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

10- Bogged Down

"Here you go. It's what you asked for, isn't it?"

Adelaide's face lit up as Lina tossed her the clothing that they'd collected that morning. "A green dress!" she gasped in excitement. "You did find one."

"I'm sorry if it's not quite your style, but it was the only one that both fit and matched your criteria-"

"I love it!" the girl squealed, hugging the dress. "I'll go try it on now!"

"Don't just try it on. Wear it." Lina dug into the bag that Gourry had draped over one shoulder. "And while you're at it, here's a pair of walking shoes and a sleeping roll so that you won't have to be quite as on-the-ground as you were last night. It's not nearly all the supplies you need to travel, but if you stick with us, we'll take care of you."

Adelaide's expression of excitement softened, and she held the dress close. "Thank you…" she murmured. "I don't know how I'll ever be able to repay you for all that you've done."

That was the wrong thing to say. Lina immediately had her abacus handy and began adding up some numbers she'd written down on a slip of paper.

"Adding up the retail costs of the dress, the shoes, and the sleeping roll, plus a fee for my efforts in your rescue the other day… your current tab is about fifty-seven silver. No need to pay right now- I'll keep a running account of it and you can pay me once everything settles down again."

"…o-okay... uh…"

"Don't stand there looking like a terrified deer. Change into the dress I bought you! I picked it out and everything!"

"Y-yes, Miss Lina!" Adelaide disappeared hurriedly behind a bunch of trees.

"Retail costs?" As soon as Adelaide left, Gourry approached Lina from behind and tapped her gently on the back of the head. "But you haggled with the shop owners for each of these and bought them for nearly half what the retail-"

"Shush!" Lina gave him a gentle punch on the arm in reply. "The difference between the prices is profit. Don't you know anything about business? Profit is the whole point."

"You're awful. She's in a bad situation and you're charging her all this?"

"I'm not heartless! If she didn't have the means to pay me back, of course I wouldn't do this. But she does, so where's the harm?"

Lina and Gourry continued to bicker while a much more civil conversation was going on over on the other side of the clearing.

"Oh, Zelgadis, I love it! It's so comfortable!" Amelia twirled around, letting the cloak fan out behind her like a cape. Her new outfit was obviously inspired by her favorite traveling ensemble, though certainly less gaudy. Zelgadis was afraid that it was too demure for the princess, but if she was at all disappointed, she wasn't showing it. "How much did it cost you? I'll pay you back-"

"There's no need for that. Lina bartered with the salesperson and we got it fairly cheaply. Buy me a coffee sometime and we'll call it even."

"It definitely looks nice on you." Pokota was perched on Zelgadis' shoulder, doing his best to avoid the chimera's hair. With Adelaide and Amelia changing outfits, the only other options for shoulders or heads to perch on were Lina and Gourry, and Pokota would rather risk getting stuck with steel wire than get in between that argument. "You did a great job picking that out, Zelgadis."

"It was the closest thing to her other traveling clothes." Zelgadis brushed off the compliment, but the smile on his face betrayed his appreciation. "I know how much she loves to wear that purple cape, but a blue cloak will have to suffice for now."

"Purple is a color of nobility, and wouldn't be suitable if I'm trying to pass for an ordinary civilian." Amelia reasoned. "Besides, blue is a nice color. It represents stability, wisdom, and truth."

"What does green represent, princess?"

Amelia turned around and smiled at the sight of her new friend. "Oh, Miss Adelaide, what a lovely dress! The color suits you perfectly. Green is a color that represents safety, you know."

"Is that so?"

"Yes!" Amelia pointed to the ruffles on the front of the dress and the accent pin near the young woman's neck. "With white for innocence and blue for truth, we'll have your name cleared in no time!"

"That's not how it works, Amelia." Zelgadis nudged her shoulder. "But it's not a bad thing to be optimistic, I suppose."

"I love the accents on the front of the dress, regardless of color." Adelaide giggled, twirling around. "It's cute."

