Cursed by Bandits (Once Upon A Curse)

12. Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

“ W here did the money go? It’s not like it could walk away on its own!”

I jumped as something crashed inside my uncle’s office. Scootching closer to the door, I leaned over to look through the keyhole to decipher who else was in the room. At first the only person who walked within view was my uncle, but it wasn’t long until the greasy hair of Jocelin Montfort passed in to view.

“Maybe it was Rowan’s companion. That was the only thing different about today.”

“And how would she have gotten away with stealing the money?” Uncle Jonathan’s tone became deadly quiet. “It’s your job as sheriff to collect and protect the taxes. Go do your job and don’t make me regret involving you.”

I darted away from the door just in time. As it swung open and Jocelin stormed out, he muttered under his breath. I could barely hear him, but managed to capture words that sounded a lot like no choice , death , and tyrant . It made me wonder if the sheriff could, in fact, be turned into an ally. But the thought was lost before I could do anything because another one intruded.

Did my uncle say collect more taxes ? Was that what the sheriff was off to do? I didn’t know if Tuck had passed out the money yet, and even if he had, what was the purpose of stealing it from my uncle only to have him take it back again the very next day? The villagers needed time to spend the money—restock the larder, buy seeds for the garden, find shoes for their children. But right now, the only people that knew about the theft included me, Milo, Jane, Tuck, and Will. No one that needed the money knew about it, at least not until someone handed it out, and now my uncle was talking about collecting the taxes again. If this continued to happen, stealing from him wasn’t going to be enough. I was going to have to do more to help my people .

My thoughts continued to race as I walked back to my room. My uncle needed someone to blame for the theft, and it couldn’t be the townspeople—

I needed to get a message to Tuck. He needed to hold on to the stolen money until a show could be made of delivering it. Something that would get people talking about the thief delivering money to them. The question was, how was I going to get a message to him before they continued on with the current plan?

I swung open the door to my room and crossed over the threshold. It shut with a thud. I leaned up against it and sank to the floor. I hated knowing I needed to get something done but not knowing how to go about getting it done. It always made me feel helpless.

A knock on the door had me jumping out of my skin.

“I know you’re in there, Rowan,” Jane said.

I crawled away from the door. “Come in.”

Jane’s eyes studied my sulking frame. She raised an eyebrow but didn’t say a word.

“He’s sending Jocelin out to tax them again. They haven’t even got the money yet. And if Tuck or Will delivers it, that endangers them even more.” I had an idea of what should be done. I needed to stop them and it involved expanding my role in our endeavor .

What I needed was a way to contact them before anything happened. Something that could deliver a message between here and there before the sheriff could collect again.

“Do you think Milo and Tuck already have a way of sending each other messages? They’ve been working together for a bit.” Jane sank to the floor beside me.

I leapt to my feet. Maybe Milo had a way to communicate with Tuck in place. I yanked open the door. “We have to find Milo now.”

Jane pushed herself off the floor. “I thought we were sulking on the floor. Make up your mind, Rowan.”

Despite everything going on, I laughed. “It’s your fault, you have too many good ideas.”

I didn’t even know where to find him, if he lived in the keep or in town. I wanted it to be here in the keep if only to see if my idea would work.

Grabbing Jane’s arm, she had no choice but to run down the hall with me.

“He’s in the smaller of the two barracks. I’ve heard he’s turned it in to a laboratory of sorts. Everyone is afraid to live near him, worried he’s involved in dark magic.” Jane panted behind me.

I changed paths, heading straight for the barracks, still dragging Jane behind me. The stone walls of the castle blurred as I careened around each corner. It was a good thing my uncle presumably was still in his study because there was no way I could explain my behavior if I ran into him.

Jane tugged on my arm until I slowed down.

“What?” Impatience laced my tone as I turned back towards her.

Jane took her arm back and brushed her skirts off. “I tripped.”

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to pull so hard. Are you okay?” I searched her face, looking for any signs of discomfort.

Jane nodded. “I just needed a moment to compose myself.”

We continued to the barracks, which meant leaving the castle proper, crossing over the green, and heading to the left, away from the ocean. I stopped in front of the arched door and stared at the iron holding the wood planks together. With a deep breath, I knocked on the door.

“Milo, answer the door,” I yelled.

The door creaked open and there Milo stood. His dark curly hair pointed in every direction and his glasses sat crooked on his nose. He straightened them as he leaned up against the doorframe .

A corner of his mouth quirked upward, creating the lopsided smile I still dreamed about. “What do you need, Rowan?”

“Do you have a way to deliver a message?” I went on to explain my predicament, one he was somewhat involved in.

He put his hands on my shoulders and slid them down to my hands before stopping. “Take a deep breath. I do have a way—pigeons.”

“Birds? How will birds help us?” I raised an eyebrow, questioning his solution.

He stepped to the side, letting Jane and me enter. “Pigeons, specifically homing pigeons, know where to go. The message gets tied to the top of their feet.”

“But how do they know where to go?” The words left my mouth before I realized I had any questions.

