The Princess's Rebellion

Chapter 6: A Night to Remember

The empty crate shifted under Rebecca's weight as she stood on it. Robin had already climbed to the top and was waiting for her to join him. He offered his hand but Rebecca hit it with hers so she could climbed up herself. Robin chuckled as she tried to make her way to him, crawling on her hands and knees on the steep hill stacked crates. She carefully picked her way up but hissed in irritation as she felt Robin lean down to grab her under her armpits. He lifted her up and placed her delicately next to him. She waited for Robin to cross over to the roof of the building that was about a few feet from the stack. He jumped gracefully over and landed on all fours before turning around to Rebecca. He smirked arrogantly while she stuck her tongue out at him. Now she was on her own.

Rebecca was good a jumping, but on an unstable stack of crates several feet up from the hard ground was not her forte. She prepared her feet to launch herself forward. She leaned down towards her feet and took a deep breath. With a burst of energy, she pushed off the summit to land on the roof. She stopped on one knee in front of Robin, feeling his burning gaze on her. She finally stood up straight to brushed herself off, all the while looking at Robin.

"Got something to say?" Rebecca asked discernibly.

"No, nothing at all," he replied back smoothly.

Rebecca stuck her tongue out again, then followed him along the elevated roof. The uneven wood led up to the top, which made it impossible to climb on the very top. Robin was looking for something else though, she could tell. She followed him to the side of the building, where the roofs of the other houses were almost connected. Rebecca watched as he jumped to the other house's roof, his feet slamming against the ground; luckily, the house didn't shutter. He looked back over his shoulder and signaled to Rebecca to follow him. She hesitated, thinking of the consequences, but she soon brushed them away. If Robin could do it, so could she.

She leaped forward towards him, landing right beside him. They went on like this, jumping from roof to roof. It wasn't that hard since the houses were barely spaced 6 feet apart next to the alleys.

But as they neared the middle of the village, the gaps began to grow wider. Soon the jumps seemed to be almost 10 feet apart at their least. Rebecca soon realized that she was lagging behind, her breathes coming ragged as more of her energy was put into the jumps. Robin's figure grew blurry in front of her, and he seemed to be getting farther away. She could feel her heart pounding, her lungs forcing her to gasp for breath. But another jump laid in front of her. She brought together all of her strength and leaped. She cleared it, but when she landed, the loose boards beneath her split from the rest of the wood. A cry of shock sounded from Rebecca's throat. Before she could move, she felt her legs give way as her feet were dragged down. Desperate, she tried to grab something, anything to hang onto. Nothing hit her hands as gravity took her captive. In the few moments she had, Rebecca thought in dismay that this might be it.

Someone grabbed Rebecca's wrist tightly. She felt the fall end and saw that she was dangling by an arm. She looked up to see Robbin straining as he tried to bring her up. She grabbed his other arm and with the last bit of strength she had, she heaved herself up on to the solid wood. In shock, Rebecca collapsed in Robin's arms. She sobbed gently into his chest, but surprisingly no tears fell from her eyes as Robin hugged her tightly. He was also shaking.

Several moments went by. Finally, Robin pulled her in front of him to inspect her. She felt her cheeks grow red, obvious to her messy hair and red face. She let her eyes connect with his. His deep brown gaze said all his emotions at once, telling how much that terrified him. At last he let go of her. There was an awkward silence until he spoke.

"I shouldn't have gone so fast," he murmured guiltily, "I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry about," Rebecca told him with a firmness that surprised herself, "I was the one that pushed myself too far. And I was too drunk to think twice about it."