Because I love you all.
Chapter 15:
He was attracted to her, and the realization would not leave Lex alone. He could try to be the perfect professional that he prided himself on presenting, but spending more and more time with Mandila had made him view her in a personal light. She wasn't just another citizen to him, and he wasn't entirely sure how to handle the situation now that he was aware of that. Of course, he would never show her favoritism under the law, and plenty of guards had relationships with civilians, but he wasn't just any guard. He was a captain of the watch, and besides the fact that he'd never asked for this, he was completely inexperienced in dealing with physical attraction. He noticed beautiful women, but he'd never almost kissed one in a dark room while in uniform. The urge to do so to Mandila had been unexpected, and adding to his frustration was his failure to protect her from a volatile dark elf. He always seemed to be helping Mandila heal instead of preventing the damage in the first place.
"Sir, she's ready," a guard called up to his quarters. Lex stood up from his desk and set his paperwork aside, noting that without his mother's pendant there was nothing in this place that made it his own. He'd failed to retrieve her most prized possession, and the taxes were gone without a trace. The humiliation still ate at him as he imagined Armand's smug face as the thief returned to his home, untouched while Myvryna went to prison. She deserved every bit of her punishment, but still, Armand would have been a better catch.
Lex walked to the Imperial prison to interrogate his former mole, the woman having been forcefully subdued in one of the building's damp, far corners. It was a suiting cell for such a worm, and her placement had been personally requested by the captain, who now entered the imposing structure to wander its dark hallways. The entire complex was depressing and subdued, the occasional dripping of water punctuating the barely lit cells as he passed them. Figures watched him from inside, some throwing crude or angry comments at him as he passed, and one, a prostitute, offering her services if he shortened her sentence. He merely snorted at her disgusting nature and trekked onward, Myvryna's isolated location quickly coming into view.
"Let's see how cooperative you are, mole," he darkly greeted as he unlocked and opened the door to her small cell.
"I've already told you that I was framed," the dark elf spat from her place on a thin cot. "There's nothing else to be said until you release me."
"That's not how this works," Lex informed her, striding forward to stand over her.
"Oblivion take you," she muttered, but he'd heard her clearly enough.
"If you'd prefer, I could have you chained to the wall," he suggested, and red eyes narrowed at him in nervousness. "You were supposed to give me Armand Christophe, and instead you lied to me. What do you have to say for yourself?"
"I was framed!" she insisted. "But you don't believe me. Alright, fine. How about this? I tell you something that proves that I'm working on your side, and you let me go." It sounded like a beneficial agreement, and she wouldn't be going anywhere in the meantime, so Lex quickly assented.
"What can you offer me?" he questioned.
"The Thieves' Guild is interested in Ranen Manor, and they've been planning to hit it for some time. You could set a trap, and you might even get Armand in the deal. Most thieves will sell each other out when push comes to shove, and the job will be a dangerous one since Halidor Ranen is rumored to be a hit man. They won't send a low-ranking member. No, they'll send someone higher up...the Grey Fox perhaps..."
"If you're information proves accurate," Lex mused. "I'll drop the theft charges, but not the assault ones. You're serving a year because of that, and I wouldn't reduce it if you handed me Armand on a silver platter. Understood?" The dark elf sneered and lowered her head, red eyes fixed on the stone floor in consternation.
"She's a thief, captain," she reiterated. "Why are you protecting her so much?"
"Keep your slanders to yourself, woman," Lex ordered. "And pray that Ranen manor is targeted." He left Myvryna there to stew in her bitter state, his mind already formulating a plan to handle this latest information. He would use this, and use it well. First, he had to contact the home's owner and gain permission for some safety precautions—ones that would trap a thief and automatically notify guards to the theft. Yes, this would work. The guild was finally going to suffer some losses, and as the days passed, his neatly laid plans solidified into a reality.
*************
Mandila pulled a small plank loose from her floor and carefully placed a bundle of cloth onto the exposed ground beneath it. Her stolen pendant was wrapped inside, and she gave the chain one last touch before sealing away her treasure. Tonight she was going to force Armand to trust her, and that meant that nothing could go wrong. If it did, she would be in terrible trouble since Halidor was rumored to be very dangerous, and if worse came to worse, she would not leave behind evidence that would damn her in Lex's eyes. Let him think her a minor thief in the end, but she couldn't tolerate the thought of him despising her for having stolen from him. And so the pendant would remain here where it was safe, and Methredhel would return it to the captain if Mandila wasn't coming back to reclaim it.
