Once upon a time, in a land of Saillune, the King was celebrating the birth of his second child. Inviting royal families from everywhere, they came with gifts and showered the growing family with jewels and riches. Along the invitation, the King invited a handful of witches and warlocks except for one, a very cruel and deceiving Warlock known for playing tricks and harmful pranks. As each sorcerer presented their gifts, the naughty Warlock interrupted the party, aggravated for not being invited. He called out with no hesitation,
"The Princess will grow in grace and beauty, beloved by all who know her. But… before the sun sets on her 18th birthday and she was not fallen in love with her Prince, she will fall to her knees- AND DIE!"
The cruel Warlock let out a loud laughter and disappeared from sight. Unable to remove the curse but were able to alter the end, the group of witches spoke softly,
"No, my King, the young Princess shall not die. Instead she will fall into a deep sleep until her true love's kiss."
The Princess grew to be beautiful, humble, kind, and everyone could not help but to love her. The King, determined to prevent the curse from ever happening, called out for any suitor to win his daughter's heart since her first birthday. Fearful that the Warlock would capture his daughter, the King banned her from leaving the castle walls, concentrated on finding her a suitable husband of royal blood, and hoped that she will fall in love with that man. Although she had everything her heart desired, the princess was sad, lonely, and full of despair. For she had no friends and no intentions of marrying someone her heart did not desired.
In Saillune's deep forest, full of darkness and black magic, lived a wealthy young man in a castle hidden in the mountains. He was handsome and intelligent, but was selfish, unkind, and greedy for power. One winter's night, an old beggar man came to the castle and offered him a single rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold. The man scoffed at his gift, pointing the tip of his sword at the man's nose and challenged the beggar man to a duel. The old man warned him not to be deceived by his appearance, for he has more power than he thinks. When the young man dismissed the beggar again, the man shed his appearance to reveal his identity, it was the powerful and trickster Warlock. The man fell to his knees, realized his doom and tried to apologize, but it was too late. As punishment, the Warlock fulfilled his wish of becoming powerful and transformed the man into a Chimera. He also placed a powerful spell on the castle and all who lived there. Horrified and ashamed of his monstrous form, the wealthy man hid behind his castle walls. Familiar with his terrible character, the Warlock casted a curse to the Chimera's already negative life. The rose he had offered was an enchanted rose, which would bloom on the Chimera's 21st year. The spell would be broken only when he learned to accept his form and have another fall in love with him before the last petal fell. However, if the final petal fell and he had not found his true love and not accepted his fate, he would be doomed to remain a monster for all eternity.
As time passed, the Princess was nearing her 18th birthday and she had declined every man her father given her. Whilst the Chimera sulked in his dark castle, waiting and watching as the petals to his rose fell.
The sun appeared from behind the large mountains of Saillune. It was a start of a new day. The bakers began rolling out their dough, the farmers lead the horses out of their stables, and the market in town was slowly opening their doors. It was a typical start in the kingdom of Saillune. Except, for one little detail, an unfamiliar visitor walking so calmly and curious-like around the kingdom's square. The beautiful Princess Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune, dressed in the finest white silk empress dress and glass shoes, tried to conceal the top half of her body with a brown shawl. Only managing to cover her head and full shoulders, she continued to walk around the square, curiously watching the locals preparing for another day in Saillune.
"Get your apples here! Beautiful and tasty apples!" A salesman began shouting from behind a large crate of glowing red orbs of fruit.
"What about your poultry? You can't cook a decent breakfast without any poultry!" Another man shouted. The young Princess giggled from the offers and just shook her hand to them, declining but with a soft smile. She had more things that are important on her mind. As Amelia made it to the end of the market place, she came to a mile-across stonewall that were 10 stories high. Making sure that she was alone, Amelia walked close to the wall and placed her hand against a particular stone that looked like it has been tinkered with. She managed to pull the large off-white stone out of its place. Through that small hole, the Princess was able to sneak in and out of the castle without anybody knowing. Pulling herself out on the other side of the wall, she looked up instantly when she heard loud commands from nearby. Amelia grabbed her stone from the ground and quickly stuck it back into its place, she made sure to cover the stone with a movable bush just for extra precaution. Turning around, she froze when she found a pair of ruby eyes staring into her own indigo orbs.
"Where were you sneaking off too this time, Princess?" It was Lina Inverse, Saillune's own infamous Army General and Amelia's best friend. Just a few inches taller from the little Princess, Lina Inverse was brave and adventurous, ready for any challenge and prepared to give anybody a painful headlock. She was also beautiful with long red wavy hair and a tight physically fit body. But compared to Amelia, she was ultimately shut down in the dark. Princess Amelia was beautiful, kind, modest, and enchanting. It was thanks to those sorcerers that presented gifts of eternal youth and beauty at her birth was she able to look the way she did, or that is what Lina tells herself to keep her from turning the Beautiful Princess into burnt toast.
"Whatever are you talking about, Lina-San?" Princess Amelia grabbed the ends of her shawl and revealed her petite face. She walked around the Army General with her nose in the air. "I am not allowed to be outside of these walls-"
"You can cut the crap, Amelia. I saw you leave the premises an hour ago." The redhead kept her arms crossed over her chest plate. The young Princess froze in mid-distance and looked over her shoulder to the annoyed guard. Lina gave her a slight look of irritation, which quickly transformed into a powerful glare.
"O-Okay." Amelia gave up, her shoulders hung slightly as she released a heavy sigh. "Today was the anniversary of my Mother's death," Lina straighten up from her answer. "I wanted to visit her grave for the first time but… I didn't find it."
"You never visited your mom's grave before?" Lina asked carefully, she walked over to the Princess's side and removed the brown tarp from over her shoulders.
"Daddy wouldn't allow it." The young woman sighed again; she gave off a weak smile. "He's always more concerned about marrying me off to somebody instead of letting me out of these castle walls."
"That's not true." Lina and Amelia began to walk next to the walls until they came to the entrance of the castle. "You know, your father is only looking out for your well-being."
"I know." Amelia nodded; she ignored the line-up of bachelors waiting in the lobby. She rolled her eyes when they knelt to her feet and waved bouquets of roses and chocolates in her face.
"Step aside, you idiots! I'm trying to walk here!" Lina screeched besides her, a red ball of fire developed in her empty palms and threw it at their feet. They bounced off the burning fire and ran off. Amelia giggled behind the growling beast.
"I'm so thankful for having such a great friend like you, Lina-San."
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Lina patted her gloved hands and bent down to pick up the chocolate boxes that the cowardly princes left. "I just wanted the chocolate." Amelia sweat dropped slightly, she yelped when a group of servants rushed towards her suddenly.
