Of Rubies And Emeralds
By: MoralityOf Sin
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Star Ocean's plot, characters, settings, and so on. If I did believe me, Albel and Fayt would have been lovers in the game itself...and Sophia would have been no where in the plot but alas she was one of the main characters so this game is defiantly not mine whatsoever. I do own the cook though...and the two dudes...and the healer! But the symbology is still Square Soft's...I own the cat too! Yay me!
Chapter 1 The secrets of blood tainted rubies
Fayt was seated inside the conference room inside the Airyglyph palace waiting to hear the reason of his summoning. After everyone went their own ways once they defeated Luther Fayt had decided to stay with Albel in Airyglyph. Why? Not even Fayt could come up with the answer. He guessed believe it or not, that Albel was the one who he saw himself best with at this time. Cliff was forced to stay with Quark, Mirage went to live with her father, Nel had stayed in Aquios with the queen, and he originally thought about staying with her but that meant seeing Adray on a regular basis and that wasn't something Fayt thought he could handle. Peppita went back with her circus group to travel and hit the big times, and Roger...well that boy attracted trouble like a magnet and had a very obnoxious persona. Another one Fayt didn't think he could deal with.
Maria simply decided to wander alone for a bit, and Sophia went to live on second Earth since she and Fayt had pretty much grown apart since they got separated at the beginning of this mess. So that left Albel Nox. Albel and Fayt actually became mutual friends during their time together. He was still sort of an ass about things and did argue with Fayt about a lot of his choices but he also made sure that Fayt was safe. In battle Albel watched his back completely. Healing him with items when he needed them, distracting the fiends long enough for him to catch his breath, he was a great ally. Of corse after all was said and done he would down Fayt about his lack of attention and where his swordsmanship needed improvement but still...
Fayt's thought's were interrupted by the sound of two heavy oak wood doors opening. The king walked in and took his seat at the head of the long table.
"I'm glad you could make it Fayt." He began. Fayt bowed his head slowly. "Of corse your highness. What is it you need me for?" The king took a small sip of water before continuing. "Well I'm quite sure you're aware of Vox's casualty on the battle field correct?" Fayt nodded slightly. "Well because of that event we now need a new captain for the dragon brigade, and I was hoping that captain could be you." Fayt's eyes went wide with shock. "M-me? Are you sure I'm not too young?" The king shook his head. "Not at all. You have some of the best swordsmanship skills I've ever seen. You defeated both Vox and Albel in battle, got the Marquee Crosell to join in our cause, even slain the Creator and freed us from his virtual prison. And you've gained my trust. You Fayt, are more than qualified." Fayt was blushing slightly by this time and continued to ponder.
Would he make a good captain? Sure he was practically the leader in his little group but everyone there was there for the same cause. They were willing to allow him to guide them. It was sort of an unspoken understanding. But soldiers and friends were two completely different things. Who's to say half of them will want him there? And what of those left who were loyal to Vox? How would they react? He needed more time. "Uh your highness, I ask for a little bit more time to think this through. I can't say yes or no right now." The king nodded. "Of corse I suspected as much. Take as much time as you need. However, training season will begin in four months. I ask that you keep that in mind so if you decline we can get started on looking for someone else to fill the part." Fayt nodded in understanding. "Very well then. We are dismissed." Fayt bowed his head and left, his mind still racing through all of the possibilities, and outcomes of what this position could bring.
Albel was sitting in a bar near a corner when he saw Fayt walk in. He eyed him as he sat at the bar and ordered up a drink. The fool was always so carefree in his ways. If a murderous fiend jumped through the windows and began to attack, Fayt would be the first one to die. Even after all of the close calls they had been through, he always started off with such a trusting attitude to everyone who walked his path. It was enough to make Albel's stomach turn. It was also this annoying little quality that he found great respect in. Unlike himself Fayt was open to others, and wasn't too proud to laugh and make friends. In fact he was almost the exact opposite. Fayt wasn't proud at all. Every time someone complemented his skill all he did was blush and tried to change the subject. ( "Heh the boy is actually quite...cute when he blushes.." )
Albel quickly shook his head and dismissed the thought. "Cute"? What the hell was happening to him? He got up in spite of himself and walked over to the emerald eyed boy. "What's your problem fool?" He asked automatically sensing the boy in deep thought. Fayt glanced at him for a second before returning his gaze to the bar table. "...the king want's me to become captain of the dragon brigade." Albel's thin slits of crimson widened slightly but his blank expression did not change. "Are you going to?" Fayt shrugged. "Don't know. It hasn't exactly been my life aspiration and I really don't know what to expect. But It would be interesting to learn. And it would give me some kind of purpose here..."