It wasn't that the Bosmer was overly worried about dieing, but she had never done a high profile job like this one before, and her back still ached when she remembered facing that ancestral ghost late one night. She needed to be careful, and everyone knew it since she'd had to plead for the assignment. Armand had been very reluctant to grant her desire, and he'd had more than a few biting innuendos to make about her and Lex in the process, even suggesting that the captain might have charmed her into the enemy camp. The accusation made her angry, but it was deserved, and she'd taken it with a frown as other thieves looked on. Only Methredhel had been even marginally supportive, and that meant that it wasn't only Armand who questioned her allegiances.
"You're getting ready to go?" Mandila turned to see Armand offering her a more expensive lockpick, and the annoyed man actually looked concerned as she accepted his gift. "Remember everything that you've been taught, and if the job starts to go wrong, run away." But Mandila knew that she couldn't do that, for it would be another black mark on her name. This was a win or lose situation that she'd never before been pressured into, which was another factor adding to her negative thoughts concerning the job. Halidor had supposedly murdered that boy thief, Logan, when the kid had tried pickpocketing the man. Damn, but nothing she'd heard about her target was even remotely enticing.
"Why exactly are we going after Halidor?" Mandila asked. "I know that this book will incriminate him, but what's the message behind this?"
"He killed Two Toes," Armand frowned. "We're telling him not to mess with us, but don't push your luck. Only take his record book and get out of there." Mandila walked by Armand, remembering his cold gaze from earlier, and wondering where it had gone.
"Armand," she said. "I'm sorry that I've made you angry."
"But not for what you've done," he added, sounding put out. "I don't know why you run toward that man's arms, when there are better men right here." Mandila swallowed and realized how right Methredhel had been in her observations, but their leader had never even hinted at his desires before jealousy brought them to the fore, and if this was merely jealousy speaking, Mandila didn't want anything to do with him. Lex was a good man, no matter what was said, and Armand would never measure up to the honorable intent of the watch captain—never, but she couldn't tell him that, and she certainly couldn't confess her true feelings for their enemy.
"I need to go while Halidor is out," she lamely excused herself. "And I'm not running into Lex's arms, Armand. I don't know why I need to hate him just because he opposes us. He's doing his job." Armand gritted his teeth and looked away from her.
"You don't even realize what's happened to you, and that's the worse part," he enigmatically stated. "I'm sorry for you, thief. I really am. If you complete this job, you'll be promoted and sent to Bruma." Mandila froze in her tracks and angrily spun on Armand.
"This is my home!" she protested. "It's the only home that I've ever known, and you want to send me away? What happens if I fail?"
"Then you'll be transferred without the promotion," Armand shrugged. "I can't have someone here who I don't trust, and I'm not doing this because I want to, Mandila. You've forced my hand. I can't have a thief here who loves a bastard captain like Lex!"
"This isn't about me; it's about him. You hate him," Mandila sourly noted.
"As should you," Armand replied, his tone weary. "This is the only way for you to stay in the guild. If there was another way, I'd consider it, but as is, the Grey Fox himself has asked about you and the captain. If you want to keep your family, you'll have to lose your home." Mandila hung her head and nodded, accepting that this was her judgement, for the guild had tried and found her lacking. Lex doesn't find you lacking, a small voice whispered, and Mandila fleetingly daydreamed of the captain's arms around her.
"I understand," she softly whispered. "I need to go now."
"Shadows hide you," Armand responded, a hand reaching for her, but Mandila moved out of range, her brown hair dejectedly hanging about her face as she disappeared and strode toward the city's dark alleys. She tried to focus on her current assignment, but the realization that she'd probably never see Lex again weighed heavily on her heart, for victorious or not, she was destined for the snowy hills of her least favorite city. Normally her sense of adventure would make her leap at the opportunity, but curiosity and the promise of a higher rank could not replace the human connections that she had here, whether with her sister Bosmer or the captain. The world suddenly felt like a very lonely place as she sulkily went about her way, noting guard locations and easily avoiding them with her natural sneaking skills.
She would have time to say goodbye, if she was lucky, and that was the best that she could hope for. If she quite the guild, she'd be ostracized for her motives in doing so, and then she'd be dependent on a normal job. Either that or she could become a freelance thief, but such a decision did not appeal to her sense of security, for no guild meant no bails or support for her profession. In short, thieves like that tended to end up in and out of prison for the rest of their lives—that, or they turned into beggars as the guild took jobs from them. Then she would realize her nightmares of being old and helpless, rotting in a cell because the roof over her head was too costly to support.
