Knight of Thieves

Chapter 4

On days like these, Prince William Orsino went to town. He left the moment his foot started tapping and his chest tightened with the knowledge that summer was quickly coming to an end. His father mentioned he went to town too often, but Will needed to get out of the castle.

Will was anxious to return to knight training. He wanted to be a good knight, wanted to prove himself, show the people their future king was not weak. But he was not an i***t. While his father claimed otherwise, Will did not fail to notice the posted guard who was with him at all hours of the day and night, who walked with him to Central and all through the town. Will wanted to be seen as strong, not the prince who had been abducted only a few months prior.

Sometimes, Will wondered what would have happened if he had not been standing with his back to the forest that day. If, instead, he and Arran had not run outside to help Kyler — Emberly — complete the Final Task. Clearly, the attackers were waiting for the right time to take Will. Would they have entered the castle at night and kidnap Will while the castle slept on? Would Emberly have known where to find him?

It was these thoughts that kept him up at night.

On some level, Will believed, the whole time, he was going to be rescued. He trusted his father and his friends would find him. While he was unable to escape due to the tight restraints the Cyrans tied around him, he was not afraid, he knew everything would work out the way it was supposed to.

When they returned, everything changed. Will believed Kyler was one of his best friends. And he would still believe that if he had only knocked. He should just have knocked. This knowledge played in his mind every day for the entire summer. What was he supposed to say to her? The person he considered to be one of his best friends was nothing more than a fraud, it was all just a massive deception. And on top of everything, she and her brother endeavored to break the most cardinal law of Etrusca, a law his grandfather had instituted.

When she finished her explanation, he just sat there, silent. A million questions swirled around his head but somehow he could not ask them. He felt betrayed, worse than he did when he was being beaten by those savage Cyrans who had kidnapped him. Emberly had been Kyler this whole time?

The longer he sat beside her, the more he felt like he was suffocating.

He mumbled something about having to be by himself to process the information and ran out of the room. He refused to speak to her before she left the castle for the summer. There were no words for her now, so he hid away to process the information.

At first, he was angry. The hate and disdain for his friend appeared during the first week of the summer. He hated her for lying to him, for leading him on and using him during the Winter Festival. His anger fell into his heart, poisoning him against her.

Twice, he almost told the truth about her to his parents. Emberly revealed the truth to him because he caught her, not because she trusted him. Besides, she and her brother were actively rebelling against the Throne of Etrusca and its divine laws. He was justified in telling the King of Etrusca of Emberly and Kyler Dern’s deception. She would be hanged for it, and why should he care about that?

But he did.

Emberly saved his life many times. She went out of her way to ensure he would be safe. Despite it all, the feelings he had during the Winter Festival still lingered somewhere in his heart. He could not be the one to send her to the gallows. He just could not do it.

It was around the time of this realization that the letters began to arrive. They were a weekly occurrence, which Will genuinely began to look forward to. He knew she was probably trying to ensure he would not tell her secret, but he did not care. A part of him hoped that there was more to these letters than that. He wished there was something more to their relationship than deception. He never opened the letters, though, afraid she would crush these hopes in an instant.

The anger dissolved into hurt.

She lied to him for months. More than that, she should have mentioned something when they were at the Winter Festival. She toyed with him that night. Didn’t she understand how much he cared for her?

It was when the bitterness set in that Will decided to seek out Benedick Torpe at Bandello’s Inn and Pub. It was crowded that Saturday, probably filled with Ben’s criminal friends.

“To what do I owe this unexpected visit?” asked Ben, sauntering over to Will. They sat at a small table, away from the loud crowds and rambunctious nature of the nearby group. For some reason, the people in attendance seemed agitated.

“Emberly told me the truth,” Will said without preamble.

“Yes, Kyler’s middle name is Emmett—“

“That’s not why you call her Em. I figured it out a while ago.”

