I don't own any of the characters so don't sue me.
The song belongs to Phil Collins, Disney and a whole other people therefore it's
not mine.
This takes place a few weeks after 'Strangers Like Me'
-Sakura
(A Sequel to 'Strangers Like Me')
By Sakura
It'll be all right
Just take my hand
Hold it tight
He should be enjoying the snack his lover was giving him, but he received no
pleasure from her fear this time. It actually pained him to see her crying in
her sleep like this. Him. A mazoku.
Xellos gently took her by the
shoulders and shook her. "Lina-chan, wake up, love." After a few more
shakes, the redheaded girl opened her eyes, slowly getting her bearings.
She remembered now. They were at an
inn in a hamlet just a few days' walk from Seiruun. She, Xellos and Gourry had
stopped there at her insistence. She claimed she was tired of sleeping outdoors.
"Xel... what time is it?" she asked groggily.
Seeing she was recovering from the
nightmare, he released her shoulders. "I'm not quite sure, but I believe
it's almost dawn," he said, "Like to talk about that dream you were
having, Lina-chan?"
Lina wanted to, but couldn't since
she didn't even remember what had frightened her so much, due to Xellos'
untimely waking her up. All she could remember was the intense sadness and
heartache. "I-I can't even remember what the heck I was dreaming
about," she said with a nervous smile. "It's probably all that food I
ate last night."
"If that's what you say,
pet," Xellos said pulling her into a hug.
Lina leaned back into the mazoku's
embrace, enjoying the warmth. "Ne Xel, since it's technically still
nighttime, why don't we go back to bed?" she asked squirming so she could
kiss him.
Smiling, the violet haired mazoku
returned her kiss before answering her. "I thought you'd never ask."
From all around you
I will be here
Don't you cry
"Xel, what are you doing
here?!" she whispered.
"I thought you wanted to go to
the festival Amie-chan," he whispered back.
"Dalen said that 'tousan said he
needed me here to help 'kaasan."
"And you believed him?!
Amie-chan, let's go to the festival. We'd be back before they'd even notice
you're gone."
"I don't know," she said.
Amalthea shot one quick look towards her brother's room. Seeing Xellos wouldn't
leave until she said yes, she sighed. "All right. I'll go with you, but
only for a few minutes."
"Yahoo!"
"Shh! They'll hear you!"
She took another quick look, breathing again when neither of the two other doors
opened. She took a cautious step onto the stairs.
Creak!
Stiffening, she waited for an
explosion of voices, but when none came, she tried another step, then another
until she had reached the last step. She had been so nervous all the way down
that she stumbled and started to fall. The boy quickly caught her. "Gotcha!
That last step's a doozy, ne?" he said before kissing her.
She had been having dreams of Xellos
and that girl ever since they'd became lovers a few short weeks ago. Being the
genius sorceress she was, Lina realized they were probably memories of a past
life sneaking around in her subconscious. Of course she didn't really believe in
such stuff, but she didn't dismiss that as a possible explanation. 'I wonder if
he has dreams like that,' she thought smiling as she pondered how to wake up her
mazoku.
"Was I in it?"
Lina turned to see Xellos was already
awake and was now propped up on an elbo 'Rats there goes my Wake Xel Up plan.'
Feeling playful, she wagged her finger and did her best Xellos impersonation.
"Sore wa himitsu desu," she said before placing a peck on his
cheek. "Ugh! I need a bath!" The petite sorceress then rose from
the bed and grabbed her clothes.
'Well if that's how she wants to
play...' Xellos said to himself, an simply wicked idea coming to him. Sweeping
his lover off her feet and tossing her clothes onto the bed, he gave her a
fierce kiss before teleporting them to the local bath house and...
Dumping her into the hot tub.
"Xel! What did you do that
for?!" she yelled, splashing about and spitting out water.
"Did you change your mind? I
though you said you wanted a bath," the mazoku said innocently.
Smiling an evil smile that would make
Shabranidgo-sama himself quiver with fear, the redhead said, "Xellos...
koibito..."
"H-hai... Lina-chan?" he
answered, backing away from the dripping wet girl.
"Come here you!" A streak
of red blurred before his vision and found himself in the water on top of Lina.
Not what he had planned, but he didn't mind if she wanted to take charge.
"Yare, yare aren't we feeling
frisky today," he said giving her a kiss.
You seem so strong
Xellos' admiration and respect for
the fiery sorceress had gone up several notches. He had read of spells that
called on the Lord of Nightmares' power, but never had he seen any human cast
those spells AND survive before she came along. She had cast the Laguna
Blade and hadn't even seemed tired, in spite how difficult it was to master.
Keep you safe and warm
This bond between us can't be broken
I will be here
Don't you cry
"I'm sorry Amie, but I have to.
