Thank you all for the reviews and so on… I would have updated earlier but I have been busy. I have a Siamese fighting fish farm that needs a lot of my time :P

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Nyalbel

Chapter nine: Kitty, meet royalty

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"Nya…"

"Well, if you hadn't left the room last night just to seek out trouble you wouldn't be in this position right now" Cliff sighed and re moistened the small cotton ball he had in his hand with alcohol.

Albel flinched as the blond gently dabbed the soaked cotton ball against one of his scratched ears. It stung horribly yet he let the man do his work. He wasn't badly wounded, just scratched here and there and a few bruises. Earlier that morning he and Cliff had taken a bath to get rid of the dust and sweat they had from the day before.

Cliff cleaned the last few scratches and put the med kit away. "There, done. Now you better stay out of trouble or this will be repeated, understand? We have a meeting with the king today and I don't feel like chasing you around the block again"

"Nyha" came a huffed reply. Why should he have to meet someone he had never seen before! He huffed again and turned his back to Cliff.

The blond sighed and picked up the cat by the back of his shirt. "Well though shit, my friend, but you aren't getting out of this one" he muttered and placed the cat on his shoulder. He felt the black little tail slash back and forth over his back, telling him that Neko Albel wasn't happy. Looking into the ruby eyes of his 'friend' he smiled. "How about this: if you ditch the grumpy attitude for one day and I'll let you have all the ham you can eat?"

Albel's black ear twitched. Hmmm, though choice. "Nyaaa…." Ham or no ham, ham or no ham….

"I'll throw in some fish to"

Now that sounded like a deal! Nodding once he licked his upper lip.

Cliff laughed as he headed downstairs to meet with the rest of the group. "We have a deal then!" 'Great, I'm making deals with a cat'

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Fayt munched on his sandwich when the last two of the group entered the kitchen. He looked up and smiled. "There you a… what in the world happened to you two!" he gasped and dropped his sandwich.

Cliff shrugged and sat down. He plucked Albel off his shoulder and placed him on the table before him. "We had a small argue this morning. I wanted a bath and he needed one" he said simply as he grabbed a sandwich that Nell offered to him. He peeled of the ham on top and handed it to Albel.

Fayt didn't look convinced. He leaned close to the blond. "You may fool them but not me. I saw you this morning" he whispered to Cliff.

Cliff swallowed and smirked. "Alright, alright. I will give you the details later. I hoped you wouldn't notice" he whispered back before looking at the maid that was sweeping the floor. "Excuse me, mam, but do you know when the king wanted to meet us?" he asked, putting his charm into action. What? She was hot looking so why the heck not?

The brown haired maid smiled and made a slight bow. "His majesty told me that you could come when you had finished breakfast, sir. Take your time" she said and stared to sweep again.

Nell nodded. "Even so we don't have to delay the meeting. We have to meet him sooner or later and we still haven't figured out how to explain Albel's condition" she said and pointed to said cat, who was munching on the slice of ham he had been given. She was not affected by the death glare that he was throwing at her.

"Why don't we tell him the truth?" asked Roger before taking a large bite of the apple in his hand.

The blue haired teen sipped his tea and looked at the racoon-boy. "And the truth would be?"

"That he was such a scardy cat when he saw me coming at him that he turned into one. WHOA!" he yelped as he found himself with a face full of hissing Albel. The chair toppled over as the two wrestled.

Sophia gasped at the scene. "Fayt, shouldn't you do something?" she asked and clung to Fayt's arm.

Peppita, who had been quiet the whole time, sighed at the scene. "At least Nyalbel is having fun, not sure about Roger though"

Before anyone could react, Albel was plucked from the racoon by the scruff of his shirt. Albel muttered to himself as he crossed his arms over his chest, tail swishing about. He really should consider running around topless.

Mirage dumped the growling cat in Fayt's lap. "The king is waiting"

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Fayt blushed slightly as the maidens whispered loudly around him. He could hear such comments as 'he's so cute' and 'he's really good with animals. Now that's a real man'. He scratched Albel's black ears as they walked, feeling the cat vibrate as he purred under his palm.

Cliff walked in the front of the group together with Nell. They were discussing something, probably what they would talk to the king about.

