Hello, all! I'm still working hard on this, I promise! (Even if I'm kind of later than I'd like to be on updates… sorry for that.) I don't own anything; I'm just a fan having some fun writing fiction. Please enjoy!

21- There's No Time Like the Future

"Does something feel a little off to you?" Zelgadis spoke up as he and Amelia rounded the corners of the long corridor that led back up to the surface. Amelia brightened her lighting spell in order to better observe the surroundings.

"I'm not sure." she replied. "Everything looks the same, as far as I can recall." The princess threw a glance behind them and continued. "What time do you think it is?"

"Time?" Zelgadis responded. "When we left the dimension, it was late evening there… but I don't think the times match up. After all, we were transported there in the middle of the night, but it was midday there- I think, judging by how long it took to get dark."

"So the times are opposite, then? Therefore, if it was evening there, it should be morning here?" Amelia suggested.

"That's assuming time in both dimensions is linear." Zelgadis stated. "We could have possibly been gone longer or shorter time than it seemed in the other dimension. What seemed like two days could have been anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks."

"Weeks?" Amelia shivered. "I don't like the sound of that at all! Two days is bad enough- if I went missing for more than a whole week, my father would be beside himself! That would be awful!"

Zelgadis put a hand on her shoulder. "Amelia, calm down. If we'd been gone a week or two, they'd probably be searching the ruins for us, still. Your father isn't the type to give up- the fact that we haven't seen any royal guards down here searching probably means that we haven't been gone long enough for them to start searching for us.

Amelia sighed and gave a nod. "Of course- you're right. I'll bet that we've only been gone an hour or so, and no one has even noticed that we're missing!"

Zelgadis gave a nod of approval before turning back in the direction that they were walking in. As they got closer to the place where they knew the exit of the cave ought to be, Zelgadis caught sight of something odd.

"Amelia… look up at the ceiling. Are those… tree roots?"

Amelia glanced up curiously. "Yeah, I think so."

"Those weren't there before, were they?"

The princess gave a shrug. "I wasn't really paying much attention to the ceiling."

Zelgadis ran forward a few steps and finally came to the large area where the opening in the ruins was. It was clearly night, as he was able to glance up and see the stars in the sky, but he couldn't see enough of them to tell what time it was- there was a tree blocking his view.

A tree that he definitely didn't remember.

"Here's the exit… but where did this tree come from?"

Amelia ran up to his side, looking up out of the hole. "I… don't know. I don't remember it being there either. Maybe… my dad has been doing some landscaping while we've been gone?"

"Amelia, this tree's roots have already dug down into the cave system." Zelgadis replied. "Clearly it's been here for quite some time…" He drew in a sharp breath as he realised the implications of that statement. "…good gods, how long have we been gone?!"

The two exchanged a worried glance.

"I'm sure that… it can't have been too long." Amelia murmured. "If it only felt like two days to us, then… let's just get back to the palace and see what my dad is doing. He'll be able to tell us what's going on."

Zelgadis gave a sigh. It was the best plan of action, of course. Going to the palace would at least give them a better point of reference on the amount of time that they had been gone and what had transpired in that amount of time.

"Here's our makeshift ladder- what's left of it, anyway." Zelgadis approached the wooden structure, still held together with ropes that looked like they'd snap easily. The chimera placed his foot on the bottom rung, and the wood splintered and collapsed under his weight.

"Alright, well, that's not going to work." he muttered. "Levitation!"

Zelgadis levitated up out of the exit instead, and watched as Amelia joined him. "At least we've got our magic back here." she sighed. "Whatever happens, we can back each other up. There's no need to be scared."

"Hey, who said that we were scared?" Zelgadis asked. "C'mon; let's get you home and sort out this mess."

The streets of Seyruun seemed awfully dark, even for the middle of the night. Zelgadis and Amelia were just going around the outside of the city, but even they could tell that the nightlife wasn't exactly as they remembered it. Something wasn't quite right.

"Uh… it looks like someone's patched up that hole in the garden walls." Amelia murmured, looking at the place where they had snuck out the past few weeks. "We'll have to go in through the front gate."

