"Do you think we should look for them?" Ameria asked worriedly. She took a glimpse at the window and noticed that the sun was setting rapidly. The moon would be out soon...though, according to what she had heard from others at the festival last night, the moon wouldn’t shine tonight since it had expended all of its "energy" the night before.
"No, don’t interrupt," Rosa ordered. She was sitting on the floor, back against a wall, arms propped up on her knees, hands hanging down. She was staring up at the ceiling, obviously tired from her burden. Her mouth curved into a small smirk and she added, "Besides, we don’t want to ‘walk in on them’ now do we?" She gave the two a wink with that comment, hinting them on.
Basketball-size sweatdrops slid down the sides of their heads. "No... We had better not, then."
Lina shivered a bit, then opened her eyes. The room was rather dark now; the only light came from the small embers dancing around the pile of ashes in the middle of the room. She reached up to make sure nothing was there first, then, after checking thoroughly, sat up.
Her body was still unclothed. Her reflexes forced her arms over her chest and knees up in front of her. That was when she felt a pile of fabric lying at her feet. At first she thought it was a dry change of clothes, but after her eyes fully adjusted to the darkness, she realized it was actually Xelloss’s cloak...
Xelloss! Where had he gone anyway? She looked behind her and found only a wall there to greet her. Her head spun back around and she scanned the room frantically for him.
Lina calmed down when she saw him sitting on the other side of the room. From what she could see, he seemed to be sleeping. "So mazoku actually do sleep...?" she thought as she stood up, holding the cloak in front of her chest and letting it hang down to the floor. She walked timidly over to him, afraid to wake him up if he really was sleeping. Bending over carefully and making sure her hair wouldn’t fall into his face, she saw that his eyes were, indeed, closed and that his mouth was open ever so slightly as tiny snores escaped him. She giggled silently, then moved over and sat against the wall beside him.
She could feel her face heat up as she watched him. This must have been what he had been doing just earlier, for he was situated where he would have no trouble watching her over the flame. She edged closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder like she had done with Gourry so long ago...
Yes, it did seem so long ago. She had never confessed to the blonde swordsman, doubting and fearing that he would not truly understand what she would mean by the words, I love you. That brain was so dense, after all. Now she was almost positive that her interest in the big oaf was just a silly little crush – no big deal. Besides, he probably wasn’t interested in her anyway... She was much younger than him and had nothing to look at...
She closed her eyes and pulled the cloak over her shoulders, then placed her hand lightly on Xelloss’s arm. He made her feel warm...not only on the outside, but deep inside her heart as well. Gourry never gave her this kind of feeling... He made her worry about his feelings all the time. He had always treated her as a child after all... Maybe that’s all she ever was to him – a child in need of his protection.
Xelloss was different. When he just told her he respected her, she realized that he had always treated her as an equal, despite his being so much older than she was. He obviously knew more than she did as well; he had first-hand experience in things she had only heard about in legends and tales.
How old was he, anyway? He had to be over one thousand and fifteen since he had been in the Kouma-sensou. She’d have to ask him that later. Yet, despite all those years of living, he still kept his physical form the same...
She...her body hadn’t aged at all for about six years now... Had she stopped growing? Would she able to die someday from old age or would she live for eternity like Xelloss would...?
Trapped forever in this body...a rather frightening idea...but, as long as she had somebody beside her, it wouldn’t be too horrid, right?
She felt weary after all that thinking. Snuggling closer to Xelloss, her eyes drifted shut once more, and she lost herself to a dream.
"They’re still not back..."
Ameria lay in bed on her right side, covers pulled up just below her eyes. The room was flooded in darkness for it was now well into the night. She felt her arm begin to go numb from being squished beneath her body so long and rolled over onto her left side in a weak attempt to reduce the pain. After a couple minutes of holding that position, she rolled onto her stomach and pulled the pillow over her head.
"Zelgadiss-san really...cares a lot about Lina-san..."
