Scipio stirred out of his stiff sleeping position from laying on Hornet's bench for several hours straight.

He blinked under the morning light, stretched, and slowly stood up only to find she was already gone.

He ventured down the hall, seeing all the rest of rooms were vacant of the boys as well. Stopping at the top of the stairs, he called down from the bannister with a groggy voice, "Hornet?"

"I'm in the kitchen!" came her answer, giving him the consent to show himself.

She was standing on the behind the island, in the process of unwrapping a plate of what had to be leftovers from breakfast for him. Scipio pulled out one of the bar stools and plopped down across from her. She pushed the plate towards him. "Here. It's not much, but that's what you get living with all boys who eat like hungry wolves at the dining table. I tried to save what I could before they all rushed out for school."

"I didn't even you here any of you get up," he commented, as she passed him silverware soon after. "I must've been really out of it."

"You are a very still sleeper...didn't make a sound," she agreed with a sheepish smile. "I even snuck closer to you just to make sure you were still breathing. It was pretty obvious you needed the rest."

He glanced down to his food momentarily then back up at her. "Hornet—I," he paused to choose his words carefully. "—I just want to thank you again. And I need to be certain you're alright with this."

"Why wouldn't I be?" She stared back at him steadily, as if she felt offended. "...For the last time, Scipio, I don't regret helping you out. If it were Riccio or Mosca instead of you, I'd still want them back home. I want all of my friends safe."

Oh, clever Hornet. Always their voice of reason. The Thief Lord continued to frown though, still not utterly convinced he was worth all the trouble. It wasn't too bad out there on his own. Possibly...he'd be better off staying clear of them?

Caterina noticed this, sighing heavily, and her hands gripped the edge of the wooden countertop. "Look," she added simply. "Perhaps you would relief yourself of the guilt a little bit if you'd just see your condition in a new light. Think of it as a blessing, not as some type of punishment. Sure the Forces of Nature, as you say, may have turned on you...but maybe that is the real lesson you should take from this. You jumped ahead too far, too fast. And now, you've been given back the time you really needed to grow into the man you wanted to become. Who else can say the same, Scipio? People are always seeking a second chance at life. Take it."

His eyes fell from hers once more as he took another small bite of his breakfast. "So...about today, what do you want to do?"

Knowing this was his way of considering her advice and trying to make peace, Caterina went along with the motion. "I hadn't planned anything yet. Ida did leave us some money though in case we decided to go out somewhere for a while."

He hummed and gazed out the window. "We could just walk around the piazza for an hour or two."

"Alright."


A crisp, warm wind blew in across the piazza as they circled the familiar city streets.

Eventually Scipio had nudged her shoulder with his. "Are you hungry?" They came to a mutual stop near a small outdoor café. Its charming white archways and short iron fences were layered with flowers and thick green vines that coiled up and around.

Caterina wanted to be polite and say that she was fine; however the throbbing in her gut wouldn't allow her to reject his offer. After all, little had he known, she spilt her own breakfast with him. "Si." She nodded, handing him the money from Ida.

"Che figo." Scipio approached the payment bar, ordering them hot tea and scones, and then they swerved their way to a small corner table.

"So I have to ask, how is the school, Hornet? I would like to know since I've...ah, received my whole education through a team of private tutors all my life."

"It's great!" Her face lit up when she said this. "...Or, that is, as I find it. The boys have their opinions, too, I guess. Bo and Riccio complain about the work they have to do. Mosca's smart in hands-on activities projects of course, but struggles a little with his book lessons."

"And Prop?"

"He's decent in school for the most part, although honestly, he's horrid in writing commutations..."

Scipio smirked absentmindedly, amused by the way her features had now slightly scrunched up. "Well, then, it's a very good thing they all have bookworm like you around."

Caterina clicked her tongue at him. "Don't ever mock wisdom, Thief Lord, if you know what's best for you."

"Alright, alright," Scipio put his hands up teasingly. "But still, I bet you actually enjoy when Prop comes to you for help. It gives you an excuse to be alone with him, right?"

"Oh...that." Caterina instantly dropped her head and began to fiddle with the folds of her napkin laying over her lap.

