Page 23 of The Robber Knight's Love
“You aren't one of the men of the Margravevon Falkenstein, are you?”
“No,” he said emphatically. “I'm a merchant,”he added, thinking of the man he had robbed earlier that day.
“Good,” she replied, her voice as gentle asher hands. “Because if you had been one of Falkenstein's fiends, Iwould have hanged you from the highest tower of my castle.”
“Lucky me.”
“Very lucky.” She tapped on his back. “Lookslike these wounds didn't even come close to any vital organs. Aslong as they don't get infected, you'll live.” Her small handsmoved away from his back, and he could feel her grasp the shafts.“Now, I'll just have to pull the arrows out...”
Reuben twisted as fast as a snake and had herhands captured in his in a heartbeat. She didn't utter a sound,just stared at his ferocious expression with undoubted fear in herbright blue eyes. She must have thought he was trying to attackher. It almost made him sorry for his reaction. Almost.
“Don't!” he said, breathing heavily. “Don'tever do that!”
“D-do what?” she asked, after a moment.
“Pull onarrows! You have no way of knowing if they have barbs!”[27]
“Barbs?”
“Sharp hooks on the arrowhead that aredesigned to keep the arrow where it is. If you try to pull out anarrow with barbs, it'll tear your flesh open and you won't get itout anyway. You'll die from internal bleeding.”
He saw her swallow and try to get a hold ofherself again. Part of him admired her guts, wanted to speak moresoftly to her, but the part of him that knew this little girl couldjust have killed him in a heartbeat was far bigger and angrier.
“I didn't know that,” she said, softly. Hereyes were watery, but the tears didn't spill over.
“Well now you do,” he growled. “And woebetide you if you don't remember it well!”
That drove the moisture from her eyes andmade them narrow in a glare. Apparently, she didn't take kindly tobeing threatened.
“How does a merchant know so much aboutarrows?” she asked, suspiciously.
Reuben cursed himself for not thinking of abetter profession for himself. But then he had an idea. “Everymerchant has to know about the wares he buys and sells,” heanswered curtly, hoping that would satisfy her. “Now get on withit.”
“Well, how am I supposed to get the arrowsout if I'm not allowed to pull?”
He rolled his eyes. Typical woman. “Well, ifyou can't pull, what else can you do?”
“Push?”
“Yes.”
“But that would mean pushing the arrows rightthrough your flesh! Through your entire chest and out thefront!”
“Obviously.”
“It'll hurt,” she pointed out.
“Maybe.”
“Probably it'll hurt quite a bit,” shecontinued, thoughtfully, apparently beginning to take a liking tothe idea. “It might even be torturous.”
Reuben smiled. She had no idea.
“It'll be all right,” he said, in a superiortone, which of course only egged her on.
“You'll have to promise me not to scream orflinch if the pain gets too much for you,” she said, sweetly.“After all, I'll have to concentrate on what I am doing. Do youthink you can do that for me, brave man?”
“I think I'll manage.”
