Chapter Text
Nikandros was sure to pinch his nose right off by the end of the day. At least that’s what his mother used to tell him would happen if he continued his habit when feeling frustrated.
Before him stood his dearest friend and King, Damianos, dressed as a mere commoner. Beside him was his latest and longest lasting thing - one Prince of Vere dressed absolutely ridiculously in a long coat and suit beneath -- like Damen -- but with a deerstalker hat covering his blonde hair, and a pipe hanging out of his mouth. Obscene and unnecessary.
“I asked for detectives, not the two of you. What are you doing here?” Nikandros was careful to keep his voice low so as to not bring attention to them. They already had plenty of that, seeing as he was the town's Governor.
“You asked for detectives. You have two of the finest in the kingdoms standing right in front of you. So stand aside, sir.” said Laurent around his pipe.
“I had no idea you smoked,” Nikandros said, having just about had it with these two and their shenanigans.
“I don’t,” said Laurent. He gripped the pipe, as one would, and blew into it. Out from the spout, where there should have been smoke, came bubbles. “It helps me think.”
Nikandros was this close to… doing something. Anything to make it stop.
Laurent seemed to observe the shop before them and the police standing around, taking witness reports. The door was opened by the shopkeeper, but no one had been allowed in. It had all been left for the detectives.
Or, as it were - Damianos and Laurent.
“So, what’ve we got ‘ere gov’na. Burglary? Missing a sign? It’s more likely than ya think.” asked Laurent in an awful accent.
Damen had yet to say anything, seeming to prefer to grin stupidly while watching Laurent. Nikandros could practically see the hearts in his eyes.
“What we’ve got here is a break-in, but the only problem is that there is no entry point. There is no broken glass, no forced entry anywhere. We didn’t touch anything but did a simple walkthrough. Nothing. We only know of the crime because the shopkeeper came in early this morning and found many pieces of jewelry missing.
Laurent hummed, looking over the shopfront again, and then began to make his way for the door. Nikandros wasn’t sure if any actual detectives would be coming, so he hoped the Veretian Prince was smart enough to figure it out.
The blonde looked about the room, observing the many displays of jewelry, eyes scanning from ceiling to flooring and then back up again.
“Watson, notepad.”
Damen walked over as if on command, producing a notepad and pen from his coat. Laurent took it and began writing.
“Notice,” he began upon finishing writing, ”everything that was stolen was low to the ground. Like it was stolen by a child. A very small child, perhaps a toddler.”
“Who would use a child for that --”
“You’d be surprised what a single person is willing to do to get what they want. Even using children who know no better.”
Laurent walked further into the shop, going up to the jewelry cases. The clear glass counter had a half-door blocking anyone from just walking behind it and taking whatever was in the display.
“None of these were taken,” he said, pointing to the jewels in the glass display. “This door is shorter than the height at which everything was taken. A child could have easily opened it. Perhaps it was just a quick in-and-out,” said Laurent, though it sounded more like he was thinking out loud.
Nikandros and Damen followed Laurent around the small store, listening to his mumbling and observations.
“A lot of these displays are knocked over unless they were nailed down directly onto the surface they were placed,” said Damen, gently nudging at one of the nailed down bracelet displays.
Laurent nodded, writing that down in his notepad. He was about to keep going, taking one step before coming to a dead stop, Nikandros and Damen nearly bowling him over.
“I’ve found your entry point,” he stated, walking over to the glass window display.
He picked at the tiny picket fence that had been placed on the edge of the display, half of it crushed. Nikandros looked closer now as Laurent crawled into the display and pressed a hand on a corner of the glass. It slid out easily and crashed onto the sidewalk outside, causing a few screams.
“That’s tiny. It must’ve been a child.”
“Yes, but a child that is old enough to understand exactly what to do… would not fit through there. Nor would they knock over every single display along the way.” Laurent sat back on his calves, seeming to be deep in thought as he stared through the now open section of the store’s window.
Nikandros stared at it as well. How? Who? He definitely didn't need to ask why. That much was apparent. He sighed.
He saw a child, no older than ten, walk by the window slowly. Their attention was more so on the crowd growing outside than on the inside. A second later, a dog, more specifically, a beagle, stopped exactly in Nikandros’ view of the open space lacking glass. The dog looked at him with its big round eyes.
“What if it wasn’t a child?” Nikandros asked, staring directly at the dog. An idea was forming.
Laurent looked at him, curious. “Then what do you think it could have been?”
The dog’s tail began to wag.
“You can train a dog to do anything. And they come in all shapes and sizes. They don’t have the exact articulation to be careful not to knock over displays, but they can identify shiny things and take them.”
