Steal the Stars [REWRITING]

Annabelle - What is Happening

Leo and Nicole should never, ever have left James and I alone in the hotel.

Not that we stayed there for long.

After James spilled my hot chocolate (which was totally his fault!) all over the couch, I suggested we leave. After I cleaned it up, because James was useless. And, surprisingly, James didn't disagree. Probably because the hotel would have been on fire by the time they got back, and nobody wanted that.

"He's going to kill us," James said.

"They're going to kill us," I amended, shrugging my red coat on.

He looked back towards the papers. "Should we bring those?"

I sighed. "Probably. Do we really have to, though?"

James grimaced. "I guess so. I mean, you're already in trouble, anyway."

"I am not 'in trouble'!"

"You are!"

I whipped out my hand, and the papers flew into them easily. "Whatever. Let's just go before this place crumbles under our feet."

The streets were still filled with people, and only seemed to be getting busier. After all, the Festival began tomorrow, and last-minute preparations were still being made. The palace already had flags and banners hung, but people were still decorating the streets, where the poorer people of Koyia would have their ball.

James and I stopped at a small cafe, tucked away in a corner. It would have been empty, any other month but Festival month. But it was packed, with probably more business than it'd ever seen. That was one of the benefits of working near the palace; sure, if you were small, you struggled eleven out of twelve months, but that one month you didn't could probably keep the store alive for the rest of the year. That's what I'd always noticed about the little cafes of Koyia, anyway.

James sighed as I ordered a hot chocolate and kiyucuri. "Haven't you had enough? That's got to be your third cup. At least."

I shrugged. "It's good. And you drink so much coffee it's a miracle you don't bleed it."

"Black coffee," he added. "The other stuff is gross. And there's nothing wrong with coffee–not black coffee, anyway."

"Must remind you of your soul," I mussed.

"You're not as funny as you think you are."

"You're right. I'm funnier."

He tugged the papers from my hands. "Let's just memorise these and get it over with, okay? And try to keep your mouth shut for a little while."

"I'm not the one who has trouble keeping my mouth shut."

He ignored me.

The next few moments passed in silence, except for the tapping of my fingers against the table, and my foot tapping on the floor. So, mostly silent. James kicked me in the shin (for what had to be the third time), and hissed, "Would you stop that? It's driving me crazy."

"Fine. But only because you asked so nicely."

I managed to restrain myself for a full two minutes. A new record.

"Are you done?" I asked. "We've been over these a million times. I think we've got the point by now."

"When do the guards at the south tower rotate? Don't look." He covered the papers with his hands.

"No fair!" I protested. "And who says we'll be anywhere near the south tower, anyway? That's stupid. And it doesn't prove anything, either."

"Sure, Belle." He grabbed the papers. "Let's go. Leo and Nicole will be back soon, and you can talk to them about why you don't know the guard changes and routes. Or, maybe they'll find out when you get one of us killed."

"That's not going to happen! You're a jerk, James." But a tiny part of me knew he could be right. If I didn't know it, and I led us right into danger, it would be my fault. I snatched the papers from James' hands. "I'll look at them on the way back."

...

Leo and Nicole were already back when James and I arrived at the inn, which surprised me. They weren't due for at least another hour or so. It was weird, especially since they were both acting off, too.

"So," I said, "how'd scouting everything out, or whatever you were doing, go?"

"We didn't get the chance," Leo said. "Something came up."

"What?"

"Nothing. That you need to worry about, anyway."

"Right. Don't lie to me, Leo."

"I'm not lying. Seriously, Annabelle, drop it." His voice had a sharper edge to it now, and I stopped talking. Getting him upset was not on my to-do list. But that didn't deter my curiosity; Leo wasn't generally angry, so whatever had happened had rattled him. And it wasn't nothing.

"I'm going to my room," Nicole said abruptly. "I'm tired. I'll see you all at dinner." She and Leo exchanged a look as she left, which I could only assume had to do with whatever happened. But neither of them said anything else.

Once she was gone, Leo turned to James and I. "Did you guys look over those schedules?"

"Aye aye, captain!"

"Yes."

"Good, thanks." He leaned back on the couch, and looked, for a moment, very, very tired. And much older than he actually was. Which was unsettling, to say the least, because he was sixteen–almost seventeen. And he looked like he'd lived through wars.

"So, you didn't scout out the palace," James ventured.

"No. But we'll be fine. We know it well enough, by now."

"Okay." He paused. "You're not going to tell us why you're back, without accomplishing anything?"

"I sent a letter to my mom."

"That's not what I meant. And you know it. Seriously, Leo, was one of you hurt?"

"Not exactly. But, no, I'm not going to tell you, because I don't think it's any of your business. It's not something that's going to hurt us, but it's not something I need to tell you about, either. And I'd appreciate it if you left it alone."

"Okay, then," James said. "If that's what you want, I guess." I blinked. James acting like a morally good person? The world really had gone crazy.

And I didn't know what to make of it.

Word count: 1,021

Short chapter, I know, but it's picking up soon! We're about a third of the way done (yay me!) and all the action will be beginning in just a few chapters...promise. Sorry if it seems slow so far, but hopefully I've made it at least somewhat engaging? 

Maybe?

Anyway, please feel free to point out any grammatical errors you see. My grammar is decent, I think, but it's just that--decent. I do make mistakes. Also, I know some of this probably sounds choppy and poorly worded. I do want to come back and edit this, but in the future. My writing is constantly improving, and right now, I'm not at the point with this where I can go, "Wow, this is trash!" and know what to do about it. 

Right now, I can just go, "Wow, this is trash!"

Kidding!

Kind of. 

Also, like half of my keyboard keys are stuck and it's DRIVING ME CRAZY. Send help.