Slayers: Evolution

Chapter 25

Real friends don't get offended when you insult them.

Instead, they smile and call you something even more offensive…

The Sorceress Supreme Lina Inverse leaned against the stone railing of the balcony. To a normal observer it might have appeared as if the flame haired sorceress was trying to get some fresh air. In reality, she was trying to stay out of the sight of the healers crowding around the queen. Once they were done with Amelia, they might try to examine Lina. And she really wasn't in the mood to fight off a bunch of priests.

Plus her new white outfit was ruined. Blood from the assassin had splashed across her jacket and skirt after she ran him through with her sword. No amount of washing would get those stains out.

Zelgadis quietly stepped up beside Lina. His hand slid over hers resting on the railing and gave a gentle squeeze. "I know better than to ask," he whispered, "but I'm going to asked anyway. Are you all right? No broken bones? No cuts or scrapes? No aches or pains? No nasty side effects?"

Lina smiled. "Yea, I'm fine. Thanks for the concern. The poison is out of my system. I'm just avoiding the eyes of the physicians. Out of sight. Out of mind, you know? There is no reason to worry Amelia or Naga with me. They have enough to deal with as it is."

"As long as you feel okay."

"I do. Nami's detoxify spell neutralized any poison my body hadn't destroyed yet."

"She is quick thinking for her age. And speaking of Nami, here she comes."

The little princess came skipping up to them. Lina found she was growing more and more fond of having her around. Her presence always seemed to brighten the mood. "Lina! Zelgadis!" Nami cheered. "Guess what? The head physician said I did a good job with Queen Amelia. My detoxify spell cleared her poison right up. Just like yours, Lina! Can you believe it? The royal physician praised me for what I did. Me!"

Lina affectionately ran her hand through Nami's hair. "That was quick thinking on your part. Zelgadis and I were just talking about how you are on your way to becoming a great witch. Isn't that right, Zel?"

"You should have seen her earlier. She animated an ice cream golem that destroyed my gummy bears. I didn't get to eat more than one or two." Nami giggled impishly behind her hands.

"Lina Inverse!" Iola approached, robes flaring behind her. "Lina Inverse, have the healers had a chance to examine you?"

"No need to worry about little old me," she tried to shrug away Iola's concern. "It takes more than a petty poison to keep the Genius Sorceress Supreme down!"

The reply surprised her, but Iola would not be deterred so easily. "Of course. No one doubts your power, Lina, but I must insist. Not everyone reacts to poison in quite the same way. As you must have noticed, it took longer for the poison to affect you than my aunt—thank Ceiphied! Otherwise, you would both certainly be dead. You must allow us to examine you in case any complications should develop."

"A detoxify spell has already been cast on me."

"That may not be enough," Iola chided. "Many dark alchemists have created deadly poisons that are resistant to spells or may lie dormant until well after the detoxify spell has expired. We were very fortunate your apprentice cast Detoxify on Aunt Amelia almost immediately. But even so, the royal physician still performed a thorough examination on the Queen."

"Look, I know you are just doing your job…" Lina sighed and grasped the priestess's shoulder, pulling her onto the balcony. "Listen. The truth is the poison affected me just as quickly as Amelia. I have a certain…condition where anytime a poison enters my bloodstream it is almost immediately neutralized."

"Condition?" Everyone looked up to see Gracia approaching. In her flowing white dress she appeared to float across the floor. "Did I hear you correctly, Lina?" Gracia asked much louder than the flame haired sorceress would have liked. Fortunately, the healers and Amelia didn't seem to hear. "What kind of condition? Are you well?"

Lina wanted to bury her face in the palm of her hand. "Naga, how do you always have the worst timing? I am fine. And keep your voice down!"

"Obviously, you are not if you are trying to keep your 'condition' a secret." Gracia turned to Zelgadis. "Did you know about this?"

"Yes."

"And when were you going to tell me?"

Zelgadis shrugged. "It isn't my story to tell."

"I see." That seemed to satisfy Gracia for a moment. A very short moment. She turned back to Lina. "Well?"

"Well, what?" Lina asked, confused.

"Are you going to explain your condition to us?"

"Yes, please do," Iola agreed. "This sounds like it would be very beneficial to have."

