All I Left Behind
By Crimson Haze
The cerulean blue sky hung high above the sleeping girls head as the cotton white clouds slowly
drifted on by. The tall grass gently swayed as a gust of wind caressed the long stalks as it made its way over
the sloping hills that seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see. A shadow fell over the peacefully sleeping
redhead, the figures cloak flapping as it was picked up by the wind.
Slowly, the girls eyelids fluttered open, the fuzzy outline of a hooded man came into view as she allowed her
eyes to adjust to the sunlight. She lazily yawned as she sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and pulling
out a few strands of grass that had managed to entangle themselves within her hair. "Zel...? What is it?"
"You've had enough time for cat-napping already, Lina. We should be heading back out onto the road.
Besides, we're only a few hours away from the nearest city.", he muttered softly with a slight hint of irritation.
She sighed as she grudgingly stood up, saddened that her nap had come to such an abrupt stop. As she
watched Zel walk back to the rest of the group, she looked back over the horizon. She couldn't quite place it, but
something had been nagging at her for a while now. Traveling was actually boring her now, much to her own shock.
She was getting fed up with just blowing up a group of bandits here or following some vague lead about a spectacular
treasure that was just ripe for the picking. She's saved the world how many times now? When would it be her turn
to just...take a break? A frown appeared upon the young girls face as she turned back towards her companions, moving
towards them in slow strides.
As she approached them, she was able to catch onto the discussion of what foods are awaiting them in the
next town and what shops they might be able to find. 'Same damned conversations...same everything. It's been four
years since Dark Star and what has changed? Somehow they had all managed to meet up once again for more adventures.
But, was that really the best thing for them all? There are only a few things that I can actually say have changed... Ameria
has grown taller and a bit more busty...which I cannot help but hate her for that trait. Gourry seems to be turning into the
handsome young man that I knew he would turn out to be. Although he still needs help in the brain development department.
Zel, well, he's opened up to us a bit more. His never-ending obsession with his cure has subsided for the moment as well.
But..then that leaves me. I haven't changed at all. I am still the short kid that they all had met years before...I have felt so void
of meaning. There has to be more to me than what's here now. I've done so many things, but changed so little. It actually
hurts to admit that. I guess I've been hurting for quite a while now.'
Time seemed to slow down as she continued towards them, agonizing pain shooting up her legs with each faltered step.
She didn't know how she was going to be able to do this, but it had to happen sooner or later. Taking in a deep breathe of air, she
cleared her throat to make sure that her upcoming speech would be given its fullest possible attention. As they each turned their
heads to look upon the distressed sorceress, she felt the wave of regret wash over her. All she could do to avoid the onslaught
of tears that she was sure would come, was to turn her head to the side. Making sure to keep her gaze upon the ground beneath
her. "Minna, I have come to the conclusion that it is time for me to head out alone in search of a new destiny. All of you have
become such dear friends to me, but I know that it is now the time to move on. Ameria, I have been holding you back from your
future position of being the Queen of Seirrun. Zel, you mean more to me than I can ever possibly express in the form of words. All
I want you to know is that it has been an honor traveling with you and trying to cheer your stony ass up. Gourry, you should go
seek out Syphiel. She loves you dearly and I believe that you can return those feeling in kind. Maybe someday we will all meet up
once again for an adventure of some sort later on in life. We'll just have to see on that one, ne?"
They all stared at Lina in a state of shock. After a few moments of painful silence, Zelgadis was the first of the three to
speak up. "Lina...? What brought this decision about? Is something so wrong that you would suddenly decide to abandon us?"
She could only remain still, locked in an immovable stare upon the cold, unfeeling ground. "I've said all that was on my
mind about this. You three need to move on with your lives and so do I. Ja ne minna." So, with that being said, she turned away
from them, quickly casting Levitation to flee from further questioning.
