"Hurry, Gourry! We need to be far from town before nightfall!"
Gourry pulled the strap down tight, holding their supplies and food in place atop a horse they had purchased from some merchant who no longer needed it. He made sure the horse wasn’t buckling under the sheer load of the food before he took its reigns and led it over to where Lina was accessorizing herself with her talismans and sword. Wearing a confused look, Gourry inquired, "Why are you in such a hurry to leave town?"
"Because I don’t want to see any more deaths," she answered; pulling on the strings that held the sword to her belt so tightly that her fingers began to bleed. The news of her friend’s execution—murder—was weighing heavily on her mind, and the news of baby Valgarv’s needless murder made her a very bitter person. The golden dragons had such wanton methods of dealing with obstacles that Lina began to wonder if mazoku really were the worse of the two races, or if that was just a misconception made by ignorant people in history.
But what she said was only half the truth. She had wanted to find refuge in a nearby forest where she would be harder to find because she wouldn’t be able to use magic for the next few days…
It really was a pain to be female – she noted with a frown, trying to ignore the aches she felt all around her abdomen. She never told Gourry when she was having her period, but he was usually (though oddly) quick to find out. She always wondered how he knew, but this kind of thing was one of the few things Gourry knew and understood rather well.
That must be one of the reasons why – she concluded.
Gourry inspected her actions for a while before he realized the other half of the reason for her wanting to depart so abruptly, but he made no motion to discuss it with her. He, too, was quite frankly disturbed by the unhappy news, and knew Lina would need some time to herself if she were to recover from it quickly. Three and a half years with her taught him this much, at least.
They left the town and followed the road at a good pace until the sun showed signs of wanting to set, then set off at a hasty pace towards the forest that filled the nearby pass between the mountains. The bottom edge of the sun barely touched the horizon by the time they were a good ways in, leaving enough time before dark to set up camp and get some food to eat. They had only brought rations in fruit and bread, given they were the cheapest items and they were low on cash, so they would have to hunt for meat on their own.
Since Lina was unable to use magic, she stayed back to set up camp while Gourry went to search for a meal. She had only set up the tent when an uninvited guest popped in for a visit.
She didn’t greet him kindly. "What do you want, Xelloss? I don’t suppose you think I’ve changed my mind just because of what they said, do you?"
She read him like a book, but he was still hiding an ace or two up his sleeve. "You found me out," Xelloss admitted, holding his hands up in defeat. "But that’s not all I’m here for. If you’re interested, prepare your camp site and make it look as though you’ve retired early, then come with me."
Lina cocked an eyebrow. "What are you planning now?"
He chuckled at her suspicion and answered, "The truth." Seeing that she was even more baffled and distrustful, he added, "It has to do with Gourry-san."
At the mention of his name, she instantly perked up, but soon realized her mistake when Xelloss laughed again. Burning with resentment and hatred for this obnoxious hyena, she went to do his bidding and returned briefly, awaiting further instructions. He offered a hand to her, which she flatly refused without a second’s thought, and led her deeper into the forest.
Gourry had only just snagged a boar for dinner when he was greeted by Xelloss with a warm smile and wave. Returning the greeting with a wave of his own, he approached the Trickster Priest without a single suspicion in his mind, especially not one about what the priest had in mind for him.
"Xelloss! Are you heading this way too?" the blonde asked, striking up conversation.
"Well, I suppose you could say that," Xelloss responded, unsure how to answer. He was standing in front of a conspicuous looking bush, but if Gourry noticed he said nothing.
Behind the small shrubs Lina sat crouched in hiding. She wondered what it was Xelloss wanted to show her, but she knew it couldn’t be good with the amount of amusement present in the mazoku’s voice; not to mention the daunting atmosphere and location with no trees directly overhead to seek shelter under. It was a perfect spot to be seen…
The jigsaw pieces slowly began to form a picture. It had all been a trap—Xelloss wanted them to be spotted by a dragon scout flying overhead. She should have realized this sooner!
But before she could get up to warn Gourry, Xelloss stopped her with the question, "Gourry-san, what do you really think of Lina-san?"
He responded just as predicted. "She’s an important person to me. I would rather die than see her get hurt."
"But what do you really think of her?"
Xelloss smiled inwardly. From the looks of things, Lina had easily taken the bait in assuming this was a trap laid out for her cover to be blown, then being too off-guard to suspect this blow to come. Gourry, too, had fallen right into his carefully spun web and was currently stuck to it with no way out.
Gourry seemed to give the thought a good contemplation before answering, "She’s kinda like a little sister to me."
Lina felt as though her heart had been crushed into an empty hollow right then and there. She was finding it difficult to breathe, but she couldn’t tear herself away. This was the only way she would ever know…!
But did she want to know? She was already fairly content just staying by his side, but was being content enough for her? She wanted more—she wanted to deepen her relationship with him, so if he answered positively here then she might be happier, but if not…
"Is that the truth?" Xelloss asked.