"Princess Amelia, where have you been? You are going to be late for your tea party with the Prince of our neighboring kingdoms!"
"Don't forget, you are scheduled to be meeting the Prince of Zephilia for breakfast, the Prince of Bezeld for brunch, the Prince of Raltz for lunch, and your father for after-lunch."
"You are also scheduled for a dress fitting today. Do not be late!"
"And don't forget the dance lessons this afternoon! You must not miss that! You're partner for the day will be Prince Remeld. He is a fine dancer." One after another, Amelia scanned through the abundant faces of her servants and covered her face with both her hands. This was an overload!
"Move aside, move aside, move aside." Lina finally came through the crowd and grabbed the trembling young woman by the shoulder, snapping her awake. "You're scaring the girl. Give her some room and let her breathe. She's the Princess. Don't you think she has a lot more things to be worried about?" She muttered and looked back at Amelia. "Come on, Amelia, let's get something to eat. I'm starving."
"Okay, Lina-San!" Amelia cheerfully joined Lina's side and they walked to the kitchen, completely disregarding the Princess's tight schedule. In the middle of their joyful feast, Lina noticed the sad expression that has been appearing on Amelia's face lately.
"What's the matter with you?" Lina asked before she took a bite of her food.
"Well…" Amelia kept her eyes lowered. "All this arrange marriage and meeting with different Princes every day only to decline their hands... it's a little exhausting. I mean, Daddy has been getting more and more persistent these past months that I'm getting so sick and tired of the entire thing."
"Well, why the hell are you taking so long to make a decision? Just get married and make your Pops happy and everything will go back to normal-"
"Not you too, Lina-San." Amelia groaned. "What about what I want? What I deserve? W-What about true love?"
"First of all," Lina swallowed her last bite. "There is no such thing as true love."
"You're wrong-"
"I'm not done talking." The redhead snapped. Amelia sighed and stapled her lips together. "Secondly, if there really was such thing as true love, you probably had multiple occurrences with your true love but choose to wave him off."
"Well, look, I-"
"Lastly!" Lina said over Amelia's voice. "And if true love truly existed, then..." she stopped suddenly, her mouth open to say something but nothing was coming out. The Princess blinked and tilted her head. A soft blush appeared over Lina's cheeks. "W-Well…" She cleared her throat and looked down to her food. "Well, anyways, that's it."
"But, wait, you never told me about the third fact-"
"You don't need to know. You don't have to know. It doesn't concern you or anybody else." Lina said with a really big blush. Amelia blinked a few times and shrugged her shoulders. As the subject changed, Lina lowered her eyes to her empty plate and sighed. It true love truly existed, wouldn't she have found someone already?
"Um… Lina-San?" Amelia called her. Lina blinked and looked up at her. "About true love?"
"Right. It doesn't exist." Lina told her with a wave of her hand and stood up on her seat. She grabbed her empty plate and went to the kitchen to get seconds, leaving Amelia to her thoughts. Amelia sighed and leaned her face against her hand. Noticing birds perched outside of the window still; she walked to the window and carefully opened it wide. The birds flew away from the sudden action. Amelia watched with wide eyes and a big smile as they flew happily over the Saillune kingdom, she looked down at the town and her smile slowly turned upside down.
"Oh, how I want…" She stared at the large gathering of townspeople at the center of the town. They were dancing to loud music and playing in the middle of the street, eating cakes and ice cream and things that Amelia never ate before. Amelia nibbled on her lower lip. She wants to be free like them. She wants adventure, happiness, and true love. Oh, she wants true love more than she can ever imagine.
"I want it more than I can tell." Taking a few steps back, Amelia turned away from the window. She couldn't bear to watch her unreachable freedom anymore. Instead, she rushed out the room just when Lina came in with her plates of food.
"Hey! Amelia!" Lina shouted after her but Amelia was already out of reach. She ran down the spiral staircase and burst her way out to the rear yard of the palace. Falling to her knees near the patch of beautiful blood-red roses, she lifted her hand to the bloomed flowers and plucked one out of the ground.
"And for once it would be grand… to have someone understand." Amelia sighed and placed the rose on her covered lap.
"I want so much more than what my father got planned…" After a few seconds of silence, Amelia looked up to the stone walls that was blocking her from leaving the castle. She stood up carefully to her feet, her rose falling from her lap to the grass. Taking a few steps close to it, only to stop in mid-distance when someone called her name, she turned around with a smile. Visualized by her mind, a knight covered from head-to-toe steel stood just a few feet from her, ready to court her. Taking the imaginary knight's hand, Amelia kicked off her heels and began to dance on the grass with him, smiling with her eyes shut.
"I know you… I walked with you once upon a dream." She said as the knight of her dreams twirled her around. Opening her eyes, she looked up at the man's grey stern eyes and smiled. "The gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam…" But, it was too good to be true, Amelia's smile grew sadden. Visions are seldom all they seem. She looked up when the knight placed his hand near her chin. Staring deep into his grey intense eyes, she blushed slightly as the helmet disappeared and revealed his entire face. She was able to see his entire face but his eyes were the only thing that she wanted to see.
"But… If I know you and I know what you'll do…" She giggled lightly with a big smile when he placed his entire hand on her cheek. "You'll love me at once, the way you did once…" Tilting her head forward, the knight bent his head and laid his lips on top of hers. But, just as quickly she created him, he was quickly out of her sight. Amelia opened her eyes carefully, hoping to see him again, only to frown.
"Upon a dream." She whispered. Falling to her bottom, she took the rose that she had before and stared at it longingly. "But… it's only a dream." She told herself and plucked one rose petal from its stem. "And it's only going to stay a dream." As Amelia fiddled with the rose in her hands, she straightened up when she heard a loud thundering yell.
"DAUGHTER!" It was her father! Quickly, Amelia ran behind a tree in the yard and kept quiet. The large King of Saillune stomped out of his castle, his black bushy mustache curled every second he didn't see his young daughter. He let out a loud growl and threw his arms up in the air. "I KNOW YOU ARE HIDING, DAUGHTER! NOW, COME ON OUT!"
"Geez, Phil." Lina came from behind, her pinky digging out of her ear. "She's never going to come out if you keep shouting for her like that!"
"You are supposed to be her personal bodyguard, Lina-Dono, so where is she?" The King stood over the tiny woman with his eyes building of fire.
"Look, she's going to come out sooner or later." Lina shrugged her shoulders. "It's not like you don't know where she is, I mean…" She nudged to the wall. "She's kind of trapped here."
"And it's for her own good!" The King snarled. Lina chuckled nervously, taking a few steps back.
"Hey, hey, hey, Phil…" She kept a distance between them. "I'm on your side, remember?"
