"What did he steal?" The baker asked the masked stranger.

'He stole a friend of mine.'

"W-what!? That's absurd!" The baker exclaimed, earning a nod from the stranger in response. "If I help you, and ask my friend to get you to the castle, will you help me with something?"

'Depends, what do you need?'

"There's a guard-" That made the stranger snicker, the first thing the baker had heard from him. "-a-and I want to get him to talk to me. Y-you see, us common folk aren't allowed to talk to nobility or anyone related to nobles, which includes the guards, especially the royal guard. If I get my friend to help you in the castle, can you get the guard in my shop? Just, I don't know, recommend my goods or something."

The stranger nodded.

'I'll see what I can do.'

"Thank you, stranger!" The baker smiled wide, making the masked stranger smile, not that the baker could see.

"Dream."

"W-what...?" The baker asked, shocked to hear a voice come from the man.

"My name is Dream." The masked stranger clarified.

"That's a strange name..."

"It's a nickname, dipshit." The masked man crossed his arms. The baker swore he could hear the scowl.

"Ay, language!" The baker scolded. "Anyways, m-my name is Darryl. I know you didn't ask, but since I know your name or nickname, you might as well know mine."

Dream nodded. "So who's this guard you want to bone?"

That made the baker, Darryl, red in the face, resembling a tomato. "I-it's not like that!" He sighed. "You see that guard over there? The short one."

Dream nodded.

"That's him. His name is Zak. I don't know his last name, but I do know that he's close with the current captain of the royal guard." Darryl explained. "The one next to him, the one with the bandana, is Nick. He's the friend I've been talking about, and he'll be your ticket in the castle, once I message him. He's the captain's right hand, and has close access to the King."

"But...?"

"But only the captain can access the King's treasures, which I assume your friend is in."

"Is there any way to get into the royal guard?"

"I'm not sure, but I'm sure Nick can tell you. All I know is that you have to be of noble blood."

"Thank god that my mother is a seamstress for a king in another kingdom."

Darryl nodded before grabbing a fresh piece of paper and writing something down. "Here," he handed the paper to Dream. "Give this to Nick."

Dream nodded, leaving the bakery and walking towards two dark-haired males. He approached the taller one and gave him the paper. He read it before giving Dream a weird look.

"You want to be part of the royal guard?" He asked, earning a nod in response. "Are you of nobility?"

"Yes, actually. My mother is a seamstress for a king in a different kingdom."

"Her name?"

"Powell."

The taller male whispered something to the shorter male, which caused him to walk off, presumably to check if the name was noble.

"What are you doing here?" The taller male asked. "I thought that Dave made it very clear that you're not welcome."

The masked man scoffed, crossing his arms. "Yes, like id listen to a little piggy like him."

"Clay, he nearly killed you last time!" The younger male exclaimed. Dream winced at the mention of the name.

"I wasn't as strong then as I am now. Besides, he stole George. I'm here to take him back."

The younger male sighed. "You're impossible."

"You love me though."

The smaller guard returned, nodding silently, making the younger male sigh irritably. He already knew that he was noble, what kind of childhood friend would he be if he didn't know, but he prayed that some miraculous change of events he wasn't noble.

"Alright, I'll take you to the captain. It's up to him."

Dream nodded but turned to the shorter male before following his friend. "You're Zak, right?"

The shorter male nodded, eyeing the stranger suspiciously.

"You should really check out the bakery over there." He pointed to the bakery Darryl resided in. "The goods there are...well....good! Plus, I think the baker there is cute as well." He winked, despite the fact that the younger male couldn't see him.

The younger male just rolled his eyes as the masked man followed the youngest male to the captain's quarters. He eyed the bakery, as well as the baker inside, who was currently busy with a batch of muffins.

Maybe I'll check it out.

~<•>~

"Clay, look at this!"

"Ooh, what is it?"

"It's a rose! I've never seen one this color!"

"What color is it to you?"

"For me? It's blue. What color is it really?"

"...blue..."

"Seriously!?"

"Yep!"

"Wow! I didn't know a rose could be blue!"

"Neither did I! It's so pretty."

"Here, you have it!"

"But didn't your mom grow it?"

"Yes, but you're my best friend. I want you to have it."

"T-thank you."

"You're welcome!"

He still has the petal pressed in his journal to this day.

~~~~~
869 words

A little more lengthy, so yay. Also, I only have a short amount of time to write after school (my mom changed the rules for some reason and I hate it), so again, might not update often.

Also, I just said who is in this chapter, so yeah. Also, idk Dreams actual last name, I just used a random one that sounded noble and sounded well with Clay.

But I do know Zaks's last name, so don't bash me with comments.