As usual, I don't own anything. I'm just a fan writing some fiction. Please enjoy!


2- If You Can Fool Your Friends…

"There you are! What happened? Did you find Lizzie?" Gourry made it to where Lina was sitting, pausing to catch his breath. She scowled up at him in response.

"I did, before some loud idiot scared her off. Thanks for that, Gourry. I think I almost got through to her."

"I... scared her away?" Gourry murmured, offering his hand to help Lina to her feet. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to... I just-"

"No, it wasn't your fault. I was just frustrated." Lina shook her head as she stood up. "We're not getting anywhere with anyone from this household. Let's get out of here for now so that we can get some more information. I don't like the look of this situation- that Klaus guy is not fit to be a parent in the state he's in now."

"Was he violent? The lady at the bakery said that he might be."

"He wasn't- in fact, he was almost mellow. He was drunk, or... something like that." Lina crossed her arms as she walked, keeping her eyes fixed on her feet. "Whatever he was drinking, it wasn't alcohol. The effect seems the same, but I'm not so sure. He hit Lizzie- or, he must've, the way she was beat up- and he took the food that she stole earlier today. Something strange is going on, and I want to know what it is. First things first, that girl doesn't belong here- we have to do something about her before we go digging into this mess."

"I agree that we should do something, but figuring out what to do will be tricky." Gourry responded with a nod. "The baker sounded convinced that Lizzie belongs with her uncle. These kind of people value blood relationships more than safety and well-being. I should know- I lived with people like that for a long time as a kid."

"So what? The lady said that they have no idea who her father is." Lina shot back. "She could be anyone's daughter. With that blonde hair, she could be your daughter."

"That's impossible."

"You know that and I know that, but they don't. There's no reason for them to be so uptight about blood relationships when there's so much uncertainty."

Gourry gave a sigh of frustration. "I see what you're saying, Lina, but what are we supposed to do? I want to find that girl a better family as much as you do, but it's not like we can be the kid's parents.

"I know we can't raise her, but we can at least give her a place to stay so that she can be fed and cleaned up and taken care of for a little while-"

"And then what? Dump her back in the same place?"

"Don't even suggest that!" Lina hissed, stepping in front of him to cut him off. "We're on our way to Seyruun City right now- we don't even have to change our destination. We'll take care of Lizzie until we get to the city, and then I'm sure Amelia would help us find somewhere for her to go. It's a huge city. There must be a loving family there who'd be thrilled to adopt a sweet little girl."

"A sweet little girl who steals and bites people?"

"She does it because she's hungry and scared! What do you expect her to do? If we could just improve her situation-"

"Lina." Gourry grabbed her by the shoulders. "You can take that girl out of the situation she's in, but things are not immediately going to change. You can't undo the years of suffering she's had, no matter how much you want to. It's going to take a lot of patience, understanding, and time. I'm not asking you to give up the idea, I'm just asking you to realize what kind of commitment you're making. Take some time. Think it over."

He let his hands fall off her shoulders and walked around her to continue on the path back to the market. She didn't move to follow him at first, so he stopped to look back at her.

"C'mon, Lina. The market's going to close soon. I ate the rest of that pastry you gave me earlier, so I guess I owe you another one for that-"

"I'm going to do it."

She hadn't spoken very loudly, and Gourry had to clarify what he'd heard. "What?"

Lina looked up at him, her eyes fixed sternly on his. "I'm going to do it. I'm going to help that girl, and I'm going to find out exactly what's going on here."

The look of determination on her face gave Gourry reason to smile.

"Let's do it, then."


"You have to understand, Klaus hasn't always been like this. Sure, he's had bad periods off and on during his life, but when Lizzie first went to live with him, he had been sober for more than a year."

Samantha, the baker, had generously offed dinner to Lina and Gourry, and the two were happy to take the chance to get more information on Lizzie's situation. They'd made up their minds to rescue the girl first, but the more information they had, the better. Samantha had allowed the two to sit in her kitchen as she worked, and they used the opportunity to go ahead and ask questions.

"He really is a kind, quiet boy when he's sober. I couldn't have ever imagined him doing anything bad to the girl."

