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houseboat we lived on from a drunken sailor at Nora’s. The houseboat was creaky and cold but it was our home, nestled deep under a weeping willow tree next to the marshy coastline.
    Edie shook her head again.
    I waited. Edie was not the type of person to be bullied into giving up her secrets. She was as soft skinned as a puppy but when poked, could curl up like a hedgehog and swallow down her feelings.
    ‘I just don’t like it when you plan things,’ she eventually said. ‘It’s fine when it’s a merchant or even a Parrot. But this is the Mayor. It’s different. If he catches you –’
    ‘He won’t catch me.’
    ‘He won’t?’
    ‘No, haven’t you seen his fat belly? He can barely walk without causing an earthquake, never mind run after me.’
    Edie giggled and hid her face in the fur.
    ‘Don’t you want some of that food?’
    She nodded and her eyes found mine. Her hair was as soft as silk in my hands.
    ‘Then I’ll get it for you. You don’t have to worry. When have I ever let you down? Now, back to bed, early bird. I don’t want to see you up until at least midday.’
    She left my room. Reluctantly, I rolled out of bed to meet Matthias. As I padded across the wooden floor, the cold seemed to razor at my soles. The water from my bucket was iced with a film of frost that cracked satisfyingly when I tapped it. My fingers turned to icicles the minute I dunked them in the water. I braced myself and splashed water on my face, dancing from foot to foot to keep warm. I scrubbed myself clean with a cloth. Well, as clean as I could. Brigadus dirt seemed to be ingrained and permanent like a tattoo.
    I headed to the cracked mirror where the few personal belongings I had were scattered. Matthias and I had a system of camouflage that helped us to blend into the shadows in the marshes and I reached for my make-up to put it on.  Black and maroon smudges made from coal dust and gemloch berries. Moss-green smears on my cheeks made from pounded dock leaves. I twisted my waist-length, dirty-blonde hair into a bun and covered it with a hood. Dressed in black, I slipped out of the boat, closed the door quietly, and disappeared into the shadows of the woods. I picked my way carefully through the undergrowth to where Matthias was waiting.  
    He was almost invisible, hidden amongst the bracken. He had leaves stuck in his messy, dark hair like he was some sort of pagan prince. He didn’t flinch when I emerged right behind him. He had the ears of a bat and must have heard my footfall. I reminded myself to try harder to be quieter in future. ‘Sit down,’ he said softly.
    When I’d cleared a small patch of thorns and sat next to him, he passed me the binoculars. ‘See there?’
    He pointed at the entrance to the kitchens – a high fence lined with razor wire encircled a bleak gravel courtyard. This led to an imposing façade reinforced with steel doors and windows boarded up with wicked bladed mesh. ‘They’ve brought in two deer carcasses, a dozen geese, six wild turkey, five sacks of potatoes, and about five crates of vegetables. Looks like our little piggy is not going to be dining alone.’
    ‘Well then, that begs the question of who will be joining him for dinner,’ I replied.
    ‘Little pig, little pig, let me come in …’ cooed Matthias sinisterly. Images of pigs and slavering wolves filled my brain. A chill flowed through my veins. 
    If the Mayor was the little piggy, we knew exactly who the wolf was. We turned and smiled at each other. Venison was extremely rare and deer were confined to a few monitored deer parks for the sole use of the Mayor. Poaching was treason. The Mayor’s guest was so special that he had allowed two of his prize stags to be slaughtered and served on a dinner plate. Both Matthias and I knew that there would only be one type of guest that was high-ranking enough to warrant that – it was obvious that our little island of Brigadus was going to have some visitors from the Metropole.