Disclaimer: You know, the usual. Don't own it, and wishing on stars doesn't work either.
I labeled this a general humor because it had a certain dark humor to it – not to mention that parts of it are on the edge of lunacy. Yes, that means that this Amanda is not suppose to make much sense. But hey, she's got Albel so out of whack that he's not thinking straight.
The more I write, the more I have to keep from turning this into a fluffy love story. That's why it's great that our little wicked lunatic has a crush on none other then Roger. I never gave him much game play, but I find it is kinda fun to put him in bad situations. (evil laugh)
As for Nel… Well I put her in quite a situation also… Just got to keep telling myself no fluff, no fluff…
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Albel slept with little ease as he dreamed of that day. He was only 9 years old at the time.
"Albel, come here," his father called. "It's a girl. You're a big brother now."
The dream shifted. He was now 13. No matter what he did or where he went, she followed. She imitated him, only she laughed too much. It got under his skin. And then she put dead flowers in his hair. Albel probably would have liked her more, if she hadn't been a girl. She loved all the things that he did; only she twisted them.
He attempted to kill her on several occasions. Being her brother, he couldn't just cut her open. Besides, she had tortured him and payback was inedible.
The only problem was that she had too much fun with his attempts.
When she was five (Albel was 14), he locked her in the cellar for 3 whole days. When his frantic parents finally found her, the whole day was spent arguing with the girl. She screamed to be left there in the dark. She loved it. His punishment was to stay down there with her until she would come out. It had taken a week. He spent most of the time hearing her chatter when she wasn't clinging to him. By the end of the week, his sanity was hanging by a thread.
That was only his first attempt. The outcome had been against him. Thus, the foreshadow for later attempts.
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Nel had no desire to go back to the inn. She wasn't tired and didn't feel the need to confront Roger anymore. She decided the best thing to do was to find Albel.
She looked around the square. Her gaze fell on the eastern road. That had been the road Albel had run down after he had relinquished his sword to her. It would be logical to start her search there.
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"I love you, but you must make me a promise. You must promise me that you will never harm Amanda. No harm, you hear me Albel. And defiantly you must not kill her."
Albel woke as the words echoed in his mind. Those were the last words his mother spoke to him.
He sat up. The ground was slightly moist under him and his head pounded. His body was a prisoner to fatigue. He needed more sleep but the dreams would not let him be.
He stood, regretting the action as he became dizzy. He started to walk with no sense of direction. He knew he was incapable of walking straight, but he continued. He knew what he needed and only when he found it could he rest.
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Nel walked silently, staying in the shadows. She was a spy, after all, and accustom to concealing her location. She made her way to the eastern inn. Perhaps that was where the swordsman had gone?
She had just arrived in front of the inn when her attention was diverted. Someone was staggering up the street. Nel remembered that there was a bar not far and she assumed the man to be drunk.
She backed into the shadows and waited. She didn't mind a good fight, but she was in no mood to deal with a sleazy drunk.
He slowly made his way closer to her. After waiting patiently for a few minutes, she realized that this was no stranger that approached.
She stepped out of the shadows and into his path. "Albel?"
He moaned at the sound of his name. Nel was frozen in place. She had never seen him in such a state.
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Roger ricocheted off the wall. The girl had flung him down when she saw that the innkeeper had apparently taken a break. No one was behind the counter at the time.
"Oh phewy phewy! Now how am I suppose to let you tell him off if he isn't even here?" She sounded like an evil spoiled brat as she pouted.
Roger stood and rubbed his head. He watched as she climbed onto the counter. What was she doing? She didn't seem to be the smartest girl but he was sure she was up to no good.
Then he realized what it was she was after. He cursed himself for not running when he had the chance. Before he could even look around to find the door, she jumped down.
She smiled as she swung the key in front of him.
"Got it!" She gave him an extremely evil grin. Her smile was freaking him out.
Before he could respond, she grabbed his arm and dragged him down the hallway. She stopped halfway down and fumbled the key into the lock. She gripped his arm hard enough to make his fingers go numb.
