(A/N: like I said, I already had most of this prewritten, so I just had to finish it up. I think Vyctori will like this one IMMENSELY!!! There is a very cool 'Menardi-goes-bad-@$$' in the last half of the fic, something which is always a good thing. After all, this is under the action/adventure category, is it not? Also, there will be more Prox-shipping than usual, but nothing really, yet. ^_^ Well, here goes another fic! Like I said, we won't be getting to Imil for a few posts now, but it will be LOADS of fun getting there! Yay! Part ten! I have a whole deca-fic! ^_^ ^-^ ^_^ **is happy** And here's the fic! Enjoy!!)
Part Ten: In the Midst of Thieves
Saturos awoke the next morning in a tent Master Hammet had his servants pitch for their company. Outside, the sounds of the merchants breaking camp had begun to rise like a great wave on the sea, slowly rising.
Saturos sat up, reaching out and grabbing his sash from atop his pile of armor. He looked around the tent. Everyone was sleep save Alex who was sitting near the mouth of the tent, reading through his scrolls again, looking pensive as usual.
"You're up early," he whispered across the tent as he tied the sash around his head.
Alex smiled, looking up from the scroll. "I expected you to sleep for another hour at least," he said. "We were up rather late."
Saturos shook his head tiredly, scratching his bare chest. "No. We need to begin heading out." He stood, his leggings falling loosely around his ankles. He reached for his tunic, a sleeveless grey top that he would later throw his armor over. "Is Master Hammet up yet?"
"Yes," Alex said. "He seems to be as involved in his camp as his servants are. He's a rather good man."
"Yes," Saturos said. "If he were an Adept I might feel guilty about buying the Shaman Rod from him."
"We need it more than he does," Alex told Saturos firmly, rolling up a scroll as his rose to his feet.
"I know," Saturos sighed. "But that still doesn't make it alright." Saturos watched as Alex started to lift the flap and leave the tent. "Alex?" he called. The Water Adept paused and turned to look at him. "Why didn't you tell us about your grandfather dying?" he asked. "It could have only happened days before we came to Imil for the first time."
For the first time, Saturos saw Alex stumbling for words. "Wh-what?" he stammered. "My grandfather? I only... That is, I... I mean, we..." He suddenly stopped and looked at Saturos haughtily. "It was not something you needed to know."
"Menardi and I have not withheld any of our information of our pasts from you, Alex," Saturos said quietly. "Why are you being so secretive?"
"I am what I am, Saturos," Alex said curtly. "That is all you need to know."
"But we want to know more about you," Saturos sighed. "How can we trust you if you're keeping things from us?"
"Do you honestly think I would do anything to compromise our quest?" Alex said. "I believe as much as you do that the lighthouses need to be lit. If you do not believe me, then send me on my way."
"That isn't what I meant, Alex," Saturos said.
"Then what did you mean?" Alex asked.
Saturos looked at him for a good long while. He could find no words to answer his friend. Alex sighed deeply, shaking his head. "You'll just have to trust me, Saturos."
"I'm trying," he replied softly.
Alex said nothing in response and swept out of the tent.
* * *
Saturos dressed for the day, putting on his armor and stepping out of the tent, finding Alex sitting by the blackened pits on fire where one fire struggled to continue burning, a pot of tea and another of porridge, spiced with cinnamon, hanging over it.
"Breakfast?" Alex asked, motioning with the spoon he was eating with toward the pot.
"No thank you," Saturos said. "I'm still full from last night."
Alex nodded understandably, and returned to his porridge. Saturos poured himself a cup of tea in an orange Kalayan china cup, sipping it slowly as Hammet approached the two.
"Enjoying everything, I would hope," Hammet said kindly.
"Your Honor is a gracious host," Alex said before eating another spoonful of porridge.
Saturos nodded in agreement. "You've been more kind to us than we ever would have expected."
"Where are you off to now?" asked Hammet, sitting down in front of the two.
"We're stopping at Vault, then we have to head northeast toward Imil," Saturos said, looking at Alex who nodded.
"Going home again, are you?" Hammet asked Alex.
Alex nodded, swallowing the spoonful he'd just shoveled in his mouth. "Yes. We have a little..." He looked at Saturos. "Unfinished business if you will."
"Well," Hammet said, nodding at them. "You're more than welcome to accompany our group to Vault, but I'm afraid we'll be heading towards Kalay after that."
