After I told Arthur to transport us to Antonio's farm, we had some trouble getting me to stand properly. Everytime we fell to the ground, I would laugh while the warlock shouted a stream of curses. It was really funny, so I would purposely make us fall but stopped when he started to notice. Once I was finally able to stand on one leg with Arthur as support, it was time to go.
"I'll see you later alright Silver? Don't miss me too much girl."
I smiled as I waved to my horse and she moved her head up and down as if she understood. A small sniffle escaped me as I looked at her injured foot. For some reason, my eyes started to tear up but maybe it was because Arthur placed too much medicine on my wounds. I made him upset when I asked him about his catepillar eyebrows.
"I'm gonna miss you girl. Be good now. Don't give this guy a hard time alright?"
"It's not like you're never gonna see her again so stop your weeping and long speech already. You'll be able to visit her whenever you want."
Arthur bonked me on the head and I chuckled a bit.
"Right, right. Thanks Iggy you're very kind."
"It's Arthur you git! How many times do I have to say it for you to get it right!"
He hit me again and then started to give me a long lecture. Even though we just met, I felt that we have known each other for a very long time. The townspeople were wrong when they said those cruel things about him. He didn't seem like the kind of person to do such a thing. This just goes to show that people will make up stuff just to pass time.
"Anyway you said your goodbyes with your horse. Close your eyes now so we can go."
I did as I was told without any interruptions or comments.
"Transport."
There was a sudden gust a wind that blew against us and the area felt a bit warmer. After a while, the wind died down and the warmth disappeared. When I thought that everything was alright, I peeked open one of my eyes. I opened both of them when I noticed that we were in front of Antonio's farm.
"Woah, your magic is really awesome. Please teach me your wisdom!"
"Do you have wax in your ears or something? I already told you that not anyone can use magic like I can. Stop asking me all these pointless questions or else I'll keep your horse for real."
"You can't blame a guy for trying."
I resisted the urge to smile. The truth was I already knew the answer to the questions I asked him, but it was just too much fun to see his frustrated expression. Each and everyone one of his angry looks are funny because of the catepillar eyebrows on his face.
"Alfred, is that you?"
My attention switched to Antonio who was now heading towards us. He looked worried probably because of my injured leg. When he was standing face to face with us, he glance at Arthur for a while and then looked at me.
"Que pasa? How did you get that injury? Did Lovi ran over you with Silver or something? Oh speaking of Silver, where is she? Don't tell me you lost her."
"Nah nah, I just got attacked while I was on a delivery. This guy was kind enough to save me and patch me up. He's also taking care of Silver until she gets better."
Antonio titled his head to the side and then smiled his usual smile once he processed the information.
"Sounds like an interesting day you had here. It's a good thing you came now. Matthew was going to start wandering around asking people where you are."
"He's done with work already? Man, I gotta get back now then."
I hoped over to Antonio and leaned on him for support.
"Thanks again for everything Iggy! I'll try and visit you when I can!"
He opened his mouth and was about to say something, but for some reason he didn't. Instead he let out a sigh and simply nodded at me. Arthur placed a piece of paper in my hand as well as a brown bag.
"Drop by when you're feeling better. Be sure not to work until your foot gets better alright? Use the supplies in the bag and change the bandage often."
I nodded and gave him a thumbs up.
"Don't miss me too much before then Iggy!"
His eye twitched at the name and I could see his fists tighten.
"I swear if you keep this up, I'll really turn you into a frog you stupid git!"
With that said he walked angrily away from the farm until we couldn't see his figure anymore. As he did so, I couldn't help but laugh. He was just too funny.
"So, mi amigo, shall we head to your house?"
"Sure!"
After a long time of limping, we made it to where I lived. Matthew was probably looking outside of the window since he came out as soon as we were nearby.
"Alfred, where have you been?"
His quiet voice filled the night air as he walked towards us. When he noticed my injured leg, he gasped.
"What happened?"
"Eh bro, how about we talk inside? It's probably better in their anyway."
He agreed and also helped to get me inside. Once we were situated and comfortable, Antonio left and bid us good night. He was such a nice guy, it's weird that he didn't have a girlfriend or something.
"Now will you tell me about your leg?"
"Oh right. You know how people were talking about those strange creatures that attack people in the forest right?"
