Hanso's Journal

by Reese S. Quill

The thief needs a story too, right? So how did Hanso become the oh-so-charming one that saved Neopia? This when he's 7 to 18, when TFR starts. Written with the permission of amethyst3232.

27. March at Age 9

The Month of Running (March) Age 9

Week 1

Weird how a person you thought you knew could end up being so different. The Kyrii Master- er, Jacques- well, he's always been a little different than most adults I know. He's a bit less responsible, but he could mostly control us. He gives us loads of independent study. He made us learn by ourselves, while at the same time teaching us. Does that make sense?

Anyway, now he's a pirate. He always was. I feel a bit stupid, not figuring it out before. Kayley already had. When we told her the next time she came to class, she rolled her eyes and muttered, "I do use my brain, you know." Then she glared at the same spot for the rest of the lesson. Instead of annoying me, it made me feel really guilty. I know that it's her choice for acting that way, but I should have trusted her more. She's a good ally, and yeah, an okay friend too now that I think about it.

But there's a spy, I'm sure of it. Those words weren't just used to rattle me up; they were true, and somehow I was going to get to the bottom of it. Without Kayley's help, I thought regretfully.

Well, Jacques told as a story as strange as the one Kanrik told us about the Ice Caves. When he was little, he was a rule-breaker (of course, all thieves are). His partner in crime was this guy called Garin. They were best friends, and in time they joined the Thieves' Guild. But they wanted adventure, too. So instead of becoming regular crooks, they opted being pirates. They had loads of great times, robbing trader ships, stealing treasures, and pillaging villages. The biggest adventure they had, though, was when they discovered Maraqua.

At that point, they had been pretty famous. Another spoil-sport pirate, Scarblade or something, didn't like it, and wanted the seas to himself. So he attacked them, which is pretty idiotic if you think about it. Following a huge battle for the Black Pawkeet, their ship, he, Garin and the crew got separated. As he tried to rescue his best friend, the Drenched (three evil water faeries), kidnapped him. "Worst experience of my life," he murmured. "The things they did to me…the images they put in my head…torture, starvation…" He shuddered. "Nothing could've been worse, even Masila's voice." That made me wonder...does having the worst possible thing happen to you make you immune to pursuasion?

After a few days, Garin came back to rescue him (though it didn't go as he expected- it included sea monsters). Turns out that he got saved from drowning by a sea Aisha called Isca. Then they got kidnapped. Typical. Garin, though, had a maracite sword, and managed to swipe his way out (I wish that was still possible- once the people above ground heard about it, they started making extra-strong bars). They managed to retrieve the ship, which was on the surface filled with garbage-

"So they were using it as a rubbish dump?" Juliet asked.

"No!" Jacques said indignantly. "It was really disguised."

Julius frowned. "Why would anyone want to disguise a rubbish dump?"

"It was disguised as a rubbish dump," he explained. "It was really an armory."

"Why would an armory have garbage on it?" Juliet questioned. "It sounds like a rubbish dump to me."

"It's not a rubbish dump!"

"Hey, Juliet," said Julius, "I read that pirates are really touchy about their ships. He probably doesn't want to admit that it was a rubbish dump, so let's cut him some slack."

"It was not a rubbish dump!" Jacques exploded.

Juliet looked at the Kyrii Master pityingly. "Of course it wasn't."

Anyway, it did have weapons on it. Garin swam to Maraqua to warn King Kelpbeard and told Jacques to guard the ship. He soon saw, however, that it wasn't possible; Scarblade's crew was already attacking. Since Garin took so long, he guessed that a certain fat royal didn't listen and maybe captured him. Using the potion he stole earlier, he took a portion of his crew underwater to help.

"Without permission?" I asked in disbelief. "You rescued your leader with a group of people without permission?"

"Yes," he said wryly. "Sounds familiar, doesn't it?"

They arrived just in time to fend Scarblade's crew off- good thing too, 'cause Garin and Isca were in hot water at that point. That's where he met this other girl, Amethyst (Typo!) Caylis. They developed a plan to attack the pirates at both sides. Isca asked her sister to go to the city and tell him, at which she refused. Jacques, though he had absolutely no idea where to go, volunteered. I guess he really is my teacher. As expected, he got lost. Caylis, though, had a change of heart, and led him to the city. For some reason, he stuttered over that part really quickly, just like Kanrik did when he was talking about Masila or Hannah. I was beginning to have an inkling on who the girl that Masila was talking about was.

So he got a free maracite sword (lucky!) from the armory guy when he told him about the plan. Together, he and Caylis fought alongside while the King defeated Scarblade. He became a…a hero, I guess you might say. Though offered otherwise, he chose the life of a pirate over luxury, not willing to leave his life of adventure. I thought that it was cool. If a ruler asked me what I wanted for a reward, I wouldn't waste it on staying being lazy for the rest of my existance (though it does sound tempting).

"Then?" Julius prompted.

He frowned. "Then what? That's the end of the story."

"No it isn't," Julius said. "You wanted to continue piracy and all that stuff. So how'd you end up here?" He gestured around the classroom. "Why'd you leave your friends?"

"Oh….that's another tale for another day." He coughed, not wanting to say more. "So, enough about that, how about the lesson-"

"Is it true that you once invaded a tiny town off the coast?" Razor asked.

Jacques looked taken aback. "Yes. Now-"

"Is it true that you crashed a wedding with Hannah and Kanrik look-alikes?" Juliet said eagerly.

