Chapter II - The Mysterious Wanderer

The cloaked man is thrown in jail, and meets the princess. Telling her that he can help solve her problem, Ameera sets him free, and lets him stay in the castle as long as he does his job.

"--Ah!!" Grunts the nomad, as he is thrown into his cell. Rubbing his head in pain, he examines the cell, as well as the outside of the bars. The guards that threw him in prison leave the area, and the cloaked man makes sure of that. Pulling out a key, he grins, laughing in his head while remembering how he cleverly stole the key from one of the guards while he wasn't paying attention. Standing up, the cloaked man unlocks the cell door with his stolen key, and sneakily steps out. Walking as quietly as possible, he hears a sudden shout.
"HEY!!!" A guard shouts, sprinting after the cloaked man.
"Whoopsy~" The mysterious man sings, darting for any exit that comes into view. After running for what seemed like an eternity, no exit was to be found. More guards were chasing after the cloaked man now, and he was starting to get tired. All of a sudden, a light appeared at the end of the hallway. Running towards it at full speed, he finally arrived in a strange room, then a garden. In the garden sat two beautiful women, one who especially caught his eye. One wearing blue. Distracted by the girl, the cloaked man forgot he was running, and ran straight off a twenty foot tall balcony.
"S-Sir???" Ameera questioned the cloaked man, confused. Safiyyah didn't exactly understand what was happening here either. Though being as fast and flexible as she was, Safiyyah quickly grabbed a nearby rope, tied it to the balcony's edge, and did a flip, diving down after the falling man, while holding onto the end of the rope. She was going fast. Fast enough to succeed in catching the cloaked man by the arm before falling to his death.
"What is WRONG with you!?" Safiyyah questioned furiously. She thought the man was insane.
"Oh my... I almost died just now, didn't I? Well, thank you for saving me, you're very pretty by the way~" The cloaked man said, smiling nervously.
"You're an idiot, you know that?" The normally cheerful girl said, climbing back up the rope while holding onto the strange man.
Ignoring the girl's insult, the mysterious man apologizes. "My apologies for all of this... I was just being chased by the guards. You didn't have to jump in like that."
"You're so stupid!!! If I didn't jump in, you would have escaped, you criminal!!" Safiyyah shouts, annoyed.
"How do you know if I am really a criminal? You don't truly know someone by just hearing a simple rumor about them... ah. I apologize. You're right. I should have just stayed in my cell. By the way, I must speak with the princess." The cloaked man says, confusing Safiyyah. This man seemed really blunt at points. He also seemed pretty stupid, but he also sounded quite kind and well mannered.
Sighing, Safiyyah reaches the balcony. "Alright then..." She says, as she brings the strange man to his feet. Immediately guards begin to crowd around them. "Stand back guards! This man claims to have business with the princess."
"We need to hold him down in case he shelters bad intentions." One guard says, as two of them come and restrain the cloaked man's hands behind his back.
"Alright." Safiyyah agrees, allowing the guards to hold back the man. Princess Ameera, arriving in front of the cloaked man, gives him a puzzled look.
"Bow when you're in the presence of the princess, stranger!!!" One guard says, as another stomps on the cloaked man's back.
"N-Ngh!!..." The strange man whimpers in pain, lowering his head to the gorgeous woman in front of him.
"...Unveil him." Ameera commands, the guards immediately tearing the clothing from his face, revealing the face of a handsome, kind and innocent man.
"THAT'S HIM!!!! The man I saw in town earlier today!!!" Safiyyah immediately blurts out.
"Hmm... state your name." The princess in blue commands, admiring his stunning blue, green and yellow eyes.
"...Rahal... m-my name is Rahal... I am nineteen years old..." The uncloaked man says in a nervous tone. Normally Rahal was playful and liked to tease and trick others, but this was the first time anyone but his now deceased mother had seen his face. Right now, he is shy.
"Rahal... well it is nice to meet you, Rahal. I am Princess Ameera, of Tagyeehr Holm Ard. State your business." Ameera says, staring down the man.
"...Well... I've been hearing about a problem you've been having... and it seems to be affecting this land, too." Rahal answers, striking a light in Ameera's mind.
"Who are you?!" The beauty in blue asks, demanding an answer.
"I am but a harmless nomad."
"Don't talk sweet. I know you're more than that. That's why you are here, right? So tell me!" The princess demands.
"...We have to be alone." Rahal requests. His true identity was to be kept a secret, or else bad things could happen.
"You must be a fool! There's no way we will leave you alone with--"
"Silence!" Ameera shouts, interrupting the laughing guards. "We will speak in private, and that's final. Now release him!" she says, starting to get irritated. The guards decide to back off, as Ameera helps Rahal to his feet. The shy man is then ordered by Ameera to follow her. Safiyyah decides to go someplace else, and watch the two from afar, refusing to completely leave her best friend's side.
"...I apologize."
"What are you apologizing for?" Ameera questions Rahal. "You've done nothing wrong."
"I don't know this place very well... I've been in many other places around the world, but never a place such as this. I'm not sure of how I should act. I feel like an outcast. I'm sorry if I disrespected you in any way." Rahal replies, smiling timidly.
"That's because you are an outcast, fool. It's alright... now tell me... what are you really? How do you know about my problem?" The princess asks.
Eying the floor, Rahal shakily begins his answer. "...You know this staff I have?" the man says, while pulling out a staff. It was beautiful, the main portion of the staff was a net of woven sinew thread, featuring a crescent moon in the center. "This staff allows me to feel where and when dreams are happening... certain dreams that affect not just the dreamer, but large amounts of the people around them, as well as the land... I am a Dream Tamer."
"Impossible! All Dream Tamers have been extinct for over five hundred years! You can't be one of them!" Ameera quickly states in disbelief.
"Not all Dream Tamers have gone extinct... all of my ancestors were Dream Tamers... but we all hid in secret. I believe... I may be the only one remaining on this earth." Rahal explained, his mood turning slightly blue with his final sentence.
Ameera scowled. "If you truly are a Dream Tamer... then I command you to prove yourself. I am allowing you to stay here for one night. If you calm my dream tonight, then I ask you to keep at it, you can even stay here as long as you do your job. I will also pay you a vast amount for taming these nightmares of mine..." the princess pauses, annoyance engulfing her eyes. "...but if you fail this task tonight, you will be executed. Do you comply?"
"Y-Yes, I understand, princess!" Rahal responds, giving a bright smile.
"Good. Now tell me. Besides a Dream Tamer, what are you?" Ameera questions.
"A harmless nomad, princess." The cloaked man answers.
"No. You're weird. Mysterious." The blue clothed princess answers herself. Rahal pauses to think.
"Then... I guess I am a mysterious wanderer."