Zelgadis walked along the forest path. His eyes wandered left to right, taking in the peaceful scenery before him. Unfortunately, the tranquil path did nothing to relieve his depression.
"If Lina was here, she'd probably whack me over the head and tell me to cheer up."
The thought of Lina brought a small smile to his lips. The spunky sorceress always did manage to lift his spirits. He stopped by a small lake for a break. Zelgadis pulled down his mask and took a deep breath of fresh air. He looked down at the water's edge and saw his reflection. The image only served to depress him even more.
"If only I can find a cure."
It has been three years since the defeat of Dark Star. Lina and Gourry were still up to their old tricks of bandit hunting and eating. Amelia was learning how to administrate a whole kingdom with her pacifist father. Firia was taking care of baby Valgarv while running a café. Martina and Zangulus were still happily married and was expecting baby #2. Shilfiel was continuing her training in white magic and occasionally cooked dinner for Gourry and Lina. As for Xellos...no one knew for sure what the Trickster Priest ever does. It's all a secret.
Zelgadis himself has been keeping busy finding obscure tomes and long forgotten spells, all in the hope of finding a cure for his curse. He hated to admit it but he missed his crazy friends. He smiled slightly at that thought.
Friends. After his transformation, he had given up human companionship as impossible. But when he met Lina and the gang, he wasn't shunned or feared. Slowly, Zelgadis' cynical heart softened and he accepted them as friends. Perhaps his belonging was due to the fact that his friends weren't exactly normal either.
Zelgadis rolled his eyes. What an understatement. If anything, he was the most normal person in the group, psychologically anyway.
He sighed and got up. There was an old magic book that was on display in Yamao that might contain clues to his cure. He planned to make it there by sunset.
Suddenly, he felt a shift in the air and turned around to feel a fist plow into his gut. His breath exploded out of his lungs and he toppled into the water. The pain in his stomach was excruciating. It was even worse than the time when he got hit by a cannonball. At least that painlessly knocked him out. He roared and tried to attack only to discover his legs were immobile. He looked down and saw a spear plunged into his shadow.
"A shadow snap! Well, I can fix that! Lightning!!"
He gathered his hands to form a ball of light. His eyes widened in shock when instead, he got a ball of darkness.
"What the hell!!"
He heard a roar behind him and watched as a gigantic fireball plunged toward him.
"OH SHIT!!"
The fireball hit him a like a giant's fist and the water evaporated around him. Zelgadis was knocked back with a thud as his body contorted in pain. He laid on the ground groaning as the world spun. He opened his eyes but his vision was blurred. Slowly, a dark figure approached and stood over him.
"Who are you?" He croaked, the effort of making sound was incredibly painful.
The shadowy figure crouched and placed a hand on his brow.
"Sleep..."
Darkness swept him.
Zelgadis groaned.
He tried to move but he stopped when pain pierced his body. He opened his eyes and looked around. He was in a small room that was sparse but very neat. It was simply decorated and gave a feeling of comfort. He was lying on a soft bed and a sweet aroma floated in the air.
"Where am I?"
The door opened and a young girl came through the door.
"Oh! You're awake!"
She rushed to his side and restrained him.
"You mustn't get up yet. You're still not fully healed from your wounds."
Zelgadis looked at the girl carefully. She had long black hair that was in a braid and looked at him with doe-brown eyes. She had plain features that lit up softly with her smile.
"Who are you? And where am I?" asked Zelgadis.
"My name is Clio and this is my cottage. What's your name?"
Zelgadis rubbed his aching head. "My name is Zelgadis Graywords. How did I come to be here?"
"I was walking by the lake when I heard a gigantic explosion. I ran toward the sound and I found you unconscious. You've been asleep for a week."
"A week!" Zelgadis tried to get up again but Clio pushed him back down.
"You can't get up yet! You're in no condition to leave this bed."
"But - "
"No but's. Now stay put while I get some food for you."
Clio turned and left. Zelgadis was about to tell her he didn't need food but she was already through the door. He sighed and stared at the ceiling.
"Who attacked me? Better yet, why am I still alive? It doesn't make sense. After attacking me and putting me to sleep, I was spared. Why? Also, why didn't my Lightning spell work? That should have canceled out the shadow snap. Instead, I got a ball of darkness."
Zelgadis rubbed his aching stomach where a fist had slammed into it.
"I must have been hit with an inversion spell with that first strike. There's no other explanation. The inversion spell reversed my ball of light into a ball of darkness. Plus, my stomach hurts. With my stone skin, punches and kicks by normal humans have no effect on me. This means my attacker is of no ordinary strength...perhaps not even human. I feel so drained. What happened to me?"
