Mazoku's Domain
Chapter 6
Jay-chan
Amelia lit the last candle Sylphiel gave her and stood back to admire
the beauty of her room once again. The candles were all the color of rich
cream and together they made the room feel very welcoming; however,
Amelia still felt troubled.
The argument she had with Lina earlier had her very worried. Lina said
that she was leaving and Lina always did what she said. During their short
friendship, Amelia learned a lot about Lina, like how stubborn and persistent
she was, but Amelia still admired her. Although Lina had many flaws, she still
was a good person, and would never truly hurt anyone.
"But still...Lina might actually leave," Amelia said quietly.
'...and go where?' a little voice asked her.
"I don't know, but that never stopped her before..." she answered.
'Good point.' the voice replied.
"Oh, that makes me feel better," Amelia muttered.
'What?!'
Amelia decided to ignore the inner voice. Instead she began to
examine her room from her sitting position on the bed. Her eyes traveled all
over the room for something to keep her occupied and after a few minutes
her eyes rested on the door. She let her eyes trace the grain of the dark
wood until she traced it to the foot of the door. From there, her eyes fell on
a clean white envelope.
It wasn't directly in front if her door, otherwise she would have
stepped on it, but it was pushed to the side from when she opened the door.
Amelia quickly got up and raced over to the blank envelope.
"Wow! Maybe its a secret admirer!" her eyes became big and dreamy
as she pictured a shadowy figure with mysterious eyes and big smile. She
sighed happily and ripped open the letter. Quickly scanning the letter her
smile faded and she realized that she was terribly mistaken.
"No..." Amelia read over the letter one last time before ran out of her
room and down the hall with tears in her eyes. "Zelgadis-sama! Lina-san is
gone!"
__________
After landing silently on the moist dirt, Lina made her way to the
estate stables Gourry had shown her. Ducking behind bushes and staying in
the shadows she quickly reached the side of house she needed to be.
A lantern was lit within the wooden structure and made the windows
glow with a warm golden light, making it look somewhat welcoming. Lina
sprinted across the open space between the main building and the stables
and ducked behind yet another bush beneath one of the glowing windows and
she cautiously peered threw the dirty glass.
Inside, she spotted Gourry making his last rounds. A carefree smile
graced his young face as he petted each horse in turn before he checked
their food supplies and locks. It wasn't long until Gourry finished left, taking
the lantern with him.
Lina watched the blond walk cheerfully to the house, humming a happy
tune, where he was met by Sylphiel. It wasn't until the door was closed and
the curtains were drawn before Lina moved from her hiding place. She
quickly picked the lock on the wooden sliding door and walked in.
All the horses looked in her direction when she walked in and greeted
her with a few snorts. She smiled slightly and left the door open before she
started to walk down the wide walkway covered in hay.
She looked over each horse, trying to find the fastest, when she
finally settled on a light gray one with one black ear and a black tail and
mane. She petted the horse once before grabbing the reins and opening the
stall's door.
__________
Zelgadis finally got Xelloss out of his hair by talking him into going to
his own estate, taking a very happy Mizu with him, when Amelia's panicked
shouts caught Zel's attention. Letting out a tired sigh, Zelgadis turned to
face Amelia as she came rushing down the stairs, nearly falling flat on her
face.
"What is it, Amelia?" Zelgadis looked down at the small brunet with a
curious gaze as she pushed a piece of stationary into his hands.
"Lina-san is gone!" she cried.
"What?!" Zelgadis opened the wrinkled piece of paper and quickly read
over the contents. It read;
Dear Amelia,
I told you that I would leave and you know I always do what I say I'm
going to do. I'm sorry I yelled at you this evening, I was frustrated. I hope
you have a happy life here. Good-bye.
~Lina~
PS.
Tell Zel that I'll take good care of his horse.
"Shit!" Zelgadis crushed the note in his hand and ran out the side door
towards the stables, Amelia close behind. He passed Gourry and Sylphiel as
he ran threw the kitchen and slammed the side door open.
"Lina!" Zelgadis heard the horses from within the stables cry before
Lina came bursting through the open door and out into the night.
