Star Ocean (All Series) Fan Fiction ❯ Far From a Fairytale ❯ Beauty and the Beast ( Chapter 7 )

Chapter Six: Beauty and the Beast

 

A/N: Hello, everyone! Sorry about the long wait, but think of it like this, you have a really nice and long chapter ahead of you that actually begins the plot of this story. I just want to thank all of my readers and reviewers out there and, actually, this chapter turned out even longer than I had planned, well, I hope you all enjoy it anyway. : )

 

(-)-(-)

 

Bright, the room was overly bright; the light seemed to burn right through his weakly shut eyelids. Albel heard a small moan as it escaped his lips; sleep was still heavy upon his body and mind. Yet, in mere minutes he sat up, his black and blonde hair disheveled, and his blood red eyes hazy. Even so, they acknowledged that the plate, which had once contained reminisces of the cherry pie, was now gone. The girl had obviously been in his room.

 

Slowly he got up. His eyes swept over the room and took in the sight of folded clothes. They looked as if they had been lain out for him to wear, once again, the work of the girl. After all, who else would enter his room, surely none of the other maggots? Yes, that seemed the most likely conclusion, and he was almost positive that she wanted him to wear the fabrics.

 

He made his way over to the clothes, picked them up, and then placed them on the messy bed. He checked out each article and was able to figure out what was what, thus, he took off his normal attire and put on the foreign clothes. The shirt he had on was a deep red and the jeans were pitch black, and the tightness of the fabrics against his skin were backwards to what he was use to, instead of his form fitting top-the red shirt was loose-and the pants that replaced his slack purple skirt were taut. He sighed.

 

As he walked down the stairs (rather clumsily) the new outfit felt so alien on his body, and his bare feet appeared unable to contain a good sense of balance. Nevertheless, he made it to the bottom and was greeted by a very cheerful Peppita, who was decked out in colors most would say resembled a bumble bee.

 

Peppita had on her skin tight shorts, and a rather large yellow T-shirt, which slide down slightly to reveal her left shoulder. Her blonde hair was set in the normal pigtail style, yet, both ponytails were done up in braids. With her eyes set upon Albel, her bright eyes glowed, and a large smile grew onto her face. She bounced her way over to Albel, “That shirt matches with your eyes, Albel!”

 

“Bah, so what, I don't like it.” His voice was rather harsh when he spoke and he gave Peppita an annoyed glare. For him, the hour was too early to deal with such energy.

 

Peppita looked saddened by those words, “Why don't you like the shirt. Sophia took an extra long time to pick it out. You know, she really likes your eyes, always talking about how they are the most unique eyes she has ever seen.”

 

“That's okay; I figured he wouldn't be overly found of the shirt, after all, I think his favorite color might be purple.” Sophia let out a minute giggle and her eyes shown with laughter. Albel just let out an aggravated sigh and began to walk away from the two-cheerful-females. Nevertheless, they followed behind him and into the kitchen.

 

“You should be more grateful to Sophia, Albel! Just imagine if she hadn't picked out your clothes. Who knows what you could have ended up wearing.” Her voice was forceful, in her childish way, and her face stern.

 

“Why, what maggot would have picked out my outfit beside the girl?” Albel asked, even though, his voice didn't sound as interested in the conversation as it could have, and by then they entered the kitchen; Mirage was relaxed at the table.

 

She let out a short and soft laugh, “Well, Cliff was more than willing to pick out clothes for Nel, I'm sure he wouldn't have minded picking out some articles for you either. Then again, Nel didn't wear what Cliff picked out for her anyway; really, he must be an idiot if he thought she would put that on!” Mirage shook her head and rolled her eyes; her hand held a cup of steaming coffee.

 

“A maid's outfit! Is he out of his mind? I swear! Did he really expect me to wear something like that? And were did he get such an outfit? Oh, he is the most perverted man I have ever met!” Nel's voice was brought into the conversation, “If it hadn't been for Sophia, I would have been humiliated.” Her red hair fell into her deep green eyes and her arms were crossed over a simple black T-shirt. Her legs were covered by a mid-thigh black skirt. Her anger rolled off of her aura in waves.

 

Albel walked past the spy and took a place at the table. He made a grab for an apple, but Sophia snatched it away from him. “Apples may be good for you, but I swear, it is all I ever see you eat. So, instead, you are going to have a wonderful homemade meal.”

