The tournament had ended with a victory for Asbel and as promised, the spy from Strahta was released to Asbel and the others. Now they were at the boarding dock; the boys were with the spy while the girls wandered around the close area, examining all kinds of people as they walked by. Alice noticed the group of soldiers that had taken the spy hostage in the first place and chuckled at their beaten appearance.
Suddenly a deep voice called out the girls' names and Alice looked over to see Malik waving his hand for them to come over. "We're departing for Fendel right now." He watched the spy board the ship as their new escort before following her with Alice right behind him. "She's our guide to the continent so she won't be around for too long." He told her as they went to the front of the ship.
There was a low rumbling sound and Alice hugged her stomach with a harsh grin. She saw that she was unintentionally worrying Asbel so she straightened up. "Just hunger pains." Alice laughed slightly, "In case you forgot, while you go to eat before we left Strahta, I haven't eaten since we took the boat to Oul Raye."
Cheria got up from her seat as the boat began moving, "I'll go down to the ship's kitchen and see if I can find something for you to eat." She remembered that Alice hated fish and kept that in mind as she disappeared down a flight of stairs.
"So how is the princess feeling?" Pascal wondered in her usual happy-go-lucky tone. "You shouldn't overexert yourself with such a horrible case." She gestured for Alice to take off the glasses as Pascal examined her eyes. "You still have the eleth in you irises… It'll take a while for your body to get rid of all the eleth."
Alice kept the glasses off; hooking them on Malik's coat she had on and released her hair from the elastic. The young girl shook her head to get her hair to fall down on her shoulders and began taking off the coat. "You should keep that." Malik advised, "Fendel's terribly cold and you'll need all the extra clothing you can get. You're already so small; you'd be dead if you didn't keep it."
She wasn't sure if she should say thank you or to be horrified that he told her she was going to die otherwise. Instead Alice said nothing to the old Captain and looked at Pascal who looked sick to her stomach. The girl ran to the edge of the boat and Alice switched her focus to a worried looking Asbel. "Honestly, Asbel. If something's bothering you it's better that you just come out with it and say what's on your mind."
Asbel seemed shocked as Alice called him out on him being lost in his thoughts and the young man sighed. "I'm just thinking that's all." He replied as he took a seat next to Sophie at the table. Alice persisted and sat on the other side of Asbel. "Really, princess. It's nothing you need to worry yourself about."
"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?" Alice growled in a friendly way. "I let it slide with the Captain because it's what he's accustomed to but…" She smiled, "I remember when we were younger; you never called me the princess." The young girl laughed quietly as Asbel's hard expression cracked. "So come on, spill."
He tapped his fingers against the glass table as he gathered his thoughts. "It's just about Richard; I know that we can't do anything without attacking him but if we have to go further than that… Alice, I don't know if I would ever be able to do that." Asbel's eyes were full of sadness and he took a deep breath.
"'From now on no matter what happens…'" Alice began in a quiet tone. Asbel and Sophie both gave her strange looks as her words appeared to be random. "'The four of us will always be friends'." She looked up at both of them from her hands with a smile. "We made that pact at Lhant Hill seven years ago. Don't tell me you've forgotten, Asbel."
Sophie immediately straightened, "I remember! Right after Bryce attacked us and we came back up from the beach! We all wrote our names on the tree so we would be friends forever!" The young girl was definitely happy about the memory.
Alice nodded, "That's right, Sophie!" She gave a stern look at Asbel. "Key point her Asbel is 'no matter what happens the four of us will always be friends'." The princess pointed out. "We'll find a way to bring Richard back to us and when we do everything will go back to normal."
He couldn't help but admire Alice's brave front and he reached over, placing his hand on her head and ruffled the blonde hair. "You're right." Asbel smiled, "I can't give up on him; we've made a promise to stay together no matter what happens."
She pushed Asbel's hand off her head as she fixed her hair and a plate was set in front of her. Alice glanced over to see Cheria with a smile and apologized that it was the only food she could find in the pantry. It was a turkey and cheese sandwich, something Alice had actually never had in the comfort of her castle.
