I couldn't think of anything to call this one. Also, it kinda drops the reader into the middle of the plot line, but I wanted to shorten it a bit, so oh well. I think I explained things sufficiently (I hope ^_^!). Mild lemony-citrus, but no eyeball-scorchers, I promise. I rate this fic PG13 for innuendo, adult situations, and some violence. One of these days I'll get around to writing a really violent one . . . maybe . . . anyway, enjoy!
~Xellina~
"Love Without Love"
Ch. 1
"Xellos." A booted foot in his ribs nudged him out of sleep. "What?" he asked.
"Were you asleep?" Lina sounded surprised.
*grumble* "Yes, I was asleep, Lina. Even Mazoku do sleep occasionally. What do you want?"
"I'm cold."
Without opening his eyes, Xellos rolled onto his back and looked at her. "I'm very sorry, Miss Lina," he said politely, "but what do you expect me to do about it? I am not omnipotent, you know." Although he kept his tone light and carefree, Xellos's heart was starting to race a bit.
She toed him in the ribs again. "Scoot over, Xellos."
He chuckled, secretly rejoicing. "You're not serious, Lina."
She shivered and stamped her feet. "Of course I'm serious, but if you touch me, you die, buster, got that?"
He chuckled again, very quietly, and opened his blankets. "Of course, I understand." Such a pretty thing you are, Lina! he thought, admiring her slim form.
She crawled into his blankets and settled herself, her back to him, edged as far away from him as she could possibly get and still benefit from the blankets' warmth. "One smartass remark from you," she hissed, "and I'll give you a Ragna Blade up the butt, understand, Xellos?"
He bit back on a smile. "Of course." He waited. Sure enough, it was only a matter of minutes before she realized she had a fantastic heat source right behind her, and she wiggled closer. He took that as his cue, and wrapped his arms around her.
"HEY!!!" Lina tried to wriggle away. As she squirmed, her buttocks pressed up against his crotch. He giggled. "Ooh!"
She turned bright red. "Cut it out, Xellos!" She smacked him over her shoulder, and he released her. She muttered something about "damned fruitcakey Mazoku." He smiled to himself, laid down again, and was silent, and waited. When he sensed that she was almost asleep, he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. She stirred slightly and smiled. He grinned to himself. Hmm . . . perhaps pretty Lina-chan isn't quite as uncaring as she'd like me to believe! He kissed her again.
This time, she woke up a little more, but was still too sleepy to be called really conscious. "Xellos?" she asked softly.
He smiled, liking that tone in her voice. "Mmm?"
"What are you doing?"
He smiled again. "I'm kissing you, Lina-chan."
Lina's eyes seemed glued shut; she felt wrapped in a heavy languor, even as his touch sent little tingles through her body. "Why?" she asked.
He chuckled, and opened his mouth to let his tongue flick her skin as his lips drifted along her neck. "I should think that would be obvious, Lina-chan." He paused. "Look at me," he whispered to her, compelling.
Lina shifted languidly and opened her eyes. She found herself staring into Xellos' eyes, glittering like amethysts and indescribably beautiful in the moonlight. He smiled at her, and for an instant she almost reached out to him, then gasped softly, fully awake now and returning to sanity. "Xellos! What are you DOING, you little pervert??!"
Xellos smiled, and kissed her again on the cheek, then lay back down beside her. "Oh Lina," he said, amused, "do you still not understand?" He closed his eyes again, and went back to sleep. Lina stared at him for a moment in shock, jaw sagging open, then turned around, still befuddled and a little nervous, and lay there in the darkness trying not to notice him until she fell asleep.
Ch. 2
Lina awoke the next morning to the feel of a gloved hand over her mouth. Coming wide awake, she started to struggle. "Mm rm mrmff!!"
"Ssh," Xellos said softly, into her ear. "Be quiet, Lina." He was also whispering. With an effort, Lina relaxed. Removing his hand from her mouth, Xellos pointed off into the trees. "Look over there, Lina."
Lina looked. There, in a clearing not far away, a group of beings sat. They were not humans, per say, nor an other sort of definite creature, but an entire enclave of chimeras, a group Lina and her companions had run afoul of not but a week before. Gourry and Amelia had been captured somehow, and Zelgadis had gone after them, seeking to infiltrate the group, but had not returned. Lina, impatient, had set out on the trail of the bandits, a protesting Xellos in tow. Now, the red-headed sorceress surveyed her opponents. Rough, bitter men, women, and things less definite. All manner of wings, scales, fins, and other paraphernalia abounded. Lina pointed to their leader, a big, burly, rough-looking man with wild black hair, leathery bat-like wings and ears, a tail, and garnet-colored, gleaming claws and fangs. "That's him," Lina breathed. "That's the guy! That's the guy who--- mmrff!"
Xellos had clapped his hand over her mouth again. "Ssh!" he admonished her roughly. "If they hear you, we'll never find out where your friends have been taken. Don't you want to rescue the princess and the chimera? Not to mention your boyfriend?"
Lina growled. "Of course!" And Gourry's not my boyfriend anymore, we were over a long time ago." The memory hardly hurt at all anymore. Lina had never been certain just what had gone wrong in that relationship, only that, somehow, something in her had changed somewhere along the line . . . and while Gourry was still her best friend, she could no longer view him as anything but that. Lina sighed, and turned her attention back to the group of chimeras. "Well, what do you think?" she asked Xellos. "Should we jump out and kick ass now, and force one of 'em to tell us where their hideout is, or should we just follow them quietly?"
Xellos looked at her, surprised that she was asking his opinion. "I would recommend that we follow them quietly, Lina-chan, then take them by surprise. That way, we don't risk one of them escaping to warn the others."
Lina nodded, her eyes still on the group. She sighed. "Poor Zel. D'ya think he went and decided to join them?"
Xellos shrugged. "I wouldn't put it past him. Your Zelgadis always seems to put his own interests first.
Lina hit him, but half-heartedly. "Oh, that's not true!"
Xellos chuckled. "Yes it is, and you know it, Lina!" She was silent for a moment, then said, "Come on, they're moving out. Let's go."
They followed the group from a distance all day, and Lina confirmed what she had always suspected: Xellos was excellent at following people without being seen. When she asked him about it, he just shrugged. "I have to trail people sometimes."
"Why?"
He giggled. "Now, that--"
She hit him. "Don't say it, Xellos."
He smiled, and was silent.
They camped out again, on a hill overlooking the chimeras' camp, so that they could see without being seen. This night, Xellos didn't need to sleep, and he didn't, but he pretended to, hoping. Sure enough, in the middle of the night, Lina scooted her blankets over to him. "Xellos?" she whispered.
"Hmm?" he asked with a yawn, feigning weariness.
"Can I ask you a question?"
He smiled. "Of course, Lina." I don't guarantee you an answer, but you may certainly ask!
She hesitated. "Why are you helping me, Xellos? What do Amelia and the others mean to you?"
A smirk, one that her human night vision could not pick out in the darkness. "Absolutely nothing, Lina-chan."
"Then . . . why help me rescue them?"
Other than the fact that you threatened my poor self with grave bodily harm, Lina-chan? His smile broadened. "Now, that is a secret!" he replied, waggling a finger at her.
Lina hit him, and he laughed quietly to himself. Lying quietly, Xellos waited until he was certain Lina was asleep, then he leaned over, gave her a quick peck on the forehead, then lay back down and watched her for a long time.
Ch. 3
"There they are," Lina whispered, peering through the screen of bushes. Xellos positioned his head beside hers, and peeked out.
It was a grim, nearly surrealistic scene. The group of chimera bandits they'd been following had finally reached their hideout. The group had several human prisoners, among them Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun and Gourry Gabriev. Lina sucked in her breath in anger as she saw the leader of the bandits wearing the Sword of Light.
"Do you see Zel?" Lina asked.
Xellos did not reply, only pointed.
Out of the cave that formed the hideout, a group of the chimeras--a half-man/half-bear, a woman with fins and sharp spines and scales, and another fish-man the likes of Noonsa and Rihanimu--came, wheeling with them a cart with some sort of structure set up on it. Lina gasped again, this time in horror, at what she saw.
They had set up a structure on the cart. Zelgadis, naked to the waist, was chained to it, on his knees, with his arms spread apart. Bloodied and beaten, he fought his bonds with furious energy. "Oh no," Lina whispered. "What are they doing?"
"Executing him, I should say," Xellos responded calmly, a thoughtful expression on his face. Lina growled, but Xellos hushed her. The bandit leader was speaking. "Let's see what he has to say," Xellos said, with almost clinical dispassion.
"My friends," the bandit began in a harsh, growling voice, "we have among us the lowest of all beings, one who is traitor to his own kind!" The bandit gestured to Zelgadis, and the assembled hissed and jeered. Zel renewed his struggles. The bandit leader spat. "A man-- no, less than that, a thing!-- who turns against his own brothers and sisters--his family--to come to the aid of the very beings who made him what he is, a freak, an outcast from human society!"
"That's not true!" Zelgadis shouted. "Amelia and Gourry had nothing to---" The chimera bandit drew the Sword of Light and struck Zelgadis across the face with the hilt, hard. Blood spurted from Zel's mouth, and he slumped forward.
"Hmm . . . it seems they've learned the lesson of Zelgadis' stone skin," Xellos remarked.
Lina glared at him, outraged. "How can you be so calm about this??" Her eyes narrowed. "Oh wait, that's right, you don't care, you're a Mazoku. You're probably wishing you were down there with them right now!"
He furrowed his brow. "Ouch, Lina!"
She growled, then shook her head, eyes glued to the scene below. "Oh, poor Zel," she whispered, then her gaze hardened. "Zelgadis has a human soul, no matter what his outer form! These people aren't even human anymore!"
Xellos shook his head. "Yes, they are. Humans are the only race--besides mine--I've ever found that are capable of this sort of ritualistic brutality to members of their own." He watched, dispassionately, as the bandit leader delivered several more blows to the semi-conscious Zelgadis.
Lina sighed. "Well, that's true." Her eyes narrowed. "All right, that's it, I've seen enough." She stood up and closed her eyes for a moment. "FIRRRREE-BALL!!!" she yelled, and threw the blast down into the camp. Xellos sighed, and teleported to a handy tree to watch Lina Inverse at work.
Lina would have been having the time of her life if she hadn't been so royally ticked off. Many of the chimera bandits were also sorcerers, some of them quite good, so Lina found herself with a challenging battle on her hands. She might have tried to draw the fight out, but she was too mad to care. Instead, she just plowed through them as fast as she could. Unspoken in her mind, the words chanted: Dragonslave. Dragonslave! Dragonslave! But she dared not use it, not while Amelia, Gourry, and Zel were still in the line of fire. "Dil-Brandt!" she snarled. "Dragon Flare!" No piddling little Flare Arrows for these guys; oh no, it was Fireball on up, plus some swordwork, and her trademark, bandit-killing fists.
Lina got to the group of chained human slaves first. A moment of magic had both Gourry and Amelia free, and the others running for it. The princess and the swordsman were a bit battered, but okay. Zelgadis, on the other hand . . . Lina could dimly see the chimera's slumped form on the cart; he wasn't moving anymore.
Lina grabbed Amelia and Gourry. "Come on, let's get Zel and go!" She turned around and gasped, startled. The bat-winged leader was there, flexing his claws and grinning wickedly. In one hand he held the Sword of Light. "Why, hello there, little witch," he said softly, menacingly. "Come to rescue your friends?"
"Miss Lina!" Amelia whispered urgently. "Be careful! His claws have a poison that can neutralize magical ability!"
Lina smiled tightly. "Oh, so that's how you guys captured Zel so easily," she said directly to the bandit leader. "I'd wondered."
The man grinned; a fanged and highly unpleasant grin. "That's right. And now it's your turn, little witch! Yahhh!" Without warning, the bandit charged. "Yikes!" yelped Lina. She barely dodged the man's poisoned claws, and received a small slash from the Hikari no Ken. She hissed and rolled. "Fireball!" she yelled. The bandit deflected it around the Sword of Light. "Damn!" Lina cursed. "Looks like you actually know how to use that thing!" Uh-oh, I could be in trouble here. Once more, she barely dodged in time. Shit, this guy's clever!
"Gourry," she panted. "Get Amelia out of here, then come back for Zel. Try to---shit---find some---*dodge*---keys or something to get him out." She paused for a moment, panting, and drew her own sword. If she could just get in under that guy's guard . . . maybe . . . "I'll hold this guy off," she finished, regrouping, "and join you later."
Gourry gave her a long look, the kind that said he was well aware that she had little chance of rejoining them, then took Amelia by the arm. "Go on, Amelia, run!" he said. Amelia ran. Gourry, meanwhile, grabbed a sword from a fallen bandit, and went back to join Lina. "I'm not going, Lina!"
She growled at him, while trying to parry. "Oh yeah? And then who's going to help Zel, huh? Ahh!" Again, she dodged barely in time, feeling a lock of hair fall away, but this time, she managed to get in a return slash. Brownish blood sheeted down the bandit's right arm for a moment, then the flow ceased as the wound closed. Lina gasped, and the chimeric bandit laughed harshly. Oh, shit, she thought, trying to push back sudden fear.
Up in his tree, Xellos frowned, watching as slowly but surely, Lina was beaten back. Gourry was struggling unsuccessfully with Zel's manacles, tears on his face. The bandit broke Lina's sword with the Hikari no Ken, and then Lina was back to dodging again. Xellos could see she was tiring quickly. Her spells would not work while the bandit held the Sword of Light, and if he touched her, she wouldn't even be able to heal herself anymore. Xellos sighed. Oh well. Cute humans died, just like all the rest. Gourry made a go at the bandit, but against the chimera's healing powers and the Sword of Light, even Gourry's formidable skills could do little, and he was already tired. The swordsman put up a good fight of it, but he was eventually tossed aside. Xellos watched silently as, at last, the chimera forced Lina down, the point of the Hikari no Ken at her throat.
Still defiant, Lina glared at the bandit, and her lips moved, probably to do some sort of kamikaze with a Dragonslave. Something pricked Xellos inside. Frowning, he raised one hand and almost absently made a gesture.
