~* SLAYERS: FALLEN STARS *~

I'm still slow on the updates, aren't I? No worries, I just had a lot of unexpected things happen, especially within the last two weeks. I just recently had a milestone birthday with some relatives offering to arrange a special vacation sometime soon as a present, been doing a bit of summer cleaning with my stuff while planning new projects, and am in the middle of a job change with most friends and family being supportive, while a couple aren't and are giving me some grief. This poor chapter was actually half done when the last one was posted, and I was very frustrated that I couldn't finish it until now. I'm hoping that won't be the case with the next few since a lot is supposed to happen, and it will make it hard to follow if they're not up in a timely manner. In all my busyness, I've been thinking up outlines and important points in the future chapters (even had a couple of scenes written down), so I'm far, FAR from abandoning it!

Anyways, enough about me. Enjoy!

Chapter 52: The Not-So-Secret Garden

Zelgadis felt his mouth open and close but no words came out. They were stuck in his throat, making his heart beat very wildly as if he were suffocating.

Amelia then smiled and was about to run into his arms when Pokota began yelling.

"Let me down! Let me down! I'm not a melon!" The prince dropped the rind of the real melon that he was eating and began flailing about in a tantrum. They had forgotten about him.

Zelgadis did not realize he did not let go when he jerked his hand away from the fruit stand. After enjoying watching Pokota squirm for a moment, Zelgadis dropped him on his behind, relieved that he was useful for once as a tension breaker.

"Mr. Pokota!" Amelia reprimanded. "I told you to wait until we got back to Mr. Hunter's place before eating!"

"Sorry, I got the munchies, and my stomach wouldn't stop growling," he apologized, incredibly embarrassed that she was doing this in front of the chimera. I bet he has a very smug look on his face right now, Pokota thought as he dared to look up.

But Zelgadis was staring at Amelia again with yet another look of shock. "Did you say Hunter?"

"Why yes," she replied in a small voice after jumping at his urgent question. "I'm staying with him until tomorrow when I go off to a conference the States are having, and Mr. Aldrich is there too-"

"-Conference-?-Aldrich?" The chimera's head was spinning at how awfully coincidental this all was, and his thoughts immediately went to Alyssa.

As if on cue, a large carriage big enough to fit several people in turned onto the street and trotted their way. Alyssa had her head poking out of one of the windows and was waving her arms at them to flag them down.

"Zelgadis!" she happily called out. "Look who I found!" Alyssa opened the door of the carriage as soon as it stopped beside them and had a giggly smile on her face.


Somehow, they all ended up around the Darrem's main dining room table for dinner.

After Aldrich found Zelgadis with Alyssa's help, they gathered up everyone else and took them to the mansion. Hunter appeared very surprised, but accepted his new guests without any objection, which made Zelgadis suspect he was only doing it because Amelia was there. Otherwise, Hunter would not let any of them anywhere near his house.

If it were not for Amelia, the chimera would not want to be anywhere near that house either, and Aldrich's appearance made the whole situation doubly suspicious and gave him yet another reason to keep Amelia, as well as Alyssa, under close watch.

Lina did not make any protest to the invite, despite Hunter's unusually generous host-like behavior. During the meal, she wanted only to concentrate on food since there was no telling when she was going to have another chance to eat like this, but Mrs. Darrem had numerous questions about their travels. The woman had been so gracious and allowed them all into her house with only Amelia's word to go by that the sorceress did not want to be rude, an unusual move for her.

She sighed longingly through her answers while watching Gourry and Jean gleefully chow down (without making too much of a mess). Torrin would occasionally nudge her to keep her from focusing too much on them, making Lina wish Filia did not leave early to put Val down in her room. The dragoness would have at least taken the Dimos off her back.

The young girl Krista decided to attach herself to Jean, asking all sorts of questions about where he was from and what he was doing with such a famous sorceress. He could not decided if he should be flattered or nervous about her attention as the thirteen year old came across as very sheltered, though as sociable as a girl her age would normally be. It was a huge contrast to the noble children he talked to at Amelia's birthday. It made Jean think that the only people she normally had contact with were other sheltered rich girls (and maybe boys too).

Jean was raised to be a gentlemen towards girls and women in general, with Lina being the occasional exception, so he indulged Krista in tales about his journeys with his uncles and cousins on their merchant ships.

