Tales Of The Underlands (jjba part 5 Wonderland AU)

Truce And Alliance

There was the feeling of the harsh wind from the outside on your back, as you stood in the door, waiting for something to happen, someone to move or someone to say something.

Instead the boy just stared at you and you noticed he had a slight orange glow, just like the dragonfly outside. His mouth was agape and his eyes were wide in awe.

Behind you, you felt the stares of the others bore into him. Theirs were hostile, his was in a childish innocence.

His feet were propped up on the table. There was a knife hidden in his right boot and a small backpack on the ground next to him.

The boy couldn't be older than eighteen, but he was probably younger.

He was also the one who broke the silence first.

"You're a human." he stated as a matter of fact. His eyes had stopped on your face, taking in your form, as to make sure he was correct.

You nodded slowly, before Risotto, who stood beside you, spoke up. His words having a menacing ring to them:" And you're one of Bucciaratis men aren't you?"

"Yes." the boy quirked up, "And you are the boogeyman that I was warned about when I was younger."

You tensed up. Boogeyman?

"The rebellion must be in great shape if they resulted to recruiting children." you heard Formaggio from the back.

"The rebellion is in better shape than any of you are right now." the boy remarked, "You all look like you need rest and some of you are hurt. Lets have a truce for now, I won't attack you, if you don't attack me."

"You're the one who's at an disadvantage, we could easily get rid of you, without breaking a sweat."

The boy and Risotto were staring at each other, till there was the sound of clicks behind you. Everyone, aside from Risotto who still gave that kid a death glare, turned around. The dragonfly had landed and on the ground it looked even bigger than it had in the sky, if you were to compare sizes, you'd say it was the size of a car, the wingspan probably around 10 meters.

The orange glow and purple eyes made it a fascinating creature to look at. The clicks it let out sounded like a threat, like you would end up in its stomach if you made one wrong move.

"Be careful, Aerosmith is rather protective of me."the boy said.

Finally Risotto gave in and motioned for you and the others to enter the cabin completely. Exhausted you sat down on one of the chairs, putting your head into your hands. The others weren't much different, but since there was a limited amount of chairs some sat down on the ground.

"Now boy, who are you and what is your business?" Prosciutto had sat down next to you before he started to question the boy.

"Narancia." the boy said, "I came across some of the Diavolos men, or their bodies, to be more precise. They had a letter on them that wrote about you guys and how you had someone with you. You're on your way to the prince aren't you?"

"And so what if we are?" Illuso asked openly hostile towards the boy.

"Nothing." Narancia shrugged.
"But do you even know the way?"

"Of course we do!" Ghiaccio chimed in.

Narancia seemed surprised about that.
"Wha-i mean how?"

"We have our sources, just like the prince does." Melone smiled, clearly amused that they were at an advantage for the time being.

"Does the king know?" he looked like he was on edge all of a sudden.

"He knows that we're on our way to the prince, but he doesn't know where exactly in the mountains the camp or the castle are." Risotto explained, which caused the boy to visibly relax.

Now Narancias attention was directed towards you. "Human, how did you end up with them?"

"Oh well, it just happened when that Doppio guy tried to take me to the king. And now I've been traveling with them for a few days." You gave him a short version of the messed up journey that you'd been through.

"Do you really think Bucciarati will reward people like you, after all you have done, just because you bring him a human?" he directed his words towards Risotto again.

"We don't want a reward." was all what Risotto said.

"What do you want then?" Narancia questioned, raising an eyebrow while fiddling with the handle of his knife in this boot.

There was a moment of silence as Risotto looked towards each of his men, who were  giving him determined stares back.

"We want to join the rebellion." he finally spoke.

"We want to make sure that Diavolo gets what he deserves."

The boy eyed each member of the troup too.
"Great, then we have the same goal. I will accompany you to Bucciaratis camp, but that doesn't mean that you're our allies yet. That's up to the prince to decide."

Prosciutto grunted at that. But his posture got less stiff.
"We wouldn't expect anything less from a man who is supposed to be our future ruler."

Narancia ignored him. Instead he faced you again. " Do you know of the prophecy?" he asked, a glint of excitement in his eyes.

"Well, Polpo showed me something, but I don't quite understand it yet. What I do know is that it is connected to the fact that I am a human. They refused to explain it further."

"It's because we don't really know either, no one does aside the king, prince Bucciarati and the golden sorcerer." Melone defended their actions.

"I do!" Narancia chimed in

"But I'm not telling you, besides Bucciarati can explain it better than I can. I'm sure he will tell you when we reach the camp in a few days. He and some others will be very interested in meeting you, that's for sure!"

"Does the prince know a way to get me home?" you finally asked the young boy the question that had been on your mind for the last few days.

"I don't know." he shrugged.

Wonderful, you only consented to this journey because you thought it might get you home. Sometimes the Underlands might be breathtakingly beautiful, but you still missed your home. What did the people closest to you think? Did anyone notice you're missing? Or had the time in your world just stopped when you fell into the hole at the oak tree?

Narancia must have seen your defeated expression, because he hurried to add something to his previous statement.

"But I'm sure we will somehow find a way to get you home. Someone will know a way. We have many smart people in the rebellion, my friend Fugo for example. He even taught me some stuff, tho he does sometimes stab me with kitchen utensils."

The boy rambled on about all the geniuses that were in the rebellion, his panicked tone and his words made you chuckle. The boy was so young and still he had joined a rebellion at an even younger age and was determined to fight for someone he believed in.

He stopped talking when he heard you laugh, relieved that you didn't seem to be hopeless anymore.

"We all should rest now, the next day's are going to be even harder. The weather will become harsher, we need all the energy we can get."

You silently agreed. Sleeping with a real roof over your head felt like a dream come true. Plus the cabin had a fireplace, so it was nice and warm.

"I will send a letter to Bucciarati, just so that he knows that you guys are supposedly on our side, but I still don't trust you, Boogeyman."

"That's fine by me, as long as we won't get attacked by the prince's soldiers when we arrive at the camp." Risotto didn't pay Narancia much attention while he prepared his sleeping place.

You were already laying down. This day had been too long for your taste. Only a few seconds after your head hit the makeshift pillow you had, you fell asleep.