You blink back the weariness in your eyes and try to suppress the yawn hiding beneath your mouth. The other patron's, you notice, seem to be doing the same thing and now the whole bar is crowded around the wizened old man.
"I said it was a strange tale." He said. "But I suppose you are bored and it is late. I'll just be off now..."
The crowd blocks the door. The old man raises an eyebrow. "Oh, so you mean you want to hear more!?"
"Just tell us what happened, old man...skip to the bit about the child!!"
"No, who does she end up with?!" Another asks.
You personally would like to know that, because frankly, you cannot picture the terrible dragon spooker Lina Inverse as anyone's romantic interest. In fact, you shudder violently at the thought.
The old man looks at you, still shuddering behind the bar, and smiles. "My thoughts exactly. But as things stood, three ...I do not suppose men is exactly the right word, but three individuals were fairly serious about considering Lina in exactly that way...and Lina herself? Well, Lina was confused to say the least. Until a spell cleared everything up for her and she decided to get married...but I'm getting ahead of the story, aren't I?
Gourry woke with the first breath of morning. Though normally after sleeping outside on a bit of charred earth (where once stood a haystack), he might have been tired and not inclined to rise despite the awful bed, today he felt inspired. His first thought (in so far as Gourry ever thinks) was of Lina's face. Maybe it was the sunrise just beginning to shout away the darkness with its red and gold brightness that reminded of him of her. He stretched and looked up at the sky. What a great morning, he thought.
He wandered into the inn to search for her. "Lina....Hey Lina?!" He picked up stools and chairs, opened closets, wandered into the kitchen (grabbing some fruit) wondering where she could be. "Oh, that's right." He thought suddenly, realizing she must be in the room she'd taken from him. With a rather stupid grin he wandered up there and cracked the door open. From the window on the far wall over the empty bed, light spilled into the room allowing him to see its contents.
Since there were only two rooms this had to be the right one. So he entered looking around. "Lina?!" He called, as he prodded the empty bed.
She was small, but it did occur to him that she wasn't quite that small.
He looked under the bed then, having decided she wasn't on top of it.
A small monster scooted away, and at first he thought it was Lina, but then he realized it was just a dust-bunny-monster. He petted its rather confused head, and then swung back up to look for Lina. None of her things seemed to be in the room either. He frowned wondering what that could mean.
He hovered on the brink of a realization when something jarred his tricycle of thoughts. Yes tricycle. A train is far too modern a device to be an accurate description of Gourry's thinking process. In fact, even a tricycle may move too fast, and too steadily in the proper direction, unless you are thinking of a tiny tricycle driven by a toddler. Then the description would be somewhat correct.
"NE! Gourry, what are you doing in Lina's room?" Nahga said pushing her index finger into his back. She sounded rather irritated actually, which was probably due to the fact that she'd had too much to drink the night before. She hadn't gone to sleep so much as she'd passed out.
"Looking for Lina." He said turning around. Perhaps he'd grown used to talking to Lina, which meant looking down, but for some reason,his gaze met with her rather excessive chest. All hope of his tricycle of thoughts arriving at its destination vanished as he forgot the very important realization he'd been about to have. This certainly wasn't Lina. Lina didn't have anything like that on her body.
She didn't seem annoyed like Lina would have been, but instead just threw back her head and laughed without explanation. After a second, Gourry decided he might as well laugh too, but he knew he must have as usual missed something. Maybe Lina would explain it to him later.
That is, if he found Lina. "Say, where is Lina?" He asked, serious again.
Nahga stopped laughing. "I thought you knew."
He shook his head.
Nahga's face began to take on a very scary expression. An eye began to twitch. "OH!...Now I see. Now I understand! AH HA HA HA HA!"
Gourry shook his head. "Nahga-san, I don't understand at all."
"Oh, Gourry-kun, you are very very very naive!! You underestimate Lina, but I, her greatest ally and rival, Nahga the White Serpent cannot be so easily fooled!"
"You don't look like a snake." He said as he looked her up and down.
