The Princess and the Bandit

Chapter 39

Nearly a week later, I wake in the middle of the night when I feel the bed next to me lighten. My eyes snap open, and I sit bolt upright. Connor freezes in the process of slipping out of bed, and I stare.
"Just go back to sleep. I'll be back soon... probably." He whispers, and it's incredibly hard not to immediately flop back down and close my eyes and listen to his voice. But I slip out through the curtains, staggering slightly on the floor from exhaustion, and wait for him to walk around.
"Hollie-" He begins, but I silence him.
"I'm coming tonight." I say firmly. He opens his mouth to argue, then sighs.
"Nothing I say is going to make a difference, is it?"
"No."
"Then get dressed- I'm leaving in five minutes, with or without you."
I feel a small spurt of excitement at these words. I'm actually going with him. Tonight, there will be two bandits in Clockman.
He strides over to the cabinet and flings open the drawer, shuffling through his clothes. "Here." He tosses me some garments that don't fit him great, pulling out his own.
I dart behind the changing screen, pulling off my nightdress with fumbling fingers, nothing short of ecstatic. The sense of adrenaline fills the atmosphere, as I slide Connor's shirt over my brassiere, pulling on trousers that have gotten too small for him. Maybe a little roomy, but they fit well enough, and at least I can move. No corset.
"Got a belt?" I call out quietly, and a second later he slings one over the top of the screen, which I quickly slide through the pants to hold them up over my hips, tucking in the too-long shirt as well.
"Connor, are you wearing pants?" I whisper, about to walk out, then deciding I should be considerate.
"Hollie, I've been ready to go for the past couple of minutes." He answers, and when I step out he shoves a hooded cloak in my face. I stare at him in silent question.
"Well, the princess can't exactly be seen robbing the castle with the bandit of Clockman." He reasons, and I slide on the cloak, which actually fits pretty well. Maybe a little long.
I pull my hair back in a tight bun to keep it out of my face, and I throw the hood over my head. "How do I look?" I ask sarcastically.
He looks up from rechecking his sword, and looks me up and down, pursing his lips in thought. "Female. Which could be a problem."
"How could that be a problem?"
"Because then they'll know that the bandit is in cahoots with someone else. A woman sort of someone. Probably a woman who is very, very close to this bandit... in other words, they'll know the bandit has a mate." He says grimly.
"I am not your mate, Connor."
"Yes you are. And the fact that the bandit has a partner will narrow down the field considerably. And that's not even the worst part." He checks his sword over one more time, then slides it in it's sheath around his waist. I grab my dagger from where I'd kept it, sliding it in my belt and looking up at him expectantly.
"See... a woman is a man's weakness." He says darkly, and I stare at him in disbelief.
"You're saying I'm weak? Cause I will friggin take you down with one blow-" I threaten furiously, reaching for my knife in warning.
"No, no, I'm not calling you weak. I'm saying that other people will target a man's affections to get to him to-"
"Stop talking about me like an object!"
"I'm telling you the truth." He warns. "Once they find out the bandit has a lady friend, they will do everything in their power to find this woman and threaten her until the bandit gives himself up to protect her."
Silence.
"Well," I snort. "at least we have nothing to worry about there!"
He stares at me.
"I mean, even if I get captured, they're not gonna find you out," I chuckle, pulling my hood down over my face again as he hesitates by the door. He glances back over his shoulder, face almost completely hidden by shadow except for the light popping on his cheekbones and shining in his almond-shaped eyes. I get a shiver up my spine, but continue talking. "It's not like you'd give yourself up to protect me!"
"Hollie," He says slowly. His voice controls the darkness. "you'd be surprised what I'd do when people I love are threatened."
I wait for him to crack up, laugh off the seriousness. But he glares me down until goosebumps run up my arms from the intensity of his gaze, not a trace of humor to be found in his eyes. Tonight, that fire burns once again in his eyes, rekindled after so long of being calm and light around me.... The fire burns again inside him.
Oh, how I've missed it.
