Chapter 11
Two Sides
Nel felt very warm. She knew it had to be cold outside because the top of her head felt the sting of the frigid weather. Aquaria didn’t get very cold in the winter, only cool enough for mild discomfort. Bearing that in mind, Nel knew she had to be in Airyglyph. Slowly her mind recounted the previous day. They had met with King Arzei for the negotiations and then had to pick up Albel in Airyglyph…
Her eyes shot open as the memories of last night came to her. She was greeted with the sight of his bare chest, which was almost touching the tip of her nose. The furs and blankets had been pulled over to cover most of their heads, keeping their faces warm against the chilly air in the room. Nel was almost in a fetal position with her legs still wrapped around his waist and her arms hugging him tightly to her. Albel was still deep inside her and his good hand was cupping her rear as if to keep her in place.
For some reason, she was just stunned that he was there. It was the first time they had sex and he was there afterwards (though they only officially slept together once, the rest was in her dreams). She actually felt a little…happy he was there. Maybe it was because she had proof that it happened or that she didn’t have to wake up alone this time. But due to her inexperience in intimate relationships, she wasn't sure what to do next. Should she wake him up? Should she just leave?
Nel glanced up to determine the time. It was still dark out. She guessed she had almost an hour before Apris would rise on the horizon. It should be more than enough time for her to get dressed and leave before anyone else could discover her in Albel’s room.
But before she could move, Albel drew in a deep breath and stretched his body. She felt every muscle shake against her skin and felt his dick twitch inside her. He was semi hard and much smaller than earlier, but she didn’t think he had the mind to continue the activities from the previous night before they fell asleep. They didn’t have much time.
“…Morning,” he mumbled after seeing that she was awake. She tilted her head up to see his bleary eyes, proving to her that he was just waking up.
“G-good morning,” she replied, not sure what else to say. She wasn’t expecting him to say anything at all, though there was much she didn’t know, thanks to her lack of experience. Her mother had died giving birth to her so she didn’t even know how her parents acted together. But then why was it so important to her to act like they were a couple? She decided that she was only trying to be nice so she would stay on his good side.
Albel finally decided to release her and pull out. Both shuddered at the pleasurable spark that shot through them. Nel’s lower joints felt relieved (after having spent several hours in the same position) as she stretched out her legs below the covers. Albel’s hand returned to her lower back long enough to pull her flush against him in a slight hug before he started moving again. He tried to sit up and push back the furs.
“I should-” He was cut off as Nel suddenly let out a squeal when the frosty air infiltrated their warm haven. Before he knew it, her arms tightened around him and forced him back down.
“How you Glyphians tolerate this Apris-forsaken weather, I will never know!” she growled as she pressed her face against his warm chest. Regardless of their alliances and her uncertain feelings for him, he was a source of heat and she wasn’t about to let go of that until the temperature outside improved. She suffered enough mornings alone in Airyglyph when she posed as Breda.
Albel laughed over that and she felt the deep vibrations against her cheek. It took her a moment to notice that it was a genuine laugh and not one of his mad cackles. He gently ran his hand up and down her back in an attempt to generate more warmth before he decided to taunt her.
“What’s the matter, Aquarian? Can’t handle our weather? I thought you’d be more resilient than your pathetic comrades.”
“Hmph!” she grunted before she pushed away from him and rolled over to her other side. She confused his misguided flirting for an insult and decided he wasn’t worthy of being her heat source anymore. She could take his jab at her in stride, but not when he had to include her countrymen. Her actions earned her another bout of laughter.
She ignored the chill at her back when he sat up and focused on clinging to the furs to keep her front side warm. But Albel soon pushed down the valley between them and tucked the blanket under her back so that she wouldn’t feel the cold air anymore. One moment, he would taunt her and the next he would do something nice for her. He was such a contradiction…
He made sure to be careful as he pulled the rest of his body out from under the furs and climbed over her body to get out of bed. It stunned her to no end how he could handle being completely exposed to the cold wearing nothing but his skin. It wasn’t long before his manhood came to her sight before he bent down to see her at her level.
His good hand ran though her hair before he said, “They should have lit the furnace down below by now so it’ll get warm soon enough.”
She watched him as he wandered off and pulled on his sarong. It was like there were two sides to him. He
never acted this nice to others and she was beginning to wonder if he was pretending to be someone else for her. Or maybe he was showing his true self. Which was it?
But soon she realized that she couldn’t lie in bed all morning. She had to leave soon before the others began stirring. She glanced down at her clothes at the end up the bed and braved the cold to sit up and get them.
