This story is inspired by a short mention in 'The Novice' of Lorlen's pre-Guild life. And by the fact that I just can't accept how Lorlen was treated by his "friend", Akkarin. All time I got the impression that their relation was superficial, and not a real friendship. So, I decided to equip Lorlen with some other friends. Let's see what happens then...

The story will be divided into a few parts, the first - Prologue - is set in the pre-Guild times. There is very little in the books about Lorlen's family, we don't even know which House he belongs to. The only sure thing is he knows (and is related to) Captain Baran's family and that he doesn't visit his relatives like the other magicians do. So this part fills in on this missing info... Enjoy.

PS. Unfortunately, English is not my first language, so there's probably some grammar and style errors. If you notice anything really bad (or if you'd like to beta-read), please let me know ;) Reviews are highly welcome!

He woke up with a strange premonition that something important was going to happen that day. He wasn't sure if it was to be good or bad but it anyway made him feel inexplicably excited. Or maybe it was just some vague and intangible dream memory? He concentrated for a while trying to remember what he was dreaming about that night, but he couldn't recall anything. He winced and gave up - whatever was bound to happen would happen anyway - he thought as philosophically as his 13-year old life experience allowed. He stretched like a cat, yawning and wondering if he should get up already or maybe it was worth lying in bed for some time still. It was Freeday and it gave a whole new quality to the usual morning activities. Somehow they seemed to be stretching in time in a nice, lazy manner. Then, suddenly, the memories of last evening struck him. Aunt Laria! She arrived yesterday and was to stay for a whole week.

'Damn!' he thought. This was going to be disastrous. A whole week of being a 'nice boy' as his mother has put it. No way, he had to find some clever excuse to spend as little time home as possible. Aunt Laria couldn't possibly be this important thing that was to happen to him, right?

A shout has cut into his rather bitter thoughts.

'Elia! You should be up already! Breakfast is on the table!' His oldest brother, Perryl, was trying to be important again - by putting his siblings to order. A perfect occasion for that with the auntie around. A fact not to be forgotten, he marked. For him it could mean a chance to get some revenge for the latest inventions of his beloved brother. Like morning exercises for example. Recently, Perryl has taken to thinking that he was responsible for the proper development of his younger bros and sis. Crazy idea. Some clever prank that could embarrass him in front of aunt Laria would be a nice pay off. It might bring him back to earth from the pedestal of his newly acquired importance. Since his 19th birthday - that passed a month ago - Perryl has been officially let into the business matters of the family, each day accompanying their father in his activities. And has turned from annoying to unbearable.

'It's only 9...' he heard the sleepy voice of Elia, his younger sister. 'It's not fair; we shouldn't be getting up this early on Freedays...' She was perfectly right, he sighed. Stretching again, he started to get up as he heard his brother's footsteps getting closer to his own bedroom.

'I'm coming!' he shouted in anticipation of being dragged out of bed. With him Perryl wouldn't be as delicate as with Elia.

'You'd better be quick' came the reply. 'Mother and aunt Laria are already in the dining room. You might try and make a good impression for a change'.

He couldn't help cringing at the sarcasm in Perryl's voice. Yesterday, he's already ruined his mother's vision of showing off her children as extremely polite and well-behaved. He came home late from a visit to his best friend Walin ('Mum, we really need to learn a lot before the summer term exams!') that in fact has turned into a pleasant act of loitering around the most obscure parts of the Inner City. Of course, he blissfully forgot that Laria was arriving that day. It was already dark when he tried to sneak in through the kitchen door, hoping that the only person he'd meet on the way to his bedroom would be the kitchen maid, Marika. He couldn't be more wrong. He hasn't noticed Marika's favourite - the kitchen cat, Balto. The bastard slipped into the kitchen with him - straight into aunt Laria's canary that had been let loose for his evening 'wings stretching' - as auntie called it. Balto was probably waiting all evening long by the kitchen door; listening to the tasty wing flapping and waiting for a chance to get his yellow dessert. Well, he's got his chance. The sight of a cat and a canary together in a closed space that happened to be filled with all kinds of pots, pans, cutlery, jars, cups and so forth was really entertaining. But it probably wasn't worth the hell that ensued. Although it was funny in a way too, he had to admit. Aunt Laria shouting in a squeaky voice, jumping around the furniture trying to catch the horrified canary; Marika running with a pan, aiming to tame Balto's appetite; and his mother and brothers trying to save some of the more fragile kitchenware. Unfortunately, all this entertainment ended for him in a severe scolding and a ban on evening visits to Walin. Today he would have to face the aftermath of yesterdays cat-canary battle. And right from the early morning, he remarked sourly while brushing his teeth.