We slip down the tower stairs, silent as ghosts. Wordlessly, he points down the hall, and we sprint on the balls of our feet through the halls, running light and swift. Up the stairs again. The treasury is overhead. It's heavily guarded, with six men.
Connor and me press our backs to the wall, catching our breath before we take the corner into combat. He glances down at me.
"You're sure you want to do this?" He barely mouths the words.
"I've been wanting to do this for a long time." I reply, and he nods. Then we spin around the corner, and whirl into the melee.
I whip out my knife, fighting as best I can. Surprise is to our advantage; one, because the soldiers were unprepared, and, two, because the men are completely thrown off by the doubled number of bandits.
I dodge a heavy, overthrown sword swipe and kick the man's legs out from under him, so he tumbles into his buddy. I kick their heavy helmets into the wall, and they pass out cold. I turn, and find Connor sliding his sword back into the sheath, the four other guards stacked neatly behind him.
"Having fun yet?"
"Hell yes." I go to shove open the treasury door, which of course doesn't open, because it's locked. "It's locked!"
"Thank you, Hollie, for wasting time." He says through gritted teeth, shoving me aside and taking a few steps back. "We've got a few minutes, minimum, before someone who heard the racket gets to the warning bell. Once we're inside, grab a bag and get back out."
He orders, backing up further and looking fiercely at the oaken door. I watch, utterly confused.
"Connor, what're you going to-"
He launches himself forward, throwing his shoulder in front of him and ramming the doors hard. There's a snap on impact, which I fear might be his shoulder blade breaking- but then the doors swing open on their hinges.
I'm silently freaking out, unable to move, rendered speechless by the broken deadbolt swinging on the door.
"Oh... my God. Connor, are you alright!" I shriek, running forward where he's kneeling inside on the ground. He gets to his feet with a groan, rolling his shoulder uncomfortably, but looking pretty satisfied with his work.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just thought I'd dislocated it for a moment, but I'm fine." He shrugs, then looks at me sternly. "Gold bag. Now."
I nod hurriedly, and that's when I get a good look around the treasury. It's a big dusty room, filled with stacks of dusty shelves holding row after row of golden amulets and overflowing bags of diamonds and treasure chests. Some areas are still blackened by the fire nearly half a year ago, but they've mostly refurbished it.
I run to the nearest shelf, grabbing a heavy gold bag and flinging it over my shoulder, and I turn to Connor, who's doing the same. He checks me for confirmation, then we bolt out of the room, running down the hall for our lives.
We reach the second story before the bells begin to toll. The clanging fills my ears, and we run faster. Connor is fast. Surprisingly so, when you consider how broad-shouldered and powerful he appears... faster than me.
Perhaps, once, I could have kept up with him, maybe even surpassed him. But he trains excessively, every day... while for the past year, I've been sitting pretty, playing princess, losing weight and muscle as I starve and cease exercising regularly.
I'm thin... and a little out of shape.
Guards appear up ahead. Connor glances back at me, an eery sensation because his face is hidden in shadow. I think he can feel that I'm already tiring, and for a second, I worry he's going to leave me behind.
Then he looks back and slows to meet the oncoming rush of knights. There's at least half a dozen of them, half-armored and half in bed clothes, all of them holding large, two-handed swords and facing me and Connor with determination in their eyes. It's disconcerting, seeing men I know from around the castle look at us with much hatred. Then I remember they're not looking at the prince and princess.
They're looking at the bandits.
Connor whips out his sword, a sliver of silver glinting in the dull moonlight, and he charges into the fray. It's pretty much over before I can even draw my knife.
He fights like a maniac. Doesn't bother to block, never has to duck, barely to parry. He drives mercilessly forward, keeping the knights busy so they don't even notice me. He may be at a disadvantage, given he refuses to kill and burnish the bandit's perfect record... but in less than a minute, all six of them are heaped on the ground.
Connor motions me forward, then more guards meet us before the stairs as the bells toll constantly high above. There are many of them this time, ten or more. Connor glances at them, then back to me- then, making a split-second decision, he runs at me, grabs me- and throws me out the window.
