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The sun started rising a while ago, the sky turning into its daily blue as everyone around was setting up their own stuff to start off their day and work on the shopping district. Various scents could be smelled from all parts of the kingdom. Sweets for the pastries that some were selling, ashes and iron for the blacksmiths. There were also the pleasant smell of candles being lit up, as most owners around town used those for people to get lured by its scent and led to their stores in order to gain some potential customers.
In Dogwarts, gaining gold, diamonds, or silver was very common in town. As the kingdom was vastly known for its trades, deals, and business. It was filled to the brim with it, it could only take a look around the Kingdom to notice. With most of the buildings using gold as just a decoration so it compliments the wood that was often used in everything and the sights of stuff not fairly used. Everything was always open from the very morning until midnight. People all around offering sales and offers, while new visitors came around now and then.
The only reason that the successful businesses had stayed successful for as long as they had had been for a very simple term: magic.
Using magic here was never something that was hidden, in fact, it was a type of species for every single living being. It was found on plants, animals, even in some bacteria. Although it wasn’t in everything, and humans had to take their time to learn magic if they were not born with it. So did fairly every day objects.
And due to how common it was to find magic, it started to be used in profitable businesses. A lot of the stores and the stalls that have been stable for years had it for their own gain. The world’s magical wonders did have a property called the Enchanting . An ability that can transfer magical essence to casual and regular items and turn them magical. Giving enhancements impossible to make by the human hand. Whatever the person wanted to imagine for it to happen to the object, it would, just as long as the person had enchanted it.
Many years ago, the present king, Ren, had found a way to extract the Enchanting from the magical wonders around them. Destroying the source of the magical properties, it could create dust, the essence, that was then used to shower objects.
When he was young, he had also managed to create a magic spell system for it, and he showcased it to his small town, who then, crowned him later as the King of Dogwarts. And so, the King Ren spread the knowledge ever since his coronation, and had always tried to use his learnings of the Enchanting for good.
And so, the Dogwarts started to flourish that way. Using the Enchanting. And it has done so for a while now, turning the small town into a big Kingdom filled to the brim with people all around the world, searching for the magical essence the place had. And every person who lived there would learn how to use the Enchanting and then set off into a life full of opportunities that anyone would wish to have.
Because, although common, not everyone had the ability to learn about the Enchanting.
As the Kingdom started to grow and Enchanting was used more and more commonly, some people were left behind. Learning about magic, and most of all, the Enchanting, was starting to be something for the privileged kind, people who had the goods. Goods that were mostly created and sold due to them using the Enchanting. So not everyone could ever learn it inside or outside the kingdom’s walls, and were stuck trying to find a way to live like others.
And so, they had to find other ways to make profit: crime.
Scammers, thieves, hunters are just something on top of the list. But Dogwarts was full of it as it grew. Not every place was perfect on its own, after all. And so, criminals became fairly common. If someone did not have the abilities to learn the Enchanting, then there was always the path of crime. And it started to be the alternative very quickly as time passed.
The streets and walls were always covered on wanted posters that were ordered by the King himself. If someone did ever find the criminal, they would get a prize in the form of the most expensive jewel around: diamonds. With a lot of the bounties for those same criminals reaching over thousands of diamonds.
Luckily, the prize being all that big wasn’t for all the criminals around, that was just for the most wanted. The one where people had to always be vigilant around their stores, so nobody could steal anything (something that started to happen more often than what they would like), and whenever they spotted someone with their face in a wanted poster, they would normally search for the ones with the higher pay.
Which is why it was so easy for Grian to sneak in and steal whatever he pleased. The wanted posters that had his face on it, like for example, the one that laid on his hand, only had him wanted for the reward of twenty diamonds. Which is actually a really low reward, Grian was more valuable than that, thank you very much. Still, it was a relief to be that low on the list.
Because that meant that nobody would be able to recognize him or want him.
And so, his daily routine was easier than what some people would think of. Which led him to this point of the start of the day. Traveling from his hide-out all the way to the shopping district.
Right now, he was hiding in an alley between some buildings while the sun started to rise. As the sellers and traders opened up their stores, Grian remained vigilant and undercover. His target was just right in front of him at a walking distance up into the other side of where he was.
It was a fairly simple building, with it only being two stores tall, the one below having the entrance door fluttered with pink as right next to it laid a big window. The pink curtains with white laces across it were being opened up to show pastries, cakes, and sweets that were waiting to be sold. On the top, there laid more windows, the main view being the tables with warm candles and chairs that were not being occupied. Next to the door, there hung an oak sign with a carved wolf and a cat on top, their tails making a heart, the text below them read “closed”.
The lady who was getting everything set was by the door, fixing the lanterns next to the main window by lighting it up with what was assumed as a match. She was wearing a long skirt and her hair similar to the colors of the store, having it be long pink hair with two buns that matched her blue eyes nicely. Once she was done, she walked over to the oak sign and flipped it, making it now read “open”, and quickly went for the door and opened it before getting in herself.
Pink and The Wolf, that was the name of the place. It was owned by two people, a married couple, though the face of the husband has never been seen before. Lizzie, the pink haired girl, was the other owner, her pastries known for having magical properties in them, and the bestseller being her healing biscuits, as those had been enchanted with the help of amethyst shards. Those quickly ran out, with the bakery only being opened for two hours or so.
It was one of the best bakeries in town, that was no doubt. Every single delight was harvested with love and care. And it was beloved by everyone and had a lot of regular customers.
And for today, it was going to be Grian’s target.
The thing was, Pink and The Wolf did not just have healing treats or sweet stuff. Sometimes, the store would sell other magical pastries with different spells. And today, it was one of those days, where whatever was in that store was going to help Grian deeply. In fact, he could see from where he stood as it was behind the window.
It was a butter cake on a cake exhibitor, moonstone sparkled around it as it was lightly decorated with pearls and bachelor buttons. The white frosting looked freshly made just from where he stood. It was perfect, as the surrounding hue suggested it had also been enchanted. That , that was Grian’s target for the day.
The sun had fully risen, and most of the stores would have been opened by now. Grian rolled his own wanted poster and hid it in one of his pockets. He put on his red hood that went with his small cape, and hid half his face under a black mask that came along with his long sleeve shirt. It was his opportunity to enter uninterrupted. And so Grian finally left the dark of the alley and had gotten out of his hiding spot.
The place was crowded between sellers and customers or regular passers-by, although not fairly uncommon. He passed through them quite easily, like nothing but a shadow among them, until he finally reached the entrance of the bakery. The wooden pink door right in front of him as he grabbed the warm golden door handle and stepped inside the Pink and the Wolf, a bell from the inside of the bakery ringing as he did so.
Looking around, there weren’t many people aside from assistants at the counter and the nearby samples plus the bakery owner, Lizzie, who was taking out another freshly baked cake out of the oven.
A look to his left, and there it was on display, the moonstone cake. Just how it looked on the display. Grian could smell the sweetness of the cake just from a couple of steps away. He grinned, looking like stealing this one was going to be a piece of cake after all, pun not intended.
He stepped closer to the cake, it now being in front of him. His hands were now below the cake’s base stand and picked it up, now all that was left was leaving, and he should have the cake in his possession.
“Hey, there.” Something unexpected startled him, “Welcome to the Pink and The Wolf, what do you need? Because we probably have it somewhere here I’m sure.” A sweet voice said, he turned to his side, and spotted the pink hair first, then the attire. It was the owner of the establishment.
Grian froze. His dreams of getting out of the bakery unscathed vanished like water in a desert. But mourning came later, as she looked over at him with a confused glance. She was waiting for him to respond.
And so he cleared his throat. “I want to ro– I mean, I want this, uh, mooncake. Mooncake? I mean,” he took a deep breath to collect himself. “Moonstone cake please.” Grian heard his own words come out of his mouth trembling, for in the depths of the void he was failing immensely for no reason at all. He was fumbling under nothing!
“Oh,” her face lit up, a chuckle left her lips. She looked down, and swiftly removed the cake from Grian’s hands. “Well, I’m going to package it so you don’t have to be so careful on the way home, it’s freshly done, you know?”
“Right…thanks.” Grian nodded, a crooked smile forming on his face, not that it mattered, the owner wouldn’t be able to notice it due to the face mask covering half his face.
The owner left with the cake in her hands. Grian’s hands twitched at the lack of it instead. Today was going to be a long day. The door was still open, maybe he could just run for it if he got into more trouble. But he still needed the cake.
“Come with me this way, please.” She waved at him over the counter. Grian sighed, and walked over, moving his hood for it to cover his eyes (and shame) and walked over. He glanced at the cake as it was being put over a white cylinder box, which then the cake was later covered with a lid that had a cute pink ribbon on top.
Lizzie left the box alone, leaving it on the counter as she was checking the prices. Mumbling something, Grian couldn’t quite hear well before she turned around with a soft smile.
She looked over at him then, “That’ll be one diamond, please.”
She laid her hand in front of him, probably waiting for Grian to give her the money. Possibly the best time to bail out of here if he was quick enough, but leaving her hanging wouldn’t be good either. His parents did teach him good manners. He still was living a life of crime, though, so, it wasn’t that applicable in this case.
“Uh, you see, I don’t have… diamonds.” Grian confessed, looking down at the cake.
Lizzie looked surprised, but quickly brushed it off as her smile stayed. “Oh, well, in that case, I’ll take two pieces of gold.” She added.
“I… don’t have that either.” He confessed again.
The owner had to glance at him twice, “Ah, maybe twenty-three iron ore?” She asked, uncertainty and doubt was all written on her face, staring down at Grian as his hands got closer to the box with the cake on it.
“Nope.” And none of that was a lie, he truly did bring nothing to him for this, may add, awkward robbery.
“Did you bring anything at all to pay for this cake–?” Lizzie demanded an answer that would never be fulfilled, with a disadvantage from being on the other side of the counter.
Grian grabbed the box as fast as he could and got himself out of there. Ignoring the people that were entering in and burst out of the door in a panic. The owner of the bakery swiftly came through behind him.
“Hey! You get back here!” She yelled as he got further away.
He was running through the paths between streets, bumping into people who passed by, but he didn’t care, the hood still covered his face anyway, he wouldn’t get recognized. However, Lizzie was still right behind him yelling in a justifiable, fit of rage.
“That guy just stole one of my cakes!” She exclaimed to anyone who would listen, which did put a lot of eyes on him as he kept running.
“No, I did not!” He replied, difficult with his lack of air as he was using it to run.
