Hello, everyone- as per usual, I don't own anything. I'm just a fan writing some fiction. Please enjoy.
44- All's Well That Doesn't End
"Pestis, are you in your right mind?"
The professor tried to lift his head from Zelgadis' shoulder. "What kind of question is that? I'm always in my right mind."
"Haha, very funny." Zelgadis commented dryly. "I'm very unhappy with the way you acted tonight. What you did to Gourry and the others was uncalled for."
"I told them, it couldn't be helped." Pestis frowned. "To keep Azarel away from Zara, there was no choice. Azarel had to believe Zara was dead."
"That's not true. There were other ways to keep Azarel away from Zara." Zelgadis argued. "But you went with that one in order to avoid conflict. By tricking Azarel- and your friends- you managed to avoid having to fight. You sacrificed your friends' emotional health for the sake of your desire for diplomacy. Don't you see that?"
Pestis stared down at the ground as they walked. "But…" he protested, "violence is never the answer."
"I wish that was true, Pestis- really- but even pacifism has its limits. Don't you remember my father-in-law? He believes firmly in avoiding violence whenever possible, but he also knows that sometimes there's no choice."
The group continued along the trail, helping one another up a particularly steep embankment that had become slippery as the rain melted the snowdrifts. Once everyone had made it to the top, Zelgadis took Pestis by the arm again, supporting him with his shoulder.
"When we get back, I expect you to apologize to Gourry. Not one of your fake, insincere apologies either- a real, honest apology."
Pestis closed his eyes and nodded. "Yes, Zelgadis…"
Lyos and Shizuri glanced at each other and exchanged a smile.
Amelia closed the door behind herself and Gourry, and turned to him in the hallway to speak with him. "What was it that you wanted to talk abo-" She tried to begin the conversation, but didn't get very far. Gourry pulled her into a tight hug that lifted her feet off the floor.
"Thank you…" he murmured. "…I…I can't thank you enough."
"Mister Gourry, what are you talking about?" she stammered in response as he gently set her back down on the floor. "You know that you and Lina are like family to me. I'd always step in to help if you needed me-"
"It's not just that." Gourry shook his head and leaned against one wall with his eyes closed. "You taught Zel to use healing spells, right?"
"I taught him a few, a long time ago. He's improved since then, all by his own work. Why? Did something happen?"
"Azarel… tried…" Gourry began and lowered his voice. "Azarel tried to murder Zara. She almost succeeded."
Amelia's face turned pale. "Wh-wha-"
"But Zelgadis was there. He was the one who saved Zara, even when he looked like… well, even when things weren't looking good."
"I had no idea…" Amelia covered her mouth with her hands. "Zara-chan looked so healthy, I never imagined that something had happened to him…"
"That's Zelgadis' work. All Zelgadis." Gourry cringed, remembering. "Azarel beat up Zara pretty badly, but you can't even tell."
"Thank you for telling me." Amelia hugged him, this time just wrapping her arms around his waist. He placed a hand on her head and smiled gratefully.
"I wanted you to know, since Zelgadis probably won't take credit. Enrique helped too, of course, and that's probably what he'll say, but…"
"Enrique? You mean the little boy that was travelling with Azarel?"
Gourry nodded. "He was the one who found Zara hurt in the first place and called for help. We were lucky that Zelgadis heard him."
"What happened to him?"
"He's working for Pestis now, I guess. He betrayed Azarel by helping Zara, so Pestis is gonna take him in now."
"I'm so glad for him." Amelia moved back toward the doorway and opened it for him. "In the meantime, I'm going to go check on Miss Hayze, and maybe get some sleep myself. It's late."
"More like early!" Zara called from inside the room. "It's already morning!"
"It's still dark outside, which means it's night." Lina insisted. "And it won't be tomorrow until I go to sleep. So you don't have to worry about that."
Amelia giggled and waved at them. Despite the fact that Lina's exhaustion had been more apparent, Amelia was tired as well, and eager to get away somewhere quiet.
"Lina," Zara began, holding Luke gently in his arms, "are you happy that they're boys?"
"Of course." Lina responded. She had set Enrico back into her lap and was buttoning her shirt again. "How could I be unhappy? I've just doubled the number of precious, beloved boys in my life." She reached out and grabbed Gourry's hand, pulling him closer so that she could kiss him.
"I'm really excited. I'll teach them everything that I know." Zara was celebrating to himself, too busy fawning over his brother to be paying attention to the rest of the group. "We'll be the best of friends, I'm sure of it."
