Act 2 - "A Peculiar Arrangement"
Ignia Kingdom Castle.
At a certain room, in the castle's underground dungeon.
The crackling sounds of a whip lashing the flesh could be heard as its echoes bounced off the stone walls of the enclosed room. Blood splatters could be seen on the floor.
Two knights stood together on one side, one of them carrying a whip, while the other was crossing his arms. They had a satisfied look on their face as they seem to be enjoying what they were doing.
"You fucking brat!" the knight with the whip exclaimed as he lashed out again to his victim.
"You don't know... how long... I've been wanting... to do this!" he said as he struck again, and again, letting out all of his frustrations.
On the other side of the room, receiving the whipping was Fuubuki. His arms were chained up in the air as his body was raised upwards. His torso was exposed, covered with cuts, and bruises from the whipping. Hanging on his neck was a strange pendant that the knights didn't even bother to remove. Despite the beatings he received, he never once cried out in pain. Rather, he merely gave a furious glare to those in front of him.
"Heh, look at those eyes. Looking at us as if we're the scum," the unarmed knight laughed. He found the situation amusing, however the longer he received Fuubuki's glares, the more irritated he got.
"Don't look at me like that!" he screamed as he delivered a heavy punch to Fuubuki's gut. The chained thief let out some spit as his gut was pulverized and the air knocked out of him, yet his expression remains the same, disdain for his offenders.
"You little-!"
Just as the knight was about to launch another gut punch at Fuubuki, the door swung open. The two knights turned their heads to see who it was.
"C-Captain Griffon!" they both saluted.
Griffon observed the situation within the room. He immediately frowned as he saw the beaten up boy, hanging on chains in the middle of the room.
"What is going on here? I told you to press him for answers, not beat it out of him!" Griffon scolded angrily. He crossed his arms as he glared at the two knights.
"We are trying to press him for answers in his involvement in the princess' abduction, but this guy just wouldn't talk! He's just glaring at us like that for the past hour!" the whip knight reported.
"That's right! And besides, it's about time this thief gets what he deserved!" the other knight exclaimed.
"It is not up to you to decide what kind of punishment he deserves. Until the king gives out his sentence, our detainees are to be treated as normal citizens! Shame on you two!"
"W-we're sorry!"
Griffon then stood in front of the bloodied Fuubuki. He observed him from head to two, feeling sorry for the state he was in. Fuubuki then also set his sights on him, still with the glare he was giving to the other two.
"I apologize for all of this. I never thought they would use this chance to vent out their frustrations on you. Please forgive me," Griffon apologized with a bow, although he didn't bother waiting for his response.
"Clean him up. Have him ready to be sent to the audience room. The king wishes to see him," Griffon ordered as he left the room.
"Right away!"
After their captain had left, the two breathed out a sigh of relief to calm their nerves.
"Shit! The rumors are true. Captain Griffon really is scary when he's mad."
"Yeah, also his unbelievable kindness to prisoners. That guy is a saint."
"Well, we better get this guy ready to be presented for the king," the whip knight reminded.
"Nah, just put a cloth over his body then you won't have to worry about those wounds. As for cleaning him up... want to submerge him in water?" his fellow suggested.
"I won't risk another scolding from the captain. No thank you!"
With that, the two released Fuubuki's chains from the air, allowing his arms to drop down by his sides. They then briefly removed his chains to put his clothes back on. As they do, Fuubuki just stared lifelessly at the ground. There was no hint of resistance on his face.
"Alright move along now scum," one of them said as they chained him again and pulled him upwards, dragging him to the door.
~~~~Audience Room~~~~
"L-like we said, we're just goons! You can't really blame us for all of this!"
The two abductors now stood in front of the king. They were in chains, and looking quite panicked as they were presented before the highest authority in the land. Knights surrounded them on all sides, making sure that any attempt of escape would be futile.
"Yes, yes, I've heard you say that several times already. However we still haven't heard from your supposed 'Mastermind.' I need to hear all sides to this story before I make my fair verdict," the king explained as he sat on his throne. His trusted aide, Kuroe stood on his right, while his daughter, the just-rescued Princess Akagi, sat on the smaller, adjacent throne. She had a furious, and disgusted look on her face as she looked at the two offenders.
"Kidnapping a monarch of the country you live in. You sure have guts huh? Well then, I wonder how your guts would look like on the ground!" she exclaimed.