"I was going to suggest that anyway." Zelgadis replied, sighing and turning around. "If we've been gone for a while, it probably is better not to just show up out of the blue. We might scare your father half to death."

Amelia gave a soft laugh. "He would get really worked up, wouldn't he? An announced arrival would be best, I suppose."

The two marched silently around the outer walls of the palace for a few minutes, with the front gates almost in sight.

"Ah… Zelgadis?" Amelia spoke up.

"What is it?" Zelgadis stopped, glancing at their destination and then back at the princess. "Is something wrong?"

"I… just… I wanted to tell you… no matter what happens, I'm glad that you're the one that I'm here with. I am scared, yes, but I feel so much braver knowing that you're by my side."

Zelgadis closed his eyes and sighed in defeat. Before they got roped into whatever mess was going on in Seyruun now, they might as well get things straight. "…thank you, Amelia. There's no one I'd rather be escorting right now- trust me. The thing is, I've been talking to Pestis and thinking a lot about what you said before we, uh, went out to the ruins the last time- all that about Mazoku, and about love, and-"

The ominous sound of thunder rolling in the distance brought Zelgadis' attention to the cloud cover that was quickly enveloping the night sky.

"-and, uh, we should probably seek shelter before we get rained on."

"That… would be wise." Amelia replied, though she sounded a little disappointed.

The two continued on to the gate, where a pair of armed guards was standing watch. They were young, and weren't ones that Amelia had seen before. As soon as Amelia and Zelgadis emerged from the shadows, they jumped into defensive poses.

"Halt! Who goes there? State your name and purpose!"

Amelia stepped forward, creating a bright lighting spell and holding it to her face with a defiant expression. "It's me, Amelia! I need to get inside the palace to talk to my father."

There was a pause, and the two guards exchanged a confused glance before turning back.

"I'm sorry Miss… uh, Amelia," one began. "but does your father work here or something?"

"What are you talking about?" Amelia snapped impatiently. "I am Princess Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun! My father is the prince!"

There was another long pause, and suddenly the two guards burst out in uncontrolled laughter. One even had to lean on the other for support, he was laughing so hard. Amelia's face fell and she stepped back in horror at the guards' reactions.

"Wh-wha…?"

"Hey! You! Show your princess some respect!" Zelgadis growled, pulling out his sword and thrusting it at the two guards. Something wasn't quite right here, but no one had the right to laugh at Amelia while Zelgadis was around; he was going to make sure of that.

Upon seeing the weapon, the guards froze and put their hands up. "Whoa there, pal! Take it easy with that thing! You could hurt somebody!"

"Then you shouldn't be laughing! Tell me, what's so funny about a princess requesting entrance to her own home in order to talk to her own father?"

"Listen, man- we didn't mean to insult your girlfriend there, okay? I don't know how much you guys have had to drink tonight, but if you're looking for kings and princesses, you're half a century too late. Why don't you go bother some other guards or something?"

Zelgadis wasn't able to reply right away. He just took a step back, putting his sword away. "…half a century…?"

"…" Amelia's mouth hung agape for a moment and it looked as though she might cry. "T-too late?" she choked. "B-b-but… with no king or queen to lead it… what has become of the Kingdom of Seyruun?"

"Uh… the… the council; it-" One of the guards was staring at Amelia confusedly. "Ma'am, are you feeling alright? Should we call for a doctor or someth-"

"Take me to this council!"

Amelia shoved her royal seal in the guards' faces, hoping that they would at least recognise it. She wanted answers, and it was clear that these two guards would not have them.

"Th-that's… that's the official symbol…" one guard murmured. He turned to the other and began whispering, though Zelgadis was able to pick out every word.

"What should we do? We can't let these two in! They must be drunk or mentally ill!"

"But she has the official insignia- Master Felipe would kill us if he knew that we'd turned away someone with that kind of authority."

"But we haven't a clue where she even got it- after all, she's got the boyfriend with the sword, and-"

"It doesn't matter! She's got the insignia, so we have to let her in. That's the rule. The council can't punish us for following the rules."

"Alright, I guess…"

The guards turned back around. "I'll escort the two of you. You're lucky that today is the one day the council meets late- they might still be in there. If not, you'll have to wait until tomorrow." one spoke. "Follow me."