"We'd be happy to join your troupe," Saturos said.
"Wonderful," Hammet beamed, rubbing his hands together jovially. "We'll be heading out in a few hours, so make sure you're all ready to go." He began to stand.
"Uh, Master Hammet," Saturos called, "We wanted to have a word with you."
Hammet paused, sitting back down. "Yes, what is it?"
"The stave ," Saturos began, trying not to show how much they wanted the rod. "The one that Ivan had... We were wondering, how much would you sell it for?"
"The Shaman Rod?" Hammet asked pouring himself a cup of tea. "Now why would travelers such as yourself want that old stick?"
"It intrigued me," Alex lied skillfully. "It reminded me of the stave my grandfather used to have. I would very much like to purchase it."
Hammet shook his head, swallowing a mouthful of tea. "No, no, I'm sorry. It's not for sale."
"Surely there must be some sort of a price we can negotiate," Saturos said lightly. "After all it's only a stick. What would Ivan do with it anyway?"
"I could ask the same of you," Hammet said cooly. "But I told you before, and I will say it again, it is not for sale."
"And why not, may I ask?" Alex asked, trying to hold in his temper.
"Ivan was given to me by his sister, escaping some sort of trouble in their hometown of Contigo," Hammet said shortly. "She gave the Shaman Rod to me and told me to give it to Ivan and Ivan alone. I was not to let the rod out of my sight." Hammet paused thoughtfully. "She said it possessed great power... I'm not sure what she meant by that, but she was very clear that it belonged to Ivan only."
Alex scoffed slightly. "Archaic myths and legends, I'd wager," Alex said aloud. "Nothing for you to be concerned about."
"How does two hundred gold coins sound?" Saturos said, reaching for his money bag.
Hammet voice grew cold. "It is not for sale."
"Three hundred?" Saturos asked, untying the strings.
"No," Hammet said firmly, standing. "I already told you, it is not for sale. If you ask me again, you will be requested to leave our group... Now if you'll excuse me."
Hammet walked away, Alex looking at Saturos. "Do you think he knows?" he asked curiously.
"Not likely," Saturos said. "He's not an Adept. Just an overprotective father-figure toward the boy; it is his only possession from his past and we are not allowed to have it, let alone buy it."
"Do you think the boy knows?" Alex asked softly.
"If he did, he would not be spending all of his time roaming around the plains as a page for a merchant, even a wealthy one," Saturos sighed. "No, he doesn't know yet, and neither does the boy."
"It would be best if we didn't ask about the rod again," Alex said. "We might have to resort to our second plan to get the rod."
"I hope it does not come to that," Saturos said. "Perhaps he'll change his mind as we head toward Vault."
"And if he doesn't?" Alex asked.
Saturos looked at him. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
* * *
It wasn't long before sundown that they crossed through the gates into the tiny town of Vault. Master Hammet's men rode around the town, positioning their wagon train to the south end of the village, ready to leave when the next morning came. Hammet pulled Saturos aside as they stood in front of the Inn.
"You and your party are more than welcome to join me at the Mayor's home for the night. He has invited us to stay."
"It's a kind offer," Saturos said. "But we haven't much more time. We need time to regroup and discuss our travel plans in private. I apologize."
"You can at least come for dinner later tonight, no?" Hammet asked.
Alex shook his head. "I'm afraid Saturos is right. We are very busy indeed."
"How unfortunate," Hammet sighed. "Well, perhaps we shall see you tomorrow before we leave for Kalay."
Saturos nodded. "Perhaps we shall."
And after shaking the merchant's hand, the group turned for the Inn.
"We should have gone with Hammet," Menardi said quietly to Saturos. "It wouldn't have cost us anything to stay with the mayor."
"We need to spend some time alone with just our group," Saturos explained to her, walking up to the front desk. "Besides, there's something Alex and I need to relate to you all."
"May I help you?" the Innkeeper asked, rubbing his hands on a towel he'd been using to clean.
"Yes, we'd like to stay at your Inn, please," Saturos said quietly, reaching for his money.
The Innkeeper looked at the group, then back at Saturos, "That will be thirty coins please," he said. Saturos set the gold down on the counter, the man scooping the coins up and counting them. "Watch your things carefully," the man added as he dropped the coins into a drawer. "We're not responsible when things go missing."