Albel stared at the various drinks on the shelves in front of him. Fayt? The new captain of the dragon brigade? Sure the boy had enough battle skills but there were things he didn't have. The authority in his persona number one. He was used to hearing the input of those worthless maggots they used to travel with. As a captain each and every choice is on you. To depend on your troops is a sign of weakness. And weakness would be unacceptable at this stage. Albel had learned that the hard way. Then there were those soldiers who liked to get smart with you. Who absolutely loved to do everything in their power to make each day with them hell. All of the bunch of rodents whom fought along side Fayt were completely obedient. Hell the only one who gave Fayt the most problems was Albel himself and he had gotten the blue haired boy down to his limit a couple times. No way in hell could he handle more than two smart ass' in his team. The fool had a lot to learn. Albel finally broke away from his thoughts and looked at Fayt who had by this time finished his drink and was preparing to leave.
"Just know this much fool," Albel began. "Don't even think about joining for some idiotic reason such as wanting something to do all day, or to try it out and see if you like it. This kingdom has a reputation of the three finest military branches around and if you are going to be apart of it, then do it because you truly want to. Because so help me if you join just to back out in a tight spot in a war or something, I will personally take the liberty of sticking your head on a platter and feeding it to the worms down below!" And with that the captain of the black brigade left a wide eyed Fayt to pay for his drink.
After much deliberation and getting no where fast, Fayt decided to go back to his room to nap. It wasn't like he had to give an answer right away anyway. He had a good three months. But then they would have to show him how their system worked. Inform him on food and supply counts, show him how to listen for commands on the battlefield from the king or another commander. And most of all...teach him to ride a dragon.
Those things alone could take one or two months to learn. Okay, but he still had a month. He was on his way up the palace stairwell that led to the guest rooms when he herd a loud thud coming from a room below. "What in the world?..." He ran back down and into the kitchen where the noise had come from. He walked in on Albel smacking the mess out of the cook and pinning him to the stone wall. There were two other men unconscious on the ground and his claw was drawing blood from the cook's neck.
"Albel! What the hell are you doing!" Albel simply ignored Fayt's outburst and continued to choke his unfortunate victim. Fayt ran over and grabbed Albel by his waist and began to pry him off. "Let me go, maggot! Don't think you're any safer from my wrath than this worm!" He elbowed Fayt in his stomach and freed himself from his grasp. Fayt yelped slightly and held his stomach, trying to regain the wind that had just been knocked out of him. Albel continued his assault on the chief. "Now, where was I?..Ah yes, I was about to slit your throat!"
He walked over to a counter where the cook attempted to hide and failed miserably. Albel picked up the table with his right hand while letting his claw reclaim it's position on his neck. He through the cook against the wall on the opposite side of the room, sending the table after him. Fayt drew his sword and jumped into the table's path, and destroyed it with one swing. "Albel! Stop this, now!" He positioned his sword at the ready. "Oh? Is this a challenge fool? Well I'll be happy to oblige..." He swiftly drew his katana and before Fayt could protest, was already wailing combo after combo on him. "I-I'm not looking for a fight! I want to know what your problem is!" Fayt screamed trying his best to doge and deflect his attacker. "My problems are none of your concern!" Albel and Fayt came into a deadlock, and it was now did Albel notice the remaining concern and loyalty Fayt's eyes held even as he was prepared to slice the boy down. He felt a slight twinge of guilt surge through out his heart and quickly broke the deadlock, sending Fayt to land rear first on the stone ground. "Ah!"
