The Other Side of the Coin
Written by: Somnion
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Ocean 3
Thank you for all of your great reviews and all the votes. The votes have been accounted for and it has been decided that Albel shall receive a pair of guardians. Even though I have started classes, I shall not let it be a barrier that shall prohibit me from posting my updates for all you happy readers out there. By the way, I was just watching a couple of episodes of Love Hina and Negima, so I have a few nice, but slightly naughty ideas thought up in my head. Love Hina can do this kind of thing, but it's a great manga nevertheless. This chapter will be more on connecting between the two main characters and humor. Please try to imagine the first part of the story as a cell-shaded manga comic. It really makes the humor a lot funnier and more laughable. I received a lot of wonderful reviews which have really boosted my confidence, since this is my first fanfic. I'm glad that everyone thinks the characters are IC, so I'll do my best to keep them that way. So without further ado, I present the next chapter of this fanfic.
To Blue Trillium: Thank you so much for your words of advice concerning this fanfic. Thanks to you I have a clearer idea on how to write this fanfic. Since I wish this fanfic to appeal to as many readers as possible, it will have both seriousness as well as humor. Thanks again for your advice.
To Kitsune-Li: There will be more sexual tension in this coming chapter so I hope you like it.
To lil-creator: Do not worryWoltar and Vox will be back. Woltar is going to have his wings and golden harp (thanks for the suggestion).
To GameGirl Rose: I am glad you liked the philosophy, and I'll be sure to write some more in my fanfic, but please forgive if I don't write any philosophical parts in this chapter. I've run out of philosophical ideas.
Chapter 6: A Tall Menodix's Tale
"So, has there been any sign of them."
"None, Lady Clair, though we're still searching, it appears that the bandit activities that had been reported in Duggus Forest seemed to have been forestalled."
"I'm worried, Lord Red Claw," replied Clair. "Although the news of the slowing of the bandit activities is, without a doubt, good news, and would spare the King and her Majesty much worry, something still seems to be amiss. The fact that Nel and Albel have not been spotted still possess a considerable problem."
"How so?" asked Red Claw.
"As much as those two would hate to admit it, those two are very much alike in many ways. Both are reckless and stubborn. I wouldn't be surprised if those two had played a hand in the forestalling of the bandit activity.
"Wow, Nel sure wasn't joking when she said you worry too much," said a loud voice suddenly.
The pair turned to a young Menodix reclining on a chair not too far away from them. A large grin was plastered on his mischievous face.
"Weren't you suppose to take him back," Clair whispered to Red Claw, who was not too comfortable with Roger, considering she had heard all the horror stories Nel had told her about the little groper.
"I did," Red Claw whispered back. "But the little runt followed me back."
"Hey, Miss Clair," called Roger as he jumped off his seat. "You really shouldn't worry so much. The wrinkles will ruin your beautiful face."
Clair politely smiled at the little boy's concern, praying to Apris all the while that he'd leave. She was getting too many reports of Roger feeling up the women runologists and she had no intention on becoming another target. Turning her attention back to Red Claw, she asked.
"How many troops do we have searching for them?"
"Five four-man groups are scouring the forest as we speak. I recommend that I send some of my clan's aerial scouts to look for them."
"Yes, that would be wonderful. We really need all the help we can get."
Quickly, she turned to look back at Roger. Nel had always warned her not to keep her eyes of him when he was present. True enough, she found that he was attempting to cop a feel. Roger's hand was mere centimeters away from her ass when she caught him in the act.
Roger began to worry. He was caught red-handed. "Oh man, this is super bad. What am I gonna do?"
Then a brilliant idea popped into his mind. Clair was a woman, right? So that means she obviously had a soft spot for cute acts, right? "Good," he thought to himself. "It's time to pullout the trump card."
"What were you trying to do?" asked Clair, who now looked like she had been possessed by a demon.
Roger bugged his eyes out, giving Clair his adorable Bambi eyes that could have melted any heart, probably with the exception of Albel, Nel, Cliff, Mirage, Maria, Fayt…….. (The list goes on and on, how pathetic)
"Nothing," he replied sweetly.
"Sure, didn't look like nothing," Red Claw said as he gave the Menodix a sly look, "Looks more like you were trying to cop a feel."
"Shut up, you moron," he yelled back at the smirking Lycanthrope. Turning back, he noticed that Clair had stated to crack her knuckles, as she towered above him, her eyes seemed to gleam with a strange unholy light as a maniacal grin crossed across her face. Clair could be real scary if she wanted to, but, for poor Roger, that was a lesson learned too late.
