The Man In the Stone Mask
By Terra
The Epilogue
'Talk not of wasted affection. Affection was never wasted.' - Longfellow
Black. Black is a pretty color. That was a really pointless thing to write. Black is
absolutely nothing. Black is not a color. A color is light reflecting or being absorbed by
an object. Black is completely absorbed thus producing no color.
Now, black with colored specks is fascinating. It's usually a sign that one is
waking. Just as Amelia soon discovered.
The black vanished, replaced with this red and peach blob. The colors became more
defined and separated to form...
"Lina..."
Lina looked down at Amelia, "You're awake, you've been out for three hours!"
"Lina..." continuing on as if she had no interruption, "I had the weirdest dream. I
had a dream that I was marrying Kiros but it wasn't Kiros, it was Zelgadis... it was all
very strange..." Amelia sat up, although Lina tried to lay her back down. "I hope Kiros is
feeling better now... am I late for the wedding now? I hope I haven't worried Kiros..."
Amelia tilted her head to look at her window but something was blocking her view.
She shrieked and bundled herself up in the sheets.
"I didn't realize you hated me that much," Zelgadis replied.
"Maybe that chill was caused by poor insulation..." Chenoa mused quickly. Zelgadis
shrugged.
"Where's Kiros?"
"You liked him better?" Zelgadis asked.
"Well, not really, but one gets a little concerned when one's groom turns into
somebody else!"
Chenoa ignored her and took out a little notebook and flipped through its pages. She found
the right page, then she took out a little pencil and wrote in it. Chenoa patted Zel on the
shoulder and declared, "That makes four faintings! Two in a row, no less!"
Paul was kneeling in front of Phil, "Mother, I really think he's dead."
Not looking up, Chenoa replied, "He's not dead, Paul. Will you please drop the
subject?"
"But, Mother, he hasn't blinked for a really long time... shouldn't we call a doctor
or something?"
"Hello? Can you hear us? Are we in a different universe than you?" Lina demanded
while Amelia asked, "What exactly are you doing? Why is me fainting so special?"
"Well, as High Priestess, I have to record special things like that. It's my job,"
Chenoa chirped.
"Your job is write down how many faintings have occurred since whenever you're doing
this by?" Amelia asked.
"That's not my ONLY job but yes, that's one of them," Chenoa reasoned.
"What kind of stupid job is that?!" Lina gasped.
"Didn't I just say it's not my only duty?"
Gourry decided to cut in, "What are you High Priestess of?"
"Well, it depends on whether the Master is in female form or male form. Right now,
the Master is in male form."
"Okay, what is the male name?" Lina asked, getting fed up with this woman.
"Kiros."
"But wasn't that who I was..." Amelia wondered.
"Exactly. You were marrying the Master."
Silence hung. Then the Silence fell. Then it landed, "WHAAAAT?!"
Lina took charge, "Back up! Kiros was a god?"
"Or goddess. Depending on her host," Chenoa replied calmly.
"HOST?! You mean the Kiros of Ryo was only a shell?"
"That's really harsh," Zel interrupted.
"Kiros of Ryo was the Master, not the host."
"Then who was the host?" Amelia asked.
"Is. And I am," Zel replied.
"You're a host? Like Rezo was?"
"Yes, Rezo was host to two gods, Ruby-Eye and Kiros, this is the main reason he
went insane. The two gods hated each other," Zel replied.
"So, you're just a puppet?" Amelia asked, cautiously.
"NO!!!" Chenoa and Zel said at once, annoyed at their stupidity.
"Do I have to explain this to every single Golden Bride?" Chenoa moaned.
"Golden Bride?" Amelia asked, lost.
"Later. First, the Zel you all know and love, is Zel. Kiros rarely, if ever,
interferes with Zel's actions. Usually you speak with Zel. For the past month, Kiros had
been talking to you, not Zel. But Zel can interfere with Kiros since the body is rightfully
his."
"That's why Kiros' eyes changed when he fought!" Gourry suggested.
"Yes, exactly. Kiros is neutral in all conflicts, just as Lord of Nightmares is, it
would make sense since Lord of Nightmares is the Master's offspring. But Shawn was going to
do his body physical harm and Kiros does not fight under any cost..."
"So, he makes his host do everything for him! Lazy bum!" Lina exclaimed then added,
"I didn't mean that."
"Of course not. Gourry, on the other hand, would have done Kiros more harm. Gourry
would have stopped him from reproducing later on."
"How? I wasn't going to cut off his..."
"NOT LIKE THAT! Thank you. Gourry would have made Amelia mad, so she'd call the
wedding off, so they wouldn't get married, so they wouldn't have a honeymoon..."
"... and they wouldn't have any nookie. What? Is Kiros a sex fiend?" Lina asked,
disgusted.
