It was a peaceful evening in Seyruun; one of those nights where the city wasn't being attacked by mythical, indestructible hell-beasts, and no royals were trying to usurp the throne through treacherous tactics.
This was part of what made that night especially nice for the inhabitants of the royal palace. The moon was a shining sickle in the sky, the crickets were chirping quietly for a change, and the spring air was fragrant from the new blooms down in the palace gardens.
And it seemed that the princess' chambers were especially made for nights like this; the veranda opened out onto the gardens below, with a beautiful view of the moon, and the silk curtains ruffled in the gentle wind sweeping into the spacious room. The curtains were drawn on the pale pink four-poster bed, but apart from the fluffly pillows and even fluffier dolls, the bed was empty.
The young woman who was supposed to be occupying it was instead creeping down the hallway, a ball of magic light held in front of her: just bright enough to keep her from running into walls, but nothing that would attract much attention.
At least that was what she had hoped.
"Amelia!"
The princess froze at the sound of her name. Logically, no one should be up at this hour, but she had managed to run into the one person who had a knack for defying logic.
"Miss Lina! Wh-what're you doing up at this hour?" She squeaked.
Said sorceress looked just as surprised as her.
"I should ask you the same thing! What the heck are you doing wandering the hallways at night? Isn't that dangerous for princesses or something?"
Amelia scowled slightly. She could take care of herself!
"You didn't answer my question."
Lina simply shrugged and pointed to a bundle under her arm, which had what looked like a loaf of bread and other packages poking out of it.
"Getting a midnight snack, that's all."
Amelia resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Despite the fact that it was well past midnight and this wasn't Lina's home to sneak food from in the first place, it was actually the sort of explanation she should have expected.
She simply sighed and said "Just don't spoil you breakfast Miss Lina. Good night!" And with that she continued creeping down the hallway.
Lina watched the girl with an eyebrow raised, and intoned "You never told me what you're doing up."
Amelia stopped, standing petrified. "Uh… nothing."
Lina scoffed, saying "Oh come on Amelia. You're creeping down the hallway like you're hunting someone, and what's more you're blanket is wrapped around you like you're some kind of ghost or villain. It's not exactly what one expects a princess to be doing at 2 o'clock in the morning."
Amelia didn't respond to her observations, so Lina crossed her arms in frustrations and quirked her eyebrows as she tried to figure it out.
'Let's see…', she thought, 'Amelia's got a good appetite, but she's not gonna wake up for a snack… she doesn't seem to be going for a bath - and besides, we're on the wrong floor for that - but we are on the guest room floor. So why is she being so secretive? It's only me and Gourry and - …'
She paused for a moment, as the beginnings of a thought struck her, and if it weren't for the darkness and the fact that Amelia was turned away from her, she might have seen the sorcery genius' face flushing a deep red.
"It's… you're not… you weren't going to…."
The shock and hint of embarrassment in the girl's voice made Amelia turn to face her, her head cocked in confusion. In the faint light of her spell she could see Lina's face scrunched up as she tried to get her words out.
Lina put a hand up to her mouth as if sharing a conspiratorial secret, and all but whispered "Are you sneaking off to Zel's room?"
After the second or two it took to absorb that line, Amelia let out a muted shriek, dropping her pillow and blanket to hold her face as it turned a violent red.
"WHAT? Miss Lina, what are you talking about? What kind of girl do you take me for?" She was still trying to whisper, but the ferocity of her denials was causing her pitch to get out of hand.
Lina cringed and shushed the young girl loudly. "Okay! Geez Amelia, you don't have to go all crazy!" Even as she tried to calm the girl, she couldn't help but sigh slightly in relief. She was all for her young friend knocking some sense into their thick-skulled Chimera companion, but… she had never pegged Amelia as being so forward. And anything even approaching romance made the sorcery genius uncomfortable at the best of times.
The princess didn't make any more noise, though she was still fanning herself as she fought down her blush.
Lina chanced her query again.
"So… exactly what are you doing then?"
Amelia bent to pick up her fallen belongings, and then stood, hiding her face slightly behind her pillow. She turned nervous eyes on her friend, and then said in a meek voice "D-do you wanna come with me?"
She sounded hopeful, and despite the ambiguity surrounding the whole situation, Lina found herself shrugging and said "Why not? It's not like I'll be able to get back to sleep tonight."
The two girls continued down the hallway, turning here and there, and Lina was starting to wonder just how far Amelia planned on going that night.
