The song lyrics aren't mine. The first song belongs to Heather Alexander, a renown filker on the West Coast of the US, the second belongs to a local Portland filking group, now defunk ::sniff:: called Echo's Children. And no that doesn't make this a song fic, so don't flame me saying I ruined the fic by turning it into a song fic.
Amor de Diosa = 'love of goddess'
Zelgadis had found a small table at the far end of the dining room. 'Dancer was up next to the hearth, playing the guitar as the dæmon twins warbled out a tune whose chorus line was "I want a blond". From his far vantage point Zelgadis was relieved he couldn't hear all the lyrics, as the bawdy tune would only make him more annoyed. He nursed his coffee and turned over the events of the past two days in his mind again. Lina was right, 'Dancer hadn't told them the whole truth, and that fact shouldn't have bothered him, but it did. There were things he hadn't told Lina and company, and it was as much to protect them as it was to protect himself from them. Given Lina's attitude towards the more unsavory elements of society, he'd have to be completely nuts to tell her parts of his life history. As such, he wasn't surprised that 'Dancer hadn't leveled with his traveling companions. But why then hadn't she told him? Was 'Dancer, as Amelia suggested, protecting Selena, and inadvertently him, or did she perhaps still not fully trust him? He winced internally at the thought. 'Dancer seemed to have forgiven him for his past actions, but then maybe she hadn't. Brooding, he stirred his coffee, even though he hadn't put anything in it.
"Ano... Zelgadis-san?" Amelia's hesitant voice broke through his thoughts and Zelgadis glanced up to the see the princess standing uneasily next to him.
"What?" Amelia flinched and Zelgadis kicked himself mentally. "Sorry, yes?"
"Uh... can I sit with you? There isn't room anywhere else..." Amelia said in a small voice.
"Sure," Zelgadis stood, gave Amelia his seat by way of apology and dragged another over to the table for himself. On stage the twins finished their song and began circulating with the inn patrons as 'Dancer fiddled with the string knobs. Martina, having discovered that the people of High Pass were big tippers flitted back and forth from the kitchen, serving up food and ale. She really did look cute, Amelia noted idly, in a set of borrowed clothing. Pemba said something to 'Dancer and the latina nodded, much to approval of the crowd who cheered at the suggestion, then got quiet as 'Dancer strummed the mandolin.
"It's the Lay of Kosuiro Hime." Amelia said, watching 'Dancer's performance with growing interest.
"Who?" Zelgadis asked.
"Kosuiro Hime," Amelia flashed him a small smile, "my ancestress, the one from Mountain Pass."
"Soka." It was apparently a local favorite, as the room was far quieter than when the twins had been entertaining. The ancient lay was part song, part spoken story, and Zelgadis toyed with his mug, half listening, half lost in thought until towards the end when the melody changed dramatically.
"I can't cleanse my soul
Of this battle-won and the blood dried stain
For to cross this bridge I must pay it's toll
With the price of pain
I must take what comes
And defy despair's dark evil wraith
For until I hear of my enemies drums
I must keep my faith
Will it all be worth it?
Will it all mean more than just for me?
Will it come to form a more perfect pattern
Than the single line that I now weave?"
Zelgadis looked across the packed room and met 'Dancer's soulful gaze. She was singing, not to the crowd hanging on her every note, but to him, putting to melody the apology she had been unable to articulate earlier. In that instant he knew what secret she had. Zelgadis felt his shoulders relaxing, and despite the lingering questions, his anger evaporated until all that was left was haunting sorrow. Now her deliberate evasions made sense, particularly where Selena was involved. ...And yet, Zelgadis wondered briefly why he felt like weeping.
"I've known sacrifice
I have grown beyond my want and need
I have learned to live on what will suffice
And control my greed
Yet I suffer fear
And the dangerous path of truth I seek
I have spoken more than I wish to hear
And have found it weak"
Did she really know the cost of her secret? Zelgadis wondered, drinking his coffee. Had she any idea of the danger she put not only her soul, but the souls of those closest to her in?
"Will it all be worth it?
Will it all mean more than just for me?
Will it come to form a more perfect pattern
Than the single line that I now weave?
