The Irony of Pretentiousness

Chapter 9

The sun had yet to crest over the horizon, yet Albel was already awake. He did not know why: he was still exhausted, and somehow could not manage to keeps his eyes closed. Did he have another nightmare which he could not recall? Perhaps it was stress? No, he is too advanced to experience stress -at least he thinks that way: illustrated by a sly grin at a decaying wall. At what point had he consciously sat up? Damn, he thought to himself, it must have been a nightmare.

Regardless, he had tried for a couple of hours to return to sleep, and as stated before, to no avail. Considering that the servants were not awake at this hour, he decided to wander the halls of his facility. There is no sense in training when groggy is an understatement. Besides, wandering around the halls might tired him out enough to achieve sleep.

Though the bright sphere had not shown a curve, the horizon gradually seemed to become aflame. Surely that busy-body Shelby would be awake, fruitlessly preparing for another day of a half-baked mutiny by now. Albel's lips parted impetuously to cast another sly grin at the wall, which was in a poor contrast to the weight which he felt beneath his eyes. An empty stare, and vacant grin.

Tossing his legs over the bedside, he proceeded to throw himself out of bed, throw on his military uniform (also known as the third un-lockable costume in the game, sans the hair colour change -I never understood that. So, you're telling me that their hair was magically dyed by putting on that outfit? Where are these guys shopping, and how do I get there? Why do their skin tones change in different costumes? I mean, I understand the premise of needing to change clothes, yet I see very few people turning from pasty white to chestnut coloured with the change of an outfit. ...I digress...), and saunter out of his chamber. Why he had decided to wear the uniform when he would probably be going back to sleep, he did not know. How often does anyone think rationally when they are absent-minded from sleep deprivation?

"I swear," he began to mutter to himself, "those girls had better not have taken my clothes anywhere but the wash... Teenage girls approaching sexual maturation are such annoying specimens."

Dragging his clawed hand across the wall for pseudo-balance, he continued down the corridor, listening for the faintest sound -the only sound being that of his own footfall. He had never allowed himself to drag his feet, he had always found the habit deplorable. After a few moments of silencing his steps, he could hear a faint crunching sound emitting from the mess hall.

He progressed towards its entrance, leaning casually against his claw upon the doorway, gazing upon his prime suspect.

Albel chuckled, "I mistook you for roaches."

Shelby spun around with food in his mouth, hanging open in awe. His table was clearly once covered in food.

"Perhaps I was not far off with the mark of my assumption." Albel sneered towards the culprit.

Weakly retaliating with half-baked candor, pointing a chubby finger in his direction, "What's it to you? People need to eat. You would understand that if you had any concept of humanity!"

"That is truly laughable, maggot." Albel paced slowly towards Shelby, until Albel was above him, staring down his nose upon the vermin, "I could have sworn that I designed strict rules which stated that every soldier is to eat only at the designated times set within the routine, unless granted permission otherwise."

Shelby became wide-eyed and spat out, "I am second in command."

"Undeniably so, however, you hold no authority." Albel bore his toothy grin, "And what are rules worth without enforcement?"

Shelby backed himself painfully into his table, trying to escape the swift claw which had seized his arm.

Albel tightened the metallic grip, "Do not act as though you are doing this military any favours; I am aware of the back-stabbing you have committed, rallying the soldiers against me utilizing your idealistic tripe and incessant banter!"

Shelby let out a yelp, Albel quickly released his grip, shifting it towards the collar of Shelby's shirt -pulling Shelby into a direct and cruel gaze, "You are serving yourself in this endeavor, no one else, and I advise that you at least attempt to comprehend the weight of my position before you take control of something that you are not intelligent enough to direct."

Shelby's fearful gaze seamlessly turned into a cocky smile, "Oh, I have."

Albel laughed directly into his face, "Oh! Have you worm? What, exactly, have you bothered to understand about the administrative functions?"

"I understand that Vox has the influence to have you removed."

Albel's grip remained the same, though his expression shifted to anger, "What do you mean? Do you think that if you talk to him about whatever 'injustices' I am committing that he will speak to the King and have me removed? You think that because he is the uncle of Arzei Bohnleid that he holds any gravity above my own?"

