Carpe Diem Part Four
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[Next day. Yes, I know I'm having lots of time jumps. Oh well.]
Corr threw down his quill and tossed aside a piece of crumpled paper—his twenty-ninth. Joey had been counting.
"What are you writing, anyhow?" asked Joey, curious.
"Don't you have chores to do?" Corr snapped.
Joey shook her head and came over in her typical fluid movements.
"The History of the Kings of the Rogue?" she inquired, reading the title of the thick book in front of Corr. He turned toward her.
"Yeah, so?"
"Do you know anything about the Rogue, let alone the King?"
"Erm… they live in the city?" tried Corr. "The King rules them?"
"You are not going to get a good grade on this," stated Joey. She unfolded one of his mistakes and read it: "This is utter and absolute trash," she noted.
"Like you could do better?"
"Probably could," she said with a grin. "Darling, there's more to me than you think."
"Are you hitting on me?" Corr asked disbelievingly.
Joey snorted. "In your dreams. I wouldn't hit on you if you were the last man on earth."
"What I was the last thing?"
Joey shook her head, saying, "Isn't it time for dinner or something?"
"No."
"Shouldn't you meet Tom or something?"
"No. Oh, I see, you want to get rid of me."
"Thank you, Mr. Intelligent. Yes, I really would like to get rid of you. Indeed, you are smart!"
"Shut up."
"Truce, truce, truce!"
"Don't remind me," grunted Corr. "Fine, I'll go."
"Good idea! Besides," Joey pointed out, "dinner starts in ten minutes."
"I'm going already!"
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Corr decided to go study with Tom and the others after dinner. He'd just have to do the Rogue paper early in the morning: Joey could wake him up.
Thus, he got into the room at ten, twenty minutes before curfew. Joey was in bed—and a fifteen-page report was on the table. Corr looked at the title.
Kings of the Rogue: Sanderson
to Smith and Everyone In Between
Corr looked at Joey and decided she definitely wasn't asleep.
"Joey? What is this?"
Joey rolled over:
"Your report. I faked your handwriting."
"Is it real?"
"You mean, is the information true? Yes, it is. I think I should know about the Rogue."
"Were you in it?"
Joey sat up and answered him, "Yes, I was. I have been since I was five. And I can prove it."
Kicking off the covers, she rolled up her sleeve. Firmly imprinted in red on her upper arm was the mark of Rogue.
"See?" Joey said quietly. "I told you I was ex-Rogue."
"Did they kick you out?"
Joey laughed bitterly. "Kick me out? I was the best in all of them at daggers, except Smith."
"Smith?"
"Look at your report. Jakon Smith has been the King for the past eleven years. He became King just before I joined, and before him was Canden, and before Canden was George Cooper. Now Baron of Pirate's Swoop."
"How did you get out, if they didn't kick you out? I thought the Rogue was a life-long thing."
"It is. Smith and I were… friends. A few favors and I was able to go."
Corr was silent.
"What were the favors?"
"Nothing you need to know. And not anything of that sort. Goodnight."
"Goodnight." Corr at least knew when a topic was closed.
Silence for about five minutes.
"Thank you, Joey," he whispered. He didn't expect a reply. She seemed asleep.
"You're welcome, Corr."
At
least we're on a first name basis.
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Well, hope you liked it. So long, now. And please don't forget to REVIEW!!!
~FireLily