Fayt sat up gently rubbing the lower part of his spine when he noticed the crimson eyed warrior glaring at him. Rubies held emeralds in a silent search for answers. Why was he so accepting? So open and warm? Why did his warmth attract him so? Perhaps it was the warmth he had been deprived of after his father's death. The warmth he never thought he would feel again. The warmth Albel was devoid of. The feeling he hadn't felt since his teenage years, and never wanted to feel again. There was just too much pain from losing a loved one. It got you into a vulnerable, pathetic, and depressed state of mind. You just can't help but feel helpless at that moment, because you are. Death can really show you just how powerless you truly are, and this boy was everything Albel never wanted anything to do with. Warmth, loyalty of friendship, trust...each and every one of these qualities Albel despised. Yet he could not find himself to despise Fayt as a person. For it was all of these qualities that brought them to become somewhat close. Well at least it was evident that Fayt considered them to be close. He did choose to stay with him in Airyglyph after all. Albel considered him to be nothing more than a good sparring partner.
He was distracted from his little daydream when he noticed a red tone spreading across Fayt's cheeks. Was he sick? Or maybe hot? Albel really didn't care either way so he just snorted and turned back to the cook. "You live for now, but if I find so much as a hair out of place on him, I will have great joy ripping off your arms and beating you to death with them!" He gave Fayt one more glance as he turned to leave.
The pain in Fayt's body had completely nullified itself when he heard those words. Albel was...looking for someone? Fighting in the name of another other than himself? Who could have possibly captured Albel the Wicked's heart to the point of such acts? Were they like family to him? Or a close friend that he never spoke of? Or maybe his lo-...
Fayt felt his heart clinch and drop at the thought. He knew the had a crush on the warrior, he had since the day Albel joined them to fight Crosell. That was why he choose him to stay in the party, that and the simple fact that he was terrific fighter of corse. But Fayt also knew that they would probably never become a couple. He wasn't even sure if Albel was gay. The way he dressed just wasn't enough reassurance for the blue haired youth to take a chance on. But then...who was Albel looking for? If he was recalling the situation correctly, Albel stated that he was looking for a male. A male who was extremely close to Albel was missing, and Albel was pissed as hell trying to find him. That summed up the event pretty well. And for a grown man to get lost and for the Wicked One to become so upset over it was a little...strange. Perhaps it was a child? Fayt's heart jumped at the re-sparked hope. Yes...maybe it was a child. He snapped himself back to reality and rushed to check on the cook. The man was shaking very badly and trying to patch up the wounds on his neck. "Hold on, let me help."
Fayt quickly preformed a healing spell and the cook immediately stood and ran for the exit. "Wait! Who was Albel looking for!" But the man had already left and Fayt was too tired to chase after him. He then looked over at the other two men on the ground. One of them began to move slightly and turned themselves onto their back, revealing a huge, semi deep wound that reached from his brow to the very center of his head. Fayt was taken back by the sight of crimson tears which trailed down the male's face and neck, but before he could heal he heard a number of voiced coming from the healer's chambers across the way from him. Not two seconds later did the cook and a healer come charging through the room. "Dear Apris! What in Heaven's name has happened here!" The cook shot Fayt a worried glance as the healer began to tend to the men. "Uh...I don't know..I just walked in and they were like this ma'am."
The cook seemed relieved and Fayt concluded that Albel had most likely told the man what would happen if he spoke truth. After a few minutes of healing and inspection, it seemed that both men suffered from head damages and thus resulting in amnesia. Albel probably planned that too. After the healer treated Fayt, he boy decided that he would wait until tomorrow to ask The Wicked One more about his search. He slowly made his way to his room and opened the door.
"Where the hell could the little brat have wandered off to?" Albel quietly mumbled to himself. He walked calmly around the castle, his ruby orbs darting this way and that trying to spot what he was looking for without catching anyone's attention. "I swear upon everything I stand for that if he is injured in any way possible, that dick head of a cook will wish all he had was hell to pay..." He made his way upstairs and turned into the guest corridors. "Most of these rooms should be locked except for..." The ebony haired warrior stopped in front of Fayt's room. The door was cracked slightly and he could hear the boy's voice pretty well. He turned to lean his back on the stone wall and listened.