"Akagi. Mind your language," her father scolded.
"But father I-"
"Royalty should never talk like that, much more a refined young lady such as yourself."
The princess crossed her arms as she sulked in her seat.
"Hmm?" Captain Griffon of the knights turned his head as he heard the door of the audience room swung open.
"Your highness, our third suspect has arrived," he declared.
Entering the room were Fuubuki, and the two knights guarding him.
It was Fuubuki's first time being in such a massive room. His mind was still in a state of anger, however he couldn't help but marvel the huge area he was in. The floors, walls, and ceilings looked so clean, it was as if they were shining. Several relics, and paintings lined up along the walls. His eyes were particularly set on a certain blade that was embedded onto big rock.
All eyes were set on them, as the entourage walks further down the red carpet. King Helios' eyes widened in surprise as he finally set his eyes on the notorious Child of the Wind.
"So you're..." his voice sounded like it shook a bit as he spoke.
Meanwhile, the two primary suspects grinned as they saw their scapegoat enter the room.
"Big bro! How could you have gotten caught!"
"Yeah! After we went through all of that just to let you escape! You disappoint us big bro!"
They acted immediately, trying to rope Fuubuki in, hoping to receive a lighter sentence while he took the brunt of the punishment.
Fuubuki, in response, merely glared silently at them.
Soon enough, he now stands just before the elevated part of the room where the thrones are.
"This guy! This guy too! I can't believe he had the nerve to touch me! He... he...!" Akagi complained.
"Touched you?" King Helios asked.
"Yeah! He was reaching in the sack talking about food or something! He just... were you planning on eating me?!"
Fuubuki ignored Akagi's cries as he kept on his glare on the two.
"Ha... I will just proceed. Young Fuubuki," the king called out in an imposing voice. Everyone in the room stiffened up upon hearing the king's voice. Even Fuubuki was forced to turn his head towards the commanding presence of the king.
"I would like to ask you about your involvement on the case of my daughter's abduction. May I hear your side of the story?"
Fuubuki kept silent for a bit, before he said in a rage-filled but calm voice--
"Go to hell."
The knights, and the two offenders were taken aback by his words. They couldn't believe what just happened, someone had the audacity to badmouth the king.
Just then...
"Ugh!"
Fuubuki doubled over and groaned in pain as he received a sharp blow to the stomach. However, it wasn't the two knights that did it as they were still surprised by his behavior. Rather, it was the proud Captain Griffon who drove his fist towards Fuubuki's abdomen.
"Griffon..." the king quietly called out, surprised by his knight's action as he thought that Griffon was usually the gentle kind.
"Apologies, Young Fuubuki, but one thing that you should never do in front of me is badmouth the king. Now speak properly. The king merely demands answers from you," the proud captain said in his stoic voice.
Fuubuki coughed violently as the wind got knocked out of him. He had never cried out in pain even as he was beaten up badly earlier, however Griffon's punch seemed to have hit a bit too hard.
"I... I'm not the one who... cough," Fuubuki finally spoke.
"I am... groan not that kind of person..." he added.
"Is that so? Then answer my questions properly to prove your innocence in this incident. First of all, these two claimed that you're with them, and that you're the mastermind behind this operation. Is that true?" King Helios asked as he looked at the two main abductors.
"I do not work with anyone. The only time I've seen those two was when they bumped into me."
The king nodded.
"Then, how did you end up with my daughter?"
"I... I don't know. I just finished my usual fruit hall. At some point I just wanted to eat my fill... but then I found all of my spoils were gone, and only that woman was in my sack."
"That woman?!" Akagi said, seemingly offended by his tone.
"Now that I think about it... our bags might have gotten mixed up when we bumped into each other..."
Helios scruffs his beard. He looks convinced by Fuubuki's alibi.
"I uh... I can attest to that," a knight suddenly spoke out.
"Oh? Luka?" the captain noticed the same individual who spoke up during their hunt.
"Right. As you remember, captain, I told you about how I got stopped by this thief while we were chasing after those two. Their bags were incredibly similar that's why we got that lead in the first place."
"Right. Your lead is what made this operation successful."
"Also, the look on his face back then. He really had no idea that he was holding the princess in his bag. Not to mention, he was asking to be chased while we're pursuing those two. Why would he do that if they have intentionally swapped their bags?" Luka explained.
