THE LOST OF DESTINY'S SON III

Alicia was listening in on the narration and was amused by how engaged the children were with the tale. The diner was suddenly invaded by a group of knights. One of them made his way to the center of the room, his strides begging for recognition. He let out a large cough and spit the toothpick he had clenched between his jaws as if to make sure everyone heard him. He was clad in a black breastplate and a fading black robe soiled with mud as if he'd just lost a battle with a pig. His hair backed up the theory; it was all shaggy, and something was trapped in between them, protruding out like it desperately wanted to get out of that hairy cage.

He moved the other men backward, obviously signaling to the diners that he was in charge of the unkempt party of children with beards.

"Hey! Were require to be served immediately! "

He grumbled, stomping his dirty foot on a stool next to Alicia's seat at the register. Alicia was visibly annoyed.

An enigmatic man sat beside the abused stool, dressed in long black clothing that engulfed his whole body and was topped with a hood to complete the look. He sat beside the knight on the same counter, unaffected by the knight's utter disgust. Maybe it didn't annoy him because they did it all the time, or maybe he'd just learned the art of minding his own business.

He just sat there, sipping his cup of green tea, in any case. With a cloddish smile cracking his lips, the knight beside him kept looking into the man's cup, as if to say, 'Who the hell drinks green tea at this time of day?'

One unlucky waiter marched by the knight, balancing a tray full of noodle bowls. The knight turned around and tightened his hand, trapping the waiter's collar under it. He pulled him nearer to his ruined face.

"Hey, I've been looking to be served for a while now. Now, are you going to tend to my men, or can I go into the kitchen and take care of it myself?"

"uhhhhh... So... We were just waiting for the next table to clear so we could set it for you and your fellow knights, sir."

With a shaking voice, the waiter responded. His oily palms trembled uncontrollably. Alicia was also waiting for the bowls to spill off the tray and landslide to the ground. The knight's brows twitched with unease as he cast glances across the room, or maybe that's what they did all the time. He eventually chose one of the tables.

"That's it! The one seems to be empty!"

"But, sir, some elderly people continue to use the table."

"Would they mind sharing?"

He turned around and confronted one of the other knights who stood at the door like a drenched sign.

"Royce, hi there. Those elders over there seemed to be finishing their lunch. Will you mind assisting them and maybe showing them the way out?"

"Sure, I'd be delighted to!" The reply came from the other knight. He gently poked the knight next to him on the shoulder, and the chain of punches went down the line like a coordinated pendulum to the last of those fools.

They approached the table. It was as if those blows sparked their feet into action. They got to the table, but Alicia couldn't comprehend their mumbles; maybe they were truly animals who couldn't talk.

One thing led to another, and the elders were being yanked from their seats and thrown out of the diner before Alicia knew it. The knight with the filthy foot on the stool and the grip on the waiter's collar grinned at the other knights.

The anger building up inside Alicia was overwhelming, so she folded her face in an attempt to suppress it. The knight's neighbor was still sipping his green tea. Because of his cool attitude, Alicia started to wonder whether he was deaf or if the green tea was just too good to pass up for a diversion.

"Give me a menu of everything on it, and I mean everything. We'll decide what to eat after it appears at the table."

"Yes, sir!"

As they waited for their meal, the knight let go of the waiter's collar and joined his fellow animals drooling all over the table. Alicia was still in the diner thirty minutes later, finishing her lunch. Surprisingly, the green tea man was still sitting at the counter, cup in hand.

Is it possible he ordered another cup, or was the one he already had too fine to finish in forty minutes?

Alicia pondered her thoughts. She also realized that the knights were staring at him, or maybe at her. It was impossible to see since the robe and mask made it difficult to discern a body outline. It might have been a bag of rice on the stool next to an abandoned cup of green tea, for all she knew.

The knights slowly finished their meal and stood up one by one, the diet restoring their ability to think and eliminating the need for punches to get them moving again.

As they were leaving the diner, one courageous waiter ran up to them, carrying a pen and a sheet of paper.

"Excuse me, sir!" said the waiter "but the bill..."

The filthy-booted knight turned his head to look the waiter in the eyes. When the waiter got a glance of the pig wrestler's awkwardly constructed face gazing dead into his irises, he staggered aside.

The knight repeated his trademark maneuver, catching the weak waiter's collar as he went about his business. Drops of spit followed each word he spewed, flying out of his mouth and pouring down on the poor waiter's forehead.

"You may be a newcomer, so pay attention, chicken face. We are the Independent States Knights. Our job is to protect your wretched lives, and the very least you can do for us is feed us. So let me be clear about something... If you show me that dumb pen and paper the next time I come here, I'll shove them so far into your face that your..."

Alicia's line of sight was abruptly blocked by the green tea guy. He was a few meters away from her, looking the knights down. A huge sack was strapped to his back, which Alicia had not seen before; perhaps he had put it beside him while sipping his tea.

"We agreed to keep a low profile,"

As he stepped by the knight strangling the server, he whispered to him. The waiter was released when the knight drooped his head and sighed deeply. Before leaving, he slipped his hands back into his pockets and let out a large sigh to re-capture everyone's attention.

"Come on, guys, let's put him away for another day; I'm not in the mood."

He stepped out of the restaurant, led by his fellow stupid sheep. Something was up with the knights and the green tea man, Alicia sensed. Her impulses were not one to deceive her. They were asking her to go outside and join them at the time. She jumped from her seat and bolted for the door, or exit, depending on which direction she was looking.

She could see them from afar and tried to formulate a tactic, but her body appeared to have greater power over her thoughts at the time. What was she thinking that every time she blinked, she found herself closer to them than before?

Or, to put it another way, what was her body thinking? She was standing right by the green tea guy the next thing she knew, and her stupid mouth realized it had been too long since it had opened up and said something.

