Chapter 16: The curtain rises, First Act

To say the children were shocked would be an understatement. They were looking at the pair as if both of them were on fire, screaming that the sun was green, the moon a square, and that birds aren't real. Crazy notions and yet, the fact the two continued to banter in such close proximity was an irrefutable fact.

Suddenly, Ciaran clapped his hands. "Ok ladies, time is of the essence, so I would ask you to follow me. We have some supplies to retrieve." He said and turn towards the Maze. Clara followed closely behind him. The two looked like friends talking about their Trials, going back to the Maze as if to make the story more believable.

That was something a lot of children did to boost in front of their friends. No teacher would suspect their plans. Well, maybe none other than their own, as she knew the two of them by now, but she was gone, and they were free to do as they pleased.

"So where did you have your boys stash the supplies? You never quite told me that part of your plan." Clara asked.

"In the Maze, where else? Come on Clara, anywhere near this old pile of stone and the oldies would have found them. Not to mention most of the heavy lifting was done by Rayon. I love him to death, but he can't lie to save his life." Ciaran answered matter of factly.

"And how do we get them out of that damn place? What are we just going to ask nicely for them to give them back?" Clara was enraged. Not at her brother's obviously insane plan, no, she was used to those. She was angry he was being needlessly vague about it.

As his sister, his BIG sister if you asked her, she demanded to know every detail of his plans. A part of the reason was that, unlike her little chubby idiot, she was not pretending to be a genius. She was smart, strong, and willing to put a stop to his shenanigans if it meant he would bring harm to himself or their other brother.

'Not that Ciaran would ever endanger Ray. Or that Ray would ever be capable of being in danger even.' She mused to herself. Of the three, Rayon was by far the most child-like mentality. He was kind, naive, and loyal to his family, be they blood or otherwise. If it came to a fight, however, one that he actually intended to fight, Clara had no doubts that he would be able to mop the floor with either of them.

'The big blockhead could probably take us at the same time. Wouldn't even make him sweat even.' She smiled, proud of her little brother. Unlike Ciaran, he always listened to her.

"Not the teachers, no. We are going to ask our patron. And if I could ask, please don't insult him. The Maze is not a 'damned place', its our… most valued friend." He said with a slight pause. A moment later a rustle of the Maze's leaves could be heard. And Clara could swear it sounded like a sneer to her.

Shocked the girl looked at her brother, who just kept smiling and waiting for the other girls to catch up. He said nothing more, but his eyes did not leave the greenery, and there was something in them. He looked at it as he had looked at those locked doors the first time he saw them.

Most saw it as curiosity, and they were right, but that was not all. There was more, Clara knew. Greed, uncontrollable greed was what drove her brother. He was inferior to both his siblings in conventional statistics. Since the day his grandfather had taken him to that army base things had gotten better though. Her brother had gotten healthier, smarter even. But it had changed him, and Gods forgive her, she hated the old man for it. The greed had been born on that day, and to an extent, it had become her brother's most distinguished quality.

"What are those?" One of her girls asked, pointing to several creates near one of the walls.

Clara's attention was drawn to the objects, prompting her to look at her brother again.

"That, girls, are your supplies. I hope you like to paint because today you will all become my artists." He looked at them and said.

He really didn't want to talk with Clara right now. No, more specifically, he really DID want to talk with her, but he couldn't. If he did, she would ask questions he didn't want to answer.

'Not that I even have answers for you sis, hell I want answers to at least half of your questions as well.' He retorted in his head. Arguing with her was a routine, and doing it brougth him peace of mind, a new perspective sometimes even. This time, however, he had to keep most things to himself, so he kept the argument inside his head.

"So what is the plan then? We vandalize the Library and you sneak in when they come to stop us?" The little baroness had asked, still a little hostile.

"More or less, yes. But don't worry Mille I will not make it boring for you all. Now could you be a dear and look in the crates, arm yourselves, and let's go. Half a class staying near the maze for too long will look suspicious." Ciaran said. He had deliberately used the little baroness's name, showing her he knew her. He didn't know 'of' her, he KNEW her. And as it turns out no one really knew him.

A lack of information was dangerous in politics her dad would say. Worst still if your opponent had dirt on you, and she suspected he did, in fact, have something.

The girl was a bully who liked to show commoners their place inside the Academy. A practice the institution more than simply frowned upon. But there is always a way to bully the weak if you look hard enough, and no one liked snitches, so she was safe. She was safe even from this devil as long as her Lady backed her up, she believed. Nobles stood together against the common pests, even the rich ones.

After what she had just witnessed, however, she knew she was wrong. What scared her wasn't that Ciaran had threatened her, or that he could beat her up. It wasn't even his brother who could probably fight even some of the older kids. It was Clara's eyes.

When she had insulted the merchant's boy, he had come between them, but she still saw them. The girl was ready to kill her, then and there. Ciaran would control her, and Rayon would beat her, not even so badly, the boy was gentle by nature they all knew that, but Ciara was a wild card. No one had seen her being angry at anyone but Ciaran, but Millie had a feeling she didn't want to be on the receiving end of that gaze for too long.

So she obeyed. She opened one of the crates and her blood ran cold. Those were not art supplies. Those were chemicals, flammable chemicals. At this point she considered dashing for the Maze, which might be a better solution for her than whatever this maniac was planning. She looked at the tunnel, only to see that there was no light at the end of it. It was like even that thing was on the boy's side.

"Now don't give me that look, Mille, I am not insane, no matter what the rumors say. And, by the way, most of those were started by you guys anyway." Ciaran said in mock anger.

"Don't worry the label flammable was Clara's idea. People handle your things a lot more carefully if they think they would burn if they goof off."

Mille and the rest of the girls breathed in, relief on their faces.

"I love knowledge, and I would not burn any of the books. You will, however, set this damn tower on fire, and we will all dance in the flames."

"Let's see how the damn Academy reacts to its precious Library going up in flames with hundreds of kids trapped inside." And he laughed. Not a fake, or an evil laugh either, they had noticed. For the first time since they had known him, he showed them what he looked like when he was truly happy. A sight most of them would not want to see for the rest of their life.

The only exceptions to this were Clara, who had a gentle smile on her face. These days it was rare to see her brother like this – happy.

'If I have to set aflame a Library or two, to make it happen so be it.' She resolved herself.

Eleftherios was the other person who was pleasantly surprised.

"So you can still laugh like a kid. That's good, very good." He said, yet no one heard him.

"That's right Ciaran I paid for a good show and I expect you to deliver."