"Did you hear?", someone behind Jacob told his friend, "The princess seems to be on the run." "Wonder what made her do so", the other one answered. "Well, whatever it was, catching her is rewarded highly. It surely is worth it." They left his earshot. Jacob kept thinking about it. Surely the reward wasn't half bad. If he found the princess and lured her into a trap, he would be able to go home with a lot of money. His parents definitely would be proud of him for the first time in his life. He had to try it! The problem was, he didn't even know how his victim looked.
xxx
Belle looked at the poster thoughtfully. They were searching for the princess. And the reward was higher than what she had expected. There would be a lot of people who would try to catch or trick her. After another second of contemplation, she sighed and ripped the poster off the wall. She had to find this woman before the others did.
She rushed away from the marketplace as she got aware of someone out of the corner of her eye. Belle stopped in her tracks and turned around again. In front of one of the posters that the guards had hung up, the young thief stood, inspecting it carefully. Annoyance crept up within her. These people really didn't understand a thing. She walked over to him and ripped off this poster as well. As Jacob looked at her surprised, she hissed warningly: "Don't even think about it." Then she dashed away.
Jacob stared after her. Did she want to go after the princess too? Was that why she warned him? Something inside him told him there was more to him, yet he couldn't say what it was. Deep in thoughts, he trotted further towards the marketplace. Time to earn today's dinner.
xxx
"Oh, this is bad, this is really bad", Sarah whined as she stared at the poster Nuriel had brought her from the village. "Seems like you need to be really careful now", the fairy shrugged. The princess walked up and down the spot, trying to think. Suddenly she stopped and her head jolted up. "You!", she exclaimed and pointed to her companion. "Gosh, here we go again, can't you lower your volume?", Nuriel sighed "You're a fairy. Can't you like... witch me into another body or something?", the princess ignored her. "Me?", the other one gave back confused and pointed at herself. Then she waved it off and casually explained: "I am only here for the fun. I don't want to get involved in anything. Besides, you would have to go to an actual witch for that. I can only manipulate my assigned element and as long as you don't want to end up being ashes, you shouldn't ask me for help." "Well, then let's find a witch", Sarah concluded. "Woah, hold up, you can't just go to the next best witch. They are all searching for you. Plus, you never know if you can trust a witch", Nuriel reminded her. The princess tilted her head. "Gotta find the right one then", she shrugged. The fairy sighed.
xxx
Sarah sat on Jaro, riding along the path slowly and attentively while Nuriel flew along, sometimes faster, sometimes slower but always within reach. "We'll soon reach another village", the fairy now informed the princess, "Posters everywhere. They know about you." Sarah sighed. "Cheer up, princess. I see a little hut a bit away from there. Maybe we can find shelter for the night at least", Nuriel encouraged her. The other one nodded. "It's better if we keep observing first though", she then said. "Of course, whatever you wish for, your Majesty", the fairy gave back amused. They soon found a good spot to settle down and watch the village a while.
Unbeknownst to them, however, someone had already spotted them crouching down between the bushes. Watching them now, a plan formed in the person's head. He made his decision pretty quickly and casually strolled over to them.
"Reverend princess, ain't it?", Sarah suddenly heard behind her. She spun around, hand once again wrapped tightly around her dagger. The guy opposite laughed and held up his hands. "Don't worry, I am not planning to tell on you. Otherwise, I would have done so already, wouldn't I?", he asked and then held out his hand towards them. "Jacob", he introduced them, "I am here to help." Sarah squinted her eyes, trying to decide if she could trust him. He shrugged and let his hand sink again before nodding over to the village. "I wouldn't bet on finding a trustworthy person over there. But I can bring somewhere where people will be on your side", he continued casually. "Why should I trust you?", Sarah gave back stubbornly. "For one very simple reason", Jacob smirked and bowed down closer to the princess and the fairy, "Because we all are on the run from the guards."
xxx
"I can't believe it", Sarah repeated, "They always warned me of all those bad guys and now I am on my way to exactly those people. I can't believe it." "Princess, you will have to get used to the fact you're an outcast now too", Jacob shrugged. "I can't believe it", she gave back absentmindedly. The young thief glimpsed over to Nuriel who hadn't said a word yet. "She's in a loop", she now shrugged, "It'll get by." Jacob nodded slowly. The fairy flew closer to him and squinted her eyes. "Just so you know – I don't trust you yet. One wrong move and I'll set you on fire." Jacob laughed unsure. "Oh, I wasn't joking", Nuriel answered dryly before flying back to her original spot right next to the princess.
xxx
Jacob motioned the other two to stay put as the camp came in sight. "I'll have to introduce you first to make sure nobody will try to harm you in any way", he explained, "Wait here." Sarah and Nuriel exchanged a look but eventually nodded. They watched Jacob leave. "We can still run away", the fairy whispered, "Something's fishy." "Shut it", Sarah gave back, "Let's trust in people. They hide from the guards, why should they make a deal with them? Besides, do we really have a chance to go somewhere else? We don't even know where to go." "Well, I am just saying I warned you in case something DOES happen", Nuriel gave back sulking. Sarah knew Nuriel would now start a long monologue and trying to protest was no use, so she turned back to watch Jacob who talked with some people at the gate and only half-heartedly listened to the fairy's ramble: "But no, our dear princess knows who to trust because she knows so well about her people. May I remind your Majesty that she didn't even knew about her brother? Or about –" She suddenly squeaked but as Sarah turned to see what had happened, the world around her went black.
YOU ARE READING
The heir
Fantasy"'You definitely don't want to return?', Sarah double-checked. 'Not even dead', Jacob answered scornfully. 'But you also can't run around freely around here because the guards are after you?', she went on. He nodded. 'It's decided then', the princes...
