**Happy Wednesday everyone! In this chapter we're finally going to get some investigation going. Let's see what they'll find...**

Chapter 11

Lyla jolted awake, yellow dots swimming through the black in her vision. Her eyelids were sticky and heavy to open.

The room around her was dark, save for a sliver of moonlight flooding in through the window. Lyla had retired to her room early — they'd postponed the mission until the next day.

"Those sniveling idiots are going to get in the way," Ari had complained— Lyla had assumed he was talking about the other recruits. "They'll take all of our leads. We'll have to get rid of them somehow."

Until then, they agreed to lie low. Lyla had spent the rest of the evening with Ari and Aveline back on the docked ship, listening to Ari's crew tell stories about faraway kingdoms in their various thick, exotic accents. Lyla found that while some of them looked quite frightening, many were shy and almost gentle when they spoke to her, like they were speaking to a princess. Lyla had felt strangely at ease in the noisy room. The atmosphere had been oddly calming. Either that, or she was so starved for attention that she took whatever scraps she was given. Which was a bit pathetic, when she thought about it.

Lyla sat up and looked around, blinking the sleep from her eyes. The disoriented feeling of waking up in a strange place was becoming familiar to her.

But she could have sworn she had heard something...

"Lyla!"

There it was again- a harsh whisper in the emptiness. Lyla froze and yanked her covers up to her chin- she'd be embarrassed about it later.

There was movement behind her door- it slowly creaked open. It was still pitch black, Lyla could barely see a small shadow as it slipped into her room.

She was wide awake now. Her breath coming in short bursts, she frantically looked around for something to use as a weapon before the figure appeared beside her bed.

"Lyla." Someone poked her arm with a firm finger and she nearly jumped out out of her skin. "Are you awake?"

"Aveline!" Lyla hissed, a cold flood of relief rushing through her chest. "What are you doing?!"

"Exploring." Aveline's teeth flashed a smile in the darkness, white against the black. "Actually, I'm doing an investigation. Join me?"

Lyla waited for her heartbeat to slow down before she answered. "What time is it?"

Aveline pointed at the moon as it floated outside of Lyla's window, high in the purple sky.

Lyla sat up further and smoothed her hair down, trying to get her bearings. "Where is Ari?"

Her companion shrugged. "I couldn't find him. So?" Her eyes, the color of burning leaves, glinted like a cat's in the dark, and she suddenly reminded Lyla of a child, a mischievous younger sibling seeking a partner in crime.

The contrast was startling to the lingering sight of her gutting a man in the hip, no hesitation, just earlier that day, and Lyla shuddered as she remembered. Sometimes Ari and Aveline seemed more animal than human.

Lyla shook her head and swung her feet over the side of the bed. "Let me get my shoes."

--

Ari had no idea what he was supposed to be looking for.

Not that he had any intention of admitting this to Aveline, she'd only laud it over him, and he did not want to give her and the new girl the satisfaction. Fortunately, Ari considered himself an expert in starting from nothing.

Currently, he wandered around the inn lobby, which was eerily empty at past midnight, excepting the creepy lady in black at the front desk. All the wealthy twits were probably passed out drunk in their rooms, Ari reasoned, snickering to himself at the thought.

He had somewhat of a plan (a solid ten percent of a plan) and was about to saunter up to the front desk and see what information he could gather when he caught a flash of movement behind one of the imposing marble pillars on his left side.

Ari's eyes caught onto the motion immediately, and he casually sidestepped himself, changing direction. He felt like a lion, stalking its prey as he carefully stepped on each of the tiles as to not make a sound. The shadow slipped behind a quiet corner. A dead end. Triumphant, Ari felt the ends of his mouth pull up as he approached. Got you.

Ari turned the corner and almost immediately felt a sharp sword slide across his neck. Someone seized him by the collar of his coat, and he felt like rolling his eyes.

"You know," he sighed, "this is the second time that this has happened to me this week."

"You!" A female voice hissed, and Ari turned his head as far as the blade would allow.

"Jamie?" He inwardly scolded himself for being surprised. Something about Jamie hadn't seemed right, at the marketplace. Finding her sneaking around the lobby didn't seem so shocking, in retrospect. She was hiding something.

What a perfect time to figure out just what that was.

"What are you doing here?" Tossing a chunk of uneven hair from her forehead, the brunette sheathed her sword, though her cautious expression didn't disappear.

"What are you doing here?" Ari countered, scrutinizing the other girl with a practical gaze.

She seemed to understand what he was asking and glanced away, shifting her weight to her other hip. "Maybe I'm trying to solve the royal mystery, same as you."

