Amelia was annoyed. She hadn't been on an adventure in a very long time and she was becoming restless. She needed to get out of the palace.
Amelia began to scribble something down on a piece of paper rather quickly and then rang her bell.
Her personal maid came into her bedroom after the bell rang.
"Hai, Amelia-sama?" the maid asked.
"Could you give this to the messenger and tell him to send it to Lady Metallium's home?" she asked, politely.
"Certainly, Amelia-sama," said the maid as she took the message from Amelia and brought it downstairs with her.
Once the maid was gone, Amelia flopped down onto her bed and sighed.
This is so boring, she cringed, inwardly.
Amelia glanced at the clock and saw that it was noon. She then looked down at her attire and sighed once more.
She was still in her nightclothes.
She got up off of the bed and went to change.
Amelia looked in her closet and noticed her old sorceress outfit. She smiled fondly at the memories that one outfit brought back. It had not been too long ago, but that outfit did not fit her anymore, due to the fact that she had a figure that rivaled her sister Gracia's.
She finished her search through her closet when she found herself a new sorceress ensemble.
Her new outfit was still all white, but much more grown up. Her top was a white blouse that was button up in the front and had sleeves with French cuffs. Her pants were white as well, but were tighter than her previous ones. They were just as tight as Lina's own red tights, which she wore with her sorceress outfit. Her boots, though, were not white. They were black and reached up to the knee and on each side of the boot was a blue, circular gem. She no longer had on her sorcery jewelry as well. She substituted them with a simple silver chain, which contained a charm, which was the pentacle. Her raven hair was up in a loose ponytail and her long bangs framed her face. She looked like true sorceress this time.
Taking one more look in the mirror, Amelia was truly satisfied with the change. She then waltzed out of her room and went downstairs.
Once she was down there someone whom she didn't expect to see greeted her.
"Hello, Amelia-san," said the young man.
Amelia's eyes widened. "Valteira-san! What are you doing here?"
"I just came by to see if you wanted to go out for some tea," he said.
"Valteira-san, when did you get here?" she asked, curiously.
"Just now. Why?" he asked.
"I sent a message to your house just a little while ago. Did you get it?" she asked.
Valteira shook his head. "Iie. I haven't been at home all day."
Amelia sighed. "I see."
"Something the matter, Amelia-san?" he asked, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders.
Amelia snuggled up against his arm and said, "I'm just so bored."
"Then get out of the house," he suggested.
"That's what I plan on doing, but I don't know where to go," said Amelia.
"Follow whatever your heart feels is right. That's what I'd do," said Valteira.
"Then why don't you come with me?" she asked.
Valteira blushed. "Eh?"
Amelia sniffled. "Unless you don't want to..."
Valteira shook his head vehemently. "Iie! I would love to go with you Amelia-san!"
"Then why did you act like that when I asked?" she asked him with a cute pout.
"Because I couldn't believe that you'd ask me above all people," he said, still blushing.
"YOU are the only one I'd ask. I like you so very much. Why wouldn't I ask you?" Amelia asked him.
Valteira shrugged. "I don't know. I guess that I just didn't want to get my hopes up."
Amelia giggled. "You are so cute."
Valteira blushed and Amelia giggled some more.
"It's nice out, so why don't we leave now?" she asked him.
"N...now?" Valteira stammered.
Amelia shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"
"Don't you want to make plans or anything?" he asked her.
"I never made plans while traveling with Lina-san," she told him.
Valteira's eyes widened. "Never?!"
Amelia shook her head. "Never. I wanted her to make plans, but she never listened to me. In the end, though, we all had so much more fun without them."
"Well...if that's what you want, then I guess I can see no harm in leaving now," he said, while scratching the back of his neck.
Amelia flashed a beaming smile at him and he smiled back.
The minute they left the palace, Valteira threw her a questioning look.
"We're not gonna fly?" he asked.
"Iie. We don't want to scare the townspeople by flying all over the place," Amelia explained.
"Well, that does make sense," said Valteira. "So then...where to first?"
At that moment, a mischievous gleam came into Amelia's eyes.