"Has there been a problem with that lately?" Saturos asked.
"Not that I like to spread rumors," the Innkeeper said looking around warily. "But things have gone missing through out the village... things from the shops, people's heirlooms, the mayor's urn..."
"Someone's taken all of these?" Menardi asked.
"Do you know who?" Saturos asked as well.
The Innkeeper shook his head. "No... And I'm not guessing either." He looked at the two, then shook his head and sighed. "It would be better if you just forgot I said anything."
The innkeeper turned back to cleaning the counter and the group headed up toward the beds. They were all in one large room, one they were apparently sharing with two odd looking men. They wore dark clothing and their hair was long and rather unkempt.
"We should have gone with Hammet," Menardi darkly reminded Saturos. He only sighed and lead the group to the other side of the room, dropping their things on the beds.
"I bet Isaac and Garet began looking for us today," Jenna said mildly as she kicked off her boots.
Saturos sent her a cold glance. "If they survived that explosion, which I doubt they did," he added cooly.
Jenna faltered slightly at his words, Felix touching her shoulder gently. "We don't want to hurt anyone," he assured her softly. "But we have to have the Mars Star."
"Don't touch me," Jenna barked, ripping her shoulder away from him, taking off her other boot.
The words stung Felix. He stepped away from her, sitting on the bed he'd deemed as his own.
"Don't pay attention to her," Menardi murmured quietly. "They don't mean a word they say when they're like that. Their only goal is to hurt you. My mother is the very same way." She motioned with her head toward Jenna. "She'll come around... someday."
"Did Master Hammet say anything more about the rod to you?" Alex asked Saturos, sitting on the end of his bed across from him.
"Not a word," he said. "I got the feeling he doesn't know what it's for, but thinks of it more as Ivan's only heirloom."
"So he's not going to let it go," Alex murmured.
Saturos nodded. "Not willingly."
"What are you two talking about?" Menardi asked.
"That stave that Ivan had," Saturos replied.
"Why would you want that?" Felix asked, laying on his back. "It's just a stick."
"No," Alex sighed. "It's much more than that."
"How so?" asked Menardi.
"It's the key to Jupiter Lighthouse," Saturos said softly, smiling.
Menardi sat beside him. "You're kidding."
"What?" Felix asked, sitting up again. "What are you guys talking about."
"The Shaman Rod," Saturos said. "It has to be the Rod of Hesperia."
"We need that to climb Jupiter Lighthouse," Menardi said.
"We know," Alex said curtly. "We tried to get it this morning."
"And?" she prompted.
Saturos eyed the floor. "He turned down our attempts to buy it from him," he said quietly.
"Why?" Felix asked. "Does he know-"
"No," Saturos cut him off. "There's no way he could know."
"So how do we get the rod?" asked Menardi.
Saturos looked at her. "We resort to plan B."
Felix paled. "Wh-what's plan B?"
"We're going to have to take it by force."
"You mean demand it?" Menardi asked, a little shocked at Saturos's wording.
"Or steal it," Saturos shrugged. "Either way, we have little choice."
"See!" Jenna said from her bed. "You're nothing but common thieves!"
Saturos looked at Felix. "Does she ever shut up?"
"Or say something positive?" added Alex darkly.
"It's seldom and rare," Felix said with a slight smirk.
"Never mind that," Menardi said, waving her hand. "Let's talk about our plan."
"If we find a way to take it tonight, we could leave before they do tomorrow morning," Saturos said firmly.
"But if Ivan hold that rod as highly as Hammet does, he won't let it out of his sight,' Alex pointed out.
Saturos frowned. "Good point, and none of us are professional thieves."
"There are professional thieves?" Felix asked.
"You must have lived a very sheltered life back in Vale," Alex smirked slightly.
"They'll be serving dinner downstairs in a few minutes," Saturos said, looking out the window at the setting sun. "Let's eat and decide what we're doing after dinner."
They stood, Saturos, Alex and Felix starting downstairs. Menardi shook Kraden awake and told him of their dinner plans. He took off after the other men, then Menardi looked over at Jenna. "You coming?" she asked.
"I'm not hungry," she muttered, not looking at Menardi.
"Don't be foolish," Menardi sighed. "I know you're hungry."
"I said I wasn't," Jenna said, looking at her.