"Thank goodness! Lina picked it out especially for you!" Gourry called, hearing Adelaide's comment from across the clearing. "She said that ruffles on the front of the dress like that would help hide that you have a flat-"

"GOURRY!" Lina grabbed hold of him and forced him into a headlock. "You don't say that to a girl's face, idiot!"

"B-but that's what you told me-"

"Don't worry, you two. I don't mind." Adelaide's reply allowed them to calm down somewhat. She tapped her chest with a proud smile. "I don't need large breasts when I've got a lovable personality! Besides, they'd only be in my way as a swordswoman."

"That's true." Gourry mused. "I've always wondered how girls handled those things in battle. I couldn't ask Lina- it's not like she'd have that problem-"

"You'd do well to keep your mouth shut." Lina hissed, slamming her foot down on top of his.

Pokota, in the meantime, hopped over onto Adelaide's shoulder. "Don't worry so much about them. You're the perfect size just the way you are."

"Thanks, Pokota!" Adelaide beamed. "I think I'm perfect too!"

Lina snatched the animal off Adelaide's head, eliciting a high-pitched yelp. "Hey, you fuzzy little hypocrite! What gives?"

"Hypocrite?" he demanded, squirming around in an attempt to escape her grip.

"You heard me! Adelaide and I have the same chest measurements, and yet somehow I'm Flatty McFlat-Chest while she's The Perfect Size?"

"She has a nice personality!" Pokota continued to squirm. "Unlike you!"

"Why you-"

Gourry interrupted, placing his hands on Lina's shoulders. "Lina…" he scolded. "…calm down. Remember that thing about finding your happy place?"

"My fist has a happy place, and it's in his face-"

"Lina."

Gourry began massaging her shoulders, and Lina immediately relaxed, releasing Pokota from her grip, her head drooping to one side. The little animal hopped back over to Adelaide, watching the scene in amazement. His companion was equally amazed. "Wow, Gourry! Where'd you learn to do that?" Adelaide gasped.

Gourry, seeing that his technique had worked, released Lina and spoke to Adelaide with a self-satisfied grin. "It's a trick I picked up in marriage counseling-"

"W-wait a minute, Gourry! Don't tell them that and not tell them the story behind it!" Lina protested, waving her hands frantically. "See, it's a really long and funny story. We didn't go to this thing by choice, we just sort of-"

"Yes we did." Gourry protested. "You were the one who said that because they had food-"

"I'm telling this story, Gourry."

"You're telling it wrong."

"Wrong? I lived this!"

"So did I!"

"Um…" Adelaide interrupted calmly. "…I'm sorry, I didn't realize you two were married."

Both answered in unison. "We're not."

"Huh? You're not?" Pokota jumped from Adelaide's shoulder to the top of her head, his eyes fixed on his two friends. "I always kinda assumed you were."

"I don't see what would give you that impression."

"I do." Adelaide volunteered. "You act married."

"How do two people act married?"

"Well…"

Amelia and Zelgadis watched from a safe distance as Lina and Adelaide argued the specifics of couple behavior. Zelgadis showed little emotion, but Amelia was amused by the conversation.

"Miss Adelaide really seems to be fitting into the group." Amelia observed with a smile. "That's a relief. I was afraid she'd feel intimidated or frightened, but she seems comfortable."

"That may not be such a good thing." Zelgadis murmured in reply. "She' a wanted criminal. She shouldn't be getting too comfortable."

"You still think she's guilty?"

"I do, and I've even told her as such."

"Zelgadis-"

"She's alright with it. We came to an understanding- she knows what I want and she knows that I'll continue to support her provided that she helps me achieve my goal."

"Zelgadis!" Amelia hissed. "You sound like such a despicable person right now."

He just grinned. "Good to know I'm not losing my touch." Amelia responded with a purposefully melodramatic pout and he laughed, gently tousling her hair. "You worry about your morality and I'll worry about mine."

Amelia nodded, but she wasn't satisfied yet. "Did she... confess to you that she's guilty?"

"No. In fact, she promised to prove to me that she's innocent. I look forward to seeing what she comes up with."

Amelia's smile returned. "Thank goodness. She's being so nice about all this."

