Amethyst Eyes
Chapter 1 :"Winter's Reality"
by Baka no Ame-Chan
Reality uncovered, thoughts turned to lies
All that is seen is nothing but the tears cried
The light nothing but a flicker in the power of the darkness
There was no way to win this fight
Some things are just meant to die.
A cold wind blew through the little castle in Saillune. Amelia stood on the balcony over looking her kingdom. The wind gently ruffled her hair about, her eyes slowly closing as she took in a breath of the crisp air, then exhaled with a sigh. Winter's coming had always seemed to drag her down. Everything dies, leaving things so decollate and lonely. It was every winter the pain would return. The first year of being gone from Miss Lina and the group had been hard enough. It had mounted to now 4 and a half years, in counting, since she last left the crazy sorceress. She missed those times, being with her friends, going on missions, fighting for justice! After all, she *was* the defender of all that is good, wasn't she? The kingdom needed her, she knew that. But during this time there was little one could do, and it always made her remember. She looked down, plucking a red rose gently from a flower pot nearby and twirling it in her hands, watching the petals slowly fall off, drifting to the ground beneath her as light as a feather. A tear slowly drifted down her cheek. She wondered what the others where doing now. Lina was probably on another adventure looking for some lost relic, or priceless gem, along with the blonde swordsman. She smiled a bit remembering how Gourry and Lina would always fight over their meals. Her smile soon faded as she remembered Zelgadis. "Mr. Zelgadis..." she whispered to herself silently. She remembered he had set off for a cure to his curse. Tears began streaming down her cheeks. She hated winter, hated it! She turned her back to the balcony, thoughts racing through her mind. "He has probably forgotten all about me.. I haven't seen him.. or anyone.. for so long!" She began to sob silently as she fell to her knees, her hands covering her face. She pushed Zelgadis to the deepest corners of her mind, as Filia entered in his place. She remembered Filia well, and wondered how she was doing herself. Always fighting with that mazoku. Suddenly Xelloss popped into her mind. She shuddered, remembering Xelloss' unearthly smile.. always smiling, she couldn't remember a time when he wasn't. Those eyes.. so cold.. She admitted to herself she always was a little afraid of him, but she tried her best not to let that show. She shook her head, she didn't want to remember anymore about anyone. She whipped the tears from her face and stood up, brushing off her dress. Crying on a balcony was no place for a princess, especially a defender of justice, as she! She walked into her bedroom, taking a seat on her bed, the silken dress she wore gently swishing against the ground. She shivered, for it was fairly cold to be wearing such a dress. She took out a parchment and a quill pen and wrote down some notes to herself. She would make plans for the remainder of the day, and early tomorrow. She had to keep herself busy if she wanted to forget about her loneliness. She had more important things to do. She heard from her father of a person terrorizing a kingdom not far out from her own, a mazoku, she assumed. She would hunt the evil dour down and punish him or her for betrayal of justice. Little did she know then exactly what she was getting into. She promised her father, King Phil, that she wouldn't leave the area this time of year, especially with the danger that the mazoku may be heading for their kingdom. He cared dearly for his only daughter, he wasn't about to loose her as he had his own wife so long ago. But.. promises are meant to be broken. She thought of this then nodded to herself in agreement. It was her duty to restore peace to the citizens and peace she would restore at all costs! She jotted down some plans and consulted a map for directions. Standing, placing the parchment on her nightstand, she opened up her closet, removing her old outfit she wore when traveling with Lina and co. She ran her fingers over the cloth.. it had been a while since she wore this, since it reminded her so of her dear friends that she missed dreadfully. But in a case like this it was mandatory. Pulling another parchment out from her nightstand, she scribbled up an excuse of her absence. In the time she had been away from everyone she had learned quite a few new things, one being a creative mind. Which assisted her greatly when she had such missions to go on, along with some other miscellaneous traits which served her in one way or another. She folded the note delicately and placed the royal seal upon it, then hid inside her diary. She pushed the diary in the back of her closet then closed the doors. She picked up the first parchment she had started on and looked at the list of things to do. She breathed a heavy sigh as she shoved it under her arm and ran from her room, having much to do with so little time to do it in.
