Forgotten Letters
By Verdigris
Disclaimer: I deny any ownership of the Slayers universe. If you try to sue you won't get much out of me!
Chapter 1: Unbroken Seals
Zelgadis drew his hood closer around his face to shield it away from the icy wind. It howled endlessly, causing the flames of his campfire to flicker violently. The firelight bathed him in its light, giving little warmth against the harsh cold. Luckily his stone skin absorbed the small amount of warmth from the fire. A lesser man may have froze, but his chimera body allowed him to stand most extreme weather conditions.
The wind picked up again, blowing harder and the flames weakened. He made a small motion with his hand, creating a spell to feed the fire, but clenched it quickly. Zelgadis growled to himself. He had forgotten there were creatures here in this forest that could sense magic. Even the smallest of spell would attract unwanted attention. He would have to do this the old-fashioned way.
Drawing himself up he searched for some firewood near his camp. Walking away from the fire he used his chimera senses to aid his search in the dark. It had rained the a few hours earlier, so finding dry branches and small scrub bushes could be difficult. He had already cleared the camp of all the dry wood he could find.
"Damnit.." Zelgadis growled. He hated wasting his time doing menial things like this. This could all be accomplished with a quick spell, but he could not risk it. "This is what Lina must feel like when it's that phase of moon," he muttered to himself.
At the thought of Lina, Zelgadis dug his hand into his bag. He took out five letters, each still with an un-broken wax seal of the Saillune seal. Amelia had written to him quite frequently in the past few months and it had been a year since he last saw her. He was always on the move, never staying in one place, she had given them to Lina instead. She acted as postmaster, since Gourry and her ran into him on their own journeys once in a while. She was rather annoyed with the new responsibility.
It was a month since he last saw her and Gourry. He ran into them in the small city of Balrag where he was staying at an inn.
"Hey Zel!" Lina crowed from a table, in-between massive bites of her lunch. "I was wondering what you were up to!"
Zelgadis glanced around the room, glad that it was rather empty and removed the mask around his face. "Hello Lina," he smiled a little before nodding to Gourry. "Doing some damage I see."
"Shut up, Zel." Lina bit back. "Gourry and I are starving. We haven't been close to an inn in over a week and we intend to enjoy ourselves!"
"Still looking for your cure, Zel?" Gourry mumbled through a turkey leg. "Any luck?"
"I have a small lead to a temple up north. I'm heading there tomorrow morning." Zelgadis took a seat at their table and ordered a pot of tea from the innkeeper.
Lina grinned widely. "Not leaving until tomorrow? Great! That will give you some time to return Amelia's letter." She held out the piece of folded paper to the chimera.
Zelgadis rolled his eyes, taking the letter, knowing she would not take no for an answer. "I don't have time to write her. I don't know why she keep trying to contact me."
"You know why, Zelgaids." Lina shot back with a wink. "She probably wants you to visit her and catch up. Last time we saw her she kept asking me about you."
Lina leaned back in her seat, counting off on her fingers. "What you were doing, where you were going, how you were… She misses you and I know you miss her too. You just don't like to admit it to yourself. Give this whole cure search a rest and go see her. If not, the least you could do is answer this stupid letter. I'm tired of carrying these dumb things around for you."
Not even looking at the letter he stuffed it in his bag. "I will as soon as I'm able." He said somewhat dismissingly at her.
"You're able NOW!" Lina got up and poked him in the chest. "If I wasn't pregnant, I'd be standing over you with a fireball all good and ready until you write her back!"
"Look, it's not any of your…." Zelgadis blinked, his eyes grew large. "Pregnant?"
Lina sat back down, patting her stomach. "I'm not showing much now, but I'm only five-weeks along."
Gourry chuckled, gesturing to the empty plates around her. "Keep eating like that and you will be showing soon…Owww!" He rubbed his head after Lina bopped him.
"Congratulations to you both." He smiled and shook Gourry's hand. "But, I thought you two were only engaged." Zelgadis pointed out, looking exasperated. "How did that happen so soon?"
"Just because Gourry and I aren't married, it doesn't mean we weren't already.."
"Okay, okay!" Zelgadis waved at her, not wishing for her to continue. "I don't need a mental image. I should be going." He muttered, edging his way up to his room upstairs
"Then write Amelia back to take your mind off of it!" Lina called out before she heard the door slam.
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Zelgadis stared at the letter in his hand. He had received it over a month ago from Lina and it was still unopened. Amelia wanted to know what he was doing. Did she still care for him? She was thinking about him and wanted him to visit. When he received the first letter it was over a year ago. Her affection for him probably died as soon as they all parted ways. She went on with her life as a princess and would probably direct that affection to a man of royal blood; a man she belonged to.
