Homework Procrastination Friday: I'll do it all today! Saturday: I won't leave it until Sunday! Sunday: I will be done before midnight! Monday, five minutes before class: Crap! Crap! Shit! I'm screwed! Crap! What'd you get for five?!

There's always that one group you claim to hate, but you secretly want to be apart of them.

The Truth I miss you I say I don't That you were a horrible mistake But here's a little secret That's a lie

The Princess and the Thief "Princess Cassandra, what an honor." I cringed at how much sarcasm and hatred dripped off his words. "Did His Royal Highness send you to tell me it's time to die?" I lowered the hood of my cloak. "If Father knew I was here, I would have a place on the gallows next to you. A place I would-" "What? Does Daddy not approve of his little angel running off with a thief" He sneered. "Does Daddy not want his little girl to run away with a crook? A criminal?" He glared from behind the metal bars. "No! Of course he doesn't! Daddy wants to keep his little princess locked away, up safe in her tower waiting for her rich, handsome, stupid prince to come save her! Some burly-boned, lily-livered toad!" It took all my will not to flinch at his hateful glare. "Little baby Cassandra. Too weak and defenseless to possibly do anything to protect herself." He mocked as he began to advance toward the bars. My face flushed with heat. "Too cowardly to dare go against Mummy and Daddy's orders. Too scared to even think of leaving her kingdom where nothing would dare harm her." He stopped six inches away from the bars" Princess Cassandra, too stupid to-" "Will you just shut it!" He was taken aback, shocked that I would interrupt him, let alone shout. "Just shut up, and allow me to explain." His glare returned, but he didn't say a word. "I swear, I had no idea that the guards were going to come. I had absolutely nothing to do with them." He bowed his head, glaring at the ground. "Please believe me, James." I whispered. "Why should I believe anything you say? You led me by the hand to my death." I glanced around and spotted a sizable rock. "Because of this" I snatched the rock and began slamming it against the lock. "What are you doing?" James asked bewildered. I paused for a second and gasped, "Saving your #life." With one last smash, the lock broke and the door swung open. James gaped, not believing what I had just done. "Why are you doing this? When the king finds out he will surely-" "His Royal Dim Wittedness will never know I was involved. And don’t call me- oh never mind. He will assume you managed to escape on your own, or had help from a friend." He rushed out of the cell before embracing me in a hug. "But why?" he muttered. "Why risk your head for a criminal?" Wrapping my arms around his torso, I replied, "You've saved me enough times. It's my turn to save you." He chuckled into my hair. Reluctantly, I backed away. "We have to go. The guards will be here any minute." I grabbed his rough hand and we ran towards the exit of the cavern. As we neared the door, I stopped and began to flip over a few rocks. James stood by confused, but didn't question it. “It will be all right in the end,” I whispered. “How will it?” his eyes asked in silence. “I don’t know. No one knows. Well, God know, but he’s not telling.” A moment later, I turned back around and handed him the dark cloak I had hidden there earlier. He smiled then wrapped the cloak around his shoulders. He was about to pull up his hood, but I shook my head. "Not yet," I mouthed. I crept towards the door, opened it an inch and peeked through. The guards were either sleeping or playing cards. I rolled my eyes. So much for “best knights in the kingdom.” I pulled out a tiny ball from the pocket in my cloak. I tore the small tag before quickly rolling it and quietly closed the door. After hearing a few thuds, I cracked open the door. The four guards at the table were slumped over, passed out. Smirking, I opened the door and strolled over to the chest near the steps. James surveyed the scene then picked up the little woven ball from the floor. "I see you still have a few of my toys." "They're quite handy." I withdrew his scabbard along with dagger and handed them to him. He wrapped the belt around his waist and slid the dagger in its sheath as I had seen him do many times before. I held out his sword. He sheathed it as well then pulled on his hood. I did the same and I led him toward the exit that lead to the stables. ### A half an hour later, we were standing in a forest clearing less than a mile away from the castle. "Head West until you