Valteira swallowed hard. Uh oh. What's she thinking?
"Lina-san never did ANY adventuring without money," said Amelia.
"What are you getting at?" he asked, nervously.
"Lina-san would always make justice known to all bandits by taking away their things..." Amelia started.
"And giving it to the poor?" Valteira guessed.
"...And keeping it for herself," Amelia finished.
Valteira face-faulted and Amelia gave him a confused look.
"Amelia-san, isn't it an injustice to steal from others?" he asked.
"Not when they're bad people. Besides, I won't be keeping all of the money. The rest of it will go to charity," she explained.
"Oh...I see. So, who are our first targets?" he asked.
"Any bandit who tries to get in our way, will be our first targets," she said.
"That sounds reasonable. Where to for right now?" he asked.
"Well...let's go to an inn for right now. I have some money that should last as for a few days, but no more," she said.
"Alright," Valteira agreed with a shrug.
With that, the two traveling companions set off for adventure.
After Lina, Zelgadis and Luna had left the inn they had stayed in for the previous night; they went to the now fallen Zephilia. Lina became distressed once more upon seeing the ashes of her hometown. No one could blame her, though.
Her sister Luna was attempting to console her, but was failing, due to the fact that she needed consoling herself.
Zelgadis felt helpless. He had no idea what to do with them. He hadn't lost his parents, yet, so he couldn't decipher the feelings that the two sisters were going through.
Zelgadis walked towards the pair and sat down next to them.
"I wish I could tell you that I knew how you both feel at this moment...but I can't," he said, sadly.
"It's okay, Zel. You don't have to try and make either of us feel better for what has happened. I'm actually more angry than sad. I just want to find the bastard who did this and rip his heart out," Lina spat out, venomously.
Zelgadis put an arm around her shoulders and let her lean back into him.
"Just relax, Lina. Don't get yourself worked up over this or you won't have any energy leftover to defeat the enemy," said Zelgadis as he stroked her hair.
"I know, but it's not easy. Ne, nee-chan?" Lina asked her older sister.
Luna nodded in agreement. "We've been both gravely affected by this incident. We cannot take this lightly."
"I never said for you two to do that, but if you two relax yourselves for a couple of days, you'll find that you'll be much more alert and on target when our battle with this 'monster' occurs. Lina knows this all too well to be true, ne koi," he teased.
Lina blushed. "Shut up."
Zelgadis shrugged. "All I'm doing is telling the truth, Lina."
Lina glared at him. "If you tell the truth for much longer, Zel, I'll..."
Luna then politely cut in. "I'd like to hear what he has to say, Lina-chan."
Lina blanched and then said weakly, "Hai, nee-chan."
Luna put down the canteen of tea that she was drinking from and gave Zelgadis her full attention. "Please continue, Zelgadis-san."
"I could say a lot, but...what would you like to hear?" he asked her.
"Well...you've already told me about your love lives..." started Luna, when Lina cut in angrily.
"YOU DID WHAT!" she screeched at Zelgadis.
Zelgadis paled and tried to explain. "She was asking me a bunch of questions, while you were in my arms half asleep from crying."
Lina's right eyebrow twitched. "You didn't give her any details, did you?"
Zelgadis shook his head rapidly. "Iie, I didn't."
Lina sighed in relief. "Good"
Luna looked at her sister questionably. "Would it have mattered though, Lina-chan? According to him, you two haven't reached that certain point in your relationship just yet. Is there something missing that he might have forgotten to tell me?"
Lina laughed weakly at her sister's question and said, "Iie, nee-chan. There's nothing that you need to worry about."
Luna raised an eyebrow at her sister. "I certainly hope not."
Attempting to change the subject, Zelgadis looked around the wrecked area and sighed.
"There's going to be a lot of work needed in order to fix this place," said Zelgadis.
Lina nodded in agreement and said, "Hai, but at least it's not as bad as what happened to Sairaag."
"Yeah, I know. That was horrible. Poor Sylphiel. How she must have felt," said Zelgadis with a twinge of sympathy marring his voice.
