Life was once again normal for Lina - well more settled then anything. When she woke for the second time in 'this' life, she found herself situated in a simple country inn room, wrapped lovingly in the arms of her savior. And it seemed from that moment on, she was as content as a turtle in its shell.
That morning Zel had set her down on an uneven stool and pace back and forth worriedly as he had recited what had happened during her 'death'; the way he thought she died, how he had found out, and how she had finally re-joining the living. She sat there, quietly listening, believing every word that fell from his mouth.
With all said and done, the only thing that truly bothered her was her death. Not the actual death, per say, more the events leading up to her death. She remembered it was dark and she was with Xellos, but that was all. And there were no after-life memories lodged in head, either. It was just a cold, bleak nothing-ness. One minute she was talking with Xellos and the next she's in the arms of Zel. It made her head spin just trying to understand it all.
But she let all those wispful memories drop in favor of being with Zel. She knew he would never enthrall her as Xellos had nor would his mere touch set her soul free but it was obvious that those feelings weren't shared by Xellos. Besides, it was never her style to dwell on anything for too long. And she found herself falling in love with Zel - a quiet, peaceful kind of love.
Living in the small, old country town, the two of them settled down as one of the married variety would, though neither was married to the other and anyway, it didn't matter to either of them. Their nights were still filled with the slow, sensual passion as Zel loved her and the days passed with a rhythmic motion of realization.
Yes, everything was blissfully normal and she was as good as new - almost. There had been a couple of strange side effects. The most major of which was her losing her voice completely after she woke for the second time. As such, so did she lose any ability as a magician. Another annoying side effect was her loss of stamina. She was constantly getting tried from the simplest of tasks, such as going to and from the market place a mere 1/8 of a mile. As a result, her adventuring days were gone - Zel had also made it a point to gently insist upon it.
Even so, she still gave thought to Xellos from time to time. Why would he kill me? she would wonder. He seemed to love me.. Unless my memories are false or.. It was strange. As if she knew why and it was always on the tip of her tongue, but she could never quite recall it. That was what annoyed her the most, knowing you know what had happened but having no way to remember it. She could easily remember those nights of fiery passion but what he had said to her the day she died was lost.
Lina shook her head. I shouldn't be thinking about such thoughts! she chided herself. Such thoughts tend to attract what your thinking about and the last thing I need is Xellos showing up on my door step. Sighing a tad bit melancholy, Lina continued sweeping the floor of the small cottage that she and Zel shared. Who would have ever thought I'd be playing the role of a house wife? she mused.
Knock, knock. Lina set her broom aside in a corner and walked to the door, opening it ever so slightly. "May I help you?" she called out.
A familiar face crowded the opening. "Hello, Lina-chan!" the person cried happily. "Glad to see you back and kicking."
Lina gasped. Xellos! This is just my luck, she thought angerly, pushing against the door to shut it.
"Now that's no way to treat your long lost lover," Xellos chirped happily, with his hand on the door preventing Lina from shutting it. With a slight flick of his wrist, he forced the door open, tumbling Lina to the ground. "I've been looking everywhere for you, you know. And here you are, a regular country bumpkin. But that will all change soon enough."
Lina scooted on the floor, heart-pounding as if she had just completed a 5 mile run and terrified beyond thought at the possible meaning of Xellos finding her again.
"Now, now, Lina-chan. As much as I enjoy your fear, I rather do not like it directed at me," he tsked, walking through the wooden door frame. Bending down besides her, he captured her forearms and heaved her up and against him.
"Lina.. Oh, Lina," he murmured against her hair, inhaling her sweet scent. "How I've missed you.."
Lina set her hands gently on his chest and preceded to push off with all her might, gaining the advantage against a startled Xellos and winning her freedom. Seeing the opportunity, she made a mad dash out the front door and down the cobble stone path that lead to Zel's work.
Xellos phased in beside her a couple of moments later. "If I didn't know better, I'd say your trying to escape me."
Zel choose that moment to step out of the woods and was greeted by a frantic Lina gesturing behind her. "Lina? What's wrong?" he asked, trying to calm her down while trying to figure out what she was telling him.
Zel shook his head. "I don't see anything. There isn't anything following you, Lina."
"Oh, I wouldn't say that," a voice behind Zel purred, knocking him to the ground with a swipe of a hand.
Lina gasped at the act and ran to Zel, cradling him her arms.
Xellos reached down and yanked her away from Zel's limp body. "That's really disgusting, you know? Let's go home, shall we? I'll deal with.. him later." Xellos place a hand on Lina's forehead, knocking her out.
Hours later Lina woke to find herself in a lavishly furnished room and with a splitting headache. "God damn! What happened to me?" she whispered, rubbing her temple, trying to relieve some of the pressure. She stopped and blinked at hearing her voice for the first time in nearly a year.
"I can talk? I can talk!" she cried happily, testing out her voice.
"I'm glad to see you in good humors, Lina-chan," a dark figure in the corner said.
Lina's eyes shot to the direction of the voice. No, this isn't possible, she thought wildly.
"My, my, Lina-chan. You'd think I'm here to kill you... or something." Xellos giggled.
"Well? what do you except?" she said, jumping off the bed. "What the hell do you want from me? Was killing me once not good enough for you? Have to kill me again for ol' times sake? Why did you bring me here?"
Xellos sighed. "Because I love you. My plan went as perfect as planned."
"Plan?" echoed Lina.
"Didn't I say I'd find a way to get you back?"
Lina looked at him confused.
Xellos leaned forward in the brown leather chair. "I'll tell it to you bluntly. After I killed you, I felt like I was going to go crazy for want of you. So I put my plan into action. There was no way that the creature would grant my wish so I led Zelgadis to the shrine - not personally, of course - and let the rest play out. Wonder why you couldn't talk before but now can?"
Lina looked at the ground, trying to understand what he was talking about. "So you say you lead Zel to the shrine because you felt guilty about killing me? You've got to be kidding me, Xellos."
Xellos ignored her out burst and continued, "The being who revived you tried to make you human again. So she bonded you to Zelgadis's human part - which isn't very big, as you know. Because that side of Zel was so small, your body was forced to give up some of it's non-critical functions to keep the other parts running smoothly. My poor Lina-chan."
"So, why can I talk now then?" This has to be a dream, a very, very bad dream. It must be that chicken! I swear to you God, when I wake up I'll never eat chicken again! Just let me wake up! Lina begged mentally.
Xellos's smile widened. "Why, because I broke the bond between you and Zelgadis and I bonded you with me."
"Meaning what?"
Xellos grinned happily and opened his eyes. "Meaning your cured of all that ailed you... Oh, and that your now Mazoku. Welcome to the gang."
Chapter 4 | Fanfiction