I spur Equus on, my cape billowing out behind me. The wind whips it in my face, making it hard for me to see. It was awful bothersome at times, but I need it to conceal my identity. If anyone saw my face they'd have wanted posters up before you could count to three. Thanks to this cloak, everyone still thinks I'm a man.
As we round the bend I grab hold of the low hanging branch and pull myself up into the tree. I climb up as fast as I can, and stop when I get to where the leaves are thickest. I watch Equus turn again at a fork in the road. Just as she disappears into the foliage, the soldiers round the bend below me and I watch as the three of them duck to avoid hitting their heads on the same low hanging branch. I hold back laughter.
Then the worry strikes. I hope Equus makes it back safely. It is an awfully long way. I push away thoughts of coyote and wild dogs.
The sun is setting by the time the palace guards pass below me muttering curses under their breaths. I let out a quiet sigh of relief, knowing they can't hear me over the pounding of hooves. I watch them enter the castle. Then I climb down the tree and start the long walk back home. Equus and I live in an abandoned barn. Behind the barn is a garden where I grow most our food. I steel bread, cheese, butter, and the occasional cake from the royal kitchen and sometimes wealthy villagers. Never from the poor though. When I reach the barn, I am glad to see Equus is outside waiting as usual (We do this a lot, she knows what to do by now) I lead her into the barn unload one of her two saddle bags, this one full of stolen food, and feed her an apple. I then climb up to my loft and dump out the contents of the second bag. There are three books, a quill, a pad of writing paper, and three sealed jars filled with black ink. I put the three books with the steadily growing pile of books. I sighed, I really need a bookshelve. I'm sure I could get one somewhere, the real problem is getting it to the barn. We're so far away from any villages... And even if I did get it all the way here, how would I get it up my loft? I was still debating the problem of the bookshelve when a bigger problem knocks on my front door.
