AN- If you've been following my tumblr, this is the lengthy canonverse Slayers fic I've been talking about writing for something like a year. I've labeled the first chapter as a prologue because there is a time jump of a couple of years after it. In addition to Zelgadis/Amelia, the fic will probably feature some mild Lina/Gourry. This story is animeverse and compliant with all seasons. If you happen to have read Proud, the Zelame oneshot I posted last year, the idea Zelgadis brings up in that story is what inspired me to write this one (the two fics are not connected though). Last but not least, reviews and feedback make an author happy!

Beneath the Surface

Prologue

By Everything is Magic

Zelgadis had to admit, most sorcerer's labs he'd been in had an edge of darkness to them. Even at the most respected guilds, they were dank and poorly lit, and he half wondered if someone out there just thought that was the aesthetic the labs should have and it caught on.

Saillune's didn't look like that at all. It was white, stark white and likely clean enough to eat a meal from the floor. Reliefs of Cepheid decorated the corners of the ceilings, and a large five pointed star was painted in the center of the room. Saillune was a city of white magic, and even here that was clear as day.

He and Amelia had taken a trip to the guild today upon hearing that a respected sorcerer who was known for his knowledge of transformative magic was visiting the city. Zelgadis had heard of Reglek the Silver before, but he was notoriously difficult to track down, and in all of his years of searching Zelgadis had never managed to do so. Imagine his shock when he fell right into his lap. It was almost anticlimactic, Zel thought with a quiet chuckle. But Amelia had been ecstatic for him, and they'd come the first moment they could.

The man that greeted Zelgadis and Amelia upon entering the lab was old to the point that Zelgadis thought if he flicked him just a little too hard, he may crumble away. His short white hair was brittle and thin, and his eyes were so tight with wrinkles that he wondered how well he could even see.

But when they registered Zelgadis's appearance, those eyes managed to widen. "My word," he said, in a surprisingly clear voice. Zelgadis had expected raspy and aged.

Amelia glanced nervously over to Zel and he twitched. "You're a sorcerer that studies transformative magic. Is my appearance that startling to you?"

The old man stepped away from the table he'd been standing by. It was covered in tomes that Zelgadis recognized as being from Saillune's collection, as if the man had just come to the kingdom to indulge in a little light reading. He moved with ease, again surprising Zelgadis, and within moments he was standing just a few feet in front of the pair.

"Shocking? I'd say so," he said, and then he laughed, causing Zelgadis to clench his fist at his side. "You're…." and there was something in his eyes, which looked much larger than they had a minute ago, that bewildered Zelgadis, "outstanding," he finished.

"I hardly think that to be the case," Zelgadis responded, tempered but irritated. "I'm sure you have nothing you can tell me, but I came to ask if-"

"Oh I know what you came to ask," Reglek interrupted him with a tut. "I didn't mean to give the wrong impression, but the magic that must have gone into the creation of your body is…" He shook his head. "Well perhaps I'm incorrect. I can't actually see most of your body right now after all."

Zelgadis felt Amelia's hand on his back, no doubt discreetly trying to placate him. Of course she could tell how tense he was. Anyone talking with this much cadence about his condition made him anxious, let alone Reglek, who appeared to be downright fascinated by him.

"Mister Reglek, can we get started? Mister Zelgadis and I don't want to take up too much of your time after all," Amelia finally spoke. She could sense Zelgadis's irritation, and she didn't want him to say anything that would upset the old wizard.

Reglek gave her a warm smile, his eyes practically vanishing into the folds of his ancient skin as he did so. "Most certainly Miss…"

"Amelia."

"Amelia, but you might want to leave the room. He'll have to remove most of his clothing so I can look at his composition."

Amelia cringed inwardly, uncomfortable with the almost clinical way that the man spoke about him. Zelgadis frowned.

"Actually," Zelgadis said, "I'd rather she stay. Amelia is my fiancée, and there's nothing we should be doing here that I'd need to keep private from her."

Amelia smiled at this, but Reglek's jaw dropped.

"We haven't introduced ourselves properly yet, have we?" Amelia asked. She was feeling a tad spiteful, but to those who didn't know her it only sounded syrupy sweet. She supposed Reglek wasn't doing anything wrong. He was a wizard who studied transformative magic, and Zelgadis's body had been created by that very thing so of course he was fascinated by that. But Amelia still felt as if he was talking about her fiancé like a specimen instead of a person, and so she wanted to assert his value to the old man. She knew that being a prince-to-be didn't actually make Zelgadis a more inherently valuable person than anyone else, but she also knew that for better or worse, it did tend to impress people. "I'm Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune, and this is my fiancé, Sir Zelgadis Greywords."