--

The breakfast has passed unexpectedly calm. He simply tried to be invisible. His mother and aunt had so much to talk about after a long period of not seeing each other that it proved to be a rather easy task. Afterwards, when the women moved into the terrace for a cup of sumi, he excused himself as politely as he could and backed out. He reached the stairs intending to close himself in his room and inspect his findings from yesterday's trip. With all the evening mess he didn't have any chance to take a closer look at the knife they found with Walin in one of the dead-end streets close to the Western Gate. Walin refused to take and hide it because he feared it would be too easily found by his parent's rather nosy servant. Of course, his own parents did not allow him to keep or wear any weapons either, but he hoped that in his messy room it would be easier to hide. And if found, he could always pretend that such an old and rusty knife is absolutely harmless, even in the hands of a 13-year old. In fact, he planned to clean and polish it nicely so that he could wear it just like Finnel, his father's brother, currently a major in the City Guard.

He jumped a few stairs up considering where he should hide with his treasure to start this tedious but promising job when he heard the back door being open. He cast a quick look back and his heart jumped with hope and excitement. He saw Makan, the butler, talking to a person he recognized as the errand-boy of Walin's family. He stepped back down slowly, trying to overhear what they were talking about but as he reached the floor, Makan turned away from the door and headed for the terrace.

He hesitated for a moment but just as he was inventing a clever excuse to interrupt the ladies, Makan came back along with his mother.

'Lorlen, Velia is planning to go with family to the Guard parade and the accompanying fair this morning. She has invited you to accompany her and Walin' she said. 'Although I don't think you deserve to go, I don't want to spend the whole day watching over you. You may go with them if you wish, but I don't want to hear a single word of complaint from Velia afterwards. Be careful to keep close to her at all times.'

He put on an innocent look as she regarded him sternly. Not that he thought she would be taken in by it, but he was afraid she would change her mind at the last moment. 'Makan will accompany you to Velia's. Be sure to be back before dinner.'

'Of course, mum' he replied politely, his eyes glowing. When she turned away, he rushed up to his bedroom to gather a few things and get ready. The Guard parade! How could he forget about it?! All this chaos with Laria has put him off guard. He owned Walin a huge favour for this. He knew well it wasn't Velia's idea to invite him. He also knew well that Walin had probably intended for them to get out of her custody. It shouldn't pose a big problem with her general, good-natured absentmindness - as it never did previously. This still could prove to be a very exciting Freeday.

He looked around his room wondering what to take with him. He quickly rammed a piece of string, a few coins and a handmade sling-shot into his pockets. He hesitated for a short while when his gaze fell on a tightly wrapped bundle lying in the corner, near his bed. He considered if it was wise to take the knife with him. Then he picked it up and attached it with another piece of string to the inner pocket of his jacket. Better not leave it here where it could be easily found out in his absence. He hastily scanned the room again and rushed out, still in fear that if he didn't make it quickly out of the house his mother would change her mind. Turning towards the stairs he almost crashed with a mass of pastel blue dress, dark blond hair and pink ribbons heading in the same direction.

'I'm coming with you!' it shouted triumphantly. 'Mum has allowed me to go and see the Guard parade too!' Elia was almost dancing around and glancing at him with satisfaction.

'No way...' he gritted his teeth. 'Small girls are not interested in Guard things' he added hopefully.

'Well, I'm not a small girl anymore and I AM interested' she replied. 'And if we don't hurry up we might be late!' she finished and ran for the stairs, jumping over a few with each step. He couldn't do anything else but follow. He didn't blame her for wanting to disappear from the house just as he did. Pretending to be a sweet, little kid all day long in front of aunt Laria was probably too much even for Elia. She couldn't count on their older brothers either when it come to providing entertainment - they treated her even more paternally than him. This way she often became his partner in crime. Most of the times, she proved to be a good partner, in fact. Besides, it wasn't her fault she was a girl, right?

--

The fair was even more exciting than he had expected. He couldn't decide if he liked better the sword fight show or the bow shooting contest. The brightest moment came when he won the first prize in the boys contest for best shooter. All weapons were allowed and his days of sling-shot training finally paid off. The only downside in the whole event was Elia running around him like a mad fly and spoiling the killer impression he tried to put on. Especially when they met Fargan and his friends...

'Wow, so little Lorlen has been promoted to a nanny?' Fargan said to his pack, eyes full of contempt and lips twisted into a scornful smile.

'Next thing we'll hear he's become a housewife' the last word spoken in a mockingly high voice spurred a loud giggle from his companions. Lorlen couldn't think of any clever retort so he just turned on his heel, pretending not to hear anything and walked away. He only stretched his hand back to pull Elia along, who was happily sticking out her tongue at Fargan. They anyway had to get even with Fargan and his followers, so he decided to let this insult wait for a more suitable moment. He didn't want to let such a small incident spoil his day.