If I stay here, your brother would make sure we'd never see each other
again," said a young man with long, purple hair tied neatly in a ponytail
with a white ribbon.
"We'll never see each other, if
you do go. Take me with you!" she pleaded.
"I can't, that's just what Dalen
would expect. He'd use that as an excuse to set the whole village on me. You
know I'm not too popular around here," he said taking her hand in his.
"I don't care what that asshole
brother of mine or anyone else thinks! I love you!" She began to sob
against his chest.
"Amie, please don't cry. I'll
find a way to send for you or come back to get you. I promise," he said
stroking the girl's long, pale hair.
"Y-you promise?"
"I swear it." He titled her
tear-streaked face to his and kissed her.
"Amalthea! Where the hell are
you?!" came the most hated voice in their young lives.
"You'd better go, it'll be worse
for us if Dalen catches us,' he said gently pushing her away.
"But Xel-"
"We'll be together again
someday. I made a promise, so cheer up, ne?" He gave her one last kiss,
then picked up his meager belongings and ran off out of the village.
"Xel..." was all Amalthea
could say before breaking down into tears.
Amalthea caught the fist in her hand
and shoved Dalen away. She headed for the stairs only to be blocked by the
hulking figure of her father. The enraged man grabbed her by her hair and
slammed her against the wall.
"How many times do I have t'tell
ya to stay the hell away from him! You ungrateful brat! It's a good thing your
mother's dead. If still was still here, she'd die of worry!" He brought a
hand to her rear, but she wouldn't give them the satisfaction of crying out.
Turning around, she looked her father
and brother right in the face and said, "You can't keep me locked up
forever! My life is my own and I'll talk to whoever I damn well feel like! If I
marry someone, it'll be someone I love not some asshole YOU pick!"
She dashed up the stairs, past the stunned men. Never before had she talked back
like that and she was strangely pleased she'd finally found the courage to do
so.
Her father, obviously drunk by the
smell on his breath, rushed up after her, furious that a child of HIS
dared defy him. He grabbed her by the hair again before she could reach the
relative safety of her room. "Ya little bitch! I broughtcha into this world
'n' I c'n sendja back to the hell ya came from!" He looked at her with
murder in his eyes. Dalen stood on the stairs a few steps behind the man. Her
brother knew well enough to stay away from their father when he was drunk.
Especially when he was drunk AND angry.
However, Amalthea had taken enough abuse from the two men and
wasn't about to take any more. She yanked herself away from her father.
"Listen you stupid drunken bastard! After tonight, you won't have to worry
about me, 'cause I'm out of here as soon as the sun's up!"
"Oh yeah?!" Dalen spat,
"Where're ya gonna go, sis? Shack up with that scumbag boyfriend of
yours?"
"You keep outta this!"
yelled both father and daughter. The huge man made to hit her again, but
Amalthea proved to be quicker. Thanks to the lessons Xellos gave her in self
defense and her father's drunkenness. Warding off the blow, she inadvertently
pushed him down the stairs, causing to fall onto her brother and send both men
rolling down.
They landed at the bottom in a
boneless heap. Realized she had killed her father and brother, Amalthea began to
panic. She rushed into her room and hastily packed whatever possessions of her
she could carry. Then she went to her brother and father's rooms and ransacked
them so it would look like they were killed in a robbery.
Once she realized that the neighbors
would never come running since such arguments had been common ever since her
mother died, she calmed down and went to the kitchen and took a frying pan off
one of the hooks. After she gently rolled her father off her brother's corpse,
she began to whack at their heads with the pan until it was completely covered
with blood and her lavender dress was stained with it. She returned upstairs and
changed into one of Dalen's old outfits, grateful it wasn't one with moth holes
or stunk of alcohol and sweat.
Tying her waist long hair up with a
silk purple ribbon Xellos had given her, she went back to the scene of the crime
and took a dagger from her brother. Taking the ponytail in one hand, she cut it
off a couple inches below the ribbon. Throwing the hair into the fireplace,
Amalthea ran out the door, not bothering to look back.
"Shh, love. It's all right. I'm
here," came the same soft, soothing voice from her dream.
Looking up, she saw Xellos' face,
full of concern and love. Never before had she ever heard of a mazoku with the
capability to care. "Xellos?" she asked not sure if he was the Xellos
from the dream or the mazoku she'd met on that island.
"Maa, maa where'd my little
Lina-chan go? You can't be her," he said smiling. "She's much more
cranky in the morning."
Snapping out of it, Lina perked up.
"Cranky?! I'll show you cranky!" she said and promptly began to pound
the mazoku into the floor.
Yes, you'll be in my heart
From this day on
Now and forever more
Lina was about to say something along
the way of 'none of your damned business', but decided that the only way to stop
the nightmares just might be to talk about them with someone. "Xel..."
she began not sure how to ask it. "Who... who's Amalthea?"
