Disclaimer: As poor as I am, I'm not making ANY money from this and it belongs to Tamora Pierce/Random House.
A/N: Aight. I only have a tiny bit of any idea as to where I'm going with this bit of plot, so if it sucks, bear with me please. And whoever feels like giving me some ideas, knock yourself out! Edit: Laurana here. Again, just editing, nothing major. Although I am really stuck, so maybe nothing new for a while. Besides, exams absolutely blow.
Chapter 5 – Andy's Birthday
It was utterly and completely not my fault that Eddie and George somehow managed to convince me to help them plan something akin to a surprise party for my twin. It was also utterly and completely not my fault that we ended up leading some of my Lord Provost's men on a chase through the streets of Corus. But of course, I was the one who got yelled at when we arrived home. How my mother even knew it was the Falcons who had started the whole thing was and still is completely beyond me, but I suppose mothers are like that.
---
"Psst! Hey, Elle, c'mere," I jumped as I felt a hand on my shoulder and mentally kicked myself for letting myself be startled so easily. Without turning around, I knew it was Eddie, and I knew that he was about to persuade me to do something incredibly retarded.
"Don't touch me," I pushed his hand off my shoulder and whirled around, "What?"
He backed up, hands raised, and if I didn't know him as well as I did, I would have thought him to be seriously offended. Then he dropped his hands and grinned, "Hey, I know you want some of this, but it doesn't mean you have to go around playing hard-to-get."
I made a disgusted noise and didn't even bother maiming his privates before turning to leave. "Elle! Get back here!" he grabbed my arm and literally dragged me behind one of the stalls that had been set up in preparation for Market Day.
I slapped his hand away, "I told you not to touch me." I was still upset over having been startled earlier and this had put me into a foul mood.
"Aren't we being a little bitchy today?"
I turned my back to him, crossed my arms, and ignored him.
He continued as if I were giving him my undivided attention, "Although I can't say I don't like it. Seriously though-"
I scoffed. Serious? Eddie? You wish.
"-tomorrow's Andy's birthday and I was thinking that we should give him a party. I talked to George about it. He doesn't seem to think it's such a bad idea. Oh I forgot to tell you yesterday, happy birthday."
Intrigued, though it would have killed me to admit it, I turned back around and faced the little pervert, "If you're going to have a party, why not tell Andy about it? It is his birthday, after all."
"Because it's going to be a surprise, silly," an arm snaked around my waist and I didn't bat it away, astonishing Eddie so much that his eyes almost fell out of their sockets. I gave George my little crooked grin before asking what on earth they were planning to do.
Apparently, their ingenious plan involved kicking everyone except Solom out of the Dancing Dove and throwing a party there. Only thing was, there were a couple of problems. One of which was that the current Rogue was incredibly protective of the place and although I'd never met the man, I'd heard he was not one to cross. Another was the fact that the Dancing Dove was always bustling with activity; it was going to be impossible to get everyone out. Besides, if this party was supposed to be a secret until tomorrow, how were we going to be sure Andy didn't hear of it?
I voiced all of these problems and was given a superior smirk from George that annoyed me so much that I batted his arm away also. Which, of course, made Eddie grin so wide I swear Mithros heard his cheeks crack.
They then proceeded to tell me what exactly it was I needed to do.
George had overheard some men talking about how somebody had broken into some expensive store (he hadn't managed to catch the name) and how my Lord Provost was going to conduct a search throughout the whole of Corus to see whom it had been. Apparently, the owner of this store was not one to just willingly accept the fact that he had been thieved because he had been the one who had brought his grievances to my Lord Provost and had ordered that when the thief was found, they would be brought into his custody. George made a face, and I could only guess at what kind of torture would be inflicted on the poor victim. He said that the intricacies of the whole thing weren't important.
What was important was my role in their little scheme to clean out the Dancing Dove. I was to rush into the Dancing Dove and announce that there was going to be a search of the tavern the next day. Since it was common knowledge among the poor of Corus that the Rogue had his headquarters in the place, it would not be suspicious at all if some young bit of street child were to know where the largest concentration of thieves lived. I got to be that "young bit of street child" because I was the shortest. I protested, saying if they wanted someone small, and looking like a scrap of a child, why not ask Lily. Eddie said she was sure to botch everything up, her being only eight and all. I told him to go shove his head up his ass and he said he'd rather I do the same. That only shut me up because George had placed his hand over my mouth and asked if I would kindly allow him to go on with the rest of his "Master Plan".
