It had been a week since Gourry proposed to Sylphiel. She was very excited about the wedding, but since she didn't know where Lina and Zelgadis were, she couldn't invite them. That seemed to dampen her mood, but the ever-optimistic Gourry told her never to give up and that everything in the end would turn out all right. Sylphiel had just smiled at what he had said and tried to make herself believe that it was so.
Sylphiel closed her eyes and imagined the wedding. All of her friends were there cheering her and Gourry on, while Lina was the one that ended up catching the bouquet and blushing madly. Sylphiel giggled at the thought. She was not as naïve as everyone thought that she was. She knew what was going on between Zelgadis and Lina and she thought that it was cute.
"Shimatta!" a voice cried out in the kitchen.
Sylphiel sighed and went to go and tend to her beloved Gourry.
Upon entering the kitchen, Sylphiel found Gourry sitting on the floor looking helpless. She almost giggled at his sad little expression, but when she noticed the blood on his hands, she held back.
"Gourry-sama!" she almost shrieked.
"I was putting away the dishes when one of them fell, so I tried to pick up all of the pieces all at once," said Gourry.
"But you cut yourself instead," Sylphiel concluded.
Gourry nodded numbly as Sylphiel knelt down next to him and cast a Recovery spell on his bloody hands.
"How do you manage at times?" she asked, while casting the spell.
"I just wanted to help," he whimpered.
Sylphiel smiled tenderly at him and said, "That's very sweet, Gourry-sama, but if you needed help, you could have asked me."
Gourry sighed. "I know, but I didn't want my Sylph-chan to hurt herself."
"Aishiteru, Gourry-sama," Sylphiel whispered softly into his right ear.
"Aishiteru, Sylph-chan," he said in reply.
Sylphiel finally finished the spell and helped Gourry clean up the mess in the kitchen. Once they were finished there, they left the kitchen and went outside for a walk.
"Gourry-sama?" said Sylphiel as they were walking through a clearing.
"Hai, Sylph-chan?" he asked, looking towards her.
"Do you think that we'll ever see the others again?" she asked.
Gourry looked thoughtful and then said, "I don't know."
Sylphiel sighed. "Our wedding is in a month and I've invited everyone except for Lina-san and Zelgadis-san."
Gourry looked confused. "Why didn't you invite Lina or Zelgadis?" I thought that they were our friends too...unless they did something to make you mad..."
"It's not that, Gourry-sama. I just can't seem to reach them because they're always on the road," said Sylphiel.
"Well, don't give up, Sylph-chan!" Gourry exclaimed cheerfully. "You never know what could happen."
Sylphiel almost smiled. It's so like him to be so cheerful about everything.
Gourry and Sylphiel continued their afternoon stroll. In the meantime...
"BUT I'M HUNGRY NOW!" Lina whined, while she and her friends walked around the countryside.
Zelgadis rolled his eyes. "You just ate, Lina. Can't you tell your stomach to hold itself for a while?"
Lina glared at Zelgadis. "Listen to me. Do you expect me to ignore when my body's hungry? That's just inhumane!"
"We're nearing Sairaag, Lina. As soon as we enter the city, we can go and find Sylphiel. You know that she would be willing to cook for us," Zelgadis told her factually.
Lina sighed. "Oh, alright. It's not like you're gonna let me have my way anyway."
Zelgadis nodded in agreement. "That's right. You have your way much too often."
Lina ignored his last comment about her and kept on walking. Zelgadis sighed when she didn't respond and then neared her, clutching onto her left hand.
"Gomen," he murmured.
Lina's expression softened at the tone of his voice. "It's okay."
"You sure?" he asked.
Lina nodded. "Yeah."
Zelgadis sighed in relief, but didn't let go of her hand.
Amelia watched the couple and sighed softly. She and Valteira had only been on a few outings, but she really did like him. Watching Lina and Zelgadis act like an old married couple was making her slightly jealous.
Amelia looked over at Valteira, whom at the time, was preoccupied with reading a book of spells.