"Oh no, Red Alert," he thought, as Clair slowly closed in on him.
"I didn't mean it, Miss Clair," he suddenly wailed. "But they were just so nice, I couldn't resist them."
For a moment Clair stopped dead in her tracks, looking at Roger wide-eyed. Roger saw her reaction towards his compliment about her butt and smiled. "So, she likes being told she has a nice butt, huh? Well, I can surely flatter her some more about it. Maybe, if I'm lucky, she'll let me feel it."
However, unknown to poor Roger, was that he had hit a sore spot, not a soft spot. Clair really hated it when men would talk about her body, for she felt that it was very chauvinistic for a man to do so. Anyone who knew Clair would know that talking about her figure or something like that was taboo and no matter who it was, it was going to be the Apocalypse to whomever who broke that cardinal rule.
"Yeah, I mean you really have something going for you, Miss Clair," he continued with great confidence. "Yeah, I'm telling you, I have never seen such a gorgeous pair of buns in my entire life. Even Nel can't compare to the shining wonder that is your perfect buttocks."
Roger was so caught up in his praising of Clair's butt, that he failed to realize how incredibly fast Clair's right eye was twitching, nor how hard she was clenching her fists. Finally, Roger felt he should unleash his ultimate trump card. Turning his butt in Clair's direction, he began shaking it like a belly dancer and started to sing.
Shake your, shake your little butt,
They're so gorgeous, yes they are,
They're so round and they're so nice,
Like a steamed bun in your thighs.
Shake your, shake your little butt,
They're so gorgeous, yes they are.
(This song is sung to the tune of Twinkle, twinkle little star.)
That was the last straw. "You're dead, you lecherous pervert." Clair picked up the young Menodix, screaming at him a string of Aquarian curse words, before violently flinging the poor boy out the window. Red Claw rushed to the window, worried if Clair had really killed Roger. Judging from what he saw, it looked like Roger had fallen into a haystack, which should have cushioned his fall. He turned to Clair, who was letting frustrated pants of anger.
"Guess Clair does pick up some traits from her father," thought Red Claw, as the frequent bursts of rage shown by Adray towards Lassele came to mind.
"Damn," yelled Roger as he walked into the door, much to the surprise of Red Claw and Clair. "You're as bad as Nel. Good thing that haystack was there or I'd been a goner."
Deciding to ignore the boy, Red Claw and Clair continued their earlier discussion, much to displeasure of Roger. He hated it when he got left out because everyone thought he was too young and immature. Finally losing his temper, he yelled out at the two of them.
"Damn, you two are just like Albel and Nel, always so secretive, leaving me out everything that you do."
Both Clair and Red Claw were shocked by Roger's sudden outburst, but what surprised them even more was what Roger had said. What did he mean by the both of them reminding him of Albel and Nel? What was it that Nel and Albel were so secretive about?
"What are you talking about?" asked Red Claw after awhile.
"I'm just saying that you're just like Nel and Albel," he replied. "They were always with each other when they were on our journey to save the galaxy. Hell, they even shared a room together on the Diplo on the way back to Elicoor."
The expression on Clair and Red Claw's faces started to change. Albel and Nel always with each other and even agreeing to share a room was something completely new to the two of them. The old Nel and Albel would have slit each other's throats before that ever had a chance of remotely happening. What had happened during their journey?
Roger noticed the shocked look on their faces and smiled. He figured it would be nice to taunt the two of them a little bit.
"Oh yes, those two were as thick as thieves I tell ya. I wouldn't be surprised if they made some secrets that only they can only share while they were sharing that room on the Diplo or perhaps, maybe a bed," said Roger as he casually left the room, leaving Clair and Red Claw hanging at the many possibilities of what could have happened.
Clair's hand was clutching onto a pencil, trembling at the possibilities. "Nel and it be that they….." she murmured under her breath, before her mind began to drift.
Albel was busy in the room cleaning his claw. Nel figured, since he was busy, she might as well have a shower. She made her way to the bathroom, and then let the water run a little while so that it may get a little warmer. She then removed every article of her clothing, and then returned to the shower. She felt the water gently beat down on her. The warm water felt wonderful as it ran down her naked body. Suddenly, she felt two arms gently wrap themselves around her delicate waist.