"Yeah I’m pretty sure. Why do you want to know?" Gourry asked, still clueless to the mazoku’s scheme.
Xelloss was thoroughly satisfied with the outcome. Lina was far beyond emotionally dumb-stricken at this point in time, and he savored every ounce of her sorrow. "Oh, just wondering."
Gourry accepted the explanation and walked off towards the campsite, not noticing Lina’s presence at all. It was only after he was well out of hearing distance that Xelloss dared to say, "Well did you enjoy—"
Lina slapped him right across the face, hard. Tears fell from her eyes and her bottom lip quivered as she spoke.
"You’re despicable."
Xelloss watched her as she stumbled along, unconsciously following the same path Gourry had taken. A grin spread across his face as he touched his red cheek with gloved fingers, and he couldn’t help but laugh at the weakness of the human emotion called love.
"Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic."
Lina found two voices from within her arguing loudly. Their voices pulsated through her mind as the blood rushed to her head, clouding her already weakened senses. She couldn’t think straight, and the voices in her head were not considerate of her mental state. She swayed in place, wondering which voice to listen to—the one telling her to talk to him or the one telling her to run far, far away.
The latter was screaming more loudly, but the former won.
She figured walking up to camp like that would be out of place, so she settled herself behind some shrubbery a couple feet away. She could smell the delicious aroma of roast pig—Gourry was particularly good at cooking the meat just right—but she had no appetite for it. Instead, she sat with her back to a tree and watched the moon, seeking some calm in its soothing light.
"I guess Lina already went to bed," the swordsman commented, noticing how the tent flap was securely shut, a sign that she didn’t want to be disturbed. "I suppose that means more food for me!"
Lina listened to his chiming with dry humor, wondering why she had come back after all. It’s not like she would gain anything out of listening to him talk to himself about incessant things, she thought, but made no attempt to move. She just didn’t feel like getting up.
"Though Lina must be upset over this entire dragon thing, so I guess I should save some for her," Gourry said, surprising Lina. He actually considered her feelings…? She never would have imagined…but she enjoyed it.
A smile appeared on her face, but she wasn’t happy for long. Tears ran down from her eyes, and she hid her coarse breathing within the threads of her clothes. It was a secret she shared only with things that couldn’t speak—that even Lina Inverse, the most feared sorceress in the world, cried tears like a normal human being.
It was only after she stopped crying a little while later that she noticed Gourry had fallen asleep. She smiled and crawled silently towards her tent, making periodic checks on him as she moved stealthily, wondering what the content expression was for.
As she passed in front of him, she saw the folded paper resting between his fingers, and out of curiosity, she removed it from his grasp to inspect.
It was perfumed with the scent of roses, something that was only done to love letters sent by a refined female. Not being quick to judge, though, she carefully unfolded the tiny note and began to read.
The handwriting she immediately recognized as belonging to her friend, Sylphiel. The "Dear Gourry-sama" that began it also reinforced the inference, but instead of causing a nostalgic smile, it filled her with trepidation and dread. Why? Why was he still contacting the shrine maiden? What did she say that—God forbid—filled him with the joy that even Lina could not provide? What was it that girl had that she could not do?
And had she won?
Lina’s eyes scanned the letter pervasively, understanding the deeper meaning of the words down to the tiniest detail. It may have appeared to be a simple letter asking for his well-being and providing information about the progress of her life, but Lina could see a deeper meaning and affection masked behind those warm words.
My dear, beloved Gourry-sama,
How are you doing? I hope you are not too troubled, and I pray daily for your safety. Remember to eat well and look after your health in my absence.
The reconstruction of Sairaag is going well, thank the Gods. People have begun to return, and the sight of children playing in the streets warms my heart. The next time you come to visit, I hope you will meet this boy, Jacob. He is a well-refined boy with good manners and a heart of the purest gold. He aspires to be just like you, Gourry-sama, and he trains many hours a day to become a swordsman of great stature. He is very sweet and wishes you the best of luck in your journey.
There was one thing that bothered me, however. The streets have begun to look so much like the Sairaag we used to know that I found myself shedding tears due to my lost memories. I couldn’t bear it any longer, so I passed the project down on to one of my most dedicated companions and set out on a journey of my own. I thought I might be satisfied serving others and bettering this world with my magic, but I began to feel lonelier and lonelier by the day. Oh Gourry-sama, if only you could see how much the children resemble you...
The words pierced through her heart and tore it to shreds. They had children? And Gourry had kept this secret from her? Didn’t she have some right to know…?
The question answered itself. Gourry never had to tell her anything about his personal life. Actually, he never did.
Her first instinctive reaction was to toss it into the fire, letting the flames swallow and engulf the benign words that stole the love of her life away. But a sudden rush of guilt and loss overwhelmed her and stopped her actions. Finding it difficult to breathe and feeling as though she were being crushed beneath the weight of the evening sky, she dropped the note and ran away, as if to evade the pressure that threatened to consume her. The mind that had been fleeting in the clouds just earlier that day had suddenly been tossed into a desolate void. She was engulfed by rue, and this time no one would be there to save her.
