"Lina? You look tired, are you okay?" Gourry asked as they danced, whirling around and around on the dance floor.
"No, it's just hot in here, that's all. That, and I'm not used to wearing a dress.." She grimaced.
It had been nearly two months since Gourry had proposed, but now here they all were, finally, at the wedding chapel in the newly rebuilt Sairaag. Lina knew that they would be happy together, but... traveling without Gourry and Sylphiel just wouldn't be the same!
"Well, why don't you go get something to drink?" He bowed to her at the completion of their dance, grinning slightly as she nearly tripped over her dress trying to curtsey. She made a face a him and wobbled over to the refreshment table.
She felt marginally better after having a glass of water, and walked out to the balcony for a breath of cool air. She gazed up at the moon, so soft and clear.. The stars were like diamonds, twinkling just out of reach, shining softly through the haze of clouds on the horizon. She smiled slightly, and leaned against the balcony to look back inside at her friends.
Ameria and Naaga were sitting with Prince Phil, Gourry, and Sylphiel, though Ameria kept glancing pensively towards the door. Martina and Zangulus were gaily sampling the wine, and Fyria was arguing heatedly with Xelloss. Everyone accounted for..
Ameria's shriek of surprise brought her attention immediately to the young princess, but she wasn't there. Lina glanced around, confused, but turned to the door in time to see Ameria fling herself joyfully into the arms of a young man. He was gorgeous, with silky lavender hair, creamy skin, deep blue eyes, and a tall thin frame that seemed incredibly strong, even from here. He laughed as he twirled the little princess around in the air, only stopping when she smacked him lightly on the head and demanded he put her down. Lina tilted her head, still confused. He seemed strangely familiar.. in fact.. Her eyes widened. In fact, he was...
"Zelgadis!" Gourry called, striding over to see his friend. "You found it! For once that damned Mazoku was telling the truth, ne?" He laughed, seeing Xelloss make a face at him. "Everyone's here already; you're late!"
"Sorry about that; I came as fast as I could. Everyone's here?"
"Yep! Martina and Zangulus are over there by the wine, of course, Sylphiel, Naaga, Phil, Fyria, and Xelloss are over there, and Lina is..." Gourry looked around for her, and she shrank further into the shadows. "Lina is somewhere around here. She went to get something to drink, and then.. oh, there she is!" He'd spotted her. She quickly looked away, glancing back up at the moon.
She could see Zel break away from the small crowd, and come towards her. She closed her eyes, heart racing. What should she say? The last time she saw him had been over three years ago, when..
"You're a bit obsessive, yanno that?? You keep running off to find this cure of yours, dragging us along with you, and in the end it turns out to be another false lead that nearly gets us killed!"
"Whoa, hold it! I never 'drag' you anywhere! I've told you time and time again that this is MY quest and MY problem, and you still refuse to believe that I don't want your help!"
"You don't want it, fine! We won't help you anymore! You just go off by yourself, as always, and we'll find something else to do!!"
"Lina-San... I want to help Zelgadis-San.."
"Of COURSE you want to help Zel! We all know you're in love with him!"
"Lina, that wasn't very nice."
"You shut up Gourry! I'm tired of Zelgadis and his stupid cure! If he wants to go off again, fine! I'm not going with him! You all do whatever you want!"
"....I wish Lina-San wouldn't storm off like that.."
"Don't mind her, Zel. I think she's just in a bad mood or something."
"It's alright, Gourry. I'm leaving now anyway, and I'd prefer you not follow me. I'll come back once I've found my cure."
"We'll be waiting, Zel-Kun."
"Goodbye Sylphiel, Gourry. Ameria, don't cry. Go find Lina for me, and tell her I said goodbye, alright?"
"A-alright.. bye.."
"I'll see you all later."
And for three years, there had been nothing. She'd started to think she'd never see him again, and sometimes that was just fine with her. But other times, when Gourry was being particularly stupid, and Xelloss particularly annoying, she'd missed him, missed having someone she could talk to. Ameria was cute, but not much for serious talk, and she didn't really have anything in common with Sylphiel.
And now he simply shows up again expecting us to just accept him, She thought in a sudden flash of anger. I don't think so! He's gone for three years straight, and he thinks everything will be the same?? No way! I'm not going to stand for this, not now. Things are different now, Gourry and Sylphiel are married, Naaga is here..
"Lina?"
Truthfully, Zelgadis was a little scared. The thought of seeing Lina again was intimidating in the least, especially after the fight they'd had before he left.
He wondered what they would talk about, whether she'd still be mad at him. He wondered if she'd like his human form.
She wasn't even looking at him.
"Lina?" He started to say more, but gawked instead. She wearing a dress! A lovely emerald green off the shoulder dress, with her hair pulled carefully up into a bun. She was turned to the side, head tiled towards the moon, eyes closed. Slowly she turned to face him, bathed in silvery moonlight as she opened her ruby red eyes.
And Zel was instantly lost.
All thoughts of yelling at him flew out of her head as she was faced again with how beautiful he was. Wearing a loose black tunic and black pants, his silvery violet hair longer then before and barely sweeping his broad shoulders, black cape flowing out behind him, he looked like something from a fantasy tale; the noble prince who comes to sweep the damsel off her feet.
