Chapter 3

Gwen gave him her best smile. Mr. Rickeys looked at her suspiciously as he smoked his cigar. He was leaning back into his old couch and was giving Gwen a look that made her think it would be harder than she imagined.

The interior of his house was how anyone would expect. Everything looked old and worn down. The grey paint on the walls was peeling off and what remained was cement and grime. There was always a draft that Gwen had to get used to because he never cleaned any of the fireplaces in his house. And there was no way she was willing to do it. Although he lives in such conditions he never complained or seemed like he was struggling. He was content with how he lives, even if it was not up the standard of other people.

"Why?" he asked and tapped the cigar over a tray.

"I want to go to Naudis and I'm sure that they won't let me in if they know where I'm from."

"Why do you want to go to Naudis?"

Gwen gave him a look of desperation. She was sure he would not do her the favor if she told him her plan. He may even tell her mother, and that was the last thing she wanted.

"There's just things I need to do there. Private things."

He did not seem moved one bit. "And does your mother know of these things?"

"She knows I want to go... just not the things I'm willing to do to get there."

Mr. Rickeys hummed and rubbed his stubble. "And what do you want to do in Naudis?"

Gwen groaned. "Important things. Come one, I don't need to tell you. You trust me right? You taught me how to fight so I should be fine if anyone tried to do anything to me. I'm not going to cause trouble or anything I swear."

Three years ago she had approached Mr. Rickeys in a fit of confidence and asked him if he knew how to fight. Right off the bat she could see that he found her amusing. And so when he said that he could, Gwen was determined to get him to teach her. Gwen knew that if she wanted to be successful she must know how to fight and defend herself. So after hearing the rumours about Mr. Rickeys, she went to ask him. At first he said no and ignored her but she persisted more.

Gwen knew that there were other people that could teach her but she did not want word of it reaching her mother. Mr. Rickeys was a cool person and she admired how he cared for so little and just lived his life simply. She was glad that he turned out to be the person who taught her. They spent a lot of time together in the past three years and learned quite a bit about him. He never spoke of his past or how he got to live in the house but he would teach her life lessons and listen to her problems. She hoped their teacher-student relationship would be enough to move him to help her.

"If you aren't going to cause trouble then why are you refusing to tell me?"

"Because it's something personal."

"Personal..." he grunted and rested down his cigar.

Gwen was used to his smoking and over time became immune to the smell of tobacco. There was a time when the smell settled on her and her mother nearly had a heart attack thinking she was smoking but she had to say she was in the market and the smell caught onto her.

"Personal and for a good cause. I promise it isn't anything bad."

"Does it have something to do with why you wanted me to teach you how to fight? Or is that something else?"

"Partially," she held up her index finger and thumb showing how small it was.

It definitely was not small but the more he told him the more he was likely to deny her.

Mr. Rickeys sighed deeply and then let out a cough. "What exactly do you want to change on the identification card?"

An identification card was the size of a standard book. It had the information of a person's birth, family, address and so on. It acted as a birth certificate, ID and passport in one. Some other countries had all separated but Paria-Drae was simple and put it all ona card.

"I want to have my name shortened to Gwen and a different last name. I want different names for my parents and to be born and have an address in Naudis."

When Gwen was born, she was only registered to have one parent, which was Bruce. It took no genius to figure out why her mother was not on the card.

Mr. Rickeys gave her another suspicious look. "Sounds like you need a lot changed."

"Just the standard things in my opinion."

In recent years, it has become increasingly difficult to get one because there are only a handful of people with the stamps to approve any certificates. Meaning that you need to have connections with these people to get what you want.

"And what makes you think that I know how to get you one?"

"Because you're totally suspicious and probably do. I know you know people or people of people or of people or something like that."

Mr. Rickeys cracked a small smile and sat up on the couch. "I may or may not. But what's stopping me from reporting you?"

"Because you like me." she gave him her best innocent gaze and batted her eyelashes.

Mr. Rickeys laughed. "You're right I do like you kid. But I don't trust what you're going to do."

"When have I ever done something reckless? I've spent my entire life being careful not to draw attention to myself and live like a hermit most of the time. I know what I'm doing."

It took a couple more minutes of perusation before he finally agreed.

"I can get it to you, but it will take some time. Maybe a few days to a week or two."

Gwen beamed at him. "As long as I can get it before the fighting starts I will be fine."

"And you'll be back before the fighting starts right?"

Gwen stuttered a bit before she caught herself. "I should be fine when the fighting starts."

"What are you planning, kid?" his tone was serious.

"Something good." she stood her ground, assurance in her voice.

"Something stupid."

'Probably.' she thought. 'Stupid but worth a try.'

"Not stupid. Important. I'm an adult, you know. I can make my own choices and think things through."

After her conversation with him, she went home. Her mind trying to come up with a plan that would not get her killed. Once she was in Naudis, she would go to Estril from there. The border there should not be as strict as that in Paria-Drae. Once she got into Estril then hopefully she would look like any other person who was looking to get into the army.

Gwen could have requested an identification card that said she was born in Estril but she would not have been able to get past the border and may have even been detained. Both in Naudis and Paria-Drae it could potentially stop her from getting where she wanted. She was surely going to get some questions as to why she was trying to go to Estril but she was willing to answer and make up a bunch of things to get past the border guards. Declaring her hate for everything Paria-Drae and wanting to do a service to their neighbor and make a statement that someone from Nauids was willing to join the army to stop the Queen was something she would say.

And then once she got to the army base she would say the same thing over again and see if they would let her in. Estril should be willing to take anyone who wanted to join the army since theirs was significantly smaller than Paria-Drae's. And then once she was in the army she would help stop the Queen's plan and everything will be as it should be.

Four days after her conversation with Mr. Rickeys was when he gave her the identification card. It looked perfectly authentic and even a little bit worn. Like she had had it her entire life. Her name was Gwen Chester and her parents were Elize and Bryan Chester. She was born and had an address in Naudis.

"I don't know what you're planning to do but be careful." Mr. Rickeys said.

"I will." she held the card excitedly.

"And if you need any help you can go to the address on the card and the people there will help you."

Gwen was impressed. "Who exactly are you Mr. Rickeys? Don't you think it's about time you tell me?"

He gave her a small smile. "Just someone who knows a little of everything and some more."

That was all he said before he turned and walked away.