Her full name gave away her identity as the princess, and Reglek nearly tripped over his own feet in shock, bracing himself against the table to prevent from doing so.

Zelgadis let out a quiet snort and crossed his arms. "Is it that shocking?"

Reglek reached into his pocket, pulling out a pair of spectacles and wiping them clean with the sleeve of his tunic. "Yes," he finally said after several moments of silence. "First and foremost, for a human chimera to be anything but a mess of parts is unusual enough as is." He pulled out a chair and sat down at the table which to Zelgadis and Amelia, signified that he had a lot to say. "The results are usually, while potentially effective for what they were created for, inefficient for everyday living."

Amelia clenched a fist and Zelgadis frowned.

"The fact of the matter is that if it were darker in here, if I could only see your silhouette but could still hear you walk, talk, and move, I'd have no idea you weren't a normal human."

"I don't understand your point."

Reglek waved a hand and continued. "I'll explain further once I've had a chance to look at the rest of your body."

"Now wait—"

"But back to what I was saying. To say I'm surprised would be an understatement." He let out a low chuckle. "If a human chimera is lucky enough to escape their captors, as most of them are created to be servants, there aren't many chances for them to live a normal life out there." He frowned, and Amelia noted that he looked genuinely upset, to his credit.

"Mister Reglek," Amelia spoke up, and her voice was timid, "have you met many other… "

"Truly there aren't that many. To fuse a human with another being is much more difficult than doing it with say, an animal," he said. Zelgadis nodded. He knew this. "But I've met enough, and to meet you, Zelgadis, a young man who has not only made a life for yourself, but are engaged to a princess? Yes it shocked me."

Zelgadis bit his lip and glanced away, finding the wall to be rather intriguing. Was it really that much more difficult for other people in his situation? He suffered from emotional trauma that he was sure was greater than some others, considering who had cursed him, but… he had friends, he could walk around a village and while he was stared at, it was bearable most of the time, and even before he'd gotten engaged to Amelia, he wasn't miserable. He walked, talked, ate, and slept like any other human. He got ill when people around him did, he grew and he aged and—the stone that covered his body was smooth enough that he didn't hurt the girl he loved when he held her in his arms.

Reglek chuckled again, breaking the silence. "In any case let's see if we can do anything. Off with your shirt. Pants too."

Zelgadis snapped his head away from the wall and nodded. "Yeah, sure…" Amelia gave him a curious look but took his shirt and pants from him when he'd discarded them, holding them in her arms. He slid his shoes off and stepped closer to the table Reglek sat at.

Reglek got out of the chair and placed his spectacles over his nose as he walked over to Zelgadis, stopping within mere inches of him. He ran his eyes up and down Zelgadis's body, causing him to twitch involuntarily as he did so, for the old man's inquisitive gaze was awkward to say the least. "Golem and brau demon?" Zelgadis shook his head in the positive. "Thought as much, and so seamless," he said. "It's totally seamless. A normal chimera is like-" he paused, searching for a comparison, "a casserole, a bunch of ingredients just thrown into a pan with no regard for how well they blend. You on the other hand? It's all blended together so perfectly that there's no breaking up the ingredients. No seams."

Zelgadis scowled. "While I'm glad not to be a casserole, I didn't come here to listen to someone praise the sorcery skills of the man that cursed me. I hear that enough on a day to day basis."

"Who did this?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Zelgadis let out a short, cynical laugh. Amelia stood back, watching the situation with concern but feeling as if she really couldn't butt in at this moment.

"Try me," Reglek said, and he took off his spectacles and swapped them out with another pair.

"Rezo the Red Priest," he answered.

He awaited Reglek's response of disbelief.

Instead he just tapped his chin and nodded, continuing with his surveying of Zelgadis's body. "Hmm. That makes sense. He was one of the few powerful enough to pull something like this off."

Zelgadis's eyes widened, and he heard Amelia let out a small gasp as well. "You… believe me?"

"Yes, of course."

