The wide, dusty road went off into the distance without end, meaning long miles of trudging along getting grimy, sweaty, and cranky. On either side was a thick, lush forest, but the trees were far enough back from the road that they provided no shade. The hot sun shone fiercely on them as they walked toward their destination, and only a few clouds littered the sky.
Lina stopped dead in her tracks and glanced down at the map in her hands again. "Well, Yume is supposed to be very close, but...I don't see anything..." Lina asked, annoyed, and gestured forward. "To me, it just looks like a dirt road."
Zelgadis firmly kept from commenting as he stopped just behind her.
She sighed, rubbed her forehead wearily, and studied the map again. "On the map, I see the kingdom itself, and a circular wall around it. One of the wall's edges is supposed to be right around here."
Again, Zelgadis kept silent.
Finally, she turned toward him. "You've been here before, so shouldn't you know what is going on?" she demanded, crossing her arms in front of her.
"..."
"If you don't tell me, I'll leave you right here, and keep on walking till I find it," she warned, already turning around as if she truly meant it.
To her surprise, a flash of fear crossed his eyes before he was able to control his emotions again. He quickly grabbed her arm, and spun her back towards him.
"Well?" Lina frowned.
He gave a sound of defeat, and nodded dully. "Okay, I'll help," he said in a monotone voice as he released her arm.
She gave a breath of relief. "That's good. I didn't actually want to carry through with my threat," she confided.
The sides of his mouth kicked up slightly, though he tried to suppress it. He shook his head, and closed his eyes for a heartbeat. Looking at her, he thought, I'll show you what cannot normally be seen.
Lina was about to ask him just what the hell that meant when he turned her around, so she was facing away from him, and put his arms around her waist, locking her body up against his. She could feel his breath slide over a sensitive ear, and was all to aware of each place where their bodies were touching.
"Wh-what...?!" she gasped, too stunned to move as a hearty blush rose in her cheeks.
Shh... he soothed, absently tightening his grip so her body was even more flush against his. This'll make the transfer easier.
Transfer...? What are you talking about?! Lina demanded, finally finding her voice in her mind, and using it. She didn't attempt to pull away, though.
It's easier to explain once you've seen... Now hush; it'll be done in a second, if I can concentrate, he chided softly.
For the first time, she noticed his hands were touching the jewel he'd given her on her belt. Did that have something to do with what he was talking about...?
Keep your eyes straight forward, he commanded.
Still wondering what he was doing, she did as he said, and looked into the distance. For a few seconds, nothing happened, and she had to keep a blush forcibly from her cheeks as she considered their posture in her mind.
Now watch.
Watch what? she wondered dryly.
A blue mist spread over the road just a few feet in front of them, obscuring everything over like a thick fog. It quickly began to dissipate, but in it's place was a silvery, see-through barrier...and in the distance...
...the walls of a kingdom...
Her jaw unhinged, and her eyes bugged out. Where had they come from?! She struggled out of Zelgadis's arms and spun around to confront him. "What happened?! And where did Yume come from?! That was all road just a few seconds before!"
Zelgadis blushed in embarrassment, and rubbed the back of his head. "Well..."
She interrupted her before he could say anything more. "Is that really Yume?!" Lina said as she pointed to the castle.
He nodded. "Yume has a magical barrier around it that prevents people from seeing Yume; instead, you just see a road. Once you've been within the kingdom, though, you can see the barrier as a shimmering, translucent wall."
Which was why she couldn't see the barrier at first, and how he was able to see it. But that raised more questions than it answered. If it was true you couldn't see the barrier and the kingdom until you'd been within the kingdom, how did he get into it in the first place? What did he just do to make her see it? Did that mean inhabitants of Yume were born with the ability to see the barrier? Why was the barrier set up in the first place? Did it do anything else?
More questions swirled in her head, and she cut them off before she got a headache. Finally, she settled on question. "How come I can see it now?"
He gestured to the red jewel on her belt. "It's another ability of the jewels. We can transfer images, if we want to. All you have to do is picture something in your mind, and send it to the other person. But...I wanted you to be able to see the barrier permanently, which required me to send the picture in such a way that you see it at the same time as me. To accomplish this, I needed to be touching your jewel, you needed to be looking in the same direction as me, and we had to be standing close together."
Hence his embrace. She wasn't sure whether she should be relieved...or disappointed...
Zelgadis shook his head, drawing her attention back to him. "I wasn't sure it would work... I essentially had to trick your brain into thinking what I saw, you saw."
Lina nodded in understanding, and brightened a margin. "I see. Now...let's go into Yume!"
Again, he placed a hand on her arm and stopped her.
Fuming, she turned back for what seemed like the millionth time and glared up at him. "Well? What now?"
"You didn't actually think you could walk straight through the barrier, did you?" he asked, frowning in worry. "It's not that simple."
She grimaced and muttered, "One can only hope..."
"The barrier sucks all the energy out people who touch it. Generally, the only way to get through is to have someone from the other side open a temporary portal," he stated in an authoritative teacher's voice.
Lina groaned and rolled her eyes. "Terrific," she said sarcastically, highly annoyed with the situation. "Since they're not exactly expecting us, how do we get through."
"I...learned a trick...which might help..." he said, his indecision plain.
"Really?! Then get to it!" she grinned, pushing him forward.
He sighed in exasperation and shook his head. "Fine, fine..."
Zelgadis walked straight up to the barrier, and put a hand on it, frowning intently all the while. To Lina's surprise, nothing happened.
A deep, ancient voice boomed into his head. Hello, Zelgadis.
"Hello, Porter," he greeted it solemnly.
You sound unhappy... No, not unhappy, but displeased and resigned... it noticed.
"It's a long story," he hedged. "May my friend and I pass through?"
Now the barrier's tone was wry. Of course.
"Thank you," he said, though he didn't sound too thrilled. He took a step into the barrier, and energy crackled and hummed around him, but not touching him. He gestured to Lina, and waved her forward. "We can go in now," he said simply.
She raised an eyebrow, since she hadn't heard the conversation he'd just had, and reluctantly walked up to him. "Are you sure...?"
"Trust me," he said as he offered her his hand.
Lina took his hand after a small hesitation, fingers trembling. Zelgadis smiled slightly in amusement and pulled her quickly through. Energy crackled along each part of her body for one infinite second. She tumbled inside, her eyes squeezed tightly shut, and only opened them up to look around once his voice prompted her to.
She saw fields of crops, and in the distance the clear image of the wall of a kingdom. A quick glance back assured her they had gotten through the barrier, and since she was still standing, she assumed Zelgadis had somehow gotten her through with her energy intact.
"We're...in...Yume..." she breathed, eyes sparkling excitedly.
Zelgadis merely looked resigned, and a little worried. He hoped their trip to Yume would be done quickly. If not...
"We're in Yume," he repeated unenthusiastically.