If The Crown Fits (The Twisted Crown Trilogy #1)

Chapter 1

Lara

I was dead.

Well, technically not yet, but I would be if they caught me.

The back door to the castle slammed shut behind me with a heavy thud and I sprinted out into the gardens. My heart beat with such intensity, I was almost sure the royal guards would hear it.

There was shouting behind me, and it pushed my legs to go faster. “Close the gates!” the guards called. “Don’t let her get out!”

Fools. Did they honestly believe I was stupid enough to run out through the main gate of the castle? I darted to the right and headed for the small stretch of trees at the end of the gardens. My muscles were burning now, as if scaling the stone walls to steal the necklace in the first place wasn’t enough.

I reached a tree near one of the castle walls and proceeded to swiftly climb up. The guards were only a few feet behind me. I lowered myself from one of the branches onto the stone wall. Here goes nothing . I jumped.

My knees buckled as I hit the ground hard, causing me to fall and roll into the street on the other side of the wall.

I got up, trying to figure out where to go next. If I were to avoid being caught, my escape would need to be quick and coordinated. Some concerned-looking people stepped out of the way of the masked figure who had just rolled into the street before their feet. My elbows and palms stung where the path had scraped my skin.

I pulled my hood over my head in the hope I would disappear among the sea of faces. My prize was heavy in the pocket of my breeches and I risked a glance back at the royal family’s autumn chateau to see if the guards were still behind me. Dressed in their bright uniforms, they stood out from the crowd, eyes scanning the surrounding area.

I dipped my head, pushing through the people. Soon enough, I reached the vendors market and, thinking I’d lost them, I smiled. The market formed the centre of the town, surrounded by houses with tiled roofs and smoking chimneys. There was the scent of fresh bread and yeast in the air, which could only mean a bakery was nearby. Had I not been in a rush, I might have stopped to grab something to eat. The streets were colourfully decorated with banners and flags as the summer solstice was coming up and the people loved to celebrate with large feasts and festivals every year. It was perhaps the one occasion that both the poor and the rich looked forward to, but I suspected this was only because the solstice was an excuse to get hammering drunk.

Merchants offered me things to purchase, but I didn’t have the time or the money for distractions. The border was more than a day’s ride away and I would have to hurry if I didn’t want the guards catching up to me. Getting across was going to be difficult enough as it was, considering the price on my head. My only advantage was that they didn’t know exactly what I looked like.

Some part of me wondered if I was making a rash decision, running away from everything I knew. But things back home were getting messy, and I didn’t know how much longer I would be able to hold out. I needed a fresh start, away from this life.

So, I would cross into the kingdom of Norrandale, have my freedom, and the Masked Bandit would be nothing more than myth. It wasn’t exactly the most original name the monarchy could come up with. I was a bandit who wore a mask. But operating under a name that was well known within the kingdom? Well, I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel the smallest sense of pride.

“End the monarchy! Fight for the freedom of the Everneans!” The man on the other side of the market caught my attention. He was standing on top of a wine barrel, preaching to the crowd about how we were taxed too much and that the royal family didn’t offer us enough protection from enemy kingdoms or growing crime in the cities. A rebel, and a stupid one at that. His words could easily be seen as treason, for which they could hang him. But I couldn’t blame him. The people were suffering, still not recovered from the famine a few years ago. Times were hard. But while some of the poor were dying on the streets, the rich were still rolling in money. Especially the royal family. Perhaps bravery and stupidity weren’t all that different.

Turning left into an alley, I started running, but before I could reach the end, a guard stepped around the corner. He was young, his face still the picture of innocence.

His eyes widened suddenly — he wasn’t expecting to see me. Well, that made two of us.

“She’s here!” he called out. I only had a few seconds to react. I unsheathed the two daggers at my thighs and sped towards the poor kid. He pulled out a sword of his own but he was too slow, too clumsy.

I kicked at his wrist, causing him to drop the sword. It slid across the cobbled path, away from us. Panic formed in his expression and I almost felt sorry for him before I knocked his feet out from under him and jabbed my dagger into his thigh when he hit the ground. He screamed in pain and I quickly pulled out the knife, wiping it clean on his trousers.

