Author's note: This happens to be my first official fic on here, so hang in there with me. I have more chapters, it's just a matter of typing them up. So, please R&R, I think I'll need all the help I can get. ^_^ And I'm not gettin paid for this and Slayers doesn't belong to me...etc...ya'll all know the drill. Also, extremely sorry for this formatting error. This is as good as it's gonna get. Sorry! -italics cause I can't get em to work. So plz hang in there!
The Betrayal
Something terrible had happened. As Lina slowly regained consciousness, she struggled to remember exactly what had happened. She heard voices, but they sounded far away and indistinct. She recognized Gourry's voice, but the other voice belonged to a stranger.
"How long will it take for her to recover?" Gourry asked. Lina tried to say that she was fine, but she couldn't seem to get the words past her throat. The stranger hesitated.
"Well, most of her body will heal quickly if she stays in bed. Her mind is another matter..." The voices faded away as Lina slipped back into the comforts of unconsciousness.
When Lina woke the next time, she was able to open her eyes. The sight she beheld made her chuckle. Or at least it was meant to be a chuckle, but it came out as a hacking cough. Gourry was stretched out at the foot of her bed, his long blonde hair covering his form making him look like a huge yellow hound warming her feet and guarding her during sleep. Gourry bounced off the bed and had his sword in hadnd before he realized the sound was Lina coughing.
"Lina! You're awake!" Gourry rushed over and carefully gathered her close. "I was so worried!" Lina was still coughing, but Gourry didn't seem to notice. As soon as she could take a breath without coughing, Lina weakly demanded for Gourry to let her go. When Gourry laid her gently on the bed, she stared in shock at the front of his shirt. The dark blood stains stood out against the light blue background. Gourry looked down and saw what had shocked her.
Lina struggled to form the words for her question and finally managed, "What's wrong with you?" Gourry had an uncomprehending look on his face, as usual.
"What's wrong with me?" Gourry parroted. At Lina's weak nod, Gourry looked confused. "Nothings wrong with me." When Lina gestured to his shirt, a light bulb flashed over Gourry's head. "Oh, you mean the blood stains." Gourry touched his fingertips to one and held out his fingers, which were covered in blood. "This is fresh blood, from your cough Lina." Lina couldn't hold in her surprise at this.
"Ah, that's why it's hard to talk. Probably a punctured lung from one of my broken ribs. What?!" Lina's thoughts flashed as she closed her eyes and began to assess what all was wrong with her body. She had three broken ribs, one of which had indeed punctured a lung. Her nose had been broken, but someone had already set it back. She had a terrible headache, and found she had sustained numerous head injuries. Her fingers had all been broken which made her open her eyes in shock. Any one who cast spells knew that the fingers were the most important part of a magic users body. "I must have been tortured!" As Gourry sat watching her, he wondered if she was remembering anything yet.
"Lina?" Gourry asked. She was furiously checking the rest of her body, fingers-broken (*sob*), wrist-one light sprain, arms-good to go, ribs-already checked, legs-one broken, ankles-one heavy sprain, toes-all broken. As Lina began to check for internal damages, Gourry touched her lightly and she visibly flinched. "Lina? Are you remembering yet?" Gourry's face was filled with concern.
She shook her head. "What happened to me?" Lina tried to stiffle her sobs, but it still triggered her coughing again. Gourry held an already bloody hankie to her mouth. When her coughs susbsided, Gourry carefully took her mangled hands in his and looker her straight in the eyes.
"What I am about to tell you has already happened. You can't go back into the past and change it. You can only concentrate on getting better. Lina," Gourry hesitated, "you were found on the side of a country road last week. Your injuries were much worse then, but you managed to say one word before you..." Gourry trailed off. Lina's eyes pleaded for him to continue. "You died Lina. And the word you said was, 'Xellos'." Lina waited for him to say "Gotcha!" or "Just kidding!" She shook her head and snorted.
