Just one more test (next Tuesday) and a few more assignments! This chapter was smaller than usual, but it was all I could cook up during my pitiful amount of free time. Hopefully, by the time the next time comes around, I'd have been finished with school and have written a reeeeeeeeeeeally long one. :)

The Month of Celebrating (December) Age 8

Week 1

Christmas is coming, and everyone's getting worked up about it. Some people are even considering getting a trip to Terror Mountain just for the Advent Calendar; who could say no to a free Christmas paintbrush? My parents, though, decided to stay in Brightvale to help out. The Thieves' Guild can't afford to lose so many members, especially in the winter. Besides, they told me, everyone's always thought of going there bad luck. That's where the old hideout was. I wondered what Kanrik felt about the place. Sure, it's where the last head was overthrown, but wasn't he the one who did that? And isn't that where he stepped up?

Oh yeah, the guild's still a mess without him. It's weird how just one person- even though he is the guild leader- could mean so much. It's also a bit annoying. I mean, can't we just move on? And I'm not just saying that because I'm still mad at Kanrik or feel even the tiniest guilty that he's captured.

I'm not.

Really.

Week 2

The first snow fell this year. I know that some people think Brightvale is always green and stuff because that's how it's always shown in the pictures, but it isn't true. They have a good reason for not showing any photographs, though. Unlike the piercing, pure beauty of the ice countries up north, the kingdom just looks plain miserable in December.

But like the kids that we really are, we went wild for it anyway, pressing our faces to the window when we saw the first snowflakes. Finally, the Kyrii dismissed us with a wave of his hand, saying that it does only come once a year. There were too few shoppers to rob to make a field trip, so this was really free time. We immediately started snowball fighting. It didn't matter which side we were on; we were just having fun!

Even Kayley seemed to be enjoying it for awhile. I decided then that it was a good time talk to her- I still hadn't since the incident when she pounced on me. I started off our cheerful conversation by nailing her with a clump of snow. She cringed, even though she and the twins have been exchanging ice grenades for half-an-hour. "What'd you that for?"

I stared at her. "It's snowball fighting. What, you've never gotten hit?"

A ghost of a smile appeared on her face, and she held up her arms and twirled around. Besides the spot where I pelted her, she was completely spotless. "Nope."

"Woah." I gaped. Then I shook my head. "Well, it's an honor being the first." I gave her a mock bow. She rolled her eyes. "Seriously, though, you should get snowballed more often. It takes the fun out of it by getting away all the time."

"I can't." She suddenly looked very uncomfortable.

"Why not?" I teased. "Too high up to get pummeled by a common piece of ice?"

"I just can't, okay? It's cold." She glared at me suddenly. "Why are you here, anyway? Have you come to apologize?"

Despite the fierce wind, my face burned. "Me? Apologize? As if! You're the one who should be saying sorry to me."

"For what? I did you a favor. No good would have come out of that little friendship, if she even thought of it as that."

"So?" I spat out. "It was none of your business."

"It was all of my business. And don't you even feel some remorse for what happened on that stupid field trip when Kanrik had to come with you-"

"After you ratted me out!"

"-And think of how he might be feeling right now. It's freezing in the dungeons at the best of times. What about in the winter? Ever thought of that? Huh?" With that, she walked away. I'd have liked to give her some biting comment in return, but I just couldn't get that picture out of my head. I couldn't even play with the snow anymore, thinking how chilly Kanrik would be; probably as frosty as Kayley's heart.

Week 3

Everyone who didn't leave Brightvale had to go to this Christmas feast that the Guild hosted every year. Up till now, my parents always left me with a sitter at those nights (which who I usually escape and eventually come back to just before Mom and Dad arrive home), but since I'm an official member they had to bring me along. It was really irritating with them fussing on me over dinner. It began with a speech, led by this Skeith who was Kanriks fourth-in-command:

"As you probably know by now, our faithful leader has been caught and is currently residing in a maximum security prison. Don't worry, we'll get him out somehow, but for now he would want us to delight in this lovely feast which brings together so many people from our Guild."

I didn't like the way they made him sound, as if he was dead. Not one bit.

I was hoping to meet a few people not from my class, but no such luck. All year long I've been, well, confined to the same four people: Razor, the twins, and Kayley. Besides the last one, they really are good pals, but they do get a bit bothersome. I guess those are a few reasons why I liked Brynn a lot: She was someone I didn't see every single day, someone equally as skillful (though in a guard way- it wouldn't be good for her if she was a thief!), and someone who needed a friend just as much as I did.

Week 4

The sun came out on New Years' Day, which was a relief. The clouds looked pretty at first and it was nice getting away from the bright glare, but I began missing it after a bit. I was on top of Brightvale's many hills when it happened. I'd been feeling kinda restless since class was out for the day, so I climbed on top of one. It didn't take me long to realize that I'd never done it before because I was too lazy; I was already puffing before the half-way point. But I'd made it that far, and I'm not one to give up.

When I reached the tip, I was amazed. A shower of light burst through the fluffy water-vapor and hit the white-capped kingdom, making both the snow and the stained glass sparkle. Making it seem more precious than the rarest gem. For the first time, I knew why they finally called it "Brightvale."

Another thing that was cool about it was that the view didn't stop at the gates. It traveled from miles around, up until forever. I could see tiny traders walking along the main road up to Meridell. I could see some toy ships going full-steam ahead to Krawk Island. It was awesome- it made me remember that the world wasn't confined inside the city walls. One day, it'd definitely be cool to explore Neopia. Still, I reasoned, I just barely survived my first year as a thief. I guess I'll wait for awhile before I take on the big sharks- but for now I have smaller fish to fry.