[FINISHED] This wasn't how I planned it to be

A little sigh left her lips as she entered Port Silverstone. She was there to seek out supplies which she could take back home. As she was working in a farm, she often needed to venture out into the city to gather supplies. She loved the work she did in the Agrarian Ring, although it didn’t benefit her that much. That was probably the reason why her father accepted the offer of the rich family in the Upper Ring to get an arranged marriage. They thought they were doing Alyssa a favor, but the girl hated it with all of her guts. She hated rich people who looked down on everyone and she was not becoming one of them, that was for sure. Even if the arranged marriage couldn’t been blown off, she wasn’t going to act like a snob. She prove that point she had hidden the necklace her future fiancée had given to her under her shirt. Even though it was still in sight, it wouldn’t be made as clear that is was jewelry from the Upper Ring.

While every girl in the Agrarian Ring probably would’ve been happy if they could get an offer to let their life behind, Alyssa dreaded the moment the year would end and that she would have to marry that guy. At first he seemed like a nice guy, but he had shown his true colors to Alyssa when she didn’t comply with some of his wishes. He had verbally lashed out to her a couple of times and Alyssa was sure that the moment he would actually hit her wouldn’t be far off. She tried to tell her father this, but he would have none of it and Alyssa wondered if their bond was as deep as she thought.

Port Silverstone was as busy as ever and although a lot of people dreaded venturing into the busy crowd, Alyssa felt a smile creeping up around her lips. This was the kind of life she lived for, not that snobby life in the Upper Ring she dreaded so much. No, if it were up to her, she would never leave the Agrarian Ring.

Not being aware of the figure having his eyes on her behind her, Alyssa walked through the crowd. There were a lot of people who were pushing each other, but Alyssa was so familiar with her surroundings that she could easily pick out the ones who were out there for blood. She just avoided them, sidestepping so they couldn’t bump into her and therefore could not accuse her and start a fight. She didn’t do it because she was scared; she could surely give them a piece of her mind of she needed to. She did it because it felt so worthless to pick a fight with some vendor or customer over probably nothing. As she was accustomed to Port Silverstone, she knew exactly where she needed to be. She had a few coins in her pocket and although it wouldn’t be much, it would be enough to provide her family a nice meal for this evening. She hoped that if she would have to marry that snake his parents would at least keep there word and send her parents a lot of money. It was the only reason she had to marry him.

One bad habit of Alyssa was that when she was thinking of something that made her upset or nervous, she started to fidget with something. That would most likely be her clothes, but now that she had that stupid necklace, she absentmindedly grabbed it out from under her shirt and started to twist it around. She didn’t notice the looks some of the men were giving her, eyeing her like she was some piece of meat. Some of them obviously thought she was just a poor farmer girl, but now they were starting to have second doubts. They couldn’t leave their stands, so Alyssa was safe.

For now, at least.

Maybe it was the slight shifting in the corner of her eyes. Maybe it was the prickling sensation in her back. Alyssa was used to the crows and she loved it, but she wasn’t naïve. The second she remembered that she was in the Agrarian Ring and that she was in a busy crowd, she stopped fidgeting with her necklace. She averted her gaze to the right, where she saw several salesmen eying her necklace. It was enough of a cue for her to put the necklace back under her shirt. While she wanted to sale the damn thing to get rid off it and get enough back in turn, she knew she would never obtain the money she had the right to receive here in Port Silverstone. She would have to venture into the Middle Ring for that. But she still wore farmer clothes and she knew how people in the Middle Ring looked down on them. She would never dare to go to the Upper Ring without having her fiancée as her company. And she would also never be stupid enough to go to the Lower Ring. There she wouldn’t have a chance at all to sell her necklace for a reasonable price.

The prickling sensation in her back didn’t stop and caused Alyssa to turn her head, looking over her shoulder at the people behind her. There was one man in the crowd walking a bit closer to her with scars on his face, but Alyssa didn’t pay much attention to him. She felt it would be rude to stare at him just because of his scars, but it was a fact that he stood out in the crowd. She couldn’t tell if his gaze was set on her or her necklace, but she nodded politely at him either way. Then she turned back around. The damage had already been done: a lot of men were eying her necklace now, not concealing their excitement of having such a pricy item presentable so close to them. Alyssa gave them a nasty glare, hoping that they would back off that way.

She wasn’t going to do any business like that, so she had to venture further into the harbor. Into a more isolated part of the market. She knew she would get her goods there anyway, but she still felt disappointed. She had hoped to do business in the busy crowd where she could use the distraction to lower the prices. Without any distraction around her, it would be less likely that she could get anything off the price if she spoke to the merchants on the more isolated part of the harbor. But oh well. It was better than getting robbed or harassed, she guessed.

Alyssa never felt threatened when she walked out on the streets. She had her trusty two daggers with her, which she could use as a weapon whenever she would get harassed. While she wasn’t arrogant about it, she knew that she had a certain attraction that worked well on certain men. It wouldn’t be the first time that she would be walking down the street and would get catcalled or whistled at. If they only used words and not anything more, she would be able to let it slide, but she had certain encounters where it just wouldn’t stick to words, but she would quickly shut them up with her daggers. Although she didn’t have any real training, she was still quite skilled at it and could seriously hurt someone if they tried anything. So no, she wasn’t afraid of venturing into a more isolated part of Port Silverstone.

