Warning: This chapter contains the use of a toy and anal penetration.
Chapter 20
Saying Goodbye
Nel was glad that the engineers redesigned the weapon to house the controls inside a box-like structure. Since the Thunder Arrow was now going to be an aerial weapon, they had to enclose the operator so that the wind and turbulence wouldn’t throw them off their aim. Not only that- the spy wouldn’t have to worry about the unsettling feeling of seeing her feet dangling several feet up in the air.
The fact that they were able to replace some of the wiring with the copper they’ve obtained and design the new component around the weapon in as little as a week was nothing short of amazing. The Thunder Arrow was currently perched on metal beams several feet into the air as engineers worked to fashion a sturdy harness that would secure the weapon to Crosell. The warehouse they were in had its doors open so that Nel could test the weapon out into the open field.
The spy was currently inside the cubicle examining the controls and memorizing where they were. For the most part, she was going to be looking out the periscope so she could see her targets. Fayt, Cliff, and even Albel came to watch the demonstration, but since there was little space within the control box, she forced everyone out so she could concentrate. They instead gathered on the deck above.
“Are you ready to begin the test, Lady Nel?” one of the researches asked through the speaking tube. She let in a deep breath before she took her position and placed her head against the eyepiece to see outside. She then felt around the controls to make sure she knew where each button and lever was.
“I’m ready,” she replied when she was satisfied.
“Good. Begin the demonstration!” he yelled to the others. Nel watched as several people rushed to the center of the open door to install a catapult. Since the Thunder Arrow’s cannons couldn’t move, the targets had to be flung into the air so they would be in range. Though Nel was somewhat annoyed that she was going to have to aim at small objects rather than something larger. The Vendeeni battleships had to be several times bigger than a training dummy.
“I know that we will only need the main cannons for the operation, but I would also like to see the capabilities of the mid-range and the auxiliary cannons as well. You might need to use them should something happen to the main cannons,” the researcher added before the targets were brought out.
Nel had to blink a few times before she registered what she was seeing down below. The target dummy being loaded into the catapult looked awfully familiar…
“Is… Is that supposed to be Albel?” She could hear Fayt inquire over the speaking tube.
“Like it?” Cliff said in a smug tone before he explained, “I just wanted to help Nelly get motivated by designing a few targets to look like people she’d want to shoot.”
“Maggot!” Albel hissed, clearly not amused with the Klausian’s portrayal of his image, “I think this demonstration would do better with a
live target. How about
you climb into that catapult?”
“Hey, why are you gettin’ mad at me?
Nel’s the one who’s gonna shoot you,” Cliff commented with a chuckle.
The Wicked One scoffed and the spy imagined him crossing his arms with a slight pout. “You’ll get yours, too, death seeker.”
He sounded less angry and more amused when he made that promise. What started as a threat probably turned into a naughty image in his mind as he thought of ways to ‘get back’ at her…
“We shall test the main cannons first,” the researcher announced before he inquired if Nel was ready.
“I’m ready,” she confirmed. She waited for them to launch the dummy in the air and watched as the poorly disguised Albel flew in the perfect example of rag doll physics.
“Don’t worry, Nox, I’ll be gentle,” she muttered to herself jokingly as she fired. One of the two electric beams made contact with the dummy just as it began descending. There was a crack of thunder in the aftermath of the firing and the target quickly exploded into a fireball. It disintegrated before it could reach the ground and was reduced to ashes in the wind.
It wasn’t until she heard Cliff’s howl of laughter when she realized that they heard her parting words to the dummy loud and clear.
“…Do you say that to
all of the men you kill, woman?” the Wicked One inquired, sounding very curious. “Or am I a special case?”
Nel flushed a little and tried very hard to ignore them. She didn’t mean anything sexual from it, but she easily caught on to the implications they picked up. She decided not to dignify his questions with an answer- at least not while Cliff was still present. Anything she could say at that point could be misconstrued into another dirty joke.
“You
enjoyed ‘killing’ that Albel dummy, didn’t you Nelly?” Cliff chortled before Fayt pleaded with him to be quiet.
“Come on guys, this is serious. We need to have this weapon ready soon,” the boy reminded them, trying to spare Nel from the embarrassment of being teased.
“Ah, lighten up. You know we have a little more time now,” the blonde reassured him before he let the small joke end for now. Earlier Maria had informed them that the ‘federation’ (or whatever it was called) had stopped the main battleship. The Elicoorians didn’t really understand the situation- but it seemed that the biggest threat had been eliminated for now. All they had to focus on was the scout ships that were in the area.
“Even so… We can’t afford to wait much longer. They still have my dad and Sophia- and we can’t let the people of this planet suffer anymore,” Fayt pointed out, making him concede to his point. “Once the harness for Crosell is done, we have to go.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Cliff sighed as Albel and Nel fell silent. Everything should be ready tomorrow, meaning that today could be the last day they would be alive. If the plan didn’t work, all would be over. But Nel pushed that all to the side and focused at the task at hand. It was up to her to use the Thunder Arrow to drive off the invaders. She
had to do what she could to stop them so she couldn’t afford to waste time by reflecting on her fears.
