Welcome: Hello, and welcome to my first fan fiction. You may criticize my writing but please try not to flame me and also try to be patient with my horrible spelling and grammar. I spell-checked it... But the computer doesn't catch everything (and neither can I). I'm also anti-swear words. So try to put up with my 'Darn's and 'Crud's...
Also, I'm not the best at keeping everyone in character! Sorry!
Author's Note: As you read in the summary, this fic takes place right after TRY. It is mainly centered on AZ, but it has a nice supply of LG and XF as well. The story flips around to practically everyone's POV- but the story its self is mainly about Zelgadiss. It's rated T just to be safe.
Disclaimer: Nope. I don't own Slayers...
Chapter 1: Zelgadiss's Treat
"Hey, Zelgadiss-san?" Ameria Wil Tesla Seyruun asked, blowing into a steaming spoonful of her cup filled to the brim with hot chocolate. She had shoulder-length, dark purple hair and large, pure blue eyes. She wore her usual cream-colored outfit with pink trim. The princess was as perky as usual, and, of course, was the one to break the long silence that had awkwardly been stretching itself out.
"What is it?" Zelgadiss Greywords responded, sipping at his mug of coffee. From head to toe he wore white clothing, including a hood that covered his violet hair that twisted everywhere like wire. His skin was made from dark blue stone and his eyes seemed to be hiding a great sadness. The chimera was not even close to as perky as Ameria, and instead was usually very gloomy.
"Thanks for treating me," She squealed, the scalding hot chocolate burning her tongue as it entered her mouth. Zelgadiss hid the slight blush wandering across his face with his extra large mug of coffee. It was true. For the first time EVER he had treated Ameria to something. He knew it was just some hot chocolate at a not-very-fancy restaurant- but still- it was treating her just the same!
The princess had overreacted when Zelgadiss had told her that he was treating her to a drink. She had begun squealing and sprinting around his guest room in Seyruun castle, giving him awkward hugs. Zelgadiss had thought that her little "Thank You" fits were over- but here she was again, embarrassing him! Despite all that was churning through his mind, Zelgadiss just gave her a short, polite answer.
"You're welcome," He replied briskly, still covering his face with his coffee mug. The princess gave him a broad smile as she began cooling her second spoonful of hot chocolate.
"But still, Zelgadiss-san! I can't believe YOU are treating ME to a meal! Thanks again," Ameria chirped for the 500th time that night, her voice rising so high that people at the neighboring tables had begun to stare at the couple. Zelgadiss lowered his eyes, embarrassed at all the eyes focused on him. Why did Ameria have to be related to Prince Phil, the loudest, most irritating prince to ever roam the earth!
"That's fine," Zelgadiss mumbled, relieved that most of the people around had stopped staring, "I have a lot of extra money since I don't have to pay for Lina's meals anymore."
Ameria gave him another wide smile, giggling. Silence once again filled the restaurant, making Zelgadiss sigh with relief. He disliked conversations that stretched out for a lengthy amount of time.
As Zelgadiss sipped his coffee, his mind wandered back in time until about a month ago- while he was still in the outer world with the others. After a chilling fight with Darkstar, there had been a discussion about who would go where. Before they could even begin, Xelloss slipped away from the group unnoticed and his whereabouts were still unknown to Zelgadiss and Ameria.
Firia had decided to take Gravos, Jillas, and a tiny egg containing a baby ancient dragon named Valgaav to pursue her dream of running a jar shop. Zelgadiss didn't know if she had succeeded or not, but he had promised himself that he would visit her one day.
After Firia had left, Ameria had insisted that the three remaining people: Lina, Gourry and himself- accompany her to Seyruun. Lina and Gourry readily agreed, but it had taken Zelgadiss much more time to decide for himself. Finally, he gave in when Ameria informed him that there were many libraries he could check in Seyruun for his cure.
Once in Seyruun, Lina and Gourry had left together after just about a week. This didn't surprise Zelgadiss- the two of them always needed to be on the road. Ameria and he had then checked the libraries for anything that might help him convert to human form instead of his cold, stone chimera body. This didn't surprise Zelgadiss either! He had known from the beginning that Seyruun's libraries wouldn't hold anything helpful.
So why had he agreed to come to Seyruun in the first place? Zelgadiss wondered about this himself. He hadn't found an answer yet, but for some reason- he had stayed behind with Ameria.
"Zelgadiss-san?" Ameria's voice snapped him back into reality.
"Hmm?" He responded quickly, focusing his eyes on her form.
"You're spilling coffee down your shirt..." She squeaked timidly, her face red with blush, pointing a hesitant finger at him. Zelgadiss felt a burning sensation down his chest and glanced downwards. A thin trail of coffee dripped down his chin and the front of his white shirt. Zelgadiss swiftly straightened his tilting mug of coffee before it could spill even more coffee on his shirt.
Ameria squeaked and clapped her hand over her ears as Zelgadiss hissed a string of furious swear words. He slammed the mug down on the table and waiting shakily for all the neighboring people to stop staring at him. Finally, Zelgadiss took a deep, calming breath before returning his attention to Ameria.
"Sorry about that..." he groaned in embarrassment, hoping that he hadn't scared Ameria with his outburst.
"Oh no! That's fine," The princess assured him, dipping her napkin into her glass of water. When she was finished soaking the napkin, she grinned brightly and offered it to Zelgadiss.
"Er...thanks," Zelgadiss muttered awkwardly, attempting to wash out the coffee stain.
"Don't worry about it! You can get your shirt washed tonight," Ameria suggested brightly, returning to her glass of hot chocolate.
"Uh...Yes..." Zelgadiss abandoned the attempt to wash his shirt and returned his gaze to Ameria, flustered by the situation.