The mazoku stopped kissing along her
neck and went pale. "Where did you hear that name?" Had she had
similar dreams to the ones he had when they'd first met?
"I keep dreaming of this girl
with white hair down to her waist and that I'm her. You're usually with me, at
least I think it's you, but you're not a mazoku then. Anyway sometimes the
dream's good, but..."
"Sometimes it's not," he
finished for her. She nodded.
"During the bad times, you're
not there and if you are, you're forced to leave me and I get hurt. Last night I
dreamt you left me promising you'd find a way to come back for me. My...
Amalthea's brother and father found out she's been sneaking off to see you and
they argue with her.
"She tries to escape but her
father stops her and she knocks him down the stairs while she's trying not to
get hit and winds up killing both her father and brother." She grabbed onto
the mazoku, burying her head into his chest. "What's wrong with me, Xel?
Why do I keep having dreams of a girl I've never seen before in my life?"
"Lina-chan," he said doing
his best to comfort his lover, "do you believe in reincarnation?"
"Not really, but what's that got
to do with those dreams?"
"I think they may be memories of
a past life of yours, love. I know it sounds silly, but I think it's true since
I've had dreams of that girl too."
"You dreamt about her too?
When?!" she couldn't believe they were experiencing the same dreams.
He rubbed the back of his head.
"About the time I first found you on that island."
"You're right it does sound
crazy, but you may be right about that Xel." She laid her head on his
shoulder. "Anyway I love you, Xel," she said placing a kiss on his
neck. She desperately needed to be with him right now.
"I love you too, little
fireball." He returned the kiss and was about to do more when a knock on
the door interrupted him.
"Oi Lina! You up yet?"
called Gourry from behind the door.
"I'll be down in a couple
minutes, Gourry," she replied fixing her mussed hair.
"O.K. I'll order breakfast for
us," said the swordsman as he went downstairs.
No matter what they say
"Um... Lina, why are we here
again?" asked the blond swordsman.
Lina sighed trying to best not to
lose her temper. "It's Amelia's birthday tomorrow and she invited us to
celebrate. Got it?!" Xellos softly chuckled, obviously enjoying his lover's
frustration.
"Oh right!" Gourry hit his
palm with a fist. "Ano... who's Amelia?" Lina then promptly began
pounding poor Gourry into the floor, giving Xellos a good sized helping of
anger.
"Lina-saaaaaannnnn!! It's good
to see you again," said a black haired girl, glomping onto the red haired
sorceress.
"Ack! Amelia, get offa me!"
she yelled, "It's been a while ne, Amelia?"
"It sure has," said a
slightly nasal voice. The turned to see a hooded figure in beige clothing.
"Zelgadis-kun! I told you, you
don't have to hide your face from Daddy and me," said the princess pulling
the hood down.
"A-Amelia stop it!"
Zelgadis tried to grab her hands, but it was too late and his rocky, blue skin
and wire hair were exposed.
"Yare, yare an actual
honest-to-goodness chimera," Xellos said admiring Zelgadis' chimerical
form. The chimera bristled; he HATED it when people put him in the center
of attention.
"Um... Zel, Amelia, I'd like you
to meet Xellos," said Lina distracting her touchy friend. "He's a
friend." No use making things worse just yet, she didn't know if Zelgadis
was over her yet or not. And Amelia would be on her case if she'd ever find out
her lover was a mazoku.
Zelgadis eyed the violet haired man
suspiciously. Amelia smiled truly pleased to meet a new friend of Lina's. She
took his hand and shook it. "Yoroshiku, Xellos-san."
"It's a pleasure meeting you
too, hime-sama," he said smiling. "Lina-chan's told me a lot about
you." Zelgadis drew closer to the girl and protectively placed a hand on
her waist, making her blush slightly.
"Oho! Zel you sly dog you,"
crowed Lina. "You two finally got together, huh?" Now it was Zelgadis'
turn to blush. "Omedetou (Congratulations)."
"Yes, now we've got something in
common," Xellos added.
"We could we possibly have in
common?" asked Zelgadis hoping the conversation would turn from the topic
of him and Amelia.
"We both have a lovely girl to
care for. Ne, Lina-chan?" The mazoku grabbed Lina and kissed her deeply in
front of everyone. They all, except Xellos of course, got red as Shabranidgo's
eyes.
"Omedetou, Lina-san! I knew
you'd find your one true love someday," Amelia said hugging her friend. The
petite sorceress just stood there blushing.
Zelgadis went back to eyeing Xellos
suspiciously. "Just when and where did you two meet?" he asked. He
decided he didn't like this person one bit. Not because Lina had snubbed him for
Xellos, but because there was something familiar about him and his mazoku blood
was reacting. He had to get out of there and FAST.
