Perambulate, shall we?
(Chapter 4)
[<<]
"Guillelmus got to learn one more thing about Tina this night. She was composed until she got her hands on a game. She must've been someone who yearned to play so much … like someone who skipped out on their childhood… On the other hand, as Tina bathes she can't help but think about her dad as she gazes at the stars through the skylight. It's not clear what happened in her past.
"Dad… I. I'm trying," she whimpers. "I can't stop thinking about you. The only reason I'm trying to keep myself from crying is because of what you said; that if I cried I'd be accepting that you're dead. But I can't help myself! What does it mean to live without you? Why couldn't I keep any of my parents? Why?" she sobs. With that, Valentina de la Bravo goes to bed on quite a sad note.
[>]
The sun yawns upon the Banlieue de Porto Novo. It's a bit cloudy with no chance of meatballs. The town wakes up very early and the streets are soon busy. Some moments ago, Mom knocked on the door to let him know food's ready; so he makes his way to the table.
"Morning mama!" he exclaims as he gives her a kiss on the cheek before he gets seated. "I thought I told you not to…"
"No way! If I can't do anything I'm just gonna die of boredom. At least I can still cook. You know no one gets close."
"Well that's true. You should've been a chef instead of a florist."
"I like flowers better. You know; there was this flower that your father used to…"
"Obsidian Skylight."
"How do you know?"
"You say it all the time."
"Really? I really don't remember."
"I'll get you one for your birthday."
"Don't lie to me son."
"I'm serious about it. I'm sure I can get it before…um… 25th November, right?"
"That's enough, son. I know you would get it if you could and that's enough for me."
"I'll think about it…"
"Shall we?" she asks holding her spoon.
"What about Tina?"
"I even called her before you. Nevertheless, you can still go and check up on her. I'll wait for you darling."
"Alright mama. Kisses," he says as he blows her a kiss. He quickly heads toward his room and knocks on the door. There's no response so he knocks again and tells her that he's coming in. He goes in and there she lays, beneath the white covers. There's underwear folded nicely on the floor but it goes unnoticed "Tina!" he calls. She doesn't answer so he taps her shoulder.
"…"
"Breakfast is already ready. Aren't you hungry?"
"No." He sees that look in her eyes again. Seems like she's been thinking about her shadows. He asks how long she's been awake. She tells him he just woke her up but that was a bare-faced lie. There was no trace of sleep in her eyes OR her voice. That confirms it. She's been up for a long time sulking about something.
"I hope you know that you're a terrible liar?" he asks.
"…*sigh* It's true it seems. I was awake or should I say half-asleep?"
"Either is fine. Go on."
"Go on? There's nothing else to say. I'd rather be alone."
"If you think I'm gonna leave; sorry to tell you but you're mistaken. Scoot over." She ignores it for a bit but she realizes he's serious and just scoots a bit to the left of the bed and sits up, hugging her knees to her chest. Her chin rests on her knees.
"C'mon. I obviously can't read your mind so you have to communicate with me."
"What for? I barely even know you."
"Yet, when those guys ask you to empty your pockets in the alleyway; you gladly do it?" she giggles a bit.
"I haven't been robbed before."
"Not yet. C'mon. I'm here to listen."
"Just like you; I'm not a fan of talking…" she starts. " As early as I can remember… I only wanted one thing but life has been so cruel to me. I did everything that was asked of me and even more but no matter how hard I tried… it just wasn't enough."
"… So what're you gonna do?"
"What CAN I do?"
"Jedidiah told me that ,"Adversity is the first path to truth." I think I understand now. All you can do is to try harder. Success always hides behind a locked door. I kept on trying and Voila! I finally got to use mana after fighting alongside you. I'm thinking; what Jedi told me means there are some boundaries you have to break… like getting out of bed today!"
"… I'll have to pass."
"Don't you want to see the town? You're fortunate enough to have somebody to show you the ropes."
