Disclaimer: I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions/Sanzaru Games.
Claimer: I own all of my original characters.
Well, here's chapter 3! I'm still working on the request from 'Dragonmaster789', so that will be the next update. But, hopefully I can post it soon and get chapter 4 of this story posted soon after that. Anyway, please read, review, and let me know what you think so far! Thanks!
Chapter 3: The Crown of the Prince
Nottinghamshire, England 1453 A.D.
I stood beside the horse stable, tracing the parchment in my grasp with my fingertips, glancing over the delicate handwriting of Lady Katherine. The delicate swirls of her quill stretching across the paper, telling me her inner thoughts. In the meadow, she had so graciously asked me to accompany her on her heist, giving me the envelope to deter others from listening in. The parchment asked me to meet the young princess tonight once the clock hands struck eleven in the evening by the horse stables. I folded the parchment and tucked it in between the plates in my armor as I continued to wait for the princess. The clock tower in the middle of the village rang out, alerting the town to the time; eleven o'clock in the evening. I wished silently that she would make haste and meet me. To my surprise, I was actually excited to go out on a heist with the princess. Katherine was a good thief and could steal an unsuspecting king blind before he even realized she had her eyes on his treasures.
By the time the clock showed that fifteen minutes had passed, I was starting to worry about the welfare of my princess. She was never late to an event and now I was starting to fear the worst. I knew that if her father caught her steal, she'd be imprisoned for the rest of her life. If that were to happen, not only would she never become the queen after her father, I'd never be able to gaze upon her face again; which would be a great shame. I kept glancing to the clock face, wondering where Katherine was. Despite Katherine's bouts of stubbornness and her ability to slip away undetected, she couldn't stand up to the palace guards if they caught her trying to sneak away. The clock face showed that fifteen more minutes had passed, making my nerves even more jumpy. I felt uneasy, not knowing where the princess was. Especially considering that she was my responsibility and if anything happened to her, my head would be in jeopardy of the blade.
"Hast she possibly forgotten?" I asked to no one in particular, mainly myself and the horses nearby. I reached up, patting the head of the horse next to me after I started leaning against the fence to the stable.
"Sir Galleth," the soft voice of a female filled my ears, "I do not forget important appointments, mind you, I might be a tad late…but I never forget." I turned with a smile and a bow of my head to Katherine, who had only just arrived.
"My apologies," I said after taking her paw into my own, planting a kiss on the top, "Your Majesty." She giggled taking her paw back before crossing them neatly in front of her dress, which seemed rather…dull…when one considered her royal status.
"My dear knight, may I please as if thee shall so kindly address me as my actual name this evening? If anyone were to catch on that I was royalty…then we shall have a problem upon our hands."
"T'would be a great difficult, my lady, but I shall try my hardest to do so." She smiled softly before reach up, stroking the snout of one of the horses.
"Dost my dearly beloved princess know what she wishes to steal this evening? Or shall she simply steal at her whim?" she smiled over her shoulder, pulling on the reins of the horse, slowly coaxing it from the stables.
"Am I being doubted on what I choose to steal, Sir Galleth?" she giggled again, keeping a firm grip on the reins, "But I have certain item I wish, kind Sir." I nodded before stepping forward, helping the princess onto the horse before stepping onto mine. The raccoon pulled the hood of her burlap coat over her head, keeping most of her face hidden from view. To keep from being spotted as royalty, Katherine was dressed as a peasant, trying to keep on the down low. I myself was simply adorned in my chain mail and undershirt, my armor inside my dwelling in the castle. Once we were secured in our saddles, we clicked the reins on our horses and started making our way through the thick forest.
"My Lady," I spoke to the woman riding next to me after we had ventured far into the trees, "What hast thou decided to steal from this unsuspecting man?" she hummed softly, pointing her snout upwards slightly before answering.
"The crown of the prince. Without his precious jewels resting upon his head, my father would not wish to even speak with him." I chuckled, shaking my head slightly at her reply.
"My dear Katherine, why dost thou insist on stopping this prince? Hast he done something to you?" she clicked her reins, edging her horse forward.