"That Lina Inverse...such genius!"Nahga squared her shoulders and ran to the window. "AH HA HA HAHA AH AH "
"I don't get it." Gourry said. "Why are you a snake?!"
Nahga ignored him. "Lina...we must go after her."
"Did she leave!" Gourry asked in horror abandoning the puzzle of why Nahga called herself "the great white serpent".
Nahga broke off her dramatic pose. "Weren't you listening?!"
Gourry blinked. "Well, I started to listen. But its hard to pay attention when you laugh."
"So I've been told."She said proudly.
"Actually, its always hard to pay attention when Lina tells me stuff. Maybe she said we were going to leave early and I forgot." He smiled cheerfully. 'I always forget stuff."
Nagha shook her head. "No! She is very clever....she thought she could give me the slip, and even abandoned her lover to do it!"
Gourry blushed crimson. "ER, I'm not...that is yet, er..." He stammered.
Nahga laughed. "I'm not that unsophisticated, Gourry-kun. Come, let's go....wherever Lina is, I'm sure she's eating something delicious and here we are wasting time!"
With a dramatic twirl of her cape, she jumped from the window. A few seconds later, she managed to dust herself off from the glass that had shattered in her face. "Let's go."
"Uh, Nahga...."
She paused in the window. "Nani, Gourry-kun?!"
"I can't fly." He said pointing out the window. "I'm going to go take the stairs if you don't mind." He may be slow, but he wasn't an idiot. Ok, he was an idiot, but he didn't have a death wish. He liked danger, but he didn't want to hurt himself unnecessarily. That was Lina's job.
"Oh." Nahga replied "Then I'll just have to carry you."
"WHAT!?"
"Ne, if I do not, how can we catch up with her?! She flew to get away from here! Lina Inverse will not get the better of me this time!"
"huh?" Gourry asked. "But why would she do that?!"
"Because now I have to pay the bill..." Nahga grumbled. "You two are truly suited for each other...you're both SO SO SO naive! Just why do you think she snuck off? I will get you for this Lina Inverse!!!" She threatened the sky, bringing her fist of fury right down into Gourry's head, as she grabbed him and took off through the window.
Lina let the wind slide over her body as she flew. Using magic so early in the morning, and on an empty stomach usually upset her. Not today, though, for today, she thought, she would see him. A soft smile hovered on her face as she thought of Zelgaddis. What an idiot she had been to walk away from him yesterday...whatever had possessed her? They'd been standing together, right there and...Lina sighed.
She would find him and....she would what? A sneaking thought tried to fight its way free of the wish-spell, but didn't quite succeed. She would do whatever Zelgaddis wanted to do. After all, she loved him. She would want whatever he wanted. That was her role wasn't it?
She pushed the unbidden thoughts aside and flew faster to the base of the mountain, her eyes scanning for the unfamiliar features of her beloved.
"THERE!" She cried seeing a young man/boy with feathered brown hair that flowed out like two wings, parted dead center. Down she flew, like an arrow straight to its target as she threw her arms around him.
"ZELGADDIS-SAMA!" She shouted as they rolled to a stop finally using up the momentum of her forward flying motion. "I've missed you."
"ERK." Was all Zelgaddis could manage. He suddenly found his arms full of a rather volatile bundle of muscle and magic that he knew as Lina Inverse. But it was a side of Lina Inverse he'd never seen before, a side that clung to him they way she usually clung to treasure.
"HELP ME" He gasped as Lina continued to hold him, perfectly content with the situation.
"Is that your last wish?" Kari asked. She said it in a sweet goddess like tone, but somehow, it sounded ominous.
"No...but...help!" Zelgaddis complained, edging the words around Lina's attempts to kiss him. Actually, she succeeded in kissing him, but just about everywhere except where she wanted to kiss him.
Ameria blushed as she looked at them. "Lina-san, are you feeling alright?"
"Oh, I'm fine now that my Zel-chan is here...." Lina said in a cute little voice that didn't sound like the Lina they knew.
Zel backed away from her as horrified as if she'd suggested shoving squid up his nose.
