Amelia sighed as she listened to Lina shouting up ahead on the path. It had been years since they saved the world last, and they had been wandering about since on the trail of possible cures for Zelgadis. Lina was still the apparent teenager, she'd aged some, there hadn't been much call for Dragon Slaves recently, but not much. Zelgadis appeared unchanged, perhaps the chimera form kept him eternally young in some manner as well. Gourry was pushing thirty and still swinging a sword in the name of Lina's defense. Then there was Amelia.
Amelia couldn't help but notice that she had become more rigid in behaivor as time passed. She seemed older than Lina now, in her early twenties, and she was a tall elegant young lady now. She came to within a head of Gourry's height now, with a slim, athletic build.
"I wish I could be as carefree as Lina," Amelia sighed. She paused in her walk, letting the others pass around the bend ahead in the road.
"Your wish is my command, princess," am irritatingly familiar voice declared as something knocked her on the top of the head.
"What did you do that for?" Amelia demanded as turned to face Xellos. "You can't just go around hitting people on the head. It's unjust."
"Everything is unjust with you," Xellos yawned. "I'm just trying to help."
"Your kind of help I don't need," Amelia said. "What is that supposed to do anyway?"
"Just knocking away ayour inhibitions," Xellos laughed.
"'Knocking away my...'" Amelia scowled and lashed out with a fist that knocked Xellos off his low hanging branch. "I don't need you messing around in my head." The young princess stomped away in a dignified and hostile march. "BLOODY MAZOKU!!!"
The other three Slayers were watching wide-eyed as Amelia strolled angrily around the bend. All three were more than a little shocked at the unAmelia shouting.
"Something wrong, Amelia," Gourry asked as Amelia walked past him.
"That damn Xellos!" Amelia said, not seeming to notice the blonde swordsman. "Offering me 'help' that damn lying, manipulative mazoku." You know, she thought to herself. That feels good, maybe he was right about the inhibition thing at least.
"I think we might need to stop for the night, some of us seem cranky" Lina suggested. "What do you think, Zel?" Amelia rolled her eyes at Lina's half-doting question of the Chimera.
Come on Lina, she thought to herself from her new position at the head of the group. Even I've given up on him, all he cares about is his cure, doesn't worry about anybody else by the wayside.
"We don't have much time," Zelgadis protested, expecting that to be the end of the matter. They'd let him determine the paths of travel almost completely of late.
"Actually," Amelia said turning her head back. "An inn sounds like an excellent idea." Zelgadis glared at her.
"Yeah I'm tired of trail food," Gourry added.
"Seems like you're outvoted, Zel," Lina smiled.
"Okay, we'll stop for the night," Zel said. Amelia smiled, this was more like the Slayers of old, arguing over every little detail, and coming together over the big ones.
They had found an inn within an hour, and another hour after that they had settled into a somewhat normal routines. Except for one notable individual. Amelia was dancing to the muscians with the inn patrons and downing more ale than the other slayers had ever seen her touch before.
"What did that fruitcake do to her," Lina asked as she watched Amelia move from dance partner to dance partner laughing almost hysterically.
"She looks like she's having fun," Gourry noted. At that point Amelia and one of the dancers crashed into the slayers table scattering food everywhere. Amelia stood up a little wobbily and laughing as she dragged her somewhat terrified dance partner away from the shocked silent slayers.
"I think Lina might be right on this one," Zelgadis noted. "This just doesn't seem natural, we haven't heard a single diatribe on justice in half a day."
"Okay, this does it," Lina stood up and walked out to the dance floor, grabbing Amelia by the arm and dragging her back to their rooms. "Come on girl, you're sleeping this off."
"Oh, lighten up, Lina," Amelia said. Gourry and Zel watched as the two girls disappeared into the back rooms.
"Come on, Gourry," Zel said, standing up and hefting his sword. "We've got a fruitcake to hunt."
"Heh, this should be fun," Gourry said as they walked out the door.
Amelia let herself be dragged into the back rooms, she was not nearly so drunk as she seemed, at least not from the alchohol.
"What did that fruitcake do to you?" Lina demanded. Amelia smiled at that, she'd worked her way through that little mind twist already as well, but she was having fun now. More fun than she'd had since the last time anything major happened to them as a group.
"He rapped me on the head with his staff," Amelia answered with a deliberately drunken voice. "I'm going to kill him next time I see him."
"Well what ever it is, you're going to bed now." Lina tried to maneuver the princess onto the bed and suddenly found herself falling back onto the soft, down mattress. By the time she was aware of this fact, a weight gently lowered itself down on her waist. She opened her eyes to see Amelia's face leaning down toward hers.
It took Gourry and Zelgadis a good two hours to find the trickster priest, or rather he found them.
"So you are actually looking for me?" Xellos asked sarcastically. "How touching." He eyed the swords pointed at his throat annoyed.
"What did you do to Amelia, Xellos," Zelgadis asked grimly.
