Chapter 2: Madame Fortuna
1014 AD, Outskirts of Medina
Butterflies hovered over the cluster of white daisies, their wings shimmering like coins in the sun. Fingers of air raked through the plush long grass, stirring up the sweet scent of wildflowers.
Guile was walking along the meadow with Viktor and Ben. He wasn't focusing on the track; the surroundings were easily forgettable for him. He was pacing whilst imagining about the bandits Ben talked about earlier. If they suddenly sprang out of nowhere and pounced on them, there would be an exciting battle.
That thought spawned a mischievous grin on his face.
"Guile?"
That innocent-sounding call snapped him out of his daydream. It was Ben, whose face was rather contorted. Such expression showed a hint of fear within him.
"Anything I can help you with? You look terrified."
"You look s-scary with that smile," the boy answered.
"Oh." He paused. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare anybody!"
"If Guile smiles like that, it's normal because he's excited," Viktor butted in. "If he scowls, it means that he's upset. It isn't dangerous though." He paused. "But if he both screams and cries, beware!"
"He already looks creepy with that smile. I don't think I ever wanna see him scowling or both screaming and crying."
"Well?" Viktor looked at Guile.
"Uh, no, I am not that short-tempered. Only certain things can put me into that condition," Guile replied. He turned to Ben, who was breathing a sigh of relief. That was good, because he meant no malice to his friends.
"Maybe we can play a game to make the situation less uptight."
"Huh?" Ben shrugged. "No toys." He looked at the wild plants beneath him. "This place is just full of grass."
Looking away, Guile racked his brain for a fun idea. A large meadow was the best for a picnic, but nobody seemed to bring food… Wait! This was a vast meadow, right? Such location made a good place for physical activities like a sprint or even a marathon.
"A running competition should be fun," Guile suggested.
Everybody stopped walking.
Scanning the surroundings quickly, Viktor said, "This meadow is huge. It's really suitable for a marathon."
Frowning, Ben complained, "I'm not strong enough for that! I'm still a child!"
"If you want a sprint, um…" Viktor scratched his head. "You can never win. At least in a marathon, if you have good stamina, you have a chance to defeat Guile."
Ben stared at Viktor. "Grandpa, I've told you that I'm just a kid! I'm weak!" He paused. "I don't care about winning anyway, especially if Guile is my rival."
"No, no, no. No matter how strong your foe is, you must try your best," Guile spoke slowly and softly. "Besides, I like a worthy opponent."
"But I'm no match for you in power!"
Guile smiled. "Just try your best. As long as you enjoy the thrill of a competition, winning or losing doesn't matter at all."
"You really have to take Guile's words for competition and rivalry matters." Viktor chuckled. "Anyway, get ready for a sprint, boys!"
"Where should we stop, master?"
"Er…" Viktor rubbed his cheek with a finger. "Hmm, don't worry about that."
"Grandpa, how can there be a race without a proper finish line? You must be kidding!"
"I don't think we need any, Ben. Let's run as far as we can," Guile said. "Don't worry about winning or losing. We're just having fun."
"Guile is right, lad. Just do your best. You may have a chance to beat Guile in a race because there's no proper finish line." Viktor suddenly blushed. "Uh, I'm also counting on you, Guile!"
"Ben needs more encouragement than I do, master. It's fairer that way."
"Well, let's stop talking and start the race," Viktor replied. "On your mark."
Guile and Ben crouched, leaning forward and touching the grassy ground with their palms.
"Get set…"
Palms still touching the uneven land, Guile and Ben gradually moved into an upright position.
"Go!"
In a blink of an eye, Guile set off. The long grass blurred around him as his feet beat the earth quickly and steadily.
It was a good start for him indeed. Each step pushed him far off the land. If it had sent him higher into the air, one might have thought that he was flying. His long legs added to his running prowess as well. With them, he could cover an even larger distance.
