Short again, but hopefully the next chapter will make up for it. Hopefully I'll be able to update each week (every Sunday in my time) consistently from now on. By the way, the poem below is a real one called "Farewell to Fellow Voyagers" by Lydia Sigournery. Just wondering, which of you actually read the Neopian Times? :)

The Month of Relaxing (June) Age 9

Week 1

Susan got kicked out, which was a major relief. That's one less thing that I have to worry about. Anyway, the Draik man (Is it just me, or is her teacher hiding his name too?) got a load of what she did, and got her expelled. So yeah, one less problem.

On the down side, I still don't know how in Neopia am I going to find the passage that Jacques and his friend agreed on. For one thing, I know next to nothing about him. I know it's not that important, but it could've helped to know what books he liked. There are loads of them on the shelves. Even if I do somehow stumble across it, how would I know it's the right one? Or maybe it's not in a book at all. Maybe Garin and he created their own. Ugh! It's so frustrating.

None of my friends could help this time. Razor and twins had done all they could, and Kayley would glare every time I try and ask her. I think she's the one who could've fixed all this. After all, if I'm Kanrik's apprentice then technically that means that she's Jacques's apprentice as well. She knows him better than anybody, and even figured out who he was. I'm sure she could find the answer.

Unfortunately, no way she'd ever tell me, and Julius and Juliet absolutely refuse to corner her with me for interrogation. She's no Harry; we all know that she could take care of herself. She makes that clear enough – she terrifies everybody.

Oh, and another thing: I guess I'm not the only one who thought that she was a spy. A bunch of other thieves kept pestering her with questions. "Shut up or I'll slit your throat," she seethed at a particularly annoying one.

"Exactly what Masila's spy would do!" He said triumphantly.

She glowered at him, and he shrank back. "Don't you ever compare me to her. Might not seem like it, but I hate her as much as you do. Got it?"

"Okay," he whispered.

But some were not as easily beaten as him. Nort came swaggering up. "So, I hear you're the spy."

"Am not!" She snapped.

He winked at her. "Of course. Keeping incognito, are you?" She was about ready to slap him. "Anyway, I just want to say that I totally agree with you."

"Huh?"

"I mean, Kanrik's losing his touch. We need real power, somebody who could keep control. Even if you're a kid, it's so awesome that you're really useful to her."

"That's it!" She screeched, and punched him in the jaw.

But after rubbing it, he just grinned. "Nice act. I can see why she picked you."

"Ugh!"

I sort of feel sorry for her. I'd hate being accused of being a spy. You know, I wonder why people find Kayley so suspicious. I mean, sure, she's really mysterious and all that. She's scary, and amazingly good with the dagger. She thinks about stuff a lot, trying to puzzle and calculate everything out. But that's no reason to think she's a spy. She's a brilliant thief.

I cannot believe I just admitted that.

Week 2

The code is in the Sea Shanties book. It has to be. Every time I see Jacques start to write a letter, he selects five tomes from the shelves to confuse us. But the Sea Shanties book was always there. I even saw the page number. Now all I needed was to look at it; and for that I needed help. Of course, I asked the twins again.

"You want us to do what?" Julius said in disbelief.

"Distract Jacques while I grab the book from his shelf," I said calmly. "He never leaves it by his desk, so it'll take awhile. Besides, you're already good at doing it naturally."

"Well, yeah," he admitted. "But that's just for fun. I never really acted before."

"What about that Harry thing?"

"I told him that I was a thief," he reminded me. "That wasn't lying."

"Juliet?" I questioned.

"I'll do it," she said quickly. Her brother threw her a strange look. It was like a question mixed with worry and disapproval, and I wondered what it meant. "I'm an alright actress."

"Then I guess I better do it too." Julius sighed. "But you better appreciate it."

"I do," I said.

Juliet frowned at him. "He wants candy. But Hanso's our friend, Julius. We should do it as a favor."

"No offense, but how many favors have we been doing him lately? Don't get me wrong, I'm cool with that, but I don't get why we're doing this. In fact," he turned to me. "Why are you doing this?"

I looked confused. "What?"

