The King's Daughter

Hey guys! So, for this story, Cat is the Princess, Robbie is the thief. Alongside Robbie are Andre, Beck, and Jade. This chapter will be Cat and Robbie's first meeting. Hope you guys enjoy it!

As always, I don't own Victorious ;)

Chapter 1- The Night of the Heist

Robbie looked down below him to see the City, illuminated by the white glow of the moon at his back. He saw the guards on patrol, and counted them. Seven of them covered the courtyard in the front of the palace and they were spread out thinly. Robbie dropped the bag of firewood on his shoulder. Reaching into his shirt, he grabbed the ring he always wore on a chain around his neck. It served as a reminder of why they did what they did, why they had an obligation to do it. And it was Robbie's most important possession.

"Rob, are we clear?" Andre whispered behind him. Beneath the hood of their cloaks, their faces weren't visible, but he knew the sound of their voices well enough. Robbie looked back and nodded to him. Andre nodded back in response. With a groan of effort, him and Beck lifted open the glass dome that lay between them.

"Ready?" Beck asked. His grin was visible in the glow of their lamps. Robbie shook his head at Beck- the thrill of a theft as large as this one had him excited. Robbie had made up his mind, even while they were planning this heist to keep a close eye on him during the execution. He was important to all of them. And besides, Robbie thought with a smile, if anything happened to Beck, Jade would kill him when they got back.

"All set" Robbie nodded. He removed the long coiled rope from his shoulders, and tied it around his waist. Andre threw the rope to Beck, and he caught the end of it as it unravelled.

"I still think I should be the one to do this, Rob" Andre commented. He was referring to the fact that he was a lot stronger than Robbie was, and a major part of their plan rested on strength. But, Robbie wouldn't let anyone take this kind of risk.

"We stick to the plan" Robbie told him firmly, "We can't get caught, not tonight. Too much is riding on this." Andre nodded, but he still didn't look happy about it.

Robbie put his foot on the knot at the end of the rope, and grabbed on. Then he stepped through the opening.

He felt the air become warm as he descended further into the palace, and the scent of food filled his nostrils. He felt his descent stop abruptly, and heard a groan from Andre and Beck as they held his weight. Robbie was lowered slowly to the ground, and took the opportunity to quickly scan his surroundings. They'd been studying the palace for months, learned it's every room, every guard's patrol routine, and even every servant's name.

Robbie knew he was in the dining room, but that would have been an easy guess from the enormous table that filled the room. It would seat at least twenty people, easily. Robbie slowly crept to the closed doors and placed his ear to them, listening for any sign of activity behind them. He knew there wouldn't be any guards on the other side; they only guarded the rooms which had valuable items in them, but he still had to be careful.

Robbie heard nothing. He pulled open the doors, wincing when they creaked slightly. Looking around the room he was now it, he smiled. It was the great hall. Seeing it from a distance had nothing on this, he thought to himself. The roof was decorated with gold and white patterns. Above the double staircase, there stood three gigantic windows, stretching all the way from the floor to the ceiling. Through them, the star-covered sky was visible.

Robbie hurried across the hall, through the door on the far right side. It led downstairs to the kitchen, his destination. When Robbie came to the door, he opened it with a firm shove, his excitement almost unbearable.

He grinned at the setting in front of him. It was a long wooden table, nowhere near as nice as the one he'd seen upstairs. But this was covered in every food he could name. Fruit of every kind was laid out, and roasted meat was everywhere he looked. The royals were planning a big meal, with all of the other upper-class who lived in the City.

He grinned thinking about how they would react to find so much of their food gone by morning. Quickly, he pulled the sacks off of his shoulders and filled each of them quickly to their maximum with food.

When he was finished, Robbie heaved one of the sacks onto his back, and tied it with a knot around his chest. He carried the other two sacks in his hands, and his arms ached with the significant weight. Choosing not to waste anymore time, he dashed out of the kitchen, retracing his steps to the dining room.

He looked up to find Andre grinning down at him. He dropped the rope. Without missing a beat,, Robbie tied the sacks of food in his arms on first. Andre and Beck pulled the rope up, carrying the sacks of food off of the ground and up through the small open dome. Then they lowered the rope again. Robbie stepped on, and they pulled him up.

"Good job, Robbie" Beck grinned at him, helping him through the dome.

"Thanks" Robbie said, "You remember the rest of the plan?" he asked them.

"Yep" Beck confirmed.

Andre nodded, "Got it"

They separated, walking to three different sides of the roof. Looking to each other, they all nodded simultaneously.

Robbie took the bag of wood he had brought and carried it over to the edge of the roof. He tipped it out, emptying the contents onto the ground below. Finally, he took the lamp, and flung it down, watching with satisfaction as the wood began to blaze.

He nodded, sure that this would attract the attention of the guards. Once they saw the smoke, they would come running. He hurried back to the other side of the roof.

