The Crimson Prince： Awakening 74 Chapter 12: The Market Distric

Remembering how the city was only a year and a few months ago, Will was glad to see that normalcy had regained its place within the kingdom. He remembered the deserted streets, the abandoned stalls and the feeling of emptiness the city had once been. It was almost as if he were in a different place all together.

"Want to check out some of the stalls?" Maya asked playfully. She chuckled lightly as she saw Will's bewildered stare.

Snapped out of his reverie, Will nodded towards Maya and she guided him to the first stall. Though he had been in the world for more than two years now, it still felt like he was still a stranger to the customs of Crystallia. He didn't know exactly what the kingdom of Ebonhart had to offer for entertainment or supplies.

Maya guided Will to a stall that seemed to be a furniture store. He saw various chairs and tables made of a dark red wood, giving it an expensive look. Many sets of dining room furniture lined the inside of the stall. He could pick out a few lazy boy recliners among the many old style luxury seats. 'I guess Leo has had success in more than just buildings.' Will thought as he observed the foot rest which popped out at the crank of a lever on the side.

"See anything you like?" A man asked as he approached Will and Maya. The man had plain light tan clothing on much like the clothing Maya had on when Will first met her. He also had a dark gray ap.r.o.n on with wood shavings scattered on it.

"We are just looking around for now." Will said with a polite smile.

"I have furniture for people of various wealth." The man said as he rubbed his hands together. "If you would like to see our more affordable works, they are over there." He pointed a finger to the corner of his stall, where a set of plain wooden chairs, stools and tables sat. Will also saw plenty of bed frames and lumpy mattresses.

Sighing to himself, Will once again cursed at himself for not changing into proper attire before heading to the training field. Before he could respond, Maya cleared her throat. "We were actually looking for furniture to fill our condo over in Ember." She said as she took out a coin purse.

Will wasn't under the impression that they were planning to purchase anything while they were looking. The store owner must have read Maya's mind as he quickly apologized and went back to his table to wait for any purchases.

"Some people." Maya shook her head in disappointment.

"What's wrong?" Will could see frustration in Maya's eyes.

"Most people within this kingdom judge a person's wealth by the clothes the wear." Maya explained. "If you walk around in clothing that's torn or worn in any way, they believe you are poor and just seeking shelter in their stalls."

Will looked down at his clothing and sighed. It was much the same in his world as well. He had noticed that people in suits were regarded differently than those in street clothing.

"I have an idea." Will said with a smile on his face. Maya looked at him, bewildered as he tore his s.h.i.+rt more in the center. She could clearly see his well defined stomach through the shreds of white fabric. "Tell me what the currency system is like here.

Even though he had a little experience with gold due to freeing the slaves and working with Roland in the past, Will was still a stranger to the currency exchange within the kingdom.

"You really are hopeless aren't you?" Maya rolled her eyes as she dug into her purse. She produced three coins, one was copper, another was silver and then gold. All three had his father's face plastered on the front.

Maya started her lecture with the copper piece. "This is copper, a hundred of these equals one silver." She showed him the silver piece. "A hundred of these equals one gold." She showed him the final coin.

"How much money do you think it would cost to buy the furniture the owner pointed out for us?" Will pointed to the low quality furniture in the corner of the store.

"Chairs would be around thirty copper." She examined the chairs from a distance. "I'd say seventy for the table and one silver for the frame and bedding." Her eyes went dark for a moment as she was lost in thought.

Will could imagine that the furniture in the corner was luxury compared to what Maya was used to in her old cottage.

Smiling, Will put his arms around Maya. "How much do we have to spend?" He asked with a glint of mischievousness in his eye.

Maya fished out five gold coins from her purse and handed them to Will. "I'm sure Michael will have some money to give you when we see him next." She said as she placed the coins in his hand. "You can pay me back then."

"Are you sure you can give me this much?" After having just learned how much one of the gold coins was worth, Will didn't want to bankrupt her.

Maya scoffed. "Do you think I've just been sitting still the whole time you've been sleeping?" Maya took out a handful of gold. "The king has been kind to me for my help in training the Crusaders."

Will's eyes went wide as he watched her drop the coins back into her purse. His father had to be playing on his affections. There was no way someone could gain such wealth just by training soldiers. He shrugged his shoulder and sighed. "I guess if you don't mind."

Will pocketed the money and went to the owner of the stall. He was busy with a customer that was buying some above average chairs and told Will to wait.

Waiting patiently behind the person buying the furniture, Will watched the exchange of coins for the purchase. He mentally counted the two silver and fifty copper which was counted by the owner before putting it in his own coin purse.