Lina pursed her thin lips together. "Trust me, it's not. Immunity to poison is really more of a side effect of my condition. You don't want what I have. The price is too high." She noticed Iola studying her. "What is it?"

"I see. This must be the explanation of your aura. I have never seen anything like it until today."

A chill ran down Lina's spine. "What about my aura?"

"Lina," Iola said with all the respect she could muster, "there is a darkness about you. I didn't understand it before. I still don't. When I first saw your aura, the pull of it was so strong I almost felt like I would lose myself in it. I feared your presence was a threat to the kingdom and warned my aunt. She would hear none of it, as you were in the company of friends."

Lina smiled softly. "Yea, that's Amelia for you. She always tries to see the best in everyone."

"Would you please stop talking about me like I'm not here?" they heard the Justice Queen call in a tired voice.

Amelia sat reclined in a sedan. A handful of healers hovered around her, inspecting her vitals or coaxing her to drink healing draughts. She swatted a hand at them. They scattered like flies, reforming around her a moment later.

"Your Highness," one of the healers beside her whispered, "you must conserve your strength and rest."

"Thank you. We shall retire soon," Queen Amelia replied. "Your assistance has been greatly appreciated. You may go."

"But your Highness—"

"The paladin Iola is present should we have need of anything further," she replied in a tone that said the discussion was over.

The healers bowed and shuffled out of the room.

Amelia yawned tiredly as the party circled around her. "I know they mean well, but sometimes the Temple healers are worse than mother hens. Well, Mrs. Lina, how long do you plan to keep us in suspense?"

"Uh, well, about that…" Lina tripped over the words. Somehow, she just couldn't make the right words come out. Amelia and Gracia were some of her closest friends, yet she couldn't spit out an explanation for them. With Gourry's family it had been easy. There was no need to explain or worry them. An awkward silence settled over the room. All eyes were on her. Lina glanced at Zelgadis. A silent, "Could you give me a hand?" passed between them.

Zelgadis nodded in understanding. "We know you guys are only asking as concerned friends for Lina," he explained, "so you deserve to know the truth. Over the years, Lina has used Nightmare Magic too much. It has been slowly building up in her system and causing complications."

Iola's face went white as milk. "You mean there is someone alive who knows how to cast Nightmare Magic?"

"Please keep your voice down," Amelia scolded. "That bit of information has made Lina the target of Mazoku Lords and more in the past."

"Complications?" Gracia asked, trying to steer the conversation back on track. "What sort of complications?"

"Never mind the complications. The point is, Lina is better now. We are currently traveling together to reach the mage who will cure her."

Amelia sat up in her chair. "Mrs. Lina!"

"You guys are worrying way too much about me," Lina replied. "I'll be fine. Instead, we should be worrying about you, Amelia."

"A short nap and I should be fine."

"How odd," Gracia replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Your personal physician just told me you should take at least a week to recover. Better still, two."

"They exaggerate because I am the queen. A week is unnecessary."

"Oh, no! You are going to stay off your feet for a week," Gracia ordered. "At your age, you need your rest."

"You are older than I, Sister."

"I don't have the weight of the entire kingdom balanced on my shoulders each day. If I have to assume your duties, you will take the full amount of time to recover. I have no desire to return the reins of leadership only to have them thrust upon me again because you were unfit to resume the royal duties."

Amelia sighed wearily. "Fine. Keep this up, Gracia, and I will begin to think you really do care."

A thin smile cracked the First Princess's face. "You know how much I hate royal duties. I avoid them as much as possible."

After that, everyone had agreed to call it a night. It had been a long day. The dreaded sunrise would arrive sooner than anyone desired. Gracia had summoned the maids to prepare guest rooms. Lina and Zelgadis shared one room while Nami was set up in an adjoining room connected by a door.

Lina snuggled closer to Zelgadis in the dark. Despite the comfy, spacious mattress, she noticed the chimera was still tense and wide awake. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just thinking."

She yawned. "Oh, yea, like anything good ever comes of that."

The chimera chuckled through the darkness. "Maybe it's just me, but have you ever noticed that the more we try to avoid trouble, the easier it seems for trouble to find us?"

