Chapter 2: The Meeting

Waver woke up to the murmur of a crowd. Still unable to open his eyes, he lied there for a couple of minutes, and felt the sunlight on his eyelids. The heat hit him like a slap on the face, but at least he could now feel his body. He tried to open his eyes, but the sun was blinding. He moved his fingers, then his toes. His neck, legs and arms, one by one, and tried to remember the feeling from a moment before.

He was able to keep one eye partly opened, observing his own hands. Once he was finally able to seat up, he patted his body all around, making sure everything was in its right place. He checked for any mark in his body, anything in his pockets or somewhere near around him that could indicate he had succeeded in his experiment. There was no trace of such thing. Only a single red gem was left in his pocket. Nothing else.

He then recalled being pulled by a magnetic force, and clearly remembered how his body was dismantled, or so he felt. There was no magical artifact in his possession, but he was not in his room anymore. That only lead to one conclusion: he had traveled in time.

"Oh God!"

He hyperventilated.

He looked around him. Men and women wandering around in haste. Some of them carried swords and weapons, others carried silk and goods. Numerous wagons made their way through the cobblestone streets, which converged all into a gate. A wall raised at the distance, almost as tall as the sky.

A refreshing breeze blew Waver's hair. He got up and examined the place carefully.

"I never thought London had such a lively vibe in the past", he observed, "it seems like the sun actually existed in these lands before."

He followed the crowd into the market, pleased yet surprised "I was expecting to see endless green fields and barbarians roasting rabbits on a fire-pit"

The folks carried heavy sacks from one side to the other and loaded the wagons. They wore long, earth-colored tunics, wrapped around their shoulders and waists. A man was trying to cut through, pushing Waver aside and whispering a curse in a language that he did not recognize right away. But it certainly wasn't English. Nor Celtic, Welsh, Gaelic or anything like that.

"Wait…is this place…?"

He ran in circles, desperately looking for the Thames river, almost certain he wouldn't find it.

He tried to overhear some people's conversation to find out which language they spoke, and suddenly realized it.

"Ancient Greece?! But…how is that possible? This cannot be! Time travel is precise and can only move time back and forward, not physical objects or beings! Something must have gone wrong"

He instinctively looked for his notes or books, but then remembered he had nothing with him, except his clothes. This was another issue: he was starting to stand out from the rest of the town folks. They were noticing something different about him already, pointing at him and making comments.

But Waver was too exited to care about his clothes or his looks at that moment. He rushed to the city gates, scared yet exited, impatient to see the rest of it. Massive marble statues decorated both sides of the gates. Golden details shinning all over them under the sunlight, giving the city a golden gleam.

The view was so stunning that Waver could not look away, not for one second, not even while running.

"Hey! wAtch ou-!" A stranger's voice came right towards him. Waver took a second to process these words in ancient Greek, but it was too late. Their bodies clashed.

The hit was so hard that it brought both of them to the ground. A few seconds passed before they moved.

"What an idiot". The stranger struggled to push him away, since Waver had all his weight on top of him.

Waver looked down at him, and his eyes met with the face of a young man. Fierce eyes, thick, auburn eyebrows scowling at him.

"Are you going to sit there and stare all day?" The stranger asked, annoyed. "Can't you talk?"

"Oh! Sorry! I'm so sorry!" Waver quickly got up and offered his hand to help him up.

The boy ignored the gesture, and got up in one single, agile movement.

"What were you thinking? Running like that without looking where you are going…Nobody can be that dumb"

He scanned Waver with his eyes for a moment and examined his face closely.

"Although your face does look a bit… let's say, not the epitome of cleverness"

"Oi, who do you think you are?!"

"No but seriously, what's with those strange clothes? And that…hair?"

Waver's eyes went from the boy to his own clothes, then back to the boy. His black shirt and matching dress pants contrasted with the boy's grey, hooded cloak, falling all the way down to his sandals.

"You must be a foreigner" The boy asked, genuinely interested, "where are you from?"

"That's…. That's none of your business." Waver turned and walked away.

"Bumping into somebody and then walking away from them? That is rude." The boy followed him.

"I already apologized", Waver said, without turning to him or stopping. "Besides, you are not the precise definition of politeness either, kid." He empathized that last word just to annoy him, hoping he would finally go away. He did not.

Waver turned left into an alley and accelerated his pace, with the hope he would lose him.

"Kid, you say? I'm not a kid. I look younger than I am. I'm probably your age. Show some respect"

"Just drop it. What a stubborn kid."

