Knight of Thieves

Chapter 3

“Could you please help me, young man?” called an elderly female voice. Kyler Dern recognized to whom it belonged in a moment. He sighed internally, wishing Gaius, the physician he was studying under, was here. Gaius always knew how to deal with Mrs. Deburc.

Kyler left his work station to greet the woman. “Mrs. Deburc. How lovely to see you again. What seems to be the trouble?” He smiled kindly to her.

“Are you pleased to see me here, feeling ill?” she demanded, her voice rising an octave in outrage. Nice going, Kyler, he thought. “Wipe that grin off of your face.” It took all of Kyler’s self-control to stop him from snapping at her. Last time she was here (three days prior), she admonished him for not smiling enough. “I know what you’re up to.” The grey-haired woman wagged her finger at him. “You selling me faulty products, aren’t you? You don’t want me well at all! You want me to stay ill! Well, you won’t be taking any more of my money!”

“Mrs. Deburc, we do everything in our power to help you feel better.” Mrs. Deburc scoffed.

Kyler wished there was a cure for her horrid personality.

“Where is Gaius?”

“He is helping deliver a baby. If you return this afternoon, he will be able to help you with whatever you need.”

Mrs. Deburc scoffed again. “And I’ll be sure to give him my thoughts on you, young man.” She stormed out of the room. I’m sure you will, he thought to himself wryly.

Kyler Dern did not have the luxury of going home for the summer. Instead, he spent the hot summer working in a building which did little to alleviate the hundred degree weather of the atmosphere.

Kyler wanted, more than anything in the world, to be a physician. He wanted to help people, wanted to take away another person’s pain and help them feel better. It was a dream he shared with his father when he was younger, who affirmed his choice of occupation while simultaneously mentioning it might never happen for him. This was the problem with Etrusca, Kyler surmised. He would never be able to live the life he wanted because of the law.

Last year, he received a letter from Gaius, the man he was now apprenticing under in Verlent, a city in Etrusca. He offered for Kyler to complete his apprenticeship under him, which Kyler wanted desperately. He could learn so much from Gaius, he could become a great physician like he always wanted.

Yet, he was supposed to appear the next day at squire training while his sister went to live with their grandmother in Central.

Kyler never wanted to be a knight. Growing up, he used to hope the war would magically end and he would be saved from having to appear at the castle on that dreaded day. As he grew older, the less this seemed like a viable option. Knight training was an inevitability. It was a giant wave crashing over him.

Emberly had always been the complete opposite.

She longed for adventure. Even as a child, she wanted to have a great, exciting life. As children, she forced Kyler to reenact the fabled stories of knights and dragons. She was always the knight, leaving Kyler to be the villainous creature she had to protect the world from.

All her life, she believed it was unfair that women were not permitted to serve as one of the king’s knights. But all his life, Kyler knew she was a better candidate for knighthood than he ever would be.

Perhaps this was one of the reasons Kyler did not protest when she suggested they switch places. He wanted the life in Verlent, which was being offered to him, and Emberly was finally able to do something she was suited for. It was a perfect trade.

Kyler loved Verlent. There was something in the atmosphere of the place which appealed to him. Except for Central, Verlent was the largest city in all of Etrusca. There were many people who desperately needed Gaius and Kyler’s help. For the first time in his entire life, Kyler genuinely believed he was doing good in the world.

He supposed he owed a large part of his desire to help people to his father. The Earl of Northem always went out of his way to lend aid to the poor people in his vicinity. During the Winter Festival, he celebrated with the small village near Northem, causing Kyler and Emberly to interact with the lowly and destitute even from a young age. This was a characteristic seen in only a few noblemen and women, much less earls, who held higher status in court than even barons and counts.

The Earl of Northem was unlike any other nobleman and he was Kyler’s father, something he would never stop being grateful for.

It was strange to not be home for the summer. Kyler imagined what Northem was like right now, his imagination so vivid it was as though he were standing there now. Emberly, half-way through the summer, overwrought with cabin fever, would disappear into the forest for hours at a time. Father, naturally, would send the guards in after her, wanting her to be safe even though she could protect herself. Maria, on the other hand, would tsk about it all, claiming that Emberly was just ruining another dress. “It is unbecoming,” Maria, their governess used to say, “for a young lady to frolic around the forest.”

“Maria,” Emberly would complain in exasperation. “I do not frolic. I run.” Maria would roll her eyes and mumble something about how those were the same thing.

Nostalgia hit Kyler like a large box falling on top of him. He loved the summer in Northem Manor. And he hated his budding love for Verlent. Verlent could never be his true home, that place in his heart was reserved for Northem.

The remedy for his nostalgia and longing came in the form of a letter every week from his sister. She spent the summer telling him all the news of Northem, giving him humorous tales of his childhood home. In one letter, she described how the local baker was in love with Maria. Emberly urged their old governess to pursue the union if she desired. There was no child left at Northem and, while it had not yet been addressed, Maria’s job was essentially obsolete now. After this conversation, their father hired Maria as the Head Housekeeper, ensuring the staff would work effectively and efficiently, a job she had been doing for almost a year now without recognition. Even the earl was not ready to lose Maria.

