Chapter 23 - The Great Crystal Caper
Giu groaned at his reflection. Thanks to the pixie, he’d gained locks of pure white and a slim green tunic that stopped just above the waist. He hugged his stomach, the cool breeze only making him hate the outfit more. Geez. Feels like I’m naked. He tugged at the fabric, but it barely went further than his chest.

“How do I look, Gi?”

He looked over as Tea showed off their disguise, spinning the air and waving their arms out. Though he hated what they made him wear, seeing the pixie’s getup did bring a smile to GIu’s face. They’d chosen a black robe with silver designs, their hair braided and hanging in a ponytail. But what really brought the ensemble together was the thick mustache the pixie had strapped on. They stroked it with a grin, which Giu couldn’t help but snicker at.

“You’re having way too much fun with this, T,” he said.

“Hey, it’s not every day I get to pull this baby out. Mustaches and skirts don’t really go together.”

They pulled out their whiteboard, dragging a marker across it. Giu peaked over Tea’s shoulder, a stack of rectangles appearing across from two stick figures. He could only assume he was the one without the mustache.

“Alright, so here’s the plan,” Tea said. “Once we reach the Ministry, we’re gonna quickly find the record stacks.”

They drew arrows from the stick figures to the rectangles. Were they supposed to be books? The pixie kept drawing, creating a circle and marking it with an exclamation point.

“It’ll be easier if we divide and conquer,” the pixie explained. “There are thousands of names on record, so we’ll both be splitting up in the A corridor.”

“What’s the circle supposed to be?” he asked.

“That’s a shield, Gi. It represents our main obstacle, the paladins. If you see one, remember your cover. You are…”

He scratched his head, recalling the identity Tea had given him. 

“Belamy the Swift, right?”

“Belamy the Swift, Lord of Castel Burrow, Gi,” the pixie corrected. “Gotta say the full name, or you won’t sell the disguise.”

“Easy for you to say. Sir Aaron? How come you get the easy backstory?”

“Because I’m the one with fake IDs.”

He groaned, but the pixie dismissed him as they returned to their drawing, nodding at the plan.

It was simple enough, though Giu doubted getting through it would be as easy as the pixie claimed. They were sneaking into a paladin-protected area under false pretenses when the Villa was already on high alert. If they were caught, they’d be lucky to just get a slap on the wrist. But if it meant getting clues to Immy, he was willing to indulge in Tea’s plan. They were the brains, after all.

I swear this better be worth it, pixie.

He fixed his snowy hair, Tea putting away the whiteboard. With a final sigh, he followed his partner, their smile beaming as the mission to infiltrate the Ministry officially began.

***

They hit an immediate snag as soon as they got to the front counter.

The elder woman’s brown eyes scanned over the both of them, Giu trying to stay calm under her suspicious gaze. Just their luck. The giraffe woman had to have been working when they were sneaking in. Though whatever she thought was impossible to decipher past the blank mask she wore, her gaze felt even more intrusive as she looked from them to their IDs. 

“Castel Burrow?” she asked. “Don’t see many canines in those parts. What district are you from?”

“South Barton,” he quickly recited.

The giraffe’s eyes flashed. “Barton? You’re kidding, right?”

“Lord Bellamy does not kid,” Tea chimed in. “Why?”

“Oh. Just surprised, is all. I heard people down there are…” Their voices trailed off, eyes scanning over Giu, though he felt them particularly locked on his exposed stomach. He covered himself instinctively, which earned a smile from the giraffe. 

She handed the IDs back.

“You’re a long way from home, Lord Bellamy,” she said. “Be sure to stop by again if you start feeling lonesome.”

She winked at that, of which it took all Giu’s strength not to recoil. He quickly followed Tea, who was already moving down the Ministry’s corridors.

The rest of the building was divided by several halls marked with glowing crystals. Under a gem of red Giu spotted artifacts on display from jagged minerals to model trains to even a replica of the Sword of Gustav. The next hall over had a blue gem, various books on magic lined up for the curious. They sped past that hall the moment they spotted paladins combing through it.

“Here,” Tea said, gesturing to a shining green gem ahead. Shelves upon shelves of names stretched out before them, each separated by a letter on the ground. “Alright. Ready to search, Lord Bellamy?”

He shivered. “Yeah. Can we hurry this along? This place is freezing.”

“Uh-uh. A true lord of the north would buck the cold.”

He groaned, but the pixie was already running ahead, Giu suddenly all too aware why they’d chosen the disguise with robes. Dang extortionist pixie. He looked to the shelves. Alright, let’s get this over with. 

He moved a hand down from the first name in the stack. Elmira Aain. By the looks of it, every person was listed and alphabetized by last name. Though they were in the A section, the hall stretched out for what looked like miles. Tea was searching around the middle of the stack, the pixie forced to climb for higher names. With the Sir Aaaron cover, flight was out of the question.

Let’s see. Agatha, Agolga, Agraceca, Agrandon. Dangit, why the heck are there so many people with A last names?

He finally managed to find the Ahs, but Imona Alis was nowhere in sight.

Crap. Really could use a searching spell or some-

His ears twitched to the sound of clattering metal. 

He looked over his shoulder, two men in white armor heading straight toward him. A gray wolf and a black raven. Great. Here come the paladins. He tried to give his friendlest smile, remembering his cover.

“Greetings, gentlemen,” he said. “Is there something I can help you with?”
They were both eyeing him strangely, the raven leaning an arm against the shelf and drawing close.

“Oh,” he said, “we were just passing through. But then we had to stop when we saw you.”

The man winked, Giu’s fear switching to disgust.

“You sure are a sight, I tell ya’,” the wolf said, coming up from behind. Giu recoiled, instantly backing away. “Woah! Didn’t mean to scare ya’, sir. The name’s Draeden. But you can call me, Drae.”

He flashed a smile. Crap. Somebody just punch me. He tried to maintain his cover while searching for an excuse to get away.

“S-so sorry,” he said. “I am new to the Villa. Your language is hard to understand.”

That only made them both move closer.

“In that case, maybe you could use a guide,” the raven said.

“We be happy to show you around,” said the wolf. "We know all the great spots in the capital."

They’d both gotten so close their scents were practically smothering him. And it didn’t help how their eyes kept darting down. Decking them in the face sounded better and better the more they tried to be persuasive. But their lives were spared by the voice of an approaching pixie. 

“Sorry officers. This one’s taken.”

He relaxed at Tea’s return, the pixie twirling their mustache as they came over to, much to his surprise, lock their hands together. Even offering a wink. That seemed to get both paladins to back off.

“Shall we, Lord Bellamy?” they asked.

The pixie’s ears flicked towards the exit, Giu quickly catching on. He smiled, falling back into character. 

“Of course.” He turned to the paladins. “My apologies, gentlemen. We’ll have to continue this discussion at a later date. Come along, dear.”

They both moved for the exit, Tea for once following Giu’s lead while the paladins looked on.

And the counterwoman, her earlier invitation clearly revoked as she watched them leave with more aggression than he’d ever seen in their short few encounters. It wasn’t until they were outside that Giu whispered his gratitude.

“Thanks for the save, T.”

They chuckled. “Uh-huh. Let’s hurry back.”

“Right.”

He looked down to see their hands still locked. Not that he minded.

“So? South Barton?”

“Yeah…Suffice to say they have a reputation.”

He rolled his eyes. Of course, they’d wait until after the fact to tell him that.