Yeah right. Damned if I'm gonna go along with that. "So, Zel. You look nice." Lame. Very Lame.
"You look.. beautiful." She dismissed that with a wave of her hand.
"Yeah, right. I feel like an idiot." She glanced sourly down at her dress. "I haven't worn a dress like this since I was fifteen.."
"Really? What kind of dress was it?"
"A wedding dress." She laughed as his expression. "It was a fake wedding.. it's a really long story." (A story that the poor author doesn't know, since she saw that episode in Japanese, without subtitles.. ^_^;;)
"I'll bet." He had moved over to stand next to her, noting the fact that her dress had a high slit in the side, showing off quite a bit of her smooth legs. He blushed slightly, wondering if he'd ever get used to Lina in a dress.
They stayed silent for a while, but it was not an uncomfortable silence. Lina glanced at him and smiled, glad that he decided to come back; Zel smiled softly, thinking of the first time they had met.
Then the music started up again, and Zel shyly offered his hand.
She accepted it gravely, her heart pounding again. "Zel," She whispered as he led her to the dance floor, "I'm not a very good dancer.."
"Neither am I; just go with it." He grinned, and she laughed.
As they whirled around the dance floor, Lina noted several glances and winks exchanged between her friends, and she resolved to a have a little chat with them.
Then a hand came out of nowhere and closed on Zelgadis' shoulder. "May I cut in?" Xelloss asked, eyes open and sparkling with mirth. Zel was tempted to say 'no', but he instead glanced at Lina. She grimaced very slightly, and shrugged as if to say, 'Why not?'
So Zelgadis nodded and stepped back, watching Xelloss as he clasped her tightly - too tightly - in his arms. After a moment of dancing, Xelloss leaned closer still and whispered something. Lina turned red and nodded. He said something else, and this time she stared at him in astonishment. Now she spoke.. Zel strained to hear her words, to no avail. Xelloss nodded. Lina's voice raised a notch, and Zel could hear the words 'Love' and 'Mazoku'. Xelloss smiled and said four words that sent Lina storming out onto the balcony. Zelgadis gave the Mazoku a dirty look (which was accepted serenely), and followed.
"What was that all about?" He asked as he approached her. She was more off to one side now, away from the double doors leading back inside
She answered his question with one of her own; "Do you think Xelloss is a bad person?"
Blinking - "He's not a person. He's a Mazoku."
She nodded, looking troubled. "Zel.."
"What?"
"I..I'm thirsty. Would you go get some water, please?" He gave her a perplexed look, but obliged.
When he was gone, she sighed. That had been rather random, she knew, but if she had been around him one more moment she would have told him everything. What Xelloss said, how much of it was true..
Gloved hands whispered across her shoulders, startling her. A whisper of her name and 'I am sorry..'
"Go away, Xelloss.. I don't want to talk to you now."
"Lina-Chan.. I'm hurt. You don't want to see me?"
"No."
He fell silent, but started tracing lines and idle figures across her back with one gloved finger. She hoped Zel would return soon, before she had to DragonSlave this irritating Mazoku.
He traced the words gently into her skin: Do you want me?
It's just a game to him! She reminded herself fiercely, breaking into goosebumps nevertheless. "No.." She whispered, taking his hand off of her shoulder. He leaned forwards and whispered something she couldn't quite catch, his breath warm and sensual on her neck.
She quickly turned to face him, putting one hand on his chest to push him away. "No," She repeated, more firmly this time. Mazoku can't love...
Not can't, Lina-Chan. Won't.
Can't..
Can't.
He kissed her forehead softly, then her nose, then her cheek. She started to yell at him, to tell him to get away from her, but the words froze in her throat as he kissed her lips. Her temper exploded, suddenly and spectacularly. She was furious at being seduced like this, made even more so by the fact that it Xelloss was doing it.
So she bit him.
His reaction was the opposite of what she expected. He wrapped both arms around her, pulling her suffocatingly close, tongue exploring every inch of her mouth. She dug her nails into his shoulder, drawing blood, but quickly stopped as he held her tighter still.
When he finally released her, she yanked herself as far away from him as she could, still unable to break his embrace. "Get the hell away from me, you sick, twisted Mazoku," She hissed, using a tone no one had ever heard from her. Xelloss merely smiled.
"Are you afraid of me, Lina-Chan?" He suddenly snapped both eyes open, and leaned close again. He was really scaring her, but damned if she'd admit it!
"You? No way." She said, a bit too quickly. "You're nothing special."
"Just another opponent to defeat?" He rested his forehead against hers, looking into her eyes.
"Just another monster.."
He slapped her.
Not hard, not hard at all, but enough to thoroughly surprise her. In fact, he looked as surprised as she was.
She put a hand to her stinging cheek, and stared at him. He brushed her hair out of her face, a sweet, almost tender move, and disappeared.
Footsteps signaled Zel's return. In a moment he came into view, but Lina paid no attention to him. She was too busy thinking about Xelloss to even notice when he approached, and it was only when he waved a hand in front of her face did he get her attention.