Akatosh help me, Mandila prayed as she rounded a corner and located the house that she was to loot. It was a large building that spoke of wealth, and even now, the last servants were locking the windows for the night. Halidor must have been a hard master to keep them working so late, and if his orders were followed to a detail when he wasn't even home, then he was either loved or feared. Given his reputation, Mandila was betting on the latter as she waited for an hour or so to ensure that the servants had turned in for the night. Now was the time to act, and her senses heightened as she gracefully moved toward the home's courtyard and scaled the wall, nimble fingers digging into the smallest cracks and exploiting every uneven surface. Within moments, she had dropped into a garden that granted her ample foliage behind which to spy.
The manor was silent, and the rooms dark—exactly how she liked it. Her feet treaded lightly across the grass to a small door that probably led to the kitchen, judging by the wash bin near it. She peeked inside, and finding the room vacant, she slipped by dishes and cutting boards, pots and pans, even a bundle of drying flowers, and into the next room, a long hallway. She hated hallways like this, for the straight path was devoid of statues of chairs, affording her nowhere to hide should someone unexpectedly come her way. It was the worst place to be caught, but she had no choice but to proceed as she listened for any and every sound. There were short bursts of snoring from somewhere, and once she heard the faint rustle of carpet, but other than that, the manor was as silent as a crypt.
She needed to find the master bedroom, where Halidor most likely kept his records. There might be a separate study elsewhere, but she would check his most private room first, which was where Armand had suggested she head. He had seemed jittery about giving her this mission, but she could understand that, for she herself was feeling slightly nervous as she worked in this manor of ill repute. It was no secret that this was no job for a rookie, and while she wasn't a rookie, she certainly wasn't a person of amazing skill, which explained her sudden prayer to Akatosh for safety. Some of these manors were rigged with traps...
Mandila located a large set of double doors that require lock picking, and so she set to work, fully aware that the soft clicking of her tool sounded much too loud in the darkness. The door finally unlocked, and she gently pushed it open, stepping into a massive bedroom that spoke of wealth with its velvet curtains and its rich carpet. This was what she'd been searching for, and with delicate fingers, she sifted through numerous belongings looking for a lone book that was nowhere to be found.
The chest, she hopefully noticed, moving toward the ornate, mahogany frame and running hands over its polished surface. This looked promising, but it too needed to be unlocked, and seeing as how there were no keys, she'd have to do it the hard way. One twist left, now a quick lift of a pin, maybe a little to the right now...Mandila concentrated, unsure of why this lock was so difficult when her lockpick bumped into something unfamiliar. It wasn't a pin, but what was this weird metal latch inside of the lock? She fiddled some more before the chest's lid clicked and began opening, the action being followed by a sharp hissing noise.
Mandila instinctually flew backward, falling onto the carpet as green vapors seeped out from beneath the partially opened chest. She forced herself not to cough as a thin vapor moved in her direction, and to escape the noxious gas, she scuffled backward toward the bed, her tunic pulled over her nose and mouth. Damn, but that had been close. She'd never seen anything like that before, and she was willing to bet that the smoke was poisonous. Instincts had barely saved her life, and speaking of self-preservation, perhaps she would move onto the study and give the chest time to vent before she ventured any closer to it. That seemed wise, and so she moved to the adjoined room, which was lined with packed bookshelves surrounding a single desk.
Oh, this was too good to be true. Mandila nearly expected someone to step out of the shadows and behead her as she realized that the sought-after record book was sitting directly atop the desk in plain sight. She could simply snatch it and run, never looking back, and leaving no evidence. After all, what harm could a book do? It wasn't a chest, but then again, she'd never expected poison gas to be triggered by lock picking. Perhaps she should...
Damn it.
Mandila walked around the desk, checking for trip wires or the glitter of magic, but nothing seemed amiss, which was exactly why she was worried. Surely Halidor wouldn't leave such a valuable possession out for anyone to see, but if he was arrogant and deadly, maybe no one had ever been stupid enough to defy him and steal anything. This would be so much easier if the book was in a drawer or something a little more secure, but no, it had to be sinisterly sitting out like this, meaning that the negligence resulted from either stupidity or cunning, and Mandila had no way of knowing which label was accurate.
Just grab it. You don't have a choice.
Mandila sucked in her breath and reached out, touching one corner of the book, and then wrapping her fingers around its leather binding. It was light and would be easily hidden, but she didn't let eagerness overcome her as she carefully and slowly pulled it free from the desk. Now it was in her hands, and she was still standing, breathing, and fully cognizant. That hadn't been so terrible, and with a small smile, she turned to leave. Unfortunately, her feet seemed to have other ideas, for they wouldn't budge. Mandila looked down at her boots in shock, for no matter how hard she tried to command her legs, they remained where they were, only shaking with effort as she told them to obey her.