"We don't intend to treat you like a prisoner," Menardi said. "You're trying to make it seem that way. Don't you realize you can trust us?"
Jenna hopped off of her bed, starting for the stairs. "After what you did to Isaac and Garet, I don't plan on trusting any of you anytime soon."
"You'll have to start sometime," Menardi said, following her.
"No I don't," Jenna snapped back, starting down the stairs as another man that looked similar to other two men upstairs began up. "You're just saying that because my brother is with you."
The man bumped roughly into Jenna, she stumbling backwards, Menardi putting a hand out to steady her. "Excuse me," the man said hurriedly, then continued up the stairs.
Jenna looked at him. "Geez," she muttered, brushing off her tunic. "Was he clumsy or wha-" She stopped as her fingers ran over her belt. "Hey!" she shouted. "My money's gone!" She darted back up the stairs, pushing past Menardi.
Menardi sighed, following the girl quickly. "Ugh... Great."
* * *
Jenna burst into the room, seeing the man who'd just bumped into her laughing with the other two as he tossed it in the air, caught it and repeated the motion. They all stopped laughing as Jenna and Menardi re-entered.
Jenna pointed at the man furiously. "Give me back my money!" she demanded.
The thief pretended to play innocent. "What? This?" he asked, holding the bag up by the strings. He tossed it in the air and caught it in his hand. "I found it."
"You stole it," Menardi said calmly.
"Fair and square," another one of the thieves retorted. "It's ours now."
"I said give it back!" Jenna said, lunging for the money.
The thief pulled it out of her reach, flinging it to his other hand. "Well, well, boys, I think we've upset this poor lass," he laughed, pushing Jenna backwards. Jenna fell to the floor with an 'oof!' and the thieves burst into laughter. Jenna pushed herself up, glaring at them angrily.
"Picking on girls?" Menardi growled, pulling the long staff from her back. "Don't you guys have any class?"
"Oh ho!" laughed the head thief. "It looks like we've upset our lady-friend here!"
"I'm no friend of yours," Menardi growled, still not releasing the blade. She didn't want to cause any trouble for their group in this town.
"Stay out of this!" Jenna shouted at Menardi as the thieves began to circle her. "It's my money, my fight!"
"You heard the girl," the thief said, leaning into Menardi's face. "Beat it."
Menardi's grip tightened on her staff. "I don't intend to."
"Whoo!" another of the bandit said. "You hear that, Boss? She don't intend to!"
"There's not even that much in here," Boss said, weighing the bag in his hand. "Why don't you and girlie over there just scoot?"
Menardi gave them a dark look. "Did you just tell me to scoot?" she growled.
The thief looked at her leeringly. "There's a lot of other stuff I could ask you to do."
The other two jeered, but Menardi kept her eyes trained on Boss. "I'm only going to ask you once: give the girl her money back."
The thief looked at her as though she was crazy. "I don't want to," he snapped after a moment.
Menardi tensed. "I would rather this didn't end in violence..."
"What are you going to do?" asked another thief. "Stop us?" He pushed her shoulder, bumping her into Boss.
She pushed away from them. "Don't make me-"
"Oh, is that a threat," Boss said, raising an eyebrow. "What are you going to do, Doll? Fight me?"
He reached out, grabbing Menardi's wrist. She knew exactly what they were intending to do. However, they hadn't counted on fighting an Adept well trained in hand to hand combat.
Menardi swung out with the staff, clubbing Boss in the side of his head just hard enough to force him to let go. He grabbed the side of his face as Menardi pushed him toward his men, standing in front of them all now, making sure to keep Jenna away from the ruffians.
Boss spat into his hand a mouthful of blood and a tooth. He looked up at Menardi, shocked. "She hit me!" he shouted at the other two. They looked terrified, but their leader pushed them toward her. "Don't just stand there! Hit her or something!" He sneered at her. "Nobody hit's me and gets away with it."
Menardi stepped back, grabbing her staff with both hands. The two thieves drew their long-bladed daggers. She sighed. "You should have given back the money, Boss," she said as the two closed in.
He laughed in near incredulity. "Now you're making demands? You're in no place for that, Doll."
"Call me doll again, and I will personally see to beating you within an inch of your life," she growled. "This is your last chance, give the money back."
"Sorry, Doll," Boss drawled sarcastically. "No can do."