reach the village of Goldwhich. Ask around for Moragana. She will be able to help you." I fixed the fasten on James's cloak. Anything to distract myself from what was about to happen. "You're not coming?" I shook my head before turning to adjust his horse's saddle. "I can't. If I left, my father would think you kidnapped me. Again. He'd never think I'd actually run away, especially not with a criminal." "Is that all I am?" His hand clasped around my shoulder. He slowly turned me around so that I was facing him. "Just a criminal?" I kept my gaze locked on his chest, avoiding his eyes. "He could never know I've fallen in love with a marauder like you." "I suppose it is best," he sighed. "Just promise me one thing," he placed a finger under my chin and lifted my head so that my gaze met his. "Promise me you will not marry whatever pompous prat your father tries to set you up with." "I cannot promise that." My voice was barely above a whisper. "But I can promise I will never love another man, and when I am queen, you will be allowed to walk freely in Elval." He let out a sigh. "Fair enough," Slowly, he unsheathed his dagger from his belt placed it in my palm and curled my fingers around the hilt. "Please, keep this near you at all times. Learn how to use it. Learn how to fight. I have a feeling you're going to have to very soon." Without breaking eye contact, I nodded. I stared at his face, trying to put every detail to memory. "Promise me you'll return when it's safe." My voice cracked. "I swear on my #life, when you are queen I will return to Elval and find you." His voice had a sense of finality in it that made me believe no matter what happened, he would return. "What if you die?" Tears filled my eyes just at the thought. James smiled sadly. "Death cannot stop true love,” He tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “Only delay it for a while." All farm boys knew that. The dagger fell to the ground as I flung my arms around his neck and crashed my lips to his. His arms circled my waist and he pulled me closer. There was only one word to describe it: bliss. After what could've been moments, minutes, hours he pulled away and rested his chin on my head and whispered the three most powerful words, "I love you." I buried my head in his chest. "I love you too," I replied though it came out muffled. There we stood, tangled in each other's arms for what could've been forever. All too soon, the sun peaked over the horizon signaling the start of a new day. "I must go. The servants will wake soon and you can't be missing when they do." Reluctantly, I disentangled my arms and stared into his misty grey eyes. "So this is goodbye." "Not forever, just goodbye for now." He knelt down and picked up the dagger I had dropped. He curled my fingers around it once more. "Defend yourself. Learn to fight. Show your father and every nobleman brave enough to try to seek your hand that you are not an average princess waiting for her prince to come slay the dragon. Show them you're not going down without a fight." I nodded, not being able to speak without letting the tears fall. "I promise, one day I will return, Your Highness," He gave one last over dramatic bow which somehow caused a giggle to escape my lips. He grinned, still bowed, and kissed the top of my hand. "It will be all right in the end,” he whispered with a roguish smile. “Goodbye, Princess Cassandra. " With that, he mounted his horse and galloped away from the sun. I waited until I could no longer see him before I let the first tear fall. Followed by another. Then another. I turned back to the sun only to see the tip just barely over the horizon. With I sigh, I walked over to my own horse and rode her back to the castle, back to my tower once more. Except this time, I won't be waiting for my knight in shining armor to come riding in midday. I'll be waiting for my raggedy thief to steal me away in the night.

Dear You Dear You, You were the one who wanted to make this work. You were the one said we could see each other. You were the one who asked me the "big question." You were the one who said "I'll talk to you tomorrow." I guess your tomorrow is different from mine. My tomorrow was six weeks ago. When's yours? Because I'm getting tired of waiting on you. If I could, I would say something, but you're not gonna see it. I guess I could blame it on Skype, but Skype isn't the reason you haven't called. I've tried being patient, but my patience has run out. So goodbye, to you and whatever we had that wasn't as special to you as it was to me. Goodbye to you. Sincerely, Me.