In September, Changes

This story is intended to follow the 'In August' story, but may also be read as a standalone with a dramatic skip in time—just a warning.

"Arrrgh!" Zelgadiss growled. "You probably knew this would happen! That's the worst part, you damned demon nuisance!"

By accident, Xelloss was traveling with Zelgadiss. They had shared a common lead, but very different motivations, to a hidden cache of ancient spell books. When the books were discovered, neither man was able to decipher the writing, which was terribly disappointing.

"I may have suspected it."

"So, even if this book has spells to make or un-make chimeras, I can't read it and you won't!" Zelgadiss shouted in frustration.

"Actually, I can and will read it; I just can't understand it, and, if I were you, I wouldn't trust your life with my translation," Xelloss corrected him. "However, all is not lost. Seyruun's capital city has recently opened their white magic sorcerer's library to outside members of other priesthoods," Xelloss told him.

Zelgadiss shook his head. "Oh, and they'll let you in, a demon in priest's clothing, but me, a human in need..."

Xelloss smiled and said, "I could get you in."

Zelgadiss narrowed his eyes. When dealing with demons, he was ever wary, and when the demon was Xelloss, he was even more guarded. "Why would you do that? You could do this without me."

"Let's just say we might run into persons of interest and you offer me a better cover story, all right?" Secretly, Xelloss was hoping to find Lina in Seyruun.

"What 'persons'? Tell me first or I wont' even consider going with you. Wait, no...you aren't pestering Lina still, are you?"

"Pestering? Who, me? No, I don't ever pester her; I'm too busy. I have seen her lately, though. In fact, by way of a... an... assignment, let's call it, I trailed Lina to the village where Miss Filia recently opened up a tea shop. I hadn't seen the new 'Valgaav' since he had hatched and was, you might say, consumed with curiosity."

"I'll bet you were. How did you get through the dragon shielding?"

"I didn't, but thanks for warning me about it." Xelloss added a wink to his growing smile. "You see, just as Lina arrived at the shop, I acquired urgent new orders to investigate this store of old tomes. As interesting as Valgaav might have been, I had to leave immediately."

Zelgadiss noted a tightening in Xelloss' smile and a bitter edge to his tone. "Don't you ever get tired of being jerked around?"

Xelloss cracked open his eyes in a startled fashion, but didn't answer him. "I transported away, although not before I caught Lina saying that she and Mr. Gabriev were on their way north to visit Princess Amelia in Seyruun."

"Ha! I see; I was right. I understand how you work, demon, although not why exactly. If we go to Seyruun, you'll locate the necessary dictionary-- that I know you must know already exists and you'll find straight away in the Seyruun library-- and thus conclude your assignment, plus, and more importantly, you'll get another opportunity to see Lina. What you need isan invitation to the palace, where Lina would be visiting Amelia. And you might get that in my company."

"And so your answer is...?"

"All right," Zelgadiss said, surprising Xelloss. "As long as I get to keep the book with me at all times."

"Of course." Xelloss smiled. "And you aren't going to ask me why it is I am observing Lina?"

"And give you the satisfaction of telling me how that part is your little secret? No. Let's just go, but remember: I'm on to your game."

And in an instant, Xelloss transported them both to Seyruun. Access to the library was simple and unopposed; the dictionary and book of conversions was located immediately, as Zelgadiss had predicted, the translation completed effortlessly, and yet the information they learned proved useless to both the man and the demon. It had been an unsatisfactory venture so far, leaving both men discouraged and prickly. Xelloss held out hope that Lina's arrival would be forthwith, that seeing her would lift his spirits and improve his state of mind. Zelgadiss, on the other hand, sank into a gloomy state of mind as he continued to leaf through books with a single-mindedness leaning toward madness.

As the days passed, Xelloss impatiently waited for Lina to show up, irritating Zelgadiss with his constant agitation while the miserable Zelgadiss couldn't bring himself to give up trying to translate the spells differently or leave to rid himself of Xelloss' vexing presence. The two fed off of one another's poor temperament.

"You won't find anything on chimeras in that book."

"What makes you think I have no interest in anything else? Just go away."

"You promised to get me into the palace."

"That wasn't really a promise, but it doesn't matter. I'm not going there until I've located something of use, something concrete."

"Here," Xelloss grasped the stone-skinned man's arm and twisted it in front of his face. "This is concrete, or at least sandstone. Does that come in blue, though?"

"KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF ME!"

"Shhh, Zelgadiss! This is a library. Show some decorum and lower your voice."

