Maki pressed his ear to the door of the mayor’s office, listening to his mom talk with the guard captain.

  “I know that, as his mother and the person who pays your salary, I can't have an unbiased opinion,” Mayor Kimi Zee said. “I know he caused enough trouble growing up, but for the past three years he’s been in the Royal Guard. He’s been trained. He’s had no complaints against him. He’s done well. Your refusal to let him work under you is, on paper, illogical.”

  Captain Aya sighed. “I recognize this, but people do act differently in their home towns than away from it. I’m not refusing, I’m just reluctant.”

  Maki took half a step back, annoyed. He didn’t want to get a job only because his mom forced someone to hire him. If that was how it was going to be…

  He left. After a few minutes he realized his feet were taking him to their old fishing spot outside of town. That wasn’t where his problems would be solved. They couldn’t be solved anywhere in or around this town.

  Maki realized he had to leave for good.

  He went home. Maeve was laying on the couch, staring blankly at the ceiling, bored to tears. She looked at him, eyebrows raised.

  “Hey, I’m… gonna go,” he told her.

  “Go where?” she asked. “We’re grounded, remember?”

  He smiled. “We’re adults, remember? If I want to pack up and go on an adventure, who’s gonna stop me?”

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  Slowly, his sister sat up. “You’re leaving leaving? Really? Where will you go? What will you do?”

  “Yes, yes, I don’t know, and adventure,” he replied.

  “Sure, but, what will you do for money?”

  Maki collapsed onto the couch next to her. “So, remember how the first three months of training, Dad had to pay to get me in and get food and stuff? Well, after that, instead of having to pay, I… got a salary. And I kinda didn’t tell Dad.”

  Maeve stared at him. “You’ve been keeping all that money?”

  “It wasn’t a lot, only two hundred silver a month, but yeah. Been saving it. And I didn’t spend all my salary money, either, so…”

  Her fingers twitched as she mentally calculated how much he must have. Finally she reached a sum and hit him in the face with a pillow.

  “Ow! Come on, it’s not like you told Dad you moved in with Risa and weren’t paying rent any more!”

  “Yeah, but I used that money!”

  “On dumb hair stuff!”

  “Shut up, my hair looks amazing now! Besides, I used most of it on food!”

  “Anyway! I’m going on an adventure! Wanna come?”

  She stopped. “You… want me to come?”

  “Yeah, adventuring alone would be boring,” he shrugged. “I want to ask Cali and Luke, too. But if you don’t come, I don’t know, I might be sad or something, whatever.”

  Maeve jumped up. “Yes. Let’s go. I’m in. When do we leave?”

  Maki scratched the back of his head. “I… was thinking about midnight?”

  “What was all that about being an adult?” she asked, unimpressed. “If we’re adults, why are we sneaking out and running away?”

  “It’s not running away,” Maki said, getting to his feet. “It’s a tactical retreat from possibly hostile forces.”

  Maeve snorted. “Ok, fair.”

  “But all we can take is a backpack,” he told her. “This’ll be a proper adventure. Not a vacation.”

  “But- My hair stuff…” She thought it over, then shrugged. “Mer is going to be absolutely thrilled with what I leave here.”