Thieves in the Night
Prologue
The night was clear and the sky full of twinkling stars. It was a new moon so the outside world was nearly pitch black causing shadows to grow larger, winds seem colder, and a whole hell of a lot easier for robbers to sneak around sleepy mansion guards. That is exactly what a figure clothed in black was taking advantage of on this dark night. The robber sneaked over the shadowed garden walls, and through the dark garden. As the figure walked silently through the starlight bathed rose bushes they peered at an open glass window one level up above the moist ground. The dark figure dug through a small black back on their shoulder pulling out a tightly braided rope with a shinny metal three pointed hook at the end. The black clothed person looked up at the open glass window with mischievous crimson eyes and spun the end of the rope with the hook around to gain momentum on the object. They gracefully let the object fly from their hands and hook silently inside the window frame. The thief gave the twisted rope a firm tug and swiftly started climbing up the old red brick wall. Reaching the windowsill they smoothly climbed into the dark room. After jumping into the still shadowed room the thief quickly pulled up the braided rope and turned to face the room with crimson eyes. A small movement in the shadows caught the crimson eyes attention and they slowly turned away from it and moved the graceful body with them. Pretending not to notice the figure in the shadows, the person fool enough to try to attack a thief in the night from the shadows, from where a thief almost lives. The young male with chocolate brown eyes crept up to the black clothed robber, hoping foolishly that he would not be caught. As he stood right behind the master of the shadows he prepared to pounce on the swift thief and as he did so the figure spun around crimson eyes flashing with burning anger. Quickly the young mans arms were pulled into a painful lock and a strong, but slender hand cupped over his mouth.
"What the hell do you think you're trying to do!?" the thief's voice hissed, a females voice! "You're either extremely foolish or very brave and I wouldn't think you're the second one from the way you crept up on me!" She turned him around, still keeping her hand on his soft mouth said, "Now I'm going to let go of you're mouth, but one call for help from you and I'll carve out you're intestines and be out of here before anyone will figure out it was you who screamed." She finished of this threat by fingering a slender sheath for a sword at her slender waist. The young man looked at her with wide chocolate brown eyes and nodded his head, messy brown hair in desperate need of a cut flying all over the place. She took her hand off his warm mouth and pushed him onto the large canopy covered bed on the other side of the room. He gaped at her and his eyes grew wider. "You're a girl!?" he whispered huskily in a rich smooth voice. "Nooooo," growled the thief quietly, who was now searching the room for anything of value, "I'm a horse with wings and a purple tail! Of course I'm a girl, stupid!" She looked through a desk drawer and let a quiet curse when she found nothing that caught her interest. She glanced over at the handsome young man at the bed and got an evil grin on her face. "What?!" said the boy, clearly bewildered by her smile. "You're going to help me. What in here has anything of value?" she smirked and put her hands on her hips still eyeing him oddly. "Nothing really. All the valuables are in the treasury in the dungeon, locked in a safe and everything else is stored with my uncle at the royal palace." He shrugged and spread his hands upward in a sign of innocence. "Oh, I'm not so sure," said the young woman as she walked up to the confused boy. Her crimson eyes burned into his chocolate brown ones as her smirk widened. "I think I'm looking at something very valuable right now. Now if I guessed right you're Prince Tai Kamiya, the next in line for the throne. With your uncle about to die of age without any heirs. I expect a great deal of money would be spent if you were in any kind of danger especially....kidnapping?" She laid one delicate, dangerous finger on the end of his perfectly formed nose as reality dawned on the handsome young man. "W-what!? How did you guess? Like you could actually kidnap me! Do you realize the punishment for kidnapping!?" He hissed looking around for a weapon or any escape route. "I have friends in the servants who told me of you and of course I know the punishment for kidnapping," she whispered this while slowly sliding her delicate finger down his cheek and toward his shoulder. She leaned over his shoulder, and her warm breath tickling his ear she whispered, "It's death." She pressed a pressure point on his trembling shoulder and with a quiet gasp he fell to the floor unconscious.