For the next hour or so, she continued to aim and fire at randomly dressed dummies- some were dressed like the King of Airyglyph and Woltar. She particularly enjoyed destroying them. By the time the test was over, the researchers and Fayt were satisfied. All that was left was Crosell’s harness and that was expected to be done by tonight. They were most likely going to face the Vendeeni the next morning.
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Nel found herself in her room later that night wondering where Albel was. Despite the uncertainty of the future, she went ahead and visited the castle doctor for the contraceptives. The spy noticed that her bleeding had tapered off to spotting earlier and decided that it was a good time as any to get started on the herbs. She had to brew them in a tea and drink every day to ensure that she wouldn’t get pregnant. …Though she told the doctor that she only wanted them to straighten out her imbalanced hormones.
If everything went wrong tomorrow and she ended up dying, then there was no point in starting the herbs. But she wanted to spend what could be her last night with Albel. She wasn’t going to risk the chance of getting pregnant if she did happen to survive. Of course, even with her starting over in her monthly cycle and taking a monthly contraceptive, there was still a very small chance of conception if she had sex that night. But the only way it could happen was if Albel was inhumanly virile or had godly stamina to come several times in one night.
The spy glanced over to her window when she heard something stir outside. Soon the glass panels swung open and the Wicked One climbed in.
“Does your religion have something against alcohol?” he wondered as he placed a bag on her bed and turned to close the window. He also closed the curtains so no one who happened to be outside could see in. It wasn’t as if it was that bright in her room. She only had one lamp lit, enough to see, but dim enough to where someone couldn’t see them from a distance.
Nel shook her head. “If you’re referring to why Aquios doesn’t have a tavern, it’s because we don’t want drunkards walking around at night.”
“So you send them off to other towns and let them endanger themselves and the people around them?” It was more of a statement than a question, but she got the message. It was pointless to restrict alcohol in towns and cities.
“Don’t look at me. I didn’t create the law.” She shrugged before Albel approached the table she was sitting at with the bag. He then pulled out two mugs and a bottle of what appeared to be heavy cider.
“I liberated these from the workshop. Lasbard was thirsty too,” he explained as he sat in the empty seat across from her. She glanced at the bottle curiously. So this was something Adray made… That meant it was either too strong or had too much flavor- as was the case with everything Adray made in the kitchen.
While Albel busied himself with taking off his boots and armor, she opened the bottle and cautiously sniffed at the contents. Her eyes nearly watered at the smell. It was potent, but that wasn’t a bad thing. Considering what she had planned for the Wicked One, it wouldn’t hurt to have him a little drunk and disoriented. But she had to be careful not to have too much herself. She waited for him to take off his claw before she poured the drinks into the mugs, deliberately giving him more.
He continued to tend to his arm as she took her first sip of the substance. She let it linger in her mouth before she slowly swallowed it. As strong as it was, she would only end up coughing if she tried to drink fast. Almost instantly the cider warmed her throat and insides and she had to wonder exactly how old the bottle was. It tasted as if had aged for a while instead of being made recently. Perhaps it wasn’t a good idea to give him that much…
She noticed that Albel didn’t hesitate to expose his arm, meaning that he didn’t mind her watching anymore. It was still unnerving to see his forearm, but she held back her grimace and tried not to think about how easy it would be to snap one of those nerves or veins. She offered to wrap him again when he was done putting on the cream, but he declined by saying he didn’t want her to get up and trouble herself. It wasn’t really ‘trouble’, but she decided to let it go and let him do what he wanted.
When he was done, he finally grabbed his mug and gently bumped it with hers. “Here’s to forgetting about tomorrow.”
She eagerly drank to that. Tonight was not going to be about the Vendeeni, their kingdoms, or their possible deaths- it was just going to be about them. The alcohol was intended to help them get to sleep tonight more so than get them drunk. It was also to help them loosen up and enjoy each other’s company. It was their right as soldiers to have a night of pleasure together before the final battle.
They enjoyed a little idle conversation before Nel decided to make her move. She had finished most of her drink and she wanted to stop him before he could have too much. Even with the little she had, it was strong enough to make her feel a little dizzy, but she was still aware enough to saunter over to him and sit in his lap. She then grabbed the chain of his metal choker and pulled him down for a kiss.
He was more than happy to respond as he brought his good arm up to pull her closer to him. She could taste the cider on his tongue as she explored his mouth and eventually fought him for dominance. Her hands were not still as she made sure to remove as much of his clothing she could from the position she was in. Albel moved his lips over to her neck and shoulder once he removed her scarf and then rubbed his hand up and down her back encouragingly as she ran her fingers down his chest.
A finger hooked into the leather that tied his belt and sarong together and pulled it apart before it tailed down flirtatiously to one of his thighs to push down most of his leggings. Nel moaned against his now bare neck as his large hand rested on her bottom and gave a squeeze.
