The Month of Celebrating (December) Age 9

Week 1

It might be called the month of celebrating, but there wasn't much to get all festive about. Kanrik was still worked up about the Masila business, and honestly, I was a little bit worried. If I'm worried, a reckless kid, then it's generally really bad. I know that Kanrik's the guild leader and stuff, and he survived Masila before, but the way she managed to nearly persuade him last month…now that was scary.

I tried talking to him about it. "I know who Masila is, sort of. The first time you met me you said that she was the old guild leader's evil girlfriend. But that doesn't explain a lot of stuff that she was telling you-"

"It's not open for discussion, Hanso," he replied. We were in his study today instead of anywhere else. All the bulletin boards were filled with problems, though I didn't pay much attention to it. Kanrik stared at them exasperatedly, as if hoping that they would solve themselves.

"She said things didn't work out between the two of us," I pressed, ignoring him. "What did that mean? Wait…" A thought struck me. "Were you in l-"

"HANSO!" He yelled, whirling around. "It is none of your business. I'm sure she just came there to aggravate me."

"She went at you with a dagger," I reminded him. "She probably wants revenge, not just to creep you out. Plus, you have to tell the rest of the Guild soon. They'll find out sooner or later, and believe me, I think you'll want it sooner."

"I'll manage," he said firmly. "I'm not afraid of her."

"But she controlled you last month-"

"A small slip," he insisted. "A simple mistake. It will not happen again, I assure you. In the meantime, I have other matters…." He went back to gazing at the bulletin boards.

"What's this?" I asked, getting closer. They all seemed to be lists of names, and some of them were crossed out. Most of them were crossed out.

"Missing members," he answered. "People have been disappearing as of last month.

"You don't think that Masila-"

"No!" He snapped. "It's most definitely not her. Now why don't you just sit back down and do something productive?" He sighed when he saw I wasn't going to let up. "You can have free time; I'm busy, anyway."

Normally I would've been out of the office in a flash, but I didn't want to leave Kanrik like this. He seemed so…well, tired. The dark circles underneath his eyes told me that he'd been up all night, and I knew how exhausting that could be. But he raised his eyebrows and pointed to the door, like I forgot where it was. I just bit my lip and went, wondering where to go.

I contemplated on what I thought of earlier; had Kanrik been in love with Masila? Ew. That was gross! But it is a possibility. I know he was angry last time, but something told me that Masila's persuasive voice wasn't the only thing that got Kanrik to listen to her. He wanted to believe it. And if that was true, then what had gotten him out of it before?

I remembered the story that he told me ages ago. She ordered him to double-cross the leader, resulting into unleashing the terrible "Bringer of the Night." He skipped over that part quickly, as if he didn't want to say much; I guess that meant that there was more to it than that. She probably convinced him, instead of using force like he implied. Then he rejoined the adventurer he betrayed earlier, and they rescued the Boris from sure destruction.

He had described Hannah rapidly, too. I instantly recounted what he had told me about her. Not much; she was an Usul, she had long, brown hair, and she didn't mind embarrassing him in public (like me!). That wasn't enough to fill in the blanks. I wish I had someone to talk to that was actually there, but Kanrik's mouth was shut and Hannah was in Krawk Island, I think. Then I realized- I could!

In the final battle, several thieves were there. What if my parents were, too? I scouted around the marketplace and found them, robbing one of these top-class jewelry shops that we weren't supposed to try yet. "But sir!" My mom pouted. "These gems are much too expensive. Surely you could decrease the price a little more?" As the shopkeeper was arguing with her, Dad slipped in the back and grabbed several handfuls of the precious stones. He winked at me when he saw I was watching. "On second thought," she said as she saw my dad exit, "I changed my mind. I'll come and get some another time."

She was surprised when she saw me. Before I could say anything, they grabbed me and ran to a nearby hiding place. The shopkeeper raced outside and shouted that he had been robbed. The guards patrolling searched his store, and then began going around the streets. My parents hid their smiles. "So, son, what made you visit us on this lovely day of work?" Dad asked.

"I…um," I stammered. Kanrik said not to tell anyone; I guess that included my parents. "Er- can you give me any info about how Kanrik became leader?"

Mom frowned. "Why the sudden interest in that?" She gave me a small smile. "You trying to overthrow him? Because that's what he said and young man, if I catch you trying to overthrow the guild leader…"

"Mom!" I whined. Sometimes she can be so annoying. "I just, you know, was curious."

