Hannah, Brynn, and Nabile and We Hate Hanso Club 2: Part One

     Just as she was stamping the royal seal on the last document they had presented to her, she heard a commotion ahead of her in the hall.

     She looked up as a guard shouted, "You there, get back here! You can't just barge your way in here!"

     She could hear running footsteps and the clanking armor of the guards. Despite the fact that the first rule she had learned after becoming queen was to keep well out of harm's way, she pushed to the front of the group that was gathered around her.

     An Usul with flowing brown hair and a swinging green skirt was running down the hall being pursued by half a dozen guards. She did a front handspring and then slid on her knees, stopping just in front of Nabile and throwing up her hands in a 'look at me' gesture.

     Nabile rolled her eyes but could not suppress the smile that rose to her lips. She held up a hand to the guards to stop. They did, though looking warily at the intruder.

     "She is a friend of mine. She is nothing to worry about. You may return to your posts," Nabile told the guards. Then she turned her attention to Hannah, "You always have to make an entrance, do you not?"

     "It is a curse," Hannah said complacently.

     "Walk with me," Nabile said, gesturing for everyone else to leave.

     Hannah watched them scatter with some amusement. They were clearly curious and would have liked to have stayed to see what the strange Usul wanted, but they did as ordered.

     "That's awesome. I wish I had people who would jump when I tell them to," Hannah joked.

     "Become a thief and take up a place at Kanrik's side at the Thieves' Guild and I'll bet you could have that wish granted, Hannah," Nabile said.

     "Nah." Hannah waved away the idea. "Too boring. Being a thief is too straightforward. I'll stick with being a treasure hunter. Besides, I might have to talk like you in queen mode. You talk like such a dork when you're doing the regal queen thing."

     Nabile just shook her head and laughed. "It's part of the job description. Being Jazan's wife makes up for all the perfect speech and hours of handling affairs during his absences. I'm much happier here than on the streets with all the slang in Sakhmet."

     "Ooh, you're so cute. I love you and Jazan; you're just the cutest thing ever," Hannah cooed and Nabile rolled her eyes.

     Hannah and Nabile walked out onto a balcony. Hannah perched herself on the railing and surveyed the courtyard. Nabile waited for Hannah to tell her what she was doing in Qasala.

     "So, I heard a rumor that your overprotective hubby is away again," Hannah said deviously.

     "You have good sources," Nabile replied.

     "I sent Hanso on a wild mallard chase," Hannah told.

     "So, while the boys are away?" Nabile started.

     "The girls will play!" Hannah finished. "I'm going to sneak you out of this place and we're going to go get Brynn, whether she likes it or not. I've got a great adventure lined up for us."

     Nabile thought about putting up a mild objection, but decided against it. She knew Hannah was not about to take no for an answer, and Nabile was up for it. Jazan wasn't due back until tomorrow. She held out her hand to Hannah.

     "Let's do this!"

     Hannah clapped it, her grin humongous.

     ***

     Brynn reclined on the branch of a tree on the outskirts of Faerieland. From her perch, she had a view of the ocean very far in the distance, just a sliver of sparkles on the horizon. She was very annoyed at the moment. She and Hanso had a week off from work, and he had promised to spend some quality time with her. They were supposed to go to Neopia Central, something she had never actually gotten around to doing. But, no, he'd abandoned her again to go do Fyora knew what.

     "Brynn!" two voices called out.

     Brynn sprang erect and looked down, sure her mind was playing tricks on her. However, she was in full possession of her sense. Hannah and Nabile were standing below, looking up at her.

     "What are you two doing here?" Brynn asked, "and does Jazan know you're away, Nabile?"

     "He won't until tomorrow afternoon," Nabile answered. "I left a note this time, though."

     "We're going on a girls' adventure, and you're coming with," Hannah told her.

      Brynn considered it for a moment. "All right, that sounds good. I've got nothing better to do. Hanso and I were supposed to go to Neopia Central, but the lout ditched me again. I'm going to tar his sorry hide when I see him next."

     Brynn started to climb down and Nabile gave Hannah a dirty look.

