Chapter 76 - Mean Punch

"Umm… it was… a reflex." Siv stutters.

'That was the worst excuse ever.'

"I was just afraid they might recognize me from the palace." She adds with a bit more confidence. Gary narrows his eyes at her but he has no time to dwell on it.

"Hey, you!" One of the royal guards calls. Gary meets his eyes accidentally and the guard recognizes him.

"Shite!" Gary curses before bolting away.

Siv takes a glance at the three men who start running her way, they are joined by the guard who was posting their pictures on the wall. Her legs move instinctively and she runs after Gary. The town is bustling with people, so they have to push through the crowd. Thankfully, the guards are struggling too. Gary takes a turn at one of the less busy streets and just takes off.

'Damn, this body is so out of shape, I can barely keep up with Gary. And by keep up, I mean probably six to ten meters behind him.'

Siv pushes herself but she is already out of breath, she feels like her lungs are about to explode.

"Why are you running?" Gary looks back and throws her a confused look.

"Because they're running after us." Gene says between breaths.

"They're after me." Gary takes another turn.

"Well, they saw us speak together." Siv tries to reason.

They take a few more turns trying to shake the guards, but they are still behind them.

"I'm afraid you are slowing me down, Miss Gene."

Siv glares at him but says nothing. She knows that he is right.

"Let's split up, then." As soon as the words escape her mouth, they find themselves at a dead end. "You gotta be kidding me." Siv curses under her breath, split in two trying to catch her breath.

"Nowhere to go now." One of the guards grins as all four close in on them.

"Miss Gene, stay behind me." Siv nods and waves her hand while holding her side while struggling for air.

'Damn it, I really need to get this body in shape. I feel like I'm freaking dying.'

"Your Grace, resisting is futile."

"Is it?" Gary Grins.

'I wonder how this body would do in fighting… Probably as bad as running.'

Siv sighs. She looks at the four guards who just unsheathed their swords, then at Gary who does the same.

"Guess we'll find out soon enough." Siv throws her cape to the ground and pulls out her rapier. She gets in position next to Gary and takes a few deep breaths.

"What are you doing? And is that-"

"Yes, Siv's weapon. I can use it, not as good as her of course, but I am sure I can do some damage."

'Hopefully, good enough not to get cut by those men.'

"Just don't get in my way."

'Ha, this arrogant jerk.'

"We need to get out of here fast, I am sure more royal guards are on their way." Gary lowers his voice and steps in front of Siv again. "And put that sword away."

The blonde guard is the first one to lunge at Gary, he slams his sword down on Gary's. The guard's body immediately flies back to the ground with a groan, as if repelled by an invisible barrier.

"What the…"

The guards are shocked, but only for a brief moment. All three of them rush toward Gary at the same time.

"Get back." He utters, not even looking back at Siv. She complies and draws back to the dark corner.

The three men surround him. Gary keeps moving in a circle, waiting for the attack. The first guard thrusts his sword toward Gary who deflects it with ease. He then plants his left wrist in his gut, knocking the wind out of him. The guard falls to the ground, split in two and caughing violently.

"Who's next?" Gary's condescending tone really pushes the guards over the edge.

They both attack at the same time, forcing Gary to grab a dagger to be able to keep up with both men. They keep at it for a bit.

'Is he… smiling?'

He seems to be enjoying himself, not even out of breath. Compared to the two exhausted guards, he looks like he is strolling through the park. However, Gary is too focused on them that he does not notice the blonde guard from earlier getting up. The man picks up his sword and positions it to his right side, ready to lunge at Gary's back.

"This bastard." Siv has to think fast, her body moves faster though.

She runs toward the guard as fast as she can, he is too focused on Gary that he does not even see her coming until it's too late. She slams against his body and tackles him to the ground. She pulls him up from his breastplate while he is still disoriented, and smashes her right fist on his face, sending him to dream land.

"Huh." Siv mutters in surprise. She studies her fist as she turns it right and left before a grin splits her face in two.

"Come on." Gary yells while pulling her up from the guard. "Time to go." He pulls her from her wrist while running away. He glances one last time at the unconscious man then back at Siv. They run through the back alleys until they make it to Gustaf's store.

"What happened?" The shop owner asks, surprised.

"The royal guards are after us."

"Well hurry up, come to the back." Gustaf guides the way as the two follow him. He opens a door and motions for them to go down stairs.

Gary and Siv descend the stairs to the basement. It looks like a storage room. Gary walks to the back of the room to a few wooden crates stacked on top of each other, he pulls on them and a door opens.

'Does everyone have secret doors in this world?'

Gary enters the room and turns the light on before Siv follows. He locks the door from the inside and sits on the armchair in the corner. Siv takes a seat on the aged mustard sofa, or at least a color that used to be mustard.

"We will stay here for a bit until things calm down."

"What if things don't calm down? Are we still leaving tomorrow?"

"Let's give it a few hours, at least until nightfall, it will make it easier to move around." Siv is silent for a moment.

"That was a nice deflection technique." She says after a short silence. Gary smiles.

"And that was a mean punch."

"It was, wasn't it?" Siv and Gary stare at each other for a moment before they both burst out laughing.