Knight of Thieves

Chapter 17

After James walked Emberly to her grandmother’s, she decided to visit her grandmother while Kyra returned to the castle. Up until this point, Emberly had procrastinated a meeting with her grandmother, a hard, old woman. Emberly adored her grandmother, but the woman had a habit of being overly critical about everything. Going to see the woman was now more of a chore than the friendly visit it once had been.

Emberly’s grandmother was a traditional woman who grew up with noble blood but acted as though she were the emperor of all. She had this uncanny ability to be right all the time, even when she was young. She believed her opinion was the only true opinion in the world.

She was a greying woman of seventy, who wore her age as a badge of honor, letting everyone know how wise she was. She knew each of the monarchs in her lifetime. She had, at one point in her life, been a lady-in-waiting to the king’s mother.

Emberly held her grandmother in high esteem. The woman was strong in her own way. Unfortunately, the two of them had many different opinions on things. The old mistress of Northem would have had a heart attack if she learned the truth about Emberly and Kyler. Women were not supposed to fight in battle. That duty was left to the men.

“Lady Emberly, ma’am,” said a serving girl as Emberly entered the drawing room where her grandmother was seated.

“Hello, Grandmother,” said Emberly as she strode forward, placing a gentle kiss on the woman’s cheek, and sat down across from the old woman.

“Do not slouch, Emberly. And what sort of time do you call this? It’s nearly time for dinner. Honestly, I thought Cousin Isabelle was teaching you manners.”

“It’s hardly even tea time,” said Emberly, it was still hours before dinner, her grandmother was making a big deal out of nothing. Still, like a dutiful granddaughter, Emberly straightened her posture.

“Now, tell me about your time at the castle. How is Cousin Isabelle?”

“She is well, Grandmother,” said Emberly. Their cousin was one of the queen’s ladies-in-waiting. She was close to the queen, having been good friends since childhood.

“You must tell her to come and see me sometime.”

“I will mention it.”

“I am glad your father chose to send you to her for another year. You are too crass. Isabelle will hopefully make a polite lady out of you.”

A servant, a small and skittish girl, came bustling into the room, carrying a tray of tea in her hands. She set it down on the small table by Emberly’s grandmother’s side. The older woman poured the tea into two teacups, handing one to Emberly when she finished.

Emberly sipped at the hot liquid, determined to keep her back straight as she did. Her grandmother always seemed to notice the moment she faltered in her posture. The tea itself was extremely hot, burning Emberly’s tongue at first touch.

“I have heard good things of your brother,” began the older woman after a long sip of her tea. She savored the flavor as though it were the last cup of tea she would ever have. “He seems to be doing well in his year. I think we were all surprised when he passed his first year.”

Emberly raised an eyebrow. Who was this “we” her grandmother alluded to? And did she really think so poorly of Kyler? “He works hard,” Emberly said, pushing her anger and annoyance away.

“Yes. Though, if you ask me, he is a fool. He was too obvious in his attachment to the Heczah girl. Now, as I have learned, he is pursuing an attachment to Princess Rosaline. He is only going to open himself up to gossip and rumors.”

“Kyler loves Olivia Heczah,” said Emberly. “He was only talking to Princess Rosaline.” Her grandmother grunted in disbelief. The grunt, of course, was an elegant and lady-like grunt.

“Perhaps he should pursue the princess. There could be no better match for him.”

“Kyler would turn down a thousand princesses to be with Olivia. He is going to marry her one day, I know it.”

“Well, one attachment to a royal is enough, I suppose,” conceded her grandmother. Emberly’s cheeks reddened at the implication. Her granddaughter’s embarrassment only seemed to spur the old lady on. “The whole court knows he has been writing to you. You cannot do better than a future king, Emberly. You must not do anything which would cause the prince to sever ties with you.”

“Grandmother,” pleaded Emberly, “please, Prince William has never even spoken to me about marriage. We are still so young, I doubt he will for a long time.”