"In the meantime, I have all of my boys together again." Lina continued with a grateful smile directed at Gourry. "Thank you for bringing him back safely."
"It's not me you have to thank." Gourry replied sheepishly. "That was all Zelgadis' doing. Thank him."
"What do you mean?"
"To be completely honest, I barely did anything." Gourry admitted. "Azarel only wanted to fight Mr. Nisery, and Mr. Nisery kept telling the rest of us to stay out of things, so… I did."
Lina gave him a weak punch on the arm. "Okay, then. I'll believe you for now, and get the real story from the others later."
"What? You don't trust me?"
"Not particularly. You're too hard on yourself."
"Hey! Look at me! Do I look like I got involved in that battle at all?"
Lina raised one eyebrow. "You didn't quite get all the blood off your face, if that's what you're asking."
Gourry flinched and then tentatively put a hand to his left cheek. He cringed as he found the spot where Azarel's attack had made contact. "I didn't even realize that was there. It must have happened when I stepped in for Pestis… I-I mean-"
"Caught you." Lina pointed at him.
"I-It's not like that!"
"Whatever you say." Lina smiled, rocking Enrico back and forth. "But no matter what happened out there, I'm proud of you. I wanted to make sure that I told you that before I fell asleep."
"I think that's what we all need to do." Gourry sighed. "Sleep, I mean. It's late and everybody's tired."
"Everybody except this guy." Lina responded, motioning to the infant who was still wide-eyed and actively wriggling around in her arms. "Where are you getting all this energy, kid? Not from me, I'm sure. Zara?"
Zara was half asleep, too dazed to respond. His younger brother had fallen asleep in his arms, and so it was almost impossible for him to stay awake, as tired as he was.
"I'll keep an eye on Enrico." Gourry offered, reaching for him. "You go on and sleep. You deserve it."
Lina didn't even reply. Her grateful smile said it all. Enrico let out a squeal of surprise at being transferred from his mother's arms to his father's, but he felt comfortable and safe with Gourry, and actually stayed quiet for the first time in his life.
"Alright, everyone leave your wet shoes outside by the door." Zelgadis instructed as the group finally made it to the covered back porch. He slid Pestis off of his shoulder and onto a bench so that he could remove the professor's shoes himself.
"There are lots of towels in the hall closet." Pestis murmured wearily. "Take whatever you need."
Lyos was the first to storm inside, eager to see Miss Hayze. He knew that the others would follow at their own pace- his concern was not for them. He was just so afraid… considering how weak she'd been when they'd left…
"MILADY?" he yelled as he rushed inside, not even stopping to tend to his waterlogged hair or clothes. As he walked from the kitchen into the next room, he was bombarded with a loud, high-pitched screaming noise that was not at all pleasant. "What the hell…?"
"Don't worry, little guy. That's just Lyos. He doesn't mean any harm. He's just being loud, that's all. He's a loud person just like you. Calm down. Don't cry, don't cry…" Gourry's soft voice was a contrast to the sound that was coming from the tiny bundle in his arms. Lyos, too tired and cold to fully realize what he was seeing and hearing, moved to take a look at the creature his friend was holding.
"What the hell is that thing?" he spoke without thinking.
Gourry, almost always willing to take a joke, smiled in reply. "You like it? Lina and I made it- all by ourselves, no magic even. Did we do a good job?"
Lyos' mouth hung open for a second before reality hit him. "Oh, crap, Gourry, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to make it sound like-"
"No need to apologize. It's okay." Gourry kept his smile as he rocked the child back and forth. The baby's crying began to subside. "I think Enrico here is the only one of us who isn't exhausted out of his mind. I've been trying to get him to sleep for a while now, but he seems too fascinated with everything around him. He has his mother's curious spirit."
"I, uh…" Lyos didn't know how to respond. "…I think that's amazing."
"This is why you shouldn't shout so much, Lyos. It's important to listen more than you speak." Miss Hayze hadn't opened her eyes and had thoroughly appeared asleep, but clearly she had been listening to the conversation.
"M-Milady!" Lyos gasped. "I'm sorry, I was just worried. Are you…?"
"I'm fine, Lyos." She opened her eyes halfway. "Sitting here by the fire, I'm perfectly content. But what happened to you? You're soaking wet."
"Uh…" Lyos realized with embarrassment that his dripping clothes and hair had created a damp spot on the carpet. "I forgot. It's raining really hard out there."
"Raining?" The revelation caught Miss Hayze by surprise, but she didn't get a chance to question it further.
