They were up by dawn, it was still cold out and the streets were bare, Alfred shivered as he passed through the doors of the cottage he stayed in and stood at the head of the steps outside. He wrapped a scarf around his neck and pulled his jacket close, he breathed out and watched as his breath became a tiny cloud of smoke in front of him. This is where they first formed the resistance, he thought, that dreadful afternoon when the mages came, they ran for shelter and found Yao here in this small cottage near the woods. It was vivid in his memory, seeing their village slowly fall into destruction beyond a window in one of the rooms in the cottage.
He remembered how useless he felt, it angered him, frustrated him, he couldn't just let innocent people get hurt like that! And the others felt the same too "You ready to go?" He looked at his side as Matthew walked next to him, he adjusted the bag he carried and pushed his glasses back up. Alfred closed the door behind them and picked up the other bags at it's front "Yeah, good to go, where's the other two?"
"We'll meet up with them at the wood's entrance, come on" Matthew went ahead, he descended down the path ahead and soon disappeared from sight. Alfred frowned, he hasn't seen his brother that tense before, with one last look at the village in the distance he followed after Matthew and disappeared in the dark of the path. Even though it was dawn, darkness still surrounded the woods, Alfred lit up a torch and waved it around to see where he was exactly. The woods stretched on as far as the eye can see, the sun was slowly rising in the horizon but the woods remained dark, the path he was on was rough and rocky, bringing a carriage would have been bad around here, the trees up ahead curved down into an arch, almost like a bridge.
"Freaky" he commented, reaching up to break off a twig from a nearby tree "Don't" He stopped short when Matthew spoke up, holding a torch of his own, he had a stern look on his face that Alfred still wasn't used to seeing "The spirits won't like it if you do that" Alfred tensed 'Spirits?!' He calmed himself down, there can't be spirits around here "Aw come on Matt, don't scare me like that! It's not funny!" Matthew simply smiled and walked on. Alfred huffed and glanced back at the branch he was about to break off, he shuddered and walked faster so he was near his brother at least.
He never believed in spirits, it just wasn't possible! Okay so maybe he didn't believe in magical creatures back then either, but that was before a unicorn sucker punched him with it's hind legs. By the way, no one even believed him when he said he saw a unicorn, they may be magical creatures but they're still rare and considered as a myth, funny how that goes when they live in a world where faeries and goblins dance the tango.
They neared a path intersection, a wooden sign stationed in between it. Alfred saw Gilbert and Yao just waiting for them there-well at least Yao was- Gilbert was sleeping under the sign "Good morning aru" Yao greeted in a sleepy tone, he lifted a little cup to his lips and drank it's contents "Yeah, mornin' Yao, hey is that coffee?" Alfred asked, eying the cup. Matthew pushed him aside to get to Gilbert "Hey! Get up" Gilbert snored loudly in response, Matthew sighed and looked at Yao "Is that hot?" Yao nodded, handing him the cup he held, Alfred whined.
Matthew turned to Gilbert again, kicking him lightly but he still didn't wake up "Have it your way Beilschmidt" He tipped the cup over the sleeping man's head, Gilbert snapped his eyes open and jumped up with a yelp, he ran around in frantic manner until he caught sight of a puddle and unceremoniously dumped himself on it, steam rising from his body "WHAT THE HELL?!" Once he cooled down he stood back up and glared at the new comers, especially Matthew "You don't just dump a cup of…of-"
"Jie tea"
"-Whatever he said, on me!" Matthew gave Yao back his cup and brushed off Gilbert's complaint "Alright, now that everyone's here we just need to carry out the plan. And Al, please try not to make any commotion" Alfred gaped at his brother, had he just hinted what he thinks he just hinted? "Ouch Matt, can't trust me?" Gilbert ignored all of them and took off his shirt so it could dry off, cold be damned he wouldn't let some low grade tea touch his awesome torso. Yao packed up his things and tossed Gilbert his bag, blinking once when he saw the other man bare-chested but soon shrugged it off as a normal occurrence.
