Summary: Charming demeanor and good looks - these are the things Eugene takes pride in. He doesn't appreciate the competition in form of a mysterious stranger.

"Did you hear?" The girl asked in a high-pitched voice. "He's so dreamy!"

"So handsome," another joined in.

"So mysterious!"

"Kyaaa!" All three females squealed in delight.

"Ladies please," Eugene smirked as he passed by. "There is enough of me for all of you - though I must warn you I am a taken man." He threaded a hand through his perfectly sitting hair and tossed a sexy glance over his shoulder. At least in his mind, it was sexy.

The group of over-excitable maids looked confused at him.

"Pff," Cassandra snorted. "They are not talking about you Fitzherbjerk." She jumped down the railing of the large, pompous, marble staircase and did a flip just to piss him off even more.

"Don't you know hot stuff, there is a new sheriff in town."

The girls squealed once more.

"What?"

"They say he's a knight traveling from kingdom to kingdom in search of an escaped prisoner."

Eugene frowned.

"Tall, handsome, and oh god those eyes!" The girls continued to swoon over the mysterious stranger. "Marry said she almost fainted when he smiled at her!"

"She's so lucky!"

"Right!"

"This is ridiculous," the former thief muttered displeased.

"Jealous?" Cassandra teased.

"As if!" Eugene gave a dismissive wave of his hand and turned his face away. He crossed his arms over his chest.

"You did not meet this fancy 'knight' by any chance?"

Cassandra bit her lips to suppress her gleeful cackles. "Well," She inspected her fingernails to prolong Eugene's suffering. She knew he was burning up inside. "Just a glimpse."

At the memory, a little smile crept on her face.

"Dark hair, porcelain skin. Very nice bicep. And if I'm not mistaken - and I never am - he's a couple of inches taller than you."

Eugene's hands tightened into fists while the swooning increased yet again at her description.

"I wouldn't push him off the edge of my bed if you know what I mean." She waggled her brows.

"Cassandra, gross!"

The daughter of the guard's captain shrugged ready to move on with her life. "If you're lucky you might meet him at the market."

"No thanks, I am not that insecure!" Eugene yelled after her.

One last time Cassandra turned around before she left. Her eyes shimmered with mischievousness. "You know, Raps was staring too."

For the past two weeks, Eugene made an effort to go to the market whenever he could. An effort, because he had to be sneaky. Cass would never let him live it down if she knew. As always, the streets were busy and full of people. In his former profession, this would have been paradise, but now, on the other side of the spectrum, it was beyond frustrating. In the chaos, it seemed hopeless to find a specific person, let alone one you never met.

"Urgh!" He pushed himself off the wall and shoved his hands into his pockets. This was ridiculous. What on earth was he even doing?

About to give up, a dark shimmer caught his eye. The former criminal jerked his head in the direction of one of the smaller shops far along the large main road.

There he was. A crimson cape hugged his shoulders, while the blackish armor plates were ready to protect him from any harm. His face was half obscured by a helmet, however even it couldn't hide his high cheekbones nor the soft raven curls.

The figure leaned over the counter and his slender fingers pointed at something impossible to see.

Cassandra was right, it flashed through his mind, he was a little taller than him. Not by much - but enough to notice.

The thief gulped. All in all, the man looked less like a knight and more like a prince. He felt a knot forming in his stomach, and his throat went dry.

The other crocked his head. There, for the briefest of seconds, their eyes met, and he had to take a step back at just how blue they were. His heart accelerated. He couldn't breathe - completely trapped in the moment.

The spell was broken when the knight averted his gaze.

Some coins were exchanged and Eugene would have given anything to hear the sound of his low chuckle as the merchant's wife smacked her husband on the back of his head. She thrust a little brown bag into his hands and the man gave a curt bow.

Before Eugene had half a mind to squeeze through the crowd to get a better look he was gone.

The princess's fiance rummaged through the castle, muttering to himself like a madman.

"I see you found him."

Eugene bit his lower lip and Cassandra laughed.

"Not as straight as you thought you were, huh?"

"Shut up," he replied, properly freaking out in his full-on Bi Crisis.

.

.

.

A dense cage of smoke surrounded him.

He clutched his chest as he was forced to his knees.

The world spun. What was up and what down, he could barely remember. The kid closed his eyes real tight and tried to stifle his panic. There wasn't enough air.

In the back of his mind, he heard a voice. It called his name, saying something about safety, about explosions, about… He didn't care. He was burning. He was freezing. He was suffocating under the weight of his father's armor.

Varian ripped off the helmet. Immediately the cold wind hit his face as the purple wall around him dissolved and vanished into the wayward forest.

One stuttering breath followed the next.

"It's okay." The tone of his voice was as jagged as broken glass.

The tiny raccoon chirped and the frantic drumming of his heartbeat ebbed down.

"I'm fine," he lied and the scratching on his pale skin stopped.

Finally, he unclenched his fists to pet Ruddiger's head - if only to hide his trembling fingers.

It took him a moment to organize his thoughts and the shaky smile slipped from his face. This was close. Too close. Hopefully, it had to be his last trip to the city. No vendor would sell anything to the boy who had attacked their princess, and with guards everywhere it was only a matter of time before they found him.

He looked down and hesitated. He knew he should put away the foreign pieces of metal his dad used to wear when he was younger, yet he wasn't ready. He felt dizzy and drained and the thought of shouldering them all the way back… seemed impossible.

Soon it would be over, he told himself as he stood up. For a dangerous moment, he swayed on his feet and nearly fell again.

He gritted his teeth, bracing himself as best as he could.

"I got this."