      "What?" Hannah whispered. "All I did was set up something that could possibly distract him. I didn't kidnap him and toss him in a closet somewhere. She's better off hanging out with us if he'd rather go off on my stupid fake treasure hunt than spend time with Brynn. Besides, Hanso needs a good spanking every now and then. He'll get one this way and everyone will be happy."

     Nabile shrugged, deciding not to argue. Brynn reached the ground safely and turned to look at them. "So, where are we off to?"

     "I've got the best place in mind!" Hannah cried.

     ***

     "The Grave Danger Catacombs?" Brynn and Nabile shouted in one voice.

     "Hey, girls, tone it down!" Hannah cried, rubbing her ears. "Besides, they are vaults, not catacombs. Vaults filled with treasure!"

     "And monsters!" Brynn added.

     "And curse slinging cultists!" Nabile put in.

     "Yeah, that's half the fun of exploration, the danger! Think of it, dodging cultists, curses, traps, and who knows what else down there. It'll be the most excitement you've ever had, and if we're lucky, we'll find treasure by the hundreds!" Hannah reasoned.

     "I've had enough to do with curses to last me a lifetime, Hannah," Nabile said. "The last curse I dealt with at least introduced me to Jazan. There are no pluses to going down there and dealing with those curses."

     "I'm right with Nabile on this one. No way, no how," Brynn said, scowling. "My job involves enough danger as it is. I wanted a fun vacation, one that was monsters and curse free. What about you? You nearly got killed by a curse. Why would you want to go to curse central?"

     "Almost got killed means nothing. Except when I'm ribbing Kanrik about it, then it means everything. Come on, girls! Where is your sense of adventure?"

     "Back with the note promising my husband I wouldn't do anything particularly dangerous, like dive into catacombs filled with monsters and curses," Nabile said. "Can you imagine how he'd react if he found out I went down there for giggles? I would never have a moment to myself again. I'd have a million guards on me twenty-four, seven! Besides, even if we missed out on the dangerous ones, I don't want to spend six hours lying on the floor of some level watching one of you rolling around like wild petpets while shouting, 'Do a barrel roll, Doglefox!'"

     "I bet even if that happened, I could still sneak you out," Hannah said with an arrogant toss of her flowing hair. "Also, that would be a hilarious thing to see."

     "Unless it was you doing the rolling and shouting," Nabile pointed out.

     "A chance I'm willing to take," Hannah replied with a shrug.

     "Brynn, make her see reason," Nabile cried, clinging to the Kougra's arm.

     "We'll put it to a vote," Brynn said. "All in favor?"

     Hannah's hand shot up and waved around wildly.

     "All opposed?" she and Nabile raised their hand. "Sorry, Hannah, you're out voted."

     Hannah crossed her arms and pouted. "If I knew you girls were going to be sticks in the mud like Kanrik, I'd have gotten Armin and left you both to be bored."

     "Oh, don't be mad, Hannah," Brynn said, putting an arm around her. "I have a better idea. I'm not about to be cheated out of my Neopia Central vacation, Hanso or no Hanso. What could be a better alternative than seeing it with my best friends?"

     "Ooh, I love that idea!" Nabile cried, clasping her hands together. "I've never been there either. People who have gone there are always talking about how 'modern' it is. I don't know what that means exactly, but it sounds amazing."

     "Neopia Central is boring central. It's modern, which means new, which means there is nothing interesting to find there. No treasure or excitement, unlike down there," Hannah complained, waving her hand at the entrance to the Catacombs.

     "No treasure or excitement, Hannah? Why, that's all in how you look at it. I hear Neopia Central has the best clothing stores in all of Neopia. Isn't that exciting? Wouldn't a nice new dress be a kind of treasure?" Nabile said coaxingly.

     Hannah glanced down at her trademark adventuring clothes. She smoothed her skirt and looked thoughtful. "I suppose my wardrobe is a little worn. I could use some new non-adventuring outfits. Maybe something blue, Kanrik loves the color blue."

     Nabile winked at Brynn when Hannah wasn't looking, and Brynn grinned back at her. Hannah seemed pretty well won over.

     "So," Brynn started. "All in favor?"

     This time, all of their hands shot into the air.

To be continued...