Philanthropist's Daughter Found Dead
September 8th 2000
TORONTO -- Amelia Saillune, daughter of well-renowned philanthropist Philionel Saillune, was found dead today in her family's garage. Saillune was eighteen years and had just started her final year of high school. Cause of death was apparently carbon monoxide poisoning from the still running engine of the deceased's car. Police believe the death to be suicide, having already ruled out any evidence of foul play.
Apparently the girl had been showing signs of severe depression for months before this incident. This death, though unfortunate, comes as no shock to both family and friends.
'Amelia hadn't been acting right for awhile,' says boyfriend Zelgadis Graywords. 'I just can't believe that it's come to this.'
'My sister was so sad all the time,' Saillune's older sister Gracia comments. 'We were all hoping she'd cheer up on her own, but now it's too late.'
Though the evidence points to suicide on Saillune's part, there are still those who believe otherwise about the young heiress.
Best friend Lina Inverse declares, 'Amelia would never kill herself, that's insane. Amelia loved life and wanted to make the world a better place. Her sense of justice would not allow her to commit suicide, no matter how depressed she was.'
Though Philionel Saillune was unavailable for comment, it was announced that he plans to fund a new crisis centre for depressed teens in his daughter's name. This is done in the hope that others may find some benefit, in the end, to this awful tragedy.
In this country suicide is the second-most cause of teenage death. If you or someone you know is suffering from severe depression, don't wait to seek help. The Kid's Help Phone is an organization dedicated to offering help to young people in all types of difficulties, the number is 1-800-668-6868.
Amelia Saillune is survived by her father Philionel Saillune, as well as her sister Gracia Saillune.
"Lina, hey Lina! Wait up!" A breathless Gourry Gabriev ran several blocks in the effort to catch up with his best friend, Lina Inverse.
Having just finished with her last class of the day, Lina was anxious to go home and give her brain a break. The last thing she needed, was to deal with one of her more frustrating friends. That isn't to say that Lina didn't like Gourry, it's just that some days he's harder to take than others.
"Lina, why didn't you wait for me after class? Don't you want a lift?"
Lina slowly came to a halt in front of a panting Gourry.
"Actually Gourry," Lina explained quietly, "I was hoping to be alone for a while."
Light dawned on Gourry's face, "Oh! Is it okay if I come along too then?" Apparently it was a very shadowy light.
Not in the mood to argue Lina just agreed to Gourry's offer of a drive home.
Slowly the two moved across the campus, towards Gourry's SUV.
As Lina looked across the university campus she vaguely took in the familiar rush of students, eager to get back to work after winter break. Surprisingly there wasn't much snow on the ground, and what was there had transformed into a brownish mush. The air was crisp and cool, a typical January day in Toronto.
As Lina climbed into the passenger side of Gourry's vehicle a small sigh escaped her lips. Staring at all the happy faces around her, Lina couldn't help feeling a little disconsolate.
"So Lina, Gracia and I were wondering if you wanted to go out with us tonight?"
Shocked into the present, Lina turned to Gourry with a puzzled expression.
"Val, Sylphiel and Zangulus will be coming. It should be a lot of fun."
Shaking her head slowly Lina replied, "I don't think so Gourry, I'm really not in the mood."
With that, Lina once again returned her attention to the myriad of events taking place outside of the passenger window. Absently Lina brushed her arm across the glass in front of her, wiping away the condensation that had appeared as a result of her own slow breathing.
For one moment Gourry directed his attention to the most important woman in his life. Without Lina's notice, the young man considered her melancholy state and stifled a sigh of frustration.
As the vehicle pulled onto the familiar street of Lina's childhood home, the red-head had already begun to unbuckle her seatbelt. As Gourry slowed to a halt in front of the Inverse driveway, Lina immediately grabbed the door handle anxious to leave the company of her oldest and best friend.
A strong hand quickly grabbed a hold of Lina's arm, forestalling her exit. Reluctantly the girl trailed her eyes from the hand on her arm to the person said hand belonged to, silently waiting for an explanation.
"Lina..."