“Don’t force yourself. You’re not a native to these lands and you’ll only end up putting yourself through shock,” he warned her, not even looking at her. Instead he was looking through his dresser.
“I need to get dressed,” she replied before she heeded his warning. She only reached out and grabbed as much as she could before pulling everything under the covers with her. When he saw what she was doing, he tossed a towel her way so she could clean up down there before putting on her clothes. He really
was experienced with having lovers in his bed…
Nel squirmed and shifted under the covers until she was able to get most of her clothing on. Her movements generated enough heat in her body so that she could get out of bed without risking hypothermia. She was about to reach for her armor when Albel stopped her and gave her a vial of blue liquid- another contraceptive.
“You better take this…unless you
want something to result from last night,” he muttered teasingly before he left her again. Nel had almost forgotten about that. They had sex last night and she could’ve gotten pregnant from it. She quickly drank the contents of it, trusting it to be the same mix he’d given her before. …At this point, she didn’t bother to hesitate and wonder if it was poison since she survived before with no problems.
She glanced back at Albel in time to see him bend over to gather supplies for the mission. The action caused his long hair to fall over his shoulders and expose his back when he straightened up. It was the first time she had a full view of it. As suspected, there it was- the Dragon Rune. It was exactly the same one as Adray bore and was even in the same color. But unlike Adray’s it didn’t cover his entire back. It was small enough to fit on his upper back to where it would be completely hidden by his shirt.
“What?” he barked softly in an annoyed tone when he sensed her staring. She wasn’t sure if he didn’t like to be stared at or if he was also sensitive about the rune on his back. She decided not to press further and turned away.
“Nothing…” she replied as she resumed putting on her armor. She heard a grunt from him before he walked off and opened the door to an adjacent room.
It wasn't long before she heard running water and spied steam coming out from the doorway. She knew the castle had the luxury of water accessible through pipes. It was a technology that Aquaria developed long before runology was used to control water. Not many people in Airyglyph had access to running water inside their homes though. She assumed that Albel was going to bathe before leaving and decided to leave then. At least that way, she wouldn’t have to have another awkward conversation with him.
Once she was sure her daggers were secure, she picked up her cloak and put it on before heading over to the door. Albel chose to walk out at that moment, just as she finished unlocking it.
“Leaving so soon? Don’t want to have a bath with me?” he wondered with one of his twisted grins. His voice sounded like he was seducing her, but she was able to see by his relaxed stance that he didn’t intend to chase her down again. She had a choice this time.
“I have to go…” she responded before she opened the door a crack and checked to make sure no one was out there to see her. The hall was clear- no maids or knights anywhere.
“…I suppose I will see you later,” she added as an afterthought before she walked out.
“And with the maggots in tow… can’t wait.” She heard him mutter sardonically as she closed the door.
*****************
It wasn’t until she was left alone to her thoughts when she realized what she was involved in now. Here she was sneaking out of Albel the Wicked’s room after spending an intimate night with him. Even though what they were doing was legal, not everyone would understand the fact that she was married to him by an ancient family tradition. They were going to have to sneak around all the time like it was an illicit affair.
But did she have any choice? As far as he cared, she was his wife and if he wanted her, he could have her. She couldn’t escape him, even in her own dreams. Sure she could distract herself with work and missions, but how long would that work until he might grow restless enough to come after her himself? At least Albel wasn't going to force her to abandon Aquaria and pledge loyalty to his king. She would rather take her own life than to do that.
He seemed to encourage her to stay loyal to her own queen and country and maybe it was for that reason that she was willing to get to know him. He was giving her the freedom to love or hate him and while she couldn’t force herself to feel either way, she didn’t see any harm in trying to be sociable to him. If all else failed and war started up again, then at least she had better access to Glyphian secrets through him. …Provided she could figure out a way to weasel it out of him.
Nel decided to take the long way back to the other hall where the others were staying. While the off-worlders wouldn’t know where Albel’s room was to know that she was coming from the same area, she didn’t want to take any chances. Not even they could know about what was between Albel and her- and they weren’t even aligned with either country. Fayt and Maria wouldn’t really care, but Cliff would pick on her and maybe even taunt Albel to the point of fighting. Best to keep that from happening at all costs.
It was still early- predawn light was just now showing through the few windows at the ends of the corridors. Cliff would be up by now, maybe even Maria, too, but Fayt was most likely still asleep. It was always difficult to wake him up in the mornings since he sometimes insisted in staying up late. Maria once mentioned in a passing conversation that it was actually a typical trait of people her age with no pressing responsibilities. She was only different because she had an organization to run.