"I wonder if there are any survivors," said Lina.
Zelgadis turned very serious. "If there are, they're probably badly injured."
"That's true," Lina agreed.
Zelgadis kicked some of the thickly formed dirt that was under his feet and said, "Let's get out of here for right now. This place is starting to remind me of a graveyard."
Luna and Lina nodded in agreement as they made their way out of Zephilia.
Back on the road with Valteira and Amelia, they had been looking for a decent inn for two hours straight and were exhausted and hungry.
"Food...food...food..." Amelia kept muttering.
Valteira said nothing, but instead, clutched his stomach as if it were going to fall apart.
"Amelia-san? Have you found an inn that's to your liking, yet?" he asked, his patience wearing thin.
"Iie. There's nothing in this town that satisfies me," said Amelia.
"Amelia-san, we really need a place to rest at. Can't you just accept that not all inns that are in the vicinity, will meet up to your expectations?" he asked.
"I suppose that I could make an exception just this once," said Amelia.
"Who always chose the inn when you traveled with Lina-san?" he asked.
"She did," Amelia replied.
"Were they usually nice inns or bad inns?" he asked.
"They were neither. They were just average," Amelia said with a shrug.
"Oh," he replied. His eyes then caught site of inn that was very near them.
"Amelia-san! There's an inn right over there!" he exclaimed, pointing towards the inn.
"Really?! Then let's go!" she exclaimed as she grabbed Valteira's left hand and dragged him along with her towards the inn.
Once they reached the inn, they found out that they only had one room left.
"It looks like we'll have to share, then," Amelia said casually.
Valteira swallowed the lump that formed in his throat and followed her to their room for the night.
"Amelia-san?" Valteira said once they reached the inside of the room.
"Nani, Valteira-san?" she asked.
"Ano...there's only one bed," he said with a blush.
"So?" Amelia said.
"Won't you feel uncomfortable sleeping together in the same bed, Amelia-san?" he asked, nervously.
Amelia rolled her eyes. "Valteira-san, I've been married. Believe me, I won't feel uncomfortable."
"Demo...I will," he said.
Amelia's face suddenly dawned with understanding. "Oh...you're still a virgin, aren't you?"
Valteira blushed, but nodded anyway.
"Hmm..." Amelia began thoughtfully. "I have an idea."
"Which is?" he asked.
"Why don't you take the bed and I'll sleep on a chair," Amelia offered.
"Demo, Amelia-san! You're a princess. You're the one who's supposed to sleep on the bed, not me!" he exclaimed.
Amelia glared at him. "Stop patronizing me! I'm a big girl and I can take care of myself!"
"Gomen nasai, Amelia-san. I did not mean to be rude," he said.
Amelia sighed. "It's alright, but if you're going to be like that all night, then...why don't we both take the bed?"
"Amelia-san!" he exclaimed loudly with a blush.
"We won't be doing anything but sleeping! It won't be improper," she told him with exasperation.
Valteira looked very hesitant. "Are you sure?"
"Hai! I'm very sure!" she exclaimed.
"Well then...if you're sure..." Valteira trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck.
Amelia grinned at him. "Great! Now...what side of the bed do you sleep on?"
"On the left," he said.
Amelia pouted. "But that's my side!"
Valteira sighed. "I'll make due."
Amelia smiled happily at him. "You are so sweet, Valteira-san! A true knight of justice!"
Valteira blushed and said, "Ano...arigato."
Amelia smiled at him once more and then climbed into bed. He followed.
"Goodnight, Amelia-san," he whispered.
"Goodnight," she replied with a yawn and fell asleep directly.
Valteira turned on his other side to see Amelia's sleeping face. He smiled at her serenity, until sleep finally captured him as well.
The next morning, Amelia and Valteira set off again.
While walking, Amelia became curious about something.
"Valteira-san?" she said.
"Hai?" he replied.
"Why didn't you tell your parents that you were leaving?" she asked.
Valteira shrugged. "I don't know. I guess it was just a spur of the moment kind of thing."
Amelia just gave him a thoughtful look and said, "Hmm..."
