Kings and Thieves

Chapter 15

**I can't believe it's March already, guys, the year is flying by, seriously. i can't keep up with it all.**

Chapter 15

Aveline, Ari, and Lyla stood rigidly in the doorway opposite of Eli and Jamie, and for a moment, no one moved. Then, just as Eli opened his mouth to speak, Ari slammed the door in their faces. An awkward pause followed.

"Ari, we need our things," Lyla spoke into the wood, sounding mildly exasperated.

"I know," he answered. "I needed a moment." He nudged the door back open with his ankle, and Eli raised both of his palms up in surrender.

"Before you say anything-"
"How did you get in our room?" Ari interrupted, crossing his arms.
"The door was unlocked."

"Lovely. Can you leave now?"

Eli took a breath. "We want to come with you."

Aveline shoved past them into the chamber and headed towards her bed, quickly deciding that she didn't care much for the conversation that was about to ensue. She flopped down on her mattress and rubbed her eyes as she waited for Ari to start shouting.

"Hear us out," Eli urged. "I've been talking with Jamie, and we both agreed that you were right. The other recruits are... less than competent."

Ari snorted.

"Anyway," he breezed on, "we decided that you three are the best chance we have at finding the royals-"
"You decided that," Jamie shot back at him. Ari lifted an eyebrow.

"It took some convincing on her part," Eli admitted. "But we would like to help."

Aveline sat up to watch as Ari unfolded his arms from his chest and strode towards his dresser, Lyla in tow.

"Pack your things," he instructed her as he hoisted his bag up onto his bed. "We'll have to hurry." He grabbed random clothes out of his drawers, stuffing them haphazardly into his bag. "It's only a matter of time before those idiots come picking a fight, and we need to stay ahead of them in this investigation, not that we'll have to try very hard to do so." He tossed one of Aveline's dresses at her, and it landed with a heap on her face. "I'm serious, Avie. Let's try to be out of here in five minutes."

"Is that a yes?" Eli inquired hopefully from the doorway.

"No."

"Listen, we can help you," Eli maintained, beginning to follow Ari around the room while he pulled out his things. Jamie plopped into a chair next to Aveline, who regarded her with vague interest. "I'm a palace guard. I'm familiar with the royals. And Jamie... well, we're not that well acquainted, but she seems to know what she's doing."

"Seems," Ari repeated. Jamie scoffed.

"We're not going to give up, you know," Eli announced, shifting his weight. "I need to complete this mission. It would help me out a lot at home if I rescued the princess," he confessed, "and Jamie said it was a matter of life and death."

"Is that true?" Ari addressed Jamie, now, his sharp eyes boring into her skull.

Aveline contemplated the girl beside her, who was fiddling with her short, bitten-down nails. She hadn't quite decided how she felt about Jamie yet. She was suspicious, to be sure, but there was a vulnerability about her that Aveline recognized.

"Yes," Jamie said eventually. "It is."

Aveline groaned as she pushed herself off of her bed, looking at Ari. "Can we speak privately for a moment?"

Ari glanced at Eli and Jamie.
Eli gnawed pensively on the inside of his cheek. "We'll be waiting outside the Tarrah," he told them, jerking the door back open. "When you decide, we'll be there."