I could teach him those spells and... Amelia looked at him once more with longing. I could teach him so much more.
"Valteira-san?" said Amelia.
"Hai, Amelia-san?" he asked, turning away from his book.
Amelia blushed at the thought of her next question, which in turn, provoked Valteira to eye her with curiosity.
"Why don't you ever...kiss me anymore?" she asked, blushing.
Valteira blushed at her question and said, "Because you never ask me to anymore."
Amelia blushed even harder. "Valteira-san, you don't have to ask to kiss me."
Valteira's face was just as crimson as Amelia's was right then. "I don't?"
"That's right," she replied.
Valteira didn't know what to say. His emotions and feelings for her were on overdrive at that point and he didn't want to stop it, but the fact that they were in public kicked into his brain, so he did stop it.
Amelia looked at him expectantly, but noticed that he wasn't going to attempt anything. Amelia sighed inwardly and kept on walking with her eyes downcast.
Valteira didn't know what to do. Well...actually he did, but he was just plain scared. He didn't know what to expect, since he never made the first move with her.
Valteira took a deep breath and said, "Amelia-san?"
Amelia looked at him curiously, but the moment she raised her head to answer him, he kissed her.
Amelia's mind went on a complete shutdown. She returned the kiss passionately and held onto him tightly.
After a minute, they both let go and they were both grinning like idiots.
"So you do have some guts. I'm impressed!" Amelia said happily.
"Well, if I held out anymore, I would've probably ended up going insane," he explained.
Amelia gave one of his hands a light squeeze. "Well...I'm glad that you decided to do what you did. Will you be doing it more often?"
Valteira blushed. "Well...probably."
Amelia grinned again and then hugged him. "Arigato, Valteira-san."
Valteira hugged her back with a smile on his face, saying absolutely nothing at all.
Lina at that point, noticed that Valteira and Amelia were very far behind her and Zelgadis, but she could still see them when she looked over her shoulders.
"Hey, Zel? Would you mind if we stopped for a second?" Lina asked.
"Why?" he asked back.
"Because we left Amelia and Valteira behind," Lina said as she pointed behind them.
Zelgadis rolled his eyes. "Honestly, those two!"
"I can actually guess what they're doing right now, since we're gone," Lina said with a grin.
Zelgadis' eyes widened. "What the hell are you implying?"
"Oh come on, Zel! Are you that blind? Those two are probably lip locking over there right now! Why? Hmm...maybe because they really like each other!" Lina exclaimed.
"MUST you tell the whole world?" he asked.
Lina smiled apologetically. "I guess I DID get carried away. It's just that I know that those two are very attracted to each other and that they might have wanted some alone time."
"Like us?" Zelgadis asked seductively as he moved much nearer to her.
Lina's face became flustered in an instant. "Zel! Not now!"
Zelgadis sighed in exasperation. "Fine, fine. By the way, where's your nee-chan?"
Lina's eyes widened in shock at the question. "You're right. WHERE is she?"
"I'm right here, Lina-chan," a calm and serious female voice said from behind her.
Lina turned around and put on a big cheesy smile for her sister. "Hello, nee-chan."
Luna looked around for a moment and then looked back at Lina. "Where are Amelia-san and Valteira-san?"
Lina shrugged. "Probably making out."
"Is that an assumption or fact?" asked Luna.
"An assumption," Lina replied.
"I could go and spy on them," Luna said mischievously.
Lina looked at her sister in shock. "Well, that's a complete change of character. Why so eager?"
Luna shrugged. "Just because."
"Go right ahead nee-chan and let us know about the details. We'll go and find a place to set up camp," said Lina.
Luna shook her head. "I already set up camp for us, so there should be no problem."
"Great! Just lead us to where it is and we'll wait," said Lina.
"Follow me then," Luna instructed as she led Lina and Zelgadis to the campsite.
Once they were at the campsite, Luna left. Lina and Zelgadis just sat down on the grass and waited.
