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  Selene used the mocking as an excuse to leave the three of them and get back to the merchant, ‘you’re right. Why don’t I go get us some food and drink to make up for it, I think I saw a merchant selling those honey coated nuts you love, Marisa.’

  Marisa’s eyes lit up, ‘well that’s a start, I guess. We’ll wait over there by the benches.’

  With that, Selene kissed Gareth and told him she’d follow them with haste, before making a quick escape across the crowd and over to the blacksmith’s stall.

  A young boy manned the stall, no older than twelve, but he had the look of a blacksmith, strong, tall, coated in soot from the furnace. She imagined the long, hard days he must have, while working at the blacksmiths, and wondered if he was the blacksmith’s son, or given to the blacksmith as an apprentice. It had become common practice among the lower class families to give their eldest son to tradesmen. The children lived and worked for them as their apprentice, in the hopes of a better life further down the line.

  ‘Good day miss, can I help you with anythin’ today?’ he said politely.

  ‘You can indeed. You have many fine weapons here, do you have a hand in making them yourself?’ Selene asked, already knowing the answer.

  ‘Oh no miss, I’m just the apprentice. The master blacksmith makes ‘em all himself. The finest blacksmith in the kingdom, he is.’

  Selene ran her fingers over some of the blades on the table. ‘So I’ve heard. And is he taking orders at the moment? You see, I’m looking for something rather special, a one-off design you might say.’

  ‘My master is always open to orders, miss. What might ye be looking for?’

  ‘A dagger, something I can’t buy at any blacksmith. I have something in mind, perhaps I could make some quick notes for you to take to your master?’ Selene said, removing a piece of parchment from what appeared to be an order book next to the boy.

  ‘Be my pleasure, miss.’

  Selene scribbled down quick points for the dagger she wanted for Gareth. It was slightly longer than most, curved, with a hilt shaped to accommodate each finger, allowing for a firm grip on the entire hilt. She knew this would be something he’d love.

  He always complained about the daggers he had even though they were some of the finest weapons she’d ever seen. It was small details he’d always mentioned that she’d picked up on, and now she was in a position to get him the perfect weapons.

  ‘I’ll need two of them. The finest metal and materials for them, this is to be a special gift, I want your master to spare none of his considerable skill.’ She said.

  The boy nodded as he looked over the parchment, noting each detail.

  ‘I can’t give you a price, miss, that would require my master’s eye. If you leave your address, my master will send word to you, I’m sure he will give you a fair price before beginning work.’ He said, placing the parchment into a leather bag next to him. ‘I can tell ye, though, it’ll take a week, if not two before they’re finished.’

  She nodded in approval and informed the apprentice she looked forward to seeing the finished product before bidding him farewell and making her way to the food merchants.

  * * *

  The twins and Gareth were chuckling as Selene returned to find them near the boundary of the market square. Marisa jumped up as she saw Selene with honey coated nuts and snatched them right from her hand.

  ‘You realise they’re not just for you, right?’ Selene said.

  Marisa was already stuffing a fist full into her mouth, but mumbled something like, ‘I know.’

  They all laughed as she proceeded to eat, and although hesitant shared her bounty with the others. It was nice sitting back and having fun with friends. Selene thought about how seldom it happened, it seemed that the older they became, the more they drifted apart. She knew they all had lives outside of their circle, friends and even lovers they wished to keep separate from their life within the guild.

  It was tough to have a traditional life when your nocturnal activities involved stealing and avoiding city guards. They could tell no one outside of the guild, it was forbidden by Vin, the guild leader. Even without his policy, it was unreasonable to place that burden on someone you cared about.

  Eric leaned back against the wall behind him and looked at Selene, ‘so, Gar tells us that the missing kids had you up all night,’ he said.

  ‘Did he now,’ Selene asked, nudging Gareth in the side. ‘It didn’t keep me up all night, I was just wondering what might have happened to the two children from the slums. How did they get out of the house without a trace?’

  ‘People are saying it was the Puca.’ Marisa continued to throw nuts in her mouth as if her statement was self-explanatory.

  Dumbfounded, Selene asked, ‘Puca? You mean those ghost stories parents tell their children to scare them into being good?’

  ‘Aye. Although they’re not just stories, lots of people have seen them. Shape changers, mischievous spirits that can do good or bad. Those kids must have done something to upset them, or maybe the parents, who knows.’ Marisa said.

  The others remained silent for a minute, all looking puzzled by her statement. Finally the silence broke with an infectious laugh which carried from Gareth to Eric and even Selene. Marisa didn’t seem at all pleased with the laughing and threw what was left of the nuts at the group.

  Eric spoke up, ‘forget about the kids, it’ll sort itself out. Probably something stupid like the parents sold them off as farm hands, and wanted to cover it up,’ he said, now leaning in closer to the group. ‘We’ve got more important things to discuss, anyway. You know the king’s turning thirty tomorrow, and the whole city will be out for his parade and festivities.’

  ‘What about it?’ Selene asked.

  ‘It’s a ripe opportunity to relieve the nobles of their most prized possessions, don’t you think? No one will be at home, even their servants will be permitted to at least watch the parade. If only to get a bigger crowd to boost the king’s inflated ego.’