"THEN, WHERE IS SHE?" Before Lina could answer him, Amelia quickly stepped out of hiding and rushed over.
"I'm here, Daddy." Amelia smiled. The King looked at her and released a loud snort.
"Young Lady, where were you this morning? Prince Meltz has been waiting since the crack of dawn, you knew you had to meet him."
"W-Well…" Amelia gulped, she looked down to her fingers. "I-I… Um… forgot?" King Phil sighed and crossed his large arms across his broad chest.
"I just don't know what I'm going to do with you, Daughter."
"I'm sorry, Daddy-"
"As a result of your careless behavior, Prince Meltz has left the palace grounds upset and had vowed to never give you another chance!" Phil explained as he paced in front of her. Amelia just kept her head hung low. "That is another Prince, Young Lady. There is not enough Princes left and you need to pick at least one of them before your 18th birthday-"
"Daddy," Amelia opened her mouth, she lifted her head and met her father's eyes. "I don't want to get married."
"NOT GET MARRIED?" The King exclaimed. Lina groaned slightly and slapped her forehead. That was the wrong thing to say.
"I-I want to go out there and see the world, Daddy! I don't like being trapped behind these castle walls! I want to be free like the birds! I want to see things, Daddy, to feel and to-to… I want my dreams to come true!" The young Princess explained to her father.
"PREPOSTEROUS!" Phil shouted. "Amelia, these castle walls were built to protect the danger from the world to getting to you! There are dangers out there that you don't want to get involved with! Do you think I want my youngest Daughter to be hurt by some fiend?" He said as he touched Amelia's cheek.
"I'm 17 years old, Daddy! And I'm going to be 18 in a week! I am NOT a child anymore!" She pulled her face from his hand. "I want to fall in love, Daddy! Fall in love with a Knight in shining armor who would rescue me from the dangers that are out there! A-And if I am not allowed to follow my heart, than I don't want to be Princess!"
"Don't take that tone of voice with me, Young Lady! As long as you live in this Kingdom, you will obey my orders! YOU WILL MEET WITH A PRINCE AND LOVE HIM OR I WILL MAKE IT SO!" Her father screamed. Amelia let out a soft gasp, water developed in her eyes. She took a step away from him with tears falling and her bottom lip trembling.
"I hate you." She whispered coldly. Phil's eyes widen. He watched her turn and run away, sobbing loudly as she did.
"Amelia!" Lina called after her but Amelia kept running. Sighing, Lina turned her angry expression to Phil and snorted at him loudly. "Nice going, Dad."
"Do you think… I was too hard on her, Lina-Dono?"
"I wouldn't use 'hard'. I would use 'overly-crazy-protective'." The redhead told him.
"Maybe it's my fault she is not married yet… I was not exactly a good role model. Heck, my first daughter ran away from home because I was pressuring her to get married too." The King sighed and rubbed his temples. "I just want Amelia to fall in love and be safe."
"Maybe," Lina shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe you should let Amelia go out of the castle and-"
"That's never going to happen." Phil snapped at her. "She's NOT leaving here without constant supervision."
"Hell, I can watch over her. It's part of my job anyway." Lina suggested, she followed the large man into the castle and down the hallway. "Come on, Phil. Just one day. That's the least you can do for Amelia."
"One day… out there?" The King sighed. He looked back at Lina. Lina nodded with a smile. Staring at the redhead, he finally realized what he was agreeing too and let out an angry screech. "THAT'S NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN! MY DAUGHTER IS TOO STAY IN THIS CASTLE UNTIL SHE MEETS HER PRINCE!"
"I was just suggesting-"
"NO MORE OF YOUR SUGGESTIONS! GET BACK TO YOUR JOB!" He screamed and rushed away. Lina sighed aloud and rubbed her irritating temples gently.
"I would gladly do my job if you start invading the other kingdoms, you big idiot." Turning around, Lina walked up the spiral staircase to the top floor. She kept grumbling beneath her breath until she got to Amelia's room. Crying on top of her bedspread, Amelia was sobbing loudly with her face pressed against her pillow. She sat up slowly, her tears continued to fall rapidly, Amelia looked at her bedside and reached over. She took the handheld mirror off the stand and looked at herself.
"Look at me…" She scoffed loudly. "I will never pass for a perfect bride or a perfect daughter." Her tears splashed on the mirror. She wiped the tears off her reflection only to leave streaks of water behind. "Can it be, I'm not meant to play this part?" Placing the mirror down, she slipped off her bed and walked to her balcony. She opened the double doors of her balcony and stepped outside. The wind blew into her room, the curtains blowing wildly as she stood on the stone terrace. She looked down at her kingdom, tears still falling from her eyes. She wants to be free. She doesn't want to be a Princess. She wants to… she just wants to be herself. But…
"If I were truly to be myself, I would break my father's heart." Amelia hung her head low, sobbing loudly as she fell to her knees. Lina stared at the young girl from the middle of the bedroom. She sighed but quickly replaced her frown with a smile.
"Hey, Amelia." Lina walked over, Amelia kept her face pressed against her knees. The redhead sat down next to Amelia and snickered. "Guess what we're going to do today." No reaction.
"Well…" Lina rocked in her seat. "I talked to Phil and he's agreed to…" She looked at Amelia and smiled big. "Let you go into town and attend the Masquerade Festival with me."
"R-Really?" Amelia instantly raised her face. Lina nodded.
"Yup, but you have to be on your best behavior or we're coming straight home!"
"Oh, I'll be good, Lina-San! I'll be good!" The Princess gathered Lina's hands and nodded.
"Good." Lina stood up and pulled Amelia to her feet. "We're going to have the best day of your life!"
Behind the tall trees and beyond the gorgeous mountains of Saillune, hidden in the shadows of the kingdom, a dark extravagant castle stood next to a large waterfall. From results of the rushing waters, a very humid cool mist collected around the castle. In the tallest tower, it was a lair of something horrible. Something terrible. Something disappointing and shameful. Sitting in the darkness of the unlit room, a pair of intense grey eyes stared at the only thing illuminating the room. A beautiful red rose floating above a small table in the middle of the room under a glass case. The eyes watched as another petal gave up and fell from the top of the stem, it landed on the other collective fallen rose petals. A loud heavy sigh came from the eyes and looked away.
"It's hopeless…" The male whispered to himself. He jumped in his large seat when the door to his room suddenly swung open, letting all the bright light in. "What the- GOURRY!" The man shouted when his friend skipped into the room.
"Good morning, Zel!" Gourry Gabriev cheerfully announced as he began to open the shades of the large windows. "So, what are we going to do today? More sulking, more groaning, more moaning, or shall we spar in the yard?"