"That's an understatement." Zelgadis finally joined the group, and Shizuri followed with Pestis leaning on her shoulder. Enrique was clutching the professor's other arm, as though he were trying to support him, but Enrique was really getting more support from the arrangement than Pestis was.
"I'm just glad you all made it back. That trail is pretty rough." Gourry was able to wave with one free hand. Enrico's startled crying had quieted down into more inquisitive whimpers.
"Is this…?" Zelgadis leaned over, examining the infant.
"Enrico." Gourry responded with a smile. The response caught Enrique's attention, as he recognized his own name, but realized a few seconds later that Gourry hadn't been calling him after all.
"You… actually named him that?" Zelgadis glanced around before whispering to Gourry. "I thought that was just a joke."
"What joke?" Gourry asked. "It's a nice name. It was the name of some famous guy; he was- what?- an actor… playwright… something. Anyway-"
"That's not what I was talking about." Zelgadis shook his head. "But… nevermind. Is this… I mean… is he… what about…?" He remembered that Amelia had confided in him the truth about the twins, begging him not to tell Gourry or Zara. He wasn't supposed to know.
Gourry's oblivious, proud smile assured Zelgadis that he hadn't given himself away. "Truth is, this guy here is the older twin. The younger one is asleep in the back room with Lina and Zara."
The new father seemed so proud, Zelgadis felt obligated to feign surprise. "Wait… twins? You're kidding."
"Nope." Gourry's smile grew. "Twin boys. Enrico and Luke."
"W-wow… I can't believe… I had no idea…" Zelgadis lied, and it was clear Gourry was buying it. "That's amazing!"
"Isn't it?"
"Twins? What does that mean?" Enrique curiously hovered nearby.
"It means that there's two babies who were born together." Gourry replied. "They're brothers to each other, just like Zara is their brother, but they're the exact same age because they were born on the same day."
Enrique's eyes widened. "So does that mean Zara has two new little brothers?"
"Yes, exactly."
"Wow! He must be so excited!"
"Oh, he is." Gourry grinned and then adjusted Enrico's blankets, holding him out towards the boy. "Enrique, would you like to hold Zara's brother?"
Enrique blushed. "N-no, thank you. I don't want to."
"I'll hold him!" Pestis called.
Gourry pulled the infant close to his chest again. "Maybe it would be better if we let him rest. I'm sure all this excitement has him more tired than he lets on."
Zelgadis sighed, seeing that the group was content to continue the conversation. He broke away from the commotion and walked down the hallway toward the room that Lina and Gourry had previously occupied.
Amelia had moved her and Zelgadis' belongings there as well, to make room in the larger bedroom across the hall. Seeing Amelia asleep in the bed, Zelgadis went ahead and changed clothes, setting aside all the wet clothing and putting on a much warmer set. He grabbed a hairbrush and rain it through his hair in front of the mirror, pulling out all the tangles and a few small leaves. It was obvious from looking at his face that he hadn't shaved in a while, and the thought of doing so briefly crossed his mind before he decided against it. He'd accidentally cut himself too many mornings as he exhaustedly tried to compensate for a late night and too little sleep. Right now all he wanted to do was climb into the warm bed next to his wife.
As he turned around, he noticed that Amelia was watching him. "Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."
"You didn't. I wasn't asleep yet." she responded quietly. "How are you? You're not hurt, I hope?"
"N-no, I… I'm not. Truth is, I never even saw Azarel. I ended up doing other things besides fighting."
"I heard. You're a hero."
"What?"
"Didn't you save Zara-chan?"
"Who told you that?" Zelgadis slid under the blankets and Amelia immediately grabbed his cold hands and held them close to her chest in an attempt to warm them.
"Mister Gourry did. He thanked me for teaching you healing spells, but I told him that it was all thanks to your own effort. You continue to impress me, Zelgadis."
"I'm just so glad he's alive. I didn't care what I had to do… I just had to save him." Zelgadis sighed. "Then afterward, I had to help Pestis. He did something with Pathosmaster's power and now he can barely stand. That's why we're so late- I'm sorry if I made you worry."
"I always worry about the people I love. It can't be helped." She kissed him as though she couldn't truly be at ease about his safety until she'd felt his lips against hers. "I know that Lina and Mister Gourry thank you, and I do too."
"It's an odd relief. I can't place it, but for some reason, I feel… more at ease. I was so scared that I wouldn't be able to save him; that he'd die there with me just like…" Zelgadis didn't dare say a name, but Amelia wasn't so hesitant.
