A Love Forbidden

Written by: Somnion

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Ocean or its characters

What if Albel and Nel had met each other when they were younger, fell in love and then, despite all odds, continued to love each other. This may stray away from the actual story, but not that badly. Albel here should be around fifteen years of age and Nel would be around fourteen. By the way, this was an idea I thought I would probably never write, but in response to the challenge from Sorceress Myst, this fanfic shall see the light of day after all. FYI: This story is gonna be rather serious as compared to my other fanfic, The Other Side of the Coin, but as a result may be more touching, some of you may shed tears when reading later chapters, but since I love happy endings, there will be good one for it, so don't worry. If you guys prefer humor, then walk on over to a new fanfic I'm writing which will be this fanfic's opposite, Mission Impossible: Mr. & Mrs. Nox, which hopefully will be uploaded soon enough. Also, I'm half way through the draft and will be updating The Other Side of the Coin soon. Any enquiries or suggestions can be sent through reviews or by e-mail, my e-mail address in on my profile. I like making new friends. So now I present the first chapter of 'A Love Forbidden'.

Chapter 1: When Albel met Nel

Cold droplets of water dripped upon Albel's cheek as he crawled away from the Ursa Lava Caves. The memory of the horror he experienced in those forsaken caves left him devastated. The rain rained down mercilessly upon him, pelting his body with water. The thing about rain is that no one could tell if you're crying or not. His father was the only thing he could think about apart from the burning pain that coursed through the stump that had once been his left arm.

"Damned animal," he cursed as he trudged away from the caves. "It took my arm…," as he closed his eyes, he felt warm tears roll down from them, but he made no effort to check them. "F…father….why…why did you do it?" he muttered under his breath. "It should have been me."

He felt his legs giving in from underneath him as he felt all the blood in his body pouring out from the wound on his left arm. He had no energy to continue on and fell down to the ground. His vision blurred as he noticed a figure moving up to him. Closing his eyes, he waited for what he believed would be his imminent doom as the figure approached, he felt himself slip out of consciousness.

As his vision slowly returned to him, Albel glanced around, observing his surroundings. He was positive that the last time he was conscious he was somewhere in the Barr mountains, it was raining and there was a strange figure. Now he was in a small room, lit by the dim light of a fire. Judging from the looks of the place, he was in the abandoned mining factory at the Traum Mountains.

"Could it be," he thought, "It was all only a dream."

It had to be. Everything was just a bad dream, a dream which he had just awoken from. Nothing had happened, all of it was just his imagination and the horrors of the cave were just a memory. Closing his eyes in relief, he brought his left hand to his head but he felt no palm touching his head. Opening his eyes in shock, he glanced at his left arm, which was only half a shoulder bound with bandages. The memories from the cave returned to him like a wave at high tide. It was real. Everything was real. The disaster at the cave, his failed Flame of Ascension rite, was a reality and the fate that befell his father was true. The burned off arm was proof of that.

"This can't be happening," he muttered, still in a state of denial, as he stared at his burnt-off arm. "I don't believe it, I won't believe it. Something is terribly wrong here," he screamed out suddenly.

"Oh, Dear Apris! Are you all right, sir," a voice said suddenly.

Albel looked around, wondering who it was. He wasn't alone in this place. His eyes finally laid themselves on a young red-haired girl, probably fourteen years of age, who held some medical tools and bandages. The girl stopped running abruptly as Albel glanced at her.

"This must have been the one who brought me here," Albel thought, as he noticed the medical equipment the girl carried in her hand.

"Who are you?" he asked the girl.

The young maiden stammered as she spoke to Albel. "My…n…name…is Nel...Zelpher, sir," she said softly. "I…I saw you on the m…mountain, you…w…were hurt, so I t…took care of you."

"You shouldn't have wasted your time, I'm already dead," he replied, as a wave of sadness and grief fell over him.

He knew the consequences of failing the Flame of Ascension rite, yet he was spared at the expense of his father's life. How would he face the people of Airyglyph at this rate? He had been considered a spectacular swordsman, despite his young age, and now he had to run like a beaten dog with its tail between its legs back to the masses, which had probably prepared a celebration for his success, and tell his humiliating tale of defeat. How his mother would take the news constantly went through his mind? But most of all, he had lost the only man he respected and looked up to, his role model and mentor. His father was gone.