"If. You. Don't. Get. The. Hell. Out. Of. My. Face... so help me Xelloss, I will obliterate both you and this building," Zelgadiss growled dangerously.

"Actually, I don't think you can harm me, and I know you worship these books far too much to bring yourself to harm them, but..."

Zelgadiss was looking particularly malevolent at the moment, and Xelloss recognized the chant he was preparing under his breath. As much as he might have enjoyed the destruction and the scene Zelgadiss' 'Ra Tilt' would have made, Xelloss really did want to remain in the city on friendly terms in order to see his Lina again. He wondered for the millionth time that morning what was keeping her. "I'll go read over there."

Zelgadiss stopped the spell. "Good idea."

As Xelloss stepped away, he pointed out, "Oh, look! Isn't that the princess coming our way?"

In the course of the intervening week, Zelgadiss responded only to Amelia's kindness, but he was excruciatingly shy and awkward. Even Xelloss could tell the girl had a crush on Zelgadiss and that the poor guy was falling in love with her, but Zelgadiss was totally inept at flirtation.

Zelgadiss leaped out of his chair, causing it to fall over, and spun about to face the oncoming girl. "Where? Oh... hi, Amelia."

"Hi! You should come stay at the palace, Mr. Zelgadiss. I can promise you much better accommodations than where you're staying now."

"Thank you, but I prefer to be close to this library. I, ah, really haven't much time to spare for other...distractions."

"Oh, but you must! No man can live by work alone, my Daddy always says..."

"I think another man said that first," Xelloss put in, unable to hold his tongue for long.

"Really? Oh, well, that doesn't change a thing," Amelia continued brightly. "I'm inviting you to tea tomorrow. Four o'clock. Don't be late! And you're invited, too, Mr. Xelloss. Bye now!"

Zelgadiss sighed as he watched her retreating figure, his eyes glued to her until she was no longer in his field of vision. Since Xelloss needed a diversion from his own funk, he continued to pick on Zelgadiss for entertainment. "So, what's next? Are you going to woo the princess?"

"No. What makes you think a creature like me could possibly court a princess?"

"Actually, I can't see why anyone would bother." Xelloss was not even enjoying Zelgadiss' anger. He was not looking forward to returning to his master to report that this job had been a bust, and his bad mood was further compounded by Lina's absence. Where was she? What's keeping her? Lina, who still hadn't put in her appearance, was uppermost on his mind, and it was driving him over the edge, contributing to his surly tone. What if she doesn't make it? I might have to go search her out again. "But if you're not going to do anything about it, then why don't you just go?"

"Why don't you!" Zelgadiss snapped back. "What are you waiting for?"

Xelloss forced a smile. He delivered his line with a wagging finger in Zelgadiss' face, "That's a seeeecret." He didn't even stick around to benefit from Zelgadiss' reaction.

Xelloss disappeared, and when he reappeared at his mistress's feet, he was not his usual self. What Zelgadiss had said was still rankling in his mind: "Don't you ever get tired of being jerked around?"

He barely listened to her new commands and broke into her monologue derisively. "Oh sure, why the hell shouldn't I risk my neck in pursuit of some ill-conceived goal? I serve no other useful purpose any more, so why not be used up like some disposable son-of-a-bitch demon toy? What damned difference does anything I do make?"

Xelloss recovered his wits the instant following his outburst, but the damage was already done. He turned slowly to face his lord and master.

"I see," the Beastmaster Zelas said in a curt response.

Change was in the air. In Seyruun, the fall season had been overtaking the summer. Inside Xelloss' mind a different kind of transformation was taking place. He detected the imbalance of novel emotions he couldn't categorize or utilize as he did the strong passions of hate, anger, and desperation in a constantly shifting turmoil – and emotions were essential to his being.

If anyone had asked him for dates, he could not have given them, or even the event that one might have considered important. After living for over a thousand years, imprints of time were as good as lost. That was just the way it was for the immortal Xelloss, General and Priest under the Lord Beastmaster Zelas. But the memories of emotion were as powerful as if they had happened yesterday: surprise, understanding, the desire to protect, the confusion and the learning of pain. He could recall vividly the pain in death of a Dragon god or Demon Lord in battle, the fear of change in people and places that formed his life, his first disillusionment with his hollow existence, and now, suddenly, the first magic and surprise of love, although he didn't recognize it by that name, not yet.

