Rowena didn't have much time for small talk. She just took the apple in a hurry.

"You're welcome, Grandma. Next time, please be careful!" said Rowena who immediately got up and continued her mission to chase the thief.

She looked around and with her very sharp eyes, she could see the thief was walking leisurely at the corner of the market, counting the money in his pocket. Ha. He thought he had got away from her.

"You can never run from me, you thief," Rowena muttered. 

She started running again. Hearing Rowena's quick steps towards him, the thief looked back and widened his eyes in surprise to find the girl still chasing him. 

"Fuck!" cursed the thief. He didn't expect the teenage girl would chase him so relentlessly. At first, he thought Rowena was just a rich girl who wouldn't have the energy to run that fast. After all, what for? It was just small money. Surely she had more at home, right?

The young man gritted his teeth and ran once more towards the meadow. Rowena was healthy and energetic but she had been running for a while now, and she started to feel exhausted.

She was frustrated when she saw he would probably really get away from her.

Suddenly, she took off one of her shoes to throw at the thief.

THUD!

"Yes!" Rowena shouted as her shoe hit the back of the young thief's head, making him almost fall forward. However, he managed to keep his balance and resumed running on the grassy plain that sloped towards the riverbank.

At this point, they were already far from the town square.

Rowena continued to follow but she almost slipped because she was only wearing one shoe. The girl took off the last shoe she had and tossed it at the thief. However, this time she failed to hit the target.

Rowena ran faster and tried to grab the thief's robe. The first attempt failed. She gritted her teeth and forced herself to run faster. Finally, she managed to grab the fluttering hem of the thief's robe.

As a result of her actions, the thief felt choked by the sudden tug of his robes.

"Give me back my money!" Rowena shouted.

The thief unhooked the robe around his neck. However, he lost his balance and fell on a slope. His body rolled down toward the riverbank. Likewise, Rowena, who was pulling his robe with all her might, suddenly lost her balance and fell too.

She couldn't get up or stop he body from rolling towards the river.  Rowena closed her eyes as her body hit the water.

She started to panic because she couldn't swim. The castle where she lived was not close to any lakes or rivers and she was not allowed to go out. So, she never had the opportunity to learn how to swim.

Ufff.. she tried kicking the water desperately in a hopeless attempt to float but she failed. The river seemed to be quite deep and the thought of drowning scared her.

Roena swung her arms to swim towards the surface but her dress was heavy when wet. She didn't know how to move her legs and arms properly. Soon, she was frantic and couldn't breathe.

Her vision slowly blurred and the last thing he saw was another splash on the water in front and then everything became dark.

***

The young thief who stole Rowena's money survived because he managed to grab a tree branch at the last seconds before his body plunged into the water. He slowly climbed up and got back to the meadow. His body was aching all over.

"Tsk, so annoying," he muttered.

The young man wanted to leave the river but then he saw the girl who was chasing him fall to the river and was now struggling to keep herself afloat. Slowly, she sank down and finally disappeared underwater.

"Oh, fuck! Why did you do that??" The thief massaged his head in frustration. He was a thief, not a killer. Seeing someone die because of him didn't sit well with his conscience. He fitted his teeth. "It's only money!"

He cursed angrily and then jump into the river. He dove underwater and tried to find the girl based on his intuition. It was already too dark to see anything.

Fortunately, He was finally able to her before her body touched the river base. The thief took Rowena's waist and carried her out of the river.

***

Rowena's lashes fluttered. Her head felt so heavy and painful and she grabbed her temples to rub them. Then, she opened her eyes. 

"..." She looked around and jumped in surprise to find himself in a shabby hut. There was no one there. Her clothes were damp. There was a fire burning to her left. She tried to remember what happened.

Ahh... She was chasing a lazy thief and ended up falling to the river. Did someone save her? Where were Lady Liz, Jarvis, and the rest? 

Rowena forced herself out of bed to approach the fireplace because her body felt so cold. Above the fireplace was a pot of soup being cooked. The smell of delicious soup wafted in the air and she suddenly realized she was really hungry.

Rowena sat closer to warm herself. Then, she checked her body carefully. With the help of the light from the fireplace, she could clearly see some grazes and bruises on her arms, hands, and feet.

Rowena remembered that the slope by the river was rocky. Perhaps, she was hurt when her body was rolling down the slope before it hit the water. 

She touched her wounds but didn't feel stinging pain. She realized her injuries had been cleaned and treated with salve. Ahh... so someone must have saved her from the river and treated her. She owed that person her life.

She could guess that the person who saved her must be really poor, judging from the hut she was in now. There was only one small wooden bed in the corner, a table with two spoons on it, two chairs, and a fireplace.

Not far from the bed was a small old wooden cupboard which Rowena believed contained simple cutlery or the clothes belonging to the owner of the hut.

Rowena let out a long sigh. Damn, she shouldn't have chased the thief and just let the money go. It was not even much. Now, this happened. She was separated from Lady Liz and her bodyguards. They must be frantically looking for her.

She must go and find them as soon as possible. Her father must not know that they failed to keep her within their sight and lose her. She could imagine the punishment King Draco would give them if he knew.

And worse... he might never allow Rowena to go out ever again. No... Rowena must not let it happen.

"Why did you chase him, Rowena? You are dumb!" Rowena scolded herself. She remembered the thief asked her the same thing.

She didn't know. It was not about the money. It made her feel violated when someone could touch her personal property that she kept inside her pockets and took them away. She hated that feeling. 

Even though he didn't harass her or did anything inappropriate, Rowena felt so angry.  Maybe it was her pent-up frustration for not being able to do anything to the person who oppressed her and took control of her life and her body for years..?

She didn't know.

Rowena got up from the floor after she was feeling warm enough. She wanted to find the person who helped her and then find a way to get back to Lady Liz soon.

CREAK

Suddenly, the door to the hut was opened. Rowena turned around to see who came. A young man walked in and halted his steps as soon as he saw Rowena look at him with bulged eyes.

Oh! Rowena recognized him!

"You!" Rowena pointed at him and gasped. She tried to say something but she couldn't find her voice.

So, she owed her life to the thief???

"Hi!" said the thief with a grin. He took out a clean cloth from the table and wiped the bowl he had washed outside just now. "You're awake."

Rowena still couldn't believe what she saw. "Who are you?"

"Me?" The young man chuckled.. "My name is Julian Marlowe. What's yours?"

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