Ben sighed. “You’re not going to turn her in, are you? I swear I’ll slit your throat while you’re asleep if you try to. I don’t care whose son you—“

“I’m not going to turn her in.” Will’s own words surprised him. Up until this moment, he had considered revealing it all, but now he understood he would never do that Emberly Dern. “I want to understand.” Benedick ran his fingers through his hair, mild annoyance seeping off of him. Ben still did not trust him, maybe he always would.

“What’s to understand? She’s protecting her brother. There’s nothing more to it than that. She’s strong, more so than you.” Will was silent for a time, unsure of how to proceed. As if knowing what he was thinking, Ben gave a loud, barking laugh. “I knew she was complicatin’ things when she brought you here. I know all about the letters you wrote her. She wouldn’t let me read ‘em. Her servant, Kyra, stole ‘em and read ‘em aloud here.”

Will frowned, the dark hue of his complexion saving him from the blush which would have surely surfaced at that statement. Those letters were for Emberly’s eyes only. Did these three laugh about what he had written? Was he just some joke to them? He cared for Emberly Dern, but it was becoming abundantly clear she was not worthy of his attentions.

“Em doesn’t know about it, of course,” said Ben, oblivious to Will’s inner turmoil. “She’d stab me if she did.” Benedick looked off in the far distance as though he were contemplating something extremely important. “She fancies you. She shouldn’t have complicated matters like she did, but anyone with working eyes can see she fancies you. That, my dear prince, is the only reason I let you in here when she brought you ‘round. I haven’t forgot what you did to her last year.”

“We thought she was Kyler,” said Will.

“How does that make it better?” Ben asked, his voice was sharp and his eyes were on Will, studying him. Will squirmed under his scrutiny.

“And you’ve got such great morality?” said Will, his voice more defensive than he wanted. “The Prince of Thieves.”

“I live by a code, Orsino. What do you live by? You left a defenseless squire in the middle of nowhere! That doesn’t make you strong, that makes it clear how much of a coward you are! You didn’t have the courage to do it in broad daylight.”

“You are nothing, Torpe,” Will said. The people around them started glancing over at them, wondering why these two gentlemen were yelling at one another. “You are nothing but a commoner who will end up in prison.”

“And you are nothing but a boy pretending to be a prince who will ultimately see his kingdom fall to the Cyrans.’

For a moment, they glared at one another. Is he right? Am I going to be the cause of Etrusca’s fall to the Cyrans? Benedick started laughing and held his hand out to Will.

“Emberly was wrong to bring the Prince of Etrusca to the den of thieves. I’m glad she did, though. You’re not too bad, Highness.”

“It’s Crown Prince of Etrusca, actually,” said Will, shaking Benedick’s hand.

Will went to see Ben often throughout the summer, on days much like today. Sometimes dragging James Heczah, his best friend, to Bandello’s with him. James did not care much for the atmosphere, but for the first time in his life, Will felt as though he were interacting with his people, seeing what life was really like for them. Perhaps rulers needed to understand thieves before judgment. All his life, Will was told that the thieves and robbers, the criminals of Etrusca, were only evil and wasteful men.

Now, Will learned the truth.

Many of the members of the Court of Thieves stole for themselves or their families who had nothing to eat. The Court of Thieves was a protection for those who could not defend themselves because of the law. It was a company, a family of sorts.

Of course, with these petty thieves came the evil and cruel men. Men like Benedick Torpe. The man protected the weak, but had a shiftiness about his eyes which proved he was up to no good. He was the prince in the Court of Thieves, he did things Will knew he would never inquire about for fear he might lose his ability to sleep. Besides, if it were something truly awful, he would have to tell his father about it. It was better to live in ignorance. Ben had a mischievous and masterful plan. The rest of the world were just spectators, waiting to see what he would do next.

And even still, Will was glad Ben was his friend.

Ben spent the summer trying to convince Will to write to Emberly or, at the very least, to read one of the letters she sent him.

Will filled his empty time with thoughts of Emberly. She was never far from him. He looked back at his first year of squire training, remembering the person who was Kyler to him. He trusted that person, they were friends. The more he considered the truth Emberly left with him, the more his friendship and view of Kyler collided with his relationship with Emberly.

