Queen of Thieves

Ashton(2)

Ashton's POV

      As I left the meal hall I was thinking about a conversation I had with my friend Opus during sword training.

    "I heard someone talking about a secret journal Cresta has in her room. They said many of her secrets are revealed inside." He said before he went and joined his friends.

    I've been pondering this for a while and thinking whether or not I should go deeper into this. After all it could just be a rumor. What if it was true and there was a secret journal filled with lots of deep secrets from Cresta's past?

    It's a 1% chance of finding Cresta's journal and finding out all the secrets she had to offer or a 99% chance of getting into HUGE trouble or getting expelled. This could be a key to something important so I took the 1% chance of finding it.
   
      Knowing Helia, she would probably dismiss it as a pathetic rumor so I didn't tell her.

    After lunch, I went back to training and began to formulate a plan. I would have to get in Cresta's room AND find the journal. Both were nearly impossible tasks.

    Sure there weren't guards but the only time Cresta wasn't in her room was when she was teaching and usually she only teaches in the courtyard which is next to her room. Then it hit me. I would need help. I made a mental list of people in my mind and crossed out many in just a few minutes.

    Opus was good but he wasn't very stealthy. Helia would instantly tell me no and rat me out, even though she's my best friend. There was Star but she was too loud in my opinion. She might never stop talking.

    That left me with two people that I knew. There was Twilight, a mysterious girl that was said to be born under immediate twilight. Then there was Aria. She was the top of our class and can use nearly every weapon.
   
      They were both interesting choices. One mysterious, one skilled. I had to choose one. I finally settled on Aria.
   
      She could be stealthy and isn't a tattle tail. She could fight and knew how to cover her tracks.
    Now I just had to convince her. The one fault I found with her is she is loyal to the academy and Cresta. I can't threaten her. No one can nor can anyone bribe her. I would have to use the exact words.
   
     While her teacher, Erios, went off to talk to another student, I saw my chance. I spotted Aria in the small fighting ring battling another student with her sword skills. I waited for the battle to end and for Aria to take a break.
   
     When she was done I crept toward the entrance of the ring and stopped her when she got far enough that we could talk in private. She glared at me.
 
  "What do you want?" Her voice was sharp and coarse from yelling. I smiled and held my hands up shyly.

    "Oh nothing, I just have a request." I saw interest flash in her eyes for a second. Aria loved requests and would almost never turn one down. She crossed her arms.

    "Well, what do you need?" she boomed. I dared to stare into her eyes long enough and took a deep breath.

    "I need to get into Cresta's room." Almost immediately she frowned and narrowed her eyes. "NO! I will not!"
    She yelled so loud some people turned around and watched walk closer to me as I backed away. When I finally felt the wall behind me I looked up to her in absolute terror.

    She growled and then announced, "If you ever ask me that AGAIN I will cut you into pieces!" Then she stormed off.

    I sighed in defeat and relief. She was officially off my list. I was left with Twilight.