Point of View: Mordred
The night was cold and cloudy. The rain had stopped for just a few miserable moments when we were about to open the stable door—then Sirius grabbed me by the shoulders and said with a imperative tone.
"Check if there's a green light on top of the house… That'll be the final signal that we're clear to go."
"William, right?" I asked, watching the cozy, glossy, and grand house of the city's bailiff. It was impossible to miss. Enormous and rustic yet beautifully carved in wood—it stood apart from everything and everyone around it.
Just then, a faint gleam hit my eyes—the green light, just as Sirius had described.
"There! It's clear! Let's move."
I pulled up my hood, slung my backpack over my shoulder, and sprinted toward one of the walls of the mansion. Sirius followed a few steps behind, glancing up toward the window on the upper floor.
"So… where's the rope?" Sirius asked, already knowing the answer.
"He forgot?"
"Uh-huh." I grumbled. "I told you! I told you that trusting that bastard wasn't a good idea."
"You know…" Sirius said with a laugh, "Remember when I said you don't look like a Noxian? Forget I ever said that."
Wait—he's laughing?
"You're laughing? You son of a bitch!" I couldn't help but laugh, and shaking my head i responded with the only thing that came to my mind. "What a bastard, that was a good one."
I looked up at the ledge, ready to throw the rope, but Sirius stopped me, once again.
"Let's improvise."
He positioned himself against the wall, preparing to boost me up. At first glance, that might've seemed absurd—Sirius was definitely shorter and lighter than me.
But he had something I didn't.
"Magic…" I muttered, then smirked. "Good idea. Let's try it."
I ran forward. As I stepped into his hands, he strengthened his muscles with magic, launching me upward. The gust tore my hood back, and the speed was intense—the rain stung my eyes like tiny needles. Distracted, I missed the first grip on the roof's edge.
Crack.
"Mordred!" Sirius hissed, realizing I was one step away from making a noise way too loud.
I pulled myself up as fast as I could, fighting against the water that had pooled in the roof gutters. My hands slipped, the cold wind sliced through me, and the rain turned to needles once again—but somehow, I made it. Finally, I rolled onto the rooftop, panting.
"Bloody hell…" I whispered, lying on my back. "Great start, Mordred."
I peeked down—the height made my stomach twist—but Sirius shouted quietly from below, "The rope! Throw the rope!"
I wrapped it around the nearest chimney and tossed the rest down. Within moments, Sirius climbed up and joined me on the roof.
"Well… I'm glad there aren't any experienced mages guarding the bailiff's house," Sirius remarked, looking at the lanterns of the patrol guards circling the perimeter.
"I told you, didn't I? I took notes on every detail of this place," I said with a proud grin.
But Sirius's face turned thoughtful—nervous, even. Just like me. Maybe we both knew this was wrong, but we had to try. And know, more than ever, we must have each other's back.
I patted his shoulder twice and tugged him away from the view.
"They never stood a chance."
"Hah… you're right," he chuckled as we approached the window that would serve as our entry point.
"This is the one, right?" Sirius asked, taking out his lockpicks.
"Yeah. Each upper window has two or three lock pins, so—"
"I know, I know," Sirius interrupted impatiently, reciting mockingly, "Two half-moons, three full moons—then always walk to the right side blue moon."
"I didn't think you actually paid attention to that crazy old guy," I teased, glancing over my shoulder to make sure we were still alone.
"Hey! I can be responsible... at least sometimes."
Clink!
He didn't take long. He was getting better—progressively better. Between the two of us, he was always the more skilled "gearhead."
We stepped inside. The sound of our boots echoed on the wooden floorboards, slick from the rain.
"This is going to leave traces," Sirius muttered. "Where are we? Whose room is this?"
"The eldest son's," I answered quickly. "He's away studying at Ícarus University in the capital."
"Smart move, my friend."
He stopped me again as we reached for the door.
"Let me check for magical presence first."
"But William gave the green light," I argued.
"Well, William also forgot the rope, didn't he?"
That shut me up completely.
A few moments later, Sirius opened his eyes, calm as ever. "All clear. Let's move."
We opened the door and made our way toward the third floor. For the first time, Sirius and I saw the full grandeur of the bailiff's mansion—the pure, unapologetic luxury. Long carpets, portraits, armor stands holding halberds and swords, vases, fine furniture… everything screamed wealth.
