28 1st Lifetime: Being a Leaf in a Forest (2)

After Nicholas and Mai finished their gruel, they left the compound that they had stayed in for a few weeks. Nervous, Nicholas kept close to Mai. On the other hand, Mai seemed in her element as she watched the individuals that walked by.

A young girl that was around Mai's age walked by, and Mai quickly rushed up to her. She purposefully blinked her eyes as she tugged the girl's arm. "Excuse me?" She muttered, laying it on thick. "Are you interested in evening up the score?"

"What?" The girl was about to pull her arm away before she looked down at the small girl before her. Softening, she let her be. "No..."

"That's alright!" Mai brightened and tugged the girl's arm once more. "Come with us, and you'll be able to see what we mean!"

"Um, but I-"

"Come on!" Mai roughly pulled her back to the compound while- inwardly- she sent her an apology in her heart. She needed to get the Revolution's trust to move around more easily in the compound. To do this, she needed to recruit people. She turned to eye the young girl once again. People like her.

Mai led the girl to the building and came face-to-face with Ava. Surprised, Mai let go of the girl's arm. "Ava!" Mai said, "What are you doing here?"

"Marge?" Ava looked at Margaret and the girl next to her. She looked behind Margaret and the girl at the boy who was a few steps behind them: Elijah. "What're ye two doin' here?"

"Uh-" Mai glanced at the girl. "Recruiting?"

Ava fumed. "Ya mean forcin' people to join, eh? Ye should know better, Marge!" She turned to the bewildered girl and made a "shooing" motion with her hands, "Ye should leave, girlie. Sorry that these young'uns brought ye here."

"Oh, it's not a problem," the girl laughed. She was gone with a wave of her hand, leaving Mai, Nicholas, and Ava alone.

Silence fell upon the three as Ava stewed in rage. Mai opened her mouth a couple times but stopped as she didn't know what to say. Wasn't the Revolution a really horrendous place? Mai thought back to their treatment of her and Nicholas. Sure, they weren't all bad, but their methods were truly horrible!

"Margaret," Ava's voice was a near whisper, yet that made the disappointment that was in her tone even more distinct.

Mai stood at attention, her spine straightening up.

"Ah'm disappointed with ye." Ava looked at Marge up and down. "Ah thought that ye would know bettah than dis."

Mai deflated. With a voice like a mosquito, she whispered, "Sorry, Ava."

Ava sighed and walked up to Marge, patting her back softly. "Ah know ya didn't mean it, so's fine. Next time, don't do it."

Nodding her head furiously, Mai stared as Ava went back into the Revolution's building.

"That was unexpected, wasn't it, Mari-ge. Marge?" Nicholas said, his eyes also staring back at Ava's soon-to-be-gone figure. "They don't seem to be as bad as we thought, right?"

Her limpid eyes still stared at the door, concealing the furious thoughts that went through her mind. Perhaps this wasn't as it first seemed? She couldn't help but to doubt.

...........

Two weeks passed with Mai and Nicholas going out on the streets recruiting others. Mai noticed that other members of the Revolution began to be more comfortable around them, and when certain results of missions were being discussed, they no longer moved to a different area if they noticed that Mai or Nicholas were near. Along with this, Mai learned more about the way the Revolution was set up.

There were two camps. One camp was headed by a really high status noble, and the other was headed by a commoner. The really high status noble was the one who wanted to change society through bloodshed, while the commoner wanted to do it peacefully. Mai and Nicholas were in one of the branches of the commoner.

Although she had more access to the information about the commoner's camp, she still managed to learn that the plan to kill all of the nobles was still in full-swing, despite the attempts for it not to by the commoner's side. The mission was to be accomplished in half a month, so Mai needed to get a move on.

It wasn't only Mai that was urging herself to go faster, but Heith as well. He told her that they needed to leave to go back to the village before the mission is supposedly going to go down. Nicholas' and Mai's households did not want them to be caught in the crossfire.