"Now that was a strange party," he remarked. "Me and Garin thought we were dead meat, breaking into our guild leader's wedding. Turns out that they were obsessed Neopians who took surgery to look alike their favorite people. Of course 'Kanrik' wasn't exactly right, since nobody outside the guild except Hannah ever saw him unmasked…" Then he realized he was being diverted. He glared at us. "I'm supposed to be teaching you, not telling you stories."

"Isn't it the same thing?" Juliet asked. "We're learning a lot. Like how pirates are touchy about their ships being called rubbish dumps."

He groaned. "I give up. You can have some free time- this Masila business is killing me." He stared at a huge pile of paperwork on the desk and began it.

If he gave me free time last week, before Kayley became mean again, we would have probably spent the period planning on the next problem. Brynn was alright now, that was plain to see. A few overheard conversations told me that Harry doesn't dare approach with Sam around, though there were a few skirmishes at the beginning. But Hazel was still in trouble, with that spoiled brat of a brother and her nanny. Still, I couldn't help thinking about the guards for a bit.

For some reason, I thought the answer was there. Maybe it was because I heard a few people saying that Brynn missed Viola; that's why I couldn't concentrate. Though I knew I had to assist Hazel, I had a nagging feeling that Violet needed my help, too. But she'll never take it. I mean, I'm a thief- and she made it clear that she hates them. And unlike Brynn, I didn't really see an indirect way to help. She had none of Brynn's courage or loyalty, and definitely not a good leader like Sam. I either had to talk to her, or give up.

I wished Kayley was still with me on this. She was a pain in the neck, but she had good ideas. I turned to her there and gave her a smile. "Would saying sorry again make you forgive me?"

"Nope," she said, for the hundredth time.

"Aw, come on! It was a slip," I insisted.

"You only want me to help with your friends," she muttered darkly. "That's the only reason why you're apologizing, is it?"

"No it's not!" I said. "You don't have to help me with the plans anymore. Just please forgive me?"

She blinked, but shook her head. I moaned and gazed at my desk. Finally, she said, "I'm still not going to forgive you. But I might as well help a little bit." I looked up to her hopefully. "You're solving Hazel's problem, right?"

"Yeah," I answered.

"I'm giving you one clue, and one clue only," she said, her face stern. "Blood is thicker than water."

"Huh?" I said, confused. "What's-" She held up her hand, signaling that it was all she was going to say to me. I sat on my desk and mulled the phrase over.

"It's a metaphor," Razor piped up, sitting beside me. "They use a lot of metaphors in poetry, and I can recognize one when I see one."

"Oh, hey," I greeted him. "But what does it mean?"

"Something to do with family," he replied. "Like, a person would do more for a relative than he would for a friend."

"That makes sense, sort of. But how does that help?"

"Beats me," he said. From the other side of the room, I saw Kayley rolled her eyes. She knows something. Somehow, my problem can be solved by family. "Maybe you should visit again. That might help."

"Yeah," I murmured, still thinking about it. I asked permission to leave, which Jacques accepted. The twins shouted to have a bon voyage, at which the teacher shook his head, saying something like real pirates aren't like that and if they don't be quiet he'll have them walk the plank.

Charlie was on the park, as usual, though this time he had his face buried in a book. "Oh, hullo," he said when saw me. He smiled. "I was beginning to think that you forgot about Hazel and me."

"I wouldn't do that," I said.

"I know," he replied cheerfully. Then he saddened as he looked at Hazel's house. "But I do hope we can save her soon."

"We will," I promised. "It's just…um, hard."

He nodded, a bit disappointed. "I've been thinking about how to help her for three years. Perhaps it was wrong of me to assume you could do it in a shorter amount of time. But you do seem awfully skillful, so…"

"I'm thinking of a plan," I told him. "Well, sort of. But I need to talk to her."

He brightened. "Let's go, then! I haven't seen Brownie in months." He briskly walked to the mansion, and I tried to keep up with him. He's fast for a rich kid, and I guess he really wanted to see Hazel.

We were lucky: she was outside again. Thankfully there was no more snow, so instead she pruned the bushes into delicately shaped patterns. Even better, her tyrant au pair was nowhere in sight. "Hey, Hazel."

She gazed up and saw me. She smiled sweetly. "Hi, Hanso." Then she spotted Charlie. "Charlie!" She squealed, running to hug him. He grinned. "What are you doing here? You can't stay for long, you know. Sasha's gonna come back any minute."

"We're, erm, making plans to rescue you," he said.

Her brow furrowed. "I don't need to be rescued." Charlie snorted. "Really!"

"Oh, very well. Of course you don't. All we need is to shoo your brother and nanny away, then," he said.

"We can't."

"We can."

"We can't."

"We can."

"We can't!"

"We can!"

"WE CAN'T!"

"WE CAN!"

It wasn't a real fight. They were really having fun, maybe because Hazel never spoke up to anyone else. But I seriously didn't have time for this. "Guys!" They turned to look at me. "I have to ask a few questions."

"Hanso, you don't need to save me," Hazel said. Charlie frowned. "Well, it would be nice to get a bit more freedom. But I'm okay, really."

"Yeah, yeah," I said dismissively. She pouted slightly when she realized we didn't believe her. "We just want to help a little bit."

"But-"

"Just get on with it, Brownie," Charlie said. "Then maybe you could come over, or we could lark around town again."

She smiled. "Okay…."