“It will be a scandal if he does not make you an offer,” said the old woman, her traditional values pouring into her speech. But, truthfully, Emberly never considered marrying Will. She knew it was a possibility, but she did not want that yet. She wanted to serve her term in the war, she wanted to work hard and her own life. The rest would take care of itself. “Now,” continued the woman, “tell me of your father. What has he decided?”

“What do you mean?” Emberly asked, confused by the turn in the conversation.

“He has not told you? Your father has decided to return to the war. Sir Roland received the letter a month ago.”

Emberly said nothing, her surprise filled every bit of her. Her father wanted to go back to war? He hated it, thought the war was asinine and obliterated the lives of good people. Why did he want to go back?

It was well after dinner when Emberly finally managed to make it to the stables. She gave a smile to Stefan before making her way to Feste’s stall. The horse grunted when he saw her, shifting on his legs. He glared at her, letting Emberly know how petulant he was feeling.

Not to be deterred by a horse, Emberly grabbed a brush and proceeded to brush Feste’s mane. She could practically hear his grumbling thoughts, but she did not care. She just had to win him over again. She stayed with Feste for an hour, commenting to him how much he meant to her and how sorry she was that she started prioritizing training over caring for him. This seemed to appease the horse somewhat.

Suddenly, an arm flew on her shoulders, causing Emberly to jump a little, startled by the intrusion. She turned to meet the world’s most amazing eyes. Her surprise fell to happiness. She granted Will a pleased smile. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere. We missed you at Bandello’s.” She raised an eyebrow, causing Will to chuckle and add, “Alright, I missed you. And Ben asked after you. I think he’s afraid we’re going to leave you in the middle of nowhere again.”

“I went to see Olivia. And then my grandmother. And then I came back here.” A cloud of worry and sorrow passed over her. She transformed into a sad, apathetic person.

Will frowned. “What’s wrong, Em? Did something happen?” Emberly shrugged. She put the brush away, effectively ending her time with Feste.

“I’m just not feeling myself right now,” she said. “I-I learned at my grandmother’s that my father is going to return to the war.”

Will wrapped his arms around her, tucking her close to his side. This was the only way he knew how to comfort her and it was, really, this was the only way she wanted to be comforted right now. He gently kissed her forehead and Emberly felt safe. She felt protected.

A throat cleared behind Will.

Will and Emberly glanced back to find Kyra starting at them, her arms crossed in disapproval. In one of her hands was a piece of parchment. She held the letter up, saying, “It’s from your brother. But I’m not going to give it to you until you promise that this will not be repeated.”

“Kyra—“

“Emberly, if you don’t want people to know your secret, you have to act as though you’re not hiding anything. You’re lucky it was just me who walked in. It could have been Stefan, Danvon, Easton, or the multitude of people who work and live here. If you must do that, confine it to the closed doors of your rooms.”

Emberly nodded. “You’re right. We’ll be more careful.” Kyra looked at Will, waiting with an expectant look.

“We’ll keep it better hidden,” promised Will.

“Good.” Kyra held the letter out to Emberly, who took it excitedly. She tore open the letter, excited and ready to see what her brother had to say. She would have to write back to him soon and explain she told Olivia everything. She had a feeling, though, this would not be a problem.

“C’mon,” said Will, “we can go to my room where we won’t be disturbed.” They walked in companionable silence, Emberly reading her brother’s words as she walked as though this was safe and good practice. (Will was forced to guide her by her shoulders periodically to ensure she didn't run into anything.)

They reached Will’s room in little to no time at all. He opened the door for her, swiftly closing it behind her. The room was clearly more lavish than Emberly’s. It was larger and even contained a desk twice the size of Emberly’s. And the bed itself seemed to fill the whole room. Emberly strode to the desk and sat down on the chair.

“What does your brother say?” asked Will, his voice conversational.

“He wants me to talk to Olivia for him. And he wants to know about her attacking me in the marketplace last week.” She put the letter down on Will’s desk. “You trust Olivia, right?”

“Of course,” Will said, no hesitation evident in his voice.

“Then I think I did the right thing. I told her the truth this morning. She knows Kyler is really in Verlent.” She paused for a moment. “You don’t think she’ll tell James, do you?”

