(AN: Well, all I can say is that it's a miracle I've been able to sit down and write at all, considering the start of school. It took me so LONG to write this…I wrote a little bit each day, and this is how it turned out…I'm really hoping I get more reviews than I did for the last chapter, so please do so, and check the ending AN for more! ~*~Tams~*~

By the way, anything in italics after the song lyrics is Zel's thoughts…there are a lot of them. ^^)

Royal Blunders

Chapter Eleven: Absence Makes The Heart Grow Stupider

"I remember that time you told me, you said,

'Love is touching souls'

Surely you touched mine

'Cause part of you pours out of me

In these lines from time to time

Oh, you're in my blood like holy wine

You taste so bitter and so sweet

Oh I could drink a case of you, darling

Still, I'd be on my feet

I would still be on my feet."

~ A Case of You, Joni Mitchell

It's strange how people move…when they are anticipating something grand, they tend to hurry their stride in hopes of reaching their destination as soon as possible. When their mood is melancholic, they are anything but swift; their feet are slowed to a drag and it seems to take forever just to arrive beyond the horizon. When they are lost, however, their thoughts are on one thing and one thing only, and suddenly their steps have taken them somewhere they never intended to find.

Any observant individual could tell immediately which one of those roles Zelgadis was playing. But it could only be if that individual was up close. From afar, Zelgadis' look was normal; an indifferent frown, but from a nearer vantage point, it was a fierce visage, with eyes iced over from anger.

Such a fool…to think, the way I was acting…!! His thoughts were racing. How stupid of me…playing the part of some lovesick prince. He stared intently into his palms, his stride unfailing, and chose to ignore that word, lovesick. What happened back there? It must have been the cabin fever getting to my head…getting pampered for a month can do that to a person. But…still…he clenched the fists by his sides. …What happened…is in the past. It was an effect of confinement. That's it.

"Of course it was," he said aloud. "What else could it be?" Perhaps infatuation, in Amelia's case— he paused. No. He wanted to be who he was before…he wanted to forget that ridiculous side of himself that had taken over in the last month. He wanted to be heartless. He didn't want things to change. He didn't want to change to that absurdly cheery person he'd been transforming into. Change meant losing focus. How would he become the Heartless Swordsman again? How could he do that? Forget Amelia, he thought. She's the one who caused this whole damn mess. I wouldn't be storming off without a lead if she hadn't gotten me so inattentive…so unfocused…so…so…confused—

He felt the ground beneath his feet become smooth all of a sudden, and his eyes went back into focus to see a looming stone temple in front of him. It looked well into its age, covered with moss and vines stretching over the windows, but sturdily built. That was, in some odd way, comforting, as nothing in his life had been so completely rock solid (no pun intended) during the past month. Zelgadis narrowed his eyes, and his fists relaxed. Get to work, Zelgadis. This is no time to be thinking about…things in the past. That's all over.

He took a few swift steps into the cobwebbed doorway as a gust of wind blew his hood back, and immediately, he was surrounded by darkness.

"Lightning."

The sphere of light flashed across the smooth, marble encased wall, casting a reflection on Zelgadis' frigid-looking face. His eyes, dark with coldness, flickered and surveyed the room before them.

It was an enormous, but somewhat peculiar looking room, consisting of a floor that was made with cobblestones of mismatched tans and grays. The walls were the smooth, slick material he'd seen before, swirling with amber streaks in a sea of pearl white, but until now, Zelgadis hadn't noticed that they weren't walls at all; they were a strange sort of watery film, reflecting every band of light across the room to the other walls. This made it sort of difficult for Zelgadis to see when he looked directly at it, so he turned sideways to gaze at it from the corner of his eye. It was moving with a wavering pattern, much like a sidewinder snake moves across a desert.

It wasn't extremely amazing; there wasn't even any way to see through the other side of the film, but it made Zelgadis oddly curious nonetheless. He felt very tempted to touch this remarkable looking wall, and if he didn't know any better, he'd say he was easily amused by such a simple thing…his hand inched towards the filmy cover, until the very tip of his pointer finger touched the liquid barrier—

In one split second, Zelgadis felt a violent jerk around his stomach, and was instantaneously pulled forwards, pitching headfirst through the barrier, landing hard and flat on his stomach, which was a big impact for even his stone body. He groaned, lifting his head up from the now wooden floor (completely disregarding the fact that some of his hair had broken off and stuck to the floorboard much like a porcupine's quills) to see a much different room.

Before he had much time to examine it, he heard a bored, feminine voice sigh, and looked upward to see a somewhat short girl, wearing a priestess-like attire of violet shaded robes. She shook her head, her long brown hair streaked with different shades of blonde, a length that went down to her knees in elaborate curls, flipping upwards, not even looking away from the orb her hands were nearly clasped around. "You should've used the door."

