Part 5
Nel pondered for a moment after he had left about why she hadn't questioned him about his sudden change of attitude. Then, she pondered about what in dear Apris had possessed her to attempt to hug the man. And why hadn't he pulled away as she had expected? She shook her head. More likely than not, he had been just about as surprised as she was at the movement and hadn't had time to think about it. Which was a good thing, because the last thing she needed was him mistakenly thinking that she had more feelings toward him than she let on.
Truth be told, she hadn't asked him any particular questions because she had a sense that she knew how Albel felt, if only slightly. Woltar had took her aside one of the days they had stayed in Kirlsa, explaining that Albel the Wicked hadn't always been as wicked as he might have let on. At first she had found it hard to believe, but there seemed to remain some sort of odd sense of sanity remaining in the warrior's crimson gaze. He was just hardened because of unsatisfactory events that had happened in his life. Nel herself had her share of losses, and she related slightly to the loss of a father like he did. Still, she didn't know what she would have done if she had been in Albel's position to have been saved by her father at the cost of his life.
The woman let out a slow sigh. She had to admit she was learning more about Nox than she ever wanted to know. A touch of a smile appeared on her face, as she considered the man's words. Hatred to only oneself.... She figured that he chose to stay alone for fear that he would lose someone or something precious to him again. Perhaps that's why he had seemed so dismayed when they had first beaten him. The whole group could hear him scream when he was defeated. Fayt's words of Albel being weak must have been enough shame for him to incur for quite some time. A tinge of pity went through her mind before she shook it away. Albel would be angry if anyone would think to pity him. She couldn't help but feel somewhat badly though. If he had admitted that he had hated her, that would have been the end of that. But now, she was starting to worry. Slightly. Was the man really stable enough to continue traveling along with the group? Granted, he was strong, much more than any of them could take on alone, with the exception of maybe Fayt if he was having a good day. If he were to betray them, they would suffer a great loss that not even Mirage or Adray could really fill in.
Nel didn't mind him being around so much as she had before, she had to admit, but she still hadn't been too fond of him. She had not known how to respond to the man's comment, so had taken the only gesture of kindness she could give him in return. That mixed with her half-asleep stupor that temporarily relieved all fear of anyone for the time as well.
The woman noticed in the next few days that Albel had returned to how he had been toward the end of the first time they had fought together. Now with the lack of symbology, the man made it a habit to toss her what she needed if she had gotten injured against the monsters nearby. Like an unspoken truce, she took it upon herself to heal him as well, each taking the other for granted to heal them if need be. Of course, when Fayt was in battle each took more notice toward their leader, but whenever Cliff or the others were around, they were the least of either's concern. It was funny how no one in the group really noticed-- and if they did, they said nothing of it. It was also funny how the more that Fayt was off and shopping and other such errands, the less harsh Albel's words were toward her. In front of the group, though, he returned instantly to his normal persona, staying away from the group and being as quiet as humanly possible. Besides a few annoyed "hmphs" and "bah"s along the way.
Once, when they were in Aquaria, Nel stumbled across Albel who was taking a seat on the table of the conference room. It was kind of surprising to see him there out of all places-- though not as so when Fayt had said he had spotted Albel in a church in Arias. Albel the Wicked and the image of a church just didn't go along very well. He didn't speak, but he acknowledged her presence with a quick shrug.
Nel felt somewhat awkward to have to leave the man in the room without saying anything, so she spoke, quietly. "What do you think about what was said in Arkives?"
"Did the maggot tell you about the kid?"
She took a moment to translate. Did Fayt tell her about... Oh. She nodded. "He let me know all that you did, along with Cliff. The rest I heard from Blair." she strayed to the opposite side of the room, leaning against a wall. "We're..only programs from 4D, then?"
"Bah." a pause, then quietly, "We have our own feelings, don't we? As the scum said, as long as we have those, we really do exist."
The woman nodded. It was hard to think that they were actually only programs running around in a created world by other forms of life. All the struggles that she had gone through had just been a part of the program she was placed into. She looked down toward her hands. Then again, maybe it was just impossible for a program to understand that they were a program. Maybe they were programmed to think that...
