Chase the Stars

A steady breeze carried the Peregrine swiftly through the sky and Mila could see South Plymm steadily growing from a minuscule dot on the horizon to a lively, colorful town. She thought she'd have been more excited to see it, but she just felt a little disappointed that they had made it so quickly. She glanced over at where Charlie was leaning on the rail, staring at the trees and bright cottages. They hadn't spoken again about her offer to let him stay on with her, and she was mildly sick with anxiety over it. She hoped he would decide to stay, especially after the way he'd looked at her the day before. But there was something off; she could sense it. There was a sort of quiet resignation in the way he held himself. Mila couldn't begin to understand why, and she was too nervous to ask him.

"If you kept traveling south in a straight line from here for about another three or four days, you'd reach the border of the whole Terrapin Empire," Mila said.

"Hard to imagine that there's anything beyond the Empire," Charlie replied, sounding oddly wistful.

"I've always wanted to see the rest of the world."

"Maybe now you'll be able to."

Mila steered into port and tethered the ship in place. She glanced over at Charlie.

"If you haven't decided where you'd like to go from here, maybe you'd like to explore with me a little?" she asked, twisting a strand of her hair nervously around her finger. He nodded slowly and she unfurled the ladder to reach the dock. Charlie was staring intently around the docks, but he caught her arm gently as she prepared to climb down.

"I just wanted to say thank you, for helping me. And teaching me about the ship. I know we've been on the run from the law but I've actually enjoyed my time with you."

Mila stared at him, baffled by the seriousness in his tone and expression. She smiled slightly.

"Well it's not over yet," she said hopefully. "Come on. Something smells really delicious and I want to go track it down."

He cracked a tiny smile. "You and your sweet tooth."

He climbed down to the docks after her and they started to move into the crowd. Mila hesitated, feeling like something was wrong. She didn't even have time to open her mouth and say anything to Charlie when a team of Regulators converged around them, ordering them to halt. Mila's hand flew to the holster beneath her coat but Charlie touched her arm, stopping her.

"It's okay," he said quietly. He stepped around her, and two Regulators immediately moved forward and wrenched his arms behind his back, forcing him to his knees as they checked to make sure he wasn't armed.

"What's going on?" Mila demanded. How could they possibly have found them? She tensed as a Regulator approached her, but Charlie's voice stopped her from reacting.

"I'm the one you're looking for," he said. "Let the girl go. She was only here because she was coerced."

Mila spun around to gape at him. "What the hell are you doing?"

"She was forced to be part of the robbery," Charlie went on, not looking at her. He said something to the Regulator gripping his arm, his voice so low Mila couldn't hear him. The Regulator looked surprised and suspicious but he waved over a woman and said something robber.

"He's lying," Mila burst out as they clapped iron shackles around Charlie's wrists. She wanted to pull her gun but shooting down Regulators wasn't going to help Charlie.

"You don't need to protect him," the female Regulator told Mila, taking her arm. "Let's go."

The woman tugged her away but Mila dug her heels into the ground, watching helplessly as Charlie was dragged away. He caught her eye briefly and gave her a wan smile. Mila wanted to throw herself after him but now a man joined the woman who had a grip on her arm and they towed her along the dock and loaded her into the sleekest, most technologically advanced airship she'd ever seen. They took her pistol and pushed her into a seat in a spacious room belowdecks, tying her wrists with rope. Clearly they weren't ready to completely trust her yet.

"Where are they taking Charlie?" Mila demanded.

"He'll be detained here in South Plymm until he can be transported to Gadour to face trial, if he's even granted one. Likely he'll be sentenced to remain in the prison there until an execution can be scheduled."

Mila's face paled. She had to find a way to get Charlie out of jail before he was taken to Gadour. Even she wouldn't be able to break him out of the prison there.

"Where are you taking me?" Mila asked, realizing that the Regulator ship was heading back the way she and Charlie had come from. Back toward Maryport, and Curis. A feeling of unease settled in her chest. The Regulators didn't answer her about where they were going but this ship moved much faster than the Peregrine and in a few short hours she could see Maryport again and her heart began to pound.

"Where are we going?" she demanded again.

"Be quiet. You'll find out soon enough."

Mila felt a glimmer of panic as she saw the Regulator approaching with a damp rag. She tried to kick his legs out from under him but he regained his balance and slapped the rag over her face, and the world faded out.



Mila woke with a groan, realizing she was riding inside a steam-powered carriage. The female Regulator was sitting across from her, gun still leveled at her face.

"Don't try to run again," the woman warned. The shades were drawn closed on the windows so Mila couldn't see outside; she had no idea where she was but it couldn't be anywhere she wanted to be. The carriage rolled to a stop and another Regulator opened the door and pulled her out none too gently. Mila's blood turned to ice at the sight of the large house. She had grown up here, until she had left behind the name Harkness and this house forever. She had hoped it would be forever.