Her tone was, surprisingly, almost singsong, and it irritated Zelgadis' mood even more. He pushed himself up off the floor with his hands, dusting off his cloak. The girl was staring straight down at the orb in front of her, with a gaze of unblinking concentration, as her fingers hovered above the glass orb, in which was swirling fog. He watched her for a couple of minutes, and she didn't seem to be doing anything, until he noticed that her fingers seemed to be controlling the movement of the mist inside the orb.

He watched the girl concentrate for a few minutes; she was completely silent during them, until Zelgadis gave an impatient sigh. "Hey, you—" He'd tapped her on the shoulder, and without even one movement from the girl, Zelgadis was flung backwards into the stone wall, as though he'd been lifted up and thrown by a giant. He slid down the wall, pieces of brick and stone crumbling down behind him. Twitching, he looked up to see (and this enraged him even more) that the girl hadn't moved at all from her spot.

He stood up swiftly, bits of rubble tumbling down from the folds of his cloak. He opened his mouth to ask her, in a hopefully loud enough tone, what the hell she was doing, but before he could, the quiet humming radiating from the orb stopped, and her hands fell to her sides. She turned to face him in a flurry of purple robes, making a soft swishing sound, and as Zelgadis observed the short girl's face, which had been turned from him before, he saw that the girl's eyes were a striking, crystalline blue, a color close to that of a sapphire. He noticed that she bore a striking resemblance to someone he'd seen before…if only he could put his finger on it…! Ah, well.

He pulled his hood back up by instinct, and folded his arms in a businesslike manner, looking as though he held no particular interest in her. "I was looking for something."

The girl raised an eyebrow. "And you decided to look for it in the wall?"

Zelgadis glared. "Well, it wasn't much of a normal wall, if you paid attention to its appearance. Anyway, I was looking for—"

"Let me guess…" The girl held up a slender finger to silence him. "You have a problem, and you think that going to the nearest temple will help you. It's either your personality, your looks, or something that has to do with the opposite sex. Now, which is it?"

Zelgadis stared at her, but answered, "It's….it's my looks. Not that it's any of your business."

The girl laughed, mockingly. "Ah, I see now! With that attitude, it must be all three!"

Zelgadis balled up a fist, with his other hand inching towards his sword. "I don't know who the hell you think you are, but—"

"Oh, how rude of me not to introduce myself to a complete stranger!" The girl gasped in mock concern, clutching her face, and then smiled, folding her arms as well. "I'm the head shrine maiden at this temple…my name is Kimirah. And, by the way, don't even try to think of pulling your sword on me," she said dryly, gesturing towards his sword. "There've been other frustrated young men such as yourself that tried that."

Zelgadis narrowed his eyes in annoyance as his grip on the hilt relaxed. "Oh? And what exactly did you do to them?" he asked stiffly.

Kimirah smiled a smile that didn't quite reach those crystalline eyes. "Oh, I'll leave that for you to figure out." She gave a laugh that seemed to suggest anything but mercy, and swept past him towards the wall he'd been thrown into. As Zelgadis watched, feeling more frustrated than before, she began to stroke the liquid-like wall with her two forefingers.

"What are you doing…?"

Kimirah paid him no attention. She continued to stroke the filmy sea of white/amber…the fifth time she touched it, it made a sharp, whistling noise, much like the noise a sword makes when pulled out of its sheath, and her finger continued down to the floor. After she'd done so, and the whistling sound had stopped, she took a few steps and waited….Zelgadis looked back and forth, from her to the wall, and scoffed. "What was the point of that?"

No sooner than the words had come out of his mouth, a long, jagged, silver line appeared where Kimirah's finger had traced the wall. The area around the line began to crackle with a thunderous noise and bright blue sparks. A few minutes passed as Kimirah stared steadily at the line, until she flung out her left hand at it…the crackling died down, and the line split, revealing a passageway to the room from before.

Kimirah grinned at him brightly. "Go ahead! It's very simple."

Zelgadis scowled heavily and muttered, hesitantly, as though he wanted to say something before he went but couldn't think of a thing, so he stalked past her, his eyes narrowed down to slits as he passed through the portal.

He felt the solid ground again, and looked around to see the familiar liquid-like white/amber walls, and was very cautious to keep at least a five-foot distance from them.

"Wary, aren't we?"

Zelgadis turned to find the smirking shrine maiden coming from the portal, as she clasped her hands in the folds of her robes while the portal zipped back to it's normal appearance. He glanced at her with a frown. "How'd you do that?"