Eddie was supposed to spread word among the Falcons about the whole situation and, in turn, make sure that Andy had no clue as to what was going on. George was in charge of refreshments and such. Before I even had a chance to open my mouth, he promised he would not bring stolen goods to his friend's birthday; it was bad karma.
Whatever that means.
Then they went over their plans one last time and both sauntered off, George telling me not to get into any trouble over his shoulder. This left me to my own devices. The first thing I did was bang my head against the wooden post of the stall a couple times, before emerging back into the street, looking for all the world like I did this sort of nonsense on a regular basis. The first thing I needed to do was go make myself look filthy.
---
Gabby caught me trying vainly to streak my face with half-frozen mud. Hearing footsteps, I looked up from my task and tried very hard not to cower under her piercing gaze. Positive that she was about to beat me to a pulp for even thinking to do something that stupid, I started to slowly edge away. Instead of grabbing me by my collar and demanding to know what I was thinking, she took one look at me and said, "One cannot disguise what one truly is under a mask of cosmetics, especially if their true soul shows so clearly through," before walking away in a swish of black skirts.
I went back into the house and hid under my covers for the next candlemark.
---
Rissa came up looking for one of the ribbons that she had gifted me with and nearly jumped out of her skin upon seeing me sitting on my mattress, coated in all sorts of filth. "By the Goddess! Arielle! You look like a disgusting little piece of turd. I cannot believe I am related to you," she sniffed, sounding for all the world like a snobbish noble lady, which I'm sure was her intent, and proceeded to shoo me out of the house. Sadly enough, I allowed myself to be chased out of the house, still shocked at Gabby's statement. She usually had this effect on people, but I had never experienced the real shock of having her piercing gaze directed at me and me only before.
Once outside, I wandered about, managing to get myself yelled at a couple of times for getting in other people's way. Finally, I found myself standing in the doorway of the Dancing Dove, still feeling a bit dazed. Nobody bothered to look up, and I had to remind myself what I was supposed to be doing. After trying to get the attention of the people in the common room and failing miserably, I decided I ought to go tell Solom what was up.
Being the crazy old man that he was, Solom took in the whole thing quite nicely and then loudly announced to everyone in the room, "My Lord Provost is going to have his men come search this place tomorrow, I suggest everyone find somewhere else to be, otherwise there might be some unwanted trouble." There was some grumbling, but seeing as how fast gossip spreads in the city, nobody thought this was too absurd. I thanked Solom and wandered back out into the street.
---
The sun had decided to come out that morning and I found myself weaving in and out of the crowds that had gathered around the stalls, Andy following in my wake. My breath came out as puffs of white steam in the crisp winter air and I allowed myself to pretend that I hadn't heard him asking me where on earth we were going over the cacophony of sound produced by bargainers trying to get the price they wanted.
George had told me he was going to entrust me with this simple task: make sure Andy got to the Dancing Dove. So I did as he'd said, indignant that he thought I wouldn't be able to accomplish this simple task without getting into trouble. When we finally reached the familiar doors of the tavern, I pushed Andy through the unlocked doors with a flourish.
Silence.
I blinked, and after a couple of moments, Andy turned around and looked at me, "What is going on?" I gave him a little shrug of my shoulders before pushing him aside and peering into the common room. It was completely empty, save for the two cloaks that were hung up on some of the pegs attached to the wall. There wasn't even a proper fire, only the charred blackness of a couple of logs still smoldering in the fireplace. I stepped in just as a gust of wind whistled through my ears and slammed the door shut. Now the room was almost completely dark, the shutters had been closed and the only light came from the tiny cracks between the shutter and the wall. There was definitely something wrong.
The second I had that thought, I heard booted footsteps making their way down the stairs. Not entirely sure what was going on, I backed into my twin, causing him to emit a startled cry. And then there was a heavy hand on my shoulder and a deep, commanding voice in my ear, "You are now under the custody of my Lord Provost, who wishes to question you on matters pertaining to a recent theft. Because of an absence of my Lord Provost, we, as his men, are permitted to question you in his stead. Now," he guided me to one of the chairs, "first, we need some light, and then you will tell me why this usually bustling business is so silent." I heard Andy drop down into a seat next to mine and cursed myself for not leaving when I knew something was wrong. George had never let me down before. "Don't move," my captor ordered as he moved towards the shutters. His companion went over to help him and Andy gave me a helpless look. "What-" he began, but was silenced when I gave him a look.
