Page 70 of If The Crown Fits
Of course, this caught the attention of all the other small children as well, and soon Lara was handing out the food to them, one by one. It made my stomach twist to see the hunger in the children’s eyes. The only time I thought I might die of hunger was during the war. And I would never wish that upon any child.
A thought crossed my mind while I watched the satisfaction in Lara’s eyes as she gave the skinny children something to eat. I realised that maybe she was more than a bandit.
Chapter 19
The Evernean Forest
Lara
I gazed into the small mirror above the little dresser in my cabin. It was old and cracked, allowing my reflection to become a blurry kaleidoscope.
Nonetheless, one had to get by with what one had.
The summer solstice called for very specific celebration. It was the one day of the year when all of us, no matter how poor, made an effort to dress up. Black was the colour of choice and patterns and swirls were painted on our bodies and faces. The top half of my hair had been braided out of my face and I was surprised by how much my reflection had changed in the mirror compared to the year before, despite dressing exactly the same.
It was supposed to be a joyous occasion, but I didn’t seem to have much to celebrate, except perhaps for the fact that I was alive. I clasped a necklace, which I had stolen some time ago, around my neck and the amber contrasted with the light tone of my skin. I thought about how much nicer Cai’s necklace would look but discounted the thought as foolish. It wouldn’t be safe to be seen with it in the camp. Giving one last grin in the mirror, I turned to leave. The sound of chatter grew louder above the folk music as I opened the door of my cabin. My vision was filled with firelight coating the earth and the group of faces all made up similar to mine. I made my way between the trees and grassy patches towards the centre of the commotion.
The smell of fire-cooked food danced in the air and I ignored the rumble of my stomach. I hadn’t seen Ray or Cai since this afternoon and I had a goal of finding at least one of them. I was still walking when something that felt like a berry fell on my head. I looked up instinctively and found a pair of mischievouseyes staring back at me. It was difficult not to smile. “What exactly do you think you’re doing?” I asked Ray as he fell backwards and swung down from the branch. He had always been a better tree climber than I was.
Ray’s face had also been decorated with the dark swirling patterns and for a moment he reminded me of his father. They had the same eyes. When we were much younger, I spent a lot of time with Ray and his family. But then Ray’s mother got sick and nobody could do anything to save her. It took such a toll on his father that a few months later, in the village, he nearly beat a guard to death for mistreating an older woman. And he paid for it with his life. At least I had never known my parents. I couldn’t miss someone I’d never met.
“I’m looking for you.” He tilted his head slightly and I smiled at my childhood friend. “Come on, I’m starving,” he said.
We walked to tables laid with more food than we could usually afford. Most of the time every scrap was stretched out or saved for as long as possible. But not on the summer solstice.
“Have you seen Cai?” I asked Ray, who shook his head.
I bit my lip. “I’m supposed to be keeping an eye on him. Uncle doesn’t trust him at all.”
“He’s probably around here somewhere. I don’t think he’d actually be stupid enough to run.”
“Still, Arthur’s already upset with me as it is. I don’t have any intention of getting myself into more trouble.”
Ray let out a chuckle and I scowled at him. “It’s not funny.”
“I don’t know what’s more amusing, the fact that you mind getting into trouble or that you think Arthur’s capable of punishing you somehow. I mean, what’s he going to do? Exile you when this is over?”
Wouldn’t that be ironic?We walked through the commotion and I nodded in greeting at the faces that had become familiar to me in camp.
“I missed this,” Ray commented.
“Yes, it’s been a long time since we’ve really had something to celebrate around here.”
“No, I meant, I miss this.” He gestured between the two of us. “We were practically inseparable and then a few months ago you started acting all rogue, refusing to be part of this family.”
I stopped, turning to face him. “I told you, I didn’t want to be part of this rebellion. I know that things aren’t run fairly in this kingdom — believe me, I do. But killing people? Seeing the people in our clan get killed? Ray, I don’t think I can survive that. If anything were to happen to my uncle or you...”
“Hey, it’s okay.” Ray wrapped his arms around me and I had a flashback to when we were really young. Ray and I used to share a cabin with Uncle, and one night my uncle went out without saying where he was going. He didn’t return until the late hours of the morning — I was up the whole night, terrified that he would never come back. I started to cry and Ray, as always, was there to comfort me.
“I know this isn’t ideal. If life were, we would have had a fair king on the throne and we wouldn’t have to steal and kill in order to survive. But we need you on this. You’ve given us a lever we’ve been waiting for, for years. Even if it wasn’t intentional. Promise you’ll try to cooperate at least until we’ve figured out a plan?”
His eyes were so pleading that I couldn’t help but nod. “Okay, I promise.”
I gazed around and caught sight of blond hair weaving through the small crowd. Cai looked left and right, as if checking whether someone was following him, and then proceeded towards the outskirts of the camp.
“I have to go.” I didn’t even give Ray an explanation or a chance to reply before running off after the prince. There wasn’t time. At least Cai wasn’t running, which made it easier for me to catch up with him.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
