The Queen Fury had been traveling for nearly two days now through Illisa Bay. Several of the soldiers had been whispering about the story of a sea monster in the Under Sea caverns near Fueno, the port town that the ship was heading to. Albert had also heard it from a couple of the maids sweeping the room hours ago. The sky was now dimming. A brilliant saffron sun cast a glaze over the deck, igniting the sea orange in its wake. The light melded through the windows, caramelizing over him as he sat on his bed, staring at the ground.

His mind was still trapped on why he'd been looking at Rose the way he had back in the Twin Castle in Fletz. Even when he'd first heard Meru shout her name, he was aware of something in his body stiffening. His entire mind leapt into a panicked state at the thought of her being injured. Perhaps it had all been out of his care for his friends as a whole. He had not known her long. He had only met her after the confrontation in which Lavitz had…

He closed his eyes. Somehow, he'd gathered that she was wise and special to the group. She offered advice, she was wise. They needed her for her knowledge and her fighting prowess. But that could not have been all, could it? He rubbed a hand through his blond locks.

Something else was troubling him. But he couldn't put his finger on it. Ever since the fight against his Uncle Doel in the Black Castle of Kazas, he'd begun to see his mysterious companion in a new light. The way she avoided conversation, how coldly she shot some of them down, it almost seemed as though she was playing parent to their, sometimes, childish group. But in many ways, he could tell that she wanted to join in, as much as she seemed to oppose it. What exactly was it in her past that made her so hesitant for company? Why did she insist on being alone? Why was she so…captivating?

He shook his head and stood. Moving over to the window, he closed his eyes and let the sun steadily warm his face. It was not only her physical beauty that captivated him but the place where her mind rested. It seemed so out of tune with the rest of their group. Why had she even joined on their journey? There were times that he wondered if it was just for the fight, if it was for some level of social interaction. Whatever the reason, he was glad that she continued to stand by them.

"Knock knock."

Albert turned to the door. Shana was standing in it. A small smile formed on his face. Shana was such a lovely woman, always kind, always thoughtful. He only hoped that Dart would wake up and notice what he had right in front of him. The way the two played brother and sister was sometimes quite maddening. "Hello, Shana. What can I do for you?"

"I was looking for Dart actually. I wondered if you'd seen him."

He stepped toward her. "I haven't. I'm afraid I've been cooped up in here most of the day. Perhaps Haschel has an idea of where he is."

She nodded. "Good idea. I'll check with him. Thanks!" With that, she turned and left the cabin.

Albert sighed as the door shut. His thoughts returned to Rose. Why did she continue to haunt his thoughts? When he'd first seen Princess Emille as they'd woken her from her sleep in the alternate dimension, he had been almost positive that he was in love with her; her fine features, her graceful voice, and her serene gestures. Now, however, he was not sure. Whenever he tried to close his eyes and think of the fair princess, the dark warrior materialized in his sight instead. Her sharp chin, her delicate lavender eyes, and feminine figure guarded by the violet armor. He could almost reach out to her face and touch the velvety skin of her cheek. His fingers could trail down to her soft lips, they could curl in her light sleek black hair. Everything about him wanted to touch her, just to see if the things he imagined were actually true.

"I'M SO BORED!"

Albert shook his head out of the cloud of divine musings. He sighed. Meru had thrown a pillow at him when he'd gone in to see her earlier. It was true that there were barely enough things to do on the ship as they waited with bated breath for the next confrontation with Lenus. She would need to occupy herself though. It might have been another day; perhaps two before they could reach Fueno, and pillow fighting wasn't exactly his idea of fun.

He walked to the door of the cabin and opened it. A cool breeze mingled with his hair and tossed his cape around behind him. He walked out on deck and gazed out at the sea. There was still nothing in sight on the horizon. Only the choppy waves of the bay, glinting with red, slapped against the Queen Fury. A gull cried out above. He looked up to the crow's nest. There was one solitary figure on the highest perch, clad in dark clothing, staring out across the water.

'Rose.' he realized. Maybe now was the time to ask her what exactly had brought her along on their journey. Maybe if he was lucky, he would come up with a reason for why he was feeling the way that he was. Perhaps it would set him straight, make him realize that he did not carry feelings for her at all. It was all merely curiosity. He was enamored of only Emille… wasn't he?

Turning back around, he marched back into the cabin and took the stairs on the right, heading up to the ladder that led up to the next level.

As he climbed, he reached the main control room of the ship. Inside, Commander Puler was giving his sailors explicit instructions on maneuvering the vessel. Dart was also standing by, his back to him, lost in deep thought. So lost in thought, that he did not notice Meru sneaking up behind him, her smile large and mischievous. Albert smirked and continued to climb. He could hear Meru shout. "Who do you think it is?"