"Hornet," catching her hesitation, Scipio felt his stomach clench with regret, and it's been doing that a lot lately. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

She lifted her eyes again and she shook her head. "No, no, figurati. I guess you should know, anyway."

"What happened to you two?"

"Nothing bad happened between us. Although, after we moved in, I realized how awkward things could have gotten if I let myself get involved with him in that sense." She spoke with a soft practical tone. "But it was also everything else on top of that. As I keep saying...we began a new chapter of our lives by going back into real society sort to speak. The village views us as one family here, and the school itself recognizes all of us as adoptive siblings. And even if it doesn't sound so black and white, just think how young we were, Scipio. What do children at that age really know about romance? I couldn't help it. It's not Prosper's fault...my feelings just...started to grow with the change."

"How did Prop react to your change of heart?"

"I don't know how to answer that, not really." Caterina confessed then. "I honestly couldn't tell if his feelings ever went beyond friendship to begin with."

Scipio arched a brow. "You mean, he didn't say anything about it at all?"

Continuing on, Caterina pursed her lips in thought. "Prosper has been more difficult to read than most. He didn't trust you the first few days, remember? He had his aunt and uncle to deal with, and handling his mother's death, stealing Bo away, then meeting us...I think along the way, Prop had gained the habit of always keeping his guard up—and that's why he could sell the loot better than we could—he knows to manipulate his expressions so we can't know what he's thinking otherwise. It's as if he's afraid nothing good is ever going to last. He's no different than Riccio or Mosca. Prosper may have more inner demons than he likes to show."

Scipio let the conversation lie there. He knew he should have been more surprised by this news, since the whole gang knew Hornet had her first crush on Prop. Then again, like she mentioned, neither of them had ever actually stated they were involved after the whole Conte business. And he understood what she meant. Compared to the rest, Prosper had been the least enthusiastic about him trying to help him out. Prosper was lighthearted and caring when it came to Bo or even Ida, but there was yet a certain...coldness in his eyes during his off-days...

Plus, Scipio knew far more about girls than the group would probably gave him credit for. See, while the other boys had little (proper) human contact living on the streets, he had nearly a lifetime of being dragged off to seasonal operas, socialite balls, and big holiday feasts where the majority of the regular guests around his age were daughters of fellow aristocrats. He had received many chances to observe and to experience girlish behavior, and how they interacted with the other high-class sons. And despite their bubbly habits and common interests of what's prettiest and who's bravest, the mind of a young female still matured faster than the male's. They always thought steps ahead versus merely focusing on the present.

He'd seen this before too, even in his own parents. Females only offer so much of their attention to an unwilling gentleman after a certain number of attempts to gain his possible affections. And if they know they are unsuccessful with urging things forward, they're bound to turn their backs.

Though in case, Hornet didn't abandon Prosper completely. She was just wasn't the type who would cling to all the what-ifs and maybes without any proof or facts; and apparently Prosper never gave her any sign to do so.


On their way back to the casa, Scipio seemed to be more focused on the stone formations beneath their feet than anything else happening around them. Caterina likewise, drifted her attention over the number of pidgins plucking scraps of the pathways, then over to the red-painted gondolas gracefully making their way up stream. But once they reached the main bridge, Scipio suddenly slowed his pace a little beside her, causing her to follow suit.

With his hands sliding into his front pockets, he asked, "And what about you?"

Her braid whipped aside as she looked towards him with a curious light in her eyes. "What about me?"

"You're a runaway," he recapped. "It can't be just the boys. Doesn't your past ever come back to haunt you?"

Scipio recalled on the old days, when he would slip his way into the Stella to check on his little squatters late at night, and sometimes he'd find a sleeping (but shaky) Hornet nestled inside of Mosca's hammock beside him, or else, the two boys would be awake and lying next to her as she tried to fall asleep again too. Something had obviously been bothering her.

"Now, that is a more personal question, Thief Lord."

"So? I thought we're done with hiding secrets."