"Don't think about it too hard. You'll make yourself sick."
Nel glanced toward Albel, who had his arms folded. His expression was neutral, but the faint spark of his eyes beneath his hair looked somewhat softer than usual. She couldn't get herself to believe the man in front of her was also only a part of this large program of the world. When her heart skipped a beat, she felt more alive than she had before she had found out the truth. And then she paused. Wait. This was Albel the Wicked here. What was wrong with her..
Albel turned away finally, ending her confused state of mind, and she shook her head a few times. "W--well. You're right. I think I'll go lay down on my bed. You know where I am if you need me."
"Bah. When would I need you, wench?"
She smiled faintly, starting toward the door. "I'll leave my door unlocked."
The woman heard him grumble a bit as she started back to her room. When she entered it, Fayt came by soon before she could sleep, his expression complete tiredness. "We need to head back to Sphere." he said simply, and Nel frowned. Berial and Belzeber had taken quite a lot of stamina to defeat in Sphere, and Blair had told them to return after a rest. She would be waiting for them, and then they could move on. It wasn't the easiest to leave Sphere once they entered it, but somehow they had gotten them to manage. She was also busily gathering all the information she could. The group owed her, big time. Nel wondered how it must feel for one of the creators of these people, helping the AI system be freed from their control.
"Fayt.. you need to get some rest. You look exhausted."
Fayt attempted a small smile, his feeble form somewhat shaky with restlessness. "I know, but it's hard to sleep with all of this going on."
"Don't worry. We have Cliff and Albel on our side. Those two can take on anything." Nel inwardly did a double-take as she spoke, though her voice didn't waver. She had meant to say Cliff and Mirage, not Albel. Sure, he was strong, but he was less reliable as a person than Mirage. The Klausians were very good melee fighters in general. It must have been because she had Albel on her mind now more than she used to. Wait, did she just admit that-- oh, nevermind.
"I hope you're right."
Nel steered him to the door, a frown on her face. "Now go get some sleep. The last thing we need is to lose you."
Fayt simply nodded, and she had to watch him walk to the other room and enter it. She sighed, shutting her door and listening as Mirage spoke to Fayt from the room beside them. She had no idea why Mirage was always in Fayt's room, but maybe she was just tiding it up. Or she had nothing else to do. One of the two. Or maybe both. She wasn't sure. Whatever the reason, it sure wasn't important, or else Fayt would have questioned it too. With a sigh, Nel lay down on her bed, taking a moment to shut her eyes. There were so many problems going on nowadays, with the recovery of Arias and other places. Fayt's exhaustion would cost the others, she knew, and she didn't want him stressing too much. It was much too unhealthy. Even if they were programmed. Then there was Albel.
...not that he was too important in her mind. Just because she had grown to feel somewhat safer with his presence around meant nothing. Her thoughts straying toward him when she had nothing else to think of also must mean nothing. She figured she was just stressed out. Sure, Albel was very appealing, and he was taking the time to act somewhat more friendly (at least for him) toward her when the others weren't around, but that was only because they were fellow Elicoorians. They had some sort of bond to this part of the world. That was all. Right?
She tested her theory. She slowly closed her eyes, trying to capture the first image that crossed her head. Sure enough, the first phrase that entered her mind was "Albel Nox." She opened her eyes, breathed a sigh, then tried again. Shut eyes. Nox. Open eyes. Shut eyes. Nox. Open eyes. Shut eyes. Nox.
Make the goddess-forsaken man get out of her mind!
Right then, the door opened, revealing none other than said Nox, which made Nel jump and sit up, rubbing at her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things. "Come here, fool." he stated simply, and she sighed, knowing he was being careful not to wake Fayt next door. She followed him outside, to where she heard Fayt had spoken with Maria while Cliff and herself had first gone to speak with the king of Airyglyph.
