Authors note: hey guys! so im going to be working on this at the same time that im working on my other story 'Insanity', if u havent read it i suggest u go and check it out!

hope u like this btw! and dont forget to comment, vote, fan, tweet or like this on facebook!

PS- comment and tell me if u want me to continue. i won't update until i have ten votes on this chapter :P

xoxo

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When I was little, my Grandmamma used to read me stories... stories of princesses and princes falling deeply and madly in love with each other. My favourite parts were always the endings... and they lived happily ever after. I’ve dreamed of one day finding my happily ever after... but then again, my once upon a time hasn’t even started yet.

            Grandmamma always said that people like us don’t find their happily ever. It made me sad whenever she said that, but I know not to get my hopes up. I know it’ll never happen, it could, but it won’t. Not when you’re a ‘Romani’, or in other words- a Gypsy. It is just better not to get your hopes up.

There’s no way any of us could ever have a happily ever after. I mean, seriously, we live in wagons for goodness sake! In forests no less. And we never live anywhere for too long either... so I would imagine that it is hard to meet people. But then again, who would want to meet a dirty Gypsy?

Besides, my Momma and Papa have already chosen somebody for me. So even if I did meet somebody, my parents would never let me marry said person.

I am supposed to marry my childhood friend, Luka. I have got two months left before that happens I guess... but I'm not exactly excited. Mamma always says that I’ll fall in love with him in time. I doubt it though; I have had years to fall in love with him, and it has not happened yet.

But even though I know I will probably never find my happily ever after, I still have hope.

“Rawnie!” called Mamma, snapping me out of my thoughts.                 

“Yes, Mamma?” I asked.

“Help me with dinner,” she instructed. I sighed, it had been the same thing for a week, and I was getting truly sick of it. We have not had the money lately to buy any new ingredients. The small trinkets that I’ve been helping Mamma sell haven’t exactly been selling very well in the market. So now I am stuck with eating stew for another week or so.

Plus, we have only been here for about two weeks and I can already tell that this is not a Romani-friendly country. Whenever I go out into town I get awful looks from the townsfolk.  

Then again, no country is Romani-friendly any more... if they even catch you doing one tiny thing wrong, you’ll either be put in jail, or you’ll be prosecuted. But I guess that is just how it goes nowadays.

I stirred the stew around inside the cauldron for a few minutes while my Mama went to go buy a bit of salt with the little money she still had. We do not have any type of stove, considering we live in trailers and travel all the time, but instead we just have a cauldron over a burning fire outside.

We are currently residing inside of a wooded area near a small village, mostly because we were afraid of people seeing us. But it is fairly cosy I suppose... even though I would rather live inside a castle or even inside one of those cute little cottages in the nearby village.

Suddenly someone grabbed onto the large spoon that I was using to stir the stew. I quickly realized that it was my soon-to-be husband, Luka.

“Can I help?” he smiled warmly.

“Nope,” I said shaking my head. He frowned, clearly upset that he had been shot down so quickly.

“How come?” he questioned.

“Because you’re from the male species and you don’t belong making supper,” I stated.

“I think I should help because I'm going to marry you one day,” he sighed.

“That does not matter, Luka. Besides, do not you have your own chores to do?”

“That is a good point,” he laughed, “I still wish I could help though.”

I smiled at the disappointment still lingering in his voice.

You know, sometimes I wonder why I am so against marrying this boy. He is such a sweet heart. But there lies the problem I guess... he is much too nice sometimes. Plus, I have known him since we were little. Luka is practically a brother to me.

As my Mama came back she hurriedly shooed Luka away from me and poured the small amount of salt into the mixture.

I did not bother eating any of it when supper was finally ready. Mostly because I know that with the amount of people in the few families that were travelling together, that there would not be enough for everyone here. There was no way that all of us would be fed with just that one cauldron of stew.

“Are you not hungry?” asked my Papa as he slurped from his small bowl. I shook my head.

“No not really,” I lied, as a faint growl erupted from my stomach. Luckily he did not seem to hear it as he continued on his way.

I stared hungrily at all of the children devouring their food quickly, and then asking for more until the cauldron was completely dry.

I hopped down from the front steps of our wagon and started on my way to town. I had a small amount of change in my skirt pocket and I would go and see if it were possible to buy an apple or something from the market.

“Where are you going?” asked an annoying voice. I looked up, only to realize that it was just Luka.

“I am just going to town,” I replied, “no need to follow me like a lost puppy.”

“You are not going to tell neither your Mama nor Papa where you are headed?” he asked.

“No, they will figure out where I have gone eventually,” I said, “they have no need to worry though, I will be back soon enough.”

He ran off without another word, probably to tell my parents where I am headed. They most likely will not care though. They trust me enough not to get into any trouble, especially knowing that I could get into trouble for misbehaving in town.

My stomach grumbled once again, reminding me that it needed something to calm its ravaging hunger. I could even already feel a sick pain growing inside of my poor belly.

The path to the village was not too long nor was it short. And the road was lined with beautifully coloured flowers as well, which made the short journey more pleasurable if anything. There was a refreshing breeze flowing through the trees, causing my hair to fall over my brown eyes... not very comfortable if I may add.

As I neared the village I could hear the voices of the people talking wildly as they conversed among themselves. I noticed a few of them taking notice as I strode into the market quietly. The disapproving looks didn’t faze me though; they could fall off of a bridge for all I cared.

