Coming up with a plan to do reconnaissance of the embassy is easy. Actually executing it, however…
“I don’t do uniforms,” Jay gripes, arms crossed, head pointedly turned away from the plastic garment bag laid out on the bed. Inside is an authentic Agrabah embassy guard uniform.
“You do today,” Mal shoots back in a matching stance. Despite the height and muscle mass difference, the two of them are equally unyielding.
“At least it doesn’t have sleeves,” Evie offers, trailing her fingers down the fabric. It’s so strange to see cloth so new–as opposed to scrounging together pieces from the trash. And the uniform is clean, too, they stole it directly from laundromat.
“Why can’t you or Evie go?” Jay argues, but it’s a weak attempt, and Mal goes for the opening.
“That’s not going to fit either of us,” she scoffs–because it’s true. While there are female guards in the embassy, the uniform they stole is distinctly for someone much taller and broader than either of the girls. “And anyway,” she says with a smirk, “out of the three of us, you’re the self-proclaimed master thief.”
Jay groans.
Evie holds up a hair tie and the cloth for the uniform’s turban, “Need help with your hair?”
—
The Agrabah embassy is, in a word, palatial. Considering Auradon is a conglomerate of multiple kingdoms–many of the castles still meticulously maintained–it’s not surprising that the Agrabah architects would want to build something equally impressive and grand.
Beautiful, yes. Easy to navigate? Hell no.
So far, Jay hasn’t had his cover blown, mostly because he really does fill out the uniform nicely and so long as he marches around stoically, no one will stop him. It also means he can’t say anything to anyone, but he is learning an awful lot anyway. Such as:
The ambassador’s birthday is next week, there will be a party at the embassy to celebrate.
The sultana herself is coming. Unsurprising since, after all, the ambassador is the sultana’s husband.
The groundskeeper is in despair because last year there had been elephants involved.
There’s rumors that some sort of important announcement regarding Prince Amir will also be made at the party. Maybe an engagement? Maybe succession to the throne?
Jay rolls his eyes, because now the chatter is just getting further from useful, and he’s yet to hear anything about the lamp. He continues on.
There are a few doors that are already manned by guards, so Jay figures it’s in one of those rooms. One, he knows, is the ambassador’s office, so Jay doesn’t bother with that, but the other three could be some kind of treasury, maybe.
Well, there’s one way to find out.
“Our shift isn’t over yet,” one of the actual guards grunts, when Jay makes a move for the door.
Rather than get apologetic, Jay shrugs and says, “Yeah, okay. But are you sure you’re even guarding the right place?”
The other guard stares blankly at him, while the first makes a grab for the door. Because, first of all, making people confused and doubt themselves is just as hilarious as Mal always said it was. And, second of all, getting someone else to open a lock for you is half the fun of stealing.
But, apparently, third of all, Jay was right.
“He’s not here!” The first guard says, and the second startles in alarm.
“What do you mean? We’ve been standing here the entire time!”
The shout draws attention from other staff and personnel, more guards included, so Jay takes this as his cue to back away slowly. They were guarding a “he” anyway, so it’s not what Jay’s looking for.
As Jay walks away, he hears a shout–
“Prince Amir is missing!”
~
A/N: Uhh… yeah. So… this is not at all what I planned. Like… not at all. Which probably explains why it took me so long? I seriously have no idea what is happening in this story anymore.
JackSGreyson Says 