Disclaimer- I do not own The Thief Lord.
Warning: There is violence in this chapter. It might be T rated.
I'm not sure how many chapters are left. I'm guessing three, but at least one more after this. I probably won't start another story for a while. I need a break. Check my profile for my next story idea.
Trapped
Maria and Prosper stayed at Victor's the night they got home from Isola Segretta. Victor was a little ticked that they ran off without telling anyone, but they figured that Ida would be even madder. Plus it was nearly one in the morning, which was too late (or early) to get yelled at.
That morning they did go back to Ida's. To their surprise Ida didn't yell, she just hugged them and cried a lot. Also she told them never to do that again. Prosper and Maria almost wished she was yelling.
But Hornet was the one that really freaked out. "I was so worried about you!" she said to Prosper. "Where have you been?" She did the same with Maria, except with less enthusiasm. Maria smiled. How could Prosper not realize that Hornet liked him? Like, really liked him? Of course, Prosper liked her too, obviously, although no matter how much Maria prodded him he wouldn't admit it. It was like a mini soap opera.
One of Bo's kittens played with one of the shoe laces on Scipio's shoes. He picked it up and stroked its fur. He always did have a soft spot for cats.
Hornet was in the kitchen when there was a knock on the door. She looked out the window. She almost cried. She was about to call out to the others, but Ida had already opened the door.
"We have reason to believe two runaways are here, Scipio Massimo and Maria Romano. As a matter of fact, I see them behind you," a tall officer said.
Scipio and Maria, who were making their way out of the room, stopped dead. The officer went on, "I also have a warrant here to take the runaways, should they be here. And, if I happened to find Arianna Romano I should take her, too."
"Never!" Maria yelled at him. She was about to say more, but Scipio silenced her.
"We'll go with you, but only if you clear Ida Spavento of any charges regarding her housing runaways and whatnot," Scipio said.
"Deal." The officer looked relieved. He obviously didn't think it would be that easy.
"Scipio, what are you thinking?" Maria whispered in Scipio's ear.
"I'm thinking, if Ida goes to jail because of us, I'd feel really guilty."
"Okay."
And Maria and Scipio went with the officers. Both of them died a little when they saw Ida's house disappear in the distance. They didn't know if they'd ever be back there again. One part of Scipio's mind wished he had become an adult. The other was sad that he was going back home. Not my home, he thought. His home was with Victor and Ida and all his friends, and it always would be. Scipio lied and told the police that they had left Arianna at an orphanage outside the city. At least Arianna was safe with the people who loved her. Except, of course, Maria, who was sitting in a cop car, holding Scipio's hand.
Three days later, Scipio was back with his father. Once they were alone, Dottore Massimo yelled at him, and Scipio thought he'd actually hit him. But he didn't. He suspected
his father was only mad because of all the bad publicity Scipio had caused, not because he had been worried.
If Scipio thought life was hard before he ran away, it was a million times harder now. He had bars on his window. Bars! And, not only was his door being locked at night, but there was a video camera installed on the outside of his door so if he managed to pick the lock he'd be videotaped. Then an alarm would go off and someone would bring him back to his room and scold him like a naughty little boy.
He was trapped in his own house. Completely and totally trapped.
And, of course, he wasn't allowed to see Maria. He wasn't sure if it was because his father thought she was a bad influence, or Carlo thought he was a bad influence, or a combination of the two. No matter what, it still really sucked. And the adults were going to extreme measures to make sure they didn't even see each other. When they both had to go to the same party, Carlo and Dottore Massimo made sure that one would arrive first, stay for half the party, and leave a few minutes before the other one showed up.
Maria wasn't doing so well, either. As it turned out it was her father's assistant who had found her and fallowed her. She had never liked him. We should have been more careful, she thought.
She had another bed put in her room. For her nanny. And her door was locked from the outside. What was she, some kind of prisoner? She didn't have bars on her window, though, not that it made a difference. She was twenty feet up. There was no place she could climb down.
And, as if to add to all her troubles, Carlo beat her. He beat her far worse than he ever had. On the shoulders, on her legs and on her back. She had trained herself not to cry when she was hurt, but she was having a hard time keeping her tears back. When she couldn't take much more of it, she hit him back. Right in the nose. She hoped it was broken. Shattered into a million darn pieces and he was going to have a flat lumpy nose for the rest of his life.
Carlo jumped back in surprise, giving her a chance to run. Run where? The thought hadn't even occurred to her that there was nowhere she could go, with every door to the outside locked.
Carlo caught up to her before she made it ten yards. He had a wooden walking stick in his hand and he hit her once in the back with it so hard she fell over. Then he left her, lying on the floor. She didn't get up. But all her pain melted away and a smile formed on her lips. She had finally hit him. After all those years, she finally hit him back. And it felt so darn good. She cried at last, only because she was so happy. Next time she'd hit him, too. She'd scream. She'd kick and make him sorry he ever touched her. Next time she'd be the one with the walking stick.
Eventually, one of the maids, her friend, Lena, begged her to get up. "It's worrying watching you just lay on the floor like that."
And Maria got up and walked to her room. The smile never left her lips.
Hornet was a mess. You're supposed to be clever and smart. You read all those books, after all, she thought to herself. You should be able to think of a plan to help Scipio and Maria run away again. Think.
Hornet had been by Scipio's house and saw those bars on his window. So she'd have to think of something that probably didn't include a window escape. She had seen that guard dogs staked around Maria's house. Darn, this was going to be hard.
It would help if she had a little help from someone on the inside. Preferably Scipio and Maria themselves. Think. She couldn't just walk up to their houses and ask what would be the best way to help them runaway.
Maybe Scipio and Maria could help her. Hornet needed paper and a pencil. She needed to talk to Ida. She needed and animal trainer, one that specialized in birds.
Maybe she was crazy. And maybe she wasn't.
