Claire watched with jealousy as she observed her magenta haired friend timidly lace her fingers amongst those of their once most ferocious enemy, Albel the Wicked, from behind a pillar that supported the entrance way of the Aquarian training grounds.
Nel's touch wasn't a gesture of romance, but rather a simple helping hand in how to grip a dagger correctly. But it was still too much physical contact for Claire to sit back and be comfortable with; Nel was hers… er… or at least that was what she was working for anyway.
"It's not a sword, Albel, you have to hold it differently, otherwise you'll be at a great disadvantage in battle, and not to mention you would look a little peculiar."
"I know what I'm doing, woman!" Albel growled, trying his best to sound intimidating, but failing miserably, as well as turning a little red in the face at her touch.
Claire cringed, she knew why Albel the Wicked had asked Nel to teach him how to fight with a dagger, and all the lava in the Urssa cave system would be frozen over if it was actually for him to learn. Albel liked Nel, and Claire could tell that he already knew how to wield a dagger with deadly precision, what kind of swordsmen would he be if he didn't!
Claire couldn't take it any longer, she had to put a stop to this, and get Nel all to herself.
"Nel," she said, stepping out from behind the pillar.
Nel turned at the sound of her name, and smiled when she saw her dear friend waving at her. "What is it Claire?"
"The Queen summons us," she lied, desperate to get Nel away from the tall warrior.
"Just one moment," Nel called. She turned to face her comrade after seeing the woman walk inside the castle. "I'm sorry Albel; we'll have to continue later."
"That's fine," he said, shrugging his shoulders, trying to hide the fact that he was truly disappointed that the Aquarian woman was leaving with a façade of nonchalance, "I think I have this mastered now, anyhow."
Nel gave him a crooked smile, and a small pat on his upper arm and began to walk away. On her journey across the training grounds, she turned to give the Glyphian male a final look, and saw him balancing the point of the dagger on his index finger with his back to her, and then watched him spin the weapon around and bring it to its sheath with deadly swiftness and accuracy.
"Training indeed," Nel huffed, a tad vexed with having her day being wasted on something that needed no time spent on at all. She wondered why Albel would ask her to do something like that if he didn't need to learn in the first place.
Oh well, she thought, there were more important matters at hand now anyway; the Queen had summoned her.
"Claire," Nel said, looking about herself with suspicion, "this isn't the way to the Audience Chamber."
It's now or never Claire, the silver haired woman told herself.
"I know, I just have to make a quick stop to my room so that I can grab something," Claire said, turning to reassuringly smile at her friend.
"Well, we better hurry, we don't want to be late," Nel said, continuing to follow her fellow Aquarian.
"Right," Claire said, smiling at Nel once more, "You worry too much, you know that?"
Nel shook her head and let a smile grace her lips; Claire had always been the free-spirit amongst the two of them.
When the pair had finally reached Claire's room, Nel was a little too worried about being late, and was trying to hurry her friend along as much as she could.
"Nel," Claire started, "the Queen never summoned us; I made it up," she confessed.
"What?" Nel asked, "Why would you make that up?"
"Because I wanted to get you all alone; I want to tell you something, Nel… I, I just don't know if words are the best way of letting you know though," Claire said, looking down at the ground.
"What are you talking about Claire?" Nel asked, confused.
"Nel," Claire said, suddenly pushing Nel to the bed, and pinning her arms above her head, "I really like you a lot; more than friends should."
Nel stared wide-eyed as her silver haired friend closed her mouth around hers, and then let out a startled cry when she felt the other woman's tongue begin to dance about her own.
Albel was growing impatient with waiting for Nel to return and began to wander about the Aquarian castle.
"What's taking her so long?" he muttered under his breath as he watched the tiled floor pass him by.
"What's taking who too long?" a voice asked suddenly, making Albel come to a halt mere centimeters away from crashing into their blue haired "leader", Fayt.
"None of your business," Albel hissed, and tried to maneuver around the tall youth.
"If you're looking for Nel, she went towards Claire's room a little while ago," he said, a knowing smile on his face.
"She went where!" Albel said, turning his attention back to the boy. "Err… not that I actually care or anything," he added quickly.
"Riiight," Fayt said, being well aware of the crush that the warrior had developed on the "Aquarian Trash" that he claimed to despise.
"Well," Albel started, his voice cracking unnaturally, "she told me that she was going to go see the Queen, that's the only reason I seemed to be concerned," Albel tried to lie.
"Albel, we all know you like Nel, so there is no need to try to hide it," Fayt said removing the hair out from in front of his eyes with a small shake of his head.
"I don't like Nel!" Albel said, a little more defensive than he intended to be.
"Then why are you so worried about where she is right now?" Fayt asked, forcing Albel into a situation that he really didn't want to be in at the moment.
"Because, her "friend" likes her in ways that surpass friendship. I see the way that that woman watches Nel, it's not a way that a someone would ordinarily look at one's friend," Albel spat out.
"So you want to get to Nel before Claire does?" Fayt asked.