"But, then, what made him start drinking again?" Lina didn't want to outright state that she was suspicious of the bottled substance she'd found in Klaus' house, so she was fishing for information in other ways.

"No one knows. All we know is that, a few years ago, he just fell back into his bad habits. He quit working and we stopped seeing him in town."

"Stopped seeing him? As in... not even to buy alcohol?"

"Funnily enough, yes. I assume he must be going to the next town over to buy it, where they don't know him and aren't aware that he's supposed to be providing for a child."

Lina decided not to say anything about her suspicions on what the man was really drinking. She couldn't say for sure that it wasn't alcohol, but that acrid smell was something she hadn't experienced since her days at the Zephilia Sorcerers' Guild taking potion-making classes.

"What does he do? Like, how is he making the money to support his addiction?" Lina continued to press for answers. If the stuff that she'd found in Klaus' home really were bottles of magical potions, they couldn't be cheap.

"We don't know. I assume that he's been drawing from savings that he had amassed before he stopped working. I've been hoping it would run out and he'd be forced to stop his bad habits so that he can work again, but he must have been better with his finances than I imagined."

"Or he has an enabler who's providing it for him." Gourry added on. "That's always a potential."

"Does Klaus have any friends?" Lina was glad to hear Gourry chime into the conversation so that it sounded less like an interrogation. "Someone who would buy him what he wants for free- or in exchange for something we don't know about?"

"If there is, I don't know about them. It could be someone in another town." Samantha took a moment to put the meat she'd been preparing into the oven. "Klaus had a lot of friends before, but when he started drinking again, he cut everyone off. He won't talk to anyone anymore- not even me. He thinks that everyone is trying to hold an intervention and he won't stand for that. I'm so worried that he's going to end up hurting himself or worse... without him, Lizzie will have nowhere to go."

Lina had to push herself to keep from making any comments about the fact that Lizzie would probably be better off without her uncle. Instead, she had to focus on how she was going to convince these people to entrust herself and Gourry with the girl's care. There had to be some way that they could bypass the focus on family ties. Maybe they could pretend to have some authority from the Seyruun government. Surely if they were lying for the safety of a child's life, it could be considered a sacrifice for Justice and Amelia would back them up if they needed-

"I'm sorry to ask, 'cause this might be a moot point, but I'm curious- what was Lizzie's mother like?" Gourry's question cut off Lina's train of thought and she immediately turned to listen. His expression was uneasy, and that concerned her.

"What do you mean, what was she like?" Samantha also noted the worry in his expression. "You mean in terms of appearance or personality?"

"Well, I mean..." Gourry shifted his weight as he spoke, avoiding eye contact. "You said her name was Eliza, right? That's a pretty common name, and I'm sure there are lots of people who have it. I knew an Eliza a few years back, but I'm sure it wasn't the same person."

Lina had to admit, she was surprised by Gourry's tone of voice. She'd never heard him talk about anyone named Eliza before, but he never really talked about anyone he'd known before they'd started traveling together, so it wouldn't surprise her if he'd crossed paths with someone by that name. Still, with the way he was acting, she had to have been more significant than just a passing acquaintance.

"Well, let's see..." Samantha leaned on the counter, staring out the window pensively. "as far as physical appearance goes, she was a very tall girl with blonde hair that was almost white and the most beautiful brown eyes I'd ever seen. She was such a beauty, but she was very quiet. She kept to herself a lot and always had her nose buried in a book. Eliza became a traveler because she wanted to learn everything she could, and there just weren't enough books in this little town."

As Samantha talked, Lina noticed that Gourry's breathing was becoming more unsteady. He was staring at his feet, so she couldn't get a good look at his expression until he lifted his head to speak.

"E-Eliza..." he stammered, "Eliza is... dead?"

The kitchen fell silent momentarily. Lina was the first who managed to speak.

"You mean... the Eliza you knew is-"

"How did she die?!" Gourry cut off Lina as though he hadn't even heard her. "What happened to her?! She was so strong... I didn't think she could have..."

"She was very sick," Samantha responded. "She was suffering so much, she ended up... taking matters into her own hands. The doctor here said that it was postpartum depression, but I've seen that happen to people before, and Eliza's experience was nothing like that."