However, there was an uncomfortable sensation creeping from one of his feet as he ran. He felt it, but he kept on running. He knew that it probably stemmed from the injury earlier, but there was no reason to stop running just to give a damn about it.
Five minutes had passed since he started running with Ben. His breath and heartbeat were growing faster and faster. His vision was blurring as well.
But those were not too bothersome for him. What eventually stopped him was that his legs ceased to function without giving any warning. There was no pain, but the muscles on the said limbs would budge no more.
He fell flat on his stomach abruptly, bringing about a grass-crunching thud as his body hit the ground.
Huffing, sweating, and palpitating, he placed his palms on the ground and pushed himself up. Unfortunately, his legs weren't cooperating with him, which led to his fall.
Guile had no idea about what caused this. His lower limbs seemed to be not very obedient. Or perhaps, they needed some rest?
A nap probably wouldn't hurt, he thought. Ben and Viktor should still be far behind him; they might take at least an hour to catch up with him. Besides, the grassland breeze was nice and cool. The invisible hands of air were caressing his face, which just strengthened his desire to sleep.
He rolled a little, enabling him to lie on his back. For him, this was a comfortable position to sleep.
Head on his hands, he closed his eyes and let the zephyr carry him off to the dreamland.
"Hey, son! Wake up!"
He kept sleeping.
"Wake up already!"
It was getting annoying as the voice grew louder.
"How long are you going to sleep there? We've caught up with you, boy!"
Caught up? Wait, could this mean that Ben and Viktor were around?
Those thoughts roused him. Opening his eyes, he spoke out loud in an instant, "Ah, I'm sorry! I was very tired earlier!"
The soft giggling of an old man and a child was the reply he received. Looking around, he found Viktor and Ben looming over his body.
Viktor smirked. "You thought we couldn't catch up?"
Rising to a sitting position, Guile nodded. His master was right.
"Getting cocky, aren't you, son?"
His master was neither correct nor incorrect this time. Sure, he slept because he was confident that Ben and Viktor would take a long time to catch up with him. However, there was another reason why he took a nap. He couldn't move his legs since he fell, while at the same time, the blowing wind was so fresh that it tempted him to doze.
"Heh." He chuckled. "A little cocky, Master."
"Now I know why I can beat Guile in a marathon." Ben laughed. "He can't run very far!"
"Correct."
"I wish I know how far we are from the start, grandpa."
"You wanna know how far we've gone?" Viktor asked. "Measuring from the time we needed to catch up with Guile, we had run for…" He looked at the sky, where the sun was shining at the center of the horizon. "…at least two hours. With a break or two in-between."
"Man, Guile is that fast?"
"If Guile hasn't been wearing that mask…" Viktor suddenly burst out laughing.
"Master?"
"Something funny, grandpa?"
Still laughing, Viktor replied, "The mask serves to drain the excess energy from Guile's body."
Guile raised an eyebrow. "Well, I find nothing amusing with that. You don't make any sense."
"Guile, if you don't wear that mask, you produce energy at absurd rate and will never get tired. You can reach Medina in minutes."
"Whoa, that's amazing, grandpa!" Ben butted in.
"Unfortunately, this makes him hungry even faster. Uh, his food portion is five times more than mine."
"A day?"
"He can eat up to six times a day with that portion."
"That's crazy! But he's pretty thin."
"His body system relies partly on burning fat to produce energy, so he can eat a lot without getting chubby."
Guile snorted. "Would you kindly stop talking about my food portion? I don't live to eat. I eat to live."
"Eh, you always hunt for your meal, so I won't complain," Viktor responded, rubbing the back of his neck.
A long pause.
"Anyway, are you going to continue running?"
"I think we'd better get serious and walk together to Medina now," Ben said. "Earlier, after Guile started running, I was a bit afraid of bandits."
"Why should you be afraid?" Guile asked in a friendly tone. "Master Viktor is a powerful wizard. He can easily fend off those bandits."
"But the bandits earlier brought knives with them. A wizard is physically weak, right?"