But Juliet nodded like she understood. "Yeah, that is something I've been thinking about. You're not the type to get obsessed with one single prank. And judging by the way you're acting, you're not going to tease Jacques about this at all. This is something else, isn't it? It's something really important."

"Does this have something to do with Masila?" A voice said. All three of us jumped. Though we've known Kayley for years, she could still blend into the background easily.

"No," I lied.

Kayley studied me for a moment, and then looked at the twins. "Could you guys excuse us for a moment?" They nodded and went away. After waiting a few minutes, she said, "You're lying again, but I'll forgive it this time because the twins are here. I'll ask it again. Does this have anything to do with Masila?"

I squirmed in my seat. If she said anything to Kanrik or Jacques, I'd be doomed. But I doubted her too many times. Now that I thought about it, every time I did trust her she was actually a good friend—as long as I had nothing to do with the guards. "Yes."

"Is it something about how Jacques was affected by her voice?" Kayley asked. "Because we're all pretty much affected, and I don't think you should worry about him personally. And you already know this, I can see it. You're looking at the bigger picture."

"Maybe," I said, staring downwards. "Look, I get that you're not going to help. But I really need you to not interfere."

"I never said I wasn't going to help," she huffed.

"So…you'll assist me in stealing the book?" I said hopefully.

"I never said that, either."

Week 3

The twins managed to come through for me in the end. It was true that Julius wasn't the best guy for an acting job - turns out that all the times he annoyed Jacques he was serious - but he was willing to try. After all, he along with his sister stole our teacher's dagger claiming they were going to use it to slice some cheese, blunting the blade forever. Jacques ran after them quickly, with Razor and Kayley hot on their heels (they didn't want to miss the fun).

I, however, had other plans. As soon as the door slammed shut, I began skimming the titles of the books. To my horror, there were no 'Sea Shanties.' Then I realized that he could have had the cover changed. This was going to take longer than I thought; but I had to work with the ten minutes that the twins promised me.

Scanning the shelves again and opening the contents, I didn't see anything. I tried again, searching for hidden compartments. Not one clue. I heard footsteps and began panicking, swiping random stuff out of the bookcase. It didn't help.

The knob turned. I held my breath.

"Oh, Master Jacques?" Kayley said. Jacques turned around. The doorway was still open, so I was in plain view of Kayley. Now would be the perfect time to betray me, to get me back for accusing her of being a spy and causing her all that torture from all the other thieves in the cafeteria.

But she didn't.

"I was just going to ask your opinion on various hiding places," she said emphatically.

"Yes?" Jacques said, tapping his foot.

"I think you mentioned in the lesson that you thought the best ones were at the highest point?" She glanced at me quickly, and then turned back to the Kyrii.

"Of course," he said. "No one ever looks there, mostly because it's so cliché to hide something on the highest point. On a ship, that's the sparrow's nest, as only one pirate keeps watch and there would be less chance to discover your secret."

I was already clambering on top of the bookcase. On the dusty boards, a book labeled 'Sea Shanties' was there. I grabbed it and put it in my coat, and then climbed back down. I gave Kayley a thumbs-up, but for some reason she frowned like she didn't believe me. I flipped open to the page. It was covered with the numbers of the code. Triumphantly, I showed it to her behind Jacques's back. She took a glimpse of it and nodded. I put it in my coat.

"Why the sudden interest in this?" Jacques continued.

"Oh, nothing," she said casually. I grinned. I was off the hook. At least, I thought so.

The gong rang. I was about to go when Jacques said, "Oh, Hanso, could you please return that book-shaped object in your coat? It's bad to invade someone's privacy."

He held out his hand, and reluctantly I handed the tome back to him. He tutted. "Just how stupid do you think I am? You do know that I'm a Master Thief, right? Just because the ones you've met so far were idiots (excluding Kanrik and your parents, of course) doesn't mean that I am too."

"Sorry," I muttered.

"And what in Neopia were you going to use it for? These are just a bunch of old rhymes. Unless…" his eyes widened. He grabbed the bag where he kept all his letters and leafed through it. Then he sighed with relief. Thank goodness that I had already copied the letter and returned it. "Oh, well, that's all right then. I'll just let you off with a warning. But the next time I see something like that happening again you will be punished."

