The next day I woke up to Shasta licking my face.

"Urgh!"

I spluttered, pushing him away and trying to wipe my face. "Dog spit in my mouth!" I tried to wipe my tongue on my sleeve. He grinned at me, his tongue hanging out of his mouth and his ears pricked. I sighed, knowing that look. "Let me get dressed," I said. "Then I'll get you something to eat."

A few minutes later we went downstairs to find everyone awake, eating breakfast that someone had bought. I went over to the stage which was where we had put the bag of dog food we had bought for Shasta, along with his bowl. I got him his breakfast and then went to go have mine. "Morning, Rae!" Everyone chorused.

I grinned. "G'morning everyone," I replied, silently vowing that it would be a very good morning indeed.

I had gone up to my room to get my book and was just turning around to go to the door when Scipio walked in. I blushed, and he smiled. "Morning, Scipio," I mumbled shyly and busied myself with picking up the sack of loot.

"Morning, Rae," he replied, plucking the bag from my hands and offering me his arm. I raised an eyebrow at his 'courtesy', but hooked elbows with him anyway. Then he laced his fingers through mine, and we walked downstairs. Hornet and Prosper shot looks at each other and grinned at us when they saw us arm in arm/hand in hand. I glared at both of them—mostly at Prosper, since he was making kissy faces at us.

Mosca and Riccio looked up from whatever they were doing and stared at us. Their mouths hung open in surprise. Scipio was grinning as he dumped the bag of loot onto the stage, and then took off his mask. "Did you see the looks on their faces?" I asked him, laughing at Mosca and Riccio as I sat on the edge of the stage. I was only just level with Scipio's head…

"Yeah, they looked like deer in the headlights," he answered, chuckling.

"Scip!"

Scipio nearly jumped out of his skin when Bo suddenly appeared in front of him, grinning insanely. "Oh, hi, Bo," Scipio said, his voice a bit breathless from his startled jump. We laughed at him.

"Did you see that!" Hornet cackled.

"That was a pirouette!" Prosper gasped.

Bo didn't see why we were laughing, but he joined in anyway. Scipio was turning a bit red, and I probably was too, but for a different reason. I tried to catch my breath and I leaned against Scipio's shoulder, holding back laughter. I giggled slightly and he glared at me. "I thought you were on my side," he muttered in mock anger.

I grinned and kissed his cheek. "I am, but that was so funny!" I burst out laughing again, unable to hold myself up and relying on Scipio to not move—if he did I'd fall to the floor and die laughing.

Bo blinked at us, a strange look on his face. Once everyone (including me) had calmed down, he opened his mouth to speak. "Scip, Rae, are you two getting married?" He asked.

Scipio's POV

I was too shocked to say anything, and I could tell that everyone else was too. Hornet giggled slightly after a moment, but then the room was filled with silence again. I glanced at Rae to see her mouth was slightly open as she tried to find an answer. Her astonishment was quite obvious—and quite adorable. "W-well, Bo," she said finally, her voice a bit nervous. "We're a bit too young for that…"

He cocked his head to the side, giving us that strange, curious look again. "But then how come you're holding hands and you kissed him?" he asked, frowning slightly as he pondered it over.

Rae's face turned red and she loosened her fingers around mine for a fraction of a second, as though debating whether or not to keep holding hands with me. I tightened my grip, and a hint of a smile danced on her beautiful face. "Well, uh…" She looked at me sheepishly, her expression clearly stating, 'Say something!'

"Er, Bo," I started, trying to put something together. How do you explain to a six year—six and a quarter year old about 'dating', or whatever we were doing? I looked at Prosper for guidance, only to see him watching us nervously, as though trying to find an answer himself.

"Scipio and Rae really like each other," Hornet said for us, as though it was easy. "Like the prince and the princess in the book I read you the other night. But they're not ready to get married yet—they've got to get to know each other more, so that they're sure that they're perfect for each other."

Bo's eyes widened, and he grinned at us. "I see now!" he exclaimed, bobbing up and down excitedly. "I think you two are perfect for each other!"

Great, a six and a quarter year old matchmaker…

Rae sighed and she looked at me, slightly amused. I smiled wearily at her.

"Come on, Bo," Prosper said, coming to our rescue before his brother could say anything else that would get us fumbling for words. "Let's go find your kittens."