"Is there anyone from your family who could help you with…well, Sasha and Ebony?" I questioned.

"Not really," she said. Darn.

"Are you sure?" I persisted. "Absolutely certain?" She nodded.

"Well," said Charlie thoughtfully. "There is Miss Firecracker."

"Don't call her that!" Hazel scolded.

"Miss Firecracker?" I asked.

"She's all pish posh and fanciness, but she cares about Hazel," Charlie informed me. "I don't think she could actually help, though. She has problems with standing up for the right things to the right people." He scowled as he said this. "Plus, she's a mean old bat."

"Charlie!" Hazel said, shocked. "Don't talk about her like that!"

"Sorry," he said.

"So where can I find…um, Miss Firecracker?" I asked.

He laughed. "That isn't her real name. She just explodes like a firecracker, is all. She hates that nickname. She has a color one, just like the rest of Hazel's family."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Violet," he said matter-of-factly.

I started spluttering. "Violet? As in, V-I-O-L-E-T?"

"Yes," he said. "She's Hazel's sister."

"Her sister?" I cried. But I saw it now. I never would have guessed it, with the personality and stuff, but I knew that you could have completely different ones than relatives. Hazel already contrasted to her brother, so I guess the same could happen with her sister. And they really did look like each other, if Violet didn't fuss so much about her appearance. "I know her."

"You do?" Hazel jumped excitedly. "How is she? Is she having fun? Does she have loads of friends?"

"Um…" I didn't know how to break the news that her sister was an evil betrayer, especially not with her staring at me eagerly like that. It was clear that she looked up to her sister. "You might not like what I have to say."

She frowned. "Why not?"

"She…well….she's…."

"She's…." Charlie and Hazel pressed.

"She's a coward," I blurted out. "There's the bully that walks all over her, she hardly ever cares about how she looks now, and-"

I was interrupted by a loud sound. Both Hazel and Charlie were doubled-up: with laughter! I gaped at them. Charlie wiped tears off his eyes. "Good one, Hanso! Miss Firecracker not caring about her appearance?"

"And Violet a coward?" Hazel giggled. "You're funny sometimes. Nobody could walk over her, not really. She always has a bit of rebellion inside." There was no doubt in her voice.

It dawned to me that maybe Violet never let her sister see how weak she was at times. I guess I get that; I'd hate for Timmy to see me all scared. Maybe…maybe she'd hate it so much she'd snap out of it. Worth a shot, right? Maybe Hazel could succeed in getting her out of the reverie. Like Kayley said, blood is thicker than water.

"Um, Hazel, if you're sure about that, could you maybe visit her and see?"

"Huh?" She looked at me, confused.

"It's a win-win," I explained. "If there's nothing going on, then you'll get to say hi to her. If there is, then maybe you could make her come to her senses. I'll take you next week. Deal?"

"Well…" She seemed frightened on having to make a choice. She stared at her toes. "I don't know. Sasha could be there next week, and-"

"Bother Sasha!" Charlie asserted. "I'll take care of her, and Ebony too if you like."

My jaw dropped. "You could do that?"

He shrugged. "I think I could, but it's a full-time job. If I did it, I'd have to keep an eye out for them and wouldn't be able to spend time with Hazel- that's why I never did it before. But I think I might be able to distract them for a bit, though that does count me out of your little party." He shrugged. "Perhaps it's better this way. Me and Miss Firecracker hate each other, and I'd probably just be a nuisance."

"Violet doesn't hate you!" Hazel said.

"Sure she doesn't." His tone was skeptical- it reminded me of how Juliet spoke to Jacques. I had a feeling that this had a story too, but I think it could wait. "I will need a few people to help me, though. Do you think your thief friends could help?"

"Count them in," I said with a grin. "So, do you want to pay your sister a visit?"

Hazel twisted her hands, still uncertain. That is, until the gate opened and Sasha barged in. "Where's the little Mortog?" She screeched. "How useless can she be? She's not even finished with the front yard!"

That seemed to steel her. "I'd love to," she told me, before dashing off.

"You know, sometimes I think that Hazel has it worse than us thieves," I commented.

Charlie shook his head. "You have no idea."

Week 2

We were in luck: we had the little kids this week, so it was a piece of cake to get to the rich apartments. Razor promised that he could look after both Timmy and Brandon when I left with Hazel. She was standing by her porch looking worried, but her face relaxed into a relieved smile when she saw us. "I thought you forgot about me," she said in her sweet little voice.

"'Course not," I said, ruffling her hair. She smiled. "No one could do that."

She turned to Charlie and the thieves. "What exactly are you going to do?"

He grinned. "Nothing to worry about that, Brownie. Let's just say that when a negative meets a negative, it becomes a positive: at least for awhile."

"Could we just watch to see what they're doing?" She inquired to me.

"Um, sure, but we'll have to hurry up," I told her. She nodded.

Charlie rolled his eyes. "Honestly, you could go on. But if you insist…" He gestured to Juliet. He showed them a few signals, but only they knew what it meant. The Wocky twin smiled and ran out to the road- right in front of Ebony.

"Hey, you're one of those twins. What are you doing here again?" He sneered. All Juliet did was shrug and dart away. Ebony and his gang tried to catch her. She lured him into the garden, and then snapped the back gate shut so that his gang couldn't follow. Then she climbed out using the wall. She gave Charlie a thumbs-up sign.

Quickly, he gestured to Julius. At plain view of Sasha, he began picking her most prized flowers. "HEY!" She snarled. "Cut it out!"

