Touch ~ Senses
It is both a great and damning honor to be considered the most beautiful woman in the kingdom. It's even worse when said woman was its princess.
As soon as Amelia turned eighteen, more men turned their eyes on her than before. Gone were her chubby, rounded cheeks, her toddler hands, and her stout arms and legs. In their place were long, muscled arms, tapered fingers, an oval face, and a slew of rounded curves on her hips and thighs. And, somehow, her impressively sized breasts got even bigger.
The men that came after her were old and young, all of them royal suitors that, to her, had their heads up their asses and were overly-lustful. Whoever made the mandate of royals exclusively marrying their own class deserved a solid punch to the head, because more often than not, a noble's lust for power was unquenchable. Or, worse yet, it made them insane.
The worst of them happened last night. Amelia groaned in frustration as she recalled the older fellow from Kalmaart that had the nerve to grope her bottom. He did it four times. And there was also that boy from Lyzelle that couldn't keep his eyes away from a certain pair of assets of hers.
Amelia sighed. That same boy played a prank on her: he "accidentally" spilled some wine on the bust of her dress, and then shook her to "dry it off." It was humiliating, and yet her uncle Christopher had the nerve to reprimand her for it.
Nothing bad would happen today. Today Amelia was allowed to sleep. Nothing but sleep, some flower arranging, and a hot bath for her today.
Her now-longer hair spilled onto her pillow as she began to drift off. Thinking of a suitor was stressful. Amelia knew now that not only would she and some royal stranger were to wed and share duties, but they would have to share bodies as well.
Heirs couldn't be made alone.
Not only were many royals vicious or insane, but they were also like dogs in heat. Amelia knew too many stories of princesses and other noblewomen that were abused by their husbands in that way. She didn't want any man to touch her in a way that frightened or hurt her…
Meanwhile, someone else was touching things that he hadn't felt before, or rather, in a long, long time.
Warm sunlight danced off of lucid, pale skin and dark brown hair. He felt something indescribably good inside as he felt it warming him. The young man tucked himself away in a garden that was near Saillune's royal palace, dozing and sipping on a fresh mint julep, a brand new beverage made of whiskey, sugar, and mint leaves imported from the Outer World. Even if a palace guard were to catch him, he did not care.
Zelgadis leaned against a large stone and began to ponder how much fortune had come to him recently. Somehow, the sage he had met in the Outer World, Luo Graon, was able to remove the golem and the brau demon from his body, despite them being heavily engraved into his body's chemistry. The price, however, was Zelgadis losing most of the strength and magic that he accumulated over the years, and for a week he was violently ill.
But with enough rigor, he re-learned all of what he had lost, this time in the honest way. It was difficult, but he did it, he planned to keep doing it, and he also learned that the intelligence, sense of superiority and skill that he had during his time as a chimera wasn't wholly deserved. So he began to study again and also decided to be more decent to others.
His hands idly wandered over the stone he was sleeping against. It was hot, smooth, a bit crystalline. He wondered if that was what the stones that were once on his face felt like.
The change happened three years ago, and he had not seen his old companions during that time. After all, there was much to think about now that he was human again.
During his stay, he thought about the times he was with the others, all of their adventures and fun times. It made him a bit melancholy, but at the same time, there were memories of those adventures that he didn't want to recall. While he was embarrassed many times by Lina's antics or Gourry's tactlessness, some memories he hated centered around one particular young girl.
The worst one of all was when she died in his arms.
He quickly followed her, and they came back to life, but the thought of actually being dead was both surreal and nightmarish. During that time before Lina and Gourry came back, he, Amelia, and Sylphiel all sat together; Sylphiel was mute, while he and Amelia spoke to one another. He vaguely remembered the conversation, but he did recall him yelling at her, her retorting, and in the end they were embracing one another.
An odd feeling lingered in his chest, and it stayed as they got to know one another. In his head he felt that he should've been repulsed by someone as saccharine as Amelia, but underneath her sugar was something dark and complex.
"Hmph…why should I care? She's back here where she belongs. Not seeing everyone again is probably for the best. She's probably married off now. That'll do her some good…"
Zelgadis snapped out of his thoughts as he heard someone come outside. He dived behind the stone and peeked to see that a young lady in a nightgown came outside. She walked toward the fountain that ran quietly in the middle of the garden and sighed. What could she be doing out so early, Zelgadis thought. He looked at her closely and nearly choked when he realized who she was.
"No…it can't be…is that Amelia?"
The young woman had long, plum-colored hair that made it to the middle of her back. Her cheeks were not as pronounced as they used to be. Zelgadis could tell underneath her silky nightgown that she was a lot...rounder than before, especially in the chest area. Hips too. He was quite astounded at the fact that her arms and her hands lost all of the baby fat, something he could easily recognize her by. He watched as she tucked herself beneath a warm stone sculpture and watched the water trickle from the beautiful, ornate marble fountain, sculpted with the four Guardians of Ciefeed in the middle. Amelia curled into a ball and dozed off, unaware that a piece of her nightgown fell down her sleeve, exposing more skin and breast.