"Well...what about you?" he asked.
"Nani?" she asked right back.
"Why did you leave without telling your oto-san or nee-chan?" he asked.
Amelia blushed. "Ano...I didn't want them to worry."
"I guess it has to do with the whole patronizing thing, huh?" he asked.
"I guess you could say that," she replied, quietly.
The conversation was abruptly ended, when the two travelers heard an explosion and a voice in the distance yell out...
"DIL BRANDO!"
Amelia and Valteira looked at each other, knowing that the voice that they had just heard belonged to one person and one person only.
"Lina-san!" they both exclaimed in unison.
The two of them, at that point, ran to locate where her voice was coming from. Once they found her, they waved.
"Lina-san!" Amelia cried out with a very large wave.
Lina looked towards the bushes on the right of her and her eyes widened.
"A...Amelia!" she said, surprised.
"Lina-san!" another voice, distinctly male, called out from behind Amelia.
"Val?!" Lina managed to sputter.
Suddenly two other people joined Lina and they both looked at her weirdly.
"What's going on, Lina?" her male companion asked.
"Hai, Lina-chan. Explain," her female companion demanded.
Amelia and Valteira were wide eyed when they noticed that Lina's male companion was Zelgadis. They didn't, however, recognize the woman.
"Zel, guess who's just behind those bushes?" Lina asked him trivially.
Zelgadis shook his head and said, "I don't know, Lina. Why don't you tell me?"
"Fine then. Amelia and Val are behind those very bushes," Lina announced.
Zelgadis paled for a spilt second and asked, "Amelia's here?"
"Hai," Lina confirmed.
Suddenly Luna cut in, looking at her sister curiously.
"Lina-chan? Who are these people whom you speak of?" she asked.
"They are old friends of ours," Lina explained, speaking for Zelgadis and herself.
"Would you mind if I met them?" asked Luna.
Lina shrugged. "Not at all. Come on out, you guys!"
Amelia and Valteira, upon hearing Lina's command, came out of the bushes and into view.
"Nee-chan, this girl here is Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun. She is the princess of Seyruun," Lina introduced.
Luna looked a bit mind boggled at the fact that Lina knew a princess, but kept quiet and let her sister finish the first introduction.
"Amelia, this is my nee-chan, Luna. She is also a Knight of Cepheid," said Lina.
A Knight of Cepheid? That means she's a knight of justice! How wonderful it must be for Lina-san to have her as a sister! Amelia thought jovially.
"It's very nice to meet you, Amelia-san," said Luna, extending her right hand.
"It's very nice to meet you too, Luna-san," said Amelia, grasping Luna's right hand in her own, giving her a firm handshake.
"Now then, that kid over there is my friend Filia's son, Val," said Lina.
Luna walked up to Valteira and shook his hand. "My name is Luna Inverse. Pleased to meet you."
"Ano...pleased to meet you as well," he stammered, while the attractive woman shook his hand.
Amelia was growing jealous of the situation and she gave Valteira a look of death. Valteira swallowed hard and let go of the woman's hand. He then walked back over to Amelia and was awarded with a bang on the head.
"Itai..." he muttered.
Amelia glared at him. "It's your own fault."
"Must you point it out, though?" he asked, while rubbing the sore spot on his head.
"If that's what it takes to get through to you, then yes," she replied.
"Perfect," Valteira muttered sarcastically under his breath.
Amelia ignored him and focused her attention on Lina.
"It's been so long, Lina-san," Amelia observed.
"So true, Amelia. So, what have you been doing with yourself?" she asked.
"Not too much, actually. My father is going to have my hide when he finds out that I'm gone," said Amelia.
Lina's eyes nearly popped out. "You ran away from home?!"
"I guess you can put it that way," said Amelia.
"Good going, Amelia! You're actually learning to be independent and it's about damn time!" Lina commented.
"What about you, Val? Shouldn't you be at home?" Zelgadis asked him.
"I kinda had the same idea as Amelia-san, so we took off together," said Valteira.
"Filia's gonna be so pissed," said Lina with a grin.
