Xelloss appeared before his mistress in her throne room. Lowering himself to one knee, the priest took his lady's hand and kissed it in the traditional manner to show respect, then released it. Zelas sat up on her couch. "How goes the monitoring of our little group, Xelloss?"
"Quite well, Juuou-sama," he grinned. "Lina Inverse is moving as predicted."
"And the current situation?"
"Simple travel. An occasional raid on a bandit camp, or odd job, but nothing earth-shattering. The group is currently headed to the home of the former Karyuu-ou no miko, Filia Ul Copt."
"Good," the Dark Lord took a drag off her cigarette, blowing smoke rings into the hazy dimly-lit air. "I see you're getting on nicely with that chimera. Pleasant night, Xel-chan?"
A sly smile crossed his face. "Oh, most definitely, mistress."
The conversation paused once more as the woman retrieved a goblet of Zefilian wine from a gold stand next to her seat. She took a sip delicately, her ruby lips parting just enough to show long, sharp canines. "You've been very foolish with that boy, my priest."
"How so?"
"You know how so. I don't quite think we need to tell the others in this hall your secrets, ne?"
Xelloss bowed his head further, purple curtains coming down to hide his face. "Yes, mistress."
"Come to me."
He looked at her, then stood and complied, kneeling once more right before her sedentary form. Zelas lifted his chin and looked into her highest servant's eyes, noting the slight emotional traces he couldn't quite manage to hide in front of her. She pouted slightly. "Why torture yourself, hmm? I didn't think I had allowed you to become that weak."
"I am not weak; I am stronger, my lady."
"And if something were to happen? Which is your priority, me, or him?"
"You of course, my lady."
"And if I order his death?"
"..."
"Well?"
Xel wavered in his sureness. He knew that that was a possibility, but he had hoped it would never come up. Best to play it safe for now, he decided. "I would kill him, my lady. As I would Lina Inverse or any of the rest of her group." I didn't say I wouldn't try to resurrect him afterwards, he mentally added.
"Good," Zelas rested back on the couch, taking another sample of the smooth, sweet wine. "Very well, then. I'll let this continue for now. But if things go too far, I will separate the two of you. Whatever the cost. Understand?"
"Yes, mistress."
Zelgadis sat on Xelloss's bed, waiting. The chimera had been waiting for quite some time for the priest's return, but to no avail. He had already gone through all the books in Xel's small library that he could read, which wasn't very many. For the past half hour, Zel had bided his time by examining the room from his central location at the foot of the bed. He got so bored that he actually started counting the books on the shelves. "1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1 - "
"Zel-chan!" glomp
He sighed and wrapped his arms around Xelloss's, holding the mazoku in a firm yet gentle grip. "What took you so long?"
"Juuou-sama and I needed to talk about a few things. Ooh, nice outfit!"
"A pair of black silk pants does not an outfit make."
"No, but a pair of black silk pants accompanied by a birthday suit does."
"Fruitcake," Zel smiled slightly, the term of resentment finally getting use in a lighter tone.
"Well, as nice as it might be to stay here and play some more, I think we'd better get you back to Lina-tachi. They will be expecting you to be there when they awake."
"I'm not going back in just this, Xelloss."
Xel sighed and pouted. "Spoilsport. Fine, have your clothes back." In a flash, the shaman was fully decked out in his normal tan/ivory number, hood and mask down. "Let's go!" Grabbing an arm, the mazoku phased them back to the slightly wooded area the gang had crashed in for the night. "Hmm, well, since they're not up yet, we may as well enjoy ourselves for a bit, ne?"
"Sounds like a plan to me," his lover replied. Zelgadis dragged Xelloss off away from their sleeping friends and encircled the other man's waist.
"Ooh, taking the initiative this time, ne? But I can't let you start all the fun!" the priest took this opportunity to capture his chimera's lips while weaving his own arms around Zel.
The two stayed this way for a while, locked in a vigorous game of tonsil hockey, hands roaming.
Amelia yawned and sat underneath her cape, stretching her arms over her head. What a beautiful day! she thought to herself, admiring the rising sun as it bathed the morning fog in various shades of red, pink, orange, and purple. The princess stood and shook out her cape, then walked off into the trees to find some breakfast.
She was busy picking off pieces of grass and pine needles from her makeshift blanket when she heard a noise. It sounded like a moan. Oh no! Some poor person is being attacked! In the name of justice, I cannot let this atrocity continue, empty stomach or no! Amelia swung her cape over her shoulders, attaching it, then stealthily raced towards the sound. Breaking through to a clearing, she found the source of the moaning and did the only sensible thing.
She screamed, then fainted.
Xel and Zel broke from their session as they heard the shriek, turning towards it and blinking. Zelgadis caught sight of Amelia before she slumped down, staring at them like a deer caught in a light spell. He blushed self-consciously then sighed. "Great, now they know."
"Is that really so bad?" the priest replied, grinning at his lover.
"Well, over all, probably not. I'm just not sure I was ready for them to know yet. Besides, isn't it a little dangerous for both of us to have people knowing that Xelloss has a lover?"
He nodded in agreement. "Well, yes..."
"So what are we going to do about this?"
"First off, we'll take Amelia-san back to camp. Even if Gourry slept through that scream of hers, I doubt Lina did. Whatever comes next..." Xelloss shrugged, "we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, ne?"
Zel sighed yet again, picking the princess up. "Fine, for now I guess. Let's go."
The trio arrived back at the campsite a few minutes later, catching Lina just as she and Gourry were about to leave in search of Amelia. "What happened?" Gourry asked.
"Yeah, we wake up hearing a scream and then see that you two are gone, totally without a trace. Where were you?!" the irate and entirely cranky (hey, Lina's not a morning person at dawn!) redhead demanded.