"Lina?" said Zelgadis, looking at her.
"Hai, Zel?" she asked, looking back.
He said nothing as he moved towards her and kissed her off guard.
Lina, not having kissed Zelgadis in a long while, returned the kiss passionately, even though she was still in shock.
Once they broke away, Lina was out of breath.
"Zel...what possessed you to do that?" she asked.
"We haven't had much physical contact lately and it's been driving me insane," he told her as he began to nibble on her left ear.
"Zel..." she breathed out as his lips moved to her neck.
Lina then moved away from Zelgadis. He gave her a puzzled look, but then Lina attacked his lips with a vengeance. He returned the kiss eagerly as her hands began to wander under his cloak and to his tunic. She quickly moved her lips to his neck, nibbling and kissing as she went on.
Zelgadis moaned slightly at her motions and then moved his hands under her cape towards the back of her tunic. He ran his fingers lightly up and down her spine, which in turn, made Lina shiver with excitement.
"Aishiteru, Lina," Zelgadis told her in a husky tone of voice.
Lina didn't answer him, but began to make purring noises. She then began to untie his cloak when Luna suddenly appeared with Valteira and Amelia.
"AHEM!" Luna exclaimed loudly, clearing her throat.
Lina and Zelgadis turned to the voice with very loud blushes on their faces.
"Don't give them any ideas. Besides, you shouldn't be doing that in the first place, anyway," Luna told them sternly.
The blushing Lina and Zelgadis then pulled away from each other reluctantly. Luna looked at them, holding back the smirk that was about to form on her face.
Amelia and Valteira were just flustered about the whole situation. They then sat down on a couple of rocks at the campsite and waited for a plan on what they were going to do the next day.
Luna then spoke up. "Well then. I believe that tomorrow we should proceed to Sairaag without any stops, unless they are necessary."
They all nodded in agreement and then Lina said, "We can't afford to lose anymore time getting there, so we need a good night's sleep if we wanna actually make it there without any stops."
"Then...shouldn't we go to sleep now?" asked Amelia.
Lina nodded. "Who'll take the first watch?"
"I'll do it," offered Luna.
"Good. Now then, let's get some sleep!" Lina exclaimed as she began to lie down.
Zelgadis lied down next to Lina, while Amelia and Valteira lied down next to each other.
During the middle of the night, Zelgadis was awoken by a tap on his right shoulder.
"Wha...what?" he asked, groggily.
"It's your turn to take watch," Luna told him.
Instead of answering her, Zelgadis yawned once and then got up. He sat down next to a rock, which was right beside Lina.
Luna examined his features as he watched Lina. They were soft and loving.
"You really do love her, don't you?" she asked.
Zelgadis nodded. "Very much."
"Why don't you ask her to marry you then? I'm pretty sure that she wouldn't object," she said.
"I'm just not sure if she's ready to settle down just yet," Zelgadis told her.
"You'll never know unless you try," she pointed out.
Zelgadis sighed. "That's true, but...do you approve?"
Luna raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't have mentioned it, if I didn't."
"Arigato gozaimasu, Luna-san," he thanked her, respectfully.
"You're welcome, Zelgadis-san," she replied.
Luna then made herself comfortable and fell asleep.
Zelgadis then turned his attention back to Lina's peaceful face.
I need to ask her when we're alone, but now that we have all of these people travelling with us, it'll be near to impossible! Maybe Luna can find a way to distract them, Zelgadis thought as he took watch for the rest of the night.
The next morning, everyone felt relaxed and ready to go to Sairaag.
While they were walking, Zelgadis moved over to talk to Luna.
"I thought about what you told me yesterday," he whispered to her.
"And...what did you think?" she asked.
"I want to do it, but...I want to ask her alone," he explained.
"I see what you mean. I'll find a way to distract everyone while we're in Sairaag that way you can ask her," said Luna.
"Arigato," said Zelgadis as he walked back to Lina.
Lina looked him with a puzzled looked on her face and asked, "What was that all about?"
