Disclaimer: Yeah, well neither of us owns the newsies. Disney doesn't know we're borrowing them and we'd appreciate it if you kept it that way. Mouse and Wolfgang are owned by a currently unidentifiable source. The gift and most other magic to be used in this story is based on the books by Tamora Pierce.

Justify the Thrill

Chapter 1

Exempt from Sanity

It wasn't an unusual sight; about half a dozen dark figures stealing through the nearly pitch black palace. The only light was a rare torch that had been left for the wandering guards. There was a short interval of hushed laughter, which was quickly cut off by a hissing voice.

"Be careful, if we get caught we're as good as dead." A low voice growled. The owner pulled several dirty burlap sacks out of the one he was carrying. "Stay in this hall and listen carefully. Sound the alarm if you hear them coming." He handed a sack to each of them and the small group branched off, picking small contributions to take from the decorated tables and carefully adorned suits or armor. Their sacks were quickly filled with pieces of gold, silver, expensive jewels and anything else that could possibly be worth something on the street.
       

There was a sudden tapping on a wooden surface; three sharp taps. Each of them recognized the signal and dove for hiding spaces that had already been carefully planned. Many held their breath as they waited for the warning to be over. It had nearly gotten them caught several times before. Guards walked past as the surveyed this part of the castle. It was amazing how dumb these guards were; they didn't even notice anything missing.
       

After they had passed the group slowly emerged again and met in the middle of the room.
       

"I think that's enough for tonight Spot," one whispered, "If we take any more we risk them hearing us, and besides we've got plenty."

Their leader nodded, "Alright. Back up the stairs and out that window then." He moved past them to go ahead and check that it was safe in the halls that led back to the stairway. A low window had served as their entry point for several years and was a quick exit in all cases. As it landed them in the stables there were also places to hide in case they were seen.
        

 The groups slowly worked their way up the stairs, carefully holding their sacks so that the possessions inside would not clank against each other. It was after all, a carefully practiced routine that they were carrying out. They'd been in the palace many times before for the same reason. It was the reason there was such a high price for their capture. Someone surely would have turned them in by now had it been for the fact that no one had ever seen their faces. Working under the cover of darkness did have its advantages.
       

'Ompff.' There was a sudden noise followed by the sound of an entire bag of stolen goods tumbling down the stairs. The entire group turned to find that one of their own had tripped, and in turn dropped his bag. His eyes were wide as he looked up at them and mouthed, 'maybe no one heard it.' Any hope of this was immediately dashed as the sound of several guards coming in their direction echoed through the stairway.
       

"Go!" Spot shouted, abandoning any hope of recovering what they had dropped, "Get out and don't turn around or come back for anyone." He helped pull the fallen thief up from his position on the stairs and the two of them began making their way toward the exit. The fallen having twisted an ankle made it harder to walk. He was cursing up a storm at their bad luck.
       

"Mouse, help me." Spot said. He handed the other boy off near the window and glanced out. The rest of them were near the ground or running. "Get him down there." Another order escaped his lips and he turned to face the oncoming guards. He pulled out a carefully crafter black cane, tipped with a gold emblem. As they approached he swung at the closest one and barely missed hitting the man's face. He wasn't afraid to fight them. As he swung he was mentally thinking of ways to kill the boy who had fallen for getting them caught because unless some kind of miracle occurred they were caught. And if they were caught they were as good as dead. Before he could swing again, however, the heavy metal of the flat of a sword came in contact with his temple and the world around him plummeted into darkness.

                                           * * *
           

When he awoke he was sitting in a cold dark dungeon cell. He didn't even have to open his eyes to describe it. The fact that he was lying on a bed of straw; the fact that he could smell nothing but what would make most gag was more than enough. He opened one eye a slit and glanced about the cell. There were two others sitting on a bed against the opposite wall. Their shapes were blurry so he let his other eye creep open. Yep, it was them. He let out a sigh and began to push himself into a sitting position.
       

At the sudden change in height his head began to throb and he let out a pitiful moan, "Damn."
       

"Spot I wouldn't try to get up if I were you," Mouse said.
       

He ignored her and forced himself to sit with his feet hanging off the edge of the bunk. He allowed a one-word question as he tried to regain his equilibrium. "Others?"
       