"Sore wa himitsu desu,"
Xellos replied winking and wagging his finger.
"Xel!" Lina yelled, hitting
him in the head. "We met a few weeks ago on some island," she
explained.
"Some island?" Zelgadis had
noticed the mazoku's eyes when he winked and he knew what was so familiar about
the sorceress' new koibito. He was a mazoku. "It wouldn't happen to be Wolf
Pack Island, would it?"
"Now that you mention it, there
were a lotta wolves on that island, ne Lina?" Gourry piped up.
Her eyes went wide, realization
setting in. "Wolf Pack Island?! We were on Juuou-sama's turf and you didn't
tell me?!" Lina advanced on Xellos.
The mazoku nervously laughed and
rubbed the back of his head. "Well you never asked where we were. You only
asked how to get off," he said in his defense.
"I knew it! You're Xelas'
priest/general. I knew I heard the name Xellos somewhere before," Zelgadis
said drawing his sword.
Amelia stood there in shock. "Lina-san...
is in... love with... a... a mazoku?! Masaka!! (It's impossible!!)"
"Anything is possible, dear
princess," said the mazoku in question, opening his eyes. The princess
shivered slightly and Zelgadis held her close.
"You-you're Juuou-sama's
priest/general?! Why the hell didn't you tell me?!! Now I'm gonna have a
freaking mazoku lord on my tail!" Lina fumed.
Sensing that Mt. Inverse was about to
erupt again, Xellos decided to do something quick. Ignoring the chimera's
insults, he turned to the irate sorceress and kissed her.
In a not-too-often stroke of genius,
Gourry decided to add his two cents, "Lina, what's more important here, who
Xel-kun serves or the fact he loves you?"
Both chimera and sorceress calmed
down somewhat ashamed at their unseemly outbursts.
"But mazoku are enemies of
Justice. They can't love," said Amelia.
"Well, namagomi (raw garbage),
do you?" asked Zelgadis, glaring at Xellos.
Lina stared at Xellos and knew this
would have to happen sooner or later. She prayed he wouldn't say he'd been
playing with her all along. After all, it was he who insisted they'd kept their
relationship from the general public for a little while longer, however, he had
kissed her in front of them. TWICE. So maybe he really did love her.
Xellos looked at his petite lover
then faced Zelgadis. "Oh course I love her, Stone Boy," he retorted.
He grasped Lina's hand in his. "Lina Inverse I love you with all my heart.
Can you forgive me?" He blushed as he kissed her yet again for the third
time.
Lina was stunned by the mazoku's
public announcement and started blushing herself. Once her mouth was free and in
working order, she said, "I forgive you, Xel. Just don't do that
again!" She gave him a playful punch on the head.
Tears flowed from Amelia's eyes at
the couple's 'reconciliation'. "That's so beautiful! Just like a faerie
tale," she said. "Zelgadis-kun how dare you doubt Xellos-san's true
love for Lina-san! I ought to never forgive you!"
Zelgadis hung his head in shame. She
was right. What right did he have to interfere with Lina's love-life? Besides he
had Amelia now. Through it all she'd been the one who never stopped loving him
and wouldn't stop chasing after him until he was forced to realized his feelings
for the raven haired princess next to him.
"Lina, gomen. I wanted only to
look after your best interests, but wound up acting like a jealous bastard. I
shouldn't have said anything," Zelgadis said, apologizing.
Xellos was about to say something,
but Lina stopped him. "Don't even THINK of saying anything,
mazoku-chan," she warned. He gave her his best 'who me?' look, which she
chose to ignore. "Daijoubu, Zel. Just don't forget you're Ame-chan's guy
now." The chimera turned an interesting shade of lavender.
"Now that everyone's happy
again, can we get something to eat? I'm hungry," said Gourry, happy that no
one got hurt and there was no property damage to pay for this time.
They all got sweatdrops and suddenly,
Lina's stomach voiced a similar request. They laughed and went in search of the
palace's dinning hall.
Always
"Don't worry about it, Xel.
Zel's always been grouchy like that ever since his grandfather put that chimera
curse on him," she said before he could finish.
"I wasn't talking about that,
pet." He stopped her in mid stroke and took the brush from her. He began
brushing her hair and she started to purr a little. "I want you to know
that wasn't an act to make your friend jealous. I meant what I said. I love you,
and I always will."
"I know, Xel. You don't have to
say it for me to know, though it's nice to hear you say it. I love you,
too."
"Well, if I don't have to tell
you, then I guess I'll have to let you know in a different way, ne?" With
that he picked up the petite sorceress and carried her to the bed. Placing a
kiss on her lips, he said, "I'll love you forever, my little
fireball," before gently laying her on the bed and 'retiring' for the
night.