I must turn away
Tho' I've put in motions words and Laws
For I find this price much too high to pay
For a useless cause
Yet my footsteps falter
And my body's held by hands above
And within I find a new strength to alter
For a greater love
Will it all be worth it?
Will it all mean more than just for me?
Will it come to form a more perfect pattern
Than the single line that I now weave?
I'm only just one person
But if Ceiphied wills it
It will be"
"How sad..." Amelia murmured. Zelgadis blinked, and looked at the black haired girl. Had she guessed...?
"What?" He asked.
"It just, I never considered it before, Kosuiro Hime being sad or afraid about having to leave her home. I mean, she was always a just legendary queen to me." She explained.
"All legends have to start somewhere." Avalon said, joining them. "Amelia, Lina wants to ask you something."
"Oh, okay." Amelia got up and trotted off to find the sorceress as Avalon took her seat.
"'Dancer -- " Avalon began.
"She took the Pledge with you, didn't she?" Zelgadis interrupted her. Avalon raised an eyebrow.
"She took an oath with us, yes, but not the sort you're thinking of." Zelgadis waited for her to explain. Avalon sighed.
"The rules that we are subject to are different from those true Mazoku are bound by." She glanced at the chimera.
"What sort of oath?"
"I can't tell you that." Avalon said flatly.
"Why not?" Zelgadis asked in an equally flat tone.
"Because that was part of the oath." Zelgadis narrowed his eyes at the dæmon.
"How then did she survive Xelloss's attack?"
"I think that she's very lucky, although, she'll tell you that Xelloss let her." Avalon said nonchalantly. Damn, he's persistent.
"So you took her to a temple of Mystha?"
"Yes...?"
"Why Mystha?" Zelgadis held her gaze in his. "Why not a temple of Ceiphied?"
So, Avalon thought, 'Dancer wasn't bragging when she said he was clever. She carefully considered the young man before her. He wouldn't believe the truth anymore than he'd believe a lie. And even if he did believe the truth, 'Dancer would kill her for telling him.
"That, is a secret." She almost didn't teleport out of the way in time as he made a grab for her, most likely with the intention of throttling the answer from her. Phasing back into the room, directly behind him, she leaned over and murmured, "Would you be able to identify battle fatigue if you saw it?" Zelgadis made another attempt at grabbing her but again came away empty handed. He scowled as he saw her re-appear in the front of the room, but calmed down to consider her parting words.
Battle fatigue? Zelgadis looked back at 'Dancer as she finished the song with a flourish. Yes, that would explain a lot. The twins rejoined 'Dancer as she took another request, this time from a young man near the front. She made some comment to the twins, and who promptly disappeared, only to reappear, Arcadia with a silver flute and Avalon with a hand drum, much to the delight of the patrons gathered around the hearth.
"Where you have to turn the corner, between the entry
and the hall,
There the flame that crowns your candle, throws your
shadow on the wall.
When I close my eyes I picture, and my heart begins
to race
If I were standing in the corner, would your shadow
brush my face?
All these common things surround you, and my
heart has no defense.
Am I mad that I might envy things with neither
thought nor sense?
Even though they never know it, yet your
passing lends them grace;
I would trade and count it fortune, to be
standing in their place.
You come striding down the staircase, where the
morning sunlight woke
The gleam of maple, polished under the hem of your
descending cloak,
And in dreams so sweet and heady my straining will
begins to fray
I feel your cloak brush all around me; I hear your
footsteps fade away.
All these common things surround you, and my heart
has no defense.
Am I mad that I might envy things with neither
thought nor sense?
Even though they never know it, yet your passing
lends them grace;
I would trade and count it fortune, to be standing in
their place.
The winter mantle on your shoulder, fashioned of the
finest wool
Free of shame or shyness twines you, soft and
yielding, warm and full.
Did I dare to so embrace you, wind would not dislodge
my hold;
It's your warmth would make me tremble, not the
bitter winter cold.
All these common things surround you, and my heart
has no defense.
Am I mad that I might envy things with neither
thought nor sense?
Even though they never know it, yet your passing
lends them grace;
I would trade and count it fortune, to be standing in
their place.
