Page 74 of If The Crown Fits
She stopped pacing. “I’m a thief, not a murderer.”
“Fair enough.”
A group of men arrived at Arthur’s cabin and Lara motioned towards the door. “Come on, the meeting is going to start.”
There was a large structural drawing of Levernia palace on the table in the middle of the room. Lara and I occupied one of the corners of the cabin.
“Who are these men?” I whispered, nodding towards the faces around the table. Ray and Rhen were there too.
“They are the masters of the clan.”
“The what?”
“The masters. Before all of this, before there were so many of us, it was just my uncle and his little band of thieves. Each of them with a specific skill, who wanted to fight the Crown, like Arthur.”
I glanced at the sunburnt, slightly wrinkled faces.
“Of course, that was practically twenty years ago,” Lara continued. “That’s Donald.” She pointed to the scrawny man. “He is the master of weaponry. He used to be part of the Crown’s arsenal team. Now he’s in charge of collecting our swords, getting silver and persuading blacksmiths to join the cause.”
I nodded in understanding.
“That’s Murtag, he’s the master of disguise.” Murtag looked a little older than Arthur. “If you want to go somewhere undetected, that’s your guy. He can help you blend in anywhere or disguise yourself as anyone.”
I gestured with my head to the man with hair as white as snow. “And him?”
“That’s Erwin, master of deception. He was orphaned as a child and used to perform in the castle as a jester when he was a little boy. He worked with a man who was famous for creating illusions. Next to him is Brosby, master of distraction. They believe that any good trick requires a good distraction, and back in their palace days, they made a good team.”
“Most of them have a connection to the Crown in one way or another.”
“If you want to bring down a house, you start with its enemies. These people of the clan have been wronged and they want revenge.”
I watched the men argue about entrances to the palace. “Revenge is never a good strategy for war.”
Lara let out a sigh. “You tell them that.”
“And Ray, what is he the master of?”
“Terrain. He knows the forest like the back of his hand and is your best chance of escape.”
“And you?” I raised a curious brow. “Or are you allowed to listen in because you’re family?”
A devilish smirk crossed her lips and she gave a small bow. “Master of mischief at your service.”
“Mischief?”
“It started as a joke when I was a child but...” She shrugged.
Rhen spoke up. “I say the coronation is your best bet.”
“How so?” replied the scrawny man, Donald.
“It’s when the palace guards will be most distracted with the public and the celebrations. It’s the easiest way to sneak into the palace unnoticed.”
“Murtag will be in charge of that,” Ray piped up and Murtag nodded in agreement.
“Rhen’s right.” I stepped towards the table. “I think it’s our best way in with the least amount of force.” I didn’t miss Ray rolling his eyes.
“What do we do once inside?” Erwin asked.
