Edward had fallen asleep shortly after I introduced myself. That was something I never quite understood. Why does everyone sleep but me?

   I sat silently, listening to the guards shouting in the street. I knew they wouldn't give up until they found me.

   The last thing I expected was to hear my father's voice shout, "Check every building in the immediate area! She can't be that far away!"

   I froze, and shot a look at Edward. He was still sleeping. The door slammed three levels down and Edward continued sleeping. How could he sleep that soundly?

   "Edward!" I said as loud as I dared. No response, so I did the next best thing. I picked up a rock that was sitting on the floor next to me and threw it at him. It hit him in the side of the head.

   He shot bolt upright. I put a finger to my lips and tapped my ear. I hoped he got the message as he tilted his head. I could hear the quiet creaking of the steps as the guard, maybe there were two, climbed up the stairs.

   "Are they looking for you?" he asked quietly.

   I nodded. "They won't give up until they find me."

   "That's what I thought," he sighed. "I can't believe I'm doing this. Pretend to be sleeping."

   "Sleeping?" I stared at him like he had horns. "Really?"

   "Trust me."

   I sighed and closed my eyes. I slowed my breathing to what I thought was a reasonable sleeping pace and held very still. I heard the door creak and resisted the urge to peek. There was a dull thud, then footsteps.

   I almost leaped out of my skin when Edward touched my shoulder. I jumped up and reached for my sword, even though I didn't know how to use it, before I realized I wasn't in danger. Edward looked amused as I glanced around. The guard lay in front of the door, I could tell he was still alive though.

   "I have an idea to get you away from the city," Edward said. "But you need to trust me. Don't question anything, that will make it easier."

   I hesitated. I'd just met this man and he already wanted me to trust him. "I..."

   "Please," he whispered. "I can train you to be an assassin, but you need to trust me first."

   I looked out the window before turning back to him. "Fine. What do you want me to do?"

   He smiled. "I need you to go back to your house with Starrick."

   I opened my mouth to object, then remembered what I'd just agreed to. I felt myself slump slightly. "Alright. What about you?"

   His cocky smile grew. "Don't question. I'll get you out of there. I promise."

   "Don't say anything else," I said, holding up a hand. "I'm going right now, and I might not if you keep yammering at me."

   He nodded and I ran out the door before I could think about what I was doing. I skipped every three stairs on the way down, bursting through the door and onto the street. All of the guards turned to me as I marched up to my father.

   "Rook!" he rushed forward and put his hands on my shoulders. "I knew you'd show up!"

   I pushed him away. "Yeah," I growled sarcastically. "I'm sure you were real worried."

   I could tell I'd struck a cord. I always did when I said things like that, and it always made me feel a little better. My father turned and started back toward the house. I followed, glancing back up at the house I'd just left. I could see Edward standing on the roof, watching me.

   "So, who was that man I saw?" father asked, gesturing for me to walk next to him.

   "Who?" I asked, dodging the question, ignoring the gesture.

   "That man with the odd robes," my father pressed. "The one that you ran after."

   My mind was racing. "A... pickpocket," I said at random. "He stole my necklace."

   "Did you get it back?"

   "No, he climbed up a building before I could catch him."

   My father sighed. "A pity. I'll need to find you a new one tomorrow."

   He pushed open the gates in front of our house and let me through. I moved quickly to the door and opened it, closing it behind me, even though I knew my father was two steps behind me. Before the door opened, I took a deep breath and ran up the stairs. I was in my room before the door closed.

   I closed the door to my room and locked it. This was normal for me to do in the evenings when I was supposed to be sleeping. Now it actually had purpose. I quickly opened my closet, pushing through the dresses to the back. Nothing hung that far back, I'd discovered it a couple years ago.

   The dresses made a wall behind me, and in front of me sat a chest. I gently opened it, pulling out black robes that looked almost like Edward's. They had been in the chest for a long time. In the darkness of my closet I could hardly see them as I pulled them on, exchanging my flowing pants for black leggings and my fancy shirt for the robes.

   At the bottom of the chest was a dark red belt with several pouches and a large number of pockets. Along with a second, leather belt filled with throwing knives, about the only weapon I could use well. I put the red belt on first and buckled the leather one over it. I allowed myself a moment to admire how I looked in the mirror. The only thing missing was my sword, which leaned against a wall. I reached for it, but stopped. Why carry something I didn't know how to use? I left it there and pushed out of my closet.

   I almost screamed in surprise when I saw Edward sitting on the ledge outside my window. He rapped on it and pointed to the latch. I walked over and yanked on the latch. It always stuck, but this time it jerked down and the window swung in. I caught it with my hand before it could smack my face and opened it the rest of the way.

   "Now where did you get those?" Edward asked, dropping onto the floor inside and indicating my new attire.

   "I found them in the back of my closet last year," I said. "I don't know how long they were there before that, but I thought they would be appropriate for today."

   Edward raised an eyebrow. "You mean tonight?"

   "Whichever."

   "Well," Edward said. "You'll be happy to know that if you jump from your window to the roof right outside there's an easy way down to the Thames. Follow me." He jumped across to the roof and turned back as I climbed out. "Oh, and close the window behind you."

   I smiled slightly and closed the window. I blinked in surprise when I felt a small breeze flow by my shoulder and into the room. The latch on the inside clicked down, locking the window. I looked back to Edward and he grinned, waving to me to follow. I looked across to the roof. It wasn't very far.

   I did my best to jump across gracefully, but my landing was anything but graceful. I tripped on a loose tile and almost fell off. Edward grabbed my arm and pulled me to safety. After I had my balance he let go and started across the roof.

   I followed him down a large pile of crates and landed next to him on the dock below. He led me toward a large three masted ship with crimson sails. A plank stretched from the boat to the dock.

   "Ladies first," Edward said with a mock bow.

   I punched his arm. "Don't you start calling me lady now. Rook will do just fine."

   He smirked. "Rookies first."

   I rolled my eyes at him and walked up to the ship. There wasn't a single person on deck, but there were neat coils of rope in seemingly random places. I looked up at the masts, where the sails were furled. There was something peaceful about it.

   "You get some rest," I said over my shoulder as Edward pulled the plank up. "I'll watch for any guards."

   Edward stepped in front of me. "No, you rest, I watch."

   I shook my head. "I insist."

   "Fine, but wake me up in an hour."

   I nodded, even though I had no intentions of waking him up, and watched him walk toward the captain's cabin. I was only slightly surprised that he was the captain, even though I shouldn't have been.

   Out of curiosity I walked up to where the wheel was and leaned over the edge to see the ship's name.

   One word.

   Jackdaw.

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Hey there everyone! Tomorrow I will update Gangleaders, I promise. I just wanted to write this chapter today.

Q&A

Question from @Elizabeth_Joyy : Do you like anime? If yes, what's your favorite anime??

Me: I actually have never seen anime.

Anime lovers: *gasp*

Me: I know, I know. I really don't watch that much TV and when I do it's usually The Flash, Arrow, Star Wars: Rebels, or a cooking show of some kind. Sometimes I watch other things like Mythbusters or movies, but my family is more about experience than TV.

If anyone has any other questions, for me or any of the characters, I'd be happy to answer them.

May the wind blow strong in your sails!