"Where are you off to?" Guinevere asked Gusion the next morning as she saw him pack his bag with fresh clothes.
He was all wrapped up now. He was wearing a violet tunic under his shoulder armour and light blue vest, and he had steel armors around his forearms and from the knee down.
Guinevere could say he looked more dashing than the white linen shirt he wore over his black fitted pants last night.
"Anywhere. I'll find some good place to enhance my combat skills." He closed the bag and got to his feet.
Only then did he look at Guinevere. Her violet dress stood out even more in the daylight than it did last night. As if her features weren't enough to make her stand out in a crowd.
"What about you?" Gusion asked.
She shrugged. "I'll go wherever my feet leads me to. I'm certain I would eventually meet my brother Lancelot."
"Well, if you're doing so, at least change your clothes. You do know you're known around as Miss Violet, don't you?" Not to mention the distinguishing fragrance she had.
Guinevere hesitated, but then later stood straight and determined. "Thank you for that keen advice, but I would much prefer to keep my clothes."
"Suit yourself."
"Yes. But thank you again, and may you succeed on being the best warrior in the Land of Dawn." She said, formally, but couldn't help adding a remark. "If you beat my brother, that is."
"Then let's see the next time we meet, Lady Violet." Gusion said, a determined smile present in his face. Then he left.
"Determined. But hopeless." She muttered and started fixing herself for her journey.
She did keep her clothes, but she also purchased a dark gray cloak in the first garments store she came across with, and it helped a lot in covering her clothes and her face.
She also passed by a rallying troupe of castle guards in golden armors, and she figured out where she was; the centerplace of the Land of Dawn.
She was in one of the villages of the Moniyan Empire.
She walked around the village, deciding where to go, looking for likely places to find her brother. The village was much more packed duringnthe daylight that she had to keep alert in case she'll meet a Paxley guard or their own Family's guards on the way.
But she knew there were advantages, too. It was more easier to hide herself among a crowd than in a deserted place.
Much to her dislike, she ended up entering the pub.
Men, even his brother, could not refuse the pleasure of a good drink after all. And she knew it was the best place to hear the gossips of the Land since warriors and thieves from different places went there to relieve themselves from gruesome sights and fights they had witnessed.
She settled at the bar counter and asked for a soup to relieve her hunger. It tasted nothing like the food she was served in Castle Gorge, but she had no time to whine about food when her freedom was at stake.
Right before she could take her third sip of the soup, someone occupied the bar stool next to her and the big buff bartended with an earring in his nose started talking.
"Eh, Grub. Who made you look even more gruesome?" The bartender asked the newly arrived someone.
Grub grunted in irritation. "That Paxley boy sure was 'nnoying, going 'round the village with his magical toy blades."
Guinevere just listened, pulling the hood of her cloak to make sure it was covering her dace well as she continued to eat her soup.
"A Paxley is in the village?"
"Yeah, one sure is. Arrogant lads they are. 'eard 'e run'way from home."
Guinevere couldn't help smiling mischievously. There sure were plenty of them running away recently.
"Huh! Surely, no one is more arrogant than that blonde hair boy we chased down six days ago!" Another voice joined in.
Guinevere tensed but refrained herself. She gripped her spoon, hoping that someone wasn't talking about her brother.
"Hey, Hog." The bartended greeted. "The same glass of beer?"
"D'you know who it was?" Grub asked.
"Yes please." The man named Hog answered the bartender before resuming his talk with Grub. "I don't know. But he was wielding his sword so proudly he thought he was gonna beat us up. Hah! Arrogant lad! I bet he's rotting in the woodlands by now."
Guinevere clenched her teeth. She tried to convince herself it wasn't her brother.
But he did have blonde hair. He did disappeared six days ago. And he used to be so proud when he had his sword in hand, as if no one could ever beat him.
Because no one ever did beat him.
But what if he was beaten? What if her brother did chew more than he could swallow?
"Here ya go." The bartender said, and Guinevere heard a glass sliding across the table.
She never risked turning her head to them. But judging from their hoarse voice, they seemed to be big buff men who had been to fights a lot.
"But hey, have you heard of the Prince of the Abyss?" Hog changed the subject, much to Guinevere's annoyance. She needed him to talk more about that man they beat up.
"Heh! No. But I bet he's just another demon."
"No, moron. I heard he's a boy, from here, the Land of Dawn, stolen during birth. He's been trained by Thamuz, and was raised by Alice." Hog said it an a low voice as if he was afraid someone else around was eavesdropping.
"Then ya think he's as good as hell?" Grub asked and then cackled. "See what I did there?"
"Many soldiers say he is. As evil as the Lord of the Abyss himself."
"Then we all better hope the Princess Silvanna is better than him, or it's gonna be the end of all of us." The Bartender butted in as he cleaned his glass right across Guinevere.
"Hog! Let's go now, you light-lipped moron!" A deep voice called from somewhere behind, and Guinevere heard the foot of the barstool squeaking against the floor.
"Gotta go find more nobles to rob. See ya'round." Hog said to Grub and the Bartender.
Only then did Guinevere lift her head up and got to her feet.
She had to follow those thieves.
She hurried out of the pub and followed the half a dozen men who smelled like puke and sweat combined.
They were all tall and big and mostly bald, their weapons hanging in their waists by their belts.
But there was one who stood out among them; the tallest, ugliest and biggest of them who smelled worst and had big boils in his snout nose.
"Many nobles are lurking around the village recently."
