(Hello! Here is chapter 37, for your enjoyment! I'm actually getting rather upset over the apparent length of this story… *sigh* But I'm almost positive that it won't be over 45 chapters! …almost… Anyway, my rant aside, I don't own the characters or anything, as usual. I'm just borrowing them to play with for a little while. ^_^)
37- In Sickness and in Health...
"Goodness, what a dreary day. Cold and wet, certainly not the weather to be outside in. I should get back 'ome as soon as possible. Perhaps we can 'ave some tea- oh, tea would be lovely- and the boss makes the best tea!"
Jillas moved quickly through the marketplace, finishing up an errand that Filia had asked him to run. He had just turned to head home when a sharp voice behind him caught him off guard.
"You there. Beastman." the cold voice called.
Jillas stiffened at the ominous sound of it. He turned around to see a woman standing just a short distance behind him. She was unearthly beautiful, though there was a quality about her that made him feel as though he were being stared down in the same fashion as a predator looking at its prey. She was dressed with a shawl that covered most of her face, but her gold eyes were eerily visible and were not moving from him. Jillas gulped, wondering what exactly she wanted from him.
"Y-yes, Miss?" he stammered.
"I'm looking for Filia Ul Copt. I was told that, if I found a beastman, then he'd be able to lead me to her. Is that information true?"
"W-well…" Jillas stammered again. "What exactly do ya want with the boss?"
"Take me to her. Now." the woman commanded harshly.
"But I don't even know what ya want with 'er!" Jillas cried.
"Filia… needs to come with me." the woman replied.
"Y-ya mean that ya want to kidnap 'er?"
"She should come with me willingly… though I am authorised to use non-harmful force, if necessary. Onii-sama would have my head if I were to hurt her at all, however." the woman replied.
"S-so it's yer brother who wants 'er?"Jillas gasped. "You're just doing 'is dirty work?"
"Dirty work, nothing! This is an important matter!" she shot back. "And if you won't tell me where Filia is…" she pulled out a dagger and held it threateningly toward Jillas' face. "…he never told me anything about hurting you…"
Jillas gasped. "R-right! Right! I'll 'ave you to the boss quicker than you can blink! Follow me! Right this way!"
His mind raced the whole journey back, however. Just who is this woman? Who is 'er brother? And what does 'e want with Miss Filia?
"I wasn't able to give her a thorough examination, but thankfully I was able to pinpoint some characteristic symptoms." the healer explained.
"Well, what's wrong with her?" Gourry exclaimed.
"It's the Durum Sickness. She must have picked it up while in Taforashia."
"Dang it. Should have figured…" Pokota growled through clenched teeth. "But is it the archaic form that doesn't respond to antibiotics? Or is it the more recent strain?"
"Erm… I'm not quite sure… but I gave her some antibiotics, and they seem to be working so far. We'll have to keep an eye on her. But I can say with near certainty that it does not look life-threatening in the least."
Gourry sighed. "Thank goodness."
"I'm surprised, though, that it took this long for the symptoms to develop. Did she complain about being sick while you were still in Taforashia, or while you were travelling?" the healer continued.
"Well, she complained a little bit, but not much, and she blamed that on me anyway." Pokota replied.
The healer sighed. "I'd give her a full examination, but I don't have time. There's not enough healers in Seyruun as it is, and since this isn't a life threatening condition…"
"I understand. There are lots of other people who need your help more than she does. Thanks so much for looking after Lina." Gourry said.
"Of course. Now, if her condition worsens in the least, be sure to say something immediately."
"Right. Thanks again." Gourry nodded. He turned to go back into the room, to see how Lina was doing. "Pokota, you want to go in and check on her with me?" Gourry asked.
"No. I'm going to head back to Amelia and Zel's room to see if she's doing alright now. Zelgadis is with her, since she couldn't get out of bed this morning… apparently he's not doing so well either, but at least he has the energy to get up and do things…"
"Okay. To tell the truth, I've honestly felt better myself. I mean, I'm not sick like Lina or anything… but…" Gourry replied, and then abruptly changed the subject. "Can you stop by Zara's room on the way there, just to make sure he's still asleep? I mean, he should be, but since he's half monster, I didn't know whether or not the sleeping spell would have worn off early, or…"
"I'll check in on him." Pokota nodded.