"This temple is sacred. There are many secrets that dwell in the confines of this shrine, and ultimate protection is necessary to keep out unsuspecting intruders, such as yourself, Mister…?"

"Graywords….Zelgadis Graywords…."

Kimirah's mouth suddenly changed into the shape of an "o", and the look in her crystalline eyes was slightly surprised. However, she recovered from this strange expression to reply, "Zelgadis. I see." She seemed to be observing him closely, and under the uncomfortable gaze of those piercing sapphire irises, Zelgadis frowned even deeper.

"What kind of shrine maiden are you?"

Kimirah chuckled, stroking her chin thoughtfully with a slender hand. "What do you mean by that?"

Zelgadis looked at her somewhat scornfully. "Well…I have five reasons for that question."

"Go ahead."

He began ticking off the reasons on his fingers. "For one, you seem to be more powerful than other shrine maidens I've met…you're in charge of the entire temple… you must be slightly in tune with psychic power, because you were reading a crystal orb, and you appeared to have the abilities of a Seer." His hands fell to his sides as he finished.

Kimirah blinked. "Didn't you have a fifth reason?" she asked calmly.

"Oh, yeah…this may just be my opinion, and this doesn't go for most shrine maidens, but you're also a bit of a smart-ass…"

He caught a quick image of Kimirah shooting him a look of venom before he felt something heavy crash down on the top of his head, sending him six inches further down than the floor was supposed to go. Beginning to feel a migraine coming on from all the head injuries, he lifted his head up again. Kimirah still hadn't moved from her spot, but the muscles around her eyes were twitching, as though it was taking all of her willpower to keep from inflicting more bodily harm onto him.

"You were almost one hundred percent correct! I'm a more powerful shrine maiden because of my psychic ability. I am in training to be a Seer, besides head of this shrine, and…" She knelt down almost to his level. "I am not a smart-ass."

"I'll take your word for it…" Zelgadis was sure to tone down the sarcasm drip to a minimum as he got back on his feet, stepping over the dent in the floor. "Anyway…I came here to look for a cure for a chimeric curse. Do you have a library?"

Kimirah nodded, her nerves temporarily soothed. "I'll have to lead you to it, though, if you don't want to go poking around in any more of the protective walls. We'll start by going forward." She looked sincerely serious, but there was no way Zelgadis could take it as anything other than jest.

"As long as I'm not bothered…this is important and I need to stay focused." Focus is all that matters right now, he thought, as he turned on his feet to begin walking towards the doorway; he thought he heard her murmur softly, "Are you sure?" and looked over his shoulder at her, but she was following him calmly and attentively. He shrugged to himself and kept walking.

…;::..;::*::;..::;…

It was quite a few hours later, near sundown, when Zelgadis had gotten to the fifth shelf of books. He sat amongst the piles of yellowed pages and age-old scrolls, skimming down a page of shrine reverence rules and wishing he had a large pot of coffee, because he'd be able to down the thing in one gulp right about now.

He heard a rustling noise near the doorway, and a polite but obvious cough. He glanced up to see Kimirah folding her arms over her chest, and he sighed in exasperation. "I'm working."

Kimirah shrugged. "Alright, but I suggest you take a break. How many shelves have you done?"

"Five," replied Zelgadis absently, reaching over to set a book on top of the shortest pile. "Why?"

"Oh!" she said cheerfully. "That means you should get something to eat. You do have about…" she calculated swiftly on her fingers. "Four hundred forty-five shelves left. Probably eight hundred ninety, if you're talking in terms of checking both sides of the shelves." She smiled innocently at the sight of Zel's thunderstruck face as he dropped the book he'd been holding.

He clenched a fist quietly. "You could have told me….so I would have had a simpler way…to get through all of the damn books…" His eyelid twitched, but Kimirah was undisturbed.

"Oh, don't worry about it! You need something in your system after all the walking and talking and searching and annoying…"

Zelgadis raised an eyebrow. "Annoying?"

The shrine maiden ignored his remark. "Now, let's think…" She gazed absentmindedly at the high ceiling. Zelgadis grimaced. It was starting to really piss him off, the way she took things so lightly, even if she did it without a prior thought.

That, of course, was until she announced her suggestion. "I know! Coffee! Of course, it's unhealthy to be addicted…but nothing will lift a soul up, or keep them awake, at least, like coffee! I'll be back in a minute." With that, she turned on foot with a "whoosh" of her skirts and headed towards her crystal orb room.

