FANTASY 06: ROUND TOWN SCUFFLE

Black Belt

After my sister, Red, walked away towards that dumb black mage, I decided she had enough protection from him. I could do my things; maybe have my date. I realized that to be exactly what I needed. My date. Standing in the crowd of merchants, I peered around. Sure there were plenty of woman wandering about, but none of them piqued my interest in the slightest. Some had long noses, others had warts, and then there just too many tall women. My height could not be scoffed at, but I need a woman shorter than I.

So I stood back for a while, by the fountain, waiting to see the perfect woman walk by so I could sweep her off her precious feet and start a whirlwind romance and shove it in Red's face. Her and her black mage! How infuriating!

After a good three minutes, I decided I would go elsewhere. Beautiful women clearly did not walk the merchant stalls of Cornelia.

With a heaving sigh, I left the fountain and started towards the weapon and armor district, which I believed to be just south of the magic district. First I would head around the long way through the magic district. Without a doubt, I didn't want to run into Red on her date.

I walked north from the fountain square and then started my way to the west. As I passed through a thicket of trees, I stopped on a dime. I saw her, the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She sat on a stone bench outside of the White Magic Shop. She wore a white cloak trimmed with a bit of red, had beautiful auburn-red hair, and wore cute yellow boots. Most importantly of all, she had the biggest set of bosoms I'd ever seen. The cleavage they produced had my foot a tapping and my mouth a howling. This babe had to be the one.

I licked my hand and slicked back my hair. Putting on my best strut, I walked over to the woman leaning over on the bench. She seemed to be reading some scrolls. Could should be a white mage?

"Why, hello, darling!" I walked up to the woman. She looked up at me with amazingly blue eyes. I swallowed hard. She looked just heavy enough to lift.

"Do I...um, know you?" she asked.

"Of course," I said. "We were lovers in another lifetime, and we agreed upon this very meeting place."

She looked around, fully sitting up and checking to see if anyone else were around.

"I think you have the wrong girl?" she said. "I'm a White Mage, and I just got here and bought these scrolls. I would like to go back to reading them if you don't mind."

"You can read? Impressive!" I said. "It is a skill I never learned."

She tilted her head and then looked back at her scrolls, slowly starting to roll them up.

"At last!" I said. "You plan on leaving with me so that we may start our whirlwind romantic adventure!"

"I'm already on an adventure," she said. "With Warrior, Thief, and Black Mage."

My eyebrow raised and a vein in my forehead pulsed. "Did you say, Black Mage?"

"Yes. He's quite extravagant in his speech, and claims to be of nobility and a bunch of other baloney, but he's a nice guy."

I pictured the black mage that had stolen away Red no more than fifteen minutes prior. Could he be the same one she spoke of?

"I don't imagine he wore a blue cloak and a tall yellow hat? A pointy one?" I asked.

The white mage nodded. "That sounds like MY black mage."

"Oh, so you two are an item..." I asked, rage boiling within. How dare he play Red!

"No, he doesn't like me much," she said. "But anyway, now that I've learned my spells, I really must be going. I have to find my friends."

The White Mage got up and waddled away as quickly as she probably could. How badly I wanted to try to lift her!

"Wait, White Mage, please stay and talk to me a bit longer!" I called after her.

"No, no, I'm late! Very late!" she waved me off. "Nice meeting you, though..."

"Belt!" I shouted. "My name is Belt!"

I watched her go, and my heart broke. I couldn't just let her leave in such a way.

"Wait!" I called and ran after her. "I'll buy you lunch! You like to eat, don't you?"

I reached for my coin purse and felt nothing there. Looking down, as Red had, I found only the rope still attached and the coin bag itself gone.

"Wretched thieves!" I grumbled. "Now what will I do?"

Still, I chased after the White Mage. I ran around the corner and to the weapon shop and armor district. I skidded to a stop when I found my White standing outside the weapon shop talking to another man. He wore blue armor, and a helmet, and at his side a longsword. I edged closer and listened.

"They had nothing worth letting go of my father's gear," the apparent warrior said.

"That's a shame," White said. "You really shouldn't use such old gear. You'll do better with an upgrade to your armor. The sword is fine for now, but go get some chainmail."

"But-"

"No, no, no," she said. "We need Mr. Warrior in tip top shape after all. You're our leader."

"Hmm..." I mumbled. "If she's in a group of four then maybe they ARE crystal bearers, just like Red said. "Should I go back and report my findings, or should I continue to try and pursue my beauty?"

I watched as my White Mage, and the warrior walked into the armor shop, despite his protesting. Maybe the time had come to go back to Red after all. I'd see White again if she were in the same party with the black mage.

"Okay, back to the Bronze Chocobo," I said.

I turned on my heel and walked towards the food district. Sure enough, I spotted the Bronze Chocobo dining establishment. Sitting at one of the outside tables I spied the black mage, still wearing his big pointy hat and Red Mage who leaned in close speaking to him. I couldn't overhear their conversation, but it seemed intimate. I growled. Nobody could get intimate with my sister and get away with it!

I began my charge towards the outside patio when a huge, hulk of a man stepped up to their table and grabbed Red's wrist. My eyes flew wide as he held up an unrolled piece of parchment. I couldn't make it out from the distance, but it seemed as if he could be a bounty hunter after Red!