"It's now or never, Zelpher," said the voice behind her. "The rest of the maggots have left the ship. Which means it's only the two of us."
Nel recognized the voice. She spun around to face the one who had snuck up on her, who was none other than Albel Nox.
"Albel, what are you…," she asked before Albel's lips pressed themselves tightly against hers.
His lips seemed to burn with intensity as if all the lust and passion which bore for the exquisite Aquarian maiden was overflowing from him, like a river during a monsoon. Nel began to feel her knees give in as Albel hungrily tasted her lips, almost losing her bearings before Albel's left hand slid under her, quickly supporting her. She moaned as Albel sensually rubbed her thighs and as the water trickled down her body, she felt her whole body ignite as Albel moved his hand from her thigh to her buttocks.
Breaking away, she breathed, "Albel, we mustn't. What if were caught? I...I can't deny my feelings for you, Albel, but…I am from Aquaria and you're from Airyglyph. I'm sorry, Albel, but... I guess this relationship was doomed from the beginning."
Albel pulled her closer to his lean, yet muscular frame. Nel felt her heartbeat speed up as she felt her wet skin rub against his. Slowly, he brought his lips close to her ear, softly whispering, "But we could always keep it secret. No one has to know."
Nel gently pushed Albel away from her, looking into his eyes, she said, "But how would I be able to live without being able to be with the one I love. Never to be able to hold you with me. To hide our love away from everyone else. Albel, we would be living a lie. One which would be too great for us to keep. I could never be able to live like that."
Nel felt Albel cup her cheek, bringing her eyes to meet his. "I would rather try and fail than to continue living a thousand years without having the chance to be with you again."
"But…," Nel protested before she felt Albel put his finger over her lips.
"Then just trust me. Believe in me and let me handle it."
Nel closed her eyes as her lips met Albel's, moaning as his tongue reached into the forbidden areas of her mouth, his hands roaming freely on her glistening body…
Clair almost broke the pencil she was clutching in her hand in half at the thought of the possibility of Albel trying to sweet-talk her best friend into committing such acts. "The perverted little womanizer," she murmured under her breath.
Clair however, was not the only one who was concerned about those two. After the startling revelation that Roger had made, Red Claw was having his doubts on Albel. He had noticed that Albel had changed after his travels, and the possibility of a romance seemed almost believable. "Lord Albel and Lady Nel… in love…," he muttered under his breath.
Albel sat on the bed, polishing his metal claw. He hated being idle and cleaning his gauntlet was the only thing that would still the boredom. The sound of the shower could be heard from the bathroom. Nel was having a shower and had been in there for a rather long time, long enough to make Albel wonder if the Crimson Blade had fallen asleep in the tub or something.
Suddenly the room went dark, save for the small table lamp that Albel had kept open when he was polishing his claw. The sounds from the shower had stopped. Albel looked around to see who it was that was playing jokes on him. Finally, his eyes lay on a solitary figure, standing in the dark. It was Nel.
Albel could not believe his eyes. There stood Nel, right before him, clad in only a flimsy bath robe, which left far too little for the imagination. Slowly seating herself on a table, she crossed her legs into a tempting position, ensuring that Albel could admire her silky thighs. Then, she allowed the bathrobe to slide off her shoulders, revealing to Albel's eyes her glistening naked body. Then, while seductively biting the tip of her finger, she cloyingly glanced at Albel from underneath her lovely eyelashes, she said to him softly, "Do you like what you see?"
Albel felt as if his heart had stopped functioning. Never before had he laid eyes on such a beautiful woman. Slowly, Nel casually walked up to him, slow and sensual. He felt his body heating up as he noticed the way her hips swayed from side to side as she made her way to the bed. Bending over so that he may get a good look at her darling breasts, she gently cupped his cheek, bringing her lips to his.
Albel felt as if every blood vessel in his entire body had exploded as Nel softly tasted his lips. But then, he quickly broke away from her, staring at her furiously.
"What on earth are you doing? Haven't you forgotten that I'm from Airyglyph? Do you even realize the dire consequences of your actions should we get caught?"
"Yes," she replied as she walked towards him, "but I also know how you feel as well."
"How I feel?" Albel thought in surprise. "What the hell is this woman saying?"
"I can see it. I can see the love shimmering in your eyes," she said, brushing away the bangs that were covering Albel's face, revealing to her his red pupils. "The same beautiful ruby-red eyes that I fell in love with."