Pride kept him from confronting Lina with his new and strange feelings. And it bothered him, both his pride and his growing infatuation. He tried avoiding contact with the young human girl, but that only led to this incessant yearning for her on his part. Besides, he had orders to entice her to use the Giga Slave spell and possibly destroy the world in the casting, and so he remained like a burr in her cloak, irritating and inescapable– and she wasn't too keen on having him around either.

The result was setting off an emotional dynamo inside Xelloss. Every choice he made, whether to be at her side or apart, drove his passions more, which he suppressed until one day, this day, he snapped peevishly in response to an order from Lord Beastmaster Zelas, causing a shock wave to pulse through the astral plain, a disturbance of the highest order. Actually, it was Zelas who created the shock wave; it was her emotional 'blink' of astonishment. A lesser creature might have taken a step backward, staggered by the unnamed emotional reaction from their underling. Demons did not question their superiors, at least not to their face, and certainly they did not retort with foul-mouthed cynicism.

Xelloss lost his smile along with his confidence as the shock wave teased at his frazzled astral form, leaving it frayed and worn at the edges. No amount of apology from him would solve the problem he had just created, so he remained still and waited for her to mete out his punishment.

"You appear to have a strong opinion on the matter. That implies you have a reason for one, so explain it," Lord Zelas demanded.

"Say what? Oh, well... I..." He was not prepared for this line of questioning. He had no idea how to explain to her how he had feelings for a human that were interfering with his ability to work. "I am having a problem with Lina Inverse, you know, the human sorceress..."

"Define your problem."

Recognizing that his master was in a no-nonsense mood, he continued quickly. "Ah... as much as I'd like to do that, it's very difficult."

His mistress, however, didn't care how difficult it was to articulate-- that he could sense immediately in the form of an astral tug. "B-but I'll give it a go. I've been watching her, as you know." He paused long enough to gauge his master's rising impatience and determined that he'd best hurry his account right along. "She called on the Lord of Nightmares and seems capable of mastering every spell I've introduced her to. But, well, I have this... affliction, I guess you could call it. I find I have this impulse to kiss her and touch her. It's most peculiar, I know, but it isn't at all bad, except when I fight it. And yet..."

"Does the human girl find you attractive?"

Again, that wasn't the reaction he'd expected, but then he wasn't a demon lord and was incapable of understanding his superior. "I don't know. She treats me as if I were human and a friend, not better or worse than the other males."

Lord Zelas looked thoughtful as she considered his words. "Being around her doesn't weaken you?"

"Marginally at times, but nothing like the repulsive feeling I get around the other little female justice fanatic. With Lina it's...different." His voice drifted as his eyes glazed over.

"Seduce her, then. Attempt to produce offspring, if that's possible. I'd like to preserve some of this human's talent." In the instant before she disappeared, Zelas added, "But remember just who and what you are. Don't degrade yourself."

'Dumbfounded' was hardly sufficient to describe Xelloss' state of mind as his mistress left her General and Priest to ponder his new orders. Seduce Lina Inverse and attempt to produce children and yet retain his dignity and reputation– was that possible? Certainly not! Nothing dignified about making love to a human girl. Nothing at all. Not for a demon of his rank. Absolutely not.

But, it could be delightful fun and fulfilling; that is, as long as his mistress did not discover the extent of his true feelings. He understood at that moment the inherent and essential difference between his understanding of himself and what his mistress perceived about him. Where she thought his feelings were of lust and base desire, he knew that they ran deeper. He wasn't able to put it into words, but he knew the difference was there, and it was clear and distinct. He also knew that he must keep it a very close secret, a very, very close-lipped, hush-hush, pain-of-death kind of secret– from his master. What he must do next, he wasn't sure. He needed to think, so he roamed the astral plain, lost in time, considering his situation.

When he could put off activity no longer, Xelloss traversed the astral plain seeking out Lina Inverse. It wasn't as difficult as it had been. It took him practically no time at all. He detected her particular astral signature and pin-pointed her location with vastly improved accuracy. He materialized in a tree in the vicinity of Lina. She was in the company of the swordsman, Gourry, the shaman, Zelgadiss, and the princess, Amelia, en route to a handsome inn, facilitating the means to his goal with the perfect situation, or very nearly perfect, if he could lose the extra baggage of the friends. A plan came to mind to rid himself of two of the party, one that could help him hone his skills with Lina at the same time.

He had Lina in his sights. Zelgadiss was still roiling in self-destructive emotions and the little princess was lost in confusion and hurt. Clearly, the chimera man had no better approach to romancing a woman than he did, Xelloss thought with satisfaction. Well, he could do something about that, because if Zelgadiss was busy with the princess, then that would leave Lina alone for him. Oh, yes, and he'd have to think of some way to get the swordsman out of the picture, too.