"Okay," he said, cutting out another flower. She chased after him until she was also inside the garden, locked the front gate, and then he climbed out himself. He grinned at me. "The house doors are locked too, so there's no way they could escape. They'll drive each other nuts!"

"Maybe not," Hazel asserted. "Ebony really likes Sasha."

"At least they'll never suspect it was you," Juliet reassured her. The little girl nodded and clutched my arm, indicating she was ready to go.

She wasn't as bad as last time. She kept her face set and her eyes straight forward, but she still hung on to my hand nervously. Maybe she had a reason to. When we visited Brynn's house, we went to a part of a neighborhood that wasn't really used that much. Now the streets were teeming with people, and some threw us suspicious looks; they were probably thinking how odd it is for a guy in shabby clothes escorting what seemed to be a well-brought-up little girl.

Then Hazel froze. She stared at another Usul by the fruit stall- everything about her was pale and limping, even her clothes. Her eyes looked too huge to be on her thin face, and she had a terrified expression on. Violet.

It didn't take long for her to spot her sister, either. Her big eyes widened even more. Brynn, though, wasn't paying much attention to anyone. She was keeping a lookout on possible crooks; I guess she didn't see me yet. I hid behind a stall, and watched as Violet said something to her- probably that she saw something, and she just wanted to check it out. Brynn nodded, her expression turning bored. Violet grabbed Hazel's hand- apparently she didn't notice me either- and raced her around the corner.

She gave her a tight hug, which Hazel returned enthusiastically. "What are you doing here?" She asked, inspecting her thoroughly. "Did something happen to Mum or you?"

"No," Hazel mumbled, staring at her toes. "I just wanted to come and say hi."

Violet beamed. "That's nice, but you know I'm kind of busy…" She looked down and noticed how she appeared. She winced. "Yes, I'm very busy. So if you can just get whoever got you here to…"

"That would be me," I said, stepping out the shadows.

Her face darkened. "Hazel! I told you not to talk to…to criminals."

"He promised he wouldn't rob me," she said.

"He could be lying!"

Hazel looked at me apologetically, and said, "I guess that could be true." Violet nodded at me with triumph. "But…"

Violet frowned. "But what?"

"Well, he…um, he's been standing up to Ebony and Sasha for me…and, er….he's…he rescued Charlie from that fire a few months ago…."

"Charlie?" Violet was outraged. "You're still hanging out with him?"

"But he never did anything," she said defensively. This was turning out to be a very weird conversation. It was interesting too, but again, not why I came here. I coughed, reminding Hazel about what she was supposed to ask. She was nervous, but she did say softly, "Violet, you didn't really betray a friend to a bully, did you? You wouldn't do that."

Violet gaped at her, her face a mixture of embarrassment, indignation, and…and maybe even fear. She glanced away, avoiding Hazel's eyes. "I needed to save my own neck, Hazel."

She gasped in horror. "Oh Violet, you didn't!"

"You don't know what I would and wouldn't do," Violet replied roughly.

"But that's…that's mean," Hazel asserted weakly.

"It was in self-defense. I don't want to be bullied or controlled again. I can't do that by letting them pick on me so I had to join. I had to." Violet seemed to be trying to convince herself as well as us.

"It's still wrong," Hazel said. It was clear that she was scared of speaking like this, but it didn't look like she could stop herself. "It's bad and mean and cowardly. It's something that Ebony would do. You don't just abandon your friends!"

Violet's eyes narrowed and her face turned scary angry, and her cheeks became a dark shade of red to boot. I guess I know why Charlie called her a firecracker. She raised her hand as if to slap Hazel. The little girl didn't do anything to protect herself; just cringed and prepared for the strike.

It never came. Violet sighed exasperatedly, but lowered her hand. I think I know why. It'd be impossible for her to hit Hazel, just like it'd be impossible for me to hit Timmy. We've spent so long shielding and taking care of them, it would be completely against nature to do the opposite.

"I'm not the only one who abandons people," she said quietly to Hazel.

I had no idea what that meant, but Hazel's eyes filled with tears. They began to flow freely down her cheeks. But her face turned determined. "I looked up to you," Hazel told her with absolute certainty. "You never let anybody boss you around; not Daddy, not Ebony, no one." She clutched Violet's arm. "That's the best thing about you. You can't let that guy take it away!"

Violet shook her off, but it was clear that those words held a lot of weight. "Go back home, Hazel." It was an order.

"But you'll stand up to him, right?"

Violet's face turned angry again. "Go. Back. Home." With that, she stomped off back to the fruit stall, with just enough time to say to me, "Stay away from her!"

Brynn was confused when she saw her all angry. "What's wrong?"

"Stupid patrol," Violet muttered darkly.

That satisfied her. "Yeah, they do get to be pretty boring," she commented. "Should we go soon?"

I stopped watching and turned to Hazel. She was sitting on the sidewalk, hugging her knees and sobbing her little heart out. I kneeled down next to her. "You did much better than me, you know." That was the best thing I could say to her.

"Violet's mad at me." Her face crumpled. "There were only two times ever that Violet was mad at me."

"What's the other one?" I asked, curious. She kept on weeping as an answer. Then a thought struck me. "Did it have something to do with Charlie?"

"Yes," she murmured. "But I'd rather not talk about it. Is that okay?"

"Of course, kid," I said. "I think we should go check on Violet, though. I think what you said might affect on what she'll do."