__________
Lina just finished buckling the saddle onto the horse's back, when she
heard the sudden slamming of the kitchen door as it
was thrown open.
"Lina!" Then she heard Zelgadis' voice.
"Damn it!" Lina quickly swung herself onto the horse's back and kicked
at his
sides. He let out a startled 'neigh' before rearing onto it's hind legs and
running for the door. Lina could hear the other horse's cries as she went
through the open stable door, where she was greeted by the cool night air.
Lina looked behind her and saw Zelgadis run for the stables and
emerge on his same white horse and come after her; however, she was
already entering the surrounding forest.
__________
Zelgadis ran for the stables and mounted onto his bare back, not
bothering with a saddle. Zelgadis had learned to ride bare back a long time
ago and now he was thankful.
Once Zelgadis emerged from the stables he saw Lina disappear into
the dark shadows of the trees, but he didn't slow. He had to catch up with
her and bring her back. For her sake. He knew these forests better than
anyone, so he aware of the dangers as well. And when Zelgadis felt a droplet
of water fall on his nose it didn't make him feel any better.
"Damn, this rain is going to make this a lot harder..." he mumbled. Lina
would be defenseless with the collar he left on her. He was hoping that it
would prevent her from doing this because of her lack of magic, but
it was obvious that he was wrong. He could only pray that he would reach her
before she got herself killed.
__________
The forest seemed strangely loud to Lina as she sped through the
thick foliage. The horse's galloping feet were accompanied by the loud
patter of the heavy rain fall around her and the swishing of the greenery as
it passed by.
Lina ducked as they passed a low hanging branch, but was almost hit
by the next one when Zelgadis' voice rang out from behind her. Again she
kicked the horse and tried to speed its pace.
__________
It didn't take long for Zel to catch up to Lina since his horse was
faster. Once she was in site he called out her name in some vain attempt to
stop her, if not to slow her down, but instead she sped up. Zelgadis let out an
annoyed growl as he too, kicked his horse and started to gain on Lina once
again.
__________
"Damn it! Why won't this guy just give up!" Lina growled as smacked
the horse again and leaned forward, but still Zelgadis gained and before Lina
knew it, Zel was practically next to her. They were nearing a clearing and
the rain was coming down even harder now, almost blinding both of them.
Zelgadis finally gave up on trying to grab the reins from Lina, and so
he decided on a more direct approach. Carefully, he moved to one side of his
horse and leapt onto Lina's. With the momentum from the sudden flight,
Zelgadis was able to take Lina by surprise and pulled her from her saddle,
causing the two to topple onto the muddy forest floor, Zel on top.
Lina had the wind knocked out of her from the impact and could hear
at least two of her ribs cracking when Zel landed on top of her. Lina turn
bright red with the thought of how indecent the two of them must have
looked. So she did the only thing she could think of...
"GET THE HELL OFF ME!!!!"
Zelgadis was still a little disoriented when Lina yelled at him, so
without thinking, he rolled off her, looking just as red as she was. After
doing so, Lina quickly, if not carefully, sat up and tried to ignore the
screaming pain coming from her cracked ribs and scraped elbows.
Once she was on her feet, Lina ran strait from the forest, only to be
tackled to the ground again. Lina let out a startled yelp as she was quickly
spun onto her back and pinned down by a stronger Zelgadis. His hands had
her arms pinned above her head and he was sitting on her legs, making
movement impossible.
Lina cursed and struggled for a second before locking gazes with the
Mazoku Lord. He didn't look too happy, but the feeling was mutual between
the two.
"What the hell do you thing you were doing?! You could have gotten
yourself killed!" Zelgadis all but yelled. "Do you realize how many dangers are
in this forest!?"
"For your information, I do!" Lina yelled back. "Besides, I can take
care of my own!"
Zelgadis got a coy look on his face and smirked, "Oh? Then why were
you caught by the slave traders? Why did you let Seigram almost break your
arm in the slave pen? Why did you allow yourself to be sold?"
"......" was Lina's witty reply.
Zel arched a slender eyebrow, his smirk never leaving his face. "No
smart-ass comebacks? No insulting comments?" Lina turned her head and
looked away from Zelgadis. Zel suddenly felt like a real jerk.
