A Little Birdie Named Jay (The Volumes of Blue- Vol. 1) #Wattys2016

Chapter 2: In Which Children Know Better

    Ellion was waiting for her when she got home.
    The undernourished, small boy stood leaning on the peeling wall behind him, his face scrunched into a scowl as he clucked his tongue and shook his sandy blonde hair back and forth, feigning disappointment in Jay.
Abandoning his resting position on the wall, the eight year-old boy stood up straight. With his arms crossed and a wide stance taken, Ellion strongly resembled a disappointed father. One that was ready to question his rebellious teen daughter about her whereabouts.
Jay tried to maneuver around him to her room: a dirty corner that was divided by the rest of the room using an old, market tarp. Her bed, which was shoved in that corner, was a nineteen year-old sheet wrapped around two bales of moldy hay, its straws pricking through and making a warm, but uncomfortable night for Jay. Ellion sidestepped in front of Jay, causing the tall seventeen year old to pause and look down at the much younger boy.
"And what do ya think you're doing missy?" Ellion peered up with a frown on his face, yet his large, almond eyes twinkling with laughter at stopping his thieving sister in her tracks.
Grinning down at her rapidly maturing brother she stooped down and came nose to nose with him. "Just getting you a gift..." Jay tapped Ellion on the nose. The rapidly maturing boy's face scrunched at the affectionate action meant for little children, which clearly he was not, all the while lighting up at the idea of a present other than a King's Day one or a birthday one.
Jay swooped up her brother and swiped a small parcel from one of the many concealing pockets of her outfit. Twirling Ellion around she set the sandy haired boy down. Ellion's face glowed an embarrassed red, still slightly embarrassed at the motherly affection Jay had just smothered him with. Pressing the thin, clean package into Ellion's comparatively dirty hands, Jay nudged him to open the present. Joy lit up on Ellion's face as he pulled out a long, silver blade paired with a leather sheath, much smaller than Jay's dagger, but perfect for Ellion's size, where he could easily hide the lethal weapon in the folds of his baggy clothes. Childishly swinging around the weapon to fight invisible enemies, Ellion almost decapitated an antique pitcher, used to offer them both muddy drinks of water that came from the well on the far side of town. Jay yelped in surprise as she stabilized the toppling water pitch from the withered, grey plank it rested on. Ellion sheepishly looked down at his bare feet as he hid the weapon behind him. Jay laughed as she ruffled her little brother's unkempt hair, "It's fine, I'll teach you how to use it later."
"And learn how to steal?" Ellion eagerly replied, his hands fidgeting with his new toy.
"No!" Jay scolded with crooked smile at how similar Ellion was to her at her age, "Only how to defend yourself mind you. The guards are growing wary, there is talk of another Revolt and the King has ordered to arrest anyone suspicious, no matter how young." Jay's forehead crinkled up in worry over her eight year-old brother being arrested. As plebeians they had no to little rights in the new King's Court, in all circumstances they were considered guilty until proved innocent, which meant they were always killed or thrown in the Tuskinn Dungeons where they would rot away as corpses...
Ellion tugged on Jay's sleeve with a pouty frown, grabbing the attention of the stressed seventeen year-old. Jay smiled gently at her brother, the skin crinkling around her hazel eyes. Jay gave in to her brother, his puppy eyes collapsing her resolve. "Alright. I'll teach ya." Jay consented.

    The next morning Jay woke up to a blinding brightness, a very familiar face taking the place of the "curtain" used to cover the gaping hole that was the window. Jay sat up, blinking her eyes rapidly to wake up, as she glared at the grinning figure. "What's the rush this morning?" Jay asked, grumpily removed a stained sheet from her body as she swung her legs over her "bed".
    Ellion laughed, fully dressed and behaving as if he has had a heavily caffeinated cup of coffee. "Get up lazy head, you need to teach me how to steal." Ellion dragging Jay, who was now wide awake at the remembrance of her ill-decided agreement she had made last night to the trickster boy. Jay groaned at the boy's energy as she tugged on second-hand leather boots, their soles frayed and on the verge of falling apart.
    "Can't it wait until your ninth birthday?" Jay mumbled, grabbing a tough piece of black bread from her sack for breakfast.
    "But you said you would teach me." Ellion's lip quivered, as he performed a deceiving act of innocence. Jay sighed, knowing that his charms would be the death of her one day.
    "Fine." Jay huffed, knowing that if she did not teach him, the boy would still try to steal and be more susceptible to being caught or even killed by the corrupted guards of the city.
    "But," Jay added, "you have to do everything I say and you can't go thieving alone." Jay finished with a smirk, while Ellion's face was filled with horror at the work Jay might make him do. Ellion seemed to ponder for a moment, weighing the pros and cons of his sister's offer.
    "Deal." Ellion stated with an air of finality.
    "Good." Jay said, motioning to Ellion to get on her back. When Ellion was safely wrapped around her back, Jay swung outside of the window and precariously balanced on the ledge, the thin piece of wood creaking under the combined weight of the two thieves.
    And she dropped down.

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