When Nel rounded the corner, she found Maria standing in the middle of the hall, not far from her room. She seemed to be examining the various art and armor that decorated the sides of the hall. It wasn’t long after coming back from the Shrine of Kaddan that Nel discovered that Maria was very curious about other cultures. The blue haired girl would often ask about her country and compare what was similar between her race and theirs. More often than not, she would end up asking the very same questions Fayt did before she appeared.
“Good morning,” she greeted with a nod to Nel when she noticed her.
“Good morning. Did you sleep well?” Nel replied sociably as she approached. She wasn’t sure why she bothered to ask the latter since this wasn’t Castle Aquaria and she had no control over the rooms should Maria have some complaint. The spy figured that she was only trying to start a conversation for the sake of forgetting the events earlier this morning.
Maria nodded as she faced her fully, “I slept very well, thank you. It’s such a shame that I can’t find beds like the ones on your planet. We have long since adapted to using synthetic materials to make everything.”
The spy stayed silent as she contemplated that. From what she understood, people of advanced planets had stopped using natural resources to make things like clothing and furniture. It was to preserve plant and animal life, but the products were not as good as the real thing. Even most of their foods were said to have been made synthetically- made only to provide the needed nutrients. It was no wonder why Fayt and Cliff wolfed down the food she gave them that first night in Kirlsa.
The blue haired girl seemed to be deep in thought as she turned back to a nearby painting of what seemed to be the Traum Mountain Pass. She opened her mouth to perhaps ask a question, but she changed her mind and faced Nel again. “We should leave as soon as possible. I’ll go see if Cliff is up. How about you go wake up Fayt and then we’ll look for Albel together.”
Maria turned on her heel before Nel could issue a protest. While the spy had nothing against Fayt, it was difficult for her to awaken the boy. Cliff had his methods that seemed to work well, but Nel didn’t approve of them and had to seek more humane ways to rouse the blue haired boy from his sleep. With a sigh, she accepted her orders and walked over to the room Fayt was staying in. With a prayer to Apris, she knocked on the door and called out to him. When she didn’t hear an answer, she inwardly groaned.
“I’m coming in!” she warned before she opened the door. Another thing that worried her was the fact that Fayt almost never locked his door. She only had to guess that he lived in a very secure and safe environment to place such trust in others. She momentarily pondered the thought that rebels could’ve kidnapped the blue haired boy, but her worries were laid to rest when she found him snoozing away in his bed.
With a sigh, Nel walked over to him and tried shaking his shoulder. “Fayt, wake up.”
He only muttered under his breath about not having any classes today before trying to bury himself further into the bed. She gritted her teeth some before she tried shaking harder. When that didn’t work, she decided to play dirty by pulling the covers off him. She was in for a shock when the boy didn’t even flinch from the cold (though it was significantly warmer than it was earlier). He just continued to dream against his pillow.
Nel growled. Her patience was running thin as she crossed her arms and tried to think of what else to try that didn’t involve kicking him awake.
“What are you doing?”
She turned to find Albel standing in the open doorway, fully dressed and wearing a fur-lined cloak. He was fast in bathing and getting dressed, she noticed before she examined him further. He seemed upset over something, but she couldn’t figure out what. His eyes were narrowed at the boy, but he was also casting a wary look at her.
“I’m trying to wake up Fayt. He wasn’t raised as a soldier, so he has a hard time getting up early,” she explained, seeming to ease his features some.
“Bah…” he muttered as he entered into the room. “I’m supposed to follow
this whelp?”
Nel tensed when she heard ringing metal and found that the Wicked One unsheathed his katana. A sinister grin appeared on his face as he stalked closer to Fayt.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she wondered in a tense tone as he raised his sword. When he wouldn’t answer, she pulled out a dagger to stop him and protect the boy.
She tried to attack him, but he grabbed her dagger with his claw and easily reached around her to stick the sword into Fayt’s pillow, just a hairbreadth away from his face. Even though the boy had no military training or discipline, he was developing a warrior’s sense and quickly figured out something was wrong. With a frown, Fayt opened his eyes only to see a reflection of himself in the shine of Albel’s sword.
The boy let out a shout of surprise before he rolled away from the weapon and sat up. Upon seeing that Fayt was in no real danger, she jerked her dagger out of Albel’s claw and placed it back into its sheath. Albel did the same to his sword now that his target was up.