Like a stone, Lina sat waiting for Gourry to finish his thoughts.
"You know that if you need to talk..."
Aside from the occasional blink and the shallow rise and fall of Lina's chest, there was no response.
"I just want to say that I'm here for you Lina."
A sharp nod from Lina and the girl had bolted and run into the house.
From the living room window, Lina watched carefully as Gourry pulled off. As the SUV turned a corner and disappeared from view, tension eased from the shoulders of the misunderstood girl.
"So there you are Lina," a female voice proclaimed.
Lina turned away from the window, cautiously trying to gauge her sister's mood.
Lina's older sister Luna had practically raised Lina single-handedly, and liked to remind Lina of that fact at every possible moment. Luna also had a decidedly mean personality. It was a given that at any moment Luna might snap, making life miserable for poor Lina. In the past Luna's torments have ranged from messing up Lina's phone messages to locking Lina in her bedroom for four days as punishment for some transgression (though it should be noted that Lina's transgressions can get quite involved). There was also some suspicion on Lina's part that her sister has done things to her in the past that were so painful that she blocked the memories in order to shelter herself. When questioned Luna denied this allegation, though not quite vehemently enough for Lina to feel comfortable.
"Was that Gourry who drove off so quickly?"
Unwilling to give her sister any ammunition, Lina simply offered a sharp nod in assent to Luna's question.
"Why didn't he come in?"
Slowly backing out of the room, Lina shrugged her shoulders silently.
Luna stared at her sister's obvious discomfort and let loose a sigh of frustration.
"Lina, I won't bite. I just... Lina I just want to help, if I can." Disturbed by this new development, Lina stopped short. The young girls' eyes trailed over her family's home, anxious to look anywhere but at the concerned face in front of her. Above the fireplace, which served as the central focus of the room, photographs of happier days mocked Lina. Pictures of Lina and her parents, locked in a loving embrace. Luna gently pushing a baby Lina on the swing-set that had once belonged in their backyard. Lina's parents on their wedding day. Memories assuaged Lina, nearly knocking the girl to the floor with the simple weight of their emotional impact. Distraught, Lina began to edge towards the door once more. Only to feel a pressure on her hand, staying her.
"Lina, you've got to talk to somebody. If not your friends or me, then maybe... maybe a professional."
She thinks I'm crazy, Lina thought to herself. Maybe she's right.
Desperately Lina pulled her hand from Luna's grasp.
A ghost of a smile appeared on Lina's face, "Don't worry about me big sister, I'm just fine."
With that, the girl ran upstairs to her bedroom anxiously.
Closing the door behind her Lina breathed a small sigh of relief. This new dimension to Luna's personality would take some getting used to. A pissed off Luna was bad enough, but a sympathetic Luna was just plain terrifying.
Lina's bedroom was her only refuge from the torments of the outside world. A huge four poster bed dominated the room, covered from top to bottom with stuffed animals of every sort. Looking at the dizzying display usually brought a smile to Lina's face, though she really had no fondness for the toys themselves. About ten years ago, Lina's father got it into his head that his youngest daughter collected stuffed bears. Lina was never sure where exactly he got the idea, but figured Luna had had something to do with it. So from the age of ten Lina Inverse had been inundated with teddy bears from her loving father. Lina had considered many times telling her father that she felt she was too old for toys, but when confronted with his smiling face she found that she couldn't find the nerve to tell him that his gifts went unappreciated. Now that her father was gone, Lina was thankful every day that she had the silly stuffed animals to remember him by. Looking at them now though, Lina found she couldn't summon a single smile at the memory of her father. As sadness threatened to overwhelm the redhead, she raced across the room and picked up her phone. Before she had consciously made any decision to do it, her fingers began dialling a familiar phone number.
"Hello."
"Hi. I need to see you."
"Second Cup. Fifteen minutes."
"Thanks."
As she entered the coffee shop, Lina headed straight for the back booth.
"Hey Zel," Lina mumbled as she slowly slid into the seat opposite that of her friend.
Pushing a steaming cup towards the girl, Zelgadis raised an eyebrow in query.