"You think so?" I nodded. Hazel stood up. "Okay. They're going to the castle now, right?" I took her hand again, but this time I was practically carrying her. It was as if she lost all of her self-will, and she was just wandering in a trance.

We reached the castle gate. They were about to walk in when that idiot Harry sprang up on them. It was an ambush! Hazel gasped. "Is that…"

"Yeah," I said. "The stuff that's made of nightmares."

She gritted her teeth. "I want to go help."

"We can't do anything," I said miserably. "I'd like to go and help too."

He grabbed Violet's arm and pulled her behind him. Instead of being compliant, though, I saw that angry expression still on her face. She struggled fiercely, trying to wallop him. I gawped. That was a big improvement. Hazel watched on hopefully.

"A little feisty today, are we?" Harry sneered. "Won't be for long, will we? Or else I'll have to knock some sense into you?" He clenched his fist and lifted it. Her eyes widened, and she stopped punching. Hazel drew in a sharp breath.

"Let her go," Brynn said courageously. You really have to admire her in those situations.

"What are you going to do?" Harry said, smirking. "You've just got a blunt sword."

"So have you," she shot back.

"Not with me," he countered. "But a blunt sword won't do much good."

"Use it as a club!" Violet suggested slyly. Both me and Hazel smiled, and Brynn burst out laughing despite the deadly situation.

Harry turned red, probably not liking being an object of ridicule. "Enough of the attitude," he hissed ferociously. Violet shrank back again, this time looking like she'd stay that way. Hazel wore a troubled frown.

But that was nothing compared to me. From the way his eyes glinted, I had a feeling that he was going to do something horrible to Brynn; and I couldn't do anything to stop it. Was all those plans about giving Brynn allies wasted? Just when she really needs them, they're not there. Of course I guess that was a bit unfair to think, but I was getting frantic. I was trained to act on impulse…if it gets to rough, I'd probably go and help anyway, now matter how stupid it would be.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in the hallway right in front of Brynn. He raised his eyebrows when he saw what was happening. "All this talk of blunt swords," he said loudly, "Reminds me that I've got a proper won!" He leapt between Brynn and Harry, a silver sword in his hands. Brynn was gazing at it dreamily. I was freaked out. I promised myself that I'd never meet Sam on one of his patrols- that thing could be used against me!

"Fear not, fair maiden," he said to Violet. "I shall save thou from this beast." Hazel giggled, but she still watched with her fingers crossed. Sam swung his sword to point to Harry. Really, it was going to be scary once Brynn gets her own.

Harry glared at him. "You're not making her join your stupid group of dumb outcasts and freaks," he said, keeping a firm grip on her.

"You mean the Rebellion!" Sam exclaimed, flashing a cheeky smile at Brynn. "See, I've got a cool name for us too now!" She grinned.

Harry looked like he wanted to sock Sam, but even he knew better than to jump a guy with a pointy object (unfortunately). He left, yanking Violet along with him. Hazel beheld the sight with dismay. "I thought she'd say something," she whispered.

"Sophia's in your dorm," I heard Sam tell Brynn. I couldn't help but be a bit happy- so the ally thing was working after all.

"But what about Violet?" Brynn asked, a little sadly.

Just for one moment, Sam glimpsed at us. He knew we were there! Wow, that guy was good. "We'll save her one day," he said clearly, as if making sure we were listening. His smile said that he knew who we were trying to help now. "Alright?"

"Alright," Brynn replied, walking inside.

"Hanso?" Hazel murmured. "Could you please take me home now?" I nodded, and we started on the way. I noticed that she looked absolutely crestfallen. She stared at the road, her face pale. "I thought I could depend on her."

"You still can," I said. "Didn't you hear the guy? He'll rescue her. And if I have anything to say about it, I will, too."

"That person," she said, "He's not as bad as Ebony. But I think I know what's scaring her."

"What?" I questioned.

"I think she's afraid that her friends would abandon her," she told me. "The same thing happened here, a long time ago." She shook her head. "So before they got a chance, she abandoned them. I think she's regretting it, but she doesn't have the- the guts to stand up to him. Do you think that it's because of…" Her voice trailed off.

"Of what?" I queried.

"Of me!" She burst out, tears flowing again. "Because I'm always so fearful and sad, she does the same."

"No!" I said firmly. "It has nothing to do with you. Really."

She wiped the salty drops of her eyes away with a little handkerchief. "Okay," she said, but I knew she didn't believe me. We kept on going until we saw her house. Charlie was standing at the front gate, grinning from ear to ear.

He ran to us excitedly. "You should've seen that-" His face changed when he saw Hazel. "Brownie? What's wrong?" Hazel shook his head and ran past him, back to her house. She slammed the door behind her. "Oh dear," he murmured. "That didn't go well at all, did it?" He frowned at me. "Is it true? Miss Firecracker has lost her sparks?" I nodded. "Oh dear."

"Hazel didn't take it too well," I said.

He sighed. "I can see that. Oh, Timmy's over there. Your friends had to go back to headquarters, and you can't go back inside without him." The little Wocky was playing in the garden.

He ran to us when he saw me. "Hanswo!"

"Hey, kiddo," I said, ruffling his hair. He quickly fixed it up.

"Well, I can see that it was a waste of time," Charlie said mournfully. "I guess we'll just have to think of something else." He turned back.