"Yes" Albel said before he could think about what he was saying. "Err.. that is, if I liked Nel… which I can assure you I don't!" he said, trying to cover his Freudian slip. He began to storm off when he was stopped once more by the blue haired boy.
"Claire's room is the opposite direction," Fayt said helpfully.
"I know that!" Albel growled, spinning around to walk in the correct direction to Claire's room, missing the smile the Fayt let dance across his lips.
"Claire!" Nel cried when she was able to twist her head away from her friend's mouth. "What are you doing!"
"Nel, I thought it was obvious," Claire said, still pinning Nel to the bed, "I love you!"
"Love?" Nel asked, befuddled beyond all human limitations. "You love me?"
"Yes, Nel!" Claire said, relieved that it was finally out in the open.
Nel, not knowing what to do, lay on the bed in silence for a moment.
"Don't you have anything to say?" Claire asked, hoping that Nel would make the situation a little easier.
Nel was still speechless, she tried to wriggle free from the woman on top of her, but stopped when she felt Claire's hand snake down her body, and stop at her waist. Claire suddenly pulled Nel's dagger out of its sheath and, with one swift motion, sliced Nel's top open down the center, exposing her bare upper body.
"Claire!" Nel shirked, finally gaining enough sense to push her friend off of her. Nel stood, one arm covering her bare chest, while the other retrieved her dagger back from the silver haired woman.
"Nel!" Claire cried as Nel made her way to the door, "Please, don't go!"
Nel, who was now trying to hold her clothing together with both of her hands, didn't look back as she rushed from the room.
"Albel!" Nel cried in surprise when she turned from the closed door of Claire's room to find herself less than five inches away from the Glyphian swordsman.
Albel's face turned bright red despite his efforts to control his embarrassment when he realized that her breasts where literally out of her shirt. In attempts to be a gentleman, and hating himself on the inside for doing so, he turned away from the woman he secretly lusted for.
Nel gasped, in her shock of seeing Albel here of all places, she had momentarily forgotten about her sliced clothing. She quickly grabbed the two sides of cloth and pulled them tight over her chest once again, and letting out a cry, she ran off in the direction of her bedroom, her face matching the same hue of her hair.
"Who's there?" Nel called cautiously from behind her door when a knock was sounded.
"It's me, Albel," came the familiar voice.
Nel gathered up the courage to face the man once again, and opened the door, allowing him entry inside.
It was Albel's first time in a woman's room, so he entered timidly, looking about him as if he would be ambushed by foreign things that he had never seen before.
"What is it?" Nel asked, now wearing a new clothing.
"I came to see if you were alright, and to ask what happened," Albel stated aloofly, masking his true concern, not for her safety, but in his current standing in the race to Nel's heart.
Nel paused, and turned to look at the man, her face growing warm when she recalled their brief encounter outside of Claire's door, "Claire," she paused again, looking for the correct words, "Claire… apparently loves me."
"You don't love her back do you?" Albel asked, regretting his question as soon as it escaped his lips.
"Of course I do, as a friend however, not as a lover," she informed the warrior, overlooking the visible sense of relief that washed over him at her response.
There was another knock on the door, and Nel jumped at the sound; she was in no way ready to face Claire again quite yet.
"Lady Nel? Can I speak with you for a moment?" came a feminine voice through the door. Nel sighed with relief; Farleen.
"I'll be right back, Albel; make yourself at home," she said, exiting the room, closing the door behind her.
Albel had no idea how to "make himself at home" when there was so much racing through his mind at the time being, yet alone in the bedroom of the woman that he secretly desired more than anything else in the world.
He cautiously started to make his way to her bed, with no other intentions than to simply sit down and wait for Nel to return. However, his plans didn't quite work the way he had intended them to.
He found himself on the ground before he knew what had happened, and then had a mixture of emotions spark within him when he saw what had tripped him.
Nel's bra, Albel squeaked in his head, removing the entangled strap from his heavy boot.
The door suddenly opened, causing Albel to let out a yelp and shove the undergarment in the nearest, out of sight, place. Unfortunately for him, that happened to be hidden under the golden strap that kept the cloth that covered his lower body in place.
"Are you alright, Albel?" sounded Nel's voice, "I heard a crash."
Albel, who was still in a sitting position on the floor looked up at the woman and stated gruffly that he had tripped, and then muttered something about her needing to tidy up her room.
Nel gave him a flat look, and walked across the room and sat on the edge of her bed, and then patted the area next to her, motioning for him to join her.
Albel swallowed hard, stood up, and made his way to the bed, praying beyond all hope that the bra wasn't showing. He hadn't wanted to take it, but there was no where else to stash it fast enough at the time.
"Where was I before the knock on the door?" Nel thought aloud as Albel slowly sat down, looking as if he were a robot in desperate need of a good oiling.
"What the hell happened in there to have your top sliced open?" he asked, unable to contain his curiosity, and causing Nel to turn a little flush.
"She pinned me to the bed, kissed me, and then cut my shirt open… I had no idea she liked me like that," the Aquarian said, her voice trailing off.