“Sorry,” I apologised half-heartedly. “It’s nothing personal.” I got up and looked around the corner to see the guards running towards us. “You’ll be fine.” His wide eyes met mine in disbelief as he breathed hard, lying on the ground and reaching for his wounded leg.

I turned back, running in the opposite direction and making a quick left into the street. The sound of the approaching guards was thunderous behind me — a wicked melody, as their steps were almost in unison — and a harsh reminder of what would happen if I were to get caught. I was vexed with myself. Everything had been going perfectly according to plan, until a guard had burst into the room like he’d known I was there. I forced myself to concentrate on the task at hand and not consider the possibility of a set-up.

Having nowhere else to go, I barged into the nearest house, and to my luck (which had not been treating me well today) it was empty. I hurried up the stairs of the small home until I reached the hatch that would lead to the roof.

The cool breeze struck me as I pulled myself up and closed the hatch.

I had two choices — I could go left and run across the rooftops or I could go right... and run across the rooftops. I groaned loudly. This was not what I signed up for when I had agreed to this deal.

I walked over to the edge and, sure enough, the guards were below, running about in search of me. I caught one of the guards turning his head and my courage deserted me, knowing he had seen me. Shaking my head, I approached the right edge of the roof. I had never been afraid of heights. I used to fall out of trees soon after I could walk. This, however, didn’t stop my stomach from lurching the moment I was mid-air, my arms and legs flailing slightly.

I hit the next-door roof with a thud and my shoulder protested in pain. But I had to get up. Had to keep running. The sky had become grey, a dark cloud pulling over the blue like a woollen blanket. I got up, checking my pocket to make sure the necklace was still inside. Relieved, I couldn’t help pulling it out and taking another look. The piece of jewellery was made from a chain of gold with a leafy pattern. Small diamonds formed flowers in between. It also had a larger jewel of a rosy-golden colour that I’d never seen before. It must have come from a faraway kingdom, and it was certainly the most expensive thing I’d ever held in my hand. I frowned, looking up. Even with the slightly overcast sky, the gemstones glinted like they were reflecting the sunlight. I didn’t have time to consider it because the hatch on the other roof opened and the head of a guard appeared. His eyes, dark and determined, met mine. I started running again. The roofs from here on were connected to each other. I sprinted as fast as my feet would carry me, trying hard not to slip on the moss-covered bricks and tiles.

The guards were still behind me. I could hear their boots a few roofs back, but this only motivated me to go faster. It would, after all, be no fun if there weren’t some sort of chase involved. That was until I saw the rooftops ending and no possible direction to go in... except maybe down. I stopped at the edge, peering over. It was too high. A jump like that would kill me.

“Nowhere to go.” It was the guard with the brown eyes. “Just hand yourself over now while you still have the chance.” His hands were in the air in a slightly defensive position, as if the fact that they weren’t on the hilt of his sword was a promise that no harm would befall me. Not that I would ever believe that. I couldn’t trust him. I couldn’t trust anyone.

I looked around, weighing my options. I had an idea, but I didn’t like it very much.

“Just hand over what we want and come with me.” He spoke again, but I was barely listening.

“Come with you?” I asked, still looking around. “And get beheaded by the King? Not today, thank you. Perhaps another time.” I smiled slightly.

“You don’t have a choice. We can either do this the easy way or the hard way.” He slowly took a step closer.

“I hate to ruin your day.” The wind was coming up faster, blowing my hair to the side. “But I never do it the easy way.” With that I turned, pulled my scarf loose and jumped from the roof. I only had one chance to do this right.

I flailed for a second before grabbing the banner, wrapping my scarf around it and sliding down towards the street. When I was close to the ground, I let go and shuddered before catching my breath. I looked up towards the guard. He was at the edge of the roof, his fellow guards behind him. I gave him my best smirk before strutting away.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get very far before walking into a stone-hard body, which grabbed me by my upper arms to prevent me falling to the ground. He was enormous and picked me up with no effort. I struggled to get free.

But the large guard had me in his grasp. A scar travelled from the space between his eyebrows to his cheek. He grinned down at me.

“You’re not going anywhere.”