Lina had just gotten to "power"---By L-sama, if I'm goin' down, he's goin' with me!--- when the bandit leader suddenly screamed. Lina watched, stunned, as the chimera burst into green flames, and was reduced to a charred hulk in literal seconds. The Sword of Light fell to the ground and flickered out. Panting, and blinking at this unexpected deliverance, Lina sat up, then grabbed the hilt of the Sword of Light and stood up. Gourry was just rising. Lina tried a spell, sighed with relief when it worked, then limped over to Gourry as Amelia came rushing back down the hill. "Miss Lina! Mister Gourry!"
They waved, and Lina grinned tiredly. "Chalk up another victory for the mighty Lina Inverse!" she said, jauntily, then her smile disappeared. She cast a searching glance in the direction of her hidden campsite, then shook her head. "Oh no! Zelgadis!"
The chimera was in pretty bad shape, unconscious and bloodied, still bound to the cart. Another few moments of magic, and Lina had his bonds undone. With a hoarse groan, Zel slumped forward into her arms. She staggered under his weight. "Oof! Hey, Gourry, give me a hand here, he's heavy!" she exclaimed, shooting another searching glance over her shoulder. She half-expected to see a dark figure standing on the ridge, but the hilltop was empty. "Come on," she said. "I have a camp set up on the ridge above the bandit camp. Gourry, you carry Zel, okay? And I'll heal him when we get back to camp." The big swordsman nodded, his face creased with concern. Amelia's eyes were big and teary. "Oh, I wish I could use my powers!" she wailed.
"Yeah, that reminds me," Lina said, wincing as she hiked uphill on a twisted ankle, "how long does that poison last, anyway?"
Amelia brightened up. "Oh, I'll be fine in a day or two!"
"Good." Lina nodded decisively. "Until then I can manage without you and Zel, I suppose." She smiled. "Bet you were pretty glad to see me, huh?" She winked, and Amelia and Gourry smiled.
Xellos was nowhere to be found back at camp. Amelia started dinner with the remains of the provisions, while Lina healed Zelgadis. White magic wasn't the sorceress's strongest point, so by the time she was done, she was just too tired to work on her own injuries. She sighed, and shrugged, resolving to attend to them in the morning.
After a few minutes, Zel, who had his head in Amelia's lap, stirred and opened his eyes. "Amelia? What?? --Oh, hi Lina!" He actually smiled for a moment. "Boy, am I glad to see you! When did you show up?" He rubbed his head. "What happened to the bandits?"
"Lina dispatched them with her usual . . . alacrity,"Xellos said dryly, materializing in the middle of the camp. Lina actually smiled at the priest. "Hi Xellos," she said cheerfully, as her friends, even Xellos himself, goggled at her. Lina ignored them all and turned back to Zel. "How'd you get captured, anyway?" she asked. "When you didn't come back in three days, I got worried and came after you!"
The chimera shrugged. "They caught me trying to release Gourry and Amelia," Zelgadis explained bluntly. "That big bandit--the one with the wings--had them bludgeon me into unconsciousness before I could fight back." Zel smiled sourly. "His claws apparently will penetrate my skin, so . . ." he flexed his hands ruefully, "no magic for awhile." Zel sighed, and looked at Lina. "Sorry to make you worry, Lina."
She giggled. "Oh, don't worry about it! I'm just glad you're all okay . . . now let's eat!" She pounced on the food.
Ch. 4
Lina sat, feeling her muscles ache. That fight had been pretty close . . . too close, actually. If it hadn't been for . . . She snuck a glance at Xellos, who was smiling to himself, as usual, and looking into the fire. Or at least, she assumed he was looking into the fire, since it was tough to tell when he had his eyes closed. Lina had a hunch he'd been the one who saved her butt. She looked around; good, Gourry, Zel, and Amelia were all asleep. Feeling slightly embarrassed, Lina got up and went to sit by Xellos. "Hi!" she said.
He smiled at her. "Hello, Lina. What's the matter? Can't you sleep?"
Lina shrugged and sighed. "Nah."
He threw another bit of wood on the fire. "Well then, you're welcome to sit with me for awhile, if you'd like." He wasn't facing her, so she couldn't tell when the purple eyes behind their protective lids flicked towards her face.
Lina fiddled with a twig, then tossed it into the flames and watched it burn. "Okay. --Uh, hey, Xellos? Thanks."
Now he did turn towards her, and raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? For what, Lina-chan?"
Lina decided to let that stupid "Lina-chan" thing slide for once. "Oh, you know . . . for helping me track down these bandits . . . and for saving my butt tonight." She looked him straight in the face. "That was you, wasn't it?"
He smiled again. "Yes, that was me. You're welcome." His smile broadened. "You see? I really do care!"
Lina shot him a skeptical glance. "Uh-huh. Yeah. Right."
He pretended to be hurt, and pouted. "I do! . . .Well, about you, anyway," he added, just to see if he could make her blush.
He succeeded. Lina blushed bright crimson. He laughed. "Red is such a pretty color on you, Lina," he said teasingly, touching her flushed cheek with one finger. She blushed again. "Leave me alone!" she growled, swatting at him. He caught her hands in his, then kissed them. Lina was so startled, she quit trying to hit him. "Hey!! What was that for?"
He smiled at her. "Just for being you, my pretty Lina-chan!"
She blushed again and glared at him. "I'm not 'your' Lina, Xellos!"
He kept smirking, but let go of her hands. "I know," he responded equably. "But you are pretty." He turned away again, and went back to watching the flames. For a moment he thought she was going to say something, but instead she just got up and wandered off.
Wrapping himself in his cloak, Xellos lay down by the fire, put his head in his arms, slowed his breathing, and immersed himself in his thoughts. He was startled when, sometime later, he heard footsteps approaching. The feet paused right by him, and he recognized Lina by her smell and aura.
Xellos was even more surprised when, after a moment, he felt Lina lie down by him, nestling close, her back pressing up against his own. He smiled in the darkness, debated making some comment, then decided to just let the moment be. No telling when--or if--it would happen again. Xellos smiled again, and went back to his thoughts.
Ch. 5
The next day, Lina healed her own remaining hurts, as well as those of her companions. Then they all went down to the smoldering ruins of the chimera enclave. Lina stood at the edge of the cave, ignoring the carnage. She'd caused it, after all. And not all the people had been killed; in fact, she figured most of them had been merely wounded, and had managed to get away. Lina turned to Zelgadis. "I don't suppose you saw if they had any treasure?" she asked hopefully.
Zelgadis shook his head, looking disgusted. "They had no treasure, Lina." The chimera turned around and walked off, shoulders tight. Amelia watched him go, puzzled. "What's wrong with Mister Zelgadis?" she asked worriedly.
Lina crossed her arms over her chest, then without answering she ran after Zelgadis. He let her catch up, but refused to look at her. "Aren't you going to go treasure-hunting, Lina?" he asked, bitterness in his voice.
Lina sighed. "Nah, not today. I doubt they had anything, like you said." She moved in front of him and planted herself firmly in his path, forcing him to stop. "Come on, Zel, don't be so gloomy all the time! What's the point of risking your life for your friends if you just walk off and leave them again the next chance you get?"
Zel sighed and stopped. "Look, I just don't want to go back there, okay?"
Lina's gaze softened. "Okay." She turned and yelled to her other two companions (Xellos was missing again; the spot next to her back had been empty when she'd awoken, Lina recalled with a blush), "Hey, come on! We're wasting the day!" Gourry and Amelia caught up, and the resumed walking. "Hey Lina, where are we going?" Gourry asked. "I thought we were looking for that Rah-hoozits guy?"
"Ranimura," Lina corrected absently.
"Isn't that how this whole mess got started in the first place?" Zelgadis put in.
Lina just shrugged and grinned. "Hey, no pain, no gain, right? And Ranimura isn't a person, it's a talisman. A pretty powerful one too, or so I've heard."
"What's it do, Miss Lina?" asked Amelia.
"Supposedly, when invoked and looked into, the Ranimura shows a reflection of the person as they really are, inside."
Gourry scratched his head. "But, isn't everyone pretty much just red gooey stuff inside?"
Lina knocked him into the dirt. "Not inside their bodies, you numbskull, inside their souls!" She kicked the prostrated swordsman one more time, just for good measure. "Jellyfish brain!" she growled. Zelgadis gave Gourry a hand up. Rubbing his skull, Gourry tried to digest this latest bit of information. "So," he said slowly, "all you have to do is look into this Ramada thingy, and it shows you what you're really like?"
"Yes, Gourry, precisely," answered Lina, in a voice that dripped poisonous sweetness, "and it's Ranimura, not Ramada!" She kicked him in the shin. "I bet when we get to you, Gourry, it shows a big pile of yogurt!" Lina grumbled. Her friends, wisely, kept silent.
They came to a fork in the road. There was no sign. "Well, which way should we go, Miss Lina?" asked Amelia.
Lina shrugged. "One way's as good as another, I guess. Let's go left." They turned, and continued walking.
Ch. 6
They stopped at the next town for food and information. Of food, at least, they found plenty, much to Lina's delight. She set to with a will, making up for the energy she'd expended in her magic the day before. Her companions sweatdropped, even Gourry. After dinner, they split up to check out the local magic and curiosity shops, looking for the Ranimura. Since it was fairly late, Lina wrote down the name and description of the talisman for Gourry, though she had little hope it would do any good, and the four friends went off separately, eager to get their check done as soon as possible, so that they could move on in the morning. They only knew the general area the Ranimura was supposed to be located, not its exact position. In other words, they had a bunch more towns to check after this one.
Lina sighed and ran her hands through her hair in frustration. This town had been a total dead end, at least for her. No-one she'd talked to had even heard of the Ranimura. She hoped the others had had more luck, but she wasn't betting on it. "Should've turned right," she said aloud to herself as she turned a corner. She had been sure the street was deserted, so she shrieked and nearly jumped out of her skin when Xellos remarked cheerfully from right behind her, "Didn't find what you were looking for, did you?"
Lina gritted her teeth, in no mood for the Trickster's pranks. "Fireball!" she yelled, and whirled around, but by the time she'd thrown the spell, he had already disappeared. Lina was just wondering where he'd gone when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her from behind. "HEY!!!" she yelled. "What the heck do you think you're DOING, you stupid fruitcake??!!"
Xellos chuckled; a low, throaty sound that made her hair stand on end. Lina suddenly realized that the street was deserted except for them, and poorly lit, and . . . Suddenly frightened, Lina renewed her struggles. Xellos sighed. "Really, Lina am I so repellent to you?"
Now she flushed, but more from anger than embarrassment. "I just don't fancy being raped by you, Xellos, that's all," she said angrily, fighting to keep her voice calm.
He pouted playfully. "Such a high opinion you have of me, Lina-chan!" He released her. "But if that's how you feel, then you might as well go home, and I'll just keep the neat thing I found." He sighed elaborately and started walking off. "Too bad. It looks valuable too. I had hoped you could tell me what it is, Lina, but never mind."
"VALUABLE??" Lina's eyes lit up, and she pounced on the priest, who grinned slyly to himself. "Valuable? What? What is it? Show me show me show me!" She started trying to frisk him, then stopped abruptly as she realized what she was doing. Regaining a bit of dignity, she coughed sheepishly, took her knee out of his diaphragm, and stood up, dusting off the knees of her pants. "Uh . . . *heh* sorry . . ." she blushed. Xellos wheezed, winced, and sat up. Reaching into his cloak, he pulled out a large object, shrouded in black cloth. Lina gasped, recognizing the shape of the object. "That-- that's the Ranimura!" she exclaimed, attempting to snatch the object out of Xellos's grasp. He teleported out of the way, frowning, and holding the object protectively against his chest. "No fair, Lina-chan! It belongs to me, you know!"
She wasn't listening. He had to phase out again as she made another grab for the Ranimura. He sighed, and as she made another dive for the talisman, he caught her up again, pulling her close to him and effectively pinning her arms to her sides. "Lina, calm down!" he instructed her, a little more sharply than he'd intended. She did calm down, though. "Oh, come on, Xelly, hand it over!" She grinned, cutely. "Pleeease?? Pretty pretty please??"
He sighed, sweatdropped, and debated it mentally. On the one hand, he had little personal use for the artifact, and he genuinely wished to please her. On the other hand, a bargaining chip was a bargaining chip. Maybe he could get her to kiss him for it . . .
Lina, meanwhile, managed to free her arms from his lax grip. "Tell you what, I'll pay you 700 gold pieces for it," she coaxed him.
Xellos sighed, and handed it over. Lina whooped, then began digging around in her cloak for money. He held up a hand. "Just take it, Lina."
Her eyes lit up, as he'd hoped they would. "You mean . . . I can have it for . . . free???"
He smiled. "Yes, go ahead and keep it." He dropped a quick kiss on the top of her head. She was too engrossed in her new possession to notice. Encouraged, he kissed her again. This time, her fist connected with his face. "Don't push it, Xellos," she snarled.
He grinned at her, unfazed. "Come on, Lina-chan, let's go back to the inn so you can show off your new toy to your friends." Once again, she was too wrapped up in her little cloud of greed to really notice him, so he was able to keep one hand on her back all the way back to the inn.
Ch. 7
"Hey guys, look, I've got it!" Lina yelled as she entered the room, holding the Ranimura over her head triumphantly. Her three tired friends looked up and whooped spiritedly. "All right!" Gourry exclaimed. "You got that whats-its-name thingy!"
"Yatta! Where'd you find it, Miss Lina?" asked Amelia.
"Oh, way in the back of a curio shop," Lina surprised herself by lying. Xellos shot her a quick, startled glance, but said nothing. "Come on," Lina continued. "Let's go to bed, and we'll try it out in the morning, okay? I'm beat."
"Me too," added Gourry.
"So am I," Zelgadis agreed, and they split for the night.
Yawning, and clutching her precious talisman to her chest, Lina made her way up the stairs. Briefly, she regretted that they were no longer camping out. Here in an inn, there would be no more opportunities for her to. . . . Lina flushed and shook her head, as though trying to physically dispel some unwanted thought. She looked up, and gasped to find Xellos standing--waiting, it seemed-- at the top of the stairs. "Oh, hello," she said
pleasantly.
He smiled at her and waved. As she drew even with him, he reached out his free hand to her. She hesitated for a moment, then slowly put her hand in his. He smiled again, and drew her towards him. This time, she did not resist, but allowed him to wrap her in a loose embrace. Without conscious thought, she allowed herself to lean against him, and sighed.
