(Warnings and Disclaimers same as previous chapter)

To Love a Monster (part 2)

~Nothing to 'Wine' About ~

by: AniDragon and TheLostZelda

"Ah, that should be just right," Xellos mused, looking at the changes he'd made to the room. This should give him just enough time to prepare. With a grin, he vanished.

Seconds later, Zelgadis entered the flame lit chamber. In the middle of the room, there was a blank pedestal. Right behind that, there was a mirror.

He walked up to the mirror, and realized with a start that it wasn't reflecting the room itself, but it's equivalent on the Astral Plane. On the reflection of the pedestal, sat a piece of paper that he could just barely read.

"Come back tomorrow?" He read out loud, confused.

~*~

It was the day after Xellos had visited Amelia in her room. The princess had been on pins and needles the whole night, and had barely slept. She kept expecting the Mazoku to return, and was actually surprised when morning came around and he wasn't there.

When she dressed for the day, she donned her travelling cloths instead of a gown. It paid to be prepared for anything, after all, and if she needed to defend herself in a fight, she didn't want to ruin an expensive dress.

She'd left her room only for breakfast and lunch. The last thing she needed was for Xellos to show up when there were people around. If the guards tried to arrest him as an intruder, they wouldn't stand a chance against him. Thus, she held the fort in her room, giving her father the excuse that she wasn't feeling well.

She'd cast Astral Vine on a chair, and held it over her head as she waited. She knew physical attacks couldn't hurt a Mazoku, and to be fair she knew that Astral Vine wouldn't do much good against one as high ranking as Xellos. But at the same time, she felt he deserved to get hit, even if it didn't hurt.

She started feeling a bit ridiculous when suppertime rolled around. She was even considering the thought of putting down the chair, when she heard the familiar voice whisper in her ear: "What are you waiting for?"

She cried out in surprise and swung the chair around. She met only air as Xellos easily dodged her.

"What in Cepheid's name are you thinking?" She exclaimed, bringing the chair back up in a defensive position.

"Why, Amelia-san," Xellos said, ignoring her question, "How unjust of you to attack first and ask questions after!"

Amelia's face turned red, "Not as unjust as stealing a girl's first kiss!"

He raised an eyebrow, "Oh? I thought for sure that you two had at least made it that far."

She didn't know it was possible, but Amelia felt even more blood rush to her face, "Wh… What are you talking about?"

Xellos waved a hand, "Oh, nothing important. In any case, I was wondering if you'd like to spend the evening with me."

She blinked in surprise. She supposed the kiss should have clued her in, but of all the things she'd been expecting, being asked out on a date wasn't one of them.

"Why would I want to do that?" She demanded.

"To get out of the castle?" He suggested, "Have some fun? You're getting restless being indoors all the time, aren't you?" With those words, he eyed the chair she still held.

Embarrassed, Amelia put the chair down, "I suppose, it wouldn't do any harm to get away… And I do have the evening free…"

"Excellent!" He cheered before she could say anything else, "I know just the place!"

He put an arm around her waist, pulling her uncomfortably close before teleporting them both away.

~*~

Amelia sat slightly confused on the edge of a fountain in the middle of Seyruun as Xellos came back holding two chocolate ice-cream cones.

"Thank you," She said when he handed her one of the ice creams, not forgetting her manners, despite the strange situation.

"I like the ice cream here," Xellos said as he sat next to her.

"Well, it is famous," She said with a bit of pride, "Probably the best in this part of the world."

"It reminds me of travelling with Lina's group," He admitted as he started on his cone.

"Really?" Amelia asked, a bit surprised. It wasn't as if the group spent much time in Seyruun.

Xellos nodded, "Mostly because it tastes like suffering."

"Ah… Suffering?" She asked, looking at him strangely, but then gazed off into space, "I suppose, our travels weren't exactly pleasant most of the time, were they?"

She thought back to all the battles she'd been in while travelling with Lina. It seemed like trouble followed the sorceress around.

Actually… Amelia glanced back at Xellos and had to repress a chuckle as she realized that trouble literally followed her around.

"It was your fault half the time," She accused him, though smiled to let him know that she didn't harbour any hard feelings for it. After all, he'd saved their lives just as often as he'd endangered them, and was usually on their side when it mattered.

He chuckled, "Well, I was under orders for most of those, though I admit that I did enjoy the free meals."

Amelia was surprised at how relaxed she felt around Xellos at that moment. Even before she knew he was a Mazoku, she'd always been suspicious of him. And yet now, sitting right next to him as he casually spoke of feeding off of the negative emotions of her and her friends, she felt completely at ease.

"And whose orders are you under now?" She asked him, feeling that she should at least try and find out what he was up to.

"No one's, actually," He admitted, "I have some free time, so I thought I'd relax a bit."

