Chapter 16
The Evernean Forest
Cai
Our footsteps crunched the leaves as we trudged wearily through the forest.
Every part of my body was aching at this point and if it wasn’t fear driving me forwards, I probably would have passed out a long time ago, though I hardly knew how much longer I could keep walking.
“So you’re a bandit?” I stated the obvious, once more hoping that she would tell me more about herself. But I only managed to earn a scowl from Lara, or something that appeared to be close to a scowl.
“It’s not by choice, so you can stop giving me that judgemental expression, Your Highness.” She spat out the last part.
“What judgemental look?”
“That one written all over your face. It’s not like I take that much pleasure in it. It’s a means to an end.”
“You don’t seem particularly sad about the fact that you still have my necklace.” I managed a chuckle and then cringed at the pain from my ribs.
“First of all, if what Lance says is true, this thing is dangerous and shouldn’t be in the hands of someone who would abuse it.”
“And secondly?” I raised an eyebrow.
“And secondly, you shouldn’t be giving away magic necklaces to women you don’t know.”
“What can I say? I’m too trusting of people. It’s my weakness.”
We reached a small stream and Lara stepped into the ankle-deep water, gesturing for me to follow. We walked in the stream and I realised this was her making sure they wouldn’t be able to track us easily.
“So why did you do it?”
“Why did I agree to work with Lance?”
“Yes. I assume he held something over your head?”
“It was more than that,” she said. “He offered me my freedom.” We stepped over rocks and puddles and brushed past tall grass.
I listened for any strange noises coming through the night air, but all was fairly quiet.
“Your freedom?”
“You see, my parents died when I was just a baby.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.” I offered my condolences, but Lara brushed it off.
“It’s the world we live in. You can’t miss somebody you never knew. I was raised by my uncle, who also happens to be the leader of a group of bandits. He raised me to be like him. Raised me to fight for my survival, even if it sometimes meant doing questionable things. But Uncle Arthur has been busy with something else these past few years and I always thought he would never really get far and eventually give up, but I was wrong. He is planning something and I’m not sure I can be part of it.
“He gets messages from people, suggestions as to where a rich party will be travelling, or where something valuable is hidden, like aristocrats’ family heirlooms. Sort of like the common folk helping each other out, helping the cause.”
“The cause?” I dared to ask.
“It’s no secret that many in the kingdom are suffering, all while the nobility sit in their fancy homes and couldn’t care about anyone but themselves. My uncle—” She sighed. “My uncle uses some of the money to help those in need. But he’s had many things to take care of in the last few years, so I’ve taken on more responsibility in this area. Especially with the bigger stuff.
“I received a message addressed to the Masked Bandit, saying they would pay a large amount of money if I could steal this particular necklace from the princess. I thought I would take the money and run away. Needless to say, it didn’t go as planned.”
“Because Lance caught you.”
“Because Lance was the one who wrote the letter and hired me,” she said and my eyes widened a little. “He wanted to test my skills and get the necklace with little effort.” Her story was starting to add up, but it still didn’t explain what I thought I had known after seeing the painting in the library. And it was starting to sound like Lara knew even less than me. I kept my mouth shut until I could be certain I was no longer being lied to.
“What does he do with the rest of the money?”
Lara looked at me then, her eyes dead serious. “He’s planning a rebellion, Cai.”
My fist clenched. This wasn’t good. Civil wars were never pretty and it could cause a lot of trouble for Norrandale as well, considering we were trying to make an alliance with Everness. Then again, it could mean something else entirely if the Evernean monarchy was overthrown.
“And you’re in favour of the monarchy?” I questioned.
“Not at all. I hate them, for everything they’ve done to the people of Everness. It’s probably why I don’t feel bad for driving a knife into Lance’s torso. But stealing some earrings isn’t the same as a war with blood being shed.”
I would know. “Where were you going to go with the money?”
She chuckled. “I was actually planning on going to Norrandale. I heard you have the most exquisite beaches there. I might have bought a cottage and settled down somewhere.”
“You don’t worry about what will happen to your uncle and the rest of them?”
“It’s their decision to fight a war you and I both know they will not win. I cannot change their minds. It’s their right to fight. They’re braver than I will ever be.”
We stepped out on the other side of the stream. “How much further?” I asked.
“Our clan lives deep within the forest. We still have some distance to cover.”
“I suppose we should be lucky Everness is a fairly small country.” Or this trip might have been impossible.
“If we can find some horses, then we’ll make it there faster.”
“I hate to break it to you, but I don’t see any wild horses nearby just waiting to be ridden.”
“Fool,” she muttered, but I heard her clear enough.
“Excuse me?”