Robbie stepped down onto the wooden pole which stuck out from the wall beneath him. They had them at different areas in the walls. Robbie and his group could never figure out what they were for, but they had come in handy in this plan. He jumped to another pole, grabbing onto it with his hands, and bracing his foot on the wall in front of him. He repeated the action a few more times, getting closer and closer to the ground with each leap. He came to the second to last window, swearing quietly as the force of the jump jostled his entire body and caused his hood to fall down. He looked below him, focusing on the next post to jump to in his descent, when the sound of a soft gasp stopped him in his tracks. His head whipped around to the window, and he saw the source of the noise.

His eyes widened in surprise as he stared at the beautiful red haired girl that stood in front of him. She stared back at him, her enchanting chocolate brown eyes holding his gaze fixedly. Slowly, the expression of her heart-shaped face transformed from one of shock to one of wonder. Her eyes widened a little, and a slight blush tinted her cheeks pink. Her petite body moved closer as she took a small step towards him, her red hair lifting gently as she neared the breeze of the window. She stood directly in front of him, and her eyes never left his face.

A shout of alarm from below the room snapped him out of his trance, and reality came crashing back with all the force of a speeding train. Robbie registered where he was, and quickly jumped to the final post, and dropped to the ground. He ran, and kept running as fast as he could. They hadn't come this far to be caught by his distraction.

He breathed a sigh of relief as Andre and Beck came up from his sides, and together they ran out of the side gate of the palace walls.

Cat stood in shock, still trying to process what had just happened. Who was that stranger? That was obvious. He was a thief, who else would wear a cloak and scale the walls of her father's palace? She remembered her father telling her that there had been reported cases of robbery in the city, by vicious and bloodthirsty criminals.

She recalled the handsome face of the thief. There was no malice in his eyes as he had gazed at her, no threat in his focused stare. In fact, there was a kind of softness in his eyes, something she had never expected to see in a criminal's eyes. And it had mesmerised her. She should have been terrified, frightened at what almost could have happened to her, but she felt no fear. Somehow, she knew that the thief wouldn't have harmed her.

Robbie, Beck and Andre groaned as they climbed the stairs with the sacks of food on their backs.

"Tell me again" Andre panted, "Why we chose these caves as the hideout?"

"Because it was the only place that could fit everyone" Robbie replied. He wiped the sweat from his brow, and kept on climbing. Ten minutes later, they made it up. They entered the clearing of the cave, with the hole in the wall that overlooked both the Outcast and the City. At the front of it all stood the palace, looking magnificent and bright against the background of the night sky.

They all groaned in relief as they dropped the heavy sacks of food.

"You all took your time" said Jade, appearing from another set of stairs to their left. She walked up to Beck, and kissed him."Hi" she smiled.

"Hi" he replied with a grin.

"Jade, are they all asleep?" Robbie asked her, walking over to the hole and sitting down in it, bending one knee and resting his elbow on it. Jade frowned. That was the position he always sat in when something was bothering him.

"Yeah, I just put them all to bed" she nodded at him. He nodded back at her.

"How do you do that?" asked Beck, staring at her in total confusion.

"What?" Jade asked him, with an eyebrow raised.

"Get them to listen to you and settle down" Beck explained, taking a seat on a stone bench.

"Oh. I tell 'em to shut up and quiet down, or they don't get food for the next month" she shrugged.

"Jade" Robbie sighed, still looking out the window.

"What? How else do you control them?" she demanded, placing her hands on her hips. Robbie chuckled.

"Think I'll check on them, before I turn in" Robbie said, getting up. He walked down the same stairs Jade had appeared from, the one that led to the area they all slept in.

He smiled at the sight that greeted him. The kids were all asleep. Everyone slept on the ground, using some of their shirts for pillows, and huddling close for warmth. They were all dozing quietly. He made a mental note, they would have to steal some proper cushions or pillows for the children to sleep on.

They were orphans, all of them. Kids who had been left with nothing once their parents had died or abandoned them. Robbie knew their position all too well, and he had decided, long ago, to give them what he had never had as a child; a chance to be children.

Robbie closed the door quietly, once he had checked the children were settled, and walked back upstairs. Andre and Beck had decided to turn in for the night, but Jade was waiting for him with a curious expression when he walked back into the cave opening.

"Alright" she said, "What's the matter?"

"What do you mean?" Robbie asked nonchalantly, grabbing an apple and walking back over to the opening.

"I mean that" Jade replied, gesturing to his position. "You only sit like that, and have that frown look on your face when something's up" she explained, "So what is it?"

Robbie sighed, knowing full well that she wasn't going to let it go. Jade was notorious for her stubbornness.

