A/N: Hey guys I'm back! However I'm taking a break from A Prince to Remember for now just for the fact that whilst writing it I had a lot of problems in my life I needed to deal with and even though I used the story as sort of an escape, at the moment its just bringing forth bad memories, but I will continue it in the near future.
HOWEVER, this is my new story which I'm like super excited for. It is a Fable 3 story and it's slightly AUish but still following the main storyline. But guys remember to leave me a comment to tell me what you think.
Anyway without further a do, I present to you For Knowledge, Truth and Love!
Prologue
"Hurry up! The guards might come and find us at any moment!" Evelyn whispered impatiently whilst crouching low in the under growth of a large hedge, her companion shortly joined her and huffed in annoyance as he tried to disentangle various twigs and leaves from his neatly combed bronze hair.
"I'm following as quickly as I can! You don't make it easy you know? And why in Avo's name do we have to leave this way?" Evelyn gave Elliot a frown and a roll of her emerald eyes as he sank to the floor beside her.
"Because we've already been caught using the most obvious passages to Bowerstone and now my brother's made sure extra guards are on patrol," she explained before poking her head out of the shrub to see no one had followed them, let alone there wasn't anyone in the secluded area of a small patch of grass surrounded by various species of trees. Without so much as a nod of her small head, the young girl sprinted from their hiding place and across the field to a group of willow trees, their long vines full with lush green leaves. With Elliot close behind, she knew that if there happened to be any nobles to stumble upon them they would simply come to the conclusion the young Princess and her friend were in a middle of a game when in fact, it was much more than that, for actually they were in the process of a very important mission.
Amongst the trees stood a high and mighty fence that stretched around the Royal garden, separating the nobility of Albion from the common wealth.
Silently Evelyn wrapped a small hand on each of the bars; until she felt one of them move slightly. Reaching down to fumble around in one the deep pockets of her light blue pinafore, the Princess felt the shape of a familiar object and retrieved it, revealing a small spanner.
"Where on earth did you get that?" Elliot exclaimed quietly, his dark brows immediately shooting up in disbelief.
"Borrowed it from Walter's tools when he wasn't looking during training," Evelyn murmured as she lowered the cool metal tool and began turning the small bolt from its place. The small pin groaned in protest as Evelyn applied all her might and pressure, before it actually started to move fluently. Eventually when loosened, Evelyn unscrewed it from its home and she pocketed both the bolt and the spanner. Once more her small hand wrapped round the cool metal and began to jangle it, only this time when it moved, the absence of the bar made a small gap in the fence; big enough to fit a child's body through. Smiling in triumph the Princess was about to pass through the barrier when a she felt a hand on her arm.
"Evie are you sure about this? I mean the last time we left the palace, Logan was furious," Elliot asked almost fearfully, his dark eyes glowing with uneasiness.
Evelyn took a moment to contemplate on what her closest and only friend had said. It was true that when the King of Albion discovered that his only little sister had snuck away from the palace grounds, he had demanded she was to be dragged back kicking and screaming if need be. For almost a week the young Princess was confined in the solitude of her bedchambers, with only the company of her ever trusty butler Jasper and lifelong mentor Walter; not that she ever minded their company but she yearned to feel the sunlight on her skin as well as the refreshing feel of the breeze as it blew onto her face. This was mostly the reason for her determination to escape the palace for a few hours.
Princess Evelyn had stayed in Albion's royal palace as long as she could remember. Her mother, the Old hero Queen Sparrow had always took her on trips to Bowerstone Market for days away from the pressures of nobility, where the pair could just simply be "Mother and Daughter" while Logan spent time with the King. But alas those days were numbered as on the evening of the Princess's ninth birthday ball, Queen Sparrow had tragically passed away. Since that day, there was no laughter like so many times before when Evelyn was hurled onto strong shoulders as they strolled over the bridge leading to Bowerstone from the castle, but instead was filled with the dull grey boredom of being kept behind the dark polished bars of the fence.
This was to be her fifth attempt in the last year and a half, and the one thing she realised was the more times she escaped the longer her punishment.
"Elliot, you know I have to. I wake up to the same routine everyday and I feel desperate to see the world behind this fence!" she started and sighed when she saw his dark expression. "It's not like we're running away, we'll only be a few hours Elliot I promise." Elliot still stared at her with uncertainty, the corner of his lips turned downwards. With another sigh, the princess leant forward and placed a small kiss on his tanned cheek. Elliot's eyes widened with shock and surprise as he felt her soft lips upon his skin and spluttered. Evelyn giggled as she took in the faint blush on his cheeks as she pulled away and twisted her body through the small exit.
