"I'm sorry, your majesty, but I know nothing of her, if she even does exists."
Steve huffed in annoyance as he walked around the city market, trying to scrounge up leads on Johanna, but people would clam up at the mention of her name.
It was as though she didn't exist- or people were afraid of her.
Steve smiled at a small collection of children who were running around the marketplace, acting rowdy but respectful of others. They accidently plowed into a little girl, who burst into tears at her scraped hands; one helped her up while another dusted her off. The girl looked down at her doll, laying on the ground, and burst into a fresh spiral of tears at the sight of it's arm, barely hanging on by a few threads.
And then he saw her.
Hair glinting a fiery red under the sun, she crossed the street, away from him, as she approached the children and took the doll from the bawling girl's arm. She quickly located a little leather purse tucked inside one of her belt pouches and pulled out what looked to Steve to be a needle and spool of thread. She quickly fixed the doll and smiled down at the little girl, kneeling to present her with the now repaired toy. She was thanked with a squeal of joy and arms thrown around her neck in a gleeful hug.
By the time Steve had crossed the street, she had vanished.
"Who was that girl? The one who fixed your little friend?" he asked the girl, who was busy hugging her doll close to her chest.
"Jojo," she answered shyly. "She runs with the Den of Thieves most times- she's nice and sometimes brings us little sweets to eat!"
The Den of Theives.
Steve felt a shiver run down his spine- the Den of Thieves was a group of freelance mercenaries for hire that did everything from stealing to extortion. The only other group that made mothers pull their children inside and men to shield women as they passed by was the Court of Assassins; of course, due to their occupation, no one knew who the assassins were.
The king thanked the girl, giving her four coppers before rushing off to find his little sister. He found her soon enough- Johanna's bright copper red colored curls made it easy to find her.
Steve found himself taking in her physical appearance- she was dressed in a faded, dusty blue lace up kirtle and wore her bright scarlet corkscrew curls in a severe braided crown. She was exiting the bakery with a loaf of bread, a wedge of cheese, and vegetables in a basket, swinging gently on her arm. A charcoal grey cloak with the hood half concealing her face, keeping her warm and sheltered from the early October chill. She glanced over at the king, showing him a splotchy red and purple birthmark that covered most of the left side of her face.
One second she was there in front of Steve, the next moment, she was gone, causing him to scowl before turning around to head back to the castle, giving up on his search.
He'd send Natasha out to look for her tomorrow.