It was then when he noticed a corner between two of the buildings nearby that was hidden on the alleyway. As the best escape plan, he turned around and just did that. The baker did not seem to have reacted that fast as she almost stumbled upon a wall whereas Grian got far ahead.
He grinned, a little laugh coming out of him, something else that was now out of his hair. The alleyway he was in was full of boxes for storage, the cobblestone walls keeping it dark as he slowed down his pace in order to leave without looking like a maniac. Grian stopped to catch his breath, taking off his face mask to get better air, the adrenaline was still all over his body, his legs feeling tired out because of it.
Grian rested on the wall, letting himself slip into the ground. The cake still rested in his hands, the box remained fine and when he opened the lid the cake remained exactly as he last saw it, flawless.
This cake was not just a normal cake, no. It had been enchanted. But it wasn’t any healing spell of sorts, but, some would say, it had… relaxing qualities. And he managed to steal it just fine with no casualties that were going to affect him in the long run.
A small chuckle left his lips. “Nothing bad for a guy worth twenty diamonds.” He told no one except himself. Closing the lid again, he needed to keep the cake in perfect shape for his plan.
He looked at his sides of the wall, the one that Grian chose to sit in had apparently been covered in full on wanted posters. He searched for his name, found nothing, however, what he did find was a bunch of wanted posters of the same man.
Grian grabbed the wanted poster, the face was slightly familiar, he probably had seen it before in a poster like this one.
It was a man decorated in scars and jewels, long hair tangled alongside it. “Wanted: dead or alive.”
“Scar…” He read out loud what said on the text, that was the guy’s name. Apparently he was wanted for thousands of diamonds.
“Well, it’s good I am not in his place, that would be crazy.” He muttered, the wanted poster was left crumpled as he threw it into the ground with no direction in mind. It’s not like it mattered, there were various criminals on Dogwarts, one more would mean nothing.
Thinking it had been enough break time, Grian stood up, using the cobble as a way to pull himself upwards. He needed to leave soon before they found him. He put up his mask again, concealing half-his face. And started moving.
Grian got out of the alleyway on the different end of where he had entered. On the other side lay just another part of the Kingdom, much more lively than before. With the Sun fully risen, everyone was already out of the way to do their own business.
He took a deep breath and walked sheepishly from the shadows. It was the turn for his next stop. Which was not hard to find, as it was enormous. The King's Castle.
King Ren had purposefully made his palace the biggest structure on Dogwarts, so everyone could see it from whatever perspective, however, walking there would take a while. The front gates weren’t that visible as the building was.
It took its time, but the perks of living most of his own life here, Grian managed to arrive there in a heart beat, even though that heart beat would have lasted a thirty-minute walk there. But he did so anyway.
Just when he managed to see the big golden gate, he took cover to take a closer look, his hiding spot being just right behind one of the shadowed lantern posts. He crouched, hiding behind the stone that was keeping one of them upright.
The front was infested by knight guards, as expected, just right around the golden gate. On closer sight, there were four of them, two on the edges, next to the King’s statues, and the other two right in the center between them. All of them wore metal armor with some silver on it, it had padded shoulders and covered their neck for better protection. They kept their swords on their belt, though their grip on the handle never left.
It seemed like the ones that were on patrol today were the King’s favorite guards, all of them wielding the Dogwarts’ symbol on their chest, a red rose, used mostly to represent the knight that had more power than the regular knight. The Knights Of Order, protectors of the King and his laws.
The one on the far left was BigB, known for his great ability on persuasion, the royalty often used him to acquire information out of their citizens. Quite charismatic, with a relaxed smile that matched his black eyes pretty well. He also possessed a black beard like his curly hair, Grian often found it similar to hearts.
On the opposite end, there was Etho, the silent knight, no idea what he did, but that was part of his charm, often used as a jack of all trades, whether he was good at them or not was in the opinion of the public.
He wore a mask to cover half-his face, and he seemed to have heterochromia, with the knight having one black eye, and one red eye on top of a scar on the other. His white puffy hair was put up with a bandana. He was also fairly pale, it made Grian wonder if he had ever even seen the sunlight before.
One of the two that was on the center was blond and blue eyes, fairly similar to the other three, but his armor had another addition, with a cape crossed on his shoulder of the color red, at the end, it had the Dogwart’s flag, and threaded roses in it.
He had the title of “The Hand”, one of the most dedicated, and threatening knights, as the name suggested, he had very close ties with King Ren, and could follow the orders excruciatingly well.
For last, there was a buffed man, black beard with some grey streaks on it, and he had the biggest smile. The knight’s name was Skizz, some of his armor lacked, showing some of the scars he wore on his arms. He was in the center, and was profoundly known for his huge heart, some said.
But for Grian, he was known for another thing: how easy he was to prank. So once he recognized him, he knew that that was going to be the target of the day.
The only disadvantage Grian had at the minute was that he was too far away and the knights were in plain sight. If he pranked them right here, the chances he would be seen were certainly above a hundred percent. And he was not feeling like fighting four different knight guards with weapons while he had nothing but a cake, thanks.
“There has to be another way to prank them…” He whispered, no one close enough to hear him. Grian could try to get closer to them, and maybe if he managed to get a slingshot big enough to fit a cake, he could do so and aim straight out at them. Where could he even get a slingshot that big?
“Ack!” His thoughts were interrupted as a rock fell from the sky. It landed directly into Grian’s head, luckily the rock wasn’t that big, and was a plain old rock. He faced the sky, wondering where it had come from.
There wasn’t any people flying on the sky, luckily, the rock must have slipped from the roof instead, although available to everyone. No one really climbed up to the roof, and they wouldn’t be visible from such a height down below. If someone ever got up and hit Grian in the head, he wouldn’t have noticed.
“Huh… I think I got an even better idea, thanks, rock.” Grian’s lips formed a grin as he carried silly malice all around him.
He stood up, revealing where he was hidden to everyone, searching for the nearest establishment close to him and the guards he wanted to prank.
There was one building right between him and them. Considering it as the best choice, Grian walked over and opened the door and entered. The store apparently he was currently in was the seamstress’, as a bunch of cloth had now been in front of his face.
The whole place was packed with mannequins wearing a number of glamorous outfits, each of them fitting a different style. The mangrove wood arched some passageways to other sections of the business. It was all covered in different types of fabric too, all made out of the softest wool and the slickest silk. And despite the eerie vibe the store brought, it was filled to the brim with color. In front of Grian, there laid a ginger haired girl facing the back, focused more on whatever print of clothes she was working on.
“Welcome to Gemini Tay-loring, the men’s clothes are on the back.” She seemed to have noticed him entering, but did not pay attention to care. Probably focused more on her needle and string.
Grian still nodded to her, the least he could do was be respectful. He walked over to be closer to the counter, as he heard him by, she turned around. It seemed like the one who was taking him in was Gem, the seamstress, and the reasoning behind the business’ name, it was hers after all.
She sighed, looking up right at him. “So, what do you want?” The ginger put the cloth she was working on aside and rested her arm on top the counter while her cheek laid on her fist. She seemed bothered.
“I, uhh, I am searching for the stairs for the building’s roof, please.” As Grian spoke to her, she raised her own eyebrow.
“And why do you need to go there?” Her eyes held suspicion, it was clear that she didn’t trust him that much already.
Grian hid the cake behind him. “Because I want to… go there?” He had grinned awkwardly with a confidence no man had, because it was none.
“You’re asking me or are you telling me–” She stopped her questioning with a deep breath. “Fine, it’s in the back on the right corner.” A huff came out of her lips. “Just whatever you’re going to do better not be dragged onto me, got it?”
“Got it, thanks.” He waved at the seamstress, she waved back, confused. But social interactions didn’t matter now, as Grian went into the back.
Gem hadn’t been lying when Grian had entered in, in the men’s section of clothes, right around the corner, laid a spiraled staircase that went upwards. It looked sturdy enough to not be a trap, but old enough for Grian to question if it had been ever used before or if they just repaired it daily.
It didn’t matter anyway, Grian climbed up the stairs that led him to a mangrove door, when he grabbed the handle and opened it, he was met with the outside.
The clear blue sky was right in front of him, and as he got out of the building, Grian was met with fresh air. It was clear not a lot of people went in here often, with the lack of human interaction between it and the roof. He stepped forward, the breeze hitting him delightfully, and he turned.
Most of the Kingdom’s center town people looked small in comparison from where he was, and with the way roofs were angled, people wouldn’t be able to see him here. Probably. But that didn’t matter right now, this was the perfect spot for Grian’s prank.
He turned around, looking behind in order to find the knight guards. Which he found where he had last seen them. Grian was now on the edge of the roof, he crouched and put the cake’s box right next to him.
The distance between him and the knights wasn’t much, but he did have to throw the cake with all his force if he wanted for it to hit someone, preferably Skizz, otherwise, it would just be a wasted cake. But their reactions would have been funny either way.
“They won’t even know what hit them” He whispered, a little maniacal giggle left from his lips. The fun part about the Moonstone cake was not that it was magical, but what spell it caused. Moonstone was used to relax the body, and it was usually eaten at parties, so kids could get tired and fall asleep. If someone eats a whole slice, it’s over for them. Which is why Grian decided to use the complete cake instead.
He looked down, some of the two were conversing with Skizz as he was talking to them. Skizz’s way, facing the golden gate instead of the people, probably grinning and acting all buddy-buddy with the knights if Grian could guess from all the times he has pranked him.
It was showtime. He opened the lid from the box, and carefully scooped out the cake, it would have been a waste to not have eaten the cake, Grian did need the food, but sending a message was a much better plan.
Grian got closer with the cake in his hands just below the plate, carefully balancing it so it doesn’t instantly fall over. He was preparing his arms to launch the cake on top of the knight’s head, as Grian truly only had one shot.
It was then when a loud bang was heard from the castle’s walls.
Grian stopped himself in his tracks, the sound had creeped him out that he had almost thrown the cake right here and there. Curious as to whatever that was, he glanced at the castle.
Apparently what had happened had been a massive explosion, with a whole two-store wall being blown up, smithereens and ash with smoke left the castle as Grian could see something else moving. Was that a person jumping out of the castle? It looked like it.
It was jumping above the castle’s roof with ease and at a fast pace. Grian, due to the building he chose to stand by, was actually very close to the castle, could see the figure better, he looked like a man, with something purple, bright, and shiny right in his hand.
The person continued jumping in, laughing as he did so with no care off the world nor the people that were following them behind. It was then where he stopped running away, as the roof he was in ended. The only thing next to it was a massive fall that could lead to that person’s death. The closest thing he could land on was where Grian was crouching in. But whoever that was, he was clearly in trouble.