"Thanks." Gourry replied gratefully. He pushed the door open gently, so as to not wake Lina up if she was asleep. Though it wasn't needed, since she was awake.
"Lina?" Gourry asked.
"Hey~." she replied weakly. "Is that healer lady gone? Gosh, she was annoying…"
"Yes. I think she went to check on Amelia and Zelgadis." Gourry nodded.
"Huh? Amelia and Zel are sick too?"
"Yeah. Apparently Amelia had such a bad headache that she couldn't even get out of bed this morning. On top of that, she's running a fever again. Zelgadis is feeling a little bit better, though. But… They're not the only ones…" Gourry paused, knowing Lina wouldn't want to hear the next part.
"She isn't?" Lina questioned.
Gourry took a deep breath. "Zara has the flu as well."
"No~!" Lina moaned. She sat up slightly, as if she was trying to get out of bed, but didn't have the energy. "Where is he? I need to…" Lina fell back onto the bed, looking too exhausted to even finish her sentence.
"You need to rest. That's what Zara is doing. And Pokota doesn't think it's a good idea for you guys to be too close to each other."
"You mean that little fuzzball doesn't think I should go to see my son who is ill?"Lina was livid at the suggestion.
"Since you have different diseases, you could give them to each other, and then you'd be doubly- or maybe even triply- sick. You don't want that, do you?" Gourry defended.
"No…" Lina sighed, falling back against the bed dramatically. "Ow…" she moaned. "Shouldn't have done that…"
Gourry laughed slightly at this, and Lina grabbed a pillow and hit him with it.
"Hey! You're not starting that again, are you?" Gourry laughed a bit more.
"I wish I could. I would, if I had the energy for it." Lina sighed.
"The energy for what? A pillow fight, or…"
"Yes, a pillow fight. Get your mind out of the gutter, idiot." Lina snapped.
"Okay, okay. Sorry." Gourry replied. "It's good to know that you're at least feeling well enough to yell at me. Has your fever gone down any?" He leaned down toward her face, so that his forehead was touching hers.
"Gourry, you're really invading my personal space here." Lina said, pushing him away.
"I'm married to you- you have no personal space as far as I'm concerned." Gourry said with a smile.
"What did I say about the gutter?" Lina growled.
"That was in no way suggestive!" Gourry defended.
"It was if you take it the wrong way!" Lina replied.
"Maybe- but that just proves that you're the one with the dirty mind!" Gourry said.
"Oh you!" Lina growled, hitting him with the pillow again- but at least she was smiling this time.
"Erm, if you'll just wait right out 'ere, miss, I'll go get the boss and we'll be out in a minute!" Jillas said, leaving the woman in the front of the shop. He walked slowly down the hallway until he was sure he was out of her sight. Then, he began running quickly, bursting through the door and turning to lock it shut.
"Jillas! My goodness, what's the rush?" Filia asked, looking up from her book. "And why'd you lock the door? Is everything alright?"
"N-no ma'am! Everything's not alright! I was out at the market and 'ad finished running that errand like you'd asked me to… and then this suspicious lady came up behind me and said that she needed ya to come with 'er! She 'ad a knife and shoved it at my throat, so ya see, I 'ad no choice but to bring 'er 'ere! Oh boss, what're we going to do?"
"Calm down, Jillas!" Filia exclaimed, trying not to get worked up herself. "What did this woman look like? Did she say why she needed me?"
"Well, she was really beautiful, but 'ad this odd eeriness about 'er… I can't describe it…" Jillas stammered. "And… she said that she wanted you on account of 'er brother… she said that 'er brother would get quite mad at 'er if she were to 'urt you…"
"Ah, Elmyria…" Filia murmured to herself. "Of course…" She started for the door, unlocking it.
"Boss? Where are ya going? You're not going out there, are you?" Jillas gasped.
"Of course I am!" Filia replied, rushing out into the main area of the shop where Elmyria was waiting for her.
"Filia! There you are!" the monster gasped.
"Oh! Elmyria!" Filia exclaimed, hugging her tightly. Elmyria looked slightly shocked, and a tad bit disgusted at the sudden display of affection.
"B-boss, you know this woman?" Jillas gasped. A bit of a pointless question, seeing that Filia was actually hugging the strange person.