"What's the matter? A skillful wizard like me can keep the foes from getting too close with magic. Throwing knives? I can just cast something like a smokescreen."
Growing impatient, Guile asked, "Shall we go, Master?"
"Yes, let's go, boys."
Guile nodded as he began walking straightforward, with Viktor and Ben following his lead.
The grassland wind blew across his face as he moved ahead. Although the sun was at its peak, the breeze managed to keep his body cool. Traveling in such moment was rather enjoyable.
Well, it was going to be more enjoyable now! He spotted three shadowy figures further in front of him, beside which a bike-like silhouette stood. His instinct told him that they were the bandits Ben talked about. Those people had the bike that might be Ben's.
Without any hesitation or further thinking, he ran toward them and jumped up high into the air. Soon, gravity pushed him down. He had anticipated it by diving down with his left leg stretched out, ready to deliver a bone-smashing kick. It was only a matter of seconds until he landed and booted a man squarely on his face. The force of his kick knocked the said man down, dealing out a bloody nose and lips to the guy.
Landing on the grassy ground with both of his feet, he quickly scanned his surroundings. A brown-haired man was walking backward, trembling and gnashing his teeth together in fear. In front of him, a grey-haired woman was looking at him, seemingly startled as implied by her twitching eyebrows and gaping mouth.
"This can't be! Don't tell me that you're on this granny's side!"
"What a day. These bandits attacked me earlier and now, the infamous monster is here."
Guile only blinked. He couldn't apprehend what they meant, especially about the 'monster.' However, he figured out that he had better put that aside. It was the best to help the old lady by attacking the man now. There was no reason not to teach this dirty coward a lesson or two.
Hmm, poking fun at such person should be nice too. The bandit trembled upon seeing him, which made him think that finding out how this coward might react at his taunt should be exhilarating.
Smiling at the shivering man, Guile said, "Sir, fight me, not this ma'am."
There was no answer, save for the chattering of the bandit's teeth.
He pointed at the man's side, on which a small leather sheath rested. "You may use your weapon if you wish. I shall fight you bare-handed."
But still, there was no answer.
"Do you bandits always do cowardly things like robbing an old lady and a child?"
Guile's statement hit the mark. The bandit finally snapped, "Damn you! I'm not a coward!" He pulled out his knife. "I'm gonna prove you that I'm not that lame!"
"Very well."
He saw the dirk coming toward him very quickly. With an effortless lift of his legs, he sidestepped and dodged the bandit's knife.
Losing balance, the man hunched temporarily, but soon, he regained his composure. With an angry red-eyed glare, he elbowed Guile's gut before thrusting his knife…
Boo! It was another miss. Guile simply sidestepped, dodging the strike and sending the bandit off-balance.
Roaring furiously, the bandit thrust his knife rapidly and randomly. None of the attacks hit the mark though. Guile's movement was fluid like water. With some simple body-bending and sidesteps, he dodged all the strikes.
The foe seems to be weak and harmless, Guile thought. This should be a boring battle.
He turned away and shook his head. "You aren't worth fighting. Fighting you is like picking on an old lady."
Showing his back to a foe and taunting the said opponent? Such act was something silly indeed. Once a loud battle cry was audible, Guile could feel something strange on his back. He turned, only to see the bandit glaring at him with a knife plunged into Guile's back.
It was a very weak attack though. He only felt as if the bandit had just tickled him with a feather.
"At least you tried. " Smirking, he delivered a solid punch into the bandit's face. The impact knocked the man down, bringing about an audible snap as blood gushed out of his nose.
"No! I'm not going to continue this stupid fight!" the man said in a muffled voice. He then ran toward his other friend, who was still lying on the ground and unconscious. "Let's run!"
Guile watched the bandit hoisting the other man with both of his hands. Now, something interesting was happening. The bandit got into the shiny metallic bike with his fallen friend and paddled away rapidly.