The Regulators hauled her up to the door and one of them lifted the heavy lion's head door knocker and banged it against the wood. Mila stood on the porch, trembling so hard she thought she might shake apart. The door opened and the butler gave the Regulators a bored look.

"May I help you?" he asked coldly.

"We need to speak with Mr. Harkness. It's a matter of some urgency; we sent ahead a letter-"

"Yes, yes. He's expecting you," the butler interrupted. He wasn't the same man who had worked here when Mila was a child. He didn't even spare her a second glance as he led them all to the parlor.

"Mr. Harkness, we apologize for the intrusion but a man we recently took into custody told us that this girl was-"

"Amelia." Stanton Harkness stood, rising from the chair where he'd been sitting and seeming to fill the whole room. He was still a thing of nightmares to Mila. The Regulators seemed surprised as he pushed past them and pulled Mila into an embrace before studying her face.

"Amelia, my darling. I can scarcely believe my eyes. I had feared you were dead."

"You confirm her identity as Amelia Harkness, then?" the male Regulator asked, still seeming skeptical.

"I know my own daughter," he said firmly. His grip on her arms was too tight and Mila tried not to wince. He put on a grand show; pretending to be the grief-stricken father. But Mila could tell from his unyielding hold on her that he was ready to explode with rage, not relief.

"The man we arrested said that she was kidnapped, and coerced into assisting with several high profile robberies. He took all the blame, insisting that she was innocent and used against her will as a tool for the robberies."

"How dreadful." Stanton pulled her tightly against his side while she began to simmer with rage. "Well she's home safe now, and I trust this matter is resolved. Get these damn ropes off of her."

The female Regulator quickly freed Mila's wrists and she flexed her fingers to coax feeling back into them.

"Again, we do apologize for this, Mr. Harkness. We just needed to be sure she was who the man claimed her to be."

"Of course. And I also trust that you'll deal swiftly and efficiently with the man who abducted and used my daughter."

They muttered reassurances and beat a hasty retreat. As soon as they were gone, he shoved Mila away from him and rounded on her with a venomous glare.

"Just what the hell were you thinking, Amelia?"

"That's not my name," Mila snapped. His gaze hardened even more.

"Your name is Amelia Harkness, and you would do well to remember it. I'll not have my own daughter running amok through the Empire acting like a common criminal and dragging the family name through the mud."

"I am not your daughter! Amelia Harkness is dead, and I want nothing to do with you and your name. How did Charlie know who I was? What did you do to him?"

"I told him that I wanted my daughter back and he was a reasonable young man, for a thief."

"You tricked him into taking the fall," she said angrily. "No one knew who I was, your precious family name was safe."

"For how long?" Stanton snarled. "I found you, who's to say someone else wouldn't have uncovered your identity?"

"How did you find me, anyway? It's been nine years."

"I have influence in far more places than Curis, as you well know. It took time, but someone finally found out about 'Mila Beckett' and recognized you once he searched you out."

"You know I wasn't kidnapped," Mila said flatly.

"I assumed as much. You always were an ungrateful, spiteful child."

Mila scoffed. "What was I supposed to be thankful for? The neglect? The torment when I missed a step in a dance or got a question wrong with the tutor?"

"I tried to mold you into the perfect upper class debutante. And you rewarded me by becoming a runaway and then a lowly thief."

"And I did it all by myself. It must kill you, to know that I evaded you for so long; procured my own airship and survived all these years without you."

His dark eyes glittered with hatred. "You were nothing but a bottom feeder. Now you're back, and your days as a wandering pickpocket are over."

"I'm not a child anymore. You can't just drag me back here and dictate my life." Mila glowered at him, matching his unwavering stare. She wouldn't be cowed and bullied by him. Not anymore.

"And I'm not going to let you let Charlie rot in jail," she added vehemently. "He didn't do anything wrong. He didn't even steal that emerald."

"I don't care about some nobody from Etherport. He deserves whatever fate he gets."

"You're just the same heartless bastard I remember," Mila spat as he began to turn away. His hands tightened into fists as though he were holding himself back from striking her.

"Get cleaned up," he snapped. "All the members of the Merchant Council will be meeting in three days, and I plan on announcing your return. You will look the part, and you will act it too."

Mila opened her mouth to respond but stopped. The entire Merchant Council was going to be here. That meant Horace Crawforde would be here. Mila's mind began to tick and spin. Maybe she could expose him and get Charlie's name cleared. But first, she needed to free Charlie from the South Plymm prison. That shouldn't be so difficult. She had broken out of this house once, and she could do it again.