Samira drew the attention and fascination of little Marian who mostly stared at the desert woman's exotic looking two-piece dress she had changed into. The little girls eyes carefully inspected the deep green skirt and puffed pants which was covered with a delicate gold pattern just like her short-sleeved pink top.

At one point, her tiny hands pointed out the gold arm bands, indicating that she wanted to touch them. Samira glanced over at Hunter who seemed to be keeping a close eye on everyone while he listened to his mother. Considering their last encounter during Amelia's birthday celebration, Samira did not wish to stir anything up with Hunter, so she remained respectfully distant since they arrived. When he did not bother to make any objection, she allowed his sister a closer look.

Then Marian spotted the pink shoes, and she got out of her chair and squatted down to inspect their odd shape.

Samira felt a smile cross her lips when the girl tried to take one of the shoes off and match it to her skirt. Samira figured she would have been just as fascinating if she were still wearing her pink nomadic travel clothes as it was obviously Marian's favorite color. Her own little dress was entirely pink as well.

Hunter had to coax her back to her dinner, but not without her saying very loudly, "I like pink shoes," temporarily halting all conversation at the table. Her brother was floored.

After a moment of silence and Hunter replying very sweetly, "Yes, I know, Mari," they all laughed and returned to their chattering. Marian said nothing else but kept a smile on, occasionally looking over at her sister who would giggle and smile in turn.

At the other end of the table, Amelia sat quietly beside Pokota, listening to everything and eyes trained on Zelgadis who in turn was keeping a close watch on Alyssa and Aldrich happily keeping a conversation between them. His attention was only broken by Lina asking him something every once in a while. Not once did he say anything to Amelia.

This was not what the princess had in mind when they met again. When she came up to him in the market, he actually looked shocked, scared even, and did not say a single welcoming word in response, only short inquiries of who she was with and why. It was not like the Zelgadis she was used to. His silence and inattention towards her since their ride back to Hunter's only made it worse.

She could throw out the idea of a romantic rendezvous. Something was bothering him, and judging by the way he was looking at Alyssa, it had nothing to do with her.

Amelia finished her meal at a decent pace to settle her uneasy stomach while not drawing a lot of attention to herself, then politely excused herself from the table. She caught Zelgadis finally noticing her out of the corner of her vision but made no effort to acknowledge him and headed straight for the courtyard.

"Um, Amelia?" Pokota had been mostly listening to Alyssa give a very light hearted account of the demon city episode to Aldrich and generally enjoying himself despite seeing the chimera again, when he saw her go behind his chair and leave the room. She did not answer him.

Zelgadis slipped out not even five minutes later to go search for Amelia, trying to be as casual as possible, but Pokota gave him a look to tell him that he knew what the chimera was up to, and it probably was not going to work.


Amelia went beyond the archway behind the patio where she had her first meal with the Darrems to get lost on the naturally winding garden path the best she could. There were plenty of nooks and spaces in the almost maze-like bushes where children could have a blast playing hide and seek. Hunter's sisters proved to her yesterday just how easy it was to camouflage a small person like herself and not be uncomfortable.

It was easy to feel closed off from the rest of the world here.

Amelia suddenly found herself wishing she could stay longer than a couple of days. Of course, it would not be possible to get any peace with everyone else now occupying the estate, but if they moved on after she was done with the conference, then maybe she could come back for a short while before heading home. It would give her a chance to disconnect and not think about anything unpleasant.

She rounded a corner and halted as she spotted Zelgadis coming down the path towards her walking with purpose. Amelia wanted to turn away and pretend to not see him but was too late; she had already made eye contact with him.

He came to a stop at no more than arm's length, unsure of what to do next. She had thought of yelling at him the next time they were alone but suddenly lost the heart to do so when she caught the softness in his normally intense gaze. Just like reading Audrey's feelings, the color in Zelgadis' eyes seemed different than they were back in the dining room. Or perhaps, Amelia thought, its just sunlight playing tricks on me.

Then she reminded herself again why she was there in the first place and opened her mouth to object his presence.

Zelgadis did not give her a chance to say anything as he pulled her in for a good long kiss. He was too relieved to be upset with her for leaving home and did not want to start anything. Amelia was terrible with hiding her feelings, particularly when she was unhappy. That resentful look she was giving him a second ago did not suit her at all, and that, he admitted, was his fault.