Zelgadis slumped against the wooden back of the shelf. No matter that he would be served coffee free of charge in a few minutes…things hadn't been going as well as he'd thought they would. He was nowhere near finding something even remotely related to chimeras, and was beginning to think he should have at least tried to locate a temple with a suitable library instead of running out so recklessly…

Then again, this was his only choice.

Wasn't it?

"I'm back!" The amazingly cheery voice of Kimirah broke into his brief train of thought as he lifted his drooping head to see her standing directly next to him, holding a large, steaming pot and a mug. Zelgadis took the cup from her slowly after she'd filled it with coffee.

"Thanks…" he said, cupping his hands around the mug and inhaling the satisfying scent of the strong, dark brew. If anything could soothe his nerves, it was coffee. Thank God for coffee. He took a long sip and sighed.

Kimirah watched him sitting there with a look that was quite contrary to his previous mood and wondered if all chimeras were so very strange! She shrugged and cleared her throat again. "If you don't mind, Zelgadis….I have quite a lot of work to do. As I told you before, I'm in training to be a Seer as well as head shrine maiden here, so I'll need to finish what I was doing when you interrupted." She smiled.

For such a strange person, she was remarkably bland, Zelgadis thought to himself. He nodded slowly up at her and sipped his coffee again. "Fine with me."

"Well, I'll be at work all night, and I'm quite sure you'll want to leave before then." Her face was pleasant, but Zelgadis was sure she was trying hard not to snigger at the situation. "So help yourself to the knowledge in these books, and do come again if you feel the need. Oh, and next time use the door like a normal person."

Zelgadis blinked again. "Yeah, sure…." He watched her turn with a flurry of skirts again, as she strode out the door. Such a bother. Sip sip. He continued flipping through Encyclopedia of Curses, of course, with no further luck, but he kept looking, forging the idea in his head that this temple had nothing to offer that would be of any use…

…;::..;::*::;..::;…

Two more hours has passed, and Zelgadis's patience had been worn from finger thick to paper-thin. He threw down the last book in the "C" section and it landed on the floor, bits of the yellowed parchment fluttering to the dusty ground. He tied his sword back at his waist, threw his hood over his head, and began stalking out the back door of the library, which led out into a lush garden.

He stopped, still fuming, in front of a large, stone fountain with a life-size statue of a shrine maiden from many ages past. The fountain was covered rather artistically with a collection of vines, which twisted all around the statue and on most of the forest floor, giving the garden a hunter green aura. The group of large willow trees towering over the area gave it the look of an enclosed grove. It was a simple place for thought.

But Zelgadis had no more room for thought. His head ached from a storm of anger and frustration, and in that moment, looking out at the tranquil surroundings, he felt as though he were being torn apart from the inside. He clutched his head for a second, and the next, his fist had landed on the wall of the fountain, cracking the stone enclosure, and the water began to spill out from the miniature hole. But he didn't care. The temple had been of no help, and that only raised his temper even more.

Oh, too bad…you'll have to pay for that. He heard an annoyingly familiar female voice sigh from…the shadows? He whirled around, his eyes darting from corner to corner, but finding nothing.

What…? Where are you? He thought, only to hear the same slightly blasé voice reply, Look up.

He stared up. Only the green canopy of leaves. He balled his hand into a fist. "Quit fooling around, damn you!" he said loudly, causing the birds in the trees to scatter into the skies.

Language, language, Zelgadis, came the reply. I was only kidding. Don't you remember me telling you of my psychic ability?

Zelgadis released his grip. The fountain water was still spilling out quietly beneath his feet. Yes…he thought, understanding now. You're in my head.

Correct! said the cheerful voice of Kimirah. Such a clever man! I was wondering if you'd fall for that again. Many have run off screaming when they hear voices here. Of course, I never told them I was speaking telekinetically in their minds. Silly fools. But such fun! Zelgadis heard a triumphant giggle and clenched his teeth.

Are you going to rant on in my head, or do you have something to say of importance before I leave this stupid temple? He glared up at the canopy of leaves as though she could see him from there. I have things to do, Kimirah. Say what you want and leave me alone.

So serious…have you thought of anger management? Because from the looks of my precious fountain, you could use it. An obnoxious chuckling followed her suggestion.

Zelgadis folded his arms, his eyes still narrowed. What do you want!?

Very well, on with business. I thought I should talk to you before you storm out again.

Zelgadis blinked. Again?

Mm-hmm! came the reply. I know you had something of the sort on your mind when you came. Actually, I knew everything on your mind.

Zelgadis scoffed. You read minds, so what? What would you know about my past?

A lot, actually! Or, at least, I should say, recent parts of it? Kimirah sounded smug, from what Zelgadis could hear.

…Would you happen to be a Mazoku? In answer to that, he felt a sharp smack at the right side of his head, as though Kimirah were actually there.