He prepared his medicine just in case, Gilbert may be a good fighter but if it's concerning his health, it's another area "Are we going now aru? Or are we going to stand here and argue?" He wasn't so appreciative about the plan of going near a dragon's keep, especially so early in the morning. But he expecting this kind of thing ever since he agreed to join the resistance "Whatever let's just go guys" Alfred was the first to set off to the left path, where the sign pointed to Avia/The dragon's keep, the others followed after him after a few short glances at each other.
They traveled in relative silence, most of them weren't really morning people, Gilbert of course was still brooding over the fact that he lost his Gilbird somewhere around here, that little guy's been with him before he even knew he was there. Yao was looking down on something in his hand, he swiftly shut it closed with a click and stuffed it back into his pocket, he glanced around the forest, noting that a little bit of sunshine was starting to enter through the thick woods. They sky still had a tinge of blue and specks of light dotted on it, but there were warm splashes of orange and a bright yellow starting to consume the once dark sky, but the cold still stayed.
The tall trees loomed over the travelers, they started to uncurl and straighten up again, it was always unsettling to see the trees do that, it's just not natural. There was also the occasional woodland creature scampering nearby, one was a rabbit who quickly ran away once it caught sight of them "Hihihihi" Alfred stopped abruptly causing Matthew, who was reading the map at that time, to bump into him followed by Gilbert, Yao had jumped out of the way just in time "Al? what happened?" Matthew pushed his glasses back up and looked over his brother's shoulder. Alfred on the other hand was looking around.
"Didn't you hear that? Someone was giggling or something" Gilbert rolled his eyes "That's it? 'Someone's giggling'?" He walked in front of them and looked around, shrugged then walked ahead. Matthew sighed and squeezed his brother's shoulder "You're probably just sleep deprived and you just started hearing things, it's not my fault you scared yourself with those ghost stories" He walked past his brother and joined Gilbert up ahead. Yao stopped beside Alfred and shook his head "Aiyah, you should really stop smelling my unmixed medicine Alfred" Was all he said before also walking ahead of him.
Alfred watched them disbelievingly, he looked around again, determined to find the source of the laughter. He could have missed the small flash of blue light if he hadn't looked behind him again, he clamped a hand over his mouth to stop anything from coming out, his eyes widened at the little figure flying in front of him, a faint blue glow surrounding her little body. She wore a blue dress that had resemblance to a blue bell with little shiny ribbons decorating it's sides, a dark blue chiffon fabric, longer than her dress, tailed behind her. Her hair was a dark brown tied into two pigtails but with red ribbons contrasting to her dress, the wings on her back were transparent and had spiraling patterns on them, making it seem as though someone had drawn them there "Hi~" She cooed. Alfred swallowed and looked behind him, his group was already in the distance "Uh..h-hey"
She giggled in a little high pitched tone and flew around his head before stopping just in between his eyes "Are you a mage?" She asked "No, not a mage but are you….?" She nodded enthusiastically and flew back so he wouldn't cross his eyes just to look at her "A fairy! Yes! I saw you come through the arch trees and I thought I could go observe you in your quest" She explained in a manner where you could actually detect some pride "But you do know that you're going near the dragon's keep right? It's dangerous there!" Alfred didn't know how to respond. He's never talked to a fairy before, especially up close, he usually only sees them flounce around in the forest then quickly disappear as they came "Yeah but we need to get to Avia, do you know what's happening there?"
She shook her head "No, I don't think there's anything interesting there, and the humans there barely sing and dance as much as your village does…" She crossed her arms and pouted "They're no fun…" Alfred smiled at her and chuckled lightly, all those stories of faeries being troublemaking and scary must have been a lie, and now he's sure of it "Well how about you come along with us? You know how this forest works right? You'd be helping us a lot" The fairy's eyes widened, she hesitantly flew back a little, fear crossing her features "I-I can't, the dragon…he's very aggressive, and I don't like him" She spat out with much distaste "I can't stand being around him, I'm sorry but I can't go with you. I would've wanted to help you if you weren't going to cross the keep"
Alfred frowned and looked behind him again, the others were already gone, he sighed and looked back at the fairy "I see, it's okay. I guess it was a long shot from the start huh?" The fairy faltered, seeing Alfred's crestfallen expression. She looked down and let her arms fall to her sides, she rubbed her arm and bit her lip, taking in breath through gritted teeth "….I can help you if you need me, but I'll stay in the distance. Though, I don't know how much help I can actually give agains…him" Alfred's spirits lifted, he smiled at the fairy "Really?! Thanks! Oh by the way I'm Alfred, Alfred F. Jones, local hero! Who're you?" The fairy actually looked surprise, as if she wasn't expecting him to ask for her name "M-Michelle…erm, local fairy I guess" Alfred grinned and motioned for him to walk- sorry fly next to him "Nice to meet ya Michelle! Wait till the guys see you!" Michelle stopped flying and waved her hands around frantically "No! no! if it's okay with you I'd rather stay hidden" Alfred cocked an eyebrow at her then shrugged, he'll respect what she wants "Sure I guess, but don't go too far kay?" She nodded with a smile and darted back into the woods, Alfred watched her leave before running to catch up with the others.