"Apparently, he does." Shelby cackled.

Albel began shaking Shelby furiously, "Speak, maggot! Tell me what you have initiated!"

Shelby maintained a calm grin throughout Albel's assault, though did not speak until he finished, "The King is sending his uncle Vox to speak with you. If the letter with the imperial seal is correct, he should be arriving sometime within the next few hours."

Albel clenched his fist, but threw no punch, "You will see a great deal of strife for not delivering the letter to me -I inspect everything that comes into this garrison!"

"That is all that you are worried about?" Shelby chuckled.

Albel smiled, "Do you seriously think that I am concerned about Vox?"

Shelby's eyes widened, "You aren't worried at all?"

"Vox may be powerful and determined, but he is undisciplined and single-minded: I have little to fear."

Albel released his grip on Shelby, turned, and walked towards the door. He tilted his head back over his shoulder, "You should try to remember whom possesses the power to demote you."

Shelby sat silently, jaw-dropped in awe.

As Albel turned himself into the corridor, he leaned his back against the wall, awaiting any sound: hearing nothing. The callous smirk that had stretched so confidently across his slender jaw, shrunk to a mere frown.

Duke Vox would have intervened, regardless of Arzei's order. Had Vox caught wind of anything regarding Albel's behaviour, he would shamelessly interject himself -with no more than a motive to irritate Albel. With slight doubt, Albel continued to feel as though he had little to fear: regardless of Vox's end assessment, there was no one other than Albel befitting the title of Captain.

The left corner of his frown turned upward, his lip scraping past his incisor, "He must do better than this: feigning omnipotence is unbecoming."

He threw the weight of his torso forward, attaining balance quickly. Turning to face the long, benighted corridor, he sluggishly stepped forward, pacing eagerly towards his chamber. In need of solitude, weary of mutinous ploys. How long had Shelby sat aghast after the boastful claims and timely exit of his superior? Shelby was likely remaining in the same pathetic pose -at least, Albel could assume that, due to nearly deafening silence.

Reaching for the door, Albel pressed nearly the full weight of his body against it -what a

contrast in lieu of earlier events: he certainly was not this weak when he had nearly lifted Shelby from where he sat. With the heavy press, the door creaked open, slowly revealing a room slowly being illuminated by a latent sun. A sigh of relief was breathed as he recalled how effortlessly he could sleep whilst the sun beat harshly upon his face.

After stepping towards his bed in languish, he sat upon it, slowly realizing that the comfort of the bed was causing a decrease in concern for wearing his military uniform as pajamas. Lazily rolling himself beneath the sheets, he allowed himself to be engulfed by a uterine texture of blankets. Steadily, he fell asleep.

A loud, booming sound had caused Nel to awaken with a start. Upon quick visual inspection, nothing had fallen onto the floor; the door was locked, thus unable to be opened or slammed; the window had been shut all night, therefore could not fall...

Adray. It must have been Adray. There was no other person who would make that kind of noise this early in the morning! He was probably training inside again, despite Clair's orders. Nel could not help but chuckle at the thought of the child scolding the parent.

She steadily lifted herself out of bed, pulled her drawer open for fresh clothes, picked up her soiled ones, placing them in the laundry chute. Quickly fixing her bedhead with her fingers, she paced towards the door, unlocked, opened, proceeding downstairs.

Just as she had suspected: Adray had knocked over several of the shelving units within the main lobby. Clair had run out of the conference room just as Nel's foot had reached the top of the stairs. Clair scolded him, finger erect, as Adray stood, sulking in a floor-ward gaze. Neither of them had taken any notice of Nel.

"Good morning." Nel smiled towards the backwards pair.

Clair ceased scolding Adray, casting a hearty smile towards Nel, "Oh, did he wake you?"

Nel shook her head, "No," she felt as though Adray he learned his lesson, "I was awake long before that."

Adray's frown quickly shifted to a toothy grin, "So, how did you sleep?"

"Beautifully. This base has always possessed the prime of hospitable furnishings. Other than that, I was highly exhausted: I slept deeply."

"Glad to hear it!" Adray's thumb turned upwards.

Clair turned to face Nel fully, "Are you prepared to discuss what you could do next?"

