You shake nervously. You meet your cat's eyes. You plead mentally not to go in there. You still swear to this day that that cat squinted its eyes in defiance. She pushed the door ajar and walked inside.
You freeze and tense up. You hear muffled noises, a "Dammit!", a hiss, and a sound of claws tearing fabric.
Oh no! Miko! You fear for the only humble companion you had in Kirsla.
Albel Nox emerges from his dark hovel that is his room, and holds a growling cat by the nape of its neck. His eyes rove about, and he looks down to find you on the ground looking up at him. You quickly stand up. His expression turns from annoyance to anger. He drops the cat and it runs terrified back to the maid quarters.
"YOU again! What the hell are you doing here!" he roared.
Your feet feel heavy. It is as if you are facing a disturbed dragon that came out of a cave. Seconds pass by as you try to think of some kind of cool comeback.
"Well?" demanded Albel, with a sleepy slur.
"I-I lost my job at the ramen place. Count Woltar gave me a job as a maid here.... I need to support my family in Airyglyph. Even though it is degrading to think that I have to clean up after your mess, I have to. And my cat ran in your room." You try to fold your arms across your chest in a nonchalant, defiant way.
"Yeah, I know maggot. It scratched my face. Go away now. Oh, and just so you know, Woltar gave you that extra short uniform so he could see you bend over when he 'accidentally' spills the wine at dinner. And your cat--if it comes into my room, I WILL slice it and spread its innards over where you sleep."
"My name is NOT maggot, it's Ryoko. Ri-oh-koh. Don't disrespect Count Woltar after he took you in once your--" at this time you stop shamefacedly and put your hands over your mouth. Your face burns hot, as if the dragon spat flames on you.
Earlier you heard Hanako gossip about Albel's history, how the Count took Albel after his father died, in the Accession of the Flame ceremony.
You could tell you hit a more sensitive spot. Taken aback, Albel clenched his clawed fist and he looked to the ground, thinking of what to say, a forehead vein popping. This reaction causes a ripple of guilt. You always thought nothing was brash enough to affect Albel.
"Heh....I suppose you are right, huh? Did those other maggots tell you what has happened to me? Well...."
You did not pay attention to the rest of his rant on the maids. His image began to waver slightly in front of you.
Don't cry.... You think desperately.
"Oh? Don't tell me you are crying now. Are you afraid you will lose another job before you even start? Are you afraid your family will starve now?" he asked mockingly, cruelly.
The tears were released from its dam. You said, barely a whisper, "No, I am not afraid of that. I am so sorry for you, I did not mean that! I...." you say in a husky voice. You try to hastily wipe your leaky eyes.
I can't believe I said that. I...am a terrible person, aren't I? You think in disbelief.
You sniffed noisily and brought your warm, soft eyes to meet his cold, hard ones. You now reflect that they momentarily widened and softened, but just barely. You didn't think that then, as you ran from his room and encountered Hanako downstairs.
You quickly make an excuse in response to Hanako's questioning stare. "Nothing, I just miss my family."
Hanako led you to the maid quarters. "I know what that could be like. After all, I had family killed in the war. But you will come to learn the healing powers of time and cleaning."
Your eyebrows knitted in confusion. You figure that that was her way of saying 'get back to work.'
Hanako assigned you to sweep the stairway outside the mansion, and then clean the bathing room. You decide to do the bathing room first.
You take out a feather duster, and move along the walls.
No wonder Albel is sour all of the time....What happened long ago still bothers him. You begin to rationalize your guilt. That's still no reason to treat people like that! At least I have something held over him...We are even now.
You begin to try to organize your conflicting thoughts on Albel—you are annoyed by his attitude, yet irrevocably attracted to him. You try to push the thought away. It could never happen.
Your thoughts are interrupted by a set of heavy footsteps and clinking of armor outside the door of the bathing room.
Author Notes
Hi, I am Xave. I have the same stories on Quizilla and Mibba (under the same username). I am transferring the stories because I wanted a wider audience. If you comment, I return favors always. Critique/Flame/Love all you want.
I hope you enjoy this! More chapters coming up quickly.