Zelgadis suddenly sighed and bowed his head slightly, "I'm sorry, that
was uncalled for." Lina turned her head back suddenly to face the Mazoku
Lord's sudden apology, her eyes large with surprise and her mouth slightly
open, only to come nose to nose with him. They both blushed slightly before
Zel lifted his head more.
"W-why are you apologizing?" Lina asked.
"Well, I didn't mean to be so harsh..." Lina interrupted him.
"No, I mean, you're a Mazoku Lord!"
"What does that have to do with it?" Zelgadis asked.
"No Mazoku Lord ever apologizes. They always think they're right."
Lina answered bitterly.
"I already told you, I'm not like them," Zelgadis replied before he
started to get up. "Come on, we should go, the rain is getting worse and this
area floods."
Lina suddenly got her stubborn streak back, "And why should I go
back?"
"I hate to tell you this, but you're going back weather you want to or
not," again two stubborn personalities clashed.
"Oh, are you going to make me?"
"If I have to, yes. I refuse to leave you out here in the cold and let
you die!" Zelgadis growled, taking Lina's hand, but Lina didn't move, instead
she just gawked before a small smile graced her face.
"You are different..." Lina stared up into the pair of crystalline blue
eyes before her (I don't care if they really are green! They're blue in my
story, so there! :P) and snickered.
"Huh? What are you laughing at?" Lina continued to laugh and pointed
at Zelgadis. "What?!"
"Y-you're all muddy!" Lina said between her laughter. Zel looked down
at himself and smirked. It was true, he was covered, head to foot, in mud. Of
course so was Lina.
"Look whose talking," Zel smiled. and took Lina's hand again and hauled
her to her feet. Suddenly Lina gasped and started to fall again, clutching her
side. Her cracked ribs had been completely broken in half by the second fall
and now it felt like she had a pair of arrows protruding from her side. Lina
ground her teeth together and tried to fight the darkness that tried to
consume her; however, she soon passed out.
"Lina!" Zelgadis quickly caught the falling girl.
Chapter 6
Jay-chan
Amelia lit the last candle Sylphiel gave her and stood back to admire
the beauty of her room once again. The candles were all the color of rich
cream and together they made the room feel very welcoming; however,
Amelia still felt troubled.
The argument she had with Lina earlier had her very worried. Lina said
that she was leaving and Lina always did what she said. During their short
friendship, Amelia learned a lot about Lina, like how stubborn and persistent
she was, but Amelia still admired her. Although Lina had many flaws, she still
was a good person, and would never truly hurt anyone.
"But still...Lina might actually leave," Amelia said quietly.
'...and go where?' a little voice asked her.
"I don't know, but that never stopped her before..." she answered.
'Good point.' the voice replied.
"Oh, that makes me feel better," Amelia muttered.
'What?!'
Amelia decided to ignore the inner voice. Instead she began to
examine her room from her sitting position on the bed. Her eyes traveled all
over the room for something to keep her occupied and after a few minutes
her eyes rested on the door. She let her eyes trace the grain of the dark
wood until she traced it to the foot of the door. From there, her eyes fell on
a clean white envelope.
It wasn't directly in front if her door, otherwise she would have
stepped on it, but it was pushed to the side from when she opened the door.
Amelia quickly got up and raced over to the blank envelope.
"Wow! Maybe its a secret admirer!" her eyes became big and dreamy
as she pictured a shadowy figure with mysterious eyes and big smile. She
sighed happily and ripped open the letter. Quickly scanning the letter her
smile faded and she realized that she was terribly mistaken.
"No..." Amelia read over the letter one last time before ran out of her
room and down the hall with tears in her eyes. "Zelgadis-sama! Lina-san is
gone!"
__________
After landing silently on the moist dirt, Lina made her way to the
estate stables Gourry had shown her. Ducking behind bushes and staying in
the shadows she quickly reached the side of house she needed to be.
A lantern was lit within the wooden structure and made the windows
glow with a warm golden light, making it look somewhat welcoming. Lina
sprinted across the open space between the main building and the stables
and ducked behind yet another bush beneath one of the glowing windows and
she cautiously peered threw the dirty glass.
