Penguin

by: insane_xelas

Author's note: don't let the title confuse you! Don't judge it personally, it's just a title for this silly little fic I made. Why don't you just read on and see...)

Shaila was in her bedroom one early morning, not bothering to wake up. It was so cold and she felt so weird. Then, she jumped out of bed when she heard 5 knocks on her door. She thought that it was Graushaila, so she ran to get it and opened it. But she saw no one.
She frowned and looked around. "Hey, Grou, if it's you, I hate your tricks!!!" she called in annoyance. Then, she heard a "Squawk!" and looked down. She raised an eyebrow and knelt down, facing it. "How did you get in?" she asked sternly. It was a penguin...stupid-looking but cute, but she didn't let it affect her. She patted its head gently. "I thought it was Graushaila-sama but it was only you...sorry..." she said to it. She knew that it wouldn't understand her but she kept on speaking to it. The penguin looked up at her with a wondering look on its face. She smiled gently. "Get in and wait 'til I get dressed; then I'll bring you back to your cage." she said. The penguin squawked again and walked in with its own silly manner of doing it. Shaila giggled and followed, then, shut the door.
The penguin went up to her bed and sat down there, watching her. Shaila went into the bathroom and left the penguin there. It laid down on the bed. After a few minutes, she got out, ready. She got the penguin and carried it in her arms. "Let's go." she said.
***
Shaila went to the penguin cage at the back of Graushaila's icy castle. The cage was huge and filled with 100 penguins, all belonging to Graushaila. Those penguins were kind of special to him because they were smart and can do more stunts than any ordinary penguin can. Shaila scanned the cage and she began counting them by 10's. "10, 20, 30, 40...." and she found out that the penguins were complete. "...100?! But..." she looked at the penguin in her arms. "You mean, you are a stray one, huh?" she asked. "Squawk!" it replied. She giggled. "You sound funny when you reply!" she remarked. "Squawk!" it repeated. She stopped giggling and her expression turned stern when Grau appeared behind her. "Ohayo." he greeted. "What are you doing here, you should be attending to Graushaila-sama!" Shaila pointed out. Grau shrugged. "I know but he left this note for you." he said, handing it to Shaila. Shaila put down the penguin and snatched the letter from Grau's grasp and read it aloud for Grau to also hear it:

Dear Shaila,
        I'll be away for quite some time starting today, please take charge. Grau & Grou will help you. And by the way, take care of the penguin I found last night. He's a good one. I hope you can manage; I know you can because you are the most responsible general I've ever known. Don't let me down. I'll see you in a few days...

