The Masked Bandit

My guards surrounded the thief. Micah walked towards me.

"My Lord, would you care to do the honors?" he asks with a small bow.

"With pleasure. Capturing the Masked Bandit will be a wonderful thing to hold over my brother," I say, walking to the ring my guards have created. They part to let me through.

The Masked Bandit is wearing all black. He even wears a black head wrap and gloves. His only visible feature is his eyes. His blue eyes watch me, and he flips one of his daggers, so he holds one each way, ready to attack.

Reaching for my sword, I rest my hand on the hilt. With my free hand, I wave towards his mask. "How about you take that off. There's really no more reason for it."

He stands still for a second then twirls his daggers before driving them into their sheaths. I smile as he lifts his hands to the back of his head. It disappears when he instead tightens the strings.

My lip curls as I bare my teeth, drawing my sword. "You insolent cur."

He responds by drawing his daggers again. "If you wish to see my face, you'll have to kill me," he says. His voice was deep and gravely, surprising for his small stature.

I laugh, gesturing to my guards, "I think you fail to understand the circumstance."

"I think you underestimate me," he counters.

"Seize him," I order my guards. Obediently, they close in on him.

He's surprisingly good at fighting. He dodges and gives blows in quick successive moves. His feet move swiftly across the ground, keeping pace with the guards.

"Micah."

"Yes?" he answers.

"Why don't you move in from the back. I'll make sure his attention stays in front of him."

"Good plan," he says before walking off.

I walk towards him, and my guards respond, moving to stay between me and the Masked Bandit. The fighting carries on for another minute until suddenly, the Masked Bandit falls to the ground. Micah stands behind him, lowing his sword. The guards look at him in surprise.

"Well? Get him up," Micah orders.

Two of the guards grab his arms and lift him up. The Masked Bandit sits on his knees, held up by the guards. He groans before looking up at me, as I approach him. I drop to my heels in front of him.

"I think you failed to understand the circumstance," I tell him.

His eyes are glazed with pain, but he still narrows them to slits. "No. I failed to recognize your lack of integrity," he spits out.

It's my turn to glare. "Let's see that face now, shall we?" I stand up and motion for another guard to remove the mask. I turn from him to recompose myself. I glance at Micah in time to see his face go from passive to shocked. I turn back around to see what's shocked him and freeze. I'm sure my expression mirrors Micah's.

I stare at the unmasked Masked Bandit. Rich, wavy auburn hair, now flows free of the headwrap. Without the mask, a face with delicate, yet fine features is exposed.

"You're a girl," I say finding my voice.

She smirks. "Tell me," she says, her voice is hard, yet soft and gentle, "Can I add a minute of your voice to the list of things I've stolen?"

"Bind her," I order one of the guards. "Tomorrow, you're going to shed a bit more light on the story of the Masked Bandit," I tell her.

Having bound her hands, the guards pull her to her feet. "It's really quite simple. Someone had to take a stand against the king's tyranny."

My hand flies up to smack the smirk off her face. She doesn't even flinch. I don't know whether I should be impressed or irritated. "You should watch our tongue," I warn her.

"If you want to make a point, you'll have to do more than just threaten me."