Grian stayed paralyzed from confusion as he continued to observe the man, whatever was happening was too crazy for him to process it that quickly. When he glanced at him looking at Grian back, he realized it was all over for him, because the only alternative that person had was not appreciated.
But did the person care? No, he did not. He just did a run for it and jumped, managing to pass the gates for the castle and got closer to the roof where Grian was standing on with an ability that was clearly interpreted as experience. However, it did not go that flawlessly.
He had landed right on the edge, tripped and almost fell over. His hand was just barely grabbing the tip of the roof, and even that didn’t look too sturdy, as his grip was loosely losing its grip.
Grian and him locked eyes, a very vivid emerald green was in them similar to life itself, despite all, the other man was still smiling with all the confidence of the world, despite the situation he was in. He tried to pull himself back up, but when he tried to use his other hand the man failed abruptly as it was grabbing the purple light, which on closer look, was more of a paper.
The way the man’s eyes lit up as he saw Grian was an unexpected way to see him, in Grian’s opinion, but he was also looking at him in a hopeful manner.
“Well, hello there.” He smiled, and almost lost his grip with his one hand again. Giving Grian a scare to see him fall, luckily, he didn’t. “I know this is not the best way to meet, but, uhh, a little hand here wouldn’t hurt at all.”
The knight guards from the entrance were just below him, yelling and demanding him to get down. Some of were even entering Gemini Tay-loring as a way to get faster.
Grian, sheepishly, remembered he could have done something, hit his head with a free hand. “Right…!” He left the cake on the ground, and used both hands to have a grip on the man’s, which was filled to the brim with golden rings and scars.
He pulled the stranger up, using most of his strength to do so, that guy was way taller than him. And heavier. Was he carrying more than two cobblestone bricks, or was it the gold he was decorating himself over?
“Thanks.” The man had smiled, taking his own time to catch his own breath, a few huffs and moans from exhaustion coming out of him.
“Yeah… no–no problem…” Grian awkwardly stood next to him, no idea what to do with said man but watch. And on closer inspection, he was rather familiar.
Long brown hair, some carried by the ponytail, some was left loose. On his long spiky ears, he had a lot of golden earrings, ones that matched his scars well. He had dark green emerald eyes with a very low golden hue that matched his lime green vest that was on top of a white blouse with its long sleeves folded. Nothing important below aside from some high boots and trousers. He had two pearl necklaces and three long ones with pendants, his wrists covered in bracelets and his hands with rings.
There was also something that Grian could not take his eyes off: the man’s scars. They were eerily similar to the ones he had found on the wanted poster from earlier. The long hair matched, too. One of the most wanted people on Dogwarts was probably standing right in front of him.
“Scar…” He whispered under his breath, that was the name he had read on that wanted poster.
“Yeah?” The man, apparently, Scar , responded. Making Grian to tense up, so it wasn’t all just a coincidence then.
“There are posters all around with your face on it.” Grian replied to him, he took some steps back. Who could know how dangerous those criminals could be, and Grian was speaking as a criminal himself .
Scar’s face lit up again, “Ah, so you’re a fan.” Scar had come to the conclusion, a sweet smile plastered all over his face, his confidence bamboozled Grian.
“What?!” Grian yelled. “No–! Absolutely not! Where did you even get that idea?!” He didn’t get a response from the well-wanted man, as a burst from the door was heard as it was opened by those same four guards.
“There he is!” the shortest of the knights, Big B, exclaimed, pointing at Scar, to which, that same man did not look alarmed as everyone was getting up for a fight.
A sigh came out of Scar’s lips, he took a deep breath before clapping his hands together plus the paper, and looked at Grian with a smile. “Well, it was lovely meeting you, my fan, but I have to run.” He smiled at him, absurdly. Which only got Grian to frown at him and stare.
“No, Scar ,” Skizz, the knight Grian had planned to prank, interrupted him. “We’re finally going to catch you once and for all. And you won’t run away this time!” He had exclaimed with such enthusiasm that sounded odd considering the lack of a smile in that statement.
Skizz puffed out his chest with pride. “Not even you and your friend will be able to escape the Knights Of the Order!”
Wait, did they actually think that? That Grian would somehow be involved in a crime that only that crazy man committed? Grian stumbled upon his words and thoughts. Shaking his head.
Maybe he could reason with them. “Oh, I am not his friend, actually this is just, uhh, me on a roof for no reason at all.”
Scar had been looking over at the Moonstone cake, now on the ground. And picked it up with his free hand. Looking over at the knights, he threw the cake with all of his force right into the knight's faces, Skizz specifically.
“Hope you like getting caked!” Scar laughed, a huge mess beginning to form with all the food all over them.
The knight instantly fumbled, falling on his back in front of all the knights, the one covering his eye, Etho, just managing to balance him out as Skizz went into slumber. BigB and the blond failed to properly work out a plan.
“Bye, have a great time!” Scar cheerily started running as chaos ensued with all the knights as Grian panicked with too much happening at once.
Should he follow Scar? Should he stay with the knights? Should he really just admit that that Moonstone cake was meant for Skizz and go to jail for three months? Well, maybe the last one shouldn't be the thing to do.
The blond guy grabbed the piece of cake that landed on the floor with his gloved hand and threw it back to Scar, some landing on the floor, making the thief trip and land on the top of the roof.
Seeming that that was successful, he turned around to his knights.
“You guys go get him, I’ll tell m'lord to bring reinforcements.” He was speaking in old English with an odd accent as he told the two other awake guards. They nodded to him, BigB being the one beginning to follow Scar and the scarred one with Skizz as he left.
Grian was left with nothing to do, as he glanced over at the knocked out knight. His prank would have actually worked. He couldn't help but grin a little.
The pale knight stared at him back with a dark glare. “You should get going too if you don't want much trouble.” He told Grian. Apparently he also was not going to be able to leave this mess scot-free.
He gulped and took some steps back, the wording was definitely a warning, and he was more glad to fall under it. “Yeah, sure. Might as well leave.”
Grian went quickly to the door, grabbing the handle as support, but he couldn't pass through. He looked back, the knight and Scar were fighting each other. With Scar losing due to his lack of weapons and being on the ground.
And look, Scar as the most wanted criminal, it would have been fair to all the poor people he had probably ruined their lives had finally come to end.
On the other side of that coin, the royalty had mercy for no one, if they got a grip of him, off with his head. Grian would not just be the reason someone was going to get beheaded. And so he was going to make a very stupid decision.
He left the door handle and sprinted towards the two knights and directly went for tackling the Knight. Catching him by surprise and making him fall with him, but Scar was now free from his hands.
BigB’s sword fell to the ground, next to him and Grian. He grabbed the knight's wrists and struggled to keep him restrained as BigB tried to free himself.
The man stood up, almost tripping from the cake again. He laughed maliciously. “Yes! Look who's on the ground now!”
“Yes, he is, Scar!” Grian struggled to word it as BigB was now attacking him instead. “Now help me get out of here!” He exclaimed with a desperate yell.
Scar chuckled, without a care in the world. “Now, why shall I do that?” He grinned.
BigB managed to get his sword back once he got one of his hands free and launched for Grian’s face. Fortunately, with how much Grian was moving, he only landed next to his head.
“I literally just saved your life just now!” Grian grunted, he tried kicking the knight's arm off so he could lose the grip on his sword, which was only helping him at saving from dodging. “Is that not a good enough reason?!”
BigB punched him in the face, stopping Grian from talking more.
“Why are you even doing this? I'm only trying to catch the thief!” He had heard BigB exclaim in his purest confusion. But it did not matter to Grian as he heard Scar hum.
“None of your business!” Grian yelled back, as he was fighting between being restrained and defending himself from BigB’s sword.
Scar was left standing, doing nothing but watch.
“Hmm…” Scar contemplated, he turned around to look and so did Grian. Etho was now going to join the fight as he left Skizz rest, and he put his sword out.
Scar crouched to look at Grian in the eyes again. BigB tried to aim at him, but Grian was still in the way.
“How about this? We make a deal.” He offered his hand to Grian, “I help you break free, you help me in return later.” His hand remained unchanged.
Grian, hurriedly, kicked BigB once more as he was going to pull his sword out again and shook Scar's hand with all force and quickness as if his life depended on it. Which it did.
Scar’s smile grew profoundly, teeth showing, and now that they were shaking hands, he pulled Grian upward and out of BigB’s grasp, but Etho then came in to attack. Which the both of them have to dodge before it slashed either of them, so they let go and make Etho barge in the middle.
There still had been some cake on the ground, Scar picked it up and threw it once again, landing on Etho's back and on BigB’s eye.
He laughed like a crazy man, pulling his bangs up with his hands still covered in the frosting. Grian looked at him with concern, the genuine laugh from others suffering was not the most ideal for the guy that he’s saving.
Once Scar had stopped laughing, he dragged his hand down into his waist. “Let's get out of here.” He told Grian and walked over to the edge of the ceiling, Grian following him soon after.
“Can you jump off ceilings?” Scar asked him. Staring down at the bottom of the ground as he did so.
“Well,” Looking down it would be quite a fall, Grian had done the stunts like this before to get away from moments like these, but jumping off the roof? Perhaps only once or twice, and he didn’t consider himself the best to do so. “I could be better.”
“Take my hand then.” Scar offered it once again, his smile emitting comfort. There wasn't much time to think as the knights were right behind them. So Grian trusted blindly and took it without worrying too much about it.
The cold metal sensation on Scar's hand tingled Grian, but the other man didn't seem to mind.
“Alright, pull the lever, Kronk!” Scar, referenced…something? Grian didn't even think about it as they both jumped off the building, the air hitting Grian's face and hair like a bird’s feathers in the wind.
The jump felt like it was happening for longer than it should. Grian got a glimpse from Scar, he was carrying himself with such confidence, full of energy. His eyes were joyful but calculated as he looked down, and the smile on his face never went away.
For now, Grian felt like he was next to a man that would take off all of his worries in a flash. That joy felt infectious, his eyes were amazed as he looked at Scar longer. Could Grian ever carry himself with as much confidence as him?
The joy fell short as they landed on a rough edge, just on top of some boxes. Scar had landed one on a closed lid effectively, while Grian on an opened one. The edges of the wooden box hurt, but at least it was a box full of feathers. The wooden edges still hurt, though.
“What a successful landing.” Scar had claimed, getting down from the boxes, and stopped holding Grian’s hand, which Grian quickly missed the warmth (and coldness) of.