 

Albel had let the thought that she might have just cleaned up from a previous breakfast that she had made for the others. But…Since she hadn't uttered a word about it, he didn't see any need to vocalize it, after all, he wasn't bothered by the idea of a homemade meal, from her, at all.

 

(-)-(-)

 

“I promise that it will be much more fun than you think it will be, Peppita.” Voiced Sophia, her tone hinted at a small dose of persuasion. They were to go to the old museum; this would inform Albel, Nel, and Adray in on some of Earth's history, and was thought of to be the best place to start their week long reunion. Of course, Peppita was not a type of teenaged girl who liked museums, thus, she protested for as long as she could. In the end though, she gave into Sophia, no pout upon her lips, but disappointment shone deeply in her eyes.

 

Sophia sighed, with a mixture of relief and weariness, who would have thought that the girl could and would be so stubborn? “Well, one scenario down, one more to go.” Slowly she walked up the stairs and knocked on Albel's door. She then heard a muffled sound, which she assumed to be “Come in”, and thus, made her way into the room.

 

Albel lain upon the bed, his hair was not done up in its usual hairstyle of two wrapped strands, instead, his hair was loose and hung freely around his lithe body. His form was twisted in both the comforter and the sheets, and in that moment, Sophia thought that he looked like a fallen angel. In that second of unnoticed attention, Albel gave off a mixture of untouchable wretchedness and undeniable beauty, and it made Sophia wonder how a thing can both be wicked and humane-bitter and sweet-mature and immature all at the same time. How can one person hold true to so many contradictions and still keep their sanity? Or, are all humans like that, and they just don't realize it in themselves-only in others? The queries made Sophia's head feel as if she were about to drown.

 

Even still, she had one last question that she was required to ask, and this one had to be verbalized. How Albel was to take the issue, Sophia had hardly any idea, though; he seemed more open around her than any of the other companions. Sophia readied herself for any possible outcome, and then cleared her throat, for; she wanted to make her presence known to Albel.

 

“I was wondering when you were going to speak up.” Albel let out a soft and short laugh; a smirk plastered to his thin features.

 

Shock played across Sophia's face, as strands of her light brown hair fell into her radiant green eyes. “Oh…um…I-I d-d-didn't realize that you knew I was here.” Here she paused, took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and then cleared her throat (as if to start all over again), “There's a favor I have to ask of you, Albel. You see, on this planet (Earth)…not many people walk around with metal claws. So, could you possibly just…take off your claw for the week?” Her voice got softer and softer with each word she spoke, a hint of uncertainty and fear lurked in her tone.

 

She took in a sharp breath and her eyes snapped shut; her body prepared for any for any form of a lash out, yet, no such thing ever came. Sophia opened her eyes gingerly and watched Albel gently take off his metal claw in silence. Light poured into the, rather small, room through the small window above the bed. Sunlight glinted off of the metal claw as Albel placed it upon the unmade bed; his arm slumped-unless-to his side.

 

“Thank you.” Her head was bent and her eyes were narrowed in melancholy, she understood how hard it must have been for him; he began to walk towards the door. “Aren't you going to put your hair up like you usually do?”

 

“Whatever. If I go by what you say, then I'm sure that my hairstyle isn't normal here either. Am I right?” By now he was right in front of her. His hair cascaded around his body, a white shine glowed around him, the sign of the day still in its early hours. His crimson eyes stared down into her own; they seemed to hypnotize her, and the more she gazed into them, the more she wondered if all the people he killed were what stained them such a color. Sharply she broke away from his hold on her; movement came back into her muscles and her voice became known again as she gasped.

 

“Y-You're right. The way you normally wear your hair would make you stick out like a sore thumb here on Earth.”

 

“Then give me a hairstyle that is more normal.” His voice held command in it, and Sophia felt the urge to just due as he said, thus, she nodded her head.

 

She turned around and said, as she left the guest room, “I'll be back in a second, so don't go anywhere!”

 

The sound of footsteps as they headed towards the room could be heard in almost an instant. Sophia had returned with an elastic in her hand and it was thick, since Albel had quite a bit of hair. “I'm going to put your hair up into a ponytail; do you want it high or low?”

 

“Low.”

