To Steal a Heart

Chapter 3~ Meetings

           Robin folded the poster of Peter Tesero and kept it in her hands as she continued her

 journey home. As it was her first time hearing about the Thieves, she was a bit curious. A group

 that large had to be planning something big; that much she knew. She decided it'd be wise to

 inform her father of the Thieves, and if he already knew, she wanted to find out more. Della Lotta

 wasn't a big country; you could walk from end to end in a matter of nine days, which meant the

 Thieves were excellent at hiding. Also, there wasn't much worth stealing from people. No one was

 particularly poor, but no one was incredibly rich either (except for Robin's family). As far as she

 knew, the Thieves were the first big criminals in over a decade.  

           By now, Robin was so into her thoughts that she wasn't paying much attention to where she

 was walking. She bumped into someone, and with a little "Oof", she fell to the ground, catching

 herself with her hands. 

           The man she bumped into turned around, and immediately knelt down to grab her hands.

 "Oh! Princess Robin, I'm terribly sorry! Are you alright?" 

           Robin chuckled and let him help her up. "I'm fine, and honestly, it was my fault. My apologies."

 She looked up at his face and was immediately entranced. His green eyes were striking against

 his pale skin, framed by black hair. He was just slightly older than Robin and his face held a

 mixture of wisdom and mischief. 

           "You dropped something, Your Highness." He bent over and picked up the poster that had

 unfolded when it fell. "The Thieves, huh? I hear they're a mighty nuisance." 

           Robin shook her head, and gently took the poster from him. "I wouldn't know. I was just

 informed about them today. Anyway, thank you, uh-?" 

           "Alistair. Simply Alistair." 

           "Right. Alistair. Very nice to meet you. Anyway, I should-" 

           "May I walk you home, Princess?" 

            Robin just stared at him, slightly dumbfounded by his shy expression.  

            "I'm rather lonely at the moment; I just moved here without my family and I don't think it would

 hurt to appeal to the future Queen." He gave her a wink to assure her that he was kidding. 

            "No, that's not a bad idea at all...I suppose I could use the company, what with these

 'Thieves' around." 

            Alistair offered her his arm, and she took it, wondering what his intentions were. 

            There was silence for a moment before Alistair spoke up. "Princess, what do you want most

 in the world?" 

             "Mm, probably to finally become Queen." 

              Alistair nodded and looked around. "What I want..." He turned to look at her. "I want