“There. Now he’s awake,” Albel told her in an almost smug tone before he turned to glare at Fayt. “This isn’t a game, fool. Lives are at stake and you are playing around. If you hinder us, I will destroy you.”
Nothing more was said as he turned on his heel and left the room, purposely brushing past Nel as he did so. Fayt didn’t see Albel’s knuckle slide suggestively against her thighs before he was out of sight. The spy stared incredulously at the doorway before she turned back to Fayt. Even though he was angry at the boy, he still left with a smug look on his face as he passed by her. It was almost as if he was trying to prove something to her, but she wasn’t sure if she got the message. Either he was taunting her ability to wake up stubborn sleepers, or (as she was beginning to sickly suspect) he was asserting himself as the leader of the group. Little did she know that she was wrong on both counts…
“What happened? Did I do something wrong?” Fayt wondered before Nel placed her hand on his shoulder reassuringly.
“You did nothing wrong. He was only trying help…I think. You were about to oversleep and we need an early start if we want to try to reach the Barr Mountains around noon.”
“Oh…” he muttered dejectedly before he stood up. “Sorry about that. I…couldn’t sleep very well last night. I keep thinking about Dad and Sophia and then I’d start getting nightmares…”
And then, just like that, all the previous ire Nel had for him was gone. It was only natural that he would be worried about his family and it made sense for him to have nightmares because of it. She couldn’t scold him for that, but they couldn’t afford many delays. Maria and Cliff estimated that it would take a little over a week before the next Vendeeni battleship could arrive to investigate the missing team and there was a scouting ship still in the area, preventing them from attempting to leave now. So they had to have both the Thunder Arrow completed and the Marquis tamed before their time was up.
“Don’t forget what Cliff told you. Stop worrying and do what you can. The sooner we meet with the Marquis, the sooner you can go rescue them,” she said, hoping to encourage him to try his best and forget about his worries.
Fayt glanced at the floor for a moment before he nodded, “You’re right. I just have to keep moving forward. Thanks for reminding me, Nel.”
“Anytime,” she replied with a warm smile that was hidden behind her scarf, “We should go before Albel throws another fit.”
This time the boy smiled some as he agreed with her suggestion.
**************
Albel was gone by the time Fayt and Nel met up with Cliff and Maria. He only left word that he would return shortly as he passed by the blue haired girl in the hall. Fayt decided that it was better to wait for the Wicked One in the castle and suggested that they eat a little breakfast as they did so. About a half hour later, the dark warrior returned with some bad news from his brief reconnaissance out in the city.
“There was a snow storm over the Traum pass last night. We should have no trouble passing through, but most merchants are expecting a restock of their supplies today and won’t be getting it until later. We’d be better off stocking up in Kirlsa,” he reported, talking more to Nel than the others. Until he got to know Maria and forgave Cliff and Fayt for the unfair fight in Bequerel, he viewed everyone but Nel as useless members of the team. And while she didn’t like how he treated her friends, she was a little grateful that he was contributing to the team instead of rebelling against them at every turn.
“It doesn’t really change the plan all that much. I believe we would have to pass through Kirlsa to get where we need to go anyway,” Maria responded, earning an analytical look from Albel. He probably didn’t expect an intelligent response from the ‘worms’, Nel figured.
“Yeah, and now that I think about it, if we went to the workshop now, we could probably make more than half of the things we need there so that would be less time spent shopping in Kirlsa,” Fayt added before Cliff had another one of his clever ideas.
“We could also shave off more time by taking a hauler through those caverns in Kirlsa. I seem to recall that also leads to the same area where we need to go.”
“It may be faster, but it’s also a bit more dangerous,” Fayt replied with a shake of his head.
Cliff just shrugged his shoulders. “So? There’s nothing in there we can’t handle.”
The blue haired boy let out a sigh, “Well I suppose it wouldn’t hurt us any to take it. The sooner we get to the Barr Mountains, the better.”
“That’s the spirit!” the Klausian cheered.
With the plan decided, everyone stood up and headed out of the dining hall. Nel was about to follow, but she was stopped.
“Hey,” Albel said softly to get her attention. “Who
is she? I haven’t seen that worm before.”
He gestured to Maria just as she left. Come to think of it, they were never properly introduced. …Then again, he was never really introduced to Fayt or Cliff either. She was rather shocked that he wanted to know, but didn’t really think too much of it before she answered him.
“She’s Maria. Like Fayt and Cliff, she’s an off-worlder who is against the Vendeeni and she’s Cliff’s leader,” she explained, hoping that he wasn’t too interested in her. It seemed anyone he’d taken an interest in were people he wanted to challenge in battle. She doubted Maria would be goaded into a fight easily.