  Selene looked sceptical of his proposal, but enquired anyway. ‘And your plan is to what? Organise a mass break in to the nobles houses in the upper quarter, during the hour that the parade will last?’

  ‘My idiot brother always has big dreams, thinks he’ll make some big score any day now and retire before he’s twenty one.’ Marisa said.

  Eric removed a large piece of parchment from the leather pouch at his waist and said, ‘shut it Marisa’ while unfolding it. ‘This is the route that the parade will take from the palace. It goes through the upper quarter, then down through the merchant quarter, before turning into the market square and back up through the upper quarter.’

  Gareth chimed in, ‘and how is it, that you think we can steal from the nobles homes at mid day, while every guard in the city is on duty?’

  ‘They’re on duty, but other than an increase at the gates to the slums and warehouse district, every other guard is being positioned along the parade route.’

  Selene could see the look in Gareth’s eyes, she’d seen it countless times before, he was already forming a plan in his head. There would be no talking him out of it. The upper quarter wasn’t off limits to thieves of their skill level, but they mostly took from guests in the bigger inns.

  On occasions when they broke into a Noble’s home, they would do reconnaissance in the days leading up to it, to assess guards and level of activity within the home. Pulling off a big job, at mid day, with an extremely tight window, was not what Selene had planned for the king’s birthday celebrations.

  ‘We’ll need more people if we’re going to make it worth our while.’ Gareth said.

  Selene felt she had no choice but to interject, ‘you can’t seriously be considering this, Gareth, we’ll never pull it off.’

  ‘You worry too much. We’re the best thieves in the city, we can make this work.’ Gareth said with a reassuring smile.

  Reassurance was not what Selene got from his statement, she imagined what would happen when the g
uards seized them all. Images of thieves being hung for stealing from the upper quarter flashed in her mind, and she wasn’t about to let them be next. She realised her hands were shaking from anger and she could see that the others had noticed too.

  ‘We are not doing this,’ the words had left her mouth before she realised she was shouting, drawing far too much attention from the crowds of shoppers and merchants around them. She lowered her voice and moved closer to the three of them, ‘we can’t do this. I’m not exactly cautious, and thrilled to steal from those with far too much wealth, but if you go through with this, you’ll have us all dancing the hangman’s jig by supper tomorrow.’

  Gareth moved towards her and enveloped her in his arms while whispering, ‘it’s going to be okay, we’ve done far more dangerous things than this before. I promise, we’ll plan everything down to the last detail before ever setting foot in the upper quarter.’

  It did little to sway her, but the argument was over, she couldn’t win when his mind was set on something. The thought of not going also quickly left her and was replaced with the image of something terrible happening to Gareth while she wasn’t there. She knew she’d never forgive herself for leaving him like that.

  ‘Selene,’ Marisa began, ‘you don’t have to worry. We’ll make a great plan, and you know Gareth’s skills are matched by none, not even Vin.’

  ‘Not even Vin?’ Eric coughed out.

  ‘Vin may be one of the most lethal assassins we’ve ever seen, but Gareth is a master thief and has definitely surpassed him. And besides, he has us to watch his back.’ Marisa offered in reply.

  Selene resigned in the knowledge that if anyone could pull this off, it would be the group before her, and they wouldn’t be doing it without her by their side.

  SIX

  The rest of the day had been spent planning for the impromptu heist on the king’s birthday. Selene still had her doubts, but the twins had got four more thieves from the guild, and they would spend no more than an hour in the upper quarter. Eric and Gareth had done most of the planning, covering which of the residences would be hit, based on an earlier reconnaissance from other jobs.

  She had to admit; the plan was sound, and moving in small groups meant little time would be required in each home, allowing each group to strike two to three homes within the hour. Marisa had employed her charms to distract guards while Eric let himself into their garrisons to steal the exact guard numbers and positions for the period of the parade. This might work, she thought.

  Gareth tugged on her arm, leading her left, down a side street that was the opposite direction from her home. He had told her little of where they were going or what he had planned, just that it was a surprise. Selene wanted to tell him she’d had enough surprises that day. And if this one was to endanger their lives too, she’d pass, but his tone told her this wouldn’t involve stealing or evading guards.

  ‘Almost there.’ He announced with a cheeky grin.

  ‘That smile makes me worry. What precisely do you have planned? Should I have brought a weapon?’ She enquired in jest.

  Gareth laughed a little but revealed nothing. The next turn was down a smaller alleyway, but they halted after hardly a few feet and he sauntered to a locked door at the side of the building. Lock picks were in his hands before Selene began to enquire as to what they were doing there. Now she wondered if she shouldn’t have been joking about the weapon. Silent, and with little effort, Gareth picked the crude door lock and opened the door to reveal a staircase.

  ‘What is it we’re stealing, exactly?’ She asked.

  ‘Who said we’re stealing anything?’ That cheeky grin again.

  Without allowing her another word, Gareth took Selene by the arm and led her up the stairs to a door that opened out on to the roof of the building. Within moments of the door opening, something sweet and fruity filled her senses which made her close her eyes and smile.