Her tiny whimpers partitioned her breathing pattern, and she suddenly longed for her home in Saillune. Her chest felt as if it was being cleft; her heated crying burned holes into her heart. She knew...Zelgadiss cared much more for Lina than anyone else, for she had been his first true friend. And yet, even knowing that, she still...
"I’m an idiot..." she sobbed into her pillow, grasping the edges tightly and pulling the pillow down forcefully, nearly suffocating herself in the process. She writhed beneath her sheets, wanting so badly to be rid of her agony. Her knees and feet burned from having rubbed against the sheets so fervently, the skin now red and raw. Never before had she ever felt so compelled to hurt herself...never before had she ever felt so much anguish...
"Ameria? Are you alright in there?"
Her wails turned to silence and her eyes shot back open. It was he, but she did not wish to see him then. Choking back her hiccups, she responded, "I-I’m fine. Thank you for checking on me, Zelgadiss-san..."
There was a brief moment of silence. "Can I come in?"
She nearly panicked as she quickly wiped her eyes and threw pillows over the sodden spot her tears had made. Convincing herself twice that she was decent enough to be considered normal, she answered, "Sure."
His shoulders were already sagging as he stepped in, feet seeming to be the only thing propelling him forward. His eyes looked down in sympathy at her, seemingly begging for forgiveness as he stared into her bloodshot eyes. "Can I...sit down here?"
She forced a smile unto her face and replied mechanically, "Sure."
Zelgadiss frowned a bit as he sat down beside her. He stared at the wall as she stared at the ground, neither saying nor asking about anything for the time being.
The silence ended when he told her, "I could hear you crying."
Despite the urges to break down once again, she kept her cheerful face up and responded, "Oh, you could? I tried to keep quiet, but I guess it was still too loud." Her bottom lip trembled as she spoke, and she sniffled during pauses.
"Ameria...you know...I don’t..."
"Yes. Yes, I know." Tears slid down her cheeks and landed in her lap, but she continued to smile to the best of her ability. Zelgadiss reached over and gently brushed a few droplets away with his forefinger, but the attempt to try and stop them only resulted in causing more to cascade down her face. "Please don’t be kind to me out of sympathy..." she requested softly.
He frowned again and cupped his right hand around her cheek. "Ameria... I like you a lot, really...but it’s not the same... You understand, don’t you?" he questioned her, caressing her face lightly despite the coarseness of his stone hands.
She pursed her lips, gaining a somewhat melancholy and serious look to her former facade. "I understand," she replied meekly.
His eyes softened as he pulled her into his lap and embraced her. "Thank you...for caring I mean... It’s nice to know that someone cares... Makes me feel as though I can go on living..."
Ameria’s tears fell in torrents from her eyes, and her cheeks burned red against Zelgadiss’s shirt. Biting her lip to keep from wailing again, she grabbed his tunic and buried her face in it to soften her sniffling. He petted her head lightly; it was all he could do for her in this situation. He knew a broken heart hurt...much worse than hell, and he had wanted to let Ameria know he didn’t return her feelings before she fell in love with him. Even so, the thought of inducing pain upon her made him feel awfully guilty inside...and he had not been able to conjure up the courage to speak to her like this until now. It was a little late...but it was better than having to reject her confession.
"Ameria... I’m sure you’ll find someone worthy of you someday...someone who can support you to the fullest. You must keep searching..."
She nodded her reply sullenly, exhausted from so much weeping. Her grasp on his shirt was weakened considerably, and her head now rested in his lap.
"And...I’m sorry for making you cry."
She shook her head slowly. "I feel really, really pained right now, but..." Her gaze softened and her eyelids fell down further. "I think...right now...I feel very happy..."
Zelgadiss was a little surprised and withdrew his hand from her face for a second, then gave a small smile and continued to stroke her hair.
And, for once in his life, he felt content with what he had done.
"Lina-san...?"
"Lina-san?"
Lina growled and swiped at the hand that was on her shoulder. She was having a pleasant dream and didn’t quite fancy the idea of waking up just yet.