"Uh..." Zel supplied, blushing as he did so.
"Well, Zelgadis-san was out in the woods, and so was I, then Amelia-san saw us and she screamed and fainted. So we brought her back. Isn't that so, Zel-kun?"
"Uh...right. Yeah."
The sorceress eyed her two companions suspiciously. "Okay, what am I missing in this picture?"
"What could she have seen that would make Amelia scream like that?" Gourry pondered aloud. "Hmm...she didn't see you two making out, did she?"
<(((.O))> Zel blushed an even deeper shade of crimson.
"Baka!" BASH "Why would Zel make out with Xelloss, you jellyfish?!?!"
"Lina! Stop hitting me! That really hurts, you know!"
Xelloss chuckled at the antics created by the sorceress and swordsman as they continued to yell at one another while Lina hit him. "No matter how many times it happens, Gourry always surprises me when he comes up with the correct answer."
"And Lina doesn't believe him. What are we gonna do when Amelia wakes up? I know she'll tell Lina. What then?"
His lover just shrugged. "We'll see how they react to it. After all," Xel raised his index finger, "they never did give us a chance to deny or agree with what Gourry said."
The princess awoke some time later, surrounded by the sights and smells of an average Slayers camp breakfast. Fish, and lots of it, cooking on a fire while the already prepared food was quickly being devoured by the group's two resident bottomless pits. She sat up and put a hand to her forehead as the events of the early morning replayed in her mind. Xelloss-san and Zelgadis-san...it can't be...
Amelia looked around, seeking out the two in question. She found them sitting near the fire, the mazoku poking at the blaze with the pointy end of his staff, the chimera eating a small portion of the fish while he tried to stare blankly out. Tried being the key term. She noted all too well the slight blush on his cheeks, barely tinting the blue stone skin a light pink, and the little glances he made in the direction of the priest. It wasn't filled with his usual scorn in the least.
This can't be right, her mind cried. Zelgadis-san never really has loved me, not like how I wished he would, but how could he possibly care about Xelloss-san?!? All he ever does is tease and use us, or travel with us for his own benefit! He is the epitome of unjustness! How could Zelgadis-san fall for him....Ah! He must be under a spell or something! That has to be it. Don't worry, Zelgadis-san! With my heart full of love and justice, I shall save you from that wicked mazoku's spell! A chibi-Amelia started posing in her mind, silhouetted by various colourful backgrounds and the occasional crash of water.
"Hey, welcome back to the world of the waking," Lina stated to Ame around her food. Actually, it came out more like, "Eh, mlroom ack ooh ah url mph ah mmk", but the author figured she'd just translate for those who don't speak Eating Inverse.
"Thanks, Lina-san," she stood and walked over to the fire, picking out a couple of fish-on-a-stick that looked cooked, then sat down and started eating. Amelia glanced over at Xel and Zel once more. The priest now had his closed-eyed smile turned on her.
"Have a nice nap, Amelia-san?" he inquired.
"I...guess. Um...Xelloss-san?"
"Yes?"
"I wasn't imagining that, was I. What I saw, I mean."
Xel shook his head quite cheerfully. "Nope!"
A blur of white and black instantly zoomed across the edge of the fire, taking the smiling demon's yellow tunic firmly into its curled fists. "How dare you do that to Zelgadis-san! Using him like this! How can you be so cruel as to toy with his feelings! I will not allow this injustice to continue. You must face punishment!"
^_^() "Ano...punishment for what, might I ask?"
"For bewitching Zelgadis-san's just heart!"
"Bewitching?"
Lina actually stopped eating to listen to their conversation. She looked over to Zel, noticing his discomfort with all this, then turned back to the princess and priest. "Hey, Amelia, what did you see out there, anyway?"
Ame's fire died instantly as she blinked at Lina. "Huh? Oh, I-I saw them...uh..."
"Spit it out already!"
"Th-they were kissing, Lina-san." Xel's smile widened, if that was possible, while Zelgadis's blush flared once more. He turned to avoid Lina's wide-eyed stare.
Gourry smirked at the stumped sorceress. "See, I told ya so!"
"You see, Lina-san! Xelloss-san must have put a spell on Zelgadis-san! Why would he submit to something like that otherwise? As defenders of justice, we are obligated to release him from this awful enchantment!"
"Spell?" Xel looked over to the chimera, a cute little confused look on his smiley face.
Said chimera had had enough. He stood abruptly, glaring at the group minus his lover. "I am not under any sort of spell, alright? I fell in love with Xelloss of my own accord. There is no spell or other form of trickery involved for once, got it?" As if to prove his point, he snaked his arm around the priest's waist, almost possessively, staring straight at Amelia. "If you can't respect that, I'll leave."
"Well, I figured out you two liked each other a long time ago." Facefaults all around, minus the speaker, Gourry. "What? Couldn't you guys see them flirting?" he blinked, sporting his 'confused jellyfish' look.
"HOW long ago is 'a long time ago', Gourry?" Lina asked, pulling herself up from the ground.
"Uh...a few months or so, I guess."
Zel make a little squeak. "A few months ago?"
"What, hadn't realised it yet, Zel-kun?"
"Well, yeah, but I didn't think I was that obvious."
"Neither did I," Xel replied.
Amelia sat down heavily. How could it not be a spell? "You, you really love him, Zelgadis-san?" she quietly asked, looking up the chimera. He merely nodded. "Well, then, I guess I can't stand in the way of love, can I?" she sighed and stood once more, then looked out to west, towards Seyruun. "I-I think I'll head home. I need time to think about this." The princess tossed her sticks from breakfast on the fire as she started to walk off past the semi-stunned group. "Give my regards to Filia-san, ne? Ja." With that, Amelia walked off into the distance.