A simple cup of sturdy stoneware, by your plate at
dinner stands,
Waiting through the winter evening, warmed and
warming in your hands
And like cats that know no boundaries, dreams
approach the mouth that sips
Till the leap of longing wakes me, lifted lightly to
your lips.
All these common things surround you, and my
heart has no defense.
Am I mad that I might envy things with neither
thought nor sense?
Even though they never know it, yet your
passing lends them grace;
I would trade and count it fortune, to be
standing in their place."
Zelgadis stood, and left his solitary seat to make his way through the crowd to 'Dancer as she paused between songs, a mug pressed into her hands by the youth who requested the song. 'Dancer thanked him, then murmured something to him as Zelgadis approached. The young man flushed and ducked his hand even as he smiled embarrassedly and asked if "it" were so obvious. 'Dancer returned the smile and wished him the best of luck. Zelgadis didn't even rate a second glance from the lad as he passed the chimera to return to his comrades around a front table. 'Dancer caught Zelgadis's eye and nodded her head at the space to the side of the hearth and near her. The twins, seeing him joining 'Dancer, burst out into a drinking song with the chorus of "Pour your brother another round."
"Avalon says you are displeased with me?" She asked. Zelgadis, on her left and in her shadow cast from the fire light, sighed.
"Why didn't you tell me that you'd taken a pledge with them?"
"It wasn't important." 'Dancer responded nonplused.
"Isn't it?" There was something dangerous in his tone. 'Dancer glanced up at him.
"Do you know what alchemists say about frogs?" Zelgadis asked, trying a different angle.
"No, what do alchemists say about frogs?" 'Dancer queried.
"They say that a frog that is dropped into boiling water will try to jump out of the pot. But if one puts a frog in a pot of cold water and slowly brings it to a boil the frog won't try to escape, even as it's boiling to death." Zelgadis's icy gray eyes looked with her stormcloud ones.
"How's the water, Stormborn?" A look of pain flashed across her face and 'Dancer opened her mouth to reply when Xelloss separated from the crowd. 'Dancer snapped her mouth shut and eyed the priest warily.
"Wings-chan, are you still taking requests?" He asked innocently enough.
"Which song, Silver-tongue?" 'Dancer asked, not taking her eyes off of him.
"The ballad of Deep Sea Dolphin." He responded with that obnoxious grin of his.
"Sorry, I don't know that one. 'Dancer said frostily.
"Pity." Xelloss glanced from Zelgadis to 'Dancer, making sure she saw his amethyst eyes, and the threat lurking within.
"Perhaps next time." He returned to the crowd as 'Dancer tore a feather out of her wing in frustration. Zelgadis gave her a questioning look as she shredded the feather.
Damn him and his kind.
"I know the water's boiling, Zel, I set the pot to the fire myself." She dropped the mutilated feather into the fireplace. "I'll explain everything as best I can when I finish this set." She gave him an unhappy look. "Please wait until then."
"I'm spending a lot of time waiting for answers that aren't forthcoming, 'Dancer." Zelgadis said shortly.
"What do you want me to do, forfeit my life and yours to satisfy your curiosity?" 'Dancer hissed, clearly at the end of her frayed nerves.
"No, just tell me how to help." Zelgadis retorted.
"Don't. It's the only way I can clean up this mess."
"At the risk of your soul?" He shot back.
"Better mine than anyone else's. Amor de Diosa, Zel," Her voice dropped to a mere whisper. "You won't take a chainsaw in to do brain surgery."
"Is that all I am, brute strength?" He growled back, stung.
"Not you, Lina. When I saw you I knew you were traveling with her again. And if I let you come with me, she'll insist on tagging along. I don't know why Xelloss attached himself to your group to begin with, but he's plainly keeping an eye on the lot of you, Lina in particular. And that scares me. I don't want to have anything to do with him, particularly since I haven't come away from a single encounter with him that has left me as whole as when I started."
"Then why are you alive now?" Zelgadis asked ruthlessly, ignoring the look of pained surprise that flashed across her face.
"Because I'm still useful to him. He'd never have prevented me from going to the Entropy if he hadn't plans to use me."