"Didn't you also lose someone?"
"Seriously?" She thinks he's gonna get sad as well but it's quite the opposite. "I'm just gonna imagine that she's rooting for me in heaven. I'll decimate the Emerged. That's all it takes to make sure somebody else doesn't meet their demise."
"You sound like a character from a fairytale right now. You should get real."
"And what if the fairytale is the real world and we were rather written? Thought of that?" That argument really throws her off. She turns to look at him.
"You're being absurd. Today I don't feel like doing anything so I'm just gonna lay in bed."
"I'm not leaving. You know; pain you experience reflects in your dreams. I dare you to sleep," he threatens
"Alright, I'm COMING! I'll follow you shortly"
Little did she know that it was actually a co-optimus between Elmus and Amitha.
"{Does it sound like she's telling the truth?}"
"{I don't think so… If you ran away with the cloth she'd definitely not be able to sleep.}"
"{Aren't I a little too old for that?}"
"{Whose help did you ask for?}"
"{Alright.3.2.1!}"
Young Harmonie yanks the cloth with all his might. She also tries to catch it but she fails. The result isn't a happy one. Valentina normally prefers to sleep in her undergarments because she has problems with heat. She felt exceptionally hot when she woke up at the break of dawn so she shed her "extra skin." That was the reason why she said she was coming. He just revealed her. He notices pretty quickly and spins around. Valentina is actually shocked that he did that and moreover, he definitely… They're both silent.
"{I don't need to tell you to run right?}" Amitha says.
"Valentina… I'm really sorry. I know you're wondering; I didn't see anything so I'm just gonna get going now…"
"I'm not gonna forgive you for this," she interrupts so calmly. Elmus is gone in the blink of an eye. "What sort of bad luck is this?" she says to herself.
[Mom]
He sits at the table quite fast. She knows the look of mischief when she sees it. She decides to ask.
"Did you break something?"
"No mom. I don't think she'll be coming. She said she didn't feel like getting out of bed."
"That's all?" she asks as she gives him the brow.
They're about to start when Valentina calls out to them, "Aren't you gonna wait for me?" Guillelmus coughs. She is wearing a vibrant red sheath dress that barely touches her knees. On hear head nests a tan sun hat which is adorned with a pink ribbon. She also wears a pair of brown and priceless cowgirl boots.
"*Clears throat*. I thought you said you weren't coming?"
"Then you didn't get me right." She says as she approaches him. "How could I miss out on such a delectable meal?" She leans on his chair and wraps her arms around him quite fondly.
"You sure seem quite happy today."
"She quickly whispers in his ear "Don't think that you can hide behind your mother's skirt. You can only stay home for so long."
"Yes! I am quite happy today because… well I'm not gonna tell!" she exclaims quite enthusiastically as she spins around. It looks so natural. "Aren't you gonna pull out my seat for me?"
"I forgot!" HE quickly jumps up to pull out her chair. That's when she shouts "spider!" and stomps on his foot with her heel. He yelps. "Oh my! I'm sorry!" she says in pretense.
"No problem." He groans. He gets her seated and they share the grace. Guillelmus seems "hot."
"{Elmus.}"
"{She's pissed. Did I really do anything wrong? It's not my fault.}"
"{It doesn't work that way. Yes it wasn't her fault but now she feels humiliated and wants to get back at you. Isn't that normal?}"
"{You're only saying that because you're a girl.}"
"{What's he up to?}" Valentina thinks to herself.
"Aren't you going to eat?" Valentina asks. At this point mom can clearly see that her son is troubled by something. He knows what happened? They get done with the meal in record timing.
"Why don't we go out now?"
"Since you decided to get all dolled up; let me go and change."
"Isn't this casual? This is like the simplest thing I had!" she says in her defense. "Let's just go; don't have to dress up for me.