The rising sunlight struck her, making her skin and hair warm and glowing. Zelgadis gulped. "Time sure has been good to her," he thought. "It's so strange to see." Without thinking he settled his gaze onto her nearly-exposed right breast.
"No...stop..." He cursed himself. Boyish thoughts crawled into his head. That breast looked so...soft. It was pale, covered with fine, feminine body hair. It was bigger than he had remembered. "Poor Lina," he mused humorously to himself. If she saw Amelia now, Amelia would probably be half dead. Big breasts bounced, small breasts not as much. When the child-faced Amelia bounced during many of her enthusiastic walks and justice speeches, it unnerved him. Now, maybe it wouldn't.
"What am I thinking?"
He squinted and saw a pink nipple underneath. He nearly lost it.
"Seriously, what am I thinking?" An image of Amelia with her tunic ripped at the chest area came into his head. During one of their battles, before Duclis attacked Saillune, Amelia's shirt was torn and exposed some skin. She raised her arms to attack, and he was so close to seeing her left nipple.(1) It was an odd feeling, to say the least.
She would be eighteen right now, and it showed. At that moment, Amelia looked so very exposed, so vulnerable...
"...delicate..." A commentary of her looks ran through his head. He had an image spot of what she'd look like in a hot bath, all wet and pure...
"Aigh..."
Zelgadis pulled at his hair. "That's enough! Why are you thinking about her? It's been so long..."
A force was pulling him toward her, despite his protesting thoughts. Before he knew it, he was not too far from her. His footsteps woke her up, and in a groggy haze, she turned to see her hooded old friend standing before her. She did not recognize him.
"Who...?"
The man was wearing Mister Zelgadis' clothes, but last time she checked, Mister Zelgadis had silvery hair, not the lovely chocolate-colored hair that this man had. Nor did he have pale skin. Amelia should've called for the guards or taken him out herself - she always loved a good brawl with "bad guys" - but the sense of familiarity kicked in, plus, this man's understated, clean handsomeness had won her over.
"It can't be him...the outfit's the same, but...my god..."
Amelia had a crush on Zelgadis, but how she felt about him then was nowhere near as mesmerizing as she felt now. She couldn't even speak. "Did he finally do it? Did he...?"
Zelgadis raised an eyebrow at her. She silently asked, with her hands, to remove his hood. He did. She nearly fell off her feet.
"Mister Zelgadis?"
He awkwardly, yet sincerely, smiled at her. "He...hello there, Amelia."
Before he could think, she jumped right into his arms with a tight hug. "Mister Zelgadis!" It was painful to listen to. She sounded both happy and sad at the same time, but he couldn't figure out why...and more, a particular pair of assets pushed onto his chest.
"Big breasts..."
"Mister Zelgadis...it's been two years, hasn't it? You...you won't believe me when I say that I missed you...I missed you so much..."
His face was redder than a tomato now. "Amelia, why are you..."
The feeling of her silk nightgown and soft skin made his head foggy. It had been years since he could actually feel the texture of anything. It was overwhelming...it bought him joy. He remained silent and embraced her. Sure, she could drive anybody up the wall, but this smart young woman was also his dear old friend. The two of them stayed that way for a while.
Amelia stirred in his arms, feeling happy, but she squeaked in realization that she more or less threw herself at him. "Yeeek!" She jumped out of his arms and furiously apologized. "That was improper of me, Mister Zelgadis! Please, please forgive me, I wasn't thinking..."
Zelgadis half-smiled. This new Amelia was far more like a princess than the bubbly girl from three years ago. "It's no problem...ah..."
She was still blushing. An awkward silence hung in the air.
"What do I do? I screwed up...I don't want him to leave, there's so much to talk about! Oh, no..."
She kept her gaze right on him. "He's so handsome..." She practically wanted to touch his hair, to see if it was real, to see if it was soft...
"Uhm..." Zelgadis began. "May I sit by you?" She gestured a yes, and they gazed at the sunrise together. Not very often were they alone, away from Lina and Gourry, at least in a situation that wasn't a life or death struggle. Zelgadis laid back as the sun began to take its place in the sky. The sun's rays were even warmer than he remembered, and he wouldn't have to burn from absorbing it (as rocks easily took in heat). Nothing could wreck this moment.
"How does it feel, Mister Zelgadis?" Amelia asked softly.
He realized that she was referring to his human body. "I haven't felt more at peace, Amelia."
"Ah. I'm glad." She didn't look at him.
He was confused, but went on anyway. "The sage who helped me offered to get me my strength and magic back when the process was over, since I lost the power that Rezo gave me...it was pretty enlightening," he chuckled. "I was so weak and sick after the change...I almost regretted the change for a moment, but...this is what I've more or less been living for. I can't turn back now. And..."
"And what?"
"...and...when I was a chimera, I couldn't feel anything."
"What do you mean?"