"And taking princesses out for ice cream is how Mazoku relax?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Only when the ice cream is this good," He said with a chuckle, "Apart from that, I do still feel that little twinge of loneliness coming from you. It's like…" He paused and seemed to think his words through, "It's like a small treat. Like a candy. Too weak for a full meal, but just strong enough to get the taste of it."

"I suppose," Amelia sighed, "I haven't seen everyone in so long… I wonder what they're up to?"

"Want to find out?" He asked, extending a hand towards her.

She hesitated for only moment before nodding and taking his hand.

~*~

"Gourry!" Lina yelled angrily, "Stop picking the grapes that are low to the ground, those are the only ones I can reach without levitating!"

"Why don't you just levitate, then?" Gourry replied, but complied anyway by focusing his attention on the higher up grapes.

"Because we're here to relax, idiot! I'm not going to wear myself out picking grapes!"

Lina and Gourry had arrived in Zephilia about a month ago. After the shock of finding out that Gourry actually knew her father (apparently they'd met shortly before Gourry had met her… Strange how the world works), Lina was able to relax back into the old home routine.

Well, mostly the old routine. It was a bit different with Gourry there, after all. She now had to deal with her big sister's teasing about her 'boyfriend'.

Just the thought made her blush. Okay, so she'd finally admitted to herself that she liked Gourry like that, but the two hadn't discussed it yet, and she wasn't planning on telling him any time soon. Thankfully, he was too much of a jellyfish brain to catch onto the hints that her sis kept dropping.

Or was he? She bit her lip and glanced up at her bodyguard, whose attention was focused on reaching a really high grape. Sometimes she wondered if he did know her feelings, but just didn't say anything to keep from embarrassing her.

She didn't even notice that she was staring at him until he dropped a grape in her mouth and tapped her chin upwards to close it.

"You shouldn't stand with your mouth open like that," He told her, "You might swallow a bug."

She blushed brightly, then chewed and swallowed the grape before nudging him in the side for his comment... Hard.

She really needed to stop zoning out when he reached for things like that…

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a popping noise from behind her. Glancing back, she was surprised to see Xellos and Amelia waving at her… Wait, were they holding hands?

"Lina-san!" Amelia called out, then let go of Xellos's hand to run up and give her a hug.

"Amelia?" She asked, not masking her surprise, "What are you doing here? With Xellos?"

"Just having a bit of fun," The answer came from Xellos himself.

"Fun, huh?" Lina asked suspiciously. Anything the Mazoku found fun usually involved trouble for her, "You'd better not be cooking up a plan that'll destroy my home town. I'll sick my big sis on you if you are."

Xellos laughed nervously, "I have no intention of destroying Zephilia… Or of engaging in combat with Luna-san or yourself."

"He got me ice cream," Amelia said, pointing at a half eaten chocolate ice cream, and looking like she was having trouble believing this information herself.

"Ice cream?" Lina visibly twitched, "Xellos got you ice cream?"

She glanced over at Xellos, who was standing off to the side and eating his own ice cream.

"He was just getting me away from the castle for a while, and I wanted to visit you guys… And well, here we are."

Lina brought a hand up to her head, "Okay, whatever. As long as you two aren't up to no good."

"Lina-san!" Amelia pouted, "You know that I would never cause trouble… at least, not on purpose… Xellos, I'm not so sure about, but so far he hasn't hurt anyone."

Lina laughed, "Well, so long as he doesn't start anything, you two are welcome to join us back at my place."

"We're making wine!" Gourry piped up, "You can help squish the grapes!"

"Sounds fun," Amelia said with a smile.

As they began the walk back to Lina's parents' house, Xellos decided that this was as good a time as any to speak up, "Lina-san, I hope you remembered to get something for Amelia's birthday."

"Oh, it's your birthday?" Lina asked, "Why didn't you tell us when your birthday was while we were travelling?"

"It was yesterday, actually," Amelia replied, "And it's not like we were ever travelling on my birthday, so it never came up."

"Well, I hope you at least told Zelgadis… I'm sure he probably found lots of cool stuff on his travels for you…"

Amelia shuffled to a halt as realization dawned. She hadn't told Zelgadis her birthday. That's why he didn't write to her.

"Is that guilt I smell, Amelia, dear?"

She blushed brightly, "Shut up, Xellos-san."

"You didn't tell Zelgadis?" Lina exclaimed, choosing to ignore for the moment how familiar Xellos was being.

"Um… I guess not…" Amelia muttered, staring at her now melting ice cream, "I feel kinda bad for being mad at him for not writing, now…"

"Ah, don't worry about it," Lina put an arm around her shoulder, "You'll tell him next time you see him. He visits you often, right?"

"Um… No, actually… He hasn't visited in a while… Not since the fight in Taforashia…"

"What?! That Zel, I'm gonna kick his ass next time I see him!" Taking her arm back, Lina punched her palm.

