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Duuchesney sat quietly on the cot in her cell, staring at the brick wall in front of her. She hadn't been to prison in years, and she'd forgotten how horribly constrictive the walls could feel.

Not even a day had passed since the Magical Fusion ceremony had taken place. She glanced through the barred windows of her cell and saw a beautiful, clear blue sky. Something must have gone wrong with the ceremony, as it appeared the shield had not been restored at all. It was very likely the biggest reason she hadn't been put her on trial thus far; everyone was concerned with what they were going to do to keep Nullin safe.

A doctor had come by to tend to her wounds earlier, but she still ached all over. The doctor, quite frankly, didn't seem all that interested in helping her. He also had no interest in answering her questions.

She pulled her knees up close, hugging herself as she let her thoughts wander. Everyone in the city had hated her before, but now more than ever. They were convinced she assisted the Mazoku that came to disrupt the ceremony, that much was clear from the way the doctor and others were treating her.

The city of Nuulin had never had an execution. She had a sinking feeling she might go down in history as the first.

"And the great Duchess is finally caught," a voice spoke up outside her cell window, making Duuchesney jump up in surprise. She straightened up, wincing from the pain in her back, before looking through her barred window.

A cloaked figure stood outside, just out of arms reach. He wore a grayish-tan outfit from head to toe, including a hood and cloth mask to cover his face.

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Do I know you?" she asked, trying to sound as menacing as possible.

The man reached up and pulled down his hood and mask, revealing his face to her.

"Zelgadis!" she exclaimed, letting out the breath she didn't know she was holding and smiled. "Thank Cephied you are here! Get me out of here, will ya?"

He shook his head, "I can't, Duuchesney. Even in this form, I can't break those bars. I can't use my powers inside the shield, either."

"What shield? Look at the sky, Zel, the shield was destroyed! Not to mention you are still a…a…that!"

"The shield has no affect on me now, Duuchesney," Zel narrowed his eyes at her, "I added my power to the shield, and now I'm immune to it. I cannot be flesh again." His voice cracked slightly as he said it, but he kept his composure.

Duuchesney gazed at him for a bit as though to study him, then pursed her lips together, "I see. So you're a permanent freak again."

Zelgadis growled and clenched his fists at her words, but said nothing.

"So what do you plan to do to fix it?" she didn't seem to notice his angry reaction, or didn't care.

He kept his expression and voice cold as he answered, "I suppose I'll have to go back to finding a new cure."

"Great!" she clapped her hands through the bars. "Then lets figure out a way to get me out of here, and I can go with you!"

"I don't think so, Duuchesney."

This was not the response she was expecting, and cocked her head curiously, "Huh? But I thought you wanted to find a cure!"

He approached the cage, bringing himself right up to the bars. The bandit pulled her arms in as he came close, and took an involuntary step back.

"Duuches, listen to me," his voice was so cold it sent a chill down her spine. "There is a very real possibility that there is no cure out there for me. I could search my entire life and never find it. In the meantime, I will still be a stone-skinned chimera!"

He gave off a low, gutteral growl as he said it, "Knowing that, do you still want to travel with me?"

She remained silent for several minutes. Duuchesney just didn't know what to say. Taking a deep breath, she approached the bars, studying that strange, freakish face for a sign of the man she thought she knew. Slowly, she reached up and stroked his brow, but recoiled quickly. Then abruptly she turned away, unable to meet his gaze any longer.

Zelgadis sighed. It was the reaction he had been expecting, "So I take it this is it then."

"I guess so," she said in a hushed voice, looking at the floor of her cell. "I'm sorry, Zel, but I…I can't…."

Zelgadis decided it was time for a change of subject, "The townsfolk seem to think you tried to assist the Mazoku who came to disrupt the shield. They want to execute you." His face showed genuine concern. "You need to leave this place, and never return."

The bandit rolled her eyes, "Yea, and how am I suppose to do that, Zel?"

The chimera smirked before turning to walk away. "I'm not as obtuse as you seem to think, Duuchesney, I know what you did. Just consider it my parting gift to you."

He slowly walked into the forest, but before disappearing he called out , "Farewell, Duchess."