"Don't you want her to act that way!?" Kari said, with her usual peaceful smile back in place, as she beamed at them. "Granting wishes makes me SOOOOOOOOOO happy." Only someone who knew her really well would have detected the artificial sweetener at work in the phrase. Oh, she did feel happy granting wishes, but only when she knew they actually would make the wisher happy. Somehow, she felt this one would not. It certainly hadn't made her happy. She stopped, the magic stream rippling as her attention shifted, as she examined her last thought. Why was she unhappy that Zelgaddis had wished for Lina to love him?
Stone began to appear on Zelgaddis hands.. "NO!" He shouted and suddenly, Lina pulled back.
He frowned...his curse couldn't return, not now, not when he'd finally been set free.
Kari began to focus herself again. She raised one hand high, sweeping it in a circular motion, then touching the small bottle holding the temple at her waist. A white glow traced a thin ribbon to Zelgaddis.
The stone faded away. Zelgaddis sighed in relief, and removed his hands from attempting to tear out his hair. Even the strands he'd removed were brown and silky rather than steel-blue needles.
"Oh Hi Zelgaddis." Lina said, perfectly normal. "How did I get here?"
Zelgaddis blinked, dropping his hair to scatter on the wind "You don't know?" He frowned. She shook her head and shrugged.
Kari sighed and began to restore the second wish, as she raised her hand again, and less enthusiastically then before, touched the temple.
Lina sighed, her eyes fogging over. "But I don't care. As long as you're here..." She began to smother Zelgaddis again with a hug.
"What's going on!?" He complained pulling back.
"Its your wish..." Kari said offhandedly. "That is, so long as you keep up the desire for the wish itself."
"I uh..." He said inelegantly. "I don't want this...that's it then... I'll use my last wish to--"
"You cannot. You cannot unwish a wish."
"But...you almost turned me back to a chimera."
"No, I almost revoked the wish. Once made, a wish can only be ended by revoking it."
"So how do I do that!??!" He said leaping to avoid Lina's outstretched arms. It was just too weird he thought.
"You may not want to do that...."Kari protested.
"Are you crazy?! I've got the most powerful sorceress in this realm chasing me, and its impossible to get away from her..." He froze at the thought of what might happen if he didn't. Lina giggled as she caught him.
"Oh, you're being naughty Zelgaddis-sama, running away and teasing me like that." She said seductively. Chills ran down his spine. This was just....all wrong, he thought. "Don't call me that!!!" He spat as he dive rolled away.
He ended up on his knees in front of Kari. "Tell me!!" He ordered urgently.
"You have to revoke your wishes...but I'm afraid if you did that, you'd have to revoke them both. They were a package deal." Kari said. "In fact, you'd have to use the last wish to do it....you cannot unwish a wish you haven't made." Her voice faded a bit as she said that...
Zelgaddis stared at Kari. "WHY...YOU....YOU..." He muttered really loudly. "You could have told me this would happen!!!! You know I didn't really mean that wish!!! Not like this!" Yes, he'd wanted Lina to...he blushed as Lina's hands clenched around his waist and then strayed just a little too far. He shook with anger and fury that threatened to explode. His whole body twitched, his hair standing on end. What kind of rules were these?! And why hadn't she explained them before granting wishes in this twisted way?
Lina blinked, stopping her cuddling of Zel. "Has she made my kawaii Zel-chan mad?! Don't worry, its under control, darling. FIREBALL!!!!"
Kari barely got a shield of white light up in time. Ameria just stood there, completely immobilized. "Uh, Lina-sama? But I thought you liked Gourry-san?"
"Like that idiot!? " Lina said, her eyes briefly losing that glazed look. "Where is he anyway? Don't we have a quest to complete here? And I'm hungry...come on Zel-chan, let's get some food." She grabbed his arm half dragging him away. He found that without the added strength he'd had as a Chimera he could not even begin to break away. His body banged along the ground as she jerked him behind her, apparently wrapping him around her little finger.
Ameria cringed. "She's scarier than usual."
