Thud.
Amelia turned over in bed and yawned. Uhh... What was that? she wondered sleepily. I heard a noise... coming from Zelgadis's room next door?
Suddenly she snapped awake. Zel's room? What could possibly... Oh, it's probably nothing, she realized. He must've just fallen out of bed or something.
The young princess tried to get back to sleep, snuggling back down under her covers. Something nagged at her, though; some undefinable feeling of wrongness. Maybe I should just check up on him anyway, she thought worriedly. It can't hurt...
Her decision made, she sprang up from bed, and made her way out to the hall. She stopped in front of the door to Zelgadis's room, and knocked. "Zelgadis?" she called softly. "Is everything okay?"
There was no answer.
With a worried frown, Amelia knocked again. "Zelgadis!" she called, louder this time. "Can you hear me?"
Is he ignoring me? she wondered. I'm sure I'm calling loud enough for him to hear me, and I don't want to wake anyone else up. She stared at the sturdy wooden door separating her from the object of her affection. Maybe he really is asleep, she thought in resignation. Maybe the sound I heard came from another room, and he's been sleeping peacefully the whole time. But she'd been certain that the sound had come from here.
Oh well... I'm sure everything's fine. Amelia turned to leave. Just as she reached the door to her own room, however, something made her turn back. A third time she knocked on Zelgadis's door, with no better results than before. I'd better get back to bed. After all, there's nothing more I can do... other than breaking down his door, I suppose. The idea was faintly ludicrous, and brought a half-smile to her face.
But Amelia couldn't make herself turn away from the door this time; she couldn't shake that feeling of wrongness. I must be out of it... after all, what could possibly be wrong? Despite that thought, she tried the door's handle. It was locked.
The dark-haired princess, a serious look on her youthful face, stepped back a couple of paces from the door. You're probably just trying to get some sleep, she mentally said to Zelgadis, and don't want to be disturbed. I'm sorry for doing this, but I just can't shake this feeling that something's very wrong... She fired a tiny flare arrow at the lock, melting it away, and gently pushed the door open. What she saw made her gasp in shock.
There he was. Stretched out on the floor, among tangled sheets. Eyes closed. Dead to the world. "Oh no... Zelgadis!" breathed Amelia, rushing to his side. Her eyes widened as she felt for a pulse, and found it to be faint and erratic. His breathing, too, was shallow and came at odd intervals.
"I knew it," she moaned. "Something is wrong... terribly wrong...."
The young princess, sick with worry, put her white-magic training to good use. She surrounded the unconscious stone-skinned man with gentle flows of healing magic. But even her best efforts had no effect.
And then, despite all she was doing to save his life, Zelgadis's heartbeat grew even fainter. "No!" she screamed, no longer caring how many people she woke. "You can't die!"
Amelia called for help at the top of her lungs. "Lina! Gourry!" she yelled, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Anyone! Zelgadis is dying!"