It was the oddest gift Lina Inverse had ever received.
It being a gaudy, giant, gold octopus. An octopus statue, of all things. The tentacles wound and looped around each other as the octopus' ruby eyes gleamed in the light cascading through the large windows of Seyruun's Royal Palace.
"What am I going to do with an octopus statue?!" Lina wondered out loud, standing with one hand on her hip while running her fingers of the other along the carefully carved suckers. It was a perplexing, strange gift.
Little did Lina know, the octopus statue was only the beginning.
"Hi, Lina," Amelia said, pushing open the door to Lina's private quarters, "it seems you have another present."
In Amelia's hands, there lay an egg-an unusually large egg with teal, brown, and red flecks dotting the ivory surface. Just as had been done for the golden octopus, a neat red ribbon was tied around the egg with a tag simply stating "For Lina."
Lina's jaw dropped-it was a dragon's egg. She took it from Amelia's hands reverently and sat back on the couch where she had been alternating between dozing and reading spell books.
"Oh my gosh," she gasped, "Can you believe it, Amelia? A dragon's egg!"
"Who do you think these presents are coming from?" Amelia asked with a slight frown, concern lining her face. Lina observed that four years as the ruling monarch of Seyruun aged her friend considerably.
"No idea." Lina shrugged. She sighed happily, admiring the gorgeous egg in her hands. If she held it just so, the teal appeared brighter. But despite the beautiful shell, Lina salivated at the very idea of finally dining on dragon's egg, a delicacy even more hard to find than meat.
"Do you think it's...Gourry?" Amelia gently asked, placing her hand on her friend's arm, "He could be trying to apologize, you know."
Lina raised her eyebrows and shook her head. Amelia sighed and pulled her arm back to her side.
"Oh c'mon, Amelia," Lina said, rolling her eyes at the very idea, "Do you really think Gourry would know how to find a dragon's egg? He couldn't even discreetly inquire about Filia's tail."
"I suppose you're right," Amelia said, trying to hide the catch in her voice, "It's just...it's just I hate how everything turned out." Lina did too, but she was done thinking about it, done expending her emotional energy on someone who betrayed her. She's Lina Inverse, damnit.
"Look," Lina responded, "I'm over it. Let him live his happy-go-lucky life with Sylphiel. In the meantime, would one of your kitchen staff be able to cook something up for me with this egg?"
"Yes, I think Chef Roland is familiar with dragon cuisine, but he's already turned in for today. You should ask him in the morning." Amelia said and shifted so that she was facing Lina directly, "in the meantime, have you thought about my offer?"
Lina bit her lip, looking up from the egg.
"Well…" she paused, "It's not that I don't want to be Leader of the Guard, it's just I don't know how long I intend to stay in Seyruun. you know?"
Amelia sighed. She was used to Lina's excuses.
"Just please give us an answer soon," Amelia said with resignation in her voice as she rose from the couch, "Enjoy your gift."
And with that, the Queen exited her friend's quarters. Lina leaned back onto the couch and admired the egg.
Whoever this person was, they sure knew how to make up for such a bizarre first gift.
It was after the arrival of the third present when Lina became reasonably sure who was leaving them.
Said third present was a necklace with a gigantic green pendant. A deep and ancient magic hummed inside the jewel, warming Lina's fingers as she cradled it. She was reclined on her couch and enjoying the comfort of the soft down pillows holding her up.
Her presents were always left in the hall outside the quarters Amelia assigned to her. The space was actually quite generous-a living room, a dining area, a bedroom, washroom, and a balcony overlooking the palace gardens- despite Lina being accustomed to living with far less space, having spent her formative years bouncing from inn and inn.
Lina yawned and stretched her arms overhead, leaving the necklace in her lap. It was not a secret that it bothered Amelia that no one could figure out how the presents were getting inside the palace; however, the inability of the Queen and her guards to catch the offender made Lina more certain of the benefactor's identity. She was surprised that Amelia didn't figure it out but blamed regal duties for her obliviousness.
That was probably for the better, Lina supposed as she fingered the shining gemstone, since Her Majesty Queen Amelia Wil Tesla Al Graywords Seyruun would not be pleased if she realized a Monster was sneaking into the Royal Palace on her watch.
Previously, the very idea of a Monster in the palace itself would have been unheard of. But it was the brutal, gory assassination of King Philionel, only a mere 6 months after his ascension, that lead to Amelia, the newly crowned Queen, to permit the controlled use of black magic within the city and even inside palace walls when absolutely necessary-although the Queen was always quick to remind Lina about the qualifiers controlled and necessary.
With no one ever seeing someone enter the palace with any of her gifts in hand, Lina deduced that the unknown benefactor must be someone who could phase in and out of the Astral Plane. Someone who knew her too, and if Lina had to be honest with herself, she didn't have very many friends. And when the number of entities who traveled via Astral Plane with whom she was quasi-friendly was singular, that left one answer: Xellos.
Lina sighed.
Why Xellos would be bequeathing her with present after present was unknown to Lina (and like he'd explain why anyway). But if this mysterious gift-giver really were Xellos, Lina couldn't deny that she was intrigued. Trying to figure out her life post-Gourry's abandonment had led to a pleasant but dull life in Seyruun. Restless couldn't even begin to describe her feelings. With Xellos, there was always something afoot. Something to fight, most likely, but she figured at the very least, she wouldn't be bored.
And then an idea occurred to her: maybe she should get him a present, too? Granted, if it really were Xellos, there was most likely a calculated reason for his inexplicable generosity, but would he expect her to give him something in return? Something better than his gifts?
She smiled impishly to herself. The answer was probably not.
Lina stared at the mosaic-tiled ceiling and wondered just what would you get a being who has existed for over 1,000 years. Do they even have homes? Granted, Lina knew officially, Beastmaster resided on Wolfpack Island, but the idea of Xellos and his lord puttering around the house like normal "people" made her chuckle. What exactly does Xellos like, anyway?
"That is a secret!" she muttered to herself, mimicking his sing-songy tone of voice. Getting up off the couch, Lina pulled the necklace over her head and admired herself in the mirror. The gold chain was wound like a rope and strong, strong enough to easily hold the large gem that hung neatly between her breasts. She swelled with satisfaction at how good the necklace looked against her small frame.
Regardless of whoever this benefactor was, she mused, they could keep on sending her presents as much as they liked.