We were both stunned. Each one of those decorations was probably worth more than our lives as penniless orphans.
"Now I get why this city's broke," Sirius muttered. "Look at this place! Wouldn't be surprised if he had gold carved into the walls."
"Well… at least he never got any administrative awards," I said with a small laugh. "So I guess we still have competent people above him."
"Right… The day they start giving awards to idiots, I'll lose my mind. Just thinking about it hurts." Sirius traced circles on his temple.
We joked to ease the tension—because, truth be told, we were robbing a house. Still, things were going well… so far.
We opened the last door at the end of the corridor. Thanks to my job as a stablehand, I'd picked up knowledge about the mansion that no non-mage would understand.
"Damn… That really looks like a beacon," Sirius whispered. "There's a glyph there—tiny and discreet."
He drew the sigil with his finger—and the bookshelf slid open, revealing a hidden door.
"Classic," I muttered with a smirk. Then, my tone hardened. "Alright, here comes the bad part. Without the bailiff's verification ring, we've got limited time in here."
"How long?" Sirius asked.
"One hour and thirty minutes. We need to be out before it hits zero."
I checked my stolen pocket watch while Sirius approached the vault door.
"So, how many lock pins on this one?"
"Seven," I cut in.
"Gods must hate me," he groaned—but got to work anyway.
I waited. Five minutes… ten… fifteen… thirty. The ticking echoed in my head.
"Mordred! Stay away from the window! If we get caught outside the orphanage, we're done for!" Sirius hissed as he worked on the vault lock.
"I told you, Sirius—just hurry! The clock is ticking!"
I whispered, stepping away from the window for the third time, glancing over my shoulder yet again. Two teenage boys crouched outside a noble's door—it didn't take a genius to see trouble.
"Don't rush me. I'm almost there," he grunted. "I just wanted to make use of your creepy bright eyes for once."
I watched him fumble with the hairpins he'd stolen from one of the older girls.
"Are you sure you can open it?"
"This is…" he muttered through clenched teeth, "way harder than that guy in the alley made it look."
Then—click. We froze. Our eyes lit up.
"You did it!" I whispered loudly.
"Bow before my genius! Now… we just light the candles—and melt the locks."
Sirius declared triumphantly. I held up the candle, lighting the hairpins one by one while he fueled the flame with elemental magic.
Clack, clack, clack, clack, clack…
Seven times. The sound wasn't nearly as satisfying as I'd hoped.
I tapped his shoulder and pressed a finger to my lips. He tucked the pin back into his pocket and nodded. We stepped through the wooden door on our toes.
"Think William's gonna show up too?" I whispered.
"Of course! Unless he chickened out already," Sirius muttered, half-joking.
"I just hope he doesn't make too much noise," I said, scanning the room for anything valuable.
"And you think he made sure the owners were out tonight?" Sirius asked, carefully examining the treasure room.
The deeper we went, the darker it got. The only light came from our candle and a few torches hanging on the wall. Then we found another door—my heart skipped at the thought it might be locked.
We tried it anyway. It opened.
Inside—jewels, gemstones, stacks of gold lilies and silver dragons, the highest-value currency there was.
"This should be enough." Sirius grinned ear to ear. "Let's grab everything we can."
"How do they even make money from this?" I muttered. "We can't just hand all these jewels to Miss Highever. I don't trust those guys either."
"Well… they seemed fine buying stuff from us. As long as we do our part of the deal—"
"And this 'guy' is fine buying from two thirteen-year-olds?" I interrupted.
Sirius went silent, realizing how absurd that sounded.
We grabbed what we could and headed back toward the way we came—but the exit was locked.
"Shit! Shit!" Sirius panicked.
"Through the window! The window!"
I ran toward it—but Sirius didn't move.
"It's useless," he said. "The window's hidden… entropy magic. And we're out of lockpicks."
I checked my pocket watch.
Two minutes left.
I clenched my teeth, ready to smash the glass—when a rope dropped down in front of us. A figure slid down wearing a brown leather jacket with a black shirt, curly blond hair glinting in the candlelight, and brown eyes gleaming mischievously.
He pulled off his thin mask and grinned.
"Missed William? princesses?"