A/N: All the characters belong to Cornelia Funke, and not me.
Someone was shaking Prosper. He had a fleeting mental image of his aunt waking him up so he could put on a ridiculous uniform and go to a prissy boys' school a hundred miles away from Bo. The thought make his eyes snap open, and as it turned out, he was not in Aunt Ester's smelly spare bedroom, but in the Star-Palace on a mattress on the floor. The one to shake him had been Mosca.
"Hurry up, Prop." Mosca stood and gave Prosper a gently nudge with his toe. "Scipio wants us all up."
Prosper rubbed his tired eyes and looked around. Everyone else's bed was empty. He got up and followed Mosca out of the little bedroom five of the six children shared. They walked into the next room. Riccio was arguing with Hornet about something or another. Bo was happily playing with the kittens Scipio had given him. And Scipio himself sat with them, looking stern, his black bird mask in his hands. They all looked up when Prosper and Mosca entered.
"Hi, Sleeping Beauty!" Bo greeted his brother with a grin. Prosper gave him a pat on the head that was meant to be both a morning greeting and a bop for his comment. He sat next to Bo and Hornet. Mosca seated himself next to Riccio. They all looked at Scipio for the news he had promised.
Scipio looked from face to face before beginning. "I'm going to need help on this next visit. Anyone care to volunteer?"
Bo's hand shot up. Prosper pulled it back down again, and Bo pouted.
"I will, as usual," Riccio said importantly. Hornet glared at him before dutifully raising her hand.
"So what's the excursion this time, Thief Lord?" asked Mosca excitedly.
Scipio smiled slyly. "It's a big one this time..."
"But nothing you can't handle, right, Scip?" Bo piped up. Prosper shared an exasperated look with Hornet. Bo could be quite a suck-up.
Scipio went on. He announced commandingly "I'm going to raid the Galleria dell' Accademia."
"The Academy of Fine Arts!" gasped Hornet, Mosca, and Riccio in unison. Although they said the same thing at the same time, Prosper could see that it was for very different reasons. Hornet looked shocked and enraged as she said the name of the largest gallery in Venice. Mosca look pleasantly surprised and nervous. Riccio, however, looked ecstatic and excited.
"Scipio, have you lost it?" Hornet screeched. "La Galleria dell' Accademia...did it ever occur to you that it's probably the most heavily guarded building in Venice?"
"Yes, it did. That's why I'll have Riccio and Prop check it out for a few days. See any potential entrances, find out the schedules of the guards, et cetera." Scipio, as usual, had a no-nonsense answer at the ready when someone would protest.
"It's the Academy of Fine Arts, Scipio!" Hornet persisted, thrusting her hands out in front of her in emphasis. "Not even you could get in or out of there. You must be insane."
"Calm down, Hornet..." Riccio said in a bored tone, running a hand through his crazy hair. "It's nothing Scipio can't handle."
"Exactly. Good man, Riccio." Scipio agreed solemnly, getting to his feet.
Hornet stood as well and cast Riccio a venomous glare. "Shut up, hedgehog," she hissed, and turned back to Scipio. "Only an idiot would do that."
"Are you saying that I'm an idiot?" said Scipio. The others recoiled at his tone. It was too calm. His face was stony and serious, almost threatening. Mosca stood and backed against the starred curtain. Prosper heaved Bo to his feet and followed suit. Finally even Riccio joined them, watching silently from a safe distance.
Hornet walked over to him. "Maybe I am." Because of Scipio's high-heeled boots, she did not come quite even with him, but looked up to lock his dark eyes with her lighter ones.
There was a taut moment of silence. "Don't you dare," Scipio whispered, "call me an idiot."
"Too late, Scip. I am." Hornet returned his fire-ice glare with a cool one, emphasizing 'Scip' just so he would get angry at her for calling him that.
Prosper could see the death in Scipio's gaze from there. Back down, Hornet, he thought desperately. Just back down, and this won't turn ugly...
Hornet spoke again. "You are in idiot, to even think about pulling a stunt like that. And to put the others in danger because you feel like a challenge."
"You're not my mother." Scipio replied, the fire-ice traveling from his eyes to his voice as he spoke to her. "And what do you know, anyway? You're just a girl..."
Mosca gulped. Scipio had never before chided Hornet because of her gender. He watched as Hornet's hands clenched into claws at her sides, then unclench.
"Don't you dare mark me different because I'm a girl," she hissed at Scipio. She was finally getting angry; her eyes blazed and her jaw was set.
Headstrong Scipio didn't notice, although his gaze showed equal resentment "Well then don't tell me what to do. I'm going to raid the Galleria. You can't stop me, because you're just a stupid, worthless girl with a mouth too--"
Hornet slapped him.
After the sound of the smack, there was nothing but a muffled gasp from the other boys. Scipio's head snapped to one side. Hornet withdrew her hand and curled it into a fist at her side. Her eyes showed with angry flames, and her breathing was heavy.
Scipio's expression vanished. Wearing a blank face, he put a hand to the red mark that Hornet had made on his cheek as he turned his head back center. Hornet was the only one who noticed his fingers trembling over the stinging hand print. She glanced down at her own hand, which stung as well, and then looked back to Scipio. Her face softened, and where fury had once been, guilt and a deep remorse took over. "Scipio..." she said quietly.
The Thief Lord didn't respond. He turned quickly, pulled his bird mask over his face, and ran out of the Star-Palace.
"Scipio!" Hornet called after him. But he was gone. The others could hardly hear his footfalls anymore. Hornet looked after him, her heart heavy. Mosca, Riccio, and Prosper looked at each other, all three shocked and worried. They snapped out of their daze when Bo started to sob a moment later. The four boys walked back to the room, leaving Hornet alone. She continued to stare after Scipio.
Outside, the sun was just beginning to show itself over the tops of the buildings. Scipio ran like something was after him, just for the sake of getting away. Under the holes in his mask, his eyes shone in the silver-yellow light with hot tears.