"Gourry!!!" Lina screamed as she clenched her hands together in frustration. She grabbed onto the chicken leg as if it where the last piece of food on earth, tugging with all her strength. "I saw it first!!" Gourry tugged back equally as hard. "But I was the one who took it!" A pale blue hand reached out, taking the chicken leg swiftly from them both, pearly white teeth sinking into the tender flesh. Zelgadis chewed on it as he turned his back, heading to the tree which he had been currently leaning on. "Thanks" he said dryly as he continued munching on the chicken leg. Lina and Gourry first gazed in surprise, then angry. Lina picked up the picnic basket she was carrying and hurled it at Zelgadis. "That was mine!!" Gourry and Lina both dived at Zelgadis.. him sidestepping while Lina and Gourry continued a full blown attack on what they thought was Zelgadis, but actually each other. He watched with slight amusement as a slew of curses and of course, spells, where unleashed upon the missing target. Leaning his head back, he thought of why he had come to this place in the first place.
-Flashback-
Zelgadis was walking through a quiet little town.. or it appeared quiet
until a loud voice echoed throughout the area. "BAKA!!!" He identified
the voice of none other then the "famous" Lina Inverse. He had finally
found his way out of the desert, unsuccessful, tired, and full of anxiety.
He headed towards the voice, sure enough, there was Lina and Gourry
battling it out over.. what else, food. He swiftly turned to leave when
Gourry spotted him. "Hey, that guy looks a lot like Zelgadis!" Lina
looked over, having Gourry by the collar. "Jelly-Fish brains that *is*
Zelgadis!" They both headed over, Zelgadis letting out a sigh of defeat.
They talked over how their journey's had gone, how they where, and old
times. By the time they where done it was nightfall, and pitch black.
They couldn't go walking in the dark, so they picked out an inn to stay in
for the night. Lina went out, saying she was going to check around the
little town to see if there was anything worth her interest. After about 4
hours, it was about One O'clock when Lina rushed
into the inn, waving a book wildly in her hand. She skid to a stop, her
eyes portraying a look of excitement. "Zelgadis! Bird-Brain! Come
here! Look what I've got!" Lina went on, showing the book to the two
curious men. Contained inside was information of a certain amethyst
mirror that was supposed to make a wish of whoever holds it come true.
Zelgadis' eyes flashed with surprise. Could it be? Could this.. mirror
actually cure him?! What does he have to loose? They all nodded in
agreement, they would start a quest to find this mystery mirror, and
maybe.. just maybe, be rid of this curse for good.
-End Flashback-
He was still in search of that damned mirror. It had been 5 good months since he had started on this journey and all they gained from it was corns on their feet. He groaned some, angry at the progress thus far, but he believed no matter how long if it somehow ridded him of this curse it was worth it. He folded his arms over his chest, continuing to watch Lina and Gourry fight their invisible apponant, the chill of the air brushing across Zelgadis' cheek, the same chill Amelia had felt not too long ago, only around Zelgadis, a lot colder.. matching his pride..
It was dark, too dark. The townspeople where all a buzz. The appearance of this.. trickster had caused a major riot to form, everyone in a panic. Everyone, except the silently creator of the chaos. Deep Amethyst eyes watched from the shadows as old women talked of the events caused by himself, how little children where dragged into their homes crying because of his presence. For the past couple of days he had stolen food then made it fall down, crashing upon the rocks. He made babies cry, made houses full of panic and frustration. He enjoyed every moment of it. The smile on his face spread into a dastardly sinister grin. It was wonderful feeding off all of these feelings of these pitiful people. The pain of the children being dragged into their homes against their will, the coldness in the mothers tones, the worried voices of the old women. Ahh.. he could do this forever. But, he knew it would eventually get boring and he'd have to find another form of amusement. Those amethyst eyes glowed with an ethereal glint, lavender hair falling over them as an evil laugh was let loose as he faded from the area to begin some more havoc in the night. This was definitely going to be entertaining.. for the time being. Yes, this was the perfect place for the trickster priest called Xelloss, and he intended on milking the pleasure of it until there was not one last drop left.
