SLAYERS:
Queen of Souls
By
Damien



The statuesque blonde sat part way out the inn's window, seemingly looking at nothing, thinking of nothing. Just enjoying the cool night breeze after a long hot day. Moonlight played on golden hair, which cascaded down a sculpted back, covered only by a loose fitting shirt. Blues eyes sparkled like the stars in the night sky, reflecting the light from the lanterns that lined the street.

"A goddess," Shaymann breathed. This was the second night in a row he had stood outside the small inn. He had caught his first glimpse of her merely by chance while making deliveries for the local grocer the day before. She was doing much the same thing she was doing now, sitting in the window and looking surreal. He spent the money he had earned that day on a bouquet of wild flowers, which he now held in nervous hands.

It was now or never.

There was no way of knowing when she would leave town and thereby leave him forever; no one stayed at an inn for very long. He pushed his way through a small group of young men who had also stopped to gaze at the vision of alabaster and gold. The crowd took a collective gasp as the figure ran a hand through long glistening locks and turned to face them. Shayman drew up his courage.

"Uh... for you," was all he could say before tossing the flowers up towards the second floor window. His heart began to fall as it looked as though the flowers would miss the window. His sanity began to fail when the object of his desires leaned out the window and snatched the flowers from the air with the reflexes of a jungle cat.

"Whoops! Got 'em!" Gourry said hanging from the window ledge by a hand. "Gee, thanks! I love wild flowers."

Shaymann could only nod numbly, as his dreams of youth lay gripped in the all to masculine hands of Gourry Gabriev, wandering mercenary. Dejectedly, the forty-year-old Shaymann began to make his way home. His wife would have dinner ready soon and the kids were probably home from school by now.

Gourry retracted himself from outside his window and waved at the dispersing crowd, although it should be noted that quite a few stayed enchanted beneath his window. Sniffing the flowers, Gourry smiled at how amicable the people here were. Too bad they would be leaving tomorrow.

"Friendly town," he said to no one in particular as he turned towards his bed. He was quite surprised when someone answered.

"Isn't it, though."

The room was dark, the only light coming from the full moon, which shone through the window. Gourry could not see the woman who spoke, but he knew it was a woman. He could also tell by her voice that she was in the direction of his bed. Unfortunately, his sword was also by the bed. Gourry wasn't the smartest man alive, but his journeys *had* taught him one thing: not to underestimate someone because of their sex. Seeing as how this woman had sneaked into his room without his knowledge, and quite aware of the type of people, he and his group usually ran befoul of, he decided not to take any chances. Slowly he reached towards the desk next to him, and in quick motion, picked a chair up over his head and rushed the bed.

"WHO ARE... r... r... 'ROWR'" Gourry stuttered out, the chair falling from his hands and hitting him on the head. Didn't feel a thing though.

Just as he had reached the bed, a slender hand reached over to a nearby candle and lit the wick. Lying profile in the bed, bathed in the soft, warm, flickering light was a young woman with darkly tanned skin, perhaps seventeen-years-old. She was wearing one of his spare shirts, which reached just far enough down her slender frame as not to be revealing, but far more torturing. Her head was canted on the soft down pillow, her white hair splayed about and her eyes boring into him. An arm was sprawled across the bed, while the other rested along her shapely torso. Her hand traced small circles on her all to exposed thigh as her chest rose and sank gently with each breath.

Gourry gulped; being a man in his early twenties forces beyond his control were beginning to rise within him.

The woman's smile was a knowing one as she leaned over and blew out the candle.

It was a DAMN FRIENDLY town.



"I wonder where he is?" Syphiel asked looking towards the stairway leading to the rooms. Everyone, save Gourry, had come down to eat some time ago. Lina was already on her third course of her four-course breakfast.

"Who cares? Early bird gets the worm," Lina declared, devouring her morning venison.

"Maybe he's just really really tired. I heard some strange noises coming from his room pretty late last night. Best to let him get his rest, the path towards universal righteousness is long and perilous," Amelia offered. "Right, Zelgadis-san?"

"Eating."

Syphiel stood. "I'm... I'm going to go and check on him," She said, worry evident on her face.

Before she could get too far, the doors to the room burst open and a teenage girl with pale white skin and golden hair rushed in. Her green eyes searched the room frantically and she wrung her hands in impatience. Finally, spotting a waiter, she ran to him and grabbed him by the collar.

"I'm looking for a man," she said shaking him, perhaps to hard as he crumbled to the floor. She sighed disgusted and went from table to table, asking everyone she came across.

"Lina-san, look! That girl... she's an elf," Amelia said, jumping on the table and pointing towards the woman.