Menardi sighed. "Your decision."
She swung out at the first man, taking his feet out from under him, nabbing the second on in his stomach as he charged at her. She jumped over the first robber, landing gracefully on the bed to protect Jenna who stood just behind her. The second slowly recovered from what Menardi had judged as a light blow, and came at her again.
Menardi swung her booted foot out, kicking him squarely in the jaw. He fell backwards and landed against the wall, cursing quietly. The first bandit finally got to his feet, Menardi flipping over his head as he swung out at her legs. She landed and twisted her hips, clubbing the man in the side sending him flying on the bed.
Turning to Boss, she swung her staff at his hand holding the gold. It flew in the air, Boss shaking his hand- burning with pain- as it began to fall in nearly slow motion. Menardi thrust the staff into the air, catching the bag, the strings wrapping around the top. She swung the staff over, knocking a thief down again, and sending the bag flying into Jenna's chest.
She gasped as it bounced off her light leather armor and into her open hands. She looked up at Menardi in shock, about to murmured some sort of thanks, but...
"Menardi!" she gasped. "Watch o-"
Menardi spun around, clipping the thief that charged her again in the chin, then swinging again to get him in his side, then pushed the top of her staff into his stomach sending him flying into a wall. She looked at him momentarily, then nodded to herself.
"Yeah," she muttered, starting toward Jenna. "Come on," she panted. "Let's go get some-"
She was suddenly tackled from the side. Boss had thrown himself at her violently, sending them both to the ground. She hit her head on the wooden floor, grey stars clouding her vision. When they cleared, Boss was over her, his dagger pressed against the flesh of her neck. "You mess with the wrong thieves, Doll," he growled, pressing the blade harder against her skin.
Suddenly, Boss was flung into the air, slamming against the wall with a sickening crack. Menardi scrambled to her feet, seeing Saturos standing, pinning Boss to the wall furiously.
"Are you alright?" asked Felix, hurrying toward Jenna and Menardi, Alex behind him.
"Yeah," Menardi said, straightening her dress. "We're fine."
"Give me on reason I shouldn't tear your head off at this very moment!" Saturos roared at the man, slamming him against the wall again.
Boss gave a slight grunt of pain. "Wha? Hey! We-we was just playing-"
"Playing?!" Saturos bellowed. "You were pressing a dagger to a woman's throat and you were just playing?!"
"Hey, Saturos," Felix called, lifting a bag up over the edge of one of the other men's beds. "Look at this." He dumped the bag onto the bed. Swords, chest plates, shields, gloves, books, and an ornate golden urn fell out of the bag and onto the bed.
Saturos looked back at the thief. "So," he growled. "You're the one's who've been taking all the stuff."
"Hey, we just took it during that eruption a few days ago," Boss snapped back at him. "The idiots shouldn't have left their doors open."
He gave a slight scream as Saturos shook him again. "I should slit you open from toe to nose," he snarled, his nails digging into the man's tunic.
"Hey! Take it easy there!" Boss laughed nervously. "We wasn't going to do anything!"
"Oh, weren't you?" he snapped. "And what if we were to just go and tell the mayor about all this stuff we just found?"
"We'd deny it," Boss replied.
Saturos gave him a wry look. "Deny it?"
Boss stammered for words. "Okay, okay, look, we can negotiate all this, just-just let me go, alright?" Boss pushed Saturos's hands off him, still backed against the wall, afraid to move. "Look, uh, there has to be something here you guys want. We got this here leather armor? Uh, maybe a sword?"
"Why would we want anything from you?" Jenna snapped. "We're not stupid!"
"Wait, Saturos," Alex said, stepping forward. "You say that you're thieves?" he asked Boss.
Boss nodded. "We prefer the term 'borrowers,' but, yeah," he replied. "We take things."
Alex and Saturos exchanged a quick glance, Saturos suddenly realizing what Alex was thinking. He looked at Boss. "Perhaps there is a way you could keep us quiet..."
* * *
Boss, Saturos, and Alex all stood outside of the Inn, looking up at the mayor's home on the hillside.
"Let me get this straight," Boss said. "You want me to steal some little boy's stick?"
"Are you saying you can't do it?" Alex asked challengingly.
"No, no," Boss hurriedly assured them. "It's just... a stick?"
"It's important to us," said Saturos. "Now will you do it or not?"