"Ooh, white hot chocolate. My favourite," Lina exclaimed after taking a sip of her drink.
The young man in front of her merely shrugged his shoulders lightly, as if questioning 'what else?'
Zelgadis Graywords was one of Lina's best friends, and probably the only person on the planet who understood what she was going through.
On Zelgadis' twelfth birthday he learned something shocking about himself, he learned that he had been adopted. His adoptive parents had sat him down to explain the situation to him when they believed that he was old enough to know. Zelgadis had handled this revelation badly. After a great deal of arguing and pouting Zelgadis decided that he had to find out who his "real" parents were. His adoptive parent tried to tell him that they loved him no matter what, and to his credit Zelgadis did believe them, but he became obsessed about finding out who he really was. This search of Zelgadis' took over his life, Lina herself remembered a time when she wouldn't see Zel for weeks or even months. Finally when he was seventeen Zelgadis decided that it was a waste of time to search for parents that didn't want him, when the parents that did were waiting for him to come back to them.
Lina remembered how happy the Graywords family had been then, everyone had been so relieved that Zel had come to his senses. Six months later Zelgadis' parents died in a car crash. If it weren't for Amelia, Zelgadis probably would've lost his mind. Amelia Saillune had been in love with Zelgadis since they were children, confident that one day he would return her affection too. Amelia was the one who brought Zelgadis out of his grief, with cheer and a tender heart. Slowly Zelgadis recovered from the tragedy of his parent's death, and also slowly did he begin to develop feelings for the woman who had so carefully nursed him back to emotional health. It was a fairytale ending to a horrible calamity. That is until Amelia died, taking her own life last September.
"So spill Lina," Zelgadis interrupted the redheads enjoyment of her third hot chocolate.
Lina looked up at Zelgadis with a face so innocent it immediately put him on edge.
Taking a deep breath Zelgadis said, "Come on Lina, you sounded upset on the phone. What's wrong. You know you can tell me anything."
Finally putting down her mug Lina asked Zelgadis, "Do you think I'm selfish?"
Sipping on his cup of coffee Zelgadis considered the question carefully before finally answering, "Yes."
"What?"
"Yes, I do believe that you have a tendency to be selfish," Zelgadis repeated the shocked girl. "But what brought on this inquiry?"
Settling his mug on the table in front of him, Zelgadis turned a questioning look in Lina's direction.
Unable to maintain her anger Lina simply sighed, "Gourry and Luna are worried about me. They want me to open up to them, but I don't think I can."
Zelgadis picked up his cup, slowly drinking while keeping his full attention on the woman in front of him.
"It's not unreasonable, what they're asking. But it's so hard to talk about, I just wish that they'd leave me alone."
"You talk to me easily enough," Zelgadis quietly replied.
A sharp look, "You know that you're different Zel."
"Am I?" As he posed the question Zelgadis could feel a small smile tugging at his lips.
"You know you are Zel," Lina replied so softly that Zelgadis was barely able to make out her words. A little louder she added, "You're the only one of our friends who knows what it's like to lose both parents as well as a close friend in so short a time."
Silence sat between the two friends like a brick wall.
"Well... It's, um, getting late," Lina mumbled into the last of her white hot chocolate.
Zelgadis sat so still, Lina was unsure whether he was even listening to her.
"Luna will start to wonder where I went," Lina tried again to make a quick exit. It seemed she was getting a great deal of practice in running away from people.
Abruptly Zelgadis grabbed Lina's arm and took her outside, "Come on, I'll walk you home."
Being dragged down the partially lit street, Lina found that she had little choice but to comply.
"All the lights are out."
"Maybe Luna went out," Zelgadis said pragmatically.
"Luna never goes out, it would interfere with her reputation as the wicked witch of the west."
Starting to get a little frustrated Zel finally blurted, "Well we're not going to find out anything standing here are we?"
"We?"
A slight blush, "I couldn't leave you unprotected in an empty house could I?"
A sideways glance was directed at Zelgadis that clearly said 'Whatever.'