"AMELIA!" Lina shouted as her plate flew from the table, kicked by Amelia's foot. With an arm, she swiped Amelia's legs from beneath her and dragged Amelia towards her by the hair. Syphiel tried to separate the two, while Zelgadis continued to eat, having rescued his plate from the table before Amelia's leap.

All the activity drew the attention of the young elf, who rushed over to their table.

"Excuse me, EXCUSE ME!" she shouted gaining their attention, though Lina refused to release the Halcyon Death Lock (tm) she had applied to Amelia. "I'm looking for a man."

"Do we look like a dating service?" Lina spared a moment to address the elf.

"You don't understand! A great prophecy is at stake here. I must find him," she pleaded.

Zelgadis put his plate down and decided to ask the obvious question. "And who is it you're looking for?"

"My fiancé. Together we will reunite the scattered clans, bring prosperity back to elfin society and help our people reenter the history of man."

Amelia's eyes were glistening at hearing such an inspiring and noble cause. She broke loose of Lina's grip with the strength of righteousness, which were hers to call upon at moments like this. "Burning with a heart fueled by the fires of justice, you no doubt rushed here seeking to declare to the world your holy crusade against evil and disharmony."

"Amelia, get off of my shoulders before I throw you off," Zegaldis asked calmly.

"No! That's not why I'm here. I'm here to stop my sister. She has never respected the great prophecy and refuses to accept her place in it," the young elf said with growing frustration.

"Who is your fiancé?" asked Syphiel.

The elf turned to answer her, glad to be finally getting somewhere when she noticed a figure descending the stairs.

"I choose my own destiny, Marigold. I am no slave to fate and don't need some dusty old prophecy to tell me what to wear in the morning. Unlike some elves," Marigold's sister said as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Um, excuse me?" Lina interjected. "How can she be your sister? She has white hair, dark skin and looks to be a dark elf. You have snow white skin, the most golden hair I have ever seen and look like...."

"I know, I know what it looks like," Marigold interrupted. "But she is no more a dark elf than I am. Her skin is as pale as mine is. We are actually identical twins to be totally truthful."

"But..." Amelia said pointing to the dark elf.

"It's make up and hair dye. A lot of the younger elves are doing it these days. It's this big dark, gothic fad." Marigold turned to face her sister. "I know what you're up to, Periwinkle. He's mine! It is written."

"We'll see about that! And don't call me Periwinkle! My name is Kara now!"

Lina, Zelgadis, Amelia and Syphiel turned to leave the two sisters to their argument. It was no concern of theirs.

'Besides,' Lina thought quietly to herself. 'If its anything like the fights big sis' and me used to have...." She couldn't finish the thought and shivered involuntarily.

"Periwinkle! You can't fight fate!" Marigold said raising her hands above her head. "FLARE ARROW" she declared, drawing a fiery arrow across her chest and releasing it towards her sister. "GOURRY-SAMA IS MINE!"

"WHAT! GOURRY!" came a collective shout. Their confusion turned to abject shock at what they witnessed next.

Periwinkle, a.k.a. Kara, made absolutely no effort to avoid the flare arrow that raced towards her. She smiled as it came within a foot of her person and then veered dramatically up the staircase.

"Wha?" Marigold said bewildered. As far as she knew Periwinkle had no magic skills whatsoever... especially not skill enough to do that. Lina's group was just as perplexed, until they saw a second figure descending the stairs. His sword of light pulsated with the energy of the absorbed flare arrow.

Gourry Gabriev reached the bottom of the stairs and with his free hand embraced Periwinkle from behind, wrapping his long arm around her slim waist.

Periwinkle's smile grew even larger looking at the startled faces before her. This was just the beginning of the surprises she had in store. Gourry was just the first step in achieving her goals. She leaned her head back and Gourry leaned forward, giving her a passionate kiss.

It was all Marigold could stand; she readied her next attack.

It was all Syphiel could stand. Tears starting to form in her eyes, she stepped forward to ask Gourry 'why?'.

Zelgadis just stood by blinking; even he was shocked by what he was seeing.

Amelia was about to race forward to demand Gourry's penitence, but before doing so spared a glance at Lina.

For a while, Lina just stood in place, her head canted to the floor and her hands shaking at her sides.

"PERIWINKLE!" she shouted, forcibly pushing her way in front of the crowd. "I don't care what you do with Gourry! Just give me his sword!"

Periwinkle broke the kiss and frowned at the group. "You mean this sword?"

On cue, Gourry lowered the sword of light and aimed it at his friends and Marigold releasing the energy of the stored flare arrow. The blast threw them all to the floor. Periwinkle smirked evilly down at them.

"By the way, my name is not Periwinkle. It's Kara..."

Gourry, his eyes incredibly focused, his voice forceful, finished for her.

"Queen of Souls."