First things first. In a flash, Xelloss was in a nearby town, making a purchase. He had a few tricks to try out before using them himself, and Zelgadiss might as well fail or succeed first. He completed his transactions in a few minutes, and then re-appeared at the inn Lina was sure to visit, or would be after he hung out a sign promising "All you can drink bar ahead" on a tree at the height of Gourry's head. He secured a special room where he stashed his package and wrote out two notes. He folded a key to the room in to the notes, slid them into envelopes– one labeled 'Zelgadiss' and the other 'Amelia'– pocketed them, and left the room.

On the road not far away, Gourry ran into a hunk of wood floating below a tree limb. "Hey, lookit this!"

"What? I can't see up there. What is it?"

"It's a sign. It says: All you can drink bar ahead. What do ya think, Lina? Sounds good to me."

She thought it sounded suspiciously like a trap, but was game to look into the possibility that it wasn't. "I could drink something. I could eat, too."

"And if it's an inn, I'd like to stay there rather than walk any further," Amelia added.

Zelgadiss looked over the sign suspiciously, then gave up, shrugged, not caring. "Fine." Had he or any of them turned to look again, however, they would have noticed the sign magically winking out.

Minutes later, Lina and her friends were pleasantly ensconced in the dining hall, enjoying an endless pitcher of beer Xelloss had secretly put on his own bill. Xelloss waited until they had ordered food and had begun to eat before he appeared to walk out of the shadows and into the light at the door of the inn. He took a table off to the side, and ordered a glass of wine.

"Look, Mr. Zelgadiss! Isn't that Mr. Xelloss over there?"

"Possibly. If it is, he obviously wishes to remain alone, so leave him be."

Amelia 'tisked' and set off to invite Xelloss to join them at their table. Lina met Zelgadiss' wearied glance. "I tried," he said with a sigh.

"Oh, that's okay. Xelloss likes to be asked."

"I beg to differ," Zel told Lina. "He likes to pop in unannounced and meddle in anything we happen to be up to. He's nothing but trouble. We all know that, except Amelia, who believes there is a particle of goodness someplace inside him worth saving." He tried to look perturbed, but his gaze softened as he stared after his secret love.

"Maybe there is," Lina said in a near whisper, glancing over her shoulder in time to watch Xelloss stand and leave his table. "Here he comes."

"Hi," Gourry greeted the smiling demon in somber priest's garb. "There's an empty seat by Lina, if ya want something to eat."

"Thank you," Xelloss said with a nod to the tall swordsman. He pulled out the chair and slid silently into position. "I'll join you for a drink, but if I wished to eat I'd be better off sitting further from Lina."

"Whaddoya mean by that?" she asked Xelloss.

His aura tingled with excitement as Lina's ire raked him over. His smile widened, and he absorbed her anger and resentment with gusto. He could get a wide assortment of emotional diversions from Lina.

Gourry chuckled with the demon and covered his remaining food with a hand. "Yeah, I get yer point."

"What's so funny?" she asked Gourry insistently.

"Oh nothin' really. Hey, I sure could use another basket of those rolls!" He hollered the last request at a passing waiter.

"Make that two!" Lina shouted.

"So," Xelloss nudged Amelia at his other side. "How are things going?"

"Oh, that's right! You left before the final signatures were secured. Things are going very well. Daddy's been spreading the news of our new treaty with the far frontiers. I'm surprised you didn't have announcements posted in the astral plane!"

Xelloss smiled and shook his head. "Not yet, anyway. I was thinking of other matters, however."

"So you were just in Seyruun?" Gourry asked. "We didn't see you there, did we Lina? So, what were you doing there?"

"Well, that's really a secret," Xelloss said as he made eye contact with Zelgadiss, while considering what Gourry had told him. The two had shown up after all. He had left too soon, then.

Lina watched Zelgadiss squirm and wondered what he was hiding. It was Zelgadiss who chose to answer Gourry. "Xelloss was in the vicinity at the time... on business, right?" Xelloss smiled agreeably, and so Zelgadiss continued. "That's all."

It wasn't all, Lina could tell that, but neither man would say more. She decided to needle Amelia for the details later. Inexplicably, though, she felt a bit hurt knowing that Xelloss visited her other friends and not her. He wouldn't have joined her at the table had Amelia not invited him. After having him on her tail for years, it seemed now that he was avoiding her. She guessed she was no longer on the demon hit list or something. She should be happy about that, but she wasn't, inexplicably.

