he had found the wine and two letters, one of which the guards had no knowledge of.

Had three people been in his room? His brow furrowed as he considered the possibility, and then he recalled his recent conversation with the Commander of the Watch.

"What is the meaning of this, sir?" Lex demanded from the man seated behind the desk before him. He held up a thin slip of parchment and handed it to his superior.

"It's exactly what it looks like," the man replied. "You're taking a day off."

"I don't need a day off," Lex darkly countered. "And someone stole tax records from the tower. I'd like to know if you had one of your lackeys in my room to deliver this, and whether or not he saw anything." The commander shrugged.

"Let's just say that you have a secret admirer," the man smiled. "Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks that you push yourself too hard, and given the young lady's considerable benevolence toward you, I wouldn't call her a thief."

"I would like to determine that for myself," Lex replied, clearly frustrated. "Who was it?"

"If you can't figure it out, either you're blind or she's very subtle. No, Lex, I swore that I wouldn't give her away, but I will if you can convince me that it's vital to your case, which it isn't." Lex opened his mouth, but the man kept talking. "I know that you're about to spout some rubbish about this person being in the Thieves' Guild, but take it from a man who is far more experienced with the fairer sex than you are: she didn't come to me wishing you harm. In fact, I would say that she wants the exact opposite, so stop harassing me and look for some viable leads in this tax business. I'm sure that you'll get your man."

"Sir, the very reputation of the watch is at stake," Lex argued.

"Then you'd better get started. And Lex, you are taking a day off. If I hear one more report against you using our finances to hunt this unseen guild, I'm making it a week instead of a day. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

And now Lex was wondering if the person that had left the mysterious letter and the thief were the same person or totally different. Given his commander's attitude, it was possible that the entire tower had allowed some girl into his room to plant the note, which he deeply resented, but no one claimed to have seen anything suspicious, and the thief had left no tracks, leaving him empty-handed. Lex stared at his surroundings and noticed how people cowered before him, but that was not what drew his attention out of thought. Something else was out of place, and he recognized it even in his bleak mood.

Where is she?

His elf was missing, for he hadn't seen heads or tails of her all day, and as far as he could remember, a day didn't pass where they didn't converse. Seeing her was part of his routine, so where was she? He glowered at himself for even wondering, especially since he had more important matters to concern him, yet he couldn't help but think that she might distract him, even offer him words of support. Foolishness, he chided himself. When had she ever been helpful, and when had he ever wanted to be distracted? As he turned, he caught sight of Mandila in the archway leading toward the huddled waterfront huts, and in that brief flash, he saw how her face paled at the sight of his vengeful figure. Apparently his anger was far more intimidating than he gave himself credit for if even she seemed repelled, choosing to disappear back toward her home rather than face him.

With a short nod, she was gone. She hadn't said a word, and for reasons unexplained, that irked Lex in his frustrated state. He had come to expect interacting with her, and now that she suddenly avoided him, he felt conspicuously aware of his general image on the waterfront. He was the enemy, and as such, his actions had pushed her away before, but why had she left without a word? She wasn't like others that feared him, and he didn't want her to be like the others. He could make her angry, but she would always return with those adoring eyes, and so he wondered how long it would take her this time. Gods, but he had better ways to spend his time than thinking about a Bosmer. He was preparing to leave the harbor and search for clues on the theft when a small voice sounded from beside him.

"Captain?" Mandila called, appearing at his elbow in an unnaturally sheepish manner. "Here's the gold." Lex hadn't forgotten, but he hadn't cared about the fine considering the taxes. So this was why she looked so uncomfortable. With his black mood, she probably feared he'd take out his frustrations on her by hounding her for the money.

"You've avoided jail this time, citizen," he told her as he accepted the money.

"Good day, captain, and I'm sorry about what happened." Lex gripped the money in his vice-like hands and refused to watch Mandila as she scurried away. For a moment, he had wanted her to stay, but it was good that he frightened her, for if she remained and annoyed him, he might snap at her in a violent way that he'd later regret. So he let her go without a hitch, and while he didn't look back at her, Mandila certainly stole a glance at him, fearful that she somehow looked guilty for what she'd done, and the pendant heavy against her chest. She had never seen the captain so furious and humiliated, and knowing that she had caused it did not sit well with her. Even the excitement that she'd felt over her birthday plotting had faded with his dark visage this morning, and so she left him, intent on avoiding him so that she could escape her own feelings and perhaps salvage her thieving dignity. It was the first time in her life that she felt guilty for stealing.

I'm sorry, captain, but I had to do it. And her fingers wrapped around the pendant as she considered the cost of holding a piece of Lex's life. She had never been so miserable to be part of the guild, and that frightened her, for without the guild, she had nothing. Perhaps there was something that she wanted more, but when that something was out of reach, there was nothing that she could do. Gods, but she hoped that Lex could somehow forgive her and the waterfront.