Long, blonde hair cascaded down a girl's shoulders. Her gaze was firm and dark, her stare filled with rebellious fire. The nobles shook their heads at her, tutting in disapproval. Glaring at her, glaring at her mother. A balding man entered the room, his sly grin showing off his crooked, browning teeth.
"Lords and Ladies of Sohvington, I present to you now a little friend of ours."
The girl's cold blue eyes stared into the back of his head, narrowed, eyebrows arched downwards in a piercingly angry gaze. The sheriff continued.
"This young lady was caught, red-handed, handing out money to the dirty hands of the poor." Like the other nobles, he tutted, shaking his finger and smirking at her. "Can't have that, now, can we?"
Opening her mouth to retort, the teenager found herself pressing her lips together at the pale and paranoid look on her mother's face. She turned her head to the floor and hissed.
"I am greatly disappointed in myself." She said, with a hint of sarcastic snarl. The Sheriff glanced at her with his almost yellow eyes.
"It is the law of the King that those who help the peasants will be punished. They need to learn to pay their own taxes." He turned his attention to the door. A white-haired boy, maybe a little older than her, stepped out, a sharp steel dagger strapped to his thigh. He was now so close behind her she could hear his ragged breaths, and he slid his dagger between her neck and hair.
"They were going to cut off your hand." She could practically feel the boy's smirk, imagine his white teeth that were unlike his father's. "It's because of me you'll be getting a different punishment. You should be grateful."
She sneered at him, unafraid of how hard he pressed the blade into her neck. She then shut her eyes; dark long lashes brushed against her cheeks and fluttered as the blade shifted. She was surprised he hadn't killed her quickly.
Finally realizing this was not his true intentions, her large blue eyes flung open as he hacked off her hair.* Astonished, she stared at the ends of her blonde locks that lay now in a heap in the floor. She looked up, eyes still shining with surprise as the women whispered.
"How embarrassing for her."
"I believe she deserved it. Mixing with the common poor- preposterous."
"I do feel terrible, though. All that lovely hair, gone to waste."
The boy pushed her to the door, guards automatically made a square formation around her and marched her out of the room, their feet beating in unison. She sighed, and pulled at the ends of her hair that now hung limply a little above her shoulders. She wasn't one to care for her hairstyle, long or short hair made no difference to her, despite what many women felt. What bothered her was how the Sheriff's son vouched for her, yet she'd never spoken a word to him. She shook her head.
"Rin."
Her mother appeared at her side, lips pursed. "You made a fool of yourself, and of me. You should be ashamed."
Rin scowled, daring to look at the face of her parent. Her mother's skin was pale, as was a fashion at this time, and had used many remedies to keep it that way. She even used some odd ways, like cleansing her face with boar's blood to try and make herself prettier. Scoffing at the thought, she looked forward again.
"Think as you wish."
The large doors of the castle swung open and the guards ushered them forward, then into their carriage, which was pulled by two speckled horses. Rin's eyes watched the window as the steeds were nudged forward, not leaving that position until the castle had disappeared from view. She took a deep intake of breath, which shook with irritation.
"I have not made a fool of myself."
Rin's mother glanced at her, and her blue eyes narrowed.
"I gave money to those who needed it." She continued, eyes leaving the window. "For those who work so hard to pay the taxes they have none for food."
Her mother straightened. "It is against the law."
"Yet is it a cruel thing to do?" Rin laughed bitterly. "I risk punishment to help those in need, and you watch your daughter have a knife pressed against her neck without batting an eyelash. Who exactly is the fool here?"
Rin ignored the outraged and shocked expression of her mother and rested her chin in her palm. For the second time, she watched the country pass through her window in silence, not making an attempt to speak. The carriage turned a corner, and a tall mansion could be seen, the walls decorated with twirling jasmine and roses.
As they were about to stop, Rin caught a glimpse of a hooded teenager who was leant against their garden wall. Intrigued and curious, Rin open the door and hopped out of the carriage, causing her mother to mutter her disapproval. She looked at the wall where the boy was, and tilted her head as he grinned and slipped behind the wall, leaving the space empty.
"Is your daughter coming in?"
"What? Oh- she's just daydreaming again. Leave her."
She winced as the mansion door slammed shut, before muttering curse words at it as if it were her mother. A laugh was heard, and the boy had reappeared.
"Heard about what happened. You give a few coins to someone and the sheriff throws a tantrum. What happened to your long, pretty hair?"
Rin's cheeks reddened, and she scowled stubbornly. "How do you know I had long hair?"
He smirked, nudging his head to the side to move his bangs from his eyes. "I keep seeing you in the city. You never hang round your mother at the silk shops, do you? Not like other girls."
"No, I don't." She huffed. "I prefer to stay at home."
"And do your embroidery?"
"No, idiot." She rolled her eyes. "I just prefer being here than being with her."
"I see." The boy said, an odd hint of smug in his voice. He sat himself on the wall, looking at her absent-mindedly. "You're a very... different girl, aren't you?"
Rin pushed her hair out of her eyes, her blue eyes dulled with slight sadness. "Nobody likes that about me."
She blinked as he laughed, one that was mischievous and child-like. "Nah, normal's boring." He winked at her, then slipped off the wall and put his hands in the pockets of his hood, walking down the road until he disappeared into the forest.
Rin watched after him, pink, and mumbled to herself.
"Such a typical male."
*Note that this is set in the Medieval period, back then it was a sign of embarrassment and ugliness to have short hair. Stupid, right?