Kari sighed staring after the couple. "Wishes are always so complicated. Still, I'd better go after him in case he needs his last wish." It wasn't the only reason, but Kari squelched the thought. "Come on, Ameria." She grabbed her cousin and dragged her after the other two.
Ordinarily, Xellos liked complications that threw people off their paces. In fact, had Kari's little spell involved anyone other than Lina, he might have been highly amused, and may have even sought the priestess out to thank her personally. Instead, he found himself wrapped by an anger so intense that it wiped his every inclination to smile right off his face. Mess with his plan, would she? He'd see about that. What were wishes against carefully laid plans and schemes? What was a spell against his devotion to securing his Lina? Besides, he knew exactly how to turn this to his advantage... How, you might wonder? Ah, that was a secret, and thinking about it, made Xellos smile.
"I have no idea where I am going." Zelgaddis complained as they walked along the forrest. He'd tried to use his superhuman speed to get away from Lina, only to discover he'd lost that ability as well.
How much of his increased powers stemmed from Rezzo's transformation of him and how much from his own hard work at learning magic? Apparently, without his chimera body, he could barely even manage a small spell of his own. He'd tried several, just to get away from Lina...nothing had worked. "If you hadn't detoured us for the food, I wouldn't have lost the markings that led to the Orihalcon Mountain." His only hope at the moment was to find Gourry who would hopefully distract Lina from chasing him like this At least, Zelgaddis hoped that would work. Rather ironic, he thought that he was wishing for the presence of a man who in some senses rivalled him for the real Lina's affection.
"Oh, Zel-chan, I'm so sorry!!!" Lina blinked. "But if I fly us up--"
"I can fly too." He said quietly suppressing his irritation. He didn't know if it were true, but he hoped he still could at least ray-wing. Lina's sudden sugary devotion reminded him more of the fate that would have awaited him if Ameria, god forbid, had ever gotten bolder about approaching him. "We must be close to the mountain..."
Lina sighed dreamily as she grabbed his arm, and laid her head on his shoulder. "You're so talented, Zel-chan."
He sputtered for a minute, and then tried and failed to fly.
"Oh...poor Zel-chan...its ok...I have enough magic for the both of us." She cooed. "It happens sometimes...its perfectly normal to lose your magic." She leaned over to kiss him and he dodged again.
"Oh, don't tease me like this!" She called.
He rolled his eyes. This fawning creature (he couldn't think of her as Lina) irritated him more than he'd thought possible. And if he broke the spell that broke its hold on her, he would turn back into a chimera. If he did that, he could get away from her...but if she were normal, he wouldn't want to get away from her.
If Kari had tried she could not have tortured him more, he thought. He turned back, his gaze briefly meeting those of the Priestess who struggled to keep up with him. She smiled at him peacefully as if nothing in the world could be wrong, and gave him a little wave.
He groaned which made Lina turn and start attempting to "comfort" him. This just couldn't get any worse, he thought morosely.
Two hours later, and he decided he'd underestimated the danger of his situation and the cruelty of the wish-granting girl. She'd been blithely informing Lina and Ameria of what else she did besides be a "Priestess." "Usually, I cater events...I enjoy celebrations and music...and of course, I can perform weddings too, which is probably my favorite thing to do."
Lina stopped trudging up the mountain. "Weddings...you do weddings?! Can you do one here?!"
"A wedding?! Of course, the temple is with me, so I could..." She said to a slightly blushing Lina. "Why do you ask!?"
"Then Zel-chan and I are getting hitched!" Lina declared extending a hand into the air. "Right after dinner!"
"Oh my." Kari replied. She smiled tremulously. "Isn't that rather sudden?"
Ameria looked absolutely shocked. "Ne, Lina...are you sure you're alright!?"
Zelgaddis blanched turning stark white from head to toe. "If you'll just excuse me a second!" He grabbed Kari's wrist. "The Priestess and I need to have a little conversation about the, er, ceremony."
"Don't be gone too long sweetie...or I may get jealous!!!" Lina suggested a bit too calmly except for the last part which made her voice shoot up high.
