Hiya everyone! Here's the next chapter for The Princess and the Thief! Enjoy! Happy Easter everyone!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Brady POV

As soon as my lips barely ghosted over the princess's, I heard far away footsteps, but I knew who they belonged to: The castle guards. I need to get out of here! I quickly backed away from the princess, slightly panicking. She must have heard the footsteps too because her eyes widened slightly. I quickly looked at the direction where the footsteps were coming from before shifting my gaze back to the princess.

Would it be too risky to take off now and bring her with me? No, I have to leave her here; the King already hates me enough without me running off with his daughter. I quickly reached a decision before I began sprinting in the opposite direction of the footsteps, running as fast as I could to escape capture.

As I began running through the shadows, the footsteps began to sound farther and farther away. I'm almost free. Knowing that I wouldn't be able to make it back to the rich farm before the night ended, I stopped at the rich vendor's stand and stole a few vegetables and one piece of mukarat, enough food to last my brothers and me for a few days. After I snatched these pieces of food I rushed home, being sure to take a few different detours in case anyone was following me, one of the detours at my cave to hide my sword.

When I reached my shared house with my brothers, I noticed all the lights were off. Boomer and Boz must be asleep. I smiled to myself before I snuck in through the window in our bedroom, taking care to stay quiet as my eyes spotted my brothers fast asleep in their beds. I then walked into the kitchen and placed the food in the small ice chest we had before I changed into my everyday clothes, which doubled as my sleepwear. I then hid my Sirocco costume in the false bottom of the chest before washing off the fake mustache. As I finished this I walked into the bedroom and lay down on my bed before allowing sleep to overcome me until tomorrow.

Mikayla POV

As soon as I woke up the next morning I quickly changed into my princess gown and brushed my hair and teeth before walking downstairs to find something to eat for breakfast. When I entered the throne room one of the temporary servants walked up to me. We usually hired a few of the poorer villagers every day to give them some work. I had convinced my dad to start doing this a few years ago, and we had been doing it since.

I waved at one of the servant boys, gaining his attention. The servant that approached me was tall and had medium length black hair as well as tan skin. What stood out to me the most though were his eyes. They were a chocolate brown, and they widened slightly when he noticed who I was. However, I felt as if I had seen them before, or talked to him or something. "What would you like for breakfast your highness?" The boy questioned. I smiled at him.

"A glass of milk and some eggs please." The boy nodded before he began walking towards the kitchen. I watched him as he left, something stirring in the back of my mind. Have I seen him before? I shook my head, refusing to believe I had met this villager before.

"Good morning sweetheart!" I turned around to find my father walking towards me, a smile on his face. "Good morning father!" I greeted in return as he hugged me. We always seemed to be on formal terms, so I usually didn't call him 'dad'. "How did you sleep?" I questioned my father politely.

"I only got a little bit of sleep because I joined one of the patrols for that terrible thief, but otherwise I slept well." My father responded as the servant boy walked up to us, carrying my breakfast. He stopped when he reached us and waited for me to acknowledge him before handing me my food. "Here is your breakfast princess." I smiled gratefully and took the plate and glass from him. "Thank you." The servant boy smiled at me before bowing to my father and walking away, probably to tend to something else.

"Well, I'm off on another patrol. I will not rest until we capture that retched thief!" My father growled as he said the word 'thief' before he walked out, leaving me by myself. I sighed, but since I was used to this I brushed it off and began walking to the library so I could begin my search on who Sirocco was.

When I reached the library I was greeted by the librarian, Indigo. She was a good friend of mine since I was almost always in the library, not to mention she was the same age as me: seventeen. Indigo had long indigo colored hair that reached her waist and bright green eyes. She had tan white skin and was rather short, but only a little smaller than me.

"Hello Princess!" Indigo smiled as she walked over to me. "Good morning Indigo. How are you doing today?" I smiled at my friend. "I'm doing very well my lady. What brings you to the library?" I smiled even more as I thought of what had happened the previous night which led up to where I was now. "Well, I was hoping to do some research, so I need a list of boys in the village who are between sixteen and eighteen and have black hair, brown eyes, and white skin. " Indigo looked at me confused for a moment but nodded anyways before walking off to create a list.

I sat down at one of the library tables to wait before beginning to finally eat my breakfast, which I quickly finished. Sliding my plate farther onto the table I stood up and began to browse the books in the library.

I searched around for a few minutes before sitting back down, not finding anything that took up my interest. "My lady, here is the list you requested." Indigo handed me a list as she walked up to me. I quickly glanced over the list, finding there were close to fifty names. It's going to take too long to figure out which one of these boys is Sirocco. I smiled at Indigo but internally sighed. So much for that idea. "Thank you Indigo." My friend nodded and smiled before I turned and walked out of the library, disappointed. Looks like I'll have to catch him at night. Perhaps he's going to be out again tonight.