"I can see why she does, you're the perfect girl…" the warrior said suddenly, his voice trailing off as well.
"What?" Nel asked, more than a little shocked at the sentence the warrior had just let escape his lips.
Albel palled suddenly, he had most definitely not meant to say that out loud, "I didn't say anything; you're just hearing things!" he said quickly, trying once again to hide his true feelings, and hastily getting to his feet, and making his way to the door.
As he turned the doorknob to exit the room, the bra slipped out of the golden belt and fell to the ground at his feet and once again tripped him. He let out a quick and unnatural cry and kicked the bra across the room, and rushed outside, leaving a very perplexed Nel sitting alone on her bed.
Albel had walked for some time before he found himself in the training grounds of the castle once more. With a glance around, he discovered that he was not alone.
"You!" came a rather feisty, and somewhat angry, voice.
"Claire," Albel said, sauntering up to the woman, a smug look on his face.
"Don't you Claire me, Albel Nox!" yelled the small woman. "You are stealing Nel away from me!"
"Stealing?" Albel said arrogantly, "Like I have to steal. She walked right into my arms," he said, trying to make the girl feel bad, trying to get her to stay away from Nel, even if it involved exaggerating the truth a little.
"She was mine first," Claire said, venom in her voice.
"Well, maybe if you tried harder, she would have noticed you a little sooner, but now its too late and she is mine," Albel said, not noticing the figure coming up behind him.
"Albel, you are a terrible man. I have loved her longer that you, I have been thought thick and thin with her, and I have spent countless nights worried about her safety, and then you stroll in and try to wreck everything that I worked so hard to create with her!" Claire shot, not noticing the figure approaching either.
"All is fair in love and war; I love Nel as much as you do, you know. And it's not like I intentionally walked into your lives and was like 'lets ruin her life today'," Albel shouted, "I never asked to fall in love, it just… happened."
"You love me, Albel?"
"Nel!" Albel and Claire shouted in unison, both jumping in surprise, and turning to face none other that the Crimson Blade herself.
"I never said that," Albel lied, turning away from the woman's piercing emerald gaze.
"How can you even nobly fight me for her if you can't even admit to her that you care for her!" Claire said, feeling a little victorious; if she couldn't have Nel, she would at least make life very very difficult for one Albel Nox.
Albel glared at the silver haired woman, "Demon," he hissed, and turned to face his now not so secret love. "Fine, Nel, I love you! Are you happy now that I am publicly humiliated!"
"I am," Claire said self-righteously, turning her back on her friend and her rival in love.
"Albel," Nel started, "Is that true?"
"Yes," Albel confessed, staring intently at the ground, only looking up when he felt a soft touch on his arm.
"Why didn't you ever tell me?" she inquired so that only he could hear.
Albel's mouth opened as if he was going to say something, but closed it just as quick.
"Claire," Nel said, walking to her friend, "I'm sorry things turned out the way they did. I never knew you harvested such feelings for me."
"I know, and I sprung it up on you so suddenly, I shouldn't have done that Nel; I'm the sorry one," Claire said, smiling shyly at her friend, knowing that they would only ever be; friends.
"I'm going to go inside," Albel said, trying desperately to escape reality, and hide from his confession.
"Not alone you're not; we have a lot to talk about Albel Nox," Nel said, taking hold of his hand, making it impossible for Albel to leave.
"Claire…" Nel said, not knowing what to do as to not hurt her dear friend's feelings.
"I know Nel, you love Albel," Claire said, making Nel's job a wee bit easier.
Albel's stomach jumped when he heard those words, he thought he was the only one that felt love for the other one in their relationship; he had no idea that she loved him as well.
"I do Claire, that's why I could never find a way to be with you," Nel said quietly.
"Its okay, Nel; I understand. I wouldn't want to ruin our friendship over this anyway," Claire said, meaning every word that she had just said. For some reason, she wasn't as heartbroken as she thought she would be. "Are you two going to go now, or what?" she said playfully, urging them to leave.
"We're going, we're going," Nel said, leading a speechless Albel in the direction of the castle.
Claire watched them go, not really sad, but not quite happy either. She felt a small tug on her skirt, and looked down at the ground and was surprised to see Roger, the small Menodix looking up at her.
"Hey baby," said Roger, winking at the silver haired Aquarian.
"Get away from me," Claire said, leaving the now moping boy in the dust as she walked to her room.
"Why didn't I tell you! Why didn't you tell me?" Albel was asking Nel as she opened the door to her room, so that they would have a private place to talk.
"I was shy," Nel confessed.
"And I wasn't scared senseless!" Albel said exasperatedly, tossing his arms in the air.
Nel shook her head, a sly smile spreading across her face, and shoved the tall man backwards onto her bed.
"Well," said Nel, mounting the stunned Glyphian's hips, "there is no use arguing about it now, is there?"
"I suppose not," said Albel, finally giving into all his long suppressed urges and pulled her face down to his and kissed her deeply, loving every second of it.
"I love you Nel," he murmured into her ear as he held her tight to his chest.
"I love you too, Albel," echoed Nel's voice.