Zelgadis' Gambit

Chapter: 10

A New Purpose

Been awhile but what can I say...work has been a bit busy lately. That and I kept hitting the wall on how to wrap this chapter up. I know slayers is pretty much dead at the moment but I can't stop writing.

Rose and Grey sat in the tavern of the small village they had stopped at. As they waited on their lunch Grey asked, "So, are you feeling better now?"

Rose nodded before replying, "Yeah, a few days rest was good. We can move on as soon as we are ready."

The two continued their idle conversation before the noise in the tavern when dead. The two looked around before they noticed that the door was being held open by a man at arms and in walked a young man of noble barring. The young man was dressed in the best of clothes that showed his family was rich. His short trimmed brown hair was cut in a circular pattern and was covered by a fedora. His athletic frame showed that he was active and did not sit around like some nobles where said to do. His brown eyes scanned the tavern as he spoke, "I'm looking for the person or persons responsible for taking care of the bandit gang that used to be in the area."

Grey turned and pulled up his hood. "What is the matter," Rose asked as she watched Grey's reaction.

"Who knows what this man is after. I say we not stay around for this," Grey replied as he stood and blocked view of Rose.

Rose looked at Grey as he stood in front of her like some kind of overprotective dog and asked, "What's to worry about? If he causes a problem we can take him."

Grey's eyes narrowed as he looked at Rose before saying, "Did you forget that you just had a bout with your time?"

Rose glared at Grey before sighing and saying, "Fine you win...I'm moving."

The two of them made there way out of the back of the bar without drawing attention to themselves.

"Does no one here know who is responsible," the young man asked again as he continued to look around the tavern.

After a few more moments of silence the young man looked at the bartender and said, "Bar keep...who here is not from this town?"

The bartender looked around for a second before saying, "There are a few but if I had to bet I would say it's those two...what...where did they go," and pointing at where Rose and Grey had sat.

The young man looked towards where the barkeep was pointing before saying, "Surely you jest. There is no one there."

The bartender came back from his stupor and replied, "They must have left without me seeing but they were there."

"What did they look like," the young noble asked sounding somewhat disappointed.

The barkeep though for a moment before saying, "Well, one was a young girl with long red hair. She wore a purple robe and tended to be the sociable one out of the two. The other was a taller man that wore clothes fit for a ranger. Though the strangest thing was he wasn't human and yet didn't hide it."

The young noble looked at the bartender as his eyes widened and asked, "What do you mean?"

"He was blue...as blue as the ocean with green stones all over his skin. If you ask me he is some kind of demon that the sorceress girl summoned to be her slave," the bartender replied.

She paced back and forth in the main hall of the Sailoon royal palace. It had been a month and still no clue as to what had happened to the Black Wolf or Lina Inverse. After all her leads had come up short Amelia had decided that it was time to call in a little help. As she continued to pace, which was completely against her nature, she wondered if Lina was okay. "I hope nothing bad has happened," Amelia replied to no one in particular.

"Well, it depends on what you mean by bad," came a disembodied voice into the hall.

Amelia stopped as she looked around before saying, "Xellos this is no time to play around. Miss Lina has gone missing and who knows what has happened since then."

Xellos appeared in front of Amelia with his normal smile on his face. "My...My Amelia you are worked up about this. The negative emotions I just got from you are quite out of character."

"Of course she is worked up about this...her friend has gone missing," came another voice from behind Xellos.

Xellos turned to be greeted by Filia as she walked into the hall. The young gold dragon looked the same as the last time Amelia had seen her. Her flowing golden hair dropped down to her back and her gold eyes where locked on the mazuko in front of her. After, Filia got in front of the two she bowed her head to Amelia before saying, "I got your message and came as fast as I could. I'll help you find Lina...though I don't know why you involved him."

Xellos smirked before replying, "Because, I have just as much an interest in finding Lina unharmed as the rest of you...speaking of which where is Gourry?"

Amelia gulped once before pointing out one of the windows in the hall. Both Filia and Xellos moved over to the window and looked down into the courtyard. It was a training yard and in the middle of it stood Gourry holding a sword at a practice dummy. The blonde swordsman huffed air fast as his workout had caused him to breathe raggedly. Around him many other dummies had been shredded into pieces in his dance of hate. After a moment he drew in a breath before launching himself at the dummy and took off its head with one blow.

Xellos looked back at Amelia before saying, "I see blondie didn't take Lina's disappearance too well did he?"

Amelia shook her head before saying, "That's why I need you both. I need more level heads and people that can help me control Gourry if the worst has happened."

Filia turned and said, "Don't worry we'll find Lina."

Amelia nodded before looking out the window at Gourry and thinking, 'For all our sakes I hope we do.'

Rose sat next to a fire she had started while she watched fish cook. Grey had caught the fish and put them near the fire before perching up in a tree. Rose pulled her view from the delicious looking fish and looked up at Grey who was busy watching the area. She sighed before saying, "Sometimes you're too paranoid for your own good, Grey."

