Chapter 18: The Largest Kingdom of Ishgar
I know what you're thinking.
A pair of barely teen vulnerable kids, going to who knows where without adult supervision and proper guidance is the most idiotic and impulsive thing I had done in my entire life and could risk the life of me and Lucy if anything goes wrong.
Oddly enough, at the moment I don't seem to care.
Once the humming and rumbling of the ship had ceased and I double checked the coordinates. I turned to Lucy and tried to supply where we are only to get kick in the face.
Damn, Lucy Kick does hurt.
"You Bumbling Idiotic Maniac, you could have warn me of that first! Or at least check if we're safe riding your stupid ship!"
"Hey! First of all, don't call TORRI stupid, that's uncalled for! Second, off course I make sure he's safe. I wasn't going to risk both of us getting hurt. Who do you take me for Lucy?"
She was silent and was lookin abashed before decided to asked "Then why did you say that?"
A blow out the blood that was dripping from my nose and a sheepish grin made its way on my lips, "Honestly, I just want to mess with you."
The second kick she gave didn't hurt any less.
Moving on, I made my way to the door at the same time as Lucy. She was giddy as me and was almost jumping in excitement.
"Lucy outside this door is a whole new world we never seen before. Are you ready for this?"
"No," she said grinning.
Despite that, I pushed the door opened and we were welcomed by the scent of fresh baked cookies and bread that overwhelmed our scent. The crowded street of a town with local clothes that had foreign designs, similar to a clothing with Batik design in my Past Life only, almost everyone was wearing it so they have more appreciation in their own culture. The air itself seemed to feel different against our skin.
Everything looked familiar and foreign at the same time.
I looked around where we were parked and found that we were in an alleyway, just out of side that people won't glanced twice unless they try to search for something underneath the shadow.
"So, where are we Captain?"
I looked down with a raised eyebrow on her, "Captain?"
"Y'now, you being the captain of your ship and all...I thought it's a good nickname."
I ran the title around my head and a shit-eating grin split across my face. Since I stole the TARDIS idea, might as well milk the opportunity have my own title.
I thought about it a bit more before asking Lucy to wait a bit, ran back inside before reappearing back with a headband that ran my bangs aside, showing my awesome scar and a pair of glasses. It was a look I wore when I was in college.
I then used her confusion to pull her ribbon from her side ponytail and make one ponytail with her whole hair.
"Since we're here to forget ourselves. Might as well we changed our looks."
"So...do we have to call each other with nicknames while we're here then?"
I shrugged, "Why not? How about as long as I show off my scar and glasses and make it a sign that you could only call me Cap or Captain."
Lucy eagerly agreed, "Captain and Goldilocks, sounds catchy enough."
I grinned brighter at her, "I knew that you'll get attached to it."
She blushed and lightly punched my arm.
I snickered despite myself and made an open arm gesture, "I welcome you my Goldilocks, to the Pegrande Kingdom's grand city, Sula."
Lucy gasped, "You're kidding me!"
"Nope."
"But that's thousands of miles away from Fiore."
"Yup."
"And we were at your mansion 10 minutes ago."
"Yup."
Lucy squealed as she hug me, and I wrapped my arm around her in respond as we laughed silly after doing even by magic standard was impossible or unthinkable at least.
"Where do we go from here?" Lucy asked again.
"Becoming one with the people I guess. Wear their clothes, learned their livelihood, try out their foods, haggled some stuff, explore the culture together." I wiggled my arm and she accepted my offer. Hand in hand, we rushed through the streets just like a normal pair of kids would when they go out to play.
It was nothing like those times with my past life's family when we went to Europe and had tour guides, internet, and tourism map to guide us along the journey. Everything is all you here, you find the food specialty by words of mouth, we haggled prices for identical clothes on our own, we remembered signs that help guide our way back and where we are, you converse with more new people and it was fun getting to know the locals yourself.