"Sorry, sweetheart, but we're kind of busy to give you a story-time," she said, eyeing the stores she was planning to break into.

"Besides," Dad added. "We don't know much about that either. We only joined the Guild once it settled into Brightvale, remember?"

I was disappointed. "Oh, yeah…"

"Why don't you ask your teacher?" He suggested.

It took awhile, but I managed to track the Kyrii Master down by the river. Unfortunately, he wasn't trying to drown Kayley. The water had hardened into ice, and he was showing her how to set traps there and use it for quick getaways. She didn't like her lesson getting interrupted. "Where's Kanrik?"

"Busy," I answered. "I need to talk to the teacher."

"Why?" She questioned suspiciously.

I turned to him. "Do you know anything about how Kanrik became the guild leader? I asked my parents, but…"

The Kyrii glared at me. "Hanso, I'm younger than your parents. A lot younger."

"Oh," I mumbled, shamefaced. "Sorry."

He took pity on me. "You want a source that's actually seen it, right?"

"Yeah!"

He took out a pad of paper from his pocket and wrote something down. He handed it to me. It was an address. "I'm not sure if she'll see you, but you might be better of it." Then he went back on what to do if your tongue gets stuck on the snow.

The house was in one of the poorest districts of Brightvale. I kept a hold of my dagger at all times, looking to my left and right. You never know with the people there. I stopped at a decent-looking house, and then checked the note. Yup, I was here. Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door.

It took awhile for her to answer, but any amount of time wouldn't have gotten me prepared for the sight. A green Acara stood there, with a hood covering most of her pretty face. "MASILA!" I cried, backing away. I was about to leg it, but she caught me by the coat.

I struggled as hard as I could, until she exclaimed, "Stop it! Child, I am not Masila."

"You're not?" I turned around to get a better look at her. She pulled off her cloak. Yeah, it wasn't Masila. Her features were softer, kinder. Her eyes, instead of cold and calculating, were sad, as if she'd seen a lot of sorrow. Above all, she didn't have Masila's voice; hers was still sugary, but not enough to have that much power. But the lady still sure looked a lot like her.

"My name is Marie," she said, by the way of explanation. "Many people have mistaken me for my sister…but not in recent years. Is something wrong?"

I gasped. "You're her sister?"

"Yes," she said. Her tone was more urgent. "Is something wrong?"

"Um, no," I replied uncertainly. "I just want to ask a few-"

"I don't answer any questions about my family," she stated firmly. "I'm sorry, but if you want to learn more about Masila, you'll have to go somewhere else."

"But I've been everywhere! I don't know who else to go to!" I complained.

She studied me. "Are you a thief or a thief's child?"

"I'm both," I said.

"Have you gone to Kanrik?"

"He doesn't want to talk about it."

She shrugged. "He has his reasons, then. I apologize, but I can't say anymore either. Good day." With that, she slammed the door on my face. There ended my quest on finding out anything.

Week 2

Today was one of our real classes, but the Kyrii dismissed us early, too. He had to help with the Christmas Feast. "Plus," he supplemented, "I should warn you, your little kids are expecting presents. You should use this time to get them some." We all groaned at that.

The toy shop in Brightvale is nothing fancy, just a little apartment near a corner. It was old-fashioned, with a little bell above the door and that kind of stuff. It dinged softly as I creaked inside, and the shopkeeper looked up and frowned. It was an unfriendly gesture, but it was kind of cool to know that I was that famous already. "Try and steal anything…" He warned.

"That's no way to talk to a little boy!" Somebody exclaimed. She was hidden behind a shelf chuck-full of dolls, so the owner hadn't spotted her; a lady Kougra with electric-blue eyes. Wow, Brynn's mom sure pops up a lot.

The salesclerk quickly backtracked. "My apologies, er, sir and madam."

"I don't know," I said exaggeratedly. "I might spread the word on how bad this place is."

"No!" He cried. "I'm so very, very sorry. Here, have a free teddy!" He grabbed this one which I was going to take anyway and tossed it to me. I caught it. It was really cute, with fluffy, brown fur, eyes that shined like the newest neopoint, and a huggable, stitched-on smile.

Of course I wanted it for Timmy, but not like that- not by scaring somebody. Uncertainly, I said, "Um, thanks mister, but…"

"Oh no, I insist!" He thrust the bear back at me, and I was forced to keep it. Not that I minded too much; it saved me the trouble of doing it behind the dealer's back. He escorted us to the door. "Come back soon! And tell your friends!"