Gourry stood staring at the form of Lina Inverse fading from view. He dropped his head down in an exasperated manner,
a heavy sigh slipping past his lips. "Lina...is right. It's about time this happened. I'll miss traveling, but I guess there's a lot more
in this world that I can do.", he softly murmured. "See ya round' Zelgadis, Ameria. I have someone I have to go visit." With a gentle
wave, the blonde swordsmen walked right past them, happily whistling a jolly tune.
"Mister Zelgadis...I just don't understand! Why would Miss Lina suddenly want to leave like that? It's not like her at all!",
the young princess cried out in protest.
"Hadn't you noticed, Ameria? This past year her spark for life had somewhat dimmed. Something was eating at her...she
just didn't want to discuss it with the rest of us. And...that is what makes me so damned angry." He could only stand there attempting
to keep his anger under control. "To hell with this. I have a cure to find and you have a country to rule." His gaze drifted over the
young girls face for a moment, a saddened look appeared upon his hardened features. Tearing himself from the stare he had placed
himself in, he abruptly moved away from Ameria in quick, long strides. As he walked away, he raised his hand up to once again to
place his mask back in its proper place. Within a flash, the barrier of hatred that had so long ago been smashed swiftly reappeared.
He walked in silence, shutting out the world and constant thoughts of a certain redheaded sorceress.
The petite princess stared at the chimera's disappearing form, tears freely falling from her quivering eyes. "Mr. Zelgadis..."
She was left alone standing in almost total shock. This was the point in her life where she had to release her silly fantasy of becoming
a heroine of Justice. Her people needed her and so did her father. She slowly turned in the direction that lead to her beloved city of
Seirrun. As she allowed a sad sigh slip past her lips, within in her mind she sealed her decision with one quaking step forward. Her
illusions now shattered before her, she released her childhood dream and looked towards a new future full of hope.
~~*~~*~~*~~
2 years later...
As the sun slowly rose from it's slumber there came an eerie silence that fell over the land. The birds had ceased their mindless
chirping and all seemed much too calm.
Ameria stared worriedly at her kingdom from her bedroom window. Something just didn't seem quite right with the young girl.
Normally she would appear cheerful and perfectly content, yet it looked as if her happy demeanor had been washed away over night.
Stepping out from her bedroom chamber, she made her way down to the dining hall as usual. A rather fake smile plastered upon her
face. A few servants happily ushered their queen to her seat towards the end of the massive dining table. Placing a cup of coffee and
a few slices of toast before her simultaneously. The last item to be given to her was the daily newspaper.
As she took a sip of her steaming coffee, she glanced over the headline upon the front page of the paper. And, what she saw
made her blood instantly run cold. She let out a choked sob as she jerked up from her seat and dashed down the palace corridor.
"Daddy! Daddy! Tell me it's not true!", she screamed out at the top of her lungs as she ran. Bursting into her father's study,
she jumped into his arms weeping sorrowfully. He could only stare down at his daughter with a confused look upon his face as she
softly stroked her hair to try and comfort her. He gently tilted up her head to look into her eyes. He was immediately taken back by the
almost hollow look to his daughter's eyes. "Ameria, dearest daughter, what in the world is wrong?"
Fresh tears began to stream down her rosy cheeks as her body began to tremble in his embrace, swallowing harshly as she
struggled to speak. "It can't be true, Daddy! Miss Lina can't be dead! I won't believe such a thing! I cannot possibly believe it!"
~~~~~~~
His sleek form dashed across the bandits camp site in the blink of an eye. The men who were sitting about the camp fire
dismissed the gust of wind as almost nothing. One of the men jumped to his feet as he raised his mug of ale high into the night sky.
"Thank L-sama that it finally happened!"
"Yeah! Now that the bitch is dead we can stop worrying about being blasted by those damned fireballs! Those fucking
things hurt!", shouted another haggard man from the opposite side of the fire.
From his hiding place within the mass of tangled tree limbs, his breath suddenly quickened and his heart race gradually
sped up. 'Who...?! Who are they talking about? It can't be...it can't be Lina. Not her..'