He chuckled, and put one hand beneath her chin, tilting her head up so that she was forced to look at his face. His eyes were open suddenly, and his gaze caught and held her own. "Or perhaps I was wrong, Lina-chan," he murmured, half to himself, half to her, his eyes never leaving her own, "and you really do care?" One gloved finger stroked her cheek.
Lina blushed, but forced herself to look him in the eye and reply firmly, "Maybe, maybe not."
His eyes narrowed, and his mouth twisted into a smirk. "Well, then, would this help you make up your mind?" he asked, and kissed her. Lina was more-or-less expecting it, and was determined not to respond, but he was very insistent, and she quickly gave in.
Of course, naturally she was just starting to get really into it when she heard a floorboard creak, and a familiar voice exclaimed, "Oh, good Lord!"
With a guilty flush, Lina broke the kiss and spun around, stepping away from Xellos. "Zelgadis! Uh, hi!" she giggled nervously. "I was just . . . uh . . . that is . . . um . . ." she sweatdropped.
"I saw what you were doing, Lina," Zel responded coldly. "You were playing tonsil hockey with Xellos."
The Mazoku in question frowned. "My, my, how crudely you put things, Zelgadis! I say, if two consenting adults want to make out in a stairwell, it's none of your business!"
"Yeah!" Lina agreed, still angry at being interrupted, then embarrassed . . . not to mention Zel's choice of words!
Zelgadis gave her a stricken look, the shrugged and turned away. "Very well, if that's the way you want it, Lina, go right ahead. Fuck the bastard for all I care." The chimera walked away.
Lina smoldered with anger and embarrassment, Xellos noted with interest, but the chimera was seething with fury and something else . . . The Mazoku thought for a moment, then smiled. My my! he thought. Is that jealousy I sense? The thought very nearly made him chuckle out loud, but he caught himself just in time. Lina looked at him, started to speak, then looked away. "I'm going to bed," she said, flushing again. "I'll see you in the morning, Xellos."
He smiled, and blew her a kiss, and phased out.
The next morning, after breakfast, the group gathered in Lina's room to try out the Ranimura. It stood before them, unveiled, looking like an ordinary mirror set in an ornate brass and orihalcon fixture. It sat there, inert and blank, showing not even an ordinary reflection.
Amelia blinked. "Um . . . how do we make it work, Miss Lina?"
Lina sweatdropped. "I, uh, actually don't really know."
They wilted, then Zelgadis suggested that they just try different things. "After all," the blue-skinned shaman said with a shrug, "three of us are sorcerers, something's bound to work eventually."
They each stood in front of the talisman and tried everything they could think of, from begging to boost spells to invocation spells. Nothing worked. Xellos's only contribution the entire time was to click his heels together three times and intone solemnly, "Mirror, mirror, in its stand, who is the fairest in the land?" The rest of the group facefaulted, and Lina punted the priest across the room, where he spent the next half hour sulking in a corner and enjoying their efforts.
At last, angry and frustrated, they had run out of ideas. Lina growled, "Oh, that's it, I don't care if this thing is a priceless talisman, I'm gonna punt it all the way to Seyruun!!"
She wound up for a kick, then stopped dead as Xellos said quietly, in a dead-serious tone, "Ranimura, Mirror of the Soul, I Invoke thee now."
Immediately, the talisman began to him and pulse with light. Lina jumped back as it expanded rapidly, growing to the size of a full-length mirror in a matter of instants. There it stopped, its surface rippling with myriad colors.
There was a split second of shock, wherein nobody moved, then Zelgadis and Lina were on him. "Why, you damned . . ." Zelgadis could find no words strong enough for what he wanted to say, so he just plowed on. "You knew that all along and you only just now . . .!"
"Yeah, yeah!" Lina shouted in Xellos's ear, while inflicting major bodily harm with her tiny fists. "What the hell is wrong with you??" she demanded, throttling the priest.
Xellos put up with it meekly, and after a few seconds, Lina had exhausted her rage, and turned away. "Okay, Xellos," she said in an annoyed voice, "since you seem to know how this works, what do we do now?"
"Well now," Xellos said cheerily, "that--"
"Lord of the dreams that terrify . . ."
"--is really quite simple," he continued swiftly. "The person wishing to see themselves in the Mirror should stand directly in front of it, place their hands on the Mirror's rim, and say, 'Mirror, show me the truth.' The Ranimura will only show one person at a time."
Zelgadis turned to him. "Why's that?"
Xellos shrugged, smiling. "I don't know, I've never tried it! Why don't you?"
Zel blanched. "Uh, Lina, why don't you go first?"
Lina sweatdropped, and Xellos chuckled. She glared at him wearily, then turned and said, "Hey Gourry, why don't you try it?"
Gourry shrugged. "Okay. I don't really see what all the fuss is about, but if you want me to go first, I will." He stepped in front of the glowing talisman, and put his hands on its rim. "Uh . . . what do I say again?"
"You say, 'Mirror, show me the truth,'" Xellos replied patiently.
"Oh, okay. Uh . . . Mirror . . . show me the truth."
There was a flash of light and a muted humming, and the ripples in the mirror coalesced. Gourry blinked. "Oh," he said, in a tone of disappointment. "Yeah, that makes sense, I guess. But I already knew that . . . I think." the others crowded around. "What? What is it? What do you see?"
They looked into the Ranimura expectantly, then disappointedly. "Hey! I can't see anything in it all except glowing colors!" Lina exclaimed, and all but Gourry turned to Xellos. "Hey, how come we can't see anything?"
Xellos shrugged, then got up and glanced into the Ranimura to see what was engrossing Gourry so much. He murmured a spell, then smiled. "Well," he said to Gourry alone, patting the big swordsman on the shoulder, "that was, after all, to be expected, considering."
Gourry turned to him. "You can see it?"
Xellos smiled and nodded. "How come?" the puzzled swordsman asked.
"Now that is a secret!" Xellos chuckled, waggling a finger at Gourry.
Lina shouldered Gourry aside. "Okay, my turn!" She glanced at Xellos. "I just do the same thing, right?" Xellos nodded, and went to sit down on the bed, his legs crossed.
Lina put her hands along the rim of the Ranimura. "Okay! Mirror, show me the truth!"
There was a much brighter flash this time. When their vision cleared, Lina's friends looked expectantly at her, hoping she would share her vision.
Lina was staring at the mirror, frozen, her eyes wide. Then she began to tremble, and she shook her head back and forth repeatedly, her eyes never leaving the Ranimura's surface. "No," she whispered. "No. No! Not again! I don't want that, I don't want to be that!" she shouted at the talisman.
Frowning, Xellos got up and glanced over Lina's shoulder. His eyes snapped wide open, and he sucked in his breath in a startled hiss. "Mirror! Disinvoke!" he snapped. Immediately, the light from the talisman died, but it was too late. With a strangled sob, Lina ran from the room.
"Lina!" "Miss Lina!" Her friends ran to the doorway, but the red-head was already out of sight. Zelgadis frowned. "Hey Xellos, what was that all about? . . . Xellos?" He turned. The Mazoku was gone.
Ch. 8
Lina ran blindly, her vision obscured by tears--and the pounding, shaking fear--through the streets, out of the town, and into the woods. Twigs and branches tore at her, unheeded as she ran, trying to outdistance the horrifying vision she'd seen in the mottled surface of the Ranimura.
Suddenly, she ran smack into something soft and yielding. "Oof!" it said, when she ploughed into it. Lina caught a quick glimpse of tan shirt and black cape, and then she was sobbing into Xellos's chest, as he wrapped his arms around her. "It's not true!" Lina sobbed. "I'm not Her, I'm not! I'm not Her and I don't want to BE Her!"
Xellos sighed. "Ssh, pet, it'll be all right." She barely noticed when he scooped her up and sat down on the grass, cradling her in his lap while she cried on his shoulder, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. He shushed her gently, stroking her hair and rubbing her back until she finally quit crying.
When Lina finally unburied her head from the curve of his neck, he smiled at her and lightly kissed her forehead. For a wonder, she didn't hit him, just sniffled and wiped her nose. He handed her a hankie; she blew her nose, then folded up the hankie and clutched it in one hand like a lifeline. After a moment, she asked, "How did you find me out here?"
"Ah, now that is a secret!"
She actually giggled a little through her sniffles. "You and your damned secrets!" she said, with more affection than irritation.
He looked down at her in surprise. Should he try it now? No, best to wait just a little bit longer. She was in no mood right now to . . .
"Xellos?" Lina's voice broke him out of his thoughts. He looked down at her, nestled in the crook of his arm. "Hmm?" he asked, trying valiantly not to notice her cheek against his chest.
"What did it mean?" she asked him, still a bit frightened in spite of herself.
Xellos shrugged. "Well, I doubt it meant you're going to wake up one morning to find that the Lord of Nightmares has taken over your body again, if that's what you're worried about," he said reassuringly.
Against his body, he felt a tremor run through her. "But if not that, then what did it mean?" she whispered.
Xellos thought about the vision of her he'd seen in the Ranimura. Gold, gold and black, wrapped around her shining form; the power of the Lord of Nightmares, harnessed down into a form of shining fire and golden light--the soul of Lina Inverse. "I think," he said slowly, "that it simply means that you are a very talented, fiery, and--if I may say so--rather hot-tempered sorceress who happens to have some sort of special affinity with the Lord of Nightmares." In his heart though, he wondered.
Lina snorted, a bit of her usual spirit returning now. "Great. Just what I need. A special affinity with the most terrifying and chaotic being in the universe. Yeah, that should do wonders for my reputation!"
He chuckled. "Oh, it's not so bad. My people have a bit of a special affinity with Her too, you know," he told her, allowing a bit of teasing to slip into his voice.
"Is that supposed to comfort me??" she exclaimed incredulously.
His arms tightened around her, just a little, just enough to make her look up, a bit startled. "I was trying, you know," he said, a little reproachfully.
She had the grace to blush. "I know. Thanks." Another blush. "Sorry I cried all over you."
He smiled down at her, trying to resist the growing temptation to kiss her. "Don't worry about it." His face suddenly took on a slightly strained look, and he shifted position slightly, trying to ease her slender form away from adding further pressure to the growing tension in his groin. He sighed, a long, slow sigh as she nuzzled sleepily at his shoulder, then froze in surprise when she kissed his neck. He looked down at her, eyes open now, and gently stroked her cheek as she looked up at him, her lips ever so slightly parted, as though in invitation. He bent his head to kiss her, answering that silent summons, but then stopped himself and pulled back, forcibly, his eyes staring into hers.
"I thought you were going to kiss me!" she said, sounding just a trifle disappointed.
"I was," he answered quietly, even as his head began drifting inexorably towards hers once more.
"Then why didn't you?" Lina asked softly as his arms tightened around her again.
"Because," he whispered, his eyes closed, his mouth now no more than two inches from hers, "if I start now, I may never be able to stop---"
Their mouths met, and this time, Lina responded immediately, her small tongue seeking his out as he opened his mouth. And then it was too late, and he couldn't stop, but it was okay because she didn't want him to stop, and in fact she was encouraging him, her kisses demanding, her body pliant in his arms. Xellos smiled, and sighed to himself in contentment as he laid her down in the soft grass.
Ch. 9
Xellos woke up first, the late afternoon sun slanting into his eyes. He raised his head, then cursed as he realized how long they'd been asleep. Reaching over, he gently shook Lina's shoulder. "Wake up, sweetling, we've got to get back."
Slowly, grumbling, Lina opened her eyes, then gasped and sat up as she realized how much time they'd lost. "Oh no! Zelgadis and the others will be frantic!" Abruptly she looked down at herself and blushed. She attempted to cover herself with her hands, then realized the pointlessness of such an exercise. She started to get up, then winced. Lina hissed. "Ooch, I'm sore!"
He chuckled. "We should probably clean up before we go back, Lina-chan."
She hesitated. "But--"
He laid an admonitory finger on her lips. "Ssh. Don't you want a bath, Lina? It'll help the ache," he added coaxingly.
That decided it. "Okay," Lina said reluctantly, "but where are we going to find a bath way out here?"
He grinned. "Oh, you needn't worry about that, Lina!" She started to gather up her clothes to get dressed, but he stopped her. "Uh-uh, don't even bother, Lina-chan," Xellos said with a cute smile. "That won't be necessary." Scooping up his own discarded clothing, his staff, and the rest of Lina's things, he took her by the arm. "Here we go," he said cheerfully, and teleported them.
Lina gasped in shock as the world around her disappeared. She had a brief impression of mottled colors and floating lights, and of the reassuring pressure of Xellos's hand on her arm, and then the world realigned. She gasped again, this time in pleasure as his light spell illuminated the place he'd taken them. "Xellos! What is this place? Where is this place?"
He smiled. "You like it? It's one of my favorite little secrets."
"It's beautiful," Lina breathed, temporarily forgetting both her nakedness and her pain as she turned, craning her neck upwards, trying to look at everything at once. They were in a natural cavern, and over the eons, water had dripped from the ceiling and walls, forming stalactites, stalagmites, and eroding the existing rocks into fantastical shapes, some of them as delicate as lace, before congregating in the center of the cavern to form a natural spring. Here and there, the light of Xellos's spell glinted off veins of ore in the rock, but Lina was now mostly interested in that pool, which stood in the middle of the cavern, gently steaming.* With a cry of delight, she dropped the bundle of clothing she had been carrying and ran to the edge of the pool and stuck a toe in, then sighed. "Ah, perfect." She looked at Xellos, who was watching her with a smile. "How is this heated?"
He shrugged. "We're pretty deep underground, I think. This is kinda a . . . dormant volcano. Don't worry, it's been dormant for as long as I can remember, and probably a good deal longer than that in order for these rock shapes to have been formed."
"How deep is this pool?" Lina knew well that cave water could often be deceptively deep.
"It comes to just above my waist, but there's a sort of natural ledge along part of one side if you want to sit." He winked at her. "I'll be right back!" he said, and disappeared.
Lina sighed. She was sticky, and hurt . . . there . . . particularly when she walked, but considering the way the day had started she was not at all displeased. She sat down on the edge of the warm pool and dangled her feet in the water, and reviewed.
What Xellos had said about the Ranimura's message made more sense, in sober reflection, than her own initial, panicked interpretation. Lina sighed again. It was a good thing that Xellos had come after her, or she might have run herself right off a cliff without noticing.