“Bed…” she murmured into his ear before she stood on slightly wobbly legs. He almost let out a noise of protest when she moved, but he quickly followed after so close that one could almost swear they were glued together at the lips. His sarong and leggings fell off during their slow progression to the bed.
Albel managed to get her tunic off before they reached their destination. Nel had already removed her stockings, armor, and armguards before he arrived so he didn’t have as much to complain about in terms of who wore too much clothing. But she still had more on than he did at the moment.
The spy pushed him onto her bed before he could get the chance to do it to her. She quickly straddled him once he rearranged himself to a better position on her bed and kissed him again. She was glad he didn’t mind being on the bottom every now and then, but she knew she had to act quickly before he decided to switch positions with her. To further distract him, she removed most of her haltertop camisole to expose her breasts and leaned forward to whisper in his ear.
“I’m not sensitive anymore.”
He let out a smirk and quickly responded to that by cupping an orb with his good hand. She willingly pulled herself up so that his mouth could reach her breasts. This was to prevent him from wanting to be on top so soon. He didn’t seem to be suspicious of her motives as she let him bite and suckle on her nipples bellow her. She held herself above him on her elbows and let her hands trail up over his head.
She had to ignore the warm sensations as she busied herself with pulling out a small piece of rope that she had hidden under her pillow- just for him. She let out a few pleased moans here and there so he wouldn’t think something was wrong as she carefully slipped the rope around a wooden bar on the head of her bed. When she was done making the first knot, she kissed his forehead as she pulled herself back. She then smiled at him before claiming his lips again.
The first part was done. Now she had to find some way to complete her objective without him catching on. With a smirk, she deepened the kiss before her hand sought out his. First she guided it up her side, then across one of her breasts. She pulled away long enough to kiss the palm of his hand before she licked at his wrist and kissed her way down his arm. She was somewhat surprised that he was letting her have control for this long. Perhaps he really liked her ministrations.
But for the most part, her attention to his arm was a ruse to push it up over his head and bring his hand closer to the rope. Her mouth soon reached his shoulder and neck as her hand guided his closer to the loop she had ready. She could hear her heart thumping in her ears as she wondered if he would catch on too soon, but he seemed to be more focused on returning her kisses than trying to free his arm from her grasp.
In one fast motion, she sat up and quickly trapped his wrist inside the loop and tightened the rope so his arm was restrained. When she glanced down, she found that he didn’t appear to be too surprised. It was almost as if he expected her to tie him down at some point. Or perhaps he was too tipsy to really understand what she did. Whatever the reason, he was trapped and at her mercy. Nel decided to leave his burnt arm alone since she didn’t want to cause damage to it- and it was pretty much useless so having it free wouldn’t ruin her plans.
“Heh, I didn’t think you would have a bondage fetish,” he said with a chuckle, proving he was still coherent enough to understand what was happening.
“I don’t,” she replied as she sat up to admire her work. She gave him a seductive grin before she explained, “I just don’t want you to stop me from what I’m about to do to you.”
That seemed to pique his interest. “Oh? What did you have in mind, woman?”
“You’ll see.” She teased him with a grin before she started removing the rest of her clothing. Albel smirked before he tested the restraint and then gave her a look that said ‘do your worst’. The poor man probably had no idea how far she was planning to go with him tonight…
She started off with yet another demanding kiss before she moved her way down to his chest. She gave extra attention to his pectorals before going further to his abs. When she reached his groin, she gently removed the loincloth that was still on him and let his member spring free.
It wasn’t fully erect yet, but it eagerly twitched when she leaned down to kiss the foreskin and trace her tongue down the shaft. She massaged his thighs a little as she leaned down further to run her lips across his scrotum. Albel was very responsive to it all by alternating between various moans of her name or hissing ‘yes’ over and over. His look of disappointment when she pulled away was very cute to the spy.
Nel acted casual as she rolled off him and climbed out of bed. She tried to hide her grin as she walked over to her dresser and searched through a drawer. There was a certain …‘gift’ she had in there that she was going to need. She never thought she would actually use it before tonight and she was sure that it wasn’t intended for what she had in mind.
Albel watched her curiously as she returned with her prize. It appeared to be some metal cylindrical object that was slightly flared and rounded at the tip. “What is that?”
“I’m not surprised that you don’t know. This is a tool for women to pleasure themselves without a man- they call it a dildo,” she replied as she crawled back over him.
“And why do
you have such a tool?” he inquired curiously, his mind working little fantasies of his woman laying in the very bed he was in and bringing herself to a release with the device.
“My subordinates thought it would be a funny joke to give me this as a gift. I haven’t had any use for it- until now.”
Nel shifted to lie back by his restrained side. She watched his reactions as she spread her legs (deliberately throwing a thigh over his to brush against his erection) and brought the dildo to her nether region. She bit her lip some as she first rubbed the tip against her hardening nerves and felt her toes curl at the cold sensations of the metal against her warmth.