The black mage jumped up from his seat and moved his hands before him. A ball of fire jumped from his palms and struck the monstrous man in the chest. He stumbled back and all the patrons of the Bronze Chocobo screamed. The black mage grabbed Red by her hand and took off towards the northern part of town.

"W-wait!" I cried.

But the bounty hunter had recovered from the magic attack and started after them. I rushed with all my speed and speared the big man right through the outside patio fence and into the center of the Bronze Chocobo's dining area.

"What are you doing, you puny fool?" the man asked, as he pushed me off and climbed to his feet.

I got back up as well and cracked my knuckles. "You won't collect the bounty on Red!"

"Red?" He asked, then narrowed his eyes. "You're her wretched brother! I'll beat you to a pulp, and then I'll use you to reel in little 'Red'.

"Ha ha ha!" I laughed. "You truly think you can beat me? I'm a Black Belt in-"

Wham! His fist flew into my face. I spun, rolled, and tumbled into a stone bench a dozen or more yards away. I got up on my knees and wiped the corner of my mouth to find a drop of blood.

"Why you bastard..." I whispered.

The man stomped towards me, and I bounced back to my feet. "Alrighty! Let's go!"

I rushed in at the man and ducked his wide punch. He grunted, and I unleashed a barrage of punches into his gut, then spun away before he could grab me. I leaped in the air and kicked the bounty hunter in the back of the head. He stumbled forward, out of the dining area. As soon as I landed, I ran in again, punching him in the back several times. He continued to grunt but spun faster than I'd expected. He grabbed me by my throat and lifted me with one hand, high above his head. I kicked and flailed as he squeezed tighter.

"You little brat!" he cried. "I'll have your head for this. Forget the bounty on Red; I'll tell the Lord to give me a bigger bounty on you."

I kicked my legs forward and wrapped them around his neck. His eyes widened as I twisted hard and we flipped. Both of us slammed into the ground. He hit his head harder than, and we both struggled to get up. I proved just a bit quicker. And as he rose from his knees, I already stood and kicked him right in the jaw. His head snapped to the side, and he fell flat, with a poof of dust.

"Hmph!" I flexed my biceps and turned to kiss each one. "Never mess with a Black Belt."

I turned around to walk away, and the crowd of patrons stood back, looking quite nervous.

"It's okay, everyone!" I called out. "I have quelled the disturbance."

"I think, sir, you ARE the disturbance." came a voice from my side. I turned, ready to strike, but found long spears pointed in my face from three separate guards.

"W-wait!" I held my hands. "This man attacked a patron at the Bronze Chocobo. I merely stepped in to save her."

"Save it for the king," he said.

I swallowed hard as the other two guards walked behind me and grabbed my arms, cuffing my wrists together.

"This is a mistake," I said.

"Yeah, one you made," the guard said.

Together the three guards prodded me towards the north. Red appeared from behind the Bronze Chocobo, with the black mage still in tow.

"Belt, what did you do?" she asked.

"I took out the bounty hunter after you!" I said.

"A bounty hunter was after this girl?" a soldier asked.

Black Mage stood back, looking bewildered, but spoke up. "No, this girl is innocent of all crimes, I can assure you. She's my wife you see, and-"

"She's not your wife!" I barked.

Red rolled her eyes as the two guards went behind her and handcuffed my sister as well.

She grumbled as the guards pushed us away. "Next time, a nice black mage is telling a lie to help save our arses, let him tell the damn lie!"

"But he isn't your husband!" I groaned.

"Idiot!" Red snapped and elbowed me hard in the side.

Black Mage followed behind us, pleading for Red to be let go.

"Look," the guard said. "Unless you have something to make it worth my while, I'm taking both of these two before the king, where he'll likely have them turned in for their bounties in their homelands."

"But, I swear, there has to be another way. I don't have much gil!"

Black Mage looked to the side, and I followed his gaze. The warrior and buxom beauty white mage marched towards us.

"What's going on?" the warrior asked the Black Mage.

"A huge misunderstanding, I say!" Black said. "They've arrested my girlfriend-"

"She isn't your girlfriend!" I shouted.

White Mage looked at me, and I gave a big grin. "Hi, White! We were destined to meet again."

"This is the guy who was harassing me," she told the warrior.

He now wore red chainmail and looked more menacing than before.

"Black," he said. "We have other things to worry about than these two lawbreakers."

"But-" Black Mage tried to argue.

Just then a young, thin woman in green leather armor approached and looked at all of us. "Why are we all standing around with guards? I don't like guards. No offense, Mr. Guards."

The guards grunted and pushed us forward. Red and I marched as we left the group of four behind. We made it to the entrance to the castle grounds and a guard blocked our path.

"What's going on here?" he asked his fellow guards.

One spoke up. "These two were causing trouble and need to be tried before the king."

"Our king is searching for the Light Warriors, not some pathetic criminals. Just kick them out of town!" the stationed guard said.

"But we're with the crystal bearers!" Red cried.

The group of four who had followed behind us, the Warrior, Mages, and girl in green all stopped.

"Wait!" the stationed guard said. "Can you be...? Really? Please go see His Majesty at once!"

"Hold on a second!" the green girl said. "How did she know we have the crystals?"

The Black Mage whistled innocently, and they all turned to him and glared.

"What of us?" I asked.

"If you're with the crystal bearers then you're going too!" the stationed guard said.

A moment later, the six of us were forced through the front gate and into the castle.