Wendy left
the Dining Hall with a smile on her face. ‘This sure is a day of mixed
emotions, confusing... but in a strange way very nice.' One thing was for sure;
life seemed a lot brighter now Justin was on her side. He knew about the
proposal Jenner had made and he was clearly very happy to hear her decision. He
was most likely going to tell Nicodemus about it, and that would make him proud...
And the way he looked at her... he was blushing! The Captain of the Guard was
blushing!! But still...there were some dark sides to today as well; Jonathan's
death and Jenner who didn't know her answer yet. And he was not going to like
it. Perhaps he would get mad, and scream at her, or he might ignore her for the
rest of her life..., which wasn't a very unpleasant thought, though. She smiled a
bit as this thought crossed her mind and moved on to the kitchen to give Nanny
a hand.

While up
there, she noticed that all the dishes had already been cleaned, and Nanny was
nowhere to be found. Wendy decided to go up to Nanny's room. She turned around
and nearly bumped into the three young girl-rats who wanted Justin's attention
during dinner.

Now they
were in front of Wendy; Isabella, Suzy and Sandy all looking very angry.

‘Good
evening ladies, don't you have any homework to do?' Wendy just loved to tease
them. ‘No, we came to find you!' Isabella took the lead, as always. She always
enjoyed playing boss over the much younger other two girls. She was Justin's
number one fan. The one who always tried to be as close to him as possible.
Wendy wondered when the very first ‘We love Justin' Fan club would be
founded.  Wendy just didn't understand
why Isabella even bothered anymore. Justin had always ignored her presents, but
he always stayed polite, up until that evening that is...

‘Why did
you go to see him? Why didn't you leave him alone?!' She continued, stamping
her right foot angrily on the hard floor.

‘So, you tell me to leave Justin alone?' Wendy asked, and the three girls nodded
their heads. Wendy frowned and started to feel stronger. Her position was a lot
more solid now Justin sent the girls away. ‘Well,' Wendy continued, ‘I believe
Justin asked you girls to leave, am I wrong?' She smiled when the girl's
whiskers dropped, and they looked at each other helplessly. Sandy stepped
forward. She was the youngest of the three girls. Far too young to even be
interested in a male like Justin. ‘Maybe so, but... but...' She stumbled.

Suddenly
her eyes grew bigger, and Wendy noticed a large shadow appeared right behind
her back. The three girls took off without saying a word, and Wendy turned
around as soon as she could.

There he
was, huge as ever, dressed in black. Green eyes, which pierced into hers.
Powerful, overwhelming and extremely irritating; it was Jenner again.

He stood in
the dim light of the hallway, just outside the kitchen door.

‘Jenner,'
Wendy started, hiding her sudden unpleasant feeling. She never felt comfortable
around him, especially not when she was alone. ‘Didn't see you at dinner.'

‘Well, I
don't suppose you'd even had noticed me, you were far too busy playing
who-becomes-the-biggest-blush with our little Captain of the Guard.' He smiled
an evil smile, seeing he obviously cut a sensitive subject.

‘Who-becomes...?!
What are you talking about? You really are out of your mind, aren't you? I have
a right to talk to him just as much as...'

‘Wendy,
Wendy... slow down, I shouldn't have said it like that. Please forgive me.' 

Wendy gave
Jenner a glance. ‘Were you looking for me?' She asked.

‘In fact, I
was... I'm always very happy to see a beautiful female rat such as yourself, but
this time I also have a reason for wanting to speak to you. Don't you suppose
it would be better if we continue this conversation in my room again?'

Wendy
wasn't particularly comfortable the last time she was up there, so she told him
she'd rather talk in the hallway. Jenner agreed.

‘The only
thing I have to know is your answer anyway, so we might as well just stay
here.' He touched her chin and straightened his long, dramatic, black cloak
with his other hand. None of the rats in the colony wore such a thing. It was a
token of his power, his mighty influence in the colony. Sometimes that cloak
would make him look ridiculous, like a kid playing he's some kind of hero.
Well, Jenner was anything but a hero, he was a pathetic clown. He was very
proud of his cloak; if something happened to it, then you'd better get out of
his way...

Wendy
looked up, disgusted by his appearance. ‘My answer is ‘no.' It was stupid of
you that you would even consider it! After everything Nicodemus, Nanny and
Justin had done for m....'

‘Ah...
Justin! That's what this is all about, isn't it? You talked to him about it,
didn't you?! Admit it!' As he started to yell, his grip on her chin became
firmer, and that started to hurt.

‘Ouch!!
YES! I did tell him, but that didn't change what I decided already, ‘ Wendy
shouted. ‘I cannot work for you! You never did anything for me, and they did. That's the difference. You
hate me, and that feeling is mutual, and get your dirty hands away from me!'

He finally
let go of her chin, and he continued on a more polite tone. ‘So you have
decided to continue minute taking, don't you?' Jenner caught her at her weak
spot again. She had always hated her job. The job that didn't mean a thing, the
least important job of all. A job you wouldn't even give to a girl like
Isabella! Wendy, a rat from the First Generation, a rat who was smart, too
smart to do such job.

‘No, this
is something different. But Minute Taking would be far more rewarding than
being your Personal Assistant. Ha, Personal Assistant. What is that really?
Bringing you your drinks every time you click your fingers? Huh? Washing your
laundry, scrubbing your back, sewing your over-ugly cloak? Over my dead body!!'
Wendy started to lose her temper this time.

‘I see... You
have a rather flat idea of what it means to be a Personal Assistant, but just
remember, Wendy Elisabeth, you will regret this. You will regret the fact that
you didn't take my offer... suit yourself. Enjoy your evening, while you can.'

After his
final words Jenner left the hallway, up to his room. He left a rather puzzled
rat behind.

Footsteps...
running. Wendy looked around, trying to find out where they came from. Her
heart started to beat faster, and her neck fur rose, thinking about Jenner.
Perhaps he forgot something, forgot to tell her something. To her relief she
saw it was Nanny.

‘Nanny, am
I glad to see you!' Wendy took a deep breath and smiled.
‘Wendy, Nicodemus wants to see you. It's important. He's in his office.'

Wendy went
up to Nicodemus's office. She opened one of the two large doors, after
knocking. ‘Come in my child,' Nicodemus said, and to her surprise she saw that
Justin was also in the room. She stepped forward.

Nicodemus
stood up from his chair and walked into Wendy's direction, with the help of a
large walking stick. He gently touched her right shoulder and said; ‘My child,
Justin and I have made a decision.'

‘Already,
even with the death of Jonathan and such?' Wendy asked, amazed by the quick
decision.

Wendy
Elisabeth took a deep breath and looked at the faces of the two rats. They were
serious, though friendly as ever, but always reserved. She was a bit surprised
about Justin's expression. They had been rather close today, but now he looked
at her as if she were a visitor. Polite, but very formal, very different from
what she saw this afternoon.

Nicodemus
smiled at her and said; ‘my child, we have thought about this a some time, and
we have come to a conclusion, a conclusion Justin and I have agreed on...'