Part 4
Vin wasn't normally a talkative person, but he was having a hard time getting even a few words out of Ezra. The man was shut up tighter than a dungeon door. Vin didn't like it. Ezra had that look on his face he had a lot back when they were just getting to know him--like he was wary of them. Vin was just about to say something else to try and break the silence when Ezra beat him to it.
"Sir Vin. Vin. Have... Have I done something to offend everyone?"
"No! Why?"
"I often find you or the others deep in conversation. When I approach, you suddenly stop or shush each other. I can only assume that I am the topic of conversation. All of you have been either avoiding me or acting strangely around me of late. I can only conclude that I have done something wrong, but I have no idea what it is."
Vin sighed. Ezra seemed to think lots of things were his fault. "You haven't done anything wrong. Did anybody look or act angry at you?"
"Well...no."
"And you know why? Because we aren't." They should've known all their sneaking around would give Ezra the wrong idea. He'd come a long way since he first joined them, but he was still sensitive about things. "Look, Ezra. I'm not supposed to tell you--and I'm not going to tell you everything--but we've all been planning a surprise for you."
"A surprise? For me?"
"Just for you."
"A good surprise?"
The look on Ezra's face was downright heartbreaking. He looked shocked that someone would give him something nice. Vin wondered how many of them bad surprises Ezra had been hit with. "Yes."
"What is it?"
"I'm not telling."
"Please?"
"No."
"I won't tell anyone that you revealed the secret to me."
"I said no!"
Vin was starting to see what Viviane meant when she said Ez was still like a child in some ways. All the way home he begged Vin for information like a little boy begging for sweets. It would've been funny if it weren't driving Vin crazy.