He kept pushing. "How do you know about this?"

It didn't take much for her to get defensive- that much, Ari had picked up. "Why should I tell you?" She retorted.

"Because I'm reliable and handsome."

Jamie narrowed her eyes at him.
"What's your full name?"

"Ari Carondolet," he said without thinking, his guard shooting up too late. He hadn't said his whole name a while— he didn't like the sound of it. It brought back memories that weren't particularly fond.

Jamie paused, her eyes widening. "As in... the Captain? And-"

"The thief," Ari finished, blowing a piece of hair out of his eyes. "At your service."

Her lips thinned. So she'd heard of him. Ari fought back a smirk.
"Since you're here, you might as well help me," he continued as he began to circle her- curiously, not meant in a predatory manner. Although, if she took it that way, it didn't matter; she was obviously worthy of suspicion.

She followed his every move with rapt, wary attention. "What is it you're doing?"

"Well-"

"Do you two need assistance?" Ari didn't let himself react at the sudden voice appearing out of thin air. It was only the woman from the front desk, but Ari frowned— briefly scolding himself for allowing someone to sneak up on him unnoticed. He forced himself to relax and bowed slightly.

"Actually, yes," Ari brazened, pasting on his most charming smile. "If you will recall, we are guests on behalf of the Queen of Apreuna," he began, trying to look serious and no-nonsense. "To investigate the... incident involving the prince?"

"I recall," the woman replied, tensing slightly.

"It would be rather helpful if we could perhaps take a look at the inn records. Of who has been staying at the hotel, and such."

"That is classified information," she said sternly, folding her papers to her chest. Ari decided to try a different tactic.

"The Queen, as you know, is very anxious for word of this particular incident not to spread. And with all the little Kibetian Princess has been saying about how she saw her missing brother in your inn, possibly with his kidnappers..." Ari shook his head mournfully. "Queen Rowena wouldn't want your fine establishment to be the victim of any bad publicity, if you take my meaning. If there's anything you have that could help us, it would be marvelous."

Front-desk lady seemed to buy it. Her features had paled somewhat considerably and her knuckles had tightened against her stack of papers.

"Come with me," she said stiffly. She took rigid, polished steps to the cherry-wooden desk at the front, and Ari trailed behind, casting a pointed look at Jamie over his shoulder. Jamie seemed dubious, her forehead wrinkling skeptically, but her curiosity, as he suspected, propelled her to accompany him.

Clipboard Woman didn't notice their exchange as she bent contemplatively over her records behind the desk. "That must have been... a few days ago? Last week, perhaps?"

"We'll take whatever you have," Jamie offered unexpectedly.

The woman tucked a strand of hair back into her bun and straightened.

"These are all of the records from last month," she said stiffly, gesturing to a messy heap of papers in front of her that she had separated from the others. "You're going to have to sift through a lot of information, but we keep a detailed log of everyone that stays here."

"Ah, thank you very much." Ari tried not to grab the pile too enthusiastically. "I will see to it that the queen thanks you personally. As will the prince, I'm sure, as soon as he is found."

The woman smiled uncomfortably and walked away quicker than Ari would have thought possible in the extremely-high-heeled shoes she was wearing, leaving them alone in the lobby.

Ari idly flipped through the jumble of records, grinning to himself. He was just imagining how he would gloat to Aveline and Lyla later when he realized that Jamie was still studying him intently.

"Why are you here? What do you get from all of this?" She asked, sounding suspicious, but maybe she always sounded suspicious.

Ari cocked his head and tried to look beatific. "Money, of course."

"Of course." Her tone dripped with disdain. Ari laughed.

"I'm a smuggler and a thief, miss. I'm not sure what you were expecting." Shuffling the papers inside of his coat, he extended his free hand to her, one which she did not take. "May I escort you back to your room?"

Her bewildered expression seemed to deepen, which confused him. Ari wished, not for the first time, that he could discern what other people were thinking. He could always guess- and often correctly, if he did say so himself, but it was sometimes vexing to not just know.

Jamie rubbed her arm with her other hand and stepped backwards. "I'm fine. I... I have to go." In half a second, she had stepped away and Ari was too startled to stop her as she dashed back down the hallway.

Ari rocked back on his heels, watching after where she had gone. There were too many mysteries in the world, he thought— far too many for any one person to solve.

--

The halls were completely empty, and seemingly unnavigable, dark as it was. Lyla had no idea how Aveline knew where she was going as she noiselessly dragged Lyla left and right. Just outside the windows, the waves lapped calmly against the sand, and the palm trees looked like giant hands reaching thick, gnarled fingers out towards the mansion.