"I'm going to sulk, groan, and moan. You can leave me alone." The man hissed when Gourry pulled back the large velvet curtains from the balcony doors. The burning morning sunlight hit the man's grey eyes and he lifted his gloved hand over the only thing that was visible of him. "Stop opening the curtains!"
"That's not fun at all." The long-haired blonde ignored his request and continued to open the curtains. "I'm tired of sulking, groaning, moaning. Let's do something else. Let's spar!"
"We sparred yesterday and the day before and the day before that, Gourry."
"And it was fun, wasn't it?" The jolly blonde grinned. Finally, Gourry grabbed the last curtains and pulled it apart. The once dark and gloomy room was now completely lit and it was obvious that a maid has never stepped foot in the room before. The furniture was broken into pieces, the bed was thrown against the walls, shattered pieces of glass and sculptures were everywhere on the ground. The only thing that would be considered a furniture would be the red velvet throne-like chair in the corner and the untouched rose in the middle of the room. And sitting in the chair, was the monster himself. His body, arms, and legs were sheltered in beige clothing while his face was uncovered. His hair was silver and looked like needles sticking out from a pincushion, and his skin… It was of turquoise color and with patches of rock placed in selective areas on his skin. Although he had the shape of a man, which made him blend in with the crowd as long as he did not take off any of his clothing, he refused to go in public even in disguise. Zelgadiss Greywards stared at Gourry while Gourry stared at him. He lifted his eyebrow when Gourry tilted his head to the side and released a loud snort.
"Did you always looked like that? I don't remember." Gourry asked suddenly. Zelgadiss face-faulted in his chair.
"Gourry, you idiot." He growled with a sweat drop, he managed to pick himself up and sit fully on the chair. "Do I have to keep reminding you what happened to us every morning?" Oh, right. Zelgadiss recalled. He had too since the curse made Gourry more forgetful and-
"More of an idiot." He watched Gourry digging his nose and then examining the contents on his pinky.
"Wow, that looks like a cat!" Gourry giggled loudly. Zelgadiss sweat dropped when he ate his boogers and smiled happily. "So, what are we going to do today, Zel?" The Chimera groaned loudly and hung his head.
"Why didn't that bastard Warlock make you smarter?" Zelgadiss left his chair and walked over to the cased rose in the middle of the room. Gourry joined him around the enchanted rose and watched him remove the glass case. The two men stared at the floating enchanted rose intently. "It's because of this."
"I don't get it." The blonde scratched the back of his head. Zelgadiss sighed aloud and looked at him.
"Look, a bastard Warlock casted us as rejects and we won't get back to normal until I accept this form and get a girl to fall in love with me."
"Oh…" Gourry pouted slightly. "I was talking about what we're going to do today but thanks for telling me why we have such a big rat problem, Zel!"
"We don't have a rat problem, you idiot." Zelgadiss snarled through his teeth. "AND WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" He grind his knuckle into the back of Gourry's head when Gourry began to pour water on the floating rose with his canteen.
"It's wilting because it doesn't have water-"
"IT'S WILTING BECAUSE I AM IN THIS HIDEOUS FORM, YOU BIG IDIOT! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU?" The Chimera kicked the idiot across the room and through the double doors of his balcony. Gourry lifted himself off the balcony rails, chuckling nervously to himself.
"I just wanted to know what we're going to do today…" Gourry sighed. Suddenly, his ears noticed something joyous and wonderful. He looked down from the tallest tower and over the vast acre of forest around the castle. At the small town in the kingdom, he could see a gathering of people at the center of town. There was dancing, singing, and Gourry could see masks covering the faces of the villagers.
"Zel, look!" Gourry called for him. Zelgadiss sighed, he walked over to the balcony.
"What?"
"It's a festival!"
"Festival?" Zelgadiss raised his eyebrow. Gourry nodded, his lower body bounced while he held himself against the railing.
"All right, all right! Pour the wine and cut the cheese, give me something good to eat! There's nothing like a festival!" Leaving Zelgadiss, the dumb fellow rushed out the room. Zelgadiss stared at busy town and leaned against the rails, he sighed to himself and leaned his face against the palm of his hand. Judging from the masks that everyone was wearing, it had to be the annual Masquerade Festival. Everyone in town wore a mask and at the end of it, the person with the best mask won a kiss from the prettiest woman in the festival. Scoffing at the ridiculous idea, Zelgadiss blinked when Gourry burst into the room again but he was wearing his shining metal armor and a blue cape, his sword at his hip.
"What the hell are you wearing?"
"Are you coming with me?" Gourry ignored his question and asked a different one. Zelgadiss stared at him.
"What?"
"Are you coming with me to the festival?" He asked again. Zelgadiss gave him a slight glare.
"Were you not listening to a word I said a few minutes ago? I can't leave this castle. Look at me!" He pointed at his face. "I'm a monster-"
"That's why it's perfect."
"Elaborate." Zelgadiss snorted.
"Um… E… L… A… B...W… A… I-"
"You're spelling it wrong and that's not what I meant by ELABORATE." Zelgadiss threw a broken piece of a chair at Gourry's empty skull. "EXPLAIN."
"You see, it's a Masquerade Festival and you don't need to wear your disguise because everyone will think that you are wearing a mask! That's how you're going to find the girl to break the spell!" Gourry told him. "You just need to come to the Masquerade Festival with me and once you decide on a girl, you can take her out to lunch or whatever, then invite her to the castle, and then ask her to make babies with you!"
"She needs to fall in love with me, Gourry. NOT MAKE BABIES!" The Chimera snarled with a growing blush. Gourry shrugged his shoulders.
"It's the same thing. So, are you coming with me?" Gourry questioned. Zelgadiss stared at Gourry's friendly smile and sighed.
"No." He turned around and looked back at the town.
"That's too bad. I'm sure one of the girls in town would've been the one." He said as shrugged his shoulders. "I'll be back with snacks!" Gourry finally left his room for good. Zelgadiss lowered his view to his gloved hands, he picked off his right glove and looked over his discolored hands.
"Who would want to hold hands with this?" He asked himself. Zelgadiss looked up to the crowded town and curled his naked fingers into a fist. Gourry was right though. Everyone in town will just think he is wearing a mask. By going to the festival, he can just rely on his personality to charm a girl to fall in love with him. Well, his horrible personality got him and Gourry in this situation so it was unlikely for him to get the girl. However, it was worth a shot. Zelgadiss moved his eyes to the side and looked at the silver armor resting against the cobwebs on the wall. He hesitantly walked over to his armor and grabbed it carefully. Sighing, he slipped the armor over his clothes and took his long unused sword from the wall. He hooked it to his belt and clasped a white cape around his neck. Zelgadiss stepped in front of the mirror and looked at himself. It's been a long time since he wore this and it still fit nicely on him, he caught himself smirking and rolled his eyes.