Striding purposefully, Lina reached the doorway to her home a couple of seconds before Zelgadis.
Pulling out her key nervously Lina turned to Zelgadis with a worried look, "I'm getting a bad feeling about this."
"Just open the door, and leave the pessimistic attitude to us professionals."
Lina arched an eyebrow, "Humour Zel? Since when did you become the comedian?"
As the door swung inward Lina and Zelgadis slowly crept into the foyer. After shutting the door behind them, Zelgadis was just about to make a comment to Lina about her ridiculous fears when out of the dark there came a scream.
Several screams in fact. All shouting what sounded vaguely like, "Surprise!"
Lina turned an exasperated face to Zelgadis, "Great, a surprise party."
Friends and family all gathered around Lina, shouting and laughing.
"Were you surprised?"
"You didn't suspect anything did you?"
"You should have seen the look on your face."
"Why?" This from Lina, who was trying to figure out which holiday she was forgetting because it certainly wasn't her birthday. That she shared with Luna, and because of that shared birthday she had never had a party that was exclusively hers.
"Silly, why not?" Filia Ul Copt threw back at Lina, laughing at the redheads' confusion.
"If anyone deserves a party it's you Lina," from sweet Sylphiel Nels Lahda.
And inevitably, "OHOHOHOHOHO, Lina Inverse you are so naive. To never suspect your friends of doing you so great a favour." This from Gracia Saillune, more commonly (or notoriously) known as Naga.
"What is that horrible noise," Gaav yelled from the next room. "Is Naga laughing again? Gourry please, I beg you man, make her stop."
Try as she might to maintain her depression, Lina couldn't help but feel her spirits lift a bit at the sight of all her friends gathered.
"Seriously you guys, it's not any special occasion and my birthday is months away. Why a surprise party?"
Lina felt a slight pressure on her arm, curious she turned to find the earnest face of Gourry looking straight at her.
"Lina, we've been worried about you."
Across the room Lina spied Gaav with his hands over Naga's mouth, in an attempt to keep her quiet, if only for a short time. It appeared that Filia did not appreciate seeing her husband with his hands all over a scantily clad Naga. Lina wondered idly how long it would take before Filia took out her mace, of which Gaav had been on the receiving end much of his life.
"We don't want to make you uncomfortable," Gourry's voice intruded on Lina's thoughts. "But we also want to show that we care." Gesturing towards the crowded room Gourry said, "That's what this is all about Lina."
Touched, Lina didn't quite know what to say.
"Hey Fireball, you gonna sit there with your boy-toy all night?" A voice screamed across the room.
"OHOHOHOHOHO, as if Gourry could be tempted by such a flat-chested little girl." It seemed that Naga had managed to get away from Gaav's retraining hands. Either that, or Gaav's hands were permanently removed by his loving wife.
"Fireball, you gonna take that?" An aqua-haired youth challenged.
Val Gaav was the younger brother of Gaav. Orphaned at an early age, Val was raised mostly by his brother and his brother's wife Filia. They were one of the closest families Lina had ever encountered, and Lina envied them. That is, when she wasn't planning Val's prolonged and painful death. Val and Lina were rivals, had been for as long as anyone remembered. These two competed over everything, from sports to verbal insults. It was a competition between the two in grade eleven chemistry which led to the great explosion of '96, thus resulting in Val's favourite nickname for Lina.
"Fireball, she called you flat-chested and short." Val continued to catcall, "I'm pretty sure that had she thought it over, she probably would have added rude and volatile too."
Lina smiled prettily in Val's direction, "Filia, Dragonboy's trying to upset me at my own surprise party."
Val claimed that his family was descended from dragons, and tried to brag about exactly once. After laughing at the absurdity of the idea, Lina dubbed Val 'Dragonboy' in honour of his long dead ancestors (or perhaps just to compound her disbelief of Val's story).
As she watched Val run out of range of Filia's mace, Lina felt a genuine laugh escape. Looking around herself at all the people who cared about her, Lina believed, for the first time in months, that everything was going to turn out just fine.
Part 2 | Fanfiction