Albel let out a groan as he watched her slowly insert the object inside her and suddenly wished he didn’t let her tie him down. What he was seeing was pure torture and he never before did he want to touch her so badly. She faked a moan to rile him up as she started to move the dildo within her. It wasn’t as pleasurable as having him inside her, but she wanted to get him very excited. She glanced down at his member and noted that her little act was having an impact on his arousal. He was hardening up rather fast.
Moving carefully, Nel sat up with the dildo still inside her and shifted to where she was straddling him again, this time facing his member. It was beginning to point upwards and the head was starting to come out. She was quickly finding that she wasn’t fond of having the object inside her and had to wonder why others favored it. It was too cold and impersonal to find gratification with it.
Still, she kept it within her so that her arousal would lubricate it for the next step. She knew Albel would probably not like what she wanted to do (hence why she needed to tie him up), so she decided to distract him yet again before she pushed on. She lowered her mouth to take the tip of his penis in her mouth and started to gently run her fingers up and down the underside of the shaft.
“You’re deliberately torturing me, aren’t you, woman?” he growled, earning a light chuckle from her. That was the point- she
had vowed to punish him, though she never vocalized her intent. He bit back the moan when he felt the vibrations of her laugh on his member.
Her hands continued on to his testicles and she gently held them in both hands while she continued to let her tongue trace around the head teasingly. Her thumbs gently rubbed circles on him before she moved one hand up to press her fingers up into the skin behind his scrotum.
“Ngh!
Nel!” he growled out as he used what little leverage he had to jerk his hips up. He
loved it when she did that. Nothing made him feel more pleasure than whatever she did to him down there. She pushed against that skin a few more times while allowing her other hand to stroke him until he was shuddering and thrusting against her.
He knew he hadn’t released yet, but he didn’t care at the moment as his body reveled in the wonderful sensations that she caused. But he was brought back to reality when he felt something that he
shouldn’t be feeling. His eyes snapped open to find that he couldn’t see the dildo between her thighs anymore.
“Don’t you
dare, woman!” he snarled when his mind caught up with him. Nel only grinned as she carefully stretched the hole to his anus with the dildo. This was payback for the times he made her beg (even though some sick part of her enjoyed those moments).
With a dark smirk that could rival his own, she glanced back at him from over her shoulder. “I suppose
this would be a more appropriate scenario for me to say ‘I’ll be gentle’.”
“If you push that thing in me, I will make you pay for it tenfold,” he growled darkly as he tried to pull against the restraint. For the first time in a long time, he wished that his limp arm were working so he could take control of the situation.
She wasn’t surprised to hear a threat from him. He wasn’t the type to ‘beg for mercy’ and she knew he would react badly to what she was doing since not many men in Airyglyph would willingly try this. She heard that it was because they were insecure about their sexuality, unlike Aquarians- though she had no proof if that was Albel’s problem. Of course, she wasn’t going
too far with it- she was only aiming for his prostate to give him extra pleasure.
“Bear in mind that I
will return the favor and I won’t be so ‘gentle’ about it,” he threatened again, earning a slight shiver from her. He may have thought it sounded intimidating in his mind, but all she could think about was how he would claim her. Even if he tried to be brutal about it, she was still aroused at the thought.
“Sounds fun. I can’t wait for you to have your way with me,” she remarked as she continued to slowly push the dildo in. This was the one time she was grateful that she listened to Astor that one drunken night. He described his first time with a man and how to properly prepare one for penetration so it wouldn’t hurt him. In fact, most of her knowledge of anal sex came from him. The stories disturbed her at first, but now that she had Albel, she was curious.
“Then I suppose you won’t mind if I stick something up your ass,” he continued with a growl as his body tensed beneath her.
“If you want me to stop, then just say so,” she chimed sweetly. She didn’t care if he did perform anal sex on her so long as he prepared her and that they took proper precautions. Astor mentioned that it would be ideal to cover the penis so that the one penetrating wouldn’t run into any…unsanitary messes.
Nel almost laughed when he stopped talking instantly. Despite all his protesting, he was just as curious and she could tell by how he was still hard that he wasn’t turned off by it. He was probably secretly enjoying it, but didn’t want to admit it.
When she believed it was in far enough, she tilted it some and pressed upwards. Albel let out a mix cry of surprise and a pleased moan. With a smirk, Nel pulled out a little and gently slid it against the area again to repeat the result. It was definitely a stronger feeling than before and he found that he
really liked it.
She stopped for a while to let him recover from the sensations and focused on licking his penis instead. She wasn’t sure if she could bring him to another orgasm without a release- he was so hard and close already. But if she could try to stimulate him quickly, maybe she could get away with it. If not- she would have to risk a huge mess on her blankets and find some clever story to give the maids.
The spy soon made up her mind as she engulfed his tip in her mouth and gripped the bottom of his shaft with her free hand. She resolved to try it. If he came, then she would swallow his seed if she had to. She didn’t want to, but she felt that it would be worth it just to hear him scream her name.
Albel moaned and thrashed about behind her as she alternated between stroking him and massaging his insides with the dildo. She just ignored him and focused on her timing. Nel was confident that her bind would hold and that he wouldn’t interfere- at least that’s what she thought until she felt a hand on her hip. Her cry of surprise was muffled as she felt her lower half being pulled back. A split second later, she felt his hand at her wet curls, followed by his hot tongue.
