Chivalrous

Chapter Thirty-Seven - The One He Could Save

"Tie your hair up," Cole said.

Xiao jumped away from Cole and swatted his hand away. "Why?"

"You've tied it up for the past week. Why wouldn't you tie it up now?" Cole asked as he pulled on his night suit.

"Because I'm not wearing my hat anymore and that would expose my neck," Xiao wanted to say. "What does it matter to you whether my hair is tied or not?" he asked.

"It could be a liability," Cole told Xiao. "Anyway, when you're with me, you tie your hair up. What's up with you and leaving it down?"

Xiao pursed his lips at Cole being a brat. He supposed that in the darkness no one would see anything even if his neck was fully exposed. He was getting use to it anyway. "Fine."

When the clock struck midnight, the two knights jumped out of their guesthouse window and ran towards the Walker Manor. Almost in a flash, they reached the place. Though they had chosen a guesthouse at the outskirts of Tajfel, the two were extraordinarily fast and both were anxious to get their task done and over with. Xiao felt himself tremble with excitement and eagerness at the prospect of avenging Bradley's death. The maidens - though the object of their night wondering - weren't as important to him at the moment. 

"Remember why we came here," Cole had told him before they left. "We save the maidens, get rid of the bandits, then we leave. Control yourself."

Xiao had nodded again and again. "Yeah, I know."

"Once we get in, we'll split up. Don't make me worry about you." Xiao played the last part of the sentence over and over again.

Presently, Cole took a few steps back and then ran and leaped over the high wall. Xiao sneered. He could do better. Without taking any steps back even though the wall was dauntingly high, he leaped over it successfully, though landing a few paces back. Cole sneered at him smugly and jumped up onto a roof. Xiao quickly joined him. "I didn't take steps back," he hissed.

Cole shrugged it off and ran along the roof. Baron Walker and his subordinates weren't hard to find - they were eating in the dining hall of the manor. Walker, a plump man sitting behind the head table, was dressed in red and talking loudly with the man beside him. Other people sitting on side tables were also talking and drinking, unaware of their two visitors.

"So where did you put the maidens, Lord Walker?" one bandit asked. Cole perked up at the mention of the maidens and kept on listening.

"I put them in the basement," Walker told them. "The escorts are guarding them right now."

Another bandit spoke up. "So what are we going to do about them? Are we actually sending them to the Ravens?"

Walker scratched at his chin. "The Ravens promised us better conditions and they've already sent us more gold than we would ever seen," he said. "We ought to keep our side of the deal."

"Won't it be better if we just married a few of them?" one said. "Who knows what the Ravens are going to do to them? Besides, it would take so much effort to escort the carriages." Cole couldn't see the one who spoke, but he was feeling sure that this one was Curtis, judging by the wide shoulders and the sneering tone of the voice that was Xiao's description of him. It seemed that the bandits of Wyatt City had fled to Tajfel.

Everyone laughed. "Curtis, you dare? It's the Ravens we are talking about!"

"They are nothing to me," Curtis bluffed. "Say, Lord Walker, how 'bout we send for a maiden? That would provide some entertainment."

Walker pondered about it. "Alright." He beckoned to two servants. "You two, go and get a maiden."

Cole watched as two servants exitted the hall and headed towards the back, a lantern held in front of them. Crouching down, Cole followed along.