"Just waiting to get robbed, apparently." Snout Nose said. The others seemed to treat him as their leader, judging by the way they positioned themselves to walk around him.
Guinevere grew cautious with what Snout Nose had just said as she casually tailed them around town, making sure her cloak still covered her heeled shoes as she walked.
She clenched her fist as the men slowly arrived in the end of a street and where the woodlands began, still talking recklessly. She got herself ready to cast her spells again.
"You think that boy's dead by now?" One of them asked.
"Probably. Deserves it though. One arrogant lad, he is."
Guinevere's temper rose, making her lunge in one long jump and landing on both feet right in the middle of the group, who were knocked up in the air with their deep screams before landing on their butts just a couple of yards around her.
They all looked flustered, but then immediately growled as soon as she saw her cloaked form.
She straightened up and stretched her hand to Hog's direction. She didn't have a clear sight at him back at the pub, but she certainly did recognize his hoarse voice and stupid laugh as she followed them earlier.
Hog levitated up in the air. It was the simplest form of magic she learned even before she got into the Academy. And it had always came in handy.
The buff guys got to their feet as Hog flailed his feet in the air, whimpering.
"A mage." One of them said, his bloodshot eyes glaring at her piercingly.
"The blond guy you were talking about. Which woodland were you referring?"
"Ahh. So you're a friend of that arrogant fool."
"Or maybe his girlfriend." Another one added and snickered.
Guinevere faced her palm to that one's direction and levitated her in the air, too.
"Woah!"
"You should really watch what you're saying, or I'll blast you to pieces!"
"Let them down!" The second biggest growled.
"Only if you'll tell me where he is!"
"Let them down!" This one echoed in her ears for its loudness.
The next thing she knew, she was already hurling in the air and collapsed a couple of yards away, Hog and the other one she had in a levitation spell now sitting on the ground holding their butts.
It was Snout Nose. She didn't notice him sneak up on her and slammed her small form away.
She felt a pain in her butt as she sat up in the ground, and she saw their eyes shimmered as soon as they looked at her.
Her eyes widened as she realized why.
The hood over her head had fell down to her shoulders, revealing the scarlet brown hair framing her face.
"She looks no ordinary mage."
"Maybe we can out her in a sack and ask for a price for her release." Another one suggested excitedly.
"Let's do that!" The third one said and hurried to fetch her.
"Don't you dare!" She let out a ball of violet energy that hit Snout Nose and sent him blasted a couple of yards back.
But that only made the others angrier, and all of them charged in unison.
Guinevere hastily got to her feet, cautiously backing up as she sent spell after spell of blasted energy towards them.
But all it did were knock them to the ground and got them coming back again, angrier and angrier.
"I said tell me where that blond boy is!" She charged, thumping towards their center and sending them into the air again.
"AAARRRGGJJ!" Snout Nose got up too quickly and was about to swing a big meaty arm towards her when a blast of golden light hit his palm and sent him staggering away from her.
She jerked her head to where it came from.
A couple of yards away from them was a girl with golden hair and pale white complexion, hovering in the air with a fancy gun the size of her arm still aimed at their direction.
She looked young and boyish, but her expression looked mature and dead serious.
"Let go of the Lady!"
"Kimmy. Kimmy. Kimmy." The men said in panic and started running away.
Guinevere looked around in panic. "No! You can't leave!" She grabbed one of the men who was last in the race, but he merely swung his arm and she was pushed towards the ground again.
"No! You can't leave until you tell me where my brother is!"
"That's enough, Lady Guinevere." The girl Kimmy adviced as she hovered next to her.
Irritatedly, she got to her feet and dusted her dress before she looked up at her.
"You! You should've just let me go my way with them!"
Kimmy looked flustered as she stared at her. "You're welcome." He said sarcastically.
Guinevere sighed in frustration but composed herself. "I wasn't done with those men." She said, now in a calm voice, as she gestured the woods where the men had disappeared.
"Please do understand that if you want to get information, it's not from those goons. I doubt if they still even remember where they left your brother."
Guinevere looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean? And who are you anyway?"
"I'm Kimmy. Protector of the Moniyan Empire." She said, starting to head back to the main road.
She hovered slowly over the road in Guinevere's pace.
"Pleased to meet you. But I take it you already know me. How exactly?"
Kimmy shrugged. "I'm a mage. And I hear people talk."
She felt pride at the thought that people talked about her, certain that it was all about her skills and abilities.
She nodded, but stared at her. She didn't look any older than her. "You're a mage. why didn't you go to Magic School?"
Kimmy smiled and spun around with pride in her face. "This is my school. And it is better than any other school."
Guinevere frowned. They had just passed by the chaotic pub she was in. And ahead, they saw Moniyan Guards chasing away a sprinting boy with a ouch jingling with coins in hand. And they arrived at the main road, where they were pushed and bumped and blown with cigars.
"I highly doubt your last statement."
Kimmy merely chuckled, like an adult listening to a child complain, and Guinevere got that.
"Can you help me get information about my brother then?" She cut to the chase. She couldn't waste her time hurtling through useless crowds when she had a forest to search.
Kimmy stared at her with hesitation, making Guinevere halt to face her. "What?" She asked sternly.
"I know someone, but..."
"But what?"
"You might have to travel further. You know you can just go home and wait for your guards to find him."
Guinevere rolled her eyes skyward. "I'm already here, aren't I? And I'm never going back without my brother. Can't you just tell me who can help?"
"Diggie."
"Who's that?" Guinevere asked, frowning as she found the name too underwhelming.
"The Chronologist."