I noticed a barrel full of apples at the far end. I walked up to it, almost drooling at the smell of the freshly picked fruit.

“How much are these?” I asked the smiling old man sitting next to it.

“A pound,” he replied. I took out the change from my pocket and counted it, only to realize that it wasn’t nearly enough. I looked back up to him.

“Never mind,” I sighed, “I don’t have enough...”

He frowned but waved me off and turned to face another costumer. My growling stomach returned and the aching got worse. I looked at the apples one last time and the temptation to eat still had not left me.

Without thinking I took an apple and bit of it. The crunchy, sweet tasting apple filled my mouth, leaving me wanting more. So I took another bite, unaware that the old man was now glaring at me angrily.

I just stood there, staring back until I realized what the consequences of my actions could possibly be. So I ran.

“Thief!” I could hear the man shout over and over again. I didn’t stop, not even to apologize to those that I was running. I didn’t dare to look behind me either, but when I did I wished I hadn’t. There were several guards gaining on me.

I stumbled a few times, tripping over my own two feet as I gained speed. If I did not find a place to hide soon then I will most likely be prosecuted... and I doubt my parents would be very excited to hear that their only child is dead.

I saw a nearby alleyway coming up ahead and turned into it as quickly as I could get there. I could hear the guards still after me, but I did not care to check how close they were to capturing me. Personally, all I wanted to do was get out of here while I still can.

I turned the corner and stopped when I realized that I probably will not make it out of here alright. It was a dead end. I could still hear the guards not too far away; they were definitely getting closer from what I can hear though.

I looked up at the big wall in front of me, there were some wooden boxes in front of me but they look very unstable and dangerous by the looks of it.

I started to climb them, knowing I probably will not get out of here unless I climb them. I stepped onto the first one, nervous that it will start to crack. When I did not hear any cracking noises I started to climb the other boxes as well.

Until I heard a crack. I looked down at the box I was currently residing on; it was starting to give in. I quickly looked behind me and found that the guards had just turned the corner and were now about to grab me.

Suddenly I felt two strong arms grab me by both arms and pull me over the wall, just as a guard was about to grab a hold of my ankle.

I let out a shrill scream as I fell several feet to the dirty ground. I looked up at the figure that had just saved me from being arrested.

“Sorry about dropping you,” I heard him whisper as he knelt down next to me, "you're just really heavy." He grabbed my arms and pulled me up to my feet swiftly.

“It is alright,” I managed to somehow squeak out, until i realized that he had just called me fat. I pouted as he grabbed my hand and started to run, dragging me alongside him.

“Where are we going?” I shouted.

“The guards know which alley we are in. It will not be long before they manage to find us,” he explained quickly.

I did not bother questioning it; all I knew was that I had to run as fast as possible before the guards found us.

            We both ran until we were both safely out of the dark alley. But we continued to run.

            “Why are we still running?”I asked him, just managing to dodge a crate filled with cucumbers.

            “Look behind you,” he replied. I took a quick glance behind me and realized that the guards were directly behind us, gaining on us with every second.

            I heard the boy whisper something under his breath as we turned the corner of a building, bumping into a few citizens as we did so.

            He quickly grabbed me by the waist and placed me on a nearby ladder that was attached to the side of a building. “Climb!” he demanded. I climbed as quickly as I could manage with him close behind.

“Quickly! They’ll see us soon if we don’t hurry,” he informed.

“Okay okay, calm yourself,” I said, rolling my eyes. I attempted to climb faster but he must have been getting impatient because he grabbed me by the waist again and threw me over his shoulder.

It did not take long before we were on top of the concrete building.           

He set me down and breathed a sigh of relief. We had watched the guards run past the building and we both knew that we were safe from being caught.

I looked up at the man who saved my life, it was hard to tell what his face looked like through the red cloak, but I could tell that he was a strong one, and that he was only a few years older than me form what I could tell.

“Thank you,” I smiled, “I would have been dead if you had not helped me out.”

“Yeah, I suggest that you do not try that again though,” he said seriously, “because there is no guarantee that I will be there to save you next time.”

I nodded and looked down, ashamed that I had actually stolen something and had gotten caught while I was at it.

“Please forgive me,” I apologize, “I was just hungry and did not know what I was doing.”

I looked back up at him, still trying to look at the face that had saved me. “Um, do you think you could take off your hood? I would like to see the face of the man who saved me...”

He stared at me for a while, making me very much uncomfortable and almost embarrassed for asking. He seemed to be thinking about it, but after he noticed how awkward I was feeling he reached up towards his hood and slowly pulled it off.

I almost gasped when I took a look at his face. But I managed to keep my mouth closed and my drool in my mouth when I realized how dumb I probably looked. Too bad nothing could keep the blush from slowly creeping up on my face.

He was beautiful; the most handsome boy I have ever laid my eyes upon in my entire life. He had beautiful dark eyes and short, brown hair that blew in the wind as a gust of air sailed through the blue sky.

I looked away when I realized that I was ogling him. He smiled when he saw the obvious blush in my cheeks.

“Where do you live? I could take you home safely if you want me to,” he offered.

“No!” I exclaimed, “Er, I mean... I can walk by myself if you don’t mind.”

I wanted to hit myself for my sudden outburst, because he looked very much startled and a little bit frightened as far as I could tell.

“Okay,” he nodded, “but I have got to get home, so goodbye.”

I waved goodbye, and watched as he hopped onto the building next door swiftly.  

It did not take very long before I realized something... how was I going to get down form here?