Somehow he had managed to break free, but thankfully he didn’t mind letting her finish what she started. It was getting hard to focus now that he was enthusiastically pleasuring her. Every gratifying throb made her accidentally apply more pressure to him and he replied by speeding up the strokes of his tongue. At first, he played around with her entrance, but then decided to focus solely on her clitoris. He felt like he was close and he wanted to make sure she at least came with him.
The pressure built up fast between them and Nel soon found herself letting out loud moan around his member before she started grinding against his tongue. She didn’t realize that he was also thrusting slightly into her mouth as he reached a climax. Fortunately for her, he didn’t release, but he was very close to the point of no return. He couldn’t allow himself time to recover as he roughly shoved her off him and pulled the dildo out of him before he thrown it across the room. He then moved to mount her from behind.
By the time Nel recovered, she discovered that her face was pressed against her bed and that something very hard was brushing against her bottom. She bit her lip as she wondered if he was going to follow through with his threat. Albel was tempted to exact his revenge right then and there, but he didn’t think he could hold out much longer. He heard anal penetration could hurt badly without proper preparation and he didn’t have much time or patience for that. Despite his raw need for release, he still didn’t want to hurt her.
Instead, he plunged into her vaginal entrance and rocked against her almost violently. He swung his burnt arm forward so he could rest on his elbow and pressed his chest against her back. His good arm traveled down to where they were joined so he could rub against her clit to help her climax faster. His head lowered to her ear so he could make his final threat for the evening.
“Mark my words, Nel,” he gasped out between labored breaths, “Next time I
will get my revenge on you and I’ll have you scream until you’re hoarse.”
Somehow a smile managed to appear on her lips. “Stop being so dramatic. You liked it and you know it.”
He couldn’t answer to that because he was too busy growling her name as he let go. Nel had blink as it felt like her insides were being flooded. It was the first time he came before her and she never really paid attention to the sensation before. Was there really
that much that came out? Once the initial waves were over and he stopped shuddering, his fingers started moving again.
“You don’t have to-”
“Be silent, woman. I will not leave you unsatisfied,” he interrupted as he rubbed harder against her. He was struggling to keep himself up and she was supporting most of his weight above her. But he was determined to finish her no matter how tired he was. She was touched that he would put her needs before his own and tried to move against him to stimulate herself faster. It was a hard thing to do considering that he was still inside her and that his body was getting heavier on her form.
After what felt like minutes, she considered faking it so that he could rest, but fortunately the warmth started to build up and her wave of ecstasy soon followed. A soundless scream was on her lips before she let out a genuine shudder. Her arms and legs soon collapsed from under her and she ended up bringing Albel down with her. When she opened her eyes again, she noticed that his good hand was now twined with hers and discovered how red it was. He must've forcefully pulled himself against the rope until his hand slipped loose. She resolved to remind herself to heal him in the morning.
But at the moment, she was too exhausted to even move. She couldn’t even muster up the strength to extinguish the lamp. She knew it would die off on its own so she didn’t bother worrying about it. Albel remained on top of her for almost an hour before he stirred and helped her under the covers of the bed. She was barely awake when it happened, but she remembered wrapping her arms tightly around him before she drifted off into a deep slumber.
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When she woke up that morning, she found Albel sitting at the edge of her bed, half dressed. He was still shirtless and was in the middle of rewrapping his hair. She noted that his hair was damp and decided that he must’ve taken a bath while she was asleep. She sat up and found herself directly behind him, giving her a good view of his Dragon Rune.
Without really thinking, she shifted over to wrap her arms around his torso and placed open-mouthed kisses on the skin of his back where the rune was. Some silly part in her mind was curious to see if the lines of the rune had a different taste or if her tongue could feel a difference between it and his skin. She wondered if Albel had similar thoughts when he traced the patterns of her runes.
The Wicked One nearly purred as he leaned back against her slightly. She smirked as she realized that he was probably sensitive there and any touch felt good to him. She briefly wondered why he never seemed to want to talk about his rune, but she figured that it could have something to do with his father. Since it was a family rune, his father most likely gave it to him when he was younger.
Her hands were moving of their own accord as they explored the lining of muscles on his abs and chest. Her fingers soon lingered on his nipples as she gave another sensual lick to his rune.
“Woman, don’t start something we can’t finish,” he warned her in a growl before he reluctantly pulled away from her by standing up. That snapped her out of her comfortable daze and reminded her what today was. It was possibly the final day of Elicoor- and they didn’t have much more time to spare.
“You’re right. Sorry,” she agreed with a sigh before she pondered the reason why she wanted to do that to him. She was rarely in the mood to seduce him in the mornings- she was too focused on getting ready for the day. Albel shook his head as if to tell her there was nothing to apologize for. He then turned to face her before he leaned down to kiss her. It was a chaste kiss- one that was almost
too sweet considering that it was from Albel the Wicked.