Amelia could tell by how tightly he held her how much she was missed, and her heart simply swelled at the thought. There was no way she could be jealous now.

When Zelgadis finally let go of her lips, Amelia hugged him with all her might, nearly knocking the wind out of him.

"A-Amelia-!" Zelgadis choked out. He had forgotten how strong she could be.

"Now that's how you greet someone you love!" she chirped too brightly, not caring how silly she sounded. The sting in her eyes warned her of threatening tears.

Zelgadis pried her off to get some air, then offered something to dry her eyes with when he heard the sniffles start. There was that feeling she was still drained in more ways than one, and it was very worrisome. She was acting a little too much like she did when he left over a month and a half ago.

"You going to be okay?" he asked when he caught his breath again.

Amelia quickly dabbed her watery eyes before they had a chance to stream down her face. "Uh-huh… I just…hated… Why did you ignore me?"

Zelgadis ignored the question. "Why are you going to that conference by yourself?"

"I'm not by myself. Mr. Pokota is with me," Amelia corrected, sensing his concern.

"Even so, why are you going, and why are you here? How did Aldrich get here?" The questions were pouring out of him now in an odd desperate voice that did not sound like him at all.

"I think Mr. Aldrich met Mr. Hunter back home during my birthday because they seem very friendly together." It was true that Hunter did not take to most people outside his own family if it was not for show, so even Amelia thought it was strange that Aldrich was deemed a trusted friend. "I'm only here to fulfill a promise I made to Daddy, and who better to send than myself?"

That first sentence seemed terribly off. "Why would the Darrems invite him here, though?

Amelia was getting a little frustrated with the interrogating. "I don't know, and why are you asking me so many questions?"

"Because neither you or Pokota have said anything since we got here," he answered.

"That's because you kept following Miss Alyssa the whole time!" she shot back with only a trace of a sniffle now.

That was not exactly true. Zelgadis was watching them both, but with Aldrich nearby, Alyssa was the one who needed the most attention at the moment. She never seemed to think straight whenever he was around, but Zelgadis did follow Amelia when she left.

"I've just been concerned lately," he said honestly with a more even tone. "Alyssa's getting closer to finding the one she's been looking for, and it looks like he might be helping the monsters."

A new understanding hit her. Amelia had almost forgotten Alyssa's 'friend,' but she wondered where Aldrich fit into all of this. "Is Mr. Aldrich a monster then?"

"Doubtful!" Zelgadis responded with almost a laugh. "Torrin would've picked that up a mile away! But I bet he's as manipulative as one. How else would you explain him weaseling his way in here!"

"He hasn't done anything wrong," Amelia countered, "and Miss Alyssa seems to like him well enough."

"And so did you when you first met him," he reminded her. "You even introduced him to your father! I tell you what, whether he's working for someone or not, he's not somebody we can trust!"

Amelia's frustration returned. "Well, I'm certainly not going home to hide under my bed, if that's what you're thinking!" She put her hands on her hips to make emphasis. "You forget, I helped all of you prepare for your trip!"

He sighed. Here we go again. "Amelia-"

"-And even if Mr. Aldrich was up to something, you know I can take care of it!"

"-Listen to me-" Zelgadis pleaded.

"-If you think I'm only going to the conference to find trouble, think again!" She stared him down, daring him to snap back, but it didn't work.

"…That's not what I meant Amelia…"

At the graveness in his voice, Amelia scolded herself for trying to cause another fight. She had walked out in a fit during the last meeting her friends had before they left Seyruun, and Zelgadis wound up chasing her down and reminding her of her duties. As condescending as he did sound then, he was right, and it was not like he was trying to stop her from going where she needed to go.

He's only concerned, Amelia, she mentally berated herself. Just stop it!

She put her arms down and leaned against a little ledge that lined the corned she had just turned a few minutes ago and looked down in surrender. "Then what did you mean?" she asked him softly.

He brought her into a hug, and she responded in kind' far more gently than before. She quietly let out a big breath of relief and closed her eyes.

With a little smile, Zelgadis leaned into her ear. "I just want you to be careful. There's so much riding on you back home right now."

"You're still scared for me, aren't you?" She remembered him confessing his fears to her in the library back home, then her face started flushing when thought of what happened after that.