Bo skipped off with Prop to find said kittens, and everyone in the room let out a breath they had been holding. "Who knew that he could come up with a question that was so hard to answer?" Rae asked Hornet.

Hornet grinned, and then got a devilish look on her face as she looked at me. "So, Scipio, are you and Rae going to get married?" she asked.

I sighed and shook my head. "Hornet, does it look like that?" I asked tartly. "Of course not." As I turned around to the stage to put the loot back in the sack I caught a glimpse of Rae's face—she was frowning to herself, a look of slight disappointment in her eyes.

It was gone when I turned back to look at her.

"Let's get Prosper," she said, untangling her fingers from mine and hopping down from the stage. "We'll go sell this to the Redbeard." She walked off without saying another word, and Hornet followed behind her. I watched after them, until they disappeared into another room.

Mosca and Riccio were still gawking at me, but I ignored them, eyes still on the spot Rae had just vacated. I had an uneasy feeling, as if I'd done something stupid.

Did I say something wrong?

Rae

"I saw that look on your face," Hornet said quietly to me. "You want your happily ever after."

I rolled my eyes. "Doesn't everyone?" I asked as I looked through a door, checking to see if Prosper was there. "And anyway, we're way too young to even think about that sort of things," I added.

She shook her head, sending her long braid swinging. "Just wait—soon you'll be doodling hearts with his name in them, and writing sappy poetry. Seriously, Rae. Do you really believe that?"

"Maybe." I rolled my eyes and spotted Prosper down the hall. "Yo, Prop," I called. "We're going to Barbarossa's again!"

3rd PPOV

Once again Rae and Prosper were inside the Redbeard's office, and Prosper and he were having a staring match. Prosper had his mask of marble on, and Rae could tell that Barbarossa was about to crack any moment now… Just to help him along, Rae began flipping her dagger. That made his stony façade crumble. "Fine, I'll give you four hundred thousand lire," he grumbled, pouting as he handed Prosper the money. As Rae began to check and double check the money, Barbarossa cleared his throat. "One more thing…" Rae's eyes snapped up to his face, knowing what would come next.

"Ask the Thief Lord if he would take on a job."

Prop blinked. "A job?" he questioned.

Rae shot Prop a glare. "Explain," she said calmly to Barbarossa.

"One of my most important clients is looking for a talented man who will—let's say—fetch something for him. Something my client wants rather badly. As far as I have gathered, the item is here, in Venice. Should be child's play for someone—" Barbarossa twisted his face into a scornful smile "—who likes to call himself the Thief Lord, shouldn't it?"

Rae's jaw clenched. "We'll see what he says," she answered, trying not to show that his comment had irked her, and snatched up the bag.

"Excellent," Barbarossa said, leaning back in his chair with a smug smile. "If he wants to take on the job, tell him to send one of you with his answer. I will then arrange a meeting with my client." He lowered his voice. "The payment will be very generous. My client has assured me of that."

Rae snatched her dagger by the hilt and sheathed it with a sound of clashing metal. "Adios," she muttered and kicked Prop in the shins with the flat of her foot (the top part where the tongue of the shoe goes), herding him out the door.

"Let me know as soon as possible about that job!" Barbarossa shouted after them.

"Of course," Rae answered and then kept walking. This is it, Rae, she thought to herself. You can either not tell him and change the story so you won't have any clue what to do, or keep going and risk Prop and Bo being found, Hornet taken to the orphanage, and Scipio riding the merry-go-round… She bit her lip, stopping for a moment, pretending to tie her shoe as she thought. It was a hard decision; either way she might lose control of the story…and she didn't know what she'd do then.

"Rae…are we going to tell Scipio about this job?" Prosper asked.

Rae looked up at him as she stood. "I'm thinking; I'm not sure," she answered quietly. He nodded understandingly and they continued walking, and what happened next made Rae make up her mind.

Prosper walked around two women who were arguing noisily in the middle of the street—only to walk straight into a man who had just walked out of a bar with a slice of pizza in his hand. The man was small and stocky. A piece of cheese clung to his thick walrus mustache. He spun around angrily—and then stared at Prosper as if he had seen a ghost.

Prosper muttered, "Scusi," and quickly pushed past the man and disappeared into the crowd. Rae pushed past the man, too, making sure to swing her long hair into his eyes. He cursed and stumbled.