Boss chuckled. "Oh, I'll do it, but I'd better warn you," he said, leaning against the wall of the Inn. "Ever since stuff started disappearing, they've upped security around here."
"What do you mean?" Saturos asked.
"I mean, they'll search you before you leave," Boss said. "Why else do you think we haven't left? We're waiting for everyone to give up and cool down again. They should cool down after this merchant leave, though. So if you're staying for a few days..."
"We don't have a few day," Alex whispered to Saturos.
"I know," Saturos said back to him. He turned to Boss. "Where are you boys planning on going after this?" he asked.
"East, I think," he said with a sigh. "We heard about some really nice jewel at a temple over there; a big ruby called the dragon's eye."
"Why don't we meet you in about, say, a week at Bilbin?" Saturos suggested softly.
Boss looked at him. "It'll be something more for me to smuggle out of this town," he said with a sigh. "It'll cost you."
"How much?"
"Thirty gold," Boss said.
"Thirty?" Saturos gasped. "That's almost-"
"Hey!" Boss hissed to him. "Do you want the stupid stick or not?"
Saturos gave him a sidelong glance. "Alright, here..." He gave Boss fifteen coins. "I'll pay you half now, half when we get the stick in Bilbin."
"Deal," Boss chuckled, dropping the coins in his pocket.
* * *
Saturos began dropping things into his bag, ready to leave the town.
"Sun's already up," Menardi called over to him. "We should have left an hour ago."
"We let Jenna and Kraden sleep," Saturos said softly, leaving a few coins for the Innkeeper on the bed. "Besides, if anyone's following us, we have a day's head start."
"True," Menardi sighed. "Very true. Everyone else is downstairs getting breakfast."
"Go down and tell them they'd better wrap it up," Saturos said. "We should be leaving soon."
Menardi started toward the staircase, pausing almost halfway there. She turned. "Saturos?" she asked, leaning against the wall.
"Yes?" he asked, pulling the drawstrings on the bag shut.
"Why did you protect me yesterday?"
Saturos felt a blush run onto his cheeks as he turned to face her. "What?" he asked, wondering if he'd heard her correctly.
"Yesterday, when Boss attacked me," she said shortly.
Saturos swallowed hard. "I... um... It looked like you needed a little help," he said quickly, opening his bag again and digging through it. Not that he had anything he needed to find, he just needed a reason not to meet Menardi's eyes.
"I'm not helpless you know," she said, walking back toward him, upset that he wasn't paying attention to her.
"I know that, Menardi," Saturos said, looking through the bag. "It's just... Just that-"
"I am a female and he was a male." Menardi didn't ask this. She stated it. She already knew the answer.
"No," Saturos denied, looking up from his bag and turning toward her. "It's just that-"
"What then?" Menardi demanded. "I thought that we were a team in this."
"Menardi, we are," Saturos assured her quickly.
"Then why are you acting like you have to protect me?" she demanded. "I'm just as strong as you are!"
Saturos was starting to get a little frustrated with her. "Menardi, I know these things. If you think for a moment I could ever forget any of them, you're wrong."
"Then why did you step in yesterday?" she demanded. "I could have handled it!"
"If we're a team, we're going to have to accept the fact that we need to help each other once and a while!" Saturos snapped back.
Menardi blushed terribly. "I didn't need your help," she said curtly turning on her heel to leave.
Saturos grabbed her wrist. "Wait a minute, we're not done," he said as he pulled her back. He underestimated his force and pulled a little too hard. Their chests bumped together as they face one another, Menardi looking up into his eyes, the anger suddenly gone.
Neither said anything for a long moment, staring at each other. Menardi tried to swallow the lump in her throat, but didn't find the breath to.
It even took Saturos time to find the air to speak. "Menardi... I don't want anything to happen to you."
"Nothing will happen to me," she whispered back.
"How can we know that?" he asked desperately. "We have this huge task set before us... Who knows what could happen to us while we're journeying? We have to look out for one another..."
Their faces nearly touched now, the two looking at each other, neither willing to accept what they saw there very plainly. Menardi knew the real reason Saturos stepped in yesterday. It wasn't because she was a woman. It wasn't because she was his partner. It was an affection that ran much deeper than that. One that she had to admit she felt back.
And that frightened her.