"But almost everyone thinks that Rezo was a saint," he argued. "I don't even bother telling anyone but my closest friends who did this because of that. That someone as highly regarded as Rezo could…"

"Zelgadis," Reglek interrupted, and his voice was firmer than before, his expression grim as his lips tightened into a thin line, "when you're as old as I am and travel around as much as I have, few things escape you when it comes to the behavior of fellow sorcerers. I'm not aware of what caused the Red Priest to corrupt himself, but the damage he's left behind has been visible for some time now, if you know where to look."

Zelgadis's throat felt dry, and he shot an odd, muddled look toward Amelia, who just gave him a resolute nod of support.

"Know where to-"

"Wow, that's wonderful. Brilliant even," Reglek interrupted him, and his tone had gone back to one of cheerfulness, which made Zelgadis wonder if he was a bit senile after all.

"What?"

He placed a finger on the edge of his second pair of spectacles. "When studying transformative magic, it's important to look inside the subject as well. I've enchanted these glasses to do that."

"Inside…?"

"Zelgadis." Reglek placed a hand on his shoulder, which caused him to start in surprise. "Beneath your skin, beneath the stone and your ears and the metal hair, everything inside is identical to the way it was before."

"You mean…" And he caught a glance at Amelia, who had clasped her hands together in happiness.

"Beneath the surface, there's absolutely no difference between you and a normal human. It would be impossible to even tell."

Zelgadis took a deep breath and swallowed. He hadn't really thought about that before, but it made sense and it in a manner of speaking, comforted him. To know that if you chipped away at his hard exterior; his flesh, his muscles, his beating heart, would be the same as anyone else's, caused warmth to pool in his stomach.

He felt Amelia's hand on his bare back and looked over to see her wide smile. She understood.

"Thank you, Mister Reglek," Amelia said.

Reglek pulled the enchanted spectacles off and nodded. "Unfortunately though, as you are so well made, it makes restoring you far beyond my capabilities." He frowned. "I regret that I can't assist you, Zelgadis."

Zelgadis's expression turned grim, and he cursed under his breath. Amelia's hand slid into his and she squeezed. "I'm sorry," she said.

He had expected as much the minute the old sorcerer had started going on about how 'seamless' he was. After all if he were so damn well constructed, deconstructing him would be extremely difficult, if not impossible. That word, when he thought it, spoke it under his breath, tasted acrid in his mouth.

But it was a word he was used to by now, and really, had he expected anything else?

He hadn't, and he felt his anger ebb more rapidly than it usually did when a chance for a cure slipped out of his grasp. Amelia was holding his hand, but it wasn't even that causing it to die down quicker this time. She'd been there at many other points when this had occurred, and although her presence did tend to help, it… was still easier this time.

Beneath the surface, you're just like anyone else.

Zel stared down at his free hand, uncovered by his glove at the moment. It was the same as ever; blue, studded with a few gray rocks and… more than a bit abnormal. But beneath the surface, on the underside of his wrists, he could see his veins; feel his pulse and witness the blood running through them just like it had done before. And he'd really never thought about how much he was the same, instead choosing to focus on the differences, but what Reglek had said…

The smallest of smiles crossed his lips.

"It's okay Amelia," he said gently, squeezing her hand back as he did so. He released her hand and took his tunic and slacks from her arms, pulling them on after he'd done so.

"Thank you, Reglek."He held out his hand, which Reglek shook, as was becoming a pattern, much more vigorously than would be expected of a man his age.

"Again, I'm very sorry I couldn't help you more."

Zelgadis's expression turned thoughtful as he released his hand. "There may be something you can still help me with, actually."

Both Reglek and Amelia looked surprised.

"What might that be?"

He glanced around to make sure no one else was listening, even though he knew they were isolated. "I'd like you to come to the palace so we can talk at length. We'll send an invitation to the guild by the end of the day."

"Zelgadis…?" Amelia gave him an inquisitive look.

He lowered his voice. "It's about what you said about Rezo. I want to know what you know, and I…" he coughed, "also have a couple of more private questions."

Reglek sat back down at his book covered table and rested his cheek on his fingers. "I await your invitation then. I hope, at the very least, what information I can provide will be useful."

"I hope the same," Zelgadis replied, and he offered the sorcerer a courteous nod and turned to leave the room. Scrambling behind him, Amelia waved.

"Goodbye Mister Reglek!" Amelia said, chipperness back in full force. "Thank you for what help you could offer."

Reglek waved goodbye in return and Amelia snatched Zelgadis's hand, exiting the room with him and entering the main corridor of the guild.