She worked quickly in the dark, pulling out the silver hooked, braided rope she tied the end without the hook around the young prince's waist. Throwing the tall young man over her muscular shoulder she caught the hook in the open window frame and slowly lowered Tai to the ground, all the time on a lookout for wandering guards of the brick mansion. After he had thumped onto the ground she smoothly followed after him. Once outside the house, the graceful thief did not wait for any surprises, she quickly pulled in the silver hooked rope and lifted the prince over her shoulder. She swiftly ran through the strangely dark shadows, her crimson eyes focused on the silver ribbon on the gray brick wall, a sign where she had tethered her midnight black horse. She swiftly tossed the heavy man over the dark wall and climbed smoothly over after him. Once over, she tossed him onto the front of the shadowed coloured horse and slid onto her horse behind his warm body. Silently she signaled the dark horse and with not a whisper left the place behind with not a hint of the start of the tragedy that had started on this dark, shadowed night.
Chapter 1
When Tai woke up he was nearly blinded by a bright light shinning directly into his chocolate eyes. He tried to turn away from the blinding light and realized that he was tied to a medium size cot with cotton whit sheets underneath him. He closed his eyes, blocking out the noon sun to his unadjusted eyes. A few minutes later he slowly opened his eyes to observe his surroundings.
He appeared to be in a small room with cedar wood for walls. The one window was placed across the room where it could just reach his eyes. It's shutters were broken and rotting away. The room, though clean was old and the cedar wood rotting in quite a few places. There was one door a few feet from his bed, repaired roughly in a few places with mismatched boards. There was also a small chesterfield with two of three missing drawers across the room from him. Apparently the thief wasn't very well off.
After taking in his surroundings the prince tested his bonds. The ropes were strong and well taken care of and the knots that tied him, nearly impossible to break. Both his feet were tied to the bottom metal posts and the same with his hands. This kidnapper obviously knew what she was doing. He noticed that she hadn't gagged him. 'Well that's one good thing. At least I can talk.' He thought, hoping at the same time that he would ever get out of this place alive.
At that very moment a young woman wearing trousers and a long cotton white shirt, patches on both, walked through the creaky, old door. Though Tai realized that this young woman was his kidnapper and highly dangerous, not to mention very poor, he couldn't help but notice one other thing.
She was beautiful! Her long, auburn hair hung in a braid halfway down her back. She had a slim, powerful, and shapely figure that screamed out danger. Her lips were soft and full and a perfectly shaped nosed on top of that.
But her most compelling feature was her crimson eyes. They were bathed in mystery, and a burning flame of anger and that that would never be quite smothered. But behind all that was sadness. Sadness so deep that he could almost drown it. A sadness that had seen horrors and death and come out of it. But not without it's own little mark. Never without its own scar, a scar that would forever lasts on her tainted soul. As she noticed him staring she quickly shielded her fiery eyes blocking out his searching innocent ones.
She stood at the door with a tin tray balancing on one slender hand. She glared at him with her blazing crimson eyes, which caused him to look in the opposite direction, as if fearing he would burn to death. She sighed and walked up to him, sitting on the edge of the cotton sheeted bed.
"Are you hungry?" She asked roughly looking anywhere in the room but at him. He turned and looked at her his eyes now had a stony look to them shielding her as she had shielded him.
"Why do you care?" He snapped at her turning away once again.
She bristled and had a look about her that could kill. She took a few deep breaths and clamed herself down a bit, trying very hard not to strangle the young man lying on her bed!
Finally she replied coldly, "Actually, I really don't give a damn about you or anything to do with you. I'm only feeding you so when I give you back to your stupid family you might have a chance of still being alive!!!" Tai looked at her again his mouth open in shock, obviously not used to being talked to in this manner.
He turned his eyes away again and muttered back, "Fine I'll eat something. But can you at least tell me your name, peasant so I may address my kidnapper by proper title?" She hissed at his slight at her ranking in social class and replied in a voice seething with anger, "It's Sora. Now lets get some food in you, your Royal Highness?!" Tai hissed back at the sarcasm in her voice, and they both glared at each other anger matching equally in both young adults.
Finally Sora took a deep breath a lowered the tray onto the bed. In a cracked china bowl was some steaming porridge with a sprinkling of cinnamon on the top. Beside the bowl was a tin cup full of cool, frothy milk. Tai looking at this meal could feel himself drooling, even though he was used to a much fancier meal, he was starving and this felt like a feast to his poor starving stomach. Besides it smelled better than anything he'd ever smelt (well at least in the last 48 hours).
