The Soldier and the Thief

Chapter 11

The house was quiet with Giavani outside working with Jag. Emmeline was resting in her wooden rocking chair, dozing. The stew on the fire was the last of their summer vegetables that hadn't been taken by the King's Military. She was dreaming of Robin, running through a dark alleyway. Her usually hooded face was bare to the light of the moon, scar contorted with an unreadable emotion. Pain? Fear? Anger? Someone was chasing her. Closer. Closer.

Emmeline opened her eyes. Ever since the errand boy had left them with the message sent by Robin, the dreams had begun and were getting worse. The rash on her neck was getting harder to hide as it spread across her chest and up her neck. A tickle in her throat began and Emmeline launched into a coughing fit. When she took away her hand, there were specks of blood.

Robin spent the rest of the day grooming Phantom. After she'd realized how stupid she felt getting angry at a knot in a piece of wood, she'd decided to get up and do something. Her farmer's instinct wouldn't let her sit around and do nothing. There was always something to be done. Do it today and you don't have to do it tomorrow. Giavani would always say. And then Emmeline would cluck in disapproval and tell him to take it easy. Robin missed the playful arguments and the hard days of labour. At least then she would be doing something of her own volition. By now she and Giavani would have been starting to check the cabbage patch in the hopes something had grown. It was only two weeks until the season officially changed. 

Robin ran the brush along Phantom's neck in a smooth continuous rhythm, soothing the both of them. She pretended not to see Nikolas walk through the small hallway and head up to the captain's quarters, even as she felt his eyes on the back of her hood and heard Sundance snort. Phantom tossed his head when she dug the brush in a little too far.

"Sorry bud." Robin apologised quietly. She put down the brush and refilled both of the pails with fresh water for them. The sun was beginning to set. She wanted to get back to the cabin and avoid any conversation with Nikolas before he caught her. Robin knew she was being childish, but she didn't care. That soldier had no respect for the work her family did and had his head too far up his ass to realize that his king was a crook. Let him find out the hard way. 

She reached up to the roof of the stables and unhooked a small piece of wood that swung down to cover the rest of the front of the bays where the horses were. She left the small square sides up to give them fresh air before limping back across the boat and into the small hallway. When she peeked inside, the room was empty. She went to her bed and sank into the mattress. Reaching around behind her proved too difficult, so Robin pulled her arms out of the sleeves and turned the tunic around, loosening the laces enough to pull it over her head. She pulled down the bandage around her chest to examine the wound in her chest. As gaping and bloodless as ever, the hole where her heart was meant to sit glared at her as if offended. If she concentrated hard enough she could see the incision where Lloyd's knife had pierced. There was no mirror or glass for her to check how her black eye was, but when she touched the cut above it there was no blood. The bruising on her stomach had darkened to deep purple and blue. She was certain she'd at least fractured a rib. 

Sighing, Robin pulled back one of the covers and slid underneath it, hiding the knife under her pillow. The weather was cool on the lake, a welcome respite from the heat of the first few days. She lay there facing the wall and watched the light dim to darkness through the knot in the board. She had a sudden urge to get up and breathe in the fresh air. Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, she pushed herself up and limped to the door. Her hand halted above the handle when she saw it moving, and gently pushed against the door.

"Robin." Nikolas said tiredly. "Open up." 

"I have this secret fear that people view me as dumb." She replied with a smirk. Nikolas was silent for a second, before he sighed.