Xellos. Now there was a puzzle and a half. When she'd first met him--how many years ago had it been now?--she'd never imagined she would one day give her virginity to him. --He'd been surprised by that, she knew. Lina figured he'd thought--like just about everyone else--that she'd given it to Gourry, during the years of their relationship, and in truth she almost had, once or twice, but for some reason she'd always held back.
Lina shivered, smiling ridiculously and hugging herself as she remembered Xellos's hands on her body, the feel of his mouth on hers. That had been nice . . . very nice, in spite of the pain.
"Watcha thinkin' about?" asked Xellos himself, from just behind her. Lina yelped and whirled. Xellos, still skyclad as she was, had a large stack of rich burgundy towels in his arms. She sighed and relaxed, then smiled at him. "Oh! So that's where you went!" she exclaimed, indicating the towels. He nodded and smiled, then walked over. "What were you thinking about that had you smiling so prettily, Lina-chan?" he asked, repeating his earlier question.
Lina blushed and shrugged, then winced as she lowered herself gently into the steaming water, then sighed in relief. It did indeed help the ache. Xellos smiled knowingly and slid in beside her, dunking his whole head underwater, then shaking himself like a dog. He looked so funny, with his bangs plastered to his forehead, that Lina just had to laugh at him. He glared at her half-heartedly, then gave it up and smiled back. "I know, I know I look stupid when my hair is wet," he said sourly, while she kicked her feet and laughed until she cried. He ducked back underwater and phased out. Lina looked around, wondering where he'd gone.
"CANNONBALLL!!!"
Lina shrieked as Xellos dropped out of nowhere and hit the water with a tremendous splash, swamping Lina.
With an enraged shout, the fiery red-head launched herself at the priest and commenced pounding the heck out of him. He was still laughing even as she pummelled him with her fists, then he flashed out for a second, long enough for her punch to miss, and reappeared behind her. Still upset, she whirled to face him, only to find herself caught up in a strong embrace. He bent to kiss her, and Lina relieved the rest of her anger by biting down on his lip, hard. She only seemed to encourage him, abut after a few moments, he broke the kiss. "Ah, I have waited for a long time to hold you like this, my pretty Lina," he murmured. Lina opened her mouth to contest that "my" thing again, then shrugged and let it be. Xellos held her for another moment, then let her go. "Come on, let's get you back to your friends before they totally panic," he suggested.
"Probably a bit late for that," Lina muttered, but he just smiled and shrugged.
Ch. 10
They dried off and dressed, and then Xellos teleported them both directly back to the main room of the inn.
Zelgadis, Gourry, and Amelia were all sitting at a table, looking dejected. Not even Gourry was eating anything. When she appeared, they looked up, brightening.
"Miss Lina! Mister Xellos! You're all right!"
"Lina!" That was Gourry. "Are you okay, Lina?" the swordsman asked seriously, his gaze flicking to Xellos, who stood behind her.
Lina smiled. "Of course I'm okay. I was just . . . a little surprised by what that stupid Mirror showed me, that's all, but I feel much better now!"
They gave her a skeptical glance. She knew that no-one had missed Xellos's hands on her shoulders. She knew she should probably shrug them off, but so what? It was her life anyway, dammit! The Mazoku leaned down and whispered into her ear, fiddling gently with a strand of her red hair. "I'm going to go away for a bit, pet, but I'll be back," he murmured, his warm mouth just brushing her ear as he spoke, sending delightful little tingles down her spine. Lina smiled reflexively and reached up to squeeze his hand. "Okay," she murmured back, and he disappeared. She sighed, then grinned at her friends. "I'm hungry!" she declared. "Let's eat!"
Nobody moved. Lina started, finding that they were all staring at her like they were afraid she might turn on them. "WHAT??!" she screamed.
Amelia put her hands on her hips. "Miss Lina, it wasn't very fair of you to run off like that without telling anybody where you were going! We were worried sick!"
Lina blushed a little and shrugged. "Look, I was perfectly fine."
"Oh yeah?" asked the little princess. "And where were you all afternoon, anyway? We went out searching for you, and couldn't find you!"
"I was fine. I was with Xellos all afternoon."
Amelia folded her arms. "Like I said, Miss Lina, We. Were. Worried. Sick. About. You!!"
Lina glared at the girl, then turned away. "Look, who I want to spend the afternoon with is my business, okay? Besides, I spent most of the afternoon sleeping anyway, or I would have sent word." Now she blushed again.
"Oh yeah? And what about Mister Xellos?"
Lina flet her blush deepen to crimson, and she sweatdropped. "I, er, I'm pretty sure, uh, he was asleep too, actually." She giggled nervously.
Amelia looked perplexed, but Gourry's big blue eyes were filled with hurt. "So I guess it's true then?" he asked slowly. "You and Xellos . . . ?"
Lina's demeanor softened. "Yeah, me and Xellos." She shrugged, then said, not unkindly, "Sorry, Gourry, but you did have your chance, you know."
He nodded. "Yeah, and I wasted it, I know. Oh well. Too bad for me, I guess," he said bitterly, then turned away and walked off, shoulders tight. After a moment, Amelia ran after him, calling his name.
Zelgadis remained, arms crossed over his chest. "I saw you two in the clearing you know, while we were out searching for you earlier," he said sternly. Lina flushed. "I didn't say anything," Zel continued, "not that I think it would have made a difference. You were both far too busy to notice."
Lina flushed yet again.
"What I want to know is," Zel went on, "are you happy?"
"Huh?" Lina blinked and looked up, startled. "What do you mean?"
"Are you happy? Does Xellos make you happy, do you like him, do you like to be with him? . . . Are you happy, Lina?"
Lina thought about it, thought about Xellos, and smiled a slow smile. "Oh yes, I'm happy," she said, with a secret smile.
Zelgadis felt a pang of envy, that she would smile that way about anyone, but he just sighed. "Then that's all that really matters," he said, and walked over to the table. "Waiter, menus please," he called out. Amelia, eyes wide, came back downstairs, saying that Mister Gourry had locked himself in his room and wouldn't answer. The three friends sat down to a considerably sobered meal. They had just gotten through their third course (or in Zel's case, his third cup of coffee) when there was a yell and a crash from upstairs. "That came from Gourry's room!" Zelgadis exclaimed. With a sudden, sick feeling in her stomach, Lina jumped up and ran for the stairs.
The door was still locked. Listening to the sounds of the scuffle from within, Lina could think of only one reason for it: Gourry must be fighting Xellos. Lina threw a Flare Arrow to break the door down. They burst into the room, just in time to see Gourry slash Xellos with the Sword of Light.
Lina gasped. "Gourry, no!!!"
The slash was a deep one. For one terrible moment, Lina thought that Xellos was going to dissolve, like the lesser monsters they'd killed with the Sword of Light, but he didn't. It was obvious, however, that the Mazoku was very badly hurt. He gulped air to keep himself from crying out and staggered backwards, then fell to his knees, bent over the wound as black blood oozed between his fingers and stained his shirt.
Gourry advanced, seeming not to notice anyone at all except the Trickster Priest. "You lie! You fucking bastard, is that what you told her? Is that what she believes now?" the swordsman yelled, furious. "Damn you, you liar!"
Slowly, Xellos raised his head. "It's true," he whispered harshly, a trickle of blood running from the side of his mouth. The monster turned his head slightly, and his eyes widened as he saw Lina.
Gourry snarled again, tears streaming down his face, as his three friends stood motionless, frozen. "All Mazoku ever do is hurt!" Gourry yelled. "I may be an idiot, but I've learned that much, at least. I won't let you hurt her!!!"
The swordsman raised the Hikari no Ken for the fatal blow, but by now Lina was in action. "Gourry, don't! --Sleeping!!" She cast the spell on the swordsman. Gourry went down. The Sword of Light flickered out. Lina ran to Xellos. "Xellos! Are you okay?"
He smiled twistedly, though his eyes were screwed shut in pain. "A silly question, Lina-chan," he said gently.
"But you'll be all right, won't you?"
He leaned against the wall and coughed up blood. "I've been hurt worse than this . . . but the Sword of Light . . . is like a poison to Mazoku . . ." He shook his head. " . . . I don't know."
Lina felt her stomach flip over in fear. "Don't you DARE die on me, Xellos Metallium!" she snarled, levelling her most fearsome Dragon Spooking glare at him, knowing that, eyes open or closed, he could see her.
His eyes snapped open in surprise. "You-- you're worried, Lina!"
Her eyes stung, and she resisted the urge to hit him, knowing that if she disturbed his concentration now, she'd probably kill him. "Of course I'm worried, you twit!" she settled for yelling.
Xellos winced, and coughed up a little more blood, then looked down. Shifting position, he moved his hand away from the wound for a second. Lina hissed, and turned away for a moment. Around the edges of the deep slash ran the glowing whiteness that presaged a monster's dissolution. She fancied that, even as she watched, the killing glow spread.
Lina heard him chuckle, the sound garbled by the blood in his throat. "I've got to go," he gasped. "It's possible my master can . . ."
She nodded, her hands covered in his blood, then darted forward and kissed him. He smiled softly. "I'll come back if I can," he whispered, then was gone.
Lina's friends, including the now Detoxified Gourry, watched silently as Lina stood up. Amelia stepped back involuntarily as Lina turned, her hands and mouth covered with Xellos's blood. The red-head licked the blood off her lips, then walked forward, dry-eyed, past her friends, and out the door of the room. "Miss Lina?" Amelia called tentatively, but Lina never turned. She silently went down the stairs, paid the tab, and left. Amelia started to go after her, but Zelgadis stopped her. "Don't, Amelia."
"But---"
He shot her a quelling look. "Don't. Let her be. She's going to need some time to think." Silently, then, they watched her go.
Ch. 11
They stayed at the inn for another week, at Zelgadis's insistence, and sure enough, a week after her disappearance, Lina was back and the same as ever. For his part, Gourry had already forgotten the entire episode, and Zel and Amelia were far too relieved to see Lina again to question her. And only Zelgadis really noticed that Lina never, ever mentioned Xellos, even by inference, and that whenever the conversation steered into dangerous territory, somehow, infuriatingly, something always happened to change the subject. And again, only Zel knew when, two months later, Lina miscarried a child. He walked in one day to find her lying on her side in a pool of blood, sobbing her eyes out. He said nothing, just healed her, and held her. She never spoke, and neither did he, and the next morning it was as though the incident had never happened at all.
In this way, eight months passed.
Lina brushed out her hair in the dark, counting the strokes. At one hundred, she stopped and put the brush down, moving slowly, numbly. For eight months she had felt like this, all frozen inside. She hadn't even cried, except when she'd lost the child. She had barely even known she was pregnant, and that had been like hope, but then she'd miscarried, and after that she'd had nothing left at all, nothing but the memories she tried so hard to shut away.
During the day, she usually succeeded, but at night, there they were, rising up in loneliness so thick it threatened to choke her . . . . The only time she felt really alive anymore was when she used her magic. Closing her eyes, Lina permitted herself to whisper, barely mouthing the words, "I miss you."
"Lina-chan."
That voice! Lina's head jerked up. She gasped and whirled, her stomach flipping over in sudden hope. A familiar shadow was there, leaning in the corner. Lina conjured a light spell, and Xellos stepped into the light, smiling, his bangs obscuring his eyes. "Hello, Lina-chan!" he said cheerfully. "Did you miss me?"
"XELLOS!!!" It was as though a dam had broken. Rising out of her chair, Lina flung herself into the priest's arms. He winced at the flood of positive emotions that washed over him--her joy, her relief at seeing him safe--but he put his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. "Ssh, pet, it's all right. I told you I'd be back, didn't I? You should have a little more faith!"
Somehow, she did not weep, but clung to him tightly. "I know, but you were gone for so long, I thought . . . ." She shook her head. "I thought you were dead, Xellos." Suddenly angry, she whacked him on the head hard enough to send him reeling, then commenced throttling him. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU??!!" she demanded, choking him. "SHAME ON YOU FOR TOYING WITH AN INNOCENT MAIDEN'S HEART LIKE THAT, LETTING ME THINK YOU WERE DEAD!!"
"I'm sorry, Lina," he gasped, "but---"
"YOU MIGHT AT LEAST HAVE FOUND A WAY TO LET ME KNOW YOU WERE ALL RIGHT!" she screamed. "BUT OH NO, YOU JUST DISAPPEAR, AND THEN EIGHT MONTHS LATER YOU COME BACK OUT OF NOWHERE LIKE IT WAS JUST YESTERDAY THAT YOU'D LEFT AND IT'S A GOOD THING I MISCARRIED BECAUSE YOU'D MAKE A TERRIBLE PARENT AND I WAS SO WORRIED I COULD HAVE DIED BECAUSE I THOUGHT . . . I thought you were dead." She finally let go of his throat, her rage spent, and Xellos, now slightly blue, was able to breathe again. He gasped for a moment, then shook his head. "If I could have come back sooner, Lina," he whispered, his hands gripping her elbows, "I would have, believe me!"
She sighed, and her shoulders sagged. "Never mind," she whispered back, closing her eyes and leaning into him. "I'm just glad you're okay."
"Mm . . . me too." He tilted her head up and kissed her, her lips parting eagerly when he probed with his tongue, and after that it was like they'd never been apart at all.
"Why are you doing this?" Lina asked him, several minutes later, as he laid her down on the bed.
Xellos freed his mouth from its current occupation. "I'm telling you a secret, Lina-chan," he murmured. "The same one I told your friend Gourry, in fact, though I told him in a different way."
"Like this??"
"Mm-hmm," he mumbled. "It's the only way I know how, pretty Lina-chan."
"I don't get it."
He stopped for a moment, recognizing that she wasn't going to let the line of questioning go. "What are we doing?" he asked.
"Umm . . . having sex, I'm pretty sure."
He smirked. "What's another term for it, a prettier term?"
"Making l--- oh, okay."
He chuckled. "That's it, that's all you have to say, Lina? Just 'oh, okay'?"
She thought for a moment, then spread her legs as she gave him a long, slow kiss. "There, how 'bout that?" she whispered as their lips parted.
He smiled down at her. "Ah, I understand." The smile broadened, and he bent his head to kiss her again.
The End (yaaaaaaaaay!!!!)
