The Rose Thief (Achievement Hunter)

9. Marketplace

The docks of Vale were impressively massive, with docks large enough for ships like Kerry's to anchor to. The bulk of them were made of what appeared to be concrete, with appendages and walkways made out of sturdy wood. Hundreds of boats, most of them smaller merchant ships, were docked here. The sun lit up the port brilliantly the west. Ray couldn't see much of the city from the ship as they slowly headed in, as the buildings blocked much of it. He could see the very top of what must be the castle over the roofs, but the land was rather flat and the castle was not a prominent feature - not like Geoff's castle in Achievement City.

A young man stood waiting with arms crossed at the end of the dock Kerry's ship neared. His fluffy brown hair was carelessly brushed back but messed up by the sea wind. He wore no crown, but was dressed finely enough for a prince, with a scarlet silk top embroidered with gold and a white square cape attached to a black belt at the waist. Black pants fed into expensive leather boots laced with gold rope, and several rings glittered on his fingers. A short sword and shield were attached to his back with thick straps decorated with rubies, topaz, onyx, and opal.

Kerry stood next to Ray at the railing while his crew docked the ship. "Funny," he said with a grin. "Miles dressed down today."

The ship finally docked after what seemed like ages to Ray. His heart rammed in his chest, and he had to stop himself from bouncing in place. He was finally going to get some answers. Maybe, a voice whispered in his head. Probably, he replied. Most of the crew stayed on the ship, but Caleb, Kerry, Ray, and the Rose Thief climbed down off the ship to greet the grumpy looking Miles. As the Rose Thief helped Ray clumsily disembark, Kerry went in for a hug. He threw his arms around Miles, who stumbled at the weight but refused to hug back.

"Miles! Have you been waiting all day for us?" Kerry exclaimed happily, pulling back. When Miles still refused to smile, he bowed and added mockingly, "Oh, sorry, I forgot. Your Highness."

Behind Kerry, Ray whispered to the Rose Thief, "'Your Highness? Is Miles the prince?"

"Did I not say?" the Rose Thief said thoughtfully. "Yeah, he is."

Miles sniffed haughtily. "That was stupid of you and you know it. Sir Gray is still mad at you, but we've managed to convince him not to take action against you. Took a fair amount of gold."

Kerry scratched the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. "Ahh, yeah. My bad."

Miles finally noticed the two Rays and did a double take. "Woah, wait, why are there two of them."

"That's what we want to find out," Kerry said. "We were hoping we could talk to the Court Mages here."

Miles stroked the stubble on his chin and hummed. "You know I can't give you permission for that. You have to get it directly from King Monty, but you're probably going to have to wait a few days. Formality, you know?" He glanced at Kerry and finally allowed his lips to twitch into a smile. "I can't stay mad at you, you idiot." He lightly grabbed Kerry's head and planted a kiss on his cheek as Kerry squirmed and leaned away, grinning. "Come on, you can stay at the castle while you wait. And wash up," he added, wrinkling his nose.

As Prince Miles led them through the streets of Vale, Ray's heart dropped a little. He was going to have to wait even longer. He didn't want to wait another day, but there wasn't anything to do about it. He sighed, glancing at the buildings around him. He supposed a few more days wasn't going to kill him. He preoccupied himself with the things around him.

The buildings were of varying height, material, and style, certainly making Vale an interesting city. Vale got a lot of traffic with their apparently famously large marketplace, which they were avoiding today in favor of getting to the castle faster. As such, they got many types of people passing through or moving there to focus on their craft, including different architects with different training. The people themselves were very colorful, even those in the plainest clothes. Additionally, almost everyone carried a weapon of sorts. Most of the people on the streets ignored them, though several waved at Miles. Some even bowed, bending from the waist with straight backs and palms on their thighs. Miles would nod or wave back.