"What…what is she talking about?" Albel thought to himself. Albel found that he had no answer for this, just as he could not think clearly as Nel placed her lips on his once more. She sat herself on his lap, allowing her body to get into closer proximity to his. Albel felt his heart explode as Nel directed his right hand to her soft bosom, moaning softly in the kiss as Albel's hand made contact.
Albel pulled away from her. He knew if this was allowed, the both of them would be in great trouble. "No," he said. "I will not allow this to happen."
Nel looked at him for a moment, her beautiful emerald eyes slowly welling with tears. "I understand," she said finally, turning her face away from Albel. "I'm not good enough for you, but then again how could I ever be?"
"Oh no," Albel thought. This was not at all what he had in mind. He really did have feelings for her, but he never would have guessed how strong her feelings were for him.
"My love for you was real," she screamed, tears rolling down her eyes, as she grabbed her bathrobe and made her for the door.
"No, wait," yelled Albel, as he grabbed her hand.
Nel fell off balance and the both of them fell onto the bed. As Albel came to it, he found that he had pinned her down on the bed. Signs of tears were still on Nel's eyes. Albel knew he could hide it no longer.
"Nel, I…I must admit that I too…have developed feelings for you, but the politics of our country are…,"
Nel threw her arms around his neck, playfully playing with long braids of Albel's shaggy mane, and said, "Forget about politics, just settle down with me, my love and I'll take you where so many men could only dream of going."
"But…," Albel protested before he felt Nel put her finger over his lips.
"Then just trust me. Believe in me and let me handle it."
Albel closed his eyes as his lips met with Nel's, his body burning with newfound lust as Nel gently removed the sash of his sarong, allowing it to fall lightly to the ground…
Red Claw felt the blood in him boil, as the possibility drifted away from his mind. "Why, that shameless whore! I must stop them before anything drastic happens," he thought to himself.
"Lady Clair, I shall dispatch an extra platoon of my clan's scouts to aid this operation," he said as he turned to Clair.
"Yes, thank you, Lord Red Claw," she replied. "I too shall send out an extra company myself in that case."
Unknown to the both of them was Roger who was snickering like a cunning weasel behind the door.
"Nothing better to start the day off with a little mischief," he snickered.
Nel busied herself in front of the fire, preparing dinner as Albel polished his iron claw. Polishing his claw was something Albel usually did when he was bored, or had free time. Despite having the awkward air between them fade away, not many words were exchanged between the two of them. Albel was still dwelling on the incident that happened at the hot spring and he knew Nel was probably thinking of the same thing. But he had to put away those thoughts as Nel came up to him, handing him his dinner. Still, even during dinner, no conversation was made between either them. Albel at this point was at the peak of his boredom, and tried to find any possible means to amuse himself. It had almost been an entire day since he had committed any wanton acts of violence, and right now, even a game of chess with "Old Man Woltar" seemed rather amusing. His eyes traced around the room, till they lay on Nel. "Jackpot," he thought, "the perfect the target." Recently, Albel had begun to discover how fun it was to drive Nel nuts. God knows what sadistic pleasure and satisfaction he gets out of verbally torturing her, but it was obvious that he found it rather amusing.
"You know," said Albel, breaking the silence, "for such a tomboy, it's hard to believe that you possess some good domestic skills."
"I think I'll take that as compliment, Albel Nox," replied Nel. "But still, what's more unbelievable is how such a skinny guy with such a womanly frame can be such a good blacksmith."
Albel stared at her for a moment, but then grinned to himself, "So she plans on countering my insults," thought Albel. "Interesting, but let's see you come back from this, Zelpher."
"You're not bad as blacksmith yourself," countered Albel. "I guess must be all the testosterone you got in you. You should lay off the steroids."
Nel glared at him. "So you're going to challenge me, eh, Albel?" she thought to herself. "Well, you won't take me down that easily." Her lips spread into maniacal grin, which would have made Albel proud, had circumstances not been as they were.
"Well, you should practice what you preach, Albel. Lay off the hormone injections, you're starting to dress like a woman."
Albel was going to rebut that last remark, but then realized how witty Nel could be if she wanted to. This little conversation was now beginning to turn into contest of wits.
"As much as I hate to admit it, that was a rather good counter. I should plan the next move carefully."
"What's the matter, Albel?" Nel continued. "Not man enough to come up with a good rebut?"
"No, but I feel it would be immature to continue this pointless argument. It'd be like toying with a child."