“Y–yeah… successful…” Grian gave a thumbs up as he tried to get his composure back together. He certainly was going to leave with a bruise somewhere. For the void, he was hurting .
Grian heard Scar walk away, already moving onto something else. He stared at his paper with delight, which on Grian’s closer inspection, it was actually a scroll.
He looked at Grian once again, stopping his tracks. “Well, this was fun. Just made the biggest heist ever and met a fan, and now we part ways.”
“Wait, what?” Grian raised his head up. Sitting on top of the feathers and trying to get off the box. “You can't just leave me here–”
“Well, I think I will.” Scar interrupted him, a smirk changed for his smile. “Look, say I never warned you, but those guards are your problem now.”
Grian managed to finally get off the feathered box, limping in a little pain in his leg as he got off the other ones.
“But you never even warned me!” Grian stared at him frustrated, pointing at Scar’s direction, “What do you mean you warned me? That’s not–”
Scar laughed, interrupting him again . “Well, I am warning you now, aren't I?”
Grian huffed, this guy was starting to get really annoying.
“Nice talking to you, whatever your name is, but I have to…to…” Scar stopped talking all of a sudden, his eyes looking tired. His legs gave out, and Scar was now on the ground.
Scar literally got passed out with the blink of an eye.
It set Grian into a hurry, sprinting as fast as he could to figure out just what was that. He crouched down so he could be on Scar’s level, the guy’s hair was covering his own face. Grian lifted it up, revealing that the man was mumbling something. But nothing near cohesive for Grian to understand just what he was saying.
Scar didn’t look hurt, per se, but with Grian’s mess of a mind, it could have been anything that could have caused this. Either Scar fainted because of adrenaline, or, a dart probably hit him, or maybe he’s injured, it could be anything.
It was then where he noticed frosting near Scar's eye, a little on top of his forehead. Probably some Moonstone cake had affected Scar.
The effect of its magic was for the person that came in touch with it to go into a slumber, the relaxation spell, to be exact. That's why people shouldn't eat more than a slice, the effect could last from minutes to even days depending on how much you eat or come in contact with.
Grian would have to hope that it would be in minutes, Grian can't just watch over a man's unconscious body for days!
“Great, just my luck.” Grian gritted his teeth, he implied it with the most sarcastic voice he could do, and forced a smile.
He contemplated, should he leave Scar here? Should he just run away from the scene of the crime? He heard one of the knights saying that reinforcements were going to be requested, if that did pass, then there were going to be so many knights that could find Scar in a defenseless state.
But Scar was planning to abandon him from the start when Grian saved him from BigB, maybe a small little taste of his own medicine wouldn't hurt Scar.
“But they will catch you if I leave you here…” He talked to Scar, knowing already he wasn't going to respond any time soon. Grian sighed.
Scar did save him from BigB back there, and he did make the deal to help Scar out if he needed it. But he remembered the wanted poster from before, this man was not an innocent one, and he did literally explode one of the castle's walls just earlier.
Then again, Grian wasn't exactly a good person either.
Why did a life of crime have to be so difficult when it comes to moral dilemmas?
Well, the worst that could happen is that they catch both of them. Although Grian would just have to serve months in jail, Scar would have to be executed just for how much he is worth. But would it be worth it? If Grian himself sent him to the knights, he would get a prize. Thousands of diamonds. That would be enough to get out of the Kingdom and leave.
The situation didn’t look promisingly great for Grian’s standards.
It was just a bunch of questions. All revolving Grian and not the unconscious man in front of him. Did Grian want the King to win? Did Grian want to prove him right? That the people that don’t use Enchanting deserve the fate of crime and punishment? That he himself should also be punished?
He didn't think so. And that is why he's going to make a very stupid decision today, again.
Grian turned Scar around so his face and arms wouldn't be facing the floor anymore. He tried to sit Scar up, and managed so with some difficulty. Grian grabbed one of Scar's arms and put it on top of his shoulders, then his own arm was going for Scar's right shoulder. When he felt balanced enough, he stood himself and Scar up, putting all the effort on his knees.
The scroll that was in Scar’s hand fell, the shiny purple seal being the only reason it hadn't opened, that must have been what Scar stole from the castle, but if he did, then why steal it? And more importantly, why would the King want it back? It was just a piece of paper.
His doubts didn't matter, he would do Scar a favor and picked it up himself. Not like Scar could, that man was so unconscious that by the three-minute mark he had started to snore. Seriously, has he ever slept before? The snoring was obnoxiously loud.
All of that will be a complaint for later, Grian right now has to find a place where he and Scar could take cover and wouldn't be able to find. The forests and farming areas would be a good idea if it weren't for the fact that Grian would have to carry him all the way into a forest, a hassle .
It seemed like it had to be inside the Kingdom’s walls then. Fine by Grian, now where would that place be?
He thought of his own hideout, which he hadn't seen in a while. That place could take care of Scar, though it only had one bed, Grian supposed he could sleep on the floor tonight if Scar didn’t wake up by then.
“Seriously, am I actually considering bringing you to my house?” Grian had asked in a whisper that was louder than usual, he knew Scar wouldn’t respond, and it became Grian’s mission to complain as much as he liked without any type of banter happening.
Scar snored once again, he looked peaceful, very different from the Scar he met just a while ago. And if he wanted him awake, he should start and get going.
The pace started off slow, which was to be expected with how heavy Scar was in comparison. They just managed to walk a few meters and met on the open passageway, Grian had to catch his breath. It wasn’t helping that his leg was still limping, though the pain had slightly lessened.
Grian looked around, the streets were just a few steps ahead. He could hear people roaming around and selling their own products, by this time of day, it was probably midday with how much fuss and sounds there were.
“It’s too public,” Grian muttered. He and Scar would become very visible in that crowd, carrying an unconscious criminal who didn't give off the best ideas to others. He sighed, not even out of where they landed and Grian was already stuck.
He looked at the glass panes next to the walls that surrounded them. His reflection stared back, the red of his small cape catching his attention more than his face. Grian could hide Scar’s face with it, if anyone asked, then Grian would reply he’s asleep, which he is, so Grian wouldn’t even need to lie.
“Alright, that’s a decent enough idea my two brain cells came up with.”
After one covering Scar later, it looked perfect. Grian put the hood up, covering Scar’s hair and his eyes. The scars on the lower part of his face were recognizable, but Grian doubted anybody would just recognize Scar from those.
With that set, Grian started carrying Scar and began his journey to his own hideout. Figuring they’re not that far from the castle, Grian’s place would only be ten minutes away, though he would add a couple more minutes if Scar would get in his way.
It was still worth a try, as long as they remained undercover. Grian would be able to breeze this in no time.
Those ten minutes could have surely already passed by now. The trip was slower than what Grian would have thought. The problem wasn’t the unconscious body, more so the eyes that were staring at the two as Grian was carrying Scar.
He felt weird, it wasn’t usual for him that other people were able to look at his face. The hood that was covering Scar used to cover Grian. After this issue would get cleared up, Grian came to the conclusion he would have to hide his face away more. He wasn’t ready for a life where his own face and identity was wanted on paper. Grian was only known as a shadow, that’s why the robberies and pranks he’s committed had only gotten him to be wanted for twenty diamonds.
Ignoring all the eyes around the two, Grian continued forward. Moving along other passageways, roads, and streets as he continued to look for his hide-out. His usual marker was near the King’s odd looking statues of him that were plastered all around the Kingdom. But specifically, Grian was looking for one that had been next to an abandoned household.
And so he did, the statue was fairly noticeable, as unlike others, it was missing a lot of parts. The arm had been chipped off slightly, and the marble they used was covered in dust. It was also missing the King’s head, with it being cut off just right at the neck. It was then when Grian started to walk there with Scar next to him.
No one was nearby, not like they ever were, that was one of Grian’s reasons he chose to live here years ago. Only edgy teens or the occasional lost child would wander in here. The Knights Of Order also wouldn’t look here because, for their standards, it was an obvious ghost land. Grian still lived here, though, so it wasn’t entirely a ghost when its only civilian was alive.
“Ironic, honestly.” Grian chuckled, thought it fell empty, even for him.
He finally approached the statue and carefully placed Scar in a sitting position so he wouldn’t be uncomfortable, and Grian went off right to the hideout.
It was a house, no lighting in it, and one of the windows was broken. The old wood was a little rotten as the cold stone greeted him once again. This had been Grian’s home for the past couple of years (Grian had lost count) and he didn’t mind for it to remain that way.
The door was sliced in half, the only part that functioned being the part down below, as the top side was fully open, but some curtains covered the inside. The handle of the door had also been taken off by Grian a long while ago, so its use as a door was mostly forgotten. Grian preferred to call it the entrance . An absolutely original name. He had hoped to get it trademarked a while ago but did not have the funding for it.
Grian went under the door, finally getting in, only to be greeted by the curtains he himself had put on for privacy. He moved them back, they were going to get in the way when he had to drag Scar in.
Speaking of the frustrating, might add, unconscious thief. Grian now that he had cleared the path, he went under the door once again and went to look for the unconscious man. Luckily, he was in the same spot Grian had left him in.
Which he was. Scar looked peaceful, a faint smile on his face, the sunlight hit him lightly Grian could say that what he was seeing right now would have been worth painting. Too bad, the only ones who could hire a painter were the rich people. Even art was expensive on Dogwarts in Grian’s opinion.
He glanced at his hand, the scroll had still remained on his hand, Grian had no idea why it was so important for Scar. It was kept inside the castle’s walls for a reason. And if a highly wanted criminal wanted it, then just what could it do?
Was it dangerous? Perhaps enchanted in some way? Or was Scar planning to sell it?
Grian sighed, “I’m going nowhere with these questions…” he was getting stuck in his head. He will be concerned about the weird scroll later, right now he needs to get Scar in.
The early strategy wouldn’t work now since they would have to go under and crawl, so Grian instead went to grab both of Scar's wrists and began to drag him like a rag doll. Not the best of choices, but Scar wasn’t conscious to complain, so it was a win-win for Grian.
He went in first, and dragged Scar later. Once that man was inside, Grian tried to sit him up again and left him near the entrance. He closed the curtains from the door to keep the privacy, and now that he was finally free from any danger, he let his shoulders relax, and he took a deep breath in and out with relief.
“Welcome to my humbled abode, Scar.” He didn’t get any response back, but Grian still felt like he had to welcome Scar. This was where Grian lived, after all.