Meanwhile, Gourry was explaining to Xelloss that he and Lina were planning to stay in Seyruun for the winter. Xelloss nodded, listening politely, but his eyes wandered over to Lina. He was wondering if she and Gourry had become a couple in the interim. Humans often did that after being in close confines for extensive periods of time. If so, it would put a crimp in his plans. He needed to get her alone to talk. It was time to get everyone to leave.

He excused himself and strode up to the bar, where he purchased an expensive bottle of wine and signaled for the waiter's attention. "Here, I have a simple task for you." Xelloss pressed a coin into the young man's hand and surreptitiously passed him the envelopes with brief instruction. "Make certain you deliver this to that woman in five minutes, and then this other message to that man ten minutes after she's gone. Understand? See them? Good. Don't forget!"

As he returned to the table with his bottle, Lina was telling the others about her recent visit to Filia's home. "...and then Filia opened the door and– now you'll never guess who– well, all right, Milgasia was standing there. He came into town to see her! Yeah, that old guy, and now they're dating, I suppose."

"Just out of the blue?"

Lina glanced over at Xelloss. "I'll bet not."

He shrugged his shoulder and smiled. "It was only a suggestion I made. The rest was up to him." He covered his mouth and yawned widely, setting off a round of yawns from his table-mates.

They bantered back and forth in congenial conversation for a few minutes longer, and then the waiter approached the table. "Excuse me; I have a message to deliver to... a Miss Amelia."

"That's me!" Amelia cried out, taking the note. She opened it carefully, read the short not, and then blushed. "It's...just a note from Daddy. Nothing much. Well, I'm tired. I'll see you all in the morning," Amelia rambled quickly and excused herself to retire.

Zelgadiss' eyes traveled over the princess' curves furtively. He seemed eager to retreat as well. So, when a note was delivered into his hands, he took only an instant to cast his eyes over the words, and then said good night and left, bounding up the stairs two at a time.

"That was odd, even for him," Gourry noted.

Xelloss looked askance at the remaining unwanted human. He wondered if Gourry would leave, and if Lina would leave with him. He hadn't considered the competition before, but humans did prefer the company of other humans, and now that her friends had paired up, he wondered if Lina might not now desire the tall swordsman. That would complicate his seduction program immeasurably, filling his life with uncertainty. He felt a twist of self-doubt in his aura. What if his appeal was not enough?

Gourry yawned and stretched, then claimed to have 'things to do' before the next day. As he turned to leave, Xelloss smiled. "Good night."

Lina made no motion to follow. Instead, she eyed Xelloss' empty glass. "Was that wine good?"

"Would you like to try a glass?" His smile grew as she nodded her agreement. "Waiter! A bottle of your Zephillia Merlot and a glass for the young lady."

Excitement welled up inside of him, bubbling over into giggles as he failed to contain his composure. He had never been given the chance to own anything before. He just realized that his master was allowing him a human possession. Demons loved possessions, probably because they had none if they were of low ranking minions, or because they were rare treasures if they were of Xelloss' class. The Demon Lords were known to covet one another's precious things and to lust after their own accumulations, stashing them away on secret islands, underwater caves, or other dark recesses of the world. And now Xelloss had the opportunity to have one of his own-- Lina Inverse. He had only to convince her. It was heady stuff, for a demon.

"What's your problem?"

"Oh, my... I... just ..." Xelloss babbled nonsensically and then gave up when the wine arrived.

"I didn't know demons got drunk, but case in point," Lina swallowed her first glass in a few gulps then tilted her glass to suggest he re-fill it.

He allowed her to think that she was right, that he was slightly intoxicated, and poured them both a full glass. "This is a good wine, don't you think?"

"Are you kidding?" She eyed him strangely waiting for him to say something. When he didn't she said, "This is made in the town where I grew up. You picked it out for that reason, right?"

"You're from Zephillia? No, I didn't know that. How wonderful! Now I have two reasons to like the place."

"Two?" She realized that he had complimented her, which embarrassed her and caused a blush to warm her cheeks. She wondered why he said such a crazy thing and decided that it was just to make her self-conscious, which it had. She was about to blast him for his cheekiness when he began to explain grape-growing.

"The root-stock is a hardy native variety of the region, which gives the plants increased vigor. The grafted varietal provides superior fruit. Together you get a perfect vine that the talented vintners turn into the finest wines in all the land. Even my mistress buys Zephillia wines."

She thought his face was handsome, his manners polite, his powers stunning, and his mind sharp. If only he were a human, capable of forming real friendships. What a waste of talent. It made her feel sorry for him suddenly.