"Where in the world did you come from?" He heard him say in a soft tone similar to one people use when speaking to a child they've met for the first time. However the warrior heard no reply. "You don't need to be scared of me. I'd never hurt you." The sound of his footsteps moved further into the room, but not far enough to disturb Albel's instigating. "Are you hungry? I have some milk over here..." He heard a bottle being opened and the substance which he guessed was milk being poured into a bowl. Then he heard it. The exact sound he was looking for. He heard a mew.
"You!" The crimson eyed male stormed into the room and immediately headed for the tiny kitten who was hungrily gulping down his lunch. "Albel! What are you doing!" Fayt stood and glared at him but Albel payed the boy no mind. "I've been looking for this trouble maker all day! Now come here!" He picked the white furred kitten up by his soft spot and sat on Fayt's bed to inspect him. "Albel, stop it he's trying to eat!" But the kitten only mewed continuously and licked the captain's cheek. Albel simply grunted and held the feline a few inches away with both hands and began to look at it up and down. Fayt could only stand there in astonishment as the reality of the situation sank in. Albel The Wicked...had a pet kitten. "Is he who you were looking for earlier?" Crimson eyes shot up at Fayt and became locked in a gaze with his emeralds. "...I would think that answer is painfully obvious by now fool." Not finding any damage, he set the kitten down next to his bowl to finish his meal. "Wow...so when did you get him?" Albel flexed the hinges of his claw and grabbed a handful of tissue to begin wiping the blood from his encounter with the cook off. "A couple weeks ago I found the thing near the entrance of Airyglyph trying to defend what little food he had from an air born fiend. So because I was going to train anyway I killed the bird and threw this rat a piece of meat I had, and he hasn't left me alone since."
Fayt smirked and crossed his arms. "I see. Well it looks like you've grown pretty attached to him. With the whole kitchen scene and collar around his neck." The kitten had finished his meal and jumped back on Albel's lap to clean itself. Sure enough there was a silver collar around it's neck with a tiny bell attached to it. "Shiyuchi? What a nice name. It suits him." Shiyuchi looked up at the sound of his name. His big grey eyes seemed to bustle with energy. Fayt untied a piece of string from a draw string bag which held a few items and sat down on the other side of the kitten to play with him. Albel watched the two from the corner of his eye, still cleaning his claw. The tiny fur ball had gotten it's paws on the string but not before Fayt lightly tied it on his tail causing him to spin endlessly trying to get it off. He jumped on the floor and began to roll around with no avail. By now Fayt was in a cruel mood so he got on his knees and tickled it's belly. Shiyuchi mewed and quickly jetted under the coffee table which resided in the room. The blue haired teen laughed and crawled after it, all the while completely oblivious to the pair of rubies which followed his frame.
Albel watched the playful couple silently, however his attention was more drawn to Fayt's rear than the scene itself. After a few minutes of mental play time for himself, Albel stood and headed for the door. "Listen here fool, I don't want you saying a peep about this to anyone understand?" Fayt placed Shiyuchi in his lap and nodded as he finally freed the kitten of his prison of string. "I know. Hey what did the cook do to him anyway?" Albel turned to face the two, his claw holding the base of his katana. "I don't know. I was walking down the hall to the kitchen and I heard some glass break and his mews. The next thing I knew he was running out of the kitchen with the cook yelling at him." Shiyuchi crawled out of Fayt's lap and began to rub Albel's foot with his head.
"I don't think he wants you to leave." The feline mewed and began to purr while giving the blood thirsty warrior googly eyes. Albel only stared back, his blank facial expression never changing. Shiyuchi then stood on his hind legs for a few seconds before losing his balance and returning to his four legged position. "Aww come on Albel. Just stay a little longer..." Fayt pleaded. The warrior rolled his eyes and picked the kitten up, returning to his spot on the bed. Fayt sat down next to him and placed most of his weight on his right arm, watching the kitten fall asleep. "Thanks a lot. I'm sure he's missed you." The male said nothing as he laid back on the bed and began to drift off to sleep himself. Fayt smiled at the sight and laid down as well, completely unaware that Albel's fingers were intertwined with his own.
