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!
Author's Note: Thank you again for you reviews! Good and bad are always welcome. I have a couple chapters in queue, so the story should be finished before the end of June at the latest.
Chapter 3: Fighting the Infection
Zelgadis trailed down the hallway and followed the sounds of food being nosily eaten and the aggressive clanging of eating utensils. Amidst a pile of plates, Lina and Gourry battled over their dinner, which consisted of eight chickens and three large platters of boiled potatoes. He wondered if Prince Phil knew just how much food Lina and Gourry could consume in a single setting and if there was any left in the kitchen. He was not hungry, especially after his visit with Amelia.
Lina looked up and analogized his presence. "How is she?" she asked, finishing her seventh plate and starting on her eighth.
"Very weak and clearly exhausted. I've never seen her like this," Zelgadis said softly. "She fell asleep not long after we talked."
"We thought the same thing. No wonder Phil is so worried about her. The least we can do is cheer her up while we're here," Lina replied, holding up a drumstick to emphasize her point.
Gourry gave up trying to defend his food from his fiancé and simply let her take the rest. He leaned forward on the table. "Too bad none of us know a lot about healing. You only know the basics, right Lina?"
"I know enough to get myself out of a tight corner. Just a few simple healing spells for wounds and what not. Still, my magic is pretty weak now a days and it will continue to be that way for another eight months." She groaned and leaned an elbow on the table, "Too bad my specialty is only in Black Magic."
Lina peered down the hall to where a large group of healers had gathered. "These guys are the professionals in white magic healing. If anyone can cure Amelia, it's them."
Zelgadis muttered under his breath, but it was loud enough for his two friends to hear. "I wish there was something we could do. I don't like sitting around here doing nothing"
"Excuse me."
They looked up to see two healers nearing their table. A young woman and man, both dressed in white and blue robes, the colors of Saillune. They looked similar to one another and not much older than them.
"You're Lina Inverse, aren't you?" The young woman asked shyly.
"All my life!" Lina admitted proudly and extended a hand that was not covered in chicken grease, "So, you're one of the Saillune healers. How is Amelia really doing? Is she getting better?"
The woman smiled, pleased to find her curiosity was not misplaced. "We've heard a lot you, especially from the princess. It's awe inspiring to be in the presence of such a renowned sorceress."
Zelgadis groaned. As if Lina needed to add to her already massive ego.
"To answer your question we are still unsure what is causing her illness. Whatever infection she suffers from has settled in her chest. The longer it stays there the longer the princess will be out of commission. We have been working to draw that infection out and add to her life energy to combat it."
The male healer stepped in, "We have the infection pinpointed, but every time we try to draw it out, it slips back in again. Her condition is baffling to us. We are trying as hard as we can, it just may take some time," he smiled reassuringly at the three friends.
"Two months is a long time. We just want Amelia back," Lina stated seriously. She looked over at Zelgadis who had his head bowed in thought. It was obvious he was very worried about her and hated being useless. Lina grinned slightly as an idea popped her head. She looked at the two healers, "You wouldn't happen to be in need of an assistant, would you?"
The healers cocked their heads. Lina tapped Zelgadis on the shoulder, bringing him back out of his thoughts. "Zelgadis is an excellent sorcerer and researcher. He's also very quick to the draw, aren't ya Zel?"
Zelgadis raised an eyebrow and grinned, seeing where this was going. He stood up before the two healers.
"I could be of some help, if I may. My specialty is shamanistic magic, but I quickly excelled in it that when I.." he frowned slightly and cleared his throat, "came to be in this form. I'm a fast learner and I'm up for the challenge."
"You're the chimera the princess spoke of! From what we've heard, you're well-rounded when it comes to magic," the male healer said with a smile. "Zelgadis, is it? Sorry for not introducing ourselves sooner. I'm Markus and this is my sister, Ellie. Well, even if you don't know much about white magic, we could use someone will your talents. Can you hold a light spell for a long period of time?"
It was a bit insulting to be asked if he could produce such a low level spell, but he held himself in check. He nodded yes.
The two healers smiled to each other and Ellie spoke, "We are headed upstairs to tend to the princess. Dillis, the head healer, should be with us shortly. He's reporting to the prince now. Please come along."
Lina and Gourry gave their friend a thumbs-up and Zelgadis rolled his eyes in return. At least he was doing something and it would give him a chance to see just how Amelia was progressing through her illness. Even if he had to do simple, mundane tasks for the healers, so be it. He would keep his senses sharp and learn as much as he could. If he was to stay in the castle, he would rather use his time to aid Amelia than sit and wait for more bad news.