“And that strange thing she has… is that her weapon? What does it do?” he wondered as they slowly began following after the party.
“It’s called a blaster. It shoots out light and it’s kind of similar to what the Vendeeni use…” Suddenly she was catching on to what he was getting at and faced him, “She is not our enemy.”
“No…” he agreed as he contemplated her words, “But she is capable of fighting these Vendeeni, correct? And the weapons these creatures possess are what gave you that wound. The enemy is very powerful and I’m not sure if I like those odds.”
So he was trying to get a sense as to what the enemy was capable of. It was interesting how he came to that conclusion based on what he observed on Maria and the injury Nel sustained from her encounter with the enemy. She knew he was more intelligent that he would let on, but she didn’t anticipate him being that observant. But he was rapidly catching on to the same fears she had.
All they had was one weapon that
might work and they needed an air dragon large enough to carry it. Even if the plan worked, they would still only have one weapon and one air dragon. Until they could develop smaller versions of the Thunder Arrow, they were going to be rather defenseless if more than one of those celestial ships came.
“Judging by the look in your eyes, you think this plan is hopeless, too, don’t you?”
Nel glanced up to find that he was watching her intently. She had a habit of trying to keep a stoic face in front of others so no one could tell what she was thinking, but Albel seemed to be able to read her better than Clair could. Her friend could tell if something was wrong, but even she couldn’t read her well enough to tell what she was really thinking. It was a little troubling considering that her main priority was to ensure her enemy couldn’t figure out her motives or plans. Albel was the only one to figure out her true feelings behind the matter.
“…I do have a little doubt, but the plan
does have a chance in success. I would much rather work for that slim chance than give up completely.” She was prepared to risk her life in facing the Marquis for that small chance instead of worrying about the end of her kingdom. Albel acknowledged her response and even nodded in agreement.
“I see… then in that case, I have no choice but to cooperate with the maggots,” he replied before he walked ahead of her in the snow-covered streets of Airyglyph. She glanced at him in surprise before his words registered. The agreement for his release only included him assisting them in fighting the air dragon, but nothing was said about his full cooperation. He had no intention of working with Fayt and the others until she gave him a reason to. And- thanks to her introduction of Maria, he gave the girl a small amount more respect than he gave to the men, though his respect for Fayt would eventually manifest much later on during the mission.
****************
They spent a little more time at the workshop than anticipated. At first, Nel busied herself with sharpening her daggers since she already had armor that was suitable against dragons, but then she moved on to prepare some medicines and food that they could take with them on the journey. By the time she was done with that, the party was nearly done with their work, but still had at least a half hour before their upgraded weapons were ready to use. They each busied themselves with other tasks such as creating protective charms as they waited.
Nel could’ve joined them, but she soon found that she couldn’t focus anymore. Albel didn’t bother trying to make anything and ended up spending his time by the door just watching her. It was easy to ignore him at first, but as the time progressed, it felt like her back was burning from the intensity of his stare. There were a few times a distraction from the others would catch his attention, but then his eyes would turn back to her if she so much as twitched a finger. And when she dared glancing at him, she could see a sinister grin appear from under the shade of his bangs. She could tell where his eyes were by the size of his smirk. The lower they were on her body, the wider the grin.
He must’ve been doing it on purpose just to annoy her… She was getting so anxious that she started pacing some as she prayed for the others to hurry and finish. She knew what Albel wanted and the longer he stared at her like that, the more she wanted it, too. At that point she couldn’t tell if she desired it just to get it over with or because she was feeling so tense that she wanted to let it out. All she knew was that there was a sexual tension building between them and she was surprised that the others hadn’t noticed yet.
But it wasn’t like they had time to fool around. Fayt was close to finishing his new sword and they would be leaving for Kirlsa soon. Before she knew it, she sprung into action. She
had to get out and get some air. The snow would be more than enough to cool her down. Nel stormed over to the peg that held her cloak and put it on, glaring at Albel the entire time. She had a sinking suspicion that he would follow her out, but she intended to go into hiding the moment she was out the door. She should have enough of a head start by the time he would come up with an excuse to leave.
“Fayt?” she called out to get his attention, “I’m going out for a-”
The door slammed shut before she could finish. All eyes glanced over at the entrance to find that Albel had left. Nel hesitated before she inwardly groaned and finished her sentence. “…walk.”