"He prevented you from -- wait, don't change the subject. What are his plans?" Zelgadis pressed. 'Dancer bit her lip for a moment, then decided to go ahead and tell him the truth, as much as Xelloss had allowed her.
"He wants me to guide Lina to Mafellu. Not the lab, Mafellu. He doesn't give a damn what's in the lab, he's setting Lina up. I just want to destroy the braid I gave Mafellu, and I certainly don't want to run into him. Xelloss may scare me, but Mafellu leaves me shaken to the core." 'Dancer leaned closer, her lips almost touching his ear as she hissed. "And I will not, under any conditions, hand deliver you or Lina to that sicko masquerading as a scientist."
'Dancer would have said more, but Arcadia touched her elbow, the twins having finished their song. 'Dancer closed her eyes and composed herself.
"Please Zel, for me, keep Lina out of this." She looked at him with clear steel eyes.
"I don't know if I can." He replied softly, wanting to take her in his arms and give her the reassurance she so desperately sought.
"Then protect her, and the others." 'Dancer picked up her guitar and turned to face the waiting crowd. "Because I can't."
"I will." Zelgadis promised, and knowing she couldn't hear him, "And you."
Li dreamed of 'Dancer that night, for the first time in many months. It wasn't that he hadn't thought of her, it simply had been months since he'd last had a dream vision about her. This wasn't one of the recurring of dreams of her he liked so much, the ones where he'd catch a glimpse of her in an unguarded moment, such as his first dream, when he had seen her brushing her long hair. In this dream she was dressed in a green 'chuba', the knee length robes that the people of the Mountain Pass region wore. Her hair was longer than it had been in the last dream, when it had been raggedly cut, but now had lost any traces of it's original color, pure white, much like the wings that adorned her back. Li wondered at those wings a lot in his waking hours. In her hands she held a guitar, and while he couldn't hear what she was saying, it was fairly obvious to him that she was singing and playing, something he would have given a great deal of money to have heard.
"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty."
Li opened one eye and glared up at the person who had spoken to him. It was the pretty bar maid, Trina, he had 'rescued' the night before for a band of drunken louts. She had been very grateful, and much to his surprise (no, really!) he ended up in her bed with her. Dimitri was by the bed, and from the amusement Li sensed he had enjoyed the evening before.
"Forgive me dear one, but I must be about me shopping while the day is still fresh." She said with that charming smile of hers. Li sighed and sat up, giving his head a good shake. Trina laughed softly as she left him to dress.
"I've had another dream." Li told Dimitri. The bondsword sighed mentally.
Give her up, Li. She left you because she had no other choice.
"To return the boy, yes. But..."
There are no buts. She's gone and we wouldn't know where to look for her even if she has finished that particular missive. Dimitri knew better than to try to sugarcoat the truth.
Li glanced up at the sword, a slow smile creeping over his face. It was true, they didn't know where 'Dancer was, but he'd been given a clue in the dream that he wasn't about to share with his sword. Nor was he going to waste the opportunity it presented.
I know that look. What are you up to now?
"Breakfast, honest!" Li said light heartedly, dressing. Dimitri didn't say anything, but it wasn't the first time in his long partnership with the blademaster that he had a bad feeling.
The common room had thinned out, as patrons went to soak in the bathing pools, or exercise out in the covered corral behind the inn, built for that precise purpose. Zelgadis told Lina of 'Dancer's suspicions concerning Xelloss, but Lina shrugged it off, saying she expected no less from someone who called himself the 'Trickster Priest', and she had no intention of backing down now that she knew that 'Dancer knew the location of the lab.
'Dancer, for her part, seemed determined to put off the inevitable showdown and played for far longer than Pemba had requested. Gourry, growing bored, had joined several of the other swordsman types out on the covered corral for a little sparring. Selena left soon after she had finished her breakfast, still angry with 'Dancer. Martina apparently hadn't forgotten her rescue from the blizzard and was at 'Dancer's side with a mug of some sort of liquid after every song. Lina noticed this attention and snidely wondered aloud if 'Dancer liked girls. But thankfully Lina was content to sit and eat, although Zelgadis suspected that she was determined to keep an eye on the latina.