"Hi, there! That is not the way a knight should act. You're putting a Knight guard core's reputation in jeopardy!"

The knights shared a chuckle. Alicia's pride in her vocabulary was mocked with ear-splitting laughter.

"Who is this your girlfriend?"

The pack's leader, a warrior, yelled at the green tea man. The party was gathered in the middle of a wide-open plain. Those phrases did nothing to make the green tea hood man uneasy, and he didn't look at Alicia once.

"Let's get this over with as soon as possible. I've got more pressing matters to deal with."

The green tea guy spoke up. Alicia was able to determine that he may be male after that. His voice was a dynamic combination of a calming tenor tone and a base rhythm. Certainly, the accent wasn't that of an older man. If Alicia had to guess, she'd say he's a twenty-year-old man hiding under the mask. He also put a hint of sluggishness to it, as if he had just awakened from a nap.

"You're taking yourself way too seriously. You should've come with the elderly gentleman; he's normally more animated."

The green tea man tossed the bag he was carrying to the knights. It made clear sounds like swords and shields colliding in combat while soaring through the air and a massive thud as it inevitably hit the ground.

"Okay, that's it for this month's cut! And then there's her!"

The knight had enquired.

Alicia pondered this. The knight removed a sword from the top of the bag. Alicia's eyes twinkled in delight. She locked her gaze on the sword, its intricate designs, and the handwoven handle. Is it possible?

"Do you mean her?"

"Yes, her... isn't she with you... if not, we don't want strangers to know about our transactions."

He didn't look at Alicia when he replied.

"I don't know her... She has nothing to do with this,"

"What's the matter, Missy? Go back to your meal before we make you!"

"Unless you tell her, she has no idea!"

The guy continued.

"And why is she wearing the armor when there aren't any North Angus State Guards in the here?"

"I've come here..."

The green tea guy discretely tugged on Alicia's robe before she could finish her sentence. He didn't bother to look back at her, and she didn't bother to look back at him.

She's most likely an out-of-town actress. This weekend, there is a festival. Look, are we finished here?"

Alicia returned the look with a disgusted smile on her lips.

"PLEASE EXCUSE ME!" What the hell do you think I am, footface? You and your gang of obnoxious dogs owe me some respect!"

"What the heck did you call me, princess?"

Her remark elicited a response from the knight. With a pissed-off expression on his deformed lips, he approached her slowly. Alicia had a clearer view of the blade as he got closer. It was hard to miss. The hooded man reached out and caught the fist that was heading straight for Alicia's face. She hadn't even seen it coming because she was so preoccupied with the blade. The knight was pulled back by the hooded man.

"You know better than to touch Albert's son!" "Watch it, kid! Know your place!"

The knight then charged at the hooded man, lifting his sword in action. Since the interaction unfolded too suddenly, all Alicia saw was the knight smashing into the others. Alicia noticed light blue embers dissipating from the green tea man's arms as he retracted his hand back into his cloak.

Was it a flame-based gift? There are no flame-related gifts with blue auras, just yellow and red!

Alicia pondered her thoughts.

The knight fought to get to his feet, his stomach clenched in agony.

Those were his last words as the other knights pulled him back into town, bumping elbows with the man in the hood as they went by. He was well aware that he had been humiliated and that he stood no chance of winning the battle. His only option was to flee.

Alicia's anger did not go anywhere because she did not punch anybody. She wanted to take it all out on anyone, something, and she started with the tea man, who happened to be in her line of fire.

"You know, I can look after myself! I didn't need your assistance in any way; I should have beat the man on my own!"

It took him a long time to turn around and begin walking backwards.

"Hey! Don't you walk out on me while I'm talking to you! I mean it."

She began to pursue the man, blurting out words to form nonsensical sentences full of choler. He had really perfected the art of being self-contained. He just kept walking as if Alicia were a tenacious bee buzzing about his ear, hoping for a powerful gust of wind to blow it away. His mind seemed to be elsewhere, fantasizing about the next cup of sweet, steaming green tea he'd have when he got home in another forty minutes or so. He eventually gave in to the buzzing and turned to face the bee.

"Look, miss, I've got somewhere else to be, so please stop following me!"

"I won't until you respond to my questions! What were you doing with those worthless pigs back there?"

"... Things good for nothing pigs do!"

As if that answer wasn't rude enough, he then turned away from her and walked away!

The cage that had been holding Alicia's rage had been broken open for a time, but the ravenous beast had discovered plenty to eat in the form of a walking talking bag of rice full of impolite responses!

"You, you conceited little rodent! Keep your vocabulary in check; do you really know who you're talking to? I'm Alicia Iko of the Iko Family, and I'm also a member of the North Angus Honorary State Guard! You'll follow my orders, you moron!"

He came to a halt, as if to consider what he'd just heard. Alicia's string of words seemed to touch all of the right notes. He cocked his head slightly in the direction of Alicia, who was standing behind him.

"If I were you, I'd keep the detail to myself! This is not a Royal republic. Do you have any idea why I prevented you from revealing your true identity earlier? It

He said quietly, his tone suggesting that every word he uttered was intended to be taken seriously.

"Maybe it's even worse,"

He whispered something to himself, a low growl clear enough for Alicia to hear. Such statements had an effect on her because they were backed up by intense feelings, despite the fact that he said it flatly without showing any.

He talked again from a safe distance, interrupting Alicia's pestering.

"I'd be cautious if I were you; that shiny uniform of yours would draw unwelcome attention; and I don't see you pulling your luggage; this is the thief's market; there's an explanation for that name, you know."

"My... Luggage, what?"

Alicia was so engrossed in the debate that she almost forgot about the baggage she had left at the diner.