"I got distracted on the mission today, that's all. Kind of threw me for a minute"

"Something distracted you?" Jade asked, her eyes widening in shock. She knew that more than all of them, Robbie cared about these missions to bring back food for them. Nothing ever got in his way. "What was it? What distracted you? Did a meteor hit the palace?" Jade asked, sitting on a rock near him. Robbie smiled at her words- a meteor would probably have had less of an impact on him. Jade shuffled closer, expecting an answer. She was genuinely curious about what could have shaken Robbie's concentration.

Robbie glanced at the determined look on her face. Lying wasn't going to do him any good, he knew that. Jade was a human lie detector and everyone in their hideout knew it.

"It was a girl" Robbie said, knowing full well how ridiculous it sounded.

"A girl!?" Jade repeated, with raised eyebrows, "Who was she?"

"No idea" Robbie said, "But she was one of the high-borns. She wasn't wearing servant's clothes and she looked nothing like one. My first guess would be a visiting noble or something" He took a bite out of his apple, wondering what kingdom could possibly let a girl that beautiful go, "Our beloved king is probably trying to forge relationships with some other poor kingdom" he finished, with a sarcastic smirk.

"Robbie" Jade said, "Did this girl have red hair?" Robbie nodded in response. "Then that was the kings daughter. The Princess" Jade told him with a grin.

"He has a daughter?" Robbie asked. Why hadn't he known about this?

"Yeah. Apparently she was sent away when she was young, to some far away school where she could get educated and study. They say the king didn't want her to grow up living near a place like The Outcast. I say he didn't give a damn about her"

Robbie processed the information. So it had been the Princess he had seen in the window. The Princess who had caught him and done nothing...The Princess's eyes which had been seared into his memory ever since he had seen them.

Jade yawned and stretched, getting up from her seat. "I'm gonna turn in" she said to Robbie, "Don't worry about getting distracted by this upper-class Princess, alright? It just shook you because you didn't expect to see her there. Anyone would have been surprised"

"Thanks, Jade. Good night."

Jade left Robbie alone with his thoughts, and they turned once again to the girl. Was Jade right? Had it just been surprise that had stalled him? He thought again about the face of the girl, the Princess...No, it wasn't surprise that had shaken him, it was her. He had never seen a more beautiful woman in all his life, had never felt the fascination he had felt when he looked into those soft brown eyes. It was surreal, something he had never experienced before. The image of the girl was burned into his memory, and he recalled their meeting. She hadn't been afraid of him, and the realisation surprised him. But there had been no sign of fear or panic tracing her delicate face. He remembered every detail of that face. He recalled the way the gentle blush had appeared on her cheeks, the way the soft fall of her red hair framed her face, the way her lips had slightly parted when she neared him. And against his own will, he found himself wondering what it would have been like feel those perfect lips on his own, to have her body pressed up against his...

Robbie mentally shook himself. The train of his thoughts was becoming ridiculous. She was a high born. Not just a high born, she was the Princess. She would be just as selfish and conceited as the rest of them, probably even more so, believing that the world revolved around her because she was the King's daughter. There was nothing different about her, except perhaps that she was a shade more attractive than other women.

Robbie sighed, and resolved to stop thinking about the girl. She would be gone from his mind by the morning, and he would forget all about this incident. At least, that was what he hoped.

He frowned at the palace in the distance. Their heist had been successful, and that was all that mattered. His mentor would have been proud of him. Unconsciously Robbie reached inside his shirt, grasping for the ring his mentor had given him...but he felt nothing. Robbie's eyes widened in surprise, and he felt his chest for the ring. Surprise turned to panic when his hands grasped nothing, and he scrambled to get his shirt off. He stared down in disbelief at his bare chest. No necklace, no ring.

Robbie ran his hands through his hair in exasperation. Where could he have lost it? There was any number of places. But the chain had been strong, sturdy; it would have taken a particularly violent shake to break it...like the one he experienced when he jumped to the wooden pole outside the Princess's window.

Robbie closed his eyes, attempting to calm himself. There was no way fate would be so cruel as to allow him to lose his most treasured possession in the most dangerous place in their city….Yet there was no other explanation. He breathed deeply as he realised what this meant. He had to go back. Back into the palace, into the lion's den in order to retrieve the ring.

He sat down, all thought of tiredness and sleep forgotten as he formulated a plan to recover his ring. After the fire they had set as a distraction, and the following discovery that they had been robbed, the King would no doubt double the guard, or even triple it. All of them would have new routines, which would take months to memorize. He didn't have that time, the necklace and the ring would be lost before he could get to it. One thing was certain: the King would waste no time protecting the rest of his palace against further thefts-it was about to become the most heavily guarded place in the entire city, even more so than it was before. There was only one option. Ridiculous and stupid as it was, it was Robbie's only hope. He had to go back there tonight. Waiting as long as tomorrow was a risk.

Robbie pulled on his cloak, pulling his hood over his face and gazing out at the palace. It would get another visitor tonight, only this time he wouldn't take anything that wasn't already his. He rushed out of the hideout into the silent night, heading towards the palace.