A/N: Haha! Been saving this one up! Been holding out on you guys. 'Course I still gotta fix the page of the next chapter . . . yeah, I'm not letting Arthemia read it . . . it doesn't sound like her . . . shame on my part. But I felt like finishing this chapter a while ago so I did – the product of about three days! Enjoy!
Pearla: A Thief's Entrance
I didn't trust them. It was as simple as that. I didn't trust them. I thought they were lying, using a big story to make it believable. They didn't know how to lie though. I did. I was going to use that to my advantage. I would trick them. I'd make them think I accepted it. But I didn't. I didn't trust them at all.
I trusted the girl with the bell-like voice even less.
She made me think of the stories I had heard as a child. The ones of spirits who lured people to their deaths. She had the voice for it. If she wished. Providing you ignored the obvious streak of malice in it. She could easily be like one of the monsters who hide behind deceit, with a taste for blood. Out of all of them, I trusted her the most and the least. She was the most dangerous.
I also didn't trust the blonde girl or that boy. Man. Whatever. I still thought the guy was with the police.
In short, I didn't trust any of them. They were lying, deceitful, evil demons. And I wasn't planning on staying long.
I had a plan. More or less. I had to get out of there. I wanted to be free again. I had been free. I wasn't now. So I wanted it back. Badly. There was nothing to stop me.
My first step was to gather information. I needed to figure out how this place operated. How they worked and thought. How they had found me in the first place. To find out that, I was going to pretend I had calmed down. I would integrate myself into this place. Then I'd leave.
That was the last step of my plan. So it wasn't a very good plan. But I had just gotten there. I was still working on it. There was room for changes. Or compromises. Or entirely new things. I had no idea how it was going to go. I was basically winging it. I tended to do that a lot.
The first night had been odd. There had been so many people – under normal circumstances, so many pockets right for the picking. I had refrained. The ritual had been strange. I didn't get it. The boar head was a trick. But I had found it obvious. Something hadn't been right about it. It was hard to trick a trickster. I had kind of enjoyed the dumping though. When I was younger I had enjoyed swimming.
I spent my night in a beat up cabin. It was about as nice as some alleys. Only more crowded. About as smelly. Most of the people were cool. I could tell by the way they looked and acted. They were mostly thieves or pranksters. I could relate. That would make it easier to integrate myself.
I woke up in the morning as others were just stirring. I stretched. Observing I sat up from my spot on the floor. Near as I could tell, all asleep. I stood up and surveyed. Nothing worthwhile. Anything good was locked up. Or hidden securely. Oh well.
I stepped around the floor maze carefully. I reached the door and slid out. Early morning grey clouds covered the sky in the distance. None were above this place. The air smelt of warm earth and salty sea. My stomach growled. I clamoured shakily onto the roof of the building I had been in. Glancing around I got my bearings.
I jumped to the ground and struck off. I went to where I had eaten the night before. I hated to admit it, but the food was good. And plentiful. I was alone. No one else was up. I crossed the grass and passed various buildings.
I came up to the open air pavilion. I stopped and glanced around. It was possible to see almost all of this place. The tour from yesterday allowed me to recognize places. I entered the pavilion and paused. Below me was a crack in the floor like a scar. I bent over and felt it. Just a giant crack. Wonder how it got there.
Straightening up I saw the buffet table. It was still pretty bare. I figured they weren't ready yet. All that was there was a basket of fruits and a basket of various breads. I smiled mischievously and looked around. No one in sight. A foolish move, bring food out in bits and pieces. I started forward and took the direct path, walking over tables and benches.
At the table I looked over what I wanted. Easy choice. I tossed a couple of fruits into the air, grabbed a thick roll, and caught the fruits easily with my free hand. Walking away I bit into an apple. This stuff was a lot better than fresh foods from the dumpsters.
Quickly polishing off the apple I tossed the core away and started on the next piece. I headed back towards the cabins where everyone was placed. I thought if I was there as people were getting up, I'd hear something useful. I tromped back up the valley. People had started to get out while I had been grabbing food.
I wandered back to the area around the beat up cabin. It seemed like the best place to pick up info. I finished off my breakfast as the two boys who acted like leaders ran up from somewhere unseen. The barreled straight towards me, unfocused and laughing at each other. I jumped out of the way and spat a curse at them. They stopped and looked at me.
"Hey, you're that new girl," said the shorter one. They definitely looked like twins.
I nodded and folded my arms. "Yeah, right, so wot?" I said.
"So," the taller one said, "you saw through the trick boar like it was nothing! Your entrance impressed people as much as Arthemia's."
I raised an eyebrow. "Art'emia's?" Here was information about the girl who was a danger.
"Yeah, she stood up to our welcome prank – totally humiliated Travis."
"Oh," I said. "Yu two play pranks a bit?"
"Totally," said Travis. The brothers looked at each other. They leaned in and lowered their voices. "You know, when we're not stealing stuff." I raised my eyebrows. They were thieves? I'd show them.