Zelgaddis wiped his brow, and let the sweat rain down as he led Kari behind a huge rock and into a cave of sorts.
"You've got to get me out of this!"He growled to Kari.
Kari bit her lip and swallowed hard. "I'm not the one who made the wish." She breathed at last, her voice as hard to detect as a dew drop before the dawn.
"But you're keeping it up somehow, aren't you?"
"My part in it is really very little....and will fade completely actually once you make the third wish....I'll be gone when you make that wish." She said.
"Great....one more wish...and I cannot unwish the first two..." He said as he balled a hand into a fist. "My life is ruined..."
"I wish I could change the rules for you Zelgaddis-kun, but I cannot." Kari said sadly. She leaned forward and placed her hand on his fist. "And what is so bad? You've gotten what you wanted haven't you? Lina is in love with you, and you're human..."
"She's obsessed with me....and as a human I cannot access the powers I used to have...I'm weak again...I wanted to be human yes, but to still be able to do the things that have come to define myself."
"Then do you wish to ...wish...to.."She couldn't finnish.
"I don't know...I'm afraid what will happen if I use the last one...what other twisted thing will you do to me now?" He said sliding down against the cave wall.
Kari felt the blood rush out of her cheeks. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I just want to make you happy...and they were your wishes..." She knelt to crouch beside him.
Through slitted eyes he briefly glanced at her contemptuously. "No...they were your interpretations of my wishes...I know what I meant, and somehow, that is not what you gave me...you've made me weak, and now you're marrying me off to Lina... Do you get some sort of sick pleasure out of seeing me tortured? Wasn't my life bad enough? You know, before I met you I thought my life couldn't get any worse... You've proved me wrong..."
She shook her head and placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him but he shrugged it off sending her careening into the wall of the cave.
"What did I ever do to you?" He whispered. "You know, I didn't think I could despise anyone as much as I despised Rezzo, but now..."
She bit her lip, a hand flying to her mouth as the other grasped the temple at her waist. "No!!! I mean...I..." She broke off and turned around as she gasped and ran out of the cave. She ran for a while, just feeling the wind whip past her. Had she totally messed up as he accused her? Her first job of granting wishes, and had she gotten it wrong? The shame surrounded her and she sunk to the ground covering her hands and began to cry. What a mess she had made. Oh poor Zelgaddis!
As soon as he'd said the sharp words, Zelgaddis knew he regretted them. Perhaps it was not Kari that had been cruel but just fate itself. Perhaps Rezzo had been right to tell him that to get what he thought he wanted, he would need to suffer through things he did not. Rezzo may have been evil, but that didn't mean he hadn't said something true. Zelgaddis turned his hand over staring at the lines and curves on his skin. Of all people he should have known that wishes do not come cheap....and yet, he'd wished anyway. The wind carried the sounds of someone crying and he felt something pour ice through his veins. Idiot, he told himself, as he stood and prepared to go apologize for what he'd said. There would be another way out of this mess if he stopped being angry enough to think about it. He could still fight with a sword, and in time he could relearn some of the magic that had just "come" naturally to him. Humiliating as it might be, surely Ameria would teach him or, if her crush could get under control, even Lina. Besides, what was so awful about having Lina love him?
"I just don't want to be married to her right now." He announced out loud to himself (or so he thought) as he exited the cave.
"AH....good, I was thinking I don't want you married to my Lina either! This is so good we are in agreement!" Xellos said appearing before a stunned Zelgaddis. Xellos bowed clapping his hands. He looked up and opened one eye. "Then surely you won't object to my marrying her in your place?!"
"WHY YOU--" Zelgaddis sputtered as something started fading the world around him. He felt his head hit the rocks below, and to his amazement, he looked up into an unfamiliar and rather plain face hovering over him. He knew that face... He'd seen it recently, but where? Oh, that's right...he thought as sleep claimed him...in a mirror.
