Stolen Heart (yandere! King x reader)

3. All's Fair in Love and War

Knock...knock. Tap. Tap.

"Toxophilite"

... 

Knock...knock. Tap. Tap.

"Toxophilite."

...really?

KNOCK KNOCK. TAP TAP

"TOXOPHILITE"

...

You let out a grunt as you kicked at the door. It was unremarkable, save for a tiny little scratch that had been carved into the frame. It was small enough that you wouldn't notice it unless you were looking for it, but if you squinted, you could tell in the shape of an arrow.

"You good-for-nothing-I'M NOT DOING THE STUPID KNOCK AGAIN, JUST OPEN THE DOOR." You pounded your fist against the door until you heard a sigh from behind it.

"I'm sorry, I think you have the wrong abandoned building. Only wanted thieves who get the secret knock right are allowed to enter this one." If looks could kill, your glare would have melted the door in front of you and the idiot standing behind it.

"Verdant, I swear, If you don't open this door..."

"You'll what? Do something stupid and get yourself caught? Be my guest." You let out a sigh and stepped back from the door. You knew there weren't many guards around, that's why you were here after all, but you didn't see anyone else around either. With that realization, a smirk crept onto your face.

The door was relatively old and you didn't see hinges on the outside. You steadied yourself, then dug your heels into the ground and kicked the door right beneath the handle. The door buckled but remained closed.

You had a bit of practice kicking down doors. Six months or so ago, you tried using your shoulder to open a locked door to a warehouse of riches. Fortunately, the Thief didn't have much of a reputation at the time, and no one questioned your dislocated shoulder. Later, you made the mistake of jumping and kicking the door. You didn't break anything, it just hurt a lot. Eventually, you learned the right way to kick down doors through trial and error. You lean into the kick, dig one heel into the floor and drive the other heel into the door, right above or beneath the lock.

Of course, kicking the door down makes a ruckus, compared to the simplicity of lock picking. Kicking the door down is just how you make a statement.

"Tell me again why we couldn't hide in your place? There are too many rusty nails in here." Verdant complained.

"It's either rust or shoeless eavesdroppers. You know how many people board there."

If he had any more complaints about the unstable hideout, he held them in, choosing to stick to business.

"The tapestries from your caper last week didn't have any safety complications but..."

"Didn't get the amount we needed? Figures. The new set of taxes damaged the southern markets."

"I don't know what to do, with the winter solstice around the corner and..." He paused, but you knew what he was going to say. Tribute Day happens twice a year. Each one is more draining than the last. All of the noble families give a tribute, or a gift to the king. These tributes are grand and expensive, as an unspoken rule, the Noble with the largest gift often gains more power and influence in return. The king holds complete control over this land, so any Nobles who want anything have to get it through him. Furthermore, the Nobles who present inadequate gifts are demoted to the peasantry and sometimes exiled. Because of this, every coin that can be added to the tribute is not spared, and the poor are pushed beyond their limits to produce these tributes and maintain the wealthy lifestyle of the rich they work for.