His hideout wasn’t also the best on the inside, it was messy, it was chaotic. It was slightly small, with the kitchen and the living all merged in one place. All the lanterns had been broken, so Grian replaced the light with candles instead, but at this time of day, they weren’t on. There had been an old rug on the floor, it probably belonged to the owner from before.
In the kitchen, everything was rusted, the sink no longer ran water, and Grian’s cooler was only a wooden container that had all kinds of stones and ice to keep it cooler inside bags, though it still lacked the food. So the only strong scent had been the dirt and rust.
Next to the kitchen, there was a table next to a single chair, with only three chipped plates with it and a glass with no water in it. That table had been only made out of wood, but was still resistant, and had some pretty carvings on it, which is why Grian had kept it.
At the end there was a staircase that led to Grian’s “room”. That’s where his bed resided in, so Grian would have to figure out if it was better to bring the mattress down to the first floor or carry Scar into the second floor.
Deciding that carrying a mattress all the way down would be a pain, Grian decided it’d be best to carry Scar upstairs, it was the easiest thing to do.
And so he picked Scar up again, his hand on Scar’s shoulder and Scar’s arm all the way through Grian’s shoulders. His leg was becoming less of an inconvenience, as Grian had been getting used to the pain from all the extra weight.
He got Scar and himself in front of the stairs, and started to climb it slowly and carefully, if he slipped, both him and Scar would have to land on the rough floor, so Grian took it slow this time.
Once the two were up there, Grian placed Scar gently on top of the mattress, which was right next to a candelabra above the nightstand.
Grian’s place was divided by a window in the center of the wall where the sunlight hit. It was as if that was the divider of what was his home and what was an abandoned building. On the other side, the rest of it had been purely empty, there was nothing to fill it up with anyway. Most of Grian’s stuff were permanent, nothing lasted for long, even if it made it more homely, as people used to say.
On the mattress’ wall, there laid lots of wanted posters, all wrinkled, yet pasted to the wall. The only thing each of them had in common was the fact that Grian’s face was on it. The eyes had been colored like the void, while everything remained unchanged, in the same color.
Grian wasn’t proud of those posters. He truly didn’t expect that he would be in a life of crime. His younger self would have screamed in disgust, how times had changed. Grian had now to live in these worse conditions, for what? To send a message?
If he continued hard enough, then maybe.
He sat down next to the mattress, he was met with the cold wood. A sigh escaped his lips. Those thoughts didn’t matter at the minute. Freedom is still not at his disposal, yet. He still needed more to do before he could even get out of here without worrying over stuff like rations.
What he should focus on is the present times. Where he, Grian, a low level criminal, was letting Scar, one of the most wanted people on Dogwarts, sleep on his bed . Perhaps, that should be what Grian needed to reflect on.
First off, the thing that was still lingering on Grian’s mind had been that same man, Scar. The more he started looking for it back there on the way here, the more he noticed those same wanted posters. Scar was truly searched for everywhere.
“Just what stuff have you done in your life to end up this way?” Grian asked, his vision turning around to look at Scar. All that Grian heard back was a snore, he rolled his eyes and scoffed. Unworthy answer.
Accused of thievery, assault, arson, threat of murder , all of those were stuff that Grian read back there. Below Scar’s image, that text laid there, and that was just some of the crimes that guy had committed. For all Grian knew, he probably would have done way more than charged for.
Grian wanted to know more. Of course, he would, his curious nature wouldn’t just not want to search for more. It was silly, but it was true. If he let this guy get away scot-free from the royal guards and simply just not justify it, then the line of morality was on the metaphorical floor.
Scar would have probably gotten out of much more trouble, but he wasn’t going to get out of Grian’s questioning. That was for sure. Grian would make sure of it.
With a new goal in mind, Grian stood up, energized at once. He glanced at Scar, it looked like he wasn’t going to wake up soon, and would do so for a couple more hours. It was perfect for Grian to get out of the hideout and search for clues about Scar to ask the guy later. For Scar, Grian would be back in the speed of light.
Plus, Grian really needed the food, he may have stolen a Moonstone cake today, but there still was the food for the day that needed to be stolen.
Grian went through the nightstand’s drawer, only to find himself fifteen iron ore in it, one gold, and a cracked emerald that probably nobody would even want to be paid with. He grabbed the iron that would last him a little to be able to find some piece of worthy information.
Where would he even get it from? The library? He didn’t know, but that was a problem for future Grian.
With the iron ore in his pockets, the possibly threatening scroll away from Scar and hidden on the nightstand’s drawer, and a motivated Grian, off he went down the stairs.
“I’ll be back soon!” He told the unconscious Scar as he waved and ran all the way through the stairs.
When he was on the first floor, he walked over the door and crouched down to get under it, once again back in business.
First destination: somewhere information worthy.
“Now, just where is that?” He asked himself, clueless. Apparently, future Grian’s issues were now his issues. The lines between future and present seemed to have blurred quite fast.
A groan came out of his lips, today was going to be a long day.
~----~
Hours had passed, and Grian figured out nothing . Nothing at all!
The sun was starting to set into dawn, and Grian found little to none about Scar! Every single place shut their mouths up if he even tried to talk to them about him. It was like it was a taboo that suddenly everyone in Dogwarts except for Grian had agreed to not talk about it! And he would know about taboos, everyone in this place knew each other enough for them to know and not know about what they talked about in the Kingdom’s walls.
He searched very thoroughly, too! From the deepest parts of the library, from gathering intel from people who often got robbed and had reported it, he even went to ask whoever was listening. And found nothing.
Luckily, the day hadn’t been that boring, even after he didn’t get everything he wanted, no. Everyone had been scared of the knights that were roaming around searching for Scar. And then there was the second heist of the day. Apparently the famous crime duo, Flower Husbands, had stolen something from the district center, it looked like they had gotten away with it again too, they were known to only leave one single poppy as their trace after all. And if that remained, then they were free from punishment today.
Then, there were also the wanted posters Grian was holding in his hand. One of Scar’s and, unfortunately, one of his own, after his robbery on the Pink and The Wolf, the owner must have made her claim, and they increased his price for twenty-five diamonds.
“Such unforgiving people nowadays,” Grian remarked with irony on his tongue, he was getting used to talking to himself alone recently. It was honestly kinda comforting when he did so.
What was not comforting was that the threat he “was” increased. It didn’t matter how small the percentage was, even if he wasn’t wanted for thousands like Scar, Grian still had to be careful, he valued his life, and he was not ready to have a longer prison sentence. Not yet, at least.
But the day hadn’t ended for Grian, there was one more thing he had to do, and that was get the food. He truly hadn’t eaten all day, his stomach was grumbling with the lack of it. He’s managed worse, but Grian doesn’t want to be in that stage of hunger ever again.
And that’s where he was heading, the market, to maybe find somewhere that would be willing to give him any kind of food and perhaps a discount. If that didn’t work, then it would be back to stealing, although due to the lack of his red cape (Scar was still sleeping with it on), Grian was all exposed if he did rob the food.
Speaking of, the smell of food started to reach his nose, all kinds of flavors, sweet, sour, spicy. He looked around, he was definitely walking on the restaurants and bakeries lane of the market. His stomach grumbled once again, the smell too enticing as if the food was right in front of him.
He looked to the right, only to find a bar. Lively as ever, a lot of people were heading in it now that the night was beginning to set above them. It was decorated with a lot of plants, and had the form of a small castle, mostly using cobblestone as the main wall.
The sign read “Crastle’s Dare To Flare”. Four light strokes carved into the wood below the writing. It was hung up just right through some branches, in order to be seen enough, but hidden to not ruin the vibe.
Outside the inn, there were tables being served food and drinks, others just getting their food ordered, people talking with delight, and a lot more. What Grian was focusing, though, was the people who were eating on the corner next to him.
It was loaves of bread in a basket, all crisply baked while showered slightly in butter. There was a piece of paper that was separating the bread and the basket, Grian couldn’t get a better read on it, but there was text in that paper.
There was also other kinds of food, cooked and recently roasted beef showered in sauce, some types of salad mostly consisted of tomatoes and lettuces, there were also four beers in on pints. It was a bar inn after all, it was to be expected to see alcoholic beverages in here.
He looked at the people who were sitting in. It was a group of four, three guys and a long-haired individual, divided into partners, sat down across the table.
On the far left, there was a blond guy with a long ponytail that reached just below the neck. He wore a dark red jumpsuit and below it a black turtle-neck with the long sleeves rolled back and a pair of black fingerless gloves on his hands. One of his shoulders was padded, the other exposed to harm. And on his face, laid a grin as he took a sip of his drink, some goggles covering his eyes, Grian couldn’t get a read of what color his eyes where if he took them off.
Next to that guy, the person had ginger, long, and curly hair that matched their green eyes. Their face covered in burns and scars that trailed all the way down to their neck, some stitches could be seen if Grian looked for them. They had a simple attire, a dark blue cloak above a blue blouse with puffed sleeves, and on their hands, they wore leathered fingerless gloves. On their waist laid a belt, it had a satchel, whatever that had inside was secret for Grian.
Right now, though, they were concentrated, whispering something to the other two from the other side as they passed around seasonings like salt and spices.
On the other side of the table, in the far right, sat down a short man happily eating. He had dark brown hair that was matched with a red bandana, the rest of his hair covered by a mossy cloak that had padded shoulders made out of metal. He had a small pocket watch next to him, one that he was keeping close to his chest. Another thing Grian took note of was the small beard he had, and a black eye that was on his face.
For last, there was the man next to him, who was conversing with the ginger. Brown hair and yellow eyes, a little formal for the occasion, he had a black vest on and a black and a long sleeved shirt below. All of that had been covered by the dark gray cloak with some yellow accents. On his ears, there were some golden earrings that were similar to the vowel “i”.
The four were exchanging information before Grian had gotten close to them, from ideas to some arguments here and there, but they didn’t look rowdy, mostly sketchy at worst. But Grian didn’t felt threatened by it. Whatever it was what they were talking about, it was starting to lesser down. Would Grian care to know what it was about?
Not really, more than anything, he was focused on their food.
Maybe if he begged enough, he would get some of those slices of bread from them. He still had some iron ore left, possibly if he gave them the money that would convince them?
With not a fully developed plan, Grian walked over to their table on the outside. Eyebrows were raised, and they stopped talking about their whole business.
Grian cleansed his throat. “Hello, I was wondering if…you, uhh, guys weren’t going to eat that bread.” A crooked smile formed on his lips. The tremble on Grian’s voice was not pleasant nor a good start.
The ginger looked at him with suspicion, dragging the basket of bread closer to them. “Why would you want the bread?” They asked.
