Her bad luck.

After entering the room and checking everything, Hazel was no longer suspicious of the amount she had paid. The room, though of simple quality, was very neat and clean.

Hazel dropped her bag on the bed as she looked around appreciatively. It would be nice if she could afford a few days in the inn before travelling to the capital.

With the few things she had bought and the money she used to pay for the room, she was only left with five crowns, which was barely enough to afford her a decent meal and and a drink. To make it worse, none of her things could be sold out because they held more significance to her than money. The locket made of gold could cost a lot, but it was the only thing left to her by her mother. The full-tang dagger with the symbol of an eagle was also left by her uncle. The only thing she had of his.

Her belongings were what connected her to the family she lost and she would never think of selling them. The other two small knives were for her own protection so that wasn't even an option.

Deciding to leave the thinking for later, Hazel picked up the loose pants and her new blouse shirt to change after her bath. She stopped to look into the mirror and she gasped in shock when she saw her own reflection.

"Jesus Christ," she mumbled, examining her own expression.

Having not being exposed to sunlight for so long, her skin had become sickly pale, almost transparent. No wonder people were giving her strange looks. The lack of sleep had also caused dark circles to form around her eyes, starkly contrasting with her pale complexion. Apart from that, she had grown completely thin and her cheeks had hollowed. She looked worse than a slave!

Shaking her head, she passed the mirror and entered the bathroom, not wanting to stare at the reflection of her own suffering any longer.

There was a wooden tub at the corner of the bathroom and some clean towels on a wooden shelf. Hazel quickly took off her old clothes and sunk her body inside the tub. A sigh of satisfaction left her lips as the warm water caressed her skin, soothing her aching muscles.

If someone ever asked Hazel what being born again felt like, then it was the first bath after long years of imprisonment.

Even though she wanted to soak in the water for a while longer, she didn't forget that she only had an hour so she bathed quickly, giving her matted hair more attention.

After the refreshing bath, she dried herself and put on the new set of clothes that made her look even smaller than she already was. She tied her long hair up in a simple bun, then tied the head wrap around her head, completely hiding the onyx strands.

The eye patch completed the look and instead of looking like a woman straight out prison or a young lady, she looked like a young lad.

Hazel now stared into the mirror, her eyes a little brighter now that she could feel life seeping back into her soul.

When she walked down the stairs, the lanky man from earlier looked up with surprise evident in his eyes.

"Thank you," Hazel said as she handed the keys back. The man only gave a slight nod.

Hazel stood outside the two-story building for long seconds, looking at the people walking by. She didn't know where to start. But after a while, she decided that a walk around town would help her come up with solutions so she set off to the bustling marketplace.

It hadn't been longer than ten minutes since Hazel started walking before she heard a commotion nearby. There was a group of men gathered around the area where a man was grabbing the collar of another, the two glaring at each other ferociously.

The fight caught people's attention and some started gathering around, some even leaving their stalls to see what was happening.

Hazel was about to turn around and continue walking before she caught something on her peripheral vision and she stopped in her tracks. A young boy of about ten was stalking close to an empty stall where the owner was probably watching the fight. The boy looked around to see if anyone was watching, then grabbed a few apples and shoved them inside his pockets. He then took a few bananas before running off in the other direction.

Hazel's eyes remained on the disappearing figure of the young boy. Not once did she think of calling attention to the boy, especially because it was food he was stealing, but the little action suddenly presented all the answers she needed.

Before getting arrested, Hazel wasn't particularly an innocent young woman. She had her fair share of struggles with her uncle and sometimes stealing was the only solution. That was why she understood the boy's action.

Stealing wasn't a hard thing. Especially in a busy market like this one with so many people. Surely, she could at least get something worth a few coins to get by.

Exhaling deeply, Hazel continued walking, this time her eyes picking out little details. It wasn't long before she spotted three men assessing herbs on a stall. Unlike the rest of the crowd, these men looked wealthy. They stood out because of the clothes they wore, made of silk and fur. They also looked neat and well off because most of the commoners in Hawksley wore tired expressions on their faces and tanned complexions attained from long days under the sun.

Hazel stealthily approached the stall, making sure to not attract attention. It wasn't that hard since many people were concentrated on the fight.

The stalls were closely built together so the paths between them were narrow, allowing her to hide among the mass of people walking by. She went behind one of the men and carefully untied the pouch hanging from the sword belt around his waist. That was the first thing she noticed when she spotted the man and she did it as quickly as she could with one hand.

"Aye! Thief!" Someone yelled in the crowd and Hazel's heart stopped mid-beat.

She could have believed that it was merely a coincidence that there was someone else stealing close by, but her mind told her it was her bad luck.

'Dammit!' she cursed inwardly as she retrieved her hand, then turned on her heel and started running.

"Aye! Stop!" She heard someone shouting after her, but she didn't even turn to see who it was. Heart pounding, she ran as fast as she could without any direction in mind.

"Watch it!" Someone snarled angrily when Hazel bumped into him but she didn't stop. She couldn't stop. All she kept thinking about was going back to prison, and she might have been overthinking it but she couldn't risk it.

The marketplace was now in chaos as tthree men merged into a group as they chased behind the young lad who was trying to pickpocket a wealthy man. Some did it for the price, and others just did it because why not?

After running for some time, Hazel started panting for air, her body now sweaty. She had turned to an alleyway outside the market and she dared to look back to see if they were close. Her eyes almost popped out of their sockets when she counted more than six men running after her.

"Fuck." She broke into a run again, this time going for the direction where there weren't too many people.

The passersby instinctively gave way for her and she ran until she reached an intersection and stopped to think of which way to go. Her eyes darted around each area, until they landed on a lone man walking down the cobblestoned path to her left.

Running towards that direction, her hands fumbled with the head wrap, freeing her onyx black hair. She removed the eye patch and stopped an inch away from the man. The man looked up in surprise but before he could say anything, Hazel grabbed him by the color and pulled him with her against the wall, holding a knife to his chest.

"I'm very sorry for doing this, but you have to help me," she breathed harshly on the man's face as she pressed the knife closer to his chest. There was only a thin layer of clothing separating them so the man could feel the jab of the knife.

Hazel was still trying to catch her breath when she heard footsteps nearing. She grabbed the man's vest tightly and turned them around so that she was now facing the group of men.

The men chasing her also stopped at the intersection and looked around. Hazel saw them advancing towards her and her heart picked up its pace once more.

*Thud! Thud!*

She held her breath, then when they were two steps away, the man she was holding hostage turned around and the group of men suddenly stopped, eyes widening in shock.

"Your Highness?"