navy = dream
The snow fell in wet clumps, pummeling the earth upon which the chimera trod. His cloak was pulled tightly around him against the wind, face downward as he trudged through the white drifts. He didn't really have any motivation to go on, and could hardly pick up his feet to walk. He'd lost Amelia, and that was that. It was so cold...
Zelgadis forced his eyes to stay open, feeling the icicles multiplying on his ears and nose. Cold... His body felt almost completely numb and it was really hard to keep his joints moving. Just a little further, he told himself, hoping that an inn of some sort could be found nearby. One step...another step... Damn, he couldn't see anything in this weather. What stupid person had invented snow, anyway? He couldn't feel or see anything, and weariness was taking its toll. Zelgadis struggled to keep going, but after a few steps...
He barely acknowledged the fact that he'd collapsed in the snow. All he knew was that his heartbeat was slowing at an alarming rate and that everything hurt too much to move.
The last thing he heard before slipping into unconsciousness was a familiar dragon maiden's voice calling out to him from some unknown place. "Zelgadis-sama?"
She smelled like sunshine. Sweet sunshine and candy and milk, and all
sorts of other little girl scents. He picked her up and swung her high in
the air, catching a whiff of the mild scent. She was bigger now, not the
little bundle of chubby fingers and toes he'd first seen her as. No, Razilee
was no longer a baby. But she still giggled and held her arms out to Daddy,
laughing as he tossed her into the air. She wasn't worried about falling.
She trusted Daddy, loved Daddy.
He caught her carefully, her small arms flung around his neck. So tiny!
It was a good thing she was half-Mazoku; he was afraid he might accidentally
hurt her.
Razilee laughed again, snuggling up close. She had her mother's eyes:
wide and curious. Her father's dark hair. A strange combination of
innocence and evil; she would surely grow up to be an interesting girl. His
daughter. His daughter. He hugged her to him, a strange warm feeling in his
chest and a funny little smile dominating his features. He was...happy?
Yes...
Suddenly, the entire world shattered around them with a resounding crack.
Razilee was ripped from his arms, sucked into the void left by doom's
thunder. He reached out to hold on to his tiny daughter, but all was in
vain. She disappeared.
Xelloss awoke with a strangled gasp. He raised a shaking hand to his forehead, bangs damp and sweaty from the nightmare. That dream again. He didn't usually have dreams. Only when something of great importance was at stake did his subconscious mind work so hard. His sleep was most often one of blissful emptiness, unplagued by thoughts, one of his only sanctuaries. And now that was crumbling, too. He wasn't sure if he could save his daughter. He didn't know if he'd ever get her back. The Mazoku looked to his young lover, sleeping peacefully beside him. The poor girl. She'd been through so much because of him. He brushed a few strands of dark hair out of her face. There was no way he was going to wake her out of that nap; it was probably the first time in a week that she'd had a restful sleep. Nightmares had plagued her as well.
Xelloss gently traced a finger along her jawbone, feeling a little strange. Dammit, he thought to himself. Just when they had begun to work out all their stupid problems, this had to go and happen. Why couldn't anything go right for them? Why couldn't anything go right for him? Nothing ever worked out the way he wanted it to. Sometimes it just made him want to...
No. He pulled his hand away from her and rolled onto his back, willing away the anguish that flooded his mind. There was no point in that. He had to focus on getting Razilee now.
Zelas tried to ignore the clacking noise made by claws on her newly waxed throne room floor. She hated to think what that would do to its surface, but she wasn't about to tell her favorite child that she couldn't play with her best friend. Besides, the cute little giggles made up for it. She turned a fond gaze on the purple-haired girl, watching her chase the small wolf pup around the room.
Her visitor milled around aimlessly, looking bored and annoyed with the constant noise. "How can you stand having so much chaos around here?" he complained.
The Beastmaster blew him a teasing kiss. "You're no fun, Dynie-poo."
He gave her a withering look. "Don't call me that."
She smiled and stretched casually. "You didn't seem to mind me calling you that last night."
"I don't see why I had to bring the kid back here, anyway," he changed the subject. "What are you going to do when your subordinate...reaches my base and finds out that she isn't there?"
"I'll deal with that later. Besides, I don't trust you with children. You're not exactly the loving, fatherly type."
"Obviously not. Still, I think it would be better if you let me take her back to my domain...so the Juujinkan can 'rescue' her." You're ruining my plans here, Zelas, he thought. I can't even lay a finger on the kid if she stays here.
"No, she stays here."
"But - "
She waved the matter away. "Do you have a light, Dynie-poo?"
"Don't call me that." He watched her fumble around for one of her long, expensive cigarettes and shuddered. "That's a disgusting habit, Zelas."
"Oh, well." She contentedly puffed away, watching Razilee play and not at all noticing the devious expression on Dynast's face. Explaining to the little girl what was going on had seemed like it would be a bit of a challenge, but she was relatively quick. The only thing she'd been concerned about was the whereabouts of Mommy and Daddy. The other details weren't important. So Zelas had told her that they were on a quest and would be home soon. No need to worry the child, of course. Everything was going to be fine.
Lina Inverse tapped her foot impatiently as she looked towards the tent where her two amorous companions dwelt. "They're doing it again?!"
Gourry peered at her over his breakfast, brushing a bit of snow off his coffee mug. "He's just trying to keep her mind off the situation, I guess."