"Oya oya...put in this kind of situation with Lina-san is rather hazardous, isn’t it?" Xelloss commented softly so as not to wake her. Lina was sitting in his lap, nude, placing all her weight against him. Sure it would have been easy to pick her up with his mazoku strength, but without waking her up...? And if she didn’t remember her actions...he was as good as dead.
It was still dark outside, so she would be asleep for a few more hours. It wasn’t that he didn’t like having her this close to him; she seemed so happy that it pained him and prevented him from getting any sleep. The fresh air seeping through from all the rain relaxed and lessened the effect on him, though.
He sighed in morose defeat, but smiled as he looked down at her sleeping face. Seeing how placid and harmless she looked now, no one would have ever guessed how disastrous her real face was. He’d just have to deal with whatever she might throw at him in the morning.
Zelgadiss had gone into Ameria’s room after slinging the sleeping swordsman onto a bed. He hadn’t come out since then, but that was fine; it wasn’t anything to be concerned about.
Rosa lay in bed, awake and gazing ominously out the window with a pillow between her legs and thumbnail between her teeth. The strange feeling this city gave her while it was in this stage of darkness was monotonous; it reminded her of the future where the world had died.
She suddenly looked away from the window and up at the ceiling, still chewing angrily on her nail. "Won’t do me any good to think right now... I’ll just get mad again..." she thought, attempting to fall asleep. Finally, after being frustrated out of her mind, she turned her head sharply to the window again and created a thin, black cone to crash through it from the astral plane. "Damn it... Why was I the only one to survive...? Why couldn’t it have been Nadeshiko or Violet...?" she muttered, watching the glass fall with a plain look.
Her eyes burned a fiery crimson shade, thin and menacing like a demon’s eyes. She shut them in agitation and rolled over onto her stomach...
And was struck unconscious from behind.
By the time Ameria had completely quieted down, Zelgadiss had already been long past exhaustion. His head hurt, he needed sleep, but even if he tried he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep. Thoughts plagued his mind, worries tormented his heart, and all this happened because of his stupid hunt for a cure.
Ironic, isn’t it?
He hadn’t even been present at the festival when Tsunami presented the Faery’s Tear to the people; he had seen Xelloss carrying Lina, unconscious, in his arms. The only odd thing about that picture was that he had seen what appeared to be another Lina following him. Needless to say, Zelgadiss had been very curious and stumped as to what was going on, so he trailed after them. With the crowd’s attention focused on the exhibit, it was no challenge to get around.
Xelloss had found him out not too long afterwards. After all, Zelgadiss’s aura must have shouted fury at the time, so for a mazoku that would have been very easy to notice. What surprised him though, was that the girl had already seemed to know of his presence...without Xelloss’s help. What surprised him even more was that, rather than that usual smug look Xelloss had on his face when a plan worked out for him, his eyes reflected something that looked like fright. And, for a second, Zelgadiss almost thought he looked...human...
And finally, he realized what he had overheard the night before had been very much true.
So, at the time, he found himself pushing through people to find Gourry and Ameria. With a combined healing spell, he and Ameria were able to keep Lina from losing any more blood as Xelloss and Gourry both looked on anxiously, one aware of the other’s feelings, the other completely oblivious to both. Lina’s eyes had opened for a second that time, and the first person she looked at...
Was Xelloss.
What happened afterwards was more of a blur to Zelgadiss. Follow Xelloss. Find the inn. Find a room. Place Lina on bed. Leave Ameria to tend to her. Head out back. Head out into forest. Sit against tree. Wallow in self-pity.
He knew Xelloss really liked Lina, no, he loved that sorceress. He would most certainly do anything for her as long as it didn’t conflict with his master’s intentions. His master’s...intentions?
That sublord’s pattern in orders was hard to predict, but what if...she gave an order that called for...Lina Inverse’s...extrication...? What would Xelloss do then...?
Zelgadiss was alerted to his senses when he felt another presence enter the room. He gently moved Ameria off of his lap and onto her bed, then stood up and glanced around the room carefully, preparing a Mono Bolt spell in his mind.