"More than I probably should be." More like terrified. He should not be allowing himself to be paralyzed with fear every time Amelia made a move outside a perceived safe zone as there soon might not be any safe place left. "But you have no idea how glad I am to see you again. Lina doesn't look it, but she's been anxious to see you again. They all have."

She gave him a squeeze. "I-I know."

"I'm also looking after Alyssa, like I promised you," he added. "I highly doubt you would want me to abandon her just because you're not getting enough attention."

"I made you promise that," Amelia reminded him as she remained buried in his tunic. "She looked so sad when she left."

"Yes, you did. That's more like you." Zelgadis pulled her away enough so he could see her now very red face. "A fighter for peace and justice."

As if she was not red enough, she felt her face turn even more so. "You forgot love."

"No, I didn't." He bent down for another kiss, then noticed something underneath her very dark brown cloak that was around her neck and undid the clasp to look.

An emerald green band matching her tunic looked much like the pink one she used to wear like a choker, and it held a little round charm the color of her eyes with a hexagram inside.

"What happened to your old one?" he asked.

"Believe it or not, I actually outgrew it," Amelia said softly, "and you still have one of my wristbands that went with it."

Zelgadis smiled. "And its probably still in my pocket."

She curiously let a hand slide from his to one of his pockets, but he stopped her right before she could put it in and went for her lips again. He guided her to where she could feel the charm through the material of his pants. It was rarely ever taken out for fear he might lose it, and he felt rather incomplete without it.

Amelia felt like she had done something…well…inappropriate… and she cringed a little inside. That is not how she liked to think of Zelgadis. Romantic, strong, and even handsome, yes, but certainly not crude. Get your silly mind out of the gutter, Amelia!

But his kisses were another matter. Seductive would be a good way to describe them. Every time he kissed her, she just wanted to pull him down with her and never let go like she did in the library. Still not a very princess-like thought but definitely better than the last one.

She would give anything to feel that way again.

Zelgadis felt her tense slightly a moment ago before slipping her hand away from the pocket and bringing it up to his neck to pull him down a little more like she was asking him to fall into the bushes behind them with her. One of his own hands had to find the ledge to steady himself, then he finally broke away and found another place to focus on underneath her right ear.

He could not remember the last time he felt so calm. Having Amelia in his arms, whether she was made, scared, or unhappy, always seem to have that effect now. In that moment, nothing was capable of coming between them.


Hunter followed out after Zelgadis only a minute later after making sure his mother was not going to miss his presence, claiming he was only going to check on Amelia. Pokota was giving him the same scowl as the chimera on his way out, but he ignored it.

He stayed well enough behind, remembering Amelia's account on how sharp Zelgadis' hearing could be, and he believed it. The garden was of his own creation, so there was no way he could lose the two of them, even without good hearing. When Zelgadis' pace became urgent, Hunter quietly followed on the other side of the shrubs and small trees, and sure enough, Amelia was there on the other end.

He became perfectly still to listen in. He had never formally met this long time companion of hers before now but had always had a very strong suspicion that her affection for this man (if you could call him that) were beyond mere friendship. For this, Hunter did not have to wait long for confirmation, as the sounds of and intense embrace were hard to miss.

Then the questions came; his second reason for being there. If there was any suspicion, then Dark Star would have to be informed immediately. The chimera sounded a little paranoid but never quite connected the dots while Amelia actually defended 'Aldrich,' so there was nothing to worry there.

A brief fight, then they were back to more hugs and kisses. When this last bit went on a little too long for Hunter to think there would be any more useful information, he had enough and headed back the way he came until he came up on the right path.

Turning the corner, Hunter casually walked towards where the lovebirds were smooching until he was noticed.

"Well, well, looks like the stuffed animal isn't my only rival," he said laughingly loud as the two of them scrambled to get out of each other's arms.

Amelia got off the ledge and grabbed her cloak to cover herself as if she were naked. She could not look at him in the eye.

"I'm hurt, princess, I truly am." Hunter's hand went to his chest like he was playing at being wound as he slowly took another step forward. "Your father would be disappointed that you would agree to court me then hide out to make out with a piece of talking rock! How scandalous!"

The insult did touch a nerve with the chimera, but he remained where he was giving only a steely stare in response as he put an arm in front of Amelia.

Now she looked at Hunter. "That's not nice Mr. Hunter!" It was all she could get out as she was still blushing madly from being caught.