"Did I say something wrong?" he asked after noting her change in mood.

"No, no, I was thinking, though. We were all heading south to Zephillia, as a matter of fact, and I was wondering if you might like to come with us to the fall wine crush. Ya know, to stomp on some grapes and make some juice?"

"I can do that."

"Oh yeah? Just like that? You don't have some other job to do here?"

"Not exactly. This is more of a working vacation for me."

Was he visiting her on his 'vacation', she wondered? The thought that he might be interested in seeing just her sent another rush of heat to flush her face pink. Her reaction was ridiculous, of course, and it angered her to have become so silly all of a sudden. She was also aware of his eyes on her. "I didn't know demons took or even needed vacations," Lina said into her napkin.

"Oh yes, we all do. Some of us, that is. Well, I do, am...now." He seemed flustered, which was unusual since he rarely appeared ill-at-ease. He couldn't miss her blushes and odd behavior. His mind was racing, tripping over half-baked ideas for the next thing to say. What was his problem, he wondered with desperation?

"Oh, okay. So..."

"So...?"

"I guess I'll go sleep now so we can get an early start." Lina hopped up out of her chair. Xelloss was making her uncomfortable. No, that wasn't exactly true. She wanted to be near him and that was making her uncomfortable.

"Good idea," he said with his customary smile, but he didn't rise.

"You have a room?"

"Ah, no." His words barely escaped in his gasp of surprise. Things were moving along at a startling fast pace. At this rate he'd have the seduction process over in no time, possibly tonight! First she invited him along on her journey and now to her room, possibly? He had to find out. "I'd be happy to stay in yours."

"What? Are you nuts? Where would I sleep, then?"

"Oh, you would remain, of course."

"HUH! What are you suggesting?"

"Me? Oh, nothing... actually. Just joking, you know that." He protected his head from her blows with his hands. "Really, Miss Lina." How could he tell her that her anger was delicious to him, but that those other feelings she had displayed stimulated his interest far beyond what was normal for one of his race? It made him wonder again: why was she so fascinating to him?

He grabbed her wrists to stop the pummeling. She froze. His eyes widened and met hers as a charge of electrical excitement passed between them. "Ah, I gotta go," she choked out.

"Okay," he said as he released her. "I'll go ask after a room."

Lina hurried up the stairs to her room. She slammed the door behind her and chanted a simple locking spell, knowing full well it couldn't keep Xelloss out, and then stood, back to the door, breathless and panting. What was her problem? What had come over her? How could she imagine Xelloss, a high ranking member of the demon race of all things, garnered 'feelings' for her? She was pretty sure that they were just creations of the demon lords and not sexual beings at all. Obviously, he had been messing with her mind and that was that. What an idiot he was, she thought with a twinge of disappointment.

Xelloss was so confused by what had taken place that he chose to transport away rather than stay under the same roof as Lina Inverse any longer. If she was going to Zephillia, then he would meet up with them there later, after he collected his thoughts.

In another part of the inn, a different romance was transpiring. Amelia couldn't believe it. Her dreams were coming true! At last, Zelgadiss was going to show his true romantic nature. The note with the strong handwriting commanded her to "meet me here at once," complete with a key to room 312, and was signed with a swashbuckling Z-slash that Amelia found terribly appealing. She flew up the short staircase to the uppermost floor and unlocked the door to room 312. Just inside the candle-lit boudoir was a gigantic bed, and on that rested a box wrapped in pale blue tissue and bound up with an ivory bow. Attached by a silk ribbon was a card that read "open at once" in the same strong handwriting as the note.

"Ooooh!" She held up a filmy gown intended for nightwear, she supposed, since it hid nothing and accentuated everything. "The same blue as the wrapping paper. I'll bet he wants me to wear this." Once she undressed and drew on the silk gown, she courageously examined her reflection in the mirror.

"Oh, my!" A blush heated her face. Never had she worn a garment so revealing. Amelia had no difficulty imagining what Zelgadiss must have had on his mind when he picked it out for her.

Amelia turned at the sound of a key in the lock from the other side of the door, her eyes wide and expectant and her heart pounding. When she saw that it was indeed Zelgadiss entering the room, she was beside herself with joy. She clasped her hands together and cried out, "Oh! Hi! It's beautiful and it...ah...fits!"