When she awoke, the sun greeted her with its warm rays, but it did nothing to wash away her pain and suffering. Her body ached from head to toe, and as she looked up, she could see the rocky cliff that had undoubtedly been the cause for her bruised and battered form. She was covered with dirt and even though she was too numb to feel it, insects crawled all over her.
She made a vain attempt to move, but a stinging pain in her leg answered why she had been unable to feel anything crawling on it. She glanced down to see it swollen and horribly disfigured, signs of a broken bone that needed immediate attention. She felt too upset to let it successfully hinder her, though, and while gritting her teeth she forced herself to stand. But a few seconds later she succumbed to the pain and fell on her stomach, beaten by the circumstances.
She pulled a handful of grass out of the ground and began to cry. What had she done to deserve this series of unfortunate events?
She had fallen in love – that was what she had done.
Accepting her defeat, she lied prostrate on the ground, knowing no one would find her at the bottom of this empty ravine. If a ryuuzoku found her now and torched her body to ashes, she really wouldn’t care. In fact, they’d be doing her a favor.
But no, whoever had sent her through this hellish torment was obviously not done.
"Oh my, I never imagined I’d see the day in which Lina Inverse is defeated by her own mistakes," rang the cheery voice from the top of the cliff. Seeing that she was unwilling to respond, he descended and reached out to turn her over.
But she was quick to react to his touch, grabbing his hand and holding it away from her as if it was poison. Xelloss was purely shocked to see her look so pitiful, and he said nothing more as she turned her back to him, supporting the weight of her upper body with her arms. The delicious flavor of her agony suddenly turned bitter, and he felt a capricious responsibility to help her.
He offered his cloak to her, but she rejected it instantaneously. Seeing that he was not educated in first aid, he simply wrapped strips torn from his cloak around her wounded leg. Lina writhed in pain from his less-than-gentle touch, but made no gesture to show that it, quite frankly, hurt like hell. But what position was she in to protest? If he hadn’t found her, she would still be dying peacefully.
But before she could ask him for the reason behind his actions, she found herself aloft in the air, high above the forest she was in less than a second ago. The first thing she noticed was that she was in Xelloss’s arms. The second…
"What reason does a mazoku like you have for tending to—or rather—simply being around Lina Inverse?"
Lina turned her head toward the source of the voice. It was a fleet of golden dragons, but the dragon from yesterday, Fayle, was not present among them. Apparently they were underlings from the way they lacked uniformity and how no particular dragon held its head high. There was no real threat among them.
The threat, instead, came from the person whose arms she lay in.
"Oya oya, it was somewhat rude of you to interrupt me as I was tending to the wounds of a fallen friend," Xelloss commented, looking upon his visitors—victims—with unsuppressed mal-intent. A fraction of the fleet flew away in cowardice, hoping to preserve themselves for one more day and ignoring the shouts of protests from their avid "leader". Xelloss licked his lips and raised one hand up, index finger pointed at the young dragon on the end…
"Stop! Please stop! We meant no-"
But it was too late for an apology. With a simple wave of his arm, the entire fleet—save the animated leader—was wiped out of existence. Such was the power he possessed, and such was the power that Lina had only heard rumors and tales of. It was more than needed to leave her completely and utterly speechless.
The sole survivor shivered from his position, but he was far too afraid to move. Xelloss laughed a bit, sending more shivers down the dragon'’ spine, then said, "Go running home to mommy. She must be worried to death."
It seemed as though he hit it right on the mark since the dragon flew away cursing and condemning him to hell, a comment Xelloss took as a compliment. His self-esteem was soon shattered by Lina when she stated, "You’re just like them."
Insulted by the comment but managing to retain his composure, Xelloss asked, "What do you mean by that, Lina-san?"
She stared him in the eye. "I mean you take lives without feeling any regret. It’s all a game to you."
He smiled. "You couldn’t be more correct, but you are wrong if you think they act the same way."
She shrugged. If that was what he wished to believe, then let him believe. She wasn’t in a mood to argue with him; her body still ached from head to toe.
After they had safely reached the ground and Lina had properly bandaged her leg up (including the painful process of popping her bone back into place), Xelloss began to tell her his reason from reapproaching her.
"Seeing as though you are at a lack of a guardian (thanks to myself), I am here to offer you my protection from whatever the ryuuzoku might have planned for you. Furthermore, if you’re interested, I have the whereabouts of your missing chimera friend, along with information on his current lead, an old relic referred to as the Faery’s Tear."
Lina ignored the proposal, with the exception of the part about Zelgadiss, but found another benefit to accepting Xelloss’s care. She couldn’t face Gourry right now, and she was hardly capable of combat…so she had no choice but to accept, though grimly.
Xelloss smiled. "Good! It is nice to have you in my company again, Lina-san."
She groaned, starting to doubt the meager amount of justification she had behind her concurrence. "Trust me, the pleasure is all yours."
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