"Yea, I know," Lina replied sleepily. "And we were supposed to take a vacation with no jobs or anything to bother us. And then Nami and Naga showed up and…"

Zelgadis rolled onto his side so he was facing Lina. "Look, I'm sorry about Nami just appearing out of the blue. That was completely unexpected—"

"Don't!" She clamped her hand over his mouth. "I don't want to hear any apologies. It is actually kind of nice having her around. You could say we have our own daughter because of her," Lina laughed. "We just skipped over the years of breastfeeding, diaper changing, and having to teach her to walk, talk, and do things for herself. I like it."

"It has been fun," Zelgadis admitted once she pulled her hand away.

Lina laughed softly. "Now if we could just get a nice family to adopt that pain in the butt Naga."

"So I guess we are staying to protect Amelia until this assassin business is settled?"

"You betcha! And don't forget the vampires running around the city."

"Well, at least it will be a learning experience for Nami," Zelgadis replied dryly.

His tone made her frown. "If you don't like it, speak up! Don't leave all the important decisions up to me."

"I don't like it because this situation puts Nami in danger," he grumbled softly. "I don't like this situation because it puts you in danger. It also puts Gracia in danger. And Amelia. The only choice we have is to solve the crisis in Saillune!"

Lina smiled. "You really care about everyone, even after all these years."

"What can I say? You guys showed me how important friends are."

She snuggled deeper into his embrace. "Maybe we should have become evil overlords instead. Our lives would have been quieter."

"I have to say, probably not. I guess you never heard about the crusade Amelia led against a lich in the south."

"A lich? Where did he come from?"

"She, actually. It's a long story."

Lina yawned. "You can tell me sometime tomorrow. Right now I want to get some sleep. This day has been too long."

"I wouldn't mind if we had a few short days every now and then."

"Go to sleep, Zel," Lina mumbled. "Sleep."

He smiled through the darkness and ran a hand fondly through her fiery locks. "All right. I love you, Lina."

"Love you too, Zel."

Gracia was not as lucky as everyone else. Whereas everyone had gone to bed, she worked long into the night. There was an investigation to oversee.

"You're the Queen's Guard!" Gracia shouted, and the halls of the palace trembled with her fury. "Where were you?"

A single knight in pristine white armor knelt before the First Princess of Saillune. He was Nathaniel Breton, captain of the Queen's Guard and one of the most senior knights in the palace. In his early forties, with close cropped dark brown hair that was just beginning to gray at the temples and a neatly trimmed beard, he had distinguished himself early in his career by taking charge of a counter attack during an ambush of a royal caravan. Since then, he had gone on to peacefully settle over two dozen border skirmishes between neighboring territories. The highpoint of his career should have been his command of the Queen's Guard. Their near failure now hung over him like a death sentence.

"First Princess, I accept full responsibility for this mishap," Captain Nathaniel answered firmly.

Gracia glared at the knight. His eyes were glued to her slippered feet. "Look at me, Captain! My eyes are up here!" She never expected to say that to a knight! "I didn't ask for you to take responsibility. I asked, where were the Queen's Guard? The guard consists of more than one knight. Last I heard, there were over three dozen of you. There should have been at least one nearby. Where was everyone?"

"We discovered the two sentries posted nearby with their throats slit shortly after the assassination attempt," he explained. "It appears the ambassador was not working alone. One of the slain sentries managed to gut his murderer before death overcame him."

"Do we know the identity of the accomplice yet?"

"We are still investigating the matter, but we do know he is not of the ambassador's party."

That didn't help matters much. There was no shortage of fools who wanted Queen Amelia removed because they either didn't agree with her teachings or felt they shouldn't be forced to pay one tax or another. On top of that, there was the supposed vampire running around Saillune, a visiting princess from Kyref, and the Winterfest festivities that had to be dealt with.

And with Amelia recovering, that meant Gracia was going to have to fill in for her at all those official events. A perfectly good holiday was now going to waste!

Gracia fumed a moment longer, then went through a quick mantra of calmness Zelgadis had taught her years ago—two deep breathes, a silent ritual chant, and her anger was pushed aside. Nathanial was a just and loyal knight. His honor should not be tarnished because of a clever enemy.

