Solstice
Snowflakes
The city of Airyglyph lay dormant in its snowy prison. The castle walls glittered with icicles. The stained glass windows reflected shades of blue and red across the snow laid against their sills. All seemed quite in the midnight air that bit and choked those that ventured out into its harsh embrace. There was no one on the streets; they were all neatly inside their stone homes with their stone fires and their cold expressions. Albel looked over the city from the Castle's turret.
Maggots… They're so boring…. The night hosts the best monsters… He thought to himself. How many months had it been since he'd returned to Elicoor II? Eight…? Nine…? Ten? He forgot how many, in Airyglyph it always snowed, always winter to him. Even in summer the air was still cold and the wind was still choking. Not like in Aquaria… Maggots… The feuds had long since ceased with Aquaria, yet many of Airyglyph still harboured anger for their once enemies.
Albel longed to return to Kirlsa… to the training facility, his home. As captain of the Black Brigade he was ordered to remain in Airyglyph for strategy meetings with a rival country far to the south yet no meeting had occurred in the three weeks he had been stationed at the castle, reports from the facility informed him that his men were growing restless without their rigorous training, something at which they all complained about, but still missed after not actually having it. Worms…
Nothing interesting seemed to happen since Fayt and co. had left. Only Nel, Adray, and Roger had actually returned to Elicoor II and of course he could not go and visit them because of his duties…. He doubted that they even wanted to see them… Of course he could always use his communicator…. But that seemed too much like hard work to go to his chambers, unlock his chest, take out the communicator, locate their communicator and try and speak to them, and of course, there was always a chance that they weren't there… Anyway, it was only supposed to be used in emergencies… but Albel had suspicions it was just for Maria to trace them, so she knew where they were…
Albel sighed. There really was no use contemplating the past… If they wanted him, they would most definitely contact him. They all probably considered him as stand offish any way so why should he even bother to disappoint their views? Albel rested his armoured arm on his katana hilt. He looked at his arm almost disgusted. He remembered how he had come to have that abomination put on him. It was because of him that his father had died. So much had changed from all those years ago…
Albel sniggered to himself and turned his back on the landscape. How weak I am to dwell on things that cannot be changed… I have survived certain death so many times that I should have learnt that it is not the end… He looked over his shoulder once more and outstretched his hand, the snow flakes that landed on his hand disintegrated almost immediately. Something told him that he was about to experience something strange… but what he could not tell…