"Hey, wait!" I called. He paused. "I need to know something." He looked at me questioningly. "When me and Hazel were there, Violet accused her of abandoning her-"

"She what?" He spluttered, outraged. "She did nothing of a sort! That spoiled brat, she knew that Hazel didn't mean it that way, and if there's anyone to blame it was me…"

"What?" I queried.

He stopped rambling. "It's nothing Hanso. Just a bit of history between me and Miss Firecracker."

"It sure doesn't seem like nothing to Hazel," I told him. "And this information could help, you know."

He seemed like he was about to argue, but he closed his eyes, defeated. "Alright, I'll tell you. It's pretty sad, actually, but I'd do anything to help Hazel."

"Stowy!" Timmy yelped excitedly, plopping down on the sidewalk.

Charlie chuckled. "Yes, I suppose you could call it that." He took a deep breath. "I was always odd, you know. I knew that from the very beginning, and I see nothing wrong with it," he added when he saw I was about to protest. "Though my parents tried to spoil me, I never wanted those gifts- in that way, I didn't really fit in with other rich kids. I actually liked it a lot this way. But it made it awfully hard to make friends."

"We're your friends," I piped up. Timmy nodded.

He smiled. "Yes, well, among the rich kids it was hard. I did get teased quite a lot, and so my parents moved from place to place to place. Each time they said they wanted a new start, but I know it was just so they wouldn't be embarrassed of me. Finally, we landed here in Brightvale, intending to stay." He paused. "They told me to run along and make new friends. I didn't want to, but I went to the park to satisfy them. That's where I met Hazel."

"Let me guess," I said. "She was on the swing?"

"It's her favorite place," he informed me. "Mine too, and unfortunately her brother's. I think you can guess that she literally ran up a tree. I asked her 'What are you doing up there, silly?'

She whispers 'Usuls are prone to trees when they don't want to be seen.' I guess she doesn't want to be seen an awful lot- she appeared to have learned the passage by heart.

I say, 'Why don't you want to be seen?'

'Because my hair's all messed up,' she answers uncertainly.

'Why would I care a fig about your hair?' I inquire.

'My sister says hair is the most important thing in Neopia,' says she. I burst out laughing. It was so ridiculous! She can't help but smile as well, and eventually I manage to coax her out of the tree. We spent an afternoon playing tag. I was really glad, you know. I managed to find somebody I could get along with in this world of fancy folk. She was happy too, but I didn't know why until later. That was when Ebony came.

He asks what gang I'm in. I ask what gang he is talking about. He says that in this neighborhood, the children are divided into two gangs. Boys usually go to his group. This might shock you, but I did actually consider joining- I had no idea what trouble they cooked up. Then he spots Hazel and pushes her out of the swing. She tumbles to the ground and whimpers. And I realize that I'm definitely not hanging out with gits the like of them. I tell them so, too. He wasn't pleased. He said that I've made myself a new enemy. I say I don't care. They sod off after muttering a few empty threats, and Hazel says I shouldn't have done that- he was her brother."

"Yeah," I said. "That's nice and all, but what does this have to do with Violet?"

"I'm getting to that part," he assured me. "So I have a few more hours. Then another gang came, only this time it was a bunch of girls. Violet was the leader. From your description about her former self, she seems to have gained a lot more confidence. She certainly wasn't as daring as before. But she has a fierce and sometimes likeable side of her, and that's how she was so popular. At first, I thought she was another mean bully, but Hazel runs and gives her a hug. She says that Violet's her sister."

"Must have been a real shocker," I commented.

"It was," he agreed. "It was plain that Hazel idolized her. Violet pats her head and smiles, then turns to me. She says that she heard that I didn't join her brother's gang. Boys aren't usually around in her group, but they're willing to make an exception for me. I ask if Hazel's in, too, at which Hazel turns slightly pink. Hazel replies that Violet doesn't think that she's old enough, and that she doesn't think she could keep up with them. In other words, she didn't want her little sister to tag along. It sickened me.

But I saw that she cared about Hazel really, so I say no thank you very much. She says why not, a bit angrily. Her eyes flash, like she was being insulted. I say that I'd rather stay with Hazel. Violet says that Hazel doesn't need me, and she looks at her to confirm this. Hazel hesitates, and then says in a timid voice that it would be nice to have a buddy of her own, but she doesn't really need one. It dawns to me that every single kid either gets sorted to her brother's or her sister's group, and probably never talks to her. Violet grits her teeth, but she can't deny Hazel a friend. But she's not used to having her way. She frowns as she looks at me, and I saw the beginnings of a grudge. Again, I don't care."

"So then what?" I asked.

"A few perfect weeks," he said dreamily. "Or at least close to perfect as possible. Ebony tried to pull in a few pranks, but we always managed to clean it up. Anyway, the amount of them lowered drastically when my parents started becoming close to theirs. Then things…happened." He frowned. "One by one, Violet's friends stopped going over to their place. I could tell since Violet's room is just across Hazel's. At the beginning there was so much giggling, but now it was quiet as a ghost. Hazel spent more and more time with Violet, and less time with me. To be perfectly honest, I was a bit annoyed. I didn't know what was going on then, and I thought that Violet was just being selfish. We didn't see each other for weeks."

"Must have been hard for you," I said.

"Very," he agreed. "Ebony kept teasing that his little sister was getting the best of me and laughing about it behind my back. But I didn't believe him. Hazel definitely wouldn't do that."

"Stowy!" Timmy pressed, crossing his arms.

