Elizabeth had never been out of the castle on her own. Whenever she left the castle, she had always accompanied by her father and his men, or her maids and guards. She had never been a part of the town. Instead, she had always felt like a statue to be gawked at—something inanimate in the eyes of the people. Now, on the other hand, she had the freedom to roam wherever she wanted. The thieves, the pardoners and the street children all passed her by at an arm lengths distance. Still, Elizabeth didn’t feel unsafe—had she worn her elaborate and all too expensive gowns, she would have made for an easy target of robbery and assault. The people would have recognised their princess straying outside of the walls of her confinement inside the castle. Now, on the other hand, she blended in perfectly walking across the bustling town squares. 

Elizabeth had spent countless days sitting on the cold stone window sills of the castle, looking down at the town below her and day dreaming of what it would be like living as a merchant or knight, so she was hardly a stranger to the layout of the dwindling alleys and small houses. Still, although she looked as though she navigated the market of the town with ease, she was in awe at how lively it was. Whenever she had passed through accompanied by the royal guards, everyone had stopped what business they were doing and glared back at her in silence. Now, no one paid the slightest attention to the young woman looking around the square, except for a farmer shouting across his stall.

”Young girl!”, he said, attempting to grab her attention. ”How about these fine apples for you? Freshly picked from my very own farm!”

Startled, Elizabeth glanced at the abundance of red apples filling the cart in front of her. Although they indeed looked rather fresh and juicy, she politely declined the farmer’s offer.

”No thank you, good sir”, she said, just stopping herself from curtseying. She had, in her moment of wonder, almost forgotten who she were supposed to be and why she was here. There was a reason why she was dressed in the simple gown, her long, golden hair in a simple braid—she simply had no time to waste. ”Wishing you a good day”, she hastily added before heading off down the market.

There were a thousand possibilities, she thought to herself as masses of people passed her by. The mercenary could have gone anywhere, and seeing as the royal guards and their dogs that her father had sent out were not anywhere near the market at the moment, she assumed that whoever set parts of the castle on fire was not present where she was. Still, it was a moment of investigation. Not only of how she were supposed to carry herself as a commoner, but also of the talk of the town. If she could find a popular inn, she might hear rumours of the culprit and his rumoured identity there. If there was one thing that was common across all estates, rich and poor, it was the desire to gossip. An attack on the king’s castle itself surely would be on everyone’s lips in the evening, and Elizabeth needed to hear what people had to say. 

Deciding to head towards the edge of the market, where she was more likely to find an inn among the townhouses, Elizabeth curiously peeked down every secluded alley. Most of them were empty, but every now and then, a stray cat slithered around the edge of the houses, or loud whispers escaped from the far end of the darkened alleys. 

It took a few moments before Elizabeth heard the sounds of hoofs hitting the cobblestoned market square. As she turned around, she could see two men, clad in her father’s colours and riding on their fine high horses, surveying the market. Her heart beating in her chest, Elizabeth scurried down one of the secluded alleys. While her father might know about her task, she was not so sure his guards and servants were aware that he had let his only daughter go alone to town to find the mercenary. Still looking back her shoulder to make sure that the guards had not seen her, she did not realise that there was already someone hiding in the alley. With a loud thud, she bumped straight into a dark-haired man, almost causing her to fall over.