ToOH: if i do make a story on that game, I'll create another OC specifically for that title! ^^ (maybe with Reine-like personality, but the name won't be Reine, Renaissance, or even Renee since it would be too similar) and I hope when the time comes, it'll be up to the expectation! ^^
teamBLAZE: maybe you meant ambiguous? ^^ and yes, we'll figure that out eventually ^^
Bunnies4ever2: Courting Doug takes a long time, so I kinda gave up on it. I like Doug as a best friend kind of like with his personality but I'm totally head over heels for Dylas. I think I have a thing for quiet, shy guys HAHAHAHA
"Wha—"
Ignoring him completely, Gwen turned around as soon as she finished her sentence. Overcame by surprise and irritation, Allen rose and exclaimed, "I have no taste in women who play hard to get too hard!"
Gwen stopped on her track momentarily, but she said nothing. Allen could hear her drawing in a heavy breath, though, and for a moment he regretted of having lost his manners in front of her. After all, the seeress was still a lady—a refined one at that as well. He sighed heavily himself, but prideful as he was, he didn't apologize—she started it by being so cold and ambiguous, anyway.
Besides, how could he trust someone who kept covering half of her face behind a veil? He could barely see her lips moving when she talked—how could he know she wasn't joking around?
Gwen was deciding whether to turn and talk more to this human or not. When she touched him earlier, she foresaw his outburst, but there was nothing after that. Her visions were indeed never complete; there were so many blurred areas. It was like asking someone with short-range vision to see with a small corrective lens—they could only see within the boundary that was allowed by the lens. And Allen's, so far, had been the worst that she had experienced.
Maybe she couldn't see his future as clear because he wasn't a merfolk? Or maybe she couldn't see it because she wasn't close enough to him to know his thought pattern—for indeed the closer she was personally to the person, the easier it would be for her to see their future?
Usually, she would use the visions she had been given as her guide, but for this case, she had none.
What should I do? Gwen asked herself inwardly.
"Are you in love?"
Neil turned his head to find the pink dolphin swimming next to him, slightly behind the mermaid. The dolphin smirked at him, "C'mon, don't be shy!"
"I'm not."
"Then why are you staring at Reine with that look?"
"What look?"
"That look!" Viv repeated, "You've been looking at her ever since we went to Mama Orca!"
"Doesn't mean I'm in love with her!"
"Then you admit you're looking at her?"
Dang it. Neil grunted inwardly, realizing too late that he had indeed implicitly admitted that he had been looking at Reine. "I don't want to get lost."
"Don't be shy~" Viv grinned, "Or maybe you're wondering why Reine's helping you out?" she asked, this time less teasingly.
Neil nodded.
"Good. You're not taking that half-cooked skipping class lie—she sucks at lying. I mean, yeah, she loves skipping classes, but that besides the point…" Viv turned at Reine, who was still swimming forward, not noticing the conversation going on behind her tail. "You see, Reine is all about fairness. She can't stand something unfair."
"What's unfair about my quest?"
"Do you know about Flower of Illusion? Do you know your way in the sea? Do you have any idea about the dos and don'ts in the sea?" Viv continued, "You can ask around, of course, but you're not supposed to be able to talk to sea creatures—I mean, yeah, most humans won't be able to hear us talking… so you should've needed a translator."
"O—oh, okay."
"Any case, let's catch up with her so she doesn't get too suspicious."
"Right…"
Allen and Gwen stayed still at their positions, neither made a move. Their position would make a perfect scene for a still life; in fact, their stillness really made it as if they were inside a painting: captured forever. Their minds, however, were active in firing off various thoughts:
Should I approach her? Should I ask her to turn around?
Should I turn around? Should I just leave?
Just then, Alicia burst into the room together with Leighlee. "Allen! This place is very cool!" she exclaimed excitedly.
Her words seemed to release the stunning spell on both of them since Gwen immediately left the room without uttering another word while Allen immediately approached his sister, acting as if the last three minutes had never happened.
"Thanks for showing her around," he said sincerely to Leighlee, prompting the latter to turn away from the door Gwen passed through silently earlier and faced the prince.
"No problem." She said with a smile before hugging Alicia, "See you around, Ally."
She offered a friendly smile at Allen and left the room without saying much. "She is soooo much nicer than that auntie."
"Nah, you're just jealous that she gets to spend time with Neil."
Alicia's face suddenly turned red, "Wha—! No!"
"Don't worry, that dolphin is coming along," Allen said with a smirk, "They won't get that alone time you are really worried about."
Alicia puffed her cheeks. "Leighlee told me Reine's only two years older than me." She pouted, "but look at her body! She even dares to show it off!"
"I think you're worrying too much." Allen said, chuckling lightly. "She's dressed just like other mermaids we see so far."
Alicia moved towards the couch and tried to sit on it, although it's hard since the skirt of her dress kept getting in the way that sitting down became such a burden. In the end, she simply hovered above the couch, as if she was sitting on it. "Hey, I still can't believe that merpeople really exist." She admitted, "I mean… they're everywhere in the fairy tales, but—under our own shore!"
"Yeah…"
"Then, do you think that story is true as well?" Alicia inquired curiously, "That Grandma used to be a mermaid?"
"Well, why not?" Allen asked back.
"There are so many stories going around the castle!" Alicia pouted, "And some of them are just unbelievable!"
Allen nodded in agreement. Stories were indeed pervasive in the castle, and as he grew up he began to hear more and more about them. Some were bombastically fairytale-ish (like the one about their grandmother, the Queen, being of a mermaid heritage although now he began to think of that possibility being true—since how could there be a smoke when there's no fire?), and others were more like malicious attempt to bring another staff down in the hierarchy of the castle's household.
Neil was often to be the victim of these rumours, and Allen used to think that it was their friendship that might incite the envy of other servants so he wasn't offended when Neil began to distance himself as they grew up, especially after his father's death. However, after their awkward teenage years were over, it seemed that Neil had grown resistant to these rumours, but it also had transformed his naturally quiet attitude to something colder and more misanthropic.
Allen couldn't really blame Neil, of course, since he knew how badly the other servants had treated Neil. He never told the blonde guy, but when they were around fifteen or sixteen years old, he saw him being cornered by some other older servants. He could even hear their conversation then, and he still remembered it until now:
"Don't play dumb! It must be true—you're the Prince's bastard!"
"Ya! Why else he would pick you as his errand boy anyway?!"
"And The Queen seemed to play favourite with you as well—there couldn't be other explanation!"
He, too, remembered Neil's exact response to them.
"That's a very respectful way to talk about the dead."
"Allen?"
Alicia's voice abruptly snapped him back to the present. "You're spacing out." His sister pointed out.
"Ah, yes, getting water all over me is still a new thing," Allen bluffed it off smoothly.
There were days Allen wondered whether that rumour was true, but every time he looked at Alicia, he wished that it wasn't for the sake of his blissfully ignorant sister.
Will Allen and Gwen smoothen out their differences?
Stay tuned for the next chapter! Thanks for reading! Please rate and review ^^