For the next three days, Elaine made definite progress in the healing process. Before long, she was able to walk without a limp and move her upper body with ease. The only problem was her wrist, which she believed she had twisted, the fact that she usually felt somewhat sore, and a scar that remained near her eyebrow. It was noticeable, but she could keep it covered with her hair if she wanted to.
Which she did.
The hot summer weather made her drousy and tired, so often it was that one could find her curled up on a seat in the theater, sleeping peacefully, or in bed, taking a nap and with one of Hornet's books in her hands. This resulted in her often being slightly confused or difficult for her to always pay attention, which came to be an annoyance to her, after a while.
Hornet, on the other hand, said it was a good thing. "The fact that you are sleeping so much is essential when you're healing. Before you know it, you'll be feeling just fine."
Even so, Elaine was often cooped up in the Stella, not going anywhere because she was still healing. She was okay with this at first, but after a while, it started to get to her and her temper got slightly shorter than it usually was.
Moody and angry at seemingly everything, Elaine was pleased when, one evening, Hornet offered her a chance to go shopping for groceries the next day. "You'll like all the sights around the city. Even though it'll probably still be hot, you'll have a nice time. Just be sure not to trip over the pigeons."
Elaine laughed and responded, "I'll be sure to. The last thing I want is to have my teeth smashed in by concrete because of a pigeon!"
Soon, the two fell asleep. Elaine was in the middle of a dream when she heard Hornet say in a harsh whisper, "Scipio! God, I'm so tired of you turning up in the middle of the night...why can't you ever come at a reasonable hour?"
Scipio. Elaine was still groggy and in a state of half-sleep, but that woke her up. She'd heard so much about the Thief Lord, but never actually seen the boy who had rescued her. She sat up and, in the darkness, saw Hornet standing next to another tall figure.
"And now you've woken her up!" said Hornet crossly as Elaine turned on the lamp, suddenly bathing the room in a bright glow, and got her first look at the person who would forever change her life.
Scipio...did not look exactly how she'd imagined him, though she couldn't be sure what she'd been expecting. His dark hair contrasted so magnificently with his pale skin that she had to blink several times to get used to the effect of it. And his eyes...His eyes were almost as dark as his hair, if not darker, and full of mystery.
"Hello," he said to her, holding out his hand for her to shake. "Are you feeling any better? Looked like some pretty nasty injuries to me."
Elaine felt shy, suddenly, shyer than she'd felt in a while. His voice was silky and somewhat deep, and his mere presence was very intimidating. However, the softness of his hand was enough to give her enough confidence to say, "I'm feeling very well, thank you."
"Good to hear, Elaine," he said, dropping her hand. How does he know my name? she wondered, confused.
"Elaine will be staying with us," said Hornet suddenly from behind Scipio, and Elaine felt embarassed all over again: her cheeks went red and she stared at the floor.
"Well...I mean...just for...a bit, you know..." she mumbled, her voice getting softer and quieter by the second.
Scipio smiled as she looked up slightly, cheeks still red. His smile was...radiant, to say the least. Something she couldn't quite name rushed through her body at the sight of it, and she thought she could stare forever at that wonderful smile.
"I don't mind," he said. "I really don't. I understand that some of us don't have everything we need to go along, and that's okay. You can stay with us as long as you like."
"Thank you very much," she said. "Seriously, thank you. You don't know how much I appreciate it."
Scipio smiled again, and she felt herself melt under his gaze. Oh God! she thought. At that moment, however, Bo appeared in the doorway and flung himself at Scipio, squeezing the life out of him. "Scip! You're here! HIIIIII!" he said entergetically.
"Bo! What did I tell you about staying up late...?!" came Prosper's annoyed voice, but he stopped when he saw Scipio. "Oh. Scipio. It's you."
And he smiled as well.
Mosca and Riccio had just staggered into the room, rubbing their eyes and swearing under their breath, when Scipio said, "Guys, come downstairs. I've got..." He trailed off and looked at Elaine, then Hornet, who nodded. "I've got something," he finished.
iWhat in the world is he talking about?/i wondered Elaine as everyone slowly filtered out of the room. Only Hornet stayed behind, and looked over at Elaine.
"Come on," she said, helping her friend up. As they headed downstairs, she asked, in a quieter voice, "Remember how I told you Scipio is...well...the Thief Lord?"
Elaine nodded, and suddenly she understood exactly what Hornet was talking about. "Oh. Yeah. Right."
Downstairs, in the theatre, Scipio had emptied a burlap bag of its contents, which turned out to be glittering jewelry and coins of every shape and size. Elaine watched him empty it with wonder, mouth slightly open; then, realizing she was staring, she quickly looked away and her cheeks turned pink again.
"Prosper, get this to Barbarossa tomorrow," Scipio was saying to the teenager. "You should get a pretty good price on it, if I'm not mistaken."
"Okay, okay," said Prosper. For some reason he seemed to be trying to block Bo's view of the bag's contents; the 7-year-old escaped his brother's arms and looked up at him. "I'm not--!" he began, loudly, but Mosca told him to shush and he quieted.
"Well, see you all later," said Scipio, heading towards the door. He turned and smiled, Elaine thought, at herself. Then he walked into the darkness and was gone.