Nel was now on the defensive. She didn't expect a counter from Albel that time. As she looked up at Albel, she saw a grin spread across Albel's features. It was useless. Compared to Albel's wit, it was an unfair match to begin with.
"Damn," she muttered, crossing her arms over her chest.
"You're out of league, Zelpher," as he shifted his attention back to his dinner. "Even on your best day, you have no chance of besting me."
"Don't brag, maggot," she yelled in reply.
The last statement Nel made had shocked the both of them. Nel was covering her mouth, flabbergasted at what she just said. "Oh, Apris. I'm starting to talk like him. This not good at all," she thought to herself.
Albel however had overcome his shock rather quickly, and was softly chuckling to himself. Normally, he'd run anyone through with his sword for addressing him in such a manner, which was rare, considering everyone understood the dire consequences of Albel's fiery fury. But, seeing how shocked Nel was by the little outburst she made, he figured he'd just let it slide, bringing his attention back to his food.
Nel was still finding it hard to believe what she had just said. She stared blankly into her bowl of rice, trying to comprehend the manner of her sudden outburst. She now had begun to talk like Albel, and it started to trouble her. She remembered that Elena had once told her, that when you start developing feelings for someone, you tend to develop some of their habits as well.
"I refuse," yelled Nel in her mind, "I refuse to admit having any sort of feelings for Albel in that or any such manner, because I don't. This all is probably because I'm spending too much time with him alone. Far more than I would be comfortable with."
As Nel kept on screaming mentally to herself, she looked up from her bowl of rice, only to find Albel staring at her. He seemed to have a very serious expression drawn on his face, his ruby red eyes eyeing her intensely. Somehow, the way he was looking at her seemed to make her heart race.
"Oh no, why is this happening again," she thought, as she felt a strange sensation run across her skin, like a shiver running up a spine. "Why is he looking at me like that? More importantly, why am I not saying anything about it? Why am I just sitting down, like tree stump, not doing anything?
She was to preoccupied with her own thoughts to realize that Albel had moved right up to her, seating himself in front of her. Suddenly, she felt his thumb run across her cheek. She quickly looked up, confused at what Albel was doing.
"Rice on your cheek," he said blankly, before putting his thumb in his mouth. "Don't mind if I do."
"Yeah, sure," she replied, as her face began to turn into a nice pink hue. "Oh Apris, that was so embarrassing," she thought to herself. "Why didn't I notice it earlier? I'm lucky he used his thumb and didn't lick it straight off my face." Nel's turned an even redder as the thought of Albel's tongue rolling across her cheek entered her mind, but as usual shook the idea away.
Albel however, noticed the blush on Nel's face and an evil smirk spread across his features. "Well, well, well," thought Albel to himself, "So our little tomboy actually gets flustered when men flirt with her. A rather feminine aspect for someone who likes to put up such a tough front. Guess she is a woman after all."
Albel quickly stopped himself as the thought registered. A woman. Did he just think what he thought he thought? Nel, as a woman. Well, of course she was a woman, but Albel had never viewed her in that manner before. To him, she was at first an Aquarian wench, then a reluctant teammate, and finally, although he hated to admit it, a reliable partner. But viewing Nel simply as a woman had never registered to Albel, until only recently. Everywhere he looked, everywhere he turned, he could only seem to notice Nel's womanly and feminine features. The arising of this fact began to trouble him. Could he, Albel Nox, Captain of the Black Brigade, actually be falling for her, Nel Zelpher of the Crimson Blades?
Looking down once again at his bowl of rice, he recalled the insult he made about Nel and her cooking. Although it was meant as an insult, there was some truth in those words, as Albel came to notice. Nel was rather good at cooking, aside from the other more domestic skills she practiced with her free time. "I have to admit, as Albel's thoughts strayed back again to her, "she really is quite a good cook. As far as most women go, she'd make a rather decent wife…, NO, NO, NO." Albel quickly removed the absurd idea that had surfaced in his mind, yelling mentally to himself the whole time. "DON'T EVEN GO THERE, ALBEL. GET THESE IDIOTIC THOUGHTS OUT OF YOUR HEAD RIGHT NOW."
Albel snapped back to reality as he heard Nel call him. He quickly turned to face the young Aquarian maiden.
"Albel, we have to keep watch so that no one enters the cave. I think this would call for some collective responsibility. We'll take turns on having the watch. We'll change shift after four hours. So who shall have the first watch?"
