(Reuploaded on 5-13-10 because of formatting issues with the original version.)
What Matters Most – Chapter One
It was a simple letter, left behind only to be found by the person it was meant for. And it was exactly she who found it; she read the note and promptly crumpled it up in her fist, eyes filled with a sudden burst of rage--and a thirst for vengeance.
That stupid idiot, her mind screamed as her teeth gnawed away at her bottom lip. She pulled on her cape and stomped through the door of her room, tossing the crumpled letter over her shoulder as she stormed away.
o o o o o
Dear Lina Inverse, she thought, reciting the words of the letter in her mind. We have the blond swordsman in our custody. Don't worry, as he is relatively unharmed.
She left a small handful of coins on the old wooden table as she passed by the front counter, deeming it a sufficient amount for her stay. As she stepped out, she raised a hand to shield her eyes from the intense sunlight that rained down on her. Man, it's going to be a rough day, she thought, and tugged on her collar as she started on the road.
I will be frank with you, as I understand that you are a woman of business, and as am I. I am hereby issuing you a challenge, Lina Inverse, as a fellow sorcerer and member of the Sorcerer's Guild. I have heard the stories of your endeavors, and I find them particularly fascinating. Therefore, I can't help but be curious about which one of us is more skilled. I hope you will concede to this offer, especially since I can't guarantee Gourry's enduring safety. My children are a bit bloodthirsty, and fresh food is scarce to come by.
"…Ashevine the Crimson," concluded Lina. She did not closely associate with the other members of the Sorcerer's guild, but she at least knew their names, particularly the ones of color. Some of them bought their way in with money; others earned enough merit to become researchers--honorable or not. This particular sorceress was one of the latter--Lina had heard rumors of her vicious chimerical beasts, but beyond that she did not care. Whatever the sorceress did on her free time was her own business.
Of course, that wasn't the case anymore. After all, Lina was never one to disappoint her challengers.
o o o o o
"You can do it, Lina. Keep going, Lina. Ah--stop talking to yourself, Lina. This is a bad sign, Lina…"
She let out a long, heavy sigh as she continued to drag her feet along the road under the pounding sunlight. Sweat was dripping down the sides of her face as she treaded onward, pushing herself as she considered forgetting the ordeal entirely. If not for her pride, she would have just ignored the issue and continued what she was doing before; Gourry would get himself out eventually. That, and it was awfully boring to travel alone. "There's no one to talk to," she groaned.
A few minutes after she took a shortcut through the forest, she became aware of another presence following behind her. Pretending not to have noticed, she continued on her way as normal, but she kept her guard up. Is there only one…?
A rustle in the other direction indicated otherwise. Her heart began to race with the sudden increase in tension. Were there many of them? And how good were they? If they were Ashevine's chimeras--which she sincerely hoped they weren't--she might have a bit of difficulty dealing with them. Ashevine was, after all, one of the sorcery geniuses of the time in that department of research.
Lina stopped and noticed the silenced footsteps as well. She deliberated her choices for a moment. She could either face them here, or she could wait for a more opportune moment to deal with them. Judging by the sounds--there were probably two others there with her. That's one too many, she thought. Better run.
She shifted in one direction, then bolted off in the other. When her pursuers finally caught on and chased after her, she tossed a spell over her shoulder. "Flare Arrow!"
The fire latched onto a number of trees and exploded, leaving behind a thick cloud of dust. Unfortunately, that was not enough to ward off her pursuers, and she continued to glance over her shoulder as she ran. "Damn! I was hoping this would be eas--Eek!"
Lina squeaked as she tripped over a root, falling painfully on her hip and shoulder. She groaned and rolled over onto her back, wincing at the sharp pain in her ankle. "Ugh…Wah!"
The attack missed her by a hair--the sickle arm sank into the ground just next to her ear, and her eyes widened as an uneasy sound came from her throat. It was a disgusting creature that seemed to be some sort of mix between a mantis, octopus, and snail. Coming from its snail-like body encasing were a number of octopus-like limbs, and at the end of each was a scythe-like arm--one of which was embedded in the ground next to her. She quickly pushed herself up and split her legs, dodging the second arm, then threw her head back as another swiped over her. As her head hung upside down, she saw the tree behind her get slashed and begin to fall in her direction, and she quickly rolled out of the way as it collapsed on the creature.