"Of course she knows me. Why else would I have been sent to find her?" Elmyria asked, sounding indignant. She pushed Filia away slightly. "Is she always this… affectionate…?"
"Much of the time, yes." Jillas nodded.
Elmyria rolled her eyes. "I haven't the slightest idea what Onii-sama sees in her…"
"What?" Filia thankfully hadn't caught Elmyria's last statement. However, Jillas had.
"Sees in 'er? What do ya mean?"
"They're lovers… apparently…" Elmyria groaned.
"L-lovers?" Jillas gasped, looking shocked. "B-boss, you never told me that you-"
"Oh! Well… er…" Filia blushed. "S-sorry Jillas, it's kind of recent… it never came up…"
"Recent? 'ow recent?"
"Er… when I was out finding Val's egg… that was…" Filia murmured.
"Oh! Ya never told me what 'appened! So you met a man and fell in love with 'im?" Jillas asked.
"No… it's not like that… erm… um… well… it's complicated…" Elmyria grabbed Filia's shoulder to quiet her.
"Onii-sama doesn't have the time for you to be working out the logistics of your strange relationship. Right now he needs your assistance. It's important." Elmyria said.
R-really? What's going on?" Filia gasped.
"You have noticed the illnesses going around?" Elmyria asked.
"Well, yes… I did hear about them… but I didn't think that they would be linked to Vireas…" Filia replied.
"Of course they would be linked to Vireas!" Elmyria snapped. "He is the controller of diseases and all…"
"So why does Xellos need me?" Filia asked.
"He needs all the help he can get, Filia!" Elmyria sighed, sounding exasperated. "You're involved in this whether you like it or not, and you can't just sit at home and pretend like nothing is happening, because it is! Vireas is still out there and getting more and more powerful as we speak! We need you, Filia!"
"I… see…" Filia breathed. "I guess that I… just… wanted everything to go back to normal…"
"I'm sorry, but it's not that easy." Elmyria said with a slight look of sympathy. "No matter how much we wish things could go back to the way they were, we have no choice but to look toward the future- or else we won't know where we're going."
Filia was able to give a small smile. "Yes, I suppose you're right. Where is Xellos now?"
"On his way to Seyruun." Elmyria replied. "Lina Inverse and her companions are already there."
"Seyruun, huh? That's rather far away…"
"I can get you there quickly. Don't worry about that." The monster assured her.
"Okay… well, I really need to get some things together… I didn't plan to be travelling again so soon… let's see, how many changes of clothes would I need? Do you think I should just pack an overnight bag, or do you think a suitcase would be a better idea? Should I bring extra shoes, or do you think that wouldn't be a problem?" Filia continued on and on…
"Whoa there, Filia! Don't go all OCD on me!" Elmyria exclaimed. "It'll be okay!"
"Sorry… I just… oh, what am I going to do about Val? I can't leave him here, but-"
"I can keep an eye on him." Elmyria replied.
"Oh, would you? I wanted to ask you, but I didn't want to impose, and I didn't know if Xellos had some other assignment for you-"
"Filia, it's okay. Calm down, get your things, and be out here again in fifteen minutes. Alright?"
"R-right! Right!" Filia sighed, running off again. Elmyria watched her go, while Jillas stood, looking around with a completely baffled expression.
"Miss Filia? Xellos? Elmyria? Vireas? I 'aven't the slightest idea what's going on anymore!"
"Don't worry." Elmyria assured him. "Neither do we."
"I. Hate. Being. Sick." Lina growled to herself. "I CAN'T DO ANYTHING!"
Exhausted from her outburst, which no one was around to hear, she fell exhaustedly back onto the pillows of the bed. "I'm so tired… and it's almost time that I would normally go to bed anyway… I probably should go ahead and go to sleep."
Deciding that it was a good idea to get as much rest as possible, she made herself comfortable and began to fall asleep. She was nearly asleep, until she heard a voice that made her jump to high alert again.
"Hey there, Ginger. Feeling under the weather today?"
"Y-YOU!" Lina snapped, confident that no one but Vireas would hear her. "HOW DARE YOU TALK TO ME? THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"
"That's certainly no way to greet a friend, sweetheart! A simple 'hi, how's it going?' would be appreciated." Vireas replied.
Lina clenched her teeth. "Hi, how's it going?" she growled angrily.
