In the distance, a banging sound was heard followed by an explosion, a dust cloud, and shockwaves strong enough to shake Mateo off his bed. Groggy and grumpy at having his sleep interrupted, Mateo checked his digital alarm clock expecting it to be early morning only to find out that it was 15 minutes to noon.
Sighing in resignation, he moved on, getting ready for the day when another explosion happened, the force breaking some of his windows.
Assuming the worst, he jumped through his broken window and landed with a loud thump on the grass below, not even breaking a sweat or a bone, benefits of enhanced endurance.
Carrying the force of the jump into momentum for running, he blasted off, barely dodging trees and other obstacles in his path. Mateo had just realised how fast and uncontrollable his speed really was since the only other time he had gone all out was in the DEAD-ZONE where the lack of life and trees proved beneficial for his speed.
In just under 3 minutes he reached the Windsor residence, the source of the explosion.
The sight he saw upon reaching there was way different than he imagined. There was indeed an attacking group, consisting of only two people, and the one on the defensive was Mr. Daniel, Leone and Carmen's father.
What made the scene weird however was that everyone else was present, from his parents to Amber and Amy, but they were just watching the fight, not making any effort to interfere with it nor end it.
Tapping on the shoulder of the person next to him to get answers, he was rather met with a "aaah, pervert" scream before being slapped.
The scream attracted the attention of those fighting and also their spectators, and soon everyone was staring at the sweaty Mateo who had a pair of boxers as the only garments meant to cover his nudity, not that the boxers were doing their job well.
Put on the spot and being stared by everyone Mateo naturally felt nervous and started scratching the back of his head, unconsciously stretching and flexing his biceps, chest and abs, earning him a couple of appraising thirsty stares from Amy, who was pleased at the eye candy she was getting, and one of the people who were fighting Mr. Daniel.
The only problem was that it was two muscular men who were fighting Daniel and Mateo didn't swing that way.
With visible embarrassment, Maria sacked her son to go dress, apologising on his behalf for interrupting the match.
With the distraction gone, the match continued, regaining its tempo as metal clashed against metal, Daniel's axes against the sword -shield and spear -shield combos of his attackers.
Since he knew that they weren't really under attack, Mateo took his time in getting back -not even bothering to speed walk. Eventually he reached home, bathed, brushed his teeth and dressed before going to the kitchen to whip himself something to eat, and only after that did he make his way back to where they were fighting.
Reaching there he found that the fight had ended and everyone was drinking tea and chatting in a nearby gazebo.
Making his presence known through a light cough to avoid any future slaps, he moved to sit beside Leone, forcefully becoming a barrier between him and Amber as her punishment for slapping him. Acknowledging his presence, Leone asked whether Mateo would like him to recount the events which led to the earlier battle, to which Mateo responded with a nod.
*Earlier that day, sometime between 5 and 8 am*
At the Windsor house, everywhere was as quiet as could be since everyone was asleep and none of them were morning people either. The quiet was soon broken by a light knock on the door heard only by Leone and his heightened senses.
Deciding to ignore the sound and gain some few extra minutes of shuteye proved impossible and soon the knocking became loud enough to wake his parents up.
Grumpy about being pulled from the soft embrace of his lovely wives Daniel opened the door, ready to give whoever the culprit was an earful.
What he received after opening the door was a palm strike aimed at his chest that sent him flying into the wall a few feet behind him.
Shocked and angry at the unexpected attack, Daniel reached behind him to remove his enchanted axes from a secret cabinet in the wall prepared for special occasions like this when the boisterous laughter of his attacker stopped him.
Taking some time to stare at the man at the door, Daniel felt like he knew him as the laughter and random attack reminded him of someone from his past.
Laughing some more the man finally spoke, "Danny ol' boy, it seems like becoming rich has truly made you soft, I mean look at you. Is that a hint of fat around your belly I'm seeing. Tsk tsk tsk, wuss."
With his memory jolted, Daniel stared back at the man who trained him in his early days, the man who taught him the way of weapons when everyone else ignored him, Jack Sulivan.
Wanting confirmation, Daniel called out the name and received that characteristic grin that brightened those dark days of the past, confirming that it really was him.
"Oh, has the little crybaby I knew finally grown up. By now you would've run to give me a hug or is it because your family is staring at you." Sulivan said with laughter, spilling out the secrets of Daniel's past.
"Dad, who is this man and what is he talking about", asked Leone.
"Well son, remember how I told you that we were related to a royal family. Yeah well this man was part of the royal guard and he would take some time out of his busy schedule to train me and give me a few tips and pointers about the art of weaponry. But that's all in the past now. I wonder why he's here though."
"I'm sorry lad but I've been sent to bring you back to the castle."
"Ha ha Sulivan you're funny, you know that right. I made a promise never to step foot in that treacherous place ever again, and I intend on keeping it."
"You don't understand Danny. It's not just you they're bringing back. It's everyone who's connected to the throne, up to 4 generations back. They were going to send someone else after you. Going to probably try to attack, poison or use your family as hostages to get you to come back. You know how your brothers are."
"For what you have done, I give you my thanks, but I still won't go. I'll find some other way of paying you back in future. For now you're welcome to stay."
As the two were locked in a stare-down, a voice from the door interrupted. "Is that any way to talk to the captain of the King's Royal Guards, Mr Daniel"
There was quiet for a while before Daniel asked Sulivan, "You came with backup".
"Oh no, that's not backup, that's my son, one of the aspirants for my post when I retire. He was sent with me since they didn't trust that I could do the job, knowing our past relationship."
"And they were right to send me father. See how soft you are with him, when you were made to capture some other crown-relative a few days ago see how ruthless and efficient you were but when it comes to this man you've gone all soft. Anyway Mr Daniel you have been called to the castle by the King, pack your bags and let's leave."
"And if I refuse?"
"Believe me sir, I'll be happy to use force." Said Sulivan Jr, pulling out his sword in the process.