I blinked at the plaything and looked up to Brynn's mom. She was staring at the door, frowning slightly. "Sorry lady, I didn't mean to get that guy too terrified."

She shook her head. "I know his sort. That's the kind of person who would do anything to win customers, never mind the riff-raff. Of course, he didn't know that I was riff-raff myself." She held out her arms to reveal her shabby clothes.

"You're not!"

"That's very kind of you, dear," she said, patting my head. "But it's not good to lie."

I bit my lip. "Well, you don't appear to be. You're still pretty."

She laughed. "Sweetheart, again, don't lie."

"I mean it!" I protested. "Your hair is really nice and long, like a…a princess. And your eyes are, well, they're lovely." She smiled at me. "In fact, you look young enough to be your daughter."

She raised her eyebrows. "How do you know my daughter?"

Darn, I slipped up again. I started stuttering, while she watched in amusement. Then I had an idea. "You mentioned her last year; you said you were going to get the necklace for her!"

"Nice comeback," she said, "But I don't think you'd really remember something as trivial as that."

"Yes I do!" I replied indignantly. "It's kind of my job to remember things that are valuable."

"Oh? And what is your job, little boy?" She interrogated, chuckling. I began thinking of excuses again, but she just beamed at me in a friendly manner. "Don't bother. From the way that man tried to throw you out of his shop, you're a thief."

"Thief? Thief? Who said anything about a thief? I'm not a thief," I gabbled.

"I always said that there's no use poking into someone else's business, so I won't start now. You can tell me when you're ready, and about how you know my daughter as well." She patted my head again and walked away, calling behind her, "Happy Holidays!"

At lack of anything else to do, I found my feet carrying me to the rich kid's neighborhood. I realized that it was the first time I've ever seen it covered in snow. It looked awesome! Some of the more proud people even brought out ice sculptures to show off, as if the natural ones weren't enough. Anyway, it was magical.

"Hullo, Hanso," Charlie greeted as he saw me. "Merry Christmas!" His teeth were chattering against the cold, even though he was wrapped in a thick, woolen coat. "Seems like a winter wonderland, eh?"

"Yeah," I agreed.

"It's positively freezing," he continued. "In fact, if Mrs. Daley had her way, I'd be snug us a bug near the fire right now. But I want to be out. This is brilliant!" He whirled around and dropped, making a snow angel. I smiled privately, remembering that though Charlie often acted really mature, he was still a kid. "Hazel would love this."

"Why don't we get her?" I asked, already heading towards her house. "Between the three of us, maybe could make a snowman."

He bolted up. "Perhaps that won't be the brightest idea…"

"Why?" I questioned.

He bit his lip. "Her servant is there, and I've already tried to ask her to play. Daft codger her nanny is, she said no. As if she has the right to!" He scowled. "And she's actually making Hazel do her work. It's barbaric!"

"Come on then," I said. "Let's rescue the little princess."

"I-" He hesitated. "Oh, alright." We marched over to the mansion, intending to sneak inside or something. Instead, Hazel was out in the yard.

She was being exerted, I could tell. She held a shovel twice her size, using only her little paws. Her breath came out in great puffs, and even in the cold she was sweating. Painfully, she pressed her little boot in the snow, lifted the sludge up, threw it at the other side, and repeated. Though for some reason, she did this all with a smile on her face.

"Hazel!" Charlie called.

She looked up and smiled. "Charlie!" Dropping her work, she ran and gave him a hug. "It's been months!"

"A month, two weeks, and four days," he corrected. "I've been counting. What are you doing?"

"Just cleaning up the snow in front of the house," she explained.

He frowned. "Well, we were just coming over to ask if you wanted to-"

"OI! What are you two doing in my garden?" The green Xweetok with the blood-red eyes came at us again.

"Oh, sod off," he complained. "Hazel needs a break."

"She doesn't need anything! She's perfectly happy to work the entire week. Isn't that right, Hazel?"

"Um, uh, of course," she replied haltingly. "But couldn't I just have a few minutes? They're my friends. Please, Sasha?"

"You have no friends!" Sasha screeched. "Get back to work…or I'll tell your father you stole his new hunting rucksack."

She gasped. "But I didn't."

Sasha laughed evilly and took it from behind her back. "Then what's this doing here?"