He looked over his shoulder and noticed that she'd clapped her hands over Dart's eyes.

Ever patient, Dart crossed his arms. "No way… it's Rose?"

Albert frowned. 'Is he serious?'

Meru, instead of divulging her identity, played it up. "Of course."

Dart began to stutter. "Wh, what do you want?"

Sure that he didn't want to hear more, Albert continued climbing up toward the crow's nest.

He reached the top of the ladder and stood on the deck behind her for a few moments. She never turned around and didn't say anything. His fingers ached for physical contact and he had to restrain himself from reaching out and touching the ends of her hair.

"Rose?"

She turned cautiously. His heart thumped nervously.

She seemed perturbed. "Is there something you want?"

His brain scrambled, searching for something; anything to say. "I came to check up on you." It sounded stupid, but it was semi-truthful at least.

Her expression didn't change. It told him that she didn't need to be checked up on. She liked being alone and he was interrupting that. Instead of communicating this to him, she said, "I am fine."

He let out a long sigh, his brows furrowing. "Would you prefer that I left you alone?"

One of her own eyebrows perked, a characteristic trait of Rose's. He worried that it meant 'Of course! I've got better things to do.' And likely she did. She didn't have time to waste with men. More likely, she could see past his story to the true intentions of him coming up to speak with her. It wasn't that he meant to speak to her at all necessarily. It was that he wanted to be near to her, to watch her silently, to enjoy the view of her. And she must not have liked that at all.

"Not necessarily. I was only thinking to myself."

His green eyes lit up. Moving over toward the railing on her left, he leaned up against it with his back to it. "Would you permit me to ask you a question?"

The sun seemed to sink lower and the world was suddenly aglow with a gentle cerulean hue. Rose only seemed to get darker to him. "Go ahead."

"For what reason, besides Dart's dragoon spirit, have you joined us on our journey? Is there something that you too are searching for?"

Rose half-turned away, her face shielded by a cascade of her hair, windswept over her shoulder. The moments of silence only seemed to drag as he waited for an answer. 'Maybe I have gone too far.' he thought, staring down at his boots. 'It is wrong to be so nosy.' All the same, he couldn't satisfy his insatiable curiosity about her any other way.

When she turned back toward him, she closed her eyes and took a long solemn breath. In those few seconds, he felt his gaze trapped on the sight of her eyelashes, like wings of black defending her plum irises. "It is a break for me."

His mouth formed a straight line. "A break?" Standing up straight, he took a few steps toward her. "Is there not a family waiting for you; a husband that you love back where you come from?"

She stared at him straight in the eyes. His heart skipped a beat. Had he given himself away? The question was honest. He did wonder. But it didn't sound as if he'd asked for her well-being. Albert took a step back, reading the guardedness that sprang up in her face. Her jaw drew tight and her posture stiffened. "That doesn't sound like someone asking about my motives."

He hadn't expected her to catch him on this one when she'd let him slip by on the others. He had gone too far. "I apologize." Albert pursed his lips. "I am just trying to understand you better."

The defense lifted a tad. Even then, she turned back to the sea and sky ahead of them which was steadily filling with storm clouds. "My dear old friends were all that I had. Because I hold on to them, I am only in love with ghosts."

Albert blinked. He hadn't said anything about love. Was she seeing straight through him? How could she do that? It only intrigued him more.

But a section of his heart was pained to hear that she was still holding on to people that were no longer alive. He was still not over Lavitz's death; and he probably would never be until he'd killed Lloyd himself. But this had been recent. The way that Rose spoke made it seem as if the deaths had happened far in the past. How tragic it was that she could not let go…

"You sound as if you've felt this way for a long time."

Something that he would like to have called a smirk rose on her lips. " 'Long' doesn't even begin to describe it."

Albert shook his head and turned his sights to the horizon before them. A dark silhouette was sailing toward them, seemingly shrouded in mist that swirled endlessly around it. The night had come down very suddenly and the ship before them almost blended with its navy cloak. As it drew closer, his eyes widened. 'It's going to hit us!'

Sprinting forward, he grabbed hold of Rose. "Get down!" Both of them dropped to the floor of the crow's nest. The shouts of the sailors down below echoed into the darkness. The Queen Fury rumbled and all of a sudden, the sounds of splitting boards filled the air, the ships chewing each other apart. Even in the burst of noise and confusion, Albert was distracted by the scent of Rose's hair which was merely inches from his face. His fingers were clasping her hand. He had been right. Her skin was very soft.