Aurora Zade

Offering a military salute by crossing their hands over their chest they stood facing her.

Jelena Savage was not as old as one would expect from the leader of an entire race. She was only 17, even younger than Axel by a whole two years! Her hair was braided just above both her ears, her eyes watched coldly like a hawk and inside them, one could sense ruthlessness emanating from her whole being. Her voice was a bat match for her personality, she sounded nothing like who she was. This was a strong woman, who ruled with fear and an iron fist.

Axel could only stare at her with a complicated expression. Before she had to take on this mantle of Chieftess, they would eat together in the cafeteria and have a small talk every mealtime. Until one day when she never came. And the next day, he was appointed as the librarian of the Archives.

As for Gretel? She was much older than them both being in her early thirties. She used to be part of the old Administration and worked as the Advisor to the General Commander. But since the Crisis, she worked for Jelena Savage instead, being the only one of the old Administration left.

"What's going on?" Jelena asked looking between the two of them. She could not understand, why Gretel would continue bothering a Librarian. She knew Gretel hated humans but it was an indifferent kind of hate. So why would she always find trouble with Axel?

"Some humans have been using the staff bathrooms, I was merely asking him about it" Gretel replied respectfully but anyone looking in her eyes could tell that she considered herself equal to the Chieftess.

"Axel is the Archives Librarian, he has as much authority as you do. What right do you have to question him?" Jelena asked, her voice remains the same but her eyes glazed as she stated directly at Gretel.

"But he is a human Miss Savage, things cannot be done like this. The people will not tolerate the idea of humans being equal to them. You must show the people that you are a leader of the Als and not humans." Gretel pushed but Jelena's expression remained stoic.

"Did you use the Staff bathrooms, Axel?" She asked.

"Yes Ma'am" he replied.

"Why?"

"The Dorms bathroom is used by too many people making it difficult to maintain proper hygiene" he replied formally which caused a little discomfort in Jelena's heart but she quickly suppressed it.

"You will be given an independent apartment. The Protector of the Archives should not live with slaves" Jelena ordered and walked away from them.

Watching as she went, Gretel's eyes burned with fury, she glanced at Axel who quickly bowed and walked away. Her eyes watched his as he left and she muttered to herself, "Slut". Of course, she was referring to Jelena.

The one thing no one caught on yet was that Gretel used to be Rita's boss and she would watch every day as Axel cared for Rita like she was the most important treasure in the world. There was nothing sweeter than the cake of someone else. She wanted Axel, and slowly that turned into an obsession that never ended.

When Rita and Axel were planning to escape the planet, she had learned of it but instead of foiling the plan, she devised a means to make sure Rita would leave but Axel had to stay behind. However, despite that, her goal was not achieved.

Jelena Savage who she had always been jealous of and in competition with suddenly began to protect Axel and since. she couldn't understand why, she assumed it was with the same intention as her, and Jelena was attracted to Axel and so another rivalry started but this time, unlike Rita, Jenela was her superior.

Axel had no idea what was going on in Gretel's mind, he was just grateful that Jelena appeared to save him from her clutches. Unlike the delusional Gretel, Axel was very certain that Jelena had not the slightest interest in him. In fact, the thought never came to mind and he never wondered why or even realized that she treated him differently. Who was Jelena Savage? Well, if anyone asked him, he would only reply with one sentence; "She is the devil"

Axel returned to the dorms and took away a few things. A yellow-backed book, and a small wooden box. Taking them with him, he hurried to take the anti-gravity car to the Archives.

The Archives of the Als race was a significant place. For one, the keeper of the Archives was the protector of the secrets and history of the race, he or she knew everything there was to know about everything. Simply put, the Archives was the database of the entire race and it contained all information available to them. Although Axel was the Librarian, he had yet to be titled Keeper, the previous keeper was unique in that he was a mix-race of humans and Al's parents. And he was Axel's Master. Unlike the other leaders of the Als, he somehow survived the Crisis, but not for long, the day after it, he made Axel Librarian and took him as a student, and not long after the old man died too. Axel worked alone in the Archives since then.

It only took a fifteen minutes ride to the Archives. Although he would sometimes refer to the Archives as a Library, it looked nothing like one. Even the largest library could not compare. The building was in the form of a really mighty dome, far-reaching into the sky like a mighty beast raising its head into the heavens. The building in itself spoke of dominance and demanded submission. Like it, the Keeper was regarded with the utmost respect, they were seen as advisors and their words were never taken lightly- until Axel.

Sighing, he walked slowly into the building. Inside it were many workers, Als and humans alike, organizing books, cleaning shelves, maintaining order, guiding people, and even attending to Axel. Although he was human like the others, no one could tell the mind of Jelena Savage and what plans she had for him.

In this oversized library reaching into the heavens, there was a figure who seemed very much out of place. A dark-haired girl, her bright eyes stared at Axel as he entered, a beautiful smile gracing her face like she had seen her most loved person. She hurried to him and stared him down.

"You are still insistent on dressing like this?" She asked. Axel was wearing a loose sleeveless shirt and pants sort of like Earth's nursing scrubs. It was what he wore every day and it was the clothing of a prisoner. There was history to this but clearly, he was unwilling to talk about it now as he shrugged.

Aurora understood him so she changed the subject.

"I heard you almost got in trouble with Gretel today?" She asked with concern. Although it happened early in the morning, there were people around who surely saw them.

Aurora Zade wasn't well known among the Als and like Axel, she had a special status and was thus treated, unlike all the other humans. Although cast away by humans, her significance to the Als could not be overemphasized. It was to such an extent that despite the chaotic political situation of the race, no one threatened her but instead put their all into protecting her in case anyone among them would lose their brain and doom the entire race. She was that special. It was also because of her that Axel was in an awkward situation. Despite being a normal human, Aurora was his best friend, Jelena protected him(although many argued that it was just Jelena trying to get Aurora's favor), and the last Keeper of the Archives had taken him as a successor for a reason no one could tell.

"Gossip travels fast" Axel replied, a small smile appearing on his ever stoic expression.

"Need me to give her a warning?" Aurora asked her brows raised in a serious frown. Axel was the only person she cared about individually in the entire Als race. Since the Crisis, power was divided among the Als, and in the Al's Coalition, it was not the Chieftess who held the most power but her Aurora Zade.

"No, you will upset the balance" Axel quickly warned. It was not that he had any male pride restricting him from getting help, in fact, he was more than willing to accept it from whoever was going to provide but he was not a selfish person. If Aurora expressed any interest in ruling the country, it would immediately light a fire among the Als that would be difficult to extinguish. At the moment, the one thing they couldn't afford was a civil war.

Sigh

A sigh escaped Aurora's lips, "What use is power if we can't even defend ourselves?" She asked ruefully.

"Jelena Savage better step up or we'll be broken before Primal even makes any big moves"

The mention of Primal made Axel turn gloomy. Staring down at the ground he sighed and shook his head.

"I believe in her" he replied to his best friend but his mood remained down.

"Don't tell me you still have a crush on her?" Aurora whispered in a low voice. Being Axel's best friend, she knew most of his dark tendencies including how he was attracted to Jelena despite being madly in love with Rita and in a relationship too with the latter. Of course, he never made the effort to get close to Jelena even back then, in fact, Aurora knew of this because he wanted her to help him get away from having meals with Jelena in the cafeteria.

Unable to reply, Axel shook his head. In times like this, how could he be thinking of a crush? There were more significant things on his mind at the moment.

Aurora took a small step back finally conscious of how close she had gotten to him. They were best friends, but the minds of people could never be understood. And with so many around looking at them, they needed to be careful of creating rumors.