"Yor fieves?" I asked. I made my voice sound innocent. They grinned. They were close to me. I shifted my weight. I flicked my hand in a casual motion. My hand returned to my pocket. No reaction.
"Sure are."
"We're the best there is. Right Conner?"
"No one's better than us."
I lifted my head. "Really . . . sure 'bout that? I don't fink so." I smirked. They frowned at me.
"Oh yeah? And why not?" Travis demanded.
I smiled. "'Cause." I pulled the wallet from my pocket and held it casually. "Yu sure didn't notice when I nabbed this." Their jaws dropped. I tossed the wallet in my hands. "Better luck next time, fellas." I tossed the wallet at Conner. I turned around and stepped away.
A pause.
"Hold on!"
The brothers stepped in front of me. They were shocked. And impressed. I stopped. They stared. I stared back. "Wot?"
"How . . . how did you do that?" Conner demanded.
I pretended I didn't care. "Wot? This?" I shifted my weight again. My hand shot out. I grabbed the wallet again. I held it up. They looked more shocked.
"Where did you learn to do that?" Travis asked. I shrugged, tossing the wallet back.
"'Ere and t'ere," I said. I wouldn't blab I was a street thief. They suddenly grinned.
"You could be our sister!" Conner exclaimed. I looked at them. Travis nodded. "With natural skills like that – you almost even have the trademark features!"
"Is your dad a god?"
I blinked. "Wot?" An image flashed through my brain.
"Did you mom raise you? Is your dad a god?"
I shook my head. "No." I scowled at them. "I 'ad me da." Their faces fell.
"Oh," Travis said. "Guess not then . . . say Conner, there aren't any goddesses of stealing, are there?"
Conner tapped his chin thoughtfully. "No, no I don't think so." He looked down at me. "Well – Pearla, was it? – I guess you're not our sister, but you're still pretty cool." He smiled mischievously, "Someone like you be'd a big help, what d'ya say to teaming up every once in a while?"
I raised my eyebrows. Hello opportunity. I paused as if considering. "Awright," I said. "It's a deal." They both gave me that mischievous smile. I returned it with one of my own. "Well, see ya 'round." I flicked my hand in a wave. I spun on my heel and strode away. They didn't follow me. I knew they were watching, though. I smiled to myself. I think I handled that rather well.
I missed the big breakfast that morning. Instead I watched from a distance. Hiding in the shadows of buildings. The way I knew how. I noticed the girl, Arthemia, also wasn't there. Apparently no one thought it odd. No one thought my absence was odd either. So I watched and I listened. I didn't learn anything.
I spent a good part of the morning wandering around. No one really thought anything of it. I was new. I was curious. I also said I was lost. A lie that so many bought. I listened to conversations. I watched actions and classes and lessons. I checked all around for spot of weakness. I didn't worry about missing things. I could handle myself. I always could.
Around mid-morning, I found myself leaning against a tree. I was by the archery range. Some cabin was shooting. A lot kept missing. They seemed bad. I didn't have anything to compare them to, though. I observed for several minutes.
"Pretty pitiful, isn't it?" a voice said suddenly. A voice I recognized. I jumped. I spun around and looked up. Sitting above me casually, was Arthemia. She was looking out at the archers. At my curse she looked down.
She raised an eyebrow. "Wow, got a mouth on you," she commented.
"Wotcher doin'?" I demanded. She shrugged. A moment later she looked back at the archers.
"I watch them, sometimes," she said. "I'm curious. I never realized how good I was until I came here." She looked down on me. "You might find the same – unless your head's too thick." I scowled. She rolled her eyes at me. Standing up on a branch she said, "You might be able to sneak around in a city, but you're not in that awful place anymore. Keep a sharper eye out, city girl."
I stared at her, offended. She smirked. In a flash she pulled herself up out of sight. I frowned; circling around the tree. I couldn't see her. She had vanished. I crossed my arms. I mumbled a couple curses under my breath. Who was she? Who was she, to say the city was awful? It wasn't! And how dare she call me city girl! I was happy anywhere. City girl made me sound stuck up and pampered. I wasn't! Bloody hellfire girl.
I stormed off. I still mumbled curses about her under my breath.
I skipped lunch that day. I wasn't hungry anyways. I was used to starving. I could easily miss a meal. I chose to nose around the 'camp'. Nobody was around, it was easy. Even the hellfire girl was occupied. It wasn't hard to sneak around the beat-up cabin. Just looking for any piece of truth. Of course, I payed close attention to detail. They'd never know.
When I dug up no answers, I changed tactics. I went to that giant farm house. It seemed like a sort of headquarters. I crept up to a door and pushed it open. Inside was a hallway. Tiptoeing down it, I looked around. Nothing. No sounds. No movements. Absolutely nothing. I smiled. I moved forward into a room. There was a desk. On it was tons of files and papers and items and whatnot.
