Turbinio

Sage and Apples

"He shoot the guy!" Shouted a young man.

"It was a duel! He didn't do anything wrong!" Someone snorted.

You ignored the discussion and looked ahead. A man was lying on the ground with a long trail of blood flowing from his head. Nearby was another tall, flamboyant man who appeared to be the shooter. He had long blond hair and deep green eyes. You weren't the type to pay attention to others, but this man was so fascinating that you could even see the thin beams of light illuminating his face through his weird hat.

From this distance, it was impossible to tell if the man was still alive, although the head wound looked very serious. "Get out of the way, you idiots! Let me see what happened!" You shouted, attracting more attention than expected since you were the only person who approached the scene.

Why did they even call a doctor? His head had exploded, and his brain was in pieces on the floor, it was beyond saving. You looked at the man with the strange hat and checked if he was still there.

Then you looked at the victim's hands and found the gun that had been used. The man had shot himself, but his body was covered with weird spiral bruises. You looked again at the strange man and this time your eyes met. You felt a paralyzing chill and were barely able to blink. "What the hell did you do to this guy?" You asked, but so quietly that he couldn't hear. You knelt and touched the strange wound on your shoulder, completely forgetting that everyone presents was looking at you.

"Hey! Don't touch him! What do you think you're doing?" Shouted a man who appeared to be the sheriff.

Great, you would go as a hero and now everyone sees a crazy woman who likes to put her hand on dead bodies. You stood up and silently walked towards the sheriff. You were embarrassed and you just wanted to get out of that place as soon as possible.

As you walked, you looked over your shoulder at the strange man. It was the third or fourth time you looked at him, what is wrong with you? Is he really that extravagant? You turned back to the sheriff one more time.

"What happened here?" You asked, shaking your head slightly.

"It was just a duel, a fair fight." The sheriff replied as he smoothed his scruffy mustache. "He threw a sphere at the guy with the gun and he accidentally shot himself."

"Accidentally? What do you mean? Who is this man?"

"No more questions, miss. The duel is over."

You grimaced, ignoring the man's rudeness, and watched as the officers removed the body. What was that spiral-shaped bruise, anyway? A fighting technique like those monks use? You looked back at the man and ducked again your head when you saw that he was already gone. Jesus, you just got here!

After that happened, you could not help but smile inappropriately. Apparently, Steel Ball Run had a lot more to offer than you thought. You sighed and tried to remain calm as a fish on ice, as you should have been from the beginning. You shoved your hands into the small pockets of your dirty crochet coat. You walked back to your wagon, and the same images replayed in your mind.

"Hey! Wait! I'm talking to you!" You heard someone yell and quickly turned around, thinking he was calling you. "What kind of weapon is that? Let me see it!"

"Don't touch it! It's still spinning!"

Of course, this couldn't be about you. You just ignored it and kept walking until you heard a thud.

It was the same man from the duel, this time with a boy who looked like he almost fell out of his wheelchair. Seriously? Was he going to hit a crippled boy? What kind of public enemy was he? Whoever it was, you didn't want to be the next one to get hit, so you just turned your back on your mule and watched them from a distance. The boy seemed very interested in those spheres that the man was using as weapons. 

"It's still spinning...what does he mean?" You murmured to Cadichon, stroking her flanks.

Anyway, it was none of your business. You decided to just pack up your things. You hung the sage sprigs to dry, arranged the Caribbean rum bottles, and made sure all the spice jars were tightly sealed. Every once in a while a few ladies would come in to buy a few grams of Jamaican pepper and you found that none of them even knew what Jamaica was. Every tired sigh you gave was a curious customer asking uncomfortable questions. "Just think about the money, (Y/N). It will be worth it" you thought. At that moment, you heard a soft and not-too-distant moan that made you look down at the ground.

A little boy was tugging at the hem of your coat as thick tears leaked from his eyes. His face was pepper red and his voice was accompanied by broken sobs.

"Excuse me, miss..." He murmured. "I was told you were a doctor, I cut my leg and it's bleeding a lot, but I don't have any money with me..."

Of course, you were all about the money, but your ideals spoke louder. After all, you would not ask that of a little boy.

"It's okay, I won't charge you anything." You smiled as you wiped away the boy's tears, he looked like he was less than ten years old. "Let me see the wound so I can take care of it."

Luckily it was nothing serious, but you could imagine the agony the little boy was in and you quickly grabbed some bandages and your homemade vinegar. You knelt and tried to soothe the boy as best you could.

"This is going to hurt a little bit, but it's going to stop bleeding right away, okay? I know you're brave, it won't be anything to you!"

The boy nodded and held back his tears.

"Tell me..." Said while dipping a piece of cotton in vinegar. "Did you hear about the mess with that blond man?" You pressed the cotton into the wound.

The boy hissed at the sudden pain, but you managed to distract him.

"That runner... The big man wearing a cape?" The boy asked between sobs.

"Yes, that was him. Were you there?"

"Y... Yes... I saw it from the beginning. The thief who started the fight and died in the end."

"Do you know who this runner is?"

"No... I don't know... I'm sorry, miss."

"You can call me (Y/N)." You started to bandage the wound. "Last question... Do you know where the finish line of this stage will be?"

"Well... I heard some organizers saying there will be a church a few miles from here. Are you going to compete too?"

"Me? Oh, no, no! I'm just a hawker, my mule is strong, but not as fast as those runners. I need to get there before them and be ready for the sales!"

"I see... Well, thank you, miss..." The boy smiled, still with a few tears on his face.

"You're welcome, boy. Be careful and don't get hurt again!" You smiled.

Shortly after, you were already preparing to cross the finish line before the runners. This race was going to be quite a journey.