Chapter 7.1: Do You Believe In Magic?

Ace laid in the dirt, exhausted and filthy. The hot sun beat down on his back and he struggled to get up. The moment he landed in this strange land he was surrounded by street children who screamed at him and pulled on his clothes.

"Take the rich Roman's things," they screamed.

   The biggest one gave him a swift kick to the balls, and once he was down on the ground another threw sand in his face.

They took anything they could find that wasn't hard to take off of him and ran away.

  No one had helped him, further adding to the shame and humiliation of being beaten by a group of wayward children. He stumbled over to an alley and checked his pockets. They had taken everything. His phone, his wallet, a pack of gum, a rubber band and the watch.

"Oh shit," Ace whispered.

   The watch had brought him to this strange place and without it he was lost.

"Don't worry, I'm still here," Invictus whispered.

"I can't get rid of him," Ace despaired. "I can't go back!"

Invictus began to cry and Ace became even more annoyed.

"Stop crying and let me think," Ace mumbled.

  He peeked out of the alleyway and started to take in his surroundings. The streets seemed quite normal, but all their clothes were loose, or people only wore bottoms. It smelled horrible, but everyone seemed to not notice or not care. All the small houses were beautifully painted in bright colors, and people seemed unperturbed by the constant heat.

I need AC, Ace thought. Does this place even have that?

  He noticed out of the corner of his eye, two guards eating fruit next to a cart where a man was selling them, and became annoyed that no one came to aid him. Ace was nervous that he would get mugged again by a random group of street children and made his way through all the mess and trash in the alleyway to try and find out where he was.

  There were no signs that he could read of the few he found, and he was even more confused when what he soon realized weren't decorations, but words.

These look like pictures, he thought. How can anyone read this?

  He tried to stay away from any crowds, because wherever he went people stared, pointed, or tried to sell him things he didn't even know what they could be used for. He wandered the streets all day, and soon he became tired and dehydrated. He couldn't find a place to get water, and it was soon dark, with few people in the streets. Ace was not used to this level of darkness, as the only thing to light the dirt and stone paved streets were random torches left in front of people's houses, many of them already fizzling out.

  The more he wandered the streets the more lost he became. After some time he had completely given up on finding out where he was going and simply followed the biggest landmark he could see : a lighthouse. It towered over the entire town, it was impossible to miss.

If I follow the light house I can get some water, he thought.

He did not get very far, as he collapsed in the street from a heat stroke.

  When Ace awoke he was in a small room with a bed. The entire room was made of stone, and for the first time that day he did not feel like he was about to melt into a puddle of sweat. A woman walked into the room, and Ace screamed. This caused her to scream as well, and an older man came running into the room. "What is happening," the man yelled. "Why is there screaming! It's late!"

  "I am sorry father," the girl mumbled. "He awoke in a fright and scared me." The man leered at Ace, whom he did not trust, but merely took him in, thinking he was a rich man by looking at his clothes, hoping he would be greatly compensated for his kindness.

  Ace was terrified. The watch had done exactly as it promised him. It had brought him straight to Candice. She stood there, being scolded by the man, who looked like her. He clearly was her father as they looked the same, with their straight black hair, dark brown skin, and straight, pointy noses.

Why is she just letting him talk to her like that, Ace wondered.

   Candice had never let anyone talk to her in any way that she thought was rude. She was a proud woman, even though she looked like she couldn't carry half her own weight. The way she walked and carried herself demanded respect and attention, but this Candice was meek and frail. She stared at the ground and held back tears as her father lectured her. He stopped once he saw her shaking and groaned.

"Women are so sensitive," he grumbled.

  He walked up to the bed and glared at Ace. "What is your name," he barked. Ace was unable to understand most of the words they were saying, but a few of them made sense.

Is my C-Chip broken, he wondered. At least they couldn't steal that out of my ear.

"What is your name," the man repeated. Ace understood the word name, and finally introduced himself.

  "Acheus," he mumbled. "Please do not hurt me."