"Pretty good. Very good, actually. And you?"
"YOU SHOULD KNOW DARN WELL HOW IT'S GOING FOR ME! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO DID THIS, YOU JERK!"
"Did what?" Vireas asked innocently.
"Made me sick!" Lina spat.
"Lovesick?"
"SICK, SICK! Remember? The Durum Plague? From Taforashia? This is all your fault!"
"My fault? Ugh, Ginger! How rude of you to suggest something like that! It's not directly my fault that you got infected. I just give the orders to my subordinates en masse. I can't control what every single one of them is doing at every particular moment! There's trillions of them- do you know how taxing that would be on my mind?"
"You ought to try it. Maybe it would be good for you." Lina snapped.
"Oh, come now. You don't really mean that, Ginger~!" Vireas said sweetly. "You love me- you know you do~!"
"Yeah. As much as I love being sick." Lina replied curtly.
"Ouch, that's cold. I'm hurt, sweetheart, I really am." Vireas said.
"Good. You should be."
"Awwww, Ginger~"
"STOP CALLING ME THAT!" Lina snapped.
"…Lina…? Is everything alright…? Can I come in…?"
The sorceress suddenly snapped to attention. "Uh, er, yeah! Sure! Come in, Pokota!"
The small animal opened the door slowly, looking in trepidation at his friend. "Feeling any better?"
"Er, not really…" Lina replied.
"Oh, that's too bad." Pokota sighed.
"What? I thought that I would have made you feel much better, Ginger!" Vireas protested.
"Not in the least!" Lina snapped.
"Not what?" Pokota asked.
"Oh! Uh, er… well… y-you're not bothering me in the least! I thought you asked if you were bothering me, and so I said you weren't…"
"I never asked that." Pokota replied, giving Lina an odd stare. "Are you hearing things?"
Way more than I want to… Lina thought to herself. "Uh, no! Of course not! I'm not hearing things!"
"I'd hope not." Pokota replied.
"Hey, you're hearing me, aren't you?" Vireas pestered.
"Shut up." Lina growled.
"What'd I say?" Pokota asked, surprised. "All I said was that I hope you weren't hearing things! That's not an insult!"
"Er… well… that is… sorry… I… think I misheard you, was all." Lina defended.
"Maybe we should check your hearing, then." Pokota replied, looking sceptically at her.
"I don't need my hearing checked!" Lina snapped. "And anyway, what do you want?"
"Gourry and I were coming to check on you, just to make sure you're doing better. He's on his way." Pokota said.
"Oh, okay. Well, I'm fine- really! Perfectly fine!" Lina responded.
"Of course you are! All because I'm here with you, right Ginger?"
"Shut up!" Lina growled again.
"I didn't say anything! What's the matter with you?" Pokota snarled.
"I wasn't talking to you!" Lina shot back. She suddenly stopped, realising she shouldn't have said that. But what else could she say?
"Then who were you talking to?" the stuffed animal demanded.
"N-no one in particular…" Lina bluffed.
"You're a really bad liar, Ginger~!" Vireas teased.
"I am not! Leave me alone!" Lina exclaimed, beginning to get worked up.
"What are you talking about? I didn't insult you! Lina, are you going insane?" Pokota asked, a slight look of worry on his face.
"I… I… I don't know anymore! Maybe I am! I don't know!" Lina sobbed. She began to cry hysterically.
Pokota gasped, standing and staring awkwardly at his tough friend who seemed to have started crying for absolutely no apparent reason. "L…Lina…" he began.
"Come on Ginger, don't cry. You've got me here, don't worry." Vireas said in a soothing voice.
"No! No! Stop! I can't take it! Just leave me alone!" Lina continued to sob.
"I… I'm sorry… what did I do…?" Pokota stammered, unsure of how to react.
"You… you didn't… it's just…" Lina couldn't manage to finish a sentence.
"P-Pokota! What's going on? H-how did you make Lina cry?"
Pokota looked up, startled. "It's not like that, Gourry! I have no idea what happened! I didn't do anything!"
"Then what happened?" Gourry asked, rushing to Lina's side as fast as he could.
"P-Pokota… didn't do anything wrong…" Lina choked. "It's my fault…"
"Your fault? Lina, what's wrong?" Gourry sat down next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"I… uh… well…" Lina was finding that she still had trouble talking.