"There's no way I died. And Xellos did not torture me!" Lina's thoughts were as disbelieving as her expression. Lina continued to shake her head as she checked her body again. She hadn't checked her internal injuries, and fainted at what she found.
The Betrayal
Something terrible had happened. As Lina slowly regained consciousness, she struggled to remember exactly what had happened. She heard voices, but they sounded far away and indistinct. She recognized Gourry's voice, but the other voice belonged to a stranger.
"How long will it take for her to recover?" Gourry asked. Lina tried to say that she was fine, but she couldn't seem to get the words past her throat. The stranger hesitated.
"Well, most of her body will heal quickly if she stays in bed. Her mind is another matter..." The voices faded away as Lina slipped back into the comforts of unconsciousness.
When Lina woke the next time, she was able to open her eyes. The sight she beheld made her chuckle. Or at least it was meant to be a chuckle, but it came out as a hacking cough. Gourry was stretched out at the foot of her bed, his long blonde hair covering his form making him look like a huge yellow hound warming her feet and guarding her during sleep. Gourry bounced off the bed and had his sword in hadnd before he realized the sound was Lina coughing.
"Lina! You're awake!" Gourry rushed over and carefully gathered her close. "I was so worried!" Lina was still coughing, but Gourry didn't seem to notice. As soon as she could take a breath without coughing, Lina weakly demanded for Gourry to let her go. When Gourry laid her gently on the bed, she stared in shock at the front of his shirt. The dark blood stains stood out against the light blue background. Gourry looked down and saw what had shocked her.
Lina struggled to form the words for her question and finally managed, "What's wrong with you?" Gourry had an uncomprehending look on his face, as usual.
"What's wrong with me?" Gourry parroted. At Lina's weak nod, Gourry looked confused. "Nothings wrong with me." When Lina gestured to his shirt, a light bulb flashed over Gourry's head. "Oh, you mean the blood stains." Gourry touched his fingertips to one and held out his fingers, which were covered in blood. "This is fresh blood, from your cough Lina." Lina couldn't hold in her surprise at this.
"Ah, that's why it's hard to talk. Probably a punctured lung from one of my broken ribs. What?!" Lina's thoughts flashed as she closed her eyes and began to assess what all was wrong with her body. She had three broken ribs, one of which had indeed punctured a lung. Her nose had been broken, but someone had already set it back. She had a terrible headache, and found she had sustained numerous head injuries. Her fingers had all been broken which made her open her eyes in shock. Any one who cast spells knew that the fingers were the most important part of a magic users body. "I must have been tortured!" As Gourry sat watching her, he wondered if she was remembering anything yet.
"Lina?" Gourry asked. She was furiously checking the rest of her body, fingers-broken (*sob*), wrist-one light sprain, arms-good to go, ribs-already checked, legs-one broken, ankles-one heavy sprain, toes-all broken. As Lina began to check for internal damages, Gourry touched her lightly and she visibly flinched. "Lina? Are you remembering yet?" Gourry's face was filled with concern.
She shook her head. "What happened to me?" Lina tried to stiffle her sobs, but it still triggered her coughing again. Gourry held an already bloody hankie to her mouth. When her coughs susbsided, Gourry carefully took her mangled hands in his and looker her straight in the eyes.
"What I am about to tell you has already happened. You can't go back into the past and change it. You can only concentrate on getting better. Lina," Gourry hesitated, "you were found on the side of a country road last week. Your injuries were much worse then, but you managed to say one word before you..." Gourry trailed off. Lina's eyes pleaded for him to continue. "You died Lina. And the word you said was, 'Xellos'." Lina waited for him to say "Gotcha!" or "Just kidding!" She shook her head and snorted.
"There's no way I died. And Xellos did not torture me!" Lina's thoughts were as disbelieving as her expression. Lina continued to shake her head as she checked her body again. She hadn't checked her internal injuries, and fainted at what she found.