The Princess's Stolen Body

Chapter 2: An Unexpected Kindness

-Jonah-

It all started when my father died. Suddenly the family stood without any intake, my mother forced to earn her money in different ways … the only way possible actually. On her back, until she died as well, a drunken customer being too rough. He was pulled away, but it was too late. Her body was already so weak, and when it came to his punishment, suddenly there was no evidence, and the former king wasn’t even informed.

Everything just went downhill. My sister and I ended up on the streets, and I tried my best to help us by stealing a little food here and there, but I realized I wanted more. I wanted a better life for the both of us, and as I got better at stealing, I got greedier too, until soon food was traded for people’s purses full of coins. At first, I did not care who I stole from. I just wanted to survive, but then I realized I was stealing from some people that couldn’t afford it, and that was when my targets changed.

The rich.

The ones who had more money than they needed and could use it to get out of all kinds of horrible situations because of it. In a way, it was my revenge as well, stealing from them, but it wasn’t just my sister and I who enjoyed what money could suddenly buy. No, once we had a good life living in a small, nice and warm house just outside of Catalla, I realized more people needed money too. I had seen many homeless kids or people who were struggling to feed themselves and their families, and so I continued my ways.

Taking from those who had more than they needed to give to those who needed it.

My sister didn’t want me to continue my ways. She always warned me that I was playing with fire, and eventually would get burned, but I did not listen. No, my targets grew and became bigger, until I started to really play the role as an outlaw. I even dressed up as servants in lords' and ladies’ households, getting closer to the diamonds and the rubies, but as always my sister ended up being right. I couldn’t help myself.

There was still one family, who had more than any of those ladies or lords. A family that could end the hunger once and for all. Who deserved even more to be stolen from than anyone else, but what I hadn’t expected was the princess suddenly, even though the dinner I knew they had every evening wasn’t over, came back early.

She had caught me by surprise, and when she had shouted for the guards, I knew it was time to leave, but sadly, my luck had run out. And now I was chained to the walls in a dirty little cell, knowing I was going to lose my hands for this.

Theft wasn’t looked very kindly on, and after I had stolen from so many people. Yeah, even the king, who had ended up bringing peace to our land between the pagans and us, even he couldn’t get me out of this. He had to punish me. People would demand it. Powerful people.

I sighed, resting my head against the wall, and just closing my eyes, trying to just be grateful for my hands for as long as I could, but then I was interrupted by the sound of heels clicking against the cold floor, and before I knew it, the door to my cell was opened.

I hadn’t really thought much about it when she had caught me in her room, but now as she stood in front of me, the moonlight coming from a window high up in the cell, shining on her light blue dress and her mysterious grey eyes, I had to say the rumors of her beauty spoke truth. She was something out of every man’s dream, but even though she was beautiful on the outside, she was still a princess. Still, someone born with a silver spoon in her mouth.

She suddenly walked a little closer, but the knight who had caught me quickly grabbed her arm gently and pulled her back.

“Not so close, your highness,” he warned.

His voice was gentle towards the princess, not how he had spoken to me.

“He has my necklace,” she said and turned to me. “Don’t you?”

“What necklace?” I asked.

The hood was no longer over my head, and I knew she could see all of me now. I probably was something very different to look at than what she was used to. I hoped she found me disgusting, just so she knew what that feeling felt like.

“I want it back,” she said.

“What back?”

She put her hands on her hips and sighed.

“Why did you steal from me?” she suddenly asked.

I was surprised she asked me this question. I had stolen from her; she didn’t need to know more in order to get me punished.

“Because I could,” I answered.

She shook her head.

“I don’t believe that,” she said.

“No?”

“People don’t just steal. They do it because there often aren’t other ways,” she said, her voice both soft and sounding very sure as well.

“I think you got me mixed up with someone else,” I said.

“Princess, he is a wanted man. Do not look for a saint,” the guard warned her.

She looked at her knight for a little while before turning to me.

“Are you a wanted man?”

I just gave her a small and wicked smile, yet she didn’t seem to be scared by that. She just suddenly moved down on her knees, getting into my eye level.

“What is your name?” she asked.

My name? Why did she want to know that? She could just go look at one of those wanted posters in any tavern in this town, and she would know my name.

“Jonah.”

“Just Jonah?”

“Just Jonah. You aren’t sitting in front of a lord, you know,” I taunted her.

“I know that very well. I just wanted to know what family you are from. I know people well in this town. Do you live here?” she asked.

Another question about me. Why did she want to know so much about me? When I didn’t answer her, she sighed, looking down at her hands in her lap.

“Listen Jonah, I need that necklace. I will even trade it for another one of mine.”

I looked at her shocked. She wanted to … trade? Had I heard her correctly? I found it very odd and had no words to say as I looked at her. Soon her grey and metallic eyes met mine and looked almost pleading.

“Please,” she said kindly.

I was so surprised, I moved closer towards the wall behind me. The princess just said … please, to me? And she looked so broken almost. Why was this necklace so important to her? It was just a boring stone in a metal chain. I had taken it wanting to give it to my sister, thinking she would like something like that.

I sighed, not knowing why, I reached inside my jacket and pulled it out, holding it out so it dangled between my fingers. She looked at me with big eyes, almost hopeful eyes. She reached out and grabbed it, but I didn’t let go right away. We locked eyes, and for some reason I found myself frozen. She wasn’t what I had thought she would be like I thought before I said,

“I steal for the ones I love … they need it.”

Her mouth opened a little in a surprised way, forming a small o, but no sound came out. Then she closed it, gave me a soft smile and I let go of the necklace, which she gently took from my fingers, hers brushing mine shortly and they felt strangely warm against mine. She held tightly onto the necklace and then got up from the ground before turning to her guard.

“Release him,” she said.

I looked up at her shocked, and her guard looked the same way.

“Your highness, he stole-“

“He is not a bad person,” she said before looking at me. “He is just taking care of the ones he loves.”

“Your highness, I really don’t-“

“Sir Gawain, it wasn’t a request. It was an order. Release him,” she said, more power coming from her voice.

This, Sir Gawain, certainly didn’t like it, but he did what she told him to and grabbed a pair of keys hanging on a wall outside the cell and then came back to me grabbing my wrists hard before unlocking the chains. In all this time, I stared at the princess shocked, but she just smiled at me softly.

“You do not deserve the kindness of the princess, but here we are,” the knight mumbled before pulling me up from the ground and holding on to me hard.

He still didn’t trust me, not that I blamed him.

“What shall I do with him?” Sir Gawain asked, clearly hoping she would tell him to chain me somewhere else and have me whipped for my crimes.

“Just escort him to the gate and make sure he leaves. I am sure he has someone waiting for him,” she said.

The knight grabbed hard onto me, pulling me towards the door, but just as I reached it, I grabbed onto the cold stones and looked at her, but I didn’t say anything. I was just so shocked by what she had done. I had to look at her one last time to make sure she was really sincere in her words, and then I let go of the hard stone and let her guard take me outside the castle and over to the big gate separating the city and the castle. He threw me away hard, so I ended up on the other side, almost landing headfirst in the mud, but I was able to hold out my hands and let them soften the fall. I then turned around and he stared at me hard, waiting for me to get up and leave. I slowly got back up on my feet and then brushed the mud away before turning and leaving, not really understanding the princess just let me go like that. I had stolen from her and still … she let me go.