Zelgadiss flushed hot to the pointed tips of his ears. He had been thankful that Amelia was the one to break the impasse in their relationship. He felt completely unworthy of her affections and never would have taken the initiative, especially not like this. He had run up the stairs expecting a surprise, but this was beyond his imaginative powers. In one hand he still gripped the brief, but telling, note: "I await you with bated breath. Hurry –A," and in his other hand was the room key. His eyes roved over the lovely womanly figure, lingering on the full breasts overflowing the deeply cut bodice and taking in the shadowy darkness between her legs. With extreme difficulty, he raised his eyes to focus on her face. "Barely..." he said in a near whisper.

He was unable to take the initiative, maybe, but now that the ice was broken he wasn't the one to miss a golden opportunity. Without another word he stepped forward and clasped her to his chest. "Thank you."

"Thank you, too," Amelia murmured into his chest.

Had Zelgadiss tagged on "for inviting me," or Amelia specified "for the invitation" or "for the gown," then Xelloss' involvement would have been detected immediately and the entire plan would have unwound and come apart. But neither had, and they were none the wiser as to their benefactor. Instead, they kissed long and deeply. Zelgadiss had all the encouragement he needed to lift her off her feet and carry her to the bed.

There they enjoyed the love they had for so long resisted, and it wasn't until morning as they lay intertwined, mixing conversation with intermittent kisses, that they discovered how they had been tricked. It was too late to deny their attraction or complain about the result; they were happy to have affirmed their love at last. They were curious who was at the bottom of the deception, and when they found Xelloss gone in the morning, that he hadn't even stayed the night, they knew he was the culprit. Zelgadiss, for one, privately felt obliged to the demon, indebted even. Amelia affirmed, but to herself only, that it was proof that Xelloss had a "kind heart deep, deep down" and that he was "turning from the darkness and onto the path of righteousness."

Of course, they didn't breathe a word to the others concerning what magic had occurred between them, or that Xelloss had instigated their intimacy. Zelgadiss griped about some devious prank Xelloss had pulled on him, and Amelia complained a little about Xelloss' questionable intentions. Gourry simply wondered why Xelloss hadn't stuck around to see how his tricks had turned out.

Only Lina appeared unconcerned, but that was an act. Inside her head she was screaming mad and hurting. Xelloss had come to the inn just to toy with Zelgadiss and Amelia after having stayed with them in Seyruun. He had been in Seyruun, but left immediately when she showed up. Xelloss had kidded around with her a little, but clearly he didn't consider her a serious love interest.

"Oh my gods!" Lina blurted out aloud. Why on the gods-given planet had she thought a thing like that, putting "Xelloss" and "love interest" into the same sentence!

"Are you okay? Gourry asked her.

"Ah...sure. I just remembered we ought to get going pretty fast here to get to Zephillia in time for the big opening festivities."

"Okay," Gourry said, but he didn't believe her. Something was amiss with Lina, and he suspected that Xelloss' absence this morning had a large part in it.

In a few minutes, the foursome was on the road, and hours later they were hard at work at a family-owned winery. Visiting her hometown at the start of fall, her favorite time of year, should have put Lina on a cloud of euphoria, but it didn't. She was happy, but Xelloss' sudden absence was tugging at the back of her mind. Occasionally, she rubbed at her wrists where he had held her, their noses a fraction of an inch apart. She could imagine him there now, holding her, closing in...

"Miss Lina, careful!" Amelia's voice cracked through her revere.

Lina blinked her eyes and gripped Amelia's arm as her feet skidded in the slippery grape mash. "Whoa!"

Xelloss, appearing out of nowhere, swept her off her feet, and held her dangling above the tub. "Hey! Put me down!" she cried out. She knew she must look ridiculous, and yet she felt a particular exhilaration that Xelloss should appear at so opportune a time.

"Right now?" he asked.

Lina turned to meet his eyes and reconsidered her demand. "Don't drop me. Just put me back. Slowly!"

"Yes, yes..." he chuckled, but did as she said.

"Aren't you going to help crush grapes, Mr. Xelloss? They pay for the help."

Xelloss noticed that Gourry and Zelgadiss were actively stomping barefooted in a nearby gigantic tub of purple juice. Dignified or not, they appeared to be having a good time. Besides, he couldn't simply stand watching Lina while he did nothing, could he? "Why not?" He rolled up his pant legs, ditched his boots and socks, and dropped his cloak and staff. A 'grape maid' gathered his belongings and led him to an unoccupied tub. He assured her that he could climb in on his own.

"Ooh! You boys are fast! Would you like to do another batch?" Apparently Zelgadiss' weight and Gourry's big feet had made short work of their grapes.