With the coming of the new year in knight training, Will realized he wanted to have a great year, just like the first. And it had to begin with forgiving Emberly.

So, he did the one task he refrained from all summer: he wrote her a letter.

He asked Ben to help him find the words he had been trying to locate all summer. He had to get this right.

Dear Emberly,

I have decided to forgive you for keeping the truth from me. I don’t think I could ever turn you in to my father for the crime you are currently committing —

“Don’t say that,” admonished Benedick. “You want her to be your friend, not hate you for your thinly veiled insults.”

Into the trash went the first draft.

Dear Kyler/Emberly,

I would like to begin by laying to rest any fears you may have over me telling the truth to my father. I promise I will never do that. You have saved my life so many times. How could I repay you by seeing you hanged?

“So that’s why you’re doing this?” Ben said. “You’re only keeping her secret because she saved your life? That’s not a compliment, Will.” Will crumpled up the second draft, tossing it away from him. Ben, who had been pacing while Will wrote this letter, took the seat beside his friend and grabbed a piece of parchment himself. “I’ll show you how it’s done.”

My Darling, Dearest Emberly,

I still love you with all of my heart. Sure, I had a hard time realizing that the person who had become my best friend at training was the woman I'd already decided I’m going to spend the rest of my life with. It’s all right now, though. Benedick has helped me see the light. And you are the light of my life, my perfect angel. You are my everything. I can’t wait to see you again. The past months have been torture without you. I love you, Emberly—

Will successfully retrieved the parchment from Ben’s grasp and threw it into the nearby fire, still cringing from the words Benedick had written. He would never, in a million years, write anything so pathetic. Besides, Emberly would not like that kind of letter, one where it was filled with flowery language.

Emberly desired the truth and honesty.

That was what he needed to put into his letter.

Will grabbed another piece of parchment.

Dear Lady Emberly,

Ben is currently looking over my shoulder to make sure I get this letter right. I have spent a lot of time this summer with him. He told me to tell you he thinks I’m an i***t for not having read your letters before returning them to you. And I think he’s right. I’m sorry, Emberly, truly.

On one level, I’m glad Benedick knew the truth about you and Kyler. It gave me someone to talk to while I wrapped my head around this new knowledge. He’s right, you know. I should have just read your letters and I really should not have stomped away like a child when you explained everything to me only a few months ago.

I was never angry that you took your brother’s place. You must know that. I have met your brother and can easily understand why you would make a better fit for the position than him, even if it is against one of my father’s more explicit laws. Kyler will make a good physician and you will make a great knight. I was not angry you deceived everyone in the way you did.

“Yes, you were,” argued Benedick. “You were furious with her.”

“I was only angry she deceived me,” he said quietly to himself, taking a moment to pause his writing. All that time he spent pining after her and she was just a room away. For goodness’s sake, they shared a tent when Sir Wylan left them in the forest. He had told her, to her face, that he kept her letters. He had even brought them into the forest with him and read them in front of her. She deceived him. She embarrassed him.

“Then, tell her that,” Ben said. He stood up and walked away from the table, leaving Will to finish his letter in peace.

What angered me, Emberly, was the way you deceived me. I liked you when we spoke at the Winter Festival. And all those letters I sent to you when you were only next door. I feel foolish. How could you toy with my emotions like that? Did my favor towards you really mean that little? You have embarrassed me in ways that you cannot fully imagine or understand.

This is why I stomped away from you like a child. I felt embarrassed before you.

I do not know where I stand with you now. So, I think it would be best if I told you where you stand with me. I still want to be your friend, Emberly. Looking back, I feel horrid for how I treated you during our training together. I do not, however, regret those last few months that we were close. I hope this friendship will continue between us.

In addition, you can rest in the knowledge that I will never tell your secret to my father. You were (or are) my friend. I will never betray your trust in this manner.

I hope this letter finds you before you leave for our second year of knight training. If it does, then I will need to pluck up the courage to say this all to you myself.

Your friend,

Will Orsino

He laid his quill down, knowing this letter was enough.