"WAIT, LISTEN, I CAN EXPLAIN!" Frederick frantically tried to explain. However, he was quickly silenced when Katya glared at him with viciousness in her eyes.
"Katya," Tydus looked at the two of them, "Before we take him in, let's see what she has to say about this whole situation." He reached down into the chest and gently shook her awake.
"Hmm?" The young lady slowly opened her green eyes while brushing her raven black hair out of her face before she looked up at Tydus, "WHO ARE YOU!?" She sat up quickly, slamming her head into Tydus's chin.
"Calm down," Tydus spoke up after falling backward while rubbing his chin, "Me and Katya over there are magic knights helping escort this man here." He gestured to the other two while conversing with her.
"Oh, okay," She looked over at Frederick, "FREDDIE!" she jumped out of the chest and wrapped her arms around his neck. Katya and Tydus just looked at this in awe, wholly caught off guard by the situation.
"Amber!" Frederick began almost crying into her shoulder as he pulled her tight into a hug, "I'm so sorry I had to do that, but it was the only way to get you out without being spotted." he looked off to the side, not wanting to make eye contact with her.
"It's okay," Amber gently placed her hand on the side of his face to make him look at her. "I fully understand."
"Umm, sorry to interrupt," Katya raised her hand to get their attention. "But uuhhh, what is happening here?" she asked while Tydus just stood there, still confused by what had just transpired.
"My apologies, but I was going to explain when we got to Halthir," Frederick began to explain. "Amber here belongs to a noble family, we met one day when she was wandering the marketplace, and well, it was more or less love at first sight." He rubbed the back of his neck like he was embarrassed.
"That's a sweet story," Tydus commented. "That doesn't explain why she was in a chest in the back of your wagon, though."
"You see," Amber spoke up while holding Frederick's arm. "My father had promised my hand in marriage to a royal to raise his social standing. One day, Frederick and I were walking around the marketplace together when he saw us. He grabbed my arm and pulled me away, shouting about how I shouldn't be seen with a commoner like him, and kept rambling on and on about how my duty was to marry into a wealthier family to improve our social standing."
"So, you two came up with this plan to smuggle her out of the city so you two could live in your village, right?" Katya sighed as she came up with what she thought was the correct answer.
"Mhm." Amber nodded, letting Katya know that she was right on the money.
"And to make sure that you guys got back safely in case he hired someone to bring you back, you hired some magic knights." Tydus said, finally putting the pieces together, "And that's why you wanted us to wear these cloaks so word of you guys asking for magic knights wouldn't get back to a noble who would try to stop us from helping you, right?"
"More or less." Frederick sheepishly answered, "Soooooo, you guys aren't going to arrest me, right?" The two magic knights looked between each other.
"Well, she willingly climbed into the chest, right?" Tydus inquired.
"Yes, I did," Amber replied confidently.
"Then you're good," Tydus chuckled. "You didn't kidnap her, so as far as the eyes of the law go, you are in the clear." The two lovers let out a sigh of relief.
"So, what do we do know?" Katya looked at her superior, "Those bandits ran off surprisingly easily. From their magic, they seemed rather powerful for ordinary highwaymen."
"You're right." Tydus began thinking for a moment, "Odds are there's gonna be a trap laid further on our path we should be prepared for anything." He explained to the rest of them.
"So, in other words, let's get moving," Katya looked over at Frederick. "Oh, and as for her, don't make her get back in the chest, or I will beat you within an inch of your life."
"Of course!" Frederick replied, clearly scared of the magic knight standing before him. The group then continued on the journey with Tydus and Amber in the back of the wagon with Katya and Frederick upfront. The trip went by rather uneventfully, with the four exchanging minor chit-chat along the way. Around nightfall, they had come up over a large hill. "Looks like we're almost there." Frederick proclaimed as they crested the hill that overlooked the village of Halthir.
"Hold on," Tydus had Frederick stop the carriage. "We should proceed carefully."
"Why?" Frederick looked at the vice-captain. "The village is right there. We're basically home free!"
"Tydus is right," Katya stood up and got down from the carriage. "We haven't seen the bandits since that first encounter, for all we know, they took control of the village and are waiting for us down there." These words scared both Frederick and Amber, but they gulped down their fears and nodded in agreement.
"So, what do we do?" Frederick looked down at his home. Despite still holding on to the reigns, his hands were shaking violently.
"Unfortunately, there isn't much to do," Tydus walked to the front of the carriage and looked down at the village. "Without knowing their true numbers and whether or not there is a trap, we can't set up any countermeasures."
"We can't go in with pure force either since that would put the town and its people in danger," Katya added. "So, our only option is to go down there and watch our backs."
"I have a plan, c'mere Katya," Tydus led Katya a little further away from the others to explain his idea in detail.
After Tydus finished explaining his plan, he went on his own path towards the far end of the village as the other three went down the road into the town. Once they entered the village, a feeling of dread washed over them. The only sound that cut through the deafening silence was the creaking of wheels on the carriage.
"I don't understand," Frederick's voice was shaky from being nervous. "There should at least be someone out here…."