"And your actions here could be considered a great insult to your host," Hunter pointed out. "Definitely not proper behavior for a lovely princess like you." He came closer until there was no more than a few feet between them, keeping his eye on the chimera. "But considering how monstrous and possibly deceitful Mr. Secretive is stealing you away like this, I could certainly forgive you."

Zelgadis was ready to pound him into the ground now, but thinking of Amelia, he still did not move.

"I never agreed court you," Amelia said a little more bravely as she fumbled with the clasp of her cloak. "And if you keep insulting Zelgadis, you can forget courting me at all! We've been friends for years, and Daddy knows him very well."

"Then I wonder why he has to go behind your father's back to earn your affections," Hunter replied.

She stepped out from behind Zelgadis' arm. "He has his reasons!" she shot back. "And as soon as this is all over, he will be asking Daddy to court me himself!"

He won't even be alive when its over, Hunter thought, wishing he could say it out loud.

He saw the chimera smirk. "Well, you've certainly haven't earned her affections," Zelgadis taunted.

That did not deter him. "In the world of royalty and nobles, affection is rather hollow and means little." Hunter reached out for Amelia's hand, half expecting her to recoil, but being the lady that she was, she allowed him to hold it, if only for a moment. "Amelia is completely different from any noble lady I have ever met. Her heart is out there for all to see." He lifted her hand as if he was going to kiss it and gazed up at her. "Any attempt to hide it I'm sure is torture for you, Amelia."

She had never heard him use her first name before, and with such sincerity that she was taken a little off guard. Her first compulsion was to apologize, even though it was probably still not deserved. "Mr. Hunter… I-"

Hunter caught a little kiss on the corner of her mouth, a little closer than he wanted considering who was kissing those lips just a moment ago.

Zelgadis flinched, yet still managed to restrain himself.

After receiving a small shock from Hunter's sudden move, Amelia recovered her composure and stepped away. She knew Hunter's actions towards her were consistently genuine, and he did not hide his disdain for others from her. yet something caused the alarm bells inside her head to go off the moment he kissed her.

She heard Zelgadis walk up from behind and put a protective arm around her. "You still don't have any claim on her," he said warningly. "She can choose for herself. There's no law in Seyruun that says anyone can choose for her."

Hunter knew the truth from the start, in fact, he did not even consider asking permission to court until he met Edina. It was only to get a little closer to now King Philionel and make it easier to get access to Amelia as well as their kingdom's extensive resources after they were finished helping Pokota's country, should there be any need. He wanted to be the first to inform them of their friends' defeat and the first to rush to Amelia's side when she needed someone for comfort. It would give him a chance to guide her to do Dark Star's bidding without her realizing it, and it would be the only thing he would hide from her, as it would ultimately be for her own good.

"I'm guessing you're saying I'm not worthy of her," he said with a strange calm smile. "All right then, maybe I should prove it, in front of everyone."

Zelgadis eyed him suspiciously. What's he up to? "What are you suggesting then?"

Hunter turned to the side stretching out his left arm towards his house to beckon them. "A contest. And we can let the others participate as well."


"What's this about, Dear?" Christine asked her son as everyone followed Hunter out into the central courtyard where Zelgadis and Amelia were quietly waiting.

Hunter stepped out into the middle in front of the old fountain and turned to face them. "I came up with a great idea while I was talking to Mr. Greywards and her highness a moment ago. After hearing about your recent adventure, I thought you would enjoy a friendly match."

"You mean a fight?" Lina asked unsurely, as she glanced over at Zelgadis' face. He seemed even more clamped up and irritated than ever.

"More like a competition, but yes." Hunter smiled and gestured at them with his arm. "I'm sure it would be a nice change from constantly battling monsters to an inch of your life."

His mother could barely contain herself. "Oh, how exciting! I would love to see you all in action!"

"Me too! Me too!" Krista squealed.

Gourry raised his hand without even thinking. "Sounds like fun, count me in!"

"Gourry! Did you forget what happened last time?" Lina reminded him, while reminding herself that of course he would forget.

"What?" he asked blankly.

"I think she means the Spring festival," said Torrin. He actually sensed a bit of worry in Lina's voice and tried to assure her. "But there aren't any monsters nearby, so I think we're safe this time."