 

Sophia gave a sigh that turned into a softhearted laugh, “Somehow, I figured you say as much.” She walked behind Albel and then came to the conclusion that he was much taller than her and mentally slapped herself because of the obviousness of her unsaid statement. “Would you mind sitting down on the bed, Albel?”

 

He just started to walk over to the bed and sat down upon it, he gave no sign of acknowledgement, but Sophia had expected as such. Thus, once beside the bed she crawled on and moved behind Albel. His hair was so long that it ran into the fabrics of the bed. So, when she began her work of putting his hair up into a ponytail, she was cautious, after all, she didn't want to pull any of his hair-she knew enough of how much that hurt.

 

Her long fingers tangled themselves in his two shaded hair. As her fingertips swept over each strand, she noted on how smooth and well-kept each one of his locks were, whether they were black or blonde. And as she gathered the mane into her palms; black and blonde twisted together, such contradiction even in his hair. In mere minutes she finished and his hair was now set in a ponytail. “There, all set!” She smiled widely at him from behind.

 

“Um, Albel, I was wondering. What color hair did your parents have?” Sophia asked shyly, for, she wanted to know about Albel's odd hair color, but was unsure of where she stood when it came to his parents.

 

“My father had black hair.” That was all he said, he made no act to show that he was to say more.

 

“What about your moth-”

 

“Shut up!” His cold words cut right through Sophia's sentence, thus, she decided to change the topic.

 

“Okay, how about your eyes; did you get them from your father?” He made no reply and, in most cases, people would take such a thing as a yes, but Sophia took it as a no. “Then your eyes must have come from your-”

 

“Stop!” They were still on the bed, yet, Albel whipped around; a look of almost insanity swam in his blood red irises. Without a sign to warn her, Albel pinned her into the messy bed, his body over her own and their faces only inches away from each other. Leisurely, he brought his lips to her ear and whisper, “Stop. Why can't you…” Here he trailed off as he moved his lips down from her ear and toward her own pink lips. As he his mouth hovered centimeters away from her own, he whispered, “…ever just shut up.” And his lips captured hers.

 

Wide and almost fearful green eyes gradually shut as she felt his touch-so tender-and so opposite of what he showed everyone. Her mind froze and her sense of touch seemed to be intensified, all she wanted to do was make this connection between them last-to deepen. But, Albel had no such thought, as he pulled away from her. Sophia's eyes were only half opened as they glanced over at Albel who had got off of the bed, her eyes told of her want for more. He was no genie, though, and her wish went un-granted.

 

He dipped down next to her once again, lips by her ear, “It seems that the only way I can get you to shut up, is by kissing you.” He then grazed his thin lips over her ear; he left the room. Sophia was left to ponder just what went through that man's mind, but, all the answers she came up with just confused her and just created more questions for her to answer. Though, the ultimate question still stood:

 

Why?

 

(-)-(-)

 

“Oh man! What's taking them so long, Mirage?” Peppita whined and pouted as she stood at the bottom of the stairs in the living room. Her patience had run too thin, she could no longer hold in her annoyance.

 

“I'm sure they will be down any minute now, Peppita, just be a little more patient.” Came the calm and collected voice of Mirage.

 

“Or, based on what we saw this earlier, the two could be having a really interesting time, if you know what I mean.” The voice of Cliff was heard in the background, but was soon silenced by loud `smack', which they all could assume came from Nel.

 

“I swear you are the most disgusting man I have ever met!” Nel's voice rang through the small area.

 

Silence took over the room, though, that moment came and went, “Ow… that hurt…” Cliff's voice took on a childish tone as he complained.

 

“Well, that was a late reaction, and don't even think about asking me to help you out of this mess. I can safely put forth that I have no say in this.” Fayt let his tone of voice be deadpan.

 

Meanwhile, Maria added in a short, “You never learn, do you.” And she said it in such a way that it was a statement, not a question.

 

“Why is it that no one seems to know how to just be quiet around here?” Albel walked down the stairs and Peppita made a headlong run to glomp him, alas, he moved out of the way and Peppita hit the floor with a loud `thump'.

 

Peppita just got up from the floor and turned to glare at Albel. Her hand rubbed a spot on her head that, most likely, hurt the most. “Owie, that really hurt, ya know!”