Inside, she spotted Gourry making his last rounds. A carefree smile
graced his young face as he petted each horse in turn before he checked
their food supplies and locks. It wasn't long until Gourry finished left, taking
the lantern with him.
Lina watched the blond walk cheerfully to the house, humming a happy
tune, where he was met by Sylphiel. It wasn't until the door was closed and
the curtains were drawn before Lina moved from her hiding place. She
quickly picked the lock on the wooden sliding door and walked in.
All the horses looked in her direction when she walked in and greeted
her with a few snorts. She smiled slightly and left the door open before she
started to walk down the wide walkway covered in hay.
She looked over each horse, trying to find the fastest, when she
finally settled on a light gray one with one black ear and a black tail and
mane. She petted the horse once before grabbing the reins and opening the
stall's door.
__________
Zelgadis finally got Xelloss out of his hair by talking him into going to
his own estate, taking a very happy Mizu with him, when Amelia's panicked
shouts caught Zel's attention. Letting out a tired sigh, Zelgadis turned to
face Amelia as she came rushing down the stairs, nearly falling flat on her
face.
"What is it, Amelia?" Zelgadis looked down at the small brunet with a
curious gaze as she pushed a piece of stationary into his hands.
"Lina-san is gone!" she cried.
"What?!" Zelgadis opened the wrinkled piece of paper and quickly read
over the contents. It read;
Dear Amelia,
I told you that I would leave and you know I always do what I say I'm
going to do. I'm sorry I yelled at you this evening, I was frustrated. I hope
you have a happy life here. Good-bye.
~Lina~
PS.
Tell Zel that I'll take good care of his horse.
"Shit!" Zelgadis crushed the note in his hand and ran out the side door
towards the stables, Amelia close behind. He passed Gourry and Sylphiel as
he ran threw the kitchen and slammed the side door open.
"Lina!" Zelgadis heard the horses from within the stables cry before
Lina came bursting through the open door and out into the night.
__________
Lina just finished buckling the saddle onto the horse's back, when she
heard the sudden slamming of the kitchen door as it
was thrown open.
"Lina!" Then she heard Zelgadis' voice.
"Damn it!" Lina quickly swung herself onto the horse's back and kicked
at his
sides. He let out a startled 'neigh' before rearing onto it's hind legs and
running for the door. Lina could hear the other horse's cries as she went
through the open stable door, where she was greeted by the cool night air.
Lina looked behind her and saw Zelgadis run for the stables and
emerge on his same white horse and come after her; however, she was
already entering the surrounding forest.
__________
Zelgadis ran for the stables and mounted onto his bare back, not
bothering with a saddle. Zelgadis had learned to ride bare back a long time
ago and now he was thankful.
Once Zelgadis emerged from the stables he saw Lina disappear into
the dark shadows of the trees, but he didn't slow. He had to catch up with
her and bring her back. For her sake. He knew these forests better than
anyone, so he aware of the dangers as well. And when Zelgadis felt a droplet
of water fall on his nose it didn't make him feel any better.
"Damn, this rain is going to make this a lot harder..." he mumbled. Lina
would be defenseless with the collar he left on her. He was hoping that it
would prevent her from doing this because of her lack of magic, but
it was obvious that he was wrong. He could only pray that he would reach her
before she got herself killed.
__________
The forest seemed strangely loud to Lina as she sped through the
thick foliage. The horse's galloping feet were accompanied by the loud
patter of the heavy rain fall around her and the swishing of the greenery as
it passed by.
Lina ducked as they passed a low hanging branch, but was almost hit
by the next one when Zelgadis' voice rang out from behind her. Again she
kicked the horse and tried to speed its pace.
__________
It didn't take long for Zel to catch up to Lina since his horse was
faster. Once she was in site he called out her name in some vain attempt to
stop her, if not to slow her down, but instead she sped up. Zelgadis let out an
annoyed growl as he too, kicked his horse and started to gain on Lina once
again.