"Goodbye, Zel," her words were almost inaudible. As soon as Zelgadis was out of sight she slinked back to her cot and sat down.

'So, I guess the man I knew and loved is dead.' She closed her eyes, wiping away a tear from her face. She'd never meant to really fall for him, but she couldn't help it. He was a stubborn ass, but he had been very kind to her as well.

Well, it seems as always, she would just have to do everything herself.

Well, that was fine with her! Her sleight of hand skill had proved useful. She reached into her sleeve, pulling out the item she had taken from Zelgadis; a single strand of his hair. With expert skill, she began to fashion it into a lock pick.

It had been a week since the Magical Fusion ceremony, and Amelia had spent it in a blinkered hell. She tried desperately to convince the townsfolk of Xellos' evil intentions, but it was all in vein. The Black Mage-sama had apparently used his charms on everyone, and they found the very idea of him being a Mazoku preposterous.

"Mayor-san, would I ever lie?" Amelia asked yet again. She was nearly at her wits end. The three of them, Amelia, Mayor Ruulin, and Ladia, were all sitting around in the Mayor's spacious living room. They each had a cup of tea in front of them as they discussed recent events.

"I don't think you are a liar, White Mage-sama," he gave her a look of grave concern. "Just confused is all. You suffered a nasty bump on the head while you were in the shrine."

Amelia glared at him, "I tried to tell you when we first saw Xellos what he was! I didn't have a bump on my head then!"

"White Mage-sama," Ladia spoke up, looking even more concerned than her husband. "It's obvious you were sick when you came here. So it stands to reason…"

"I wasn't sick when I came here!" her voice was becoming growingly irate. "The shield was making me sick! It was corrupted by Xellos 100 years ago."

The Mayor's wife, Ladia, spoke, "I just find that so hard to believe. Xellos doesn't look a day older than 20..."

"He's a Mazoku!" Amelia snapped back. "He can make himself look whatever age he wants!"

"He can't be a Mazoku, White Mage-sama. Mazoku cannot enter the shield."

Amelia groaned and slumped in her seat. The conversation just kept going in circles.

Ladia stood up from her chair and walked over to Amelia. The princess looked up at her as she rested a hand on her shoulder. "White Mage-sama, this may come as a shock to you, but…the Black Mage-sama told us everything." Her eyes welled up with tears as she spoke. "I'm afraid your dear friend, Zelgadis, was in league with that Mazoku, and he was poisoning you by his orde…"

"That's ridiculous!" Amelia practically screamed, and the mayor jumped back in surprise. "Xellos was lieing to you!"

"Look now," The mayor said sternly. "Even if you are the White Mage-sama, I will not allow you to sully Black Mage-sama's honor!"

Amelia sighed, burying her face in her hands. 'Why me?'

"Speaking of the Black Mage-sama," Ladia spoke again, sitting back down again and picking up her tea cup. "Just what happened in the shrine? Where did he disappear to? And what was that bluish-white light that we saw in the sky?"

Amelia had no idea how she was going to explain that when they wouldn't believe anything else, "I don't know, I was unconscious for all of that." It wasn't a total lie, after all.

"If you were unconscious," The Mayor chimed in, "then how do we even know the shield is up?"

Amelia lifted up her hand and began casting a spell, "Source of all power, crimson fire burning bright!" She snapped her fingers.

The Mayor and his wife held their breaths, but nothing happened.

"But if the shield is up," Ladia continued. "Why is it invisible."

Amelia shook her head, "I don't know."

That was also mostly true. She knew Zelgadis' adding his shaman magic to the shield had to be the reason, but she didn't know why adding shaman magic would make it invisible. Xellos said something about True Fusion, but she had never heard of that.

Amelia rubbed her ring finger on her left hand. Despite having given the ring back to the Mayor, she could still feel it there even after all this time. It had even left a strange, blackish scar on her finger that her healing magic wouldn't remove. She could only hope it faded over time.

"White Mage-sama?" A servant entered the tea room, bowing to Amelia and handing her a letter. "This was just delivered for you."

Amelia took the letter and thanked the servant. The letter had no name on it, but it didn't need one. When Amelia opened it she instantly recognized the handwriting, and her eyes lit up with excitement.