 

Albel just turned his back to the fifteen-year old. “Well, it was your own dumb fault. The only one you have to blame for getting hurt is yourself.” After Albel's words, footsteps were heard in the direction of the stairs.

 

Sophia came down them; her appearance did not show of what took place above, instead she just frowned. “It doesn't matter whose fault it is, the fact remains that she is hurt. Come here, Peppita, let me see where you hurt yourself.”

 

Peppita got up, her eyes lined with unshed tears, and walked over to Sophia, “Now, let me have a look at your head…Oh, it's nothing that big, just a tiny bump. You should be okay, now go and apologize to Albel.”

 

Peppita glared at Sophia, sighed, and mumbled out an apology; Albel just nodded his head to show that he heard her and accepted the apology. “You have to apologize too, Albel.”

 

“What are you, a fool? I have absolutely nothing to apologize for.” And with that Albel marched over to the door, threw it open, and then took off.

 

Sophia ran after him, “Wait, Albel, you don't even know where we are going yet!” Her panicked voice could be heard, even though, she was now outside of the house. The others just shrugged there shoulders and strolled out after the two.

 

“When did Albel start wearing his hair in a low ponytail?” Fayt asked once he was outside.

 

“Since today, kid,” was the answer he received from Adray.

 

(-)-(-)

 

Once everyone caught up with Albel and Sophia, they began to walk to the museum, since it was such a nice day out. Peppita held tight to Sophia's hand and the two both graced the world with smiles that even a blind person could see.

 

Since it was such a nice day out, they had all decided to walk to the museum, and for that, Albel was thankful; he didn't want to ride in one of those metal carriages. He hated this place-this Earth-were all the things he thought to be normal were abnormal, and all the things he found abnormal were normal. What a pain.

 

Albel's eyes slid to the side, and he caught the form of Sophia and Peppita, the stupid girl was doing it, yet again, how it aggravated him. Her true emotions were hid behind a fake smile, but her eyes frowned and held confusion in their depths. He felt a small growl be released from his lips, which Sophia and Peppita heard. Both turned to look at him.

 

“Are you okay, Albel?” Sophia asked another emotion joined all the others in her overcrowded eyes-concern. He hated that emotion. He despised it.

 

“I'm fine, but your not.” The statement was said so plainly that it shocked Sophia more than it should have.

 

“What are you talking about? I am, too, fine.” Determination played itself across her face when she said those words.

 

“Damnit, what a bunch of lies, you're not fine! A smile may be on your face, but no smile is lit in your eyes. Stop running away from your problems, stop thinking that you can just lock everything away and then it will be okay, just stop!” Albel's blood dyed orbs shone with frustration as he yelled at Sophia, who was now on the verge of tears, and when he was finished with his small rant-Sophia was crumpled to the floor tears in her eyes.

 

By now, all the others stopped to watch the two, and when Sophia crumbled to the ground, Fayt was by her side in an instant. “What do you think you're doing, Albel! Did you really want to make her cry like this?” Fayt bent down next to the tear filled girl.

 

“No, Fayt, I can handle this.” Her voice was shaky, but she didn't trip over any of her words, nor did she go into another fit of tears. Instead, she stood up, as straight as she could be, “I want to get stronger, so I have to do this on my own. You hypocrite! You contradict yourself everywhere, with everything that you do, even your looks are contradictive! You wanted me to show my true feelings? Okay, why did you do what you did back there? Huh? Tell me! Tell me now, because, you know, you hide too…” Her eyes never moved away from his.

 

“I don't know.” He looked at the ground when he spoke, and then began to walk away, he didn't even bother to look back. If he had, he would have seen the frown and the confusion on Sophia's face.

 

(-)-(-)

 

Finally, they were at the museum. It seemed as if they were bound to never reach their destination, yet, they did. Of course, Sophia and Albel had yet to say a word to each other since their argument, such a thing was expected. On a lighter note, at the moment Sophia listened as Adray explained how he had ended up in the whole reunion.

