The Irony of Pretentiousness

Chapter 7

After spending an entire night traveling from Airyglyph to Arias, Nel was beginning to crave refuge in the warm sheets on one of the base's many beds. Unfortunately, she would have to report to Clair first. Though Clair probably would be grateful to see Nel in one piece, Nel's obligation to inform the base of her failure to obtain the requested documents would inevitably lead to further confrontations with Albel and his Black Brigade.

Exhausted both mentally and physically, she sauntered towards the base, feeling the heat of the rising sun. Though she was aware that it would be prudent to heed Albel's warning, there was an imminent certainty that Clair and the Queen would not tolerate the failure of a mission. A harsh chastising was not a concern, it was the sending of more agents into the Black Brigade's grasp. Regardless of whether or not she told Clair of Albel's warning, the Queen would distribute more spies, and Albel is anticipating their arrival. Though Nel had faith in the group's forces, she was not foolish enough to ignore that the Black Brigade is comprised of at least twice as many men. She experienced a resonating sense of impeding doom for her and her comrades. Nel would never allow them to exclude her.

She pushed the door of the base open, without a creak or effort. Some of her comrades must have been out training early, which means that there are others whom are awake on the premises. As she passed through the wooden doorway, she could hear faint whispers emitting from further down the main corridor. Step by weary step, Nel managed to drag herself to the conference room. Clair turned to meet Nel's near floor-ward gaze. For Nel, Adray Lasbard had always been slightly creepy to look at upon entering a private conversation.

"Wow, you look terrible." Adray beamed.

Playfully glaring towards her father, Clair giggled. "Father, leave her alone, she is clearly exhausted."

"No kidding." Adray laughed heartily.

How was she supposed to tell them? By what means was she inclined to deliver this insulting failure to her superiors? Though she did not want to allow it, Nel could feel the heat of disdain consuming her features. Nel could feel Clair's gaze intensify, she was detecting Nel's failure without a verbal cue.

Clair frowned, "Seriously, what happened to you?"

Nel closed her eyes, and hung her head in shame, "I did not complete my mission."

"I had already inferred that, Nel." Clair's expression was that of friendly concern, "Though it does not matter. I know that something else happened to you, so please tell me what has happened."

Should she mention Albel? After all, there was no chance for further avoidance of confrontations from this point. Still, she felt a strange desire to keep her word... for an enemy? The only purpose of lying now would be to prevent herself from being branded a traitor for affiliating with Albel. It would have been bad enough had she made a pact for immunity with guards, but to comply with Albel? Nel knew that it meant banishment. She would mention Albel, though not the entirety or extent of their interaction.

Nel did her best to regain her posture and external composure, "I successfully infiltrated Airglyph's castle. There, I managed to maneuver through a couple of drunken guards, and find the treasury in which they stored their military information. Unfortunately, Albel Nox was aware of my presence-"

"How?" Adray nearly shouted.

Nel frowned, "While I was awaiting the designated time for my infiltration mission, my only option was to remain within a social surrounding to avoid suspicion. I did not expect Albel to arrive at the tavern, nor did I expect him to be so perceptive."

Clair's eyebrow raised, "What do you mean?"

"He was able to identify that the cloth of the cloak of which I was wearing to be alien to the Airyglyphian region. After that, he did not speak to me again. I left for my mission at the appropriate time, and I did not expect him to arrive at the castle-"

"He found you?" Adray blurted out.

"Yes, though not before punishing the drunkards-"

"Would you get to the point?"

Clair glared at Adray, "Maybe if you would allow her to finish without interruption, she would be able to speak."

Nel glanced at Adray to gauge a reaction: he was clearly refraining from speaking. She continued, "Before I had located the appropriate room, I was aware that Albel was mere yards away from me, so I needed to act quickly and quietly. I quickly entered the first unlocked room, expecting to find only a place to hide. Fortunately, it was the very room which I need to be in -the documents were within a close proximity. I knew that he was too near for me to successfully retrieve anything without being detected, so I hid beneath a loose floorboard. He entered the room, he was silent, though clearly searching for me. After a couple minutes of futile search, he left. I waited for another hour until I finally decided that it was appropriate to surface from beneath the dank solace."

