Identity: Unknown

Hey, i just put up a new story that i'm writing called The Assassin!! Check it out if you'd like!

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Chapter Nine

When Celeste and Jade went down to breakfast the next morning, Jade brought the letter Celeste had been given with her, to read it and let Trenton and Andrew read it as well. They sat at a long table, towards the end, even though it wasn’t very crowded, and waited for the men. A girl of about twelve came up to them and asked what they would like for breakfast. Celeste smiled at the girl and got a cheerful smile in return, while Jade calmly told her that they would take whatever the cook was making, and lots of it. The girl nodded competently and returned to the kitchens in the back of the first floor of the inn. The door was swinging shut behind her when they heard boots on the stairs. Celeste, who sat facing the stairs, while Jade watched the fire from her seat, saw Andrew, she thought that was his name because he had been the talkative one of the group yesterday, coming down the stairs. He stomped down the steps, and then pretended to sneak up behind Jade. He reached for her pistols silently, sending a mischievous grin to Celeste as he did so. Curious, Celeste watched as Andrew grabbed Jade’s guns and started to remove them, freezing when Jade shifted on the bench. As he moved again, Jade swiftly captured his hands, shoved her guns back into their holsters, using him to do so, and then flipped him effortlessly over her shoulder onto the floor. Andrew laughed, getting to his feet. Jade smiled at him, “That wasn’t the best you can do, Andrew, even I know that. Used to be, I wouldn’t know you’d nicked something until you handed it to me.”

“Yeah, well, I was just messing with you to make Celeste laugh. It wasn’t serious, Jade, not really. Please don’t shoot me with your guns, Jade,” he might have been convincing if he hadn’t been smirking at Jade, who was nearly laughing at him, but trying to remain stern.

Celeste jumped when a voice spoke next to her, “They do this all the time. Andrew and Jade have known each other since they were kids.”

It was Trenton. How did he get downstairs and hear the whole exchange if he hadn’t even been coming down the stairs when Andrew started? Trenton smiled at her but didn’t speak again. Celeste got the feeling he only talked when it was important. Jade spoke up, answering the questions Celeste was dying to ask, “Trenton is as silent as a giant cat when he doesn’t pay attention, and likes to sneak up on people. Andrew is the child of pirates, but don’t hate him for it, he just acts like a thief because its habit to him. I broke him of that when I was twelve. He doesn’t do it around me, anyway.”

It was the largest string of words that Jade had ever spoken in Celeste’s presence. Her surprise must have showed because Andrew explained as he sat next to Jade at the table, “You’re part of the group now, so Jade gets friendly and nearly talkative to you.”

“I do not,” Jade protested weakly as the serving girl came back out with a tray full of plates heaped with food. She set them down on the table and left as Trenton poured water from the pitcher on the table and Jade grabbed a plate full of food. Celeste grabbed a full plate, accepted a cup from Trenton and made up most of the meal. There was some milk on the table and another pitcher of water. Celeste tried the food, and discovering it was delicious, ate it with gusto. In the middle of the meal, Jade brought out the letter and handed it across the table to Trenton. He read it silently, glanced at Celeste for a second, and then passed it wordlessly to Andrew, who stuffed a bite into his mouth before taking it from him. Finished her meal, Jade shifted, turned to face the fireplace from her seat, and then leaned her back against Andrew for support. Only Celeste seemed to notice Trenton’s strange reaction to it. Andrew was absorbed in his reading and only adjusted his weight to support Jade without a pause. Jade, busy staring at the fire, didn’t seem to be doing anything but brood. Trenton stiffened, his fork frozen halfway to his mouth for a couple seconds before returning to his plate untouched. Seeing that they were all finished, Celeste started to pile the dishes up, putting them into stacks of plates and piles of utensils at the end of the table. Movement caught Jade’s eye, and Jade turned to find the table nearly cleared and the serving girl picking up the used dishes. Andrew handed her the letter, lifting an eyebrow in a silent question.

“I’ve read it already. Celeste, do you want to keep it?” Jade asked her. Celeste paused, and then shook her head; she didn’t really want to keep something like that. Jade nodded and folded the papers into fourths, then ripped them to pieces, and tossed the bits into the fireplace.

“Why would you burn it?” Celeste asked, shocked. “Don’t you think it had important information in it?”

“You mean besides the fact that there were two princesses, not one, and there is a curse on you and your twin sister?” Trenton asked. “Jade has picture perfect memory. She can rewrite it whenever you want it again or if we need it.”

Celeste turned to stare at Jade, who only shrugged. Andrew laughed, “Don’t worry, she only reads when she has to, otherwise her brain wouldn’t have any more space to function with.” He ducked as he spoke, dodging the fist Jade swung at his head, and “At least she has a sense of humor, unlike Trenton.” Now Trenton swung at him playfully from across the table. Celeste laughed; Andrew had broken the tension that had started to build between them.

“Now, all we have to do is find the witch that Tricia talked about and see if she’ll tell us about the curse,” Jade spoke, ignoring Andrew for a while, she would get him in a few minutes and make him squeal. Celeste nodded, it sounded like a good idea, only. “We don’t know where this witch is though. She could be anywhere,” she protested. Trenton shook his head at her, “All we have to do is ask about the witches in the area. There’s bound to be a name for most of them, even if they aren’t nearby. We ask about Francis Osborne, and someone is bound to tell us all they know, especially where to stay away from, like her house.”

“Then, as soon as possible, we find her house and knock on her door,” Andrew spoke up, his voice serious now. He was careful to watch Jade for any tricks; he never knew when she’d get him back.

“Then I guess we’d better begin as soon as possible,” Trenton spoke, standing up from the table.

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