Graushaila

Shaila scratched her head and looked at Grau. "Well, I guess we'll be stuck here for some days,  week or so..." she told Grau. "We can never be so sure...he didn't even say when he will return..." Grau told her.
Then, she frowned. "Okay, get to work. Go tell the other servants to clean up the whole castle. I'll be roaming around here and the whole North Foothold and at the same time, I'll be checking on you guys, okay?" she asked.
Grau grinned. "Sure!" he said, teleporting off. Shaila turned to the penguin. "I guess you'll be coming with me..." she said. The penguin flapped its wings. She smiled again. "Let's eat." she told the penguin. "Squawk!" it replied. Shaila giggled and carried it with her and teleported going to the servants' dining area.
***
The servants had begun cleaning the whole castle. Shaila was patrolling around, teleporting up and down, checking each room. The penguin was with her and she carried it along with her like it's some kind of a special possession or something. "I'd like to name you." she told it. "Squawk!" it said. Shaila began to think. "How about Duo? Since you have black and white feathers?" she asked. The penguin shook its head. "I know! Kinkin?" she asked. The penguin just looked at her. She smiled. "Okay, Kinkin!" she said. The penguin squawked. Shaila hugged it like a stuffed toy. "I'm glad you like it." she said cheerfully as they went inside the sitting room. Inside were sofas and couches and lots of tea tables and coffee tables. There were a few books and magazines all in a shelf made of ice. At the center of the wall on the left side of the room was the picture of Graushaila and below it was a family portrait which included him, Garv, Xelas, Fibrizo, Dolphin and LON. Shaila approached the pictures and smiled. "This is my master, his name's Dynast Graushaila. He's also known as the Ha-ou or Supreme King. He's such a handsome demon, huh?" she asked Kinkin.
Kinkin squawked again in agreement. Kinkin looked up at Shaila and stared at her green eyes. Then he noticed her expression turning gentle as she looked at her master's face at the picture. "Squawk!" he said. Shaila caressed his feathers gently. "I hope he's okay wherever he is...I feel quite uneasy whenever he goes off without telling me personally. It happens sometimes but I want to be with him when he is fighting. I want to protect him...if only he knew how much I wanted to cry whenever he comes home injured or hurt by a demon stronger than he is like the Hell Master or the other Lords besides Shabranigudo-sama."she explained. "Squawk!" Kinkin replied. Shaila smiled and looked at him. "Just a secret okay? Coz if anyone else finds out, they might wring my neck like a duck..." she said. Kinkin flapped his right wing.
"Shaila, could you come here for a sec?" Grou said, entering suddenly and made Shaila jerk. Shaila's expression turned stern again as she faced him. "What now?" she asked. "Could you help me fix that leak in Graushaila-sama's bathroom? It's beginning to flood there." he told her. Shaila put down Kinkin. "You wait here, okay?" she ordered. Kinkin flapped his wings in a "yes". Shaila & Grou teleported. Kinkin was left alone there. Then, he blinked and his body began to glow and he began to transform...until it was Graushaila standing there. His expression was hard and serious but his mind was bothered with thoughts. He looked at his picture. "You are a fool, Graushaila." he said to himself aloud. Then, he went to the window and gazed out. He felt so foolish and his heart was beating fast. "I am making her worry too much about me..." he thought bitterly. Then, Xelloss appeared with Xelas right in front of him. "Graushaila," she began.
Graushaila turned to them. "Oh...the two of you again." he muttered glumly. "What's the big idea turning yourself into a penguin?!" Xelas said, approaching him. Graushaila laughed at her airily. "Why? Did you find it cute and you wanted one for yourself?" he teased. "That's not what I mean!" Xelas wailed angrily. Xelloss approached Graushaila. "Ruby Eye-sama called for her children this morning and you were the only one absent there, Graushaila-sama." he told him. "Who cares..." Graushaila said, shrugging. "I care because Ruby Eye had to send me here to get you; and you know so much how I hated going here because it is too cold and it dries my skin!" she said. Graushaila snickered. "Well then, live with it! I'm not going! Tell him I'm not feeling very well." he said. "Hmf!" Xelas said before teleporting off. Graushaila turned to Xelloss. "Don't ever tell my minions that I turned myself into a penguin okay? I gotta observe their performance if I'm not around." he said. Xelloss smiled. "Sure manure!" he replied before teleporting. Then, he transformed himself into a penguin again when he felt Shaila's aura approaching. Shaila appeared there again. "Sorry if I left you here, I had to attend to that problem." she told the penguin. Kinkin hoped that she could tell him more of how she feels. He ran to Shaila, wanting her to carry him in his arms and hug him endlessly. Shaila did so. "I wonder if Graushaila-sama would let me keep you as a pet?" she asked. "Squawk!" Kinkin said.
***
Shaila was patrolling around the area of responsibility outside the castle. Kinkin walked along with her. "Nice weather, huh?" she asked. Kinkin tripped on the snow and Shaila stopped to help him get up again. She brushed the snow off the feathers of his face, back, wings and head. "You'd better be careful." she said. "Squawk!" he replied happily.
They continued to walk around 'til Shaila was too tired to do so, and she had to sit down on an old bench covered in snow. But, she brushed off the snow first before she could do so. Kinkin climbed up the bench and sat down beside her. "That was tiring...on the way back, we teleport." she told him. Kinkin was silent.