Clair smiled, "So he didn't catch you."

"I am not finished." Nel began to feel sick to her stomach from all of her lies, but she decided to continue, "As I was reaching for the documents, I could hear footsteps approaching. I leaped behind the door, which was thankfully illuminated. As the door opened, I knew that it would be my only chance to escape. As he progressed to the back of the room, I quietly made my escape."

Nel hesitated, her heart was racing, and she was beginning to consider being caught in this scenario, "As I was exiting the castle grounds, I began to sense that he was not far behind me, and that he was aware of my intentions. I could practically feel his breath on my neck as I dove into a series of dark alleyways to escape him. I hid there for hours, and I never saw him after that. I know that he saw me: from a blanket of darkness in the slums, I witnessed his silhouette, standing still in silence for over a minute before he decided to leave."

"Please tell me that you left after you deemed it to be safe." Clair's eyes were fixated on Nel.

"I am standing here, aren't I?" As Nel smiled, she felt remorse for causing Clair this much worry through her lies. What would she had done if Nel told her the truth?

"Clair," Adray smiled, "She is fine, stop looking so worried about something that has passed! The only thing that Nel needs is a warm bed and some food."

Though Nel felt terrible for her lies, she liked the way that Adray was thinking, "Rest will serve me well. There is no need to remain concerned for me Clair: I am in one piece."

Clair smiled, "I know, I apologize. Please, get some rest. I will arrange for someone to send you some food once you awaken."

"We will discuss what measures to take after you are rested."

Nel smiled at Clair, then Adray, and respectfully bowed before she exited the room. She sauntered up the stairs, into a room that was thankfully unoccupied. She stripped to her undergarments, and climbed beneath the bed's large covers. With closed lids, she could swear that his scent was on her. Nel could not help but deem it intoxicating, nearly comforting.

The thoughts of Albel discovering her in the alley returned in her mind's eye. She imagined what he might do to her: sneer down at her, grab her, throw her against the wall, pin her there, move in closer until she could feel his breath, sending shivers down her spine. Nel caught herself shuddering... With a smile! What the Hell was she thinking? She was pleased by the thought of being beneath his grasp! Though she could stop herself from fantasizing, Nel could not convince herself that she was not a traitor. Yet, she still felt compelled to sleep, comforted by the thought of him. Regardless of what may come, she was not going to lie to herself... Nel was growing fond of the dark soldier.

A rude awakening from a ray of sunlight was not the best way for Albel to start his day. He knew from he position of the sun that it was roughly two hours until noon, thus time to return to the Kirlsa Training Facility. He walked casually out of the inn, into the streets. Albel could feel the eyes of some women whom were scanning him, wanting him. Fearful lust was an interesting concept to ponder. Though Albel rarely looked at women directly, he had excellent peripheral vision. He knew that several women were attractive, though he rarely considered indulging himself with any of them. Often, if the thought crossed his mind, he would quickly convince himself -perhaps impetuously- that the woman in question was nothing worth gracing them with his acknowledgment.

Albel had always considered himself very attractive, and unattainable by the general public -when considering his position within the military, he felt his reasoning to be justified. Unfortunately, he was occasionally approached by drunken males, whom clearly mistook him for a woman. This never ended well, and hilarity did not ensue. He began to recall a tavern visit from weeks ago, when a drunk fool grabbed Albel's ass, "Hey, you're very sexy girlie." Albel spun around, and punched him in the throat. Luckily, no one saw the first part of that interaction.

