Page 35 of If The Crown Fits
“No thank you.” Like I would let him carry me. I did, however, place my hand on his shoulder to lean over and start untying my laces.
“Your Highness,” Cordelia protested, and the look in her eye was enough to tell me that taking off my shoes in front ofHis Norrandish Highnesswas a no-go. Good thing I didn’t actually give a damn about what she said.
“Oh it’s not like he hasn’t seen my ankles before.” I pulled off my other shoe, and out of the corner of my eye, I caught Cai trying to hide a smile.
“Much better,” I said, once my toes were touching the forest floor. And then I walked onwards as if I hadn’t just partly undressed in front of the Prince of Norrandale.
“That was quite a manoeuvre, back there,” Cai said a few minutes into our walk.
“What?”
“The dagger.” He cleared his throat, as if not entirely sure how to speak to me, not after what had happened. Was he embarrassed that he begged? Did he perhaps regret it? Or was he concerned that the woman he thought was going to be his future wife had good knife-throwing skills?
“It was a lucky throw.” I attempted to shrug it off and looked everywhere but towards his eyes in search of a new subject to converse about. Or maybe not to converse at all. Though this was on the list of Cordelia’s suggestions in what I had to do to woo the prince. In fact, polite conversation came very highly recommended.
“It was a risky throw. You could have injured someone, had you missed.”
“Why does it sound like you’re about to lecture me on the safety of knife-throwing?” We’d fallen behind the rest of the group.
“I’m not.” He cleared his throat again and I sensed his discomfort. “I’m just curious as to why you seem to be attracted towards knives in general and quite comfortable handling them?”
I’d heard once that in order to tell a successful lie, one must stay as close to the truth as possible. But how was I supposed to do that when I was a bandit pretending to be a princess? Ray’s face flickered in my mind.
“When I was young, I had a friend who took an interest in knives. Sometimes when he’d come to visit, he would teach me to throw at a target. It was a pastime to keep boredom at bay.”Not entirely a lie. Ray and I had spent many afternoons throwing knives at tree trunks. Of course, I was the one who taught him, though Ray was much better with a bow.
“Just a friend then?” Cai had a curious expression on his face, as if he were attempting to hide his true emotions.
“Yes,” I responded, without hesitation. “Just a friend.” But the question got me thinking. Was there a possibility of Cai having someone back home that he would rather marry, instead of Eloisa? For all of the horrors experienced by those of us who lived a life of poverty, at least we mostly got to marry for love.
We walked past a tree with a piece of paper pinned to the trunk. It was a drawing of a hooded figure with the wordsMasked Bandit dead or alive. Reward 500 gold pieces. Just 500? I wanted to snort. It was almost an insult.
“I’ve heard stories of the Masked Bandit being quite a nuisance in the northern part of the kingdom.” Cai motioned towards the drawing.
“I think most of the stories are exaggerated because people are bored,” I replied as coolly as possible. “I mean, I’ve never met anyone who’s actually seen the Masked Bandit.”
Cai didn’t seem entirely convinced.
“I’m surprised your brother or father aren’t doing more to get rid of the bandits. They’ve become a serious problem.”
Problem? Was that all we were to them?
Not people who had run out of other options to keep their families alive. Not men and women who had no other choices left in the world, who needed help. No, we were a problem.
“Well, with my father’s illness, things have been more difficult to manage.”
“You’re right. My apologies. I never even asked you how your father was doing.” It was a different topic at least, though not exactly a better one.
“Every day brings its challenges.” I tried to be vague. “But we won’t lose hope.”
“No, we won’t.” He gave me only half a smile, but it was filled with sincerity, nonetheless.
Chapter 10
The Evernean Forest
Cai
We didn’t walk very far before spotting smoke in the distance. It turned out to be the estate of one of the wealthy aristocrats. The Duke of Darwick appeared very welcoming and his wife most concerned at our tale of being attacked by bandits in the forest.