*Note: one should never actually bathe or swim in cave water, because of its incredible purity. Being the ecologist I am, I had to add that. Xellos, of course, worked out a way around that. Can't have him defiling natural wonders, now, can we? How did he get around it? Well, if you can't guess what I'm going to say now, I CAN'T HELP YOU! *tee* Well now, that is a secret! (Sorry folks, had to add it. ^_^) ~Xellina-san~
~Xellina~
"Love Without Love"
Ch. 1
"Xellos." A booted foot in his ribs nudged him out of sleep. "What?" he asked.
"Were you asleep?" Lina sounded surprised.
*grumble* "Yes, I was asleep, Lina. Even Mazoku do sleep occasionally. What do you want?"
"I'm cold."
Without opening his eyes, Xellos rolled onto his back and looked at her. "I'm very sorry, Miss Lina," he said politely, "but what do you expect me to do about it? I am not omnipotent, you know." Although he kept his tone light and carefree, Xellos's heart was starting to race a bit.
She toed him in the ribs again. "Scoot over, Xellos."
He chuckled, secretly rejoicing. "You're not serious, Lina."
She shivered and stamped her feet. "Of course I'm serious, but if you touch me, you die, buster, got that?"
He chuckled again, very quietly, and opened his blankets. "Of course, I understand." Such a pretty thing you are, Lina! he thought, admiring her slim form.
She crawled into his blankets and settled herself, her back to him, edged as far away from him as she could possibly get and still benefit from the blankets' warmth. "One smartass remark from you," she hissed, "and I'll give you a Ragna Blade up the butt, understand, Xellos?"
He bit back on a smile. "Of course." He waited. Sure enough, it was only a matter of minutes before she realized she had a fantastic heat source right behind her, and she wiggled closer. He took that as his cue, and wrapped his arms around her.
"HEY!!!" Lina tried to wriggle away. As she squirmed, her buttocks pressed up against his crotch. He giggled. "Ooh!"
She turned bright red. "Cut it out, Xellos!" She smacked him over her shoulder, and he released her. She muttered something about "damned fruitcakey Mazoku." He smiled to himself, laid down again, and was silent, and waited. When he sensed that she was almost asleep, he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. She stirred slightly and smiled. He grinned to himself. Hmm . . . perhaps pretty Lina-chan isn't quite as uncaring as she'd like me to believe! He kissed her again.
This time, she woke up a little more, but was still too sleepy to be called really conscious. "Xellos?" she asked softly.
He smiled, liking that tone in her voice. "Mmm?"
"What are you doing?"
He smiled again. "I'm kissing you, Lina-chan."
Lina's eyes seemed glued shut; she felt wrapped in a heavy languor, even as his touch sent little tingles through her body. "Why?" she asked.
He chuckled, and opened his mouth to let his tongue flick her skin as his lips drifted along her neck. "I should think that would be obvious, Lina-chan." He paused. "Look at me," he whispered to her, compelling.
Lina shifted languidly and opened her eyes. She found herself staring into Xellos' eyes, glittering like amethysts and indescribably beautiful in the moonlight. He smiled at her, and for an instant she almost reached out to him, then gasped softly, fully awake now and returning to sanity. "Xellos! What are you DOING, you little pervert??!"
Xellos smiled, and kissed her again on the cheek, then lay back down beside her. "Oh Lina," he said, amused, "do you still not understand?" He closed his eyes again, and went back to sleep. Lina stared at him for a moment in shock, jaw sagging open, then turned around, still befuddled and a little nervous, and lay there in the darkness trying not to notice him until she fell asleep.
Ch. 2
Lina awoke the next morning to the feel of a gloved hand over her mouth. Coming wide awake, she started to struggle. "Mm rm mrmff!!"
"Ssh," Xellos said softly, into her ear. "Be quiet, Lina." He was also whispering. With an effort, Lina relaxed. Removing his hand from her mouth, Xellos pointed off into the trees. "Look over there, Lina."
Lina looked. There, in a clearing not far away, a group of beings sat. They were not humans, per say, nor an other sort of definite creature, but an entire enclave of chimeras, a group Lina and her companions had run afoul of not but a week before. Gourry and Amelia had been captured somehow, and Zelgadis had gone after them, seeking to infiltrate the group, but had not returned. Lina, impatient, had set out on the trail of the bandits, a protesting Xellos in tow. Now, the red-headed sorceress surveyed her opponents. Rough, bitter men, women, and things less definite. All manner of wings, scales, fins, and other paraphernalia abounded. Lina pointed to their leader, a big, burly, rough-looking man with wild black hair, leathery bat-like wings and ears, a tail, and garnet-colored, gleaming claws and fangs. "That's him," Lina breathed. "That's the guy! That's the guy who--- mmrff!"
Xellos had clapped his hand over her mouth again. "Ssh!" he admonished her roughly. "If they hear you, we'll never find out where your friends have been taken. Don't you want to rescue the princess and the chimera? Not to mention your boyfriend?"
Lina growled. "Of course!" And Gourry's not my boyfriend anymore, we were over a long time ago." The memory hardly hurt at all anymore. Lina had never been certain just what had gone wrong in that relationship, only that, somehow, something in her had changed somewhere along the line . . . and while Gourry was still her best friend, she could no longer view him as anything but that. Lina sighed, and turned her attention back to the group of chimeras. "Well, what do you think?" she asked Xellos. "Should we jump out and kick ass now, and force one of 'em to tell us where their hideout is, or should we just follow them quietly?"
Xellos looked at her, surprised that she was asking his opinion. "I would recommend that we follow them quietly, Lina-chan, then take them by surprise. That way, we don't risk one of them escaping to warn the others."
Lina nodded, her eyes still on the group. She sighed. "Poor Zel. D'ya think he went and decided to join them?"
Xellos shrugged. "I wouldn't put it past him. Your Zelgadis always seems to put his own interests first.
Lina hit him, but half-heartedly. "Oh, that's not true!"
Xellos chuckled. "Yes it is, and you know it, Lina!" She was silent for a moment, then said, "Come on, they're moving out. Let's go."
They followed the group from a distance all day, and Lina confirmed what she had always suspected: Xellos was excellent at following people without being seen. When she asked him about it, he just shrugged. "I have to trail people sometimes."
"Why?"
He giggled. "Now, that--"
She hit him. "Don't say it, Xellos."
He smiled, and was silent.
They camped out again, on a hill overlooking the chimeras' camp, so that they could see without being seen. This night, Xellos didn't need to sleep, and he didn't, but he pretended to, hoping. Sure enough, in the middle of the night, Lina scooted her blankets over to him. "Xellos?" she whispered.
"Hmm?" he asked with a yawn, feigning weariness.
"Can I ask you a question?"
He smiled. "Of course, Lina." I don't guarantee you an answer, but you may certainly ask!
She hesitated. "Why are you helping me, Xellos? What do Amelia and the others mean to you?"
A smirk, one that her human night vision could not pick out in the darkness. "Absolutely nothing, Lina-chan."
"Then . . . why help me rescue them?"
Other than the fact that you threatened my poor self with grave bodily harm, Lina-chan? His smile broadened. "Now, that is a secret!" he replied, waggling a finger at her.
Lina hit him, and he laughed quietly to himself. Lying quietly, Xellos waited until he was certain Lina was asleep, then he leaned over, gave her a quick peck on the forehead, then lay back down and watched her for a long time.
Ch. 3
"There they are," Lina whispered, peering through the screen of bushes. Xellos positioned his head beside hers, and peeked out.
It was a grim, nearly surrealistic scene. The group of chimera bandits they'd been following had finally reached their hideout. The group had several human prisoners, among them Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun and Gourry Gabriev. Lina sucked in her breath in anger as she saw the leader of the bandits wearing the Sword of Light.
"Do you see Zel?" Lina asked.
Xellos did not reply, only pointed.
Out of the cave that formed the hideout, a group of the chimeras--a half-man/half-bear, a woman with fins and sharp spines and scales, and another fish-man the likes of Noonsa and Rihanimu--came, wheeling with them a cart with some sort of structure set up on it. Lina gasped again, this time in horror, at what she saw.
They had set up a structure on the cart. Zelgadis, naked to the waist, was chained to it, on his knees, with his arms spread apart. Bloodied and beaten, he fought his bonds with furious energy. "Oh no," Lina whispered. "What are they doing?"
"Executing him, I should say," Xellos responded calmly, a thoughtful expression on his face. Lina growled, but Xellos hushed her. The bandit leader was speaking. "Let's see what he has to say," Xellos said, with almost clinical dispassion.
"My friends," the bandit began in a harsh, growling voice, "we have among us the lowest of all beings, one who is traitor to his own kind!" The bandit gestured to Zelgadis, and the assembled hissed and jeered. Zel renewed his struggles. The bandit leader spat. "A man-- no, less than that, a thing!-- who turns against his own brothers and sisters--his family--to come to the aid of the very beings who made him what he is, a freak, an outcast from human society!"
"That's not true!" Zelgadis shouted. "Amelia and Gourry had nothing to---" The chimera bandit drew the Sword of Light and struck Zelgadis across the face with the hilt, hard. Blood spurted from Zel's mouth, and he slumped forward.
"Hmm . . . it seems they've learned the lesson of Zelgadis' stone skin," Xellos remarked.
Lina glared at him, outraged. "How can you be so calm about this??" Her eyes narrowed. "Oh wait, that's right, you don't care, you're a Mazoku. You're probably wishing you were down there with them right now!"
He furrowed his brow. "Ouch, Lina!"
She growled, then shook her head, eyes glued to the scene below. "Oh, poor Zel," she whispered, then her gaze hardened. "Zelgadis has a human soul, no matter what his outer form! These people aren't even human anymore!"
Xellos shook his head. "Yes, they are. Humans are the only race--besides mine--I've ever found that are capable of this sort of ritualistic brutality to members of their own." He watched, dispassionately, as the bandit leader delivered several more blows to the semi-conscious Zelgadis.
Lina sighed. "Well, that's true." Her eyes narrowed. "All right, that's it, I've seen enough." She stood up and closed her eyes for a moment. "FIRRRREE-BALL!!!" she yelled, and threw the blast down into the camp. Xellos sighed, and teleported to a handy tree to watch Lina Inverse at work.
Lina would have been having the time of her life if she hadn't been so royally ticked off. Many of the chimera bandits were also sorcerers, some of them quite good, so Lina found herself with a challenging battle on her hands. She might have tried to draw the fight out, but she was too mad to care. Instead, she just plowed through them as fast as she could. Unspoken in her mind, the words chanted: Dragonslave. Dragonslave! Dragonslave! But she dared not use it, not while Amelia, Gourry, and Zel were still in the line of fire. "Dil-Brandt!" she snarled. "Dragon Flare!" No piddling little Flare Arrows for these guys; oh no, it was Fireball on up, plus some swordwork, and her trademark, bandit-killing fists.
Lina got to the group of chained human slaves first. A moment of magic had both Gourry and Amelia free, and the others running for it. The princess and the swordsman were a bit battered, but okay. Zelgadis, on the other hand . . . Lina could dimly see the chimera's slumped form on the cart; he wasn't moving anymore.
Lina grabbed Amelia and Gourry. "Come on, let's get Zel and go!" She turned around and gasped, startled. The bat-winged leader was there, flexing his claws and grinning wickedly. In one hand he held the Sword of Light. "Why, hello there, little witch," he said softly, menacingly. "Come to rescue your friends?"
"Miss Lina!" Amelia whispered urgently. "Be careful! His claws have a poison that can neutralize magical ability!"
Lina smiled tightly. "Oh, so that's how you guys captured Zel so easily," she said directly to the bandit leader. "I'd wondered."
The man grinned; a fanged and highly unpleasant grin. "That's right. And now it's your turn, little witch! Yahhh!" Without warning, the bandit charged. "Yikes!" yelped Lina. She barely dodged the man's poisoned claws, and received a small slash from the Hikari no Ken. She hissed and rolled. "Fireball!" she yelled. The bandit deflected it around the Sword of Light. "Damn!" Lina cursed. "Looks like you actually know how to use that thing!" Uh-oh, I could be in trouble here. Once more, she barely dodged in time. Shit, this guy's clever!
"Gourry," she panted. "Get Amelia out of here, then come back for Zel. Try to---shit---find some---*dodge*---keys or something to get him out." She paused for a moment, panting, and drew her own sword. If she could just get in under that guy's guard . . . maybe . . . "I'll hold this guy off," she finished, regrouping, "and join you later."
Gourry gave her a long look, the kind that said he was well aware that she had little chance of rejoining them, then took Amelia by the arm. "Go on, Amelia, run!" he said. Amelia ran. Gourry, meanwhile, grabbed a sword from a fallen bandit, and went back to join Lina. "I'm not going, Lina!"
She growled at him, while trying to parry. "Oh yeah? And then who's going to help Zel, huh? Ahh!" Again, she dodged barely in time, feeling a lock of hair fall away, but this time, she managed to get in a return slash. Brownish blood sheeted down the bandit's right arm for a moment, then the flow ceased as the wound closed. Lina gasped, and the chimeric bandit laughed harshly. Oh, shit, she thought, trying to push back sudden fear.
Up in his tree, Xellos frowned, watching as slowly but surely, Lina was beaten back. Gourry was struggling unsuccessfully with Zel's manacles, tears on his face. The bandit broke Lina's sword with the Hikari no Ken, and then Lina was back to dodging again. Xellos could see she was tiring quickly. Her spells would not work while the bandit held the Sword of Light, and if he touched her, she wouldn't even be able to heal herself anymore. Xellos sighed. Oh well. Cute humans died, just like all the rest. Gourry made a go at the bandit, but against the chimera's healing powers and the Sword of Light, even Gourry's formidable skills could do little, and he was already tired. The swordsman put up a good fight of it, but he was eventually tossed aside. Xellos watched silently as, at last, the chimera forced Lina down, the point of the Hikari no Ken at her throat.
Still defiant, Lina glared at the bandit, and her lips moved, probably to do some sort of kamikaze with a Dragonslave. Something pricked Xellos inside. Frowning, he raised one hand and almost absently made a gesture.
Lina had just gotten to "power"---By L-sama, if I'm goin' down, he's goin' with me!--- when the bandit leader suddenly screamed. Lina watched, stunned, as the chimera burst into green flames, and was reduced to a charred hulk in literal seconds. The Sword of Light fell to the ground and flickered out. Panting, and blinking at this unexpected deliverance, Lina sat up, then grabbed the hilt of the Sword of Light and stood up. Gourry was just rising. Lina tried a spell, sighed with relief when it worked, then limped over to Gourry as Amelia came rushing back down the hill. "Miss Lina! Mister Gourry!"