Once they were in a safer place to speak, she immediately countered. "And what did you call me? I thought I told you ages ago that--"
He raised a hand, signaling for silence, and she paused, looking up where Cliff and Mirage were now heading for the castle, the woman giggling a little as Cliff scratched his head sheepishly. Nel raised an eyebrow. They looked so much like they were....married. Or something. She shuddered at the thought. Of course, marrying was an honor, but in this case she felt bad for Mirage. She always one-upped the other Klausian on everything anyway. Maybe she liked it that way. She wasn't so sure about Cliff's end.
Of course Nel had noticed Cliff's adoration toward Fayt, though. Fayt didn't figure to mind, but then again, he might have just been oblivious and thought Cliff was just a friendly person. He did declare himself as Fayt's bodyguard and had vowed to protect him anyway. Kind of suspicious. She watched as the Klausian forms faded into the castle and then turned back toward Albel.
"So..what did you want?"
She felt a faint bit of annoyance when he simply shrugged.
"We'll be going to finish going through Sphere tomorrow if Fayt didn't tell you." she added in. "You're prepared, right?"
"Bah. I'm always prepared, maggot."
The redhead was getting used to conversations like these now. Every time she thought of Albel, the thoughts were much more bright than actually speaking to the man. He always shot out such remarks without any sort of delay at all. She wondered a few times to herself if he indeed hated her and just didn't know it, since he was too busy hating himself.
She glanced up toward him. He was still wearing his normal clothing, the tank top and somewhat revealing skirt. He was unbearably skinny, probably due to the lack of food that she had heard Airyglyph had been suffering with. She had never had to starve herself, so she wouldn't know how it felt to be so painfully thin. It was almost a miracle how much strength he could pack in such a form. His face structure was a mix between beautiful and handsome, though his expression always cost him many points on the scale. She, on the other hand, had gotten half way dressed to sleep before she had given up and laid down on the bed, meaning she was wandering around with her bathrobe on to cover her normal black top. It was going to get dirty outside, she decided, and felt somewhat annoyed that she hadn't thought about that when she had followed him. The silence allowed her to think about many things. He didn't seem like he was going to say any more, either.
Nel opened her mouth, then shut it, thinking that two can play the game as well. He had been the one to call her out, so he should be the one to initiate the conversation. So instead, she would take the time to admire him.
Er.. no, that wasn't right either.
It was just that he did look even more attractive with the moonlight shining over him and accentuating his black-blonde hair. He stood in a way that allowed her gaze free access to his uncovered thigh, and if she didn't know better, she would have thought he had simply dragged her out of her room to look him over. She tore her gaze away and back up toward his face. The silence was killing her.
"If you have nothing to say, I'll be going."
She turned, then paused when she heard him walk toward her. She stayed standing perfectly straight as he leaned over, speaking quietly into her ear. "I just wanted to say thank you."
His voice was much softer than before, almost childish, and she could hear a waver come across his words. Was he afraid to say the words? Why couldn't he just have said them normally?
Then again, that would be unlike him. She was already surprised that he had not added in a derogatory comment after the statement. She made no movement. "..what did I need to be thanked for?"
He pulled away, and she could tell. His warm breath against her neck faded, and she shivered involuntarily. His tone returned to normal. "Oh, the usual, maggot. Healing me in battle. That one day in Gemity. I never had a chance to thank you."
Nel sighed to herself in annoyance. There he goes again with the maggot talk. He had dragged her out on a random night to thank her for something that had happened days ago? Ugh. She had to admit she hadn't been expecting it though, so it was a pleasant surprise. "Don't worry about it. I was just doing what I wanted to do." She glanced toward him. "Is that all?"
No response. She figured that meant yes, and started walking back, pausing when she heard his footsteps trailing hers. With a sigh, she turned around, stopping and then biting back a cry when he crashed into her, obviously distracted. He was stronger than she had expected, and she stumbled back a few feet. Had it not been for his quick reflexes, she would have landed on the floor. Nel blinked a few times, caught in a rather awkward situation. If she thought to move, she would probably be dropped, and she was being supported solely by the man's right arm. Of course, she could just grab a hold of him and pull herself up, but that would be just about as awkward. Instead, she just simply blinked up toward him, hoping that he would have enough courtesy to pull her up. Luckily for her, he did. Albel took a few steps back, pulling the woman back to her feet and waiting for her to steady herself before he moved his arm aside.