Wearing a much calmer face, Gracia offered her hand and said, "Rise, Captain. I find no fault in the duties of you or your knights. It is because of your courage and strength that we continue to prosper. Continue your investigation and keep me informed of your findings. Double the guard around the queen. In the meantime, I will assume her duties."

"Shall I double your personal guard as well?"

"No, I have no intention of giving our foes the satisfaction that they have us worried."

"As you say, First Princess. I will see to the arrangements at once." He turned to leave, but a call from Gracia gave him pause.

"Who were the knights we lost?" Gracia asked curiously.

"Sir Grayson and Sir Apel. They were two young knights recently inducted into the Queen's Guard. They showed much promise."

"I confess, their names are not familiar to me, Captain Nathaniel, but their sacrifice might have made all the difference in saving the Queen. See they are buried with honors and their families receive full pensions."

"First Princess, I must point out full pensions are not normally given to the families of knights who have served less than ten years."

"Yes, yes, Captain, I am aware," she said dismissively. "Before Ceiphied we are all equal whether serf, knight, or queen. You cannot put a price on life, but gold can bestow some measure of gratitude to the deceased's family."

"Thank you, Princess. I can't tell you how much this will mean to their families."

Not nearly enough, Gracia thought, but it is a start.

After Captain Nathaniel left, Gracia leaned back on the throne. Once Amelia had taken the throne, she had the seat customized for her comfort. Although she and Amelia were of a similar build, Gracia had always found the throne an ill fit. It had nothing to do with the springiness of the cushions, the stiffness of the leather, or the hardness of the cold metal. Gracia was simply too free spirited to spend her days stuck on a throne.

She hated being confined. Truth be told, one of the happiest times of her life had been on the road traveling with Lina. Back then, there had been nothing to worry about except where their next great adventure took them. Of course, copious amounts of good food, alcohol, and gold came in a close second.

Now she was stuck here for the next week performing all of Amelia's royal duties. Winterfest's grand celebration of Iola's birthday was going to be in five days. Celean would have to be contacted about the death of their ambassador and the attempted assassination on Queen Amelia. No doubt they would deny responsibility. More likely, they would throw a temper tantrum that their ambassador had been slain without trial, never mind the fact he had been caught in the act.

Gracia sighed and leaned back on the throne. How she hated scandals she didn't start herself!

"Mother?"

Her daughter's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Iola was closing the large double doors behind her as she entered the room.

"Iola, I didn't hear you enter."

"Forgive me for startling you. I know the hour grows late, but there are things I wish to discuss with you."

"What is it?" Gracia asked. "Something must be on your mind if you waited to speak to me alone."

"I wished to discuss the matter of Lina Inverse."

"I hope you aren't still worried she is a threat to Amelia or myself," Gracia laughed. "Or do you believe Lina is secretly the DraMatta in disguise?"

"Ceiphied, no! Her presence here has been a great service to Saillune! She saved Auntie Amelia from assassins, she has been a dear friend to both you and Auntie in times past, and she has aided the kingdom on numerous occasions. I was going to suggest you offer Lina the position of royal court mage for Saillune. We are sorely in need of one who would be loyal to the throne."

Gracia conceded the point with a nod. The previous royal court mage had attempted a coup to seize the throne for himself and failed miserably. His head still decorated one of the gates to the city, a warning to those who thought to overstep their bounds. Perhaps the Celean ambassador's head should join him. Lina was a good friend. And having Lina around meant Zelgadis and Nami would be here as well. Their presence would help lighten Amelia's mood. Ceiphied knew she needed it.

"Life has been too chaotic for all of us lately. And I meant it earlier when I said I didn't bring Lina to fix our problems."

"I believe Lina will understand, Mother. Desperate times call for desperate measures."

"Very well. I will wait a few days before offering Lina the position. You have already asked her on behalf of the Temple to look into the problem with the vampire. No need to overwhelm the Sorceress Supreme." Gracia smiled as a plan came to mind. "On the other hand, once Lina has dealt with the vampire threat, the position of royal court mage will appear to be a reward rather than an offer."

"What if Lina doesn't catch the vampire?"

"Ohohohohohohoho! Fear not, my darling daughter. Lina Inverse is not one to fail her friends."

Iola winced in pain. Being in such close proximity to her mother's mad laughter always made her feel ill. "As you say, Mother."