__________
"Damn it! Why won't this guy just give up!" Lina growled as smacked
the horse again and leaned forward, but still Zelgadis gained and before Lina
knew it, Zel was practically next to her. They were nearing a clearing and
the rain was coming down even harder now, almost blinding both of them.
Zelgadis finally gave up on trying to grab the reins from Lina, and so
he decided on a more direct approach. Carefully, he moved to one side of his
horse and leapt onto Lina's. With the momentum from the sudden flight,
Zelgadis was able to take Lina by surprise and pulled her from her saddle,
causing the two to topple onto the muddy forest floor, Zel on top.
Lina had the wind knocked out of her from the impact and could hear
at least two of her ribs cracking when Zel landed on top of her. Lina turn
bright red with the thought of how indecent the two of them must have
looked. So she did the only thing she could think of...
"GET THE HELL OFF ME!!!!"
Zelgadis was still a little disoriented when Lina yelled at him, so
without thinking, he rolled off her, looking just as red as she was. After
doing so, Lina quickly, if not carefully, sat up and tried to ignore the
screaming pain coming from her cracked ribs and scraped elbows.
Once she was on her feet, Lina ran strait from the forest, only to be
tackled to the ground again. Lina let out a startled yelp as she was quickly
spun onto her back and pinned down by a stronger Zelgadis. His hands had
her arms pinned above her head and he was sitting on her legs, making
movement impossible.
Lina cursed and struggled for a second before locking gazes with the
Mazoku Lord. He didn't look too happy, but the feeling was mutual between
the two.
"What the hell do you thing you were doing?! You could have gotten
yourself killed!" Zelgadis all but yelled. "Do you realize how many dangers are
in this forest!?"
"For your information, I do!" Lina yelled back. "Besides, I can take
care of my own!"
Zelgadis got a coy look on his face and smirked, "Oh? Then why were
you caught by the slave traders? Why did you let Seigram almost break your
arm in the slave pen? Why did you allow yourself to be sold?"
"......" was Lina's witty reply.
Zel arched a slender eyebrow, his smirk never leaving his face. "No
smart-ass comebacks? No insulting comments?" Lina turned her head and
looked away from Zelgadis. Zel suddenly felt like a real jerk.
Zelgadis suddenly sighed and bowed his head slightly, "I'm sorry, that
was uncalled for." Lina turned her head back suddenly to face the Mazoku
Lord's sudden apology, her eyes large with surprise and her mouth slightly
open, only to come nose to nose with him. They both blushed slightly before
Zel lifted his head more.
"W-why are you apologizing?" Lina asked.
"Well, I didn't mean to be so harsh..." Lina interrupted him.
"No, I mean, you're a Mazoku Lord!"
"What does that have to do with it?" Zelgadis asked.
"No Mazoku Lord ever apologizes. They always think they're right."
Lina answered bitterly.
"I already told you, I'm not like them," Zelgadis replied before he
started to get up. "Come on, we should go, the rain is getting worse and this
area floods."
Lina suddenly got her stubborn streak back, "And why should I go
back?"
"I hate to tell you this, but you're going back weather you want to or
not," again two stubborn personalities clashed.
"Oh, are you going to make me?"
"If I have to, yes. I refuse to leave you out here in the cold and let
you die!" Zelgadis growled, taking Lina's hand, but Lina didn't move, instead
she just gawked before a small smile graced her face.
"You are different..." Lina stared up into the pair of crystalline blue
eyes before her (I don't care if they really are green! They're blue in my
story, so there! :P) and snickered.
"Huh? What are you laughing at?" Lina continued to laugh and pointed
at Zelgadis. "What?!"
"Y-you're all muddy!" Lina said between her laughter. Zel looked down
at himself and smirked. It was true, he was covered, head to foot, in mud. Of
course so was Lina.
"Look whose talking," Zel smiled. and took Lina's hand again and hauled
her to her feet. Suddenly Lina gasped and started to fall again, clutching her
side. Her cracked ribs had been completely broken in half by the second fall
and now it felt like she had a pair of arrows protruding from her side. Lina
ground her teeth together and tried to fight the darkness that tried to
consume her; however, she soon passed out.
"Lina!" Zelgadis quickly caught the falling girl.