Will shook his head. “Keeping secrets from her family is Olivia’s favorite pastime. She won’t tell him anything.”

“Good,” concluded Emberly. She trusted Will’s judgment. And really, Olivia deserved to know the truth.

Will held a hand out to her. Grinning, she took it, letting him lead her to a more comfortable area of the room. And together, they let the worries of the world disappear, finishing what had already begun in the stables.

The next morning, Emberly was smiling as she walked down the corridors of the castle. This kind of happiness had to be acutely them. She could not believe anyone would ever fight if they knew or understood the supreme euphoria she and Will seemed to have.

Of course, because irony was a tool the gods used to play pranks on people, out of nowhere, Emberly was suddenly pushed aside, forced into the corridor wall forcefully and violently. Her breathing was hindered by an arm forcefully pressing down on her throat.

“You’re going to pay for what you’ve done, Dern,” spat the familiar voice.

“What...?” she gasped out, struggling against James’s hold. He was much stronger than her and would certainly sustain the current position, much to her disdain.

“Don’t pretend you don’t know!” he barked. “Everyone’s talking about you and Rosaline! How could you do that to my sister?”

She gasped for breath. James, loosening his hold a little, giving her the air she needed. Emberly seized the opportunity to thrash against his hold, pushing him away from her. “Why can’t you ever just have a rational conversation?”

Her words were fuel for his anger. Recalling the little hand-to-hand combat they learned, James flew forward, sending a wild punch directly at Emberly’s face. The girl ducked away from the blow, crouching down to land a blow to his abdomen.

James, not to be deterred, lunged forward once more, this time succeeding in knocking Emberly to the ground. She rolled out of the way before James could pin her to the spot. Rolling quickly away, and unfortunately straight into the feet of someone else. Well, a foot and a wooden leg.

Emberly leapt to her feet as James lowered his fists. Sir Wylan looked unamused by their fight. “You’ll be doing the dishes this week,” he said without preamble. “It seems Anson will have a break.” With that, Sir Wylan turned and walked away.

James glared at Emberly as he followed Sir Wylan out of the corridor.

Emberly’s good mood was effectively ruined.

She turned from her current course, returning to her room. Kyra was there, her eyes on the fabric before her, a frown decorating her features. She looked up and her eyes met Emberly’s. “I’m going to Bandello’s,” said Emberly, “would you like to come?”

“I’m so very busy right now, Emberly,” said Kyra. And while she was working on the dress, her tone was filled with sarcasm and she immediately dropped the fabric and stood up. The girls smirked at one another before Kyra conceded, hopping off of the bed. Emberly, in turn, fixed her hair, ensuring it looked perfect after her scuffle with James. She stared at herself for a long minute. Then, she unbounded her hair.

“Let’s go as ourselves,” Emberly said. Kyra’s smile at that was blinding.

“Finally,” the girl said, moving into her own room to change out of the boy’s clothes.

Once they looked like themselves dressed in fashionable clothes for women their age, Kyra was less so because of her low status. They began the trek into the town. As they walked, Emberly explained, rather petulantly, what happened between herself and James Heczah. Kyra found it endlessly hilarious that Emberly absentmindedly created a rumor that Kyler and Rosaline were more than they were. She just wanted to make a friend and caused, instead, a castle-wide scandal.

“Maybe you should just stop talking to people,” suggested Kyra, her brown eyes dancing in humor.

“That would just start the rumor that Kyler’s mute.”

“I don’t see a downside to this.”

They reached Bandello’s, entering and ignoring the news stares sent their way. Bandello’s was not exactly the most reputable establishment. No woman of Emberly’s station would be seen there. So, when the earl’s daughter entered the tavern, the inhabitants had to stop and stare.

“They’re in the back,” said a voice, rising above the others. Emberly recognized the voice as Nerissa’s. Knowing the message was for her and Kyra, Emberly marched to the back of the tavern, where she found Benedick sitting at a table, cards firmly in his hands.

