As you wish
It was late afternoon, and in the palace of Belhide, only the wind could be heard murmuring behind the windows. It howled softly, taking special care not to distract Amelia. She was on the desk, taking advantage of the last rays of the sun to update Phil on her adventure. The remains of a green tea were cooling to her left and the entire room was quiet. Time slipped inside slowly, quietly.
At times, the white pen slipped over the paper, staining it with words and meaning. The princess wrote, to the sound of ripping paper and the hollowing wind.
At one point, Amelia reached for her tea and, due to an oversight, the contents spilled onto the wood. She let out a yelp of surprise, and suddenly, a lot of noises followed one another: footsteps hurried down the hall, the door opened, and a chimera entered the bedroom, sword raised, screaming.
"Amelia!"
"Calm down, everything is fine."
But the chimera was still looking around, alert. He took a couple more glances at the window and then looked inside the closet as well. When he was convinced that there was no danger, he turned to the princess.
"I heard a scream."
"Yes, it was nothing. I spilled the tea."
He glanced at the mess and slowly lowered his sword.
"Okay. But if you don't mind, I'd like to keep you company while you finish the letter."
"Of course."
Zelgadis carefully closed the door and sheathed his sword. Still, he kept his muscles tense and his body alert. The princess heaved a small sigh. Her friend always took his bodyguard job very seriously. It didn't matter how many adventures they had together, nor how many times they visited the kingdoms outside the barrier. When he thought Amelia was in danger, he always kept his sword at his belt and his hands close to the handle.
The chimera paced back and forth in the room, his footsteps echoing loudly on the wood.
Tap, tap, tap they sounded as he walked to the left.
Tap, tap, tap , feet made while going to the right.
"Zelgadis."
"Yes?"
"Do you mind sitting down for a moment? You're distracting me."
"How do you want me to calm down? In fact, how can you be sitting there after what Lord Belhide said at breakfast?"
She brushed it off with a wave of her hand.
"He did not mean it. I don't even think that can be called Politics*."
"Sure, sure. And how about yesterday, when they tried to serve you almond cookies and nougat despite you being terribly allergic to them?"
"I'm sure it was just a minor oversight."
The chimera raised an eyebrow and she just shrugged.
"They apologized later, didn't they?" she said as she reviewed her letter. "Also, nothing happened."
Her friend ran a hand through his wire hair and then looked at her again. He just couldn't believe it.
"How can you be so calm? This is the second time that you've been attacked in this castle. "
The princess gave a weak smile and, without looking up from her work, she replied: "Well, because I have you here. And I know you would never let anything happen to me."
That comment left the chimera completely speechless. He tried to open his mouth a couple of times but, nothing, he couldn't think of a single answer. So, after two or three more tries (and as a deep red spread across his face), Zelgadis decided to sit on the green chair near the window. He also took a book, and just as if nothing had happened, he hid his pink face between its pages.
Thus, the minutes passed, while Amelia's white pen scratched the yellowed paper and the boy slowly turned the book's pages. From time to time, he would put the book down to scan through the window or look at the princess but, the more he read, the more spaced and vague were the glances. Occasionally he would sigh too, and at those times, Amelia couldn't help but smile a little. Someone who didn't know the chimera might think that the boy always behaved like this, that he was biting, harsh and dry. But there were other aspects of his personality that surfaced as he relaxed. It used to happen when he was alone, when he was playing the guitar or fishing. Although, in recent months, this facet had also been revealed in Amelia's presence. Here the chimera became sincere instead of sullen and responded with sweetness instead of irony. It happened when they played chess together, or when he sat reading next to her. Zelgadis had begun to relax in her presence and it seemed that he was still not fully aware of this fact and that, perhaps, added a hint of tenderness to the moment.
"Zelgadis?"
The chimera looked up from his book.
"Do you want to go for a walk before dinner?"
"Of course."
Zel went back to her book and Amelia looked down at her letter again. She was almost done with it.
"Zelgadis?"
"Yes?" he said without taking his eyes off the book.
"Will you accompany me to the market tomorrow? I want to buy dad something as a souvenir."
"As you wish," he replied.
The princess looked at the chimera. The evening light glinted off his violet hair, and here and there faint reds, yellows, and oranges flashes reflected into the room. Amelia composed another smile, a weak one, one that also made her cheeks tinge with red. She had an idea. She shook her head, closed her eyes, and hid her charcoal hair behind her ears. But, when she finished, the idea was still there.
"Zelgadis?"
"Uhm?"
There was one answer he had avoided this entire trip, a topic for which he always found a suitable excuse. Now the subject threatened to tumble out of her chest. But, no, first she had to prepare the ground. First, she had to make sure that Zel was distracted, that he wouldn't run away like before.
"Do you... enjoy spending time with me?"
"What? Of course."
The chimera calmly continued to turn the pages of his book, oblivious to the machinations of the princess. He answered honestly and openly, hardly aware that they were in enemy territory, nor that time was flowing and the sun was setting behind them. For there was only the book, him and, of course, Amelia.
"And would you like to go somewhere else after this trip?"
"As you wish."
"Alone? Just the two of us? Without Lina or Gourry?"
"Aha."
She licked her lips. It was now or never.
"And…How long will you stay this time in Saillune?"
"As much as you want."
Her heart stopped for a moment and she swallowed hard. He turned a page and slowly looked up. His eyes met her ocean-colored ones and she was suddenly aware that he wasn't distracted, he was focused and attentive. He was red and uncomfortable. "Well, I couldn't keep dodging your question much longer, could I?"
But Amelia still didn't believe it.
"As much as I want?"
He snorted under his breath and hid a little more behind his book. "Don't make me repeat it."
"Forever?"
Here, the chimera couldn't help it. He let out a loud laugh and said: "We'll see."
A wide smile appeared on her face. "Is that a yes, Zelgadis?"
"Amelia… don't push it."
*In the world of Slayers there was politics and Politics. There was a subtle difference between the two. The second, with a capital P, was much livelier and consisted of an exchange of popular phrases and proper names. Lina Inverse herself was a big fan of Politics. Her favorite proper name was Drag Slave! And it used to be accompanied by a whole gigantic display. It was so spectacular that those who witnessed it remembered it for the rest of their short life.