A group of ten healers met outside Amelia's bedroom. They were surprised that the chimera had decided to help them. Markus explained about Zelgadis's experience in sorcery and it eased many of their hesitations.
Amelia was still sleeping, the covers folded at her stomach and her dark hair spread out amongst the pillows. Her brow was dotted with perspiration and her breathing was shallow. Zelgadis could see the up and down motion of her chest was quick and uneven. Her eyebrows were knitted together with a pained expression and she was letting out small sighs with each breath. With his heightened senses he could smell the sickness she suffered from. It smelled almost metallic.
"Is she alright?" Zelgadis asked Eli, clenching his fists at his side. The overwhelming urge to run to her side was unbearable.
"She is having difficulty breathing. That's a large sign that the infection is still heavy in her lungs. She may have a small fever as well by the looks of it. We'll get to work as soon as Dillis comes back."
"This is a routine session. Dillis told us to go on without him if he is busy with the Prince," Markus insisted. "He'll look over our work when he's finished."
"Lets get started then," an older healer replied and motioned for the others to begin.
They stood in a circle around the bed where Amelia lay. Ellie placed a sleeping charm on her so she would not wake during their session. The circled position allowed the healing magic to feed off one another. Depending on each other's strengths and their placement in the circle, all of them could use each other's magic to aid them. Zelgadis stood back, not sure what to do, but awaited the commands impatiently.
Ellie waved a hand to him and he quickly walked over. "What we need you to do is hold a strong light spell over her when we tell you to. We will be concentrating on our spells, so the light will help us focus on where to direct the power."
The healers nodded to one another, ready to begin. Bowing their heads, they each mumbled the spells and the energy began to form from their hands. Ellie motioned to Zelgadis to create a light spell and he held it over Amelia, illuminating her. One by one the white magic was released and bathed the princess in light. Zelgadis watched as the collected energy formed a ball above her and sunk into Amelia's chest through her nightgown. He continued to hold the spell, watching her face intently and waited.
The glowing energy buzzed and pulsed from deep inside her. Her breath hitched and she let out a cry in her sleep. Zelgadis's eyes widened in fear.
"What's happening?" he demanded, still holding the light spell above her.
Ellie whispered to him, "We're trying to draw the infection out. It may take some time."
"She's in pain!" Zelgadis growled, watching Amelia's eyes clench tightly.
"It's just for a little while. We're trying to keep her life energy from burying the infection further. Just a little bit longer…" Markus spoke through his teeth as the sweat on his brow dripped down his face in concentration.
"She's hurting…this is taking too long!" Zelgadis tried again, struggling to hold the spell as he watched her cry out several more times in her sleep. Each one felt like a stab to the heart.
Ellie tried to speak soothingly, "Please Zelgadis….stay calm."
Without thinking straight and his judgment clouded, he dropped the spell to replace it with another. He summoned a shamanistic healing spell of his own and the light inside Amelia's body brightened to a bright blue. The healers faltered, but kept their focus against the bright blue light.
"What's going on?" one of the healers demanded.
"What's he doing? Stop him!" another growled, "It's going to counteract with our spells!"
Markus stared in surprised at the bright light. Zelgadis ignored them and continued his healing spell. The young healer barked quickly, "It's not counteracting! It's amplifying it! It's keeping the infection in check and healing her life energy at the same time. Keep going Zelgadis!"
The other healers excitedly muttered their agreement, see the strength of their healing magic increase as it combined with Zelgadis's spell. Concentrating, the chimera kept control of the flow of magic. Amelia's pain seemed to lessen and her breathing was steady. A few seconds later they finished and stood back from the bed as the glow disappeared.
"We…we did it! We held it back! That should give her life energy a jump start in fighting the infection," Markus cheered. "How did you know to amplify our healing magic?"
Zelgadis let out a breath, pleased that they managed to finish quicker and ease her suffering at the same time. "I didn't. My intention was not to combine it with yours. It was an accident," he admitted.
"And a careless accident it was!" a voiced boomed behind them.
All of them spun around, facing Dillis, the head healer who was standing in the doorway. They were not sure how long he had been there. By the look and sound of his voice he was not pleased at all. His cool blue eyes were furious as he stared at his fellow healers almost in disgust.
"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded, "Who allowed this non-white magic to aid you?"
Markus swallowed and was about to come forward when Zelgadis stood in front of him. "It was my own decision. I thought I could help them and it seems to have worked," he said sternly, defending Markus.
"This is healers work, young man!" He paced up to the chimera and scolded. "You played with her life making a rash decision like you did. This is no time for experimentation!"