"S--sorry about that." she stated lamely. It wasn't really her fault; it was mostly because he hadn't stopped when she had. She wondered if he had something on his mind to distract him from noticing that she had turned back toward him. His expression did look somewhat cloudy again.
Albel said nothing, simply passing her by and heading toward the inn. She frowned. Fayt and the others were allowed to stay in the castle, but Albel had been sent to the inn, she knew. There just wasn't enough space. Or that was how they had logically kicked him out. Truthfully it was probably just because he was from Airyglyph, and being in Aquaria was more than a pain for him and Aquarians alike. She allowed him to walk a significant amount before she finally shook her head. "Albel!"
He paused, folding his arms but not speaking.
"Here. I'll walk with you." she hurried over to catch up to him, to which he immediately scowled.
"I'm not a child, worm."
Nel shrugged a bit, staying beside him. He was purposely slowing down though, for he was allowing her to keep pace. It was these small nuances that she found she enjoyed about him the most. "I know."
The woman eyed him for a moment, then did something that she hadn't thought to do before. Slowly, she raised one hand, placing it on top of the mechanical arm beside her. He visibly flinched, but didn't move aside.
"What do you think you're doing, maggot?"
She ran her hand down to the tip, frowning at how hard the clawed ends were. If she got too close to them, they could easily shred her. She made a mental note to walk on the other side of the man next time. "Doesn't it feel odd to have this?"
"Eh? I've had it for nine years, wench. It's nothing out of the ordinary now."
Nine years... reminded her of what Woltar had said. "..I heard about what happened to your father."
Albel Nox stopped midstep, turning his gaze toward hers. She immediately regretted her words. His eyes blazed with the mentioning of his relative, and he narrowed his eyes. "What did you say?"
Using his words against him, she responded, "You heard me."
"Did that old man Woltar tell you?" he hissed, his expression turning utterly dangerous. One hand instinctively went to her dagger holstar, though the woman hoped she wouldn't have to take the weaponry out. If he was to fight her, she would more than likely not make it to the next day.
She kept her voice steady. "What if he did?"
The man immediately slammed a fist into the wall beside her and she cringed as it crumbled slightly. "Don't talk about my father, wench." The words were spoken through his teeth, and she knew that that should be the end of that conversation. Still, she wanted to press her luck, if only slightly. If all else failed, she knew Aquaria well enough to make a run for it. Hopefully she was just faster than him to escape.
"My father was killed by that same Woltar," she stated slowly. "I'm not saying that I know how you feel, because I probably don't. It's just that what has happened in the past is already past. You shouldn't worry about all of that anymore."
"Don't try to lecture me!"
Nel stepped back a few feet until she was standing completely against the wall. It was a good time to make a mental note never to anger the Airyglyph ex-captain-of-the-Black-Brigade if one valued their life.
"You don't understand what I've had to go through! There hasn't been a single day that I haven't recalled what happened then! If I was stronger-- if I hadn't been such a coward when I was younger, it never would have happened!" Albel shook his head a few times, "I should have just died back then!"
That triggered something inside the woman much like the anger that had been triggered into the man in front of her. Immediately, all thoughts of fear escaped from her mind. "Don't you dare say that! Your life is precious! If it wasn't, your father would have never given himself up for it!"
Albel paused for a moment, stepping back. His anger seemed to be fading slightly, and when he spoke, his voice was quiet. "Don't you think that I know that, fool? That's why I need to be stronger... I can't stay like the coward that I was when I was young." he took in a deep breath before finishing, "That's why I hate myself. Someone who's lived like you have would never understand what I've gone through. You haven't had to starve and watched the people you loved starve to death. You haven't had to see someone sacrifice themselves for your sake."
Nel frowned. "Maybe I haven't. But the feeling of someone sacrificing themselves for my sake is the same that I had when Tynave and Farleen were sent off as decoys to allow us to escape. That's why I had to go back for them. I couldn't just leave them behind.."