Without saying a word, Albel got up and made his way to the mouth of the cave. Nel watched with amazement. Did Albel just volunteer himself to take the first watch? "That's new," she thought. "Not like him to be so submissive. I almost expected to have an argument over this."
Albel, upon reaching the mouth of the cave, placed his metal hand at the entrance. A powerful energy charged at the palm if his hand and he began to create a wall of energy at the mouth of the cave.
Nel knew what he was doing and quickly yelled, as she rushed up to him, "No, Albel, wait. Don't do that."
However, it was too late. The entire cave entrance had been walled off with Albel's Mashouseki (Aura wall).
"What?" asked Albel, as he looked at Nel, rather quizzically.
As Nel stared at the wall, Albel heard her say, "We're out of firewood."
"What?" Albel roared.
"Quickly, dispel it so we can go collect some now."
"Are you insane? I can't dispel my Mashouseki (Aura wall). This wall was designed to last all night. Any physical contact with this, either friend or foe, would be fatal. It'll sap the energy out of you in no time." As he said those words, the two of them came to realize, that while they had argued, the fire that they had lit earlier finally died out, leaving the two of them in the dark.
"Brilliant, just brilliant. You're a genius, you know that, Zelpher. Why didn't you tell me this before I sealed the cave?"
Nel, of course, was not pleased that Albel was shifting all the blame on her. "That is just like you, Albel," she yelled in return. "Perhaps if you had told me what you were planning to do, I would have been able to warn you, but no, you had to be a pompous ass, and just make a move without consulting with anyone. Once again, your stupidity has gotten us into another scrape, yet again."
Albel was furious with Nel, and grabbed her roughly by her collar. "Will you shut up, wench," he spat, "stop treating me as if I was some of your property. I am not like some pushy husband that you can just say whatever you want. Stop acting like you're my wife or something."
Nel's eyes widened as those words left Albel's mouth. It was bad enough that she was already so unsteady with her emotions, but now that last statement had thrown her even more unbalanced. Did Albel say what she thought he said? Husband. Wife. Her heart now was really speeding, although she did not know why. She didn't love him, nor did she care about him. But why then, why was he affecting her so much. The word wife kept playing around in her mind, until she accidentally muttered under her breath, "Wife…."
Albel, at hearing Nel say that word, began to feel uneasy too as well. He could not believe he had said such things. How could he have let something like that slip out into conversation? If it had been on any other circumstances, it would have been considered as another one of his threats, but these strange feelings were starting to change the meaning of those words. Those things which he had been thinking about earlier began to resurface. Nel as a wife. No matter how much he wanted to put it aside, it kept coming back again.
A silence crept up against them, as the awkward air that had surrounded while they were at the spring returned. They both were in a loss of what to say, and the silence did little to help them. Fortunately, the darkness of the cave hid the blushes that had crept on both their features. Despite their emotional instability, they both were in the state of denial. To them, there was simply no possible way that the two of them could develop feelings for each other. It was just absurd.
"Look," Nel said finally, putting up a tough front, "it looks like were going to be stuck with each other for awhile, so let's try to put away our differences for the moment and work together. Flag of truce?" Nel was a very principled woman and such absurd thoughts of romance were not going to affect her. She would not show any weakness to anyone, especially Albel. She had her pride.
"Whatever," answered Albel, in his normal uninterested manner. Just like Nel, Albel was not going to allow his feelings get the better of him. He had a reputation to keep, so he put on his usual cold demeanor, so it would seem that he was unaffected by what had just happened between them.
"Alright, then. Look, there should be some sticks and branches that we could use for fuel in this cave. All we have to do is find it."
"Oh, great idea, and just how do you propose we go about doing that when we can't see."
"Patience," replied Nel, as she started chanting a spell. Slowly, a small orb of light formed itself on Nel's open palm. Presently showing it to Albel, she said, "This'll give us enough light."
So the two of them began to search the cave high and low, but to no avail. There was nothing in the cave that could be used as firewood.
"Well, this certainly is a problem," Nel exclaimed.
"This stinks," Albel said, as he kicked a stone of the cave floor.
"Well," Nel continued, "no point in griping about it. We might as well just work with it."