Moving towards it I scanned it slowly. Nothing seemed important. Or made much sense. Mostly a bunch of garbled words. My eyes were attracted to something that shined. It was a key ring. A key ring full of keys of all shapes and sizes. I grinned. I glanced around. No one. I set my hand over the keys. Still no one. I curled my fingers, drawing the keys into my palm. My gloves muffled any jingle. I slipped the keys to an inner pocket.
Still I smiled. I snuck out of the farm house. Lunch was still happening. No one was the wiser. I slipped back down to the cabins. Looking around I thought, why waste this? It'd be fun to cause a little havoc. It wasn't like anyone could accuse me. But what was a good target? I didn't know where my preferred targets stayed. So in that case . . .
My eyes focused on the trick boar. I was sure many people would like to mess with it. I would hardly be a suspect. I hurried over to it. Dangling from the door frame I knocked it down. The second it hit the ground there was a screeching sound. A cloud of noxious smelling gas rose up.
I coughed and cursed. The damn thing was rigged! But there was no way I was going down. I held my breath. Quickly I snatched up the boar head and dashed for it. I bolted through the cabins. Away from the dining pavilion.
I saw the lake up ahead. I could hear people coming up from behind – or starting to at least. I sprinted down the dock. Grabbing another breath, I jumped in.
I went in with hardly a splash. I kicked away from the dock. A few feet later I tossed the boar head away. It tumbled and sunk to the bottom. I paddled back to the dock. The water felt good around me. I moved under the dock. I held onto the supports. I didn't need air. Yet. I looked down. My heart nearly stopped.
Two teenage girls were sitting at the bottom of the lake. They were staring at me. I stared back, eyes wide. They had this strange look about them. I was frozen for a heartbeat. I heard commotion above. Hastily I put a finger to my lips. They nodded. To my shock they dissolved into nothing.
Before I could react there were voices above me.
"They can't of gone far!" Whoever it was sounded angry.
"Yeah, then where'd they go?" demanded another. "They should have passed out after a few breaths in that gas!"
"Should have!" scoffed the first voice. "Obviously not! Keep looking!"
"The only place they could have gone is the lake!" A third voice added. They all sounded angry. There was some mutterings. "Percy's the only one who'd be able to stay down for so long, and he was at lunch. Who was missing?"
"The usual," the second growled. "Infirmary people. A couple who skipped to train. That'd be it – when I find out who did this –"
"Well then spread out and search – they must've hidden in a cabin!"
I heard them move around. The sounds of the search faded. I waited until I couldn't hold my breath any longer. I pushed through the surface. I was next to the dock, so I was hidden. I gasped. I felt exhausted.
Thoughts were moving though my mind. Why had they said only Percy could hold his breath so long? I didn't think I had been down there for a while. Barely even two minutes! And I was tired. That didn't mean it was a long time. They must have been exaggerating. They were just angry. I hadn't really held my breath that long.
I peeked my eyes over the edge of the dock. Only some really burly and angry people were poking around. Must have been the cabin's people. Everyone else had started their activities. Lunch cut short. Oops. Already the searchers were moving away from the lake. I was in the clear. I ducked under the water for another minute. Just to be sure. Then I quietly pulled myself out. I patted my pockets. Nothing lost.
Using building shadows I moved away from the cabins. I knew how to hide. It had been essential. Pretty soon I was past them. I was in the clear. I was also wet. I shook myself out like a dog. That helped. The sun was also helping. I kept moving. I stayed in the shadows. I avoided people.
I found myself walking in a large shadow. I looked up. It was the arena. I shrugged. Unintentional destination. I walked over to the entrance. I stood still. Voices were rising out loudly. I frowned. They sounded familiar. And irritated. I was tempted to leave. My curiosity got the better of me. I moved as close as I dared. And I listened.
A/N: Uh-oh. Pearla . . . what are you doing?
Pearla: Wot are yu goin' on about, isit? The chapter or –
Me: The chapter, Pearla, the chapter. I don't want to know what you've been doing.
Pearla: Oh. Well I'm jus' curious.
Arthemia: *snorts* That's not curiosity – that's felony.
Percy: Arthemia, we didn't all have a life in a secluded forest away from everyone.
Arthemia: I wasn't away from everyone! *growls*
Me: Ack! No! I don't want everything torched!
Percy: Remember what I –
Pearla: 'ey! It's me –
Me: Can we get back on track before you spoil everything!
Pearla: Yea', if you lot promise not to rat me out ter the bloomin' Ares.
Arthemia: You know, I would, just because it's so important to you, and I'd love to wipe that smirk off your face.
Percy: Arthemia.
Arthemia: Calm down Fish Breath, I have other ways to mess with her – I'm not about to turn her over to the Ares kids, she'd never get out of the infirmary.
Percy: That's true. Wait. What are you -?
Me: Okay, as fun as this is, we gotta stop. I'm kinda running out of room. There's only limited space! So, I'm going to shoo everyone outside, and readers let me know what you think through either review or fav or alert! See you all . . . sometime!