Gods above, I'm paralyzed.
Mandila began to panic as she heard footsteps approaching the study. Someone was coming, and she was standing here, book in hand, looking like an idiot. She had to move or she was going to be murdered. She could imagine Halidor stumbling upon her and slitting her throat, then dispassionately ordering his servants to clean up the mess. She'd be a tally on his scoreboard, a name for the government's death records, a murdered thief for Lex to read about in the morning's addition of the Black Horse Carrier. Gods, but that couldn't happen!
"Please," she begged her feet, concentrating with all her might. They trembled, and finally she felt the magic breaking as she jerked her body to the right; however, her victory was short lived, as she simply fell to the floor, the carpet softening the loud thump as she realized that her arms were now useless. They would respond no better than her legs, and with horror, she realized that the study door was opening. She could hear a voice—no, not one, but several. It sounded like an entire detachment of troops were coming in her direction.
"Find the thief," a stern voice ordered from somewhere on the other side of the desk. It sound like—no, it couldn't be, but it was, and Mandila felt fear consuming her mind. This was the end, and there was nothing that would save her.
"I don't see anything, sir," a guard stated. "Maybe the enchantment didn't work, or...oh." Mandila stared upward at the guard, who was bent over her, watching her horrified face as she fought to stay calm. If she hadn't been paralyzed, she was certain that she'd be ranting and trying to run for her life. All sarcasm and energy drained from her as she watched the guard straighten. "She's over here, sir." No, don't let Lex see her. Don't let Lex see h...
"Mandila?" That one, questioning word broke her, for there Lex stood, surprise written on his features as he viewed her contorted body, the book still in her hands. She couldn't say anything, and her ability to meet his eyes quickly disappeared as his face hardened. He was beyond angry, his hands curling into fists until she was sure that his armor would dent. Gods, she couldn't look at him, and so she fixed her gaze on the floor, eyes watering until she felt the tears sliding down her cheeks. Her hair hid her ashamed face as she waited for something to happen, but it seemed like an eternity as Lex stood there while she tried to keep from whimpering or making sound in her sorrow.
"Get her off of the floor," Lex finally ordered, voice devoid of any warmth. His hands ripped the record book from her own, and still she wouldn't look at him as she was hauled to her feet. "Hold your hands out, criminal," he continued, but she didn't. "Now!" he bellowed, his barely controlled temper boiling over and reverberating around the room. "I will not tell you again."
"I can't..." Mandila said, sucking in air as her voice trembled. Anger literally radiated from the captain in waves as he glared at her.
"She's paralyzed, sir," a guard chimed in.
"I don't care what she is," Lex countered, grabbing Mandila's wrists and locking linked bracers around them. "You've broke the law, citizen, and we're taking you to the Imperial prison where you'll await sentencing. Come peacefully or pay the price."
"Captain, I'm sor..."
"Move her to the prison." Mandila glanced at him only once as she was carried toward the door, and what she saw made the tears fall faster. He was looking at her with wrath that only barely managed to cover the hurt in his eyes. He'd trusted her, and she'd turned out to be one of his enemies.
"Will he be questioning me?" Mandila asked the two guards carrying her as she was moved through the dark streets. They were being surprisingly gentle, and she wondered if it was because they knew who she was, for Lex often used his own waterfront men whenever possible.
"I think you'll get the night alone," one of them told her. "He'll need time to calm down before he talks to you."
"That's an understatement," the other snorted. "You might be his elf, but you've done it this time, girl. Too bad. We had a bet that you'd finally make the man a little more domestic." His elf, her mind absorbed. Not anymore. She doubted whether he'd ever forgive her or speak with her like friends again after this betrayal, and considering that she'd unwillingly been lured into this trap because of the guild, she suddenly felt a bitterness toward her family that she'd never before known. They were at fault for having stripped her of what she'd wanted most, and even if she had proven herself loyal to them, she'd now rot in prison and forever wonder if she should have sided with Lex. Somehow, betraying him was far worse than turning her back on the very organization that had raised and cared for her since her biological family's demise.
You're alone, Mandila.