Surprisingly, they weren't actually that far from where he was. When he came close he caught them talking about something before they turned to look at him "Al? where'd you go?" Alfred waved him off and joined their little circle "Something came up, so what's your story? Why aren't you guys moving?" Yao jabbed a thumb behind him "I heard the dragon and we're almost near the keep, Matthew was just about to summon his familiar" In response, Matthew lifted up a small piece of paper. He chanted something Alfred couldn't understand then cut a part of his arm with a dagger, letting his blood drip into the paper.
It glowed white and started to form into something else. Before they knew it, a polar bear stood in the place of the paper. Matthew crouched down to it's level and smiled "Hey Kumakichi" The bear tilted it's head to the side and stared at it's summoner "Who are you?" Matthew shook his head and picked it up, hugging it close to his chest "It's me your summoner Kumarochi, Matthew Williams? The guy who feeds you?" The bear simply shrugged "The one who took care of you when you were injured?" Matthew pressed "No, I don't know you" It looked around until it's eyes landed on Alfred "Oh it's you! The guy with the freaky hair thing"
"Uh yeah, hello Kuma" Alfred greeted awkwardly. He never understood the familiar and he knows he never will, the first time he met with it, he thought it was going to rip his face apart and no he tried his best to stay away from it. Kuma wiggled his nose and sniffed the air, he growled "It stinks here, smells like dragon" They all tensed and turned to the way leading to the keep, Gilbert was the first to speak up "So are we really gonna push through with this?" He asked, uneasiness settling in his stomach. He wouldn't usually feel something like this, but even he's smart enough to know that you shouldn't mess with dragons.
Alfred too started to feel a slight fear inside him, he looked around until he caught a glance of Michelle hiding in the trees, it was obvious because of her blue glow. His fear started to wash away slowly, with their power, Kumajiro's and Michelle's they might actually be able to get through the keep, minimally unscathed "We have to, Lukas and the others need us in Avia" Matthew whispered something to Kuma, the bear nodded and closed it's eyes. The others felt a tingly sensation wash over them, but they didn't actually feel or look any different.
"There, we're invisible now" Gilbert raised his hand, Matthew rolled his eyes and motioned for him to say what he wants "Okay so if we're invisible, why the hell can we still see each other?"
"That's because I specifically asked Kuma to make us visible to only each other, anyone or anything else won't be able to see us. Now come on, we're burning daylight" The sun was already up in the sky and showered the forest in light, there would be rays of sunlight peeking from small spots in the forest, giving it a sort of mythical glow. Matthew stepped aside to let the others pass, Gilbert went first then Alfred then Yao. The castle started to come into view, it was in a relatively good state.
There were a few holes here and there but it held together quite nicely. It used to be the main castle but the war from long ago brought it down to ruins, but there was a rumor of the treasures of the old royal family still being in there, and now that a dragon occupied it everyone was sure there was at least some form of treasure still in there. They walked without trouble so far, but something didn't sit right with Matthew "Kumagochi, do you sense a dragon in there?" He whispered to his familiar. Kuma lifted his nose up bit and sniffed the surroundings then quickly scrunched up his face "It's scent is really strong….it's not inside" Kuma said in the sort of little girl voice it had.
