Fox Of Greed (Greedy Fox Book 1)

~~ FIVE ~~

Knock, Knock, Knock!

"Open up!" Knock, Knock! "The villagers told us who is in there. We are the order of the Beard of the Mountain Cat, serving under the Holy Knights from the foot of the mountains. Wandering Rust Knight, member of the Seven Deadly Sins, come out! And do so peacefully!"

Even though the voice was muffled through the door, I felt as if I knew who it was. There was something familiar about it, but I just couldn't capture the fleeting memory I knew would have the answer.

"What's the matter with everyone today?" the owner muttered.

"Holy Knights?" the girl asked shakily, keeping her voice low.

"Quickly," the bar owner said, gesturing for all of us. He stood at the little doorway to the same room I was ushered into earlier. "In here." We all crammed inside and I noticed the armour was packed into the corner. "Now, you," the owner said, pointing at the girl. "You go to the back door and wait until we distract them; then make a run for it. Hawk and you," he pointed at me, "are going to play dress up."

So that's when Operation Hide and Seek began. Well, that's what I called it anyway. The girl went to the back door and Hawk and I began getting ready.

"Why do I have to be Dusty?" I complained as I grabbed a handful of what the owner called flour and dropped it on my head. Coughing violently, I grabbed another handful and threw it at my body. "I want to be in the armour."

"Oh hush," Hawk said. "Stop whining."

"Just because you get all the armour minus one piece," I grumbled under my breath, picking up the helmet from the floor and watching as the owner stacked the rusty armour onto the pig's back. Hawk looked so happy.

I snuck out of the door, helmet under my arm and leaving a trail of flour footprints. Silently, I made for one of the curtained windows and listened with an ear to the fabric. At first, just muffled conversation, too low even for my ears to hear without the mufflers, before one of them began yelling.

"How many times have I told you? Don't underestimate them. When the uprising happened in Liones, dozens of Holy Knights were butchered in an instant!"

A tap on my shoulder startled me and I faced the owner. "Show time," he said, grinning.

I found myself smiling as well, prepared to trick and deceive these men. Pulling the helmet over my head, I realised that I could barely see through what little slits there were for sight. Squinting seemed to help as I stumbled over to where Hawk was standing, who was little more than a pink blob with blurry rusty armour on his back.

"Looking good," he snorted to me from behind the counter. I crouched down beside him.

"Hey, get out here!" one of the men suddenly shouted, his voice a high- pitched croak.

I heard the door creak open and the soldier's gasps. "Yeah, what's up?" the owner asked.

"Who are you, little kid?" asked the voice from the beginning, the one who was complaining before. He sounded quiet young without the door to muffle his voice.

"Well, I'm the owner of this place," he answered.

A pause. "The Wandering Rust Knight is here," said the young voice. "Send him out."

A sigh from the owner. "You guys, you better come out."

Hawk stumbled from the hiding spot first, strutting towards the knights dressed in all his rusty finery, before I followed behind, skipping forward. Hawk started guffawing for effect. "Whom is calling me? I am Sir Hawk, the Rusty Knight!" 

"And I am the Rusty Knight's apprentice, the Dusty Knight!" I crowed, trying not to trip. Maybe wearing the helmet wasn't such a good idea – it was getting hot with my breath bouncing back at me, my neck and sides of my face prickling uncomfortably from my hair being stuffed up inside of it as well. Add that to being unable to see properly and you had a disaster waiting to happen.

"So the pig is one of the Seven Deadly Sins? And what's with the one covered in flour and wearing an old- fashioned maid outfit?" asked the croaky voiced man.

I, unable to help myself, giggled. This is actually a lot of fun!

"Well, of course not!" argued the young voice.

"How about a little respect?" Hawk snorted. "I am the Captain of the Order of the Scraps Disposal."

My giggles turned to full laughter, bouncing around inside my helmet. Soon, I was almost bent double, walking backwards from the door so I could try to calm myself down. These poor knights! My sides were aching by the time I controlled myself, my ears narrowing in on the conversation.

"How dare you!" said the younger voice, before I squinted to see that he was holding the owner off the ground by his collar. Now things were getting out of hand.

"Hey!" I shouted, making to move forward, but I didn't see the chair in my way.

I landed on the ground, my head hitting on the wooden floor, before the helmet slipped off and bounced away. Stunned for a minute, I lay groaning.

"It's you!" shouted the young voice and the croaky voice.

Blinking my bleary eyes, I soon found out why those voices sounded so familiar. The knights standing before me were the same knights that I had stolen the roasting pig from.

"Eep," was all I said, before I scrambled to my feet and bolted out of the door before they had a chance to react. I raced for the forest, aiming to loose myself in the greenery, before another knight shouted.

"Hey, there's a girl there! She must be the wandering rust knight!"

At first, I thought it was a delayed reaction to my escape, then I realised the girl was to the side of me.

"After them, quickly! We have to inform Sir Twigo! Capture the Wandering Rust Knight and the Thief!" the youngest knight yelled.

I grabbed Elizabeth and dragged her with me, before releasing her when the path became too narrow. We flew through the forest, jumping over tree stumps and fallen logs and sliding under roots. The girl was fast, almost as fast as me, but the knights seemed to be just as fast as well, because they were hot on our heels.

They kept shouting after us, telling us to stop in the name of the Holy Knights or something; before soon, they were shouting for an entirely different reason.

I threw a glance over my shoulder, to check how much distance we had between them, and that's when I saw the pink blob barrelling down the hill through the waving mess of my hair.

Soon, the knights were being knocked over like bottles, until one remained. I focused on my path, realising it was soon ending and that's when the bar owner swooped down from nowhere and hooked the girl under her arms and legs. He jumped back into the tree with her. 

I saw my chance as well, a low lying branch. Jumping, hands outstretched, my hands grabbed it, before my momentum carried me up in an arc, before I flopped ungracefully on the branch. Wheezing, my body aching all over, I watched as the knight came to the end of the path, standing on the edge of the cliff actually, before Hawk came up behind and shoved him off.

I think that's enough excitement for the day, I moaned in my head, pressing my cheek into the cool bark in relief.