Mai sighed as she stared at the ceiling of "her" bedroom. Surprisingly, she didn't mind sharing a room with nineteen others, but she still felt uncomfortable being boys. She was also uncomfortable with speaking more than 50 words, but she learned how to hide her discomfort with smiles.

Closing her eyes, Mai fell asleep and dreamed.

She dreamt of a room filled with people. There were four of them in the room- one female and three males. One of the men had his hands plunged into a bowl filled with what she assumed to be water, and the water rippled to show an image that shocked Mai- it was her.

Gasping, Mai shot straight up from her bed, her heart beating a mile a minute. She glanced around the room. She remembered her dream in slow-motion and without any sound, but she couldn't help but focus on one person in particular. The man with long, black hair. She found it weird. He seemed almost... familiar to her.

Shaking her head, Mai got ready for her day. She shouldn't be thinking about a dream, and, instead, focus on a way for Nicholas and her to escape from the Revolution.

.......

Another week passed and an opportunity arrived; "Marge" and "Elijah" were going to get "killed" on their mission to get a package from a nearby city.

The plan worked without a hitch, and soon Mai and Nicholas were on a carriage to the village where the rest of the children were at. Heith had joined them and had also handed Mai a black folder.

"Is the information on here?" Mai asked, using the folder to fan herself.

"If you read it, you'd be able to tell," Heith rolled his eyes. Mai glared at him before sticking out her tongue.

She opened the file and noticed that her plan was successful. Mai chuckled, remembering the day Nicholas, Heith, and her were about to go to the city.

She had pulled Heith away from the other children and whispered something to his ear. It was a two-part plan. The first part of the plan entailed Heith finding identities that Mai and Nicholas could "borrow" during their time in the Revolution while at the same time, they can use their identities to send information via Heith to their households.

On the other hand, the second part of the plan entailed the ransom. Since Mai wanted to defeat the Revolution without bloodshed, she had the idea of placing a special powder on all of the money that the households would give to the children for ransom. That special powder would give off a special smell once juice was sprayed onto it, so Mai had the storekeepers spray the juice to any and all customers that enter their shop. If the special powder was smelled, then that person's face would be memorized and a portrait would be created. That way, a week before the killing of all of the nobles, their households could do a counter-attack and round up all of the members of the Revolution.

Smiling, Mai closed the black folder and watched as the scenery moved past.

........

The next day, the three of them arrived at the village to the joy of the children. Since they couldn't return to their households (since they were supposed to be dead after giving the ransom), the children had decided to learn various skills. Surprisingly, they became quite good.

Ivan had learned how to hunt- it was his stubbornness to be seen as competent in front of Victoria since his initial all in manure. Victoria became the witch doctor's assistant, while Elizabeth learned how to weave and hone her sewing skills. Gabriel followed in the footsteps of the other ex-assassin that stood guard over the children, however he was only able to throw shooting stars with limited accuracy.

Although the four children had known Nicholas for a longer time, they greeted Mai with the same eagerness and attentiveness- she awed them.

"Maria! Nicholas! Heith!" It was Victoria who noticed them first. She carried with her a basket of differently-shaped vines.

"Victoria!" Nicholas grinned. He jumped out of the carriage and walked over to her. "You can't even begin to imagine how nice to feels to be called my real name."

Victoria stopped and looked at him mischievously. "Real name? What were you called when were in the proverbial lion's den then?"

"Uh-" Nicholas cut himself off and sweat dropped down his forehead. "I wasn't called anything."

Mai chose this moment to pop out of the carriage. "His name was Elijah."

Victoria's mouth was agape. She began to laugh, her shoulders rolling up and down forcefully. Eventually, she went down on her knees, holding her stomach with her hands. Her basket had already fallen to the ground and the plants within were spilled.

"You don't have to laugh that much," Nicholas muttered, a frown set deeply on his face.