The Robber Knight's Love (The Robber Knight Saga #2)(173)

Bowing once more, Reuben placed a hand over his heart. “I shall find him and stop him, Your Majesty. This I swear by all that is holy!”

“My, my. That is some oath. You had better go and fulfill it before it catches up with you.”

“I shall. Farewell, Your Majesty.”

Rising, he retreated out of the throne room at a respectful pace. As soon as the door was closed behind him, though, he punched the air and started racing down the corridor.

“Yes! Yes! A quest! A quest of my very own!”

And not a bad one, either. Granted, there was no dragon to kill or maiden to save, but there was a villain to overcome, and when he came back, there would still be plenty of maidens at the royal palace vying for his attention. With that cheerful thought in mind, Reuben cantered down the stairs and strode out into the courtyard.

“Someone saddle my horse!” he bellowed. “Quick!”

By the time some frightened groom had found the courage to approach Ajax and put a saddle on his back, a group of guards had gathered around the gate.

“What are these?” Reuben demanded, gesturing to the men.

“They are your escort, Sir Reuben,” replied the groom. “The Emperor sent them to assist you in the capture of Sir Franco.”

Reuben shrugged. “I suppose they can come along.” A grin quirked up one corner of his mouth. “If they can keep up.” And with that, he drove his heels into Ajax’s sides and galloped out of the gates.

~~*~~*

“Sir Franco!”

The man sitting at the table—which was slightly wobbly, due to the fact that the man had broken off one of the legs a while ago to beat the innkeeper—lowered his goblet and glared up at the stranger approaching him.

“Who wants to know?”

“Are you Sir Franco d’Onofrio?”

“Yes! And you are?”

“Sir Reuben von Limburg,” Reuben declared. He pulled one of his gloves off and, with it, smacked the drunkard lightly across the face. “And you, Sir Franco, are a villain and a cad, and you have broken the Emperor’s law! I hereby challenge you to a duel! I shall await you outside of this establishment to meet in a chivalric contest of ar—“

Reuben didn’t get any further than that because Sir Franco had launched himself up off the bench and hauled off a blow that sent Reuben stumbling backwards.

“Sir Knight! I must protest! According to the laws of chivalry—“

Wham!

“Sir Knight! If you do not cease this outrageous behavior, I shall be forced to—“

Thud!

“—ng!”

Reuben staggered, catching himself against a wall. Growling, he rubbed his aching chin.

“Very well! You, Sir, obviously have no honor—“

“You got that right, laddy! Here, honor this!”

Reuben ducked just in time to evade the flying bottle that smashed against the wall behind him.

“—and,” he continued, “you do not deserve to be treated with the honor due your station! I shall drag you back in front of the Emperor and make you beg for forgiveness!”

“Not in a million years, sonny!”

Reuben ducked out of the way again, nearly getting his face slit open by another bottle, this one not thrown, but broken off and clasped in the meaty fist of the robber knight as a makeshift mix of club and dagger.

“You cad! Fight with a knight’s true weapons!” Reuben demanded, pulling free his sword—or, at least, starting to. He had hardly gotten it halfway out of the scabbard when a wet, stinking dishrag smacked into his face.

“Here! Fight this!”

“Pfff! Grk! Pfts!”

Spitting out dishwater and something which tasted like remnants of moldy applesauce, Reuben pulled the rag from his face—and saw an armor-clad fist driving towards him.

Thwack!

The blow knocked him back against the wall again. This time, stars danced in front of his eyes, and they weren’t particularly pretty stars that he appreciated seeing. Throwing himself to the side, he rolled, just managing to evade a vicious kick to the gut, slid underneath a table and came up again on the other side, face dripping wet and his heart burning hot with anger.

“Have you no shred of chivalry left?”

Sir Franco grinned. “Maybe I’ll have some when I’ve shredded you. Depends on how chivalrous you are.”

“I, Sir, strive to be the epitome of pure knighthood, as every good knight should!”

“Good.” Hooking his foot under the table, Sir Franco kicked out again and sent the table flying towards Reuben. “That’ll make it easier to smash your face in!”

Right then and there, Reuben decided he’d had enough.

Catching the table in mid-flight, he hurled it aside and strode towards the robber knight, eyes blazing.

“Ah! So you do have some fire in you, after all!” Sir Franco laughed. “Nice! Maybe I’ll leave you alive after all, boy. Although I should kill you, merely for the Emperor’s insult in sending a boy like you after me!”

Reuben didn’t reach for his sword this time. It might be the true weapon of a knight, but it was too long for a fight in such close quarters. Instead, he reached out and grabbed a rolling pin off the counter.

“Oh, now I’m really afraid!” Sir Franco smirked. “What are you going to do with that? Flatten me?”