She opened the door and dragged him into the room. "Here we go. A nice comfy room." She closed the door and leaned on it.
"Um…as a gentleman, I think I should wait outside," he restrained from stuttering.
She giggled as she moved away from the door. She winked as she pulled his helmet off. She twisted his hair around her fingers. "Oh, a gentleman? You really are quiet a fella."
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Albel heard his name. That voice. Could it be, or was he just too tired to know the difference? He kept moving, unsure if he had really heard someone call his name or not.
Then she came into view. The look on her face was utter confusion. He smiled. He was unable to think straight. "Zelpher? Cake for the fire. Damn firefly."
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He said her name. That was a good sign, or at least she thought it was. But nothing else he said made sense to her.
Nel tilted her head to the side. Something was lodged in his hair. She reached up and plucked the flower out from behind his ear. Albel had a flower behind his ear! She looked at it in disbelief.
He chuckled. "Not dead. At least the flower's not dead."
She couldn't find logic in his babbling. She was even more shocked when his head hit her left shoulder. He then threw his left arm over her other shoulder. He mumbled under his breath, but she couldn't understand him.
"Albel? Hey, what are you doing?"
Her question was answered with the sound of light snores.
She considered her options. Option one was to just push him off and leave him to sleep in the street. Option two was to drag him into the inn and let him sleep there.
She signed heavily. She didn't think it was going to be easy to get him up the stairs.
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Cliff sat up in the bed. He was mad. His dream had been interrupted. His alien princess would have to wait.
His sleep had been interrupted by the sounds coming from the room beside his. He walked to the wall and rested his ear against the cold surface. It sounded like a fight had broke out. Then he heard a familiar voice.
"Hey…let go will ya!"
Yup, sounded like Roger had gotten into trouble again. Cliff shook his head as he left his room. He had to shut the pipsqueak up before he could get back to sleep.
He walked straight to the door and knocked loudly. Sounds came from the other side. It sounded as if a piece of furniture was being broken. That was followed by the hump of something hitting the other side of the door.
He had had enough. He swung the door open. His jaw dropped at the sight before him.
The room was a total wreck. The pictures were either skewed or shattered on the ground. The bed had been turned over and the small desk and chair smashed.
"Help!" Roger screamed as he ran for the open door. Before he could make it across half the room, Amanda jumped in front of him and blocked his exit. He fell to his hands and knees and let out a whimper.
He started to slowly back away. His eyes stayed weary of his captor.
Amanda turned and locked in on Cliff. She started waving her index finger at him. "What are you, some kinda perv?" She frowned at him. "You shouldn't just barge into someone's room like that!"
Cliff threw his hands up and took a step back. "Whoa there…"
She gave him no time to talk. Before he knew what was going on she had snatched the whip from her belt.
"SLASH OF FURY!" She snapped the whip. Bolts of energy emerged from it.
Cliff had no time to dodge. The bolts hit him with enough force to send him back and through the wall behind him.
Amanda chuckled as she closed the door.
She turned back to Roger, whip in hand. "This will be the most fun!" She was smiling again.
Roger was shaking. "Mommy."
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Somehow Nel managed to get the half coherent man into the inn. Since this was the inn she never stayed at, it was no surprise that the innkeeper didn't know her.
"Ah, I see your bow here had one too many."
She was already frustrated about having to help Albel. She had one arm around his waist and her other hand was holding his arm around her shoulders.
"I just need a room," she growled.
The innkeeper turned and grabbed the key. He laid it on the counter. "I usually charge 300 fol, but seeing you are such a bueat, I'll knock it down to 150."
She didn't appreciate the flattery. She growled at him as she handed him the money.
"Well, will that be all miss?"
Both the innkeeper and Nel jumped when Albel slammed his claw on the table. "I need one for the moondust and don't toy with me!"
Albel's hand fell off the counter. He started to snore again.
