The marketplace, which was located in the middle of the castle, was bustling with citizens. The castle was so enormous that even all of their homes were located inside it. Colorful lanterns were hanging everywhere, and there were many stalls selling all kinds of things. Everyone was dressed in medieval clothing, and they looked much wealthier than the people I had seen in Snæland. As I looked around curiously, I noticed a somewhat shorter boy staring at me. Suddenly, he spoke to me.
"We don't get many visitors here," he said, scratching the back of his head. "Actually, almost never."
"What exactly is this place?" I asked him. It didn't look like a city to me, but it didn't look like a village either.
"We are a small kingdom. Our island chain was named after all the sheep we own. We are called the Kingdom of the Sheep Islands. I can show you around if you want." He grinned.
"Sure, I don't mind," I said, and his grin grew even wider.
"So, everything happens here in the marketplace. We have a lot of things here. Especially food."
At the thought of food, my stomach growled loudly.
"Food sounds good. I've had to live on nothing but hardened bread lately." I looked around. I had been so focused on looking around that I hadn't even noticed all the wonderful smells. It smelled of fried onions, grilled mutton, and so many other things. First, we went to a stall right next to us. It was an open restaurant.
"This stall sells the best soup you've ever eaten, trust me!" the boy said.
"I'll pay for your food, don't worry," he added.
The cook gave us two bowls right after we ordered. The soup contained lamb, potatoes, and carrots. It looked delicious, and it tasted just as good.
After just one spoonful of the soup, my eyes lit up.
"Wow..." I said in amazement.
"I've never experienced flavors like these before," I added.
"You can only get something like this on the Sheep Islands. It's called Kjøtsupa. The lambs only get the finest grass that grows here on the islands. There are countless sheep here, and because we're on islands, we don't have any problems letting them live and graze freely," he said proudly.
"So you know a lot about your homeland, don't you?" I asked. I was curious why he knew so much about it. A boy his age had always seemed different in my mind. Shouldn't he be playing with toys instead?
"Yes, I'm the prince of the islands, after all!" he said happily. It was easy to see how much he loved his homeland.
"The prince, huh? Are you also the heir to the throne?" I asked curiously. A boy with that much enthusiasm would certainly make a good king. But suddenly, his smile disappeared.
"Yes." he said. I hadn't expected that kind of answer. He was the heir to the throne, so why did he look sad?
"Is everything alright, boy?" I asked, but I could tell that he was struggling to bring himself to answer my question.