Milo’s smile was so big, it was as if I offered him a multitude of riches. “I train them. You see, first I—”

Jane stopped him. “We don’t have time. Send a message to Tuck to hold on to the coin and that Rowan will explain as soon as she makes the trip to town. You two can talk about training after this mess is straightened out.”

“She’s right.” I turned, about to leave.

Milo grabbed my arm. “What are you planning to do? ”

“To start, I need my mask and hood.” I shook his hand off me, turned, and ran back to the castle, to my room.

I heard Jane follow me, but her pace must have been much more sedate because the sound of her footsteps disappeared at some point.

I slowed once I entered the castle, unable to see as the dark walls absorbed every ounce of light filtering in through the narrow embrasures. The contrast from the sunlit day was too great. I blinked until my vision adjusted. Once it had, I raced up to my room and closed the door behind me with a resounding thud.

I fell to my knees in front of the chest at the edge of my bed and rummaged through it, looking for my dark-green hooded tunic and brown leather leggings. I tossed one piece of clothing after another on to every clean surface around me. Before long, the chair, the floor, the bed were all covered with every type of garment I owned.

I used the chest to push myself off the floor, screaming internally as I looked around at the mess, unable to find my leather pants. I couldn’t help but stomp my foot.

The creak of the door interrupted my tantrum.

“Is this what you’re looking for?” Jane stood in the doorway holding them up. She then plucked a garment off the doorknob .

I leapt over the pile of clothes on the floor and snatched the offending articles out of her hand.

“Since you’re here, can you find me a mask? I wore one last night.” Stripping off my clothes, I placed one leg into my leggings, then the other, but it got stuck in the twisted leather, which had me hopping around until I stumbled over a yellow garment as it snaked around my ankle. My arms reached out instinctively, grabbing the bedpost before I ended up on the ground. I thrust the cloth off my foot and glared at the offensive garment.

Jane clutched her mouth with one hand while the other held out a green mask. “I believe this is what you’re looking for.”

“You know it is.” I finally pushed my foot through the opening of the leggings. I yanked on the tunic. “Since you’re so good at finding things: I still need my belt and boots.”

I braided my hair while my friend inexplicably found everything I needed in mere seconds—something that would have taken me much longer to do.

“Will that do, Rowan?” Jane asked. Her tone was prim.

“You were the one laughing at me moments ago.” Having put on my boots, I stood to cinch my belt. “No need to act like I’m putting you out now. ”

“I thought I managed to hide my laughter rather well.” Jane shrugged, her smile turning to giggling as she stood there.

I rolled my eyes. “Sure,” I said as my lips twitched into a smile, betraying me. “To the stables. I need to get Artie for this.” I stopped mid-step. “Wait, I need my bow and quiver.”

I maneuvered around the piles of clothes and grabbed my weapons without incident. My mind raced, creating excuses in case my uncle saw me now as I peeked around the corner, hoping to make my escape without him laying eyes on me.

A sigh escaped me as we reached outside, and I could run across the grass to the stables. It was so much better than sneaking around the castle, which had walls that seemed to echo every sound Jane and I had made.

“Did you miss me, Artie?” I whispered into the mane of my horse.

“You know she did,” Jane muttered as she laid the saddle blanket over Artie’s back.

I hoisted the saddle off the stall, tossing it over Artie.

“Rowan, it’s easier if I saddle her since I can reach.”

“I’m perfectly capable of saddling my horse.” My tone tensed as I tightened the straps .

Jane patted my shoulder. “I know you can,” she said with a smile.

I glared at her, tempted to throw something in her direction. Teasing me about my height was one of her favorite things to do.

“Don’t you need to go?”

I mounted my horse. “You’re right. I’ll see you later.”

Jane pushed the stall door open as I clicked my tongue, urging Artie forward. I nodded at my friend before urging Artie on, guiding her through the descent from the keep and ascent to town until I arrived on the edges of Lockersley. I dismounted, leading Artie through the maze of streets. My senses heightened as I ensured I was not followed.

My knock on Tuck’s door reverberated through the air so much louder than I intended.

“Yes, come in. I got your message and everything is ready.” He tugged me into the room, shutting the door behind me with a soft click. “Load your saddle bags with these.”

He pointed to the small sacks. I squatted to inspect them further. Each bag had a handful of coins in it, twine that held the back closed, and a secured note that read, Courtesy of the Hooded Bandit .

Entering his home, I hugged my friend before stepping back, my hands still on his shoulders. “This is amazing, I love it, and each bag is light enough. I can still use my arrow to deliver it.” I brought him in for another hug. “This is the beginning of change. I just know it. Things are going to get better.”

We loaded the gold bags, working in harmony for the first time since I’d come home. I gave him a quick peck on his cheek before I mounted Artie and encouraged her to gallop through the streets of town.

From that moment on, it was a blur. I attempted to shoot a bag of gold so it stuck in the door deep enough to stay put until the tenant of the home found it. It took a couple of tries until it worked, but once it did, I passed through the streets multiple times until every house had a bag of gold. The last house I hit was that of the poor widow. My arrow landed with a thud in her door, the paper unfurled in the wind, with my alias emblazoned on the fluttering parchment.