The response worried Lina. The combination of a brother being fed some sort of magical potion without his knowledge and sister who died under mysterious circumstances made the situation even more troubling, but she couldn't do much thinking about it at the moment while she was worrying about Gourry's well-being.

"D-did she leave a note?"

"Only a short one, asking us to protect Lizzie. There was nothing in it about herself or her situation."

"I... had no idea... I never would have thought... I mean, it's been years, but I've always kind of expected that I'd run into her somewhere again... I spent so long trying to find her after she left me without saying anything, but..." Gourry stopped speaking and suddenly straightened up, as though met with a sudden realization. "Hey! When was Lizzie born? I don't know anything about who Eliza was with after she left me, but maybe I can track down some of our old buddies and find out who Lizzie's father is! If we can find him, she won't have to rely on her uncle... maybe she can have a real family."

"You'd do that?" Samantha gasped. "I don't want to force you to deal with any painful memories-"

"No way." Gourry shook his head. "Anything I can do for Eliza, even if she's gone, I want to try. How old is Lizzie?"

"She... she'll be six years old in January."

"Six years in January... that would make her... and then..." Gourry took the time to count, stopped, and then counted again. When he started over a third time, Lina started to get concerned.

"Gourry, is everything okay?"

He didn't respond to Lina's question, looking instead to Samantha. "Are you sure she's that old?"

"Yes, I'm positive. I was with Eliza when she was born."

"I... I was sure she was younger. That would be... I mean.. she..." Gourry ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "Gods, is that why Eliza left me? 'Cause she thought I wasn't responsible enough or...?"

Lina's stomach churned. "Gourry, what are you saying?"

"You're not saying that Lizzie is your daughter...?" Samantha stammered in reply.

"I mean, I can't say for sure; I can't be positive that Eliza wasn't seeing other people at the same time, I mean... but she never seemed like that kind of person. She would've told me. But, then again, I thought she would've told me about... about something like this. I thought she trusted me. Maybe I was wrong."

Lina was silent, letting Samantha take charge of the conversation. Gourry sounded so genuinely hurt, it was making Lina numb. She'd been trying to focus on the situation surrounding Klaus' potions and Eliza's death, but this was altogether something she hadn't considered.

"Don't blame yourself, Mister Gabriev. Eliza was such a private person; she never wanted to talk about things. I'm not surprised that she wouldn't have told you. Perhaps she was scared of herself rather than of you."

"I know, but I... I've gotta make this up to Lizzie! I know I can never get these six years back, but I can change things now. I can-" He turned and glanced momentarily at Lina. "we can give her a home and a family. Would you trust us to do that? For Lizzie's safety and Eliza's dying wish."

Lina had the vague sense that Gourry had volunteered her for something, but she wasn't fully processing the situation.

"There's no need for you to beg. I'd never dream of coming between a father and his child." Samantha assured him. "Don't worry. It's too late to do anything tonight- Klaus usually isn't there at night- but tomorrow morning as early as you'd like, we can go there and explain the situation. I'm sure he and Lizzie will be thrilled to know that we've finally found you!"

Lina wanted to say something about Samantha over-simplifying things, but some part of her felt as though she shouldn't say anything. What could she say for Gourry's sake? What was there to say?

Samantha served a delicious dinner, but Lina didn't eat much of it. She really wanted to hear about Gourry's connection to Eliza and what he knew about her so that she could factor that into her worries about Eliza's mysterious death and Klaus' sobriety. Unfortunately, Gourry, instead, chose to ask Samantha about Eliza's childhood. The woman went on and on, testing Lina's patience. She wasn't all too thrilled to hear a detailed description of Gourry's old flame, and while there was good information about Eliza's character, it wasn't the detailed analysis Gourry might've given with his fantastic instincts.

Of course, if he'd been in love with Eliza, he might have a bias anyway.

That last part bothered her, and Lina was trying to make sense of why. It wasn't jealousy. First of all, she had no reason to be jealous of a woman who'd been dead for five years. And second, Gourry had obviously moved on, since he'd never talked about her. But perhaps his silence on the issue was what really bothered Lina. If he hadn't told her about someone he'd obviously cared a lot for, what else might he be neglecting to mention to her? Did he just not trust her?