She laid the orb down where the fire had once been and moved towards one of the cave walls. The orb would light for a few more hours before dying out. It was a pity that it could not produce any heat, so it didn't help Nel from the cold. As she clutched her body to keep warm, her eyes traced to the direction that Albel was sitting. Albel, unlike her, wore a cloak. It was a unique one, a dark brown hue, decorated with feathers at the collar. A unique, but fine cloak nonetheless. She recalled asking him why he wore something like that in the middle of Duggus Forest which was hot and stuffy. It made more sense if he had wore it in Airyglyph. She then learned that he had been in Airyglyph when he received the order from the Queen. She had sent Red Claw, who usually was stationed in Arias and Aquaria to deliver the message. Coming straight from Airyglyph, it was no wonder that he wore a cloak. Nel was now beginning to regret not bringing along a cloak as well as wearing such thin clothes. She leaned on the wall and closed her eyes, while clutching her shivering body, hoping to fall asleep.
Suddenly, Nel felt something warm laying itself down on her body. She opened her eyes, and saw Albel adjusting his cloak on her. Nel was too surprised to speak because she would have never expected that Albel would give up his cloak for her. Albel, noticing her surprise, said to her as he adjusted the cloak.
"Last thing I need is you catching a cold before we set out tomorrow and slowing me down. So think nothing more of this, understood?"
Nel nodded her head as Albel finished adjusting the cloak on her. "Thank you," she said as Albel walked back to his original place. Nel snuggled into the cloak, feeling the quality of the fine fabric that it was made of. Then she smiled quietly to herself. "I guess he is quite sweet," she murmured. As she buried herself into the cloak, she smelt a pleasant fragrance surrounding it. Nel recognized the smell.
"These are Samnite scented oils," she figured. "There's no mistake about it. But these are extremely rare now, almost impossible to acquire"
She glanced once again at Albel, who seemed to be in deep slumber, and thought, "It's hard to believe a man like him is someone who cares about things like this. He must have really gone through a lot to get those oils." Smiling once again, she thought to herself, "Perhaps there is more to him than meets the eye."
As she closed her eyes to go to sleep, she heard a faint rattling sound. Opening her eyes, she found out that that the sound came from Albel. He was asleep in a seating position, crossed legged, with his arms crossed over his lap. But what Nel noticed was, although it was very slight, was that he was shivering.
"He let me have his cloak, even though he himself was cold," as she watched him shivering in the cold.
Nel began to feel sorry for him and a little guilty as well, and moved up to Albel. As she sat herself down next to Albel, she laid the cloak that he had lent her around herself and Albel. The sudden movements alerted Albel, who was very much surprised to see Nel sitting next to him. Nel, noticing he was awake, said.
"It's big enough for the both of us."
"I said you could use it," retorted Albel, rather irritated. "It's not like I'm cold or anything. Now go back to your side."
"You say that, but your body says otherwise. You were shivering, Albel."
"Big deal. So what?" he protested.
Nel looked at him, rather irritated because of his constant arguing, and said, "Look, we've been gone for almost two days already and there is a good chance that search parties have been sent out to look for us by now. Clair has probably started tearing her hair out, worrying where we are. I don't need you to get sick and slow us down."
"Besides," she continued, now in more calm, yet concerned tone, "It'd worry me if you got sick again, especially since you have just recovered from your wounds."
The sounds of raindrops from the outside were heard as another silence loomed over them. "Looks like it's raining," Nel said. "It's going to get colder in here, so please just bear with this Albel. Besides, the bodily heat should be able to keep us warm as well."
Albel was far too tired to argue with Nel and finally agreed to it. Nel laid the cloak over them, and then inched closer to him. Suddenly, the rattling noise returned. She opened her eyes and found Albel fidgeting with his iron claw.
"What are you doing?" she asked curiously.
"Isn't it obvious, taking off the claw," he said sarcastically. "I'm sure you don't want me lacerating you in your sleep."
Albel then continued to remove the metallic claw on his hand. Since was using only his right hand, it was a rather difficult job.
"Let me help you," Nel offered as she reached for the claw.
Just then, her hand brushed against Albel's right hand. For a split second, Nel felt her heart jump as the hands made contact. Pushing the thought aside, she continued to remove Albel's claw.
Normally, Albel would never approve of anyone touching his claw. He was very sensitive when it came to issues regarding it. That is why no one in the Black Brigade and perhaps, everyone in the Kingdom of Airyglyph speaks openly, let alone touches the notorious claw of Albel the Wicked. Yet, as Nel gently removed the metallic claw, he voiced no objection, and let her take it off for him.