Rae pulled Prosper into a doorway, trying to keep out of sight. "That's Victor Getz—a detective," Rae murmured. "Scip and I tailed him the other day. He's working for your Aunt: looking for you and Bo." She saw that the coast was clear and dragged him into an alley so narrow Barbarossa would certainly have gotten stuck in it. The wind whistled past them. Prosper knew where this tiny passage led: into a labyrinth of alleys that could, and would confuse even a Venetian. It wasn't a bad route if you wanted to lose someone.

But Rae had stopped and flattened herself against the wall, watching the people passing by. "If he sees us," Rae whispered to Prosper, "run."

The schoolchildren skipped past, and then the nuns walked by…then came the short, stocky man with big feet and the mustache. He looked around, stood on his toes, craned his neck—and then cursed. Rae and Prosper hardly dared to breath. Finally, the man walked off.

"Let's get away before he comes back," Rae whispered, and then dragged him off deeper into the alleys. Just like before, Rae had a map in her mind that led her through the maze of alleys and bridges. They suddenly stumbled back into sunlight.

"Come on," Rae said. In front of them was the crowded Grand Canal. She dragged Prop toward a vaporetto stop. Soon they had vanished into the crowd of people waiting for the next boat. "Watch for him," Rae said to Prosper, studying everyone around her, but she knew Victor wasn't there. When the next vaporetto finally arrived, the two smuggled themselves onto the boat with the crowd. While everyone else scrambled into free seats, Prosper and Rae walked up to the deck rail and scanned the crowd on the bank of the canal. "There he is," Rae muttered, and pointed.

Prosper saw him clearly—there was the walrus mustache, squinting after the departing boat. Rae stuck her tongue out at him. Prosper bit his lip. The detective had long vanished out of sight, but Prop kept staring toward the bank in case he suddenly appeared… He was obviously worried.

"Stop it," Rae said, pulling him away from the side of the boat. "You're making me nervous."

"Who was he again?" Prosper asked. Rae sighed and nodded.

"He's a detective who works for tourists: looks for lost handbags, wallets and such. He nearly caught Riccio once. But he's not very fast." Rae shook her head. "He's looking for you and Bo for your aunt… Let's get off here," she said. They jumped off the boat while the new passengers were already pushing aboard. Rae tried to lighten the mood by saying what Riccio had said in the book. "The others probably think we've taken the money and split!" Prosper looked at her, his face emotionless. "Our little boat trip hasn't made the way back any shorter, either."

"Rae…how did you know about my aunt?"

Rae's mind worked quickly. "I did some snooping about the snoop," she answered without hesitation. "And I found out."

Prosper nodded, but something in him was telling him she wasn't telling the truth. He bent down and picked up a plastic fan from a doorstep. The handle was missing, but Bo wouldn't mind that. "Bo thinks I can take care of everything," he said, stuffing his find into his pocket. "But if Hornet hadn't found us…"

Rae stuffed her hands in her pockets and elbowed him. "Stop it," she said darkly. "I won't let anything happen to you or Bo—I'll do everything I can to keep you two safe."

He looked up at her. "I think I could take care of myself—it's Bo I'm worried about," he said. "Sometimes he's so annoying--but then I can't bring myself to punishing him. He's all I have left. You know?"

Rae smiled at him slightly. Yes, I know exactly. She had not one, but two little sisters—fraternal, nine year old twins. Although they looked nothing alike, they were identical trouble makers, and loved to make Rae's life miserable.

But she'd do anything to see them again.

"Prop, don't worry about the snoop—remember, you have my word that no harm will ever come to you or Bo." No harm, she thought grimly. But if Bo gets taken by Esther for a little while I won't be breaking my word.

"Rae…do you ever wish you were grown-up?"

"Truthfully—sometimes. I could have a home; have no one to boss me around… I could have a car, do things I wanted to do for a living… I would be independent, and I've always wanted to be… I could have children, and share with them everything wonderful in the world, and learn from them as much as they'd learn from me."

She jumped from a bridge onto a street.

"But then again…There would be the hard times, of course, the ups and downs…and then I'd eventually be unable to do anything that I can do now." To alliterate, she did a cartwheel, dropped into a forward roll, and then jumped up again without breaking the momentum. "So it all depends on when you ask me. Right now though…I'm just fine with letting nature take its time."

He nodded and caught up to her. "Don't tell Bo about the detective, OK?"

"Of course, mon ami," Rae answered.