"I wanted to ask her about what it's like being a Knight of Cepheid," he lied, breezily.
Lina blinked. "Oh."
"Why? Did you miss me?" he asked, teasingly.
Lina blushed. "Well...maybe."
Zelgadis grinned and then placed a kiss on her right cheek.
"Glad to know that you're thinking about me," he commented.
"Don't be so smug," she muttered.
"Sorry, but that's just the way I am," he said with a smirk.
"Well...fix it!" she began to growl.
"Why?" he asked, the smirk never leaving his face.
"Because it's annoying!" she said, glaring at him.
"It is? I never noticed," he said, feigning innocence.
"Are you sure that you're not related to Xellos?" she muttered, questionably.
"Now that was just cruel," he told her, grimacing.
"Then stop being so smug all the time!" she exclaimed.
"I promise to stop being smug around you all the time, but around other people, I won't be able to keep that promise," said Zelgadis.
"Works for me," said Lina.
They then stopped talking to each other and continued walking.
"It should take us no more than two hours to get to Sairaag at this rate," Luna observed.
"Good, but why can't we just use Raywing in order to get there? It would be so much faster," Lina pointed out.
"Because not all of us can cast magic," said Luna.
"Only Val can't cast magic. Amelia can carry him, so that shouldn't be a problem," said Lina.
"If you put it that way, then...why not," said Luna.
"Alright! Amelia, Zel, we're all gonna cast Raywings. Amelia, I need you to take Val, ok?" said Lina.
Amelia nodded. "Hai, Lina-san!"
"Great! Let's get going!" Lina exclaimed as she cast her Raywing.
Zelgadis, Luna and Amelia, who was holding onto Valteira, followed behind her.
After flying for about forty-five minutes, they finally reached Sairaag. Lina landed first into to the city and then was followed by her companions.
"It looks like they did a good job rebuilding this place. I wonder if they could rebuild Zephilia as well," Lina observed as she looked at the newly rebuilt city.
"It does look nice," Zelgadis commented as he stood next to her.
"Sylphiel's house should be nearby, so let's go!" Lina commanded as she ran off into the middle of the city.
The others looked at each other, shrugged and then followed after her.
"Lina-san! Not so fast!" Amelia cried from behind her.
Lina ignored the princess and continued running. Once they finally made it to Sylphiel's house it was nearly dinnertime.
Lina knocked twice on the door and waited.
Inside of Sylphiel's home, Sylphiel was rather startled by the unexpected knock and went to answer it.
Lina waited for Sylphiel to answer the door almost impatiently, tapping her right foot against the ground all the while.
Sylphiel went to answer the door and to her utter astonishment, Lina was standing right there.
I guess Gourry-sama was right, thought Sylphiel in amazement.
"So...are you just gonna stand there or are you gonna invite us in?" Lina asked with a grin.
Sylphiel snapped back to reality and gave Lina an apologetic look. "Gomen nasai, Lina-san. I was just thinking about something."
"Oh? And what may that be?" Lina asked, while she and her companions walked inside of Sylphiel's home.
"Nothing important. So, Lina-san...how have you been lately?" she asked.
"I've been alright. Zel and I have been doing some travelling together, so we keep busy," Lina said with a shrug.
"Well, that's good to hear. I do have an announcement to make, though," Sylphiel started off shyly.
"What's that?" asked Lina.
"Gourry-sama and I are getting married next month," she wound up.
Lina nearly fell from shock as she blurted out loudly, "Wow!"
"I was wondering if you and Zelgadis-san would like to come," said Sylphiel.
"Of course we'll come! Amelia and Val will go to, right?" Lina asked as she looked in Amelia and Valteira's direction.
Amelia and Valteira both nodded vigorously.
"May I come too?" a voice that Sylphiel didn't recognize asked.
Lina looked in the direction of the voice and then back at Sylphiel who was looking at Lina questionably.
"Ano...Sylphiel, that's my nee-chan, Luna," said Lina. "Would it be alright if she came with Zel and I?"