Holding her breath in anticipation, she propped herself up with an elbow and a hand to watch how the chimera would respond. It squirmed underneath the weight of the tree, but it was nowhere near dead--as indicated by the flailing sickle limbs. Her attempt to run was thwarted--she fell to the ground as soon as she put weight on her foot; it was sprained. Lina cursed quietly and began to channel white magic into her ankle. "Come on, come on, come on…"
The chimera threw a number of arms around the tree trunk and snapped it in half, then threw it to the side with a heavy amount of force. Lina closed her eyes as the ground shook, then opened them to find the creature making its way towards her. In a panic, she attempted to get back up on her feet, but again tripped when she attempted to run. Then she saw the chimera raise an arm to attack. "Oh, hell--" she cursed as she closed her eyes, calling to mind the first spell she could think of.
"Bom di wind!"
Her eyes shot open, and she squealed a bit as the intense winds passed over her and blew the chimera off balance. It fell to the ground with a hard thud, exposing its soft underbelly. She blinked--trying to grasp the situation. Then she exclaimed "That voice!"
A strong, supporting hand was suddenly at her back. "Are you okay, Lina?"
She glanced up, finding the familiar face she expected to see there. She couldn't help but smile brightly as she excitedly called his name, "Zel!"
He didn't get to see her excitement, as his gaze was fixed on the enemy. "Think you want to finish this up?"
She lowered her head and smiled deviously. "I've got just the right spell for it." She pressed her palms together. As she pulled them apart, she exclaimed "Burst Flare!"
The spell shot from her hands toward its target, sending the chimera up in a sea of blue flames, eventually being reduced to nothing more than a sheet of ash--shell and all. When all was over and done, Lina pressed a hand to her heart and exhaled roughly. "I'm saved."
"I didn't expect to see you in such a tight pinch."
She pouted her lips at him. "Well if you were there why didn't you come help me out sooner?" she demanded to know as he made his way around her.
"I had to deal with the other one," he replied coolly, and inspected her ankle. She winced as he lifted it, feeling tears springing to her eyes. He lifted his eyes to question her response. "That bad?"
"Be careful with it!" she griped, fangs appearing as teardrops formed at the corners of her eyes. She remained tense until he began to channel white magic into her ankle, mending the broken tissue. When the pain had subsided, she opened her mouth to ask, "By the way, what are you doing here?"
He suddenly got up and turned his back on her, walking away without a word. She blinked at him before realizing what he was attempting to do--escape. "Ah!" Lina started as she hopped to her feet and chased after him. "Why are you running off on your own again, Zel?"
He continued to walk; she continued to pester and prod him. After a few minutes of that silly charade, he finally paused to answer her question. "The challenge was issued only to me, and if I get you involved, it might risk Amelia's life--"
"Wait. What do you mean 'risk Amelia's life'?"
"I mean," he sighed, "she's being held ransom."
"Okay. In exchange for what?"
"Me."
Lina paused to contemplate the situation. Then, carefully, she added, "Ashevine?"
That caught his attention. "How did you know?"
"Because she issued me a challenge in exchange for Gourry," Lina replied, crossing her arms. The situation made sense before, but now it did not. What was Ashevine trying to achieve, summoning them both at the same time? Lina might have surmised that a chimerical body like Zelgadiss's would intrigue the sorceress, but to summon them both at the same time was no coincidence. Ashevine was up to something--but what?
"What's the meaning of this?"
"I don't know," Lina replied. "But I don't think she expected us to find one another along the way. Why don't we stick together for the time being?--At least until we figure out what's going on."
He nodded. "Sounds like a plan."
She smiled at him. "Good! Then first--we find a town to stay in for the evening to eat and bathe. I'm caked in sweat and I need a good bath before I can keep going."
o o o o o
The sun was already setting by the time they walked into the town of Rhaven. Though the raw heat of the day was gone, the humidity still clung heavily to the air, and Lina was definitely in one of her fouler moods as a result of it. She couldn't wait to wash herself off and get into a nice bed.
They walked into the first decent inn they could find and went right up to the innkeeper. "I need a room, pops!" Lina declared.
"Make that two."
"Right, two."
The old man raised an eyebrow at them. "Are you two not together?" he asked.
"No," Lina quickly replied. "Well, yes, but no." Lina began to blush at her own clumsiness with words, and thus she tried to cover up her embarrassment by demanding, "Look, can you just get us our rooms? I'm hot and tired and I'd like to get to bed."
"Oh?" the man responded, grinning mischievously at her choice of words. "Is there anything else I can do for you, lass? Drinks, mayhaps?"
"The rooms will be enough," Zelgadiss replied, stepping forward. He had his mask and hood pulled on, but his eyes were enough to intimidate; the old man seemed to be making eyes at Lina, and god knew what else he was thinking about after that sentence. "If you can show them to us, then great. If not, we'll go find another place to stay."
The man frowned, but he complied with the order. "Right this way then…"
Zelgadiss slipped in behind the man, keeping between him and Lina. Leaning in so only Zelgadiss could hear, Lina whispered, "Good going, Zel!"