Shaking his head as the recollection faded, he passed through the entrance gates, walking into the snowy landscape. Albel knew that the moment he set foot on the Training Facility's grounds that he would be forced to deal with Shelby. Ah, Shelby, the foolish dimwit whom was always attempting to scale the ladder by any means necessary. There had been a few times where Albel had suspected Shelby of planning a usurpation. Despite Albel's position as Commander of the Black Brigade, the power to remove Shelby remained in the hands of Arzei. Since Albel was not one to whine, he decided that he could have all the fun that he needed for compensation by insulting Shelby at every impass. This was amusing because Shelby never seemed to understand 'big words.'

As Albel met the end of the bridge, he noticed that a dragon mount was left unattended. He decided that this was a perfect opportunity to commandeer the dragon, thus saving time. After all, he was not stealing it -he was borrowing it. Albel would send lackies to return the dragon upon his arrival.

Mounting the dragon, Albel noted that the creature was extremely receptive towards him. Albel wondered why the dragon of his youth could not have been so as well. A seamless transfer of thought, Albel was beginning to remember his father. He began to feel a cold isolation within his chest as he commanded the beast to fly higher and faster. 'Death in vain' was a resonating phrase within his mind.

Glou was a strong man, a man of reason and priority. A man whom understood the difference between protection and preventing a learning experience. Was that not the reason he threw himself in front of the demon's spit fire? Old fool, he thought, I was the one who failed the initiation, and he accepted my fate. If Glou were still alive, that war-monger Vox would have never disgraced the Dragon Brigade's name. Albel hates the Aquarians, but Vox is a war monger. Vox does not implement his position to protect his Kingdom, he abuses his title to continue this war.

"Vox is worth nothing. He is merely capitalizing off of his nephew." Albel muttered to himself, "Arzei, you fool, you have no idea when someone is using you."

After a few minutes, Albel had arrived. He landed the dragon outside of the Facility, telling the guards to watch the creature until further notice from designated peons. As he entered, he could hear a myriad of soldiers talking in various rooms. He was surprised that he had not heard Shelby's whining. Albel made his way to the rooftop, he decided that he wanted to train.

The rooftop was barren, which made it ideal for Albel's favourite pass-time: voluntary isolation. The winds were strangely brisk, and though he wanted to train, he was beginning to feel exhausted. Albel was well-rested, though he felt weak. His earlier recollections returned to him, and he began to feel hot. He rested against the cold brick walls.

Nearly everything was reminding him of his father lately. Every time Vox was mentioned, he remembered his father. Not because he had wrongfully taken his father's place, but because Vox is the antithesis of Glou. Glou was respectable, he earned whatever he received -Vox takes whatever he desires because he is Arzei's uncle. Glou treated everyone like human beings, despite his title -Vox walks over everyone because he is aware of his allotted power.

"And where were you?"

That voice, that annoying pestilence of a voice...

"I'm talking to you, pipsqueak!"

"It would serve you well to refrain from insulting me, Shelby. I am, and will continue to be, your superior."

Shelby snorted, "I don't think so, Nox. One day, you will be licking my boots!"

Albel could not contain a laugh, "I doubt that entirely! If only you possessed the same drive to run a military force as you exhaust while inflating your stomach."

"I do." Shelby quickly defended, "At least I wont run off, without any explanation. What would have happened if Aquarians attacked?"

Albel gazed up at Shelby, grinning, "If you do not know the answer to that question, you are unfit to be in any military force."

"A military force cannot attack without its commander!"

"Soldiers are not paid for their reliance on others!" Albel barked, "If you and the others cannot think for yourselves, then you are subjected to whatever you could have defended yourselves from. The Kingdom does not pay taxes to have their forces untrained."

Shelby's face turned bright red, "I swear Nox, one day I will give you what you deserve!"

"Begone, gelatinous orb! Return to whichever gutter you congealed in."

Shelby stormed off, leaving Albel in a near fit of laughter. Shelby was one of the only amusements Albel could abuse within these walls. He rested his head back against the wall, smiling. Strangely, he felt a little better knowing that there was stigma regarding his title. Feeling a backwards sense of pride, he allowed his mind to wander. After a few moments, his thoughts turned to the curvacious Nel. Albel knew that she would be on her way soon.