"Galleth, my brave sir knight, I do not enjoy having someone else deciding my life out for me. My father has a nasty habit of doing such planning. Oh, Galleth I do not wish to have someone plan my life out for me! If I were to marry someone then I would want it to be with someone whom is of my choosing! Someone that can sweep me from my feet, make my heart flutter and take my breath from me. I do not wish to marry a man who is barely a man! Someone who has no authority or wish to properly rule this country or someone who does not love me. I do not want a husband who has another woman. My father has done that to my mother for years and I see how it has broken her dear heart. I wish to have a husband that truly loves me; someone that I live out the rest of my days with, despite all obstacles that may come our way. Dost thou understand?" I smiled at the woman, nodding my head as I did so.
"I do, Madame, I do. I too, share your dreams of a proper marriage." She turned to me, removing her hood as she did so.
"Galleth, thou art not forced to marry. Thou may marry whomever you wish." I chuckled, clicking the reins of my horse.
"Lady Katherine, I dost have my pick of fair ladies…but finding the correct one has shown to be a problem. The proper woman has not yet shown herself to be available." I winked at the raccoon, allowing giggles to escape from her throat.
"Sir Cooper, thou art a great tease." We smiled at each other, keeping the rest of our ride silent as we managed to sneak up upon the carriage carrying the royal suitor. We dismounted our horses, tying them to nearby trees before weaving our way through the forest, avoiding fallen limbs and leaves. We stopped near a thick tree, gazing upon the stopped coach of the royal ahead of us.
"Please watch your step, Lady Katherine, t'would be a great horror is you were to be caught." She smiled with a roll of her eyes and a flip of her raven hair.
"Then I must ask the same of you, Sir Galleth." She whispered before walking from the tree silently. We had discussed our plan of attack while on our journey here. I would pickpocket the bags of riches from the prince while Katherine herself went for the crown. If anything were to go wrong, I knew I would need to be there to protect my princess.
I left my post and tiptoed to the side of the stopped cart, hearing the snores from every able bodied person around. I used my lance to dip into the open bags of the princes' riches. Quietly snatching coins from the pouch, I listening carefully for the princess; praying she would not be caught. I could see the outline of the prince inside the coach, napping quietly inside. Along with his shadow, I could see the outline of a familiar female, ready to snatch the crown from the princes' cushions of his seat. I smiled at the thief, seeing how well she could steal. She seamlessly swiped the crown from the seat, placing it within her robes before sneaking away quietly. She came around the edge of the carriage, a smile upon her features. I gave her a nod, showing my impressed state of her successful thievery. T'was almost a seamless theft…until one of the princes' horses huffed, alerting a guard to our presence.
"Make haste, my lady." I called to Katherine as we bolted to our horses, trying to avoid being capture by one the guards of the prince. We ran quickly, her paw interlocking with mine as we ran, dodging trees and ducking underneath branches. I heard Katherine's laugh, the happy, child-like laugh that made my stomach twist into knots of pleasure and christened my ears. Our footsteps were loud, crunching against the fallen leaves, not truly caring to keep our moves silent…we were already seen. I quickly helped the raccoon to her horse before leaping onto mine. With a loud click of our reins, we guided our galloping horses through the woods, quickly eluding our pursuers.
Katherine's laugh continued as we made our way back to the stable, tying our horses inside once we returned. I helped the princess dismount her horse, happy to see that she was pleased with outcome of her heist. I held out my arm to the raccoon, allowing her to take hold as I escorted her back inside the castle. The night was still young, the clock striking only one in the early morning hours. With the crown of the prince tucked neatly within her dress, she shed her burlap cloak and replacing it with one of her royal ones. We walked slowly throughout the halls, making our trip to her living quarters prolonged. We chatted together softly, not wanting to alert the residents of the castle of our walk. Katherine's beautiful smile remained on her face once we stopped at the doorway to her bed chambers, knowing that it was the end of our evening together. The torches used to light the walls danced off her hair, giving her a glow of absolute beauty. She released my arm, but slid her paws so they rested within my own.
"I do wish to thank you, Sir Galleth." She spoke softly, her head turning to the side slightly as she did so.
"For what, my lady?" I laughed out my question, not sure of why the princess would be thanking me.
"For showing me what it meant to truly enjoy one's life. That living is not all about being proper, or formal dinners…or arranged marriages." I smiled at the princess, gripping her chin gently with my thumb and forefinger.
"T'was my pleasure, Lady Katherine," our voices ceased to speak, the only nose coming from us being the sounds of our breathing. Her eyes fluttered, her snout coming closer to my own, her grip tightening on my paw. I found myself doing the same as Katherine, my snout inching towards hers, almost touching.