Chapter 9

It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them…

"Zel, got any fours?"

"Go fish."

Lina grimaced, her eyes narrowing dangerously at the chimera. "You wouldn't lie to me, would you?"

"Do you honestly think I would cheat at a kid's game?"

"Then why are you smiling?"

He chuckled. "You're just upset because I have won the last three games in a row."

"I am not upset!" she huffed, tossing her cards down on the bed with the rest of the deck. "This is a stupid game! Let's play something else."

Lina and Zelgadis were sitting on the bed the Oracle had given Lina. The healer had spent the entire night working on her, striving to undo the damage years of hurt had inflicted upon her mind. It was no simple task, but in the end, the Oracle was successful. After the long night the Oracle had returned to her own chambers for rest, but not before confining Lina to bed rest for several days—not because of the mental healing, but because of Lina's recent near death experiences coupled with the rapid healing performed by Zelgadis with Gaia Rebirth. The Oracle explained that Lina's metabolism needed time to stabilize and catch up. She may feel fine for the moment, but pushing herself too far too soon would put unnecessary strain on her system.

And so Lina, stuck in bed wearing her yellow pajamas, was slowly passing the time with Zelgadis. It was her second day being bedridden. Four walls and a ceiling made for a very boring view, even with a window that let her see outdoors. She had already read through the Oracle's entire library, which consisted mostly of romance novels and books on herbs. They were interesting but got old really quick. Fortunately, Zelgadis was keeping her company. They were playing games to help pass the time. They had just finished a game of Go Fish—and it would be the last hand of that game she would ever play, as far as Lina was concerned. She had the sneaking suspicion he was cheating, but she couldn't prove anything. The last time she had played this badly was when she was only a child.

"All right. I won't count this as a win or loss for either of us then."

A red eyebrow twitched. "You're keeping score?"

"Yes, how else will we know if we are getting better at the game?"

"What's the record?"

"Twenty to twelve—my lead. Now what game would you like to try next? So far we have played checkers, chess, War, Go Fish—"

"How about—"

"I'm not playing twenty questions," Zelgadis firmly replied before she could finish.

"Oh, come on! You make it sound like I use it to torture you!"

"I know Lazlore said this was your favorite game as a kid, but why the sudden obsession to play it now? You never brought this up when everyone was traveling together before."

"That's because Amelia was a justice freak; Gourry was warm but wasn't much for conversation; and you…" She shrugged after a moment of thought. "You were just plain depressing most of the time."

Zelgadis nodded. "Yes, I was. But why start playing the game now?"

"It has been fifty years, Zelgadis. A lot can happen in that amount of time."

"A lot has happened in that amount of time."

"Well, if you don't want to talk about it, just say so. I'll never ask again."

"Fine. I will make you a deal. You can ask me any question you like—"

"Yay!" Lina cheered.

"But…"

Her lips twisted in a frown. "Hey, no fair adding conditions!"

"Tough. Do you want to be able to ask me your questions or not?"

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Fine."

"Good. You can ask me any question you like, but you have to be prepared to answer that same question for yourself."

"Oh? And what if I ask something like, let's say, do you prefer boxers or briefs for comfort? What then?"

Zelgadis's mouth opened to respond but nothing came out. He didn't have an answer to that. He hadn't even thought that far ahead. Originally, he added the condition in order to discourage Lina's questions. Clearly that wasn't going to work.

"See what happens when you try to match wits with the Sorceress Surpreme?" Lina's grin teased him. "Just give up and play along. I ask a question, then you get a turn to."

"All right. Go ahead. Shoot."

"Are you sure?" Lina asked.

"I say no and you ignore it. I tell you to go ahead and suddenly you question it?"

She smiled. "I don't want you to feel like I am forcing you into anything."

He folded his arms together and gave the sorceress a cool glance.

"Really."

"Okay. Ask away."

"Hm, should I start with a big or little question? What do you think, Zel?"

"Well, if you want to go for a sense of drama I would suggest starting with the little questions and working your way up to the big ones. But knowing you as I do, as impatient as you are…"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Lina did not like his smile. "If you want impatient, I can show you impatient!"

Zelgadis couldn't resist throwing in a quip. "When aren't you impatient?"

He earned a pillow in the face for that one.

"Just for that, I'm going to start with a big question!"

He set the pillow aside and waited.

"Do you ever wish that you and Amelia had fallen in love?"

"Eh…" The chimera's smile completely vanished. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Can we talk about something else?"

