And in case you were wondering, yes, he just got punched by a girl.
And yes, he totally let her.
Though it wasn’t a hard enough swing to knock him off his feet, the thief would be feeling the full effect of that punch in the morning— or possibly even in an hour. His hand was immediately gripping his jaw, a bit of blood was visible from the hit. Who knew a chick could whack so hard—
but right, keep the composure, it totally didn’t hurt that bad, blood? no, it was definitely tomato juice and that cracking sound was totally normal—
“—I think you broke my jaw—”
Okay, scratch the whole trying to appear manly and frightening in front of the girl to get his way. The pain was completely horrendous and if he wasn’t so taken back by the whole punching him square in the jaw thing, a quick exit would’ve been great right then. But instead, he rested his back against one of the pillars, trying to regain feeling in that part of his face.
“–!!”
Anna opened her eyes and gasped at the sight she was seeing. Oh god, was he bleeding, jaw possibly broken? And she could’ve sworn she heard a loud crack. Uh oh. She didn’t mean to hit him that hard! The girl just wanted to hit him hard enough to where he could’ve gotten spooked and gotten a bruise or two, taking that as a clear warning not to stay in this castle. She must’ve underestimated her strength once again, causing more damage than she originally wanted to.
“Ahh! Oh no, I-I’m sorry! I- I–”
Anna bit her lip and hesitantly held her arms out towards him, forcing down the instinct to utter anymore apologies. No, she wasn’t sorry. He broke into the castle, threatened her! Even though she didn’t mean to strike him so hard, that doesn’t mean he didn’t deserve the hit either, she reasoned with herself. With that in mind, she lowered her arms and took a few quick steps away, at a comfortable distance, from the thief.
“U-um, y-yeah! That’ll teach you! But– um…oh, uh, do you need a doctor?”
—annnnd one more, now he was right in front of her, possibly a little too close for comfort.
he leaned in, close enough to see the freckles on her face, making sure to keep the whole dangerous thug act going.
“—— make me.”
Oh, god. What has she gotten herself into?
She should’ve called the guards a looong time ago.
The wide-eyed princess was rooted in her spot, breath hitching as he neared closer and closer to her tiny, slim frame. Too close for comfort indeed. Way too close.
Anna’s eyes looked left and right in panic, searching for someone– anyone who could help her in this frightening situation. Being inches away from a thuggish thief wasn’t all that calming. She looked, and there was no one. Not even a guard. So, she did the first thing that popped into her mind. She pinched her eyes shut, grabbed the collar of his vest–
“….F-fine then, I will–!”
–and reeled her arm back, giving him a swift, hard punch to the jaw.
He straightened his posture, towering over her quite a bit. Her threat was a little weak in the punch, something told him she didn’t have much background in dealing with thugs and thiefs.
“You’ll.. what?”
“I’ll– make you regret it! U-um…”
As Anna’s arm lowered, a slow realization hit her. He was taller, stronger, and probably wouldn’t mind hurting her– princess or not. Her teal blue eyes were widened and shed of all the fire and confidence they once contained.
“—came in through the front door, obviously.” that sounded believable. though his eyes were trained on her, they occasionally flashed to the item on display. now how was he supposed to achieve what he came here to do? he’d have to get rid of this girl.
“Hey, I’m actually kind of hungry. How about you go and get me an apple or two, and then we’ll continue this talk.”
“‘Through the door’ my foot…”
Why would he break into the castle? He was a thief, more likely than anything. A skilled thief if he managed to get though those guards at the front gates. Anna opened her mouth to call for the guards, but stopped, eyes wide with offense.
“Excuse me? Did you– who exactly do you think you are, sir?” Anna wrinkled her nose and stepped up to the stranger, jabbing him in the chest with one slim finger.
“Listen, either you leave right now or I’ll– I’ll–”