Lina blinked once, then a second time, and whispered at Zelgadis agitatedly, "Is that..."
"Yeah," he said calmly.
In the center of a large, crystalline room was a dragon with scales that shined all the colors of the rainbow as it moved, and slanted eyes which were fathomless black pools of liquid. Lina had a feeling if she stared in those eyes long enough, she'd discover the secrets of the universe... The dragon itself was rather small, though; it couldn't have been much taller than Zelgadis. A long, beautiful frill that looked like pure crystal ran down her back and down her exceptionally long tail. Her wings were folded on her sides, but Lina had no doubt they were impressive.
The dragon looked over at them, and it's lips curled upward, showing two rows of razor-sharp teeth. "Hello." It had a surprisingly gentle, feminine, and amused voice. "I haven't seen you in awhile, Prince Zelgadis." She turned and looked over at Lina. "Hello, my dear. What's your name?"
This dragon...is very, very strange... Lina shook off her surprise, and greeted her, "I'm Lina Inverse."
"Ah..." The dragon's eyes sparkled in amusement, and it showed in her voice. "Well, Lina Inverse, my name is Trecix." She glanced at Zelgadis and smiled toothily. "You have good taste in...friends, Heir Prince. I approve."
Zelgadis blushed hotly in response, and waved his hand agitatedly in front of him. "No, no! It's not like that!"
The dragon's gaze shifted pointedly towards the linking jewel that Lina wore. "Are you sure?"
Is it just me, or is Trecix implying Zelgadis and I are...? Lina blushed hotly. Now I've seen everything; it's a matchmaking dragon! And what does my linking jewel have to do with it...?
"Yes, I'm sure!" he stated, still blushing. He glanced nervously over in Lina's direction, who was watching everything with shrewd, but confused, eyes.
"If you say so," Trecix conceded at last with a very human shrug. "Now, if that isn't the reason you came, why are you visiting me?"
"I knew Lina would want to meet you," he explained and waved for Lina to come forward.
She nodded in agreement as she walked over to Zelgadis's side.
Trecix eyed Lina, and then smiled. "I've heard a lot about you, Lina Inverse. The king and queen have talked about you quite a bit, and your magical powers. Did you really destroy Shabranigdo and Zanaffar?"
She grinned smugly and crossed her arms in front of her. "Yeah, that was me."
"Were you involved, too?" Trecix asked Zelgadis. "I thought I heard something about a chimera..."
"Yes."
The dragon grinned and winked at him suggestively, "And how did you meet Lina?"
Calmly, Zelgadis replied, "I tried to buy the Philosopher Stone from her. She refused, so I tried to take it from her by kidnapping her."
Lina snorted and added, "You were just lucky."
Trecix grinned wider, displaying more sharp teeth in the process. "I have no doubt, my dear. Was it that time of the month, by any chance?" Lina's beet-red face was all she needed for an answer. "I thought so."
When was the last time I blushed so much? Lina wondered dourly to herself. I think it's time we turned the interrogation from us... "I've never heard of a crystalline dragon before," Lina said in an inquisitive tone, hoping to lead the questioning away.
She looked smug as she responded, "There aren't many of us, but we're also very good at hiding out. We're very powerful, which can make it easier."
"If you're so powerful, why aren't there many of you?" Lina wondered shrewdly.
Trecix nodded respectfully at Lina. "Very good question. Despite - or maybe because of - our power, it's very hard for us to produce children."
Lina nodded in understanding, and Zelgadis added, "Trecix was here when Yume was first being built. The royal family saw her, and instead of trying to kill her, became friends with her. Ever since then, she's been a royal advisor...of sorts..."
"This maze was built around me so no one could blindly sneak up on me, as well as providing an excellent hiding place," the dragon said with a grin.
Lina frowned. "Can't you get out?"
She looked surprised at that. "Of course!" With a glance up at the ceiling of the large room, she explained, "I can manipulate the crystal at the top, and let myself out."
"Interesting..." Lina mused, tapping her foot absently.
Zelgadis switched the subject abruptly, saying, "Does my family know what happened with Rezo?"
Trecix sat back on her haunches and waved a clawed hand delicately at Zelgadis. "If you're wondering about them knowing you were turned into a chimera, rest easy; they have no idea. They do know about Rezo transforming into Shabranigdo, and how he was defeated by you, Lina. The news of that spread wide and far, even to this secluded kingdom." She winked at him. "They also heard about a chimera helping Lina out, but they probably didn't connect it with you, Zelgadis, in any way. If you were to tell them, they might trust you more."
He retorted calmly, "I'm not looking for acceptance in this form. I just want a cure." He paused and went on uncertainly. "Trecix, please...please don't tell my parents who I really am."
"You should know I wouldn't," she responded haughtily.
He sighed and smiled slightly. "Thank you."
"No problem. Now, you'd better get going and 'find' the library," she stated, obviously telling them to leave.
Lina and Zelgadis said their good-byes, and headed back the way they came...
I was right; that is Heir Prince Zelgadis. His timing is very bad, indeed. If he'd just stayed away...
I can't let him find the cure! If he gets cured, he'll reclaim the throne. All my hard work will be for naught. Damn. I'll have to gather some minions then...
That means journeying out of the kingdom, and beyond the barrier... Oh well; it can't be helped now. Thankfully, I think I'll have some time to find the right minions. It should have taken him longer than this to find out the name of the book, and he didn't say he'd found it, so... And if he does find it and use it, I'll just kill him.
The voice laughed softly.
Aristos yawned and poked at the camp fire in a bored way. The dying fire crackled a few times in response. Schnookums watched him with drooping eyelids, as did the rest of his group.
"I have to get to Zelgadis, but I can't get through the barrier," he grumbled angrily to himself. "Damn him; this is all his fault!"
Schnookums did the slug equivalent of rolling his eyes in disgust.
An unearthly voice boomed around them. "Of course it's his fault..." it agreed. "I can help you get revenge on Zelgadis."
The bullies glanced around them nervously, looking for the source of the voice, but saw something.
"You can help?" Aristos asked, grinning gleefully.
"Yes... Come to the edge of the barrier, and I'll let you in..."
"Whoo-hoo! Come on, men! You heard what it said!" Aristos said, eyes gleaming. Everyone groaned, but did as they were told and followed him as he went to the edge of the barrier.
No one was there, yet suddenly a section of the barrier disappeared. "Hurry through." Without preamble, the group got inside. The barrier became whole again as soon as they were on the other side.
From behind a tree came a person hidden completely in a black cloak. "Come with me. I'll hide you till the time is right to attack."
Zelgadis opened up the library door, and both walked through. The sense of calm she'd felt before upon entering the room was shattered, though, by the loud, piercing shouts from Tannec and Wyna.
"...isn't here!" Tannec screamed, obviously furious over something.
"Don't blame me!" Wyna screeched back, offended.
Tannec's stomps could be heard on the first level. "It's not possible! Rezo's dairy has got to be here!"
"Perhaps someone stole it awhile back," Wyna said consideringly.
"I doubt it."
Lina shook her head in amazement. Those two were still looking for the diary? Amazing... "Should we go and break it up?" Lina asked dryly.
Zelgadis shrugged. "We might as well. Besides, we need to find the right book, and it's up there with them."
She grinned and cracked her knuckles. "This is going to be fun..."