She wasn’t prepared for someone to bump into her. It was the same man who she had noticed a short while ago, the one with the scars. She had never seen him before, but the soft spoken words followed up by a smile that made her cheeks flare a little made her blink confusedly at him with her eyes. It was possible that he would have bumped into her thanks to the crowd, so she didn’t blame him and only nodded at him. Before she could say anything, he was disappearing out of sight. Alyssa sighed and tried to calm herself down. She shouldn’t look at other men like this, not when she was about to be married at the end of the year. The thought alone made her nervous again and she reached for her necklace.

Only to realize it wasn’t there.

The scene where he bumped into her quickly replayed in her head. No. It couldn’t be. Could it? It was certainly possible. She narrowed her eyes at his disappearing frame. He wasn’t too far away from her, so she could still catch up. She hesitated. She wanted to sell the goddamn piece of jewelry, not lose it like this. The thought of the money it could make her obtain her made her sped up.

”Excuse me? Can I ask you something?” They were almost at the isolated part of Port Silverstone and not many people were around. Her left hand glided into her pocket, where she kept her daggers. Just a precaution.

There it was again. That sweet smile that had shown on his face for a few seconds when he had bumped into her. It had made her heart race for some reason. Maybe it was just because she wanted to see another face and have a distraction from the abomination that was going to be her husband very soon. Maybe she just wanted to live a little before she was officially off limits. No. She wasn’t that kind of girl. Then why was her heart racing so hard because of a single, sweet smile? As she had grew up in an environment that didn’t involve a lot of men, Alyssa was starting to explore the world around her a little bit when it came to that topic. It was because of her horrible fiancée that she was looking around her for a man that would fulfill the needs of her parents and could blew off the marriage. It was selfish. It was stupid. But she was desperate and she wanted to get out of that arranged marriage, so she felt like she didn’t have a choice.

The man was kind, but something about that felt off. If it hadn’t and it would be okay, her fingertips wouldn’t be brushing her trusty daggers. It was like her instinct kicked in. She was starting to be pretty sure that he had stolen her necklace. Who else could it be? He was the only one who had gotten close enough to steal it from her. She hesitated. Was it okay to accuse him like this? She pondered for a moment what to do. Then decided that being straightforward would be the best course of action. If he was innocent, he would have to need to prove it to her. And so she stepped forward, a sweet smile forming around the corners of her own mouth.

”That necklace you’ve just stolen from me,” she told him in a soft voice, almost seducingly. Then she whipped her daggers out of her pocket, quickly separating them, one in each hand. ”I want it back. Now.” Her voice was a snarl, her icy gaze coldly resting on him. She twirled the daggers almost expertly around in her hands, like she was a great dagger wielder. She wasn’t. She had only trained by herself and was admirable at her best, but that would be it.

But he wouldn’t have to know.

Alyssa cocked an eyebrow when he spoke his words. ”So you were looking at my necklace just now,” she muttered under her breath. She was quiet angered by the fact that he thought it was her fault it had gotten stolen, although it kinda was. But she had to wear it or otherwise there would be consequences. And her parents would find it a huge sign of disrespect if she didn’t wear it. They would feel like she didn’t appreciate her future husband enough or was ashamed of letting the people within her own ring know she did have it better than most of them. She never knew this side of them and she didn’t like it. Her parents would never judge those in the Agrarian Ring, the ring where they grew up with love and care, but now that they were faced with the rich life they could have if all went to plan, they were turning into people Alyssa didn’t know and like.

”It’s not anyone’s business if I want to wear it out in the open or not. It’s my stuff, so people should not touch it,” she snarled at him, narrowing her icy gaze in anger. He told her in a snarly manner that he didn’t have her necklace, but something about his attitude didn’t sit well with her. She noticed the little shift in his movement, how he edged closer to the edge of the pier. What was his plan? Was he about to escape? Only someone who was guilty as hell would deny having done a crime, then trying to flee from the scene. She quickly eyed him up and down. His clothes were hanging loosely over his body, which could mean that he was as skinny as she was. Then he probably wouldn’t have a lot of fight in him.

She wasn’t going to wait to find that out. Without giving him a chance or a warning, she advanced forward. She had kicked enough drunk men to know which spot to hit to make it hurt. And she wasn’t talking about his crotch, although that probably would be a great spot as well. No, instead of that she aimed at his ankle, putting enough weight behind it to make the muscles buckle if she succeeded.

”Show me your pockets or the next hit will be worse,” she threatened him. She wasn’t having it and she didn’t trust him. Only a liar would try to flee from the scene. And she hated liars.