Nodding her head, secretly in disdain, "Yes."

"Excellent," Clair's eyes closed as her smile stretched wider, "We will spare the others of this meeting, as it is confidential."

The three proceeded to the conference room, sat themselves at the long table, relatively close to each other. Nel could not help but feel pensive, she knew that she was going to be put in a compromising situation -though she was prepared for it.

Clair cleared her throat, "In lieu of recent events, it has become obvious that infiltration missions are insubstantial. Therefore, I propose that Nel lead our comrades, should any assault from the Airyglyphian military ensue."

Aghast, Nel quickly responded, "I beg your pardon, but I have yet to complete my training: I will be leading people whom are decades my senior!"

Clair smiled, "Yes, but as the Queen has placed great faith in you, I will do so as well –you have proven yourself to be reliable, consistently. It is only fitting that you would be the leader."

"But why?" Nel frowned, "There are people whom have been standing against the Airyglyphian military for decades, whom are far more suitable than I."

Adray frowned, "I fear the rumors of this town's downfall is true: our best soldiers are weathered, however, they have been repeatedly injured over the course of many painstaking battles."

Clair nodded, "Which is why I think it is time that we utilize the best of the youth. The Queen does not want to implement runological weapons as a first resort, despite the relentlessness of our opponent."

"I see." Nel's gaze fell towards the table.

Clair frowned, "You are not pleased with this promotion?"

Nel lifted her gaze towards Clair, shaking her head in denial, "It is not that. I never expected to undertake such an honorable task -I am grateful."

Clair smiled, "It is only natural. I must stay here in order to report to the Queen on a consistent basis: I needed someone whom I knew was trustworthy enough to fulfill the Queen's wishes."

Staring nearly blankly at the walls, Nel began to contemplate fighting against all three military forces, recalling Albel's warning. He would show no mercy if she returned... Would Apris protect her comrades from a nearly inevitable death? Nel froze at that thought: the Queen is aware of the Airyglyphian military's ambitions and relentlessness, and yet she will wait to implement runological weapons? Could Nel write something that seemed so careless off as faith in her organization? Was this how Albel became so jaded towards his King?

Clair broke Nel's concentration, "If you don't mind, we should figure out what would be best for you to do next, Nel."

"Yes," Nel looked towards Adray and Clair, "Despite the claim that the infiltrations are fruitless, I would like to follow through with one soon."

Adray stared at Nel with a raised eyebrow, clearly in disbelief, "Why? It is not as though we need to know exactly what they are doing -we know that they are going to be dirty about whatever assault they attempt!"

Nel shook her head, "With all due respect, do not be so foolish. It would be a grave mistake to try to defend our Sacred Kingdom against a three-tier military force which has proven itself to be overwhelming and unpredictable."

Clair frowned, "You are right, Nel."

Nel could feel a warming within her chest... Why had she requested another infiltration mission? This was going against Albel's warning, and she felt no desire to obtain information -why bother risking one's life when there is no desire to do so? Cynicism hit: is that not what the Queen was doing to every soldier when she prioritized runological resources above countless lives?

Adray snorted, "Whatever you two decide to do, I will support you. Just keep your wits about you, Nel. If you are anything like Nevelle, you may become a little careless. Don't let that carelessness obstruct your foresight."

Despite the sinking feeling in her chest, Nel smiled and nodded in affirmation, "I never have, and I do not intend on doing so."

"If you are certain that you want to undertake this self-appointed mission," Clair stared intently at Nel, "please be sure that you are physically prepared. We will provide you with the funds for whatever needs you may have. Please be careful about disguising yourself."

Nel smiled, "Clair, we go over this every time that I do this: there is nothing to worry about."

"Alright," A smile crossed Clair's face quickly, "I trust you."

"I will leave tomorrow." Bowing her head, Nel felt her body tremble. What had she just gotten herself into?

Clair's eyes widened, "So soon? Are you sure that you'll be alright?"

"Yes," Nel grinned, "there is truly nothing to worry about."

"In the meantime," Adray smiled, "relax, and enjoy your free time. And for the love of Apris, take a shower, I can smell you from five feet away."

Nel could feel her left eye twitch, "Okay... Thank you, Adray."