(Warnings and Disclaimers same as previous chapter)

To Love a Monster (part 14)

Laundry, Cooking, and Other Chores~

by: AniDragon and TheLostZelda

Zelgadis rested his elbows on the rail, letting his head hang in aggravation. It had been so long since he and Amelia had been flung into battle that he had enjoyed saving her and acting the gallant hero.

However, he wasn't able to enjoy it for as long as he would have liked. It was one of those moments where he could have said anything to her without fear, anything at all, but now it was over. It would probably be the last time he would be able to put his life on the line for her without things getting awkward. After the wedding, that would be Xellos's job.

He pulled his hair in frustration at the thought. "Where the hell is that bastard, anyway?"

~*~

"Lina…" Gourry looked at the small sorceress through the pile of laundry he was holding, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Lina leaned back against the wall, "What are you talking about? Sis told us to get the laundry done, so we're doing it. I figured even you would have learned to not get on her bad side, by now."

"That's not what I meant," Gourry nudged his head to point to the corner of the room, "I meant, is that there a good idea?"

Lina gazed over to where he was pointing. There was a tub of hot water in the corner, where Xellos was on duty cleaning the laundry.

"Well, why not? He's getting it done, isn't he?"

Gourry went over to dump the last batch of cloths into the "dirty" pile, and then picked up the basket of clean, wet clothing from next to Xellos, "But he's a guest, isn't he? You shouldn't make guests work like that."

"Look, he wants us to go help with the dragon, right?" Lina argued as she opened the door that led to the balcony where the clothesline was, "And he's a lot faster than me, so it makes sense that he does the work instead. After all, he's the one who wants to hurry."

"Lina-san does have a point," Xellos piped up.

"Even so…" Gourry shook his head as he squeezed through the door and put the cloths basket down on the balcony, "You should at least do some of the work."

"Hey, it's not my fault I'm too short to reach the clothesline!"

Even as she said that, though, she started handing him the cloths so that he at least didn't have to bend down to get it.

"I have to say, though, I'm surprised at you, Lina," Gourry commented as he worked, "I figured, given the choice between doing laundry and fighting a dragon, you'd have gone for the dragon."

"You again seemed to have missed the threat that is my big sis," She rolled her eyes, but then leaned closer to him, "Besides, by keeping Xellos busy here, we're giving Zelgadis and Amelia some alone time, aren't we? Let's face it, they probably don't really need our help to catch the lake dragon."

Gourry frowned, "I don't know… It was pretty hard to catch last time."

"Yeah, but last time the weather wasn't so cold," Lina explained, even though she knew that Gourry wouldn't get it, "It's not winter yet, but lake dragons will have already started preparing for it. They hibernate, you know. So they're not going to be very aggressive this time of year, because their metabolisms are slowing down."

"I see," Gourry said, clearly not understanding a word.

"It might put on a show to try and look aggressive," Lina continued, "To try and scare away predators, but it'll be a lot more docile, and will wear down a lot faster. Plus, Zel and Amelia will have Ashford with them, who does this for a living. They'll be fine."

Gourry shrugged, "If you say so…"

~*~

Zelgadis looked out at the water, hands still in his bent hair. He stared at the waves the boat created, allowing his gaze to penetrate the surface to look deeper. After a moment he heard a splash, followed by the sight of a rope being pulled towards the bottom.

That must be the anchor line, he thought absentmindedly as a large pale shape caught his eye. It looked like it was knotted to the rope, and drifted almost like a flag, it's pale color and purple underside reminded him a little of....

"AMELIA!" He realized, yelling and getting ready to jump overboard in an attempt to free the cape from the line.

"What is it, Zelgadis-san?" came a small voice behind him. He almost fell as he turned, startled, toward the confused girl.

"Your cape..." He pointed out, looking to her and then the water. Amelia looked over the railing at her cape flowing under the lake's surface.

"Oh, Ashford and I decided that we should try using a lure like last time, and since the dragon was so attracted to my cape before...why? Were you worried it was me?"

Zelgadis quickly collected himself and turned away from her with a slight blush, "No, I just..."

Amelia smiled, "I guess it works, then."

The boat rocked lightly and the sound of wooden gears spinning wild was heard.

"Hang on!" Ashford yelled from the lower deck, plunging the wooden stopper into the reel to stop the line. There was a sudden jolt and the boat went speeding along the lake, towed behind the dragon.

"Apparently," Zelgadis replied to Amelia, holding onto the railing with her, making sure she didn't lose her grip.

The boat was headed toward land at top speed. Quickly Amelia and Zelgadis Raywinged off, both of them reaching for and gripping the other's hand, leaving Ashford to deal with the dragon, as he had done before.

They watched as he clung to the dragon's neck, the boat already destroyed and scattered in the trees, and within seconds it was over. They had their dragon. They looked to each other happily, and glanced down at their hands, sadly letting go.

The dragon was defeated, and their mission was a success. Now, like all the times before, they had to separate, and go their own ways.