“Good question, heh. Well, maybe you guys could consider a bit of a payment for it, maybe?” He pulled out the iron, fifteen ore on the palm of his hand. They stared at it for like a second, not fully convinced, except for one that was closer to Grian.
The shorter one out of the group takes a better look at it, grinning at it with ecstasy. “All of that for the bread? That’d make us gain more than what we paid for!” He got his mouth covered up as he was shushed.
“Keep it down, you fool!” The red-eyed yelled, “He can’t know that!” He let go of the guy’s mouth and sighed, the other snarked.
“Well, I am sorry for wanting to make a great deal for the four of us.” He spewed out, rolling his eyes. Which only angered the other one, as Grian noticed his eyebrows furrowed with a frown.
“Ignore them, they can be hasty sometimes.” A sigh left the brunet’s lips with a chuckle. His sweet voice was soothing as ever, like the warm love of a father. “As for your deal, you want all of our bread?”
“Yes I do.” Grian nodded, “I am not offering much, but if you’re willing to give it to me in exchange for the ore…” He trailed off, trying to perform his most charismatic smile he could. Grian didn’t know how he looked, but desperate could be one way to describe it as he kept eyeing the ore and then the bread.
The one with the moss cloak chuckled. “But of course!” He nodded, grabbing the whole basket and taking it away from the scarred person’s hands, and was about to give it to Grian before it got snatched back.
“Are you serious?!” They exclaimed, genuinely conflicted. “You want to give him the basket? It’s ours, not the bar’s.” The tone of their voice lowered down, as if wanting to avoid Grian to listen in.
“Well, I could take the basket–” Grian added.
“No, I’m not talking to you.” The ginger remarked, interrupting Grian in the process. And proceeded to not talk to him, like they said. “You know what happens if we give him the basket, Bdubs?” They had asked the shortest of the group.
“Yes, Cleo!” He, who Grian figured out he was named Bdubs, frantically nodded with a huge smile. “We get an amazing deal opportunity. The bread’s only ten iron ore. We basically won five!” He had argued back, and the short-fused one groaned.
“Our cover will be blown, idiot!” He yelled out loud, immediately shutting up afterward at the reveal. All of them stopped their tracks to look at him in disbelief. It was as if time froze them and let everything else move.
The silence was sickening to Grian, this was getting uncomfortable, he really just wanted that bread, not whatever this group of four was sketchily up to.
Bdubs took a sip out of his drink. “Well, thanks for that, genius! Now our cover’s been blown!” He pointed at the blond from the other side of the table. “Now everyone here knows we’re bount–”
He got cut off by another different mouth on his face by the one next to him. “No, do not say it, nobody knows yet.” There was a nervous smile in that statement, he took his hand off his mouth, the shorter one rolling his eyes and huffed.
“Well, I’m still here if you want me to give me the bread…” Grian awkwardly stood in.
A sigh came from the ginger, who was probably Cleo, as he heard Bdubs call them. “We will give you the bread, and the basket if you want, but the paper in it is ours, okay?”
Seemed a simple enough request, if it weren’t for the fact that it was awfully suspicious, and Grian was a guy filled with curiosity.
“What if I want it with the paper?”
“Then no deal.” Cleo responded back bluntly.
“Ah…okay then.” Grian found himself not being able to respond with another remark. So he just left the fifteen iron ore on their table, trying to place it somewhere the ore wouldn’t get in touch with the table’s food.
The iron ore had been claimed by Bdubs, who started to count it on his hand, saying the numbers out loud. The person on his right looking at the money, too, waiting for his group mate to finish counting.
Grian kept looking at the bread basket. Now that he was closer to it, the text was fairly visible. It had been a newspaper of sorts from what Grian could guess, some of it was covered by bread, but there was a name on big text, bold, and had bigger lettering, it read “Scar.”
It was a newspaper about the criminal on Grian’s home. The same information he had been searching for all afternoon. If he could get his hands on it, even the slightest hint of information could work. Newspapers were informative, right? This was it. It was all going to pay off.
“Tell you what, what if I,” he searched through his pockets again, ignoring his own wanted poster and Scar’s, and pulled out a piece of gold. “Give you a gold coin too, and then I get to keep the paper on it?”
Was Grian really going to use all of his money for slices of bread and paper? Yes, apparently he was. Somehow, his mind and words only wished him the worst. But that was a problem for future Grian, not him.
Cleo looked at him with doubt, as if his words came out in full gibberish. “You want to give us gold for the paper?” They repeated, still surprised.
To which Grian nodded in return. Trying his best to keep the most genuine smile he had without looking like a lunatic.
The ginger sighed and looked at their teammates. Bdubs already got excited again, it was like stars were in his eyes. The other two eyed each other, before the brunet chuckled.
“You sure you want to give us gold for that?” He had asked, Bdubs jumping on him, grabbing the man’s arm and began to shake it, as if to catch the guy’s attention.
“Impulse! We’re literally winning the money lottery today.” He exclaimed. Looking surprised too, yet happy about it.
Impulse and Bdubs? What a bunch of names in Grian’s opinion, he ignored his own name for the sake of his sanity, he did not count.
“And I already said we’re not trading it.” Cleo reminded him, fist hitting the table. They looked at Grian then at the golden coin in his hand. “Look, I don’t know who you are, but we can’t just take the gold and give you it.”
“Why not? It’s just bread.” Grian questioned him, getting a sigh out of the person. Apparently he was the one who wasn’t understanding.
“Cleo, just let him have it.” The guy patted them on the shoulder, much more relaxed than before. “With the gold, we don’t even have to pay and use our own money for the meal, it’s fine.”
They rolled their eyes, grabbed the short-fuse’s hand and drifted it from their shoulder. “Shut up, Tango.” They looked in his direction, and also revealed the last member’s name to Grian.
Cleo had closed their eyes, considering it, eventually they gave out. A sigh came out of their mouth, and they locked eyes with Grian again. “Fine, you give us the gold, you get the whole basket, but if you tell anybody, you’re going to get killed.”
A threat, that’s what Cleo was telling Grian. A fright chill left his spine.
“Okay, I’ll take that deal.” He left the gold on the table, this time, Tango being the one who had grabbed the golden coin. He didn’t know if he sounded that confident, but Grian was a nerve wreck on the inside.
Impulse had been the one to give him the basket of bread. Now it is in Grian’s possession.
The smell was so enticing, it felt warm below, if Grian was a savage he would eat the bread right here and there. Grian’s smile grew, all of that would be able to last him a week. His stomach grumbled, but he waited, he still had to go back to Scar.
“Thank you for the bread, I must now head my way, though.” He pointed somewhere where he thought would be the way home with his free one as he held the basket with the other one.
“No problem!” Bdubs winked at him, giving a thumbs up, the other three weren’t as enthusiastic as Bdubs was.
Impulse and Tango got back to eating, Cleo looked at him and waved, back to an uninterested expression, no longer nervous about whatever that paper held. Meaning it was Grian’s time to leave.
He waved, and then left with basket in hand, and no money to return to for another day. But at least he got some bread, however, he would have to pickpocket more in order to obtain back what he had spent on: bread, and a piece of paper about a criminal that probably he could have found somewhere else.
Grian started to head home, the night had already come by, and all the lanterns around the streets were lit up, it was a good sight. The Kingdom was cheerful as ever, even when the Moon came to hang out. It’s what made it lively, the people.
This time was when restaurants thrived, a lot of people could go and eat out wherever they pleased, and with things like the Enchanting, it just made it a more fun magical experience.
However, those same people that enjoyed those delights were the ones that made them. Someone on Grian’s status would have to dig through dirt and stone to find something he could enjoy without losing everything he owned just to enjoy those activities.
The sights were still pretty, though, so Grian would let that pass. But right now, he wasn’t focusing on the scenery. More like, what was under his grasp.
The basket of bread was filled with more bread than he thought it was. Truly a delight for Grian. Below the bread, the piece of paper still remained under the bread. Scar’s name is still visible on the near edge.
Grian carefully scooped the paper out of the basket and bread, it luckily had not been greased on, but it still had breadcrumbs on it, but nothing Grian could easily brush off. He stretched it fully, the folds uncovering the text on it.
Apparently, it wasn’t just a newspaper, it had details, details about Scar. Where was he last seen, how he looked, where was he from. All the details you would find for a target description.
“Bounty…” Grian repeated what he heard Bdubs almost spew out. That had to be why they had all of this information with them. “Oh, they were bounty-hunters.” Grian thought that that was going to be harder to guess, but he took the victory anyway.
As for the actual text, Grian cleared his throat. He wasn’t going to say it out loud, but hearing it would help him comprehend more. So he started in the beginning.
“Scar GoodTimes, profound thief, scammer, arsonist, the list goes on. He’s vastly known for stealing every single kind of jewel on Dogwarts, constantly going against the castle and its monarch, Ren.”
Another hater from the government Grian was living on. He’s starting to like this guy. Even though a little.
Wait, he was getting distracted, he went back to reading.
“Scar, one with a deceitful personality and huge charisma, in the crime district, he’s betrayed almost every single criminal group with no remorse in one way or another, ‘our’ client included.”
Criminal groups, a bunch of people around Dogwarts that also did not use the Enchanting. These guys were usually not much of a threat, King Ren had started to wipe them all out when he finally realized that the crime rates were insane. Grian knew that sooner or later it would be his turn soon, but he never affiliated with those guys.
“Anyway, Scar is often advertising his reasoning behind stealing: to become, quote on quote, ‘the world’s richest man’. As he wants all the riches in his possession, and seeks nothing but luxury and greed.”
A weird ambition to have. Perhaps way too impossible for it to happen, and the way they’ve worded it did not sound like nobody actually knows the reason for it.
“He steals from everywhere, from normal trinkets to enchanted ones. His choice of weapon is a small dagger that he has hidden in his pocket at all times.” There was a sidenote that said to find where he kept the dagger first before trying to fight him.
“Scar, as his name suggests, possesses many scars, witnesses suspect that they were formed due to his adventures and fights he has gotten into. They also believe that Scar’s name is just a stage name to conceive his identity.”
“Nobody knows Scar personally, no one has found any living relatives or friends. Scar mostly goes on solo adventures, and has preferred to keep it that way unless it massively benefits him to do it otherwise.”
That was all that was listed on it. The rest only described stuff like appearance, anecdotes, and the price for killing or capturing the man, as the wanted poster all around Dogwarts. The prize he was wanted for was thousands of diamonds. Perhaps the group Grian met were working towards that prize.