Chasing them should be fun. They were riding Ben's bike, and there was nothing wrong with retrieving it for the newspaper boy. Even if it weren't Ben's bicycle because the kid had never given the specifics about the vehicle, stopping these bad guys wouldn't hurt. They needed to retire from preying on the weak.
In a flash, Guile set off, leaving a trail of smoke behind. It didn't take too long to catch up with the escaping bandits. In less than a minute, he was already running in front of the bike.
He braked and turned, emitting a loud screech as his legs scraped against the grassy ground. The terrified face of the bandit was now visible to him. A panic-stricken shout too, was audible.
Quickly, he sprang into the air and let gravity push him down. He smashed his elbow into the rider of the bike, knocking everybody off the vehicle.
As he was about to hit the ground face first, he rose to the air fast like how a bird began flying. Once he had properly positioned his legs for a touchdown, he landed on the grassy ground with both of his feet.
Knowing that he had just knocked the bandits down, he turned. The two men were sprawled on the earth, unconscious while bleeding out from their heads. Behind them, a bike was lying still like a slumbering man. Some scratches were visible on its body, but it didn't seem to have any broken parts.
He walked past the comatose men and stopped before the bicycle. Hunching and grunting, he reached out his hands to lift the vehicle. This should be heavy, as hinted by the metallic exterior.
No, the bike was rather light indeed. With both of his hands, Guile managed to lift it. The weight did slow him down as he tried to walk back to where the old lady was, but still, it wasn't as heavy as he thought earlier.
A two-minute walk was what he needed to reunite with that grandma…along with Viktor and Ben, who were already there now. All of them were looking at him, which could be a sign that they were waiting for him.
"The bandits are out cold now," he said, putting down the bicycle before looking at Ben. "Is this your bike?"
"Yes," Ben answered, getting on the metallic vehicle. "Thanks a lot, Guile!"
Guile nodded with a friendly smile on his face. Helping out a friend felt good.
"Oh gosh, Guile!" Viktor exclaimed, walking past Guile. "You've got a knife on your back!"
Guile's response was a confused 'huh.' A knife? It didn't matter too much, but the poking sensation it generated was just a little irritating.
"I know about your insensitivity to pain, but it's a bad idea to walk around with this!" Viktor pulled the dirk out of Guile back and threw it away. "Remember infection and blood loss, son! You aren't safe from them!" Glaring at the open wound, he said, "I'll heal you." He touched Guile's bleeding backside with both of his hands. "Heal!"
Soothing warmth crawled from his back to his entire body, trumping the uncomfortable feeling on his wound.
Turning his head, Guile saw his master retracting his arms. The wound on his back was already gone, although dried blood was still on the flesh and the torn cloth around it.
"Feeling better, son?"
Guile nodded.
"By the way, you can still carry that bike while wearing the mask?"
"Yes, it wasn't as heavy as I thought."
"Really?" Viktor looked at the bicycle like a scientist observing a small organism.
Glaring at Viktor, Ben snapped, "Of course this bike is light! A kid like me can't ride a heavy one!"
"There's something interesting with the material, lad," Viktor commented calmly. "It's made of titanium."
"Something is wrong with that?" Ben asked in a challenging tone.
"Er, nothing really. Titanium is expensive, so I'm a bit surprised that you can have something made of that metal."
"Bah, I use the money I get from my job! And shut up, old man!"
"Hey, calm down, lad. I'm just wondering, okay?"
Ben only let out an exasperated sigh.
Noticing Ben's sudden change of nature, Guile raised an eyebrow. It was weird to know that the usually docile newspaper boy didn't like people talking about his bike. Something just didn't feel right this way.
But after all, Ben was just a kid. One shouldn't be suspicious on an innocent child. Perhaps getting this bicycle wasn't a pleasant experience, so this boy didn't like talking about it.
"You guys are a bunch of weirdos," the old lady commented flatly, before turning to Guile. "Especially you. You're notorious, yet you help me."
Guile blinked. However, before he could understand what she had said, he could feel someone yanking his right hand. It was that granny, whose focus was now his palm.