   The man was confused. He did not understand most of the words that came out of his mouth. It sounded like Ace was switching through several languages when he spoke, because he was. His C-Chip worked as a universal translation device, but to this man all he heard were scattered words, and without the same device he had no idea what Ace was saying.

"He is no Roman," the man complained. "He doesn't speak proper Latin, Greek, or even Coptic."

"What should we do with him," the girl mumbled.

"For now we can let him stay," the man sighed. "Do not be alone with him Ibis. He does not seem well. We will get rid of him in the morning."

"I am not Roman," Ace said.

They both turned to look at him, amazed that he could understand the words out of their mouths. "Where am I," Ace asked. Now Ibis and her father were confused, as yet again his words made no sense. The more questions he asked, the more confused they became. "Let's just leave him be," Ibis mumbled. She left him a small bowl filled with water, and greedily Ace grabbed the bowl and drank. "Can I have more," he pleaded. Ibis did not understand a word he said. He tried pointing at the bowl and immediately she understood. Ibis returned with a large pitcher and Ace drank, thirsty from the long day he wandered the streets.

He moved his hair out of his face as he drank, and Ibis screamed.

"What's wrong," Ace mumbled.

"His ears are strange," she cried out. "What type of man is he?"

  Ace could understand the word ears, and quickly he moved his hair back to cover them. Ibis' father, Menes, pushed him down on the bed and moved his hair away. He made a face in disgust and again Ace was humiliated, this time for something out of his control. Menes would not get off of him, and he was screaming something that Ace couldn't understand.

  Ace blinked and he reappeared on the other side of the room. Menes and Ibis started to scream, and no longer did they think he was a man at all. "We need to get help," Menes whispered. "Is it a monster?"

"I don't think so," Ibis mumbled. "He would have done something by now."

  Ace was confused about why they were screaming, but he wasn't really bothered. He scared people often by suddenly moving across the room. He took a step towards them and they jerked in fear. "It's okay," he mumbled.

Have they never seen anyone with an ability before, he thought. That makes no sense. She knows me.

  Ibis in fact did not know him, but simply looked like Candice. So much so that Ace was terrified that she would follow through on her threat to kill him.

   Should I leave, he wondered. I don't know where I am though.

  Menes shouted more words at him, but the only thing Ace could understand was demon. "I am not a demon," Ace hissed. "Tell him Candice!" He pointed at Ibis and she shook her head rapidly, having no clue what he was talking about, not understanding his words.

  Ace took another step towards them and they backed up again in fear. He smirked, realizing that he was the strongest person in the room, and he could stay there, and no one could mug him again. He bounced around the room, appearing and reappearing. Ibis and Menes screamed, but after a while they stopped. Ace laughed and grinned as he did his little magic act, and Menes was no longer afraid, but still suspicious. Ibis was now absolutely sure he was not dangerous, but simply a magic man, and he could teach them his power.

   "No Roman can do this," Ibis exclaimed. "He cannot be one! I have never seen one with hair the color of clay."

  "Do not be fooled Ibis," Menes snarled. "He could be wearing the skin of some poor man as a suit."

   Ace saw them whispering amongst each other, deciding his fate, and he tried to communicate with them again. The only thing he learned from the very strained conversation of the few words he could understand with hand signals was that they thought he was some kind of wizard from the palace nearby, and he needed to return very quickly, because they did not want him there.

  They left the room, and Ace sat on the bed, listening to the sound of the ocean, still having no clue where he was. He peered out the window, and the streets below were much cleaner than where he was earlier. The houses were bigger, and they all had stone archway gates at the entrances. They were painted either blue, red, green, sometimes yellow, and many tall columns made up the architecture of the houses.

  Are they rich, Ace wondered. It's nicer here than the rest of town, but this room is so empty.

  They had put him in the guest room, and removed anything they thought he might steal before he awoke. He searched the room for any clues and gave up.

He decided to go to sleep and deal with whatever would happen in the morning.