The Evil Empress's Little Fox

Chapter One

Breathing heavy and laughing, I ducked into an alleyway after running a few streets. Peeking my head out to see if any guards have followed me, I smiled when seeing none. Victory.

Sighing happily, I leaned against the stone wall. Hearing people walk by the alley I was in, I wiped away the sweat on my brow with the back of my hand, the leg of lamb in the other.

The rushing feeling from running away from the guards slowly disappeared, making the archness and pain from today's fun finally noticeable.

Feeling some stinging coming from my knee that I banged on that carriage, I hissed in pain and placed a hand over it. Rubbing it to ease the discomfort. Maybe jumping on and off that carriage wasn't a good idea after all.

Pushing myself off the wall, I took a step only to suck in a breath, eyes going wide as pain shot up from my knee. Yup, definitely not a good idea.

Gritting my teeth, I grabbed my knee. Standing on one leg with the other slight bent so there wasn't a lot of weight on it. What do I do now?

Hearing light footsteps from behind, I snapped my head back, standing up sight and turned to see who it was. Shoulders tense.

I quickly relaxed when seeing my closest friend, Amelia, a cloak over her shoulders with her uniform underneath. "I through I'll find you here." She frowned, staring at with her sharp gaze. "Your highness."

Frowning, Amelia stopped a couple feet from me. Holding a basket filled with food. "Did Father send you?"

"No he did not, I was in the market when I heard all the commotion and saw you run by." She looked down at my knee, seeing how I wasn't standing correctly with it. "Are you alright, your highness? Did you injured yourself while running away from the guards?"

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Who knows." I shrugged smiling. Spinning around and limping over to the entrance of the alley.

"Where are you going now?" Amelia asked, following after me. "I have to do something before I return to the castle."

Peeking out once more to see if the coast was still clear, I grabbed my hood and slipped it back over my head, stepping out of the alleyway.

"You know," Amelia started, quietly trailing after me just three paces back. "the guards may have already informed your father on what you have done in the market. After all, you are the only maiden in the lands with orange hair."

I groaned, throwing my head back. "Don't remind me. Why my great great grandfather married a woman from the North with orange hair, I have no idea."

Shrugging, I looked over my shoulder to look at Amelia. "If you ever decide to have kids, make sure you don't marry a man with an uncommon hair like mine."

"Why? So they are less likely to be found out by the guard if they do anything like stealing?" Grinning, I faced forward. "Yup."

Amelia sighed. "You are unbelievable."

"I shall take that as a compliment."

"Don't." Laughing, the two of us stayed quiet for the rest of the journey to where I needed to go. Keeping my head down whenever a guard would pass by.