The object of the princess's sorrows was alive and well, if not free. Deep in the dungeon, Gray struggled against the metal holding his wrists to the wall above his head. Soon though, he gave up and started mumbling to himself. "The princess... Who'd have guessed? She probably thought I sounded like an idiot."
"Hello? Gray? Where are you, Gray?" called a voice in the distance.
"Happy?"
After a moment, the blue cat appeared at the barred window high above Gray's head. "Gray!"
"Yeah, Happy, I'm here. Can you get me outta this?"
Happy crawled through the bars and hopped down in front of Gray. "You should be more careful about helping strange girls."
"What are you talking about?" said Gray. "She had nothing to do with the guards finding us."
Happy giggled. "You l-l-l-like her..."
"Shut up, cat."
"You have to stay sharp and pay more attention, even if she is pretty." Still grinning, Happy jumped onto Gray's shoulders and pulled a lock-pick out of the little green knapsack on his back.
"Sure, whatever," snorted Gray. To himself though, he had to admit that she was pretty. Maybe even pretty enough to be worth getting caught and thrown in the dungeon for.
"It's not like I'm ever gonna see her again," Gray went on as Happy fiddled with the padlock. "She lives in the palace. And there's a law saying that she has to marry a prince. I'm no prince..."
The lock opened, and Gray's hands fell to his lap. "I'd be a fool to even dream about a girl like her," he murmured, rubbing his wrists.
"You're only a fool if you give up," said a strange voice.
"Whoa!" Happy was so startled he fell off Gray's shoulder, then got up and scrambled behind his friend's back.
They saw an old man standing hunched over in the corner.
"Who are you?" asked Gray.
The old man hobbled toward them, dressed in rags and leaning on a rickety crutch. "Just another prisoner, like yourself. But perhaps we can change that."
"How?"
"There is a cave of wonders, filled with treasure beyond your wildest dreams. Enough treasure to impress even a princess..." The old man winked at Gray.
"What good would that do me?"
"Whoever has the gold makes the rules," the old man returned. "If you make the rules, you could allow the princess to marry whoever she wanted... even a boy off the streets."
That seemed true enough. "If you know where so much gold is, why tell me about it?"
"I need someone young and strong to go in after it," smiled the old man. "I know the location, you have the muscles. We work together and we both end up rich."
"But first we'd have to find a way out of here," Gray objected.
The old man chuckled. "You don't end up as old as I am when you live in a dungeon, unless you know a few secrets..." With the end of his crutch, he pushed back a stone in the wall and revealed a tunnel leading to the outside. "So, what do you say?"
Gray glanced at Happy, but the cat only shrugged. "Okay... I guess we're in."