"Here's a toast to the late Lina Inverse! Finally, she's outta out hair and outta our lives!" The men quickly shouted their
cheers of agreement as they joined in raising their cups. The loud clash of the cups slamming into one another sealed the toast...
and revealed the answer to the questions running through the hidden figures mind.
Zelgadis felt his heart drop into the pit of his stomach, his eyes suddenly narrowing in anger at the men. "It's a LIE!!",
he roared angrily as he leapt from the tree. His eyes shimmering with bitter hatred.
The men jumped up in surprise, the scream that had pierced their happy celebration caused the men to shudder in fear.
Their eyes desperately scanned the camp site to find the source of the disturbance. He had already drawn his weapon, his chest
heaving with anger. The flames of the fire casting a glow upon his towering form. "You bastards! You are lying! How could she
possibly be dead?!"
The man nearest to him continued to blink in surprise until it the man's identity finally dawned on him. "You're the chimera
fellow she used to travel with, aren't you?" His only response was an icy glare. He gulped loudly, unconsciously taking a step
backwards from Zelgadis. "Well..I hate to tell you this..b-but we weren't lying. You can even ask Fred over there...he knows what
happened.", the mad shrank back in fear as Zelgadis clutched the hilt of his sword even tighter.
"Where in the hell is this -Fred-?", he barely hissed out, every world laced with anger.
"I'm right here...", a voice drawled out from the back of the crowd of bandits. "I saw the remains of her body myself... I even
got a little souvenir." He reached down into a pouch that hung loosely from his belt and tossed the item towards the agitated chimera.
With one graceful movement, Zelgadis caught the object easily. His eyes widened in shock as he took in the sight of Lina's
headband. The headband wreaked of blood and Lina's scent. He began to shake his head back and forth, mumbling incoherently to
himself as he clutched the headband tighter. "How...?! How did she die?!"
"Apparently, she went up to her room early one evening...and didn't come out the next morning. When the maid came into
the room she was greeted with the sight of the infamous Lina Inverse's body strewn about the room.", Fred whipered softly as he
stared into the flames, refusing to meet Zelgadis' death glare.
"How can you be sure that it was her that you saw?", Zelgadis questioned hastily. His tone of voice had a hint of
desperation with it.
"I was able to see her head. The one thing I remember most about it was that she had two little moles in the middle of her
forehead. The headband had always hidden them from view, I suppose. It was the only recognizable part of her body left. She had
been ripped to shreds. From the looks of it...it wasn't anything human that killed her. That's for damned sure."
His form had gone completely still, his eyes never wavering from the object in his hand. Tears threatened to form and spill
forth from his beautiful azure eyes. "Where did this take place...?", he muttered softly.
"Not far from here. In the town of Lybrand about thirty miles North from here. If you walk fast enough you might even make
it there within a day and a half.", he spoke quietly as he lifted up his gaze from the fire. Only to behold...nothing. A gust of wind
disturbed the fire that lay before them and only silence remained throughout the rest of the evening.
~~~~~~
Gourry Gabriev smiled happily as he watched his daughter as she attempted to shove her stuffed rabbit into her mouth. He
could actually admit that he was truly happy with his life. Living his days in peace upon the farm he had put together for his wife and
child.
He grinned at Syphiel as she stood over the oven stirring the contents of the large pot with a wooden spoon. The frilly apron
that adorned her body amused him even more. He stood up from his seat at their dining table and stepped up behind his wife,
wrapping his arms about her tiny waist. Placing a soft kiss upon her cheek as he gave her a quick squeeze. "Smells great, honey!"
"And I hope it tastes as good as it smells. I've never tried this recipe before.", she softly replied.
"Anything you fix is perfectly fine with me and my stomach.", he said as he lightly chuckled. He was about to give her
another kiss when an urgent knock came from their door. He reluctantly released her from his embrace and made his way to the door.
Upon opening the door, his eyes fell upon a short boy with bright green eyes and auburn hair. Finally, his memory clicked into action.