I yelp in surprise, tumbling through the air. He's trying to kill me! I hit the ground hard, remembering to roll at the last second, a little too late to spare me the pain in my ankle. I remember it was only one story.
A second later, Connor lands beside me, tucking and rolling with a much more coordinated motion, popping to his feet and offering me a sure hand. He helps me up, and I feel like a complete idiot as we take off through the castle gates, running like the dickens down the path as the bell clangs behind us, and soldiers rush from everywhere.
"Focus!" Connor shouts to me as we run, and I stumble along pathetically some way behind. He won't use my name now, for fear someone will hear him.
I get what he means though. Focus, Hollie. I've been playing the innocent, weak little princess for so long, I'm starting to believe it... but Hollie Barnersworth is still in there somewhere. I need to find her right now.
"Crap-" Connor spits when he sees the drawbridge being raised in the distance. We're running as fast as we can, but we're weighted down by heavy bags of gold, and I'm staggering farther and farther behind as we go.
Connor might make the jump.
But I won't.
"Come on!" He shouts encouragement back to me. At least, I like to think it's encouragement, but he just sounds irritated.
"I'm trying!" I cry back, stumbling again. The bag is too heavy... I haven't run like this in at least three years... I'm dying. "I can't..."
Connor reaches the drawbridge as it rises. He doesn't hesitate, but runs straight up the rising slope, and disappears off the other side.
I swear, but continue running, my legs aching. I clamber up the rough bridge, growing steeper every moment, and claw my way up to the edge, not able to stand anymore.
I toss the bag of gold down to the other side, where Connor waits below, poised and ready to flee. I freeze, though, and he realizes I don't plan on joining him in that part.
"Come on!" He shouts, as knights close in behind me, and gravity tries to drag me down the other side of the drawbridge, while I desperately clasp to the edge, trying to hang on for as long as possible.
"I can't..." I call back, trying not to cry as my fingernails dig into the wood, and I'm pulled back further every second. "I can't do it..."
"Jump!" He roars, pacing furiously on the other side. "You can do it! Just jump! I-I'll catch you!" He holds out his arms, not knowing what else to do.
"I can't-"
"NOW!"
I blink back tears, biting my lip, thousands of thoughts whirring through my head at once. If I jump, I could fall down into the moat, bashing my head against the rocks... but if I remain here, the knights will get me, and then... I don't even want to think about what could happen then.
I hold my breath, focusing on Connor's hooded figure.
I jump.
Flying through the air, I close my eyes and listen to the wind hurtling past me, wait for my head to smack against a rock-
I hit something. Something that grunts and falls backwards onto the ground, holding me in a cage of strong arms. I open my eyes and stare down at Connor, who's panting hard.
"See?" He gasps, chest rising and falling rapidly beneath me. "Told you I'd catch you."
I clamber off of him when more shouts come, and then we're running. Running down the road, leaving nothing but a trail of dust in our wake.
Of course, after the initial adrenaline wears off, I slow down to a very slow jog. But the soldiers will never catch us. By the time they can lower the drawbridge and saddle up their horses, we'll have reached the village.
"Connor... why do you do this for fun?" I gasp out, panting to even keep close behind him while he jogs easily in front.
"I don't do it for fun." He says stiffly, not short of breath at all. "I do it for the people... you'll see shortly."
"Maybe not that shortly..." I pant, my chest aching and my back sending jabs of pain all over my body every time I move from the heavy weight on my back. "Can we take a break?"
"No." Doesn't even look back.
"Easy for you to say," I grunt. "you're out there doing stuff like this every day... I've been sitting cooped up being your perfect little wife for over a year, you know that? And now I'm out here doing the mile dash with fifty pounds of metal slung over my back-"
"Get on my back." He stops and glances back at me.
"What?" I skid to a halt and stare at him uncomprehendingly.
"You heard me- get on my back." He shrugs. "We can't stop. We can't slow down, unless you want to be killed. So get on my back, or shut up and quit complaining."