She was his friend and nothing more.
Then why was he so afraid to open these letters? They were 'friends' and it was very possible these letters would speak nothing of the puppy love she had for him when they were first traveling together. If he followed through with here wishes, he would visit for a day or so and be right on his way to continue his search. That was all.
He flipped the letter around his hands, touching the seal and fingering the edges. He often wondered how she was, but had ignored his wonderings to focus on his cure. Had she grown a bit since he last saw her? Would she still smile just as brightly when she saw him? What if she still held those affections for him? Returning to Saillune would only confuse her. Surely she did not think they could be together. With his condition, her people would question her decision-making. What country would aid her if she chose a freak for a husband and co-ruler? Would she grow to hate him, wishing that she had never sent those letters in the first place?
He squeezed his eyes shut before opening them again. He walked over to the fire, holding the letters in his hands. They were dry. With a sigh he dropped them all into the fire. The flames lurched forward, consuming the fine white paper, melting the unbroken wax seals and curling and blackening the edges.
He did not want to know what she wanted of him.
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Another dead end.
Zelgadis walked through a worn path outside of a small forest. His lead at a temple up north near the flatlands was all for nothing. Whatever evidence in the ancient temple had for his cure had either disappeared over time or was never there in the first place. It was back to square one and he was furious about it.
The library for shamanistic magic in Elderoon Village, east of Atlas City, was a logical place to start again. He would have continued to follow the path to that very city if it were not for a certain problem. He was out of food and provisions. Zelgadis spied a small town up ahead and made his decision to find a restaurant. Still furious and frustrated, he made a mental note to calm himself down with a nice hot pot of tea. As he neared a inn, he saw the face of the last person he needed to see right now.
Lina Inverse.
No doubt she would badger him again with another damn letter and a lecture of why he had not bothered to return the last one and the one before. Of all the towns and cities in the world, why did it have to be this one? Preparing himself for an onslaught of insults, he trudged forward with his mouth set in a hard line.
Lina's face was unreadable as she approached him with Gourry by her side. She was clearly angry, but instead of throwing him a handful of letters, she motioned to a table outside a restaurant.
"I see I'm in trouble again," Zelgadis said with a light sneer.
A waiter came by and handed them each a menu. To Zelgadis's surprise, Lina ignored it and kept her eyes on him. "You didn't read that letter, did you?"
Zelgadis knew she was not asking him a question. She just wanted him to admit it. "No, I have not. I was busy. Why do I have to keep reminding you?"
"My gods, you don't care, do you? You didn't once look at that letter Amelia wrote for you!" Lina yelled, almost knocking over the table. Gourry placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her.
Sighing loudly, she sat back down and eyed Zelgadis coldly. "Okay, lets talk about you since that's all you ever care about."
"There is nothing to discuss," Zelgadis shot back. His anger got the best of him and he spoke quickly. "I hit another dead end and I'm not sure how long it will be until I find another lead. And further more, I am in no mood to talk about Amelia's immature ramblings in some damn letter!"
Gourry frowned at this, but let Lina do the talking. Lina's eyes narrowed, "If you had bothered to read Amelia's 'immature ramblings' as you put it, you'd know that she has fallen ill! You were the first person she wanted to speak to! She never once told us about her health when we visited her two months ago. Not once! It was YOU she confided in and you were too selfish to even read her letter! "
Zelgadis went silent for a few seconds and his eyes softened. "When did she fall ill?" His mind began to race and his chest tightened.
"Two months ago. Gourry and I didn't know about it, but when we stopped by for a day or so, Prince Phillionel wouldn't let us see her. He finally let us in after Amelia's begged him and the one person she asked about was you. In her letter, she asked you to see her, told you that she was feeling ill and you blew it. Nice going, Zel."
"Then why are you two here?" Zelgadis asked defeatedly.
"To find you. Instead of telling Amelia you were avoiding her, we planned to bring your butt down ourselves. I told her that we needed to see an herbalist for my pregnancy outside of Saillune City. Good thing you're so predictable, Zel." Lina said with bitter smile.
Zelgadis winced at her remark. "Well, you found me."
Lina seemed happy with his guilty expression. "Good. It seems we got through to you after all. We'll leave as soon as I finish my dinner."
Sighing and nodding in agreement, he looked at the friends he had neglected for nearly a year. Amelia's letters had fallen on his own deaf ears and he was grateful that they had found him before it was too late.
To be continued…..