"Hey! That's not fair," I cried out. "Usually I am a fan of stealing things, but you shouldn't blame it on a little girl."

"What's stopping me?" She mocked.

"Its okay, Hanso," Hazel told me with her sweet little voice. "There's no use fighting over it; I'll just get back to work." She gave us one last smile and started shoveling again.

"How could she do all that so cheerfully?" I asked Charlie.

"She isn't usually like this. I mean, she never does argue, but she doesn't do it all with a smile," he told me. "Perhaps it's because Miss Firecracker might come home next week."

"Wait- who's 'Miss Firecracker?'" I inquired.

His face darkened slightly. "Someone I'd rather not talk about." He changed the subject. "My parents and I are coming over to dinner, but they'll probably insist that I stay with that git of a brother of hers." He looked regretfully at Hazel's house. "We will save her, right, Hanso?"

"Yeah," I promised.

"Good." He relaxed. "Well, I must be off. Mrs. Daley is probably worried sick by now." With that, he made his to his own manor.

I couldn't help but feel a wave of desperation at the pit of my stomach. I mean, so many people were counting on me; Charlie, Hazel, and the whole Thieves' Guild if I had to manage how Kanrik acts towards Masila. I almost felt like running away. But hey, I'm not one to hide from my problems.

To cheer myself up, I went around the marketplace. It was funny, seeing the shopkeepers' first reaction is to defend their goods. Everywhere, there were outcries and pleadings to not harm the merchandise. I smirked and continued, until I heard someone say, "I told you to get me a latte, not a cappuccino!"

I turned around to find rich-looking Kyrii with a top-hat and walking stick berating what seemed to be his butler. He threw the hot liquid all over his back. His servant murmured an apology, and scurried off to get his order. Angrily, I slipped out a huge pouch filled with coins from his pockets. Well, that should be a nasty surprise. I hid it in my coat.

Then I saw Brynn, sipping a cup of hot chocolate. She had a preoccupied face, as if she was thinking about something. I thought about what I could do to get her attention, but the hot chocolate stand lady solved that problem for me. "Great, not you again!" She shrieked.

Brynn looked up, frowning. I grinned at her. "Hello, Brynneth!" She raised her eyebrow dubiously, and then glanced at the stand. Realizing what she was suspecting, I said, "I was planning on actually buying something."

"Of course you were," she replied sarcastically.

"I was! Look," I showed her the pouch of coins I stole.

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, where'd you get those?"

"They were an early Christmas present," I persisted.

She was not fooled; she knows me too well. "From…?"

"From that random guy over there," I admitted, pointing to the Kyrii.

"Hanso!" She exclaimed.

I grinned cheekily. "Yes?"

She obviously couldn't think of anything to say, so she just glared. It was a bit ironic, since her Mom just defended me from 'presumptions' only a bit earlier. The owner of the stall asked her if she actually knew me. Brynn didn't deny it, which again cheered me up a lot.

"So," I said, turning to face her. "Are you here with Viola? Vinny? What was her name again?"

I smiled, thinking of it as a running joke, but she just spat out the name. "Violet."

Though she probably didn't know it, her usually placid face showed a lot of emotions; despair, hurt, and sadness. Something was wrong. "You don't look too happy about that."

"I'm not," she said curtly.

I studied her expression. Then I got it- I'd worn that face a couple of times as well; when Kayley told Kanrik about Brynn, when she gave Harry information about the necklace, and when Razor ditched me. She'd been betrayed. A bit angrily, I asked, "What's she done?"

She glimpsed at me, confused, as if she couldn't believe that a thief was asking her if she was alright. But we're friends; well, pretend-friends according to Kanrik and the rest of my Guild, but friends nevertheless. "You'll feel better if you tell someone," I persisted. No one knew that better than me. It was like when I was talking about why I was mad at Kayley to Juliet, or when Razor confessed why he left. All the hatred just died down.

"That's what my mum always says," she told me quietly.

In my opinion, her mom was very smart. "Even more reason to tell me, right?"

She kept peering at me with those electric-blue eyes, and then…she burst into tears. It was as if she was bottled up for so long, and she just wanted to let it all out. I was shocked- I never expected her to break down like that. But I knew better than anyone that she needed comfort, not teases. A few passersby gawked at us, but we ignored them. I gently pulled her to a bench and listened as she told me everything. I thought that being her kind-of friend, I'd have known what was happening to her right now. Now it turns out that not only did Harry stomp on her necklace, he also threw her stuffed toy in a bowl of soup and got that Viola girl to stab her in the back. With a chill, it reminded me that though I now counted her one of my buddies, her life and mine were very separate and different. After a few minutes, she stopped tearing up, seeming to be feeling better.