"I didn't have a choice, wench! My father was killed because of me! Because of my weakness! I--"
The woman shook her head, grabbing a hold of his arm. "Albel..you don't need to be afraid of losing anyone anymore. You're strong. You know that. You can open yourself up again."
Albel simply looked down toward her, his expression hidden by the long locks of his hair. She had a strange feeling that she should be on her guard, and she was ready to draw her daggers when she felt his clawed arm move. Instead of going to attack her, though, he brought her to him, resting her head on his chest. She blinked a few times, surprised, but couldn't get herself to mind. He was most definitely odd, she decided. Before she could speak, he released her, stepping aside. When he spoke, his voice was cold as always. "Make sure the others don't leave me behind tomorrow, wench."
Nel watched as he walked off, acting as though nothing strange had happened at all. The next few days he was perfectly normal. Or as normal as he could seem. This meant, basically, that he was looking pissed off and standing behind the group. She made no move to speak to him, and he did the same. Blair allowed them access to teleport out of Sphere, after all her hard work, which allowed them to go to Styx. It was the first time Nel had gone there, and she was more than unhappy to see the stronger Executioners waiting for them. The group was strong, but these Executioners weren't creatures that would stand for a beating so quickly as the monsters on Elicoor. Thank goodness for Maria's communication device to allow them access to the Diplo. The last thing they needed was to be overrun by these strange monsters who could cast magic and do things that none of the other random battles had done before.
Once in the Diplo, Nel immediately felt an impending sense of doom when it came to their sleeping quarters. There were obviously not enough rooms, for the crew each had their separate rooms. Actually, everyone had their separate rooms, spare for two female attendants in a far room in the east and the two Elicoorians who were recruited. Fayt looked apologetic when he explained that the Diplo would have nowhere else to stay, and Nel felt even more annoyed to note that the room that she would have to share with Albel Nox would have one bed. It would take some smooth talking to get him to stay on the floor, that was for sure. The two hadn't spoken to each other unless it was necessary since the time they had been in Aquaria, and the redhead kept her gaze lowered as they headed to rest.
If she hadn't been paying enough attention, she would have crashed straight into Lieber, who she had to admit annoyed her to all ends. He saluted toward them goofily, then glanced around, obviously on the look out for any sign of Maria. She felt bad for Maria. She must really be oblivious of Lieber's advances... which was just sad. Poor girl. She wondered if Lieber would ever get enough courage to ask the leader of Quark out, then hoped that it would be a no. Maria's response would more than likely crush him, and if she actually agreed.... Apris help them. She didn't want to be around to see that one.
Albel took a seat in the only chair of the guest room that they were in, his arms folded as they looked toward the empty screen. The technology was much too high for either of the Elicoorians to know what it was, and she frowned, knowing that there were people even in her group who were so used to these machines that it seemed nothing new to them. Their adventuring with Fayt Leingod had most definitely caused them to learn a whole lot about the universe, that was for one. And she had thought they were simply engineers from Greeton. What a mistake that was. She was just glad that she hadn't ended up killing them. That would have helped the whole universe fall apart pretty quickly. At least the universe as they knew it. That would also not have allowed for Airyglyph and Aquaria's alliance as well. Which would also mean she would not have to be traveling with this man who was seated across from her this very minute. They owed the two "engineers" a lot. Still, this was preventing her from visiting Clair, who had an awful habit of being worried when she didn't need to. Nel wondered if they would be allowed to stop by Arias so she could check up on her friend, then shook the thought aside. There was just too much business to do.
When she stopped wondering about how her friend was doing, she noticed that he had turned to keep his gaze on her instead of the screen. Immediately, she felt a tinge of embarrassment and she blinked a few times. "W--what?"
The man simply shook his head, moving back to look at the screen. She frowned a bit. The bed that she was sitting on was much too small for more than one person, that was for sure. The room itself wasn't really made for more than one person in general. She had no idea how this was going to work out. Couldn't she have shared a room with a female at least? How inconsiderate.