"I see. As I thought, it was strange in the first place that Young Fuubuki was after the princess in the first place. All these years, all he did was steal some food for his daily sustenance," Griffon supported.
"Your arguments are sound, and I commend you, young Luka, for speaking up," King Helios praised the young knight.
"T-Thank you so much! Your highness! I simply didn't want someone to get falsely accused when I have the means to help!"
"You have a bright future, soldier. Now then..." Helios set his sights on the two actual suspect.
"Eek! Your highness, please have mercy! It's really true that we're just lackeys in all of this! Please I beg your mercy! Spare me and my brother!" the bigger guy prostrated himself before the king.
"W-what he said!" his younger brother said, following along.
"Hm... in that case more interrogation needed to be done on you two. Take them back to their cells," Helios ordered.
"Yes!" the brothers' entourage started to walk off.
"What about him your highness?" Griffon asked as he looked at Fuubuki.
"Hm... his innocence on the case has been proven..."
"Yes sire, but there is still his history as a thief."
"Right. But let me think about it for a bit..."
As his verdict was being decided upon, Fuubuki's eyes were scouring around inside the room, looking for anything that might be used. The walls were lined with beautiful pointings, and priceless artifacts were encased and displayed along the walls as well.
"!!!"
And then, his eyes were set on the sword sitting at the far side of the room.
He looked around at all the people around him. They seem rather distracted for the time being. Perhaps he could pull this off if he did it right.
He then did a small jerking motion which allowed himself to force hischains off of the hands of the two knights with him.
"Gah! Hey!"
As the security around him loosened a bit, Fuubuki made a run for the sword he had his eye on. The chains binding him still allowed for some limited movements with his arm so he can at least wield the blade. However he had to act fast as he still had to remove it from its confines.
"Stop! Young Fuubuki! Don't make this any harder than it should be!" Griffon called out.
As the chase happened, King Helios watched from his throne, his eyes set on Fuubuki.
"He's going for..." he mumbled.
"Should I go after him, your highness?" Kuroe asked, raring to go.
"No, leave this to me."
In a short while, Fuubuki finally reached the handle of the blade. At a glance, it seems like a regular sword, but he felt something resonate within as he touched the handle.
"Stop! That's a national treasure!" Griffon shouted from behind as he approaches.
"Gh! Stay away!"
In a surprising turn of events, the sword that looked seemingly stuck in the stone, slid out easily as Fuubuki pulled on the hilt. He then assumed a combat position as the knights encircled him.
"Now you've done it..." Griffon said, looking surprised.
"Attack him!" one of the knights guarding Fuubuki made an impulsive order. Some of the knights encircling him closed in without proper coordination.
"Hey! You're making things worse!" Griffon tried to stop the assault but it was no use.
The knights tried to attack Fuubuki, thinking he was an easy target, however much to their surprise, it seemed he was quite adept with the blade. Not only were his movements swift, his strikes were also quite impressive. He mowed down the approaching knights with ease, breaking their spears with the sword he just got.
"Damn it!" Griffon tried to join the fray, but stopped as he felt a hand tap his shoulder.
"Stand down captain. I'll handle this," King Helios said as he stepped forward.
King Helios calmly walked towards the defensive Fuubuki. His knights watched with concern as their king approached the dangerous man with no regards to his own safety.
"Back off!" Fuubuki threatened, pointing his sword at the king. The knights readied their hands on their sword hilts in response.
"All of you, hands off your weapon, now! That's an order!" King Helios said out loud, raising his hand to display his command.
The knights then, unable to refuse the king's authority, held down their arms.
"Fuubuki, was it?" Helios asked the thief, attempting to strike a conversation and show his lack of hostility.
The young thief glared at him in response.
"It must have been a tough life for you, living off of stolen food for these past ten years. Now I am no perfect ruler, but I can assure you that I am doing my best to not neglect my people, yes even children like you who have lost their way."
"What do you know about me? Don't talk as if you know what I've been through! You don't--"
"I was once like you, young Fuubuki. Believe it or not," Helios cuts in.
Fuubuki's eyes widened in surprise. His guard dropped down a bit as he got caught along by the king's intentions to just talk.
"Like you, I was once a street rat, living off of leftovers from the upper district. But then, I got accepted into the knights, and by some string of fate, I got betrothed to the late queen."
"What does that have to do with me?"