'Andy...our neighbor. Why would he be dropping by?' He was obviously out of breath as he gently leaned against the door frame
for support.
"Andy! What's wrong? Why do you look so out of breath?", Gourry questioned worriedly.
"I..ugh...just came back from town. I have some information that you might want to know. It's about Lina Inverse."
A familiar twinkle of excitement sparked within his eyes once Lina's name had been mentioned. "Oi, what about Lina? Is it
news about her causing even more trouble...or even letting loose a Dragon Slave on some town?"
"Iie, Gourry. Nothing like that. I'm sorry, but word is that she's been killed.", he slowly bowed his head lower with each
word he had spoken.
"Oh, that's not possible! Lina would never get killed! I know her well enough to know that!", he said, still smiling at the
young boy.
"But, Gourry, they are burying her today. They say there was barely anything left to even have an open-casket funeral. I
heard that Queen Ameria of Seirrun went to the town of Lybrand to view the body herself...or what was left of it. People say she broke
down into sobs and had to be dragged out of the room she was so hysteric."
Something had changed in the blonde swordsman's face. His eyes suddenly went blank and his shoulders slumped forward
lowly. "I...I don't believe you...", and with that he stepped back into his home, quietly shutting the door behind him. Andy could only
shake his head in sadness as he stared at the door.
'I am so sorry Gourry. I just had to tell you...' He turned and began to head home, and as he did so, he could hear a man's
piteous sobbing as he slowly walked away.
~~~~~~
His cloak lightly rustled behind him as he made his way to his Master's chamber. His amythest eyes scanning over the
corridor as he walked, arms folded behind his head in an extremely casual manner. Things had been rather boring for awhile. The
errands that his Juu-ou-sama had sent him on had brought him no excitement what-so-ever. To put it frankly, he was bored.
With that trademark smile plastered upon his face, he slipped into his Master's chamber without making the slightest noise.
"What is it I can do for you, Juu-ou-sama?", he happily chirped as he shut the door behind him. As he turned, he was immediately
taken back by the sight before him. He blinked as he stared at his master hugging a woman with purple hair and who was dressed up
in a waitresses uniform. "Eh...am I interupting something, Juu-ou-sama?", he lightly asked.
"No, you are not Xellos. I need you to investigate the death of Lina Inverse for me.", the blonde quickly snapped out.
"Lina-chan's...death?", he whispered softly. The pang of emotion that hit him ask he spoke this shocked the mazoku. Lina
Inverse was a touchy subject with Xellos. Although, he would never really admit it openly. With Lina, he had been re-introduced with
feelings he had long since pushed from his conscience. Friendship, was one of the things she had shown him. She didn't try to water
down the true image of him at all. She accepted what he was and still allowed him into their group. Another emotion that came along
while he was with her was...jealousy. He didn't like how the dumb swordsmen recieved her smiles. The little beatings he secretly wished
he were recieving. And, he learned of one emotion he always felt while he was near her... It was almost like a warm sensation that
flowed over his entire body. He admired her, nearly adored her for her wonderous power...but there was something more than
admiration that made him feel...different around her. And these emotions worried him, too.
Attempting to shake of this strange feelings, he straightened up his posture and lightly bowed to his master. "Hai,
Juu-ou-sama. I shall take care of it."
"You better Xellos. I need answers and I need them quick."
The look in her eyes made his entire body shutter. It was not a pleasant experience to disappoint Juu-ou-sama. Taking one
last look at the woman in Zelas' embrace, he quickly teleported from the room, leaving the two of them alone.
"Do not worry, Luna. Xellos will find her alive. My dear Trickster Priest has never failed me when it came to dealing with your
sister. Besides, I have a feeling that Xellos is going to take this matter very personally."
~~~~~~
Hehe! There is the first bit of my big ol' X/L story! ^.~
Hope ya enjoyed it! Please R&R!! Thank ya much!
-Crimson Haze