Amelia spent most of her time near 'Dancer, listening to the ballads that reminded her of happier days, and her mother. 'Dancer must have sensed the princess's melancholy, because she interspersed the familiar songs with haunting melodies from her own world.
He hadn't noticed it at first, but gradually Zelgadis became aware of the spider-silk spell strands woven into each song. At first he'd wondered if 'Dancer was trying to magically dissuade Lina, but over the following hour he became convinced that it was an intricately woven protection spell, for the inn itself. He had almost gone to ask her how she could cast some much, and remain healthy, when he remembered what Avalon had said about the magic circle. Tempted as he was to cast a scrying spell to determine the nature of 'Dancer's web, he resisted, not wanting to warn Lina that 'Dancer was casting.
Because the heat of the room and the short night, Zelgadis fell into that pleasant place somewhere between waking conscience and the realms of sleep. Lina too was nodding off, and despite their valiant efforts both slipped into undisturbed slumber.
Amelia didn't notice the stranger who strolled into the nearly deserted common room. 'Dancer had stopped singing some time ago, just letting her fingers wander over the instrument's strings, almost as if they were caressing a lover. Lina and Zelgadis had succumbed to 'Dancer's sleep spell sometime before, but Amelia was either more resilient, or just more interested in staying awake to fall for such a simple cantrip.
Amelia was curious about this sibling of Zelgadis, so like her silent companion and so different, so perhaps she could be forgiven the momentary lapse in attention.
"One wrong move, Stormy, and I'll kill the girl." Amelia blinked then froze, instantly aware of the cold, keen edge at her throat.
"You sure took your time." 'Dancer said, not even blinking. Amelia tried to look up at the stranger, but the icy blade at her throat prevented her from getting more than a quick glance of a black leather cloak.
"You have only yourself to thank for that. Your spell web almost made it impossible for me to teleport in." The stranger said sourly.
"Glad to be of hindrance." 'Dancer responded non-plussed. "Let the girl go."
"Fat bloody chance. Slowly put your guitar down, nice and easy." The stranger purred, her voice eerily familiar. 'Dancer did as she was ordered. "Now stand, like you were stretching." 'Dancer stretched, then said quietly to Amelia.
"Don't even think about it Emmi. That's a soul-stealer she's holding to you." Amelia blinked, then swallowed, not really sure how 'Dancer had guessed what she was about to do.
"Go to the kitchen, and we'll follow, five paces behind. Try anything and your fan here is worst than dead." 'Dancer nodded, briefly, and turned to the kitchen.
"Get up, slowly, that's right, walk in front of me, and trot after 'Dancer like a good little fan." The stranger pitiless commanded, sounding almost bored. Guided from behind by the sharp blade Amelia followed 'Dancer into the kitchen where she was shoved roughly from behind. The princess tumbled into 'Dancer, who caught her and pulled the raven haired girl behind her. Amelia clung to 'Dancer's wings for support as she peeked around the latina.
Standing opposite of 'Dancer was -- 'Dancer. Amelia looked from one 'Dancer to the other before she remembered what Selena had said about kopiis. They weren't identical, Amelia realized. The other 'Dancer had waist length hair, which flowed down her black like a cascade of polished ebony. Dressed in green silk under her black leather cloak, she also had slightly more prominent cheek bones, making her look more beautiful in the soft light of the kitchen. Indeed, the looks department she had the real 'Dancer beaten hands down, although the cruel smile she wore did quite a lot to ruin the effect.
"You've got me, Wordsmyth. Let the girl go. "'Dancer said patiently.
"Whatever. Master may be interested in you, but this cutie should keep me entertained for a while." The woman named Wordsmyth openly leered at Amelia. "Emmi, hmm? We're going to be such good friends-" Wordsmyth didn't see the blow that caught her from behind, but as she tumbled forward she heard the raven haired girl gasp "Martina!"
"RUN!! BOTH OF YOU!!" 'Dancer roared, leaping on top of Wordsmyth and wrestling to keep the kopii pinned to the floor.
"Not today! TELECOMMUTE!!" Wordsmyth shouted before the whole group of them vanished.
Chapter 6 | Fanfiction