Please be patient with my updates. My writer's block only goes away for a few hours. I'll update as quickly as I can. Promise.
Ch. 2
The moon was bright and the stars twinkled delicately over Neopia, and to the half pint of a blue ixi that was roaming the lamp-lit cobblestone streets of Brightvale, it seemed almost like a good omen.
At dusk, all of the shop keepers had closed shop and gone home, and it was well into the night now. There would be no one wandering down the roads to catch him in any act that they couldn't prove he did.
His belly grumbled angrily in the solitary night. He poked it, sighing a bit. Hanso had woken up too late this afternoon and had missed the chaotic commotion of the market that covered up his petty thefts, and had not been able to snatch a single morsel as a result. He'd have to sneak into someone's house and raid their kitchen if he wanted to last another night.
"Alright Mister Belly. Food's coming."
"Talk about a faerie tale," the ixi boy whispered, his breath forming little clouds of puff in front of him.
He was amid some branches, hanging precariously from a steady hold in a neatly trimmed tree in someone's garden. From his perch, Hanso could see acre upon acre of precisely clipped hedges and bushes, all of the buds of flowers that had closed for the night, already coated with dew and shining like small pearls of light in the moon beams, and hundreds of different statues and fountains, all covered in ivy to some extent.
But it wasn't the garden's magnificence that caused such awe to rise in the little thief-in-training. It was the enormous red brick house that was crawling with ivy strands and closed white buds that stood in the middle of it. Hanso almost expected a white carriage to be parked out in front and for a princess in a long, white dress to step out, just like in the faerie tales his mom and dad used to read him before they got separated.
Hanso was almost afraid to go near it and break the illusion, but his gnawing stomach and the clear view of a curtain flying in the breeze from an open window promised too much to be ignored.
It wasn't at all a hard climb. There was a ladder behind the house that the gardeners must have used to keep the ivy on the brick in check. And though it was far too big and heavy for the boy to handle alone, he managed to prop it up against a tree close enough to the open window where all he had to do once he reached the branches was to climb up and jump onto the sill.
The room beyond the sill was quiet and dark. There was a vanity just off to his left and some chests and wardrobes ahead of him. And against the far left wall, was a bed big enough to accommodate five adults. This was no kitchen…
It was someone's bedroom.
And from the soft breathing his ixi ears picked up, Hanso could tell that he was not alone.
Quietly, as a thief should always be, he landed on the plush rug that lay across the stretch of the room closest to the wall, thankful that the thick material had absorbed the shock of his feet landing on the wood paneling.
Hanso watched the bed with wary eyes. He figured that a bed that huge would hold a monstrous Neopet with a thunderous voice that would shake the very foundations of the house, and had huge hands with fingers adorned in gold rings that could grab anything, no matter how fast it ran, and had an appetite for little blue ixi thieves.
So he counted the breaths and would only dare inhale himself between the short exhales of the pet under the covers, slowly tip toeing his way to the ceiling-high doors across the room.
The sheets moved and a sigh broke the stillness of the silence, scaring the nerve-fringed Hanso enough to make him jump back in surprise. The chest rattled as the small blue boy collided with it.
The thief looked up in worry, watching the crystal jars clink against each other. A bottle that had been placed too close to the edge tottered back and forth, finally tipping into the open air. It felt like life had been put into slow motion as Hanso dove to the floor, fingers snaring the bottle mere centimeters away from the hard floor.
He gave a surprised smile of triumph, holding in the laugh of pure amazement—this meant that his reflexes were getting quicker and boy did that ever make him proud. On his tip toes, he slid the jar back onto the chest and resumed his long journey to the door.
Under his foot, a floor board creaked.
"Hmm?" The half-asleep moan emanated from the covers. Hanso quickly dove under the foot of the bed, biting his tongue to keep from whimpering. "Who's there?"
The ixi was taken aback. This was not the monstrous, booming voice he had imagined; it wasn't filled with immediate anger and rage, didn't shake the house and him to their very core. This voice was sweet and small and frail, like a little girl.
The sound of a match being struck was accompanied by the flickering light of a flame. The dim light illuminated the outlines of dolls sitting patiently on the chairs, of bows and hair brushes scattered on the vanity.
