So when I get to my computer I'll be sure to dedicate this to Skyrezo for writing a wonderful chapter! I hope you like our story, please comment!

Chapter 1

"No Charlotte, distraction is the first thing you gotta learn." Spoke Patrick Jane sternly, sitting down on a nearby tree stump.

Charlotte gave her father a doubting and annoyed look. She was impatient and wanted to actually steal something. She'd always stolen money out of people's pockets, jewelry people had accidentally left behind at parties, bread from the baker's house, vegetables from the grocer and once, even a small doll out from a child. Most of the time, nobody saw her and she could get away with it. Only once a man from who she was trying to steal a pack of money, had seen her and called for the guards to catch her. But she knew she was faster and got away easily.

Charlotte Jane had always been an adventurous girl. With her need to know everything and to be the smartest in the room, she was a lot like her father.Charlotte had the same blonde curls and blue/green eyes as him, was smaller than the average size of girls from her age and Her mother had died a couple of years ago, when she was only 7 years old. Charlotte never knew why, or how her mother had died. Her father had only told her, her mother had died in a peaceful way, without pain, with her husband by her side. Always believing him, she just accepted the fact her mother was dead. When she was 10, she doubted the theory of her mother dying in a peaceful way. Why? Well, because they suddenly had to move out of their house. Patrick told her to rapidly get her stuff together, they were going to flee. He'd never told her why. A couple of hours later, they'd entered the forbidden forest that bordered the town.

Every parent told their children that the forest was extremely dangerous. Creepy, tall monsters lived there who would eat you for dinner, or worse. What could be worse than being eaten for dinner by an atrocious monster? Being burned alive, being quartered, watching your family die, getting hanged in front of your loved ones as an enjoyable attraction.. All the things the King did to punish the disobedient civilians.

"Dad. Why can't we just rob that rich woman already?" Folding her arms, she let out an irritated sigh. She was standing opposite of him.

He shrugged and grinned, enjoying his daughter's willpower.

"Distraction" He simply said, focusing his eyes on her's.

"You spill your drink on her dress. She presumably goes to her room to change, takes off the necklace then takes a quick bath because she fears bacteria. I come in. Take the necklace, leave. You leave, we're rich."Patrick Jane nodded proudly in agreement. "Knife." He pulled out a knife from his pocket and handed it over to her. Unfolding her arms, she bent over and accepted the knife.

It was a knife with a carbon steel blade and well balanced full tang with a nice leather wrap. She loved it, that's why she'd stolen it a couple of days ago. Her father didn't want to see her walking around, holding a dangerous, very sharp knife. So he took it from her. Not very delighted, Charlotte ignored her dad for a couple of hours. But when he explained her and when she saw the sad and worrying look in his eyes, she just reluctantly agreed.Charlotte did feel pity for him. He'd always given everything to her to make her feel happy. He'd always told her she was a princess, because princesses were beautiful. True story. Teresa Lisbon, the King's daughter was absolutely beautiful. Her long wavy, dark brown hair looked like it was sparkling. Her green emerald eyes shone in the moon and even sunlight. She always wore the most beautiful dresses. A couple of examples; a long, dark blue dress with a heart neckline, accents and sleeves made of rose palette fabric and gorgeous rushing. Or the other one she wore at the King's birthday; A beige dress with hand-beaded cap sleeves, beaded upper body and glitters everywhere. Her green eyes jumped out when she wore that one. Charlotte used to spy on the beloved princess, jealous she would never wear dresses like those.

[A couple of hours later]

Light was covered by the rapidly falling night. The bright blue sky transformed into an ocean of blackness. Shimmering stars illuminated the moonless, jet black sky. Charlotte and Patrick left the forest and traveled over to the mansion of Grace Van Pelt, one of the richest women in the town. They both stopped and stared aghast at the big, grey colored mansion. It loomed proudly behind creaky iron gates, flanked by rows of skeletal trees, swaying gently to the chilly wind. In front of the mansion stood a delicate marble fountain, splashing water into the sky. It looked beautiful, the way the water sparkled brightly, illuminated by the stars above in the sky. Charlotte gasped and looked at her father who did the same. He smirked. "Show time."

