A few days later, I was completely back to normal. We had been laying low in Kribirsk, trying to come up with a good plan to enter the Little Palace and kidnap Alina. While Kaz and the group had thought of several good ideas, I was quick to dismiss them if they had the slightest issue.

Presently, we were all sitting at the bar, drinking and discussing lots of new ideas. I sat on an end, Inej sat beside me, Arken next to her, and Jesper on the other end. Arken was reading a pamphlet, and we were waiting for him to share the information. Arken and I were the only ones in our group who spoke Ravkan, which gave us the jobs of gathering information.

"The Little Palace winter fete," He spoke. I knew that would be coming up sometime soon, but the entire palace would be on high alert for intruders during the event.

"There's absolutely no way we could find Alina without someone from the inside. Especially during this ridiculous party, the palace will be crawling with second army." I heard Kaz approaching us from behind and turned to look at him as he took a seat next to me.

"We're in luck," He started. "There's a good chance we can crack on. Now that we're three days' travel from the capital, the next play is finding a way inside the Little Palace. Unless Vik has the entirety of the building memorized, we are going to need a map of some sort." He looked at me for confirmation, and I nodded my head yes.

"It turns out the Kribirsk archives house the Little Palace blueprints." I was surprised at this knowledge, as far as I knew, Os Alta was the only place where important documents such as blueprints were housed.

"But... They're kept under lock and key," Kaz continued, "Far from the prying eyes of the masses." I could practically feel the excitement coming from everyone other than Arken, who was confused.

"Yes!" Jesper said under his breath.

"What does that mean?" Arken questioned. Inej and I looked at each other knowingly and began to smile.

"Time for a heist," I voiced.

We all prepared for our expedition, and Jesper was forced into leaving Milo in the hands of a very capable barmaid, as he put it. He drew out the process of saying his goodbyes, making the rest of us wait impatiently for him to finish. When he finally pulled away and put on his coat, I saw that he left a bullet on a rope that he tied around his neck.

"Don't you think the bullets a little overkill Jesper? That could hurt him!" I said softly but urgently.

"Vik," he paused, and placed a dramatic hand over his heart. "I had to leave him with something to remember me by, otherwise he would forget me!" He finished with extreme sadness etching its way into his voice. I rolled my eyes and walked over to Kaz, who was speaking with Arken.

"I have a job for you. We need to hitch a ride east to the Little Palace." Arken hummed in response as Kaz held up a stack of Ravkan currency.

"Make friends," Kaz said before walking off.

"But that's the hardest job," Arken protested. "Why can't she do it? She speaks Ravkan!?" He asked looking at me.

"You managed to win us over, didn't you? I need Vik to help me with other things, I leave the task of finding us transportation in your very capable hands Arken. Goodbye."

We were in a carriage travelling to the archives while Kaz went over the plan with us.

"Alright, Royal Archives heist. Here's the game plan. Watchmen are on guard around the clock. We want to get in, and out as quietly as possible." He glanced at Jesper, saying "That means the hardware stays in the holster, Jesper." He made a sound of defeat, saddened at the idea of not getting to shoot anyone.

"Ugh, fine," He responded.

"Inej, the dome on the roof is directly above the repository where the blueprints to the Little Palace are kept."

"Got it, that's my way in," Inej said, thinking about the next steps in our infiltration.

"I'll set a trail of phosphorus that will lead you straight to the target. The repository is secured at all times behind a two-part lock mechanism. So Inej, you have to leave the way you came in. Two hours after sunset is when you'll go in, Jesper. You'll need to blend in."

"Easy," Jesper said, cockily.

"The lighting valves are on the second floor."

"I'll take my cue once I see the lights go out, then follow your trail straight to the blueprints," Inej interjected.

"Am I a part of this plan, at all Kaz? Or will I be standing guard outside?" I said, eager to know my part to play.

"You'll be standing guard outside, with me, Vik," Kaz said. "We can't risk someone inside the archives recognizing you, they've all probably seen you before."

"Fine," I said, not in the mood to argue.

"The archivist has to pull the blueprints a number of times a day, so we can't steal them or they'll know something is up." Kaz continued filling us in on his master plan.

"So?" Inej asked, "Make a copy."

"Be careful. If you're heavy-handed you'll bleed the ink."

"I know what I'm doing," Inej responded, sounding offended Kaz would doubt her abilities.

A few hours later, the plan was in motion. Kaz had gone into the building claiming to be a sculptor, placing the phosphorus trail for Inej. While I was sad I had no important part to play in this heist, I know I will be useful for the capture of the sun summoner. Kaz and I had been completely silent as we stood alert, in the uniforms of the guards working there. I heard footsteps approaching from behind, and made a signal to Kaz, who slammed down his cane at just the right moment. Inej was about to stab him with one of her daggers.

"Bit slow on the draw there," she said. Kaz gave her a look and replied. "Or just in time."

We made our way back to the carriage, ready to scourge the blueprints for a way in the little palace when we returned.

Sorry this chapter sucked and was so short, I didn't have much time to write. I'll try to post again Wednesday.