“We won’t be taming any horses. We’re going to steal them,” she stated as a matter of fact and smirked, awaiting my reply. This was a way for her to test me. She would expect me to protest, judge or offer some form of disagreement. I wasn’t very keen on stealing anyone’s horses, but I doubted I would make it another hour if I had to walk.
“Very well,” I said, and she eyed me thoughtfully for a moment.
We proceeded through the woods with the low light of a nearby village glowing in the distance. It wasn’t long before we reached a campfire of what appeared to be sleeping merchants, no doubt stopping on the outskirts of the village — too small for an inn — on their way to trade.
Lara untied one of the horses before pulling herself up. As quietly as I could manage, I took the reins of the horse closest to me and untied the knot before mounting. Every part of me screamed in pain.
We quietly walked the horses away until we were at a safe distance. The men had been using their saddles as pillows, so I had to make an extra effort to stay on as we galloped away bareback. I wanted nothing more than for this to be over and all I could think about was the fact that my men were still back there and that I hadn’t saved them.
We rode for a long time before Lara suddenly slowed her horse to a walking pace. “We’re not too far now. Only a little while to go.” I wasn’t sure if she was saying this more to me or to herself. I heard something snap in the trees above and suddenly a body landed in front of us. Lara’s horse spooked but she didn’t seem to care.
“Ray, what are you doing here?”
“I was on night patrol,” the young man replied, and something about his voice was eerily familiar. “The better question is, what are you doing here?” He pulled his hood away from his face and I immediately recognised him as one of the bandits who had attacked us near the Duke of Darwick’s estate.
“You!” I said before I could stop myself and Ray’s eyes flew to me before going back to Lara.
“What is he doing here?” he asked.
“It’s a long story.”
“You know this man?” I looked at Lara questioningly.
“Cai, this is Ray, my oldest friend, and, Ray, this is His Royal Highness, Prince Cai of Norrandale.”
“Was that attack planned?” I asked Lara.
“No, that was purely coincidence.” She chuckled uncomfortably. “We should hurry back to camp. We need Benette’s help.”
“Are you hurt?” Ray reached out a hand towards her in concern.
“I’ll be fine.” She gestured to me. “He needs help, though.”
Ray didn’t seem very keen on this, but we followed him back to where his horse was waiting before riding to the camp.
“You have a lot of explaining to do, you know,” Ray said to Lara.
“People need to stop saying that,” she replied in frustration.
“We all thought you were dead until I found you with him.” His tone had a hint of disgust when he said the word him .
“I wasn’t dead, I was busy working.”
“What sort of business required you to dress up like a princess and ride around the kingdom with a prince?”
“That’s none of your business.”
Ray shrugged. “All I’m saying is that Arthur isn’t going to be happy about this.”
“I don’t care what makes Arthur happy.”
“If you knew who she was, why did you steal from us?” I asked Ray.
“I know Lara,” he replied with a curt tone. “I could tell that she didn’t want you to know something. I mean clearly you didn’t know she was a bandit, which said enough. Plus I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make a prince beg.” He smirked and I clenched my teeth.
We reached a small rock-strewn hill and made our way to an opening between the rocks. The tunnel was narrow and my legs almost scraped against the walls. There were small beams of moonlight leaking in through the rock formation but it was still very dark. However, Lara and Ray seemed to know the way very well.
We exited on the other side and made our way along a fairly quiet river before merging back into the thick of the woods. I heard voices and saw the light of campfires and small cabins and tents. So this was how the clan had managed to stay hidden from King Magnus for so long.
We entered the camp and my eyes fell on the scrawny bodies of small children running about. There were men and women in all manner of clothes, but some of them appeared to be dressed like warriors.
“Welcome to Fairfrith,” Lara said over her shoulder.
“Are they all bandits?”
“Most of them are peasants, outlaws and rogues exiled or running from the monarchy because they couldn’t pay taxes or had to steal or kill for survival. My uncle offers them protection in return for their alliance with the rebellion.”
No one seemed to pay us much attention, which was a small comfort considering I was in a camp full of murderers. We dismounted and I stared in awe at the small society they had created.
“Take him to Benette,” Lara ordered Ray, who didn’t seem very keen on the task,
We left the horses in a paddock and I followed Ray to a small wooden cabin. There was very little candlelight inside and it smelled strongly of herbs and ointments. A large wooden table took up most of the space, with shelves containing all manner of jars lining the far wall. There was a small pallet bed in the corner but no one was inside the cabin.
“I’ll go look for her,” Ray mumbled. “Stay here, Prince.” He slammed the door shut. I didn’t mind the disrespect as much as I had a feeling my trials were very far from over.