"The golem in me made me unable to feel textures at all, save for the hardest metals." He pointed to his sword. "I felt nothing when I slept in a bed, or if I bathed unless the water was hot, or if I lied out in the grass." He made his point by rubbing the grass under him. "But now I can, just like I did before."
"I see."
Zelgadis saw that Amelia was looking down. She didn't sound like that she cared. "If she doesn't care..."
"Is something wrong, Amelia?" He asked with spite.
"Uhm...are those really the reasons why you decided to go through with it?"
"What do you mean?"
"Those are rather petty reasons to seek for something that you might've not found in your life..."
Zelgadis hissed. "Oh for God's sake, Amelia."
She acted as if he smacked her in the face. Tears welled up in her eyes.
"Look, Amelia, don't even start with that 'you look like everyone else', or, or, 'you look so cool as a chimera' bullshit. Yeah, I know that I got all the power I wanted when I was one, but, hey, we all learn our lessons. You didn't have to wake up every morning with a pillow stuck on your head, or potentially getting heat stroke in the summer, or being unable to dress yourself in anything other than burlap sacks!" A sob escaped from her throat as he rounded on her. "And, yeah, I was a cocky little shit who should've treated you all better, but my god, your head is like an empty sack!"
She was crying and feeling hopeless now, and Zelgadis drew back with a sigh. "It's the truth, Amelia. I didn't see it before, but now I do. And you're going to have to accept it."
She sat up and sniffled. "I'm sorry...Mister Zelgadis..." She sobbed. "I'm so...sorry...I never had any...idea..." Another sob. "I'm so damn stupid!" She collapsed.
"Hey!"
He pulled her into a hug, much to his embarrassment. "Hey...please...I'm sorry...please don't cry, Amelia..." The feeling of her wet tears on his shirt made him feel uneasy. "I just...so much has happened...I need to think...I don't know what to do now, so please..."
Amelia sighed and rested there. "...okay..."
"Amelia, why would you say such a thing? Don't you know how much this means to me?"
She sighed. "No...I just didn't think about it...how you felt...I'm glad that you're happy, Mister Zelgadis..."
"Oh..."
Zelgadis couldn't help but rub his hands in small motions over Amelia's silk nightgown. It was beautiful, high-quality silk that was soft and made him want to sleep. Besides that, he was secretly enjoying those shapes that made her body...touching them, the way they bent, but God, it was perverted. For heaven's sake, she was his friend, a close and trusted friend at that. Of course he knew of her small crush on him, but she seemed to outgrow it...or did she? She did a good job of hiding it. Maybe their friendship, their closeness, was secretly some form of attraction, waiting to come forward?
"Mister Zelgadis, what are you doing?" Amelia nearly shouted. He shook; his left hand grazed her neck. But she didn't move. Instead, a grin came on her face. "That's something that a villain would do."
He chuckled. Yep, good friends forever, perhaps. "You're still as lighthearted as ever, princess."
She giggled and smiled at him. It made his heart flutter. Hers too. All of those sensations, those textures were coming to a head...
Their free hands clasped together and made playful gestures. "They're covered in callouses," Amelia thought, "but they're soft too..."
Gentle hands...
With no warning, she kissed him, hugging him with all her might. Zelgadis' head was too fogged to care at this point...
They fell back into the grass; desire had gotten the better of them.
Soft textures, heated skin, sweet, moist mouth...he touched her, and it felt too good. He didn't want to stop.
His touches filled her with no fear, only happiness and pleasure. He was so gentle, so erotic, even as he slipped her gown down and exposed that big, plush breast. He shyly played with it, and pleasure shot through her with a squeak.
"Amelia, I -"
"Don't talk." She grabbed him for another kiss, just as he was lowering his pants.
It was strange, so awkward and strange, it hurt, and yet-
Caressing and petting and kissing, soft, wet, hot, so hot...
A strange confidence pulsed through him. Surely, as a chimera, prude as he was, he would've objected to this.
Friends forever indeed.
As for her, she didn't care. A woman's first time with a man she enjoyed being with, practically loved, was a time worth treasuring.
His skin was soft, like a baby's. She was naive to this passionate thing - all of that moving! It made her shudder.
This was how she wanted to be touched, by a man who loved her, befriended her.
"Ze...Zel...ah...I'm - "
They were happily nestled in each other's arms.
How he wanted to treasure these sensations, for all time...
I did this for ZelAme Week for the Zelgadis/Amelia livejournal site. I'll probably do a small anthology of stories based on the themes for each day, since it took me so long to crank this out.
I'm so terribly ashamed of this.
Anyhoo, if Zelgadis were to turn back into a human, he'd probably have gone through some personal development as well. And no matter how one may think he's cute as a chimera, he's probably uncomfortable as hell (and really uncanny looking). The change could be a shock, but I doubt, heavily, that Amelia would find him less handsome as a human - unlike a lot of other fics I read, I really doubt that she would get upset if he gained his cure. Her being sympathetic, she would probably at least listen to his reasons for seeking a cure and have an open heart about it.
R/R if you like.