One: The Heist

I'd been awake for a few hours already, making sure we had everything we needed and looking down at the sleeping kingdom where few guards did their patrol. The plan today was to steal the crown of the Lost Princess of Corona.

I was waiting on my two cohorts, the Stabbington brothers. I'd met them at the orphanage when I was old enough to room with the older kids. We didn't commonly work together, but this was a big enough job that it required more than two brutes or one dashing thief.

As the sun rose, my cohorts awoke, and we began our adventure across rooftops to the castle's roof.

"Wow. I could get used to a view like this." I sighed, looking out over the kingdom from my vantage point.

"Ryder! Come on!" Hissed one.

"Hold on. Yep. I'm used to it. Guys, I want a castle."

"We do this job, you can buy your own castle." They grabbed the back of my collar and pulled me to where they had uprooted a roof tile directly over the crown. I tied one end of the rope we had around myself and handed the other end to Eyepatch.

I climbed down into the room and they lowered the rope. In one hand I held the brown satchel that would hold the crown afterward, the other was free to snatch the crown. A ring of guards surrounded the pedestal with all of their backs toward the treasure. I picked up the crown right as one of the guards sneezed.

"Ugh, hayfever?" I asked, feeling cocky.

"Yeah." He said with a slight sniffle, only half turning. I quickly motioned for the Stabbingtons to pull me back up. "Hey! Wait!" I heard from the room as we put the tile back and started running.

As we crossed the bridge, I shouted to my men, "Can't you picture me in a castle of my own? Because I certainly can! All the things we've seen and it's only eight in the morning! Gentleman, this is a very big day!" I raised the bag with our loot in it over my head in triumph as we ran into the forest.

In the forest, I could hear the satisfying sound of palace guards in pursuit. There was no real meet-up point that we were running to. The best philosophy is to keep running until you've lost them. We had not yet lost them.

I paused, leaning against a tree as I tried to force my breathing to slow. My accomplices both doubled over with their hands on their knees as they raked in their breath. My eyes slid to the two wanted posters next to my hand.

"Huh?!" I ripped the poster with my name down. "Nononono. This is bad. This is really really bad!" I stared at my poster in horror. "They just can't get my nose right!" I turned the poster around and held it up next to my face to show the brothers the atrocity that was the drawing's nose.

"Who cares?"

"Well, that's easy for you to say!" I turned toward their poster that was still tacked onto the tree next to me. "You guys look amazing." This was a stretch. The truth was the drawing was as ugly as the two brutes standing in front of me, but at least it matched.

A whinny from a horse brought us all back to the present. I turned and saw the guards just one cliff over. In a minute or less they could be on our side. Without thinking I shoved my Wanted poster into the satchel with the crown as the three of us began to run again. Suddenly, we all skidded to a halt when faced with a wall. The top of the wall was out of reach for all of us.

"Alright. Okay." I said, touching the wall and trying to think. "Give me a boost and I'll pull you up."

The two brutes exchanged a sidelong glance before saying, "Give us the satchel first." Annoyance bubbled up in me but came out as mock hurt.

I gasped and said, "I just...I can't believe that after all we've been through together...You still don't trust me?" Their empty stares were answer enough. "Ouch." I deadpanned as I handed the satchel over. As it left my hands I was already thinking about how to get it back and leave these two behind.

They created a ladder leading up for me to climb to the top. Hanging off the shoulder of one was the satchel. As I climbed, I made everything awkward and painful on purpose. To rearrange his shoulders as I stepped up, he let his arm come away from the wall and as he closed his eyes I slipped it off his arm and up onto the ledge that I was about to climb. Too easy. I stepped on the side of his face for good measure and hopped up, proud of myself.

"Now, help us up, pretty boy." He extended his hand up toward me.

"Sorry." I smiled my dashing smile. "My hands are full." I held up the satchel and ran as they screamed after me. I saw the path ending ahead of me as I ran and turned too fast, almost losing my balance. I could feel the ground shaking from the horses' hooves behind me. The guards were yelling to each other and the horses were whinnying behind me as I ran. I ducked under the fallen tree branch in front of me as the guards all shot arrows. I paused, looking down at the arrows that were now embedded in the tree where I used to be standing just seconds before.

I can't outrun a horse. I can't outrun a horse. I can't outrun a horse. My mind was racing. I leaped through a narrow split in a tree, losing all but one of the guards. Directly in front of me, a heavy rope-like vine hung from a tree. Hoping beyond all hope that it wouldn't break, I grabbed it and jumped off a rock, sending myself flying around a tree. I was coming back around just as the guard was in the perfect spot. I stuck my feet out and kicked him off of his horse.

"Yeah! Haha!" I shouted, taking the reins of the palace horse. The horse stopped dead and turned it's head. "Come on, fleabag, forward." I urged it right before it tried to bite the satchel out of my hands. I yanked my hand with the satchel away. "No." Soon we were fighting, spinning in circles as the horse tried again and again to bite the bag. I flung my arm backward as the horse lost it's grip on the bag and it went flying, landing on a small branch that was hanging over the edge of a cliff.

I dove off of the horse, reaching for the satchel. The horse followed and after a struggle, ended up on top of the branch with me hanging on to the bottom of the branch. It snarled and stamped its hooves, aiming (can horses aim?) for my hands. I crawled away as fast as I could at the same time as trying to reach the satchel before it fell. I reached for it and grabbed it, letting out a triumphant, "Ha!"

It was too late. There was too much weight on the branch. I heard the log snapping and grabbed on tighter as it broke off. As I fell, still clinging to the branch, I let out a scream. The log, carrying myself and the guard's white horse, hit a rock halfway down and snapped down the middle, sending us flying in opposite directions. I hit the floor of more forest and even though my whole body hurt after the fall, got up to hide behind a rock in case the horse was still looking. I waited for a moment before standing up and leaning against the vine covered wall next to me. Not a wall.

My hand went through the vines and I groaned. Suddenly I heard the horse's whinny. I ducked behind the vines and pressed myself into a rock that was right behind them. The horse came running and stopped, looking for me. After a moment, the horse made a disgruntled noise and moved on. I relaxed and looked the other way.

There was a whole secret world behind the veil of vines. A waterfall made a creek that ran through the meadow. Standing tall in the center of this small little world was a tower made of stone. The whole area was hidden, being surrounded by rock. I walked toward the tower and looked up. Here, I'd be safe for a little while.

I took out two sturdy arrows from the satchel that was slung across my torso and wedged them into the crevices of the stones that made the tower. I climbed up the wall and grabbed onto the wooden windowsill that seemed too big to be a window and climbed in.

"Alone at last." I smiled, opening the satchel to reveal the crown. Behind me something hard and metal struck me on the back of my head and everything went black before I even hit the floor.