Somewhere in the depths of Lina's mind a voice told her that she didn't want to be putting on the wedding dress that Kari had created for her. Not because it wasn't a beautiful dress. In fact, if she'd dreamed up a dress this probably would be it. A wide skirt of silk combined with a high bodice decorated with tiny rosebuds of silky made the most of her slim figure,and slight curves. In fact, it made her look as if she had curves.
The priestess smiled, but her eyes looked wistful and perhaps, sad.
"You look beautiful, Lina. Weddings are such happy events."
Ameria twirled in her bridesmaids outfit. Like most dresses, she looked cute in it. "Its so romantic--a spur of the moment wedding--but I promise Lina--We can go to Sairune and I will hold a reception for you with a famous Sairune Wedding Banquet--"
"Food?!" Lina said her eyes orienting marginally on Ameria rather than the happy dreamy place they'd been for the whole day.
"After the ceremony, Lina."
Lina blushed. "Ah, the flower of my youth so quickly passed, and here I am, a blushing bride, so beautiful and ready to start a new journey of love...." Lina paused and made a face. "Did I say that?! What's going on!?" She looked about suspiciously. "Who put those words in my mouth?!"
Ameria sighed. "I thought it was beautiful...its a shame no one else is here to celebrate...but I guess Gourry wouldn't want to watch this..."
Lina frowned. "He wouldn't?! Why not, what's wrong with seeing me get married? He's almost seen me do it before!"
"That was a pretend wedding, Lina...and you two weren't...I mean, I don't think you were then, but now...well you're not now obviously or you wouldn't be marrying Zelgaddis, but--"
"Ameria, you're not making any sense. Now help me put this veil on."
Ameria stopped stuttering and nodded. Poor Gourry, she thought, wondering what had happened to make Lina leave him. She wanted to ask, but somehow, she didn't dare.
Music floated into the dressing room of the Temple which Kari had expanded after Xelgadis had said he'd changed his mind and wanted the wedding.
"Are you ready Lina-san?"
Lina smiled and fluffed out the dress, executing a graceful twirl.
"OH yes...take me to my Zel-baby."
Ameria grimaced as if she'd been chewing battery acid, but then smiled.
"Let's go..." She skipped down the aisle of empty chairs throwing petals and then stopped before the small stage/alter where Kari stood draped in white robes with a white turban wound around her head that for some reason resembled whip cream.
To her left stood Xelgaddis, wearing a neat purple tunic of sorts crossed with black. He looked rather handsome in it, and for a second Ameria felt a familiar quickening of her pulse but squelched it. He was going to marry Lina now, and anything else...well....it was too late for that. Yet besides Ameria's crush on Zelgaddis something else in the back of Ameria's mind made her feel Lina might just be making a big mistake. But Ameria, being the kind of friend she was, just held her tongue.
Luckily, Ameria wasn't Lina's only friend. "AH HA HA HA AH AH....." a laugh resounded through the temple doors which swung wide open. A second later a woman's rather voluptuous shape appeared as a shadow against the light.
"LINA INVERSE...HOW DARE YOU HAVE A WEDDING AND NOT INVITE ME!!!" A voice crackled like thunder as Nahga stepped into the room. "I am your greatest and sexiest rival, the great White Serpent Nahga, and I say you cannot hold this wedding unless I am invited!"
"So, you're here already...Kari, if you please, get to the part where I Xel, am married to Lina..." Xel said.
Kari narrowed her eyes. For a second while that woman cackled she'd noticed something different about him, but she couldn't place it.
"If you wish."She hadn't wanted to hurry through it, but perhaps the sooner she completed the task, the better.
Lina however was distracted. "Nahga!? How'd you get here?"
"I followed you." She replied and then reached outside and tugged in a rather bewildered looking Gourry. "And I brought your lover."
"HE's not my---" Lina's face paled. "Gourry?!"
"Lina? Why are you wearing a wedding dress?" He looked horrified.
"I'm getting married Gourry." She said taking a step off the dais before Xel could stop her. She all but ran to him.
Gourry started laughing. "You know, I almost forgot we were getting married today, hope you're not mad."