Laurent blinked. “You think a dog took the jewelry?” He didn’t have an incredulous tone, but more of one trying to understand.
“Not the dog alone. He had help.” Nikandros glanced back to the child. He knew them. “Someone with a dire need for money.”
Laurent followed his gaze to the child. “You know them well enough?”
“I do. They’re not bad, but in a very bad situation.”
Laurent got out of the window display, delicately moving as to not disturb anything. “Come, then. It’s time we have a chat with our number one suspect.”
“I’m going to keep looking around,” said Damen.
He remained inside while they went out to begin the interrogation.
Nikandros had been the one to pull the child off to the side. He talked to him, but the boy absolutely refused to give up any correlation. But it was clear in his eyes, the slowly building guilt of not only stealing but of lying as well.
“How’s it going over here?” asked Laurent, strolling over.
Nikandros only sighed and shook his head. Laurent seemed to take this as a sign that he needed to take charge.
“Is this your dog? He’s really adorable. Has he got a name?” He asked as he came over and crouched down to be level with the boy.
The child, Alesander, nodded. “Argos.”
The dog’s attention was caught upon hearing his name, his tail wagging.
“Oh, I see. A very strong name for a strong dog. Tell me about him?”
Nikandros didn’t see the point behind the small talk about the dog during investigations. It wasn’t as if they had all day. They couldn’t likely prove that this child did anything unless they found the jewels in the child's possession, or if he confessed and lead them to the jewels.
“He knows lots of neat tricks, huh? But the one that intrigues me the most is that he will pick up shiny things upon your command. That is incredible and very cunning of you to think of. But not good to do.”
When the hell did the conversation take this sort of turn?
The boy’s face twisted into that of shock for a second before disappearing. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, but I think you do. You’re a smart boy. I can tell. Look, things may sometimes be rough, but there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. There is always a way out. You’ll be in a bit of trouble, but it’ll be okay. I promise you. You won’t have to live with the guilt.”
Alesander seemed to falter at this, but then his face scrunched. “And if I did ...take something shiny. What would I do… about the reason that I took them in the first place?”
Nikandros saw Laurent slowly cracking the boy open. He made it look easy.
“As I said, there is always a light. A way. Help to be brought. You’ll be okay. As will your reason. I will personally see to it.”
And just like that, Alesander was confessing that he had done it with his dog Argos. He gave them a detailed explanation of the execution of his plan, then told them where he hid the jewels. All turned out.
Alesander sat, looking defeated while the legal processes were gone through. Argos had his head rested upon the boy’s leg, as though trying to comfort him. When it was all over, Laurent returned to his side. Nikandros joined them.
“The mayor and I have spoken briefly. We have come to an agreement,” started Laurent, the tiniest bit of a smile on his lips. “We’ve decided to give you a job. A well paying one.”
Alesander glanced up, still sullen with his defeat.
“We’ve decided to make you the official messenger boy of Delpha. Your job will be to deliver documents that need quick delivery from here to the palaces of Ios, Arles, and Marlas.”
The boy looked up in shock. “But I’m not --”
“Yes, you are not yet of age to complete such a job yet. So the Prince of Vere has decided to begin paying you in advance until you are of age. Money to take care of your ‘reasons’. How does that sound to you?”
“I’m not going to jail?”
“No. You have a week of community service. Be sure to show up, or this deal is off. Okay?”
The boy nodded quickly, smiling. But then that same scrunched up look reappeared on his face. “There’s no way you could have talked to the Prince of Vere right now. It would have taken over two days to even get a message to him. You’re playing with me…”
“The Prince of Vere may like a good game, but now is not one of those times,” said Laurent. He lifted up his deerstalker hat to reveal the golden circlet that the Prince of Vere was known to wear. He then winked. “And I always keep my promises. But shh. This is our little secret.”
Alesander’s jaw dropped.
“Now that this is settled, you’ll receive your first payment by tomorrow evening. Be good.”
Laurent stood up then from where he’d been crouching, dusting off and placing the pipe back in his mouth as he began walking off.
“W-wait!” called Alesander, standing up from the crate.
Laurent stopped and twisted around to look at him.
“Thank you!” said Alesander with a smile.
Laurent blew into that ridiculous pipe, bubbles floating out from it, then grinned around it.
Perhaps Laurent wasn’t all that bad, thought Nikandros. He had really pulled this one off and done so quickly. But he hoped that he would not yet need the country’s finest detective for a long, long time.
But now, they had to find Damen. Nikandros wondered where the man had wandered off to now.