Amelia took a deep breath and followed after him, glancing up at Zelgadis, as though looking for reassurance. Zelgadis gave her a nod and followed after her as they were led by the guard into the palace.

"Zelgadis, I'm sure that everything is going to turn out alright, but…" Amelia drew closer to him.

"I understand." Zelgadis nodded, and put an arm around her. "You're right, everything will turn out alright. We just need to talk to these people and find out what in the world is going on-"

"Hey! Lovebirds! You're entering a government facility- it might be best to show a little respect and keep your hands to yourselves, alright?" The guard's voice called out as he reached the top of the steps and gestured for the two to enter the large doorway.

"Well, at least I'm trying to be supportive- which is much more than I can say for you!" Zelgadis shot back with a growl. Something about this whole situation bothered him, especially if two friends couldn't stick up for one another without being yelled at.

Amelia recognized it as the door to the grand entry hall, and ran ahead with at least the comfort of familiarity. She'd grown up around the palace and knew every inch of it by heart. It was almost like the sensation of being home again, but that sensation changed dramatically as she wandered inside the doors and looked around.

"Wh-wh-what has happened to our grand entryway?" she gasped in horror.

Zelgadis followed and looked around with a gasp himself. The room had been stripped of all decorations. Gone were the tapestries and paintings of former rulers; gone were the statues and chairs and curtains that made the place bright. Now the walls were bare, the floor covered in dust, and the corners lined with cobwebs.

"Grand entryway? What are you talking about? No one uses this section of the building anymore." the guard replied. "Come on- if you want to meet with the council, you'd better hurry. They were supposed to adjourn six minutes ago, but it's likely that they're still in the middle of a debate. We can probably catch them."

Zelgadis followed after the guard, but Amelia was just standing, transfixed by the horror of what was in front of them. "…no… no… this isn't right… this can't be true…" She shook her head a few times, and suddenly took off running.

"Amelia!" Zelgadis yelled.

"Hey! You're not authorized to be running around here! Get back here at once!" the guard yelled. "I'll have to report you to the highest authority-"

"Oh, give it a rest! Can't you see she's been traumatised enough?!" Zelgadis snapped, running after Amelia. She'd turned a corner and left the grand entryway, rushing down one of the hallways. One thing Zelgadis was at least grateful for in regards to his chimera body was the fact that it gave him an extra boost of speed.

"Amelia, wait! Please come back! I know you're upset, but there's no reason to run off like this!"

He finally caught up to Amelia in the hallway, standing with her back against one of the windows and staring at the bare wall as though transfixed. Tears streamed down her face, and she just kept shaking her head.

The sight made Zelgadis calm down considerably. "Amelia…" he murmured.

"There used to be a big portrait of grandfather here." she sniffled. "One that was painted when he was young- he looked so strong, like a true warrior of Justice. All of these walls used to have pictures of Seyruun royalty on them. They symbolised the country's past and its hope for a bright future. All princes and princesses could look down this hallway and come face to face with strong leaders who had led Seyruun nobly and wisely, and consult them for wisdom when they needed help with a decision. Zelgadis, what hope do we have if they're gone?"

Zelgadis placed a hand on her shoulder. "We have you." he replied. "Even if all of Seyruun is torn down, so long as it has a princess with a heart that's filled with Justice, it can all be rebuilt again. What was that saying again? The heart of a country is its people?"

Amelia bowed her head. "…that is true, isn't' it?"

"Right. And your father definitely wouldn't want you getting all upset over something like this. Wherever he is now, I'm sure he'd want you to stay strong and stand up for your country, no matter what has happened. So before we get upset about the circumstances, we need to find out what's really going on here."

Amelia straightened up and smiled. "Oh, Zelgadis, you're right! I can't be sad at a crucial time like this! Not now when my country surely needs me most! I must be a true warrior of Justice!"

"Hey!" a loud and unfamiliar voice called from down the hallway. "What is going on here?!"

"…that's what we want to know…" Zelgadis murmured.

(A/N: I was told by a friend that the readers were going to hate me after all the twists and turns in the next few chapters… oh d-d-dear… I know exactly where I'm going with this story, I promise. ^^;)