Roger was walking beside Sophia, Peppita and Mirage as he rubbed his abused cheek. He had gotten a few bruises in the fight with Albel… not to forget about the bruising his ego had gotten. "Why are we all going to the king for? I mean, didn't he want to see that flea bag? Why didn't he go alone?" he muttered and glared at the smirking cat.

"And exactly how did you expect him to talk? All he says is 'nya' and if you don't have a dictionary or a translator on you I guess we don't have a choice then to follow. Besides, we need to discuss the attack on Airyglyph and what to do about it. We have brought supplies but I have a feeling that we might need to go after those who attacked this city. They might attack again" Fayt said as he caught up with them. "But let's talk to the king before we decide anything"

"Hate to interrupt you guys but we are here" Cliff said from the front as they stopped before the great doors that led to the throne room.

Peppita looked up at the huge doors. "Wow! They are huge!" she exclaimed.

Albel opened one eye to see what the blond were talking about.

The doors swung open and the group entered the great hall. Nothing had really changed since their last visit. The guards eyed them as they walked down the aisle forwards the throne. They spotted the king on his throne and bowed before him. Even if they knew him well they wanted to show the king their respect.

The king bowed his head slightly at them before frowning. "I'm glad that you could come. You brought with you supplies that is of great help and whole Airyglyph is thanking you… but where is Albel? I thought he was with you" he said and looked at the group. "I had hoped he would show up to help us in our battle"

Fayt bit his lower lip once before standing up straight. "There is something you need to know, sire" he started.

"Is it about my general?"

Peppita nodded. "Yep!"

The blunette also nodded. "You see… Albel has been in… he has… I don't know how to explain…" he fumbled for words.

Nell sighed and grabbed the cat from Fayt's grip. "Take a look for yourself, your majesty" she said and tossed the cat to the king.

Fayt blinked as the cat was yanked from his grip. He gasped then when he saw where he had been tossed.

Albel yowled as he landed on someone's lap. Shaking his head to clear the dizziness he muttered in the red-haired woman's direction. How dare she! He could feel the 'ground' under his paws tense and slowly he looked up to see in who's lap he sat.

The king blinked wide eyed at the cat. "A-a---albel? he asked as their eyes met. What had happened to his highest ranking general?

About two seconds later hell broke loose.

Albel yowled loudly as he spoted the 'stranger' and did what he did best, attacked.

The king shouted in pain as small claws dug into his thigh and the guards rushed forwards to capture the one hurting their king. They didn't know what were attacking their king.

Albel spotted the advancing guards and hissed loudly before jumping up on the kings head and the up on the curtains to get away from them.

Fayt and Cliff shouted for the cat as the cat climbed higher and higher on the curtain.

Roger, wanting to show his heroics, yanked on the curtain, making it fall from its pole. He yelped as the heavy curtain fell over him and the guards that had reached him. The pole smacked the small racoon boy in the head but it didn't hurt as much as when the cat came down on him.

Albel yowled as he started to fall down forwards the ground, automatically flipping his body around to land on his feet. He panicked as the curtain fell over him as he landed on something soft. One sniff told him that he had landed on the racoon. Forgetting all that was happening he dug his fangs into the fluffy tail before him.

"OWWW!" Roger yelled as the cat bit him in the tail. "THAT'S IT! YOU ARE MESSING WITH THE WRONG MAN! NOW FACE MY WRATH!" he roared and tried to catch the cat.

The guards tried as well to catch the 'attacker'.

"OW!"

"Watch where you are punching!"

"Got him!"

"No you got me, you moron! Let go of my ankle!"

"Where is he!"

"Something just smacked my bottom! It's him!"

"umm… no… that was me. Sorry -"

" ;;-- "

Fayt sighed at the commotion. "Come on, let's help out"

Peppita, Sophia, Cliff, Mirage and Nell nodded and moved forwards to aid the poor guards.

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Albel purred as Cliff rubbed his ears as the cat lay in the blond's lap. He opened one eye to look around the room before closing it once again with a huge grin on his face.

Roger had been sent away to get his wounds treated…. Along with 6 out of 10 guards.

The king himself hadn't suffered any huge wounds except a couple of scratches. He looked at the group before frowning hard at Fayt.

"I want a full explanation, now!"

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And cut! Sorry for the long update. I'll try to get the next chap done soon.