Chapter 5
Willie blinked his eyes in the sudden onslaught of light. He groaned, and then felt a sudden push behind as Costa was getting off the ladder. Their send-off for their epic journey was going to be on top of a giant trash heap. Wonderful.
Rhode pushed his way through the trash after them, and once they all reached the adjoining tavern, he stopped them. Even though it was early morning, you could hear raucous laughter through the thin, papery walls of the building, making it hard to hear Rhode.
“I have one more gadget for you,” he said, doing his best to talk over the noise. He held up a small circular object, the size of his palm. “This nifty little device is probably one of my best finds. Once you press it, it’ll signal me that you are done with the mission. You only have enough provisions for a one way trip, so this will help me locate you and bring you back.”
“Thanks,” Willie said, and pocketed the device. He hoped he would be using it soon.
Rhode cleared his throat and moved his feet a bit. “Well then, I wish you the best of luck. Just a quick tip. It’s best if you start heading to the capital city, Gideon. Take the B train from Eagle Station.” He gave an awkward nod, as if unsure how to proceed, then quickly pivoted on his heel and snuck back into the hidden bunker underneath the trash pile.
“Well, we have our instructions,” Willie started.
“Give me a second,” said Costa, and dropping her bag, she pulled out the pen. “Which way is Gideon?”
Willie had frequently passed by the train station in his hometown as it was a breeding ground for pickpockets, and the train map was ingrained into his mind. “It’s east of us. So our right.”
“I know where east is,” Costa muttered under her breath. Staring intently at the pen, her gaze seemed to snag on something that Willie couldn’t see. Slowly, her gaze shifted to the east. Willie hoped she was following the path to the next stone, and not that his only companion had lost it.
“Rhode wasn’t lying. Gideon is actually the direction we need to go,” Costa said. “You can never tell with Rhode if he’s testing us or if he’s telling the truth.”
That didn’t exactly boost Willie’s spirits, and by the time they both arrived to Eagle Station, he was snapping at everyone who passed by him. As they had walked, he realized that they weren’t in his hometown. He had never heard of this Eagle Station, and all the shops were different. No familiar street boys looked up from him on the sides of the roads. But the whole town reminded him of his home, with the drab, dirty feeling in the air, and the perpetual feeling of dreariness and despair.
Eagle Station was a crowded, bustling platform, standing in stark contrast to the surrounding buildings. Here, people were a better dressed, if only by a little bit. Still, the stink of the streets hung low in the air around the station as the both of them entered the station. It wasn’t completely different from the station at his home, with the same standard layout. On the left side, ticket booths were arranged, with small lines waiting in front of them. On the right were a few kiosks of goods and memoranda, and up against the back was the huge, sprawling train.
Willie slipped into the shortest line, and Costa came in behind him. Willie furtively cast his eyes around him, taking note of everyone surrounding him. He wasn’t used to being side by side with rich, clean people with money in their purses. He felt like he stuck out like a sore thumb, and he could feel eyes piercing his back when he wasn’t looking.
“Calm down,” Costa whispered through the side of her mouth. She looked utterly composed and at home. “You look like you’re about to have a seizure.”
“You would know all about that, wouldn’t you,” Willie snapped. He didn’t want to be mean, but he felt too out of place. The whole situation felt wrong, going against everything he had grown up learning. Costa gave him a glare and made to tartly reply, when their turn came at the ticket booth.
Costa handed the lady at the ticket counter a few bills, introducing them as brother and sister Mary and Walter Sheldon. The ticket lady closely surveyed the money, then leaned down to inspect both kids.
“No parents?” she inquired in a nasally voice.
“No ma’am,” responded Costa in a polite voice, furthering Willie’s belief that she was some sort of rich noble. “We’re going to visit our grandparents at Gideon.”
The lady gave a curt nod, then motioned for the next person to come in line. Willie maintained his composure until they were out of the woman’s sight, then gave a long sigh of relief. “Thank god that’s over with!”