Nothing, but the ominous air lingered. Slowly he sat back down, still looking around him carefully for any movement or sign.
But he wasn’t able to catch the hovering shadow behind him that succeeded in quietly knocking him out.
The sun was just starting to rise when Lina began to awaken. Slowly she opened an eyelid, and after blinking the bright colors out of her vision, sat up.
"X-X-X-Xelloss?!" she all but screamed as she edged away from him, cloak held in front of her body. She was about to beat the living daylights out of him when she remembered what had happened, and in turn, blushed.
Xelloss woke up at the mention of his name and turned to her groggily. "Hmm...Lina-san?"
"Ah! Nothing, nothing!" she replied frantically, looking for a way out of the odd situation.
Xelloss paused, then began to smile. "Looks like you’re okay again."
Lina stopped and stared at him blatantly. "Umm...yes..." It took a couple of seconds for her to realize what seemed different about him. "What happened to your eyes?"
"Hmm? Oh...you should see your eyes, then you’d understand."
She blinked at him quizzically, then suddenly felt a large need for a mirror. "Ne, can we go back to the inn? I need a change of clothes and I bet the others are wondering what happened to us."
He looked slightly taken aback by the abrupt request. "Well... I guess so. But how are you going to get around like that?" he asked, pointing at her current attire.
Her cheeks burned red again. "Well I thought you could just teleport us both back or something..."
He shook his finger at her. "That only works if I’m touching whatever needs to be...anou, Lina-san?"
She latched herself to him, arms around his waist and face against his chest. "Hurry up," she muttered into the cloth, trying to hide her obvious embarrassment.
He blinked at her a couple times, then started laughing.
"Just do it!"
"Hai, hai Lina-san."
"And stop laughing!"
"Hai~♥"
"I said stop laughing!"
Lina immediately jumped away from Xelloss when they arrived back at the inn. She crossed her arms and turned her back to him. "That’s the last time I let you do that." Remembering the matter at hand, she retreated behind her door. "Check on the others while I change would you?"
Xelloss gave a small smile at her antics. From what he saw now, she had only gone through a short, momentary shock earlier. It was nothing to be concerned about any longer. Though, checking on the rest of the group shouldn’t be necessary since Zelgadiss could probably tell they were back...
For that matter, where was the chimera? He should have come out by now...
Frowning slightly, he turned around and walked down the hallway a bit to the room they had just left the day before. He knocked curiously on the door, then merely entered the room when nobody answered. He glanced around the room cautiously to make sure no villagers were there, then stepped through.
There was something peculiar about the air. It was a heaviness he recognized, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He sat down on the edge of the bed to think, but didn’t quite get past the thought when he noticed the slip of paper sitting beneath his right hand. He picked it up and quickly read over it, face darkening as he imagined the voice whom it belonged to...
Lina floated across the room to the dresser, certainly in higher spirits since the day before. She opened the wooden doors and was relieved to find a pair of silky, white pajamas. Slipping quietly into them, she heard a knock on the door just as she began buttoning her shirt up. "Xelloss?"
"Yes?"
She smiled slightly as she fastened the last button and turned around. Treading lightly over, she opened the door and said, "Come in." Though, after seeing his serious expression, she asked, "Something wrong?"
Rather than saying anything, he simply handed her the message and sat down on the side of the bed, placing his staff down across the bedding. He watched her face as she stepped away from the door and paced right down the room, studying the note. He saw a wave of confusion, then fear flow throughout her expression and couldn’t help but interrogate, "What do you make of it?"
She stopped at the corner, turned to face him, and bluntly stated, "I can’t read the symbols..." while pointing childishly at the tiny slip of paper she had been so engrossed in just earlier.
He sweatdropped at her act, then gestured for her to bring it over. She obeyed and sashayed over to him. After handing over the crumpled note, she took a seat beside him. "Sensei, I’m ready to learn! By the way, why is one of my eyes violet like yours?"