It was radically different from the kissing they did last night, but she found that she didn’t mind. It was…fairly enjoyable- even without the heat of passion behind it. Nel could feel her heart flutter at the gesture and soon realized that she was feeling very happy. When they pulled away, his face hovered over hers for a while as their eyes locked on to each other. There was a smile on both their faces, though his was much smaller than hers.
She soon shook her head to pull herself out of it. What on Elicoor was happening to her? She couldn’t even begin to explain her actions or why she was wasting her time with the man before her. She was still in bed- naked and smelling heavily of sex. She had to get up and get ready for the operation.
“I-I need to take a bath,” she announced, breaking whatever spell that was possessing them. Albel made a short humming noise before he backed away to give her space.
Nel tried to fix her bed and hope that the maids wouldn’t find anything that would give away her activities, but there was a distinct odor left behind. She gave up and left the blankets at the foot of the bed to let the mattress and the sheets air out. By the time she was done, Albel had finished dressing and was about to leave.
“Wait,” she called out before she cast a healing spell on his hand, curing it from the rope burn. He thanked her by kissing her forehead.
“I’ll be in the garden. I’m sure they will start once you get there,” he informed her before he headed to the window to leave. Nel had to stop herself from trailing after him. For some reason, she wanted another kiss, but she couldn’t figure out why. It wasn’t like her to desire for sentimental things like that. The spy pushed her confusing thoughts and feelings to the back of her mind and went back to focusing on what was important- to protect Elicoor or die trying.
It wasn’t until she was about to leave when she realized that the dildo was gone…
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Nel decided that maybe it wasn’t a lost cause after all. She could only imagine what they must’ve looked like- dragons and their riders flying towards three blood red vessels in the sky. Had she been on the ground, she would’ve laughed bitterly at their futile attempt to take on beings that were far beyond their technological capabilities. But- as a soldier defending her county, she couldn’t give up.
At first, it seemed like they were doing no damage. The Thunder Arrow’s beams seemed to die off on their shields. But the spy noticed that after a while, their shields seemed to get weaker. It wasn’t long before she managed to land a hit and one of the ships began to fall. She was able to see it explode just before it disappeared from her limited sight.
“No, it wasn’t the Diplo,” Maria said in answer to Fayt’s inquiry. Her tone seemed both hopeful and excited, “I think they pulled it off!”
“Yes! We got a chance now!” the boy cheered. Nel was also greatly relieved.
True- they were lucky in the sense that the enemy hadn’t fired at them (why, she wasn’t sure yet) and they’ve taken a long time to take down just one craft. But the fact that they
did take one down was encouraging enough. Had they had more time, the Thunder Arrow could’ve been fully completed and carried a better destructive capacity. If they had more copies of the weapon, then they could easily fend off any new invaders that might come along.
“What’s this?” Nel wondered out loud when she noticed the remaining two ships moving strangely. Before she knew it, they were flying away from them. “They’re…”
“They’re retreating!” Crosell roared in disgust.
It seemed the Vendeeni were getting desperate after finding that the Elicoorians had means to defend themselves. Their next plan was to attack the ship that Maria commanded. The spy could only guess that they were attempting to cut off any chance for Fayt to leave the planet. She could see a beam of light hit the silver ship before smoke started pouring out. The spy soon heard the disembodied voice sending a panicked message to Maria.
“We’re coming to help!” the girl promised before Fayt urged Crosell to fly faster. Nel felt a little powerless as they desperately tried to catch up to the enemy ships. She couldn’t even use the Thunder Arrow in fear of hitting the off-worlder’s ship by accident. Plus- she couldn’t fire long range without the beams getting completely absorbed by their shields.
“Diplo!” Maria called out in worry when it seemed that they weren’t going to make it in time.
Then, out of nowhere, a strange beam of light appeared and narrowly missed the Diplo. The Vendeeni ships were caught in the light and a split second later, they exploded. For a long while there was a stunned silence.
“What was that?” Cliff yelled incredulously when he recovered from the shock.
What came next went over Nel’s head. Whatever that beam of light was, the off-worlders knew nothing about it or where it had come from. They seemed immensely surprised that the power of it exceeded their own. The spy pulled away from the controls and tried to listen, but it was no use. All she could understand was that there were more of those beams and that they were heading to Fayt’s home world.
With the threat of the Vendeeni gone, they had no choice but to return to Castle Aquaria. From what she understood, their ship had been damaged and needed repairs before they could leave. It would take about an hour before the technology that allowed them to enter their ship could be repaired. When she finally climbed out of the control box, she could hear cheers from the castle courtyard.
The Dragon Brigade and the runologists believed that the beam of light came from Fayt and that the danger was over. They all believed that they had won. Nel could suppose that technically they did. Fayt and the others reassured her that the threat of Vendeeni invasion was successfully eliminated and that her planet could go back to worrying about their own problems.
Nel glanced around the deck to find that Albel wasn’t there. She managed to catch a glimpse of him heading back into the castle and wondered where he was going. She wanted to follow after him, but she had to report to her queen first. By the time she was done with her report, she had no clue where to look.