Off course there were a few unpleasant people around us, but after that one guy trying to coax Lucy saying her mother was looking for her and got his jaw break from yours truly. The word spread that we were not to be messed around with.
Just when things can't get any better, we had our interest piqued when a merchant told us about the main tourist attraction in the whole Pegrande's Kingdom.
The Ruins of Dragnof Kingdom.
Apparently, the Sula is the neighbor city right next to the ruins of what was once the great Dragnof Kingdom with their own version of Great Wall still intact surrounding the city. It's been rebuilt as what they called 'The Inner City' - not sure what that meant - but mostly around 60% of the ruin is still untouched and preserved in memory of when Dragons still live among us together with humans in harmony before the Dragon Festival that devastated both sides.
While I mentally noted the important parts, because this is all new information for me. Definitely coming back someday and dig more information, but this is a reprieve for me. I'm here to enjoy myself not to worry about future events. Lucy seemed to gobled up the information to her head. Committing everything into her memory as the dark skinned merchant explain the rich culture of her country.
You would think that we could have passed the day off without any trouble.
Hahahahahahah, I wished. Haven't you read my life story yet? It's chock full of trouble or else I wouldn't bother telling.
It had been when we had our hands full of bags from various shops that I decided to keep them in my notebook. Using my runes to save space. The moment I did that, everyone paused and watched wide eyes at me. Like...figuratively everyone turned statue. All around, white round eyes looking carefully at me.
Lucy leaned closer at me and grasped my hand in response ready to run, hand in hand, if anything went south. Instead, they all bowed. No, not bowed, they were on their knees. Which was shocking, very shocking indeed. They all looked up at us as if we were deities, the awe on their faces was not mistaken to both of us and suddenly being praised for doing nothing really unnerves us.
Realizing they won't move unless we do, I tried using my current position to gather information.
"Uh, you...uh, Woman! Tell me why we are being...uh, being...you know what? I'm not good at this. Can somebody just tell us what the Freaking Gilgamesh is going on?!"
Thankfully, someone did began explaining it to us. A woman named Sylvia. She introduced us as a mother who happened to pass us by and expected a quiet evening on her trip. Her three children was kneeling beside her and gave us two a toothy smile but was quickly reprimanded by the man beside her to not lock eyes with me without permission.
"Hey!" I called out the man, making him steeled himself in fear and I winced at the effect I made. "If they want to smile, let them smile. As long as no harm done, there's nothing wrong in doing it."
"I'm sorry, I meant no harm."
"Off course not, I only speak of my opinion anyway. Doesn't make my word law."
People seemed to gasped at those words but I paid no heed and returned my attention to Sylvia. The woman still patiently waited for her to speak.
"Our countries only has the Royal Lineage and the Chosen Ones are those who are bestowed by the gift of magic. And it is of great honor to be given of great gift to heighten their status in our country."
My only reaction was a blank face and a mental 'Whaaaaaat?'
There were more to what she said but apparently while I was trying to grasp what she was saying, Lucy caught on quickly what she had meant. Long story short, Mages are only those who are born in royals or nobility. Commoners who had been - as they say - bestowed the gift of magic will be elevated as people of High Society who either becomes Knights, Priests, or Married to Nobles. No choice involved apparently.
So short story to shorter story, it's a classic crook system of monopolizing the mages and controlling the people of power.
I wanted to laugh such system exist in the most gigantic kingdom in Ishgar. What a joke of a system this is.
Before I could spout anything that may resulted in me getting thrown in jail (but being a child, I'll most likely be pardon) a sudden group of people gasped and made both me and Lucy turn heads.
Who we saw turned out to be the people I suspect from the High Society Class we heard so much about. I whispered to Lucy about 'Smiling' and she knew what I meant. It's the kind of smile all noble or rich people learn to do. It's Smile#3; the 'I'm-sick-of-you-but-I-smile-anyway smile.'