"Um, Gourry." Lina said sadly. "We're not getting married today."
"Oh good...then I didn't forget it. I know you'd be mad if I forgot a thing like that."
"I'm getting married today."
"Huh?"
"To Zelgaddis...it just happened so suddenly, and I realized, that I love him and want to be with him...I know I let you think...or I thought you and I meant something...." She trailed off. "But its like I can't help it...and I'm sorry Gourry."
Gourry just stood there somewhat frozen. "Uh...so are you going to have a wedding banquet at least?" He said at last not looking at her but sounding perfectly calm.
"GOURRY...you IDIOT!! Didn't you just hear me say I was marrying another man, and that's all you can say!!!!" She stormed as she started smacking him. She wasn't sure why it made her so intensely furious, but it did. How dare he not even be jealous!
"Uh...yeah. Congratulations?" He finished weakly. "So when's the banquet!?"
"DIL BRANDO!" She shouted the spell doing absolutely nothing.
"No fighting in the temple please..." Kari's voice called.
"Oh...I get it, no dark spells in the temple..." Lina wound up her fist with the bouquet of flowers in it and rammed them into Gourry's face. He sneezed and stumbled down.
"Ne, Lina-chan, I think you can beat him up later...let's get married first." Xel said as he tugged the violently shaking Lina back towards the altar.
She struggled against him, her anger allowing her to shrug him off with a right hook. "Zel, I'm a little busy right now..." She said as she began to storm towards Gourry.
"Lina-chan!" Xel exclaimed completely frustrated with her. In the temple, he couldn't use his magic without revealing his identity and he wasn't quite prepared to do that just yet.
He should have known better than to think a silly white magic spell could have a strong effect on someone like Lina. He'd misjudged the situation but only slightly. He still could get this under control.
"Gracia?" A small voice called as Ameria finally reclaimed her voice, running past Lina and Gourry to stare at the tall woman barely clad in black leather who'd not followed Ameria's rules on wedding etiquette.
Nahga frowned looking down at the small cutely dressed girl who looked slightly familiar. "That is not my name." She said coolly.
"It is you, isn't it?!" The younger girl pleaded with eyes wide.
Xel tapped his foot in impatience. "Touching sisterly reunion, but we do still have a wedding to complete." He grabbed Kari's arm and tugged her towards Lina who he spun around. "The reunion can wait."
"Say it..." He said.
Kari blinked. "Two become one, forever with a single heart, a single mind, a single thought, let the red ribbons of your destiny keep you together forever." Xel smiled as he deftly tied the ribbon on his wrist to Lina's and then let go.
Kari sighed. "You are now Man and Wife."
"What kind of wedding was that?!" Lina said confused. "I didn't even say anything."
"The short version..." Kari said. "Its what Zelgaddis requested."
"Hey, what about what I wanted?" Lina complained. "This is my first and hopefully only real wedding...I wanted it to be special..."
"I'm hurt....isn't it special because its our wedding?" Xel asked.
"I don't think I'm ready for this..." Lina narrowed her eyes at him. "Undo it Kari."
"It was your idea." Xel said. "I wasn't the one who wanted to rush into this..."
"But....I changed my mind..." She said not sure why she'd been in such a rush to marry Zelgaddis. She felt as if someone had pulled the cotton-candy that had sunk into her head lately.
"Ne Lina...its too late, and besides can you even think of a reason we shouldn't be married?" He challenged.
Now that she could think she began to assess her situation. "Actually, yes, Zel...if you thought Nahga was ticked that I didn't invite her, just think if my sister Luna found out that I'd gone and---"
"Too late." A voice said as a woman with a chest just slightly larger than Nahga's entered the room. Seriously, that and her enormous bangs were the only remarkable thing about her. She looked as if she'd not been expecting to go to a wedding, dressed as she was in a waitress uniform. In one arm she held a tray of drinks, the other held a slightly bound and struggling familiar looking blue Chimera...
"Wait..." Lina said as chills ran up her bare arms. "If Zel's over there, then who did I just marry?"