The princess thanked Cheri a as she took a small bite and felt Malik place a hand on her back. "Once you've finished your dinner, I'd advise you head off to bed. Pascal has already turned in for the night." Alice looked up at the sky to find it near pitch black; the only light coming from the full moon's glow.
"Alright, Captain." Alice replied. She knew that Malik was tired and he wouldn't go to sleep until he knew Alice was asleep in her cabin with the other girls. Hubert had disappeared from the boat and Alice figured he had gone down to the boys' room to catch some much needed rest.
Alice finished the sandwich in a matter of minutes; she hadn't realized how hungry she was until she actually had the food in front of her. Once the princess had finished a glass of water, she stood up and turned to Malik. "I think I'll go to bed now…" She turned around to the others to say goodnight before going inside the boat.
It was the next morning when Alice sat up in her bed, the light filtering through the porthole at the side of the room. She looked over to see the other three beds empty and on one bed the sheets were tossed around haphazardly; Alice assumed it was Pascal's bed. Alice got out of bed, changing into her clothes that had been cleaned earlier in the morning and went outside.
The harsh cold hair hit Alice immediately and hugged the freshly washed coat close to her as the biting air attacked her skin. She hadn't even taken three steps when Hubert stopped her and gestured her head up by snapping in the air above her. "Eyes up here." He dictated and pushed her eyelids open. "It's faded."
"It's gone?" Alice wiggled her head away from Hubert as he released her eyelids and she rubbed them lightly. "Guess all I needed was some sleep." The blue-haired boy agreed and the two joined the others at the front of the boat. Alice noticed that Hubert was shivering and she realized that since he was more adjusted to hot climates he wouldn't fare well in the current weather. "Are you cold?"
Hubert looked down at her for a moment, "A bit chilly; Strahtan uniforms are designed for hot climates of the desert rather than the freezing cold of the mountains. However, I'll be fine as long as I have some time to adjust to the temperature." He explained in a neutral tone. Asbel was standing to the side with Cheria and noticed that Hubert spoke with Alice on the same level as he talked down towards everyone else.
Cheria seemed to take notice as well and laughed to herself. "Don't you love how much power a little kid can have over an older military lieutenant of another country?" She whispered to Asbel. "If you ask me, it keeps his attitude in check."
The Captain had overheard their gossip and nodded. "Hubert sure is the sharp type of character but regardless of the fact he's of Strahtan now, he still has to mind his manners with Alice." He then considered how Hubert recently ordered Alice to tilt her head up by snapping his fingers at her.
Asbel shook his head. "I don't know but he was pretty quick to snap at her to get her to look up." He sighed as he leaned over the railing. "He still hasn't forgotten the time seven years ago when we all became friends. So I think Hubert knows that he has some freedom when it comes to Alice."
Fendel's port was coming up fast and Alice rushed the front railing to see the foreign continent as they slowed pace into the docks. The young girl was in awe at the beauty of the white snow; it was something she never recalled seeing. Windor had a perfectly cool temperature year round so snow was never existent in Windor.
"Captain Malik!" Alice exclaimed, bounding from one side of the ship to the other where Malik stood in the same t-shirt and a lighter coat. "Have you ever been to Fendel?" She asked curiously. When he nodded, she seemed even more thrilled. "So what's it like? Having snow all year round must be so…" She suddenly sneezed with a small squeak noise; pinching her nose in the process.
Malik seemingly ignored Alice's question as he pulled the coat back up over her shoulders. "In all reality, Fendel isn't that exciting. I'm sorry princess but I fear you won't be very entertained with its capital like you were in Barona or Yu Liberte."
Pascal approached the others from the back of the boat just then carrying the glasses Alice had worn along with her hair elastic. "You should probably get back into disguise, right? Fendel sure hates Windor and the last thing we need is to give them a reason to attack."
Oh my there certainly have been a lot of updates, hasn't there? I'm happy to tell everyone that they should get used to the abundance of updates. I have a new fanfiction premierin soon; most likely by the middle of next week! This fanfiction might die down a little but I will always try to get in an update each week for you guys! Thank you for reading~!
P.S) I realized I made a mistake in the second chapter. I said there were only three during the pact making and there were actually four xD My bad. Once the fanfic reaches its end I'll go back a fix everything.