"It's not for you; it's for Ms. Laura's sake. I have to look somewhat like you because a contrast will let you stand out to much. If some of the wrong people notice and find out you're with her it'll be trouble because she can't defend herself like you." he states quite firmly. " So just give me a moment."
That said, he leaves, which gives mom the opportunity to talk to Tina.
"Tina."
"Yes ma'am?"
"I don't know what's going on but please don't do anything bad to my chivalrous son, okay?"
"Chivalrous?!" she exclaims in disbelief. "Do you know what he did to me?"
"Now you sound like two things. I doubt my son went too far so you sound like a child. Isn't it something worth forgiving?"
"This' not fair." She says with her head hanging down.
"If you can't forgive your so-called teammate for such a petty issue, the urge to get revenge will destroy you."
"It's not petty…"
"Then I'll take the punishment for my son. Let me remind you that you've been well behaved since you came by so I don't want you to misbehave outside. It'll only tarnish your image."
"{I doubt slapping her instead would quell my urge for revenge. I know what I can do. She'll admire my decision!}"
[Guillelmus]
He accesses his wardrobe which is after the mini drawer at the right side of his bed. The wardrobe faces his bed directly with a window right next to it. A window is directly opposite that one on the other end of the room as well and they both have thin white curtains. There are two braziers at the head of the bead which presumably light the room up at night.
"It seemed easier in theory Amitha. I don't really have any casual-expensive clothes and she did so well NOT TO SHOW OFF."
"{But you have a leather jacket from that Dark Alley thug.}"
"I definitely can't wear that thing out. I'm pretty sure that the Dark Alley noticed that an outpost was knocked out. They must've sent more goons to investigate. If the jacket happens to be something that all of the gang leaders wear it'd be even better to go in peasants' clothing. If I help her to look rich as well… they'd know we're not from around…"
"{Exactly. That means you should look like the richer one. They'll attack you soon and you'll have the chance to eliminate them.}"
"That's a risky dice. Have you forgotten that I've been injured."
"{And whose stupidity caused it?}"
"Got a point there. We can use mana right?"
"{Mhm. What could possibly go wrong?}"
"Why're you jinxing me?"
"{Because you didn't apologize to me. It's been almost two days now.}"
"I DID say I was sorry."
"{That was because you wanted my help. I'll just have you know that I knew she wasn't wearing anything.}"
"Amitha! How could you? You're my… alright. Ladies do get irrational when they're upset… I'm sorry."
"{Good.}"
"I'm sorry because I'm not gonna take you out today. You can stay here and reflect on the consequences of your actions. Goodbye."
"{I'm not stupid. You would've had to put me away anyway.}"
Guillelmus puts on the brown leather jacket in addition to the black trousers and shirt he's wearing.
[Valentina]
Guillelmus walks in soon and tells them he's done. Mom's looking the other way. Valentina goes like "it took you forever." He says the normal "love you mama" and motions to hug her but she ignores him.
"Mama, what's wrong?"
"How could you? I'm disappointed."
"What'd I do?"
"Don't pretend like you don't know what you did to our guest."
"That was an accident. Amitha set me up."
"Now you're lying to me?"
"I'm not… so are you gonna give me a hug?"
"Reflect upon your actions."
"I see." He hugs her and says, "Doesn't matter to me. You only get one mama." That stings Valentina right where it hurts. He and Valentina leave.
[>]
Young Harmonie shows Valentina around the town. He first takes her to the marketing district to the west. They then move through the lower residential area until they arrive at the Guild blacksmith's house and workshop.
"This is the blacksmith that has been contracted by the guild. You can also go to him personally if you want to evade the guilds taxes but he might not take the order if he recognizes you. It's important for him to have a good impression of you so he can put more effort into making your weapons."
"Is that so?"
"It seems like he's around. Do you wanna go and say hi?"
"Why not?"
They knock on the door of the workshop and he tells them to go away because he's busy. Once he's able to voice out that it's Elmus over the noise of a hammer beating iron, he allows them in. The place is packed.
