This will be pretty obvious, but these are my favorite couples: Lina/Zel, Lina/Xellos, and Xellos/Zel. It makes me sick to think about Lina/Gourry, Zel/Amelia, and Xellos/Filia (where did they come up with that one?) so I won't be writing any of those fics. In this story, I'll be using my favorite couples, so that means this story will have a few yaoi bits. Sorry to those that like my stuff but hate yaoi.
And yes, I subscribe to the "Naga is Gracia Ul Naga Sailoon" theory. Why do you ask?
Lina laughed as she was twirled around, happy. There was handsome guys, food, great music, food, princes with money, food, nice dress, and did she mention food?
Sailoon's banquet was the best! Amelia was so happy; her elder sister, Gracia had come back!
Lina never understood how Naga of all people was the long lost Crown Princess of Sailoon. It didn't make sense... Oh, well. Each to their own. She was looking at the table of FOOOOOOOODDD!!!
In the middle of her eating, she looked up and saw a very welcome sight. Zelgadis was standing off to the side, sipping some red wine, while looking pretty damn hot in a midnight blue tux!
Hold it, she thought. Where did that thought come from? The redhead sorceress put down her food, and swallowed. Then she studied him, thinking, But Zel does look cute in that tux...
"Zelgadis-san!" Amelia ran up to him, and smiling up at the chimera. "How are you liking the banquet?"
"It's nice, Amelia," he answered politely. Bit too crowded for my tastes, though, Zel thought sourly.
"Oh, arigato, Zelgadis-san!" she chirped. The Princess took a sip of something in her cup. The chimera's nose twitched slightly, and realized he couldn't tell if the contents were alcoholic or not. If Naga had given it to her, then it was most likely very alcoholic. But if Phil had, then it was probably harmless.
Only way to tell is to wait and see...
"Zelgadis-shan?" Amelia slurred slightly looking up at him. "You're kinda cute..."
Spiked. He sighed as he wondered what prompted Naga to give her sister alcohol. "Amelia, you've had a lot to drink. Maybe you should go to bed..." he suggested.
The Princess blinked. "I have?" She counted on her fingers, trying to tally up how much she had to drink. "I guesh I have..."
"Come on," he sighed, pulling the drunken girl off balance.
"Ne-e-e-e, Zelgadis-shan!" she slurred, yanking back. "I have sh'mthing to tell you."
"Yes?"
Amelia answered that question by forcibly pulling the chimera's head down to her level, thoroughly kissing him. Zel froze, and his eyes widened in surprise. Interestingly enough, his first thought once his mind unstuck was "What will Lina think?"
Said sorceress wasn't getting Dragu Slave mad, for once. Instead, she watched Amelia tongue fence with Zel with a sinking heart. The scene before her blurred, and she blinked, trying to clear her eyes of tears.
Zelgadis finally pulled back. "Alright, I think it's time for bed, Amelia."
The girl looked up at him with her cerulean blue eyes. "Zelgadis..." That's as far as she got before she passed out. This is proof to the readers that you do NOT give hyperactive, lovestruck people anything alcoholic. Period, end of statement.
The chimera sighed, and picked up Amelia. He already knew she would have one hell of a hangover in the morning. Serves her right, though, taking anything that Naga gave to her.
Lina scrubbed her face with the back of her hand, not wanting to show anyone her tears. Zelgadis... had been... with Amelia... And now he... with Amelia...
"Lina-chan, why are you crying?"
Oh great. Xellos. Just when she thought her night couldn't get any worse. Lina rethought that statement, and realized she had essentially issuing the Universe a challenge. "It's nothing, Xellos."
The Mazoku lifted her chin, watching the tears run from her red eyes. "You don't cry for 'nothing,' Lina-chan."
Instant anger. Lina pulled back flushed with anger. "I SAID, IT'S NOTHING!" she yelled, not caring about the looks she was getting. "Now leave me alone." Lina ran out of the room, out to the balcony.
She knew the Mazoku had followed her. Xellos wasn't the kind to give up easily, especially when there was a secret involved. It was ironic, when she thought about it. "I said to leave me alone, Xellos," she said dully.
"Lina-chan, what is wrong?"
She looked up to the stars. "Zelgadis," the sorceress whispered. Xellos waited patiently for her to elaborate. "He was... well, you know... with Amelia."
There was a hand on her shoulder. She looked down, and realized that it was Xellos. "He doesn't deserve you," he said in a serious voice. "If he was kissing Amelia, then he isn't the right one for you."
Lina turned around, and brushed away some tears. "And how do you know so much?"
"Sore wa himitsu desu," Xellos said, his eyes open and sparkling.
Lina had been expecting it, and did something that surprised both her and the Mazoku.
She kissed him.
It was a short little peck on the cheek. Then she pulled back, and smiled at him. "I feel better now," she said. "Arigato, Xellos."
"Lina-chan." He lifted her chin, and landed one on her lips, a surprisingly gentle kiss. She closed her eyes, and returned the kiss.