"Wait a second!" Tai brought up having a sudden idea, "How am I supposed to eat this? You'll have to untie my hands!" Feeling very confident about his idea of escape he hid a smirk, 'I mean how many peasants would be educated enough to figure out what I am planning?' He was very shocked when Sora snorted and answered, "How dumb do you think I am? Just because I'm poor doesn't mean I'm stupid, stupid. I'll feed you myself." Tai had a surprised look on his open face again but quickly covered up his astonishment, and muttered, "fine..".
Sora filled the spoon with porridge and put it into Tai's mouth. She repeated this procedure until all of the porridge was emptied out of the old china bowl. After he had finished she loosened the knots on his arms so he could sit up a bit and drink the cup of goats milk she gave to him without choking.
When she turned her back on Tai for a moment to get the handkerchief he tested the loosened ropes-only for them to hold easily. Sora cleaned Tai face of porridge, rubbing a little harder than necessary until he was clean. Tai gritted his teeth and suddenly got another idea of escape. "Sora?" he asked sweetly at the girl who was starring out the open window, "I have to go to the bathroom." Sora looked at the brown haired man and scowled, obviously forgetting that one minor detail when she had tied him to the bed. Then she sighed and answered the young man distractedly, "I only have an outhouse in the yard outside. I'll have to untie you for you to go to the washroom ... Not that it will matter anyway. We're to far out in the woods for you to find you're way home, let alone for someone to hear you!" She smirked as Tai frowned obviously upset about her figuring out his plan. "Then why did you tie me up in the first place?!" Tai cried outraged at the young kidnapper sitting before him. Sora shrugged and answered, "I had to incase you ran of into the woods and got lost. To get the reward I have to return you alive and with me!"
"Really?" Tai shot back his voice dripping with sarcasm, "I thought you brought me hear to show to your family and friends that princes weren't almighty! Or to kill me and hang my body in front of my castle! Or may-
"Shut up!!!!" Sora yelled as she punched him square on the face with all her strength. Pain erupted on his left cheek and he was blinded momentarily. Tai would have shot back a remark at her but as her looked at her beautiful face he was surprised into silence. Crystal tears were running down her face from her burning eyes and sadness and anger etched over every feature.
"You want to know why I did this?! Knowing the risks?!" she cried, pain filling her voice to a point that Tai couldn't understand how she could stand it, "Why I kidnapped a Prince knowing that I would be killed for it?! Why not just kidnap a noble? I of course wouldn't be killed for that! It's because-because..." But at this point Sora couldn't continue because her voice was shaking so hard. As she sank onto the wooden chair beside the small bed Tai felt a wrench at his heart. He wished he could just take this girl and hold her in his arms, and carry this overwhelming burden of sadness for her. He had to do something, anything! Then the most idiotic thing shot out of his stupid mouth, "Are you okay?"
Her head shot up, the shaking had stopped, and a steel mask covered her face once more. "I'm perfectly fine." She muttered stiffly, avoiding his chocolate eyes. But then she looked up at him curiosity flickering in her crimson eyes. "Why do you even care?" she questioned him searching his face with her guarded eyes, "I just kidnapped you in the middle of the night, and knocked you out and just bruised your cheek you're worried about me?" Tai felt his face redden with embarrassment and a bit of anger. He looked away from her prying eyes again and muttered, "I don't know why, okay?"
Sora stared at him for a second longer and sighed as if deciding something. "Okay, I have an idea if you'll agree with it," she looked at Tai as if asking him if she should even suggest this. Tai shrugged his shoulders as best he could with his arms tied above his head ignoring the pain from the growing bruise on his cheek. "Here's the deal highness. I'll let you walk around outside during the day and around the house and these few conditions: one, you cannot run away. Cannot. As I told you before, I live miles and miles into the forest and if you did try to run away I would either find you right away or you would be eaten by wolves." She looked at Tai, who reluctantly nodded his head. After acknowledging this she continued quickly, "And the second condition is you'll have to help with chores around the place." Tai gritted his teeth at the thought of he the crown prince of the land doing chores like a common peasant. But when he thought about it he would rather do work than be tied to this bed. When he nodded his head a second time she continued, "two more things, one you cannot touch my horse, she wouldn't let you if you tried. Two I'll have to tie you up at night." At the last comment she looked almost regretful at the last comment for a moment but that moment passed quickly. "Fine," Tai answered quickly, willing to do almost anything to be untied.