The owner then helped the wealthy looking customer load up the purchased furniture in a wagon which was parked on the street opposite of the store. The process took a matter of minutes before the customer got on the bench of the wagon and beckoned his horse to move. He waved at the owner in farewell before leaving towards the gate.

Now that business was done, the owner looked at the new tears to Will's s.h.i.+rt and smiled dully. "I apologize if you tore your s.h.i.+rt on my furniture, but it's not something I take responsibility for. I'm sure you can understand." He said as he rubbed his hands together.

Will didn't mind the comment. It wasn't made out of spite towards his appearance, he knew the man would say the same even to the wealthy man that just left. Will only nodded and smiled toward the man. "I've decided on what I want to buy." He said simply.

The owner raised an eyebrow at Will. "Going with the regular wood quality furniture for your condo?" He smiled as he looked towards Maya who was looking at the cherry wood furniture. He couldn't help but stare. Will didn't blame him. Even with her leather training outfit on, her face was full of thought when looking at the new table set.

"Actually, I think my girlfriend has her eye set on the cherry wood furniture. How much is it?" He asked politely. He could almost see the mental eye roll the man gave him. Yet again, Will didn't blame the man, he was a business man and only worked with what he could see. What he saw was a poor man with a girlfriend who happened to be wearing leather armor.

Even with the armor that Maya had on, the man at the counter could guess that at most she had thirty to seventy silver on a knights salary. He had never seen a female knight, so she might even have less.

The owner made the calculations of what he believed Maya had, as well as what Will might have in his pocket and produced a fair number. "Usually a set like that would cost around sixty five silver." He had a thoughtful expression on his face as he looked Will over. "I like you, kid. I'll make you a deal." He said as he licked his lips and raised one hand. "Fifty silver and you've got a deal."

The generosity of the man struck Will. He had thought to quickly the type of business man he was dealing with. A smile appeared on his face as he reached in his pocket and took out one gold coin and put it on the table. "You can keep the change." He winked at the dumbstruck owner. "I thank you for treating me fairly, as well as my girlfriend."

"Who are you?" The owner asked as he picked up the gold in shaking hands. the money that was presented was more than he could have made in a year. Never had he gotten a customer with enough wealth that he could present a gold coin, not to mention telling him to keep the change.

"No one of consequence." Will said as he put his hand out to shake the owner's. "You will see me again soon. Until then, I'll have some people come by later to pick up our things." The man shook Will's hand, his eyes still wide from the ordeal. The money presented would keep his family fed for months to come.

Will walked back to Maya with a smile on his face. "We got the cherry wood." He said as he put an arm around her waist.

"How much of the one gold did you get back?" Maya asked knowingly.

Will scratched head with a sheepish grin on his face. "The man seemed nice enough, I felt like giving him a treat." His face showed embarra.s.sment, yet his thoughts were somewhere else. He remembered the day he had met Maya. She was going to Nearwood Village to sell the crops she had collected. From her earlier look, he knew she would have only gotten copper for the exchange.

Will's thoughts betrayed him as his eyes glazed over with the memory of the corrupt knights trying to take advantage of Maya on the road. "I want people to be happy with the choices they've made in life. If they are good to their neighbors and are generous to those in need, I want nothing less than good fortune to find them."

Will's words warmed Maya's heart. She knew that he was thinking of what she had to do before meeting him. She remembered the countless autumn days she and her father traveled to Nearwood Village. She remembered the deals her father made with those who needed food, yet couldn't afford the asking price. She smiled at the similarities between Will and her father. 'I won't let this one go.' She sent up a silent prayer to her father. 'I'm sure you would approve, father.'

"Ready to go, Maya?" Will snapped Maya out of her silent prayer. "I told the owner someone will be by to pick up our belongings later. I forgot my bag at the castle." He said as he remembered the bag he had originally came to Crystallia with. He could stick his hand in the bag and take out pretty much anything he needed at the time.

"Good." Maya gave a disgusted look as she remembered the nights which they had beef jerky from that bag. It was hard enough to get the taste of the stuff out of her mouth, even more to forget it.

Will laughed at her expression and placed a hand on her back. "I think we've kept the king waiting long enough."

Together, they took off down the market street towards the castle. A grim expression dawned Will's face as he thought of the conversation that was to come. 'Please make him understand.' He thought as they finally made it out of the market district.

Finally at the gate to the castle, Will mentally prepared himself for what he knew was going to be hard for his father. Even though he knew the whole time what had to be done, it was still hard to come to terms with the decision of Ragnos.

As they walked through the gate, Will steeled himself. He was ready. Ragnos had given him his instructions. He was to confront the king on the current ways of life. He was to shed the t.i.tle of the Prince of Ebonhart and regain the mantle of the Omni King.