Then I spotted her friend in the distance. For one moment I contemplated on punching her too, but again, I couldn't hit a girl. Besides, this wasn't like that stupid Lupe. Brynn actually did like her, and wouldn't want to see her hurt. Instead, I said, "I gotta go." She nodded, and I began to move.

"Hanso?" She called quietly.

I spun around. "Yes?"

She took a deep breath. "Thanks." I guess it was definitely odd, a guard thanking a thief, but I didn't want to think about that.

I just smiled at her and said, "Your welcome." Then I whisked away, still thinking about it. I'm sure she appreciated the talk- she did say thank you, after all- but all it did was make me feel more useless than ever.

Week 3

We were in an uh-oh situation, and I knew it. My parents arrived extra early at the Thieves' Guild hideout for the feast, intending to help out if needed. We met by Kanrik pacing back and forth at the hall. "Um, sir?" My father asked. "Is everything okay?"

He jumped, spooked. "Oh, er, yes, everything's fine," he lied. Normally he'd always sound convincing, but his voice trembled when he spoke, and his eyes kept darting around. I guess he was more nervous than I thought. "Would you mind doing me a favor?"

My parents exchanged glances, but they nodded. "Of course."

"Keep the children near the door, and their parents with them for that matter. I'm afraid there's going to be rather a ruckus at my announcement tonight, and they could get hurt." They tried to press him for details, but he wouldn't open up. Not to them, at least.

As soon as I promised that I'd sit near them when the dinner began, I hurried after Kanrik. He was sitting in a corner, glowering at the wall. "So, what's the big announcement?"

He was about to tell me off, but then rolled his eyes. "No use," he said. "You'll hear it later, anyway. Might as well get the information now." He took a deep breath. "Do you remember our old friends, Vlade and Zida?"

"Yeah," I answered. Then he said three little words that rocked me to the core.

"They broke out."

I gawped at him, unsure if he was teasing me or not. "Out of Darigan Citadel? Are you serious?"

"I'm afraid so," he replied.

"But that's impossible!" I cried. "They need outside help, at least."

"They did," he said grimly. "And I think you know who it was."

"Masila," I said.

He nodded his head in affirmation. "It gets worse, too. She's starting her own guild- and my missing members are now in her side." He sighed. "She always had a knack at doing the impossible." Was it just me, or was there a note of longing in his voice? "There's no point in denying it; in fact, I should've told them sooner. This will- well, this will shake them, to the very least. You better go back. It's going to be a long night." I didn't even have the heart to say I told you so.

When I returned to the dining hall, a lot of the kids were there; including Timmy. He smiled at me with that cute grin. "Hanswo!"

"Hey, Timmy," I laughed, ruffling his hair. He quickly arranged it again. "I got a little something for you?"

He grinned wider. "A pwesent?" He asked eagerly. I leaned down and pulled the teddy bear out of my jacked. He gasped in amazement, and then hugged it to his chest. "Mummy never lemme have one," he whispered. "I wanna name him Teddy."

"You do that," I told him. Before I could get up, he gave me a big hug. It was a bit corny, but it was sweet. I'd been dealing with the little guy all year, ever since that twisted resolution that January. There were times when I wanted to dunk him in the river and never come back, with all the vomiting, getting me into trouble with Ebony, and basically pushing me around and threatening to cry if I didn't do as I said- but it was so worth it. I guess that 'twisted resolution' was a good thing, after all.

I sat near my parents, after making sure that Timmy and the rest of the little kids did, too. Kanrik went on the platform. Most of the thieves' attention was diverted; the speech at the beginning was usually just for greeting us a happy holiday and maybe going over a few recent events. Often, people just ignored it and concentrated on the food. So it was probably a real shock to everybody when Kanrik proclaimed, "Masila has come back."

At first, there was deathly silence. Then began the screaming. I don't know who started it; probably some idiot in the back. Anyway, within moments everybody was shouting. Then came even worse; the complaints. "Why were we not told about this before?" "This isn't fair!" "You're our guild leader, you're supposed to protect us!" "You said she was dead!"