"Of course I will," I said, not really believing it. He never was big on punishments.

"Tell Miss Kayley that the same goes to her," he told me, closing the door. I winced. I was farther than where I started.

I went to Kayley and glumly said the message. "He says that there'll be a penalty next time we try that again. Looks like we'll just have to figure out something else."

"No we don't," she said, a tone of superiority in her voice. "We have all the answers we need."

I stared at her. "The book's back there."

"Who says the book has all the information?"

"What? So…you have it?"

She rolled her eyes. And suddenly, I'm angry with her. Why doesn't she ever give me straight replies? For all the things she hasn't told me, she might as well be Masila's spy. I scowled and was about to go away, when she said, "The ballad is quite sad, really. And yes, Hanso, I do have it."

"Where?" I asked eagerly.

She got a slip of paper that was completely blank. I thought it was written in invisible ink or something, but instead Kayley started to write on it. She scribbled as fast as she could, the pencil making a dull scraping noise. But it was still a long poem to write. After about ten minutes, she said, "Here it is. It's called Farewell to Fellow Voyagers."

When shall we all meet again?

When, shall we all meet again?

We, who side by side, so long,

Listen'd to the billows' song,

Saw the Sun, enrob'd in gloom,

Plunging 'mid his ocean-tomb,

And, anon, its bursting floor

To the skies, their king restore;

Days of hope, and nights of fear

Drew us, heart to heart more near,

And though now serenely fair

Gleams the haven of our prayer,

Still this parting hath its pain,

When, shall we all meet again?

When the watch of time is sped,

When its beacon-fires are dead,

When our sails no more are furl'd

From the tempests of the world,

And no more, expanding wide,

Woo its gales of joy or pride,

When those ties the heart that sway,

Pass, like smoking flax away,

When the judgment-seat is set,

When the tribes of earth are met,

When those Books, whose awful scroll

Seal the sentence of the soul,

Ope,—for endless bliss, or pain;

Then, shall we all meet again.

"A bit dreary, don't you think?" I commented.

She glared at me. "It's a poem of good-bye to sailor friends who he might never meet again. Of course it's dreary!"

"Stressy," I said. "How'd you get it, anyway? There's no way you could have possibly remembered all that."

"Some of us think ahead," she replied snottily. "Master Jacques is not easy to fool; like he said, he's not stupid. But he underestimates the twins. I asked Juliet for some memory enhancing candy when I heard about your plan—it was clear it wasn't going to work." I was about to protest when her face changed. Her lids became heavy, as if she hasn't slept for weeks, and then suddenly she slipped and fell. I caught her. "Ugh….stupid sugar rush. I hope that thing was worth it."

"It is," I promised.

"How?" She asked.

"I need to…um, translate something from one of Jacques's messages. It might help us."

She raised her eyebrows. "How? If Jacques has any substantial info in his letters, I'm sure he would've told Kanrik."

"I wasn't after his letters."

She frowned. "Then the only thing left to translate is the address. Why do you need to message his friend?"

"You'll see," I said.

Week 4

I sent the message today. It was really supposed to be last week, but I couldn't think of what to write. Plus I had to double- and triple-check that I got the address completely right before I could send it. After I neomailed it, I relaxed a bit and decoded Jacques's letter. It wasn't required; in fact, I guess I should have minded my own business and stayed satisfied with just the address. But after all the trouble I've taken and all I could do was wait, I decided to do something for fun. Shockingly, it's been awhile since I've done that. Here's what it said:

Garin,

No, I'm not coming back yet. Would you stop asking me? I know it's been six years, but someone has to complete the prophecy that C made. It might as well be me; anyone else would have left their post in a week. I'm not being paranoid; it might be true. If C had made it up to get rid of me, then I'll stay here until the day I die. Or until she confesses.

Jacques

Who was C? Caylis? What was this about a prophecy? And why was she trying to get rid of Jacques? It made no sense.

But I have other things to worry about.