A small thud landed on the floor; tiny feet padded down to the foot of the bed.
A little orange kougra held the candle high, cocking her head to the side at the sight of a dirty little boy at the foot of her bed.
"Who are you?" she asked in a small voice. Her tail twitched in the air nervously.
"If I tell you, will you call the adults?" he hedged.
"I don't see any reason to call anybody." She kneeled down to his level, careful of that her oversized nightgown wouldn't trip her as she moved. "Who are you?" she repeated.
"I-I-I'm Hanso," he finally admitted.
"Well, my name's Brynneth. But you can just call me Brynn." She set the candle down and held her hand out with a smile on her face and in her light blue eyes.
Hanso shook her hand, unsure why she would greet a thief as a friend.
"You're hair looks all funny." He wasn't sure why he'd said it, but staring at the frizzy red hair poking in every which direction made him want to laugh.
"Oh it does that whenever I lie down to sleep. What, do you wake up every day looking the same as when you went to bed?" She giggled.
"Um, pretty much," Hanso ran his fingers through his hair self-consciously.
She seemed to be upset about this fact. She crossed her arms in front of her, her face forming something that was supposed to be a scowl, but looked more like a cute little girl pouting. "Well then," she huffed and turned away. Her eyes landed on the open window and widened. "Is that how you got in?"
"Through the window? Yeah. I climbed the trees." He puffed his chest in pride. Her room had to be at least on the fourth floor.
"Cool! Weren't you afraid of falling and breaking a leg or something? My room is so high up." Her momentary anger washed away as she leaned forward like she was looking at some sort of super hero.
"Please, give me some credit Brynneth. I'm an expert at tree climbing."
And now the young kougra was filled with annoyance. Brynneth was the name her father and only her father could call her. Not even the maids tried to play that card. So who was this arrogant little boy that so blatantly went against her wishes?
"Brynn," she repeated bitterly under her breath. "Why are you even here Hanso?"
"Oh, I was hungry and I needed some food. I tried a hundred different houses before I this one, but all of the windows and doors were shut."
"Don't your parents feed you?"
"No. I don't have any parents to look after me. We were separated in this huge fair a while ago. So I'm waiting for them to find me." His hands moved while he talked, trying to motion some sort of sad picture for her; now Brynn was almost regretful that she had asked.
"Well if you're hungry, I can get some food for you." She stood up carefully in her nightgown, taking her candle with her. Back by her bedside, Hanso could see the little girl named Brynn tug on a rope that hung from the ceiling.
"What's that do?" He couldn't see where the rope let up.
"It rings a bell in the servants' quarters. All I have to do is pull this cord whenever I need something." She twitched her ears to listen down the hallway. "Quick! Get under the bed! Someone's coming!"
A thief didn't have to be told twice. There was plenty of room under the bed for an ixi to squeeze and wiggle his way through. Above him, the bed squeaked from Brynn's weight.
"Miss Brynn! What are you doing up so late at night? Are you alright?" came a voice from the door seconds after Hanso had vanished.
"Oh, I'm ok. I just woke up and now I can't go back to sleep. Can you bring me a snack and something to drink? I think it might help."
"Right away Miss." The old door gave a tired squeak and a soft click.
"Miss?" Hanso asked as he crawled out from under the bed. "You're, what, six years old and you have adults calling you Miss?"
"I'm seven, thank you. And they call me Miss because my papa is the lord of the house and he ordered them to."
"Lord of the house? That's quite a title there. Which kinda explains this huge house, the gardens, and the maids. What job does your papa have?"
"You know, I've never really asked. I never see him anymore. But every time I ask one of the maids, he's either out of the house on business or has some bloke from whatever part of Neopia coming over to talk." She held a doll that had been lying at the foot of her bed close while she talked, stroking her yarn hair, only daring to look at the coal black button eyes and never elsewhere. "But he's very rich and I get everything I ever ask for."
"What about your mom? What does she do?" He wanted to climb onto the bed and snatch the doll from her so she would look at him and not the piece of cloth in her hands, but with the looming threat of a maid appearing out of thin air, he decided it was best to stay out of the view of the door for now.