Sora looked at him for a moment as if examining if he was trustworthy, and nodding her head swiftly untied the ropes. As soon as this was done Tai sat up and rubbed his wrists, and stretched his unused muscles. It was then he noticed he was still wearing his pajamas. Blushing slightly he tapped Sora, who was facing the other way on the shoulder. "What is it?" she asked impatiently turning around to face the prince. "I have work to do!" She tapped her foot impatiently and glared at him for an answer. "Ummmm.. I kinda need some clothes before I can do any chores." Tai said bashfully all of a sudden very aware that he didn't have a shirt on and Sora was standing very close to him. "Oh for Goodness sake!" she muttered annoyed at not thinking of another thing before he had awoken.
She turned her back on him and walked toward the broken dresser. She opened the one drawer and bull out a pair of trousers and a white shirt. Both made for a young man. She tossed them to him and he asked her, "Why do you have men clothing? Do you kidnap men often?" The last part was meant as a tease but Sora scowled at him anyways.
"Not that it's any of your business but those clothes are my brothers." "They are?" Tai questioned, looking curious, "Where is he?" Fury flashed over Sora's scowling features before a mask was put back on her hardened face once more. "Shut your mouth and mind you own business before I tie you up and gag you again!" she growled at him through gritted teeth. She turned on heel and stomped angrily out the door.
"Talk about a temper." Tai muttered to himself as he pulled on the trousers and shirt, wishing they didn't have holes throughout them.
He sighed and sat on the bed with a thump, as the seriousness of the situation finally hit him. "What am I going to do?" he moaned into his hand, which he had buried his head in.
Sora stood outside in the garden, hoe in both hands as she ferociously attacked the ground, dirt flying up all around her. "Stupid, stupid, Stupid!!!" she hissed out angrily and surprisingly not at the young man inside her house. 'Why did you have to kidnap a prince, you idiot! Couldn't you just take some jewels or something that wasn't living?! You're a thief! Not a kidnapper!' a little voice in her head shrieked at her.
"Shut up!" she hissed at the voice, blocking it out. "Him and his family deserved it! Especially after what he did to my family!" She felt a lump build up and her eyes burn for a second, but she quickly shook it off and swallowed harshly. But no matter what she did that hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach wouldn't disappear.
She remembered the sticky feel off the warm dark liquid on her fingers, and lifting her head slowly, looking up, and up until she saw - "NO!" She shouted out loud her body shaking. "I can't think about it, I WON'T!!!!" She dropped to her knees on the mudding ground dropping the hoe, face clenched in hands trying to block out mental images, moaning softly, "I won't..." With her hands still on her face, she clenched them into fists, an icy anger cooling the fire of her crimson eyes. She took a deep breath and dug her nails into the palms of her hands. "Why am I thinking about this?" She mumbled, stumbling over her words, still kneeling on the dirt. "I'll soon be rid of my responsibility, and be with them soon enough..." She stopped mumbling as she felt arms tighten around her shaking shoulders.
Tai got up from the bed and walked out the bedroom door into a small kitchen. The kitchen had a small stove, and a rusty sink, imbedded in a wooden countertop. He walked out the kitchen door and into the garden outside. Looking around he noticed Sora had been telling the truth.
Thick underbrush and tall trees surrounded the whole clearing. There were a few unused paths leading out but from what he could tell, this place was a far way away from civilization. He sighed realizing that he had very little chance of escape.
In the clearing itself, there was a small barn, most likely were that girl kept the horse she said something about. Tai noted that, just incase he could steal the horse in a getaway. Tai walked evenly around the corner of the house, which he saw, had one more room than he had seen.
He looked away from the house and gasped as he saw Sora kneeling on the ground shaking slightly. He ran up to her body and stood behind her as she mumbled. He caught only a bit of what she was saying, "I'll soon be rid of my responsibility, and be with them soon enough..." He swallowed the lump building in his throat and felt an overwhelming need to hold her, and slowly, he gave in.
As he wrapped his arms around her shaking shoulders, he felt her body go completely rigid.