"Oh, Zel.. I didn't see you." She stared fixedly at a spot on the floor.
"Lina? What is it?" He followed her gaze. Seeing nothing, he knelt down beside her, and blinked.
Her face was pale, and there was a small trickle of blood trailing from her mouth to her chin. And though Xelloss had barely even touched her, Lina had very delicate skin so her eye was already beginning to bruise.
Zel knew nothing of Xelloss, however. He touched Lina's shoulder, she pulled away with a snarl. Startled, Zel drew his hand back, but she quickly grabbed it.
"I'm sorry, Zel. I'm just a little jumpy, that's all." She wiped the blood away with her other hand and looked at it, surprised.
"Why? What happened?"
Flatly: "Xelloss happened. But it's alright. I'm fine." She pushed him away, and stood somewhat shakily. She turned to face Zelgadis -
- and the ground started to shake, violently. Lina yelped in surprise and lost her balance, but Zelgadis caught her and set her on her feet. Then the ground gave way beneath her, and Lina felt herself falling.
She wasn't sure how she'd gotten there; her mind was still somewhat fuzzy as she gazed up at the stars, twinkling like gems through the dreamy haze of her vision. Why were they so high up? Her vision blurred and turned a reddish color, so she simply closed her eyes, then wiped the blood away with a shaking hand.
After a moment, she heard voices, calling her name... who were they? Hands, reaching out of the darkness... she was lifted like a feather, carried in strong arms... warmth... then a shattering, a deafening crash...
Warmth was gone, replaced by a damp chill that left her shivering in seconds. Maybe the stars..
But Lina opened her eyes to blackness.
"Wake up, Gourry-Sama! Please!!" The young priestess cried frantically, wincing as she put more volume into the words then intended. Her voice echoed alarmingly in the stillness, and she huddled closer to Gourry. Then a tapping sound drew her attention to the far wall, followed by a familiar voice.
"Sylphiel? I-is that you?"
"Ameria! Come around this way!" Sylphiel ran to meet her, throwing her arms around the younger girl in relief. "Where are the others?"
Ameria's voice trembled. "I d-don't know! I was walking with Zelgadis-San, and were looking for the others when the Earthquake hit, and then I fell! And I got lost.." She trailed off as they heard footsteps.
Soon Xelloss came into view, looking none the worse for wear as always, but carrying a slightly disheveled Fyria. The two were arguing quietly over Fyria's ability to walk; the argument ended when Fyria whacked him with her mace (once again pulling it seemingly out of nowhere..), causing him to drop her.
Xelloss then glanced up and noticed the other three, and gave them his trademark smile.
"Hello there! Well, you all look alright, except for the swordsman there.. Hmm. He'll revive soon. As for the others - " Here he stopped, seemingly perplexed. "I.. can't get a fix on the others."
After a long moment of silence, Ameria ventured a question. "Meaning...?"
"Hmm? Oh. Meaning something magical is interfering with my magic." He sounded cheerful as always, but at the moment his eyes were opened, and they actually looked troubled.
Ameria would have said something else, but Gourry chose that moment to make a rather loud revival, causing Sylphiel to nearly have a heart attack.
"Well," She said softly once the situation had been explained, "it looks like we have three options. One, we can stay here and wait for someone to find us, two, we can go look for the others, or three, we can split up."
"Split up?" Asked Fyria, who was amazed at hearing more then three words consecutively from the dark-haired priestess.
"Yes.. one team goes to look for survivors, the other stays in one place."
Ameria spoke up bravely. "I'll go look."
"I'll go too." Offered Xelloss.
"Then I'm staying right here!" Declared Fyria, earning an annoyed glance from Xel.
Sylphiel sighed. "Um, Xel and Fyria, you go that way.. together." She added as firmly as she could, hoping there wouldn't be any conflict. It was just better this way. If Xel decided to turn violent again, Fyria was the one with the most chance of surviving. Sylphiel exchanged a look with Fyria, silently reasoning with her. There was a grumpy nod and a few mutters of 'Namagomi' then Fyria and Xel were gone.
"Gourry, Ameria, you go that way.. and I'll stay here." It took a while longer to convince them that this was the best course of action, and then they too left, Gourry glancing over his shoulder at the priestess.
Alone, Sylphiel leaned against a rock and cried.
"Lina.. Lina, wake up.."
".....hurts...go 'way.." The sorceress mumbled into his shoulder, squeezing her eyes shut.
"Lina, you have to wake up!" Zelgadis finally lost his temper, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her. "Lina!" She blindly shoved him away, but her eyes were opened despite her efforts to the contrary.
"Dammit, Zel! What... where are we?" She looked around, seeing the ash and the rubble for the first time. "This is... what happened?"
"An Earthquake... or something." Zel sighed.
"Damn," Was all she could manage.
"We have to find the others." He stood and offered his hand.
"Where were they?" She asked, getting up by herself. She realized with a frown that there wasn't much left of her dress, and what was left was smudged with dirt and ash. "Why is it that every time I wear a dress, this happens??" She asked rhetorically. She was annoyed, but couldn't help but grin.
Then the grin faded as Xelloss appeared..