The Cursed Prince

Harlow started to see the inn she was staying in and it made her feel so relieved.  She pumped her legs to move faster. 

"Just a little more!" Harlow panted hard as she eyed the building.

There were passersby who could help the princess, but once they saw the crowd of people chasing after the princess, they decided to stay out of the way of trouble.

"Almost there!" Harlow muttered under her breath.

However, before she knew it, someone sent a fireball and set the entire street into flames. Her eyes widened and she turned left, making her way into an alleyway. 

"Crap." Harlow cursed to herself and looked around her surroundings. 

There were no boxes or even any footholds for her to vault herself up. The walls were too smooth, everything was too high. She was suddenly cornered and ambushed by these people who were chasing after her. 

This was the best day ever for Harlow. She probably shouldn't have left… but how was she supposed to know that Raphael's stupid bracelet would get her this much trouble? She never even gave it much thought... until today. She only considered it pretty and nothing more.

"Give us the bracelet or else!"

"Or else what?!" Harlow asked them fiercely. She tried to buy herself some more time to think. She didn't know what to do as she was eyeing her surroundings even more wildly in hopes of seeing something useful to help her escape from these people.

"You don't want to know, miss. So just give it up!" the people threatened her as they moved closer toward the lone princess.

"Well…" Harlow pursed her lips and knew her chances of breaking out were very slim. She couldn't take them all and it was best for her to try and raise her chances of winning though. 

"Well, what? You have no choice. We've got you surrounded."

"Yeah. You're doomed."

Suddenly an idea popped into Harlow's head and she pretended that she was weak and frightened. She let out a long sigh and then bit her lip. Her shoulders shook and trembled as she eyed them pitifully. "You guys are too many for a single bracelet. Who am I even going to give it to?"

"Naturally me." The wicked witch extended her hand. "I know trinkets like this. Besides, I saw it first. So, it's mine!"

"Me!"

"No, give it to me!" A big demon slammed his friend away and greedily offered up his hand. "Don't give it to that old hag, she'll hex you."

"She'll give it to me!" the witch hissed. She narrowed her eyes and gave the demon a murderous glare.

Before Harlow's eyes, the people started to argue amongst themselves and were turning out to be very fools. Her heart suddenly felt light. She only needed to light up the flames of argument.

It would only be moments away before they fought themselves and Harlow could escape unhindered… or at least she thought that her plan would work.

However, a goblin suddenly pointed a finger accusingly at her.

"Grah! She's trying to divide us!" he shouted. "Don't keep arguing among ourselves, you fool!"

All of the demons and even the wicked witch suddenly paused when they heard the goblin. They realized that was the truth. They narrowed their eyes at Harlow threateningly. This made the princess realize that she wasn't as good at fooling people like Julian. Darn it!

If it had been Julian, surely the man would have gotten away with this. In fact, he wouldn't even let the jade bracelet be seen. That man would have probably gone with someone who could examine artifacts and used his expertise to help himself.

Icecube wouldn't have to trouble himself since he could fly and escape these demons. He could probably go toe into toe with them and escape unscathed compared to Harlow.

The princess was alone and the plan she had didn't even work. She thought it would because the people were squabbling already and eyed each other with some looks of ready betrayal.

Whoever was going to get this bracelet had to fight the others to truly obtain it. However, this one failed.

She pursed her lips and sighed inwardly. "Well, there goes that plan."

"Smart. But you can't fool us… hehehe…" the wicked witch let out a burst of scary laughter, showing her black and disgusting teeth. "You are too young and so naive to think that you can deceive experienced people like us."

"Well, I almost did," Harlow muttered disappointedly underneath her breath. Out of all the people who could figure out her plans, it just had to be one goblin. She eyed the people warily and bit her lip.

"Give us the bracelet while we're still in a good mood."

"You're going to put a target on your back." Harlow smiled.

"You already have one on yours, dearie," the wicked witch crooned. "I assure you that if you give it to me, I swear to pay you handsomely for it. I will also ensure that you walk out of this alleyway unharmed. Not a single hair on your head will be touched."

"Tempting…" Harlow said. She rolled her eyes.

The witch's eyes gleamed and many others of the demon started to make the same promises to keep her safe and gain her trust. She couldn't believe how they could change from violence to promises.

"Yes?"

"But no. And do you guys know why?" Harlow gripped her bracelet tightly.

She didn't even know why she wasn't giving them the bracelet. That Witch's offer actually sounded good. At least if she wanted to leave this place unscathed.

This bracelet came from the stupid Raphael so anyway if she could give it away without causing trouble? 

Why didn't she?

"Grr… you're testing our patience, girl."

"It's still mine!" Harlow shouted and suddenly pulled out a dagger from her dress. She wasn't as good with a dagger as her arrow, but she always kept this on her person.. She was now ready to fight her way out.