"Zelgadis," she said when she was sure that the other sorcerers milling about the hallway weren't listening in on their conversation, "I'm still sorry it didn't work out this time. Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

He glanced down to their joined hands and scratched the back of his head. "I'm… fine, actually. What he said in there it…" He sighed, trying to think of a way to word his thoughts that didn't sound unlike himself. "Ever since Rezo cursed me, my thoughts have always been on how different I was, what he changed about me. But Reglek, over and over, kept pointing out…"

"What was the same," Amelia finished with a smile. "I assumed you knew that already, but judging from your reaction in there…"

"I just didn't think about it," he said with a shrug.

Amelia giggled and reached up, placing a warm hand on his cheek. "You've always struggled to look on the bright side, haven't you?"

"Amelia…"

"Even if you do find a cure, nothing will ever change what Mister Rezo did to you," she began, "so what's the harm in making the best of it?"

Zelgadis leaned down and closed the distance between them, planting a brief but tender kiss on her lips. "Would that be the just thing to do?"

Amelia puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms. "Of course it would be!"

He placed a hand on her crossed arms and smiled. "I'm working on it then. "

"I know you are," she said, uncrossing her arms and instead, linking an arm with his. "Now what was this about talking to Mister Reglek? Who, by the way, I'm not sure how much I like."

Zelgadis began walking toward the exit of the sorcery guild, Amelia now on his arm. "He's a good man, Amelia. He just… well, when you've been around that long, I imagine you become a little impersonal about things."

"The way he talked about you was just-"

"It's fine."

Amelia decided to drop the subject of Reglek's virtue as they entered the wide, sunlit streets of Saillune. "What are you going to ask him about Mister Rezo?"

Zelgadis flinched for a moment, still not used to being seen in public on the arm of the kingdom's princess. They'd been together for over a year before they were engaged, but it was only recently, once said engagement was announced that they'd started behaving as a couple on the streets of Saillune. All eyes were on them, and he knew this was going to take a while to grow accustomed to. Amelia greeted a few people who had called out her name, and Zelgadis followed suit with weak, somewhat nervous hellos.

"We're getting married in a month. I really need to get used to this," he whispered to her.

Amelia laughed. "You're doing really well. You're going to be wonderful, I promise."

"If you say so…"

"I do! Now about that thing with Mister Rezo…"

Zelgadis exhaled deeply and glanced skyward. "I might never be able to fix what Rezo did to me…"

"Zelgadis…"

He held up his hand to silence her. "I'm not going to stop trying to, but I'm learning to live with it. I wouldn't have been able to… do this, with you, if I weren't."

She nodded in understanding.

"But depending on what Reglek says, maybe I can change what he did to others. Maybe there's more Taforashias out there. Maybe there's more people like me, who aren't as…" he loathed saying the word, but in a way he couldn't deny it was true, "who aren't as lucky. Maybe I can help them. I don't know. And this is all conjecture. It could be that everything Reglek knows I know already, but it could just as easily be that there's a lot I'm not aware of and…"

"Zelgadis," Amelia cut him off, and when he looked over to her, he felt as if she was about to overflow with emotion, so wide and exuberant were her eyes and so gentle and kind was her smile. "I'm really proud of you, for considering this." And her voice broke. There were tears, and Zelgadis flailed his arms for a moment before clumsily reaching up to wipe them away. "I want to tell you this sounds like something a hero of justice would do, but you'll probably just make up an excuse," she let out a watery laugh.

"It's just doing what's right," Zelgadis offered, and Amelia laughed again.

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hands and smiled, no beamed. "That's not much of an excuse."

Zelgadis just bit his lip and let out a hmph, his cheeks flushing. He hoped that none of the townspeople were watching this display but knew that hope was in vain. At the very least he'd made sure to level his voice so that they wouldn't be able to eavesdrop.

"Just promise me that whatever we find out from Mister Reglek, I'll be part of it too. I want to help you with this." She placed a hand over his chest, right above his heart (he could feel his heartbeat thumping and he was reminded again, that it was the same as hers), and her eyes shone with such affection that Zelgadis felt as if his breath might leave him. "Let me be with you every step of the way."

Placing his hand atop hers, Zelgadis gave her a sincere look. Beneath his hand he could feel the engagement ring on her finger, the ring he'd spent months looking for, because really not only did she deserve the best, but he wanted to give it to her. It felt good and right, and he knew once again, that this, not out on the road searching aimlessly for a cure, was where he needed to be. "You have my word."