Costa raised her eyebrows. “This was supposed to be the easy part. If you think that was hard, then imagine what our actually mission will be like.”
Willie couldn’t say anything. She had a point.
They approached the train, and Willie marveled at its beauty. He had never seen one up close, and watching the steam rise from the top funnel dispersed his nervousness. The train ran on tracks, and multiple compartments ran behind the main engine. The engine was a cylinder with a smokestack raising out of the back, and they could see men with soot covered faces shoveling coal into the engine.
Suddenly, a shrill whistle pierced the air, and people made a mad rush to get onboard the trains. Willie and Costa were swept to the front of the crowd, and an impatient conductor snatched their tickets and directed them to their coach. Their coach was meant to seat four people, and it had red velvet seats. A window was displayed in between the seats, and when they closed the door, all the sound from outside was immediately cut off. It was, without a doubt, the most expensive room that Willie had ever been in.
When Willie saw the extravagance of the room, Costa finally cracked a smile. “We have plenty of money to spare. I thought we could ride in style.”
The softness of the cushions even surprised Willie, who had always slept on hard floors. Imagine if the other street boys could see him now! Willie, riding in a train just like all the other rich nobles in the kingdom! Willie glowed with happiness, until suddenly his thoughts turned to Randy, the boy who had turned him over to Nill and Frill. That little traitor! Willie silently wished that Randy would get caught by the soldiers on his next run.
Both him and Costa settled into comfortable silence as the train began to move. The landscape started to fly by, and Willie remembered reading somewhere that these trains could reach speeds of 40 miles per hour.
At a certain point, Costa turned to Willie and asked, “First time on a train before?”
“Yup” Willie replied. He tried to shrug and appear nonchalant, but he could tell he failed miserably. Willie assumed that from her demeanor and posture, Costa had been on trains many times. It made him wonder, what was she really doing here? She was supposed to be in a house being spoon-fed be servants, not going on a dangerous mission to break into someone’s house and steal.
He decided to voice his questions and asked, “So how did you get into this mess? Besides that part about being family friends.”
Costa shook her head. “I better not tell you.”
Willie blew out a deep breath and responded, “First Rhode tells me practically nothing, and then you say you can’t tell. I deserve some sort of information.”
“Yes, you undoubtedly deserve some more information. But that doesn’t mean you should get any. Sometimes ignorance is a bliss.”
Willie gave an impressed whistle. “You’re persistent. But still tell me.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No!”
“You know you want to tell me.”
“Fine!” she said in an exasperated voice. “My parents are . . . dissatisfied with the way things are right now. They want me to make a positive impact on the kingdom, so they put me on this mission.”
Willie gave a confused look. “So stealing from some random guy will help the kingdom?”
Costa huffed. “I’ve already said too much.” She turned away faced the window.
That was fine with Willie and he felt content looking out the window as well. Even though he knew the geography of the area by heart, he had never actually been out of his town. The new sights raced by the window, and he felt exhilarated just thinking about all the new possibilities that awaited him. I should have done this a long time ago. Who knew, maybe he might even see the royal castle, as it was located in the very center of Gideon.
The train ride lasted a few hours, and at some point Willie fell into comfortable sleep. His dreams were filled with bursts of light, running soldiers, and Elites shrouded in darkness. He was awoken by the sudden deceleration of the train as it neared a station, and Costa said, “This is our stop.”
Willie stretched his legs and arms, and pulled out his knapsack from under his seat. He quickly inventoried it: food, water, money, and the Origin stones were all intact.
They both exited out of their compartment and stepped out onto the busy platform. A sign greeted them, saying “Welcome to Gideon!” Men and women in fancy cloaks and robes walked briskly past them, probably on the way to some important work. There were so many people, Willie almost lost Costa in the first few seconds. He tripped over a man’s leg as he struggled to keep up with the crowd, and the man gave him a glare. “Watch the shoes, kid!”