"I must be out of my mind." He whispered as he turned away and left his sanctuary. Walking down from his tower, he walked through the dark tunnels that were the hallways and down the steps to the back of the castle. There, Gourry was waiting with their horses already prepped for traveling.
"It's been a long time since I saw you in that armor." He threw the reins to Zelgadiss. Zelgadiss caught it in mid-air and smirked.
"I don't know whether the curse made you really dumb or really smart."
"Huh? What curse?" Gourry asked when he climbed over his white horse. The Chimera sweat dropped.
"Never mind, you idiot." He got on top of the black stallion and gently ran his gloved fingers through the mare's mane. The horse nibbled his master's fingertips and snorted when he pulled away. Zelgadiss tightened his grip on the reins and kicked the sides of the horse's body, making the large animal to rise to its hind legs.
"All right!" Gourry's white stallion copied and chased after his black comrade away from the ugly castle. As the two large and muscular animals sprinted across the acre of forestland, the riders looked to each other.
"First one there gets the first pick of girls!" Gourry shouted with a big smile.
"This is not supposed to be a competition! This is a matter of getting back to normal!" Zelgadiss barked with sharp teeth. Once the view of the town was visible, they carefully slowed their horses and trotted into the town. Zelgadiss nervously sat in his saddle. His entire head was uncovered and people were staring at him. Gourry must have noticed his awkwardness since he began talking to him about something out of ordinary. Zelgadiss did appreciate what his friend was trying to do for it, but it did not stop the people from staring at him with wide eyes and gasps. They tied their horses with the other horses in town and made their way toward the festival. Annoyed by the townspeople's stares, he grabbed the hood that was attached to his cape and pulled it over his head.
"This was a bad idea. Everyone can see right through me-"
"What are you talking about? It's fine!" Gourry wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "They are staring because you obviously have the best MASK in the whole TOWN!" He said aloud so the people around them can hear. Zelgadiss watched the onlookers nod their heads and smiles brought upon their faces, he blinked a few times as they complimented on the realism of his mask and walked away after saying that they were going to nominate him.
"See, it's fine!" Gourry said happily. He blinked when he smelt something wonderful; he turned his eyes to the wagon of food and saliva leaked out of his mouth. Not wanting to be alone, Zelgadiss tagged along behind Gourry as he began to ravish the wagon. Just when they turned their backs to the road, a large horse drawn carriage rushed past them and entered the town's center. The carriage driver pulled back the reins and the horse stopped next to the entrance of the festival. He jumped off his seat and hurriedly opened the door of the carriage.
"Oh my Cepheid! We're here!" Amelia joyously leaped out the ride, landing on the stone path. Instead of her normal attire of beautiful silk and jewelry, she had disguised herself in a very nice white corset and black dress skirt that she was borrowing from Lina. She also had a light brown shawl that covered her hair and wrapped her tiny shoulders.
"Be here before sunset." Lina order the driver as she stepped out the carriage. As the General of the Elite Saillune Army, she had to be in disguise too. Wearing an off the shoulders and half-sleeved white blouse with tight brown leather pants, she kept it nicely matched with brown knee-high boots and her red hair tied up in a ponytail. The two girls watched as the carriage rode away and left them there. Lina and Amelia exchanged looks and grinned at each other. They ran into the festival grounds and were welcomed by friendly hospitality and masked townspeople. Amelia and Lina quickly joined the dance circling around the playing musicians, laughing and enjoying everything. It was ultimately Amelia's best day of her life. Walking through the festival, Zelgadiss kept his hood low as the townspeople took turns looking at the best mask in town. Annoyed and angry at his sudden stardom, Zelgadiss finally tracked Gourry at another wagon and turned him around.
"Stop stuffing your face and let's get out of here." He snarled.
"But we just got here and I didn't get to go to that wagon yet-"
"I'm not going to be the star of this idiotic gathering." Zelgadiss grabbed Gourry by the end of his long hair and began to drag him away from the wagon. "We're getting out of here NOW-" Suddenly, as if the gods were playing with their bodies, Amelia twirled right into his arms. Zelgadiss raised an annoyed eyebrow. This is what usual happens after gaining fame, now girls are going to leap into his arms and just expect to be taken. Not going to happen.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Zelgadiss blinked when the young tiny woman looked up at him with bright indigo eyes and a big smile. His entire body froze solid, his heart stopped beating, and he could not take another breath. Amelia did not realize that her shawl had slipped off her head and it allowed the man to see her entirety. He could not move. He could not speak. He could not do anything. He just wanted to stare at her. She was beautiful. The most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on.
"Whoa!" A girl came from behind, interrupting his long stare. "That's such a hideous mask! It's the best!" The redhead pointed rudely at Zelgadiss's face. Usually, Zelgadiss would make a rude comment at her but he was unable to speak. Fortunately, for him, Amelia gasped loudly and slapped Lina's hand away from his face.
"Lina-San, that is RUDE!" Amelia turned her attention back to the masked man and smiled.
"Besides, I don't think it's a hideous mask. It is different and creative. Also," She suddenly lifted her hand and laid it fully on Zelgadiss's cheek, he gasped at her sudden touch. "I love the color. It's a really beautiful color." Amelia said in a soft voice. Zelgadiss's mouth dropped slightly. A girl is touching his face. A really beautiful and cute and beautiful and cute and beautiful and- you get the idea- girl is touching his face! His actual face! Lina looked between Amelia and Zelgadiss, she noticed the man's long stare and loudly cleared her throat.
"Come on, Amelia. We need to keep dancing." Lina grabbed Amelia's shoulders and peeled her away from Zelgadiss. "By the way, great mask but go easy on the looking, Lover boy. She's not something to ogle at."
"O-Ogle?" Zelgadiss blushed suddenly. "I wasn't ogling-"
"Save it for the jury." Lina snorted at him and continued to push Amelia away. Taking a few steps back, Zelgadiss slowly edged his way to the nearest food wagon where Gourry was munching on some apples. Never taking his eyes off Amelia, Zelgadiss leaned against the wagon and sighed aloud.
"I've never seen such a beautiful woman this close before." He began. Gourry looked up from his apple. "She's… She's very beautiful, isn't she?" Gourry lifted his eyebrow, he watched a very elderly woman skipped past them and sweat dropped.
"I don't know, she looks kind of old and really old to me."