"I don't like the look of this." Katya grits her teeth while looking around. Soon the carriage reached the town square and came to a stop. Katya got off the carriage while Frederick dispelled the ox he had created. It almost seemed like this was a ghost town despite what Frederick said. "What is going-" Suddenly, she was cut off when four blasts of wind struck her, simultaneously sending her rocketing into a nearby building.
"Wind magic: fists of the four winds," a voice had spoken up from what was the mayor's home. "So, you finally got here. It took you long enough." A tall thin man had walked out from the mayor's house with a shorter, more portly yet better-dressed man by his side. "C'mon out, everyone! It's time to greet our guests of honor!" Suddenly, around forty other bandits had come out of the shadows and the buildings surrounding the square. Frederick had pulled Amber closer to him while the two looked at all the bandits with fear in their eyes.
"Come now, Amber," The portly man had spoken up. "Come home with me, and all will be forgiven." He spoke as he stepped just past the man who was clearly the bandit leader.
"No…" Amber's voice fell quiet as she looked at her father. "Father, why are you here!?"
"Well, I could ask you the same question," Her father snickered. "When you so selfishly ran away from the estate, I hired these ruffians to find you, and once they did, I came out to this pathetic town to bring you home. After all, you have a wedding to plan. So be a good girl and do what is expected of you! Or this town and the loathsome peasants will suffer the consequences of your insubordination!" At that, something had triggered inside of Katya, who was just now working her way to her feet.
"NO!" Amber shouted, "I don't want to him! That Gaius Kira is self-righteous, arrogant, ASSHOLE! Frederick here is a genuinely kind person who works hard every day! I don't want a destiny that was planned for me, and that isn't my own choice! I don't care about your approval!"
"Wait," The bandit leader looked at her father. "Did she say, Kira? As in the ruling family?"
"Damn," Her father glared at the bandit. "Who she is marrying doesn't matter to you, Maecen; your job was to find her and bring her home plain and simple."
"However," neither her father nor the bandit were paying attention to them anymore. "If we knew that you were planning to marry royalty like that, we would've charged double the amount we did. So, now that we were made aware of this information, the terms of our agreement have changed!" Maecen then sucker-punched Amber's father.
"FATHER!" Amber began ruining towards her father until one of the bandits had tackled her to the ground. Before Frederick could move, one of the other bandits cast a binding spell on him holding him to the ground with quicksand.
"WHA- NO! AMBER!" He struggled against his bindings to no avail. Almost in unison, the bandits started cackling.
"So," Maecen grabbed Amber's father by his hair so he could see his face. "Double the price we agreed upon for your girl, or… we talk it out of her right here right now."
"Get away from her!" Katya had finally gotten to her feet and coughed up blood into her hand. "That girl is stronger than all of us! Especially me…" She declared with that last part being no more than a whisper to herself. "The will and desire to deny the path chosen for someone takes a stronger will than most people have. I realize this now; I'm not going to lie when they first told me what their plan was and why she was in a chest of all things I thought them crazy!" Upon hearing the chest part, everyone looked between each other confused, and Frederick just blushed. "But now I see, they fought against what was planned for them, against a destiny that neither of them desired, and THAT is what takes true strength."
"How dare you talk back to me, girl!" a voice rang through Katya's head. "Why were you born a woman? I wanted a son! You might not be what I desired, but you will still bring honor to the house of Ruina." Katya shook her head, trying to get the voice out.
"I know what it's like to not live up to someone's expectations," Suddenly, Katya's grimoire began glowing a dark tan as it flipped to a blank page upon which writing started to appear. "BUT NO MORE! Earth creation magic: tectonic impact bullets!" appearing around her, many large rock bullets began launching themselves towards the bandits, striking them with enough force to send them flying. With that one move, Katya had cut their numbers in half and freed Frederick and Amber.
"What the hell!" Maecen was shocked by what had just occurred. "Who the hell are you, girl!"
"I am Katya Ruina," She declared while removing the cloak and revealing her magic knights' robe. "Member of the Alabaster Foxes!"
"Am I late to the party?" a voice called out from the other side of the square. "I hope you left me a few to play with." On the opposite side of the square from Katya, Tydus was approaching, missing the cloak he was given and with his grimoire floating in front of him with a dark blue glow surrounding it.
"Vice-captain!" Katya called out with relief that she didn't have to fight them all by herself.
"And who in the actual hell is this now! Wind magic: fist of the four winds!" Maecen fired four blasts of pure wind went streaking towards the vice-captain with astounding speed.
"Tarot creation magic: king of pentacles." a large dark blue coin adorned with a six-pointed star manifested in front of Tydus and blocked the attack with seemingly no effort.
"Whoa," Katya had never really seen the Vice-captain in combat before. "That's the attack that laid me out flat. And he blocked it without breaking a sweat!"
"Try again." Tydus looked at the bandit leader while the coin dissipated. "Do you have another spell you would like to try?"
Alright, so chapter 3 is done! I hope you all enjoyed that, I'm still kinda new to writing combat scenes so hopefully, that wasn't too bogged down with detail. Chapter 4 should be up next week, see you then!