"Aiyah! It's not inside?!" Yao quickly got into the middle of the group, trying to suppress his growing fear "Shh! You'll get us caught moron!" Gilbert said, shooting a glare at Yao. The news wasn't settling well with him 'This is bad' Alfred's ears perked up at the sound of Michelle's voice, his eyes darted through the trees but he couldn't find her 'I'm speaking with you through your mind Alfred, I'm too far for you to see so stop looking!' She scolded, but to Alfred it sounded as though she was afraid of something 'That familiar is right, I sensed him as well and he isn't inside, you have to get out of there! And fast!' "How am I supposed to?!" He answered back out loud, gaining startled glances from his companion.
"Uh, you okay there Al?" Gilbert asked, inching away from him "The pressure's probably getting to him" Yao said, crossing his arms to stop his visible shaking "And I don't blame him aru, this was a bad idea" Matthew shushed them "But we can't go back now! We're almost at the end of the keep!" He wasn't about to just high tail out of there, Matthew was determined to make it to Avia on time no matter what. Alfred shared his brother's feelings, after all they've done they wouldn't just let some new machines stop their quest to take down the royal family, they're in too deep to pull out now.
"Matthew's right guys, we can't just run away like cowards now! Heroes don't do that! So I say we go on and-"
"Go on and what? Exactly?" They jumped at the sound of a new voice, they swirled around and instantly went into defensive stances. Kuma bared his teeth and growled, clawing at the newcomer, Matthew had to hold on to him as tight as he could so the bear wouldn't jump out of his arms "YOU!" Gilbert pointed an accusing finger at the person in front of them, he glared at him but it didn't seem to take much effect on the other guy "YOU scared my Gilbird away! You fucking prick!" Yao and Alfred held him back when he tried to lung at the guy "Hey dude calm down!"
"I AM NOT GOING TO CALM DOWN! THAT JACKASS IS THE MAGE THAT ATTACKED US!" Alfred's eyes widened, the mage that took all of them out? He looked back up at the alleged mage and took in his appearance. He had blond hair like he did but it had a lighter shade, his eyes were a piercingly bright lime green, and what struck him the most were those monstrous eyebrows, those things were huge! He wore a cloak like most mages do but instead of the usual black with gold edges that the palace usually provides, he wore a dark forest green one that had no sign of the palace insignia on it, that part made him question his companion's knowledge of him being a palace mage "Oh, it's you lot, I thought I told you to scram already" The mage yawned, angering Gilbert all the more "DON'T TALK DOWN ON US BASTARD!"
"Hey! Gilbert we are not here to start a fight! Remember our original goal!" Matthew scolded him. The mage laughed "'Not here to start a fight'? from what I know you're going to Avia to start one" Yao gripped on Gilbert's arm, trying to get him to at least turn his attention away from the mage "We won't go anywhere with this aru! Don't do anything rash!" Gilbert stopped thrashing, the group relaxed for a little while. Then Gilbert grinned "Oh I won't do anything rash…" He instantly shook off both Yao and Alfred, sending them staggering to different directions "I'M DOING THIS!"
Gilbert darted forward, fist pulled back to hit the mage "GILBERT DON'T!
Matthew shouted out, running after him. The mage calmly stood still, humming a song while rocking back and forth on his heels "EAT THIS BASTARD!" Gilbert threw his punch. Alfred expected the mage to have been sent flying but instead he just stood there with his hand raised, Gilbert's fist merely inches from his face "Are you done trying to make the world deaf?" Gilbert struggled to move but found that he couldn't. His adrenaline washed away as his mind finally caught up to how dangerously close he was to the mage. Said person simply flicked his wrist and he was instantly sent flying.
Gilbert smacked into a tree with a sickening thud. He gasped out in pain as the wind got knocked out of him while the impact sent out painful vibrations all over his body. He coughed out a few times while he slid down the tree with a groan, he didn't expect the collision to be that hard, then he fell into unconsciousness, the tree suddenly snapping into two behind him "GILBERT!" Matthew's eyes were wide and frantic, the one thing he hated the most was see a friend get hurt, he turned to glare at the mage who was a mere three meters away from him "You'll pay for-!" A hand gripped on his shoulder, he glanced at whoever it was. Yao gave him a stern look and shook his head "No Matthew, we won't do this again remember?" They sneaked a glance at the mage in front of them, watching them intently "We'll just have to find a way around him" He whispered.