"Looking quite spiffy today."
"Special guest. Erin, meet Valentina; Valentina, meet Erin."
"Nice to meet you!" Erin exclaims.
"Same here!" she exclaims smiling.
You'd expect the blacksmith to be some old ugly geezer but no, he's actually quite young. He wears brown hair and has a delicate but masculine face. He's about Elmus' age. Moreover, they seem to be good friends. Guillelmus asks about his sister Eris. It seems like the three of them might go way back. After a short and pleasant conversation…
"A'ight. I don't want to keep her waiting for too long so we should end it here."
"Oh, it's no problem. I'd even like to have a talk with him myself."
"Really?" Erin asks. "I'm interested."
"Guy-whatever says my previous suit of armor isn't suitable for combat. I want you to craft something new for me; a noble set of armor perhaps."
"What about the style?"
"Anything that'd look nice with Elmus' armor. I'm sure you made that right?"
"Quite the smart one. Any personal preferences?"
"I don't want it to be too heavy like HE said but I also want something that can protect my skin, especially from scrapes and cuts. Being honest, I couldn't even move. I'm thinking maybe some suspender stockings would be nice."
"I thought you wanted to protect your skin?" Elmus asks.
"My legs will never see damage. I need armor that will support forearm blocking and hand scraping maneuvers. You should also factor acrobatics and aerobics; has to be as flexible as possible. I should also look nice in it as well. If possible I want some rear highlights. It should also support the use of chains."
"That's an awful lot."
"I'm not done. The chest plate should just be mildly re-enforced. Last but not least I want you to leave a slot for a crystal. This one." She says as she hands over the currently blue crystal. " I'll just leave the rest up to your imagination since you're the expert. But I want it in a single week."
"This is honestly gonna cost you. Do you have any idea what such a masterpiece entails?"
"Don't worry. I can afford it."
"Professionally, in rushing work, every day makes a coin of the same value as the piece. This is two weeks' worth of work. With what you've told me I'm estimating around at least 15 gold coins for the armor. Even a discount wouldn't help."
"The mere fact that I handed you a crystal should've been enough to let you know that I had full intent of purchasing a set of armor. The question is can you make something that cannot just fit my slim figure, but my whole visage?"
"Don't worry about that. I'll even make it a bit naughty for you."
"Just make sure it's decent."
"Kay. Bye you two!"
"Aren't you gonna take my size?"
"Do I look like an amateur? Goodbye." Both of them wave goodbye as well. It's almost noon in fact. They head towards the middle of the town. You guessed right, the town square. Guillelmus tells her that coincidentally, the town square is due north from Erin's. If she ever needed to get to him, all she needs to do is find the town square and head due south into the lower residential area. They soon find themselves at the town's center. It's paved with heavy gray tiles and has a miniature drainage network to prevent flooding during the rain. The advantage is it actually takes advantage of rain water to uni-directionally wash the ground of stray dust once in a while.
The centerpiece is a giant fountain in the center just like you should expect. The fountain head had a person sculpture but the first name is no longer readable. The last name however is Alpha; weird don'tcha think? The statue takes the epic pose a little too far. It stands but not fully on its right leg. The left arm remains close to the body with the hand outward as if it were carrying a light weight; more like saying behold what is below. The right arm on the contrary is raised to a little above the shoulder level as if he were about to motion "come and get me." The water actually spouts from the halo held above its tilted head, which is constantly illuminated by a Hydro-potent Mana-Crystal.
The square is surrounded by large buildings. There's the town hall, very expensive stores, the only restaurant in town, the bank, a clothing store and a few others. You can see people occasionally disgorge out of the town hall as if something were going on there. Some houses are also in the vicinity; nobles' houses. The nicest thing was the Guild is actually in the direction of the left hand.
