Saviors of the Forest

Chapter 36: The Old Switcheroo

Thorn had eventually fallen asleep, and was woken by a forceful knock.

"Mmm?" Thorn asked, rubbing his eyes and shaking himself off, climbing out of bed and planting an easy smirk on his face before opening the door.

Pirate stood there with a smirk similar to Thorn's, and had two, black diamond bracelets, identical to the ones around his wrists, in his paws.

"Greetings," Pirate said. "Lovely morning, isn't it? I do hope you slept well. I've brought your payment, as promised."

He handed Thorn the bracelets, and he immediately put them on. He never realized that he and Pirate's legs were about the same size. I mean, yeah, it wasn't on his top priority list, so okay.

"I do hope they're to your liking," Pirate mused.

Thorn smirked wider and nodded slightly. "They're just absolutely stunning, I'm incredibly grateful. Thank you oh so very much," he said.

"You look stunning with them," Pirate said. "The cooks are preparing breakfast, unfortunately I have a meeting with my guards and won't be able to join you. But I'll get out as soon as I can!"

Thorn nodded, and Pirate smiled, leaving Thorn to his room. Thorn heard his claws click against the floors as he walked down the stairs.

Thorn looked at his bracelets and shivered. They really did look just like Pirate's. He glanced out the door before giving two quick taps to the left one. It did nothing, just as Thorn hoped.

He padded out the door and down the big, spiral staircase that was just outside.

It was beautiful. Truly. He could only imagine how stunning the Palace looked before the Coyotes came in and destroyed it.

Dutch appeared at his side at the bottom of the stairs.

"Morning," he chirped. Thorn smiled at him.

"Hey, what's happening?"

"Enceladus, Ariel, and Iapetus are making breakfast! It's gonna be so good, I'm so excited!" Dutch said.

"Sounds like it's gonna be a good day then!" Thorn said with a triumphant smile.

They walked together, but not very close.

"We can switch them out tonight," Dutch said in a whisper, looking forward.

"You have a plan?" Thorn asked quietly, Dutch opening the large, wooden doors, embedded with sapphires, to the dining hall.

There was a long, wooden table and a massive, crystal chandelier. Along with giant, floor to ceiling windows and a stained glass ceiling.

Dutch gave Thorn a lopsided grin. "I do have a plan. A great one, in fact. I'll tell you about it later. Probably tomorrow, once I've got them."

Thorn nodded and pulled his chair out. It was intricately carven with vines and leaves, and was perfectly smooth, as was the table.

Dutch sat across from him, tail flicking in anticipation.

Thorn heard approaching footsteps and Dutch lowered his head to stare at the table, smile wiped from his face. Thorn, on the other paw, replaced his excited grin with an easy smirk.

Three Coyotes swept through the doors with two silver platters. The tallest was a reddish brown, and the shortest a light gray. The last one was dark brown and wore glasses.

The tallest Coyote set a large, silver platter covered in the most glorious food Thorn had ever seen in his life in front of him.

The light gray one set an equally mouthwatering platter in front of Dutch, who gave a small 'thank you,' which the Coyote replied to with a nod.