"Oh, she's very nice. Nicer than I ever imagined she'd be." Zelgadis agreed. "But nice does not necessarily equal good."

"Yes, yes, everyone knows that."

"But you don't believe it."

"I do. Yes. It's just... I don't know. I can't help but feel for Miss Adelaide."

"I can understand that. But she has enough people feeling for her already- she doesn't need me too. I'll stick to logic and, until she can prove to me that she's innocent, my own theories."

"Aw, we're sleeping outside again? This is the third night."

Adelaide was nice, but she certainly knew how to complain.

"Don't worry so much." Lina assured her. "We'll be crossing the border into Lyzeille tomorrow, and then it'll be safe to stay at inns in small groups."

"Oh, thank gods. N-not that I'm ungrateful for the nice sleeping roll, but even with that, my back hurts from last night..."

"Welcome to our life." Zelgadis muttered. "Hope you enjoy your stay."

"Don't worry so much, Adelaide." Gourry spoke up in reassurance. "Let's do something fun. Do you want to play cards again, or-"

"Yeah, that's right!" Pokota jumped over to Gourry's head. "I need to make up my losses from last night."

"You weren't really betting on anything, were you?" Amelia asked curiously.

"No, but I just-"

"He's sore 'cause he couldn't keep up with the master." Lina interrupted, gesturing to herself. Adelaide, however, didn't seem to notice- or care about- the gesture.

"You're talking about me, right? The one who won four rounds in a row?"

"I won five in total."

"Oh yeah? With how many cards up your sleeve?"

"I didn't have any-" "She had a bunch." "-be quiet you little animal-" "-make me be quiet, why don't you-"

"Hey. I hate to interrupt your fun, but I have some questions to ask."

Zelgadis waved his arms and stepped in between Lina and Pokota. The two immediately fell silent, and Lina and Adelaide took a step back. Amelia reached up and touched his arm curiously. "Something wrong, Zelgadis?"

"I've been doing some thinking on the situation, and before taking any risks to gather information, I thought it would be best if we combined our knowledge to see what we truly know and don't know."

"Knowledge about what?" Adelaide asked.

"Chateau Augustine. You know- that place we're going but don't know anything about."

"I told you, it was my mother's-"

"Yes, yes, we know that. But Gioconda's ownership of the home is only a small part of its story, I'm sure, and I'm not satisfied with that. I need to know more about its history," He paused and fixed a stern glare on Adelaide. "I need to know what's there."

Adelaide frowned and reached out as though she were going to grab his arm, but he flinched and pulled it away, much to her chagrin. "Can I talk to you for just a second?" she demanded. Zelgadis tugged his arm away from Amelia and stepped aside to respond to the girl's request.

"What is there to talk about?"

"Just give me some time and I'll tell you all about the-"

"Time requires patience, Miss Adelaide, and that's not something that I have in boundless supply right now. You want to prove your innocence to me? Answer my questions."

"Fine."

"Good." Zelgadis turned back around to the others. "We'll all begin setting up camp and making a fire, and then once we've settled in we can talk."

"I'm sorry about him..." Amelia shuffled over to stand next to the others as Zelgadis began picking up pieces of kindling for firewood.

"Don't be. He's got a point." Lina responded. "I mean, all we know about this place so far is that it's in Kachemak Bay. That's a huge wildlife preserve full of swampland and dreadful mosquitoes."

"Is it really that bad?"

"It's a peat bog, Pokota. Have you ever walked through a bog?"

"N-no-"

"That's a trick question. You don't walk through a bog, you slog through it, ankle-deep in mud if you're lucky and waist-deep if you're not." Lina crossed her arms. "And I doubt I have to tell you this, but I'm not searching endless kilometers of bog for a house."

"I see…"

Meanwhile, Amelia reached out to Adelaide in concern. "Miss Adelaide, if Zelgadis is bothering you, I can ask him to-"

"No, no. It's alright." Adelaide shook her head. "Honestly, I'd probably be doing the same if I were in his situation. I wish I could tell you more about this place, I really do, but I've only visited once, and that was a few years ago. I can give you what I know, but it's not much."