Shaila looked up at the skies. They weren't clear, just grayish blue with a little sunshine, not much to melt the snow. Everything was calm and quiet. She likes it when the weather is like that. "You know what, Kinkin," she began. Kinkin looked at her. Shaila blinked twice, then closed her eyes. "I love my master..." she said in almost a whisper. "Squawk?!" Kinkin reacted. Shaila opened her eyes and looked at him, smiling gently. "...I don't know why...but ever since I began to serve him, I was already captured by his stare... and the way he moves...he speaks to me...I don't care if he scolds me sometimes, even though it hurts my feeling...but as long as I know what I feel, I would always be there for him...um...I sound like nonesense, huh? Well sorry coz,...I'm just...um...not some kind of a sure that I'm some kind of a sure that...oh what the heck!?" she bonked her own head. Kinkin was silent, just looking up at her. Shaila noticed that his eyes were green...which reminded her of Graushaila's eyes. That made her smile again. "Shall we go back? It's time for me to check on those servants. I want Graushaila-sama to be happy when he returns...problem is, I don't know when." she said as she got up and carried Kinkin in her arms once again and they teleported back to the castle...
***
That night, Shaila teleported herself to her room, feeling very exhausted because of patrolling around and checking on everyone but herself. She went to the bed and Kinkin sat up, looking up at her. "Good evening, Kinkin." she greeted. "Awwk..." it said. Shaila smiled and patted its head. Kinkin flapped his wings in happiness. Shaila sat down on her bed and began to undo her braid. Next, she began to brush her hair. Kinkin watched as she did so, adoring her beautiful, shiny blue hair. Shaila put down her brush on the bedside table and opened the lamp. She went to the main switch of the room and turned it off. Then she went to the closet to change into her sleeping attire. She brought out a white one with thin straps and soon began to change. Kinkin watched her silently, but was feeling panicky (hey, after all, Kinkin is Graushaila!).
Shaila went to the bed and jumped in, and after letting Kinkin lie down and covering themselves with her blanket, she laid down finally and turned off the lamp. Only the moon outside served as the nightlight. She closed her eyes gently, feeling sleep conquering her whole self, 'til finally, she dozed off. Kinkin's body began to glow again and transformed into Graushaila. He laid there still, not knowing what to do or what to say. His expression turned gentle when he turned to his side to look at her. "She loves me..." he thought.
Then, he reached out and touched her bare shoulders, feeling them against his fingertips. "Shaila..." he whispered. Shaila moved a little, clutching her blanket. "Graushaila-sama...my Graushaila-sama..." she said softly, almost a whisper.
Graushaila smiled as he heard her lovely voice. He moved closer to her and embraced her from behind, knowing that she isn't much of a light sleeper when she is very tired like this. And he leaned his head forward to her ears and whispered softly, "I love you too..." until he fell asleep. Shaila's lips formed into a gentle smile.
***
The next morning, Graushaila had awoken ahead of her and he left the room immediately. Shaila woke up two hours later and she was able to do so because she heard 5 knocks on her door. She sat up in bed and looked around for Kinkin but he wasn't there. She just shrugged and went to the door and opened it, to her surprise, it was Graushaila. "Graushaila-sama!? When did you return?!" she asked.  Graushaila smiled at her slyly. "Since last night..." he replied in a smooth manner...like the way he usually does. Shaila smiled happily, not knowing what to say.
He looked at her from head to toe and she noticed it too, and she covered her shoulders with her hands. "Um...Sorry if I'm not properly dressed...but I'll be with you in just a moment, sir...after I get dressed." she said hesitantly because she felt so sheepish to be meeting him in that kind of a get-up. She was near to closing the door, but he stopped her. She looked at him. "Naze ka?" she asked.
He looked shyly at her. "Did you miss me?" he asked. Shaila blushed. "Um...yeah...in a sense that...I missed your commanding voice which tells me to run errands like do this and do that and..."
"No! I meant...um...did you really miss me?" he repeated, cutting her off that sentence which she tried to state. She looked down. "Guess I did...and I was worried..." she said.
"Worried? Tell me all about it..." he said. Shaila looked at him. "Well...it's just that...um... I get so worried whenever you leave without me...because I am afraid that something might happen to you..."she explained in a soft voice. Graushaila smiled. "Don't worry, I feel the same way..." he said. She looked at him with surprise. "How come?" she asked. "Same reason. I worry that you might be worrying about me...I wouldn't want that to happen." he said. Shaila smiled and laughed dryly. He did the same. Then, they stopped. He kept on looking at her. "In fact, I missed you so much that I could kiss you right now..." he told her.
Shaila jerked when she heard that statement. "Wh...what?" she stammered, taking a step back. But he grabbed her in his arms and began to kiss her...
...No harm done there...

-End-

For comments or flames or if you want me to make a sequel or if you want to make a sequel for this instead, just e-mail me at this address: insane_xelas@hotmail.com