They waved, and Lina grinned tiredly. "Chalk up another victory for the mighty Lina Inverse!" she said, jauntily, then her smile disappeared. She cast a searching glance in the direction of her hidden campsite, then shook her head. "Oh no! Zelgadis!"
The chimera was in pretty bad shape, unconscious and bloodied, still bound to the cart. Another few moments of magic, and Lina had his bonds undone. With a hoarse groan, Zel slumped forward into her arms. She staggered under his weight. "Oof! Hey, Gourry, give me a hand here, he's heavy!" she exclaimed, shooting another searching glance over her shoulder. She half-expected to see a dark figure standing on the ridge, but the hilltop was empty. "Come on," she said. "I have a camp set up on the ridge above the bandit camp. Gourry, you carry Zel, okay? And I'll heal him when we get back to camp." The big swordsman nodded, his face creased with concern. Amelia's eyes were big and teary. "Oh, I wish I could use my powers!" she wailed.
"Yeah, that reminds me," Lina said, wincing as she hiked uphill on a twisted ankle, "how long does that poison last, anyway?"
Amelia brightened up. "Oh, I'll be fine in a day or two!"
"Good." Lina nodded decisively. "Until then I can manage without you and Zel, I suppose." She smiled. "Bet you were pretty glad to see me, huh?" She winked, and Amelia and Gourry smiled.
Xellos was nowhere to be found back at camp. Amelia started dinner with the remains of the provisions, while Lina healed Zelgadis. White magic wasn't the sorceress's strongest point, so by the time she was done, she was just too tired to work on her own injuries. She sighed, and shrugged, resolving to attend to them in the morning.
After a few minutes, Zel, who had his head in Amelia's lap, stirred and opened his eyes. "Amelia? What?? --Oh, hi Lina!" He actually smiled for a moment. "Boy, am I glad to see you! When did you show up?" He rubbed his head. "What happened to the bandits?"
"Lina dispatched them with her usual . . . alacrity,"Xellos said dryly, materializing in the middle of the camp. Lina actually smiled at the priest. "Hi Xellos," she said cheerfully, as her friends, even Xellos himself, goggled at her. Lina ignored them all and turned back to Zel. "How'd you get captured, anyway?" she asked. "When you didn't come back in three days, I got worried and came after you!"
The chimera shrugged. "They caught me trying to release Gourry and Amelia," Zelgadis explained bluntly. "That big bandit--the one with the wings--had them bludgeon me into unconsciousness before I could fight back." Zel smiled sourly. "His claws apparently will penetrate my skin, so . . ." he flexed his hands ruefully, "no magic for awhile." Zel sighed, and looked at Lina. "Sorry to make you worry, Lina."
She giggled. "Oh, don't worry about it! I'm just glad you're all okay . . . now let's eat!" She pounced on the food.
Ch. 4
Lina sat, feeling her muscles ache. That fight had been pretty close . . . too close, actually. If it hadn't been for . . . She snuck a glance at Xellos, who was smiling to himself, as usual, and looking into the fire. Or at least, she assumed he was looking into the fire, since it was tough to tell when he had his eyes closed. Lina had a hunch he'd been the one who saved her butt. She looked around; good, Gourry, Zel, and Amelia were all asleep. Feeling slightly embarrassed, Lina got up and went to sit by Xellos. "Hi!" she said.
He smiled at her. "Hello, Lina. What's the matter? Can't you sleep?"
Lina shrugged and sighed. "Nah."
He threw another bit of wood on the fire. "Well then, you're welcome to sit with me for awhile, if you'd like." He wasn't facing her, so she couldn't tell when the purple eyes behind their protective lids flicked towards her face.
Lina fiddled with a twig, then tossed it into the flames and watched it burn. "Okay. --Uh, hey, Xellos? Thanks."
Now he did turn towards her, and raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? For what, Lina-chan?"
Lina decided to let that stupid "Lina-chan" thing slide for once. "Oh, you know . . . for helping me track down these bandits . . . and for saving my butt tonight." She looked him straight in the face. "That was you, wasn't it?"
He smiled again. "Yes, that was me. You're welcome." His smile broadened. "You see? I really do care!"
Lina shot him a skeptical glance. "Uh-huh. Yeah. Right."
He pretended to be hurt, and pouted. "I do! . . .Well, about you, anyway," he added, just to see if he could make her blush.
He succeeded. Lina blushed bright crimson. He laughed. "Red is such a pretty color on you, Lina," he said teasingly, touching her flushed cheek with one finger. She blushed again. "Leave me alone!" she growled, swatting at him. He caught her hands in his, then kissed them. Lina was so startled, she quit trying to hit him. "Hey!! What was that for?"
He smiled at her. "Just for being you, my pretty Lina-chan!"
She blushed again and glared at him. "I'm not 'your' Lina, Xellos!"
He kept smirking, but let go of her hands. "I know," he responded equably. "But you are pretty." He turned away again, and went back to watching the flames. For a moment he thought she was going to say something, but instead she just got up and wandered off.
Wrapping himself in his cloak, Xellos lay down by the fire, put his head in his arms, slowed his breathing, and immersed himself in his thoughts. He was startled when, sometime later, he heard footsteps approaching. The feet paused right by him, and he recognized Lina by her smell and aura.
Xellos was even more surprised when, after a moment, he felt Lina lie down by him, nestling close, her back pressing up against his own. He smiled in the darkness, debated making some comment, then decided to just let the moment be. No telling when--or if--it would happen again. Xellos smiled again, and went back to his thoughts.
Ch. 5
The next day, Lina healed her own remaining hurts, as well as those of her companions. Then they all went down to the smoldering ruins of the chimera enclave. Lina stood at the edge of the cave, ignoring the carnage. She'd caused it, after all. And not all the people had been killed; in fact, she figured most of them had been merely wounded, and had managed to get away. Lina turned to Zelgadis. "I don't suppose you saw if they had any treasure?" she asked hopefully.
Zelgadis shook his head, looking disgusted. "They had no treasure, Lina." The chimera turned around and walked off, shoulders tight. Amelia watched him go, puzzled. "What's wrong with Mister Zelgadis?" she asked worriedly.
Lina crossed her arms over her chest, then without answering she ran after Zelgadis. He let her catch up, but refused to look at her. "Aren't you going to go treasure-hunting, Lina?" he asked, bitterness in his voice.
Lina sighed. "Nah, not today. I doubt they had anything, like you said." She moved in front of him and planted herself firmly in his path, forcing him to stop. "Come on, Zel, don't be so gloomy all the time! What's the point of risking your life for your friends if you just walk off and leave them again the next chance you get?"
Zel sighed and stopped. "Look, I just don't want to go back there, okay?"
Lina's gaze softened. "Okay." She turned and yelled to her other two companions (Xellos was missing again; the spot next to her back had been empty when she'd awoken, Lina recalled with a blush), "Hey, come on! We're wasting the day!" Gourry and Amelia caught up, and the resumed walking. "Hey Lina, where are we going?" Gourry asked. "I thought we were looking for that Rah-hoozits guy?"
"Ranimura," Lina corrected absently.
"Isn't that how this whole mess got started in the first place?" Zelgadis put in.
Lina just shrugged and grinned. "Hey, no pain, no gain, right? And Ranimura isn't a person, it's a talisman. A pretty powerful one too, or so I've heard."
"What's it do, Miss Lina?" asked Amelia.
"Supposedly, when invoked and looked into, the Ranimura shows a reflection of the person as they really are, inside."
Gourry scratched his head. "But, isn't everyone pretty much just red gooey stuff inside?"
Lina knocked him into the dirt. "Not inside their bodies, you numbskull, inside their souls!" She kicked the prostrated swordsman one more time, just for good measure. "Jellyfish brain!" she growled. Zelgadis gave Gourry a hand up. Rubbing his skull, Gourry tried to digest this latest bit of information. "So," he said slowly, "all you have to do is look into this Ramada thingy, and it shows you what you're really like?"
"Yes, Gourry, precisely," answered Lina, in a voice that dripped poisonous sweetness, "and it's Ranimura, not Ramada!" She kicked him in the shin. "I bet when we get to you, Gourry, it shows a big pile of yogurt!" Lina grumbled. Her friends, wisely, kept silent.
They came to a fork in the road. There was no sign. "Well, which way should we go, Miss Lina?" asked Amelia.
Lina shrugged. "One way's as good as another, I guess. Let's go left." They turned, and continued walking.
Ch. 6
They stopped at the next town for food and information. Of food, at least, they found plenty, much to Lina's delight. She set to with a will, making up for the energy she'd expended in her magic the day before. Her companions sweatdropped, even Gourry. After dinner, they split up to check out the local magic and curiosity shops, looking for the Ranimura. Since it was fairly late, Lina wrote down the name and description of the talisman for Gourry, though she had little hope it would do any good, and the four friends went off separately, eager to get their check done as soon as possible, so that they could move on in the morning. They only knew the general area the Ranimura was supposed to be located, not its exact position. In other words, they had a bunch more towns to check after this one.
Lina sighed and ran her hands through her hair in frustration. This town had been a total dead end, at least for her. No-one she'd talked to had even heard of the Ranimura. She hoped the others had had more luck, but she wasn't betting on it. "Should've turned right," she said aloud to herself as she turned a corner. She had been sure the street was deserted, so she shrieked and nearly jumped out of her skin when Xellos remarked cheerfully from right behind her, "Didn't find what you were looking for, did you?"
Lina gritted her teeth, in no mood for the Trickster's pranks. "Fireball!" she yelled, and whirled around, but by the time she'd thrown the spell, he had already disappeared. Lina was just wondering where he'd gone when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her from behind. "HEY!!!" she yelled. "What the heck do you think you're DOING, you stupid fruitcake??!!"
Xellos chuckled; a low, throaty sound that made her hair stand on end. Lina suddenly realized that the street was deserted except for them, and poorly lit, and . . . Suddenly frightened, Lina renewed her struggles. Xellos sighed. "Really, Lina am I so repellent to you?"
Now she flushed, but more from anger than embarrassment. "I just don't fancy being raped by you, Xellos, that's all," she said angrily, fighting to keep her voice calm.
He pouted playfully. "Such a high opinion you have of me, Lina-chan!" He released her. "But if that's how you feel, then you might as well go home, and I'll just keep the neat thing I found." He sighed elaborately and started walking off. "Too bad. It looks valuable too. I had hoped you could tell me what it is, Lina, but never mind."
"VALUABLE??" Lina's eyes lit up, and she pounced on the priest, who grinned slyly to himself. "Valuable? What? What is it? Show me show me show me!" She started trying to frisk him, then stopped abruptly as she realized what she was doing. Regaining a bit of dignity, she coughed sheepishly, took her knee out of his diaphragm, and stood up, dusting off the knees of her pants. "Uh . . . *heh* sorry . . ." she blushed. Xellos wheezed, winced, and sat up. Reaching into his cloak, he pulled out a large object, shrouded in black cloth. Lina gasped, recognizing the shape of the object. "That-- that's the Ranimura!" she exclaimed, attempting to snatch the object out of Xellos's grasp. He teleported out of the way, frowning, and holding the object protectively against his chest. "No fair, Lina-chan! It belongs to me, you know!"
She wasn't listening. He had to phase out again as she made another grab for the Ranimura. He sighed, and as she made another dive for the talisman, he caught her up again, pulling her close to him and effectively pinning her arms to her sides. "Lina, calm down!" he instructed her, a little more sharply than he'd intended. She did calm down, though. "Oh, come on, Xelly, hand it over!" She grinned, cutely. "Pleeease?? Pretty pretty please??"
He sighed, sweatdropped, and debated it mentally. On the one hand, he had little personal use for the artifact, and he genuinely wished to please her. On the other hand, a bargaining chip was a bargaining chip. Maybe he could get her to kiss him for it . . .
Lina, meanwhile, managed to free her arms from his lax grip. "Tell you what, I'll pay you 700 gold pieces for it," she coaxed him.
Xellos sighed, and handed it over. Lina whooped, then began digging around in her cloak for money. He held up a hand. "Just take it, Lina."
Her eyes lit up, as he'd hoped they would. "You mean . . . I can have it for . . . free???"
He smiled. "Yes, go ahead and keep it." He dropped a quick kiss on the top of her head. She was too engrossed in her new possession to notice. Encouraged, he kissed her again. This time, her fist connected with his face. "Don't push it, Xellos," she snarled.
He grinned at her, unfazed. "Come on, Lina-chan, let's go back to the inn so you can show off your new toy to your friends." Once again, she was too wrapped up in her little cloud of greed to really notice him, so he was able to keep one hand on her back all the way back to the inn.
Ch. 7
"Hey guys, look, I've got it!" Lina yelled as she entered the room, holding the Ranimura over her head triumphantly. Her three tired friends looked up and whooped spiritedly. "All right!" Gourry exclaimed. "You got that whats-its-name thingy!"
"Yatta! Where'd you find it, Miss Lina?" asked Amelia.
"Oh, way in the back of a curio shop," Lina surprised herself by lying. Xellos shot her a quick, startled glance, but said nothing. "Come on," Lina continued. "Let's go to bed, and we'll try it out in the morning, okay? I'm beat."
"Me too," added Gourry.
"So am I," Zelgadis agreed, and they split for the night.
Yawning, and clutching her precious talisman to her chest, Lina made her way up the stairs. Briefly, she regretted that they were no longer camping out. Here in an inn, there would be no more opportunities for her to. . . . Lina flushed and shook her head, as though trying to physically dispel some unwanted thought. She looked up, and gasped to find Xellos standing--waiting, it seemed-- at the top of the stairs. "Oh, hello," she said
pleasantly.
He smiled at her and waved. As she drew even with him, he reached out his free hand to her. She hesitated for a moment, then slowly put her hand in his. He smiled again, and drew her towards him. This time, she did not resist, but allowed him to wrap her in a loose embrace. Without conscious thought, she allowed herself to lean against him, and sighed.
He chuckled, and put one hand beneath her chin, tilting her head up so that she was forced to look at his face. His eyes were open suddenly, and his gaze caught and held her own. "Or perhaps I was wrong, Lina-chan," he murmured, half to himself, half to her, his eyes never leaving her own, "and you really do care?" One gloved finger stroked her cheek.
