The Damsel and her Knight

9th ☾ An Unexpected Help

I kept on being drawn to you,

Like lost at sea with a sky above so blue.

9th ☾

An Unexpected Help

My stomach growled in hunger.

It wasn't the ideal feeling to be awakened by, but the searing pain in my stomach forced me to wake up. I couldn't ignore it anymore.

"You may want to eat before we go. I left some food for you," Lancelot said, after noticing that I was awake. "I kept on hearing your growling stomach early this morning."

Uneasy and slightly embarrassed, I walked over to the kitchen. "You should have woken me up earlier."

Lancelot put a serving of the food in a bowl and placed it on the table. "Still tired?"

"I'm fine," I said, taking a seat. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I started to dig in. Checking outside, I saw that the storm had passed. "The weather looks nice today. Your people here yet?"

"None I'd noted. The guards must be waiting at Vuscatannel's port. We'll make it there before dark," Lancelot informed me.

"What about you?" I asked, looking up from the bowl of porridge that I was devouring.

"I already ate," Lancelot answered, gathering his things. "I'll set up the sails. Come out when you're ready. I'll be on the other side of the island. Don't forget to lock the doors."

"I'll be there," I replied, holding up my spoon.

"Great," he said with a tight smile, before going out.

Scanning the room, I saw that he had already cleaned up the place. He was tidy for a guy who was likely to be served everything he needed in the palace. He must also been frequently staying in this place. There wasn't even a speck of dust on the utensils in the kitchen.

I picked up the wooden bowl and went to the bedroom, snooping on his things. I opened the cabinets and went over his clothes. Unlike the ones I first saw him in, the rest of his clothes were like the ones we commoners wore daily. But when I touched the fabric, I realized the difference. Of course, his clothes were made of a finer and softer material.

Living with a bunch of thieves made it a second instinct for me to go over everything. But unlike other thieves, we didn't steal from normal townspeople. Wilson told me there was nothing to be ashamed of with what we did—unless you were dealing with the town guards; in that case, you shouldn't readily tell them that you were a crook. Every single one of our prey were ruthless aristocrats. It was how we survived and fed every single one in the group, until we'd reach the ultimate goal of overthrowing the king.

The group had never succeeded in stealing from Wykeham Castle. The security was so much tighter compared to the other houses. But I'd always wondered what kind of treasures they were keeping there. And with the telltale of the king having a binding contract with the dark side, it made things more interesting.

Placing the wooden bowl on the bedside table, I opened the uppermost drawer. Inside, there were books. I flipped over the pages while holding a book, watching if anything valuable would drop. When nothing happened, I placed back the book in the drawer and opened the other drawers.

I muttered, "There's nothing here."

All of the drawers were filled with historical books. It took me a while to recognize that some of the books were banned, especially when I saw entries about the old kingdom, the one under King Oliver Forthwind. This was probably why Lancelot didn't display them on the bookshelf.