"Not one shred of evidence exists to support the notion that life is serious."
A shadow flitted through the streets of Seyruun just outside the walls that surrounded the palace. It had been watching the place for nearly a week now, plotting silently. The sorceress and the swordsman were safely ensconced in the palace, surrounded by guards and all these damnable white magic wards. Not that they really bothered it much; they just made life a bit uncomfortable.
It had waited long enough; tonight would be the night to make its move. With the reception for the Princess and her fiancé (the shadow sneered at that thought) in full swing, there would be people coming and going and no one would notice one more guest. Especially when the guest didn't want to make itself noticeable. No more playing around; this time nothing would go wrong.
The shadow faded into the crowds, leaving behind no evidence it had ever been there save a chill that ran down the backs of several people who had been standing close to it.
"Please! Master Gabriev! You must let me help you!" The valet tried to push past the door that Gourry was leaning against and blocking with all his weight.
"No way! I don't need help taking a bath! I haven't needed help since I was five and I don't need help now!" He finally shoved the offending valet out of the way and slammed the door shut, locking it behind him. "I'll be out when I'm done! Sheesh..." he muttered, blowing his hair out of his eyes with an exasperated sigh.
Once he was confident that the door would hold and that the pesky valet was going to stay put on the other side of the door while he was bathing, Gourry headed for the sunken tub. It was always filled with warm water, which was nice just in case you wanted to take a bath in the middle of the night. Or afternoon. He undressed, tossed his clothing into the laundry basket and stacked his armor, gauntlets, boots and sword on a bench. Then he slipped into the warm water with a heavy sigh of pleasure.
He leaned back against the wall of the tub and let the warmth penetrate his muscles. He grinned as he put his arms behind his head and thought about Lina's reaction later when he gave her the ring. He closed his eyes and let himself relax.
A sharp, repeated knocking woke him out of a doze. "Mater Gabriev! You really must hurry if you're going to be on time!"
Damn. He must have fallen asleep. Quickly, he ducked his head under the water, grabbed some soap from a nearby jar, and worked a lather into his heavy hair. After rinsing, he applied the soap to himself. He squeezed the water out of his hair, stepped out the tub and shrugged on the thick cotton robe that had been laid out for him. Padding over to the door, he unlocked it and entered the bedroom.
The valet was nearly wringing his hands with worry. Immediately, he grabbed Gourry and led him over to a chair and pushed him into it. He sighed as he applied a towel to his hair. "You really shouldn't have taken so long. I'm afraid you're going to be late," he scolded as he dried Gourry's hair.
"Ow! Not so hard!" Gourry said, wincing under the man's touch. "Look...Mister - "
"Lanier," the man said. "Call me Lanier." He tossed aside the damp towel and applied a dry one to Gourry's extensive locks.
"Look, Lanny," Gourry said. He pulled forward and out of the man's grasp. "I don't need your help! I keep trying to tell you that!"
"Yes, you do!" the valet said, pushing his long brown hair out of his eyes. "I'm supposed to see that you're properly attired for the reception, and that's what I'm going to do!"
Fed up, Gourry got to his feet. He stood a good head and a half taller than the nervous little man. He didn't just stand there, however; he loomed over him. "Lanny - "
"Lanier," he corrected as he cowered.
"Whatever. I don't need help getting dressed. If there's anything after I'm dressed that I need help with, you can help then. But I can take care of myself!" He stomped over to the bed and grabbed up the underthings that had been laid out. Dropping the robe on the floor, he pulled them on. He glared at Lanier, who had hurried over to rescue the robe and hang it neatly over his arm. The little man scooted away.
The swordsman pulled on the dusky blue trousers and tugged on them to get them to fit right. Which, of course, they did. As did the shirt and the vest and the frock coat that went over them.
Dressed in trousers, frilly white shirt and black satiny vest, Gourry finally let Lanier approach him. The valet helped tug his trousers into place, button the vest, and pull the collar of his shirt closed. A rich gold cravat lay on the bed and Gourry obligingly sat down so that Lanier could tie it around his neck and secure it with a gold pin that had a sapphire set into it. When he was done, Gourry stuck a finger in between his collar and his neck and tugged. Lanier slapped his hand away irritably.