Matthew was about to agree when something sped past him, he knew exactly who it was. The same fear welled up inside of him as he watched his brother, sword blazing, running towards the mage "ALFRED!" Yao held him back, they can't get in the middle of that or they'll all end up injured or worse "Matthew please don't! we need to get to Gilbert first! And we don't know when the dragon will decide to show it's face so we need to hurry!" He pulled the distraught boy over the unconscious one leaning on a broken tree, this was the perfect distraction and all they needed to do was cross the keep. He had full faith in Alfred and he was sure that the boy will survive this.
"You carry him on the right and I'll take the left aru!" Matthew got out of his stupor and nodded. He picked up Gilbert by his side and Yao did the same, they jumped into the forest to try and get around the two fighting men. Without even a glance at his fleeing friends, Alfred launched himself at the mage bringing his blade down in a long curving arc "You don't hurt a hero's friends!" The mage jumped away before the blade hit him, he smirked and landed safely on the ground "Hero? Hah! What a joke! You aren't a hero you bloody git, all I see is a little boy with a toy"
Alfred growled, baring his teeth "I am NOT a little boy!" He swung his sword again, feeling a little annoyed at the mage's comment. He knew his swing was sloppy the moment he launched it but it was too late before he was able to figure it out, the mage side stepped and ducked under him, he made symbols with his hands, too fast for Alfred to see what they were, and chanted something as well. He swung his hand forward but it didn't his Alfred, yet he was sent back by a wave of some sort. He stood his ground and tried to level himself with his sword. He skidded across the soil, forming small drag tracks as he did, but he never fell over and stood up straight "See? I don't even need to use much of my powers to defeat you, so I'll be merciful if you just leave"
"LIKE HELL!" He ran towards the mage again, prepared to do a backswing, once he was in range he delivered his attacks. Swish Swish Swish. They barely landed a blow on the mage, it frustrated Alfred to no end "You swing like child! No strategy whatsoever! It's a wonder how your petty group even defeated all those troops with you around!" The mage's side comments were no help either, they just made his blood boil even further, he's really starting to dislike this guy. He wasn't sure for how long they actually battled, he was getting a little tired but not so much because of a whole year of training and fighting, his body was in pretty good shape, he won't have problems for now. He watched the mage's movements, noting what he did or when he'd do it, they swirled around each other in a deadly dance, although the mage was probably just messing with him 'This guy's hard to beat, but a hero always finds a way...okay so somehow he knows what I'll do next, what will-" An idea popped into Alfred's head, he cracked a smile and held his sword with one hand, he thrust his blade towards the mage.
As expected he went to dodge it but this time Alfred fell short and pulled back his sword, surprising the mage, he did a sweep kick and managed to knock the guy into the ground "HAH! Score for the hero!" The mage groaned and rubbed his sore behind, standing up again to meet Alfred's gaze "Impressive that an idiot like you can think of that, but still not hero worthy" He jeered. Alfred glared at him, tired of his remarks "Oh yeah? Then what about you? You're a coward for hiding behind your magic!" A flash of anger-or was it shock?- crossed the mage's face. He glared at Alfred, who started having second thoughts about what he said.
"What did you say? A coward am I?" he walked towards the swordsman, dark wisps of shadows emerged from the ground where he stepped, licking at his feet. Alfred swallowed but stood his ground, sword ready. The mage stretched his hand out and a sword started rising from the shadows beneath him, he gripped on to it's handle and raised it up, pointing it at Alfred "I'm as capable as you are when it comes to sword fights boy" He growled out the last part.
Alfred's grip on his sword tightened, almost enough to draw blood but it didn't "We'll see then!" Their swords crossed, sparkling under the sun's light, the loud clang echoed as they started to push at each other with their swords, both of the weapons shaking at the forced movements, they spun away from each other but quickly regained and attacked once again. They were almost equal, Alfred's strength and power were counterbalanced by the mage's speed and agility, if anyone else had been watching they could have deemed this to become a stalemate. Alfred launched a backswing when he pushed the mage off, he expected to cut air again but this time, the sword was actually able to touch flesh.
