Where's Gourry?

Somewhere miles away from where Lina and her party searched, heels clicked on marble floors down a dimly lit chamber and longs legs stopped in front of a chained figure.

"Next time, you will kill," said a silky feminine voice in a threatening manner. "You stalled this time but if you want your friends unharmed by my pets then you'll do as I say." The air was damp and chilly and there were no windows whatsoever. "Then again, it's only a matter of time before I catch that upstart Inverse and take her power for myself." There was a throaty laugh and the heels carrying the woman walked away, closing the metal door behind her.

The figure's head looked up once the woman--no beast, he thought--was gone and pulled at the chains that held his arms above him. They did little more than rattle and he hung limp and uncomfortable on the cold floor that had long ago numbed his legs.

"Lina..." he whispered into the darkness.

Outside it was daylight and he was exhausted. It took every bit of will power he had to only destroy property and knock the defenseless villagers out. The events of the night he was 'accidentally' taken, according to the woman who was just there, were still a blur to him. One thing he knew then as surely as he knew now was that Lina was the target. He had just gotten in the way and had been taken instead. Better him than Lina, he kept saying to himself, though he wasn't sure how long he could keep a conscious mind.

"Be careful Lina..."

"So you do all three kinds of magic?" Lina asked Alyssa as they walked down the road.

Alyssa nodded. "At first I didn't know that there were three kinds but a wandering practitioner noticed and taught me a few spells. That was a few years ago though."

They had been on the road for three days and finally reached the base of the mountain valley. Alyssa pointed out a covered dirt path that told them that it lead to a sister-village of hers. The other three followed her thinking of sleeping in beds and eating something they didn't have to hunt or fish. Kassandra walked, holding her sister's hand silently. The child of six had not said a word since Lina and the other two had come to their village the day after the nightmare. It bothered Lina and she had tried to be friendly and make funny faces but all that came out of it was having the girl hide behind her sister.

Amelia smiled at Kassandra and spoke her softly as they walked. Alyssa smiled gratefully at her and encouragingly at her sister. Kas took Amelia's hand with one and with the other held her green blanket with the other. By near dusk they were in the small village and were asking about an inn. Lina looked through her coin bag and recounted the coins for a second time. When traveling with Zelgadis and Amelia in company, Lina got two rooms even if it was just her and Gourry. Now with two extra...Alyssa stepped forward and talked to the inn keeper, a burly woman with a mean look.

While Lina and the others along with Kas sat down and ate, Alyssa went around and helped take orders and deliver food. To get a room for herself and her little sister, Alyssa struck a deal with the inn-keeper, who wasn't as mean-spirited as she looked. Kas watched her sister, ignoring the vegetables and cut-up beef on her plate. Lina ate with gusto but less frenzy than when Gourry was sitting right across from her and competing for shares.

Zelgadis looked at the child and said off handedly to her, "You should eat. You're sister is working to feed you give you a place to sleep and not eating your food is like saying you don't care that she's trying."

"Mr. Zelgadis," Amelia said, "she's just a child. Please don't be hard on her."

But Kassandra picked up her fork and ate a diced potato without a word. The other two blinked with surprise. Lina kept shoveling food into her mouth and ordering third helpings.

"Miss Lina, if you have enough to pay for thirds you should have payed for a room for Alyssa and Kassandra," Amelia berated her. Lina flushed, pausing in her eating. "I offered but Alyssa said no. I wasn't going to push her."

"It's alright," Alyssa said, coming to pick up the dishes Lina was done with. "Really, I couldn't accept after you three practically took us in. I'll be back with your order Miss Lina." She smiled at Kassandra who was chewing on a slice of beef.

The inn closed at 12 rings of the village gong and a majority of customers had already left. Kassandra yawned but stayed at the table they had sat at during dinner. For the fifth time Alyssa came over to tell her sister to go to bed. Kassandra merely shook her head and rested her chin on the table. Alyssa apologized to Amelia who had remained with Kassandra and asked her to go to bed.

Amelia shook her head. "It's no trouble and you're almost done."

"Thank you so much."

In half an hour the inn-keeper dismissed Alyssa who carried her sleepy sister up to a spare room down the hall from Lina and Amelia's room. She was up early the next morning to help with breakfast preparations. By the time the others had woken up and were downstairs, the inn was slowly filling up. Halfway through their breakfast, Alyssa joined them.

"I went to your room this morning and got your sister," Amelia told Alyssa. Kassandra was finishing her pancakes beside Amelia. Alyssa smiled and gave her her thanks. "Where are you off to now?" she asked.

Lina pushed her plate back and smiled contently until she heard Alyssa's question. She looked pensive for a moment before answering. "First, we'll ask the people questions and then go from there. Someone's bound to have seen that jellyfish."

Alyssa tilted her head to the side and asked, "You're looking for a jellyfish? I thought you were looking for a friend."

Amelia smiled sheepishly as she stepped into the conversation. "It's a name Miss Lina gives to our friend but his name is Gourry. He's a swordsman and we got separated a few days before we came upon your village."

The mood went from a sleepy morning to a grim grey day until Lina smiled. "He's probably in an inn or in the forest having breakfast like us, wondering why it's taking us so long to find food." She stood and turned towards the door. "Let's hurry and find him before he gets eaten by a bear or something."

Zelgadis drained the last of his coffe before also standing and walking out after Lina. Alyssa looked at Amelia and asked, "She doesn't really think that about him, does she?"

Amelia shook her head. "Miss Lina isn't the type of person to be gloomy. She's upset but she'll try to not show it. Let's go."

"Sad," said a tiny voice.

Alyssa looked down at Kassandra in surprise. "What did you say Kas?"

"She spoke?" Amelia wondered.

Kas looked down at her brown shoes, tight lipped as the two girls tried to get her to talk. At last they had to give up for the moment when Lina popped her head back into the inn and shouted how slow they were. They went to all the shops and to the villagers to ask about a blond-haired swordsman in blue armor. Though they found nothing out, none of them were more disappointed than Lina though she did her best to only look annoyed. They left after a quick buy of supplies and headed south.

"We're retracing our steps," Lina informed the group. "The jelly-brain probably went in circles."

"What if he's not where we were last?" Amelia asked, knowing it was a possibility.

"He'll be there," Lina answered, going at a march, "if he knows what's good for him. We could have stopped five bandit groups by now if he hadn't taken off."

Alyssa walked beside Amelia and whispered, "Did he really wander off?"

Zelgadis glanced behind him and answered quietly, "Gourry didn't get lost. We were attacked."