Hey, guys!
I'm back with a new chapter. I love to see that people have reviewed! Thank you, those who have reviewed.
I really appreciate reviews, honestly, so don't forget to review! No flames please!
Thanks to—
Inkysubstance- Thank you for the review. It's not a stupid question. I'll tell you about the ages—
Let's say Scipio is 15, Prosper is 14, Bo is 8, Hornet is 14, Mosca is 17, Riccio is 13, Rosa is 14. I hope that cleared the confusion! Thank you and keep reading and reviewing!
Me—
Lol! Yeah, I haven't read the book in awhile. I am reading it now. I'm sorry for that mistake. I didn't notice it!
Rosa is 14.
Lee Pyro—
Oh, thank you for the review! Well, I'll try to improve!
joyfulangel319—
Hi!! Well, you haven't added me on yahoo or msn! Do it soon! Can't wait to chat with you:) keep reading please! Thank you for the comments. I'm glad you liked the format. I thought it'd be nice to write it like that! Oh yeah, about my grammar, I'm working on it:)
Ok, I have had reviews asking me about Scipio's reaction. Well, let's say he's gotten a bit paranoid about his identity or he hasn't been able to steal anything since his dad is always at home or something like that and he doesn't want another burden. Orrrr…he seems to like Rosa but he does not want to show it:P
So, shall we go ahead with chapter 2?
Chapter 2.
Why is he so rude?!
Rosa didn't know what woke her up. Whether it was the sound of Bo skipping across the theatre or of Riccio dropping the metal cup with a loud 'thud'. Whatever it was she sure felt all healthy and warm. She opened her eyes and looked around.
It took a few minutes to register where she was and what had happened in the night. She sat up slowly and looked around.
"Rosa!!"
Bo came running towards her and skipped around happily.
"How do you feel?" he asked cheerfully.
"Very hale and hearty!" Rosa replied surprised to find her voice back.
Bo smiled and took her hand. "Come, do you want some tea? Hornet's making some!!"
Rosa smiled and got up slowly. She winced a bit as a little spasm shot through her left hip. Bo frowned as he looked back at her.
"You ok?" he asked. Rosa nodded. "Yes, only I feel little stiff. I need to stretch," she replied. Bo nodded. She followed him, his fingers held firmly in his little hands.
Hornet looked up and smiled.
"Buogiorno!" she greeted.
Rosa smiled back.
"Buogiorno!" she greeted back.
"Rosa wants some tea!" Bo said loudly. Hornet smiled adoringly at Bo.
"Sure, Bo, why don't you take Rosa around the theatre whilst I make tea for her?" Hornet said to Bo.
"Ok! You come with me for now, Rosa, Hornet's making tea for you in the mean time, ok?" Bo said to Rosa explaining her as if she was a very small child. Rosa nodded.
"Why not?!" Rosa said.
"…And this is from where we have to escape if there is any emergency!" Bo finished pointing at a small wooden door.
"Emergency, has there been any emergency ever?" Rosa asked, interested.
"Hmm…not yet, I guess not till now," Bo said importantly. He was really enjoying showing Rosa around. It made him feel important. Rosa looked around the old broken down theatre.
"Nice place to hide, you've got there," she said, "Thank you for showing me around, Bo, you're a wonderful guide!"
Bo beamed. "Thanks!"
By the time they went back to Hornet, tea was ready and the others were sitting on the floor in a circle sipping on theirs. Rosa gratefully gulped down her cup tea.
"Thank you very much, Hornet, I'm really grateful for whatever you guys have done for me," Rosa said as she put the cup down gently and slowly got up.
"Hey, hey! Where're you going?!" Prosper asked suddenly. Everyone's eyes turned to Rosa who looked back.
"I have to go now, honestly I don't want to be a burden to you guys," she said slowly. She waited for their response.
"No, don't go!" Bo suddenly spoke up. Rosa looked at Bo who got up and walked to her. He took her hand in his and pulled her gently towards the small group.
"Bo, I don't think-"
"Stay, Rosa, please," Hornet suddenly said.
"Hornet, I'm sorry, but I ca-"
"No, Rosa, please stay," Mosca said.
Rosa stared at the five people in front of her. They were sincerely pleading her to stay. She sighed and smiled.
"Guys, I don't know how to thank you fo-" she was cut off by Prosper.
"Don't keep thanking us, Rosa, save it for some other time!" he said and gave her a grin. She smiled back. She felt a gentle tug and looked down at Bo who tugged her towards the group. She went and sat there. All of them sat there for sometime, talking and laughing.
Rosa had never felt happier. All of them were laughing their heads off at a stupid joke which Riccio had cracked till they heard a knock at the door.
Thinking the least she could do to return their favour by opening the door she excused herself and walked along the long dark entrance way towards the door. She fiddled with the rusty latch for a few seconds before opening the rotten wooden door.
"Don't you guys understand, why didn't you ask me the pass-"
Scipio stopped. He looked directly into her brown eyes. She looked back at him, surprised. Then suddenly she muttered a feeble, "Hello."
