Knight of Thieves

Chapter 11

Bong. Bong. Bong.

Emberly snapped awake, fear exploding in her as she knew exactly what this meant. Her heart pounded as she stumbled off of her bed, racing to Kyra’s room. “Kyra!” she shouted. No answer. She fumbled around the room, but Kyra was nowhere to be seen.

Emberly’s heart threatened to burst out of her chest. Where was Kyra? The castle was under attack. Had something happened to her?

Bong. Bong. Bong.

Quickly, Emberly threw on her training uniform and boots.

Following protocol, Emberly ran out of her room and into the hall. Will emerged from his own room, rubbing his eyes tiredly. His uniform was askew, as though he had dressed quickly like her. Without stopping to think about her actions, Emberly grabbed the prince’s arm and proceeded to pull him towards the stairs. “What’s going on?” Will wanted to know, still not fully awake, not fully understanding what the bells had signified.

Cyrans were attacking the castle.

When they reached the stairs, an arrow flew by them. This snapped Will out of his reverie and he stepped between Emberly and the Cyrans taking the stairs towards them. Panic filled Emberly. She had nothing. No weapons, nothing she could use to protect the prince. She pulled him back, away from the attack.

An arrow sailed past Emberly’s ear. She turned around to find James holding up a bow and arrow. “Go,” he urged, tossing a knife to her. “Take the back stairs. Get him to safety. We’ll hold off the Cyrans.” Behind him stood every squire, ready to protect their prince.

Emberly grasped Will’s arm, dragging him through the crowd of boys, back down the squire’s hall.

She knew little of the back staircase, only that it was primarily used by servants. It had to be their best bet now. She knew where the safe room was. They had to get there before the Cyrans blocked their path once more.

As they descended the stairs, Emberly in front, she clutched the knife James gave her. She barely knew how to use the weapon, but, if it came down to it, she would have to do everything in her power to ensure Will lived. That was her one objective: protect the future King of Etrusca.

The servants’ hallways were crowded with hundreds of panicking servants. They let the prince and squire pass by, generally unnoticed, as they tried to find their own way out of the castle. Someone should have prepared them for this, Emberly thought. Someone should have told them what to do.

She wanted to stop and help them. But she had to protect the prince. He was her priority right now.

Still, as they ran, she kept an eye out for Kyra, wanting to ensure the girl was okay.

Finally, they descended the stairs, bounding down them, racing to the dungeons to the safe room at the bottom level. Once they reached the room, Emberly pushed the prince into the room, grabbed a lantern hanging on the wall outside, and locked the door behind them.

Holding up the light, she looked around the room around them. It was a room with a large table in the center. Around the table stood six chairs. Emberly deflated a little.

“This isn’t the safe room,” Will said, taking it in. “It might be a safe room, but it’s not the one we’re supposed to be in.”

“You could have spoken up at any point. The servants’ stairs confused me!”

“Well, regardless, we’re stuck here now.” She took the chairs and put them in front of the door, barricading them in. Hopefully, this would be enough protection.

Will slid down the far wall, sitting on the dirty floor, leaning against the wall behind him.

The weight of the situation fell on Emberly. Here, she was trapped with Prince William, the very person she still had feelings for. He refused. He refused to mention whether he still cared for her or not. Apparently, his letters to her were all but a distant memory.

She sat down beside him. She wanted to tell him that nothing had changed for her, that she still liked him. But she was afraid. If she said those words aloud, she would never be able to take them back.

Instead, she turned her attention to the Cyrans. How did they manage to infiltrate the castle? It must have been a small number of Cyrans, she realized, as an army would have been spotted long before now. The Cyrans must have come in a small, elite team to…to do what?

She glanced at Will. The Cyrans entered the squires’ wing for a reason. They must have been after Will. Had they wanted to kill the king, they would have been on the other side of the castle. The squires’ wing was not overly opulent, it had nothing overly attractive to it. The Cyrans would have realized their error and quickly recanted their steps.

Unless that was where they wanted to be.

Kill the prince and the future of Etrusca would fall to ruin. The Cyrans would have no trouble seizing the throne after that.

But how did the Cyrans know where to find Will?

Her mind fell to what Benedick told her. Someone in Etrusca was selling secrets to the Cyrans. They must have given the Cyrans a map of the castle or pointed them in the right direction somehow. She suddenly hoped Ben would find the criminal as soon as possible.

She thought back to the stairwell. She only had a moment but saw one of the Cyrans’ faces. He had dark hair, a mean face and eyes. He genuinely looked like he was enjoying this. She thought about the way the man sent an arrow flying towards Will and herself. Will pushed himself in front of her, shielding her from the attack.

Anger filled her suddenly.

“Do you think I’m weak?” she said, surprising Will by the anger in her voice.

“N-no, I—“ he stuttered.

“Then, why did you shield me from the Cyrans’ attack? My job is to protect you!”