They were a few feet away from the bridge that acted as the entrance of Bowerstone Market and Evelyn gave a small smile before pulling out a plain linen scarf out of her pocket and wrapped the material round the crown of her head as well as tucking her long golden hair, creating a bandana that most common girls wore which also helped cover her face; from first glance no one would recognise her and would assume she was just a poor merchants daughter.
They were besides the canal where steam powered boats chugged their way transporting cargo while leaving a thick trail of black smoke and polluting the once blue sky. Evelyn glanced over her shoulder and saw Elliot still following. Smiling the young Princess swiftly made her way to Bowerstone market.
[※ ※]
"Evie we really need to return to the castle, its dusk and Logan will become suspicious," Elliot whispered urgently in her ear, to not arouse attention from near passersby.
After spending most of the day playing with children from the market, Evelyn felt simply exhilarated as she'd never had so much fun in her short life, however Elliot was right. The sky even though thick with clouds of soot had a tinge of orange in the summer twilight. Stalls and shops had begun to close as the town crier rang out his bell and heartily declared it was closing time.
A wave of sorrow washed through young Evelyn's body as she knew it really was time to make the journey home; Dinner would soon be served and she needed to slip back in before Logan realised where she was.
"I suppose you're right," she sighed as she rose from her spot on the worn stone stairs of the old Bowerstone clock tower and with a fleeting glance left. The faster the darkness approached Bowerstone had transformed into a sinister place; the warm happy, friendly atmosphere suddenly turned into a town full of lust and sin, with the drunkards falling and the whores crying out their passions in deserted alleys.
The children quickened their pace as the sultry cackles travelled through the shadows, causing fear to run through their veins; they made it to the bridge looming over the canal, the other side assured them that they would arrive back at the palace on time, when suddenly the pair came to an abrupt halt.
Two shadows loomed near the other side of the tunnel of the ancient highway, their face silhouetted by the little light there was from the gas street lamps.
"Well, well, well, lookie what we ave ere, two little child'en out on their own," one man sneered, the faint outline of a smirk on his lips in the darkness.
"Yeah asn't mummy ever told ya, that children shouldn't be out playin at night?" another cackled.
Evelyn felt pressure to her hand and looked down to see Elliot's hand grasping hers in a death like grip; fear radiated from his dark eyes and she could see that he was trying to fight the quiver in his lip. He tugged her arm and pulled her the way they came, until a heavy hand landed on both their small shoulders and preventing them moving. Evelyn craned her neck to see a young yet bulky man grinning down at her, revealing his rotten yellow teeth as well as the gap where his two front teeth should have been.
"Now where'd you think you're goin?" he sneered as Evelyn directed her gaze back to Elliot, whose body had frozen in terror and his eyes never leaving the sight of the two figure on the opposite side, whose features were becoming clearer as they approached. The one man was much shorter than his two accomplishes as well as having a larger plump stomach. His bulging cheeks were a light shade of red and the smell of ale and sweat radiated from his unwashed body.
"A lass and a lad, master will be pleased," he grinned as the man behind Evelyn suddenly grasped her chin firmly, making her emerald eyes boring into his. Neither child said a neither word nor moved in fear that if one did they would be in worse danger. The icy pang of fear washed over her body as she resisted a shiver and narrowed her eyes to glare at the repulsive man.
"This girl aint half bad, definitely be a stunner when she's older," he said to his mates with a lecherous expression, one that made Evelyn want to gag.
The man furthest away, whose features were still shrouded in darkness, laughed heartily and exclaimed, "Well more money for us! She's ought a igher price!"
All men joined with their comrade's laughter as both children stood defenceless and alone, when suddenly two meaty hands grasped the tops of Evelyn's arms as she was hoisted into the air; that's when the chaos began.
Her short legs kicked and her nails clawed the hands of her captor as she struggled to break free. Elliot was little fists pounded against the man's legs, before being kicked violently in the chest and fell to the ground. His name tore from Evelyn's mouth in a pained scream as her captor laughed in triumph. Then in a moment in unclouded judgement, Evelyn turned and sank her teeth in the flesh of the man s arm.
The thug screamed in pain and abruptly threw the Princess to the ground, her knee coming into sharp contact with the uneven cobblestone ground.
"You little bitch!" he howled in pure rage. A glint in the darkness caught Evelyn's eye and gasped when she realised her captor was in possession of a knife. "Don't worry, you don't need looks for a price," he sneered before lunging towards her.