Zelgadis looked around for Lina, worried. If she had seen him carry Amelia to her room, she might be to the Dragu Slave point...
Oh, he was vain, Zel realized. He was thinking along the line of that Lina had a little crush on him. That was impossible. One, he was a total freak. Two, other loves came before any human love: Power and food.
But, in truth, he did have a little crush on her. She was cute (beautiful in her ballgown), powerful, and very sure of herself.
And unless he was mistaken, the other two males that had been traveling with them recently had seen that too.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of red hair. Zel looked over in that direction, and saw both Lina and Xellos out on the balcony.
Lina gave the Mazoku a small peck on the cheek.
Xellos gave her a gentle kiss on her lips.
Zelgadis' world fell apart.
Lina was enjoying herself.
Xellos ran a hand through her red tresses, and coaxed her mouth open. She parted her lips, allowing his tongue to enter.
Then he bit her lip.
The reaction was immediate. Lina jerked back, and slapped the Mazoku. Hard.
"Damn you, Xellos," she hissed. "Why did you do that?"
He opened his eyes, allowing the irate sorceress to see the lust that had built up in the amethyst depths. "You didn't like it?"
Lina briefly thought about hitting him again, but resolved not to give him the satisfaction. "Leave me alone," she growled at him as she started to walk back into the room.
Xellos grabbed her arm, and spun her around. "Lina-chan, don't go yet..."
Her lip throbbed. "Damnit Xellos, let me go!" she snapped out, trying to pull her arm out of his hands. The Mazoku smiled lazily.
"What if I say no?" he asked, stroking her cheek.
Her resolve wavered. "Xellos..." She gulped, and said unsteadily, "Let me go..."
"No, Lina-chan," he said simply, leaning down to kiss her again.
"Xellos..." she whispered just before his lips met hers. Lina leaned forward, touching his lips with her own. The Mazoku gently caressed her lips, easing the pain in her lower. She sighed, and gave in, passionately returning the kiss.
He ran his hands over her curves, making her shudder. It felt so good...
When he raised his hands to cup her breasts, she broke the kiss. "No, Xellos," she said, trying to be firm. "I want to... be sure of my emotions first before I go to bed with you."
The Mazoku smiled, and closed his eyes once again. "Do you care to dance, Lina-chan?"
Was that a tone of resignation in his voice? The redhead sorceress smiled up at him. "Why not?"
Zelgadis sat down on his bed, and closed his eyes. He had left the banquet early, not wanting to see Lina and Xellos making out and dancing.
He clenched his hands into fists. The sorceress shouldn't lose any innocence to that namagomi Mazoku. She shouldn't even be anywhere near him unless she had murder on the mind...
But Lina had been kissing him. Passionately.
Zel grit his teeth, trying to get the image out of his mind. If she wanted to fuck the Mazoku, what was he supposed to do? She was a grown girl, and she could take care of herself.
He laid down, telling himself he wouldn't think anymore about them. It was Lina's decision. He couldn't change her mind.
Zelgadis fell asleep, and his dreams were filled with her.
It was a nice day. Too bad Zel and Lina didn't notice it.
The young sorceress was walking through the streets of Sailoon, thinking. Last night had actually been a decent night, despite the fact she learned that Zelgadis returned Amelia's affections.
Zel, on the other hand, was fuming. This was nothing new, especially when it was aimed toward Xellos, like it was now. Lina and Xellos simply didn't belong together. And it was Xellos' fault, he supposed. He was the one that seduced Lina.
Neither of them were looking ahead. So it was their fault that they ran into each other.
"Oh. Hello, Zel," Lina said coolly. "And how was last night?"
"Fine," he replied, equal cool. "Did you have a fun time with Xellos?"
"Fairly," she answered. "What about you and Amelia?"
The chimera lifted an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh, nothing," she shot back, turning to walk away.
"Lina, wait," Zel said, grabbing her arm.
"Let. Me. Go. Or you'll lose that arm." She was deadly serious.
"What did you and Xellos do?" Zelgadis demanded.
Lina pulled her arm out of his hands, and turned around. "Why do you care?" she hissed. "You were with Amelia last night." L-sama, was she actually jealous?
"Lina, Amelia was..." Zel started.
The sorceress cut him off. "I don't care, Zelgadis," she said, dipping heavily into the sarcasm. "Just leave me alone. Have fun with Amelia," she added as she walked away.
"Lina!"
The redhead turned around, tears in her eyes. "Zelgadis, I said to leave me alone!" she sobbed, and spun back around, running away.
He just stood there, surprised. Lina was... crying?
"Ne, what's wrong, Lina-chan?"
Lina propelled herself into Xellos' arms. She just held on to him, crying. The Mazoku blinked in surprise, then gently held her close. "Lina-chan, would you please tell me what's wrong?"
She sniffed, and whispered in a voice that wobbled, "Zelgadis..." Lina wiped her eyes, then said, "He wanted to know what you and I did."
Xellos lifted an eyebrow. "And why does he care?"