She took in a sharp breath, stepping away from him, turning her back as she hurried for the stairs. "I have to go."
"Menardi," Saturos called, stepping toward the stairs.
"We'll meet you by the gate in a few minutes," she called over her shoulder as she rushed down the stairs, leaving Saturos alone.
He sighed, returning to his bedside and sitting down, reloading his things into his bag. Why did he feel upset that Menardi had left so abruptly? They were in the middle of a mission. The people of Prox depended on them. They couldn't afford any emotional complications with such a burden on their shoulders.
As he said the words to himself, they made sense to his head, but his heart resisted.
No, he told himself. They had to maintain a strictly professional relationship and nothing more, no matter what his heart told him otherwise. After this was all over? Perhaps, but now was not the time.
* * *
Saturos met everyone near the southern gate of the city, ready to head east toward Bilbin and Imil.
"Are you alright?" Felix asked Saturos.
Saturos sent a cool glance Menardi's way, sighing slightly. "Yes, I'm fine."
A short distance away, Master Hammet and his men were talking to Ivan worriedly.
"What do you mean you can't find it?" asked Hammet worriedly.
"It was by my bed before I went to sleep!" Ivan insisted. "When I woke up this morning it was gone!"
Hammet sighed. "Ivan, didn't I tell you not to lose that rod?"
"Yes, Master Hammet, but-"
"You can't leave until you find it," he said firmly.
"But then we'll be late getting into Kalay," Ivan murmured worriedly.
"We'll go on ahead," Master Hammet said. "You join us later... after you've found your rod."
Ivan looked at he ground. "Yes, Sir."
"You can stay with the mayor until you find it," Hammet said, patting the boy on the back, watching as he slowly walked toward the mayor's home.
Saturos felt a stab of guilt pierce him. The rod meant so much to the boy, but Saturos knew they had more use for it than the boy did. He only hoped the thieves would come through.
"Ho there, Master Saturos!"
Saturos turned as Hammet approached them. "Master Hammet," he said, extending his hand to be shook. "What happened with Ivan?"
"He's lost the rod," Hammet said wearily. "I don't understand how these things happen. I'll tell you, Master Saturos, I would have rather sold the rod to you than see the day Ivan lost it."
"It's probably not his fault," Saturos said, trying to smooth things over. "Young boys tend to lose things easily."
"Yes," Hammet sighed. "But he knew how much this meant to me." Hammet took in a deep breath, shaking his head slowly. "Well, he should find it soon. We got to get to Kalay, on the other hand, and we'd best start out as soon as possible."
"We're leaving as well," Saturos added with a nod toward his group.
"Then I suppose this is where we part ways and say goodbye," Hammet sighed, holding out his hand to be shook.
"It was good to meet you, Master Hammet," Saturos said, shaking his hand and turning back toward his group. "Perhaps we will meet again someday."
"Perhaps," Hammet said quietly. "Well, farewell to you, Master Saturos. May your journeys be prosperous."
"And may yours as well," Saturos quietly agreed, watching the merchant go back toward his caravan.
"Are we ready, then?" asked Alex as Saturos reached their group again.
"We're ready," he sighed. "Let's head out toward Bilbin.
(A/N: All done and better! For the first time, I almost feel sorry for poor little Ivan... but Sheba's a much better Wind Adept as it is! ^_~ I'm going to set a goal, I think, to post at least once a week, but not more than twice a week. So this will be my first post of the week. You'll have to wait until Friday or so for me to post again, unless I get feeling charitable. It is Christmas, after all.
If any of you are complaining that this was under the action/adventure category, not romance, than complain about 'Indiana Jones' too! In every movie, he has a chick on his arm! Does that mean that because these guys are the bad guys, they're not allowed to have lovers? Is that what you're saying?! If it's too gushy for you, stop watching the action movies, cuz almost all of them have some degree of gushiness in them!
BTW, things will probably get more gushy after the scene at Mercury Lighthouse, so be warned those with weak stomachs or diabetics. But remember, this is rated PG 13 for violence and VERY mild language, if any. Not gushy romance. I don't do that. Go read some other fic if you want more gush.
Speaking of fics, if you aren't reading this because you heard Vyctori's recommendation, go read her fic, "Blaze." Same topic as this one, and just as good! Go! Be gone! Go read it! Unless you're already reading it, in which case, I'll just shut up now.
Toodles!)