"All got out except us," She yawned, "Once you went down I knew we were caught."
       

"Well we wouldn't have gotten caught if some lame excuse for a thief hadn't tripped," He growled, glaring at the third member of the party.
       

"Hey," Race cried, "It wasn't my fault that I tripped. I swear, something ran in front of me, a cat or something."
       

Spot shook a hand in forgiveness, "Ok." Then he turned to look at Mouse, "So how's his ankle?"
       

"Twisted it. I've been trying to get them to send down a healer for him, but being a woman, and a thief at that…"
       

Spot stood and made his way over to the barred wall that faced the hall. "Hey you!" he called to the nearest guard.
       

"What d'you want?" the guard asked without moving.
       

"I want a healer down here to look at my boy's ankle, now." His face grew red from anger as the guard stood there looking at him.
       

"I ain't in the habit or taking orders from prisoners boy, now sit down. Someone should be down to question you in a few minutes."
       

Spot stood by the door and waited. He was always stubborn, especially when it came to his friends, and Race was as close as you could get. He glared at the guard until there was the sound of another man coming down the hall. He leaned against the bars as hard as he could, willing them to break or at least bend so he could get a good look at this person.
       

A young man, who actually did not look much older than himself stopped in front of the cell. Each was silent as they watched each other. Spot glared at the noble, knowing this man would most likely be of just as little help as the guard.

He hissed, "I want a healer down here to see my boy now."

The noble looked at him as though he were insane. "You aren't in the position to be ordering me around boy," he snapped, "I am Sir Wolfgang of Adiana, and I can either help you or not. Now, give me your name."
       

Spot was aware that giving his name would, even if he escaped, sentence him to death.
       

A voice from a nearby cell called out, "That's Spot Conlon and a few from his gang. They've been stealing from the palace for years."
       

The noble looked over at the cell and then back to the thief in front of him, "If that man is correct then his sentence will most likely be reduced. Now, is he telling me the truth?"
           

He flexed his jaw and spoke; "I want a healer down here to look at my boy's ankle."
       

The noble snorted, "Just your boy. You sure you don't want someone to look you over as well." He reached through the bars to touch the bruise on Spot's temple but Spot quickly pulled back out of his reach. The noble shook his head, "It's not going to help you to be stubborn. Don't make me come in there and question you."
       

"You come in here and that sword of yours will be in my hand and at your throat in a second," Spot threatened. "Don't think you're anything special. I'll be out of here before you know it."
       

"I doubt that."
        

"I want a healer, and I'm not talking to anyone until one is sent down." He turned and strode back to his bunk. There he sat, staring at the young noble.
       

The noble on the other hand stood there for a moment before going back down the hall. He was young, and had yet to learn how to deal with prisoners. Many of the guards even snickered behind his back at the hard time Spot had given him.
          

"Mush!" The young knight called to his squire. "Get a healer down here then bring the boys to the interrogation room." Glancing back toward the thieves cell Wolfgang caught Spot's smirk and turned toward his squire once more. "Mush! Take your time, that's an order!" As the knight turned to leave once more he could hear the girl complaining loudly.

"How come he's only interrogating you two anyway? What, is he too good to question me? Its 'cause I'm a woman isn't it! Ohhhh! If I were out of here I'd take that sword of his and wipe that smirk off his face!" As soon as those words escaped the girl's lips, the knight's sword was suddenly unsheathed in mid-air before clanging to the ground. Wolfgang turned on his heal glaring at Mouse before snatching his sword from a guard.
           

"I… uh…" Mouse managed before the noble stormed up the stairs thinking, 'why me'? .

Race began laughing, "Damn Mouse! You've been holding out on us. I thought you could only control water!"
           

"So did I."
           

About a half hour went by before the squire, Mush, returned to the cell with a healer in tow. After another fifteen minuets the boy was healed and walking slowly around the cell. The girl hadn't spoken since the incident and barely noticed her companions being led out of the dungeon, hands bound behind their backs.