Caterina chewed on her bottom lip briefly before she countered him with, "You're twisting my words around on purpose. And I know you're smarter than that. I never meant to imply that you shouldn't keep any secrets from us. I understand some secrets people keep are necessary. But if it jeopardizes your life or friendships with others, why not ask for help once in a while? Besides, you have yet to tell anyone how you survived on your own for the past couple years."

He stepped and reeled around her, cutting her off. "And you are changing the subject on me."

"Alright," she replied curtly. "I'll make you a deal: we each must give one answer for every single question asked."

He quickly flashed her a foxlike grin when they started meandering forward again. "You go first."

And she did. "Question. How did you support yourself?"

For privacy reasons, Caterina had never done the exact math, but she knew well enough that Victor's self-made business didn't quite raise the largest amount of money. Ida was actually the leading source of income in their household. And so, she doubted Scipio limited paychecks Victor divided with him could have carried him for as long as he was away. Really, she wanted to know if he was using his father's money somehow.

Scipio thereafter answered, "Wells."

Caterina was thrown off guard. "Wait, what you mean by wel—"

"Nope." He scolded her, pointing a finger between her eyes. "My turn."

She huffed. "Fine." He's bending the rules!

"Question. Does your past come back to you?"

"Not much as it used to. I had found my closure. Now my question: what did you mean by wells?"

"Europe has many popular tourist attraction sites, right? So at night, I would fish out coins from the fountains and wishing wells. It's not as if that money is closely monitored anyway." And before he gave her the time to react to this and probably yell at him for it, he pushed forward with their game—although her jaw was already dropped in surprise. "Question. When did you find closure after running away?"

Caterina recollected herself, rolled her eyes and she paused again shortly after they rounded the final corner. She put her hands loosely on her hips, locking eyes with him and stated, "The day you brought those kittens to the Stella. You helped me find the closure that I have now."

"Me?" Scipio was not quite expecting that, and it reflected clearly in his voice.

"Ugh, don't flatter yourself too much, Thief Lord. The truth is that...you had your way of reminding me that even strangers can become your friends. That there's still good to be found in people and those people will make you feel worthwhile."

He in return, replied, "You have an answer for practically everything."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No." He shook his head, slinging a playful arm around her neck before steering them up to Ida's door. "To me, it just means that you believe in what you have to say."


More towards evening, Scipio and Caterina were settled on the sofa facing each other, playing cards when Ida strolled into the room, being the first one home. Her boots tapping lightly across the floorboards as she drew closer. "Hey, you two, I've got some news for ya. The school contacted me today and—"

Caterina twisted herself to gaze up at her, throwing her cards down. "Scipio and I can go to school tomorrow?"

Scipio naturally rolled his eyes.

"Almost," promised Ida, tucking Caterina's bangs behind her ear then looked to Scipio. "It's going to take another day to make everything official. But by then, the School Head will pleased to welcome my younger relative Sandro Spavento," she sang out humorously with a classic roll of the tongue.

He and Caterina exchanged glances at the sound of the chosen alias. "You told the school Scipio is related to you?"

Ida shrugged. "Well, distantly of course, considering the age difference. But really, some families have siblings who are fifteen years apart or more, so it's not that unheard of. He's going to pose as a cousin of mine who's rooming with us from Rome due to the fact that his parents have important meetings to go to out of the continent."

Scipio dark eyes were calculating. "And they believed that story?"

"What else was I supposed to tell them? They know I don't exactly run a legit foster care and I don't have adoption papers for you, now do I? It's not like I would risk saying that the other children in my care are already enrolled in school, but oops, silly me, I forgot about one...the wealthy Scipio Massimo, who used magic to make himself an adult and disappeared!"

Caterina knew Ida had a point there. Scipio's whole story was simply too strange to retell in public. He couldn't exactly fit in with the rest of them. Not that easily. The village now knew how many children took refuge at the Spavento residence. And if they insisted there were always six children instead five, people would start having questions for Ida, not to mention Scipio. Like why wasn't he in school a lot sooner? Or, why hasn't anyone seen him before? Where did he come from? Why was he never around the family?

Though this way, a relative who had just arrived was more plausible and it put Ida in more control of the situation.


Thanks again to my new followers!