"Wow! I want to sit over there!" She wasn't talking about one of the many love benches about the edge of the fountain. She meant she wanted to sit on the edge o' the fountain bowl. If you fell inside and got swept by the current there'd be no chance of surviving. That's why only brave or confident adults could do it. And guess what??? They do.
"It's so beautiful!"
"See what you would've missed out on?" Once he says that she quiets down. After playing with her fingers for a bit she decides to ask him. He asks her first though.
"Why is your face turning red?"
"Hunh?! Really?"
"Would I just come up with something like that?" She covers her face for a while. "Why're you acting all cute all of a sudden?" Guillelmus asks.
"I want to ask you something but I'm embarrassed."
"I find it hard to believe coming from you. Just spit it out already!"
"Okay… did you actually see anything earlier?"
"…"
"I won't retaliate. Just tell me the truth so I can be at peace."
"I turned round so I didn't get a good look."
"So you did…"
"So you gonna push me down the drain or something? Like I said. I didn't really get a good look. Truth is my mom told me to respect every lady like I do-her. I would've gladly feasted my eyes otherwise."
"… I somewhat feel envious of you now." She says sincerely.
"Why's that?"
"Your mom never knew what happened… she volunteered to take the hit so I wouldn't do anything crazy to you. You also said such adorable things. I wish I had the chance."
"And why're you telling me this?"
"That's because you have something that I wanted to have with someone. I wouldn't want to destroy that." He laughs at the sound of that. "Why do you laugh?"
"Destroy what? How could you part my mom and I?"
"Wouldn't you be furious that she took the outsider's side?"
"Even If something were bad enough to make me angry at her I'd either laugh at the fact that she seems confused or I'd remember that I only get one mama. You can have a biological father, a heavenly father and whatsoever but only one woman can give birth to you. How could you be upset with the person your heart beats for?"
"… I'm even more jealous now… Have you brought her here before?"
"I haven't. Actually, there's a legend that says if you propose to someone here you will never break up. There's a person that I've always wanted to bring here but I want to become someone she can be proud of first."
"I guess I'm ruining the first time with a girl experience then."
"No sweat."
"But if someone sees us here it'll be bad for you. Let's go to Ms. Laura's to see what she has to say. If she does allow me to stay; we'll have to go back to Tyrannus to get some of my stuff.
"Alright. Let's go then."
It's still early afternoon when the two of them arrive at Ms. Laura's, in the Upper Residential Area. They knock a few times before she actually opens the door.
"You're finally back." Yep. She's definitely been crying. She tried to get rid of the tear marks but her eyes and voice give her away. Guillelmus just gives her a very comforting bear hug; the kind that alleviates you of all your sorrows for a brief moment.
"How're you doing?" he asks as they still hug. She obviously doesn't wanna let go.
"I don't have a clue why you're asking if you can already see"
"Sounds like someone needs some good company. There are only few people with orange hair."
"Alright but just promise me that you'll drop by every once in a while. Remember that I only moved here not long ago. I barely have any friends here…"
"But I always come by."
"Isn't that just because of Laura?" she asks.
"Is your name Michelle?" he counters.
"Of course not," she giggles. "How long have you been waiting to play that trick on me?"
"Just came to me. Anything to make the mademoiselle smile again." She hides her face in the collar of his jacket as her mixed emotions manifest. She cries and laughs at the same time.
"Where were you ten years ago?"
"I'm sure I was still around here," he says scratching his head. He deliberately played dumb to heighten the effect of the previous joke. Definitely cheered her up it seems. She means to invite them in but they say they'll have to get Valentina's stuff among others.
While they head toward the guild, they take a tour through the shopping district. It has a series of merchant houses back to back, all with their suspended sign boards and displays. Some of the buildings, especially the ones around the corners, are stores that are totally explained by their signboards. The shops that dealt with merchandise have more of an open ground floor so that the exhibition could easily catch the eye of a passerby.