There went her plan. Now he was most likely waiting for her outside… But now that he was gone, she
could change her mind and stay inside. Of course, if she did that, then the others might get the feeling that she only wanted to leave because of him.
“What’s
his problem?” Cliff wondered in a huff as he went back to work.
Maria shrugged and guessed, “Maybe he got bored and decided to check the trail again.”
Fayt looked like he wanted to go after Albel, but he decided against it. He couldn’t leave his work unattended and he had no clue where to start looking. Instead he gave Nel a small smile and nodded at her. “Okay. We’ll be leaving soon- maybe in a half hour. Let’s meet at the gates then. And…if you happen to see Albel, tell him that, too.”
“Okay,” she nodded, knowing that she
was going to run across him very soon.
She hesitated a little before she stepped out. He wasn’t out there or anywhere in sight. She could see his footprints in the snow leading off to the main street. Maybe he really
did leave to do something… If only the workshop wasn’t in a dead end, then she could’ve gone the opposite direction. …But if she could make it to an alley, then she could veer off course to make sure she could have some time to herself before looking for him.
Her plans were dashed the moment she rounded the corner of a building. Albel
was waiting for her while leaning against another building on the other side. His eyes were trained on her the moment she came into view and his grin returned. Nel sighed before she approached him. She might as well use her newfound time with him to berate him for his actions inside the workshop and discourage him from doing it again while they had to travel with the others. He was a reasonable man if she gave a good reason why he should listen to her.
But the stress he caused her was putting her in a sour mood. He knew just as well as she did that they didn’t have time to sneak off for a tryst. But she felt that he was deliberately putting her on edge just to test her patience. Even though she wanted to negotiate with him, she wasn’t in the mind to keep them peaceful. She was in an argumentative mood and felt like starting a fight. …Then again, maybe
that was just what he wanted.
“Nox,” she began tersely, a scathing speech on the tip of her tongue. But he easily disarmed her ire with a darkened look and a seductive smirk.
“
Lover…” he countered in a deep tone.
She involuntarily closed her eyes and shuddered at the tone of his voice. Why did that husky voice of his
always make her weak against his advances? She had to maintain control this time.
By the time she opened her eyes, he was at her side and had wrapped his good arm around her. His hand nestled against the curve of her neck as he leaned in to bury his nose in her hair and breathed in. She kept her annoyed façade and was tempted to just shove him away from her.
“I’m glad you decided against a bath this morning,” he purred against her before adding, “It’s faint, but you still smell of us together.”
“We…we don’t have time for this. Fayt expects us to be ready to leave in half an hour,” she replied, earning a disappointed sigh from him. Her face warmed some because of his words, but she was also feeling a little nervous being so close to him. This was something that was out of her comfort zone. She didn’t know how she was supposed to react or how to respond. She still didn’t even know
why she cared. But she did know that this wasn’t the time or place and had to stop him.
But she soon found that his sigh wasn’t because of her response. He was reacting to the news of when they were leaving. His hand trailed down and across her back before he gently gripped her elbow and started pulling her with him. “Then I guess we better hurry…”
Nel instantly dug her heels to the ground and yanked herself out of his grasp. Dear Apris, the man was insatiable! Was sex the
only thing on his mind and that he had to have it regardless of the situation? Her blush deepened when he began chuckling over the stunned look on her face.
“I want to show you something before we leave. Heh, what did you
think I had in mind?” he wondered idly, his arrogant smirk still in place. Oh he
knew what she was thinking, but he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to tease her about it. He really was trying her patience. She couldn’t stop the annoyed growl and refused to answer his question.
She took a few seconds to calm herself before her mind registered the first thing he said and then grew curious. “What do you need to show me? It won’t take long will it?”
“It should be brief enough, but we’ll have to hurry,” he replied as he started walking, expecting her to follow. Nel ran her fingers through her hair in frustration before she decided to go with him and see what he was planning.
They briefly stopped at the grocer where Albel went in by himself and came out with a small crate. Nel raised an eyebrow as she wondered what was in the crate before he distracted her with something else.
“Here. This is for you,” he told her as he gave her a brown bag. They continued to walk to the other side of town as Nel examined the contents of the bag. Inside were around ten vials of the contraceptive. She wasn’t sure if she should be upset that he was thinking about trying anything with her on the journey or relieved that he was taking precautions.
“…You are quite the opportunist, aren’t you?” she chose to inquire in a flat tone. He just smirked again and left it up to her imagination to figure out when and where they would need to use them.