"I wasn't talking about that old lady, you idiot." Zelgadiss grabbed Gourry's head and adjusted it to the beauty just a few feet away. "The angel over there." Gourry saw an angel, all right. His eyes widen to see a beautiful redheaded angel. She was moving her hips to the music and actively jumping around without a care in the world. Grabbing an apple from the wagon, he walked straight to the angel, not caring of the other dancers.
"There was… something strange and familiar about him, Lina-San." Amelia muttered as she took another glance at the man in the mask. He was intently staring at her still. "I can't shake the fact that I met him before."
"Great, you've been out in the real world for no more than 15 minutes and you've already got a stalker." Lina rolled her eyes. "And what do I have? Sore feet and an empty stomach-"
"Here." Lina blinked when a bright red delicious apple appeared in her face. She looked up and saw a rather tall man standing in front of her. Dressed in shining armor and long blonde hair, she could tell that he was a knight from the large sword at his hip. And not only that, Lina's entire face bloomed red, he was very handsome. When she didn't do anything, he took her tiny hand from the side of her body and opened her hand between them.
"It's a present." Gourry chuckled softly. He placed the red fruit in her hand. "It matches your pretty hair and eyes." He whispered. Lina's eyes widen at his statement, she looked away nervously and scratched the end of her chin.
"T-Thank you… um…" She opened her mouth to say more but the Knight turned his head around just when the song changed.
"I love this song! Let's dance!" Gourry exclaimed. Lina yelped when he grabbed her hand and began to twirl her around on the stone ground. Was she dancing with a man? Nay, Lina stared at the male with a big blush; she was dancing with a Knight in shining armor. As Gourry forced Lina to dance with him, Zelgadiss was too busy watching Amelia clapping her hands to the new song. He continued to watch her until a loud announcement broke his train of concentration.
"BRING THE MAN WITH THE BEST MASK AND THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN TOWN UP HERE!" One of the musicians announced in the middle of the song. Zelgadiss's eyes widen when a bunch of hands grabbed and pulled him to the center.
"What the hell- THIS IS GETTING RIDICULOUS!" He was about to leave until the girl he was admiring was suddenly pushed in front of him.
"Ah! L-Lina-San!" Amelia waved her arms above her head in panic. But Lina was busy dancing with her Knight.
"KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS!" The crowd around them began to cheer aloud. Amelia and Zelgadiss jumped at their request and looked at each other nervously. A wild blush appeared on both their faces.
"A-Absolutely not! I will not kiss a complete stranger!"
"She's right! This is highly inappropriate!" Zelgadiss and Amelia shouted back at the growing crowd.
"But if you two don't kiss, the festival was all for nothing!"
"You must kiss or you two will bring an eternity of doom to our kingdom!" The townspeople explained. The two exchanged looks again. Zelgadiss blinked when Amelia released a soft sigh and took a step towards him.
"If it's for this kingdom, I will do my duty." She whispered and grabbed him by his cape material. His eyes grew as big as plates when she pulled him down to her level, Amelia gulped and kept him close as she stared at him. He stared back. They stood there for a long while until Amelia cleared her throat nervously.
"Aren't… Aren't you going to take off your mask and let me kiss you?" She asked softly. Oh shit, Zelgadiss mentally cursed. Just when he thought he was going to get a free kiss too… Whatever, it was time to leave anyways.
"KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS!" The townspeople began to shout. Zelgadiss glanced quickly through the crowd and found a path that led him straight to where his horse was located. Placing a firm hand on her back, he tugged her forward making her blush.
"This is my real face." He said to her just before he slipped his hand between their mouths and pretended to kiss her romantically as he dipped her. Her eyes must have grown ten folds. She tried to push away from him but he kept her from moving. The townspeople screeched in happy celebration and threw their masks into the air. Just as the masks were falling from the sky, Zelgadiss slammed his free hand onto the stone ground. The earth beneath everyone's feet began to shake, the musicians stopped playing and the townspeople stopped dancing. Lina and Gourry looked away from each other finally. Suddenly, dozens of large spikes stuck out of the ground. The people screamed in horror as the ground split open and shook violently. Amelia stared with shocked eyes as the townspeople flee from the danger, she gasped when the man grabbed the ends of his hood and drew it off his head. She can see that it really was no mask. Now, she can see the true monster without its disguise. She gasped when he grabbed her small wrist and pulled her behind him, dragging her as he walked away from the scene.
"L-Let me go!" Amelia screamed. She scanned around the area and spotted Lina dodging the spikes from slicing her open. "LINA-SAN!"
"AMELIA!" Lina shouted after her. She jumped in the air and levitated towards them. "YOU ARE NOT GETTING AWAY, YOU PERVERT!" She summoned a large ball of fire between her hands and threw it over Zelgadiss's head. Zelgadiss stopped in his tracks when a wall of fire prevented him from leaving.
"Gourry!" Zelgadiss turned his head to the side. Gourry was hiding behind a wagon of fruits. "Take care of her!"
"Do I have too?" The blonde whined.
"Would you rather die by her hands or MINES?" Zelgadiss snarled. Gourry sighed aloud and hung his head.
"I really liked her too." He pouted and stepped away from the cart. Lina let out a soft gasp when Gourry stepped between her and Zelgadiss. He grabbed the handle of his sword and released his steel blade.
"But, what…" Lina landed on the ground and stared at him in disbelief. Gourry gave her a wearily smile.
"Sorry but this is for true love." He told her. Nearby, Amelia had heard him and looked at Zelgadiss.
"True love? What about true love?" She questioned. Zelgadiss snorted, he casted an air spell and blew away all the fire.
"It's none of your concern." He muttered and tugged Amelia forward. As they quickly left the scene, Lina growled at Gourry with fiery eyes.
"You deceived me from the very start!"
"But I didn't-"
"You used my heart to get close to your objective! To kidnap the Saillune Princess!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about-"
"Don't think you can fool me again!" A black aura developed around Lina's body, she released an angry snarl as she threw every possible fire spell at Gourry. "FOOL ME ONCE, SHAME ON ME! FOOL ME TWICE, SHAME ON YOU FOR BEING AN IDIOT!"
"This chick is crazy!" Gourry yelped when his bottom got singed with fire. He miraculously was able to dodge her spells and got close enough to swing his sword. He hit the stubby end of his sword handle into the back of Lina's neck, stunning her unconscious. She fell to her knees and dropped on the ground. As she did so, an exquisite dagger made of large jewels plopped out of her blouse. Gourry took the dagger and looked it over. It was a dagger specifically made for the Saillune Royal Army and judging from the masterwork on this one, this would be given to a General. Gourry glanced at the dagger, then at Lina. If she's a General for the Saillune Army then… that other girl that Zelgadiss took must be the Saillune Princess!