Nel noticed the young man who sat before her. She pitied him as she watched the boy put his head in his right hand, trying to calm the demons which warred in his heart. She didn't know what this poor boy's pain was, but she was certain it was tearing him apart. His left arm was almost completely burnt, his body was a wreck, as if he had been fighting for dear life. She trailed her eyes to his. He didn't realize that she was staring at him, but as Nel looked into the youth's blood red eyes, they showed signs of great pain and grief, as if they were going to shed tears of blood from which they took their color.

"Such sad eyes," she thought to herself.

She felt terrible for the poor lad. She wished with all her heart that she could be of more help to him, but all she was capable of was tending his wounds. Her eyes fell onto his bandaged shoulder. It was due time for her to change the bandages and dressings, but with him awake, she was unsure whether it would be prudent to approach him or not. Cautiously, she moved up to him. Albel noticed her stirring and glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

"I…Is it alright if I…I change the bandages," she stammered.

Albel gave her no response and looked away from her as he let his thoughts occupy his mind. Nel, assuming that it was alright, brought her hand to the bandages, which were starting get loose around the boy's shoulder, but was knocked away by his hand before Nel touched it. Nel quickly withdrew her hand, looking at him wide-eyed and surprised. She couldn't understand why he would do something like that to someone who was trying to help him.

"I didn't say you could touch my arm," he replied coldly.

"Very well," she said softly. "I won't touch you then."

She lifted her hand in front of her, and to Albel's great surprise, it began to glow a light shade of green. Slowly, runes began to appear, forming a circle on her palm which looked like one of the circles used during Apris prayer rituals. Suddenly, Albel felt the pain in his left shoulder begin to subside. Slowly, the runes, just as in the sequence they appeared, began to vanish, one by one. The green light from the girl's palm started to fade, taking on its normal milky white skin tone once again.

"What was that," Albel asked, partly surprised and partly amazed.

"Its runology," she replied, blushing slightly at Albel's sudden, yet funny reaction. "I'm still learning though."

"So that was runology," Albel murmured, looking at his arm.

Nel nodded her head. "I'm still not that good at it, but one day, I hope to be as skillful as my father is."

So this was the famed runology that Albel had heard of. It was a secret art passed down by the followers of Apris and its effects in battle were greatly respected by all who had faced it in combat. Although runology was considered a powerful advantage in battle, Albel believed that he had proven that speed was always more advantageous. He, despite his age had cut down many runologists spies who had tried to infiltrate Airyglyph, their famed runology completely useless, thanks to his superior speed. But, this girl, despite her young age, seemed rather adept at using runology.

"Nel Zelpher, huh?" he thought. "Wait a minute, it couldn't be…"

How could he have not noticed? The young maiden before him was none other than the daughter of the legendary Crimson Blade, Nevelle Zelpher. His father and Woltar had always spoken highly of him and respected his fighting abilities, making the man a legend. And now, the very person who was helping him was none other than this legend's daughter.

"Are you s...sure you don't want me t...to change the bandages, sir," she asked again, still a little afraid of him.

Waking up from his thoughts by her voice, he turned to face her. It had been quite some time since anyone had ever tried to help him. Most people neglected him because he always treated them rather coldly, but this girl seemed to be quite sincere about aiding him and he had to admit that, in a way, appreciated it.

"Fine," he said finally.

Nel cautiously moved up to him, and then gently removed the bandages from the boy's arm. The damage to the arm seemed a lot less bad than it had been, and she was quite relieved.

"So...," she asked shyly, "wha...what's your name?"

Albel glared at her as she asked the question. As his stare fell on her, she stepped back slightly, afraid that she had made him mad. Slowly, he turned away from her view. To Nel, it seemed like she was right, she had made him upset.

"Albel, Albel Nox," he said suddenly.

Oh... I see," she replied, as she administered a new dressing of bandages on his arm.

"Listen, Zelpher," Albel continued, as he took out a small pouch he kept on his person. "There's about 200 Fol in this pouch. It isn't much, but it should be worth your trouble."

