Any given morning in a town as small as this one should start off sunny, with birds singing and people bustling, and a deep feeling that life is good and nothing can go wrong.
Well, 2 out of 3 ain't bad.
Zelgadis stared at his breakfast, still untouched, and tried to ignore, among other things, Lina. He knew she was watching him, even though she thought he didn't notice. She'd glance at him out of the corner of her eye every so often. Eventually, she couldn't take it anymore.
"What's wrong?" she asked quietly; she didn't want to upset Amelia or Gourry across the table.
"Nothing," Zel said, but he sounded gloomier than usual, "Just not hungry…"
"You sick?"
"Don't think so…"
Lina would have followed up on that but she heard a soft giggle across the room from them. She looked up to see a group like theirs, two boys and two girls, at another table a few rows over. They were talking softly and shooting looks at Lina's group.
At Zel, she realized.
If she concentrated, Lina could hear their conversation.
"…bizarre." one boy whispered.
"I know, right?" the first girl said.
"…think he's kinda cute." the second girl giggled.
"For what? A troll?" the second boy quipped.
As they laughed, Lina felt her mouth drop open. And then she did something she wished she hadn't.
She looked at Zel.
Maybe she had trouble hearing them, but those ears of his would have picked up the whole thing. He'd heard every word. And as she saw the pain cloud his eyes, Lina felt rage boil up inside her. She growled as she stood, pushing the chair back loudly and fixing the group with a glare. She was about to walk toward them when a strong hand gripped her arm.
Lina looked down and saw Zel's rocky fingers around her wrist. She frowned at him.
Without looking at her, Zel said, "Don't, Lina. Please."
Lina relaxed but glanced back at the four teenagers before sitting down again. They looked genuinely scared of her, of what she may have done to them. She returned to her seat as they cowered at their table for the next few seconds. She didn't hear another word from them.
"What happened?" Gourry asked, clueless.
"I'll tell you later," Lina said.
"Well, looks like you won't be winning any beauty contests here, Zelgadis," a very familiar but very unwelcome voice said from behind them.
"Oh, just take off while you're ahead, Xellos," Zel growled, running his fingers through his wiry hair and turning away from the newly materialized monster at the table beside theirs.
"Then, I take it you don't want to hear my good news," Xellos smiled, "I may have finally found a way to cure you of your little problem."
"Oh, I'll bet…" Zel muttered.
"Hush," Lina nudged him, "What do you know, Xellos?"
"Well, I happen to know of an ancient device," Xellos began, "said to have been built by the gods. They call it the Wish Grantor, because it can grant anyone's deepest desire."
Despite himself, Zel was listening now. He wasn't sure how much of it to believe, but he might as well hear the monster out.
"It is located in a cavern at the top of Mount Esha," Xellos continued, "Which is to the east of here."
"We could head east instead of north," Lina said, her eyes on Zel's face, "I didn't have any clear destination in mind anyway."
She watched Zel working it out in his head. Xellos interrupted them.
"There is one problem, however," he raised a finger for attention.
"What's that, Mr. Xellos?" Amelia asked.
"Mount Esha and the Wish Grantor happen to be the objects of a war." Xellos informed them cheerfully.
"What?!" Lina cried.
"You see, something like that is highly sought after by many men and women," Xellos explained, "a device that can grant any wish."
Lina was starting to follow him. She continued, "Most people wouldn't wish for something as harmless as a cup of tea…"
"Endless riches, immortality, world domination." Xellos said in a low voice, "It will give you whatever you want. But not all people would wish for something beneficial to everyone."
"In the wrong hands…" Zel started but didn't finish.
"Yes," Xellos nodded, "so three great rulers have begun a battle for the mountain. Each claims that if it is won by their country, it will be protected from people with unsavory ambitions."
"But I'll bet they have a few of their own," Lina said.
"These rulers…" Zel asked, "Which countries are they from?"
"Well, actually," Xellos smiled again, "you already know them."
"What do you mean?"
"The three kingdoms fighting for the Wish Grantor are Ruvingald, Taforashia, and Seyruun."
"Seyruun?!" Amelia leapt from her chair at this news.
"As a matter of fact," Xellos added, as if he'd only just thought of it, "Prince Philionel was wounded in battle just yesterday."
"What? Daddy?!" Amelia shrieked.
"I'm sure he's fine, Amelia," Lina said, surreptitiously grabbing a handful of Xellos' hair and yanking it.
"Ow!"
"We have to go see him!" Amelia insisted, "He could be in pain! He could be…could be…" She couldn't bring herself to finish the thought, so she took off for the stairs to their room above.
"Looks like we're headed east after all…" Lina said.
"Guess so…" Zel agreed.