"You know us well enough to know that we can hurt you," Gourry added. Xellos considered his answer and decided that the truth would be the most fun at the moment.
"I didn't do anything to her," Xellos yawned.
"You're lying," Gourry growled.
"I did pretend to do something," Xello admitted. "But it was really just to get her to let loose for a little bit." The mazoku teleported into a higher branch and stretched. "So, has she confessed her love to you yet, Zelgadis?"
"Oh so that's it," Zel nodded. "You want me out of Lina's life."
"Whatever makes you think that?"
"Hey, Zelgadis, if Amelia is acting without restraint," Gourry noted.
"You're right," Zelgadis noted turning his back on the smug mazoku. "Time to go back."
"So what do you think is happening," Xellos asked, with genuine curiosity.
"That maybe Amelia might try to kill Lina," Gourry said.
"You're beautiful, Lina," Amelia said, stroking a lock of hair from Lina's face.
"What are you doing, Amelia?" Lina asked nervously. She couldn't cast magic when she was so entangled, and Amelia was stronger than her of late. The princess, no sign of drunkeness apparent now, laughed and traced a line down the side of Lina's face with her finger.
"Does Gourry ever tell you that," Amelia asked. Lina could feel the princess's breath on her face. Amelia took a breath death and sighed in apparent bliss. "Does he ever tell you how you smell like perfumed smoke?"
"This isn't you Amelia," Lina protested. The princess kissed her forehead, L-Sama, do it again. Lina thought as the warmth of the princess's lips pulled away.
"Does Zelgadis even notice how your hair is like fire," the princess kissed the hollow of Lina's neck. Lina's neck arched and she sighed with ecstacy. "Or your eyes are like rubies?"
It feels so good, Lina thought. No! No! No! This isn't Amelia, it's some mazoku spell that's controling her.
"Amelia, stop it," Lina demanded. The princess breathed out and shook her head, letting Lina up. "Youre acting crazy, that trickster cast a spell on you or something." The red-headed sorceress sat up and eyed her friend cautiously.
"Do you really think I wouldn't know if someone magicked me or not?" Amelia asked.seriously. "Can you feel any magic on me?" Lina checked and found nothing.
"But you don't act like this," Amelia reached out and brushed Lina's face with the tips of her fingers again.
"I'm allowed to act out," Amelia said. "After twenty-three years of being proper and following everyone's expectations, I think I'm allowed to act out. How about you Lina, aren't you tired of everybody ignoring you?"
"Nobody ignores me," Lina protested. "I'm Lina Inverse."
"No people certainly don't ignore the Bandit Killer," Amelia agreed, she leaned over a rigid Lina's shoulders and blew in her ear. "By does anybody else look at you?"
I am tired of the act, Lina silently agreed, her breath caught as Amelia kissed her ear. Where'd Amelia ever learn this stuff?
"But Amelia.." Lina said, leaning back on the bed as Amelia bent over her.
"You don't have to be anyone but Lina for me," Amelia said, caressing Lina's hair. "Not with me, I'll never ignore you."
Just be Lina, the sorceress repeated in her thoughts. Not be ignored.
"Do you want to be mine, Lina," Amelia asked. Lina stared her in the eyes.
"Yes," she said, surprising herself. L-Sama, yes, I want this. Amelia smiled and bent down kissing Lina full on the mouth, her hands working downward to reach around Lina's tunic. "I love you Amelia."
"I love you Lina-Chan," Amelia said back. After that words were unnecessary.
That was an hour before Gourry and Zelgadis found Xellos, it was an hour later when the men returned.
"Not enough property damage for a sorcerous duel," Zelgadis noted. In fact it barely looked enough for a good bar brawl.
"Maybe Amelia was too drunk," Gourry said. Zelgadis nodded in agreement as he picked his way around the unconcious drunks in the common room and reached the private chambers.
"Lina?" he knocked on the sorceress's door and received no answer.
"This place reeks of good humor," Xellos muttered as he teleported next to the chimera. "So how did Lina kill the little snob bitch?"
"We haven't found either of them yet," Zelgadis growled. Gourry passed them on the way to Amelia's quarters.
"Hey, Amelia, are you in there?" Gourry called out, Xellos appeared behind and felt a wash of love, security and happiness from the room beyond. It was positively sickening.
"Go 'way," it was Lina's voice, the one she used when she was half asleep and wanted to stay that way. The three men looked at each other, Xellos's expression seemed to fall into a deep bottomless pit as they creaked the door open. They caught a glimpse and shut the door again without waking either of the room's occupents.
"I don't believe it," Xellos stammered as his legs gave way beneath him.
"Congratulations," Zelgadis said dryly. "You lost her for both of us."
"How...?" Gourry asked.
Inside the room, Lina and Amelia cuddled against each other, in a spent sleep. Amelia idly and unconciously twisting Lina's hair.
"Ami," Lina muttered drowsily.
"Lina-Chan," was Amelia's equally sleep-filled response.