Once again, he looked at the figure before him. Clearly a strong, sturdy girl- and she was still pretty much a girl- but making a real effort to look as small as she could. Big brown eyes and a surprising amount of green fay markings peered out from under the hood of a scruffy brown cloak that had seen better days, with the tunic beneath it little neater and too big for her in all the wrong places. She bounced almost imperceptibly in her chair, shifting from foot to foot in boots that, again, looked as if they'd been made for someone else. And it had been raining, which really didn't help matters. Royce also couldn't help but notice that her eyes darted around the room, as if looking for exits- or valuables- but he sat on his suspicions for now.
"What can I do for you?" Joy would always remember years later just how warm and calming his voice had sounded.
"Um." She hesitated. "I..."
The bouncing intensified and became a whole lot more nervous-looking. Royce poured a glass of water and put it in front of her. She didn't touch it, but the gesture seemed to calm her a little.
Then abruptly she pulled a small gilded statuette of Dragon out from seemingly nowhere and placed it on the desk. Royce blinked once in surprised recognition but had no time to say anything before the words came tumbling out.
"My name's Joy and someone paid me to steal this from you I think she just wanted the emeralds in the eyes, they're really good ones, so I did but this might sound weird I think it's talking to me and I should probably stop doing, y'know, crime but there's going to be some people looking for me and I didn't know what else to do so I came here and..."
Royce sat back in his chair and took a deep breath. The statuette had gone missing a couple of days ago, but everyone had assumed it had been taken for cleaning because nobody could have got in without being caught. Except apparently someone had.
He ran a hand over the statuette. No spirit in it- at least, not at the moment, though stranger things had happened- and keeping his voice carefully level asked "What is it that it said to you, Joy?"
"It said that I could grow and change and be so much more than I am and my talents were going to waste on petty crime and I could have taken that as encouragement to go bigger but something stopped me and I took a walk to try to clear my head and I could see the lanterns on in here and it just felt so... y'know... right?"
Royce had heard that before too, but this one sounded actually sincere.
Joy finally picked up the water and drank it.
"Um. Could I possibly trouble you for some food since I'm hungry and whatever happens next I ain't getting paid for that statue now am I?"
Royce glanced at the clock.
"Dinner will be served in the refectory shortly," he said. "I would be delighted to have you join me as I think we have a lot to talk about."
"So what is it that you actually... do?"
"I notice things."
"Do go on?"
"I hear people talking about things and put two and two together. I smile at people and they don't know to keep their mouths closed and then someone pays me for information. I see holes in guard rotas. I read very fast- by the way, the roofer whose bill is on your desk is trying to scam you for an extra twenty silver- and I can have a seal off a letter in one piece in ten seconds and then back on again when I've read it." She paused. "Also I could have your eye out with this butter knife before you knew about it but that's just self defence."
Royce looked faintly alarmed. Joy put the knife down again. He relaxed.
"I don't normally do the actual stealing myself but the money was just too good for this one."
"And you gave it back anyway."
"Yes. I said, it all just felt right. Apart from how there's going to be some upset people coming to find me quite soon and I'd rather be in one piece and er with a roof over my head if you say maybe want some kind of help improving your security and would be prepared to pay for that with bed and board while I do it..."
Royce felt one of those moments approaching where a decision might turn out to be more momentous than you'd think at first. Joy looked like someone who would go far with a strong foundation to build a life from, and he could provide that. He decided to take the risk.
"Done. And Brother Marc who writes the Parish Recorder is getting on a bit and looking for an apprentice who. Well. Notices things. If you felt like staying longer."
This time it was Joy's turn to take that step into the unknown. But it really did feel right.
"I'm in."
Eight Years Later
Abbot Royce, now a lot more confident in his position of leadership, looked across his desk at the scruffy young man in front of him who had just confessed to several things the Town Watch would have really liked to hear about first.
"Ah," he said, folding his hands in his lap. "I think you might benefit from Sister Joy's rather unique skillset in discussion of your reformation that I am sure is coming."
The world turned.