Prologue
The night was clear and the sky full of twinkling stars. It was a new moon so the outside world was nearly pitch black causing shadows to grow larger, winds seem colder, and a whole hell of a lot easier for robbers to sneak around sleepy mansion guards. That is exactly what a figure clothed in black was taking advantage of on this dark night. The robber sneaked over the shadowed garden walls, and through the dark garden. As the figure walked silently through the starlight bathed rose bushes they peered at an open glass window one level up above the moist ground. The dark figure dug through a small black back on their shoulder pulling out a tightly braided rope with a shinny metal three pointed hook at the end. The black clothed person looked up at the open glass window with mischievous crimson eyes and spun the end of the rope with the hook around to gain momentum on the object. They gracefully let the object fly from their hands and hook silently inside the window frame. The thief gave the twisted rope a firm tug and swiftly started climbing up the old red brick wall. Reaching the windowsill they smoothly climbed into the dark room. After jumping into the still shadowed room the thief quickly pulled up the braided rope and turned to face the room with crimson eyes. A small movement in the shadows caught the crimson eyes attention and they slowly turned away from it and moved the graceful body with them. Pretending not to notice the figure in the shadows, the person fool enough to try to attack a thief in the night from the shadows, from where a thief almost lives. The young male with chocolate brown eyes crept up to the black clothed robber, hoping foolishly that he would not be caught. As he stood right behind the master of the shadows he prepared to pounce on the swift thief and as he did so the figure spun around crimson eyes flashing with burning anger. Quickly the young mans arms were pulled into a painful lock and a strong, but slender hand cupped over his mouth.
"What the hell do you think you're trying to do!?" the thief's voice hissed, a females voice! "You're either extremely foolish or very brave and I wouldn't think you're the second one from the way you crept up on me!" She turned him around, still keeping her hand on his soft mouth said, "Now I'm going to let go of you're mouth, but one call for help from you and I'll carve out you're intestines and be out of here before anyone will figure out it was you who screamed." She finished of this threat by fingering a slender sheath for a sword at her slender waist. The young man looked at her with wide chocolate brown eyes and nodded his head, messy brown hair in desperate need of a cut flying all over the place. She took her hand off his warm mouth and pushed him onto the large canopy covered bed on the other side of the room. He gaped at her and his eyes grew wider. "You're a girl!?" he whispered huskily in a rich smooth voice. "Nooooo," growled the thief quietly, who was now searching the room for anything of value, "I'm a horse with wings and a purple tail! Of course I'm a girl, stupid!" She looked through a desk drawer and let a quiet curse when she found nothing that caught her interest. She glanced over at the handsome young man at the bed and got an evil grin on her face. "What?!" said the boy, clearly bewildered by her smile. "You're going to help me. What in here has anything of value?" she smirked and put her hands on her hips still eyeing him oddly. "Nothing really. All the valuables are in the treasury in the dungeon, locked in a safe and everything else is stored with my uncle at the royal palace." He shrugged and spread his hands upward in a sign of innocence. "Oh, I'm not so sure," said the young woman as she walked up to the confused boy. Her crimson eyes burned into his chocolate brown ones as her smirk widened. "I think I'm looking at something very valuable right now. Now if I guessed right you're Prince Tai Kamiya, the next in line for the throne. With your uncle about to die of age without any heirs. I expect a great deal of money would be spent if you were in any kind of danger especially....kidnapping?" She laid one delicate, dangerous finger on the end of his perfectly formed nose as reality dawned on the handsome young man. "W-what!? How did you guess? Like you could actually kidnap me! Do you realize the punishment for kidnapping!?" He hissed looking around for a weapon or any escape route. "I have friends in the servants who told me of you and of course I know the punishment for kidnapping," she whispered this while slowly sliding her delicate finger down his cheek and toward his shoulder. She leaned over his shoulder, and her warm breath tickling his ear she whispered, "It's death." She pressed a pressure point on his trembling shoulder and with a quiet gasp he fell to the floor unconscious.