"Alright, little chap, I'm doing my best." Charlie continued. "One day, Mrs. Daley invited me for a day out in the market. I absolutely loved going there, even though my parents disapproved at me staying with common folk. Regardless, I wanted to go anyway, and they reluctantly gave permission. Then Mrs. Daley, who'd taken a liking to Hazel and how polite she is, requested that I ask her to join. So I ran over to her house to she if she was in. She was there in the garden, playing Usukis with Violet. I called her from the gate, and she readily let me in. Violet, of course, was irritated. She asked what did I want. I said that I was there to invite Hazel for a day out in the marketplace." He turned a guilty shade of red.

"What?" I asked.

"I might have emphasized I wanted to invite Hazel," he mumbled. "Not her."

"I bet she didn't like that," I said.

"No," he replied. "She did not. She said that no way, Hazel was supposed to be staying with her. Then like the day she met me, she turned to her sister for confirmation. Hazel looked down, scared. Poor girl- I think that was the toughest decision she ever had to make. She said in a tiny voice that couldn't she just have a few hours with me and come back? Because she did spend many weeks with her, and she just wanted a chance to get out for some air." He grimaced. "You can imagine what response she got. Miss Firecracker, well….she….she…she…"

"She went boom?" Timmy suggested.

"Yes," said Charlie grimly. "I'm afraid she went boom. Spat out a lot of insults, saying that Hazel abandoned her at her time of need, and she's always been there, and a lot of other things that she thought would make her hurt. Hazel's face crumpled, but before she could change her mind I say 'Right. She's made her choice.' And we dashed of to Mrs. Daley." He smiled. "We had a lot of fun that day, going to the shops and larking about. Once we went to a hat store and tried everything on. The old codger who was running it went mad trying to get them back. At the end of the day Mrs. Daley went to get a few supplies needed, and left us with a few neopoints. We each got a cup of borovan and sat on a hill overlooking the kingdom. It has a marvelous view, you know?"

"I know," I said.

"Hazel was having a great time, but all throughout the day I noticed that she had this anxious expression. I asked her why, and she said that there was a bit of trouble in their house last night." He scrunched up his eyebrows. "Apparently, Violet caught Sasha taking things from the mantelpiece. Ebony saw it too, but called her a liar when she tried to tell their father. She still wasn't over it. I understood why Miss Firecracker wanted Hazel to stay then, but I still thought that it wasn't fair to keep her in the house. I asked didn't she think it was worth it? And she smiled and said it is. Then we went home." He winced. "The next time I saw Hazel after that was after the fire, though sometimes I spotted her eyes blinking sorrowfully at me from the window. Between Ebony and Sasha, they broke her already fragile confidence using guilt."

"What? Why?" I demanded.

Charlie looked right in my eyes. "Because that was the day Violet joined the guards."

Timmy blinked. "The pwincess was alone?"

Charlie nodded. "Without saying good-bye, even- she asked her mother's permission while Hazel was still out. She was heart-broken, though I heard that they made up the next Christmas. But I never forgave her. And Hazel never truly forgave herself, even though I kept telling her that it wasn't her fault." I tried to wrap my mind around this. Violet always struck me as annoying and bratty: but cruel? Not really, not even after she betrayed Brynn. Charlie must have seen my face, because he added, "To be fair, Violet never had it easy on her. Like I said, her friends abandoned her and she thought that her sister was all she had. I hoped that joining the guard would have helped, but…" He shrugged. "My family is invited to Hazel's parent's dinner party next week. Maybe I'll find time to talk to her."

"Yeah," I managed. "You do that." But what I was more worried about was what I was going to do. I was out of plans.

Week 3

I visited Charlie again, and it did not go as I expected (So what else is new?). As soon as he spotted me, he tore over, taking deep breaths. We nearly collided. "Woah, slow down, kid," I said, straightening him up. "Running like that is for people who know how to keep stamina. Like thieves. And guards too, for that matter."

"What happened last week?" He asked immediately. "Did a ghost possess her or something?" At first I thought it was really serious, but then I noticed he was grinning from ear to ear. "You have got to come and see this." He tugged on my arm and led me back inside the house. Instead of staying inside with all the finery and fancy furnishings, however, he took me round to back to a smaller and simpler cottage.

Mrs. Daley was in front, trimming the flowers. "Hello there," she smiled. "Welcome to my humble abode." She gestured to the house. "I expect you want to see my husband's video?"

"Mr. Daley is the extra-security man," Charlie explained. "He's not an official guard, but he's really handy with tools and such, plus he's really patient. People pay him to build cameras inside their house and watch for thieves all day (using shifts with a partner, of course). He taped the whole thing!"

"Taped what?" I asked.

He gave me a knowing smile. "You'll see."

Mr. Daley was a muscular, old Gnorbu with a kind smile. He took out a video tape. "This what you're looking for?" He shook it. "Charlie's making such a big deal of this," he told me. "Then again, maybe he should. It's not often that his little friend stands up for herself."

"Huh?" I gawped.

"Mr. Daley!" He scolded. "You're spoiling it!" The Gnorbu just laughed and handed it over, grinning. Charlie eagerly stuffed it inside a television set, and then sat down to watch.

At first, it was just what I thought a fancy party would be. All the adults were making small-talk, and all the kids were looking uncomfortable. Charlie entered, scanning the crowd keenly. He saw Hazel, standing in the corner. I couldn't help think that there was something odd about her appearance…something more determined. Charlie turned the speakers up.