Then, there was also Scar’s goal, that was interesting.
“The world’s richest man…” The title slipped out of Grian’s tongue nicely, it was a very blank name. It was simple, yet it was one of big ambitions. Not everyone could be that greedy to genuinely want to have everything . That didn’t feel right. But if Scar was calling himself that, and he’s done incredible progress to achieve it, then he wasn’t joking about it.
How far could greed take a criminal? What’s the visual line for those kinds of people when it comes to being rich? Grian didn’t get it, as a criminal himself, his only goal was managing to get enough money to get out of here on his own and not die on the way.
“What am I even going to tell him? That I know what he’s trying to do with all the stealing he’s done? So does everyone, apparently.” Grian asked himself, the silence remained, and his mine came in blank, too.
The only real question Grian has is everything that had to do with that scroll. One that came from the King’s Castle, just what was in it for Scar wanting to retrieve it? A scroll didn’t seem that important unless there was something hiding in it that would bring Scar a fortune.
Grian didn’t get it, paper was worthless in value.
His thoughts wandered, it wasn’t going to be long before he had to actually ask the question. That is, if Scar was awake or still in Grian's hideout by the time Grian himself returned. But for all Grian knew, he wasn’t going to get a break soon.
The moon had fully set in for a while now, and it has been Grian’s anchor for the way home. As the surrounding place got darker, lonelier when Grian was drifting apart from the general area. And with no lit up lanterns, Grian used the moon instead.
He walked for a while, whistling melodies to himself as he walked past. It didn’t scare him that he couldn’t see anything in the plain dark, there weren't any sounds made by someone else and the company lacked, no one really went near here anymore. And if they did, Grian should be able to hear them, which hasn’t happened for a long time.
Grian must have gotten lost in his thoughts for him not to notice he had arrived. The moonlight landed on the headless statue. Grian prepared himself and took a deep breath, a bit of reassurance.
He folded the paper from the bounty-hunters group, and turned around to look at his abandoned house, only to find an odd detail he struck odd.
On the broken window, a faint light that brightened up the whole place could be seen on the first floor. Grian did not leave any candles on for the night. He left the place dark, and was expecting for it to be kept that way. But the shadows that were being showcased on the light said otherwise.
Someone was awake.
This was the moment he took to gain his composure, “Alright, there’s a criminal inside my house, I am also a criminal. But this one is also being hunted down by the King specifically. Not a big deal.” No one was there to hear the sarcasm, but Grian still wanted to heavily include it.
He crouched under the door and walked under it to get inside, the curtains were still as he had last left them, meaning that Scar hadn’t left the place at all. Once he had entered, Grian stood up, basked in bread in one hand and a fist in the other.
On the other side of the room, just on the chair, there was Scar sitting down with his feet on top of the table right next to the candle Grian had seen from outside. Grian was welcomed by a mischievous smirk, as if he had been waiting for this to happen.
“Well, hello there.” Scar welcomed him, the smirk grew a little. “I would offer you a seat, but you only have one chair.” He shrugged. Honestly, this whole interaction was already starting to make Grian’s skin crawl. Could this guy just be formal for once?
Grian sighed, “Hey, Scar…” He remained where he stood, awkwardly leaving the basket of bread on the table. The longer he remained quiet, the longer he realized there really wasn’t much Grian could do to get the upper hand besides this being his house.
Scar eyed the bread, then Grian’s eyes. “You don’t talk much, surprised to see me conscious?” He grabbed one loaf of bread and munched it, it looked like he had been hungry too as he soon went for another one.
“Well, it was to be expected you would wake up one way or another…” Grian went for it and grabbed one piece of the bread, too. Nibbling it instead of fully biting it. He may be hungry, but unlike Scar, he wasn’t a savage.
“Yeah, huh, Moonstone cake…it makes you sleep for hours, no doubt.” Scar chuckled, it felt unnatural somehow. “It almost makes me curious, Moonstone cakes aren’t found on ceilings, you know?” He took another big bite from the bread.
Grian tensed up, waiting for the man to finish chewing.
“You see, from one criminal to another,” Scar put his feet down the table, giving him and Grian a better look at each other, as if he was truly trying to connect with Grian, “I can sense whenever something is directed for mischief and chaos.”
Grian remained quiet, Scar kept his smile upright. Grian knew he had him surrounded.
“You were trying to knock out the knights on the gate with that cake, weren’t you?” Was the question Scar went with. “Such a dishonor to Dogwarts.”
“‘Knock out’ is an exaggerated statement.” Grian quickly defended himself. “ I was trying to prank them, you literally robbed the King! Whatever that was you stole.”
“Oh, you mean this?” Scar pulled out the scroll and placed it on the table, but did not let go of it.
His eyes were wide open. Grian had hidden the scroll, how did Scar find it that easily? His shock was swiped off by Scar with a big laugh.
“Look at your face!” Scar brushed off a tear that formed due to his laughing. “I am known as a thief , yet you decided to put this in a drawer and called it a day? Who do you think I am?” He continued to laugh.
Grian’s cheeks looked like a rose. Scar was right, but he wouldn’t let him have it. “That–that is not what matters right now! What matters is that you were the one that did all the ruckus.”
“Yeah, I did,” He stopped laughing, instead, changing to the sweetest grin ever, Grian could easily recognize it as a fake one as Scar exaggerated the smile.
“And for what? To become the world’s richest man? That’s…” Nonsense, is what Grian wanted to tell him. But for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to end his sentence.
“It’s the best future ever, that’s for sure.” Scar took another piece of the bread. Grian just finished his. “Look, if you suddenly had all the money, you wouldn’t be alone anymore, suddenly… you become a star, the Sun, in fact, and people will never stop looking at you because they can’t reach you, and you get away with anything.”
“I think the saying goes: be rich but unhappy, or be poor but happy.” Grian intersected. “I don’t know why that’s the life you’re looking for.”
“Oh, sweet, sweet,” Scar stopped in his tracks, looking at Grian unfocused. “What was your name again?” He asked, the first time Grian heard him sound genuine in this whole conversation.
“Grian.”
“Ah, so that’s why there’s bread.”
“No, no, it’s–it’s not that, my name is Grian not grain –”
“Anyway, you sweet, sweet, Grain,” Scar interrupted and somehow still managed to get the name wrong. “The world doesn’t work that way anymore. Enchanted or not, if you have money, that solves all your problems.” He giggled, it didn’t belong in that sentence.
His eyes turned to a sharp gaze, one similar to a snake catching its prey. “And I want that.” He showed his teeth with a smile, for a moment Grian, thought those were fangs, as if Scar could kill him right here and there with those.
“Then…then, why steal the scroll?” Grian asked in return. The main force of Grian’s curiosity.
“Well, it is not a normal scroll, the symbol thingy should tell you that. And, I think that if I keep it, it’d help me massively.” He pointed at the purple seal. “I don’t think you need to know more other than that, we’re not in contract, after all.” Scar shrugged his shoulders.
“Not in contract?” Grian repeated, tilting his head to look at Scar at a different angle, crossing his arms as he did so.
“Yeah, we’re not in contract! Well, not on paper.” He rested his elbow on the table, his chin on his hand, the other one still had some piece of bread on it. “We did shake hands back there.” Scar waved the hand that held the bread and took another bite.
Looking at his own hand, Grian reminisced. He had made the deal with Scar on the rooftop, but he didn’t really think that it would get brought up later. Scar had saved him from the knight. But that hadn’t been more from that shake of hands.
“The deal was that if you helped me, I'd help you later…” Grian stared down at the bread basket.
Scar nodded, fully relaxed. “Exactly.” Waiting for Grian to continue as he finished another piece of bread.
“But…but I’ve already helped you, if I didn’t bring you here with me while you were unconscious, the Knights Of Order would have found you and sent you to die.” Grian reasoned, it was the only way to get out of whatever Scar was intending to say.
“I mean, sure, that counts. But I never specified how much you would have to help me.” His green eyes locked with Grian’s, a big contrast between scammer and scammed.
Well, wasn’t that the most frustrating thing Grian had ever heard in his life coming from that man’s mouth.
“You can’t possibly be serious.” Grian smiled, inherently forced, looking more as if he was gritting through his teeth.
“I’m as serious as you are.” Scar returned the smile, though not showing his own teeth. “I’ll tell you what, though; there’s a way you can learn everything you want to know about me and this scroll right here, and we get to make our deal.”
Grian did not respond, instead focusing on Scar solely as he was grabbing another piece of paper from a pocket and putting it on the table. One that tensed Grian up. It was his own-wanted poster.
“Look, Grain, Grian?” Scar repeated, doubting himself before shaking his head. “Whatever your name is, you are also wanted by the Knights Of Order, you know that, right?” Scar asked, his eyes telling Grian he just wanted for him to answer.
He hesitantly nodded, letting Scar continue.
“Well, I don’t think you would hate me if I offered you this just because of that fact.” He removed the paper off the table, the wanted poster landing on the wood ground. “But what if you could do it with a partner? An easier way of living the life of crime.”
“I do not get where you’re going.” Grian dryly stated, crossing his arms as he did so.
Scar, annoyed, took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh. “You still have to do your end of our deal. You have to help me , and I am now offering to make an official contract if you want to know more about this scroll right here.” Scar eyed the scroll, then looked at Grian back.
Those words stood wrong in Grian’s mind. He may have been a thief as well, but there wasn’t any greedy annotations on them, helping Scar however the guy please just sounded wrong. Grian had never been greedy, one of the things he hated was people greedy for power.
Grian took one step back, this was getting ridiculous. “Well, I don’t really want to help someone like you…” He didn’t know how Scar would react, gulping in the process.
The man went quiet, his apathetic smirk forming a frown, Grian could feel those emerald green eyes staring at his soul, leaving a chill from Grian’s spine. Then, the weirdest sound came from Scar’s mouth, it was uncontrollable laughter.
He punched the desk several times while laughing before controlling himself. “Oh, that’s funny.” Scar composed himself, his smile returning, “I should still tell you, you can’t get away from this deal, no.” He confessed.
Grian shook his head, he was still unsatisfied.
Scar sighed when seeing his response, he lowered his head down, pulling out a quill with ink, and picking up Grian’s wanted poster from the floor and flipping it to reveal its blank side.
“Just listen,” Scar looked at him, “we make a deal together right now, and we both get what we want.” He’d explained simply enough. “It’s that easy.”
“No, I feel like I’m getting scammed somehow…” Grian admitted, making Scar roll his eyes and drag his hand from his forehead all the way down to his face.