Willie muttered an apology, then quickly hurried through the crowd. He was aware of how different he was from all these well dressed people. Undoubtedly, some of them were Elite nobles, going onto the the train for imperial business. Willie stood out like a store crowd, with his disheveled hair and ragged clothes. He could almost feel people’s stares drilling into his back.The push of people forced him to move towards the exit, and he finally glimpsed Costa and grabbed her arm at the last moment to bring her with him. They exited the station looking disheveled and looked around to get their bearings.
“Well that was something,” Willie said, and Costa nodded in agreement. He tried to put on a casual face, but the whole ordeal of the station had unnerved him. It was the first time he had ever been out of his hometown, and so far the reception hadn’t been all that great. Together, they walked away from the station and towards a nearby park bench. Since it was midmorning, the majority of people were at work, and no one was near them as they sat down.
Willie glanced around him at the city of Gideon. There were tall, majestic buildings surrounding him on all sides, with intricately designed banisters and arches. But in the distance, Willie could see the gray buildings of the slums, and the yelling and shouting of vendors could be heard even from here. Directly up ahead of him, Willie could see the tall, twisting spires of the royal castle, bright red banners with black engravings of fire draped from the balconies.
“Perfect spot to pickpocket,” he whispered unconsciously.
“Don’t even try it,” Costa warned. “The nobles and Elites may not be used to thieves, but Gideon’s security is unparalleled.”
Willie raised an uncertain eyebrow. “And this is where we have to steal an Origin Stone from?”
Costa gave a small laugh and shrugged. “You’re the thief. You figure it out.” She gave a quick look around, then turned to him. “I’m going to check the Origin stone to see which direction we have to go. Try to look normal, but block any viewers from me.”
Willie nodded, and as Costa pulled out the amulet from her bag, he casually angled his body to block any line of sight from. He took a few morsels of bread out of his pack and fed it to some birds to pass the time.
Costa tapped his shoulder, and he turned. “We have to head that way.” She pointed down one of the busiest streets. Guards lined the buildings nearby, and there seemed to be maximum security. They seemed to be monitoring who goes into and out of each individual store, watching for shoplifters.
“Not exactly good odds,” Willie muttered. Together they marched down the street. Some of the passing shops were bigger than the barn he had lived in, and all the products were much more exquisite. In the distance, they could see the royal castle looming above the surrounding buildings.
Navigating the city was exhausting, and the Origin stone kept pointing in different directions. Each time they emerged at the end of the street, the stone would direct them towards another street, going on and on. As they progressed, the shops became more and more extravagant, selling gold plated armor and expensive jewelry. The few beggars that lined the streets slowly diminished until only the rich strutted about. Willie felt even more self conscious, and he tried to ignore all the contemptuous looks he received from passing people. They could tell he didn’t belong.
Evening quickly fell, and although Willie didn’t feel tired at all, he could here Costa panting besides him from the constant walking. “Do we need to stop?” he asked her.
She shook her head. “We’re almost there. I can feel it.”
The streets were rimmed in gold now, and the cobblestone was smooth and polished. They rounded the corner, and a bridge appeared in front of them. A platoon of soldiers were stationed at the front, checking everyone who was crossing and observing who entered the bridge. And across the bridge stood the royal castle.
Up close, it was taller than anything Willie had ever seen. The main tower stood in the center, with a cone shaped top. Four other turrets stood around it, forming a wall of stone and metal, and on top of each one stood hundreds of guards, bows facing the crowd. There was no drawbridge, but an enormous moat filled the outskirts, with the only way of crossing by use of the bridge the soldiers guarded. Anything that moved was monitored. The castle was magnificent and imposing at the same time, covered in red, black, and gold. But the amount of defense made Willie want to be anywhere but there.
“Are you serious?” Willie asked in disbelief. “The Origin stones lead you to the royal castle? Does that mean we have to steal from some rich diplomat?” A sudden thought struck him, and he turned pale. “What if it’s the king?”
“Don’t worry about who it is,” Costa said, tucking the origin stone away. “Just do your job.”
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