“You’re a lot shorter than me,” Will teased, “I think they’d just shoot over your head.”

“You think I’m weak because I’m a woman, don’t you?”

His light smile disappeared. “Em—“

“That’s it, isn’t it? It’s because you know now. Last year, you had no trouble trusting I could do this on my own. But now? You go early on me when we’re sparring, you protect me when your life is far more valuable — you don’t think I can do this, do you? You just see me as a helpless woman!”

Will was silent for a moment as he took in her words, and Emberly knew she had struck a chord. Will was treating her differently this year, whether he realized it or not. He was afraid he would hurt her. He saw her now as he saw the other ladies of the court, helpless women who could not do anything. And Emberly refused to be seen that way. She was strong.

“I will admit,” he said, “that I have been treating you differently since I learned your secret. I’m not sure if it was intentional.” His voice was soft, his words calculated. “I feel like I need to protect you. I know you’re strong, stronger than I am. B-but don’t say that my life means more than yours. I-I’m just a prince, but you, Emberly Dern, you are everything.” At his words, her breath caught in her throat. His cheeks turned slightly red at the admission. “Don’t look at me like that. You know I care for you.”

“I-I was afraid you’d stop,” she said. He frowned.

“How could you think that?” he asked. “I’ve never hid the fact that I fancy you.”

“But you never said—“ she started, “—after...I-I told you the truth.”

“I was embarrassed,” he said, “but I never stopped fancying you. I’m not sure I could.”

She leaned towards him and pressed her lips to his. He kissed her back ardently, pulling her closer to him. And all though, everything, left her mind as she enjoyed the long awaited kiss between them.

Eventually, she pulled away, needing to breathe, preying her forehead against his. A smile appeared on her lips. He never stopped liking her. He thought she meant far more than he, as the crown prince, did. No wonder he went to protect her. She was his everything.

Her smile was mirrored on Will’s face as he looked at her. Then, gently, he reached into her auburn hair and unclipped her band, causing the long locks to fall down past her shoulders. He ran his hand through it, a smitten expression plastered to his features.

“I think we keep complicating things,” he said, pressing a kiss on her cheek.

“It makes life more fun,” she said.

“You’re beautiful, Emberly Dern. You know that?”

“I look just like Kyler,” she pointed out. He shook his head.

“I’m starting to recognize the differences. And, for future reference, please do not mention your brother when I’m kissing you.” For future reference, the words solidified in Emberly’s mind. For future reference. There was going to be a future. Her heart pounded against her chest at the thought.

“What differences?” she asked.

“Well, you have more freckles. You’re stronger, but you’ve been in training for a year, so that’s not surprising. And the way you hold yourself is different, you have a spirit about you.”

“Spent a long time staring at Kyler, have you?” she said. He smiled at the joke.

“Spent a long time staring at you,” he countered, kissing her once more. She threw her arms around his neck, kissing him fervently. She would never tire of this, she was certain. When he pulled away, a serious expression stole the cheeriness away. “And I went to see him this summer.”

“Kyler?” She was confused. Why had neither of them mentioned this to her before? Will nodded.

“I wanted to see the kind of man who let his sister go off to war for him.” Emberly opened her mouth to protest, but Will kept going. “I did not know it had been your idea or that you practically forced him into it. And, well, I suppose you are better suited for training than he is.”

“I could have told you that,” she said.

“I’m sorry for doubting you. I’m sorry for how I reacted. I just did not understand at the time.” He gently caressed her face. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too.”

They sat together for hours talking and, when talking became boring, they kissed. After the second hour, Emberly laid her head on his shoulder. He told her about his sisters, whom he loved with his whole heart. She returned with stories about growing up with Kyler.

Every now and then, there would be a loud bang and Emberly would jump to her feet, ready to defend her prince.

They were in the room for five hours when they heard a noise at the door. Emberly quickly bound her hair, knowing the Cyrans would not have a key to the door. And when the door opened, James and Rormir were there, looking exhausted and weary. “Told you they took a wrong turn,” Rormir smirked.

Emberly and Will helped clear away the chairs so they could get through. “We’ve been looking for you for two hours,” James said to them, taking his knife from Emberly. “The king and queen think the Cyrans kidnapped you, which is utterly ridiculous since we killed them all.”

“I had better go clear that for you,” Will said. He winked at Emberly before he swept out of the room.

Emberly turned back to Rormir and James, wanting to know the full details of what happened. Apparently, a letter was sent to the castle warning them that Cyrans had gotten through the border and were heading towards the castle. Because of the letter, the castle was prepared when the Cyrans appeared. However, the guards expected the Cyrans would race towards the king, not the squires’ wing.

Thankfully, with the alarm bell, the squires were able to hold back the attackers. The guards captured a few of the Cyrans, killing the majority. Only one had gotten away. And not one of the squires were seriously injured.

“Who sent the letter?” Emberly said. A smirk appeared on James’ features.

“Benedick Torpe.”