She ended up wandering the halls, hoping she could find him. Fayt and the others would be leaving soon and she knew the boy would want to say goodbye to the dark warrior. Luckily, she managed to find him leaving her room just as she turned a corner. She thanked Apris that there were no guards outside to see him come out. There was a slight smile on her lips as she rushed to catch up with the Wicked One, but it soon faded when she noticed that he had his travel bag with him.
“You’re leaving?” she asked, making him stop in his tracks. She was a little stunned to hear how disappointed she sounded.
Albel turned to face her. He appeared a little troubled and deep in thought, but his face soon relaxed in his casual scowl. “The danger’s past, so there’s no need for me to stay here. Is there?”
He left his question hanging in the air, sounding more like he wanted her to give him a reason to stay. Nel knew he had to return to Airyglyph when it was all over… but some part of her didn’t want him to go. She couldn’t think of a single reason or excuse to make him stay a little longer.
“I suppose so,” she had to agree hollowly before she remembered Fayt and the others. She could try to convince him to at least stay and see them off, “…but-”
“What is this I hear about you leaving?” an elderly voice called out from behind, interrupting the spy. Both warriors turned to find Woltar heading towards them with a sly grin to his wrinkled face. Nel tried not to scowl as she realized the old man had overheard them. Somehow he was just as good at sneaking around as she was.
“It’s none of your business, old man,” the Wicked One growled at him, seeming more cross than usual. Then again, Nel had to remind herself that this was how he usually acted around others. She had gotten so used to his kinder side that she had forgotten about the cold and angry persona he hid behind.
Woltar took his attitude in stride. He was used to his behavior and even knew why he did it. “That is a pity then. His Majesty had hoped that you would help out with the first peace talks.”
“I never agreed to that,” he snapped in annoyance, “I will support the cause, but I will not play the diplomat for him.”
The aged warrior let out a chuckle before he glanced over to Nel. “Then I suppose that the talks will be just between us, Lady Nel.”
It took all of her training not to make a face at that. Unless she found some way to escape her duties, she was going to have to spend more time with a man she didn’t totally trust. Her mind let out a sardonic,
“Oh joy…” “I look forward to discussing the future of our kingdoms with you,” she lied in a pleasant tone.
“Bah…what do I care?” Albel muttered as he turned sharply away, “There’s something I need to check on so I won’t be returning home for a while. I’ll be back in a week.”
That caught Nel’s attention. What did he need to check on? She was tempted to ask, but she had a feeling he wouldn’t answer her while Woltar was present. He preferred to keep his plans secret from others.
“That is unacceptable, boy. The Queen is making an effort of goodwill that involves you. You need to be present to accept or politely decline her offer. After that, you may do as you wish,” the elder man said sternly, sounding more like a parent than a concerned diplomat.
The spy figured that he was referring to the amputation and prosthetic surgery and was a little pleased to hear that the queen was going through with her idea so quickly. She worried that Albel wouldn’t catch on to it (as she hadn’t told him she had talked to the queen yet) and refuse to reply to the offer. She was about to open her mouth and tell him what Woltar’s words meant, but he shook his head and glared back at the old man.
“Fine, I’ll postpone my trip by a few days- but I refuse to stay in this disgusting city a moment longer. If you need me, I’ll be in Kirlsa.”
And with those vile parting words, he stormed off without sparing Nel a second glance. He was acting as if she wasn't there. The spy glared at his back before she wondered what his problem was. He never had any outward complaints about the city before (outside of his view of religion and those who ‘wasted’ their time worshiping) and he was acting as if he was highly offended about something. She didn’t recall hearing a single insult or implied criticism from the old man that would set him off like that.
Woltar let out a hearty laugh before he glanced over to the spy. “Do not take offense to the boy’s words. He was never fond of saying farewell to others- he would rather avoid them by parting ways first. We most likely ruined his plan to leave unnoticed.”
All at once, her ire faded and her eyes took on a warm look. That did fit with his behavior, but she hadn’t anticipated his reason. It seemed the Wicked One had grown fond of the off-worlders and didn’t want anyone to know he was going to miss them. …It was actually kind of cute.
*********************
It was about time for the off-worlders to leave and they all gathered in the garden to see them off. Adray also had trouble parting with good friends, but he still forced himself to come. He stood behind Nel stoically and only nodded to them every now and then, afraid that any word spoken would make him blubber like a child.
“Your Majesty, it’s time for us to leave your world. With the fleet destroyed, I hope things here will return to normal,” Fayt replied before he bowed. “I am very sorry for causing all this trouble.”
“On the contrary,” Romeria reassured him with a shake of her head. “We have learned that there are entire civilizations out there beyond our world. And we have learned that is not the time for foolish struggles between our countries.”
Fayt may have blamed himself for the Vendeeni invasion, but Nel truly believed he was the Arrow of Apris in the end. If he hadn’t have come, the war would still be going on. Or worse- Airyglyph could’ve conquered her kingdom. It was indeed ironic that it took a common enemy to make them form an alliance, but at least the fighting had stopped and they could continue to prevent a new war from starting now that they were cooperating with each other. But the spy knew it was going to be hard to eliminate all animosity between the citizens and the soldiers. She had to be careful, too, since she still despised the king and Woltar.