They reached a heavy door at the end of the hallway, from which Lina could feel some kind of magical energy emanating. It was obviously old, but there was definitely a locking spell on the door. Amelia motioned over the handle in what Lina could see was a spell, her face scrunched up in concentration, until soundlessly the door swung inward into more blackness.
As Amelia moved her light spell into the opening, Lina was confused to find a staircase leading up into – what she supposed – was one of the castle towers. Just where was Amelia taking her?
The stairs went up several stories, until they finally stopped at an intricate door of dark maple, graced with a plaque of the Seyruun family crest in polished silver.
Amelia reached for the intricate doorknob and turned it with a squeak. The door creaked loudly in the night silence, and Lina winced at the sound it made. She was glad they weren't near their sleeping companions – she still couldn't be sure Zel wouldn't hear that noise and come investigating.
Both girls shuffled into the room which remained dark despite the light spell, and Lina squinted as she tried to make out shapes. Exactly what room was this?
There was a sound and spark of a match striking, and suddenly the room was lit up by a lantern on the wall.
Lina took a moment to stare at the room as Amelia went around lighting a few more wall sconces.
It was an enourmous space; the ceiling was high and slightly domed, and the room itself was round to fill the tower. It seemed that most of the wall was covered in curtains, which were heavy, with varying layers of velvet, silk and tulle meant to let in varying amounts of light during the day. There was ornate wainscoting and crown molding, and all the furniture seemed to be made of dark maple wood, inlaid with gold and silver accents. The bed was lavish and covered in thick blankets and fluffy feather pillows, and was placed to the side of the room, where it faced the majority of the hidden windows.
It was a room fit for a queen.
But something was off. The intricately weaved carpet was stiff and unused, and all the furniture was covered in a fine layer of dust. There were cobwebs forming in the corners, and the bed was most definitely untouched.
Lina frowned in confusion, and was about to say something, but Amelia beat her to it.
"This is the room for the crown princess. It's my sister's room."
Lina gaped, her eyes wide as she turned towards the younger girl, speechless.
Amelia was looking around the room, her gaze lingering on every surface, sorrow and longing evident in her eyes.
She faced Lina, her eyes full of tears even as she tried to keep her face neutral.
"Tonight's the anniversary of when my mother was killed. And when my sister ran away."
She walked slowly over to the bed, pulling the dusty duvet off and laying her own blanket down on the silk sheets.
"None of the maids are able to get in because of the spell, so it's pretty much been forgotten; but every year I come and spend the night here, just so I don't forget Gracia."
Her squashed pillow joined the others on the bed, and soon Amelia followed as she situated herself in the rich blankets, leaning back against the headboard as she turned back to her friend.
"Come and join me Miss Lina! We'll have a sleepover!"
Normally Lina would roll her eyes at such a childish request – but something in the Princess' tone as she talked about her sister made her stop. Amelia was lonely; she needed a friend.
And even though Lina's own relationship with her sister was rocky at best, she knew how strong the bond between sisters could be.
So instead she smiled slightly, kicked off her slippers by the door, and hopped into the luxurious bed next to her friend.
There was no clock in the room, but neither girl cared to see the time. Lina's midnight snack was soon turned into an early-morning picnic; and she was sure the walls must have been magicked for noise reduction, because no matter how loud their laughter and outbursts became, no guards or long-eared chimeras came bursting through the door.
They shared stories and secrets, and the only tears shed that night were tears of laughter over all the silly situations they had gotten into as children.
Before dawn they quickly cleaned the room back up, and then snuck back down the stairs, making sure the magic lock was still in place before they went to their separate rooms.
Amelia hugged Lina tight as they got to her door, and whispered a tired "Thank you" before yawning and dragging her blanket back down the hallway towards her own room.
Lina watched the younger girl go, a smile on her face, before heading into her own room and falling on the bed which was already warm from the sunlight streaming through her thin curtains.
She wouldn't have thought it the night before, and she definitely wouldn't admit to it anytime soon, but having a sister (by blood or not) really was a nice thing – even if they were a little crazy sometimes.
Dedicated to my own wonderful sisters! I don't know what I'd be without them. :)
I love how both Slayers girls have older sisters (I do as well), and I also love the contrast in relationships.
But really, Amelia and Naga need to be reunited FACE-TO-PROPER-FACE. The whole 'Nama' episode was fun and adorable, and I loved when they had their cute little sister moments, but really. They didn't even know. Or at least Amelia didn't.
Despite all that, I really do think that Amelia and Lina are the most sisterly of sisters.