“It’s not a scam, okay? They may call me the world’s greatest thief, but they also call me the world’s most trusted man.” Scar claimed to admit. And from all of Grian’s encounters, he wasn’t convinced enough.
He looked at Scar up and down before saying, “I doubt anyone calls you those two things.”
“I don’t know either, want to find out?” Scar grinned, making Grian huffed. One thing Grian found out is that he was insufferable, that’s for sure.
“You, sir, are a menace.” Grian remained firm with his statement.
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” The thief rolled his eyes. “Don’t think you’re the first one to ever say that.” His wording sounded bitter to Grian’s ears, it looked like Scar was getting tired of the banter as he began to write on the back of his wanted poster.
“What are you doing?” Grian asked, he walked over to get closer to the table, resting his hands on it and wanted to take a better look at Scar’s writing.
Scar didn’t look at him while he was writing, but he did respond, “I’m writing our contract, of course.” He smiled, gently and sweetly, a smile that didn’t match Scar’s character as a whole.
He was so determined to get Grian in his schemes, yet didn’t explain the reason. Grian couldn’t get into Scar’s head if he tried.
His eyebrows furrowed, Grian’s focus on Scar as he silently waited for Scar to finish. The only thing making noise was the quill Scar was using to write, which was possibly enchanted considering that Scar hadn’t put more ink more than once, and the dim fire of the candle from before.
It didn’t take long before Scar pressed the final tint of ink on the paper with satisfaction. Scar looked down at it proud. He grabbed the piece of paper, stood up, but did not leave his place near the chair and stretched his arm in order to give Grian the wanted poster.
Grian took it reluctantly, the paper was slightly chipped, Scar must have used the wanted posters from upstairs, they were quite old, so it would make sense they would be a little damaged.
The handwriting on it was not cursive nor elegant by any means, no. Absolutely not, there had been spelling mistakes here and there, some sentences not making the slightest bit of sense with how blurred the words kept mixing between letters. It wasn’t the worst handwriting, but he expected a more elegant one considering how Scar presented himself.
He got started on reading the contract, the lack of grammar didn’t mean it wasn’t professional, it was all thoroughly detailed, paragraph upon paragraphs, explaining, giving details.
At the end of it, there were two lines, below, saying “sign here”. Scar’s had already been signed, it was his name, the first letter taking most of the space as it tried its best to pretend to be cursive, below it there was a heart that Scar himself had written.
The other one was empty, waiting for Grian’s sign to fill the void in it. Though, Grian didn’t have the quill or the wanting to fill it in.
“So, what do you think?” Scar waited for his response, the smirk staying firmly put, but if Grian ever rejected the offer, it would most likely turn into a frown.
His hands shook a little, not knowing what to say. The deal looked easy enough. Scar was just asking Grian to be his sidekick, of sorts. For Grian to help him on his heists, robberies, arson, or accounts of murder, and for Grian to always be by Scar’s side.
That is, until Scar manages to achieve his goal of becoming Dogwarts’, or especially, the world’s richest man. Scar wanted Grian to help him achieve his dream.
In return, Grian would be given twenty-five percent of the riches they gain along the way, information about Scar if the guy felt like giving it, the promise of a better life in a palace, or maybe a castle. And most of all, if Grian did achieve what Scar wanted, he could get all the freedom he wanted.
“I think…” Grian didn’t finish his sentence, his mind being lost in another world. In another land. In the word freedom . For some reason, it kept repeating in his brain.
Would Grian want to help the unforgiving thief in exchange for getting what he always wanted? Freedom? Would he have to submit to the thing he hated, controlled like a puppet by someone else, in exchange for never getting controlled ever again?
He wouldn’t even need to keep stealing anymore, twenty-five percent of what Scar wanted to get was still a lot of money. With this, Grian could get away from Dogwarts, and live on his own, and do whatever he wanted.
Grian looked at Scar, determined in his decision. “I think you should pass me the quill.” He said, not really elaborating more, yet he couldn’t shake off the tremendous look of joy Scar had on his face when he asked.
He got handed the quill, and Grian placed the wanted poster down on the table. With a flick of a hand, Grian wrote down his name on the last bits of the page, just right on the line that said “sign here.”.
A sigh left his lips, and Grian then placed the quill on the table too, he looked over at Scar, the guy more than ecstatic. He offered his hand to Grian, an open and welcomed invite.
Grian took his hand, and they both shook hands, the grip wasn’t tight at all, and the cold from Scar’s rings wasn’t bothering Grian at all. It felt odd, but it wasn’t unwelcomed.
“Pleasure doing business with you.” Scar said, he looked pleased with himself. Satisfied and glee were the expressions that Scar could have been feeling, or perhaps something similar.
Grian didn’t know what he was feeling, but this might have been the stupidest decision he had made today. But he wasn’t regretting it.
~----~
On the castle walls, the lack of noise was almost certain, no one dared to interrupt the silence, it had always been too peaceful there. And after the events of today, it felt like everyone was still processing that a huge part of the castle had been destroyed. Between the walls made out of marble, decorated with gold, the long diners, where a hundred people could eat at the same time. Of the several bedrooms, only the main one is occupied.
In the castle’s walls, everything was peaceful, quiet. Which is why Martyn hated being the one to break the silence.
He was heading towards King Ren was last seen, on the balcony of the castle. Servants whispered that he went there to get some fresh air, but hadn’t returned after a while. So Martyn made the decision to be the one to come to the King in these desperate times.
Martyn had finally reached the balcony of the main bedroom, it wasn’t his usual to interrupt his lord’s privacy, but there was no time to waste, even more so since the King requested his presence.
The room, filled to the brim with paintings and rugs, the bed with the silkiest sheets, freshly cleaned, and on a small table, there were half-eaten cookies, probably feasted on by the King. The fabric was mostly made out of velvet, from the curtains on the King’s bed, to the floor.
The knight got close to the door and took a deep breath, trying to have his best composure and impression for the King. He couldn’t be embarrassing in front of the King, after all.
As soon as he reached the arched glass door to the balcony, he opened the door with the handle. The chill air’s breeze hitting his hair naturally and lightly, on the other side, near the end of the balcony. There he stood.
He wore his long crimson red cape that was adorned by golden strings at the end of it. His white blouse made out of silk standing out next, the red diamond pattern following on the end of the sleeves as they were made out of ruby. Around the neck, the King held a collar full of jewels Martyn always saw his lord carrying, the golden necklace also had carefully carved out patterns of various shapes and forms of plants. Primarily, flowers, roses, and all the particular that had thorns.
His brown hair was put up on a long ponytail, showing ruby earrings he carried on. And on top of it, there was his crown, it was made out of gold, sharper than anything else, with each tip being fully sharp. There laid a pattern of ruby and pearls, and on the center of it all, laid a ruby with the shape of a rose, his King’s favorite.
“M’lord,” Martyn announced his own presence, bowing to the King even though he wasn’t looking at him just for the amount of respect he had for the man. He stood up and kept his back straightened, “I’ve been requested to your service, I heard.”
The King turned around, stopping to admire the view of the Kingdom to instead admire the knight in front of him. He wore an elegant smile as he looked at Martyn. Meanwhile the knight couldn’t stop looking at his lord’s face.
There was a big, gladly healed, scar all across King Ren’s face, it started from the corner right of his forehead all the way to the end of his face diagonally. It was a subject Martyn as the King’s hand didn’t bring up much, the incident which caused it was just something that his lord ordered to never talk about again if unnecessary. Martyn has kept true to his word. Though it still pained him to look how messed up his King’s face was because of it.
Martyn was brought to reality when he heard his King speak. “Me dear hand, welcome, you may accompany me to my town-watching of thy night.” He turned around again, waiting for Martyn to join him.
And so he did, walking over to his king and stood next to him. Martyn looked down at the kingdom with the King. They didn’t exchange a word for a while.
The kingdom was as lively as ever, even after the recent events of today and with the night present, its optimism never seemed to lack. It’s one of the things that Martyn loved about Dogwarts so much, one of the reasons he decided to protect the kingdom and to serve his lord. The view was stunning, the Moon shining over the whole place.
The King looked over at Martyn, “So… no luck on finding that filthy thief, huh?”
“Uhh, yes, m’lord. None of the Knights Of Order nor the patrol managed to find him. We have searched through all corners of Dogwarts. Nothing. Apologies, M’lord.” Martyn reported his situation, disappointed in himself, massively. Failing, the King just made Martyn’s feet sink to the floor in shame.
His lord stood quietly, taking Martyn’s response with all the might he could. “Well, he had always been…hard to capture. I would understand if you didn’t find him in one day.” The King had claimed, patting Martyn on the back, the armor not really letting him feel the warmth of his king. It still was reassuring.
A thin smile formed on Martyn’s lips. But it got quickly brushed off. He was drifting off.
“That's not all, M’lord…Etho mentioned that Scar did not escape off alone, a scrawny guy, wearing a red cape of sorts, helped Scar escape.” Martyn explained, the King attentively listening to him.
Martyn continued to talk as he watched the King. “According to our criminal and kingdom records, his name’s Grian. Rookie guy, has only stolen things like food, an iron ore or two. His latest crime being on the Pink and The Wolf, stealing a Moonstone cake, and harassing our knights too, I guess.”
His lord nodded, “I see…” turning his gaze off Martyn. “Well, I hope he doesn’t stick with Scar for long, because I’ll tell you what, me hand.” He grabbed Martyn by the chin, gently moving Martyn’s head to look him in the eyes.
King Ren’s eyes were filled with pure rage and anger, as if an ember inhabited those eyes. A passion, a hatred, and the darkest smile Martyn had ever seen the King form. The scar across his face looked as if it was bleeding for a minute, Martyn didn’t know, differentiating the past and the present was starting to get blurry.
“You’re going to catch that thief, his partner too, if he sticks around with him longer.” His lord commanded. “And you will get the help from the other Knights Of Order, and you will return with Scar.” The grip never tightened, but Martyn couldn’t help looking at the King’s hand, he wouldn’t hurt Martyn, he knew that, but the world didn’t seem black and white during that moment. In fact, it seemed like a crimson red Martyn couldn’t help but stare at.
“That filthy thief will die for stealing my Watcher scroll. And he will pay the price. Do you understand, m’laddie?”
The grip on Martyn’s chin let go, the knight looked in return at the King. Several thoughts running through his head. The loose string of those thoughts only connected due to Martyn’s devotion. Because after all he lives through, Martyn still cares for the King. He cares for Ren.
“As you wish, M’lord.” Martyn bowed. He would make sure he would catch that thief.