Jimbo went to check on the bandits' captive, the princess Sweetpea. She was sitting demurely on the floor, where they had left her, but he found the lock holding her in place was hanging open.
"oh Ho! A lockpicker, are you?"
The princess smirked.
"Let's try you on this one," said Jimbo, pulling out another and re-locking her.
She pouted.
"Well, go ahead! Show me what you've got."
She looked at him incredulously, then took out the lock and started examining it.
"Need some tools?" asked Jimbo.
"Twould help," said the princess. Jimbo gave her a rather complete set of lockpicks.
She poked some, briefly looking hopeful, but it was soon clear she was flailing.
"Here let me show you," said Jimbo. "The first key, like this, you had that right, but that second latch you felt is a fake. The real one is 180 degrees behind. You've got to feel for the second latch to give. Feel it?"
"No."
"Very good, there was nothing to feel. How about this?"
"That slight jerk?"
"That's it. Now you try it."
Sweetpea tried again, and got it this time.
"Oh very good! You're an apt student, you are." He took away that lock and installed yet another. "Here, try this one! It's a trick lock."
She fiddled some.
"I'll just leave you here, we've got a raid to go on. Back in a bit!"
Two hours later, the sun was setting, and Sweetpea was still alone and locked to the floor. "Oh fuzz."
The next day the bandits were back. "OK, give up? Want to know the trick?" asked Jimbo.
"Please," said Sweetpea.
Jimbo went out of the room, came back in with a boltcutter, and cut the lock off. "The trick is, there's no trick. It just snaps into place and there's no way to undo it other than to break it."
The princess was exasperated. "That's hardly fair!"
"Fair? What good would a pickable lock be with someone who can pick locks? Know your audience, I say."
This was first posted on reddit.com r/WritingPrompts: "The Princess has been kidnapped by Bandits. The Royal Family can only imagine what Horrors she must go through. Meanwhile in the Bandit Camp they started teaching her lockpicking."