"Absolutely nothing at all!" Helios exclaimed enthusiastically.
"I simply wanted to have a talk with you, young Fuubuki. Fuubuki... is your name really only that?"
"What do you mean is it only that?"
"You don't have any family name?"
"I... I don't know..." Fuubuki answered as he slowly loses his hostility.
"A family name is a name you get from your parents. For example, the royal family shares the family name Ignia, the name of our nation. As I was married into this family, I also inherited the name as part of the marriage vows. You don't have any of those?"
"I don't have parents..."
"So you say..." Helios scruffed his beard. His face wearing an expression as if he had been enlightened on something.
"Then how did you know that your name was Fuubuki? Is it a name you gave to yourself?" he asked, growing more curious as he talked more to the young man.
"That's..." as Fuubuki was about to explain, he thought for a bit then dug his hands into his shirt, seemingly reaching for something. After a while, he then showed the king something that was attached to his neck.
"It was carved into this amulet. I can't read it but that's what I heard how it was read when someone tried to steal it from me."
The king's sight was captivated by the amulet. He silently stared at it while marvelling its design. It was an amulet with an image of a serpentine dragon carved into it. Six colorless gems were equally spread out around the amulet.
"That amulet looks pretty expensive. If you sold that, you might have had enough money to start your life anew."
"No." Fuubuki replied almost immediately upon the king's suggestion.
"No?"
"I don't exactly know why, but I feel like I must never seperate with it. I refuse to sell it no matter what is offered to me."
"I see. Haha! You sure are an interesting man young boy. Look at you now, you're no longer wary of me am I right?" the king laughed heartily as he gave a big smile to Fuubuki, showing his sincerity.
"I..."
"Young Fuubuki, what do you say you work for me?" Helios suddenly offered.
Evreryone in the room gave surprised glances at the king as he made such an unexpected proposition.
"Your highness?!" Kuroe exclaimed out loud, being the most surprised among the ones present.
"Me? Work for you? What are you playing at?" Fuubuki asked as he looked at the king with suspicion.
"Young Fuubuki, why do you steal?" Helios suddenly asked.
"...so I can live the next day. That's it."
"I thought so. Well hear me out, work for me, and I will make sure you no longer have to worry about your meal for the day, the next, or the following days after that. Sounds like a good deal right?"
"Huh?!"
"Your highness, what is the meaning of this?" Griffon walked up to the king, questioning his impulsive decision.
"What exactly do you need someone like him for? You have all the knights here at your disposal!" he voiced out.
"Because I see potential in his skills. Captain, that boy has been running from your grasp for the past ten years. Now I am not undermining the knights' capabalities, in fact I am quite proud of my army. That's why I took an interest to this thief since he was able to escape from you for quite a long time." Helios explained.
"Then sire, may I ask what job are you assigning to him?"
"Young Fuubuki, what do you say about becoming my daughter's personal bodyguard?"
"Hah?!" Akagi reacted violently upon hearing her father's absurd proposal.
"It's nothing too complicated, I simply ask you to keep my daughter safe at all times so that today's disaster will not happen again."
"Your highness! We have more suitable candidates for the task you speak of! Why must you employ the help of some lowly thief?" Kuroe suddenly chimed in. Her usual stoic demeanor changing to that of bewilderment.
"I agree with Kuroe, your highness. I am not against you employing the thief for whatever reason, but entrusting your daughter, and this country's future ruler to a mere thief is not wise at all," Griffon said, supporting Kuroe's concern.
"Griffon, Kuroe, I understand your concerns, but you'll have to trust me on this. If you need answers, we can talk more about this later. For now... well what do you say? Young Fuubuki?"
"Wait?! Don't I get to have any say in this?!" Akagi cried out, stomping her way to her father.
"Father! I do NOT need a bodyguard! Especially not some thief who looks like he will run away from the first sign of danger. Please reconsider, father! I'll take any of the knights, please?" Akagi begged, though her tone was still angry.
"Akagi, my child, I know it seems like a crazy idea, but please, always know that I am thinking about what's best for you."
"I know that, but this is just--"
"Akagi. Trust me," Helios gave her a sincere look as if begging for her complete trust.
"I-- hah... fine. I'll give him five days. If he proves to me that he is good enough to become my bodyguard within this time, I'll acknowledge him, otherwise I want him gone," Akagi said with a deep sigh.