Nel grabbed the key and proceeded down the hall. It was strange that she couldn't smell any alcohol on Albel. He acted drunk but there was no proof.
Clumsily she managed to get the door open. He helped only a little as she got him in the room. She kicked the door lightly to shut it.
It took the remainder of her strength to get him to the bed. At this point she was more frustrated then she had ever been at the man, so she just dropped him on the bed.
He moaned as he landed. His upper body was on the bed, leaving his legs hanging off. Nel sighed again. She knew she should just leave but he didn't look very comfortable. Shaking her head, she reached down and heaved his legs up and onto the bed.
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Everything was happening way to fast for Roger to keep track of. He remembered Cliff at the door. After that, things were a blur. Next thing he knew, he was flat on his back, the evil girl nearly on top of him.
She was smiling. He trembled.
She sat on the floor beside him. "Oh, now come on. Don't you like me?" Her eyes got bigger. Tears started to form as her eyes glistened. She started to look more like a lost child then an evil whip wielding slave driver.
Roger swallowed. The look on her face was so innocent. It made the pit of his stomach drop. He actually felt guilty.
"No…I mean yes…I mean your not that bad really."
She squealed as she patted his chest. "Oh, I knew it." She kept patting him. "I knew you liked me…um, what's this?" Her hand stopped on top of his shirt pocket. She fumbled her hand around and withdrew the object in question.
She held up the precious treasure Roger had found earlier that day. She screamed.
"WHAT! YOU'VE BEEN CHEATING ON ME!" She waved the thong in the air.
As she stood she grabbed Roger by his collar. With nearly supernatural strength, she spun him around. When she let go, he was sent through the closed door and across the hall.
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Cliff really didn't know what to make of the whole situation. He sat up and shook his head as he looked at the door to the room he had just visited.
He had been sent through the wall and into an unoccupied room. The rubble under him did not make the most comfortable resting place.
He wondered if his return trip to Elicoor would be filled with anymore unexpected surprises. His question was answered when the door to the room in front of him exploded. Out of nowhere, Roger was flying straight at him.
"Oh, shi…" Roger made a hard impact on the Klausian.
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Nel rolled Albel until he was on his back. She lifted his head and put the pillow in place. Then she sat down on the edge of the bed. She was exhausted. Lugging him around had not been the easiest thing.
He started mumbling again. She turned her attention to him. He appeared to be asleep as his lips moved with unspoken words.
"Albel? Hey," She leaned over and lightly nudged his shoulder.
His arms flung up and grabbed her. She was unable to think as he drew her close and hugged her to his chest. Her arms were pinned under her.
"Hey, let go."
Her head was pushed to his chest, just below his chin. She could hear the rhythmic beat of his heart. She tried to struggle, but it was no use. The man had a death grip on her.
She shifted her eyes up. She could barley see his face from her angle.
"Albel," she whispered.
He let out a heavy breath. Perhaps in this stage of sleep meditation, he could hear her.
"Albel? What are you doing?"
His head turned. She could see his eyes were still closed. "Looking."
"Looking for what, Albel?"
"Nel. Need to find Nel."
She blinked. What was he saying? He was looking for her?
"I'm right here. You can let go now." He didn't release her. "Why are you looking for me anyway?"
He groaned and shifted to his side, taking Nel with him. Then he flung his leg over her.
"She's going to kill me."
"Who? Who's going to kill you? I've no plans to kill you, but right now I might have to change that." She didn't like being held down at all.
"Amanda."
Amanda? That was the girl's name. She was a bit scary but could she be deadly?
She was about to inquire further but he stopped her. "Find Nel. She might help. Death to the pixies. Blasted pixies! Kill 'em all!" He was babbling useless nonsense again. "I like cake. Make a cake. Get it over fool."
She couldn't do more then lay there. He had both arms around her body and his leg over her legs. She tried to relax. It was going to be a long night.
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Okayyyyy I finally got Nel and Albel in the same bed! Mwahahahahaha
Man, I tell you...that last section was screaming for some fluff!
Reviews are appreciated