Scipio looked away and closed the door behind him. Not taking any notice of her; he walked past her towards the theatre.
Feeling hurt, Rosa returned quietly to the theatre to find all of them sitting in a group at on end of the stage. She was about to walk towards them but then she remembered her brief meeting with Scipio a few seconds ago and thought better of it. She turned around and walked towards the red, ruined seats.
She sat on one of them, staring at the beautiful curtain. She smiled as she remembered the stars she used to see in the night from her bedroom window…
At once she stopped that thread of thoughts there itself. She didn't want to think anything about the past. She should think about the present and future. She rested her head back and closed her eyes. Humming a small tune under her breath she tried to remember the beautiful statue of a winged lion she had seen at a square. It was indeed pretty.
Her eyes flew open as she heard someone shout. Her head jerked sideways to find Prosper and Scipio looking daggers at each other. Mosca was between them, trying to separate them and Hornet was with Bo who seemed to be on the verge of tears.
"Why do they fight?" Rosa wondered as she looked at Scipio backing away. He lifted his coat which lay on the ground besides him and walked across the theatre. Rosa stared at him as he passed her. As he did, he glanced back at her. She felt herself looking at him.
His expression didn't look friendly but mysterious. Rosa felt her cheeks heating under his gaze even though he was three feet away from where she was standing.
He turned and moved swiftly out of theatre.
Rosa watched him walking out of the theatre. She looked at the starry blue curtain again.
Were they talking about me?
Rosa wondered why she thought of that. She got up and looked at the little group which had scattered. Hornet glanced around and spotted her.
"Hey! Come here!" Hornet called. Rosa walked to Hornet.
"Rosa, do you want to stay here with Bo or do you want to come with Prosper and me for shopping?" Hornet asked. Rosa looked around. She spotted Bo looking at her with hopeful eyes. She would have rather gone out with Hornet and Prosper for shopping but…
"I'll stay here with Bo," Rosa replied and Bo beamed. Bo skipped away from them towards Prosper.
"Hey, Hornet," Rosa said suddenly in a low voice, "I heard some…er…arguments going on…what were they about?"
Hornet didn't meet her eyes.
"It's…er…something about that guy…called Barbarossa, he wanted something and…" Hornet suddenly changed the subject, "Scipio came in the morning because he had some important business to take care of."
Hornet moved away. Rosa looked at her. She couldn't make out anything she just said.
"What do you mean?" she asked in a small voice but Hornet was already away putting Riccio's comics in a neat stacks.
"Rosa," someone called. Rosa turned to face Prosper.
"If you need anything, Mosca's in the back alley. He's repairing his boat, ok?" Prosper said. Rosa nodded.
"Ok, bye," she said. Prosper smiled. "Take care of Bo, bye!"
Rosa watched Hornet and Prosper walk out of the theatre and Riccio sprinting off behind them.
Mosca was already out in the back alley.
Rosa sat down on the ground as she heard the door shut.
"Bo!" she called out. Her voice rang through the theatre. She heard the patter of small feet behind her.
Two arms wrapped themselves around her neck.
"Boo!!"
Rosa giggled.
"I'm not scared so easily, Bo!"
Bo pouted.
"Aww…come sit here!" Rosa giggled and patted the floor. Bo plopped down besides her.
"I like your hair!" Bo said suddenly. Rosa smiled.
"Really?"
Bo nodded.
"But I like yours better!" Rosa patted his pale golden hair.
"Scipio says it's golden like the sunshine!" Bo declared.
"Scipio, isn't he the guy who came in the morning?" Rosa asked, wanting to talk more about Scipio. Bo nodded.
"Yes, he's very busy, you know!" Bo said importantly.
"Oh, is he famous?" Rosa asked. Bo nodded. "Yes, he's the Thief Lord after all!"
"Thief Lord? You mean like a burglar?" Rosa asked, her eyes widening. Bo paused.
"You can say that, m'lady! And I'm his humble assistant!" Bo said bowing.
Rosa chuckled. "Oh, Mr. Humble Assistant, please do tell me more about your master!"
Bo gazed around thinking.
"Well, Scipio steals and brings things for us so that we can sell them to a greasy shop owner called Barbarossa," Bo said matter-of-factly, "And then we can buy things for ourselves with that money!"
"Oh, but stealing is bad," Rosa said. Bo looked at her uncertainly. "I dunno, Prosper says that too." He said quietly.
"Whatever Prosper says is right!" Rosa said patting Bo's head.
Bo looked around. "Thanks to Scipio that we're here," he said. "Oh, so, did you run away from home?" Rosa asked. Bo nodded.
"My aunt wanted to separate me from my brother," he said. "What about your mother and your father?" Rosa asked before she could stop herself.
"They died," Bo looked at the floor. Rosa could have kicked herself for asking that.
"Bo, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"It's ok, Rosa, now I'm happy here with my friends! And besides I have you too!" Bo said and suddenly gave Rosa a small hug.