He fiddled with the wad of paper she handed to him, trying to find a way to unravel it again without ripping it to shreds. "Proof of blood bonding," he answered simply, sighing as a fragment of the paper got torn off.
"Oh." She couldn’t say that it was the answer she was expecting since she didn’t know that blood bonds left marks like these. She giggled slightly at his frustration, then inquired, "Having trouble with that?"
Xelloss mock-glared at her, then tossed it away. "You did that on purpose didn’t you..."
"Maybe," she replied as she stretched and fell backwards onto the large bed. "Well what did it say? Or did you forget?"
"I’m not Gourry-san," he stated firmly, feeling slightly offended by the remark.
A small part of her carefree expression faded as she looked away towards the wall. "Of course you aren’t. Jellyfish-brains can’t remember anything important I say."
Xelloss stared at her for a short while, wanting to ask something but refraining from doing so. It wasn’t the time or place for that. "Lina-san, Gourry-san and the others have been...are being held hostage as we speak."
She was much more attentive now. "What?! By whom?"
His voice got softer. "That’s the thing. It seems as though Kai-ou-sama is responsible for this..."
"Kai-ou..." Her face tightened as she thought, trying to remember who that was. Suddenly her expression darkened. "You mean..."
He nodded slowly. "Deep Sea Dolphin-sama..."
"Why can’t the mazoku race just leave me alone..." she whined, masking any evident fear. She rolled completely onto her side, hands curled into fists by her head and knees bent. She chewed on her bottom lip as she lay still, licking it occasionally when it started to feel numb.
She wanted to know why they couldn’t leave her alone? It was because the young sorceress posed a threat to his kind, though he was sure that some mazoku were interested in her, to say the least. He couldn’t tell her that though... However, in this case of events, Lina was probably not their target... He was almost sure that he was the intended target. If Lina went with him, she would most likely get caught as well and just create another problem. Though, the possibility of Lina agreeing not to go was pretty much close to nil. She’d force it on him if she had to.
"Ne, Xelloss?"
"Yes, Lina-san?"
A pause. "Do you suppose...she was kidnapped too...?" Her thought trailed off into the air. "Not like I’m worried or anything, but...
He frowned. "You can’t mean that..."
She bit her thumbnail before continuing. "Of course I don’t. Actually to tell you the truth, I think I could probably die right now from all this dread. But...no use worrying about it, right?"
His eyes opened at the sight of her shuddering back. Gently placing a hand on her upper arm, he murmured, "Lina-san...?"
She gave a small cry. "I really don’t want to... I really don’t want to use it again... I really, really don’t want to let It inside of me again..."
Was Lina...afraid? That wasn’t possible was it? He edged closer to her, then suddenly realized that she was...crying...
"It doesn’t bother me... It shouldn’t bother me... Why would it bother me..." She quieted her sobs as well as she could, but found herself choking on words anyhow. "Usually... I would be fine... but everyone is..."
Xelloss pulled her to him, now lying on the bed behind her. "They’re not dead," he assured her, pressing his cheek to the top of her head. There was no way their group could go down without a fight... These humans were just too...special. It wasn’t just Lina Inverse the mazoku feared anymore. The Hikari no ken-bearing swordsman, the blood relative sorcerer of Akahoshi Rezo, and even the little Princess of Justice were all names that had begun to spread among his kind. They were each noteworthy to all races.
Lina placed a hand on Xelloss’s arms, which had been wrapped around her neck and shoulders. It felt kind of odd actually...being comforted by a mazoku and all, but she still smiled her consent. "Xelloss...thank you..."
He smiled again from those words, and despite his obvious pain, still was able to embrace her tightly. He nuzzled the curve of her neck, breathing in that spring rain-like smell in her hair, then asked, "So what are you going to do?"
"What do you think I’m going to do? Gotta go save the others!" she declared, using that coy wink and grin that fit her all so well. Lina was Lina, through and through.
And Xelloss was glad to know that she would never change.
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