"Hmm…"
"Ma'am?"
The old woman let go of his right hand and pulled the other one toward her face.
Guile didn't even understand what this grandma was doing. Did one's palms have anything special behind them?
Soon, the granny released his hand and stared directly into his eyes.
Leaning back with reddened cheeks and widened eyes, he stammered, "Ma'am, w-why are you l-looking at me like that?"
The old lady kept silent, but soon, she closed his eyes and spoke up with a smile. "You're interesting. Turn out that you don't deserve to be called a monster."
Eyebrows twitching, Guile asked, "Ma'am, what do you mean with this?"
"I read you," she replied calmly. "You're notorious for something that I can't find in this read, but you're actually more innocent and kind-hearted than one can imagine."
Hearing that, he couldn't help but gawk. His mouth was ajar, but no words came out from it.
"Oh, looks like you're a fortuneteller, ma'am," Viktor chimed in.
"Yes, I am," the old lady said. "I'm known as Madame Fortuna the fortuneteller. Just call me ma'am or Fortuna."
"A fortuneteller, huh?" Guile wondered out loud. He suddenly thought of an idea to poke the fun out of this granny. "What else did you get from looking at me?"
"Oh, a very interesting one. You look human outside, but you're so chaotic inside," Fortuna answered. "Under your skin, you are a patchwork of metal, magic, and animals' muscles."
Guile grinned. "That's right. I was just testing you."
"You're amazing, Fortuna!" Viktor praised.
Fortuna chuckled. "Heh, I've been working as a fortuneteller for many years, so I have a lot of experience. Doesn't mean I can read through everything though."
There was a long pause, before Guile began, "Ma'am, may I know why are those bandits after you?"
"Oh, those guys." Fortuna chortled. "They're real cowards. They only rob children and elders. It's ironic that they don't like being called 'cowards.'"
"Ah, no wonder why that newspaper boy lost his bike earlier." Viktor turned to look at Ben, but the boy was nowhere to be found. "Lad? Where are you?"
"Master, there's something suspicious with Ben," Guile said softly. "He suddenly changed when you commented about his bike. Now, he left without saying anything."
"You can't be serious!" Viktor yelled. "He's just a kid!"
"Sir, sometimes people are deeper than you think," Fortuna commented.
"This…can't…be!"
"I thought it should've been better if you had read that boy, ma'am."
"Too bad I didn't."
"Hmm, I think we can forget about it for now." Guile closed his eyes and smirked, rubbing his stomach with a hand. The chase earlier had made him hungry.
A man's voice came, "Hungry, huh?"
Guile turned to see Viktor, who appeared to have recovered from the shock earlier. His master's frown had disappeared; a smile was now on his wrinkled face instead.
"Master?"
"I don't bring food, so we'd better eat at Medina."
"Oh, no, you can't!" Fortuna said. "This hungry man-"
Viktor interrupted, "Like what you've learned from 'reading' him, his interior is very different from-"
"I know, I know." Fortuna paused. "People at Medina won't welcome him because of his reputation. He had been branded as 'monster' since Magic Guild was destroyed."
"Then let's just convince those people that he isn't evil! That isn't his fault, really!"
"It won't be easy."
With his hands in the pocket of his trousers, Guile turned away. "I don't even know what actually I've done to the point I'm that notorious."
Viktor patted Guile's back. "Don't worry, son. Let's forget about that for now."
"You two still wanna go to Medina?" Fortuna suddenly interrupted, changing the entire topic of the conversation.
Guile and Viktor nodded.
"Let's go together then," Fortuna replied. "I have an appointment with the blacksmith there."
"Blacksmith? That sounds good. I can fix Guile's foot there."
"Reputation, sir, reputation."
Guile growled, "Quit talking about my false notoriety!" With a look of fierce determination on his face, he cracked his fists. "I never have any malicious intent toward people!"
"The best thing we can do is providing a proof, son. Let's head to Medina now and show the people that you're a good boy."