He led her to the back alleys in areas where she had never wandered in before. She wasn’t sure where he was going, but he seemed to have frequented the darkened and dilapidated paths. He knew where to turn in the small labyrinth and didn’t appear to be lost at all. It didn’t seem to have been that long of a walk before he stopped and faced her. He was no longer smiling and his features appeared more grim than stoic.
“You’re no idiot,” he stated at first, not really complimenting her. “You’ve spied on my country long enough to know the true reason why we went to war.”
Nel inclined her head as she shifted to rest her hands on her flanks. “Officially it was a religious war due to Vox’s accusation that innocent parishioners were plotting to assassinate your king, but in reality it was a fight over resources. You mostly wanted the lands between Kirlsa and Arias, but then later decided that you wanted all of Aquaria under the guise of ‘uniting’ the continent.”
“It wasn’t really a ‘guise’, but you understand enough,” he agreed, albeit a little defensively. “You are also aware
why we wanted your resources, correct?”
“You lack enough food to feed your people,” she responded without hesitation. Nel wasn't sure what he was getting at or why he wanted to discuss the war with her. It was pointless to even bring it up since they were supposed to be under a truce. Albel appeared rather pleased that they shared the same understanding of the situation before his lips quirked up in a humorless smile.
“Ever seen a starving person before?” he asked as he took a step closer to her. He was getting so close that she had to raise her chin to meet his eyes.
“Of course. We have a few homeless in Aquaria who only have the clothes on their backs and barely enough food to survive on- all were victims of war,” Nel replied with an accusatory glare before she lowered her head to obscure half her face behind her scarf. “Though to be fair, we had less unfortunate people than in your kingdom
before the war.”
Albel let out a slight huff at her words, but didn’t really take any offense to it. His arm was once again at her lower back before he began pushing her toward the opening of the next alleyway. It was a dead end, but it was also a makeshift home to several dozen people. The spy had never seen anything like this in Airyglyph before, though she had never been to this part of the city. There were people ranging from all ages that were huddled together or crouched near small fires. Some were even buried under snow and ratty blankets in a vain attempt to insulate warmth for themselves.
Each and every one of the inhabitants of the alley was nothing more than skin and bones. Their faces were shallow and their eyes were lifeless. She could hear a few moans that signified the life still in them. Nel’s stomach lurched at the sight of them. They were practically like the living dead. It was a miracle they were still alive in the freezing conditions. Not even seeing the blood and gore of the battlefield compared to the hell she was viewing.
Albel finally tossed the crate to the ground before he kicked it out to the center of the alley. All at once, eyes brightened some before the healthier few rushed over to the wooden box and smashed it open with stones. Food poured out unto the frozen ground only to be frantically gathered up by the starving people. But despite their frenzy, they didn’t gobble it all up. Instead, they split it up into enough portions for everyone and ate slowly. They knew very well how to feed themselves after days of starvation. The spy would have to guess that they had been used to that lifestyle for quite some time.
The Wicked One didn’t stay to watch them eat. Instead he walked over to the nearby wall out of their sight and watched Nel closely for her reaction. The poor in Aquaria were not even
close to the hardships the people before her faced. In her country, at least everyone still had meat on their bones. She didn’t know it was truly
this bad.
Nel faced Albel with a disturbed look before she approached him. “Why did you bring me here? What is the meaning of this?”
“You pointed out last night that you didn’t know much about me. I wanted to show you the reason why I took up my sword and killed your comrades despite being against the war. Your country had more than enough to feed its own people and we wanted that resource.”
She briefly wondered if he was trying to make her feel bad and regret ever fighting against his country, but she knew that wasn’t the case. He gave her a rather valid reason why he had to fight. If the citizens of Aquaria were suffering like Airyglyph was, she would fight to her last breath to help them. But, hungry people needed food, not blood and national honor.
“A war wouldn’t give the people what they needed. As you and Vox found out, we couldn’t just let you have it after attacking us like you did. We had to defend ourselves and we only ended up losing lives rather than saving them. Even while seeing the extent of your problems up close, I still cannot condone what your people had done. I
had to fight your countrymen lest danger come to my brethren,” she countered with a cool look. Albel’s face was just as stoic as he pushed off the wall and stared down at her.
“You are right. I bear no ill will toward you or your comrades. It was simply war and nothing more. But when negotiations fail, what other choice do we have but to attack and try to get your attention?” he wondered before he leaned down so their eyes were level. Nel felt a chill run down her spine at the cold look that was in his eyes. “There was one thing Vox said back then that I actually agreed with. He asked ‘Why should we have to beg for food like dogs?’. Our people were dying and yet some magistrate had the gall to turn away our messengers because he wanted us to kneel in submission before
him in order for us to see your queen.”
