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Untitled Document
We followed the Faerie through a maze of tunnels, each the
same as the last. It was obvious that without care one could get lost easily.
Finally, we arrived at a large, oak door. A small, badly made plaque hung haphazardly
on the door.
Jeronik's
rOom... nO gIrLs AlloWed
I
heard Lae snort behind me. "Oh yeah, you can see the intelligence from here,"
she commented, sarcasm pooling in her words. I chuckled.
"Jeronik,"
the Faerie said, knocking gently on the door. "Jeronik, your owners are here."
There
was a thud followed by a sulky voice. "I don't wanna go, you said I wouldn't
have to if I didn't want to."
"Jeronik,"
the Faerie continued, "You promised. You know I shall always be with you."
For
a few minutes, there was no response. Slowly, the door edged open and a tan
face nervously poked around the edge. I recognised him immediately as the hologram.
His emerald eyes were more pronounced than ever, but they seemed glazes and
I could see by his expression that he wasn't happy.
"Jeronik?"
I said hesitantly. "Jeronik, I'm Sari. And this… this is Lae."
Lae
didn't reply, too busy sizing up her new brother. Lae was pretty reserved when
not acting. Finally, she smiled slightly and extended a paw. Jeronik looked
at it and slowly edged out of the door. He looked up and down Lae expectantly
before, with a large grin, grabbing her paw and shaking it exuberantly.
"Jeronik,
when you leave, you must not talk of me," the Faerie said quietly. Jeronik stopped
shaking Lae's paw immediately, and turned to face the Faerie. "You understand
why, don't you?"
"Because
otherwise bad people might take us away." Jeronik replied in a small voice.
The Faerie nodded and smiled sadly at him. Jeronik gave a yelp and jumped forward,
wrapping his tan arms tightly round her and burying his face in the fronds of
her dress. The Faerie hugged him, her eyes glazed.
Sensing
the private moment, I motioned for Lae to leave them.
"Lae?"
I hissed as she approached me. "What do we tell Mr Brown?"
"Easy,"
Lae replied with a grin. "We lie."
The
Faerie spoke then, cutting off any response I had thought of. "You must take
Jeronik now," she said sullenly. "I cannot keep him any longer." She paused.
"I will return you to the entrance."
Jeronik
took one last look at the Faerie and padded over to me. I smiled at him kindly,
and placed one hand on his head. "Thank you," I said simply.
"Until
we meet again," the Faerie said, and suddenly, that feeling of travelling picked
up.
***
"We're back?" Lae asked quizzically. We were back in the cave we had first
arrived in. I nodded simply, my gut turning with the lie I would have to speak.
Lying wasn't a problem -- I did that for a living. It was the stakes of the
lie that was the problem. If they realised I was lying; it would not just be
me that would be in danger. I was risking the lives of 4 people on this.
"Jero?
Lae?" I said without realising. I called Jeronik Jero without a thought, it
was just natural. Jeronik didn't seem to care either, pricking his ears straight
away. "When we get outside, do not speak. Let me talk." Both nodded without
complaints. They realised the seriousness of this situation.
Without
another word, we made our way towards daylight and the no doubt awaiting force.
***
"Do you have the jewel?" Mr Brown wasted no time with small talk, getting
straight to the point. I remembered something he said when we first met. 'I
am a man of few words…'
"Sadly…
No," I sighed, my heart thumping painfully. "We reached a chamber where the
jewel once stood. But there was just this Gelert there."
Mr
Brown glared at Jero in disgust. "I have no use for that… thing. Disown it."
"NO!" I said too quickly. I winced inwardly.
"I mean… I'll take him." I shrugged like it was no big deal.
"It's not my concern," Mr Brown replied. "I
will still pay you for your troubles however, I keep my word." He motioned for
a large burly Lupe to come forward.
"The deeds are for 3229 Ixi Meadows, Meridell,"
Mr Brown said as a few pieces of paper were thrust into my hands. "And, as promised,
500,000 NPs May you never go hungry again…"
"Thank you," I said quietly. I looked from Lae,
who was kicking the dirt in a bored manner to Jeronik, who was quietly looking
round, a completely different character to the hologram I saw.
"Would you like a ride to your house?" Mr Brown
asked politely.
"No thank you," I replied casually. "We'll make
our own way."
And with that we departed, my heart light knowing
that he didn't pursue my words. Now we just had to move in. I fingered the coins
in my pocket. 500k… We had a lot of shopping to do.
***
We moved in the following day when the furniture arrived. Lae's room was a
tribute to Zen, everything arranged tidily. Jeronik's room was glowing, just
like his personality. And mine? Well, I hadn't been sure so I had picked purple
and pink, colours I would not usually chose. But I liked it.
Our house was small but crowed, especially since
Lae and Jeronik had invested in petpets. Kewi, Lae's green Alkenore was a battler
like Lae right from the moment we brought her whilst Spicymeat, a grey spotted
Meowclops, preferred to chase anything that moved.
True to my word, I didn't tell Jeronik of his
legacy, but that feeling that the whole thing would come back and bite me in
the butt when I least expected it still carried on.
But then, I guess, I'll have to cross that bridge
when I come to it. Although Lae and I are no longer thieves, I'll never forget
how to be one. And when the time comes I need my skills, I'll be ready.
Afterall, once a thief, always a thief….
The End
Author's Note: Wow, it's ended. A MASSIVE thanks to everyone who Neomailed
me congratulating me on this. Its people like you that make's this worth writing.
And to all my guild members who encouraged me/poked me with big rods to get
me to finish it. Or whips (LOL). And to my friends *hug* that helped me with
this.
Big thankies to Beta's, who hopefully spotted the majority of mistakes
throughout.
As always, Neomails will be loved and worshipped. Pwease?
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