Of course not, you stupid boy! I have psychic ability, remember? That means I can mimic hitting you, and that action will happen to you if I want it to. And don't you forget it! Kimirah's voice huffed.

I doubt I'll be able to, Zelgadis thought, glancing apprehensively to his right. So that means you heard everything I was thinking before?

Uh-huh.

Zelgadis nodded somewhat weakly. Ah.

Now, anyway. I've heard of your travels, Zelgadis. How you aided in the defeat of Ruby-Eye Shabranigdo. How you and your friends sought the Claire Bible without relent. How you helped in the battles against numerous Mazoku and Dark Lords. All with that sorceress, Lina Inverse, and Gourry Gabriev…and the princess of Seyruun, as well. She accented the last part of her sentence.

Zelgadis sat on the remaining part of the fountain wall, when all the water had drained out through the hole he created, knowing he was in for a long lecture of some sort. Yes.

Kimirah continued. Don't ask me how, because besides my abilities, you lot are quite famous in more than one town. She chuckled lightly. And I heard of your recent knighthood into Seyruun Court.

Zelgadis's stomach dropped a little. I see you lost no time researching the past three years of my life.

Now, just wait a minute, said Kimirah irritably. That doesn't mean I've been stalking you. But I know that you left the Court just today, didn't you?

Yes…Zelgadis answered slowly.

Why was that?

You think I would tell you? Zelgadis scoffed again. Think again. If all you're doing is prying into my personal life, then forget it. I'm out of here. He began proceeding towards the wrought-iron gate of the garden at a moderately swift pace, wanting nothing more than to get out of the stupid temple.

But Kimirah didn't quit. Oh, of course, you wouldn't want to talk about Amelia.

Zelgadis stopped so quickly he nearly stumbled forwards into the dirt. What do you care about Amelia?! He thought angrily. What do you know?

You seem to be afraid, said Kimirah.

Why in HELL would I be afraid?

Because you know nothing about handling love, she answered shortly. When Zelgadis didn't respond, she continued. You still have her bracelet?

How do you…? Zelgadis's voice went off track as he self-consciously pulled the bracelet from his inside cloak pocket. Even though Amelia had given it to him a seemingly long time ago, it was still there, still hidden away in the folds of his cloak…she'd given it to him shortly before he went off in search of his cure the first time. Then he and Lina and Gourry had ended up together again, and of course went to drag Amelia along for the ride.

Big surprise, he thought, ignoring the fact that Kimirah was still listening.

Yes, you kept it, didn't you? Even after you both ended up on the same road, together again…even after getting knighted….even after you came here. How cute! Kimirah's laugh was echoing through his head.

"What's your point? I nearly forgot it was there!" he said aloud again, and then thought about what he'd said. Nearly?

Yes, nearly…sighed Kimirah. You see, it is something that Amelia nearly forgot about as well, but only for a short while. Amelia never forgot about you. She never forgot about the bracelet. Or the promise, for that matter.

Well, it's better that she does now, anyway. Zelgadis's inner voice was bitter.

Kimirah's voice was softer, this time. But she hasn't.

She hasn't…? I stormed out of the palace. I yelled at her….for what she said…stupid girl. Yes, she's just a little girl!! A stupid little girl with stupid ideas!!!

Kimirah replied, softly, but determined and deliberate. But even if you think she's a stupid little girl…underneath, she's not so stupid to you. She's not so little anymore, that's for sure.

Zelgadis let out a frustrated groan. What are you getting at?

You know what I'm getting at, silly! Kimirah didn't sound any more cheerful even when calling him silly. Her voice was still stern. First of all, all the absences you've taken from one another haven't mattered. In fact, they've made you closer. You know what they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Zelgadis scoffed. Hmmph. Well, in my case, it made me stupid. I shouldn't have come back, with all that ridiculous knighting business.

But you came back. Kimirah's reply was deliberate. During this whole month, you've been seeing her with new eyes. She's more grown up, and you've seen that. She's also seen you for the true person you are, under that rocky head of yours. Of course, she knew most of that before this month. That's what she's been trying to tell you.

What do you mean? Zelgadis couldn't help but sound puzzled, however, in an equally irritated way.

You're scared to see with your new eyes, because you don't know what they'll see.

What the hell…?

Kimirah nodded matter-factly, even though he couldn't see. What they see is love.

(WHEW!! You know how LONG that took me? That's the longest chapter yet! Okay, I hope that wasn't too confusing for you, and I hope it wasn't too OOC. I hope you liked it, because I'm trying to keep true to the humor genre! More to come, I promise! ~*~Tams~*~)