She cringed and shrunk from the cold walls as she was tossed into a cell, the sound of her weeping echoing loudly around the corridors as she huddled in a corner and held her knees to her chest. She'd lost Lex's respect, friendliness, banter...affection. Now she'd never kiss him again, and why did that have to hurt so much? As her misery deepened to a level that she'd never previously experienced, she realized that she'd completely fallen in love with that man. Armand had been right: she'd completely changed without even realizing it, for she'd always pushed admitting the depth of her emotions aside in favor of simply riding the waves of her life. She'd lived in the moment, and it was time to pay for that decision. She didn't think that she'd ever be totally carefree again after this, not for a long time at least.
So this was her new home—this tiny, cold, godforsaken cell that she'd somehow always avoided until now. Oh, she'd been to prison once before, but it'd only been for a night, and she'd convinced the guards that it was a misunderstanding. One night had been enough, and now...what? Several years for her crimes? She certainly couldn't pay for release like the wealthy did—like her brother's murderers would have done if they'd been captured.
"She's in there, sir," she heard a guard say from the hallway. "But maybe we'd better wait until morning."
"And why would that be?" Lex harshly demanded.
"Sir...you can hear her crying...she's in condition for questioning." The cell door was thrown open, loudly smacking the wall, and Lex and another man entered, marching right across the floor in all their imposing glory to stare down at the fallen woman with her head in her hands. She couldn't deal with this right now, at least not if Lex was present. Give her another guard, but not him, not now. Then again, perhaps other guards would be a bad idea too, for she'd heard firsthand accounts of what happened to pretty, young women in prison. Methredhel had told her about a friend who'd been raped by a guard once she mouthed off to him one to many times, and no one would defend her, because who would believe a criminal over a guard?
"You're guilty of breaking and entering and theft," Lex coldly stated. "You may either pay five hundred in fines in spend four years in prison." Four years? Mandila tried not to think about it.
"I don't have any money," she honestly replied.
"You might be able to shorten your sentence if you answer our questions," Lex continued. "But that depends on whether or not you're useful." Gods, but he sounded like he was talking to an anonymous criminal, and not her. She wondered if he was intentionally avoiding using her name.
"I need your full name for our records," the other guard spoke when she remained silent.
"Mandila," she told him, barely above a whisper.
"Surname?"
"I don't have one. It's just Mandila." He took several steps toward her, and for the first time, Mandila raised her head. His hands were reaching for her, and she bolted away from him so quickly that he nearly fell when she pushed by him. Cornered against the other wall now, Mandila glared with eyes swollen and red from crying. "Stay still," the guard ordered. "I'm only going to replace the linked bracers with single ones." And he held up a pair of cuffs that were unconnected, unlike the ones that she currently wore.
"Don't touch me," she nearly yelled. "I don't want guards to touch me. I know what you do to girls when they can't run." The guard quirked an eyebrow in offended surprise and looked to Lex for support, the captain standing rigid and turning his icy eyes on Mandila. For a moment, puffy eyes met his, and then Mandila swallowed and looked to the floor.
"My men are professionals," Lex admonished her. "You'll remain pure as long as you stay here," the snide spin that he put on 'pure' made Mandila's head hang lower. The other guard again moved toward her, and completely inexperienced with men as Mandila was, her paranoia from stories was multiplied so that she squirmed away from the man yet again. Part of her thought that she could trust Lex's word, but he could be a bit of an idealist. Now, if he were the one to question and handle her prison visit, she'd be more cooperative, for no matter how angry he was, he was trustworthy. Unlike me, she morosely mused.
"Here," Lex ordered, taking the bracers from the guard. He quickly approached Mandila, and she willingly held up her hands. "You should cooperate," he advised her.
"I don't trust them...too many rumors." She looked into his face and found his expression strangely blank, not angry. There was no telling what he was feeling behind that cold exterior as he swapped her bindings, pausing when he noticed that the manacles had made her wrists bleed.
"The harder you pull at them, the worse the damage," he stated, dropping her hands like they were diseased. "The other guards won't hurt you." Back to business it was. "Who sent you to rob Ranen manor?" Mandila sat on the ground and looked to the other guard in the room. He was watching her with narrowed eyes from beneath his helmet, and his attention made her uncomfortable.
"Who sent you to Ranen manor?" Lex demanded, but she remained silent, closing her eyes and willing the world to disappear.
"Sir, perhaps tomorrow would be better," the guard advised. "And she might be more forthcoming if you were to question her alone. She clearly doesn't trust the rest of us." Lex stood still a moment before spinning on his heels and leaving the cell. Without a word, Mandila was locked back inside of her cage, but the worst prison was not made of iron bars or stone walls, but her own mind. It would be a long time before she fell asleep, and even longer before her cheeks dried.