The Misplaced Prince[COMPLETE]

Strange Sightings

Joshua was idly perusing a selection of freshly printed books when he first saw her.

Not that it was a feat, to notice her. He was surprised he hadn't noticed her before—or really, that he was the only one who had noticed her yet.

She had a man who was twice her size pinned to a bookshelf by the neck.

Joshua froze in a moment of surprise as the scene unfolded before him.

The woman—girl—was young, probably a a year or two younger than his twenty three years from what he could see of her face, which was partially covered by fiery red ringlets streaming all around her. If she had tried to contain them in any modicum of a hairstyle before leaving her residence, it did not show. Her profile showed a small, intelligent looking face with sharp features and a decidedly unwomanly snarl as she held the man captive. She was near bearing her teeth.

The man—if he even passed that distinction, with his youthful good looks—was choking, despite the impressive muscles straining against his well fitted shirt, muscles he could have used to break her in two had he intended.

Joshua paused in uncertainty, not having come upon quite such a situation. Had the situation been reversed, he would have stepped in to help the damsel without a moment's notice. Not that he was a hero...but abuse of the weaker sex even he couldn't allow.

This woman didn't look like the word weak could be applied to her in any shape or form though, and when the man continued to choke and sputter, Joshua realized it was up to him to act.

He didn't recognize the man, which helped in his decision. Had he been anyone from the ton—or anyone from London, really, Joshua would have let out an unconcerned snort and walked on.

But he had no memory of this man snidely remarking as he passed by or doing anything to get on Joshua's bad side, so the idea of letting him die...well, it didn't sit badly with him exactly, but...

He let out a long suffering sigh. He supposed letting an innocent man die was something he wasn't comfortable allowing, despite how depraved he prided himself on being. He was disappointed with himself for giving a damn.

He unfolded his long frame, sliding the book back in its place with a single push of his finger, and slowly walked towards the melee, hoping it would disperse before he had to interfere.

It didn't.

"My lady," he said wryly, keeping the amusement in his tone to a carefully cultured minimum, "I suggest you let the man go now. Or perhaps continue killing him once you let me pass? Watching a murder is just not in my list of preferred activities today."

She ignored him. He felt a flicker of surprise. Many a women sighed when he opened his mouth to speak.

"Apologize." She growled to the man she was suffocating.

"Never!" the man managed to gasp. Joshua was impressed. He had been choked for over a minute now and still held firm. He wondered what he had done to owe the woman an apology—he certainly didn't want to save a budding rapist.

"Do it now, Dick!"

And really, if this oddly combative woman had wanted to kill this man, she would have long done by now by pressing a little harder. He should have at least passed out by now. Unless she wasn't as competent at this as she looked? Hmm.

Joshua narrowed his eyes in observation, and it seemed to him that these two seemed familiar to each other on closer inspection, antagonism bouncing off them but not hatred.

Was this a marital spat? Was this how couples expressed their anger nowadays?

Sighing, Joshua decided that he had done enough interfering for the day and turned to leave.

"Apologize, Dick!" the girl snarled, and she must have thrown the man, because Joshua suddenly found the heavy weight of him barreling into his back and the two crashed into a bookshelf. Several books toppled as the shelves swayed, landing with muffled crashes on the carpeted floor, lying strewn open, some damaged.

What a waste, Joshua registered, even as, unused to being caught unawares, Joshua's elbow sunk in a swift blow to the man's stomach before he pushed the man away, whirling around with his fists raised, a growl starting in his chest.

"Dick!"

His eyes moved to the girl at her horrified cry. Her expression of fury had been instantly replaced by surprise. She wasn't looking at him yet.

The boy—Dick—swung up with a howl of anger, and for a moment it was obvious he meant to launch at Joshua, who tensed for combat, his gaze narrowing. He might look every inch the gentleman on a normal day, but he was also the dirtiest fighter any man had the displeasure of meeting. A lifetime of watching out for himself had done that.

Dick, though seemed have better control over himself than most people of the ton in a fight, and seemed to change his mind abruptly, freezing as he took Joshua in. An odd expression tightened his face, and then he snapped, "Who the hell are you?"

This, now, was truly a shock.

Someone who didn't actually know him?

Joshua slowly lowered his fists, reminding himself that they would soon enough. He would probably feature in practically the first bit of gossip these two heard now that they were in London.

"Who the hell are you?" he returned. He looked at the girl again—she was looking at him now, and for a moment, he was struck dumb by the intensity of her eyes—burning green eyes she had, almost yellow near the pupil, and they contained an intensity that quite literally took his breath away.

"Human." The girl said succinctly to her companion, ignoring his question, and Dick nodded slowly, eyeing Joshua.

Joshua shook himself internally. He wasn't unused to beautiful women—his cursed good looks ensured his had a plentiful supply at his disposal—and had never been struck dumb before. And this woman, attractive though she was, wasn't even strikingly beautiful. But her eyes...

He had a weakness for fine eyes, it seemed.

He felt a lazy smile start on his lips. "It's a pleasure to meet you, my lady Human. Now, if you may excuse me..." he turned to leave.

"What's your name?" her voice was proud, unflinching, completely unlike the coyness he was accustomed to.

Joshua glanced at her, "Fear not, milady. A few more days in London and my name shall be a mystery no longer."

"Are you famous, then? Or infamous?" Dick asked. Joshua wondered how much his parents had hated him to name him that. He was a muscular, good looking young man with an alertness to him that alluded that he would have been an impressive opponent on any given day, but really, Dick? That was just cruel.

"In a manner of speaking." Joshua murmured.

"I prefer to hear about a person from the person himself." The girl said. She had an authority in her voice, as if she was used to being heard.

"Ah, well unfortunately for you, this person has no fucking interest in obliging you."

Any other woman would have gasped and blushed a furious red at his provocation. She stood her ground, her gaze fixed at him shrewdly. Joshua was impressed despite himself.

"I like him." Dick was starting to grin, although there was still something off about his expression. Joshua gave him a bored look. The fact that a man who had let a puny little woman toss him around claimed to like him did nothing towards endearing him to Joshua, "We'll meet again!" Dick yelled behind him, as Joshua turned to walk away.