She did accept the baker’s proposal, wrote Emberly. But she’s still going to work at the manor. The baker’s pretty thankful for that. Apparently, he likes the idea of having two incomes.

In addition to the letters Kyler received from Emberly, he continued to receive letters, almost every other day now, from Olivia Heczah.

Kyler would be eternally grateful to Emberly for bringing himself and Olivia together. He had been in love with the woman since he met her when they were six. She was the daughter of a count and lived in Central, near the castle. One of her brothers was a squire, a knight in training, in the same year as Emberly. James Heczah despised Kyler for past wrongs, but he was powerless to stop the relationship between Olivia and Kyler.

The relationship started a few weeks before the last Winter Festival. Olivia was walking around Central, not noticing the wild horse which careened towards her. Emberly, dressed as Squire Kyler at the time, rushed out and saved Olivia. Olivia, then, approached the real Kyler during the Winter Festival. Since then, their relationship only grew. Sometimes, Kyler wondered what Olivia would do if she learned the truth. After all, she fell for him because “he” saved her from the wild horse. Would she reject him if she learned it was really Emberly who saved her? Would she tell all the nobles their secret, the secret which would assuredly see them hanged?

Gaius entered the small apothecary shop. He had deep, dark circles under his eyes from having been called on for help late in the evening. “I met the messenger on the way,” said the man, dropping a letter in front of Kyler. With a huff, Gaius left Kyler alone, walking up the steps to his room upstairs to rest.

Instantly, Kyler grabbed the letter, recognizing Olivia’s handwriting. He tore the letter open, his eyes eagerly flickering across the words.

My dearest Kyler,

I cannot express my joy at the summer coming to a close. I am thrilled at the thought of you returning to the castle in a few short days. You must promise to come see me once you have settled.

My brother spent the whole summer trying to poison me against you. Do not worry, all of his attempts are in vain. As I have said countless times, my heart is yours. It will always belong to you. Each moment without you is a torture of its own. I long for the days when I will be with you again.

I’m sorry to say, I have troubling news for you. My father and mother, my older brothers as well, have expressed concerns over our courtship. They believe we are too young for this attachment to one another. They believe we are wrong for each other, to be perfectly candid. James claimed you will not survive the war and I should turn my attention to those who are worthy of it, namely Prince William. I do not understand their disdain for you.

Perhaps you are right that you should not come to see me too much during your time in Central. Perhaps it will be better this way. That is until my family warms to the idea. You must understand, my darling, I want to see you. I want to feel your lips against mine. I want you to hold me the way you did at the Winter Festival. Perhaps I am being selfish. It would be better to listen to my parents now so that they listen to us later.

And, my dear, I expect a “later” with you. I expect you to give me the life you are always promising me. Darling, I want it. Please do not disappoint me.

I do not care if we live our lives in destitution, as long as we are together, I will be happy.

Remember, dear, you have my heart. You own it, it is in the palm of your hand. Please give me a good return for it.

I want no one else, only you.

I love you.

Yours forever,

Olivia

Kyler read the letter through twice, committing it to memory. Then, he put it in a small box on his desk, the box which contained every letter she had sent to him. Then, he drew a piece of parchment, writing a return to her letter.

Dear Olivia,

I promise you, you can trust me with your heart. Receiving your letters is truly the best part of my day. Though they do not feel like much, they are all we have right now. One day, we will never have to send these letters again. One day, we will be together and we will look back at this time with fondness. But for now, my love, these letters are enough.

I am sorry to hear of the concerns your family has over us being together. I suppose all of this has moved rather quickly and we do not know what will happen when I go to war. Perhaps I should keep my distance until the right time. It will not be forever, my love, I promise you. I want to marry you one day. For this to happen, the animosity between myself and your family must end. They must believe I can care for you. (And if they bring up Prince William again, remind them he is completely enamored with my sister, Emberly.)

Darling, I must agree with you that this summer has flown by. I hope these months pass quickly so that we may be officially reunited at the Winter Festival. It seems like a thousand years until then, but let us hope it passes swiftly.

And now, my love, let me reassure you that your heart is safe with me. I love you more than anything in the world, my Olivia. I want us to spend the rest of our lives together. Please believe that these are not empty words and I will prove this to you one day.

I love you, Olivia. I want no one else, only you forever.

Always,

Kyler

Kyler sealed the letter, placing it on his small desk.

For a moment, he stared at the letter, itching to rewrite it, telling her the truth he had never wanted to keep from her. It was getting harder and harder for him to refrain from explaining what he and Emberly had done. It was the knowledge he had to protect his sister that stopped him every time.

One day, though, he might slip and reveal it all to Olivia Heczah.