His TV self said, "Hazel, I need to talk to-"

"Not now, Charlie," she replied clearly. "I have work to do."

His jaw dropped. "What?"

She gave him a sad, sweet smile. "You'll find out soon enough." Quickly, she darted out of the room before he could ask any more questions. Instead of going to the dining room or kitchen or however, she crept inside a door that looked like it could be a bedroom. A golden plaque outside read Sasha. Hazel wasn't being particularly sneaky, but everybody was too preoccupied to pay any attention to her. Even the nanny bat herself, who was talking to a few of Ebony's gang and batting her eyelashes at them. Ugh.

Suddenly, Hazel appeared. She was carrying a big bag and bringing it to a platform. In the throng, I saw a fierce Usul that looked a lot like Ebony whispered to a lady that looked like Violet, "What's she doing?" The lady's only response was shrug, a little fearfully. I realized that they were Hazel's parents.

"Excuse me, everybody," she called on the microphone. Everyone gazed at her in her obediently. She hesitated, and then said, "I have announcement to make." They waited. She took a deep breath, which sounded off audibly. Charlie stared up her and smiled encouragingly, even though he didn't know what in Neopia was going on. "I- I just snuck into my nanny's room," she confessed. There was a collective gasp, and a few shrieks from Sasha and Ebony themselves. She hurried on, "A few months ago, my sister was accused of stealing a few items, and she ran away because of it." Again there were yelps of alarm.

At that point, her father pushed his way through the crowd and went up the stage. He kept this fake, plastered smile on, but it was evident that he was angry. "Nonsense!" He said too cheerily. "My little girl's always exaggerating- you know how kids are!"

There was a deep murmur of assent, but Hazel took the mike from her dad. "No, please, listen!" She cried, her eyes tearing up. "I found the items…in her bag." She pointed at Sasha. "My sister, Violet, never took them. It was her all along, fooling and deceiving everybody around her. Here!" She took out a necklace made of creamy pearls. "This was my Mum's." She took a golden watch out. "This was my Dad's." She displayed the items one by one, and her father was forced to watch, his eye twitching. Occasionally, a member of the audience said it belonged to him or her, and it was happily returned.

After the pouch was emptied, there was a huge silence that seemed to stretch on to forever. Then a fancy Krawk said, "The little girl solved a mystery!" I guess wealthy folks are sappy. They began applauding, and Hazel did a tiny curtsy. Charlie beamed.

"But what about the maid?" Somebody else asked. "We should take her to the guards!"

But Sasha was gone. At that point, the video started shutting down. However, it didn't disguise Ebony's cry of absolute frustration. He'd get revenge for this, I know. Charlie took it out. "See?"

"Wow," a familiar, sweet voice piped up. "Kinda hard to believe I did that." Hazel peeked around the doorway, smiling shyly.

"Hazel!" Charlie cried, rushing to give her a hug. "That was brilliant! Brilliant!" Then he started on how brilliant it was. "You did it in front of a crowd," he said with awe. "That's awfully clever of you, seeing as that if you did it privately, she'd get no punishment at all. And the way you spoke up to your father, and announced it, and…"

"It was nothing," she said, turning pink. "Anyway, I got the reset of the month's worth of being grounded for it."

"That's exactly what your brother got for burning down my house and nearly killing the entire neighborhood!" He exclaimed. Then he let what she said sink in. "Wait, then aren't you supposed to be there now?"

She blushed again. "I might have snuck out."

Charlie looked at her with wonder. "Who are you and what have you done with my best mate?"

She giggled, but her face quickly became serious again. "I did it to prove to Violet that I wasn't a coward. I was kind of hoping that if I could be brave, just this once, then she would be, too."

"You already are," I replied firmly. She shook her head. "You are!" I insisted. "What cowardly girl would tell a whole crowd about Sasha? Or visit her sometimes spiteful sister in the guard? Or go visit Charlie with a thief she barely knew? Or for that matter, try and break into a burning house to save her best friend?"

"You did what?" Charlie ejaculated. "Brilliant!"

"You might have used that word a few times already, dear," Mrs. Daley said wryly.

"Could you make a copy and send it to Violet, please?" Hazel inquired.

Mr. Daley nodded and smiled. "Of course. And come visit us as soon as your penance is over- I have a feeling it won't be as hard as when Sasha is there. I promise, my wife will have fresh cookies waiting!"

Week 4

As soon as I got back to class, I went to Kayley's desk. "Thank you."

She blinked. "For what?"

"For the 'blood is thicker than water' thing the other day. It really helped."

"Of course it would," she said imperiously. "So…how did it go?" Even she couldn't hide how curious she was. I filled her in on all the details. "Woah. That little girl is tougher than I imagined."

"I know, right?" I said. "Different from what I first she would be."

"Like how you thought about Kanrik. Or Juliet. Or Jacques," she suggested.

"Or you with Brynn," I said. Uh-oh. Big mistake. Her eyes narrowed, and she was back to ignoring me again.

But she was right, though. People don't always turn out how you expect them to be. I thought that Hazel was some sort of damsel in distress, in need of saving. But it turns out the princess could save herself.

LONGEST. CHAPTER. EVER.

Hopefully it was good, though. Excuse my little typo at the top, about putting in Amethyst instead of Caylis. It probably had nothing to do that I've been hearing about Ameques a lot and searched around for what it was talking about. Nothing at all. Rest assured, it probably won't happen again. :)