She worked quickly in the dark, pulling out the silver hooked, braided rope she tied the end without the hook around the young prince's waist. Throwing the tall young man over her muscular shoulder she caught the hook in the open window frame and slowly lowered Tai to the ground, all the time on a lookout for wandering guards of the brick mansion. After he had thumped onto the ground she smoothly followed after him. Once outside the house, the graceful thief did not wait for any surprises, she quickly pulled in the silver hooked rope and lifted the prince over her shoulder. She swiftly ran through the strangely dark shadows, her crimson eyes focused on the silver ribbon on the gray brick wall, a sign where she had tethered her midnight black horse. She swiftly tossed the heavy man over the dark wall and climbed smoothly over after him. Once over, she tossed him onto the front of the shadowed coloured horse and slid onto her horse behind his warm body. Silently she signaled the dark horse and with not a whisper left the place behind with not a hint of the start of the tragedy that had started on this dark, shadowed night.
Chapter 1
When Tai woke up he was nearly blinded by a bright light shinning directly into his chocolate eyes. He tried to turn away from the blinding light and realized that he was tied to a medium size cot with cotton whit sheets underneath him. He closed his eyes, blocking out the noon sun to his unadjusted eyes. A few minutes later he slowly opened his eyes to observe his surroundings.
He appeared to be in a small room with cedar wood for walls. The one window was placed across the room where it could just reach his eyes. It's shutters were broken and rotting away. The room, though clean was old and the cedar wood rotting in quite a few places. There was one door a few feet from his bed, repaired roughly in a few places with mismatched boards. There was also a small chesterfield with two of three missing drawers across the room from him. Apparently the thief wasn't very well off.
After taking in his surroundings the prince tested his bonds. The ropes were strong and well taken care of and the knots that tied him, nearly impossible to break. Both his feet were tied to the bottom metal posts and the same with his hands. This kidnapper obviously knew what she was doing. He noticed that she hadn't gagged him. 'Well that's one good thing. At least I can talk.' He thought, hoping at the same time that he would ever get out of this place alive.
At that very moment a young woman wearing trousers and a long cotton white shirt, patches on both, walked through the creaky, old door. Though Tai realized that this young woman was his kidnapper and highly dangerous, not to mention very poor, he couldn't help but notice one other thing.
She was beautiful! Her long, auburn hair hung in a braid halfway down her back. She had a slim, powerful, and shapely figure that screamed out danger. Her lips were soft and full and a perfectly shaped nosed on top of that.
But her most compelling feature was her crimson eyes. They were bathed in mystery, and a burning flame of anger and that that would never be quite smothered. But behind all that was sadness. Sadness so deep that he could almost drown it. A sadness that had seen horrors and death and come out of it. But not without it's own little mark. Never without its own scar, a scar that would forever lasts on her tainted soul. As she noticed him staring she quickly shielded her fiery eyes blocking out his searching innocent ones.
She stood at the door with a tin tray balancing on one slender hand. She glared at him with her blazing crimson eyes, which caused him to look in the opposite direction, as if fearing he would burn to death. She sighed and walked up to him, sitting on the edge of the cotton sheeted bed.
"Are you hungry?" She asked roughly looking anywhere in the room but at him. He turned and looked at her his eyes now had a stony look to them shielding her as she had shielded him.
"Why do you care?" He snapped at her turning away once again.
She bristled and had a look about her that could kill. She took a few deep breaths and clamed herself down a bit, trying very hard not to strangle the young man lying on her bed!
Finally she replied coldly, "Actually, I really don't give a damn about you or anything to do with you. I'm only feeding you so when I give you back to your stupid family you might have a chance of still being alive!!!" Tai looked at her again his mouth open in shock, obviously not used to being talked to in this manner.
He turned his eyes away again and muttered back, "Fine I'll eat something. But can you at least tell me your name, peasant so I may address my kidnapper by proper title?" She hissed at his slight at her ranking in social class and replied in a voice seething with anger, "It's Sora. Now lets get some food in you, your Royal Highness?!" Tai hissed back at the sarcasm in her voice, and they both glared at each other anger matching equally in both young adults.
Finally Sora took a deep breath a lowered the tray onto the bed. In a cracked china bowl was some steaming porridge with a sprinkling of cinnamon on the top. Beside the bowl was a tin cup full of cool, frothy milk. Tai looking at this meal could feel himself drooling, even though he was used to a much fancier meal, he was starving and this felt like a feast to his poor starving stomach. Besides it smelled better than anything he'd ever smelt (well at least in the last 48 hours).