"Don't worry. We'll get the information one way or another." Zelgadis' voice caused the two girls to flinch and turn around. They hadn't realized he'd been listening to their conversation.

"That's a very villainous thing to say, Zelgadis!"

"Villainous…?" Adelaide was still getting used to the intricacies of their relationship. Lina and Gourry, she could clearly tell were a pair, but Amelia and Zelgadis were trickier. Unlike Lina and Gourry, whose disagreements, though common, were trivial in nature, Amelia and Zelgadis seemed to have conflicting ideologies, disagreeing on far more important subjects. Their moralities were far different from one another, and while Adelaide had seen them physically close- walking together, holding hands, even the occasional hug- there was a distance between them that made her wonder just what basis the relationship was founded upon.

"Yes. Apparently I talk like a villain." Zelgadis' voice was monotone, but there was a sense of amusement in his eyes. "Amelia is helping me remove supposedly villainous phrases from my vocabulary."

"It's not right for a defender of Justice to say such things!"

"Honestly, I care more to know if I'm speaking in storybook clichés without realizing it. It saves me embarrassment in the long run."

"Zelgadis."

"What? You told me that defenders of Justice are honest, and that's my honest opinion."

Adelaide giggled as she listened. Though she didn't quite understand the relationship, she couldn't argue that Amelia and Zelgadis' banter could be fun to listen to. "Like I've said before, I'm not good at spouting information on my own. Ask me some questions, okay?"

"To start off, can you give us a more detailed idea of where this place is?" Lina took a spot by the fire next to Gourry. "Like I said, Kachemak Bay is a huge place."

"The house isn't accessible by road." Adelaide explained. "To get there, you have to take a boat to the private dock. There's also a small backcountry trail that we can use if we'd rather not draw attention by renting a boat. It's not good for carrying large amounts of supplies, like my mother always did when she visited, but it's fine for a small group. And it has boardwalks, so your feet won't get wet, Lina."

"Sounds good to me." Lina sighed in obvious relief. "I agree that I don't like the idea of taking a boat. We can use the trail."

"The house seems to be in a very odd, inconvenient location. What made Marquess Gioconda choose a place like that for a summer home?" Zelgadis asked. "How did it end up in her possession?"

"Abaddon bought it for her." Adelaide replied. "Or, that is, he bought it in her name. After the previous owner was found dead, the house was put on the market, and Abaddon placed an offer in my mother's name that very day. He... informed her later that he'd done so, and by that time the negotiations had already gone through."

"So Abaddon bought Gioconda a house without her knowledge or consent?" Lina asked. "Did Abaddon have access to her finances?"

"He was providing her with such a large sum of money every month to fund research, she had to find a way to get that money in the back door to prevent people from finding out and becoming suspicious. So, yes, Abaddon had complete access to all of my mother's financial assets."

"And there was no contract between them, so Abaddon could do as he pleased." Pokota observed.

"To make an offer so quickly and without consulting the Marquess first, Abaddon must have needed to obtain that house for his own personal interests." Zelgadis murmured, more to himself than to the group.

"It's understandable. Because of its dramatic tidal fluctuations and abundant wildlife, private land near Kachemak Bay has become extremely sought after. People pay a lot of money for even tiny cabins near the outskirts of the wildlife refuge, and houses with convenient water access are prized due to the lack of roads going through the area." Amelia offered a flurry of information. She didn't know a lot about the situation, but she wanted to help Zelgadis as best she could.

"If Abaddon made an offer the day the house went on the market, he must've known that it was going to happen." Pokota pointed out. "Adelaide, how did the previous owner die?"

"He apparently died due to a laboratory accident. I heard that he was some sort of researcher... a Mister Bedivere, I think-"

"Bedivere?" Lina gasped. "Y-you mean Arthur Bedivere?"

(A/N: It's possible that there will not be a new chapter next week, as I will be recovering from surgery. If that happens, the story will continue its regular updates on the next Friday, March 20. Thank you very much for your patience.)