"Gah!" The mage covered the cut on his face with his hand, he drew it back and looked down at the blood on it, he balled his hand into a fist and glared at Alfred "Alright then, you want it that way" He ran towards him at a terrifying speed. Alfred thought quickly and parried the attack, he swung his sword and managed to get the mage away from him by a few feet. Crack. Alfred's eyes widened at a crack on the bottom of his blade, his worst fears were realized when it suddenly shattered "Looks like you're at a disadvantage" The mage lunged towards him, blade lifted and ready for another attack.
'SHIT' Alfred crouched and ducked under the blade that was supposed to thrust into his chest, he shot up and headbutted the mage, he had his eyes closed but he knew it worked when he hit something and there was a muffled yelp that came along with it. He opened his eyes and smiled triumphantly when he saw the mage rubbing his chin "People did say I was really hard headed" He laughed. He didn't even blink and the mage was suddenly in front of him, scowling. He kicked, the heel of his boot colliding with the swordsman's knee, making a dull cracking sound.
Alfred yelled, his leg gave out from under him, he fell unceremoniously to the ground and on his back. He held his leg and winced at the pain. There was a ringing sound from above him, followed bit a bit of wind being pushed to his face, he stared directly at the tip of a sword "I win" The mage said, he pushed the swordsman's glasses up with the tip of his sword, causing Alfred to close his eyes and swallow "Now, how about we-Oof!" He was interrupted when a flash of light hit him in the face, making him let go of his sword
Alfred sat up straight and watched as a little ball of blue light started to fly around the mage's face "G-Get of me you little twat!" The mage yelled out when the ball hit him in the stomach "THAT'S FOR MY FISH!" Alfred recognized the voice and immediately smiled "MICHELLE!" The fairy winked at him before going back to torment the mage. She whizzed around him, pulled at his hair and landed a few hits, but it stopped short when the mage caught her in between his hands "Why you little-GAH!" He fell face first into the ground, a bear clawing at his back "ALFRED!" Matthew came running back from the other side of the keep, he helped his brother up "Are you okay? W-wait a minute…where's Yao and Gilbert?!"
"They're fine Al, but we need to go!"
"AAAH!" Kuma shrieked, gaining the two brother's attention. The bear lay bleeding on the ground, a gash on his stomach. The mage panted as he stood up, multiple scratch marks were visible on his skin "You bloody gits!" He glared at the brothers then at the bear, he was about to say something else until a shattering noise broke the silence, the mage's eyes were wide and he stood frozen. His eyes rolled back and he fell to the ground, unconscious. Gilbert held a broken bottle of beer in his hands, panting from running back to the middle of the keep "That's…for….my…Gilbird!" He kicked the mage's unconscious body a few times until Alfred stopped him "Whoa Whoa! Easy there! He might be useful" Meanwhile Matthew was fussing over Kuma, ripping off a piece of his shirt to try and bandage the wound "K-Kuma, will you be okay?" His voice trembled.
"Silly Mattie, I'm a familiar…." Kuma said before disappearing, leaving a torn paper in his place. Matthew took in a shaking breath, picking up the piece of paper. He knew Kuma could heal himself in his home dimension but seeing his familiar in such a state scared him, he pocketed the paper and joined the two around the unconscious mage, they were having an argument "I say we keep him!"
"No way! Leave him out here for dead!" Gilbert argued back, they held their glares. Matthew took out some rope from his backpack and started to tie up the mage "Hey Matt! What do you think you're doing?!" Gilbert demanded "You know, Al's right Gilbert, this guy might have some valuable information about the army and the events at the palace, so we'll keep him as a prisoner for now- Al can you help me please?" Said person stared stupidly for a while until his mind registered what his brother just said "O-Oh yeah! Sure thing bro!" He lifted the mage up and slung him over his shoulder.
"Guh! I'm telling you guys, this is a bad idea!" Gilbert persisted, watching them go with the mage "Come on Gilbert, Avia won't save itself" Matthew practically ignored his warning. Gilbert frowned and groaned in disapproval, this will not end well. He ran after them but kept a close eye on the mage. Matthew on the other hand went over his thoughts, particularly why the dragon never even bothered to come out to see the commotion and how did the mage see through the invisibility spell. He looked back at the castle and shuddered when he heard it's growl.