“Precisely. In order to avoid bringing the final prophecy of Apris to fruition in its worst form, we must not wage war,” the king agreed, sounding as noble as he could. Nel desperately tried not to growl and lash out at him.
If he truly believed that, then he wouldn’t have declared war to begin with. And- it really sickened her to hear him act so religious when he willingly prohibited the teachings of Apris in his own kingdom. The man was a two-faced hypocrite and Nel didn’t think she could ever find it in herself to forgive him. Albel would’ve been a better king than he.
It was almost as if Fayt had read her thoughts as he realized something was missing. “Huh? Where’s Albel?”
“He went back home,” Woltar answered before he recited Albel’s parting words to him.
Maria shook her head and gave a sad grin. “He didn’t even say goodbye… He’ll never change.”
Though Maria didn’t know him as well as Nel and Fayt did… She was only speaking to comfort Fayt since the boy wanted to see the dark warrior one last time. Nel noticed that the two had started to grow rather close- almost as if they had formed a similar sibling bond that she and Fayt had developed. It seemed the boy had the ability to charm women to the point of caring for him- not that Nel minded. All it meant was that Fayt had many ‘sisters’ who were willing to stand up for him when he was down. At least now the spy didn’t have to worry about Maria planning to kill him- she wouldn’t have the heart to do so anymore.
“I wanted to at least say goodbye,” the blue haired boy muttered pitifully as he glanced at the ground.
“We will tell him for you,” Arzei offered kindly with a nod.
“Thank you very much,” Fayt replied in a somewhat relieved tone.
“No, it is we who should thank you,” the king countered, making Nel roll her eyes. Was this a competition? The king’s humility act wasn’t fooling her any. He was probably only saying it to seem benevolent and humble, but she knew he was none of those things.
Maria soon turned to the spy with a more genuine smile as she added, “I’m glad we got a chance to know each other, even though our time together was brief.”
“I’m glad, too,” Nel responded as she fought back the painful reminder that she would most likely never see them again, “I’m glad Apris granted me the opportunity to meet you all. I wish you could stay.”
She really meant that. It was highly unexpected that she would grow to be so close to the off-worlders. At first she didn’t trust any of them, but now… she felt they were all her good friends. They treated her as an equal and accepted her at her worst moments. They were almost as near and dear to her as Clair was.
“Unfortunately, that’s not an option. As you have your world, we have ours as well,” the blue haired girl replied solemnly.
Nel could only nod in agreement. She knew she had to let them go. At least they were parting on good terms and- for once Nel didn’t have to say goodbye to a corpse. This parting was far better than the ones she was used to.
“I thought you might say something of the kind…” she responded before her eyes traveled over to Fayt. “I pray for your success in rescuing your father.”
“Thanks.” He nodded with a tiny hopeful grin.
Any other words that could’ve been shared were interrupted when Maria received another one of those ‘transmissions’ and she began communicating with that disembodied voice again. The spy was able to understand that they finished the repairs ahead of schedule and that Maria ordered them to ‘transport’ them.
Cliff and Mirage were the first to back away. Cliff gave a wave to Nel and Adray as his farewell. The bluenettes then stood closely in front of them and bowed to everyone before strange light circled around them and they disappeared. Fayt was the last one to fade away.
For a long while, those left behind stared up at the ship and watched it until it began to rise. Nel kept her eyes trained on the area where it vanished into the sky. She could hear Adray whimpering quietly behind her until he felt a tear escape his eye. He quickly wiped it away and then faced the others with a wide grin.
“Why are we wasting our time staring at the sky? We should be restoring our kingdoms to their former glory!”
That earned him bittersweet smiles from everyone-even Lasselle. Soon everyone began heading back into the castle to begin the first official peace talk. Nel followed after them slowly, but she couldn’t stop herself from looking up one last time. She knew she wasn’t alone- she still had Clair, Adray, and her subordinates. She even had Albel to keep her company.
But there was still a lonely pang in her heart because she knew she that unlike with her friends here, she wouldn’t be able to see the off-worlders ever again. They would someday become just a memory to her- just like those who had fallen in battle. And while she didn’t mean to have such a morbid thought, she realized that maybe this farewell wasn’t all that different from the many funerals she attended.
She soon scolded herself for getting so depressed before she forced a small grin on her face and headed in. She should instead focus on being grateful for the new future that Fayt and the others secured for her country. Adray was right- they had work to do to rebuild the kingdoms. It was going to be hard work, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.
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Sorry all loyal Albel fans for what I did to him. I was just proving a point that he didn't have to be gay to enjoy it and I wanted Nel to have a way to really pleasure him without having to use her fingers up there. The next chapter might not have much plot progression since it's going to tie up a few loose ends before the leap into the next arc, but I should hope it'll still be entertaining enough. See you next week!
