OU - Oathkeepers

It was late afternoon when Alix finished a small charm she made for Vendox. The charm she crafted was a flat glass pendant about the size of a playing card with small designs around the edges. Inside the pendant was a piece of parchment that had a good luck prayer written on one side with a prayer for friendship on the other. It had taken forever for her to write both pieces in teeny-tiny cursive French. The 2nd Lieutenant made similar charms for her friends and gave them out the day before.

Alix carefully placed the glass pendant in a small bag lined with tissue paper and then left her room. She was heading down the hallway when she bumped into Megumix, who proudly wore her hand-made charm around her neck.

"Hey Alix. What's up?" she waved at the petite girl.

"I'm just on my way to Monsieur Vendox's office to deliver the charm I made."

"I'll walk with you. I'm heading down that way anyway."

The two Nobodies happily chatted as they walked together. Once they arrived at their destination, Alix stopped in her tracks.

Megumix raised an eyebrow at the girl's change in behavior. "What's wrong, Al?"

"What if he doesn't like it? What if he laughs?"

"Geez, he's not going to laugh."

The silver-haired girl bit her bottom lip. "But…"

"It's pretty simple, Alix. Open the door and give him the charm," Megumix explained. "Trust me. He'll love it."  

Alix fidgeted in her spot, clutching the bag to her chest. Her pigtails shadowing her face as she bowed her head.

"I don't know, Meg. Vendox has been pretty busy lately…and I do not wish to disturb him," she timidly replied.

The purple-haired woman slapped a palm over her face. "What is with this shy attitude of yours? You take down Heartless and monsters double your size without batting an eye, and you can't muster the courage to give a gift to someone?!"

"I-It's not that easy! Heartless are easy to deal with because I don't have to see them when I get home. Monsieur Vendox…is different." Alix blushed lightly after saying that.

"Oooohhh~ Does someone has a crush on their boss~?" Megumix teased.

The glass user's face turned from pink to red. "No! I don't have a crush!" she squeaked. "I have nothing but admiration for him."

"Yeah, 'admiration' which has 'admire' in it which makes you guilt of a crush."

"It's not a crush!!"

Megumix snickered beside her friend. "Yeah yeah. Now just walk up to the door," she said, pushing Alix toward the door. "Knock and wait for a reply." Hearing Vendox shout 'Come in', she grasped the doorknob. "Then open the door and…walk inside!"

Before the Fragile Artisan could blink, the musical Nobody quickly opened the door and pushed Alix inside the room. The petite girl stumbled over her feet from the push, almost falling face-first to the floor. Giving her a wink and smile, Megumix scurried away, running down the hall.

'Me-gu-mix!' she shouted in her head.

"Alix? Is there something you need?" the blindfolded man asked from behind his desk. His lips were poised in a confused frown.

Smoothing her skirt, she stood up straight in front of her Superior. "O-Oui, Monsieur Vendox…but how did you know it was me?"

Vendox chuckled. "We've worked together for so long that I know what your aura feels like. Plus, I heard you and Megumix outside the door."

Blinking, Alix blushed from embarrassment. "O-Ohh…I see. Well, the reason for my visit is that I wanted to g-give you this." She then walked toward his desk and placed the bag on top of some paperwork.

The older man plucked the bag up by its silk handle and reached inside. Feeling around for a moment, he found the glass charm, extracting it from its tissue confines. His fingers traced over the designs and smiled.

"You made this, Alix?"

"Oui…" she nodded. "There's a piece of paper pressed between the glass panes that has a French prayer written on it."

"A prayer for what?"

"For good luck and everlasting friendship. It's just a small gift, nothing big or fancy." She rocked back and forth on her heels.

Vendox smiled again and slipped the pendant around his neck. "Thank you for the gift, Alix. Oh, that reminds me."

Swiveling his chair around to face the cabinet behind him, he slid open a drawer and rooted around in it. The older man muttered an 'Ah-ha', apparently finding what he was looking for, and turned back around.

"This is for you."

Vendox held out a long thin box topped with a blue bow to the Lieutenant. Alix stepped forward and gingerly picked it up. She slowly opened the lid after removing the frilled ribbon. Nestled on a satin lining was a silver bracelet with differently shaped and colored charms linked in the metal. The silver-haired girl brightly smiled at her gift.

"Merci beaucoup, Monsieur Vendox! Merci!" Alix happily cried.

The male Superior nodded. "I knew that you would like it. Consider it a thank-you for all of your hard work."

"It was n-nothing! I was just doing w-what any other member w-would do!"

After a few more 'thank you', Alix bid Vendox good-bye and went to search for Megumix to show off her new gift.