"Hey, take that back!"

"I'm not into picking up fights with kids"

"I said, take that back. I'll give you one more chance…"

Waver suddenly stopped.

The boy did so too, smiling with the satisfaction seeing his pride mended.

"So, you can be reasonable after all, foreigner. I accept your apology."

"Shhh" Hushed him Waver, taking a few steps back. He blocked the boy's way with his arm. "Stay behind me", he ordered him.

The boy could see a group of six men standing in front of them, heavily armed. The gang walked towards them.

"You. The one with the funny hair, we want your clothes. And all your belongings,"

The boy stepped forward, gently pushing Waver away.

"Please, leave us." He said, calm but serious. "Leave now and no one will be harmed"

There was a moment of silence, followed by a burst of hysteric laughter.

"Stay out of this, kid." Waver grabbed the boy's shoulder. By all means, he wanted to avoid using magic in front of someone, but it seemed he had no other option. He was outnumbered.

The men stepped forward. So did the boy, followed by Waver, who's hand was ready to summon an enchantment at any time.

The tallest of the bandits was the first to strike, swinging his ax at the boy.

"Kid, move!"

But the boy stopped the ax by its handle in a single movement, without moving from his place.

"For the last time…I am not a kid!" He yelled as he lifted the man in the air. "And I have a name!"

The boy removed his cloak. A thin auburn braid fell over his shoulder. In spite of his short height, under that cloak hid the body of a well-trained young man. A black leather armor covered his upper body, emulating his abdominal muscles. A matching black pair of greaves protected his legs up to his knees. There was no doubt he was an experienced warrior.

The five remaining men charged all at once. With a simple dagger, the boy fended from all their attacks, and one by one the men fell on the ground with a single blow of his dagger. Waver observed the scene, surprised by the young man's strength and agility. As the men lied unconscious on the ground, Waver concluded this could only mean that, given the boy's skill, he was just choosing not to kill them.

"He can't be a bad person", Waver thought with ease.

Alexander turned to him, with a satisfaction smirk. His face showed pride, yet there was no sign of arrogance, nothing else than the satisfaction of being able to protect someone. Waver thought that was the most noble expression he had ever seen.

The boy offered his hand

"My name is Alexandros"

"I'm Waver. Waver Velvet." He reached for his hand.

Just before they could shake hands, Alexandros was shot with an arrow in the middle of his chest. The blood instantly burst from Alexandros mouth onto Waver's still extended arm. Horrified, it took two seconds for Waver to move out of his shock and search for the offender. The tall man who was knocked out a few minutes ago was now on his feet holding a bow. Alexandros collapsed on the floor at Waver's feet

"You are next." The man grinned malevolently.

It was that smile that triggered Waver's wrath. He recited an enchantment, and his troubled, infuriated breath gave more life to his words. One of the spears from the floor floated in mid air and landed in the middle of the man's stomach, causing him an instant death.

"You…" whispered Alexandros from the ground, panting, "…you have…m-magic."

A puddle of blood formed around his body, his eyes barely opened.

Waver rushed to help him, but there was little he could do. He didn't have any of his materials or spell books. He desperately looked in his pockets, and suddenly remembered the only gem he had left. He placed it on Alexandros' chest and recited a long spell. The arrow emitted a red shine. Waver grabbed it and it disintegrated in his hand. Alexander groaned in pain, but just a moment after his breathing begun to improve. The wound stopped bleeding and his skin slowly began to regenerate.

"A mage…" Alexandros' voice was still week. He made a painful expression when Waver helped him up.

"You are smarter than you look then, Waver Velvet." Alexandros joked

"How very kind of you, I'm flattered." Waver smiled sarcastically

"What? That was meant as a compliment"

"Well then you need to work on your compliments. A simple "thank you" would be enough"

"Thank you" Alexander slightly vowed with his head to him, solemnly. His expression showed honest gratitude.

"Forget about it. You saved my life, I saved yours. Big deal..." He looked away, feeling awkward.

"Ha! You are an interesting one!" Alexandros laughed in amusement "First you demand my gratitude and then you refuse to accept it"

Waver ignored his comment.

Alexander's chest was now almost fully recovered.

"Alright then, Waver the mage. Shall we go?" Said Alexander as he helped himself up.

"Go where?"

"To my home of course! You are my most welcomed guest. As a token of my gratitude I will have a feast on your honor tonight, and I will fetch you the best wine in the kingdom. After our stomachs are filled then you will tell me all about it"

"About what?"