Nel looked at the pouch of money Albel had offered her, and then smiling softly, she closed Albel's fingers over the pouch, asking him to keep it.

"It's alright," she replied, her hands still clutching Albel's. "Money is not important here."

Smiling sweetly, she looked into his eyes and he into hers. As Albel's eyes met with the emerald orbs that shone on the young maiden's face, he suddenly felt a strange, yet soothing calmness envelop him. All the pain and horror, for a brief while, as he gazed at her, seemed to be a distant memory. Nel, suddenly realizing how long she had been holding hands with the young man, quickly withdrew her hand, her face now turning beet-red. Albel looked at her with her amazement, not very sure what she was getting so flustered about.

'I…I'm so sorry, Sir Albel," she stammered. "I didn't mean to…'

As Nel continued to apologize, Albel realized, much to his horror, that he had left something of great value at the lava caves. "Father's sword, the Crimson Scourge," he yelled suddenly, much to the surprise of Nel. "It's still at the cave. I have to get it."

He struggled to get up, but Nel began pleaded to him to stay in bed, for his was not strong enough to walk.

"Please, Sir Albel, you should stay in bed. Your wounds have not healed completely and you lost a lot of blood from your wounds. If you continue to overexert yourself you'll…"

"That is none of your concern, maggot," he snapped back angrily. "I have something more important to do."

"NO," Nel screamed, as she stood in front of the door, her arms spread across, barring Albel's escape. "I won't let you."

Albel glared at the girl who stood before him. She seemed completely different than the shy girl who had been attending to his wounds not too long ago. Her green eyes seemed to be burning as she tried to put on a strong front. But Albel was not going to allow anyone to stand in his way from retrieving his father's sword, and this girl, in his opinion, was signing her own death sentence. Using only his right arm, he reached for his katana, before addressing the maiden.

"I'm warning you, worm," he said as he unsheathed his sword. "You have no idea with what or whom you're dealing with."

Nel looked at Albel in awe, as he brandished his weapon. A katana was a two-handed weapon, and almost impossible to be used single-handedly, unless the user was extremely skilled. She was not up against any normal opponent. This boy, should he be in prime condition, would have been able to cut her in half effortlessly. Yet, despite all her doubts, she firmly stood her ground.

"Very well, fool," he sighed, as he lunged forward to attack her, but as he moved he suddenly felt his legs collapse under him, causing him to fall to the ground..

Quickly, Nel moved forward to stop him from falling, catching him before he hit the ground. Albel felt his arms wrap around her waist as she lunged forward to break his fall, his face falling softly on her soft bosom.

He could hear her heartbeat racing as his face pressed against the softness of her chest. Nel gulped as she felt his pressure on her delicate breasts. Never before had she come in such close proximity with a man before and this was quite a shock for her. Slowly she brought her lips closer to Albel's ear. Albel felt his heart pounding as he felt her breath upon his ear.

"Please," she said, almost in a whisper, "let me take care of you."

Albel felt like his heart had gone into overdrive as she whispered softly into his ear. They were so close to one another that it was both scary, yet beautiful at the same time. He looked at her once again, the beautiful green eyes, the lovely red hair that was as majestic as the sunset, the soft milky white skin and the breath-taking smile. For a moment, Albel felt he had drifted into a dream. A dream which, for some reason he couldn't seem to understand, he didn't want to wake up from.

"Is it alright, Sir Albel?" she asked softly.

As he looked deeply into her concerned, sincere eyes, he finally agreed to it. "Fine," he answered as she helped him towards the bed she had laid for him.

"If…If there is a…anything you need, Sir Albel, please ask," she told as she helped him onto the bed.

"Zelpher, there is something I do want," as he glared at her.

"Wha…what is it?" she asked a little nervous, as Albel eyed her intently.

Closing his eyes as he laid his head on the pillow, "Stop calling me sir."

"Uh…uh…of course…Albel," she said, looking away from Albel, blushing the whole time.

Chapter One ends.

I'll try to submit my other works as soon as possible, so please be patient a little while longer. Please read and review. This just my second fanfic, so go easy on me.