"Who is it from?" the Mayor asked.

Amelia quickly folded the letter and placed it in her bodice, "Oh, just a citizen thanking me." She lied outright that time. 'I'll repent later.'

It was early dawn when Amelia snuck out of the house, a sack of her personal belongs slung over her shoulder. Her white mare was in the stables, and it whinnied in recognition as she approached. She quickly shushed the horse, giving her a handful of oats to keep her quiet.

She carefully and quietly saddled her horse, attaching her bag of belongings to the side of it. The other horses in the stable stomped and rustled a bit, making her cringe from the noise, but she tried to carefully lead her own horse outside without notice.

"Princess Amelia!" She jumped in surprise and spun in the direction of the voice. There stood Edwin, looking at her curiously. "Princess, what are you doing?"

"Oh, Edwin-san, I'm just, uh…" she stammered, stroking her horse on the nose to think of an excuse, "I was just going to go for a morning ride. You know…to clear my head and stuff."

Edwin narrowed his eyes at the princess suspiciously, "Really? If that is the case, then let me saddle my horse and I will join you."

"NO," Amelia said it a little too quickly, startling Edwin. She rubbed her head sheepishly, "I just…want to be alone for a bit. Nice, quiet, private ride."

Edwin narrowed his eyes, "Princess Amelia, that may be true. And, yet, I couldn't help but notice you've packed all of your things." He folded his arms, glaring at her, "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you weren't expecting to come back."

"Oh no, I mean, to say, that is…well, kinda…" she stammered. She forced herself to take a deep breath before continuing. "Edwin-san, I'm just getting really tired of this town. I've been through a lot, and I want to go home."

"I understand perfectly, Princess," he said, bowing at the waist. "I shall inform your remaining staff and we can be ready to go back to Seyruun by tomorrow afternoon."

"No, Edwin-san, I want to go alone."

Edwin's eye twitched with annoyance. 'Why does this not surprise me,' he thought. "Princess, it's a dangerous journey. You know I cannot let you go alone!"

Amelia climbed into the saddle of her horse, "I can take care of myself, Edwin-san, you know that."

"Yes, I know, but it just isn't appropriate for a princess to be out on her own! Your father would have my hide if he knew I'd let you go off like this."

A glint of mischief sparkled in Amelia's eyes, "My father would also have your hide if he knew why you weren't at the shrine during the ceremony last week."

Edwin's eyes went wide with fear. "Wha…that's not fair!" he sputtered.

Amelia smirked to herself. Edwin had been so drunk from the celebration, that he was passed out during the ceremony and was not at the shrine with the rest of her guards. Granted, his carelessness saved his life, but still…

"Just make sure you get everyone safely back to Seyruun, Edwin-san," she urged her horse into a canter. "I will meet you there."

Edwin's face was red, but he didn't protest further as he watched Amelia disappear into the distance.

Zelgadis sat outside the edge of the shield, along the road leading into Nuulin. It was the same spot where Amelia first entered the city, and was attacked by the Duchess Army. It was a dirt road, but the one most frequently traveled.

He leaned up against a tree, writing notes inside of the journal he had sitting on his lap. He never went back to the cabin that Duuchesney and him had shared; not since he met her in prison. He didn't need to, since his most valued items were in his private cave outside of the shield.

Now the cave, too, sat abandoned; the personal affects that he could comfortably carry sat in a bag to his side, or in the pouches lining his cloak. The rest he left behind.

He gazed in the direction of the shield, even though he could no longer see it. There was nothing left for him here. The shield no longer had any affect on his body, and his relationship with the bandit woman was officially over. He was sad in the beginning, but now he felt free, as if the shackles that had tied him here had finally been broken. He could go where he wanted and do as he pleased. The only reminder that he had ever been here at all was this strange scar that had appeared on his right ring finger…

"ZELGADIS-SAN!"

He heard the familiar voice and looked up from his journal, smiling. Amelia leapt from her horse and ran towards him with exceptional speed.

He put his journal down and stood up, just in time to be practically tackled by the princess, her arms wrapping him in a tight hug. "Zelgadis-san!"