"What are you thinking about?"

It was the first time that Gourry had spoken to Lina since they'd left Samantha's house. They'd walked back to the inn and gotten ready for bed in silence, each staying to their own side of the room. Lina had settled into her bed, taking time to brush her hair, and Gourry had watched her silently from his own until his curiosity got the better of him.

Lina looked up at him, dropping the brush to her side. "What do you mean?"

"Well, usually when you spend that long brushing your hair, it means you're thinking about something. Plus you didn't eat much at dinner tonight, and you've been really quiet."

"Yeah." Lina shrugged. "A lot happened tonight. Can you blame me for thinking it over?"

"No, but I feel like you're worrying." Gourry responded. "You were so insistent on following through with this. What are you so worried about?"

"I am worrying, but... there's also some things I don't know yet, and I'm curious." Lina cleared her throat, realizing that what she was about to ask Gourry was going to be a very personal question. He might not want to answer it, or his answer might make her feel worse instead of better. She didn't want him to think her nosy- after all, she'd always respected his disinterest in discussing his past life. Would digging too deep damage their trust? "I want to know... what was your relationship with Eliza like?"

"Eliza who?"

All that worrying, and that was his response?! Lina wanted to jump over to the other bed and strangle him.

"Eliza- as in, Lizzie's mother! The woman we spent the whole night talking about! The one who clearly meant a lot to you at one point!"

"Oh." Gourry blinked in realization. "You're serious?"

"Yes, I'm serious. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well... it was your idea in the first place for me to pretend to be Lizzie's father..."

Lina stared at him for a second.

"...huh?"

"I pretend to be Lizzie's father so that we can rescue her and find her a family in Seyruun." Gourry explained. "That was the plan, wasn't it? Or was I mistaken?"

"...you..." Lina's mouth hung open a moment before she finally managed to respond, and by that point it was a yell. "...you were LYING?!"

"You thought I was telling the truth?" Gourry retorted in disbelief. "I told you, it was impossible for me to be Lizzie's father. I've never even met anyone named Eliza."

Lina stared for another moment before crumpling up against her pillow, her head buried in her hands. "That's right. You're right. It was my idea. My own idea, and I didn't even remember it."

"You weren't jealous on my account, were you?" Gourry gasped. "Don't be silly, Lina. You know you're the only girl for me."

She glared at him. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Just what I said. What else would it mean?"

"Normally something that cheesy could only be said with sarcasm, but you're so genuine, I guess I'll allow it." Lina shook her head. "I wasn't jealous, I was just upset that you'd never talked about this girl. I didn't want to pry, but it made me feel like you didn't trust me. That hurt."

"Gee, sorry about that." Gourry scratched his cheek, his expression not nearly as contrite as he was trying to sound. "If you can fool your friends, you can fool your enemies, right?"

"Yeah, but could you consider my feelings a little bit next time?!" Lina barked in reply.

There was another pause as the two let the familiarity of the exchange sink in. Lina cracked a smile, and soon they were both laughing. It was a well-needed dissolution of the tension and it left them both feeling relaxed and relieved.

"I understand why you felt I'd agreed to the plan, so I won't get angry." Lina finally composed herself enough to answer. "But next time, let's try to exchange a little further confirmation than just an offhand mention in conversation. Okay?"

"Yes, Lina." Gourry nodded and then turned his head to look away. "It makes me kind of happy, though. Not that you got upset, but that you trust me enough- you know I trust you enough- that you'd be upset over the idea of me keeping secrets like that."

"I don't need to know about every one of your old flames," Lina assured him, remembering the feeling of distaste that discussing Eliza had given her before. "but if someone was really that important to you, I'd at least like to know they existed."

"And I'd have told you that." Gourry answered. "I don't know what you think my previous life was like, but you have to understand, it wasn't like traveling with you where there's a new adventure every day. A lot of it was just me trying to get by. There weren't exciting things and there were barely even fun things. If I felt that there was something of value to tell you, I would."

"That's good to know." Lina gave a sheepish smile. "It makes me feel better- so thanks."

Gourry responded with a smile of his own. "Does that ease your worries a little bit?"

"Actually, no. That wasn't what I was worried about."