* * *

"Now I'm going to give you thugs one last chance to answer me and then it's the dungeon for you!" Sir Wolfgang threatened with frustration. The teen towered over the captives his piercing green eyes in a menacing glare. He'd recently passed the Ordeal of Knighthood and wasn't the least bit happy in receiving such a monotonous interrogation as his first task. The leader of the thieves, called Spot, sat across from him and looked to be around seventeen, though short and with a wiry build he appeared to have a strong will and determination.  Knowing the boy must have grown up on the streets he was probably more muscular and capable than he looked, talents that Wolfgang wasn't keen on exploiting.
           

Spot sat in a casual posture legs spread apart, shoulders slouched down a bit in a relaxed position, head up and proud. He wore loose black breeches accompanied by a large white shirt buttoned halfway beneath a black leather tunic. This teen obviously stole the tunic along with the leather boots, gloves, and belt that had once held the gold tipped cane.

The other boy was slouched as close to the edge of the chair as he could have possibly gotten, his legs comfortably propped upon the table separating the accomplices. The boy who appeared to be taller of the two, though by only a few inches, kept his chin tucked down guiltily as though admiring the crimson shirt that was at least two sizes too big, unlike the leader this boy sported brown breeches and boots, which were leather as well. The leader's silence combined with the boy's evasive responses fueled Wolfgang's fury and tempted him to summon the emerald green aura of his Gift.

"You do realize by refusing to answer my questions you will inevitably be sentenced to a most excruciating public death. Or is that what you want?" The knight hissed through clenched teeth.
           

"Hey! There ain't no dungeon strong enough ta hold the likes of the Rogue's! You'd best waste us now while we're still here!" It was the taller of the two that replied.
           

"So you are members of the elusive Rogue Guild." Wolf smirked as the boy confirmed his suspicions and cowered under the leaders glower. "Mush!" The knight called to his squire who waited outside the door. "Take them back to their cell. I'm sure their little girly friend will be most helpful."
           

"I wouldn't count on it buddy," the leader finally spoke in a sharp voice. " See she's from Cascade, the ocean city behind the Waterfall Taji."
           

"So?"
           

"I wouldn't mess with her is all. You know what they're capable of."
           

Wolfgang leaned against the wall to examine the nameless girl before him. He'd heard legends of the Cascade natives though he hadn't believed them until now. It was said they had some kind of unity with water granting them the ability to control it, which also allowed them to breathe in it. The girl opposite himself fit all descriptions of Cascadian's he'd been told. She was a small girl of fifteen and as short as the Rogue leader, her long blonde hair was hidden beneath the sandy brown hood of her cloak.
           

"Untie her hands."
           

"What! Wolf are you crazy!" The squire exclaimed.
           

"Just do it!"
           

Mumbling of his friend's foolishness, Mush cut the ropes holding the girls hands behind her back and she slowly she brought them into view. She rubbed her sore wrists gently before removing the warm cloak, revealing a pale suede, long sleeved, form-fitting dress with a pleated skirt, which reached just above the knee. The only accessories she wore were knee length suede boots, a suede strap at her waist both of which had been adorned with daggers until her capture, and a light purple necklace that held a shark tooth. Come to think of it, her entire outfit seemed to have a few light purple threads here and there depicting various intricate designs. Now she stared at Sir Wolfgang through large, curious, cerulean blue eyes.
          

"Why are you being so nice to me?"
           

"I've got a proposition for you girly and I highly suggest you accept it if you plan on living." The knight ignored her question and continued. "You're going to tell me everything I want to know about this little Rouge Guild of yours starting with your name."
           

"And why would I do a thing like that?"
           

"I'll tell the court that you were forced to help them and you'll be free. Your name?"
           

"Cassandra today, Diana tomorrow."
           

"I don't get it! Do you people value your lives at all?" Wolfgang yelled throwing his hands in the air. The girl merely folded her arms raising an eyebrow.
           

"Did you really think I would sell out my friends? What kind of person do you take me for anyway?"
           

"These so called 'friends' of yours didn't seem to have any problems telling me all about you Cascadian." He sneered. "You have two choices girly, join your 'friends' in death, or tell me what I need to know and be spared."
           

The girl silently picked up her cloak and walked over to where the squire stood.            

"Take me to the others." She demanded. Mush sent a questioning look toward the knight, who nodded, before escorting the girl to the dungeon.