"Bo, you're soooo cute!" Rosa said smiling.
"Tell me about you, why were you in the snow? You could have got a cold, you know!" Bo said. Rosa laughed. "Well, I ran away from home too," she paused, "But under different circumstances." She looked at the large curtain lost in thought.
"Rosa?"
Rosa looked at Bo. "Yes, Bo?"
Bo smiled shyly. "You're cute too."
Rosa felt herself go red. "I'm not! You're cuter!"
Bo pouted. "Oh no! You're cuter!"
"No no, you're cuter cuter!"
"No, you're cuter cuter cuter!!!"
"You're cuter cuter cuter cuter!!"
"You're cuter cuter cuter cuter cuter cuter cuter cuter cuter cuter cuter cuter!!"
Bo smiled in triumph. "I won!" Bo said.
"Oh no, you didn't!"
With that Rosa turned to tickle Bo. Bo gasped and laughed at the same time.
"You're ticklish!" Rosa said as she tickled cackling Bo. Rosa stopped. Bo gasped, panting hard.
"See, I won!" Rosa said in triumph.
Bo pouted but then he got up and yelled, "Tag!!" and ran off. Rosa sighed. Bo would never give up! She got up and ran off behind him. She caught up with him easily, picked him up and tickled him.
"No, Rosa!! Stop!! It tickles!!" Bo squealed. Rosa laughed.
Suddenly they heard a knock on the door. Rosa walked to the door. She pulled up the rusty latch and opened the rotting door. Prosper and Hornet stood at the door.
"Hey!" Prosper greeted as Rosa moved aside to give them way.
"Hi, you're back!" Rosa said as she moved aside to let him and Hornet in. "What did you bring today, Prop?" Bo asked.
Prosper grinned. "I brought cakes for you," he said. Bo squealed. "And sausages and bread!" Hornet smiled.
"Tonight we're going to celebrate the arrival of a new member in out crew!" Prosper cried out as he put down the huge bulging bags in excitement.
Hornet looked at Rosa who went red. "Uh…celebration for me?" she asked quietly, astounded.
Prosper took her hands in his and swung her around gently.
"Of course!" he said, "There'll be music and dance and a feast!" he said swinging her hands. Bo squealed in excitement. Hornet laughed. Rosa giggled.
"Thank you very much!" she said.
"No problem, Rosa, and now, we're all best friends, so, no 'thank yous' and 'sorrys'!" Hornet laughed. Rosa smiled.
"To Rosa!" Prosper stood up, his glass of juice held high in salute, "Our new comrade!"
Rosa blushed slightly. They sat on an old wooden table Mosca dragged down from the store room. Dinner was not grade but wonderfully satisfying. It was quite a spread-
Sausages, bread, pasta, olives, cakes, juice and fruits.
Riccio burped after his third glass of juice. He stretched and leaned back on the chair.
"I wonder when Scipio will come with his loot," he sighed sleepily. Hornet glanced around the theatre.
"He won't be there yet, it's too early for him," she said.
"Yeah, can't he sleep for once?!" Prosper said, "It's so annoying when he comes like that in the middle of the night! It's be better if he'd come in the morning like he did today!"
"Yeah, Scipio does irritate me with his mid night arrivals!" Riccio said sleepily, "I wish I could have given him an advice to sleep early!"
"Why don't you, Riccio?!"
All of them jumped as a voice echoed through the theatre. Scipio walked in, pulling off his mask. He looked at the table.
"My, my, what a spread…" he said eyeing the food, "May I know the reason for this celebration?"
"It's a way to welcome Rosa in our crew!!" Bo said before Prosper could reply. Scipio raised his one eyebrow.
"Oh, Welcome, signora," he said looking at Rosa but he sounded cold.
Rosa nodded, feeling weird under his gaze. "Th-thank you," she said in a small voice. Scipio looked at the others.
"I have a small assignment for all of you," he said importantly. Rosa noticed everyone had tensed up. Even Riccio, who was on the verge of sleeping, was sitting upright.
"Tomorrow night, I want Prosper and Hornet to go to Barbarossa and get some more money from him," he threw a sack in front of them,
"Mosca," he said turning to Mosca, "I want you and Riccio to keep a watch on the huge mansion behind the huge square where there are winged horses, got me?" he looked around. They nodded.
"What about Rosa?" Bo asked suddenly, he knew he wouldn't be allowed to go anywhere at night. Scipio's black eyes flickered at Rosa who looked puzzled.
"Let our new member stay in the theatre and look after it," he said in an arrogant tone. Rosa felt her heart sinking. Why was he so cold and rude?! He turned to walk away.
"But," she said suddenly, alarming everyone and herself too. "But why can't I go?"
Scipio turned around, surprised.
His eyes narrowed.
"Well, let's say that new members are not as trustable as the old ones!" he said and turned around to walk out leaving a ringing silence behind.
How was it? I know I've totally changed Scipio's character but please bear with me! Bye bye! Do review!
Miki Bidan