Brady POV

"Brady!" I stopped walking as Boomer rushed up to me. "The princess was just in the library and she asked for a list of boys who were between sixteen and eighteen and have black hair, brown eyes, and white skin." Boomer hissed quietly in fear our conversation would be heard. I shrugged. "So?" Boomer grabbed my shirt and shook me slightly. "You match that description!" He looked at me, fear in his eyes. "Oh well. If the Princess is looking for me then she'll probably see me again before we go home tonight. There's no need to worry." Boomer looked at me as if I was crazy before he sighed and walked off.

I watched Boomer leave the room before I turned around only to bump into someone. The sheets I was holding fell to the floor. Not even bothering to see who I had run into, I bent down to pick up the sheets while apologizing. "I'm sorry I didn't-" I stopped talking as I realized who was in front of me. Princess Mikayla was helping me pick up the sheets and apologizing at the same time, both of us saying the exact same thing.

We both looked up as we stopped talking only for our eyes to meet. Recognition flashed in her eyes, and I hoped it was only that she recognized me from this morning and not last night. Quickly snapping out of the eye lock I had with her I picked up the rest of the sheets and stood up, the princess following suit. "I'm sorry your highness. It won't happen again." I apologized before walking off, trying to escape from her eyes as soon as I could to reduce the risk of her recognizing me.

"Wait!" I continued walking, only slowing down slightly to allow the princess to catch up to me. Since she was the Princess I couldn't disobey anything she said unless I wished to be in a lot of trouble. The only thing that stopped my walking was the hand I felt on my shoulder. "Please stop." I paused my walking and turned to face the Princess, feeling slightly confused as to why she was taking a sudden interest in me.

"What's your name?" Princess Mikayla questioned me, curiosity shining bright in her beautiful eyes. As soon as I opened my mouth to speak yelling came from down the hallway. "You there, get back to work!" The head servant came rushing down the hallway as she yelled at me. She was a short but rather wide woman with gray hair and a fierce temper. I nodded as she came up to the Princess and I. "Yes ma'am." I quickly turned and walked away, leaving the Princess and the head servant behind.

Mikayla POV

I turned to Macy, the head servant. "I'm sorry my lady. I'll make sure he won't bother you again." I opened my mouth to protest but Macy walked away before I could. I sighed before looking in the direction the boy had gone, wishing I had learned his name.

I then had an idea: I was going to walk around the castle until I found that boy again. Wait a minute, what time is it? I quickly glanced at the clock, finding it to be around one in the afternoon. The work shift here for village servants ends at two. I need to hurry if I want to find him! With this thought I began walking in the direction the boy had gone, determined to find him.

I walked down hallway after hallway, checking every room I could to find him. I came across several servants, but none of them were the one I was looking for. I continued searching until a horn sounded through the castle, signaling the end of the villagers work day. No, I haven't found him yet! Panicking slightly I took off running towards the throne room where I knew the villagers would pass through to leave the castle.

As soon as I reached the castle I caught sight of the boy. He was walking with two other boys and they were about to leave. I smiled to myself in victory before I began to walk towards them. However my smile disappeared as I was stopped by the royal dress maker, Ally. "My lady, it's time for you to try on your outfit for tomorrow's parade." I tried to walk past Ally so I could get to the boys but she wouldn't move. "I'll try it on in a few minutes Ally."

Ally shook her head. "You must try it on now my lady." I watched in defeat as the boys left the castle before shifting my gaze to Ally. "Very well then." I sighed before following Ally to my room. I will find you servant boy, no matter how long it takes. Sirocco, I will find you as well.

Brady POV

I smiled at Boomer and Boz as the three of us walked back home, my two brothers chatting up a storm. "Those servant girls were cute!" Boz announced, earning nods from Boomer and I in agreement. "What did you do all day Brady?" They both shifted their attention to me. "I just helped with random things and got yelled at by the head servant because the Princess wouldn't leave me alone." Boomer and Boz's eyes widened at this.

"You talked to the Princess?" They both exclaimed. I nodded. "We both ran into each other and when I tried to walk away to get back to work she followed me and had a small conversation." I left out the part about her asking about my name, knowing that if my brothers found out they would freak. It's bad enough that I was talking to the daughter of the man who hates me, but it's even worse that I kissed her last night, something I planned on never telling my brothers about.

Boomer and Boz both smiled widely as they looked at each other before turning back to me. "Brady's got a crush on the princess! Brady's got a crush on the princess!" My eyes widened as I realized what they were saying. "Guys, hush! You're attracting attention!" I hissed quietly, trying hard to get my brothers to hush. Boomer and Boz both stopped singing but their huge grins remained on their faces. I smiled and rolled my eyes as we reached our house, ready to relax before we worked hard tomorrow.

Did you guys like it? Thanks for reading! Also, Happy Easter! Be sure to eat lots of sweets!

Lots of Hugs,

Bra-Kayla Luver4eva