Zelgadis glanced warily over at Lina, who was trudging behind him with slow, dragging footsteps. She was mumbling something under her breath which he hadn't bothered to try and understand yet. Her arms were limp at her sides, and she had a heavy-lidded, tired, slightly annoyed look in her eyes that made him just a touch nervous. It had been like this for most of the day. Perhaps it was time to find out what was wrong...before she fireballed him for no reason... He concentrated and listened to what she was mumbling.
"...Zelgadis, that idiot. We haven't been to a town for days... I'm tired, hungry, and I want to take a long, long bath... This is his fault because he's the one who convinced me to go by all those towns... And these cramps are getting bad..."
Zelgadis ducked his head and hid a mortified blush as he stopped straining to listen to her. That last bit of mumbling was something he definitely hadn't needed to know...
He thought quickly, barely aware he had stopped. Yume wasn't too far away now, but Lina obviously needed a bath and a good night's rest. If they stopped at the next town, which was pretty close, Lina would be able to relax the rest of the day, shake off some of her weariness, and be fresh for the troubles that would begin in Yume. They'd be able to reach Yume from the village with just an hour or two of walking, as he knew. Yes, it sounded like a reasonable plan...
Thunk.
Lina cursed under her breath and rubbed her nose. "Ow..." she said with a pained grimace. Zelgadis was simply standing there, deep in thought. "Warn me when you stop!" she shouted, miffed. Why had he stopped so abruptly?!
"Lina..." he began hesitantly. "Lina, there's a village not far from Yume. It might be wise to stop there for the night."
Lina's eyes sparkled. A village meant an inn and a tavern, at the very worst. It'd be so nice so sleep on a comfy, soft bed... "Alright!" she grinned. "Let's go!"
Some time later, Lina was comfortably ensconced in a room at an inn, with a pleasantly full belly and a waiting bathtub to wash off the journey's grime and dirt. She glanced at the rather drab surroundings, and noted the dirty, dingy, brown, plain curtains, the white-washed walls, and the small table with it's two equally small chairs. The only compensation was the large, plush, well-kept bed, with it's fluffy pillows and layers of blankets. It was the reason she'd chosen this inn. Zelgadis had recommended it, despite it's rather rotten-looking appearance, and she'd been pleasantly surprised when her trust was rewarded. The food had been plentiful and tasted good, the inn had a small bath-house, and the beds were large and soft.
Now time for that bath. If anything interrupted her... Images of corpses and charred bodies rose in her imagination. Lina almost skipped out of her room as she headed down the corridor to the bath-house, towels, a bathrobe, slippers, and all other necessary bathing tools in her hands. Nope, nothing was interrupting her...
She entered the small room, saw the steaming water, and sighed in contentment. Sweet bliss... After locking the door, she shed her clothing and sank into the tub. The heat felt good against her aching muscles, and she relaxed against the back, sinking her head into the soothing water.
Lina...? Zelgadis's voice in her head asked hesitantly.
No, no, no, no, no... she thought with a stifled groan. This wasn't enough time to relax! No matter what it was, she refused to get out!
A resigned, unhappy sound came over from Zelgadis. Fine, fine. I'll take care of it.
Oops...had she projected those thoughts over to him?
You still are, he said with a trace of amusement.
Annoyed and embarrassed, she stated crossly, I wasn't trying to send those thoughts! I was just THINKING!
Sorry. But he still sounded amused.
She decided it was time to switch the subject, before it could get even more embarrassing... What's the problem, anyway?
He quickly turned serious, and the amusement died in his throat as if it'd never been. She felt a twinge of regret before firmly repressing it. Some men are below, demanding you come down and face them. They're tearing the place apart, and threatening to burn the inn down.
Frowning, Lina said, You can take care of them. Local bullies aren't enough to pull me out of this water.
It's just that... She could feel him repressing the next words. Never mind. Go back to relaxing.
She raised an eyebrow. What?
Nothing. Goodnight, Lina. I'll see you in the morning.
Lina frowned, and considered trying to make him tell. Then she considered her nice, warm bath. The bath won out. Besides, Zelgadis was both a sorcerer and a sword-master. He'd be able to take care of himself till she got out in awhile. And with that, she sank beneath the water again.
The bullying men all wore confident sneers and self-satisfied expressions. Zelgadis studied them covertly from his table, hidden in a corner and unnoticed unless he deliberately drew attention to himself. All ten of them were tall and brawny, but none of them looked very smart. If it wasn't for one thing, he would have taken them out without hesitation. They were all guards working for the kingdom of Yume, as their blue uniforms and silver armor proclaimed. Plus, the royal family crest was stitched onto each left arm. Apparently, their uniforms hadn't changed much since the last time Zelgadis had seen them. It also meant, no matter how muscled the bullies were, they knew magic; everyone from Yume used magic. And that was what posed a problem.
Magic spells would fly if he fought them in the inn, and people might get hurt. Plus, the innkeeper would be justly mad if he or the bullies destroyed the inn, and Lina herself would go after him if he interrupted her bath again for any reason.