"Oh Wayne, you're such a delicate gentleman."

Spoke Grace when her husband, Wayne Rigsby brought her a glass of fresh wine. She accepted it and took a sip, observing the hundred people who were neatly dressed because she threw a party, to celebrate her birthday. Her servants had decorated the room beautifully, several garlands were exquisitely hanging through the room, just above their heads. The lighting was dim and the aroma of delicious food made by professional chefs drifted through the air, making everyone water to eat. The sound of sweet and elegant violists playing on their magical instruments made her close her eyes.

"You look beautiful" Said Wayne timidly, observing her body, face and clothes. He loved her light pink dress with patterns of flowers on it, she almost looked like a princess. Sadly enough, she wasn't.

"Thanks." She blushed, opening her eyes again.

Patrick Jane was dressed up as one of the servants at the party. He was holding a tray with a couple of filled wine glasses dangerously wobbling on it. His hair was nicely combed backwards, taming his wild, blonde curls. He slowly approached the couple, looking down at the ground before bumping into the birthday girl. As their bodies connected unexpectedly, the wine spilled all over her expensive looking dress, leaving a crimson red colored stain on her stomach and chest. Her facial expression immediately changed to a shocked one, and she looked at him, her eyes filled with abhorrence and disappointment.

"You..." She'd lost her words. Not wanting to scream, the women just hurried her way up to her room, slamming the door behind her. Patrick just grinned innocently at Wayne, who looked like he wanted to slap him.

"You better clean this mess up, otherwise I'll let you be thrown into the dark dungeons of the King!" Shouted Wayne angrily, drawing other people's attention.

The music stopped for a moment and there was a short silence. Patrick nodded quickly, making his way up to the kitchen. Wayne clapped with his hands, giving the musicians a sign to play further, which they did. Soon, the party started to continue and the mood was comfy again, just like before.Charlotte was hiding in Grace's room, right behind the closet. The room was beautiful. She wished she could live here too. The room was blue with beautiful murals on the wall, hand painted by someone. The two sized bed was pushed with its headboard against the wall, in the center of the room. The wooden headboard and foot board were nicely decorated with carvings. The room was furnished with a small dressing table, with a grand, luxury mirror above it. The floor was wooden and there was a fancy, red carpet laying on the ground.The girl startled a bit when she heard Grace barging into the room, slamming the door violently behind her.

"Ugh. I'm going to kill that servant. But first, let's take a bath and change into a new dress.. Maids!" Shouting for her maids, she disappeared behind a pink colored dressing screen and undressed herself.

The door opened again and a maid rushed over to the bathroom to prepare a warm bath. A couple of moments later, she was gone into the bathroom that bordered her bedroom. Charlotte followed the maid who closed the door behind her, and walked over to the big wooden closet where she was hiding behind, to pick out a new dress. She opened the closet and carefully grabbed a new dress, this time a long red dress with glittery silver beads on the upper body. The maid laid the dress down onto the bed and after that, she walked back to the bathroom. Charlotte let out a deep sigh. The maid came back after a couple of seconds and closed the door behind her again. This time, she had the expensive necklace with her. Laying it down onto the dress, she smiled and left the room.Charlotte knew this was her moment to strike.

Quickly sliding behind the closet, she walked towards the bed and took a closer look at the expensive, golden necklace. It was decorated with pearls and there was a diamond in the middle of it, protected by a thin layer of glass. Charlotte's pupils widened and her mouth fell open. Her fingers touched the necklace, as if it was burning lava. Then, she quickly grasped it and buried it in her pocket as she heard Grace calling out for her maids again. Shit. The girl quickly opened the door and ran through the long corridor, desperately finding a way to escape.

"A thief!" The shout of the maid made Charlotte's heart beat faster and faster.

She kept on running, forcing her legs to run even faster.'Where's the exit..?' She softly mumbled to herself, panting and pushing against every door she came across, to no avail; they were all closed. Running further through the hallways, she pulled out the knife in case she bumped into someone, which she unfortunately did.