Grey looked down at Rose before smirking and saying, "And, you don't worry enough."

Rose sighed before turning back to the fish and watching them cook. As she stared into the fire she could not help but think to herself, 'Grey barely even knows me and yet he is like a watchdog. I guess its the same reason we stick together...both of us have lost our memories. Only someone that has experienced this situation could understand.'

After a moment the fish had finished and Rose grabbed one and began to eat. She swallowed her first bite before looking up and shouting, "Hey, guard dog...come down and eat!"

Grey jumped down from the tree and landed with the same grace that he usually carried around himself. He sat down, picked out a fish, and began to eat. As Grey ate his meal he continued to look around with his eyes in a constant watch over the camp. His eyes shifted back over to Rose to see her glaring at him before she said, "You know that's not healthy. You need to calm down and relax every once in a while. Being constantly on guard is going to drive you...," before cutting off because he had already been up a tree.

Grey finished the fish before saying, "If I keep a watch out then we won't have to worry about any bad surprises later own."

Rose watched Grey as she thought about what he had just said. She was about to reply when there came a snap from in the woods. Grey jumped from the tree and pulled the sword from his belt as he stood at the defensive in front of Rose. "Who's out there," Grey let out a commanding tone before continuing, "Either show yourself or I will reveal you."

There was no answer for a moment and that was long enough for Grey to decided that he was going to search. As he was about to swing to clear some of the underbrush a man popped up and said, "There is no need for that. We only wished to speak with you."

Grey spun on the man and then recognized the young man from the tavern. Grey pointed his sword at the man before saying, "And, why shouldn't I dispatch you right here?"

Before the young man could reply the man-at-arms jumped from out of the brush and swung at Grey. Grey parried the swing as he was in a stand off with the other warrior. "If you touch even a hair on my master's head then you will die monster," came the servants response to Grey's threat.

Grey smirked before saying, "And, you think you can stop me little man," before thrusting forward.

Grey's thrust was with such strength that the man-at-arms was flung back into a bush. As Grey began to approach for his attack there was a shout of, "Flare Arrow."

There was an explosion and when the smoke clear Grey stood there glaring at the young woman who had just charbroiled him. Rose glared back with her hands on her hips before saying, "That is enough Grey. Just let the boy speak his piece and if we don't like it then we'll send them on their way."

Grey sighed before sheathing his sword and walking back to take a seat next to Rose. Rose playfully punched Grey on the arm before saying, "Sorry about my guard dog here...he gets a little carried away. Now what do you want?"

The young noble sighed before he stood in front of Rose and said, "My lady it was confirmed by the locals that you and your companion were the ones that dispatched the bandits that had ravaged this area."

Rose cocked an eyebrow before shrugging and saying, "Yeah we did. They got in our way and it wasn't a good time to piss me off."

The young man gulped as he remembered the size of the destruction these two had left in their wake. "I'll keep that in mind," he replied before continuing, "Well, those bandits are just one of many gangs that are troubling this fair nation. The bandits have become a problem that needs to be dealt with and I have been searching for people like you."

It was Grey's turn to cock an eye as he stood and asked, "And, who are you to take this noble cause?"

"He is the son of the king," came the voice of the man-at-arms as he came from out of the bush he was knocked in.

Rose looked at the boy before worriedly asking, "Are you doing this with your father's knowledge?"

The young man nodded before saying, "Father is busy taking care of other problems. It is easier if I am the one to recruit."

"It is interesting but we really don't have time for this," Grey responded as he looked at Rose.

The man-at-arms walked forward as his face began to redden before saying, "First you threaten my lords life then you insult his offer to you...I ought to...," before being cut off.

The young prince held his hand out in from of his guard before saying, "Thomas hold your tongue," and then turning to the two strangers, "I am offering you anything you could desire. Money, status, land anything that you could desire."

Rose looked at the young man before saying, "How about restoring memories...can you give us that?"

Both the prince and Thomas' eyes widened before the prince asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Rose looked away from the two as Grey looked at her before responding, "We have no idea who we truly are. We woke up in your country with no memory of who we are or where we come from. We can't truly afford to stay in one place if it will not help us regain what we have lost."

The prince stood there dumbfounded for a moment before brightening and saying, "Serve my father and become famous."

Grey looked at the young man as if he was a fool. "You want to run that by us again."

"Serve my father and your fame will spread. When that happens surely someone that knows who you are will come to find you," replied the young man.

The two looked at each other before Rose nodded and replied, "We will give your suggestion a try...but we hold all rights to pack up and leave if we feel that it is a waste of our time."

"Then we are in agreement," the prince replied before saying, "Come with me to the capital and we shall make the deal official."

Grey and Rose packed their things and began their journey to the capital to begin their new life as servants of a king.

Disclaimer: Any characters or ideas from The Slayers do not belong to me. I am not selling this material, just writing for the heck of it as I go.

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