By passerby I mean Valentina. It's normal for you to get enticed since they always display their best but she made him stop at every store. He is lucky enough that she didn't ask him to buy anything but he'd look very bad after the way she "paraded" around the district. For that reason, he decides to buy her something for her wrist. It's a thin silver bangle.
"Don't you think it's too simple?"
"What a nice question to show gratitude," he says sarcastically. "I have a reason why I chose that one. Before I talk about the ulterior motive I'll have you know that it looks nice on your wrist. You could also wear it with anything since it's slim."
"And what's the ulterior motive?" she asks.
"I can't tell you now or you'll start acting suspicious. What I can tell you is I tried my best to match your outfit."
"This is your best? Then it's true that your taste buds are dead."
"I'll have you know that I was behind the interior design of mom's; which I quite remember you said; "This place is really comfortable. Your mom must have a great taste."
"Forget about it. Don't you get the feeling that people are looking at us?"
"I really wonder what caused that. It's not like somebody visited every store in the district."
"You can be quite annoying."
"Now that I think about it you might be right. It looks more like gossip to me. I hope it ain't anything bad."
They're soon in the middle class residential area. It doesn't take them long to arrive at the Guild: Tyrannus. The Guild Hall actually has the structure of a manor but a sculpted dinosaur rests on it. Of course, the head turns to the side so only one eye looks down at the entrance; a red eye.
It has a long span of closed tread doorsteps. I needn't mention the color since every paved way in this city is gray. It has a set of about 30 treads which end in a curve that protrudes a bit past the risers. The risers are all 10 inches high which demonstrates how high up the guild is compared to some of the other buildings in the district. The only reason it isn't the highest is because it's actually based on a depressed region. It has stone banisters which gently curve outward from the guild and end in a swirl.
There are also two porcelain statues that seem to be angels at the region that's cut off by the banisters, the lawn. The angels blow on a horn which is actually a water sprinkler like the fountain at the town square. The grass flourishes. Valentina wonders why she failed to guess before. That's just because it was built in a sunken region. They quickly make their way up but before they can make their way to the top a cute voice calls…
"Harmonie!... Wait!" It's a she. She has brown hair and a seemingly delicate figure. She looks familiar to boot. They watch her climb up the stairs. It leaves her panting so she doesn't even look up. She begins to speak in an interrupted voice as she holds onto his shoulder.
"You dressed so different that I almost thought it wasn't you. Besides, it's never like you to walk with someone" she says as her breath stabilizes and she raises her head. "Who is SHE? I haven't seen her around before."
He begins to say that Valentina's his friend but she says more like partner. He gives her the eyes but it's too late. "What do you mean by partner?" she asks concernedly.
"Umm. He better explain." She says as she flicks a "B" in sign language for "Business." However, Guillelmus seems to ignore it.
"It so happens that Valentina… she's my partner. We've formed a Raid Unit." Her hand drops off his shoulder.
"… I don't get it… didn't you… Forget it. I heard that you were hurt and since you didn't show up I was worried," she says sadly. "Since you're obviously fine I'm gonna get going now."
He grasps her wrist but she doesn't even turn back to look at him when he asks her to wait. That's because her eyes started tearing up sooner than she anticipated. She tells him that they could talk later so he lets her go. He stays frozen in thought for a while. Valentina's words thaw him out.
"Don't tell me she's the one you were talking about earlier."
"…You just said don't tell me."
"It was verbal irony. I don't need to know that anyway but what's the big deal?"
"She asked me first."
"Asked you what?"
"She had about twenty ideas for the name of our Raid Unit."
"I see. That must be a disaster. I'm sorry. I know I tend to talk a lot when I'm not supposed to."
"Let's just forget about it for now and go inside, shall we?"
-----------End of Chapter 4------------
Chapter 5 Teaser
You've gotta be careful about what you wish for. If their hostile eyes lock on to you… you'll never evade their radar. Unless of course, you are to erratic to be detectable.
To be continued…