"My momma is gone. I don't know where she went. All I know is that she used to be very sick and none of the doctors could figure out what it was. And then one day, she never came to dinner. I asked Papa where she went and he said that she went far, far away." She twirled the doll in her hands.
"After Momma left, Papa started to leave the house more often on business trips, and when he's home, he's always in his study writing some papers or with visitors from other lands. And sometimes, when he's away, I imagine he went to Mystery Island to go be with Momma and the native people that cured her disease. And I imagine him telling her everything that's happened since he last saw her, and her asking about me. But it's just a silly dream 'cause I don't think Papa knows where Momma is either." She fiddled with the little doll's arms.
"And I think that Papa spends so much time with work so he won't have to think about Momma anymore or try to find her. So he doesn't come to see me much anymore because he's busy with money issues and stuff."
"But you see him around the house, don't you? It's a big house, but it's a small world too." Hanso wasn't exactly sure what the phrase "it's a small world" meant, but the adults liked to use it and they always smiled and laughed and the little girl on the bed looked upset; he didn't want to see her cry because of him.
"Oh, I'm not allowed to wander around the house. They tell me to stay in here because the visitors don't like little children much and Papa might lose business because of me. And there are so many maids running through the halls that I might get in the way."
"So do you get to play outside in the gardens?"
"No. Every time I ask, it's either too muddy, or it's raining, or cold, or there's a thief at large, or something like that."
The ixi chuckled nervously when she mentioned the last excuse, but when she didn't notice, he found another question for her.
"So, you never leave your room?"
She just shook her head.
Hanso was astounded. This girl was rich beyond his wildest dreams, could have anything she ever wanted, but she wasn't allowed to go outside? Wasn't even allowed out of her room? What kind of house was this? Were all the rich pets like her papa?
"Hanso, was it raining today?"
"No…" It was actually really sunny today, not a single cloud in the sky. The rainy season in Brightvale had passed months ago.
Brynn's ears perked up, twitching as she listened for something. "Quick! Hide under the bed again! She's coming back!"
The ixi dove under the wooden frame as the door squeaked open. The soft padding of feet approached them, and a shadow danced across the sheets that obscured the tiny thief from sight. Dishes clinked together as the maid gently laid them on the bed for the little girl.
"Do you need anything else Miss Brynn? Are you sure you're ok?"
"I'm ok, I promise. And thank you."
The maid bowed and walked out of the door, back down the hallway.
"The coast is clear," her voice beckoned.
Hanso crawled out of his hiding spot, a little wary of what awaited on the bed. But all he could do was stare.
In the dim light of the candle, silver gleamed. The ixi climbed onto the bed, studying the way the shiny metal shimmered in the low light. A silver lined tray held a small goblet with curling metal designs and a porcelain plate decorated with rose petals.
"This is a snack?" he asked, unable to believe what was sitting right in front of him.
"Mhmm." The kougra was having more fun watching the ixi's expression change than she ever had with the maids.
He picked up a small baked square covered in white powder. "What's this?"
"That's a blueberry crumpet. They're really good." She pointed to the swirled bread on the far side of the plate. "And that's brioche."
Astounded by the foods he had never heard of before, Hanso dug in greedily, marveling at the sweet flavors that made his taste buds jump and celebrate. And Brynn just sat against her pillows, taking small, ladylike sips from the goblet, smiling. When he finished vacuuming the treats on the plate, she offered him the goblet. She had never seen anyone drink so much so quickly.
"That was amazing." Hanso looked at the empty plate in dismay; he wasn't sure that he could live with stealing food from the vendors that was bland in comparison to the paradise that had just slipped down his throat.
"Yeah," the little girl yawned, her eyes drooping. "The cooks here are really good." Her head nodded as she fought to keep her eyes open. The warm milk the maid had brought her hung a hazy cloud of sleep over her.
"Maybe I should leave. You look tired." Hanso slipped off the side of the bed very quietly, walking back to the window which led him there in the first place.
"Wait!" Brynn's drowsy yell was barely a whisper. The thief froze at the sill. "Will you come back?" To him, it sounded more like, "Won't you come back?"
He smirked at the girl with half-closed eyes sitting in the candle light. "As long as you keep feeding me," he promised.