"Lina-san," Amelia sweat dropped and waved her hands, "Don't worry about it, really. I'm sure he'll come by eventually."

"Probably sooner than you think," Xellos said under his breath.

"What was that, Xellos-san?"

"Nothing," He answered with a smile.

"Knowing Zel," Lina sighed, "He probably won't come back until after he's found his cure…" She shook her head, "I imagine he probably thinks Rezo was lying, that time…"

"Can't be helped," Gourry shrugged, "He's a determined guy."

"Yeah, I guess so…" Lina shook her head as they arrived at the house, "Anyway, let's just enjoy ourselves… Tell you what, since it's your birthday, let's actually drink some wine instead of making it! Sorry Xellos. I know you're probably loving the bitterness."

Xellos shrugged, "I'll get my fill later."

"Now, about that wine," Lina exclaimed, "I think my parents have a bottle that should be ready any time now."

As Xellos and Amelia sat at the dining room table, Lina and Gourry disappeared to the cellar to drop off the grapes they'd picked and to get a couple of bottles of wine.

"What the hell is the Princess of Seyruun and a Mazoku doing in my house?!"

Xellos winced and Amelia glanced back to see a woman she assumed to be Lina's older sister, Luna. Her hair was cut short in a style very similar to Xellos's, only dark auburn. She was dressed like a waitress, probably just coming in from work.

"They're with us!" Lina's voice called up from the cellar.

"Lina!" She ran to the cellar door, "It's a Mazoku! Since when are you friends with a Mazoku?"

"Um… Friends is a bit of a strong word, there… I think of him more as a useful acquaintance… Anyway, he promised not to start trouble!"

"He'd better not," Luna crossed her arms, "Or I'm going to kill you after I kill him."

Amelia thought she could hear Lina shudder in the other room. There was a moment of uneasiness before Luna sighed, then extended her hand to Amelia, "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, princess. I apologise for my outburst."

"Don't worry about it," Amelia shook her hand awkwardly, "It's a pleasure to meet such a renown knight of Cepheid."

Luna smiled cheerfully, but then cast a glare in Xellos's direction, "In any case, I should leave before I attack my sister's other 'guest'."

Without another word, she left the room.

Gourry looked out from the cellar, "It's okay, Lina, she's gone now."

It was then that Amelia noticed Lina's arms snaked around Gourry's waist. Her head peaked out from behind him, "Are you sure?"

"Seriously, you need to get over that fear of your sister."

Lina shakily let go of him, "Not while she's alive. Though even if she dies, I'm sure she'll come back to haunt me…"

Gourry sighed, then brought the wine bottles they'd fetched to the table, "Who's up for some home made wine?"

With the ice broken, the rest of the evening passed relatively uneventful. It was just like old times.

Well, almost. Amelia still couldn't help but wish that Zelgadis was there with them, but she managed to hide it from everyone… except Xellos, of course, who's eyes she felt on her every time she thought of the chimera.

When night fell, Xellos stood up from the table, "Well, it's been an interesting day, but I should really bring Amelia back to Seyruun before the kingdom gets into an uproar over their missing princess."

Amelia flushed, not having realized how late it was, "Yes, you're right… We should really be going."

"Say, Xellos," Lina leaned over the table, more than a little intoxicated, "Since when are you the one to prevent chaos in Seyruun?"

"It's my day off," He teased, knowing full well that Lina wouldn't believe him, "And I don't do overtime."

"Yeah, sure," She replied, then grabbed an unopened bottle, "Hey, Amelia! Take this back home with you. Think of it as a birthday present from me and Gourry!"

Amelia took the bottle with a polite thank you, then took Xellos's extended hand before vanishing.

"There's something weird going on with those two," Lina commented when they were gone, "They're too friendly with each other… Don't you think so, Gourry?"

She glanced over to see the blonde swordsman passed out on the table.

"Idiot," She mumbled, but then yawned, "Actually… that's not a bad idea…"

She leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder, asleep in seconds.

~*~

Xellos and Amelia materialised back in her room, and she turned to smile at him, "I had a good day today… Why?"

Xellos chuckled, "This is one time that it really isn't much of a secret."

He leaned over to kiss her cheek, and she found that she didn't even want to protest.

"Until tomorrow, princess," He said with a wave before vanishing.

Why is he being so nice? Amelia thought to herself, blushing.

~End of part 2~

(A/N: So whenever our Plotting Booth at the pizza place is taken, we migrate to the one across from it. This other booth is illuminated by a red light, and so we've nicknamed it Rezo the Red Booth. Not to be confused with Copy Rezo the Red Booth (or Copy Booth, for short), which is right next Plotting Booth. Rezo and Plotting get along quite well, but Copy Booth seems to be jealous of the attention they're getting.

Anyway, we live off of feedback, so please don't be afraid to leave a review! We don't bite… hard.

Chapters should be released fairly frequently. Friday is our planned update day from here on out.)