Lina blushed, but forced herself to look him in the eye and reply firmly, "Maybe, maybe not."
His eyes narrowed, and his mouth twisted into a smirk. "Well, then, would this help you make up your mind?" he asked, and kissed her. Lina was more-or-less expecting it, and was determined not to respond, but he was very insistent, and she quickly gave in.
Of course, naturally she was just starting to get really into it when she heard a floorboard creak, and a familiar voice exclaimed, "Oh, good Lord!"
With a guilty flush, Lina broke the kiss and spun around, stepping away from Xellos. "Zelgadis! Uh, hi!" she giggled nervously. "I was just . . . uh . . . that is . . . um . . ." she sweatdropped.
"I saw what you were doing, Lina," Zel responded coldly. "You were playing tonsil hockey with Xellos."
The Mazoku in question frowned. "My, my, how crudely you put things, Zelgadis! I say, if two consenting adults want to make out in a stairwell, it's none of your business!"
"Yeah!" Lina agreed, still angry at being interrupted, then embarrassed . . . not to mention Zel's choice of words!
Zelgadis gave her a stricken look, the shrugged and turned away. "Very well, if that's the way you want it, Lina, go right ahead. Fuck the bastard for all I care." The chimera walked away.
Lina smoldered with anger and embarrassment, Xellos noted with interest, but the chimera was seething with fury and something else . . . The Mazoku thought for a moment, then smiled. My my! he thought. Is that jealousy I sense? The thought very nearly made him chuckle out loud, but he caught himself just in time. Lina looked at him, started to speak, then looked away. "I'm going to bed," she said, flushing again. "I'll see you in the morning, Xellos."
He smiled, and blew her a kiss, and phased out.
The next morning, after breakfast, the group gathered in Lina's room to try out the Ranimura. It stood before them, unveiled, looking like an ordinary mirror set in an ornate brass and orihalcon fixture. It sat there, inert and blank, showing not even an ordinary reflection.
Amelia blinked. "Um . . . how do we make it work, Miss Lina?"
Lina sweatdropped. "I, uh, actually don't really know."
They wilted, then Zelgadis suggested that they just try different things. "After all," the blue-skinned shaman said with a shrug, "three of us are sorcerers, something's bound to work eventually."
They each stood in front of the talisman and tried everything they could think of, from begging to boost spells to invocation spells. Nothing worked. Xellos's only contribution the entire time was to click his heels together three times and intone solemnly, "Mirror, mirror, in its stand, who is the fairest in the land?" The rest of the group facefaulted, and Lina punted the priest across the room, where he spent the next half hour sulking in a corner and enjoying their efforts.
At last, angry and frustrated, they had run out of ideas. Lina growled, "Oh, that's it, I don't care if this thing is a priceless talisman, I'm gonna punt it all the way to Seyruun!!"
She wound up for a kick, then stopped dead as Xellos said quietly, in a dead-serious tone, "Ranimura, Mirror of the Soul, I Invoke thee now."
Immediately, the talisman began to him and pulse with light. Lina jumped back as it expanded rapidly, growing to the size of a full-length mirror in a matter of instants. There it stopped, its surface rippling with myriad colors.
There was a split second of shock, wherein nobody moved, then Zelgadis and Lina were on him. "Why, you damned . . ." Zelgadis could find no words strong enough for what he wanted to say, so he just plowed on. "You knew that all along and you only just now . . .!"
"Yeah, yeah!" Lina shouted in Xellos's ear, while inflicting major bodily harm with her tiny fists. "What the hell is wrong with you??" she demanded, throttling the priest.
Xellos put up with it meekly, and after a few seconds, Lina had exhausted her rage, and turned away. "Okay, Xellos," she said in an annoyed voice, "since you seem to know how this works, what do we do now?"
"Well now," Xellos said cheerily, "that--"
"Lord of the dreams that terrify . . ."
"--is really quite simple," he continued swiftly. "The person wishing to see themselves in the Mirror should stand directly in front of it, place their hands on the Mirror's rim, and say, 'Mirror, show me the truth.' The Ranimura will only show one person at a time."
Zelgadis turned to him. "Why's that?"
Xellos shrugged, smiling. "I don't know, I've never tried it! Why don't you?"
Zel blanched. "Uh, Lina, why don't you go first?"
Lina sweatdropped, and Xellos chuckled. She glared at him wearily, then turned and said, "Hey Gourry, why don't you try it?"
Gourry shrugged. "Okay. I don't really see what all the fuss is about, but if you want me to go first, I will." He stepped in front of the glowing talisman, and put his hands on its rim. "Uh . . . what do I say again?"
"You say, 'Mirror, show me the truth,'" Xellos replied patiently.
"Oh, okay. Uh . . . Mirror . . . show me the truth."
There was a flash of light and a muted humming, and the ripples in the mirror coalesced. Gourry blinked. "Oh," he said, in a tone of disappointment. "Yeah, that makes sense, I guess. But I already knew that . . . I think." the others crowded around. "What? What is it? What do you see?"
They looked into the Ranimura expectantly, then disappointedly. "Hey! I can't see anything in it all except glowing colors!" Lina exclaimed, and all but Gourry turned to Xellos. "Hey, how come we can't see anything?"
Xellos shrugged, then got up and glanced into the Ranimura to see what was engrossing Gourry so much. He murmured a spell, then smiled. "Well," he said to Gourry alone, patting the big swordsman on the shoulder, "that was, after all, to be expected, considering."
Gourry turned to him. "You can see it?"
Xellos smiled and nodded. "How come?" the puzzled swordsman asked.
"Now that is a secret!" Xellos chuckled, waggling a finger at Gourry.
Lina shouldered Gourry aside. "Okay, my turn!" She glanced at Xellos. "I just do the same thing, right?" Xellos nodded, and went to sit down on the bed, his legs crossed.
Lina put her hands along the rim of the Ranimura. "Okay! Mirror, show me the truth!"
There was a much brighter flash this time. When their vision cleared, Lina's friends looked expectantly at her, hoping she would share her vision.
Lina was staring at the mirror, frozen, her eyes wide. Then she began to tremble, and she shook her head back and forth repeatedly, her eyes never leaving the Ranimura's surface. "No," she whispered. "No. No! Not again! I don't want that, I don't want to be that!" she shouted at the talisman.
Frowning, Xellos got up and glanced over Lina's shoulder. His eyes snapped wide open, and he sucked in his breath in a startled hiss. "Mirror! Disinvoke!" he snapped. Immediately, the light from the talisman died, but it was too late. With a strangled sob, Lina ran from the room.
"Lina!" "Miss Lina!" Her friends ran to the doorway, but the red-head was already out of sight. Zelgadis frowned. "Hey Xellos, what was that all about? . . . Xellos?" He turned. The Mazoku was gone.
Ch. 8
Lina ran blindly, her vision obscured by tears--and the pounding, shaking fear--through the streets, out of the town, and into the woods. Twigs and branches tore at her, unheeded as she ran, trying to outdistance the horrifying vision she'd seen in the mottled surface of the Ranimura.
Suddenly, she ran smack into something soft and yielding. "Oof!" it said, when she ploughed into it. Lina caught a quick glimpse of tan shirt and black cape, and then she was sobbing into Xellos's chest, as he wrapped his arms around her. "It's not true!" Lina sobbed. "I'm not Her, I'm not! I'm not Her and I don't want to BE Her!"
Xellos sighed. "Ssh, pet, it'll be all right." She barely noticed when he scooped her up and sat down on the grass, cradling her in his lap while she cried on his shoulder, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. He shushed her gently, stroking her hair and rubbing her back until she finally quit crying.
When Lina finally unburied her head from the curve of his neck, he smiled at her and lightly kissed her forehead. For a wonder, she didn't hit him, just sniffled and wiped her nose. He handed her a hankie; she blew her nose, then folded up the hankie and clutched it in one hand like a lifeline. After a moment, she asked, "How did you find me out here?"
"Ah, now that is a secret!"
She actually giggled a little through her sniffles. "You and your damned secrets!" she said, with more affection than irritation.
He looked down at her in surprise. Should he try it now? No, best to wait just a little bit longer. She was in no mood right now to . . .
"Xellos?" Lina's voice broke him out of his thoughts. He looked down at her, nestled in the crook of his arm. "Hmm?" he asked, trying valiantly not to notice her cheek against his chest.
"What did it mean?" she asked him, still a bit frightened in spite of herself.
Xellos shrugged. "Well, I doubt it meant you're going to wake up one morning to find that the Lord of Nightmares has taken over your body again, if that's what you're worried about," he said reassuringly.
Against his body, he felt a tremor run through her. "But if not that, then what did it mean?" she whispered.
Xellos thought about the vision of her he'd seen in the Ranimura. Gold, gold and black, wrapped around her shining form; the power of the Lord of Nightmares, harnessed down into a form of shining fire and golden light--the soul of Lina Inverse. "I think," he said slowly, "that it simply means that you are a very talented, fiery, and--if I may say so--rather hot-tempered sorceress who happens to have some sort of special affinity with the Lord of Nightmares." In his heart though, he wondered.
Lina snorted, a bit of her usual spirit returning now. "Great. Just what I need. A special affinity with the most terrifying and chaotic being in the universe. Yeah, that should do wonders for my reputation!"
He chuckled. "Oh, it's not so bad. My people have a bit of a special affinity with Her too, you know," he told her, allowing a bit of teasing to slip into his voice.
"Is that supposed to comfort me??" she exclaimed incredulously.
His arms tightened around her, just a little, just enough to make her look up, a bit startled. "I was trying, you know," he said, a little reproachfully.
She had the grace to blush. "I know. Thanks." Another blush. "Sorry I cried all over you."
He smiled down at her, trying to resist the growing temptation to kiss her. "Don't worry about it." His face suddenly took on a slightly strained look, and he shifted position slightly, trying to ease her slender form away from adding further pressure to the growing tension in his groin. He sighed, a long, slow sigh as she nuzzled sleepily at his shoulder, then froze in surprise when she kissed his neck. He looked down at her, eyes open now, and gently stroked her cheek as she looked up at him, her lips ever so slightly parted, as though in invitation. He bent his head to kiss her, answering that silent summons, but then stopped himself and pulled back, forcibly, his eyes staring into hers.
"I thought you were going to kiss me!" she said, sounding just a trifle disappointed.
"I was," he answered quietly, even as his head began drifting inexorably towards hers once more.
"Then why didn't you?" Lina asked softly as his arms tightened around her again.
"Because," he whispered, his eyes closed, his mouth now no more than two inches from hers, "if I start now, I may never be able to stop---"
Their mouths met, and this time, Lina responded immediately, her small tongue seeking his out as he opened his mouth. And then it was too late, and he couldn't stop, but it was okay because she didn't want him to stop, and in fact she was encouraging him, her kisses demanding, her body pliant in his arms. Xellos smiled, and sighed to himself in contentment as he laid her down in the soft grass.
Ch. 9
Xellos woke up first, the late afternoon sun slanting into his eyes. He raised his head, then cursed as he realized how long they'd been asleep. Reaching over, he gently shook Lina's shoulder. "Wake up, sweetling, we've got to get back."
Slowly, grumbling, Lina opened her eyes, then gasped and sat up as she realized how much time they'd lost. "Oh no! Zelgadis and the others will be frantic!" Abruptly she looked down at herself and blushed. She attempted to cover herself with her hands, then realized the pointlessness of such an exercise. She started to get up, then winced. Lina hissed. "Ooch, I'm sore!"
He chuckled. "We should probably clean up before we go back, Lina-chan."
She hesitated. "But--"
He laid an admonitory finger on her lips. "Ssh. Don't you want a bath, Lina? It'll help the ache," he added coaxingly.
That decided it. "Okay," Lina said reluctantly, "but where are we going to find a bath way out here?"
He grinned. "Oh, you needn't worry about that, Lina!" She started to gather up her clothes to get dressed, but he stopped her. "Uh-uh, don't even bother, Lina-chan," Xellos said with a cute smile. "That won't be necessary." Scooping up his own discarded clothing, his staff, and the rest of Lina's things, he took her by the arm. "Here we go," he said cheerfully, and teleported them.
Lina gasped in shock as the world around her disappeared. She had a brief impression of mottled colors and floating lights, and of the reassuring pressure of Xellos's hand on her arm, and then the world realigned. She gasped again, this time in pleasure as his light spell illuminated the place he'd taken them. "Xellos! What is this place? Where is this place?"
He smiled. "You like it? It's one of my favorite little secrets."
"It's beautiful," Lina breathed, temporarily forgetting both her nakedness and her pain as she turned, craning her neck upwards, trying to look at everything at once. They were in a natural cavern, and over the eons, water had dripped from the ceiling and walls, forming stalactites, stalagmites, and eroding the existing rocks into fantastical shapes, some of them as delicate as lace, before congregating in the center of the cavern to form a natural spring. Here and there, the light of Xellos's spell glinted off veins of ore in the rock, but Lina was now mostly interested in that pool, which stood in the middle of the cavern, gently steaming.* With a cry of delight, she dropped the bundle of clothing she had been carrying and ran to the edge of the pool and stuck a toe in, then sighed. "Ah, perfect." She looked at Xellos, who was watching her with a smile. "How is this heated?"
He shrugged. "We're pretty deep underground, I think. This is kinda a . . . dormant volcano. Don't worry, it's been dormant for as long as I can remember, and probably a good deal longer than that in order for these rock shapes to have been formed."
"How deep is this pool?" Lina knew well that cave water could often be deceptively deep.
"It comes to just above my waist, but there's a sort of natural ledge along part of one side if you want to sit." He winked at her. "I'll be right back!" he said, and disappeared.
Lina sighed. She was sticky, and hurt . . . there . . . particularly when she walked, but considering the way the day had started she was not at all displeased. She sat down on the edge of the warm pool and dangled her feet in the water, and reviewed.
What Xellos had said about the Ranimura's message made more sense, in sober reflection, than her own initial, panicked interpretation. Lina sighed again. It was a good thing that Xellos had come after her, or she might have run herself right off a cliff without noticing.
Xellos. Now there was a puzzle and a half. When she'd first met him--how many years ago had it been now?--she'd never imagined she would one day give her virginity to him. --He'd been surprised by that, she knew. Lina figured he'd thought--like just about everyone else--that she'd given it to Gourry, during the years of their relationship, and in truth she almost had, once or twice, but for some reason she'd always held back.