He leaned back and whispered, "Were you okay with him looking at you like that?"
"Only to lower the price, of course," Lina replied with a wink. When Zelgadiss rolled his eyes at her, she got an idea. Playfully, she skipped forward and jabbed him in the ribs with an elbow. "Why? Did it bother you that much?"
He gave her a look. "Lina..."
"Are you jealous? Ha!"
"Cut that out!"
"Okay you two. I've got one room here," the innkeeper interrupted as he unlocked the door. He held the door open, but Lina and Zelgadiss were so preoccupied with one another that they walked right past the room. A bit irritated, the man cleared his throat rather loudly, hoping to attract their attention.
The bit worked, for they both stopped in their tracks and glanced over to the room. The man gestured to the open door. "For the lady."
A rather large smile appeared on Lina's face. "Don't mind if I do!" she replied as she skipped in, shutting the door behind her with a small wave. Zelgadiss pressed his forefinger and thumb against his forehead as he sighed. Lina was so easy to please when treated like a girl.
"Dinner will be in an hour!" the innkeeper shouted after her.
"Okay!"
After it went silent, the man smiled and pointed a thumb at the room. "She's a cute girl. I'm surprised you haven't made a move on her yet."
Zelgadiss coughed. "I'd rather keep my head on my shoulders," he answered quietly.
"What was that?"
"Oh, nothing. Where is my room?"
"Right this way…"
o o o o o
Lina hummed a cheery tune as she slipped out of her garments and into a white, fluffy bath towel. Her bad mood was turned upside down by the gentlemanly comment, and she was flattered that someone found her attractive--regardless of his age. Being surrounded by Zelgadiss and Gourry all the time, she never got the right kind of attention from the opposite sex. Hell--even Amelia always got more of that sort of attention than she did, and she blamed that directly on the girl's blessed assets.
She paused to consider the current situation. Does this mean that Zel finally has feelings for Amelia? It's about time, she thought, though only a small part of her rejoiced in the fact. The other half felt rather lonely after thinking about it.
She shook her head. It was best not to think too much about complicated things. She should be happy for them, and that should be all. Maybe I shouldn't have joked with him like that, she thought, reflecting on her own actions.
Lina hopped over and poked her head out the door, glancing up and down the hallway for any people that might catch her as she darted for the bath. Seeing that there weren't any people present, she made a quick run for the bath rooms and managed to slip in without anyone noticing. To her delight, there was also no one in the bath--she would have the entire place to herself.
The cool water felt nice as it ran down her back. She pulled her hair up and poured more water over her skin, closing her eyes as the cold stream swept away all the heat. She scrubbed herself free of all the dirt and grime; she even took some extra time to remove the dirt from beneath her nails--something she didn't make a habit of doing, but did today since she was feeling particularly feminine. After rinsing herself off and drying herself with a towel, she slipped into a set of clean, white pajamas and threw the towel over her shoulders to keep her wet hair off her shoulders.
When she stepped back into the hallway, she paused as she deliberated going back to her room. There were only a few minutes before dinner, and spending them alone wasn't quite what she was looking forward to doing. Deciding on the other option, Lina turned around and walked down to Zelgadiss's room, knocking on the door when she stood in front of it.
He was shirtless when he opened the door, and they both stared at each other for a moment before Zelgadiss finally spoke. "What is it?"
"Um." Lina averted her gaze, feeling rather bashful when her eyes kept drifting down to his exposed body. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a bad burn mark on his shoulder. "What happened?" she asked, reaching out to his wound.
"Acid," he replied. "The chimera--the other one you didn't fight--spat acid."
Lina looked at him. "But you should have been able to dodge that easily?"
He remained silent and stepped back, permitting entrance. As he closed the door behind her, he said, "I was distracted when I heard a loud tree hit the ground."
Lina watched him as he sat down in a chair and inspected his wound. It was on the back side of his shoulder, so it was a challenge for him to get a good look at it. She sighed quietly and shook her head slowly as she smiled languidly at him. He always tried to hide the truth, but Lina had learned how to read him like an open book. She covered her mouth with a hand to keep from giggling out loud; he was cute when he tried to hide his concern for his friends--a concern that he always denied having. When she had regained her composure, she stepped forward, "Let me."
Zelgadiss was never one to request the assistance of others--it was in his nature to be a lone wolf. Lina knew that and respected it, but there were times when she wished he could rely on her a little bit. She trusted him, but it didn't really seem like the feeling was returned. Or maybe he just requires a little more effort, she thought, thinking back to Amelia's persistence as she rolled her eyes.