Evelyn closed her eyes tightly and waited for the moment the cool metal would slide into the softness of her flesh. Logan had been right; Bowerstone was simply no place for a child especially a Princess. She waited for the moment till that knife silenced her, ending her existence when only she was greeted with the cry of a gunshot and a dull thud.
Slowly she opened her eyes and looked round in confusion to see her would-be-murder slumped into a pile on the ground, then turning to see the silhouette of another man with a pistol in hand and smoke pouring from the nozzle.
"Well this certainly does look an interesting shindig, don't mind if I cut in?" the stranger remarked sarcastically, his voice indicating that he was much younger than the thugs.
"Shit he killed Freddie!" the fat piggish man cursed. "You bastard, im gonna rip you up into shreds!"
In response the stranger merely raised his pistol and pointed to the two other men.
"Here's what's going to happen, you're going to turn round and leave these kids alone," he said as he took a step towards us, his pistol still drawn all the while.
The taller thug laughed in disbelief
"Oh yeah an what you gonna do if we don't?"
The stranger merely raised his gun higher and shifted his position slightly, so the tip was pointed at the taller thug solely.
"Well let me introduce you to someone, your other friend here seemed to like her," his voice may have sounded playful but the obvious deadly threat behind it sang out clearly as it rang this man was clearly losing his patience.
"You wouldn't dare."
"Tell you what I'm feeling generous; I'll give you the count of three to run."
"What?! Now listen ere..."
"One..."
"You've got no friggin right..."
"Two..."
"Barry let's get out of ere, they ain't worth it!" The other thug pleaded before succumbing to fear and scrambled their way out of sight.
"Three," the stranger concluded in what strangely sounded like a cheerful voice as he lowered his weapon and chuckled
"Evie!" a cry rang out echoing off the stone walls. It took a moment for Evelyn to take aware of her surroundings and realise Elliot kneeling besides her, yet her eyes never wandered from the man who'd just rescued them.
Elliot's eyes scanned her body before suddenly gasped when his eyes locked on her exposed leg. "Oh my, you're bleeding!"
Evelyn broke her trance with the rescuer and looked down to see her skimmed knee with red rivulets travelling down her pale skin. She stared in shock as she hadn't realised before she'd hurt herself, yet adrenaline still pumped through her veins and must of clouded her senses.
Footsteps ricocheted in the enclosed space and Evelyn's gaze shifted to the approaching form of the stranger. He paused for a moment before kneeling so he was eye level with both children. Elliot shifted so Evelyn was behind him and glared at the stranger.
"Hey, hey, hey, I'm not going to hurt her, just want to see her leg," the man said kindly, trying to reassure Elliot.
The boy frowned clearly not convinced while Evelyn tilted her head to one side and stared at the intriguing man before her. Clear blue eyes met her vibrant emerald ones, silently the man asked for her approval.
"Its fine," she said her voice slightly taking that commanding tone her mother would have used. Elliot gaped at her in disbelief before nodding once and slowing moving away but stayed besides her, the man simply nodding in thanks and clasped his hand at the back of her knee. Gently he raised her leg and tenderly examined her small wound and tsked when he looked closely.
"You've done quite the number on yourself," he said before smiling at her, revealing two rows of perfect white teeth.
The stranger leant back before retrieving a large linen cloth from his pocket and carefully with gentle precision wrapped it round the Princess' knee, tying a small knot after he'd finished.
"There we go, good as new," he smiled, "It's going to sting for a while but clean it up when you get home." He rose from the ground and offered a hand to both children; Elliot simply huffed and pulled himself up while Evelyn slipped her hand into the strangers. The man merely shrugged and hoisted the Princess up.
"Well you two run back home and don't play out at night, it's dangerous especially near the canal," he chastised before smiling once more and gave a gesture as if he was tipping his hat and turned to leave.
"Wait!" Evelyn cried causing the man to pause and turn in question as he raised a blonde brow when she hobbled over to him. The Princess made and waving motion with her hand, indicating for him to bend closer. Crouching forwards so they were both eye level, the man stared at her in confusion before Evelyn leant forward and planed a small kiss on his smooth cheek and stepping back to curtsey.
"Thank you sir," was all she said before running back and grabbing Elliot's wrist to make their way back to the castle.
The man stood in shock for a moment, still crouching then whilst chuckling he touched where the Princess' lips had touched his skin and straightened. Shaking his head the man dropped his hand and turned to leave in the opposite direction.