"Where do you think you're going little girl?" Spoke Wayne, who was holding her by her arms.

Knowing she had only one way to get out of this mess, she stabbed the man in his stomach. He let go of her immediately, wrapping his arms around his stomach and quickly pulling the knife out. Charlotte made her way past him and ran further. This time, she came across a balcony. The escape route to freedom. Panting, she bent over and looked at the bushes down below. It wasn't very high, yet dangerous to jump down.

"Where is she!?" Several voices were coming closer. Guards.

Charlotte banged the door shut and leaned against it, trying to catch her breath. Feeling someone pushing against the door, she realized she had no choice. So she ran over to the balcony and jumped down; closing her eyes, knowing it was going to hurt.To her surprise, she didn't feel anything painful. She opened her eyes and was staring into her father's blue eyes. He had apparently caught her in his arms.

"Dad.." She hugged him and kissed him on his cheek.

Patrick's face was covered with worry and he placed her down on her feet again, grasping her hand.

"We have to go. Now." He said, running and dragging her along. She looked back at the guards who were pointing at them from the balcony, shouting for a doctor and for backup. She smirked, witnessing some of them tried to jump down too, but didn't quite make it like she did. One guard screamed his arm was broken. Another guard screamed he wasn't able to move anymore. Charlotte was lucky to have such a hero. What would she possibly do without him?

Followed by the guards, they ran through the streets, passing by several houses and farms. But none of them were a good place to hide. Patrick looked around, trying to find a place to hide his daughter. He wanted her to escape. She couldn't die hanging like all those other thieves. Just like his wife Angela. He had watched her die. She screamed his name over over again when they hanged her. It was heartbreaking and he was delighted Charlotte wasn't there to witness her mother's execution.

Then, he saw a stranger who was about to get on her horse. He quickly looked behind and realized the guards were far behind them, but would still catch them if they wouldn't get faster transport.

"Hey!" He shouted, waving at the woman who was sitting on her horse now. She was wearing a black, long cloak with a hood that covered her face. She was wearing tight dark brown pants with a loose dark green shirt above it. He couldn't really see her, since it was dark and she was wearing loose clothing; but he could tell from her figure and posture she was surely a woman. The woman had noticed them. Patrick stopped in front of the horse with Charlotte, both heavily panting.

"Could you please .. help us?" He asked, anxiously looking around to see if the guards were coming. He heard them screaming and shouting to watch out for two thieves who'd stolen an expensive necklace. The mysterious woman turned her head towards them and shook her head.

"Only place for one person." She said. Patrick nodded, looking at his daughter.

"Charlotte go. Escape, I'll find my way back. I promise."

He said, hearing the guards voices getting closer to them.

"I'm not going without you."

Folding her arms stubbornly, she stared at the strange woman on the horse who was getting impatient. From the corner of her eye, she noticed some lights. Probably guards with torches coming closer to them.

"You'll find a way to free me. Just go.. It's better they catch only one of us." He said, forcing a smile.

The girl nodded, knowing what he was saying was true. They hugged. A tear streamed down on Charlotte's cheek. Patrick looked at her with the 'It's going to be okay' look in his eyes and wiped the tear away. He helped her to get onto the horse, which was very tall. Patrick looked at the strange woman he'd just given his daughter to. He had a weird feeling this woman could be trusted and would help her.

"I love you."

Was the last thing he said to his daughter. She just smiled and wiped away another tear. The mysterious woman impelled the horse and it started to run. He watched them disappear in the dark night.

"There he is! The girl is getting away!" Three shouting guards were running towards him, holding knives and torches that illuminated the streets. Patrick turned around slowly. He had to stop them, to save his daughter. So, he ran towards them and like a bull; he rammed his head against one of the guards, he fell over. The three guards were distracted, and didn't see where the horse with the girl and the woman went. Patrick smiled, delighted his daughter had gotten away eventually. One guard punched him into his stomach which made him whimper out in pain. He was surprised by another punch from another guard against his jaw, and fell onto the cold ground. They had surrounded him, he couldn't escape anymore. His vision started to blurry.

Blackness.