I needed it. It's tempting aroma wafted over to me, making me sigh.

I wished I didn't have to.

It was fun, while it lasted. The feeling you get when you got away with it. The thrill of the chase.

But I still wasn't used to it.

Stealing for myself.

Before, It was just a given.

I had to steal, I needed to steal.

If I didn't steal, she would die.

But then she did die.

It wasn't unusual for poor people to die earlier than expected in Atlantis.

Infact, many did, of a disease called unismonitus

The disease was contagious and people who are poor didn't have the money to treat it.

Still, I never expected for her to catch it.

She was younger than most that had caught it.

Old people were much more likely to catch it because of their weak immune systems

Even though it wasn't that rare for people her age to catch it, I never really expect it to affect me and my family.

Until it did. Then, suddenly it became very, very real.

Then, suddenly I had limited time left with my mother.

Suddenly, my mother, the one who's always been the strongest, most fiery mother around, is curled up in a ball, coughing up blood.

And I didn't know what to do.

It had always been me and her, my whole life.

I didn't know what had happened to my father, or who he was, heck, I didn't even know what his name was.

All I knew was what my mother had told me.

That he was beautiful, kind, strong, wild, and untameable like the sea.

And that he loved me, but couldn't be with me.

So, basically I knew that I came from an affair.

And I was okay with that. I loved who I was, and I didn't care that I was a 'Illegitimate bastard child' or whatever.

But I was NOT okay with the fact he left my mother alone trying to raise a child. Didn't he understand what happened to single mothers out here?

No one wanted to marry someone who was already with child. It was a scandal! Mum was shamed, cast out, no one wanted her to spread the shame to the family.

I hated my father for leaving her. And I hated him even more for leaving my mother to constantly pine and stared with sad lovesick eyes, not even able to say one word against him, after all these years.

I knew it was all his fault she died.

Ugh. Palace life is so boring, I thought

There was absolutely nothing to do, and the most interesting thing around here was my three-headed guard dog Cerebus, who looked like a badass, but on the inside was really cute and cuddly. Oh and my other dog Mrs O' Leary.

Father kept introducing me to possible future queens, princesses from other lands.

I didn't know how to tell him that I wasn't interested in girls.

I had tried once, I'd worked up the courage to go up to him and just say it.

But when I told him I wasn't interested in girls, he replied with "That's alright son, not everyone develops an interest in girls this young, when you're older you'll get used to the notion, hormones will come though..." I'd zoned out by then too disappointed to do anything but nod.

I had been so relieved when he said it was alright, but it turned out that he just expected it to come later.

I couldn't possibly bring it up again.

My whole family was counting on me to make an an alliance with a nearby kingdom.

None as large, rich, or produce filled as Atlantis, but an alliance wit another kingdom through marriage would still benefit us.

And of course they expected me to produce royal heirs.

Why?

Because Bianca, my older sister had already joined an eternal maiden hood club where they wen off shooing monsters, protecting the innocent, blah blah blah.

And Hazel fell in love with a local mechanic that she called Leo and I called a nuisance.

He was too happy an hyperactive.

Still, I wouldn't force my sister to make an alliance when she already loved someone. That would be cruel.

But that didn't mean I was at all happy with the current situation. Or the girl who was currently hanging of my arm and batting her eyelashes to get my attention.

Heck, before she had even gone so far as to pretend to trip so I would catch her.

How cheap was she?

Is this some kind of Hollywood movie?

That was the most cringe moment.

Don't get me wrong, not all girls were like that.

Some of my 'possible future wives' I was even still friends with.

I wrote to them regularly and saw them quite often.

They were as happy about the marriage situation as I was and felt the same way about it as I did.

Meaning they were never going to marry me, but sometimes pretended to 'date' me to get my father off my back. Then of course I had to do the same for them.

The only difference about their situations was they all had someone they loved.

Annabeth and Piper loved each other.

Reyna was in Love with Jason, who was the prince of Olympus, a small kingdom to the right of Atlantis. Her father wouldn't settle for less than the best though, so until I was off limits, he kept trying.

Silena was with Charles.

Lou and Miranda were together.

I was the only single one and all those sickeningly cute couples were suffocating me. Though, not as bad as the Princesses dad kept introducing me to.

"Nico!" Whined...Dahlia? Dracula? "Pay attention to me!" She yelled, punctuating each syllable with a slap on my arm. "I'm am very sorry, um...Darcy, but-"

"It's Drew," she snapped, but then immediately went back to the act of smiling, batting her eyelashes and flirting with me.

I internally rolled my eyes. This had to be one of the worst.

"Yes, well, Drew, I really am very sorry but I have an important meeting in a few minutes discussing the-the um....lack if banana produce, so you'd better get going,"

By interrogating my servants, she could easily find out that I, in fact, did not have any meeting at all, but I honestly didn't care. I was sick of all the Princesses, sick of the Palace life.

I wanted to be free. I envied the nobodies, the people out on the street.

So, for one day, before I went back to my princely duties, that's all I would be.

A nobody.

Yep. That bread was so mine.

I slunk into the store and started to flirt with the woman at the counter to keep her distracted while my hands slowly crept towards my bread of choice.

Sure enough, a few minutes later I left with a free loaf of bread and a slight bruise on my arm. That woman's grip was tight. And she was really clingy. I was lucky I escaped her.

Soon after I heard the cries of "Thief!"

"That way! Go quickly, he stole my bread!"

Ha.

They'll never catch me. I just liked humouring them.

It was funny watching them puffing and sweating trying their hardest to catch up to me while I nimbly ran way ahead, occasionally slowing down only to speed up again.

Most of them couldn't swim, and of those who could...well, let's just say that any pool longer than 20m they would not survive in. I was appalled, how could they live in Atlantis, and not know how to swim?

But Because of this I usually lost them in the ocean, swimming across to a hidden little island that I called home. They couldn't follow quick enough in a boat, and the way I got to my island was too narrow for a boat even if they were fast.

My mother had taught me how to swim, saying my father would've wanted me to learn. That had kind of put me off swimming for a bit, but when I finally got into the water, I never wanted to get out. Mum used to joke around about how I was half fish.

The ocean was my favourite place to be, especially so since my mother had passed. We used to come there together and imagine a better life. Not that our life was terrible, and I was grateful that we were quite well off compared to some, but mum wanted a life where I never had to steal to keep us alive, and I wanted a life where mum would be bathed in luxury like she deserved.

I dove into the river, looking back while I swam to see if anyone was following.

And to my surprise, someone actually was, and they were catching up to me.

I was not swimming anywhere near my fastest, but for those guards, this was a huge achievement.

I took a closer look, and saw that it was the new body guard of Hazel, the youngest Princess.

I'd heard all the gossip about him.

About how he had a huge crush on the princess.

How he was overachieving to get noticed by her.

How sweet.

Maybe I could help him with that.