Nel’s eyes widened as his story hit home. She wasn’t a Crimson Blade at the time so she didn’t know the whole story, but she had heard that messengers from Airyglyph tried to see the queen. Lasselle insisted that they were too rude and volatile to allow in. She didn’t think much of it because she wasn’t that involved with the kingdom back then, but she did remember that things suddenly became tense between the two kingdoms not long after. She assumed that it was because Vox had taken command of the Dragon Brigade, but it seemed there was another element.
“Lasselle…” she growled under her breath as she turned away from Albel. Surely
he wouldn’t be so arrogant as to do something like that? No… he
would and it made her sick to her stomach to think that he was one of the instigators that led to war. But, she couldn’t apologize on the magistrate’s behalf. She didn’t think Airyglyph deserved an apology.
While Lasselle
was an arrogant, closed-minded jerk, he was also one of the queen’s most trusted advisors and someone who knew what he was doing when it came to the affairs of state. He wasn’t an idiot and he wouldn’t send messengers from other countries away without a good reason to. He had to have been provoked to say anything callous to the Glyphians and she doubted they were on their best behavior. …But there was one thing she
had to concede to: neither side had clean hands so both shared the blame as to why the war happened.
Nel shook her head before she faced him again, “I understand why you did what you did and maybe I can even forgive
you for what you’ve done in the name of your kingdom…but I still despise your king. He acts like a puppet and yet he has no strings. He listens to a warmonger but doesn’t really believe in those ideals. I can hardly trust a two faced man like that.”
This time he let out an amused grunt before he pulled away and started walking back the way they came. Since Nel had no clue where she was, she had no choice but to follow him.
“I can’t say that I favor him much myself. My loyalty is only to the kingdom, not to him. We share similar ideals, but he lacks the drive to act on them. He may have reformed our kingdom, but he had help,” he paused for a moment and thought about his next words, “…He is still in love with some worm he met in Aquaria and he was hoping your kingdom would surrender after calling back my troops and letting Vox take over. When he found that wasn’t going to happen, it was too late and Vox garnered too much support from the maggots under him. He should’ve have been more ruthless and let me destroy your army in one day. At least then there would’ve been less casualties compared to dragging it out as long as we had.”
Nel bit her lip and remained silent as she trailed behind him. There it was. She just heard inside information of what the Glyphians were thinking from one of the captains of their military. She now knew the real purpose of the war and intentions behind them without having to ask. He gave up that information freely and didn’t bother hiding anything from her. She supposed that it didn’t matter anymore now that the war was over, but… Did that mean he trusted her enough to tell her more should something else ever happen later?
She didn’t particularly like what she learned and it didn’t really change her opinion of her former enemies or their king. But her opinion of Albel changed some. She didn’t think he would be the type to care about others let alone donate food to the hungry. But after hearing his rather dark view of the war and how it should’ve been conducted, it made a little sense. All he wanted was for the people of his kingdom to get what they need to survive. He wasn’t seeking utter annihilation of his enemies for some sick show of power.
He just had a realistic view on everything and that made it easier for her to trust him than other Glyphians. He was much easier to figure out. …But there were still some things he wasn’t telling her. She didn’t understand why he had to sneer down at the weak or threaten everyone around him. She knew she had some strange special privilege when it came to him, but it didn’t match or make sense with his wicked persona that everyone else saw.
“I pray we don’t have to fight anymore. At this point there is nothing to gain,” she finally muttered, wanting to end the conversation. They were close to arguing for some of their points, but for the most part they understood each other. Nel wanted it to end on that note. Albel stayed silent and just enjoyed her company for the rest of the walk.
When they made it back to the main street, they found Fayt and the others waiting near the gates for them. With most of their supplies obtained, they headed off to Kirlsa to begin their mission.
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Note: The plot is slowing down in favor of character bonding between the two, though we could argue that Albel and Nel's relationship is a subplot to the story. Tell me what you think so far because I have a few more scenes like this before they actually get to the Barr Mountains. It's not often I distort the flow of my stories like this, but then this is fanfiction and not one of my orignals. I'm trying to focus more on character development and exploration than story progression.
But if you guys really like those AlNel scenes, then I'll feel happy about that, too. What's more important to me is to know if I truly do have them in character despite the alternate reality twist of them actually meeting face to face early on. In fact, the whole ancient rune thing is more of a plot device that forces Nel to acknowledge Albel outside the label of 'enemy'.