"Uh oh." He sweat dropped. Did he and Zelgadiss just do something really naughty? He blinked when he heard loud commands nearby. Gourry grabbed Lina by her waist and carried her over his shoulder. They already caused a lot of destruction for the town, he's not about to make the problem worse by leaving a witness to the missing Princess case!
"Unhand me this instant!" Amelia was making it quite difficult for Zelgadiss to sneak out of the town quietly. It took forever for her to get on top of a horse and longer to keep her up there. Now, they were trying to sneak out but she would not shut up!
"SHUT. UP." Zelgadiss covered her mouth with his hand. Amelia was sitting in front of him on the saddle; she glared at him with rows of tears falling from her eyes. "If you want to make it out alive, SHUT UP."
"Zel!" Gourry finally caught up to him in his horse. Amelia's eyes widen to see her best friend laying unconscious on top of the man's lap. "The town is being surrounded by the Royal Army, we need to find a way out-"
"You hurt Lina-San! You hurt her!" Amelia raised a fit right when Zelgadiss's hand left her mouth. "YOU HURT MY BEST FRIEND!"
"Gourry, why are you bringing her?" Zelgadiss hissed as he pressed his hand hard over Amelia's lips.
"We're doing something REALLY bad, Zel. We need to let these chicks go, RIGHT NOW." Gourry told him suddenly. "These girls aren't ordinary girls!" Zelgadiss blinked at his response.
"What?"
"Look!" The blonde in the shining armor pulled Lina's body up and opened her blouse. With Zelgadiss's hand covering her mouth, Amelia released a loud muffling screech when Gourry reached into her blouse.
"What the hell are you doing?" Zelgadiss asked with a big sweat drop. Gourry moved his hand inside of Lina's top, feeling around for something.
"Where is it? I put it back in here, didn't I?" He muttered and slipped his hand under Lina's bra. "Maybe it's here?" Gourry cupped her right breast and pouted slightly. "No, that's not it… although she's kind of small-" A big fist slammed against Gourry's face, sending him off his horse. Zelgadiss looked next to him. Amelia said something inaudible under his hand, her fist still in the air.
"What was that?" He removed his hand.
"I said, I'm saving your life. If Lina-San were to have awakened, she would've done something more worse than that." She snorted and crossed her arms. "You pervert."
"O-Ow…" Gourry rubbed the side of his face and stood up from the ground.
"You deserved it." The Chimera grabbed the reins to his horse. "Come on. If we hurry, we can flee from the east exit of the town and be at the castle by lunch."
"Great! I'm starving." Gourry climbed onto his horse and positioned Lina back on his lap. As they rode their horses out of town and into the dark forest, Amelia frequently glanced at Lina. Lina-San, Amelia mentally called her, please wake up!
"W-Whoa…" Lina opened her eyes. "What the hell..?" She looked around and found herself moving for some reason. No, not moving. Falling. She was falling down a big tunnel with objects floating around her. Lina watched as a number of grandfather clocks rang near her.
"Um… where am I?" She looked around and blinked when a large mirror floated in front of her. She was not wearing the same clothes, she was wearing a blue sun dress with a white apron and black flats. Lina cleared her throat carefully.
"Well, blue is not my color but its better this then naked." She told herself and looked down the tunnel. "What if I should fall right through the center of the world and come out the other side where people walk upside down?" Laughing to herself, Lina shook her head and leaned back, her arms crossed behind her head.
"Oh well, can't do anything but wait until I reach the bottom." She sighed and slowly floated down. It felt like a lifetime until she reached the bottom of the tunnel. Lina landed gracefully on her feet and found herself in a middle of a forest. It looked like the dark forest that surrounded the Saillune Kingdom. Her eyes widen to hear a soft humming sound echoing through the forest. She stepped into the clearing and scanned around her as the humming got louder.
"Where is that sound coming from?" She blinked when the humming stopped and instead heard loud breathing coming from behind a curtain of green leaves. Poking her head through the leaves, Lina saw a man laying in the grass in the middle of a dark cave-like den, he was wearing black robes and his arms were crossed behind his head. His hair was cut to his shoulders and it was purple. Lina tilted her head to the side and stared at the man. Was he the one who was humming?
"Come in. Come in, Lina-Kun." Lina was suddenly pushed into the den. When she looked back at the man, he was gone. She gasped when an arm wrapped around her neck and she looked next to her.
"We mustn't luck in doorways. It's rude, you know." It was the man. "One might question your upbringing." He said with a smile. Lina blinked a few times as he chuckled and released her.
"Um… how do you know my name?"
"That's not important, Lina-Kun." He replied with his eyes shut. Lina looked at him confusingly when he lifted an apple to her and smiled. "You must be hungry. Have an apple."
"Thanks…" Lina grabbed the apple from him. She looked at the red fruit. Why are apples being so significant in her life, right now? That Gourry-guy gave her an apple and now, this guy is giving her an apple. Weird, Lina shrugged her shoulders and took a big bite of the forbidden fruit. It was delicious though. She didn't notice the stranger's smile grew slightly bigger as she kept biting into the apple.
"Anyways, what is important now is that you need to help me get out of here." He told her when Lina finished the fruit.
"Why?"
"That's because I am trapped here, don't you know?" The man snickered.
"Trapped? Well, if you're trapped here then aren't I trapped too?" Lina pointed to herself.
"Of course not, you are in a dream." Lina yelped when the stranger vanished before her eyes. "You can leave whenever you want." She turned around quickly and he was standing behind her with a big smile. For some reason, he had cat ears on top of his head of hair. "But that's if I tell you how to leave."
"Okay, how do I leave?"
"Haven't you ever played this game before, Lina-Kun?" The man let out a heavy sigh. He shook his head. "You need to help me get out of here first before I can let you leave."
"I've got a better idea." Lina smiled. "You tell me how I leave and then I'll help you."
"How do I know you are not just going to leave me?"
"You just have to trust me." The redhead giggled. The man with cat ears pouted slightly, his tail poked out of his robes and touched his chin like it was another set of hands.
"Alright, then." He nodded and turned around. "Follow me." She followed him out the den and stepped back into the forest. But instead of the going back to the forest, they were at a road split. One road was towards a big white castle that looked liked the Saillune palace and the other was to a black castle with lightening clashing behind it. The man pointed to the left where the Saillune palace was.
"If you want to leave, I'd go that way." Then he pointed to the road that was going to the right. "But you can leave that way too."
"Great." Lina nodded and turned to the left road. "I'll be leaving-"
"Not so fast!" The man stopped her from leaving. "You need to help me, remember?"
"Right, how do I get you out of here?" Lina asked with her arms crossed.
