Yggdrasil's Ace
Chapter 17
Author Notes: Down with Faris and all that he stands for. As a workaholic i am one-hundred percent offended of his personality-and i of course made him worse to bring about conflict. So let's get on with Erik's plan. I do not own Dragon Quest.
3rd P.O.V
It was as easy as breathing sticking to the shadows. With the grand arches and pillars along with all of the décor in the palace, there was always a place for Erik to hide. It helped that the guards here were even more incompetent than the ones in Heliodor. Which was actually a surprise.
These tin cans would rather play with the cats laying about throughout the palace than worry about patrolling for danger. How embarrassing...He was pretty sure that if by some miracle he gets caught, he could easily lie his way out of any trouble that comes his way. Obviously he'd prefer not ruining his rep by being careless.
And he most certainly didn't want to run into the royal family. His fingers twitched for his daggers at the thought. The image of the smug prince formed in his mind-and it made his blood boil. Somehow-someway...he's going to pay.
However that would have to be After Erik scores the Rainbough, and Ace was safely out of harms way. Even though his friend had told him that she would just follow through on Faris's terms...
That she would participate and win the race...he didn't want her to go through with it. This pompous, spoiled prick was not going to boss her around, manipulate her and his people because he couldn't handle his responsibilities or better himself as heir to the throne.
And like Hell he was especially going to allow Faris to try manhandling her into marrying him. The prince needed a damn reality check. It seemed Veronica and Serena agreed much to his surprise which is why the two promised to distract the brunette while he went scouting the layout of the Sultan's palace.
Everything from the royal chambers for the family members to the servants' quarters. Each room was committed to memory. However, despite all the progress he's made since dawn, he only had issues finding one particular room...and of course it was the treasure vault which would obviously have the much desired Rainbough.
To say he was frustrated was an understatement. Memorizing the layout meant Nothing if he didn't know where the damn thing is. And unlike Heliodor, Erik didn't have Derk in his corner to provide information on any juicy secrets. It was hard enough confirming Noah's talk of the Rainbough actually existing.
"This is going to be the best Sand National ever!" If only the staff were more helpful..."I know~ Prince Faris will finally be able to show off all the hard work he's done." It took everything in him to hold back a snort. Yeah...hard work. How anyone could fall for his façade the blue haired male would never know.
"I heard the Sultan is going all out this year for his son. He's been pacing around working on his speech nonstop." This entire family of aristocrats Had to all be braindead from the sun right along with their employees.
It was actually ridiculous. He had gone to visit the Sultan yesterday after speaking with the armor enchanter to see if it was indeed there. And all he did was stand there. Watching the elder man mutter under his breath for several minutes before being waved away.
At least his advisor had the decency to apologize and look guilty over his majesty's behavior. In the end Erik was turned away when he tried following the typical good samaritan route. So much for the royal family being very open and kind when addressing their people or willing to help them in their time of need.
"I just hope things go without issue this year. Last year the Slayer of Sands attacked and it took ages to repair the walls and buildings it destroyed." Erik narrowed his brows before shuffling further behind the pillar.
He heard the footsteps grow louder. "Slayer of Sands? Please! With Prince Faris and our honorable knights here to protect us there'll be no problems. I'm more interested in who he will choose as his queen~ There'll be a big party to celebrate his coming of age! That'll be when he finds his partner for life."
Turning up his nose, Erik slinks away, having heard more than enough. The gossip wasn't very interesting, and...though it had some tidbits for him to take, wasn't very useful either. Still he couldn't afford to give up. Time was ticking, and there were still several other rooms he's yet to investigate.
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As much as he in general didn't like people, Erik swore up and down he has never felt so aggravated with the lack of progress he was making on gathering intel. It was still morning, but the sun was blazing on him with a harsh glare.
Hours of sneaking and spying and yet despite all of his hardest efforts there was nothing to so much as hint as to where the Rainbough is. The shame that filled his being stung. Sure it's only been his first day of scouting, but thieving was his life.
He lived and breathed for stealing the rarest of treasures. Yet never- even back when he was first starting out did he ever have such trouble finding Something relating to his target! Whether it was simply folk just chatting away or informants with greedy hands eager to spill the beans there was always something to go off of.
Some sort of lead to follow. Why now that he struggle when this heist had something more on the line than his imprisonment? Immediately he winced as memories of the past resurfaced. His failures adding the current pressures he was feeling deep within his chest.
Erik...couldn't return empty handed. Knowing that Veronica will hold it over his head, that Serena will give him a look of concern, that Ace will simply give him a small smile and tell him its fine. LIKE HELL IT'S FINE! Prince Faris was NOT going to take advantage of her.
He was not going to bully her around because he was a lazy, selfish prick that couldn't deal with the idea of ruining his reputation. And over his dead body if he tries to force her into marrying him! Sparks flashed through his blue irises as he recalled the so called 'deal' presented to them last night.
"The deal isn't so bad is it? You race to win, my reputation is saved-you get the Rainbough you desperately want...but if you truly don't want to race. You could become my queen."
A low growl reverberates deep in his throat. Forget the knives, Erik will go full on wild side on his ass, tear him limb from limb. "Now dearie turn that frown upside down. It hardly looks good on a handsome one such as you~" Blinking, Erik found himself raising an eyebrow as a familiar jester approaches him.
Smiling at him with a knowing gleam in his gaze. "Uh yeah... Sure." Sylvando found himself pouting, looking around "Ohh you're little friend isn't here. None of you came to visit me after the show last night!" He had in all honesty forgot all about Sylvando requesting to see Ace after the show.
After their little meetup with Faris, it was no surprise all of them were exhausted. The Luminary herself was feeling absolutely drained. The moment the show was over they made their way back to the inn, no one even blinking an eye when she collapsed onto the bed, falling into a deep sleep.
"It was a long day...sorry about that." Sylvando could understand that, only feeling mildly disappointed. "Is she alright? I know she took a nasty spill during the performance. I never expected the ring leader's little fluffball to tackle her like that." If anything that was the highlight of the night.
Even if it meant Ace to get a little bruise or two. "It was fine. She's fine. We were all just tired from the heat and traveling." The jester's eyes twinkled as he sighed in relief. "Thank goodness. I was so worried that I left a terrible impression. I should've known as soon as I saw those carnations fall on her. That precious sabrecub absolutely adores those flowers."
Well that explains what drove the ambush in the first place. "Well I'm glad that things cleared up, but I gotta get going." Erik quickly took a step away, eager to return to the inn. "Give the sweet dear my regards. Though I have a feeling we'll meet again with all the shows I have planned. Feel free to come anytime~" Jealousy began to stir as the blue haired male nodded.
He'd say whatever he'd have to if it meant leaving. Sylvando's show was quite the sight, but honestly Erik couldn't care less about the performer. He had bigger problems to worry about...like how he was going to try and convince Ace to decline in helping Prince Faris.
He may've not found anything now-but he still had time. He'd make the most of it.
to be continued
Author Notes: Tick tock, tick tock goes the clock. Erik is running out of time. And well...we'll see how that goes. But that is it for now friends. Thank you all so much for reading, if you like please feel free to fav/follow/review.