Lina shivered, smiling ridiculously and hugging herself as she remembered Xellos's hands on her body, the feel of his mouth on hers. That had been nice . . . very nice, in spite of the pain.
"Watcha thinkin' about?" asked Xellos himself, from just behind her. Lina yelped and whirled. Xellos, still skyclad as she was, had a large stack of rich burgundy towels in his arms. She sighed and relaxed, then smiled at him. "Oh! So that's where you went!" she exclaimed, indicating the towels. He nodded and smiled, then walked over. "What were you thinking about that had you smiling so prettily, Lina-chan?" he asked, repeating his earlier question.
Lina blushed and shrugged, then winced as she lowered herself gently into the steaming water, then sighed in relief. It did indeed help the ache. Xellos smiled knowingly and slid in beside her, dunking his whole head underwater, then shaking himself like a dog. He looked so funny, with his bangs plastered to his forehead, that Lina just had to laugh at him. He glared at her half-heartedly, then gave it up and smiled back. "I know, I know I look stupid when my hair is wet," he said sourly, while she kicked her feet and laughed until she cried. He ducked back underwater and phased out. Lina looked around, wondering where he'd gone.
"CANNONBALLL!!!"
Lina shrieked as Xellos dropped out of nowhere and hit the water with a tremendous splash, swamping Lina.
With an enraged shout, the fiery red-head launched herself at the priest and commenced pounding the heck out of him. He was still laughing even as she pummelled him with her fists, then he flashed out for a second, long enough for her punch to miss, and reappeared behind her. Still upset, she whirled to face him, only to find herself caught up in a strong embrace. He bent to kiss her, and Lina relieved the rest of her anger by biting down on his lip, hard. She only seemed to encourage him, abut after a few moments, he broke the kiss. "Ah, I have waited for a long time to hold you like this, my pretty Lina," he murmured. Lina opened her mouth to contest that "my" thing again, then shrugged and let it be. Xellos held her for another moment, then let her go. "Come on, let's get you back to your friends before they totally panic," he suggested.
"Probably a bit late for that," Lina muttered, but he just smiled and shrugged.
Ch. 10
They dried off and dressed, and then Xellos teleported them both directly back to the main room of the inn.
Zelgadis, Gourry, and Amelia were all sitting at a table, looking dejected. Not even Gourry was eating anything. When she appeared, they looked up, brightening.
"Miss Lina! Mister Xellos! You're all right!"
"Lina!" That was Gourry. "Are you okay, Lina?" the swordsman asked seriously, his gaze flicking to Xellos, who stood behind her.
Lina smiled. "Of course I'm okay. I was just . . . a little surprised by what that stupid Mirror showed me, that's all, but I feel much better now!"
They gave her a skeptical glance. She knew that no-one had missed Xellos's hands on her shoulders. She knew she should probably shrug them off, but so what? It was her life anyway, dammit! The Mazoku leaned down and whispered into her ear, fiddling gently with a strand of her red hair. "I'm going to go away for a bit, pet, but I'll be back," he murmured, his warm mouth just brushing her ear as he spoke, sending delightful little tingles down her spine. Lina smiled reflexively and reached up to squeeze his hand. "Okay," she murmured back, and he disappeared. She sighed, then grinned at her friends. "I'm hungry!" she declared. "Let's eat!"
Nobody moved. Lina started, finding that they were all staring at her like they were afraid she might turn on them. "WHAT??!" she screamed.
Amelia put her hands on her hips. "Miss Lina, it wasn't very fair of you to run off like that without telling anybody where you were going! We were worried sick!"
Lina blushed a little and shrugged. "Look, I was perfectly fine."
"Oh yeah?" asked the little princess. "And where were you all afternoon, anyway? We went out searching for you, and couldn't find you!"
"I was fine. I was with Xellos all afternoon."
Amelia folded her arms. "Like I said, Miss Lina, We. Were. Worried. Sick. About. You!!"
Lina glared at the girl, then turned away. "Look, who I want to spend the afternoon with is my business, okay? Besides, I spent most of the afternoon sleeping anyway, or I would have sent word." Now she blushed again.
"Oh yeah? And what about Mister Xellos?"
Lina flet her blush deepen to crimson, and she sweatdropped. "I, er, I'm pretty sure, uh, he was asleep too, actually." She giggled nervously.
Amelia looked perplexed, but Gourry's big blue eyes were filled with hurt. "So I guess it's true then?" he asked slowly. "You and Xellos . . . ?"
Lina's demeanor softened. "Yeah, me and Xellos." She shrugged, then said, not unkindly, "Sorry, Gourry, but you did have your chance, you know."
He nodded. "Yeah, and I wasted it, I know. Oh well. Too bad for me, I guess," he said bitterly, then turned away and walked off, shoulders tight. After a moment, Amelia ran after him, calling his name.
Zelgadis remained, arms crossed over his chest. "I saw you two in the clearing you know, while we were out searching for you earlier," he said sternly. Lina flushed. "I didn't say anything," Zel continued, "not that I think it would have made a difference. You were both far too busy to notice."
Lina flushed yet again.
"What I want to know is," Zel went on, "are you happy?"
"Huh?" Lina blinked and looked up, startled. "What do you mean?"
"Are you happy? Does Xellos make you happy, do you like him, do you like to be with him? . . . Are you happy, Lina?"
Lina thought about it, thought about Xellos, and smiled a slow smile. "Oh yes, I'm happy," she said, with a secret smile.
Zelgadis felt a pang of envy, that she would smile that way about anyone, but he just sighed. "Then that's all that really matters," he said, and walked over to the table. "Waiter, menus please," he called out. Amelia, eyes wide, came back downstairs, saying that Mister Gourry had locked himself in his room and wouldn't answer. The three friends sat down to a considerably sobered meal. They had just gotten through their third course (or in Zel's case, his third cup of coffee) when there was a yell and a crash from upstairs. "That came from Gourry's room!" Zelgadis exclaimed. With a sudden, sick feeling in her stomach, Lina jumped up and ran for the stairs.
The door was still locked. Listening to the sounds of the scuffle from within, Lina could think of only one reason for it: Gourry must be fighting Xellos. Lina threw a Flare Arrow to break the door down. They burst into the room, just in time to see Gourry slash Xellos with the Sword of Light.
Lina gasped. "Gourry, no!!!"
The slash was a deep one. For one terrible moment, Lina thought that Xellos was going to dissolve, like the lesser monsters they'd killed with the Sword of Light, but he didn't. It was obvious, however, that the Mazoku was very badly hurt. He gulped air to keep himself from crying out and staggered backwards, then fell to his knees, bent over the wound as black blood oozed between his fingers and stained his shirt.
Gourry advanced, seeming not to notice anyone at all except the Trickster Priest. "You lie! You fucking bastard, is that what you told her? Is that what she believes now?" the swordsman yelled, furious. "Damn you, you liar!"
Slowly, Xellos raised his head. "It's true," he whispered harshly, a trickle of blood running from the side of his mouth. The monster turned his head slightly, and his eyes widened as he saw Lina.
Gourry snarled again, tears streaming down his face, as his three friends stood motionless, frozen. "All Mazoku ever do is hurt!" Gourry yelled. "I may be an idiot, but I've learned that much, at least. I won't let you hurt her!!!"
The swordsman raised the Hikari no Ken for the fatal blow, but by now Lina was in action. "Gourry, don't! --Sleeping!!" She cast the spell on the swordsman. Gourry went down. The Sword of Light flickered out. Lina ran to Xellos. "Xellos! Are you okay?"
He smiled twistedly, though his eyes were screwed shut in pain. "A silly question, Lina-chan," he said gently.
"But you'll be all right, won't you?"
He leaned against the wall and coughed up blood. "I've been hurt worse than this . . . but the Sword of Light . . . is like a poison to Mazoku . . ." He shook his head. " . . . I don't know."
Lina felt her stomach flip over in fear. "Don't you DARE die on me, Xellos Metallium!" she snarled, levelling her most fearsome Dragon Spooking glare at him, knowing that, eyes open or closed, he could see her.
His eyes snapped open in surprise. "You-- you're worried, Lina!"
Her eyes stung, and she resisted the urge to hit him, knowing that if she disturbed his concentration now, she'd probably kill him. "Of course I'm worried, you twit!" she settled for yelling.
Xellos winced, and coughed up a little more blood, then looked down. Shifting position, he moved his hand away from the wound for a second. Lina hissed, and turned away for a moment. Around the edges of the deep slash ran the glowing whiteness that presaged a monster's dissolution. She fancied that, even as she watched, the killing glow spread.
Lina heard him chuckle, the sound garbled by the blood in his throat. "I've got to go," he gasped. "It's possible my master can . . ."
She nodded, her hands covered in his blood, then darted forward and kissed him. He smiled softly. "I'll come back if I can," he whispered, then was gone.
Lina's friends, including the now Detoxified Gourry, watched silently as Lina stood up. Amelia stepped back involuntarily as Lina turned, her hands and mouth covered with Xellos's blood. The red-head licked the blood off her lips, then walked forward, dry-eyed, past her friends, and out the door of the room. "Miss Lina?" Amelia called tentatively, but Lina never turned. She silently went down the stairs, paid the tab, and left. Amelia started to go after her, but Zelgadis stopped her. "Don't, Amelia."
"But---"
He shot her a quelling look. "Don't. Let her be. She's going to need some time to think." Silently, then, they watched her go.
Ch. 11
They stayed at the inn for another week, at Zelgadis's insistence, and sure enough, a week after her disappearance, Lina was back and the same as ever. For his part, Gourry had already forgotten the entire episode, and Zel and Amelia were far too relieved to see Lina again to question her. And only Zelgadis really noticed that Lina never, ever mentioned Xellos, even by inference, and that whenever the conversation steered into dangerous territory, somehow, infuriatingly, something always happened to change the subject. And again, only Zel knew when, two months later, Lina miscarried a child. He walked in one day to find her lying on her side in a pool of blood, sobbing her eyes out. He said nothing, just healed her, and held her. She never spoke, and neither did he, and the next morning it was as though the incident had never happened at all.
In this way, eight months passed.
Lina brushed out her hair in the dark, counting the strokes. At one hundred, she stopped and put the brush down, moving slowly, numbly. For eight months she had felt like this, all frozen inside. She hadn't even cried, except when she'd lost the child. She had barely even known she was pregnant, and that had been like hope, but then she'd miscarried, and after that she'd had nothing left at all, nothing but the memories she tried so hard to shut away.
During the day, she usually succeeded, but at night, there they were, rising up in loneliness so thick it threatened to choke her . . . . The only time she felt really alive anymore was when she used her magic. Closing her eyes, Lina permitted herself to whisper, barely mouthing the words, "I miss you."
"Lina-chan."
That voice! Lina's head jerked up. She gasped and whirled, her stomach flipping over in sudden hope. A familiar shadow was there, leaning in the corner. Lina conjured a light spell, and Xellos stepped into the light, smiling, his bangs obscuring his eyes. "Hello, Lina-chan!" he said cheerfully. "Did you miss me?"
"XELLOS!!!" It was as though a dam had broken. Rising out of her chair, Lina flung herself into the priest's arms. He winced at the flood of positive emotions that washed over him--her joy, her relief at seeing him safe--but he put his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. "Ssh, pet, it's all right. I told you I'd be back, didn't I? You should have a little more faith!"
Somehow, she did not weep, but clung to him tightly. "I know, but you were gone for so long, I thought . . . ." She shook her head. "I thought you were dead, Xellos." Suddenly angry, she whacked him on the head hard enough to send him reeling, then commenced throttling him. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU??!!" she demanded, choking him. "SHAME ON YOU FOR TOYING WITH AN INNOCENT MAIDEN'S HEART LIKE THAT, LETTING ME THINK YOU WERE DEAD!!"
"I'm sorry, Lina," he gasped, "but---"
"YOU MIGHT AT LEAST HAVE FOUND A WAY TO LET ME KNOW YOU WERE ALL RIGHT!" she screamed. "BUT OH NO, YOU JUST DISAPPEAR, AND THEN EIGHT MONTHS LATER YOU COME BACK OUT OF NOWHERE LIKE IT WAS JUST YESTERDAY THAT YOU'D LEFT AND IT'S A GOOD THING I MISCARRIED BECAUSE YOU'D MAKE A TERRIBLE PARENT AND I WAS SO WORRIED I COULD HAVE DIED BECAUSE I THOUGHT . . . I thought you were dead." She finally let go of his throat, her rage spent, and Xellos, now slightly blue, was able to breathe again. He gasped for a moment, then shook his head. "If I could have come back sooner, Lina," he whispered, his hands gripping her elbows, "I would have, believe me!"
She sighed, and her shoulders sagged. "Never mind," she whispered back, closing her eyes and leaning into him. "I'm just glad you're okay."
"Mm . . . me too." He tilted her head up and kissed her, her lips parting eagerly when he probed with his tongue, and after that it was like they'd never been apart at all.
"Why are you doing this?" Lina asked him, several minutes later, as he laid her down on the bed.
Xellos freed his mouth from its current occupation. "I'm telling you a secret, Lina-chan," he murmured. "The same one I told your friend Gourry, in fact, though I told him in a different way."
"Like this??"
"Mm-hmm," he mumbled. "It's the only way I know how, pretty Lina-chan."
"I don't get it."
He stopped for a moment, recognizing that she wasn't going to let the line of questioning go. "What are we doing?" he asked.
"Umm . . . having sex, I'm pretty sure."
He smirked. "What's another term for it, a prettier term?"
"Making l--- oh, okay."
He chuckled. "That's it, that's all you have to say, Lina? Just 'oh, okay'?"
She thought for a moment, then spread her legs as she gave him a long, slow kiss. "There, how 'bout that?" she whispered as their lips parted.
He smiled down at her. "Ah, I understand." The smile broadened, and he bent his head to kiss her again.
The End (yaaaaaaaaay!!!!)
*Note: one should never actually bathe or swim in cave water, because of its incredible purity. Being the ecologist I am, I had to add that. Xellos, of course, worked out a way around that. Can't have him defiling natural wonders, now, can we? How did he get around it? Well, if you can't guess what I'm going to say now, I CAN'T HELP YOU! *tee* Well now, that is a secret! (Sorry folks, had to add it. ^_^) ~Xellina-san~