  When she opened her eyes and looked to the left of the door, she saw a thick woollen blanket strewn across the ground. It was covered in fresh fruits, sweet, glistening pastries that she immediately recognised as being from her favourite bakery, and a bottle of pink wine she adored. She had only been introduced to the delicious wine on her seventeenth birthday months before.

  Selene couldn’t believe her eyes. Gareth had somehow arranged a rooftop picnic even though they’d spent the entire day together. She realised that she’d organised for custom daggers to be crafted that very day, so it wouldn’t be inconceivable that he could organise something for her. Although this was much more elaborate and time consuming than a brief conversation with a merchant.

  ‘How… when? Ugh, how do you do things like this?’ She asked, lost for words.

  ‘Magic.’ He laughed, and then continued, ‘my status within the guild affords me certain… luxuries.’

  ‘How do luxuries allow you to do this while spending the whole day with me, and not even being in the city the past eight days?’

  ‘By luxuries, I mean, individuals that desperately wish to be in the guild, that will do anything for me.’ He let out a low chuckle.

  He showed her over to the blanket and they both sat down. Selene gazed out over the rooftops, the sun setting low in the west cast an orange and purple glow over everything, illuminating the high white towers of the palace beyond. She adored the city at that time of day, everything seemed so peaceful, even magical. Selene thought she could sense the existence of others within the city as she gazed out over it. She felt their energy, their warmth, but she attributed it to the last rays of light warming her face, as the sun went down below the horizon.

  Gareth handed her a glass of the pink wine, the sweet scent drifted through the air, filling her with delight. She glanced up from her cup and realised he stared at her with such intensity. Being with Gareth had been the most remarkable time in her short life.

  Even as friends, he made her feel special, wanted, like she was no longer alone in the world. But now they were more than friends, she couldn't express how wonderful he made her feel about herself. He was always there for her when she needed him, always encouraging of her random interests and never became overbearing, and most importantly, he knew when she needed space.

  ‘Do you know how perfect you are?’ She blurted out without thinking.

  He laughed a little, but with a kindness, and said, ‘I was just thinking the same thing about you.’

  ‘I love you so much, you know that, right? You’ve made my life far more… well, more. I couldn’t imagine what things would be like without you.’ She said, still peering into his dark green eyes.

  ‘Well lets hope you never have to find out just how boring things would be, without me around to annoy you.’ He said, smiling at her with that cheeky smile. ‘And you know I love you too, more than I imagined possible.’

  They clinked their glasses together and sat sipping the wine as the sky turned from purple to black, revealing the beautiful twinkling blanket of stars above.

  SEVEN

  Gods, if I have to sign another damn parchment today I’ll go back to being a foot soldier, Thyle thought as he sifted through the endless pile of documents on his desk. The duties of a document clerk were not what he had envisaged after years of training and finally being admitted into the king’s guard. But that seemed like his life the past year, paperwork.

  It was the protocol to affix his seal and signature to all official documents. He understood that when accepting his position; it was the sheer volume that had shocked him a year ago when his mentor retired and named him his successor.

  A knock at his office door tore his fleeting attention away from the paperwork, just long enough to yell out for the person to come in. A short, stump of a man clad from head to toe in royal blue and gold, entered the office and shuffled across the entrance to Thyle’s desk.

  Only weeks before, Thyle wouldn’t have recognised the man, but to his hatred he had met him every day for two weeks. Connor Bryde was one of the recent appointed rep
resentatives of the king’s birthday celebration committee. And as Thyle was overseeing all preparations from a security point of view, it meant constant contact between himself and the committee.

  ‘Commander,’ Connor said, offering a short bow of respect, ‘I have the final arrangements for the king’s birthday celebrations.’

  ‘Thank you, Connor. Let me take a look.’

  Thyle looked over the arrangements, and noted nothing else had changed since the day before, other than the few adjustments he had ordered the committee to make. He let out a long sigh of relief. Two weeks of preparations were coming to a close, and it would just be the day itself to oversee. And the protection of the king, the job he had signed up for.

  Commander of the king’s Guard was a title he cherished, a title he was honoured to hold, he just wished it involved fewer tasks of a frivolous nature.

  ‘Everything seems to be in order, Connor, thank you for the report. I assume I’ll see you tomorrow at the celebrations.’

  ‘Indeed, Commander, I shall be there with bells on, as they say.’ Conner bowed to Thyle and made his exit.

  Tomorrow. Finally we can get this celebration, not even the king wants, out of the way. Thyle had just finished his thought when another knock came from the door to his office.

  ‘Come in, Conner, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten something?’ he said.

  The door swung open, but it was Thyle’s squire that entered, not Conner. It had not been long since Thyle had taken on a squire, and it was as new to him as it was to the young boy standing at the entrance to his office. The squire stood to attention, chest out, shoulders straight, with an air of dignity, and waited to be acknowledged by his commander before speaking.

  ‘Josh, if you do that every time you see me, we’re going to waste a lot of time,’ Thyle said, amused. ‘Before I was a knight, I had an arrangement with my mentor, one that we shall now have. We’ll only observe the protocol in the presence of others, agreed?’