Matthew nodded a bit hesitantly.
"Well while I was delivering something, I ended up getting attacked by one. But this kind person named Iggy with catepillar eyebrows saved me. He patched up Silver and I and even gave us a bag of supplies."
I held up said bag to him with a smile but he continued to have a concern look on his face.
"Silver got injured too?"
"Yeah, that beast was a bastard. He attacked her in order to get to me."
I looked down a bit annoyed that I wasn't able to prevent her from getting hurt.
"Well at least you're well and alive now. It could have been worse."
"Hehhh you actually believe me?"
"You wouldn't be kidding around if it was about Silver and there can't be a more logical explanation of your injured leg."
I smiled widely and flomped over to my brother to try hugging him but ended up in his lap. The sudden movement startled him and made his face all flustered.
"Aww you're such an awesome bro! Come here and give me a hug!"
"Alfred! Be quiet, you're disturbing neighbors!"
Even though he was yelling at me, his voice sounded like he was whispering loudly at me. Although we were twins, we had opposite personalities. No matter what I do, I can't stay quiet. My brother on the other hand can't find a way to raise his voice. His quiet nature made people unable to see him most of the times. Sometimes, he was also fragile and easily got sick if he wasn't careful. This has been a problem for him since childhood but I was sure to protect them as the hero.
Without our parents, I being the oldest had to look out for my brother. I forbid him from leaving this town for his own good. There was no way I was going to let him get into harms way. This is why I'm the one that goes out of town to do odd jobs while he stayed and work at Antonio's. It was much safer and he is actually noticed by the spanish, happy go lucky guy.
"Alfred, you should get some rest now. Tomorrow I'll go to Gower town in your place to do your odd jobs."
I quickly sat up from his lap as soon as he said that.
"No! I forbid you from going. Just stay here and work at Antonio's. I'll be good as new by the end of the week."
"By the looks of it, your injury may take a month to heal. Also, we can't just keep relying on Antonio in every difficult situation we're in."
"Dude Matthew I'm fine really. It's not like my bone is broken. It's just sprained that's all."
I tried standing up using the wall as support and almost fell from doing so. Thankfully, I caught myself in time and then stood on both of my feet. I held in a groan of pain as I stand up to show that I was alright.
"See? I can stand. I'll be back out there in no time at all!"
This didn't fool him though so I sighed and sat back down.
"We can get through this week with what we have now so please just continue to work at Antonio's. If you do that then I promise to stay here and rest."
Matthew looked down and thought about it. Once he seemed to know what his decision was, he turned his attention back to me.
"Fine, but you also have to promise me that if you aren't fully recovered by this week, I'm allowed to go to Gower for your odd jobs."
"No!"
"Then I won't continue to work with Antonio this week."
"It's almost winter though and you taking the trip to Gower every day will get you a cold!"
"I don't care! That doesn't matter because you're injured! What can you do with an injured arm and leg!"
We both stared at each other and didn't back down from the other. I gritted my teeth and tried to calm myself down. Even though I know that Matthew was just trying to help, I wasn't about to risk him getting sick at this time of year. If he were to catch someting, we would be in trouble for the winter.
"Fine, I promise. You have to keep your end of the promise too though alright?"
He smiled at me.
"Yes Alfred."
TIME SKIP
I was the first to wake up since I did that everyday to get to Gower before the market rush. When I sat up, I tried to stand up again while being careful not to wake up Matthew. Somehow, I finally manage to stand while leaning on the wall as support. When I placed some pressure on my foot, I winced at the instant pain that surged through my body. I bit my lip and ignored the ache while limping towards the door.
True I promised that I wasn't going to go to Gower, but that didn't mean I couldn't go to Antonio. It was a good thing that my brother was a pretty heavy sleeper. He would have yelled at me if he saw me trying to leave. When I managed to hope over to the farm, I saw that Antonio was awake like I knew he would be.
"Hm? Oh Alfred, good morning. Should you be moving around?"
"I need to get used to this injury so I decided to try exercising."
"Maybe it would be better if you didn't use it. The more you try and walk, the worse the injury might get."
"Yea but this is just a bite from an animal, not a broken bone. Putting on some pressure isn't gonna kill me. Plus, I'm the hero! And the hero can overcome anything!"