"What were you thinking so deeply about?" Ameria questioned, sorrowfully observing her now empty glass.
"Oh, just the battle in the outer world," Zelgadiss explained. He called the waiter over and ordered a second coffee and hot chocolate.
"Z-Zelgadiss-san!" Ameria protested meekly, "You're already treating me! I couldn't expect you to buy me a second drink..."
"That's alright," the chimera set his mug aside coolly, "This is much more interesting then hanging around by myself at the castle."
"Thank you," Ameria replied, but she said it differently this time. It wasn't embarrassing or loud this time. Her eyes met Zelgadiss's and he felt that she was thanking him for his company rather then the drink he had just bought her.
The atmosphere was peaceful. Zelgadiss realized that most of the customers had left the restaurant and the sky that could be seen from the windows was darkening. He glanced over at Ameria and saw that she was staring out the window also, a contented expression on her face.
Sensing that his eyes were on her, Ameria returned her gaze back on Zelgadiss. She seemed to be pondering how to break the silence and start a lively conversation. Zelgadiss also searched his mind for a conversation-starter- but he wasn't very good at these types of things.
"What should we do tomorrow?" Ameria beat him to the punch.
"Well, I suppose we should check another library..." Zelgadiss suggested, reaching for his second mug of coffee that had just been set before him. He wondered why Ameria was asking such a question.
"I don't mean the libraries!" Ameria explained, " What should we do, for entertainment? It should be MY treat next time!" She leaned over to take her first sip of hot chocolate, but the massive whipped cream topping stopped her. Ameria sat up straight, reaching for her spoon. She had a glob of whipped cream on the side of her nose. Zelgadiss considered telling her, but decided against it. It made her look cute. No! What was he saying! He forced his mind back on the conversation, rather then Ameria's smiling face.
"You don't owe me for anything! I'm treating you because I want to," Zelgadiss insisted, handing Ameria his own unused spoon since she hadn't been able to successfully locate her own. Ameria pouted as she stirred her whipped cream into the hot chocolate, unable to think of what to say.
"Do you think that Gourry-san and Lina-san are okay?" She asked, changing the subject.
"Yes," Zelgadiss assured her, "They're probably eating right at this minute." He realized that he was acting a lot less gloomy then usual, and that Ameria still had a whipped cream covered nose at the same time.
"Xelloss-san and Firia-san?" Ameria questioned, beginning the 'blowing on hot chocolate' process again.
"They're just fine, Ameria," He lied. The fact was, Zelgadiss wasn't sure that Firia could make enough money for three on her own, or if Xelloss had gotten into a scuffle with a powerful opponent. But if he told her that, Ameria would start panicking!
"What about you? Are you fine?" Ameria blurted out, staring into her glass of hot chocolate to hide her concern. This question caught Zelgadiss off guard. He HADN'T been fine lately. Aside from tonight, Zelgadiss had been feeling much more depressed then usual, though he didn't know why.
He had tried to hide his feelings with a forced smile, but the princess had obviously seen through it. Zelgadiss opened his mouth in an attempt to speak, but couldn't. It had been easy to lie about Xelloss and Firia, but lying about himself was harder. Zelgadiss was afraid that it might hurt Ameria if he told her that he was 'fine'.
Instead, Zelgadiss reached across the table and loosely clasped one of her hands. How smooth and tiny it was, compared to his own rocky hand. He stared intently into Ameria's eyes, showing her that he was serious.
"Ameria," Zelgadiss whispered, "I will be fine." It wasn't a lie. Ameria didn't respond but stared back at him, relieved by his answer.
Then, at the same time, both of them realized what they were doing.
"Sorry!" Zelgadiss apologized, jerked his hand away from Ameria's.
"N-no harm done!" Ameria's face was flushed and she stared back down at the table. The companions sat in silence, awkwardly trying to figure out what to say fro a few heated moments. Then:
"Is there anything else I can do for you?" The waiter, oblivious of the situation Zelgadiss and Ameria were in, stood beside their table, collecting their dirty cups. He was a young teenager who had obviously just started working.
Zelgadiss, numb with embarrassment, didn't respond for a few seconds while the message soaked in.
"O-oh! No, actually, we're ready for the bill!" Zelgadiss blurted out, still avoiding Ameria's eyes.
"Yes. Could we have the bill, please?" agreed Ameria, glancing up at the waiter.
"Alright, then," the waiter turned to go, but then turned back towards the table, "Uh... By the way, miss, you have some whipped cream on your nose..." he pointed to his own nose to show her where the cream was, and then strode away to get the bill.
Ameria felt her nose, squeaking in embarrassment as her finger connected with a glob of whipped cream. She wiped her nose off with her napkin, and then focused on Zelgadiss again.
"Zelgadiss-san? Is there anything left on my nose?" She whispered, glancing hurriedly around the deserted restaurant to see if anyone else had seen her.
"No, it's all gone," Zelgadiss assured her, "Sorry I didn't tell you earlier." The chimera was glad that the awkward stretch of time was over.
"That's fine; though it was a bit unjust of you," Ameria leaned back in her chair, slightly embarrassed by the whole whipped cream situation but otherwise fine. She grinned at Zelgadiss and he returned it with an awkward smile. The chimera observed that lately he had unable to resist smiling whenever Ameria did. It made him feel foolish.
But whatever the case, the simple night at a cheap restaurant had made Zelgadiss's depression leave him. And he sincerely hoped that it wouldn't come back for quite awhile.
End Notes: Sorry if this chapter was a bit on the dull side. I'll try to update as soon as possible. Please review! I need tips on how to make my writing better.