"Look, Ginger- why don't you just forget about all this stressful stuff. I'll be back soon, so quit worrying, okay?" Vireas offered.
"JUST GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE! YOU'RE MAKING IT WORSE!" Lina snapped angrily.
"Alright, alright. I had to go soon anyway. I know you must be upset, so I'll just let you sleep it off, okay? Everything's gonna be fine! I'll talk to you later!" At the end of the sentence, Vireas' voice dissipated and dropped off so that the "later" was hardly audible. Lina sighed slightly in relief, but gasped when she turned around and saw Gourry's astonished and stricken expression.
"I-I'm so sorry, Lina…" he murmured, pulling his hand away from her warily. "I didn't know… If you wanted me to leave, then you could have just said-"
Lina grabbed his arm as he got up to leave. "NO! Please! Not you! I didn't mean you!" She paused a moment to collect herself before continuing in a small voice. "…please stay…"
"Uh… okay… which is it? Make a decision- should I stay here or not?" Gourry asked.
"Stay." Lina repeated.
Gourry sighed in relief. "Of course. That's what I wanted to do anyway. But what's with the outburst?"
"I… well…" Lina stammered. She shot a glance at Pokota, who was still standing and watching in absolute bewilderment. "Don't you… have somewhere to be?"
"No, not particularly. Why? Is somethin-"
"Pokota, could you go check on Zara for us? Thank you." Gourry said, half-shooing the animal out of the room.
"Um, okay. Sure. Fine. Not like I have much of a choice…" Pokota murmured, making his way down the hallway. What the heck was all that about?
"Lina, if Vireas is bothering you, why didn't you say anything sooner?"
"It's not that simple, Gourry. You're the only one I could trust to believe me- everyone else would think I'm just sick and delusional, or having weird dreams, or hearing things. But it's not a hallucination, and it's not a dream, and my hearing is just fine!" Lina sobbed.
"I think they'd believe you if you told them what you told me- about the magical link-thingy. I don't really understand it, but they probably would." Gourry replied thoughtfully.
"The link with the Ragna Blade…? Maybe. I guess it would make it a bit more believable…" Lina responded. "Still… maybe I should wait until tomorrow… I'm too tired now…"
"Well that's understandable." Gourry nodded. "Here, I'll stay with you tonight."
"Wh-what? But Gourry, if you do that, you'll get sick too!" Lina protested.
"No I won't."
"Yes, you will."
"Didn't you say that idiots don't catch colds?"
"This is the Durum Plague, you jellyfish-brain!" Lina snapped.
"Oh, well… idiots don't catch plagues either… right…?" Gourry offered.
"They do. You just made that up." Lina replied.
"So… I take it you want to sleep alone tonight?" Gourry asked.
"I… er… no… not particularly…"she admitted.
"Then you won't." Gourry said decisively.
Lina smiled just a little. "You know, you are really, really stupid." She hugged him tightly. "I'm so lucky to have you… but just be careful, okay? Don't be so busy taking care of me that you forget to take care of yourself."
"I won't. I'll be careful, promise." Gourry replied. "Speaking of which… can you spread diseases by kissing, by any chance?"
"Yes, very easily." Lina replied.
"Dang it." Gourry sighed. "Can I kiss you anyway?"
"No."
"What~? Aw, Lina! Come on-" Gourry protested.
"Are you kidding, you idiot? It's bad enough that you're here with me in this room! That'd be like making sure that you caught my disease! I really shouldn't let you stay here… but I'm too selfish…" Lina sighed, hugging him tightly.
"Well, you can be selfish if you want to. I don't mind." Gourry smiled. "And don't worry. I won't get sick. Promise."
"You really promise?" Lina asked.
"Yes. And if I do get sick… well, you're free to get as mad at me as you want. 'Kay?" Gourry replied.
Lina smiled slightly. "Okay. Got it. And if you do get sick, be prepared to face my full wrath."
"Ooh, scary! I'll remember that." Gourry laughed in reply.
"Good! Now, I'm tired…" Lina murmured, already falling asleep. Gourry quickly followed.
(A/N: Filia and Xellos have been absent for a few chapters, so here they are again! XD Oh, and poor Lina! Vireas' "psychological warfare" is definitely becoming more stressful… *sigh*)