"It's about time you got here," he said returning the hug. "I was starting to think you didn't get my let…"

Zelgadis had expected she'd be happy to see him, and even expected the hugging. He wasn't prepared for the tears, "Uh, Amelia? It's okay Amelia! Please don't cry."

"Zelgadis-san," she whined, squeezing him. "It's been a whole week! I thought you'd left me behind!"

"Wha..no," he stammered, gently patting her on the back. "I just needed some time to myself is all. Please stop crying, Amelia."

The princess wiped the tears from her eyes, and looked up at the chimera, "I…I expected you to go back to your bandit girlfriend after she escaped from jail!"

Zelgadis shook his head andgave her a gentle smile, "Don't concern yourself with her, Amelia. She did not care much for my current form. We decided awhile ago that it was time to go our separate ways."

This seemed to calm her down. Amelia took a deep, shuddering breath, letting Zelgadis go so she could look at him fully. "I see," she managed a small, adorable smile. "And which way do you intend to go, Zelgadis-san?"

"That depends," he reached out to brush his hand up against her soft cheek. "I remember someone inviting me to go with her to Seyruun three years ago. But I'm not so certain that invitation is still open."

"It is! It is!" she blurted it out so quickly that she startled him. "Come back with me to Seyruun, Zelgadis-san! You know you are always welcome there, no matter what!"

Amelia stopped and blushed for a minute, her enthusiasm getting the better of her. Zelgadis just gave a cheerful laugh that caught the princess off guard. It seemed like Zelgadis rarely smiled, let alone laughed.

She gazed back at him, but before she could say anything, he leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips.

The kiss was brief, barely lasting a second, but it made Amelia feel like her stomach had jumped into her chest. He then pulled her in for another hug, his cheek pressed against her own. She could hear the warm smile in his voice as he whispered into her ear.

"I love you, Amelia."

Amelia's eyes went wide and began to tear up again, "I…" she began, having to choke down a sniffle, "Oh, Zelgadis-san, I love you, too!"

They held each other for several moments, Amelia's head resting on Zelgadis' shoulder. It felt like heaven to her, and the troubles of the last couple of weeks seemed to melt away.

"Let's go home, Amelia," Zelgadis whispered into her ear. "I'd like to go home now."

She pulled away from him, just enough to look at him and she nodded. Zelgadis smiled, taking Amelia's hand in his own he lead her back to her horse.

Xellos sat and watched from atop a hill as the couple went by, Amelia on her horse, and Zelgadis walking along side. He smirked to himself.

He had returned to his master, fully expecting to be ruthlessly disciplined for his failure. The punishment, however, did not come. Unbeknownst to the Mazoku, he was now marked! It was Beastmaster who discovered it, and she had become intrigued enough to withhold sentence.

It was first seen while Xellos was in his Mazoku form, but he quickly found it appeared on his human form as well. Removing his glove, he found the mark; a black, red, and white scar surrounding his right-ring finger, where he had worn the Black Mage-sama's ring.

It didn't take long for him to realize that Amelia also carried a similar mark. As did Zelgadis, despite not wearing a ring during the ceremony. Neither seemed to realize the possible implications.

And this mark was brand new. He had performed the ceremony 100 years ago, but it had left no such brand then.

"Ah, my dear sweet, Nuulin," Xellos glanced back at the city. "What a fun mistress you are. Still playing hard-to-get with your many delightful secrets."

He glanced back at Zelgadis and Amelia. The two of them had stopped, and were looking at the forest, as if they had sensed something there. Xellos slinked behind a rock, making sure to stay out of sight. He knew they were looking for him; they somehow knew he was there.

"I have a feeling I am now linked with you two, though I'm not yet sure how," he looked down again at the scar on his hand. "But I think I'm going to have a lot of fun finding out!"

The End!

A very special thanks to my brother, Soulcleave, and my good friend, Koochikoo, for Beta reading and critiquing this story. Love ya lots!

I'd also like to thank all of those who left reviews on my story, even after I abandoned it. You helped give me the motivation I needed to "finish" my story.

If you are interested in more, check out the sequel, Soul Fusion, on my profile page.