Zel, likewise, was disgusted but at Lina, "No, Kiros wants more hosts. Making babies
makes more hosts. What you're talking is only a means to an end. But thanks for sharing."
Zel sighed, "Would you guys prefer talking to Kiros? He can explain this better than either
of us."
The others shrugged. Zel blinked and his face changed to flesh and his eyes opened.
They were gray.
"Okay, Kiros, start talking. First off, what is a Golden Bride?" Lina asked.
"Amelia," Kiros replied.
"Besides the obvious!"
"I wanted to make sure you didn't think you were one."
"Well, what is it?"
"A Golden Bride is someone who is destined to help produce my next batch of hosts.
Or my host's children, if you prefer that."
"Not 'bear'?"
"Men can't bear children. What am I going to do when my host is a woman? Make my
MALE Golden Bride suddenly have a womb?"
"Oh," Amelia interrupted, "a Golden Bride can be male?"
"Yes, if the host is female. In this case, my host is male, so you are female."
"Thanks for reminding me. All that stuff you said at the balcony, who was saying
that?"
"I was. With help from Zelgadis. It was his thoughts, he just could never say them
aloud."
"Okay," Back to Lina, "how can Zel be Zel with you in him?"
"I give all my hosts free will. My original intention was to scope out one world
that my daughter created through unbiased eyes. The thing is, my nephew, Ruby-Eye, sealed
me inside. But the original host was still separate from me so all hosts afterwards were
the same."
"If you're a god, why don't you know Zel's cure?"
"I just don't. If I knew why I don't know, I'd know it, wouldn't I?"
Gourry interrupted, "Are you mad at me?"
"No, I'm not. Your intentions were honorable. It would have been sweet if mine
weren't."
"Will you guys shut up? I'm trying to interrogate the god here! Anyway, how come
you faked sick?"
"I didn't. Think of it this way: You're stuck in a glass box, you see all but can't
react. Zelgadis was in that situation. It's a little cramped in there and he hates it. It
takes a lot of will power to make him go back inside."
"Will," Amelia asked, "will my children have you inside?"
"Yes."
"Does it hurt?"
"You or them? And what is the 'it' we're referring to?"
"Them. Does having you inside hurt them?"
"No, just ask Zelgadis when he comes back. I rarely interfere. This host needed a
little shove. I'm only here to observe."
"You swear?"
"I swear. Rezo was hurt by Ruby-Eye, not me. If it's any comfort, your children will
be free of Ruby-Eye forever."
"Will I have children that are beautiful?"
"I always have beautiful hosts. I take no less."
"Will I have girls or boys?"
"I can't tell."
"WHHHHHYYYYY?"
"Because it would ruin the surprise! Are you finished with me?"
"Not exactly," Gourry interjected, "can you tell how to make Phil snap out of it?
He hasn't blinked in half an hour."
"I don't know. Try smelly salts. Good-bye Amelia, I will say no more." With that,
Zel returned to his former state.
"Damn! I WAS going to ask if Kiros had any special spell I could use to kill a
couple more Dark Lords with!" Lina fumed.
"She doesn't have any," Zel answered, looking tired.
Amelia unwrapped herself from the covers, "You know, I wonder how many children I'll
have. Kiros seems to hold all the cards."
"Oh, don't worry," Chenoa said, grinning like a prankster, "Kiros is an
overachiever. And he has to make up for lost time."
*** ***
A year and ten days after that day, Amelia gave birth to beautiful twins, both girls. A
month later, she was pregnant again. The nurses said it looked like triplets.
"NOOOOOOOO!!!!"
*** ***
The End... for us at least. Poor Amelia.
Author's Notes:
I hope that explains everything. If not, you can contact me at destinyplot@lycos.com.
Actually, just write even if you understood it and tell me what you thought.
This story is based on Alyson Metallium's "In Your Eyes". So, go read that too while you're
at it. Back? Okay, anyway, when I read anything, I always try to end it. My ending didn't
happen when I read that fic on my TRAD mailing list (which everyone should join), but the
idea was there in my mind, begging to be written. It went so far that I couldn't write
"Inner Child" anymore. But vacation is coming, so don't worry, it will return. So, I wrote
this fic and I hope you liked it. Thank you.
In case you're interested, Chenoa means "bird", Kiros means "king", Ryo means "dragon", and
Miriam means "sea".
By Terra
The Epilogue
'Talk not of wasted affection. Affection was never wasted.' - Longfellow
Black. Black is a pretty color. That was a really pointless thing to write. Black is
absolutely nothing. Black is not a color. A color is light reflecting or being absorbed by
an object. Black is completely absorbed thus producing no color.
Now, black with colored specks is fascinating. It's usually a sign that one is
waking. Just as Amelia soon discovered.
The black vanished, replaced with this red and peach blob. The colors became more
defined and separated to form...
"Lina..."
Lina looked down at Amelia, "You're awake, you've been out for three hours!"