"Excuse me, head healer," Markus spoke nervously, standing next to Zelgadis. "It may have been an accident, but we made a breakthrough because of him. Our sessions haven't done much good over the last month or so. He amplified our healing magic. The infection was drawn out enough for the princess's life force to strengthen."
"You are in no position to allow this…this…man", he eyed Zelgadis coldly, "to work with any of you. He is not a trained healer. How long the infection will weaken, we do not know. For now we must keep an eye on her. It could return even quicker thanks to his carelessness!"
Zelgadis fumed, glaring at Dillis with hatred. How dare he tell him to mind his place when he was only trying to help Amelia. The head healer went to her side and evaluated her, making a few humming noises as he checked her thoroughly.
Never taking his cool blue eyes off of Zelgadis as he spoke, "Her lungs seem to be much clearer now. You may have done something useful this time, Mr. Greywords. I wouldn't be wise to let your emotions get in the way again. Also, the healers must ask for my permission before you pull a stunt like that again." He glared at Markus, who hung his head.
"I will report this news to the prince at once." He walked out the door, leaving the healers to sigh in relief.
Zelgadis breathed a loud angry sigh through his nose. He was frustrated by the way the head healer had treated him, accusing him of purposely putting her life in danger. What was he was supposed to do? Let her cry out in pain! What he did was risky, yes, but his instincts had taken over and it worked for the better. At least for now it would and he would keep that in mind. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Markus's embarrassed, boyish face.
"I thought he'd be happy to hear about what you've done," Markus apologized to Zelgadis. He shrugged good-naturedly and shook his hand in gratitude, "But I think you did a lot of good for her, Zelgadis. Thank you. We couldn't have done it without you. We will definitely include you for the next session tomorrow. I'm sure once Prince Philonel knows of Amelia's improvement, he'll agree to it as well."
With a bow, Markus left with his sister in tow. The other healers nodded their appreciation to the chimera as they left out the door. Zelgadis watched Amelia's sleeping form. She looked much more peaceful and her breathing had settled. He noted that the sickness smell he sensed had weakened tremendously.
She was still flushed from the dying fever and her cheeks were rosy. He had been so worried about her. The thought of her in pain as the healers fought with the infection had driven him mad. Her lips were slightly pursed and he startled by the need to touch them. He bent down and brushed a strand of dark hair from her eyes, looking at her face carefully one last time before leaving her bedroom. She was safe for now and that was all that mattered.
His tense muscles had calmed down, giving way to exhaustion. The day had a taken its toll on him and he laid down, soundlessly drifting off to sleep when he reached his room.
00000
Zelgadis awoke to loud knocking on his door. Still dressed in the same traveling clothes he had on the day before, he sleepily got up and opened it.
"Way to go Zel!" Lina yelled as she jumped at him as the door opened.
"Uggh!" he shouted, catching himself off guard. That woke him up. "What are you doing at this hour, Lina?" He rubbed at his eyes with a forefinger and thumb.
"It's already noon," she grinned, leaning on the door frame. "My, my Zel. You're not one to sleep in. Up all night celebrating?"
Zelgadis frantically scratched the back of his head and growled, "Noon? How long was I asleep? And why would I be celebrating? Why didn't anyone wake me?"
"Don't be so uptight, Zel. The healers requested that you needed the sleep," she lightly punched him in the arm. "Prince Phil heard what you did for Amelia and is thrilled! We haven't heard the end of it down there. Amelia's awake and is almost up to her own perky self again thanks to you. Looks like she'll be recovering before we know it. Shamanistic magic manipulating white magic? That's quite a feat!"
He yawned, but managed to hide a grin when he covered his mouth. So Amelia was doing much better… "I'll just get a cup of coffee and check up on her."
"You better drink it fast, she's been asking for you all morning." Lina winked slyly, slipping away from the door as he walked out of his room.
Stretching his back, he shook his head at her, "Lina, it's not like that between us. We're just friends."
Lina squinted and drew herself up to his height and stared into his face. She seemed to be concentrating on something. Zelgadis's leaned back in order to preserve his personal space and asked uncomfortably, "What are you doing?"
"You got something on your face." She reached out and picked something off of his check and examined it between her fingers.
Zelgadis made a face and craned his neck, trying to see what she had picked off. Lina grinned widely and declared, "Just what I thought. It's denial!"
He let out a long sigh, turning away from her and grumbled, "I'm going to get some coffee. See you later."
Lina only grinned teasingly behind his back, very pleased with herself.
TBC