Just as he expected, it wasn't also difficult to quietly part with Velia's supervision. She was meeting so many friends, far relatives and acquaintances on her way that she simply couldn't control what they were doing each moment. So, they generally strolled in their own company, visiting whatever stall or display they found interesting. They paid attention to appear within Velia's sight from time to time, but otherwise they were free. It took them well over three hours of wandering and manoeuvring in a crowd of families, servants and sellers to finally reach a decision that there was nothing else interesting enough to see.

They sat on a small parapet in vicinity of a restaurant where Velia was having a chat over a cup of sumi with one of her closer friends. The day was getting hotter and they were enjoying the nice, cool shadow of a great pachi tree that spread its huge branches just over them. They finally could rest their legs and let all the wonderful things they saw sink in. It was one of those great, lazy moments when all senses are so satiated with experiences that there is no need of describing them with words. They sat in silence for quite a while. Finally Walin broke the spell. He stretched, half standing up and asked: 'So... What do we do next?'

'We need to be home by dinner...' Lorlen replied hesitantly. He wasn't sure if he wanted to move from where he was sited. He lazily straightened his legs, inspecting with no real interest a small hole in his trousers on the right knee.

'How about taking another look at that alley we've found yesterday?' Walin's voice sounded more persistent. Lorlen gazed him inquisitively.

'It was already getting dark when we've reached it so I think there might still be some interesting things we've missed.' Walin continued a bit too persistent to sound sincere.

'There you go...' thought Lorlen. He was sure Walin regretted that he had to leave the knife they had found in Lorlen's hands. Walin was a whole year older and everybody unanimously agreed without any need for discussion that he was the leader in their group. It must have hurt his pride that Lorlen has got the main trophy this time. He probably hoped that now they would find something less conspicuous that he could keep but nevertheless valuable, so that he would redeem his position. Lorlen had no intention of undermining Walin's leadership - he honestly accepted it. He would have given his friend the knife if only he knew Walin could keep it. It struck him that Walin had probably planned to re-visit the alley from the very beginning and that was why he has made his mother invite Lorlen to the Guard parade. But if it could help Walin feel better, let it be...

'Well, we might actually go and take a look again...' he said soothingly, trying to hide his lack of will to move anywhere. 'It's not far from here'.

'Great!' Walin almost jumped up, radiating excitement. 'Let's go'.

Lorlen stood up slowly, casting a quick look at the restaurant. 'You're sure your mother won't notice us missing?'

'Definitely not. Just look at her.' Walin rolled his eyes .'She wouldn't notice if the place went on fire'.

'Ok then.' Lorlen was ready to follow his friend who set out to the western entrance of the square.

'Wait,' he stopped. 'We can't take her with us' he answered the questioning look when Walin turned around. He looked at Elia who was following him as if it was self-explanatory.

'You have to stay here and wait' he ordered, putting as much authority into his voice as he could.

Elia's face turned red with anger, lips pressed tight, and eyes throwing thunders.

'No way' she said slowly, stressing every letter. For a tender 10-year old she definitely could make an impression.

'She's just like mother' Lorlen sighed in his mind. He exchanged meaningful looks with Walin.

'Elia,' Walin tried to be patient, 'it's too dangerous for you to join us'.

Lorlen couldn't help noting for himself that in fact it was probably too dangerous for them too. Knives didn't lay in streets because they needed a safe place to rest... It was Inner City not slums, for one.

'It also is dangerous for me to stay here alone' Elia replied, a mischievous smile curling her tiny lips. 'I could be kidnapped with no one to look after me' she continued calmly, scanning them with an innocent look and moving her gaze from one face to the other and back.

Lorlen could virtually hear Walin gritting his teeth. He cast him a quick look and noticed an unspoken reproach in his friend's eyes. 'Couldn't you, for heaven's sake, leave her at home?' it said.

'Elia...' Lorlen started, this time pleadingly.

'Of course,' she cut in, not thrown out of her balance for a moment, 'I could seek custody from Walin's mother.' She paused noticing with a smile the horrified looks in their faces, 'and if she asked me where you went, I couldn't lie. It's against my nature to lie, you know...' she finished innocently, flapping her eyelashes. Lorlen looked at Walin again and their gazes locked for a longer moment while they communicated without words, weighting their chances.

'Ok,' Walin said finally, taking the initiative and turning towards Elia. 'You may come with us. But you must follow my orders at all times.' His face became really scary when he regarded Elia.

'If you fail to do so, even a single time, I will lock you and leave in the old, burned house we've found, where the Thieves meet each night'. Lorlen noticed the satisfaction in his look when Elia's eyes filled with fear. Or maybe she only pretended to be scared? He hesitated. Was she playing them like a game of checkers? He couldn't tell for sure. His sister was far too clever, he noted when they finally set out for the western part of the Inner City.