Alyssa couldn’t believe that this stupid asshole had made her blush only a few minutes ago. And an asshole he surely was! Alyssa narrowed her eyes as she listened to him. Of course it was stupid for her to believe that only because she possessed an item that it was hers and it couldn’t be taken, but it frustrated her that he was rubbing it in her face like this, especially because she LOST the said item. ”And you’re living in delusion if you think I can’t kick your ass if it actually turns out you did steal it,” she retorted, narrowing her eyes at him once more. No, she didn’t trust him at all. The next words made her even more angry. ”Don’t you think it's a bit early to form such an opinion on me when you don’t even know me? Are you that narrow-minded?” she hissed at him. Said the one who just accused him of stealing. But that was an entire different matter! She was sure he had stolen it because he was acting very suspicious right now.

The thrust at his ankle was missed. He sidestepped just in time and Alyssa stumbled a bit forward, but she shifted her other foot so she could place the foot she had kicked with back on the ground, without actually losing her balance. That would have been quite the embarrassment. He got his hands out of his pockets and of course they were empty. If the necklace was in his pockets, he sure wouldn’t show it to her. He was taking another step back, towards the water. She frowned. Was he planning on jumping into the water? She had to do one final jab to see if it wasn’t stolen by him.

”Ahh, I see you’re not familiar with the jewelry of the Upper Ring,” she told him, having a little smirk around the corners of her mouth. What she would say next was of course a lie and just whipped out of nowhere, but hopefully he wouldn’t have too much knowledge on the matter and would believe her lies. And would also reveal that he was the thief all along. It would be like killing two birds with one stone. ”You see, if you plan on jumping into the water and you do have my necklace, you should know that it will lose its value. The golden layers on the necklace can’t handle the roughness of water. The diamond will lose its shine and therefore their value. Hell, it might not even been sold at all.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, carefully looking at his reaction. ”But go ahead,” she told him, waving her hand dismissively at him. ”Don’t come crying back to me when you don’t make money out of it because of that stupid mistake. And after all the trouble you went through for it as well. Such a shame.” She was still accusing him because she didn’t buy his story. He was the thief that stole her necklace. And if he would slip up now, she would surely throw her daggers at him.

She frowned a little when he told her that he had never said that she wouldn’t be able to kick his ass. He didn’t look that strong at all, so that could be believable. And then there was also the fact that she was wielding two daggers. She trained herself to make use of them and she could fatally wound someone if she wanted to, so he’d better not tell her any lies. She cocked an eyebrow when he spoke his next words and she narrow her eyes at him. ”You were the only one standing close enough to make to grab it from my neck. What’s more reason than that to accuse you?” she hissed at him. He was annoying, that was for sure.

Her lie didn’t work at all and Alyssa bit her lip when he gave her a seemingly valid explanation as to why what she said wasn’t true. She couldn’t really argue with that because she had sucked that explanation out of her thumb, but she had no facts to back up what she said. It could be true what he was saying, but it could also be a lie. She couldn’t really suppress the embarrassed blush that was creeping up her neck and she swirled her daggers around once more to make herself not look so bad.

Well, she didn’t know what else to do. She was fairly sure that he had her necklace, but she had no evidence to back it up and she couldn’t just grab into his pocket. ”My fiancée is going to kill me,” she muttered, pocketing her daggers back into her pockets. She couldn’t just attack him out of nowhere. The situation was as bad enough as it is. She faced him again. ”I don’t entirely believe you, but as you said: I don’t have enough evidence to back my statement up. So I will let this slide for now.” She narrowed her eyes at him. ”But if I see you near me one more time, then I won’t hesitate to attack.” It was clear that she still didn’t believe him.

Alyssa frowned when he spoke his words. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea of her to walk around Port Silverstone with a necklace that was worth a lot of money, but she had to wear it. Not only because her fiancée wanted her to, but also because of her parents. She had seen a side of them she didn’t like. They liked to show to the Agrarian Ring that their daughter was about to get married with a rich snob from the Upper Ring and that they would move onto a better life. Alyssa liked her life just the way it was now. She was never interested in a lot of money, she just wanted to be happy with the people who were close to her. If she had to gave up a lot of money, then so be it. But apparently her parents were so sick and tired of the life they had in the Agrarian Ring that they would trade instantly when the opportunity arrived. Alyssa felt disgusted and like she was traded like she was worth nothing, like some cow who could be sold off for the better good. And now she lost the very thing that seemed to be most important to her parents and the Upper Ring.

”No, it doesn’t,” she spoke softly and bitterly, averting her eyes to her shoes. Her worn out shoes that were still proof that she was living in the Agrarian Ring. She hoped she wouldn’t have to wear high heels as soon as she got to the Upper Ring. Only the thought made her feet hurt. He turned around and Alyssa opened her mouth to say something more, but she felt like she would waste her time if she did. She would probably never see him again and just like so many people in the Agrarian Ring, he wouldn’t care for her future either. He made that clear himself. So she pushed her daggers deeper into her pockets and turned around as well. A heavy lump was forming in her throat, but she swallowed hard to force it away.

She couldn’t let herself cry now. She had a job to do and once stolen necklace wouldn’t stop her job from continuing. She had to let it go.