"Magic, of course!" He gave Waver a pat in the back, so hard he nearly pushed him to the ground.

"No way. I'm leaving. I need to go back" Waver walked away as he spoke.

"And where would that be?" Alexandros followed.

"London" Waver kept walking.

"London?" He looked at him, curious. "Is this "London" kingdom a prosperous one?"

"yes, very. If not the most prosperous"

"Ha! Interesting. I have no knowledge of such place" He said, thoughtfully. "Tell me, Waver the mage, is this London realm of yours located beyond the Cyclades islands?"

"No…I don't know. And stop calling me that."

"You don't know? Then how do you plan to get there, if you don't know?"

"I don't know!"

Alexandros cut him through and stood in front of him, making Waver stop.

"Stay here tonight"

"No!"

"Stay, and I shall give you my finest ship as your departing gift. You will set sail tomorrow morning"

"I said no!"

"Why?"

"Because…" he could not think of a reason. How could he explain to him that he accidentally time-traveled there and he could not interact with anybody without altering the course of history?

"Listen, Waver. Do you have a boat?"

"No…"

"Do you have a place to stay?"

"No, but-"

"Then it's settled! You will stay and you will leave at dawn." He gave him a big, confident smile.

Weaver hesitated a moment. Well, it is true that I don't have anywhere to stay. And I could be stuck here for a while until I figure out how to go back, he thought.

Waver sighed "OK, let's go, before I regret it"

"You will not regret this!" Alexandros patted his back again with excitement, this time Waver actually landed with his face on the ground.

"What the…" Waver could not believe the view of such a luxurious, ancient building before his eyes.

"You live in a palace?!"

"Oh yeah! I forgot to mention. I am the prince" Alexander smiled

"How the hell does anyone forget something like that!"

The gates opened, and guards marched to the sound of drums towards them.

"The prince, Alexandros of Macedon!"

One of the guards announced his arrival.

"Macedon…" Waver though out loud. Something suddenly clicked in his head…

"… Alexandros of Macedon?!" He covered his own mouth with both hands to prevent himself from yelling.

"Young master! Welcome back!" Two men ran to welcome them.

"Parmenion, Orestys" Alexandros hugged them and they started a conversation.

Waver could not focus on a word they where saying, their voices sounded like some background music to his thoughts. He froze.

So if he is the prince of Macedon…

Waver stared at the red-haired young man and it suddenly came to him...

Then Alexandros is…

…

"Alexander. Alexander the Great." Waver mumbled

"Sorry, what?" Alexandros turned to him, puzzled

"You are Alexander the Great..." Waver stared at him in astonishment.

Alexandros smirked, flattered.

"Well, I've never been called that before, but I can certainly get used to it"

Waver suddenly realized the young man would not be known by that name until many years from now. How could he begin to explain to him the situation? He was not even sure how to feel himself. Alexandros, Alexander the Great, known by the name of Iskandar in the East, his servant during the Holy Grail war. His partner, his friend. The king he swore to follow until his death. He had been expecting this moment of reunion for so long, and now there he was. Alive. Real. Yet this Alexander possessed no memories of the moments they shared. No, this was someone else. A stranger. His image differed greatly from the one he had in his memories of a great king. Strong and wise and experienced. He wasn't sure weather he would scream out of joy or run away from this stranger. But most of all, he feared the outcome of this fortuitous meeting, never meant to be.

He recalled the words of one of his professors in the Clock Tower, in one of his very first lectures: "…for those who still believe in time travel, they think of it as a double-edged sword. It could be the most powerful weapon, yet it could also lead to you very own destruction. The tiniest detail can alter the course of history forever. You must be a mere observer, and never interfere".

There was no way he could tell young Alexander anything about his future, or about the Grail Wars. This realization made him deeply sad all of a sudden.

"Waver?" Alexandros could read his troubled face.

"Sorry. I was spacing out"

"Did you want to tell me something?"

"Alexandros...I mean, Alexander. I will call you Alexander. It's easier to get used to"

"Hmmm" he crossed his arms against his chest, thoughtful. "I like how it sounds"

They both smiled

"And now…" Alexander wrapped one arm around Waver's neck, nearly chocking him. "Let's get you out of those hideous rags and fetch you some decent robes. I don't want you to become the centre of attention, since that should be me", he joked.

Waver sighed.

...Oh dear…I am already regretting this…