 

He told her how he had heard of the Troupe's arrival in Peterny and figured that a lot of young and worthy men for his daughter would be there. Nel had caught wind of his plan and had told him that Clair had wanted to talk to him in her room; of course, Sophia realized that this was a lie as Adray informed her of this detail, but he seemed oblivious. Of course, he had gone to “meet” Clair, only to find that she wasn't in the room at the time. He came to the conclusion that something came up and that she was unable to make it, so, he tried to exit the room only to find it locked. Sophia, whom was now lost in the tale, asked how he got out of the room, and Adray had simply said that he continually rammed himself into the heavy door until it was broken off its hinges and fell to the floor. By that point, Sophia was slightly disturbed and no longer interested in his story; she realized that she was better off in the dark when it came to the end.

 

Sophia kept an eye on everybody as they explored the museum. She was pleased to see that Nel, Albel, and even Peppita were interested in the exhibits that the museum had to offer. As she watched them examine the 20th and 21st century exhibit, she caught on to Peppita, whom seemed attracted to a 20th century book on display. Thus, Sophia rushed over to her, eyes wide, and once she was by the younger female's side, simply said, “Put that down Peppita!”

 

“Oh, but I just want to look at it, I heard my mother talk about these books and movies. She said her mother use to read them to her when she was younger. Please, can't I just have one look at the pictures inside? Please!” The blonde haired girl pleaded and Sophia almost gave in.

 

Yet, she held her ground, “No, you can't Peppita, now let me put the book away.” Sophia grabbed the book out of the girl's hand and held it in her own. Yet, she began to feel a familiar sensation in her fingertips, as the dreaded symbols flowed through her veins. But why were her powers in activation now? It didn't make any sense at all! She let out such a large gasp one could almost say that it was a scream.

 

That alerted all the others and they ran over to the two females; though Albel, whom was the closest to them, got their first, “What the hell is going on?” He looked at the two who were surrounded in a faint white light, due to Sophia's connection powers, and grasped Sophia's arm. And, it just so happens, that at that moment…All three of them disappeared.

 

(-)-(-)

 

Peppita, Albel, and Sophia crashed into the ground as they reappeared. The only thing wrong with them were that they were slightly shaken up, they were all fine otherwise. As the three looked around, they were instantly able to tell that they were not in Tokyo; at least, not in the present Tokyo they had just been in, for, as Albel looked around he found that a lot of the buildings he had seen in the museum exhibit were all around them.

 

“We're in the 20th century!” Sophia exclaimed her eyes wide and her mouth opened only slightly in surprise.

 

“What! No way! How did we end up here?” Peppita asked, her voiced filled to the brim with panic. “Albel, how did we end up here, Albel…Sophia?” She flung herself at a distracted Albel, and, she didn't even realize that Albel would have none of the answers to seek. Peppita only knew that Albel made her feel better-safe-and that was what she wanted at the moment.

 

“Peppita, get off Albel right now! This isn't a time to panic like that, we just need to keep calm and think.” Sophia ordered Peppita.

 

“Yeah, you're right Sophia.” She immediately released herself from Albel; a look of indifference was held on his face, as if he wanted to ignore something.

 

Sophia sighed and then walked over to Albel, “What do you suggest we do, Albel?”

 

He looked at her, but confusion was evident on his face, and fear struck Sophia. “Albel, can you understand me?”

 

He then said something; yet, Sophia was unable to understand what it was. Why couldn't he understand her, she had her communication device on her, so everything should be fine…So, why?

 

Sophia was terrified now and it didn't help when she heard Peppita speak up, “This century's technology must not be able to let our communication devices work.” Her voice sounded as hopeless as Sophia felt. What were they to do now?

 

They couldn't understand Albel, and Albel couldn't understand them, at that moment, Sophia wished she had to save the world all over again; she had the distinct impression that it would be easier.

 

(-)-(-)

 

Meanwhile, the others just looked at the spot where the three had vanished into, what most would consider thin air, “What book was Peppita holding Fayt?” The interested and slightly worried voice of Mirage came up behind Fayt, whom was right next to the area where Albel, Peppita, and Sophia had stood only minutes before.

 

Here he picked up the book and looked at the front cover; he looked at the plain and simple words printed across it, and spoke, “She was holding the book called `Beauty and the Beast'.”

 

(-)-(-)

 

A/N: Well, that's it everyone. I'm sure you have quite a few questions and I'm 99.9% sure that they will eventually get answered. But, for right now, just go along with what I have written. Anyway, I hope you all liked it and please tell me what you think in a review! Thanks and please take care! Ja ne. : D

 

-LilyGinnyBlack-