A large smile passed his lips when Benedick saw Emberly striding towards them. He rose, like a gentleman, to his feet, giving her a small bow. For half a second, Emberly forgot she was surrounded by the Court of Thieves. Benedick’s mannerisms were wholly nobility, where she answered with the appropriate curtsy. When she came back to herself, she wondered where Ben had learned the rules of polite society.

Before she could ask, Benedick turned to the table he was gambling at. “Gentlemen,” he said, “this is Lady Emberly and her servant, Miss Kyra Cooper. They will be joining our game.”

Emberly took in the table for the first time. She knew a few of the game members already; Antonio, Rowan, and Arran among them. However, she did not know the two men at the end of the table. One of the men was tall, towering over the men at the table even while he was seated there. The other man had a determined look on his face, the kind of menacing look one would find in a bandit. They were probably a part of the Court of Thieves.

Arran, standing up, acquired two extra chairs for Emberly and Kyra. He placed Kyra’s chair distinctly beside his own. Kyra rolled her eyes before sitting down beside the boy. The other chair was placed between Rowan and Benedick.

“This isn’t a game for girls,” said one of the men on Benedick’s left.

“They are joining,” said Ben, his voice rising, taking on a superior tone. The men had no choice but to obey Ben’s words. “Em, this is Tall Tim,” gesturing to the shorter man, “and Tinny Timothy,” he pointed to the taller man. Emberly raised an eyebrow, but Ben waved a dismissive hand as though no explanation was needed.

“Alright,” said Tall Tim. He drew all the cards for himself and began shuffling them, dealing the next round so that Emberly and Kyra were included.

Emberly knew how to play the game. She and her brother often played it when they were younger. She was never very good at it, nothing compared to Kyra. She could hold her own.

The first round knocked Rowan and Tinny Timothy out of the game. The next round, Emberly folded, opting out of the game as her cards were horrendous. Kyra, though, lasted until the final round, winning the game.

She had a triumphant smile as the table handed her the amount of coins they gambled with.

“You’re good at this,” said Arran casually. Emberly watched them with amusement. Kyra would not be swayed by flattery. She liked things that were real.

Kyra, at her place at the table, was having a hard time keeping up her walls around Arran. She simply did not know how to act around him. The words in his letter still echoed through her mind and, for the life of her, she could not decide whether to respond to him or not.

While Arran was unaware of it, the fact was, Kyra knew Arran quite well. She spent the last year getting to know him as Kyne, her male persona. She always found Arran to be extremely genuine and a hard-worker, despite his failings at training. She admired that about him. She was honored. Arran thought highly of her, he did not hold many people in that esteem.

But Kyra was tired of pining after a future with Stefan he was not pursuing. She could spend her life waiting for Stefan only to find he never cared for her the way she cared for him.

She wanted to be herself again. She wanted to run away from the gloomy haze she had been living in. And it wasn’t as if she was marrying Arran. They were just having fun. That could be enough for her.

“I’m good at most things,” Kyra said. The men around her smirked as though she were joking. “I’m not joking. Women are strong, but you all don’t believe that.”

“Kyra,” Emberly said in warning. If she let this continue unchecked, Kyra was going to start spouting all of her thoughts on society. Kyra threw her hands up in surrender.

“Another round?” asked Benedick.

“I’ll be done for now. I’m sure Kyra will want to play again. Taking money from others is her favorite pastime.”

“You understand me so well,” she said. She collected all of the cards and handed them to Tall Tim. “Deal them.”

“I’m out,” said Antonio. “I’m out of money as it is.” He stood up from the table, followed by Rowan.

“C’mon,” said Benedick to Emberly, holding a hand out to her. Emberl took it instantly, rising from the table. As they strode to an empty, small table away from her raucous of the tavern, Emberly took note of Benedick’s good mood. What happened that caused this happiness in him? He had been stressed for weeks about the Court. Clearly, something had driven that stress away.

Emberly sat down with Benedick and the two spent the rest of the day talking, the way friends do. She was so wrapped up in her conversation with Benedick she missed the way Arran seemed to light up when he talked to Kyra.