Declaimer: I do not own The Princess of Thieves.

Sorry it keeps taking me so long to update, I'll try and start updating more.

Chapter 5:

"Gwyn….. …..Gwyn?" Fredrick said with a little shock in his voice as he came upon the couple.

Gwyn jumped away from Philip in surprise. Philip just looked calmly at Fredrick and said "Fredrick you have the most aggravating timing of any man I know."

"I'm s-s-sorry sire; b-b-but the captain sent me to t-t-tell you that if you are done s-s-stopping assignations, w-w-would you please meet him in the d-d-dungeons." Fredrick stopped for a second and collected himself before asking "What assignations does he mean sire?"

"I'll tell you about it while "his majesty" goes and sees what the captain wanted to talk about" Gwyn said kissing Philip on the cheek and taking Fredrick's arm and pulling him towards the kitchen. "And while were at it I want to get some food, and unconvinced kept me form dinner. Do you think that the cooks would be willing to give me something?"

"Yes I think they will but you will have to tell me what happened and if I need to tell people to start planning a wedding," said Fredrick loosing his stutter as he teased Gwyn.

Gwyn hit him playfully on the arm as they continued toward the kitchen. Philip watched with a smile on his face. He was already planning the proposal in his mind. But he totally refused to think of the wedding, that was far too much planning for him, a mere man. But he did think that he would ask Fredrick to be the best man. He hadn't made any really good friends besides him and it would make Gwyn happy.

Philip turned and headed toward the dungeons to see what the guards and the captain had gotten out of the would-be-kidnappers. He knew getting information would not be easy, because he had told his guards there would be no more torturing the prisoner and the new captain agreed. Even with the resent rule change the dungeons were not the happiest place. The feeling of death would always linger here, and Philip hated being down here. But the captain would not have asked for him if the information wasn't troubling or valuable.

As he entered the interrogation room, formally know as the torture chamber, he one of the men that had tried to capture him tied to a chair and a little more bruised then when he last seen him, but otherwise fine. The captain leaning against the wall with a look of disgust on his face, he looked up when Philip came in. "His name is Vetch, he has just told us which guard helped him, who sent him, and everything else he knows," the captain informed his king.

"And how exactly did you get this information out of him" Philip asked.

"A few casual threats and a search of his pockets which revealed the letter with his orders. The dunce didn't think to get rid of it. Makes me think how he ever learned to read."

"Yes, there seem to be more of those out there then you would think. So who would do this?"

" Well the guard that helped I already had a suspicion on, but it was easier keeping track of him then killing him for treason and maybe getting one that was smarter, apparently he was a little smarter then I thought, or just found out the guard rotation on accident. As for the man that gives these men their orders, well its one of Prince John lackeys."

"They came earlier then expected," Philip said while thinking out loud, "He getting bolder, and so soon after we chased him out with his tail between his legs. I take it you are sending out some men to try and find him?"

"Yes, but it will not be easy he is a snake and as such can hid under some of the slimmest rocks. But we will find him, and this time he will not get away," the captain said with fierce determination.

"Good, because I want him in this dungeon or dead before the wedding."

"The wedding?" the captain looked confused, "whose wedding?"

"Why mine if she says yes," Philip said wile walking out with a smile on his face, leaving everyone in the room, except the guard that had apprehended the man, with a look of shock on their face.