"I can always say that I take after you," said Valteira with a grin that rivaled Lina's.
Lina glared at him. "Do and die."
"I was just kidding, Lina-san!" he exclaimed, hastily.
"You better have been," she muttered.
"Ano...Lina-san?" Amelia asked timidly.
"Hai, Amelia?" she asked.
"Why are you and Zelgadis-san traveling together?" Amelia asked.
"Ano...we are...that is to say..." Lina trailed off, not being able to answer her.
Zelgadis looked at her, knowing that it would be hard for her to tell Amelia the truth, since she didn't know. Zelgadis decided to take the initiative this time.
"We've been traveling together because we're in love with each other," Zelgadis said bluntly.
Lina's eyes widened when he said this. Since when has he become so bold?
Amelia was just in a state of shock. Oh Cepheid-sama! That's why he wanted to annul the marriage. Sure, I wanted to as well, but his reason was to be with Lina-san. Mine was just to be free. I should have seen the signs, but I was so blind! Stupid Amelia! Stupid!
"How long?" she asked, coolly.
Lina didn't like where this was going and instead of answering she asked, "Why? You granted the annulment. It doesn't matter what his reason was as long as he had one."
Amelia sighed, holding back her anger. "I know. Forgive me, but I wish you two would have at least told me."
Lina closed her eyes. "It was wrong of us not to, but we didn't know what else to do. I just want to put that and everything else during that time behind us. It doesn't and shouldn't matter anymore."
"You are right, Lina-san. We definitely should put it in the past and leave it there," Amelia agreed.
Zelgadis came up behind Lina and gave her right shoulder a squeeze. Lina looked over that shoulder and gave him a tender smile.
"Everything should be all right now, Zel. Everything," she said, quietly as he squeezed her shoulder again.
"I couldn't agree more, koi," he said, smiling back at her.
Luna looked at her sister and her sister's lover and smiled fondly at them.
They are so perfect for one another. I honestly hope that they will be married one day, thought Luna, while looking at them.
Lina then looked over at Amelia and Valteira and summoned them over.
"Would you guys like to travel with us?" Lina asked them.
Amelia and Valteira looked at each other, then back at Lina and nodded rapidly.
Lina chuckled at their answer. "Then let's go because I'M STARVED!"
"There should be a restaurant in the next town. Let's go there," Zelgadis suggested.
"Whatever restaurant is fine with me as long as it offers FOOD!" Lina exclaimed loudly.
"Yes, Lina. We all know that food is your one true love," Zelgadis said with a smirk.
Lina pouted. "That's not true. There's you too."
Zelgadis rolled his eyes. "I feel so honored."
Lina swatted him on one of his arms and then glared at him. "Watch it buddy or you'll be sleepin' on the floor tonight."
Zelgadis pretended to be scared and said, "Yes, ma'am."
"I mean it, Zel!" she growled.
Knowing that she wasn't playing, Zelgadis sighed and said, "Sorry, Lina. I won't tease you about that anymore."
"That's better," she said, approvingly.
"We'd better get going before this restaurant that Zelgadis-san has recommended closes," said Luna, observing the sky, which was darkening rapidly.
"Hai, Lina-san. Let's go!" Amelia exclaimed.
"Ne! We are now going off on journey with unknown adventures, so let's get our stomachs full!" said Lina.
Everyone nodded at her proclamation and then they went off for the next town, which might hold an adventure for them all.
Back in the heavens, L-sama was a bit more content than she had been in the past few days.
Xellos suddenly appeared before her and bowed.
"Are they all together?" she asked him.
"Not quite. There are still seven, which includes myself, whom are not present, but I have a feeling that two more of them will show up soon," he said.
"Good. I have a feeling that the battle won't be for a while, so take your time with the preparations for it. Actually, tell Zelas that. She's the one who needs to know," she told him.
"Yes, L-sama. I will do so," he said as he vanished.
Just how long will this time of peace last before the upcoming battle? Just how long? she asked herself.
All the while, her chosen ones were having a grand old time without a care in the world. They didn't have the slightest clue of what would soon be in store for them.