To prove my point, I stood on both feet and resisted the urge to cringe from the pain. Antonio saw through me and simply chuckled.
"Whatever you say. Just make sure you don't push yourself. Matthew worries about you everyday while he's here. He wishes that he could work with you on your jobs."
I leaned against a post as Antonio started tending the other horses.
"Yea, but you know how easy it is for him to get hurt. I don't want him to suffer again like that one time. That's why I'm out here right now. It seems that if I can't work by the end of this week, he'll replace me in my jobs."
"He's getting more daring now isn't he?"
"Yeah, my hero self must be getting to him as well."
We both shared a laugh. After some talking, I decided to help Antonio watch over some cats. He usually didn't have these animals, but he was holding them for a friend who was currently visiting someone in another town.
"Alfred, I have to go run a quick errand. Just keep watching those cats for me alright?"
"Okay! You can count on the hero!"
After he left, I started playing with the cats. At one moment, I would be petting and rubbing their ears then the next, all three of them would be licking my face without mercy. It was awesome and I'm glad that cats loved me. For some reason, they don't go well with Matthew so it was a good thing that he wasn't here right now.
While I was being attacked again by the furrballs, I noticed that the orange cat with a brown spot on his forehead was missing. After I limped all over the place looking for him, I saw his vanishing figure disappear into the forest beyond the fence around the barn. Once I placed the other cats in a secure location, I went towards the direction the cat went to.
"Hey! Orange kitty cat where are you? Come out so you can play with the black and gray kitty! They all miss you very much!"
As I ventured deeper into the forest, I started to get tired. After a few more steps, I got tired of limping around so I rested against a tall tree. When I manage to catch my breath, I set off again. Thankfully, I found the orange kitty rolling around the ground while waving his paw at a butterfly.
"Their you are. Don't go off on your own like that."
I scooped him up in my arms and rubbed his orange fur which caused him to purr. When he started scratched the bandage on my arm, I started to scold him.
"Bad kitty, no cat nip for you when we get back."
The cat titled his head to the side then rubbed his head against my neck. Darn it, I couldn't stay mad at animals. They always had a special place in my heart.
"Fine I forgive you, let's just get out of here. It's dangerous to be here anyway."
"That's true yet you still went into the forest again."
The sound of a new voice close by made my body froze. When I turned around, I saw a man with white hair dressed in a gray coat as a white scarf covered his neck. I felt the cat cower deeper into my arms as the man took a few steps forward. He stood a couple of feet away from us and then spoke once more.
"Hello, I usually don't find people in this place when I walk around here, so I'm happy to see someone."
As the man talked, he kept an eerie smile on his face. I felt a weird aura come from him and had the urge to get away. However, doing so when I was injured wasn't an option so I just ignored that thought. He didn't seem to be that bad of a person and it was rude to judge a person when you don't even know them.
"How are your injuries? I hope they don't hurt too much. How did you get them?"
"Hm? Oh I was just attacked. No big deal though, I can handle anything!"
I gave him a thumbs out as well as my trademark hero smile. For some reason, he started to giggle and it sounded odd in my opinion. The kitty patted my arm and started to whine a little.
"You're an interesting fellow. I'm glad that I've met you."
"Could you at least give me your name? It's common courtesy you know."
"Aha, that's right. Forgive me, my name is Ivan, Ivan Branginski."
"Cool last name. Never heard of it around here before. I'm Alfred F. Jones, the hero! Are you a foreigner or something?"
"It's nice to meet you Alfred and yes, I am. I'm glad you didn't run away from me like the others did."
I paused for a moment when he said that.
"People run away from him?"
Before I was able to say anything, I heard a ringing noise sweep through the forest. It sounded like a voice singing a high pitch note or a bell. The noise made the kitty cringe and softly shake in my arms. Once the sound disappeared, the kitty calmed.
"Ah unfortunetly, it seems that I have to go now. I'll see you later, Alfred."
"Oh okay then."
Ivan turned away from us and then walked into the forest in the opposite direction. Once he was gone, I started limping back the way I came in. I stopped to rest here and there but manage to return to the farm. When I arrived, Antonio hadn't arrive back yet so I continued to play with the cats.
"I wonder who that guy was."