"Wait a second!" Tai brought up having a sudden idea, "How am I supposed to eat this? You'll have to untie my hands!" Feeling very confident about his idea of escape he hid a smirk, 'I mean how many peasants would be educated enough to figure out what I am planning?' He was very shocked when Sora snorted and answered, "How dumb do you think I am? Just because I'm poor doesn't mean I'm stupid, stupid. I'll feed you myself." Tai had a surprised look on his open face again but quickly covered up his astonishment, and muttered, "fine..".
Sora filled the spoon with porridge and put it into Tai's mouth. She repeated this procedure until all of the porridge was emptied out of the old china bowl. After he had finished she loosened the knots on his arms so he could sit up a bit and drink the cup of goats milk she gave to him without choking.
When she turned her back on Tai for a moment to get the handkerchief he tested the loosened ropes-only for them to hold easily. Sora cleaned Tai face of porridge, rubbing a little harder than necessary until he was clean. Tai gritted his teeth and suddenly got another idea of escape. "Sora?" he asked sweetly at the girl who was starring out the open window, "I have to go to the bathroom." Sora looked at the brown haired man and scowled, obviously forgetting that one minor detail when she had tied him to the bed. Then she sighed and answered the young man distractedly, "I only have an outhouse in the yard outside. I'll have to untie you for you to go to the washroom ... Not that it will matter anyway. We're to far out in the woods for you to find you're way home, let alone for someone to hear you!" She smirked as Tai frowned obviously upset about her figuring out his plan. "Then why did you tie me up in the first place?!" Tai cried outraged at the young kidnapper sitting before him. Sora shrugged and answered, "I had to incase you ran of into the woods and got lost. To get the reward I have to return you alive and with me!"
"Really?" Tai shot back his voice dripping with sarcasm, "I thought you brought me hear to show to your family and friends that princes weren't almighty! Or to kill me and hang my body in front of my castle! Or may-
"Shut up!!!!" Sora yelled as she punched him square on the face with all her strength. Pain erupted on his left cheek and he was blinded momentarily. Tai would have shot back a remark at her but as her looked at her beautiful face he was surprised into silence. Crystal tears were running down her face from her burning eyes and sadness and anger etched over every feature.
"You want to know why I did this?! Knowing the risks?!" she cried, pain filling her voice to a point that Tai couldn't understand how she could stand it, "Why I kidnapped a Prince knowing that I would be killed for it?! Why not just kidnap a noble? I of course wouldn't be killed for that! It's because-because..." But at this point Sora couldn't continue because her voice was shaking so hard. As she sank onto the wooden chair beside the small bed Tai felt a wrench at his heart. He wished he could just take this girl and hold her in his arms, and carry this overwhelming burden of sadness for her. He had to do something, anything! Then the most idiotic thing shot out of his stupid mouth, "Are you okay?"
Her head shot up, the shaking had stopped, and a steel mask covered her face once more. "I'm perfectly fine." She muttered stiffly, avoiding his chocolate eyes. But then she looked up at him curiosity flickering in her crimson eyes. "Why do you even care?" she questioned him searching his face with her guarded eyes, "I just kidnapped you in the middle of the night, and knocked you out and just bruised your cheek you're worried about me?" Tai felt his face redden with embarrassment and a bit of anger. He looked away from her prying eyes again and muttered, "I don't know why, okay?"
Sora stared at him for a second longer and sighed as if deciding something. "Okay, I have an idea if you'll agree with it," she looked at Tai as if asking him if she should even suggest this. Tai shrugged his shoulders as best he could with his arms tied above his head ignoring the pain from the growing bruise on his cheek. "Here's the deal highness. I'll let you walk around outside during the day and around the house and these few conditions: one, you cannot run away. Cannot. As I told you before, I live miles and miles into the forest and if you did try to run away I would either find you right away or you would be eaten by wolves." She looked at Tai, who reluctantly nodded his head. After acknowledging this she continued quickly, "And the second condition is you'll have to help with chores around the place." Tai gritted his teeth at the thought of he the crown prince of the land doing chores like a common peasant. But when he thought about it he would rather do work than be tied to this bed. When he nodded his head a second time she continued, "two more things, one you cannot touch my horse, she wouldn't let you if you tried. Two I'll have to tie you up at night." At the last comment she looked almost regretful at the last comment for a moment but that moment passed quickly. "Fine," Tai answered quickly, willing to do almost anything to be untied.