"You're bluffing." I snort, buying time so I can catch my breath. He raises an eyebrow.
"I beg to differ."
"I'm good now." I smirk, and he sighs, but we keep on running. I'm still trying to figure out if he really could carry me by the time we reach the village. We duck behind a stray wagon, pressing our backs to the rough wood and kneading our fingernails into the dusty gravel.
"Alright, hand me that, and stay here-" He says, and makes a grab for my coin bag, but I pull it back from him.
"No! I came this far, I'm not going to hide here while you go around and get all the glory-"
"I'm not getting the glory! The bandit is!" He explains, reaching again for the sack, which I heft up higher. "Look, the guards already saw there were two of us- don't you think it will just make it worse if we go around together handing out gold to the villagers?"
"Unless we split up." I remark, and he eyes me cautiously. "I take one side of the village with my bag, you take the other- it will only take us half the time, and we meet back here when we're done!"
He stares at me. "That's actually a pretty good idea..." He mutters.
"Don't act so surprised. You were the one telling me I was smart." I jab my finger at his chest, and then we split and make our way through the village.
I walk nervously up to the first door I encounter, and gather my breath before I raise my fist to rap smartly on the course wood door. The night blankets the world around me, but the door swings open almost immediately.
I remember to bow my head at the last minute like Connor, and keep my face hidden, as I wordlessly thrust out a handful of coins to the man in the doorway. He takes them, and I turn away without further interaction, though I can feel him watching my back strangely as I walk away. The bandit would be a good deal shorter than he was used to, with smaller, rounder shoulders and an unusually feminine figure.
I go through the same process time and time again. Never once does anyone raise a word or objection. They quietly accept the gold and dart back into their houses. Not even a thank you. But the looks on their faces are enough to keep me going... I begin to see why Connor has been doing this for so long.
It's always startling to open the door to someone you vaguely recognize. That woman and her son, the ones that keep turning up- I feel a start when I suspect she recognizes me, but dismiss it just as quickly when she takes the coins in trembling fingers and shuts the door quickly.
I remember vaguely, somewhere in the back of my mind, something the fortune woman told me long ago. About not always being in the limelight, not always being the center of attention. And suddenly it makes more sense than ever.
Just like the times I've directed Connor's hand with words, suggested ideas and given him hints, to steer the prince and future king in the right direction. Clockman is a dangerous place for anyone wishing to object to the rule of the mad king. And sometimes, in dangerous situations, people have to rise up and do what's right... just sometimes, you gotta do it behind the scenes.
Unknown.
But famous.
I feel a thrill every time I pass a few meager coins into the grimy, cracked hands of a hard working farmer, because I know that gold will help to sustain their family in the months to come. Because I know that gold could be the only thing standing between hunger and death by starvation.
I finish in around an hour, and soon I'm slipping back through the shadows, avoiding swashes of light cast by flickering candles and burning lanterns. The sweet homeliness of dry hay and dust, of mud caked leather and coal-blackened chimneys fills the air, and the stars twinkle gleefully above in the velvety darkness, the moon a smiling silver crescent bathing the world in pale light.
It feels like a dream. But it's real. From the dirt and gravel crunching beneath my boots, to the light breeze billowing through my hood, the scratching of rough clothes against my skin and the sounds of animals in the barns and dogs snorting at the doors of houses as I pass, it's all very, very real.
I kneel down behind the same wagon, and my heart stops when I bump into a moving, breathing shape. Then I realize it's just Connor.
"Made good time." He observes, as the tolling of the bells in the distance suddenly ceases. "Bells stop tolling after about an hour or so, or once the villain is apprehended.... Approximately a mile out from the castle... sound travels at a rate of-"
"Connor-" I interrupt. "How are we getting back into the castle?"
He pulls down his hood, hair sticking up with sweat, the lantern light having a hey-day playing along his high cheekbones and plunging down into shadowy hollows. A devilish grin spreads across his face.
"That's the fun part."