She inspected his wound--it was a bad burn, but not something a good healing spell couldn't fix. Zelgadiss rested his elbows on his knees as Lina channeled white magic into the wound. Feeling that the air was becoming too stiff for her tastes, Lina filled it in with some conversation. "So, how is Amelia?"
"I don't know. I haven't seen her except once since we split ways."
The answer was surprising. "Really? I thought--"
"I wanted my cure. I still do."
"Oh." There was a heavy silence.
"How is Gourry?"
"The same. He eats a lot, forgets a lot, and says too much."
"What an easygoing guy."
"I know."
There was a knock at the door. "Dinner is ready!"
"Yes!" Lina exclaimed excitedly, and slapped Zelgadiss on the back where his wound had been. "Let's go!"
Zelgadiss winced. "I see you haven't changed either," he commented.
"Of course not!" Lina boasted confidently, as if it were something to be proud of.
He turned away just in time to hide the smile that appeared. Then he picked up his tunic and pulled it on so that they could go to dinner--Lina didn't like to be kept waiting when it came to food. I guess some things never change…
"Hurry up!"
o o o o o
"…and then he told me he lost it! Can you believe that? That stupid jellyfish-for-brains wasted our thirty-thousand gold effort!"
Zelgadiss silently sipped his wine. He was getting his ear chatted off by Lina in-between her stuffed mouths, and he lost interest halfway through the story. All she talked about was Gourry--and as much as he liked the guy, he didn't care to hear about the swordsman's numerous stumbles and shortcomings.
Lina could tell that her companion wasn't listening, and she wasn't very happy about it. Rather than burst out in anger, though, she decided to catch him off guard by playing it cool. "Let me taste some of that," she interjected, swiping his glass from him. Then she promptly took a swig of the red liquid, pouring it right down her throat, and pursed her lips a bit at the taste as she sighed contentedly.
The waiter showed up promptly, offering a refill. "Would you care for more?" he asked, milking more gold out of his customers.
"Fill 'er up," Lina replied boorishly as she threw her feet up on the table. Zelgadiss raised an eyebrow at her strangely as she swirled the liquid around her glass and promptly downed that one as well.
"Since when did you have such poor drinking habits?" he inquired.
"Um. Since…" she pressed her finger to her forehead to think, but the alcohol was starting to make her vision swim. "I can't rem'mber. Today?"
He frowned at her slur. "Lina…"
"Wait! Wait!" said Lina as she waved her arms around, mimicking the motion of someone trying to catch attention. Then she smacked her lips a bit, burped, and continued, "I missed you."
His ear twitched. "What?"
"Did'joo mish me?"
"I…" he paused as he blinked at her. What was she trying to say? "But wasn't Gourry with you?" he inquired, trying to change the topic.
"Stupid jellfish Gourry," she mumbled. "I hate idiots." She slammed her hand on the table as she said "hate," then shook her hand, waving away the pain. Then she threw her elbow on the table, leaned forward, and pointed a finger at Zelgadiss. "But you… I like you."
"W-" he began, but immediately stuttered and lost his ability to speak. Zel could feel the blush burning on his cheeks and pulled his mask over his cheeks to hide it. He fought to find words to say--Lina must have been speaking nonsense, but her words still affected him.
"But…even though I've been a girl, you always look at Amelia, Amelia, Amelia." She slapped her knee each time she repeated the girl's name. "And then Gourry… Gourry never looks at me."
The mask slipped from his face then, and he pulled his hood back down slowly as he gazed at Lina. She never showed it, but suddenly there was this sad, discontent look on her face--a face that seemed alien on her.
"Lina?"
She didn't respond, but her head started to teeter, and Zelgadiss realized that she had somehow nodded off in the middle of their conversation. She must have been more tired than she looked, he thought.
The waiter came up then. "Can I interest you in dessert, per--Oh."
Zelgadiss pressed his index finger up against his lips to silence the boy. "I think we'll have to pass on that," he replied as he lifted Lina from her chair. "She's had a little too much to eat. Just put the bill on my tab."
The boy stared silently as Zelgadiss carried Lina away, mesmerized by the relationship they shared. There was something there, but it wasn't love. It was something beyond being a man and a woman; it was something that transcended that. And above all--it was just beginning to blossom.
Author's Note: Hm. This chapter was sort of written on a whim--a whim that keeps coming back to me every now and then. I had been meaning to write a ZL story for a while now, but all my previous attempts have been bleh. I don't know when or if it will be updated--my ZL inspirations only attack once every blue moon in comparison to my XL inspirations. Maybe if it's favorable in the reader's eyes, I might be more compelled to continue :P.
That's my discreet way of saying: If you liked it, please review.