The One Knight Stand

.: Trading Faces :.

02 | Trading Faces

"Hey, you're back!"

No sooner had Prince Bo stepped back in the dungeon did he hear Blue call out for him. He saw her shadow stand and approach the bars.

"Did you... you know... do the do?" She whispered conspiratorially.

The Prince grunted, hiding his smile. He forgot what it was like to be treated so...  casually. It was partially why he had no qualms lifting the only Dha in the locked storeroom and hiding it in the folds of his robe like it was no big deal.

Bo was so startled by the poor condition of the sword he was tempted to purchase a new one in it's place, but he merely passed the Dha off to a trusted page with the instructions to go into the village and hand it off to Blue's family, posthaste.

Blue's smile was brilliant. "Awesome. Appreciate it. Where'd you put it? You give it to Red?"

Xao, the obedient servant, said he met a black man with fiery crimson hair at the address he gave, so Bo could only imagine this was the Red she meant.

Prince Bo grunted and stood in his comfortable corner beside the divider.

"You're a good man, guard guy. You're helping the little people out, big time. I've tried before, but, it didn't work out too well for me, as you know."

Blue rattled her cage with a self deprecating laugh.

"My dumb ass stole the crown jewels and tried to sell them off for a nice nest egg. But is it technically stealing if the jewels were handed to me?"

Wait, what?

Bo hadn't heard this part of the story. He just assumed Blue stormed the vault one night, sword slashing, and cherry picked the priceless gems as she pleased.

He leaned in, conveying interest.

Blue scoffed, pacing the cell. She loved a captive audience.

"Yeah, you didn't know? The guards were transporting the jewels for their annual shining, and I just so happen to be standing outside the shop where it's happening. One guy, he was a big fella, not too bright, isn't looking when he passes over a pouch 'cause he thinks I'm one of the shiners at the jewelers. And, well, when you're a hungry waif with a handful of emeralds you aren't too keen on handing those bad boys back, are you?"

Well, I wouldn't know, Bo thought. He could hardly believe how absurd her story was.

Blue spun on her heel, miming her words.

"So I sneak off and run like hell. I'm thinking I should ship these off as fast as I can, before someone notices and gets ticked. I head over to my friendly neighborhood pawn shop, think I'm making the right decision here.

"Well, as soon as I take out an emerald, just one small, tiny, insignificant emerald, the owner of the pawn shop gets a red flag, pretends he's going into his back room to pay me, and it turns out that jackass was sending a runner to get the guards. Next thing I know I'm getting slapped for grand theft sapphire."

The Prince laughed until his stomach ached, wheezing and rasping against his torn vocal chords.

Blue joined in, scratching her head in embarrassment.

"Not my best moment, but what can you do?"

Water steadily dripped in the dungeon, and Bo was pretty sure the scritching sound coming from the pipes was really a rat family.

If Blue noticed she didn't mention it, bouncing from one foot to the other to a tune only she could hear.

"How you been doing otherwise?" Blue asked. "There's not much else to do down here except sleep and dwell on my bleak future, so you gotta indulge me. You got a family?"

Bo nodded, thinking back to the pride in his father's eyes when he finally showed an interest in one of the few aspects required of being King.

"Yeah? How many?"

The Prince almost held up two fingers before he stopped himself and settled for one.

Best to keep it simple.

"Just two people, huh? Never knew what it was like to come from a small family. Eight of us under one roof, it's an unholy mess." She paused, and Bo waited for what was sure to be a sudden topic change. "Hey, come closer man."

The Prince hesitated before stepping closer to the grate.

Out came Blue's dark hands from one of the gaps in the thatching, and she waved him closer.

"C'mon. I'm ravenous but I'm not gonna bite you."

Edging towards her hands, Bo leaned down to her height and allowed her to cup his cheeks. She rubbed her thumbs over his high cheek bones and the stubble neatly shaped around his chin.

"Oh wow." Blue gasped. "No scars or anything. You must wear your helmet twenty-four seven, huh?"

After trailing over his shapely nose and around the crests of his obsidian eyes, her hands made their way to his hair, which was tied in a lovely topknot at the crest of his head. Her palms were rough, as if they'd been burned many times before.

"The other guards were talking about how the Prince was a real hottie, a ladies man or whatever, and that got me wondering what you looked like."

Bo flushed. Blue could probably feel the heat under her palms, and she pulled her hands back into her cell.

The thief took a casual sip of her lukewarm water. "I've never seen the Prince myself so I can't compare, but you're a cutie, you know that? At least you feel like one."

The Prince mouthed a silent thank you even though she couldn't see it.

He left the bowels of the dungeon two hours later with a gentle smile that was impossible to wipe off.