Early the next morning ........
Lina was the first one to wake up the next morning. After doing a self scan, she decided that she could handle herself against one or two people, and quietly slipped out of the room. Taking a deep breath Lina stepped out of the quiet Inn and into the busy street.
Out of nowhere two people grabbed Lina from behind, carrying her off, and giving her no time to react. She kicked and tried to scream through the hand over her mouth until they finally let her mouth go long enough so she could yell her question at them.
"Who the hell are you?!!?"
"Doesn't matter little girl. All you need to know is that some bandits are going to get a pretty penny for capturing the infamous bandit killer Lina Inverse." The men laughed as Lina once again tried to get away.
"GOURRY!!! HELP ME!!!" Lina screamed at the top of her lungs, hoping that her blonde sidekick would hear her. Gourry didn't hear her, but someone else did.
"Let her go if you know what is good for you." In response to that her kidnappers tightened the grip on her neck, causing her to pass out.
The stranger cast a few spells and sent the bad guys flying. After he was convinced that they were not going to be coming back, he picked up the still unconscious Lina and carried her back to his house on the outskirts of town.
Once there he laid her on the bed and placed cooling rags on her head. After almost three hours of uninterrupted sleep, Lina was beginning to have the dream again. Worried, all the man could do was listen to her mumbling and hope that she would be all right.
"No....don't go....love you...Can't die...Not worth it...NO...Don't hate me...No...ZEL!!" Lina shot up strait in the bed. Her hair was plastered with sweat to her face and neck. Her eyes still wide with fear from the dream.
"Where am I?" Lina's eyes frantically searched the darkness to try and figure out where she was.
"You are at my house. I rescued you from the bandits."
"Well . . . um...Thank you. Exactly how long have I been out?"
"A few hours. Tell me, do you often have dreams like that?"
"Was I talking out loud again? I am sorry. I only have that dream, no others. No matter what spells I cast for sleep and dreams, the nightmare keeps coming back." A silent tear ran down her cheek. The stranger lit the bedside candle so that he could get a better look at her.
"Did you love him?" Lina was slightly shocked at he forwardness of his question, but decided to answer it anyway.
"There is no 'Did' about it. I still do."
"What do you think happened to him?"
"He had a curse placed on him. One that turned him into a chimera. I loved his stony hide. Down to the very last piece of rock. It was that, which made him so much more special to me, but he wasn't happy in that body. On my nineteenth birthday he tells me he has found a cure, but it might kill him. I wish I could have stopped him from leaving. He told me he loved me before he left. He was my first kiss too. We started out as enemies you know, but he had my heart when he first captured me. He left with it too." Tears were flowing freely down her face now.
"Is that when the dream started?"
"Yes. I dream that he gets cured, but it costs him his life, at first the dream ended with him saying that he did it for me, and that he loved me. Lately, however, it has turned worse with him saying it was all my fault, and that he hated me. I just wish that I knew he was ok. I love him so much it hurts." Sobs racked her petit form as the stranger gathered her up in his arms. However Lina did have some pride left, and hated breaking down in front of some one she didn't even know, so she squirmed out of the strangers arms.
"Thanks, but I don't make a habit out of crying on stranger's shoulders."
"I understand, Lina." Lina's head shot up. Her eyes wide with alarm.
"I never told you my name."
Hope ya'll liked what I have so far. My computer was gone for the weekend so I couldn't get much typing done. I'll try to type out some more when I am not working. Feedback on where to go from here would be great. Thanx for reading!!