"The best healers in all of Seyruun couldn't do anything for Alex. You didn't stand a chance of saving him. But that doesn't mean you're useless or that you are a failure. Healers have to learn early on that sometimes we face patients with no hope of recovery. Losing them doesn't mean that we're failures, though. We have to focus on helping those we can save. And you did." She put a hand on Zelgadis' cheek in an attempt to comfort him. "If things had been different, I'm sure Alex would have been good friends with Zara-chan. So I know that, somehow, somewhere, he's watching all of this and is so proud of his dad. Don't you think so?"
Zelgadis took a deep breath. "The twins- well, Enrico, at least- look to be very healthy. They're lucky you were there to help them."
"I'm lucky that they were there to help me." Amelia responded.
The couple was quiet after that. No further explanation was necessary. All the details of the night's events- discussions about the strange changes in weather and mysterious circumstances surrounding the Key- could come later. For now, it was all they needed just to be together.
"…Xellos?"
Azarel couldn't remember what had happened. Xellos had appeared on the astral plane, and in relief to see him, Azarel had completely blanked out. Where were they now? It wasn't the astral plane, that was for sure, but it also wasn't any place Azarel recognized. It was modern construction, but the inside was bare, like a prison. No furniture, save the chair Azarel was sitting in, no decoration, barely any windows to let light in. Xellos was leaning against the wall across the room. He examined his fingernails, looking completely and utterly bored.
"Oh!" he finally spoke up when he heard Azarel's voice. "Good morning, sleepyhead! Are you feeling alright? I hope you're comfortable."
"Wha-?" Azarel mouthed helplessly. "I… I can't move." Stating the obvious probably wasn't going to do much, but it never hurt to try.
"Well, duh. That's why I asked if you were comfortable." Xellos huffed. "You shouldn't strain yourself, Azarel. You've been grievously wounded, and it'll take a long time to recover. Take it easy."
Azarel's mouth closed. This felt too much like a captive situation. The wound from the battle couldn't have been the real reason…
"Why are you so concerned? What are you getting at?" Azarel demanded with narrowed eyes.
"It's not personal, I promise you." Xellos waved one hand, walking around the room as though he were circling his prisoner. "It's my duty as general to check on the well-being of all Lord Beastmaster's subordinates."
"But I'm not one of Beastmaster's subordinates."
The smile that spread across Xellos' face could have sent grown men running in fear.
"As of yesterday, you are."
"Wh-wha-?"
"Don't ever agree to a contract without knowing the terms and conditions. You might find yourself roped into a bad situation. But, that's hindsight now, isn't it?"
Azarel's mouth hung open. "Y-you-" The word that followed was not pretty. Nor was the one that followed that.
Xellos pretended not to notice. "When I make an agreement, I make it on behalf of Lord Beastmaster. All of her terms are binding to the fullest extent. Should the terms be broken, the Mazoku is compelled to serve Lord Beastmaster for a specified amount of time. And when you attempted to murder Zara, that broke term number fourteen. Make sense?"
"Attempted?" Azarel breathed. "You mean he's still alive? But Pathosmaster said-"
"You know that Professor Nisery is full of lies." Xellos reached out and unclipped the pink flower barrette from Azarel's hair. Azarel's eyes widened at the sight of it, and Xellos just stood a short distance away, watching the Mazoku struggle to reach out for the precious item. "In the meantime, I'll hang onto this. Lord Beastmaster will need it later."
"What is Lord Beastmaster gonna do with-"
"You," Xellos waved one finger, shutting Azarel's mouth by force. "need to learn not to question your supervisors. We're the ones who're going to be questioning you."
Azarel tried to yell, but it came out muffled.
"Calm down. You're not in any state to be interrogated yet. Rest here for a while and regain your strength. I'm going to tell Lord Beastmaster that you're awake so that she can begin solidifying our plans."
The muted sound of Azarel's voice continued to rise in volume as Xellos moved toward the door, barrette still in hand. He paused outside of the door, stopping it when it was almost completely shut. Azarel was still struggling, as though what Xellos had said wasn't sinking in.
"Come on, Azarel. Did you really think I was working for you for your sake?" Xellos' eyes glinted as he took one last look at his captive. "You can't have been arrogant enough to think that you were the main villain of the story."
The sound of the heavy door closing could be heard all the way down the hallway, but there was no one in the building to listen.
[Thank you to everyone who has followed the story up to this point. Mythos will be taking a summer hiatus while I'm travelling and will resume weekly updates on 1 August, 2014. Thanks for your continued support, and I look forward to joining you again in August.]