Zelgadis' pondering was interrupted by the return of Clio. She brought a heavily loaded tray and set it beside Zelgadis. Despite his protests, she helped him up and stuffed a pillow behind his back.
"You don't have to do this, Clio. I feel fine."
Clio brushed aside his protests with a wave of her hand. "Nonsense. You need food in your body to get better. Now open your mouth."
"You're going to feed me?"
"Of course. You're too sick to do it yourself."
Zelgadis was about to protest again but he changed his mind. The truth was, he felt like a mountain had been slammed into him. He decided to go along with Clio's kindness while it lasted. After all, no one could stay nice to him forever. He was a freak of nature.
This thought depressed him mightily. His shoulders sagged as he obediently opened his mouth. Clio spooned the stew into his mouth and smiled.
"Good?"
"Imf fery gwood."
Clio laughed as she continued feeding him. Zelgadis had to admit that he was enjoying being fed by Clio. It was certainly a new experience. They talked for hours, slowly getting to know each other. Clio had lived in this cottage alone since the death of her parents. She politely refrained from asking how he became a chimera and he didn't offer to explain. He expected her to be put of by his appearance but she continued to treat him with courtesy. Unknown to Zelgadis, Clio did not feel disgusted by Zelgadis' body. She had encountered many magical creatures during the 16 years of her life and she found Zelgadis fascinating.
Zelgadis slowly relaxed in her company. He did not feel so self-conscious under her scrutiny. It was almost like being with his friends, without the eating frenzies and the constant bandit attacks.
"So what happened, Zelgadis?"
"I'm not sure what happened. I was sitting by the lake then I was suddenly attacked. The last thing I remember is a dark figure above me. I think it was a man."
"Why were you attacked?"
"I don't know. What I really want to know is why I'm not dead."
Clio gasped. "Oh, that's horrible Zelgadis! Why would you think such a thing?"
"I don't think that attack was an accident. It was planned. I didn't feel a thing before I was attacked and tricking me is no small feat. It was a planned ambush. But instead of killing me, I was just flamed and left alone."
Clio put down the spoon and frowned.
"If that's true then do you think this attacker might come back."
This thought disturbed him greatly. This mystery person obviously knew of him and he might come back to finish the job.
"Clio, I have to get out of here. If he comes back, I don't want you to get hurt by accident."
"No, Zelgadis. I can't let you leave until you recover fully. Besides, if he comes back and sees you gone, what am I to do?"
That hadn't occurred to him. If Zelgadis left and the attacker came back, he might try to hurt Clio to find Zelgadis' whereabouts. He thought hard and finally came to a decision.
"Clio, you have to come with me. I'll be anticipating him next time so he won't ambush me again. You'll be safer with me than being alone here."
"Are you sure Zelgadis? I don't know if I should leave my cottage."
"I'm sorry, Clio. I didn't mean to involve you in my problems but I don't see any other solutions. After I deal with this, you can come back to your cottage."
Clio looked around her room. Her eyes lingered on the cabinet her father had made. She stared at the beautiful vase her mother had bought for her. She took in the fragrance of the room that always reminded Clio of her parents. She loved this cottage.
Her eyes swung back to Zelgadis.
"When you feel well enough to travel, I'll go with you."
Zelgadis and Clio walked away from her cottage. She looked back at it longingly, bidding a silent farewell.
"Where are we going, Zelgadis?"
"I think we should find my friends. The last time I saw them, it was at Saillune."
"How far is Saillune from here?"
Zelgadis grabbed a feather pen and a pad of paper and started doing calculations.
"We're about 200.4 km from Tailo. It takes about 4.6 days to travel from Tailo to Saillune when traveling at a speed of - "
Zelgadis stopped in mid-sentence and blushed. He realized that Clio had been staring at him with amazement. He put away the pad of paper and feather pen.
"Um...sorry. Bad habit. I think it'll take us about a week of walking before we reached Saillune."
Clio giggled. "That's a very cute habit of yours. Do you always reach for your paper and pen when you're solving a problem."
"Not always." He blushed even harder.
"Oh Zelgadis! I think I'm going to enjoy traveling with you!"
With that she grabbed his hand and pulled him forward.
"Come on, Zelgadis! Let's run all the way to Saillune! How will that change your calculations?"
"Actually, the increase in speed will - "
Clio started running with Zelgadis in tow. His words were left in the breeze.
Chapter 2 | Fanfiction