Sora looked at him for a moment as if examining if he was trustworthy, and nodding her head swiftly untied the ropes. As soon as this was done Tai sat up and rubbed his wrists, and stretched his unused muscles. It was then he noticed he was still wearing his pajamas. Blushing slightly he tapped Sora, who was facing the other way on the shoulder. "What is it?" she asked impatiently turning around to face the prince. "I have work to do!" She tapped her foot impatiently and glared at him for an answer. "Ummmm.. I kinda need some clothes before I can do any chores." Tai said bashfully all of a sudden very aware that he didn't have a shirt on and Sora was standing very close to him. "Oh for Goodness sake!" she muttered annoyed at not thinking of another thing before he had awoken.
She turned her back on him and walked toward the broken dresser. She opened the one drawer and bull out a pair of trousers and a white shirt. Both made for a young man. She tossed them to him and he asked her, "Why do you have men clothing? Do you kidnap men often?" The last part was meant as a tease but Sora scowled at him anyways.
"Not that it's any of your business but those clothes are my brothers." "They are?" Tai questioned, looking curious, "Where is he?" Fury flashed over Sora's scowling features before a mask was put back on her hardened face once more. "Shut your mouth and mind you own business before I tie you up and gag you again!" she growled at him through gritted teeth. She turned on heel and stomped angrily out the door.
"Talk about a temper." Tai muttered to himself as he pulled on the trousers and shirt, wishing they didn't have holes throughout them.
He sighed and sat on the bed with a thump, as the seriousness of the situation finally hit him. "What am I going to do?" he moaned into his hand, which he had buried his head in.
Sora stood outside in the garden, hoe in both hands as she ferociously attacked the ground, dirt flying up all around her. "Stupid, stupid, Stupid!!!" she hissed out angrily and surprisingly not at the young man inside her house. 'Why did you have to kidnap a prince, you idiot! Couldn't you just take some jewels or something that wasn't living?! You're a thief! Not a kidnapper!' a little voice in her head shrieked at her.
"Shut up!" she hissed at the voice, blocking it out. "Him and his family deserved it! Especially after what he did to my family!" She felt a lump build up and her eyes burn for a second, but she quickly shook it off and swallowed harshly. But no matter what she did that hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach wouldn't disappear.
She remembered the sticky feel off the warm dark liquid on her fingers, and lifting her head slowly, looking up, and up until she saw - "NO!" She shouted out loud her body shaking. "I can't think about it, I WON'T!!!!" She dropped to her knees on the mudding ground dropping the hoe, face clenched in hands trying to block out mental images, moaning softly, "I won't..." With her hands still on her face, she clenched them into fists, an icy anger cooling the fire of her crimson eyes. She took a deep breath and dug her nails into the palms of her hands. "Why am I thinking about this?" She mumbled, stumbling over her words, still kneeling on the dirt. "I'll soon be rid of my responsibility, and be with them soon enough..." She stopped mumbling as she felt arms tighten around her shaking shoulders.
Tai got up from the bed and walked out the bedroom door into a small kitchen. The kitchen had a small stove, and a rusty sink, imbedded in a wooden countertop. He walked out the kitchen door and into the garden outside. Looking around he noticed Sora had been telling the truth.
Thick underbrush and tall trees surrounded the whole clearing. There were a few unused paths leading out but from what he could tell, this place was a far way away from civilization. He sighed realizing that he had very little chance of escape.
In the clearing itself, there was a small barn, most likely were that girl kept the horse she said something about. Tai noted that, just incase he could steal the horse in a getaway. Tai walked evenly around the corner of the house, which he saw, had one more room than he had seen.
He looked away from the house and gasped as he saw Sora kneeling on the ground shaking slightly. He ran up to her body and stood behind her as she mumbled. He caught only a bit of what she was saying, "I'll soon be rid of my responsibility, and be with them soon enough..." He swallowed the lump building in his throat and felt an overwhelming need to hold her, and slowly, he gave in.
As he wrapped his arms around her shaking shoulders, he felt her body go completely rigid.