"Everyone, please," Kanrik pleaded. "Calm down-"

"Calm down?" Mortak stepped up. I guess he was still bitter from being demoted. "Why weren't we aware of this before? Didn't you trust us?" There was a chorus of agreements.

Mish joined in. "Maybe Masila is right. She could be our new opportunity- a new step forward! A new guild leader!"

Kanrik paled. "Now, don't you think that's a bit radical-"

"We need to think radical!" Some moved forward, as if to topple Kanrik right then and there. But of course, he still had some supporters that wouldn't be that easy to mess with. They ran in front of them and defended the guild leader. It was beginning to be total chaos- a beginning of a war, right in our own headquarters.

I saw immediately that a lot of the little kids would have gotten hurt if Kanrik didn't position us this way. We pressed close against the wall, and most of the parents were able to exit with their children. Timmy, though, wasn't as lucky.

"AGH!" He yelled, about to be crushed by the stampede of angry crooks.

"Not on my watch!" I grabbed him by the collar and pulled him to safety. He was breathing hard, and crying. I gave him back to his mother, who was searching desperately. She raced outside without a thank you; I couldn't really blame her.

"Our turn," my own parents said. Their own faces were white, and I could see they wanted to help Kanrik. But they couldn't leave me behind.

"I can go back home alone," I told them.

"But Hanso-" Somebody from the crowd behind us laughed; a high-pitched, cruel laugh. It was getting nuts back there. My parents sighed.

"Go straight home," Mom commanded, looking at me straight in the eye. "Promise?"

"Yeah. Don't worry, I'll be fine," I assured them.

They both drew out their weapons, which they took with them, everywhere…and charged. I had to admit, I was a bit anxious, but I reminded myself that they were Master Thieves. They could handle this. I ran to the opening, just before another scornful torrent of criminals burst forth.

For once, I followed Mom's order. But that didn't stop me from being up all night, waiting for them. When they finally arrived, it was one o'clock in the morning. They were exhausted, but had enough energy to give me a smile. "Go to sleep," Mom said, kissing me on the forehead.

I was pretty sleepy- in fact, my lids were drooping- but I had to ask one more question. "Is Kanrik safe?"

Mom bit her lip. "For now."

Week 4

After what happened at the feast, nobody expected that we had to go to school. So it was very surprising when we woke up in the morning with a letter in our mailbox notifying that we were supposed to report for duty. For Mom and Dad, that meant thieving. For me, it meant learning. I'd rather do the former.

Still, we didn't do much anyway. The Kyrii had this worried expression on his face, and didn't wake up until Julius waved his paw in front of him. "Hello? I think we're supposed to be studying something."

"Right," the Kyrii said, rubbing his eyes. "Right." I guess he's been having sleepless nights, too. "You know what? Get some free time. I do have work to do after lessons- a lot of work. I might as well start now."

But all I could do was stay in a pool of my own despair. How was I going to fix all this? I mean, sure, no one definitely expects me to. I'm eight years old, for crying out loud! When Brynn told me her problems, I'm pretty sure she didn't signify for me to straighten it out. But her mom was so nice, standing up for me with the shopkeeper. I promised Charlie that I would rescue Hazel from her jerk of a brother. And with Kanrik…I was the only one who actually saw what he went through in the armory, besides Masila herself of course. I know that he needs help. But how could I?

Kayley clicked her fingers in front of me. "Snap out of it!"

"Ah!" I jumped in my seat, blinking. "Ow. What do you want?"

"You look miserable," she replied. "Normally, I wouldn't care. In fact, I rather like it; it's a nice change from you pestering me all the time. But I have a feeling you know a lot more than you're letting on about the whole Masila thing."

"Why?" I questioned.

"Because you were asking the Kyrii master about it; in one of my private lessons," she growled. "Still, I admit that I didn't think that just one complication would get you so down."

I barked a laugh. "One complication? If only."

She was puzzled. "What others are there?"

"Well," I began haltingly. "You know Hazel's problem, I guess. I think I've told you about that- Ebony's little sister?" She nodded. "And…and…" I doubted that she'd like to hear about Brynn.

She interrupted my thoughts. "It's that guard, isn't it?" I half-smiled at her, and she sighed with irritation. "Unfortunately, there's nothing wrong with that anymore. Tell me what happened." So I told her; in tiny bits, of course. I didn't want to give her the whole truth. Like me, she was loaded up with others' hitches. But unlike me, she squared her shoulders and prepared to face them. "We should tackle the simplest one so far; the guard's."