"No," Lina grinned, "don't try to change the subject."

Zelgadis sighed. It wasn't a normal sigh. This was a long and drawn out sigh, like when a person has a secret they would rather not have.

Her grin fell. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No."

"Then what is it?" She gave him a piercing look. "No one sighs like that when they have nothing to say."

Zelgadis frowned. She could tell he was debating whether to speak or remain silent.

"Come on, Zel," she encouraged. "Talk. Doctor Lina may not have all the answers, but she will listen."

That got a small smile from him. "So you're a psychologist now?"

"Yes, and you don't even have to pay me the twenty-gold-an-hour fee they usually charge."

"All right." His eyes lifted to the ceiling and his smile disappeared again. "I lied when I said Amelia and I never became involved."

"So you two did fall in love!"

"I suppose you could say that."

"What is that supposed to mean? Did something happen between you two?"

Zelgadis shook his head. "No, more like something happened between Amelia and Prince Phil. It was a few years after you left. Amelia had just turned thirty. We had been involved together for little over a year and a half. Prince Phillionel was preparing to step down so she could ascend the throne. Unfortunately, he wanted her to take a consort first.

"So why aren't you back there helping to rule over Saillune?"

"According to her father it was Amelia's duty as an 'Upholder of Justice' to wed a prince of the neighboring kingdom. Apparently, since I wasn't of royal blood, I didn't qualify to marry a princess."

"Amelia didn't say anything?"

"Oh, she gave him an earful, and then some. Amelia argued with her father for hours. The walls of the palace trembled with screams. She pointed out everything she could think of to sway her father into believing I would be an excellent addition to the bloodline. She even went as far as to mention that I was a descendant of Rezo."

"And that wasn't good enough for Prince Phil?"

"No, it was her duty to guide, protect, and preserve the future of the kingdom. That meant keeping the royal bloodline pure because, as Prince Phil became fond of saying, 'Ceipheed himself had appointed them to the position as rulers over the kingdom of Saillune.'"

Her opinion of Prince Phil was suddenly plummeting. "That is the biggest load of garbage I have ever heard!"

He shrugged. "I suppose it is something we should have expected. I knew my presence in court was not appreciated by the council, but Amelia always insisted I accompany her. If I did go I was careful to stick to the shadows. They made it clear several times that I was not welcome there."

"What a bunch of hypocrites!—and after we saved their precious city! If I had been there I would have Dragon Slaved their sorry asses into the ground!" Lina snarled. "So what happened? I mean, you aren't there now…"

"I forget exactly how long Amelia and Phil argued, but it finally ended when he gave her an ultimatum: Either marry the prince he had chosen or renounce the throne her and title." Zelgadis gazed sightlessly out the window. "Amelia thought about it for three long days before a choice was finally made."

"What did she choose?" Lina wanted to ask, but was afraid to.

"Amelia never made a decision. I made it for her. I told her goodbye and left."

"What!" Lina exploded. She glared down at the chimera. "How could you do something like that to her! She adored you!"

"I know," he replied quietly, "but you didn't have to watch Amelia for those three days. They were absolute hell for her! She didn't eat. She didn't sleep. She didn't talk to anyone. She didn't even acknowledge the servants when they spoke to her. All she would do was walk around the royal garden. It was like watching an animated puppet. She went through each day out of habit, without thought.

"At the end of the third day I went to her. I found her standing under the cherry blossoms." He shook his head. "Her face had grown so thin and pale. Her eyes were so distant. I don't think Prince Phil realized the strain his ultimatum put Amelia under. She had such strong beliefs in love and justice, but to set them in conflict the way he did…she was ready to snap under the strain."

"I'm sorry, Zel."

"When I saw Amelia I cast Sleep over her. While the servants rushed her off to bed I wrote a note and kissed her goodbye. At that point I realized I would rather lose her than watch her continue to suffer."

"You could have run away together."

"I don't think that would have helped. Her morals and sense of justice were everything to her."

"Damn her sense of justice!" Lina thumped her fist into her palm. "There are more important things! Isn't love supposed to overcome all?"

"Then why did you send Gourry away?" Zelgadis asked coolly. The question wasn't spoken maliciously but it still stung Lina, nonetheless.

"I…I…" Her jaw moved but she couldn't make any words come out.

"I'm sorry. That wasn't really fair of me," he replied softly, "but it is the general idea. You wanted Gourry to be happy so you sent him away. I wanted Amelia to be happy so I left. To someone else it may not sound like we made the best choice—and maybe we didn't—but we're only human. It is natural for us to want the ones we love to be happy."

