A/n: Hey guys, I'm so sorry for not updating for awhile. I will do my best to update twice today but I've been busy lately so if I can't please don't be too mad.
We were sitting at a bar in Kribirsk with food and drinks.
"So...that went well." Jepser joked.
Like hell it did.
"The Little Palace winter fete." Arken said. He slammed his glass on the counter. "There's just no way he can find a way to the Sun Summoner without Nina. Especially during this ridiculous party. The place will be crawling with Second Army."
"We're in luck. There's a good chance we can crack on." Kaz said as he took a seat next to me. He continued. "Now that we're three days travel from the capital, the next play is finding a way inside the Little Palace. It turns out the Kribirsk archives house the Little Palace blueprints. But, they're kept under lock and key. Far from the prying eyes of the masses."
Kaz smirked.
"Yes." Jesper fist bumped the air.
"What does that mean?" Arken asked.
"Time for a heist." I said excitedly.
~
"I leave you a bullet, to remember me." Jesper said to the goat as he handed him to the barmaid and placed a string with a bullet attached to it around the goat's head. "Let's promise never to forget eachother, Milo. But I must go, now. I leave you in the care of this lovely barmaid, who needs your support here.
Jesper blew Milo a kiss before turning around and walking away. I could see tears in his eyes.
~
"Alright, Royal Archives heist. Here's the game plan." Kaz explained. "Watchmen are on watch around the clock. We want to get in and out as quietly as possible. That means the hardware stays in the holster, Jesper. Inej, the dome on the roof is right above the repository where the blueprints to the Little Palace are kept. Me and Elora have another plan..."
I had no idea what this plan was.
~
Jesper took us in a carriage. He stood watch while Inej made her way to the roof and I walked into the building with my arm looped through Kaz's.
"Good day to you, sir." Kaz said politely as we walked up to the counter.
This was the first time I'd seen him smile, even if it was a fake one.
"My name is Ivanovski. The sculptor, yes. And this is my stunning wife." I smiled as Kaz put his hand on my shoulder.
I felt him put his support on me for he was not using his cane.
"Alright." The man at the desk said with obvious boredom.
"I am in desperate need of your assistance. I'm working on a real showstopper for the winter fete."
The man sighed but Kaz continued, keeping character.
"I need the dimensions to the Little Palace entrances. The grand piece may be too grand to fit through the doorframe. The king will have my head if his statuary must be parked in the courtyard."
"Damned fete." The man mumbled. "I have to pull the blueprints every day. Wait here."
"With bated breath." Kaz said cheerfully.
The man sighed and walked off.
Way to ruin the mood I thought.
Kaz dropped something on the ground and slid it under the man's shoe.
Once the man returned he handed Kaz the blueprints.
"The dimensions to the entrances of the Little Palace."
"Ah, may the Sun Summoner bless you." Kaz said warmly.
"Oh, I'm not a believer."
"Truth be told, neither am I."
With that the man walked away.
"Go help Inej." Kaz whispered in my ear.
I walked outside while Kaz went down another hallway.
"Jes, where's Inej?" I asked as I approached the carriage.
"Over there, we had some problems with guards." He whispered and pointed at a tree.
I ran over to Inej.
"Come on, we don't have much time." I said.
"In and out the same way we came in." Inej reminded me.
We made our way to the rooftop.
Once the lights went out me and Inej ran across the roof and to the dome.
Inej repelled into the repository, then me.
We followed the footprints visible in the darkness to the blueprints.
We opened the drawer and Inej pulled out the blueprints. She sprayed them with a liquid and I laid a blank sheet on top. We needed a copy of the blueprints to leave behind. Once I pulled the copy off I rolled it up and returned it to the drawer as Inej shoved the real one up her sleeve.
As we were about to leave the lights suddenly turned on and we could hear voices. I yanked on the rope to pull it down to us. I quickly wrapped up the rope and hid behind a shelf with Inej. We pulled daggers out as a guard came in. We snuck around behind him and hid behind a desk.
"See anything?" A guard asked from the hallway.
"Nothing."
The guards left and we emerged from our hiding spot. We walked to the doors the guards had just left through.
"They're locked." I groaned.
Inej sighed.
We whipped around at the sound of someone whistling.
"Move." Jepser whispered.
As a clock chimed he shot the door and it swung open.
He disappeared as we went through the doors.
We emerged from another door to see a guard. I drew my knife and readied to kill. A cane suddenly hit the ground.
It was Kaz.
"I could've killed you!" I exclaimed.
"Well you didn't, didn't you?" Kaz smirked.
~
We met back up with Jesper and the four of us made our way back to the bar we were at previously.
"Got any plans up your sleeve?" Inej asked.
Silence.
"I mean, Kribirsk isn't the worst." Jesper broke the silence. "We could open up a bar. Brew East Ravkan beer for the Westerners."
"Shut up, Jesper." Me, Kaz and Inej said at the same time.
"I miss Milo." Jepser said suddenly.
Arken walked up to us at the bar.
"Friends." He exclaimed.
"What are you so cheery about?" Kaz asked glumly.
Arken moved aside to reveal a man with long hair and a large beard.
"This is Marko. Marko is the leader of the travelling troupe known as the Pomdrakon Players."
We just looked at him to continue.
"They have been invited to perform at this year's winter fete."
"A life-long dream." Marko said boastfully in his deep voice.
"Yes, yes." Arken continued. "A chance to get inside the Little Palace. But they lost their star performer due to a unfortunate freak accident."
Marko looked sadly at the ground.
"They are in desperate need of someone with the skills to replace their star performer and as Ketterdam's premier talent manager, I had an idea."
Everyone looked at me.
"As a friend once said, "If I can't crack this, none of us are going anywhere."" I said.
I pulled out my knives and placed them gently in Kaz's hands.
~
I twirled slowly with the ribbons. Wrapping my legs, feet and arms around the silk fabric to maintain control.
At the end of my performance the crowd cheered as I unwound myself from the ribbons and bowed.
Marko walked up to me.
"The Saints must have sent you." He exclaimed with gratitude. "Yes, the show will go on. Now."
He turned around and snapped his fingers at someone.
A woman handed him a unitard in bright yellow, orange, red, and black.
"Can you fit into this?" He asked me.
"Umm..." I said hesitantly.
"Of course she can." Jesper butted in. "Those are her colors but the thing is, Elora comes as part of a packaged deal." He pointed to himself.
"No free rides. What are your talents?" Marko inquired.
~
Third Person POV:
Jesper sat down in a chair, his back facing Elora. He had a mirror and his gun in hand. Jesper raised the mirror, making a kissing noise at his reflection. He pointed his gun over his shoulder where Elora was hanging from the ribbons with a card in her mouth. He kissed his gun and readied to shoot.
For a few seconds everything was silent. You could cut the tension with a knife. Then...
Bang
A bullet shot through the air and straight into the card Elora was holding between her teeth.
The crowd gasped in awe before cheering.
Elora POV:
I swung down from the ribbons as Jesper got up from his chair.
We walked over to stand next to Marko.
"The stage is yours, sir." Marko said to Kaz.
"I'll make my own way." Kaz said.
A/n: It's taking me a while to get this next chapter written out but I'll try to get to you guys as soon as I can.