A Thief for a Bride

Thief for a Bride (chapter ten - The Theft)

"Who are you?" the man demanded. "What are you doing here?" He advanced towards her and Genevieve took a few quick steps back and caught her leg on the window sill. She let out a yelp of surprise as she tumbled out the window. She braced herself for the painful landing against the unforgiving ground when all she felt was strong arms surrounding her.

"Nice catch," Paul said, a little stunned as he motioned for Crispin to help him with the painting. Genevieve found she had her face buried in the Raven's shoulder as her shaking hands gripped his upper arms. She looked up into his face and noticed, even though she could only see his right eye, there was fear and concern there.

"I'm okay," she said as he set her on her feet. "Thanks to you."

"I knew it!" they heard the butler yell and looked up to see him glaring at them. "Come to deepen the wound, Raven? Guards, GUARDS!" When no one came the butler cursed and withdrew into the mansion once more. The Raven motioned for all of them to head back to the gate. Paul and Crispin climbed onto the wall and lifted the painting over, with Genevieve and the Raven's help, before setting it down on the ground. The Raven pointed towards the north east and Paul shook his head.

"I can't leave you here," he argued. The Raven glared at him and made a few quick signs before Paul sighed. "He says they are only after him. If he leads the guards away it will give us a better chance to escape." He then turned to Crispin and added, "Come on, boy. You're going to have to come with us unless you want to see the inside of a prison." Crispin nodded and he and Paul began to make their way north, towards the hideout but Genevieve didn't follow them. The Raven pointed in the direction Paul and Crispin had taken but Genevieve shook her head.

"They are only chasing us because the butler saw me," she protested. "I'm coming with you." The Raven turned her towards the north and gave her a small shove, telling her to leave now. With a small sigh of disappointment, Genevieve started to run back towards the hideout. She was just a few feet from the corner of the mansion's gate when a large guard stepped in her way carrying a huge axe. She skidded to a stop as the guard smiled evilly at her and raised the axe.

"Not today, little thief," he told her. He swung the axe straight down towards her as someone tripped Genevieve. She fell onto her back with a gasp as the Raven caught the upper part of the axe's handle. He slammed the bottom of his right foot into the guard's chest sending him flying onto his back. The Raven dropped the axe and turned on his heel while grabbing Genevieve's hand. They ran to the opposite corner of the mansion and took off towards the east. They ran without stopping for a few minutes all the while hearing the guards looking for them. They began to draw closer and closer to the edge of a small river and Genevieve thought they would stop until the Raven's hand tightened around hers. They jumped into the river and Genevieve had to force herself to not gasp from the cold. The water was freezing! She came up gasping for breath and felt the Raven tugging on her hand to pull her underneath a bridge and out of sight.

He put a finger to where his lips would be behind the mask and Genevieve nodded. The voices grew steadily quieter but still rang out that the guards were hot on the heels of someone other than them. A gun shot rang out before everything went quiet once more. Genevieve realized she was now shaking from the cold and the only thing that kept her from turning blue was the warmth coming from the Raven's body. He had his arm wrapped around her as the other still kept a firm grip on her hand. Genevieve felt something warm soaking into the back of her shirt and looked up at the Raven.

"You're bleeding," she whispered but he didn't move. After a few more moments of silence he moved them to the edge of the river and out onto the bank. Genevieve noticed his hand and part of his forearm were bloody. "We need to get you back to the hideout, now." The Raven only nodded and she knew he had to be in horrible pain. They took alleys and back roads to avoid any attention. They eventually made it back to the hideout where Paul was waiting just inside the cellar door.