"Hey Amelia!" They heard a familiar voice from the beach below.

They looked down and there were Lina and Gourry, waving up to them and smiling, accompanied by a very late Xellos. Amelia and Zelgadis glanced at each other, making eye contact for a split second before Amelia broke their gaze and slowly flew down to greet their friends.

"Hey, you two started the party without us," Lina joked, putting Amelia in a headlock and messing up her hair.

"Lina-san, Xellos left 3 hours ago, what took you guys so long?" Amelia laughed as she wiggled out of the headlock.

Lina laughed a bit nervously, "Well, you know… Sis insisted that I finish all my chores before leaving…"

"Actually," Gourry piped up, "The only one Luna insisted we do was the laundry. But for some reason Lina decided that we needed to do a whole bunch of other chores, too…"

"Can it, Jelly-fish brain!"

Amelia raised an eyebrow and gave Lina a hard look, "Lina-san… I think I know what your plot was."

"Y… You do?" Lina looked away, avoiding eye-contact.

"You were taking advantage of the fact that Xellos-san was there, and made him do all the chores so you wouldn't have to do them later, am I right?"

Lina actually seemed a bit relieved at the accusation, "Oh. Well, yeah, I guess there was that, too."

"That was very un-just of you, Lina-san!" Amelia continued, not catching on that there was a second reason.

"Um, yeah, I guess it was," She quickly stepped on Gourry's foot when she saw him open his mouth to say something else, "But hey, no harm done, right? You guys managed to get the dragon without our help!"

"Yeah, I guess we did… Or at least, Ashford-san did," Amelia shrugged, "I feel kind of bad for dragging you all the way out here for nothing, though…"

"Hey, it's no biggy," Lina grinned, "You know that I'm always up for a change of scenery."

"Speaking of which," Amelia continued, "Why don't you and Gourry-san come back to the castle with us? Since you're part of the wedding party, you could help with the planning."

Lina's grin widened considerably, "Really? So we can stay at the castle until then? For 7 months, with free lodging and meals?"

"Um… Yes… Although when you put it that way…" Amelia frowned, rethinking if this was really such a good idea.

"Oh, Amelia, you're so nice!" Lina interrupted before she could change her mind, "Of course we'll come with you! And we'll be sure to do our part to help with the wedding!"

Or at least, Lina thought to herself, We'll do our part to help Zel get his act together.

~*~

"Um… sir?"

Seyruun Castle's head chef turned to the source of the voice. It was the younger chef who had heard the ominous warning not too long ago about the wedding. At first, the kitchen staff had dismissed it as stress, but then there had been an announcement. The princess was indeed getting married. And SHE was in the wedding party.

"I know you're worried, but it's taken care of," The head chef reassured him, "We just got a notice that someone else is taking care of the catering for the wedding party. Some dragon cuisine chef. He's being escorted here as we speak."

"Only one chef?" He asked in surprise, "For… for her?"

"It's none of our business," The head chef bit his lip, "Though it's cruel of me to say so… I certainly don't envy this man… But still… Better him than us, if she's involved."

"Yes. I… I suppose you're right…"

The young chef hesitantly went back to his post, while the head chef turned back to his work. The wedding announcement had made the entire staff paranoid, and it was getting harder and harder for him to keep them focused on their job. It was a blessing when he'd heard that they wouldn't be doing the catering.

"Excuse me."

Sighing with annoyance, he once again turned, this time to the entrance where a man was standing. He was dressed as a priest, and it took a moment for the head chef to recognise him as Xellos, the princess's fiancé.

"Yes, what is it?"

Xellos smiled, "The castle will be entertaining some new guests for the next few months, so his highness Prince Phillionel wanted to let you know that your workload will be increasing significantly. I trust there won't be a problem?"

"Of course not," The head chef said confidently, "I imagine the new guests will be the wedding planners?"

"Yes, them and the wedding party, who've just arrived a few minutes ago," Xellos confirmed.

"I see then… wait, you said the wedding party?"

The chef could have sworn that he saw Xellos's grin widen, but he must have imagined it. No one could be that cruel, "Yes, and the wedding party will of course be including Lina Inverse-san and Gourry Gabriev-san. So as I said— oh, my."

Several loud noises echoed through the kitchen as utensils, pots, and pans were dropped, followed by the sobs of many of the chefs and dishwashers. The head chef even fainted, falling to the ground at the Mazoku's feat.

Xellos was surprised, but pleased at the reaction. That had gone better then he'd expected.

~End of Chapter 14~

(A/N: We're alive! :P AniDragon now has to balance a job, plus she got sick a few times, while TheLostZelda is back in school. So yeah, we've been pretty busy, and have an especially hard time coordinating out schedules. We have a couple of buffer chapters written up, and then we'll be taking another hiatus while AniDragon participates in NaNoWriMo. Updates will be a bit more sporadic, since Friday isn't working for us. So we'll just update when we can find time to both be online.)