"We?" I repeated. "You're going to help me?"

"Those were Kanrik's orders, remember? It's not because I like you or anything. Besides," she stared at her toes. "I have a feeling I know who that guy who threw the toy into the soup. It's that idiot whom I told the necklace about, wasn't it?" I nodded. "So technically, I owe her."

"Kayley, Kayley, Kayley." I shook my head. "You really are warming up to guards, aren't you?"

In a flash, her dagger was out and on my throat. "Never."

"Okay! You've made your point!" I gulped. "Literally!"

"Good," she said as she sheathed it. "Now, I think what we need first are recruits- and the first one we need is an informer. Someone who'd tell us, or you, about what's happening in the guards without alerting anybody."

I snorted. "Except Brynn, no guard in the right mind would ever help a thief."

"They could be a recruit without knowing it," she explained, annoyed.

I stared at her. "What?"

"Think, Hanso," she urged impatiently. "Remember when you snuck in to her birthday? Who did you ask for the location?"

"A servant? But I don't think that would work every time."

"Genius," she said sarcastically. "Was the servant a boy or girl?"

"Er, a girl I think," I answered.

"Girls- besides a few rare exceptions- are usually very chatty. I mean, take a look at Juliet." She gestured to the twin, who was babbling to Julius. He was just staring into space, not paying any attention. "Do you know any guard girls like that?"

"Not that I know of," I said. There was Brynn's former friend, but she was out of the list.

"Fyora, you're a pathetic spy," Kayley griped. "Okay, I guess I'll just have to admit this: When Kanrik declared your little assignment to be allowed, I did a little…research. In case you needed my assistance." Underneath her desk, she pulled out a few files.

I gaped. "Those are some guards' permanent records!"

"Copies of them," she corrected. "If I stole the originals, it wouldn't go unnoticed for long. Anyway, here's who I'm talking about." She pointed to picture of a girl, who was striking a pose and grinning from ear-to-ear at the camera. Her file read 'Sharon.' "She sits near the gates at lunch; that's around three o'clock for guards. While there, she gossips with her friends. You won't believe what I've found out just by listening to her spill dirty secrets for one session." She smirked slightly. "I bet I could use some to take down the guards."

"Right."

"Alas and alack, that's not the case here. We have to use it to help the girl." She glanced at the clock. "We have ten minutes left. If we hurry, we'll have enough time to hide in the bushes." We quickly asked permission from the Kyrii, who was too distracted with whatever he was doing to say yes properly. The rest of the class were a bit worried, but they figured that me and Kayley together would be pretty much unbeatable, so they didn't protest too much.

As she ordered, we hid in the shrubbery. Then a group of girls came over and sat by a tree, giggling hysterically. They reeked with designer perfume. It sickened me. "So, like, did you hear what I got for Christmas?" One asked. I recognized her as Sharon.

"Like yeah!" Someone else said. "A pair of heelies, right? Super!"

"What in Neopia are heelies?" I whispered.

Kayley rolled her eyes. "It's high-heeled shoes. Duh." Oh. My. Fyora. Did Kayley just say duh? She hadn't said that since we were seven! She's getting infected with the girl disease! I had to get out of there! "Sorry," she added when she saw my face. "Listening to them does that to me."

"I know, right?" Another continued. "Nothing beats a pair of heelies!"

"Except platties!" Somebody said, showing off her platform sandals.

They carried on like than for what seemed as forever. Finally, just as the bell we saw from Kayley's watch that break was going to end in five minutes, Sharon said, "Did you hear what Violet did to Brynn?"

"Totally!" Somebody asserted.

Ignoring her, Sharon continued, "She totally ditched her. I was like, finally! She's been hanging out with that wannabe for far too long." I gritted my teeth. "But then she ditched me, too! For that Harry guy. You know, he's not too bad-looking. So anyway, the Draik man split them, so they're not roomies anymore! All for a girly fight! He never does that for us." She pouted. "But get this; she's moving Brynn to be with Sophia- and I get to be with Violet! Then maybe I could let her hang out with us again."

"And that Sophia and Brynn could be freaks together!" Somebody else supplemented. This time I really did stand up, but Kayley roughly pulled me down before anyone could notice. Then the bell rang, and that was that. And both me and Kayley had concocted a plan.