Zelgadis stifled an annoyed sigh and glanced at the cowering people. The bullies had broken most of the chairs and tables immediately in their vicinity into thousands of toothpicks. Everyone had plastered themselves against the walls, though none had dared try for the door yet. One bully was watching the door, and kept glancing around it, as if just waiting for someone to bolt so he could make an example of them.
It was strange they had found Lina, especially when Lina and him hadn't known until a few hours ago where to stop for the night. Plus, why had they bothered to come from Yume? Why did they want to kill Lina?
The leader of the bullies spoke up again. "Come on now! Surely one of you knows where Lina Inverse is in this inn!" His voice was persuasive and threatening at the same time. He leered at a little girl who was cowering against her father, and took a step towards her.
Finally, Zelgadis spoke up. "You should go back to the Yume Kingdom."
All ten heads turned in sync towards him. He calmly set his coffee mug down and stared right back at them.
"And who are you?" asked the head bully. The bully looked amused that someone so much smaller than him was challenging him.
"No one," he responded quietly.
The head bully's eyebrows raised. "You sound like you need that impudence beat out of you."
Zelgadis gave a chilling stare. "That's my line."
"You know where Lina is, don't you?" The leader grinned as evilly as he could.
"Yes. But you'd never beat her, and you can't beat me," he stated unhesitatingly. Simple fact, as far as he was concerned.
The leader of the bullies sputtered and glared at him. "Why you...you... Get him!"
It was exactly what Zelgadis wanted. In a flash, he'd broken out a nearby window, and paused to see if they were going to follow him or not. He heard mad shuffling around, and a second later he saw bullies file out of the door, searching for him. He grinned coldly and whistled. The bullies turned in his direction, spotted him, and took chase. Perfect.
As soon as he was out of the shot of any nearby buildings, he stopped and began to chant words under his breath. The bullies stopped, panting, nearby him, and noticed leaves and dead grass begin to rise in the air around them. One of the bullies managed to squeak out a horrified "Oh no..." right before the spell was finished.
"Mega Brand!" Zelgadis shouted, and the ground around the bullies burst up completely, throwing them miles into the air.
Several minutes later, they all landed in a heap on the ground, dirty and barely conscious. The leader grimaced in pain and spat out, "That was low! You hit us before we could try and counter it!"
Unrepentant, Zelgadis pointed out dryly, "You were the ones who were stupid enough to leave the inn."
Another asked furiously, "Why the hell did you pick a fight with us?!"
"Because you were threatening Lina," he offered simply.
They stared at him for a moment before laughing nastily and standing up. "You're protecting the Dragon Spooker, the Bandit Killer, Enemy-of-all-who-lives, the Chaos-and-destruction-poster-girl?"
Calm, sapphire eyes burned with rage before Zelgadis was able to hide his emotions, and say coldly, "If you said that to her face, you'd be dead by now." He closed his eyes, opened them, and said dispassionately, "I'll only maim." Without waiting for their sputtered, angry answer, he spread his hand in front of him. Fire collected in his outstretched hands, creating a large ball of pure flame which gathered in intensity and deadliness. The color drained from the bullies' faces. "Flare Bit!" Abruptly, as the bullies tried to dodge the spell, the large sphere of fire broke apart into dozens of smaller pieces. These, they couldn't as easily dodge, and he saw all but a few hit.
When the flames and smoke had died down, he crossed his arms and watched the bullies warily. "Why are you determined to challenge Lina?"
They glared at him, and readied their swords.
"And why aren't you using magic? You're from Yume, after all. You haven't even tried to shield from my attacks."
The bullies continued to glare, not speaking, although he could tell that they were surprised he knew they were guards from Yume.
Zelgadis sighed and shook his head. "Fine; I'll try and explain your behavior myself." He only had to consider for a few seconds before he knew the answer. "...You did something to displease the King and Queen, who threw you out of Yume after stripping you of your magic." He studied their faces, revealing their surprise. They were obviously scared. He wasn't about to explain to them how he knew... "While you were hanging out in this town, you heard of Lina's arrival, and decided that the body of the legendary Bandit Killer might please the King and Queen. You thought they might let you go back to your old posts, and return your magic. So, you went to the inn she was rumored to be staying at, and stupidly challenged her."
They were flabbergast, mouths drooping open and eyes wide. After a moment, one bully squeaked out in a startled voice, "How did...?!" before catching himself.
That was all the confirmation Zelgadis needed. "Leave Lina alone," he threatened, eyes flashing. "Otherwise, next time I'll kill you." He brought both hands in front of him and chanted, "Bomb di Wind!" Air pressure gathered in front of him, harder and thicker with each passing moment. Finally he released it, and the bullies were slammed up against a wall of pure air which bore them out of the city and several miles more.
Zelgadis brushed his hands together, as if ridding them of excess magic, and silently made his way back to the inn. One problem solved...