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moved towards the bushes, his dark hair starting to merge with the shadows as he stealthily slipped away.
    ‘Wait!’ I cried. I saw the smirk resurface on his face and I immediately regretted calling out to him. ‘… I would …  appreciate some help building a fire. I could do it myself but I’m feeling a bit tired,’ I said stiffly. It was difficult for me to admit defeat. He didn’t reply, so I continued. ‘If you help us out, you can share the fish with us.’
    ‘Well …’ he stretched out the word, making me wait, obviously enjoying every second. ‘I am quite busy and important, got a lot to do, no time to be hanging around with children …’
     ‘Just bloody help us,’ I growled. I had no patience for playing silly games.
    ‘I thought you’d never ask!’ he cried in mock jubilation. ‘Throw us that sorry flint and I’ll see what I can do about gutting this thing.’
    Matthias has been my right-hand man ever since. Being three years older than I am, his expertise in the art of survival has been invaluable. He has supported us, mentored me, saved our lives on more than one occasion, and been the most loyal and understanding friend I’ve ever had. Actually he’s more like a brother than a friend. He is an orphan too, although he knows who his parents were. They were part of the rebels who challenged the Mayor and the Metropole eighteen years ago. The story is legendary on our island even though we are forbidden to talk about it. He was two when they were hanged in the marketplace. He lives with his grandmother now, who is ancient and slightly mad, but I have never seen someone act as kindly as he does when he speaks to her. I know that he will be a brilliant role model to Aiden in the next few years; providing him with male advice that I simply cannot give.
    Crouching in our hiding place next to the Mayoral Complex reminded me of those early days. We were just practising our skills back then, just children playing games, but this time, this time it was for real .
    I forced myself to think about the implications of my plan – the penalty for treason is death. The charge of ‘treason’ covers a whole catalogue of offences and includes any minor transgression such as talking to a crowd, enquiring after the Mayor’s health, laughing at a Parrot and, most importantly, stealing from the state. We were on thin ice.

Chapter Four
    After our initial surveillance, we decided to go back the next morning to gather more information. The morning dawned sharp with frost. The cold needled at my face and I sunk under the fur blanket, determined to wring every last ounce of warmth from my bed before I had to get up. There was a shuffling outside my door. It creaked open and a pair of large eyes peered in like some kind of nocturnal creature returning from a night of foraging.
    ‘Edie, is that you?’
    ‘Yes. It’s 5 am. Matthias will be waiting for you.’
    ‘I know, I was just getting up. What are you doing up so early?’
    Her feet were slippered in rabbit fur and her fair hair was mussed and fluffy. She had the twitchy softness of a new-born bunny.
    I opened my blanket. ‘Come on. There’s enough warmth for two.’
    She hopped in and we snuggled down. Wolf, our Irish wolfhound, stole into the room and curled at our feet. He pushed his warm nose into Edie’s hand.
    ‘You haven’t been sleeping again,’ I said. ‘I heard you up at two.’
    ‘I was cold.’
    ‘Well you saw me split some wood yesterday. You know where it is. You could’ve built up the stove.’
    She shook her head violently.
    ‘You’re not frightened of going out in the dark to get the wood, are you? Wolf would go with you. That’s why Matthias got him for us. For protection.’ Wolf snored lightly in his sleep; he was about as threatening as a marshmallow but we could not imagine our lives without him now. Matthias had bought Wolf from a trapper a few years back and he had been at our side ever since. Matthias had also won the