"Good. Then, Young Fuubuki?"
All of the people involved turned their sights onto Fuubuki. He was still holding the stolen sword in his grasp, but his hostility has decreased greatly thanks to the king's small talk.
Fuubuki was given the chance to abandon his old way of life. No longer does he have to be a menace to society in order to survive for the next day. All he had to do now was to achieve this one simple assignment.
After thinking about it carefully, he turned to the king, and made a small nod.
"I accept."
"A wise decision, young Fuubuki," Helios made a satisfied smile as the decision was made.
"Say, do you like that sword?" he asked suddenly.
"Huh? This... sword?"
"Yeah, I noticed you had your eye on it ever since you entered the room, and it was even the first weapon you decided to go to for your attempted escape."
"I'm sorry... I'll just put it back here..." Fuubuki, after ensuring that his safety was already guaranteed, began to act docile, even taking the initiative to correct his mistake by embedding the sword back into the stone. However before he could do so...
"No, take it," Helios offered.
"What?"
"I said it's yours. The sword looks good on you anyway. Beaides, as my daughter's bodyguard you would need something that can help you fight right?"
"Your majesty-- ah forget it, I won't even bother anymore," Griffon clutches his head in defeat as King Helios made another questionable decision.
"That sword was an important part of my history. I hope you can put it to good use."
Fuubuki, upon being granted his weapon, examined it carefully. Despite being a decorative sword for long, the sword's sharpness was still intact. The iron looks as good as new, and no traces of rust could be seen anywhere.
Fuubuki could feel a certain connection growing between him and the sword. A feeling of being reunited with something. Perhaps it is a weapon from a previous life, but that was just his imagination speaking.
Fuubuki then grabbed the sheath displayed near the stone and placed his new sword in it. He hung the sheath beside his hip, and walk towards the king. He stood in front of Helios and looked him in the eye, then knelt in front of him.
"Thank you for this second life you've given me, um... your highness," Fuubuki offered his respect to the king.
"I- I will try my best to live up to your expectations!"
King Helios gave his nod of approval upon Fuubuki's vow. He then turned his head over to his daughter.
"He's all yours now, Akagi. I hope you two get along and work well together."
Upon being called, Akagi then stepped forth, examining Fuubuki with her eyes. She then let out a deep sigh of disappointment.
"I don't know if he'll do his job well... but because father says so, I'll make do with this for now," Akagi said, crossing her arms as she made her remark.
"I won't have you walking around with me looking like that. Go get yourself cleaned up. Come on, follow me."
As he received his first order, Fuubuki stood up from his position and obediently followed Akagi as they exit the audience hall. With the situation now having died down, the rest of the knights also resumed their posts, leaving King Helios, his aide, and Captain Griffon in the room.
"Your highness--"
"I know, Griffon. You seek answers right?"
"That's right. I can't help but wonder why you chose that thief to be Princess Akagi's bodyguard. You said it yourself, your knights are all well-trained, so why not entrust that task to one of us?" Griffon turned his head to the king, attempting to read his motives with his expressions.
"Griffon... don't you find it strange how those abductors got into here without being detected until after their escape?"
"Yes, even I'm still left puzzled by that fact. No report was made last night, and those two don't look like they possess a brilliant mind. It's really strange how they were able to pull this off...unless?" a look of realization suddenly formed on Griffon's face.
"That's right... there is a rat among us," Helios confirmed his thoughts.
"An inside job? But that can't be... our knights wouldn't do such a thing..."
"What do you thing Kuroe? Is my theory plausible?" Helios said, turning to his aide.
"It's possible. However without enough evidence, we can't really convict someone. Nevertheless, this matter is beyond my scope. My job is to protect you after all," Kuroe answered bluntly.
"As straightforward as ever. Anyway, Griffon... there goes my reason why I chose that thief. Do you see where I'm going at?"
"Yeah, I understand very well. I will respect your decision as I believe your choices are well thought of. I just want to say that in case the thief tries something undesirable, I will be taking action at once."
"Unneeded. I believe that day will never come."
Helios stood up from his throne and started walking out of the room with Kuroe following close behind.
The captain now left behind, cannot help but wonder if there was another hidden motive. In any case, this conversation was already over.
"There's a rat to be wary off. Geez, distrust is the last thing we needed right now. Oh well, let's just see how it goes."