Lina was afraid to ask her next question, but she did anyway. "Did you ever see Amelia after that?"

"Once. Briefly. It was from afar. She never knew I was there."

"How did it make you feel?" It was a question Lina had asked herself a dozen times. How would she feel if she ever saw Gourry and Sylphiel together? She didn't have the courage to find out the truth for herself. It was one of the reasons why she had wandered so deeply into the outer territories shortly after disappearing. She knew she would never meet any of her old friends out here. Well, she had met Zelgadis, but that was different.

There was a long pause before the chimera answered, and for a moment Lina feared her question had gone too far, but Zelgadis answered. "It was right after she gave birth to her son, Alfred. She was presenting him to the kingdom. I was in the crowd as she walked passed. I saw that she was happy. That was all that mattered to me."

A long silence fell between them, not because either one had become uncomfortable with the conversation, but because they had lost themselves among thoughts of what might have been. Children. Family. A home.

"It is difficult to say who do you the most mischief: Enemies with the worst intentions or friends with the best."

Zelgadis looked up from his thoughts. "What?"

"It's something Rune once told me," Lina said softly. "When I was little it didn't make much sense to me. Now…now I think I understand it."

"He sounds philosophical."

"He kind of was." Lina leaned back into her pillow. Her eyes rose to the ceiling. A thought came to her unbidden. She started to laugh.

"What is so funny?"

"Listen to us," Lina's shoulders shook. "We sound like a couple of old farts reminiscing about their lost youth."

Zelgadis thought about it for a moment. "I guess we do. We are both over eighty. Technically, we are old."

She glanced over at the chimera, sticking her tongue out at him. "Speak for yourself. I'm going to live forever or die trying!" She smiled. "Care to join me?"

He returned the smile. "Why not? There is no point dwelling on the past."

"That's the spirit!" Lina cheered. "Now if we only had some wine to properly celebrate the occasion."

"Well, I don't have any wine, but I hope this is close enough." He produced a bottle and two wooden cups from inside his cape.

Lina glanced at him questioningly.

"The Oracle gave this to me the last time I stopped by. It is a hard cider, but made with pears rather than apples. Perry, I believe it is called. It was a specialty drink of her clan." He uncorked the bottle, filled both cups, and gave one to Lina. "Try it."

Lina sniffed cautiously at her cup before taking a careful sip. The taste was cool, clear, and crisp, yet warmed her down to her toes. It made her feel all fuzzy and bubbly inside. "This is really really good!" She started to take another sip but Zelgadis stayed her hand.

"Let it breathe a moment. It gets better. I keep asking her for the recipe but she always refuses no matter how many times I ask."

Lina grinned. "Maybe it's because she wants a reason for you to keep coming back to her."

A slight blush colored his cheeks. He gazed out the window to hide it. "If that was her reason she wouldn't need to go to such lengths. I already visit her as much as I can. She is a good friend."

"Falling in love with the elf, are you?" Lina teased.

Zegladis eyed her but only for a moment before his lips curled into a smile. "Say, Lina, you like hot springs, right? I know of this resort town that is only a couple of days away…"

"A hot spring? Out here!?" She couldn't remember the last time she had been to one. They were virtually nonexistent in the outer territories. "Where?" Her expression turned suspicious. "This isn't one of those artificial hot springs, is it?"

"No, it's a natural hot spring. Have you ever heard of the city of Pleasure Point?"

"Yea, but I never knew they had a hot spring."

"I'm not surprised. Most of the casinos and other businesses in its pleasure district overshadow the rest of the city's attractions."

That was no small wonder. The pleasure district wasn't exactly known for a family-friendly atmosphere. "Is it good?"

"It is one of the best and cleanest hot springs I have been to."

A tiny bell rang in the distance, signaling the Oracle's call for the midday meal. Zelgadis stood.

"I'll help the Oracle with the food. You—"

"—rest here," Lina finished the sentence for him. "I know. I know. I'm not a baby. You don't have to explain everything to me, Zel."

"Sorry," he smiled sheepishly. "I just—"

"—worry for me. I know." Lina returned the smile. "It's appreciated. Just remember: I'm not helpless."

"Right. I'll be back in a bit with the food."

Once Zelgadis had departed from the room Lina fell back into her pillow with a content sigh. She was lucky to have such a good friend.