"Well…" The cat man gave off a sly smile. He snapped his fingers and suddenly, they were standing back in his den but between them, there was a big cauldron full of bubbling tar-like liquid. Lina sweat dropped to see the man wearing a black witch's wardrobe. He released a loud crackling laughter and began to fling a ton of weird animal parts into the cauldron.
"Foot of the March Hare… Tongue of the Mad Hatter… and the left EYE of the White Rabbit!" He screeched as he threw it into the liquid. Stirring the tar with a wooden paddle, he looked up at Lina with a crazy smile.
"Now, here's the deal-"
"I don't remember agreeing to a deal." Lina raised an eyebrow.
"You can help me out of this trapped dimension by NOT bringing the Princess and the Monster together." His cat ears wiggled wildly. Lina blinked a few times.
"Excuse me?"
"You know," He waved his hand over the brewed cauldron and an image of Amelia and Zelgadiss appeared in the black liquid. "The Saillune Princess and the Chimera Monster." Lina stared at the man strangely. She glanced from the two faces in the liquid and then back to the stranger.
"Are you telling me that these two are going to be together?" She watched as the man stirred the pot contents carefully and breathed into the steam.
"Yes. These two are going to fall in love with one another very soon." He raised an eyebrow when Lina let out a loud laugh and shook her head.
"Look, guy, I know Amelia is still a kid but she's not going to fall in love with a monster-"
"Don't fall for the same mistake that the Monster fell for, Lina-Kun." The stranger opened his slit eyes and showed off his amethyst orbs. "Do not be deceived by appearance alone, he is not the monster that you think he is." Lina pouted slightly, she crossed her arms and looked at the man carefully.
"Why do you want them apart?"
"I simply don't want Princess Amelia to be with a Monster. Do you?" He questioned her with a smile. Lina stared at the stranger; she lowered her ruby eyes to the image of Amelia and frowned. All her life, Phil was pushing her to fall in love with a Prince and now, destiny is going to make her fall in love with a Beast. She deserved more than that. She deserved to fall in love with her Knight in shining armor. She deserved true love.
"So, I keep the two from falling in love with each other, what's it to you?" Lina asked. The man smiled.
"The Chimera is nearing his end too. Approximately the same time when the Princess of Saillune is expected to fall in love before her birthday. Once the Chimera reaches the end of his curse, I will have enough powers to get out of this world and…" His eyes lit up. "I can remove the spell that is on Amelia."
"You can do that?" Lina's eyes widen.
"Of course I can." The man snickered. His tail rose from under his robe and he tickled the tip of Lina's nose. "I can remove any spell that I created." He cringed when Lina angrily swiped his tail and tightened her grip.
"YOU PLACED THAT SPELL ON AMELIA? YOU'RE THAT STUPID WARLOCK?"
"You really shouldn't blame me, Lina-Kun. It was the King's fault for not inviting me." His tail disappeared from her grip and he continued to stir his pot. He saw her fiery glare and smirked. "Are you going to help me, Lina-Kun?"
"I'd rather have my best friend fall in love with a monster and live happily ever after then help the REAL monster out of his cage." Lina snarled. The man sighed loudly and shook his head.
"That's too bad." The redhead turned away from him and began to walk away. "I was also going to give you a cure to prevent your untimely death but I guess you'd rather watch your best friend's wedding from heaven." Lina froze solid. She slowly turned around and glared at him.
"What untimely death?"
"The apple, Lina-Kun." His twisted smile widen. Lina gasped softly and looked at the grass near her feet. The apple core she had thrown to the ground was suddenly black with blood-like liquid leaking from it.
"You… You poisoned me."
"Not poison." He smiled. "Curses just like the ones I put one on Amelia and Zelgadiss." Lina grinded her back molars and her hands gripped into tight fists.
"What kind of a curse?" When he didn't say anything, she rushed over and grabbed the man by his collar. "TELL ME!"
"Just another curse that revolves around true love." He snickered. "You seem to have a very big problem in that region so I figured that I can help you-"
"HELP ME BY PLACING A CURSE ON ME?" Lina shoved him against the cauldron, some of the liquid splashed out.
"All you need to do is get true love's first kiss by the stroke of midnight on Amelia's birthday or you will die."
"T-True love's first kiss?" Lina blushed wildly. The man nodded childishly. "But I don't love easily!"
"That's the point." He snickered. "It's an impossible task for you, which is why I did it!"
"And you said you have a cure?" The redhead questioned.
"Of course! I do not simply make curses and forget about the solution. That would make me a half-ass Warlock." The purple-haired Wizard scoffed.
"GIVE ME THE CURE-"
"Not until you do your part in the deal, Lina-Kun." His eyes slightly widen just like his grin. "If you don't keep Princess Amelia and Zelgadiss Greywards from falling in love with each other by the stroke of midnight on Amelia's birthday, YOU WILL DIE IN THEIR PLACE." Lina finally swallowed a nervous wad of spit, she let go of the Warlock's clothes and took a few step back. Prevent her best friend from falling in love by her birthday and watch her slip into a deep forever sleep until her true love appears or allow her to fall in love with the Beast but that would mean her own death. Unless, Lina bit her lip, she falls in love herself.
"That's impossible." Lina slapped her forehead. She never experienced love so how is she going to fall in love in just 2 weeks? Unlike Amelia who will fall asleep after the 12th ring, she is going to DIE. In addition, she asked around and DYING is NOT a trend these days.
"Okay." The redhead said through her clenched teeth. "I'll… I'll do it."
"That's the spirit, Lina-Kun." The Warlock leaped to his feet and snickered. "You better hurry and start your terrible schemes to break these two apart." He pushed her out of his den with his cat paws placed on her buttocks.
"WATCH WHERE YOU ARE PUTTING THOSE PAWS, YOU PERVERT." Lina reached around and yanked at his cheek. The man giggled, he withdrew his hands and stuck his tongue at her.
"But I'm just a cute kitty cat."
"You are a perverted Warlock who is obsessed with placing curses about true love." Lina grabbed both his chubby cheeks and pulled them far apart. "YOU ARE NOT A CUTE KITTY CAT."
"Since we got that out of the way," He dematerialized from her hold and appeared right behind her, Lina's eyes widen. "I trust you will hold onto your part of the bargain because I certainly don't want to barge into a birthday party and not have anything go the way I planned." His lips whispered behind her ear. "Nobody wants an upset party guest. Especially when it's a naughty Warlock who's specialized in curses about true love."
AN: I don't own Slayers and Disney! All quotes, song lyrics, and scenarios that 'seem' familiar are all by the great minds at Disney!
Disney movies that I used already: Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid, Mulan, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and Alice in Wonderland. See if you can recognize the scene!