Up on dry land Lina was reclining on the beach, her waist hidden by the water since she didn't have any underwear on only a sea shell bra. Noonsa was smashed into a nearby rock formation after having made a lewd comment about this and Rezo was perched on a nice dry rock beside Lina grumbling. Gourry the seagull, having managed to learn how to fly, landed upon seeing his dear old friends.
"Heya Lina how's it hangin?" Gourry greeted Lina. "Say is it just me or is there something different about you today?"
Lina nodded happily wiggling her toes and drew up her knees to point out the transformation to Gourry.
"Umm lemme guess. Is it your..hair? Have you been using the dinglehopper?"
Lina shook her head no. Rezo sweat dropped.
"Umm. A new bra?" Gourry asked leaning in. "Hmm no they look as flat as ever."
This earned Gourry a swift and painful groin-kick, complements of Lina's new legs. Rezo and the unconscious Noonsa both sweat dropped and winced.
"Eeeeeeeeep. Lemme see." Gourry tried again in a very high pitched voice. "Is it.."
"SHE'S GOT LEGS YOU MORON!!!!!!!!" Rezo shouted exasperated. "She traded her voice, to the sea-witch Amelia, and got LEGS!"
"Oh. That would've been my next guess."
A vein in Rezo's forehead began to twitch. "Never mind. I'm going to go straight back to the king and tell him every thing. He'll get Amelia to turn Lina back. And that'll be the end of this nightmare."
Lina looked desperate. She grabbed onto Rezo and gave him the wounded/lost puppy look, which had no effect since he's blind and couldn't see it. Then she turned that pitiful gaze onto... The Emperor's Sister.
E, Sis: Okay I'll fix this.
The Emperor's Sister used her powers to transform Rezo into a miniature chibi-Rezo, that could fit in the palm of her hand. Seeing as how him being blind in this fic was starting to grate on her nerves she also gave him his sight, and kicked the piece of Shabranigdo that was locked in there to the moon.
Chibi-Rezo: I can see I can SEE! Hey! Why am I soo small and why is my voice squeaky!!!!!
E, Sis: Picky picky. Ya win some ya lose some.
Lina, happy that she got her way, picked up the squealing Rezo and started to cuddle him, like a little dolly. Off in the distance a faint barking sound could be heard coming closer and closer to where they were.
A collie jumped over rocks and sand and barked a happy greeting to Lina before turning back to call its master.
"What is it Lassie?" a familiar and sexy voice called out. A Head and body soon followed the voice as Lina was discovered by Prince Zel. "Oh." he said as he saw the girl Lassie was pointing to.
Zel approached Lina with a small smile. "Uh hi. You okay?" he glanced down and blushed furiously as he noticed she wasn't wearing much of anything. Lina saw his look and blushed an even deeper red while trying to cover up what she could. Zel turned around red in the face and took off his shirt. He offered it to Lina who, gratefully, slipped it on. She put the un-happy Rezo into a pocket.
Zel helped Lina to get up but since she wasn't used to legs she collapsed right into him. Lina gave him and embarrassed smile, as Zel had to wrap his arms around her to keep her balanced. Zel was blushing a new shade of red and his eyes were starting to pop out of his head. The fact that a cute naked red-head who's only source of clothing was a nifty bra and his shirt was pressed up tight against him, one who didn't seem to mind that he was made of rock either, was really staring to effect his hormones. Zel was hard pressed to keep his nose from bleeding and to keep his mind on being helpful instead of flashing several scenes involving her, a bubble-bath and a BIG bottle of Zefilian wine.
"So." Zel asked the girl in his arms, "What's your name and d.do you live around here?" Zel mentally winced at the pathetic pick up line he just used.
Lina didn't seem to mind though and excitedly began to tell him her name when, nothing happened. She winced and rubbed her throat forgetting the whole bargain thing. So she pantomimed her loss of voice to the prince.
"Hmm. Let me see. You lost your voice temporarily, yes?" Zel asked figuring that much out.
Lina nodded ecstatic. she had no idea how to mime 'sea-witch' and other things so she made up a little fib, that wasn't exactly a lie just not the whole truth.
"So" Zel said following her movements closely. "You were swimming along when... you met up with something horrible. And in a valiant effort to make it to land, you used up allot of strength that you passed out and woke up here. You haven't a clue as to where here is but you are a princess and know you can trust me to help you. Correct?"
Lina was amazed. 'Wow its like he can read my mind.' She smiled and nodded. She remembered Amelia saying how she had to kiss him to get her voice back or something. So Lina turned to face Zel, who was smiling triumphantly at having discovered she trusted him, puckered up and lay one on him.
Zel was in shock. 'Did she just.... KISS ME????'
Lina was stunned, nothing had happened. 'Oh Crud. I forgot. He's supposed to kiss Me. Not the other way around.'
Zel's shocked expression was replaced by a rather goofy looking grin. He picked Lina up in his arms telling her he was going to take her to his palace, that he was going to carry her since she hadn't recovered her own strength yet. Lina restrained the urge to hit him for picking her up and nodded her assent. So it was a strange sight that met the servants' eyes as they saw their Prince, carrying a girl wearing his shirt, with a sappy grin on his face, into the palace. Their prince who never, as long as they'd known him, cracked a smile or even laughed since he became a chimera. The half-naked girl didn't seem too strange to them. Especially when the head of staff was a guy in drag and ... well... Xellos lived there too.