Lina shrugged, smiling weakly. "Who knows?" She laughed in a pale voice, then let it die. The girl lowered her head, then looked up into his eyes. "Xellos, I..."
He placed a finger on her lips, silencing her. "Shh, Lina-chan." Then he opened his eyes, looking down at the girl. "It'll be alright." The Mazoku replaced his finger with his lips, gently kissing her. Lina leaned into him, moaning in the back of her throat. Xellos took that as permission, and ran his hands up her shirt, cupping her breasts.
Surprisingly, or not, Lina pulled away. "No, Xellos."
He blinked. "Lina-chan..."
The sorceress gave him a wicked smile. "For one, this is a public place."
"And?"
"Two: I don't want, say, Amelia, to see us and give us a speech about how you're a heartless Mazoku, and I deserve better, ect, ect." Then her ruby eyes hardened. "But I could care less if Zelgadis showed up and saw us. He'd deserve it."
Xellos chuckled. "Lina-chan... you really want to hurt Zel-kun, don't you?"
"Yes," she said fiercely.
"Well, then, allow me." He bowed low. "Xellos Metallium, Trickster supreme, at your lovely service."
Lina blushed, and giggled. "Gee, Xellos. You're... well... Does flattery come naturally to you?"
The Mazoku grinned at her. "It's a talent."
"Hmm... allowing you to get revenge of Zelgadis for breaking my heart..." She made a big show of thinking, when her mind was already made up. "Umm... I would like to get a crack in myself... But you do this so well... Gee, I don't know."
He chuckled. "Lina-chan, I know your mind's made up."
"How true..." The red tressed sorceress returned his smile. "Go right ahead, Xellos."
The chimera packed the rest of his stuff, and hefted it. He was going alone, and no one was going to see him leave. He didn't want to deal with Amelia and her speeches about her one true love. Plus, Zel didn't want to see Lina and Xellos, the former angry with him and the latter gloating.
Do you remember the phrase "Speak of the devil, and he shall appear"? Well, it applies even here. The Mazoku in question phased in behind him, and sighed. "Yare, yare, Zel-kun," he said, walking up to the frozen chimera, "you always do this. Why don't you stay?"
"Go away, namagomi," Zelgadis growled.
Xellos wrapped an arm around him. "Oh, I don't think so. You hurt Lina-chan, you know."
"I said, go AWAY!" He pried his arm off of him, and threw the Mazoku into the nearest wall. Zel then turned around with a huff, and started to walk to the door.
"Oh, Zel-kun..." Xellos whined, making a miraculous recovery as he stood back up and twined his arms around the irate chimera.
"Fruitcake!" Zelgadis struggled to get out.
Xellos giggled, and kissed him passionately. Higher neural functions stopped for a moment. Of course, in many situations, a moment is all that's needed. In that instant, Xellos decided to up the ante. In short, it was unfortunate for both Lina and Zelgadis when the said sorceress walked listlessly into the room.
Lina blinked.
And blinked again.
Stone does start to hurt when heated by repeated Fireballs, Zelgadis realized.
"Lina, wait!"
The redhead sorceress stopped in her mad dash, turned around, tears in her eyes, and yelled, "FIREBALL!" at the chimera. "So what was it?" she demanded tearfully. "Was Amelia not good in bed, or something? Or were you just branching out?"
"What are you talking about?" Zelgadis snapped, still nicely toasted. "For one, I was not kissing Xellos."
"Oh, really? That's not what it looked like to me!" she yelled.
"Well, isn't kissing Xellos your territory?" Zelgadis snapped.
"Don't go there," she snarled.
"Another thing is that I don't like Amelia like I do you!" he shot back at her.
Both of them froze. "Zel..." Lina started, blinking. "Did you really say...?"
"I can't believe..." Zelgadis trailed off. "I really did..."
The sorceress was trying to hinge her jaw again. "You... like...?" Tears appeared in her eyes. "So... at the banquet..."
"Naga gave her sister something," Zel explained quietly. "It was alcoholic. Amelia passed out, so I tucked her in. She's like a little sister to me, Lina. Nothing more."
The ruby eyed sorceress blinked back tears. "Zel... Oh, gods, I'm sorry!" she bawled, propelling herself into his arms. "I'm sorry."
Xellos watched the two, giggling. Oh, yes, this was going according to plan. She would be born soon... and nothing could stop the Mazoku from regaining their power.
For a moment, though, it seemed that the Path of Shadows was going to choose the walkers. The Trickster smiled. Of course, it was just a path they could have taken.
Something inside him ached. It couldn't possibly be that he had actually cared for these two? No, they were toys. Things for the amusement of the Mazoku.
A line popped into his head, and rolled off his tongue:
"The game of love is one of Musical Chairs..."
Really, don't ask. This might end up being a trilogy, but I'm not sure yet.
The line at the end is what I think the game of love is. Three people... only one couple. And, gee, I'm always the loser. <--- That works with everyone at one point or another.