"Good, then I want in!" said Jean. He was sick of dealing with monsters.

Krista was staring at him in shock. "But, you're just a kid!"

"I may not look it, but I'm pretty good with a sword. I spar with these guys all the time." Jean let a bit of his pride show in the way he spoke. This was the only thing he would not mind going on and on about in front of any girl.

Torrin could not help but smile and hid his laugh. Alyssa was giggling to herself as well.

"Then I volunteer as well," Samira said as she did a better job of containing her amusement. "You still have very far to go."

Jean suddenly got a little red as he looked back and forth between her and Krista. "Hey, I've improved a lot, Miss Samira! Give me a little credit!"

Samira only shrugged and folded her arms. "Then you will need to prove yourself."

"You still don't believe I beat all those monsters, do you?" Jean sounded very determined. "I'll prove myself all right!"

Torrin managed to get his laugh barely under control. "Then I'm definitely in. I can't let the kid's head get too big! I'll have get Filia for this."

Jean kept grumbling to himself about how he did not get much respect for his abilities as the Dimos left, and Hunter took the opportunity to count how many participants they had so far. "That makes four, and then of course me and Mr. Greywards, so that's six so far." He turned to Aldrich who had been watching everyone else with his own look of amusement. "Mr. Gates, how about it?"

Aldrich shrugged. "Why not? Though, I'm afraid I might be a bit out of practice compared to the rest."

Zelgadis immediately trained his eyes on Aldrich, offering not a single hint of trust in them.

Everyone else was giving Aldrich questioning looks, mostly out of curiosity as none of them have seen him use a sword before. He just smiled. "I assure you I'm not some master assassin undercover!"

I wouldn't bet on it, Zelgadis thought to himself. Aldrich's body language was practically screaming fraud. In what way, he did not know, but his gut was telling him there had to be something.

"Okay, that's seven." Hunter looked around for one more. "Miss Inverse, have you decided?"

Lina had been watching both Zelgadis and Amelia trying to gauge what had come over them. It was bad enough that the chimera looked like he could burn holes through Aldrich's head with his death glare that refused to let up, but the way Amelia was saying nothing and smiling like she was hiding something just made the odd vibe between even more notable.

"I think I'll just watch," Lina finally said. "This isn't really my thing anyway."

She glanced over at Samira who somehow caught the subtle concern she had that there might me a lot more to all of this. Samira only sign that she understood was her arms uncrossing when their eyes met.

"How about our other royal guest?" Christine suggested. "I'm sure he's just as capable as the boy!"

Pokota froze in place when the hostess mentioned him. He stood behind everyone else, hoping to not be noticed because whatever Hunter was planning, not believing the claim of a friendly match, he did not want to get into the middle of it. He had enough trouble with Hunter and Zelgadis, as it was.

"I'm not so sure, Mother." Hunter pretended to sound thoughtful while giving the prince an indiscernible look, though Pokota knew for sure what that look really meant. "I know he's a sorcerer, but that doesn't mean he's an expert swordsman."

If I were in my real body, I would show him! Admittedly, Pokota's small stature made it difficult to handle a physical weapon. Still, he was getting tired of being referred to in third person whenever Hunter bothered to mention him.

"I'm actually curious," Lina suddenly said, "can you even fight with a sword? And I'm not talking about a Sword of Light replica, either."

"Of course I can!" Pokota exclaimed indignantly. "I wouldn't need magic to defend myself with a sword, like you! And I don't have an expert swordsman following me around like a little puppy either!"

It was just the sort of deflection he needed, and Lina glowed red as her body stiffened and towered over him in anger. "I dare you to say that again, you little runt!"

Amelia decided to finally jump in. "Miss Lina!" she said a little desperately, "please mind your manners! We're guests here! If neither of you want to fight, that's okay!"

"Pardon me, your highness, but we do need at least one more to make it even," Hunter underhandedly pointed out.

Amelia gave him unusually dark look, like she was ready to punch him herself. She was not going to let him drag Pokota into this as well. "There's no need. If there's no one else, then I-"

"-I volunteer," said Alyssa.


Yay! Some Zelgadis/Amelia time! I hope the scenes weren't too awkward. It could be just me staring at them a little too long, but some of it felt off. If you have any suggestions, or heck, even some praises, let me know! That review button doesn't push itself! ~NB~