Knightly (A Reverse Harem)

Chapter 16: Tourist Adventure

The guards haven't captured Jasem yet. We all waited around the palace for any news of his whereabouts. I paced the garden alone. I was trying to think of a way to meet the prince faster. I took a deep breathe and decided to leave the palace grounds to search for him myself. I went back to my room to change into Arabian fashion and to grab some money.

"What are you doing?"

I jumped and saw Aries leaning against my door. "You should've knocked before coming in. I was changing just a moment ago."

"I don't think that would've been so bad to see." He shrugged. He a loose shirt and loose pants. His vibrant red hair hung loosely at his waist. I rolled my eyes.

"And that is what makes you still immature. I'm heading out for a little bit. What are you doing barging in?" I argued. 

He approached me. "I wanted to see you. Is that so bad? But now that I know what you are up to, I want to come with you. Sounds like fun. Sounds like a lot more fun than just loitering around waiting for some guy."

I scoffed. "I'm going alone. Besides, I don't think you can handle the dry heat considering you are a merman. I don't want to have to watch over some kid. You aren't coming with me. I can just imagine you shriveling up in the first mile we walk."

Aries pouted and huffed. "That's mean! I am not just some kid! I won't hold you back, promise. Who's gonna save you if you get into trouble?"

"I won't get into trouble because I can act like a mature adult. I can take care of myself."

"Yeah, because you obviously could handle yourself when you were drowning. You totally had everything under control. That faint scar on your cheek tells me that you are a master of handling danger." Aries mocked. 

I touched my cheek where the witch scratched me. I didn't realize that the scar is still there. I thought Snowen completely cleared it up. I guess you can still see the slight discoloration. I frowned at Aries and walked out of the room with all of my stuff. "Stay here, kid."

He grabbed my arm, stopping me. "I hate it when you call me a kid. I hate it that you even still consider me to be a kid."

I pulled away. "That's what you are and that's how you act. Don't follow me." I carried on. I could still hear Aries's footsteps following behind me. This kid was more stubborn than me.

I swiftly turned around. He stopped before he could run into me. "Fine. But just one slip up from you and I'm escorting you back to the palace. Don't screw this up."

He smirked in victory and crossed his arms. "Don't worry about me, Rion. I'm just excited to get spend some time alone with you."

"Don't be a suck up, Aries."

He followed me out of the palace, avoiding the guards and other princes. After we made it to the bustling center of the plaza, we relaxed. I looked around. Almost everyone wore their hoods up to protect their heads from the heat. This was going to make it harder to find Jasem. I didn't even know what he looked like.

Aries followed close by me as I weaved through the crowd. I looked at the stands selling goods. There was an abundance of jewelry stands. I noticed that Aries stopped following me to look at some of the jewelry.

"No way. We didn't come to the plaza to be tourists." I scolded. He waved me off and held up a headdress adorned with jewels. 

"Bend down for me, will you?" He asked me, waiting for me to lower myself to his short height. I grumbled as I did so, knowing that he would probably wait until I followed his instructions. I felt the headdress settle on my head. The cloth helped my dark hair cool off from the sun.