Once it had been removed, Nel placed it by Albel's side before returning to the warmth of the cloak.
"Consider yourself lucky I am allowing this, Zelpher."
"You do realize," Nel said as she turned to face Albel, "I normally slit any man's throat for getting in at such a close proximity to me."
"Don't flatter yourself, Zelpher," replied Albel, as he rolled his eyes in her direction. "You make it seem like your body is to die for."
"This is coming from the same guy who was peeping at me at the hot springs while I was bathing."
Despite having apologized to each other, the fact that Albel had snuck up on her while she was bathing, did not sit well with Nel at all.
"You still sore about that?"
"Of course, I am."
"Oh, really? Now tell me why you say that?" Albel asked 'innocently.' To Albel, pissing Nel off was more fun than a killing spree at the Kirlsa Hills.
"What else am I suppose to say?" she said, getting irritated with Albel's behavior. "Oh, yes, it was great that you snuck up on me while I was bathing, ogling my bare bottom the whole time. Why don't you try fondling around with my breasts the next time around? That's sure to be more fun."
"I could, but personally, I prefer the lower portions better. By the way, you have a very nice ass, you know that?" Albel slowly chuckled to himself, convinced he drove Nel of the deep end.
Nel gaped at that last statement, completely taken by surprise by such a forward answer. Was Albel trying to flirt with her?
The shocked expression that was plastered on her face caused Albel to chuckle louder. Slowly, Nel found herself chuckling alongside him. Albel looked at her at disbelief. He was positive she would have blown off at the mouth after his comeback, but instead she was laughing about it. Then suddenly, a smile crept across his face as he noticed how Nel chuckled softly with her hand daintily covering her mouth. Unlike the Glyphian women who would flock around him, he seemed to find Nel's cute, yet dainty, laugh so much more appealing to his ears compared to them.
"I guess I should have seen that one coming," she said as her laughter died down. As she turned to look at him, she found him smiling at her. Quickly, Albel changed that smile back into his usual frown, hoping that Nel had not noticed that he was smiling at her just that moment. It seemed humiliating enough for him to believe that he, Albel the Wicked should be having such treacherous thoughts like this over a woman.
Nel however, did notice his smile and had turned her head away to avoid Albel from noticing the blush that had spread across her face. This was the first time that she had ever seen Albel smile in such pleasant way, and for a brief second, she began to notice how handsome he actually was. She leaned her head on the wall, which was very uncomfortable, and tried to contemplate all the events that had happened so far. Everything seemed to be in a mess, her emotions, her feelings, her state of mind. Thinking it best to put away these thoughts for the time being, she figured it would be best to get some sleep and contemplate some other time.
Albel felt very disturbed by the silence that had suddenly loomed. He hated the silence, because recently, it seemed to be a herald for all the strange emotions he was beginning to experience. He was hoping for dear life that Nel had not seen that smile just now. Having her poking jokes at him over it would have been a sentence worse than death. The idea of the newly dubbed "Albel the Sensitive, who loves the sound of women's laughter" was a punishment worse than anything any executioner could conjure up. Waking up from his thoughts by the shifting of some weight on his shoulder, his eyes grew wide as he noticed Nel had moved her head from the cave wall onto his shoulder.
"What is she doing?" Albel thought. "Quickly, get a hold of yourself, Albel. This is no time to start this emotional nonsense."
"Hey, Zelpher,' he said, impatiently. "I'm not a pillow."
"I know, Albel," she replied. "I can tell that by looking at you."
Albel put his hand on his head. It was way too late in the night for this nonsense. Too late for that emotional nonsense he was experiencing as well. He had no intention to start another arguing contest with Nel at this hour, so he asked calmly.
"You have no intention of leaving that shoulder, do you?"
"Not unless you mind."
Albel smirked as the thought entered his head. "Nope, just so long as you keep that offer of fondling around with your breasts while we're in the tub open."
That smart remark earned Albel a sharp blow to his ribs. He bent over, in an attempt to contain the pain as he forced himself not scream out loud.
"Jerk," Nel said, as she laid her head back on Albel's shoulder.
End of Chapter 6
Oh Man, this was a long one. In fact it would be longer had I used my original idea for chapter 6. This in truth is only half of what chapter 6 was suppose to be and the other half is now going to be chapter 7. We'll be seeing the long awaited guardians in that chapter, so don't miss out. Once again, thank you all for supporting my fanfic. Somnion signing off.