She plunked herself down in front of the morning fire. "Yeah, but you'd think they'd have some consideration for us..." she muttered while unfolding a crinkled piece of paper. Her trusty old map, guaranteed to help them find their way to Dynast's base in the North. "I think we're going to have to cross the Kataart Mountains," she commented, searching it over with her ruby eyes. "Seems like the only direct route. Otherwise we'd have to go around and lose about a week's travel time, maybe more." She rolled her eyes heavenward as the incriminating noises coming from the tent rose to a peak and stuffed her fingers into her ears. "That's it, I'm going back to bed. No use staying up waiting for those two."
"Hey, Lina, aren't you going to finish your breakfast?" the blond swordsman called after her. Receiving no answer, he shrugged and reached for the sorceress's plate. "No sense in letting all this go to waste."
The group's fast pace quickly led them to the Kataart Mountains, where the snowfall was even heavier. They didn't know how they'd reach Dynast's base from there, but evidently Xelloss had a plan he wasn't letting the rest of them in on. And he still hadn't explained why he couldn't just teleport them all there. Lina suspected that Dynast had some sort of barrier not allowing other Mazoku to reach him that way. Or perhaps the Trickster wasn't as powerful as he led others to believe.
The flame-haired sorceress paused in studying her map to look behind her, sensing something not right. Her raven-haired companion had stopped dead in her tracks and was looking off into the distance, distracted. "Amelia?"
"Shh," the girl whispered, cupping her hands behind her ears. "Do you hear that?"
Lina listened closely for a few seconds. "I don't hear anything," she finally said.
"But there's something there," Amelia insisted. "Like someone singing. It's strange...almost mystical..."
"You must be imagining things, Ame-chan. Come on, let's keep going. No need to waste time on nonsense like that." Xelloss took her by the arm and walked her away from the fabled sound, a bit worried by the sense of doom that her words brought to him.
"Right..." Amelia walked along with him, throwing a quick glance over her shoulder as if trying to capture one last measure of that beautiful song. She shook her head momentarily to clear it, feeling odd. "Lina-san, how long until we stop for the night? I'm a little lightheaded."
"Not much," her companion answered, wrinkling her brow in concern. "I just want to get past this last rise and then we can set up camp on the other side."
Much to the dismay of Lina and Gourry, dinner consisted of stale, tasteless trail rations. There weren't exactly any restaurants in the middle of the Kataart Mountains. The foursome quickly retreated to bed in order to get out of the cold wind, which whipped mercilessly against their makeshift tents. The physical cold could be easily remedied with a heat spell, but the cold within their hearts could not be warmed.
Amelia snuggled against her Mazoku, still feeling slightly strange. Not to mention the fact that she was deathly worried about her daughter. That she tried to forget about, tried to make believe hadn't happened. She could pretend that Razilee was all right, safe at home with Juuou-sama. Playing with Daertal in those long, labyrinthine hallways. Not the captive of some vengeful, cruel Mazoku lord with a taste for blood. Not crying alone in a dank dungeon somewhere with shackles as her only company.
The former princess shivered. No, she had to stop thinking like that. She had to be positive. They would find Razilee, safe and sound. They'd go in and all come out unhurt. They'd...what was that sound? Amelia's ears twitched and she sat up quickly. It was that singing again, that mysterious melody.
She looked to her lover, who was sound asleep, then carefully pried herself out of his grasp and slipped out of the sleeping bag. The singing was louder in her ears, and more familiar. She almost recognized it, but... The girl quickly pulled on her clothes, knowing she'd freeze without them. Xelloss still slept undisturbed.
Amelia followed the sound over rocks and through strong wind, the notes growing louder and louder. It was so familiar...reminded her of someone from long ago. She rounded a corner, clutching her arms in an attempt to warm herself up, and suddenly stopped short. She was shocked by the vision that greeted her. A beautiful woman all in white sat in the midst of a green paradise, singing and strumming absently on a golden lute. Mother!!! She stared, unbelieving.
The woman noticed her and stopped her song, a gorgeous smile falling upon her features. "My baby," she cooed, holding her arms out. "What's happened to you? Come, tell Mother all about it."
Amelia took a tentative step forward, tears collecting in her eyes. "Mommy?" The song filled her ears again, encouraging her to take another step. And another. Soon she was running with her arms spread wide.
"Yes, my sweet little girl," the beautiful woman whispered. "Yes, it's me. Let me comfort you." She enfolded the former princess in a tight, almost painful embrace. "Let me...bring you peace."
Amelia froze. Something was wrong. The way she held her was wrong, the way she felt was all wrong. She pulled away as much as she could - those silk-clad arms were not letting go - looked up, and gasped in horror. The woman no longer wore white, but black. Her blue hair was tied back in a ponytail and her ruby lips were curled into a viscious smile. "Who - "
"I will bring you peace...eternal peace," the strange woman hissed. She stabbed a dagger clean through Amelia's shoulderblades, plunging it deep within her heart. She released her hold, letting the girl collapse to the ground with a choked cry. The last thing Amelia heard was a maniacal laughter, her last thought one of horror. It's a trap...Xelloss...!
Xelloss awoke with an anguished wail, sweat pouring down his face. But this one hadn't been a dream... He quickly materialized some clothes for himself and teleported away, praying that it wasn't true. Masaka...masaka... Nothing could have prepared him for the sight he found. "L-sama..."