Sylphiel nodded. "Of course she may come."
"Arigato," said Luna.
"Would you all like to stay for dinner? It's not finished being cooked, yet, but if you all want to rest up before the meal, then I can lead you to your rooms for the night," Sylphiel offered.
"I'll take the room I had last time I stayed. Is that ok, Sylphiel?" asked Lina.
"That's fine," said Sylphiel. "Who will be joining you in the room?"
Lina looked up at Zelgadis and grinned evilly. Zelgadis, in turn, gulped audibly.
"I know EXACTLY who will be joining me," Lina said, while she looked at Zelgadis up and down, as if she were eyeing her prey.
Zelgadis turned a nice shade of red and excused himself to his and Lina's room. Lina then excused herself and followed him.
Sylphiel was wide eyed at the insinuation that Lina and Zelgadis were putting off.
"I have to ask. Are those two together?" she asked.
As answer, there was a collective nod that came from Amelia, Valteira and Luna. A small sweat-drop appeared on Sylphiel's head.
"I see," she replied.
"Where's Gourry-san?" Amelia asked suddenly.
"He's upstairs taking a nap in our room. I'm going to have to wake him up a little before dinner starts," said Sylphiel.
"Lazy as always, ne?" Amelia commented.
Sylphiel giggled lightly in reply. "Do you three want to rest up before dinner or did you want to help me?"
"We'll help. I want to see what kinds of delicious food you're making this time, Sylphiel-san," Amelia said enthusiastically.
"Arigato," said Sylphiel as she led Amelia, Luna and Valteira to the kitchen.
Upstairs in Lina and Zelgadis' room, Lina was trying to get him into the mood.
"But, Zel!!!!! You wanted to do it earlier today! Why not now?!" Lina whined.
"Lina, we are in another person's house. We should not attempt to make the hostess uncomfortable," Zelgadis argued with her.
"I DON'T CARE! I wanna have fun now!" she whined even more.
"Please don't pull the cute act on me, Lina. You know how it affects me," Zelgadis said wearily.
Lina pouted cutely. "Phooey. I just wanted to have some fun, too."
Zelgadis' self-restraint was almost gone. "Lina, we have never done IT before. You know that. Why do you want to all of a sudden?"
Lina walked up to him and snaked her arms around his waist. "Because I'm tired of waiting. I want to be with you, Zelgadis."
Zelgadis could feel sweat trickling down his forehead. "Lina didn't you want to wait until we got married?"
"I did, but now...I can't stand it anymore!" Lina cried as she held onto him tightly.
Zelgadis embraced her back and then a thought struck his mind.
"Lina?" he said.
"Nani?" she replied.
Zelgadis took a deep breath and asked, "May I ask you something?"
"Ask away," she replied.
"You know how much I love you and want to be with you, so why not just make it official?" he asked.
As soon as Lina's mind registered what he had said, her head shot up from his chest, as she looked him in the eyes.
"Are you asking me what I think you're asking me?" she asked in disbelief.
"It depends on what you think I'm asking you," he said.
"Are you asking me to marry you?" she asked.
Zelgadis nodded and Lina gasped.
"Lina, I want to be with you for the rest of my life. Do you accept?" he asked.
"Hai, Zel. I accept," she said with a smile on her face as she reached up to kiss him.
He kissed her back and that one innocent kiss led to other things that brought passion and intimacy much further for the two lovers that night.
In the heavens, L-sama smiled wickedly upon the pair.
"Those two have finally acknowledged each other intimately and it's about time. Now I have to work on Amelia and Valteira. The others will soon join them and then our battle will begin. I must have the lovers contain strengthened bonds between them in order for this battle to work. Lina, though, in the end, will be the only one who will be able to defeat our enemies. The spell that you are yet to learn, dear child, will be given to you by someone from the future. I hope that you are strong enough to handle that spell. I hope that all of you are strong enough to handle this battle," said L-sama as she then continued to watch over the rest of her world.