While he was still sitting, Lanier had him pull on his new boots: Shiny black leather ones that came to his knees. The stirrups on the trousers kept them straight even with the boots on.
"If you'll just hold on a moment," Lanier said as he went to fetch the hair brush from the wardrobe. He stood behind Gourry and brushed out the swordsman's long golden hair until it shined. The swordsman sat quietly through this; unhappily, but quietly. He felt strange letting someone else do all this for him.
"I really wish there was time to do something about your hair," Lanier said as he tried without success to keep Gourry's golden mane from falling over his eyes.
Grabbing the brush, Gourry stood up. "What's wrong with my hair?" he demanded.
"N-nothing, sir!" Lanier muttered. "I just meant perhaps if we braid it? Or pull it back and secure it with - "
Gourry shook his head and tossed the brush onto the bed. "It's fine the way it is."
"Of course, sir." Grabbing up the blue silk frock coat, he covered his nervousness by holding it up so that Gourry could slip it on.
Which he did. Lanier helped him settle it on his shoulders and brushed the creases out. Pulling a lint brush out of his pocket, he brushed off the shoulders and sleeves. Then he tugged the lace at Gourry's wrists out of the coat sleeves as well as fluff up the cravat. Turning the taller man around, he inspected him for any other signs of lint and when he found none, he stepped back to examine his charge. He nodded. "I think you'll pass muster," he said.
"Mustard? Why do I need to pass the mustard?"
Lanier grimaced. "Muster, not mustard. It means you'll pass close inspection." He pulled his pocket watch out and glanced at it. A smile spread across his face. "And we're even early. If you'll follow me, I'll show you the way." Lanier headed for the door with Gourry right on his heels. He'd actually gotten out of the door and several feet down the hallway when he drew up short enough to make the carpeting buckle. "What is it?" Lanier asked.
"I forgot something!" Gourry turned and pelted back the way he came. Tearing through the sitting room and into the bathroom, he snatched up his trousers and searched the pockets. A huge sigh of relief escaped him as he found the box with the rings in it. Slipping it quickly into the pocket of his coat, he ran back to the hallway. He nearly collided with Lanier in the hallway.
"Are you quite ready?" Lanier asked.
"Ready as I'll ever be," Gourry said and followed the valet down the hallway.
"Where is he?!" Lina muttered as she paced back and forth in the anteroom to the dining room where the reception was to be held.
"Calm down, Lina-san," Amelia pleaded. "He's not late yet. Give him time."
"But he should have been here already! Zelgadis is here, isn't he?"
"What's that got to do with anything?" the Chimera demanded.
Lina turned and shook her hands. "No, no, Zel, I didn't mean anything. Except you both got back at the same time, right? Why is it taking him longer to get ready than you did?"
"Well, Lina-san, Gourry-san does have much longer hair than Zelgadis-san has," Amelia pointed out. "It could take a while to dry."
"If he hasn't pitched the valet through the window," Zelgadis muttered as he tried to hide a smile at Lina's reaction. "Did you bother to tell him that the valet would expect to help him bathe?"
Lina paled and winced. "No, I guess I forgot. I hope he doesn't hurt the guy too badly."
Zelgadis pushed away from the wall against he was leaning and wandered over. "Oh, c'mon. This is Gourry we're talking about. He wouldn't actually hurt him. Amelia's right; Gourry just needs to take a little longer than I do. I'm used to the routine - even though I don't like it."
At that moment the door opened and Lanier stepped in. "Master Gabriev," he announced. Everyone turned to greet the swordsman as he entered. Then froze. Zelgadis and Amelia both looked at Lina to see her reaction. Her jaw literally dropped open as she took in the remarkable transformation that swordsman had undergone. Contrary to Lanier's lamentations, Gourry's hair was behaving quite well. It still fell stubbornly over his right eye, but it curled softly around his face, framing and highlighting the remarkably handsome bone structure of his face.