By the end of the afternoon they reached the first village they'll come across on their journey to Avia. The second one would be the last stop until they reach their destination by the end of the third day. This village was a lot grander than theirs, so to speak. The houses had brighter colors of yellow, blue and purple, decorated by whimsical swirls and flowers. There were colorful ribbons tied between the houses and buildings, if you didn't know this place you would have thought they were holding some sort of festival with all of the performers and sellers out in the square.
Matthew turned to the group with him "Okay, we'll be staying here for today then travel again when dawn breaks. I'll look for an inn to stay in…" He handed Yao a small pouch of coins "..While you get horses so we'll be able to travel faster, I saw someone selling a few of them at the stables" Alfred and Gilbert saluted him with cheeky grins "Sir yes sir!" Matthew's shoulders slumped and he shook his head at them in disapproval, he turned heel and entered the village in search of an inn, leaving the three alone.
"Okay, I'll go get the horses aru, Gilbert you go with me-" A whine "-Because I cannot trust you alone with Alfred. And Alfred…" Yao glanced at the unconscious mage still slung over the swordsman's shoulder "I think you should go with Matthew, we don't know what to do with that man yet" Alfred looked at the mage on his shoulder, he smiled at Yao "Okie dokie! See ya!" He ran after his brother while Yao dragged Gilbert to the stables with him.
"Hey bro wait up!" Matthew stopped and looked behind him, Alfred ran to his side panting "Why are you here? Weren't you going to get the horses with Yao?"
"Well y'know, can't really with a guy on my shoulder, I mean seriously dude…" He shrugged the shoulder the mage was on , causing him to jump a bit then fall back down with a groan "We seriously need to do something about this guy, I mean isn't it a little weird seeing this?" Some people shot them curious or disgusted glances, Matthew's cheeks burned with embarrassment and covered the side of his face with a hand "Fine, let's just go and find an inn already" He briskly walked ahead of Alfred, to avoid people associating him with his brother, he did love his brother dearly but not when he had a tied up and unconscious mage on his shoulder. Alfred walked ten paces behind him, happily humming a tune, he didn't mind what people thought of him as of the moment, for now he was in his own world.
They didn't have to search too long for an inn, they found one after three minutes of walking around and asking for directions from people actually willing to tell them anything given the circumstances. They entered the building, one that looked old and about ready to collapse, but they surprised to see how good it was inside compared to the outside. Inside it was colored a light peach with brown fascia boards. There was a chandelier hanging on the ceiling, small fake crystals hung on it's chains as a yellow light came from it's multiple candles. There were French styled windows that had red curtains tied to it's side to let some sunlight in. There were some couches and a table in the side of the room, where some folks sat to have tea and conversations.
Matthew approached the counter where a man was handing out keys to various guests, he spotted them and smiled "Welcome to our inn, fine travelers! How may I be of service?" He didn't spare a second glance at the mage on Alfred's shoulder, which the latter was thankful for "A room for five, overnight" Matthew simply stated, handing the man five gold coins and two silver ones. The man nodded and took a key from under the counter, he gave it to Matthew with the same smile on his face. Alfred thought it was rather creepy "Enjoy your stay valued clients!" He said as they ascended up the stairs.
"Dude that guy was freaky" Alfred commented once they were out of earshot, Matthew simply nodded in agreement "Yeah" He mumbled. They entered a hallway that had a flower pattern carpet, the walls were painted a light orange and various paintings from unknown artists adorned the walls. They were paintings of mythical creatures and landmarks from all around their country, one of them had goblins and witches in them making Alfred shudder at the sight.
"Here we are" They stopped in front of a room with two brown wooden doors marked 243 on a plaque. Matthew inserted the key and opened the doors, revealing an oval room with five beds far from each other and pushed up the wall. Alfred laid the mage on the fifth bed and threw the bag he carried somewhere near one of the beds which he now claimed his. Matthew removed his backpack and placed it in a corner, he sighed and sat on a bed, running a hand through his hair. He looked down on himself, noting how sweaty and dirty his clothes felt, he grimaced and stood up "I'll go and take a bath, will you be alright with watching our prisoner?" He jerked his head towards the mage on the bed. Alfred nodded "Yeah sure bro, just hurry back" Matthew bit the inside of his cheek then hesitantly left, closing the door.