"I don't like sleeping here," Aveline murmured, almost to herself, as she peered inconspicuously around a hallway. "Under the same roof as dozens of unfamiliar people, most of them trained to hunt and kill."

Lyla silently agreed with her. The prospect was terrifying, and she didn't like to think about it.

They found the winding stairwell and made their way down, trying to walk as quietly as possible. Aveline opened the door to the exit, and Lyla followed her.

It was much cooler outside than it had been during the day, the evening having softened the heat to a balmy breeze. In the eastern wing, yellow light and laughter streamed out from the open windows.

"I thought everyone was asleep." Lyla was surprised; it must have been earlier than she had expected.

"Get down." Aveline crept up to the windows and noiselessly looked over the edge. Lyla followed suit, her slippers sinking into the soft sand.

Most of the people inside of the main hall were men, many holding mugs with liquid spilling over the side. Someone was playing the piano— not well, however, and the air smelled like yeast and spirits. A pained looking serving girl was balancing drinks on a tray.

Lyla furrowed her eyebrows, somewhat disappointed; she had been expecting a secret illegal meeting, or an execution, or... something.

Aveline's expression was calculating as she scanned the crowd, her practiced eyes perhaps looking for weapons, or weak spots, Lyla imagined. Skimming the red-cheeked faces, Lyla thought she recognized a few of the recruits from earlier.

"There's Eli," She whispered, glancing towards the handsome blonde who was frowning as he sharpened a knife in the corner.

Aveline made a loud noise of disgust, hidden by the echoes of raucous laughter. "Let'go."

They slipped easily inside the swinging doors and into the building. This wing was much louder than theirs, and mostly filled with drunk people or musicians and dancers. The kitchen was busy, too, filled with workers trying to prepare the next day's breakfast. Lyla could spot Jamie weaving through the people, her fingers fluttering impatiently around her side. She didn't notice them as they slipped past.

"What do you think of her?" Aveline mused in an undertone as soon as she was out of sight. "Jamie, I mean."

Lyla was startled and flattered to be asked her opinion. She imagined she was perhaps the least trained out of anyone there- why would anyone want her advice? And yet Aveline was looking at her expectantly, unblinking.

"I'm not sure she is being entirely truthful about who she is," Lyla confessed, surprised at herself. She quickly glanced sideways to see Aveline's reaction, but the other girl was nodding thoughtfully.

"I agree." Aveline rounded another corner, stealing a white roll off a kitchen tray as she went and smiling at the hired hand. "Thanks, Moira." She offered the roll to Lyla, who refused. Aveline tore off a piece and shoved it into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. "She does seem to be hiding something. But then, I don't believe there is anyone here who isn't."

She looked at Lyla, who had to admit that she didn't disagree.

Aveline reached for her hand, then, and pulled Lyla towards the stairwell, where it was a bit quieter.

"Did you see the redheaded girl who was serving drinks?"

Lyla felt her eyebrows draw together. "Sure."

"We should go talk to her." Aveline nodded, like she was deciding something, and grasped Lyla's wrist between her fingers. She began walking again, towing the blonde behind her.

"Why are you befriending the staff?" Lyla nearly stumbled on her dress and fretfully pulled her skirts out of the way.

Aveline didn't look at or acknowledge anyone else as she walked, plowing through tough looking mercenaries like she was mistress of the house. "Well, I figure, the servants are here twenty-four hours a day, on the clock, all the time. I imagine there must be at least sixty of them rotating in and out at all times, right?"

Lyla nodded wearily, unable to keep up with the other girl's apparent excitement. "Right."

"Then if anyone is to see any suspicious going-ons, it wouldn't be another guest. It would have been a fly on the wall, someone like..." Aveline pulled on the end of the the other girl's sleeve until she was next to her, beside the side entrance to the main hall. She pointed at a serving girl, who was being uncomfortably jostled aside by some intoxicated patrons. The drink she was carrying fell to the ground with a small crash, conveniently right next to the entrance where Lyla and Aveline were congregated. "Her."

Lyla was beginning to understand. "Talk to the servants equals getting information."

"Exactly." Aveline flashed her a grin, then, snatching a rag from the bar, pivoted her shoulders forward and strode confidently into the room.

**there's going to be some action next chapter. Nothing too dangerous, just Aveline causing trouble as usual. Also, sorry, this one was sorta long. Oops.

What do you guys think of Jamie?**