There were three people standing before us. First there was the most gaudy man between the three. He was wearing something akin to a black kimono with red and gold leaf theme to its clothing. It looked bigger than normal kimono and hit the ground and looked unconcern it was drag. It wore a kind of royalty I vaguely remember chinese royalty wore since they also have those little curtain things hanging from his hat that partially covered his face. He also had dark blue eye shadow, had he wore white make up and a lipstick, I would have reason to call him a Clown Face.
His two guards on the other hand were both wearing a cross clothing between a dark green kimono and a knight armor. One had a sword tuck on his hip, the other had a bo staff on his back. They both have metal helmets that covered their eyes and their faces showed they have white makeup covering their faces instead. One has a teardrop mark on his right cheek, and the guard on the right side from me has a white skull mark on his left cheek.
So the clown faces are the guards instead.
The Gaudy One smiled warmly at me, and if it's possible gave me red flags. "Children of Etharno, we heard of your arrival and came quickly as we could. For you to go unnoticed for so long, we apologized for neglecting you so," he apologized with great regret in his voice, I was sure he was genuine in his sentiment. Or he was just that good of an actor, I couldn't tell.
The man then looked back at Sylvia, who had been standing upright since explaining about the social order of this kingdom was, and narrowed his eyes.
"Who allowed this Woman to stand?"
Sylvia seemed to realized what she had done and immediately went back to kneeling, but the damage was done. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I was just explaining this children of our ways they seemed oblivious about and-"
Her response seemed to make him even more livid, his gaze hardened, his face flushed from anger, "How DARE you talked back at me! Guards, seized this Heretic!"
""What?!"" both Lucy and me exclaimed. Yet we were ignored as one of the knights took her hand roughly, Sylvia had tears in her eyes, kept shaking her head, her pleading desperate was deaf to him and the people around as they kept their heads down to avoid looking at the heartbreaking scene where the children began to screamed for their mother but had to watch their mother taken away in the end.
I was too shell shocked and confused from the development that made me speechless, I looked back at Mr. Gaudy and he looked like he had only just swat a disgusting fly off his hand.
"Stop that! She hasn't done anything wrong to anyone!" I protested.
"Off course she did, she tried standing as equal with a Mage. It's only fair if she were to be punished."
"Fair?!" Lucy cried, "How is convicting an innocent woman fair?"
The man looked back down at us, his gaze soften and the warmth was back. Like he was looking at innocent child who doesn't understand what the real world is truly like. "It needs reminding that we are not their equal, someday you'll learn that. Come with us to the Inner City and I'll show you what being a Mage is all about."
His voice was compassionate and soothing that if I hadn't seen what he had done I would have no problem taken it and give him the benefit of the doubt.
Sadly that's not the case here. So I slapped his hand away and both of us gave him a matching glare to him.
"Yeah, here's the thing Gaudy Man. We're not from around here so we have no problem not following your crummy stick in the butt rules. Second, we don't like you. Third...what's third Goldilocks?"
"That you are a Mean Donkey!"
I had to held back laughing from Lucy's attempt in insults, "Yes, a mean donkey. Meaning you are not just an idiot, but a hateful idiot. So, here's what going to happened. You're going to leave us alone and leave us as we make our way back home. And you're going to release that woman or you'll regret ever making contact with us and cursed the name Captain and Goldilocks."
"...my nickname is really starting to sound unimpressive."
"Not going to change it," I sing-songed.
At this point, Gaudy is fuming and was doing really hard not to wring my neck if his white knuckles showed anything of his emotion. I looked around and found the whole crowd was gasping at me, some were even holding back a laugh.
"And what," he almost spat the word, "are you going to do if I don't comply to this demand after the blatant disrespect you made?"
"Oh disappear I suppose."
Sadly, I couldn't see his face after I took Lucy's hand and teleport back to TORRI.
"What are we going to do with Sylvia?" Lucy asked immediately.
I closed my eyes in thought, silence, then turned to look at her with a manic grin. Oh, I can see why the Doctor always has that grin. These crazy ideas really gives you the rush of your life!
"Lucy fancy of doing a prison break with me?"