Alfred cracked his neck looked down on his bandaged knee, he felt sore all over and he just didn't want to move, who would've thought huh? He laid down on the bed and stared at the ceiling, if this was only from a battle with a lone wizard, what are the odds of him leaving the battlefield unharmed from an onslaught of soldiers and magic users. He shook his thoughts away and lolled his head to the side to look at the mage on the bed. He still felt a little bit of dislike for the guy, but something about him was interesting that Alfred just couldn't keep his eyes off the mage, how he moved and executed magic seemed so different from the mages he battled with before.
'Great, I sound like some sort of creep now' He looked away from the mage and back at the ceiling, only to look back at the mage when he heard him groan. Alfred slowly sat up, careful of his knee, as the mage's bright green eyes fluttered open, he winced and moved his head around "Agh, what hit me?" Then those eyes widened in fear and realization when he felt his arms and legs bound together. He bucked and wiggled around like some sort of captive animal, even to the extent of growling "What the-?! Bloody hell NO!...wait! I could just use my magic and-" Then a small explosion interrupted him mid sentence.
Alfred had flinched but he didn't move from his spot. The smoke started to clear, the mage coughed a few times as it did, his hair was pushed back into spikes and became a lot messier than they were before and his face plus part of his clothing blackened from the explosion. It looked comical. Alfred couldn't help but laugh. The mage finally noticed someone else in the room with him and turned to scowl at the person "You" He gritted out "I demand you let me go! You have no right to do this to me!" Alfred stopped laughing and pretended to wipe a tear from his eye.
"Uh yes I do, the royals you work for are tyrants. That already says a lot dude" The mage rolled his eyes "Don't 'dude' me! I am a high ranking mage! You should be respecting me bloody git!" Alfred stood up from his bed and sat on the edge of the bed the mage was on "What's up with the 'bloody git' thing? That's kinda weird but I like your accent bro!" The mage kicked at him but it was weak due to his restraints "Just you wait! Once the army hears about my disappearance they'll drag your sorry arse to the nearest execution site!" He threatened. Alfred wasn't affected at all, instead he smiled, which startled the mage "Cool story bro, so wanna do introductions?" He cleared his throat and pushed his glasses back up "I'm Alfred F. Jones, local hero and total heartthrob~ booyah! So who're you dude? Because I can't just keep calling you 'dude' or 'bro' or 'broski' or 'compadre' or-"
"Shut up you insufferable twit! You're lowering my IQ just by talking! And don't you dare call me by those names!" The mage huffed and turned away from him, there was an awkward silence between the two that followed next. Alfred was about to break the silence through one of his jokes until the mage spoke up again "..y….A..hr…" He muttered. Alfred raised both his eyebrows and leaned in closer "I'm sorry what bro?" The mage quickly turned his head and glared at the swordsman "Are you deaf now too? Tch, I said; My name is Arthur you daft swordsman!" Then it dawned on him how close their faces were, his face burned with embarrassment and he quickly looked away "Just you wait, you and your little 'resistance' will pay, the army will beat you, they'll come for me!"
"Sure whatever you say dude, hey I'm gonna go get something to eat, you want anything?" Arthur stayed silent. Alfred sighed and stood up, limping to the door "And don't try to escape, I'll lock the door" The mage lifted his head up and sighed "As if I'll be able to do that, these ropes are enchanted" The swordsman shrugged and left the room, locking the door just as he said he would.
Arthur smirked, even though the ropes were able to suppress his magic, it couldn't suppress small spells. A little paper doll flew out of his cloak, it floated in front of him, awaiting orders "I need you to tell Ludwig that I found the resistance group, and they…er have me captured" The doll floated lazily before flying towards an open window. Arthur scoffed at the stupidity of the swordsman. First rule of having a mage as your hostage is to never leave them alone.
Ever.