"Of course they do," Amelia cried out. "Our work is not done until all the grapes are pounded to a pulp! The job must be seen to completion!"

Xelloss noticed Zelgadiss and Amelia were on warmer terms than when he'd left them in Seyruun, but then so were Gourry and Lina. Everyone was in such a good mood that Xelloss was weakening from lack of nourishment. He vanished before completely crushing his second barrel, without registering Lina's acute letdown, and before sharing in the engagement announcement. Alone and unfulfilled, Xelloss had much to mull over before he could trust himself in Lina's presence again. But he would see her again, because he always followed orders.

Lina felt sorry to see Xelloss disappear. As much as she enjoyed the company of her friends, she craved something deeper and more meaningful. Now that Amelia and Zelgadiss were to be married, what was to become of her? What of Gourry? Was he expecting her to marry him? Oh, sure. Gourry was a fine friend, but it was not him who stirred her heart. She decided that the next time she encountered Xelloss something would have to be done about -- about what, though? That was the question she needed to come to grips with.

Time and place break

"Okay kids, all of you have your bags?" Lina yelled from the front room of the house she shared with her husband and four children. "Time to go."

Xelloss was hefting a couple of trunks onto a waiting wagon while Zelgadiss was directing two palace servants to arrange the luggage. "You know, if there's anything any of your kids need at school, Amelia or I will see to it that they get it."

"I know, and I appreciate it. Lina wouldn't send them to your school if she didn't trust you. I think most of this stuff is for the younger boys, who Lina insists need their familiar blankets."

"Lina trusts me, you say. How about you? Do you trust us to watch out for your children's welfare? You know, it is a debt of honor for me. I owe you for my happy state. Does that bother you?"

Xelloss' face altered slightly as Zelgadiss looked on. Nearly imperceptible to non-magic users, the demon's benign countenance clouded over, revealing a cold, alien visage, reminding Zelgadiss that this was no human being that he was teasing. The moment passed quickly and Xelloss tightened his smile.

"My reputation would suffer if it were known that I was a benefactor of the human race. I trust you not to mention my role in uniting you with your lovely wife."

Zelgadiss dipped his chin in understanding just as Lina marched up to where the two men were conversing. "I thought you were in a hurry to get back to the castle, Zel. Here I am knocking myself out to get everything and everyone ready and you two are resting on your laurels."

"And you have done an excellent job, my sweet," Xelloss said, his smile full of warmth and charm.

Zelgadiss found it remarkable to watch the demon transform into a real man when in the presence of the love of his life. He considered Xelloss more dangerous than ever as he grew more and more humanlike. If demons could adapt to love, friends, and caring for a family, what would prevent them from evolving into super-humans? He watched Xelloss clasp each of his children in his arms, hug, and pass on some valuable piece of advice. The man did love them-- that Zelgadiss could see clearly. Xelloss adored Lina and had impregnated her, Zelgadiss had learned, but how? Of course, he wouldn't dare ask, that would be prying, but he was curious.

"You promise to come visit us soon, Dad?" asked his oldest son, the younger two still clinging to Lina.

"Yes, of course. We have some business to take care of, but then I promise we'll come see you. In the meantime, it will be up to you to be the man of the family while I am gone, just as your sister must be the woman. Be brave, set an example for your brothers, and listen to the prince and princess."

"Yes, Father. I won't disappoint you."

Lina responded, "You're damn right, you won't. You'll all do us proud. The respect, worth, and loyalty of our family is the most important thing, just remember that." She was also communicating with Xelloss using only her eyes.

Zelgadiss stood back and observed his two friends in an intimate interchange. Xelloss smiled slightly and gazed deeply into the lively eyes of his wife. The demon had once hoped profoundly that Lina Inverse would be wise enough and generous enough to be gentle with him, to wait with patience for him to be gentle with her, to wait with patience for him to work his way through the tiredness and the confusion of feeling that filled his mind when she was close, to do all that and still not seek anything from him for herself beyond trust and the knowledge that he was willing to share all he was able to. She had, and they both had been rewarded with the love of a lifetime, an endless lifetime, perhaps.

Lina looked at her husband's face and into his eyes, and saw for a moment his struggle to understand what she really meant, then, abandoning the attempt, he settled for the simple answer: she loves us all. Xelloss knew that.

Zelgadiss waved farewell and climbed aboard the wagon alongside the driver. Xelloss and Lina were entrusting their most precious treasures to his care. A debt for a debt. Love for love– he guessed he and Xelloss were even on that score, at last.

End, In September, Change.