Lina dragged her eyes away from his face, though it was hard. The clothes fit perfectly to his muscular body and the coat was tailored to accentuate his wide shoulders and narrow hips. The blue of the coat suited him: It brought out the golden highlights in his hair and of his tanned skin. His blue eyes sparkled like sapphires.
"Gourry," she breathed, suddenly aware that she felt very warm. "You look...wonderful."
He blushed and took her hand. "Thanks. So do you." He let his eyes travel down her body, taking in her dark red gown. It had short, puffy sleeves and a plunging neckline that showed a large expanse of creamy skin. The bodice fit close to her torso, outlining every curve and defining them in a way to best show them off. It came to a point in front and the skirts flared out from her hips to drop in long, full sweeps to the floor. Long black gloves covered her hands past her elbows. Her hair was pulled up and gathered at the back of her head in such a way that let ringlets fall down her back and around her face. A simple strand of pearls encircled her throat. Makeup had been sparingly applied to accent her large eyes, which sparkled like rubies. His eyes were drawn to her lips, lush and red, and he leaned down to kiss them.
Lina heard Amelia titter behind her and pulled away to glare at her friend. "What are you giggling at?"
"Nothing, Lina-san," Amelia said with a grin. She noticed the Master of Ceremonies step into the room and gesture to her. "It's almost time to make our entrance," she said, taking Zelgadis' arm. Lina looked them over: Amelia was dressed in a gown that was white but shimmered with violet shadows. A gold tiara rested atop her dark hair. Zelgadis was dressed much like Gourry, except he was in charcoal black with a deep purple waistcoat and his cravat was black. While his shoulders weren't as wide as Gourry's and he was leaner overall, he still cut a dashing figure
"Don't they look nice together?" Lina asked Gourry as she slipped her arm through his. He put his hand over hers and followed Amelia and Zelgadis.
"They do," he said with a smile. "Just like we do."
Lina smiled and drew closer to her escort. "Just like we do."
They went down the short hallway and waited outside the doors that led to the dining hall where the dinner was to be served. Lina and Gourry went to stand in front of them; they would be announced first then Amelia and Zelgadis would follow them.
Finally the doors opened and the Master of Ceremonies gestured for them to approach. Gourry led Lina to the top of the short flight of stairs and stopped, waiting for the emcee to announce them.
"Lina Inverse, Sorcery Genius and Gourry Gabriev, Swordsman of Light."
They both winced, but for different reasons. Lina pulled towards the emcee, but Gourry kept a tight hold on her. "Let it go," he said. "It doesn't matter."
"It matters to me! And it should matter to you, too!" she said as they descended the stairs. "It's Lina Gabriev now!"
"It's what everyone knows you as, Lina; it doesn't bother me. What bothers me is I told Amelia not have me announced as the Swordsman of Light. The Sword of Light is gone; that's not who I am any more." They arrived at their seats by the table and stood in line with all the rest of the guests as they waited for the last two guests to be announced.
He felt a tug on his hand and looked down. Lina looked up at him and gave him a friendly smile. "Don't worry about that. You're going to be the Swordsman of Light for the rest of your life. The original Swordsman just slew Zannafar. You helped defeat Shabranigdu, Zannafar, several Dark Lords, and helped save the world from Dark Star. You deserve some recognition."
Smilingly wanly, he shrugged. "If you say so, Lina." He only vaguely remembered those things anyway.
"I say so therefore it is." She gave his hand a squeeze. "Now, cheer up. I've got to figure out a way to get people to start using my new name."
There was no more time as Amelia and Zelgadis appeared at the top of the stairs. The Master of Ceremonies took a deep breath and announced: "Zelgadis Greywers, Sorcerer and Swordsman. Amelia Wil Tesla de Seyruun, Crown Princess and Heir Apparent of Seyruun." Zelgadis led Amelia down the stairs and for once managed not to look like he wanted to run away and hide. Amelia looked her regal best as she smiled at him while he led her to the head of the long table and stood before his seat to her right. Lina and Gourry were the first two seated to Amelia's left. She looked at them and gave them a warm smile before she sat.
That was the signal for the rest of the guests to sit. Everyone sat and the waiters helped push in chairs and lay napkins in laps before the first course was served.