* * *

            "Wolf, you in there?" His highness, Prince Jack of Tralee called banging lightly on his friends door. "Wolf, if you're in there open this door now!" Jack listened closely through the door as he heard a low groan and his friend's clanging footsteps followed by the tell tale click of the door being unlocked.
           

"So…uh…bad day?" Jack questioned after entering the room.

Wolfgang only shot him a look that clearly said, you have no idea, before flopping head first upon the bed. "Did you require something Highness?" His friend finally questioned.
           

"I just came by to see how your first knightly duty went. Not too well I gather, from the looks of things."
           

"Worse than that, it was horrible!" Came the muffled reply. "I mean first I go to the dungeon thinking it can't be that bad, right?
           

"Well I suppose not, we have seen how these things work first hand."
           

"That's what I thought and I couldn't have been more wrong in my life! First their damn leader, Spot something or other, was so damn stubborn! He wasn't intimidated at all! This kid completely humiliated me, he wouldn't talk until I sent a healer to tend to his boy."
           

"Ouch, so what did you do?"
           

I had Mush fetch a healer and bring the boys to me in the examination room upstairs. There wasn't much else I could do you know.  And of course the leader acted all noble.  Wouldn't let the healer touch him, you'd think he likes to have scars from all his fights"
           

After a few minuets of reflecting on it Jack came to a conclusion. "That's not too bad Wolf, I think you're overreacting. Nobody's going to have a perfect first day. I didn't I nearly got my head taken off."
           

"There's more." The young knight mumbled. "Just as I turned to leave, that little girl with them started freaking out. She assumed I wasn't going to interrogate her because she's a girl. Suddenly my sword is pulled from its scabbard and drops to the ground."
           

"How?"
           

"She did it, I don't know how exactly seeing as she was still in the cell. I didn't sense magical abilities from any of them. On top of that they didn't cooperate whatsoever. All we know is that the leader's name is Spot, which we learned from a prisoner, they are members of the Rogue Guild, and the girl is a Cascadian."
           

"That's not so bad." Jack attempted to comfort his friend.
           

"Are you kidding? I couldn't have been worse if I were still a page!"
           

"Want me to talk to them for ya? Perhaps they might listen to the Prince."
           

"Ha! I told you these people aren't intimidated by anything much less a prince. I tried to talk deal with the girl but she wouldn't accept. It's like they have a death wish or something!"
          

Unbeknownst to the boys, King Adonis had overheard their entire conversation from the hall. He had recently learned of mutinous plans for the kingdom of Tralee.  He needed this matter to be investigated immediately, but the use of his own guards would only worsen the situation. The information he'd gathered from his son's conversation with Wolfgang gave him an idea. Turning, the king headed back to his study.

* * *


            Meanwhile in the dungeon, the thieves had begun planning their escape. Gathering all the water they had been given Spot set it in front of Mouse. "Ok do your thing. Let's bust outta here already."

Closing her eyes, Mouse concentrated her energy deeply as the shark's tooth about her neck began to shimmer with a soft purple light. A small column of swirling water formed beneath her hands as she commanded it to move stealthily beneath the sleeping guards belt. The key to the cell was soon sucked into the cyclone and carried back to the anxious thieves.
           

"That's it?" Race hissed.
           

"I'd like to see you do better." She huffed.
           

"Couldn't you at least have busted the wall out or destroyed the door or something?"
           

"Well unless Blink suddenly appears out of mid air to help me I don't think so, this isn't exactly a lot of water to work with ya know."
           

"Enough!" Spot snapped, "This will work just fine. Lets go, now!" The two followed him out of the cell carefully locking the guards in, leaving the keys just out of reach.

"Uh Spot?"
           

"Race would you keep you mouth shut before you get us caught, again."
           

"Sorry, but this is important! How are we gonna get out of here if they took all of our weapons?" Race asked a bit concerned as the trio reached the top of the stairs.
           

"Then we impro…" Spot trailed off as the door swung open and he found a sword directed toward his throat.

A/N: so that's the first chapter, more to come, but the sooner you review the faster it'll be up. In other words if you read this please review. Like it, hate it; we want to know. Hope you liked it so far.

Forever Exempt From Sanity