Apparently, my false warning about the search of the Dancing Dove had not been a false one at all. And now that I thought about it, George had said to take Andy here after lunch. I began to think this might be how Eddie feels most of the time, incredibly dim-witted. Since I wasn't of a mind to be questioned about something I knew nothing about, and I had a feeling Andy felt the same way, I grabbed his arm and sprinted for the door, shoving it open and disappearing into the crowded street before either of the men had a chance to react.
Or so I'd thought. I was taking in huge gulps of air and Andy was doing the same when we heard, "Hey you! Get back here!" Looking up, I saw the two men pushing through the crowds. I cursed and grabbed my twin's arm again. Being short did have its advantages, and I found I was able to weave in between people relatively easily. Ducking into a nearby alleyway, we ran headlong into Jayson and George, both of whom were holding a brown bag filled with what I presumed were sweets for the surprise party. "Whoa, Where's the fire?" George put out a restraining arm, which I nearly flipped over in my rush to get away.
"Gotta. Gotta run," I panted, "Lord Pro-Provost. Men."
"I turn my back and you get into trouble," he turned to Jayson, "What are we going to do with her?"
Jayson gave a sort of half-shrug and tugged on the silver hoop attached to his ear. I heard shouts a little too close for comfort and struggled, trying to get out of George's grasp. "Lemme go!"
"Could someone please do me the favor of telling me what is going on? I'm ushered to the Dancing Dove by my wayward twin, taken into my Lord Provost's custody, and then dragged through town. Because it's my birthday, I demand an explanation. Right now," Andy had escaped my grasp and was looking quite fierce. If he'd been a girl, I'm sure he would have had his hands on his hips, since he wasn't, he contented himself with blowing a wisp of hair out of his face glaring at us in something of a haughty manner.
George raised an eyebrow, comprehension dawning on his face. He gave me a feral grin and said, "Looks like your warning held more truth in it than I'd thought. You have really got to listen to my directions more often. Perhaps then you wouldn't get into all sorts of trouble. I bet Kyprioth would love you, you really ought to meet him sometime."
I gaped at him, not sure if I should maim him for life or just ignore his words. Then I heard the unmistakable sound of pounding footsteps and the shouts of the men who were so bent on chasing us down. George gave me a little shove, "Go on, Jayson and I'll be able to hold them for a while." I obeyed, though I vowed I was going to get him back for this. Andy yelled something in protest, but followed me deeper into the alley.
I heard some scuffling behind me and told Andy we'd better split up, otherwise we'd only lead them to the steps of out house. He grumbled but listened, turning left when we reached the road while to went right.
---
After nearly getting trampled by a frightened horse, knocking over the stall of an unfortunate man who happened to be selling large bolts of brightly-colored cloth, spraining my ankle on an unexpected patch of ice, and setting fire to an umbrella stand, I managed to lose my chasers.
I made my way back home, only to be accosted at the door by my very upset, very loud mother. Andy had made it back almost a full candlemark before I had, because he'd been lucky enough not to have been followed. I found him sulking in a corner; apparently my mother had given him the same treatment she'd given me upon seeing him at the door. I hadn't even been able to utter a single word of protest before being sent up to my room with no meals for the rest of the day. Andy received the same treatment.
We made our way up the ladder in a stony silence, him mad at me for totally ruining his birthday and me mad at just about everyone for thinking I was some sort of useless idiot whose sole purpose in life was to get into trouble. I was so upset that I didn't even bother to tell my sisters to go mind their own business as they gawked at us, Val with a little smile playing about her lips and Rissa looking as if I'd single handedly ruined her prospects of marriage.
Upon reaching our cramped room, we found our belongings, few in number as they were, scattered everywhere. It looked as if there had already been a search in our house. The first thing I did was pry off the bit of wood that covered up the hollow spot in the floor. I stuck my hand in the shallow hole and produced the wooden box that held my Raven Armory dagger. I closed my eyes and thanked the Goddess that it hadn't been found, because for some reason, I knew there would have been some trouble if it had.
A/N: aight…. A bit weird, and not as amazing as I woulda liked it to be, but hey, we're getting moving-ish. Either way, I don't think I've updated so fast in a long time. Sad… I know. Still, be proud of me! And R&R everyone out there. Thanks a load to all who have, I luv ya!