"Lina..." continuing on as if she had no interruption, "I had the weirdest dream. I
had a dream that I was marrying Kiros but it wasn't Kiros, it was Zelgadis... it was all
very strange..." Amelia sat up, although Lina tried to lay her back down. "I hope Kiros is
feeling better now... am I late for the wedding now? I hope I haven't worried Kiros..."
Amelia tilted her head to look at her window but something was blocking her view.
She shrieked and bundled herself up in the sheets.
"I didn't realize you hated me that much," Zelgadis replied.
"Maybe that chill was caused by poor insulation..." Chenoa mused quickly. Zelgadis
shrugged.
"Where's Kiros?"
"You liked him better?" Zelgadis asked.
"Well, not really, but one gets a little concerned when one's groom turns into
somebody else!"
Chenoa ignored her and took out a little notebook and flipped through its pages. She found
the right page, then she took out a little pencil and wrote in it. Chenoa patted Zel on the
shoulder and declared, "That makes four faintings! Two in a row, no less!"
Paul was kneeling in front of Phil, "Mother, I really think he's dead."
Not looking up, Chenoa replied, "He's not dead, Paul. Will you please drop the
subject?"
"But, Mother, he hasn't blinked for a really long time... shouldn't we call a doctor
or something?"
"Hello? Can you hear us? Are we in a different universe than you?" Lina demanded
while Amelia asked, "What exactly are you doing? Why is me fainting so special?"
"Well, as High Priestess, I have to record special things like that. It's my job,"
Chenoa chirped.
"Your job is write down how many faintings have occurred since whenever you're doing
this by?" Amelia asked.
"That's not my ONLY job but yes, that's one of them," Chenoa reasoned.
"What kind of stupid job is that?!" Lina gasped.
"Didn't I just say it's not my only duty?"
Gourry decided to cut in, "What are you High Priestess of?"
"Well, it depends on whether the Master is in female form or male form. Right now,
the Master is in male form."
"Okay, what is the male name?" Lina asked, getting fed up with this woman.
"Kiros."
"But wasn't that who I was..." Amelia wondered.
"Exactly. You were marrying the Master."
Silence hung. Then the Silence fell. Then it landed, "WHAAAAT?!"
Lina took charge, "Back up! Kiros was a god?"
"Or goddess. Depending on her host," Chenoa replied calmly.
"HOST?! You mean the Kiros of Ryo was only a shell?"
"That's really harsh," Zel interrupted.
"Kiros of Ryo was the Master, not the host."
"Then who was the host?" Amelia asked.
"Is. And I am," Zel replied.
"You're a host? Like Rezo was?"
"Yes, Rezo was host to two gods, Ruby-Eye and Kiros, this is the main reason he
went insane. The two gods hated each other," Zel replied.
"So, you're just a puppet?" Amelia asked, cautiously.
"NO!!!" Chenoa and Zel said at once, annoyed at their stupidity.
"Do I have to explain this to every single Golden Bride?" Chenoa moaned.
"Golden Bride?" Amelia asked, lost.
"Later. First, the Zel you all know and love, is Zel. Kiros rarely, if ever,
interferes with Zel's actions. Usually you speak with Zel. For the past month, Kiros had
been talking to you, not Zel. But Zel can interfere with Kiros since the body is rightfully
his."
"That's why Kiros' eyes changed when he fought!" Gourry suggested.
"Yes, exactly. Kiros is neutral in all conflicts, just as Lord of Nightmares is, it
would make sense since Lord of Nightmares is the Master's offspring. But Shawn was going to
do his body physical harm and Kiros does not fight under any cost..."
"So, he makes his host do everything for him! Lazy bum!" Lina exclaimed then added,
"I didn't mean that."
"Of course not. Gourry, on the other hand, would have done Kiros more harm. Gourry
would have stopped him from reproducing later on."
"How? I wasn't going to cut off his..."
"NOT LIKE THAT! Thank you. Gourry would have made Amelia mad, so she'd call the
wedding off, so they wouldn't get married, so they wouldn't have a honeymoon..."
"... and they wouldn't have any nookie. What? Is Kiros a sex fiend?" Lina asked,
disgusted.
Zel, likewise, was disgusted but at Lina, "No, Kiros wants more hosts. Making babies
makes more hosts. What you're talking is only a means to an end. But thanks for sharing."
Zel sighed, "Would you guys prefer talking to Kiros? He can explain this better than either
of us."
The others shrugged. Zel blinked and his face changed to flesh and his eyes opened.
They were gray.
"Okay, Kiros, start talking. First off, what is a Golden Bride?" Lina asked.
"Amelia," Kiros replied.
"Besides the obvious!"
"I wanted to make sure you didn't think you were one."
"Well, what is it?"
"A Golden Bride is someone who is destined to help produce my next batch of hosts.
Or my host's children, if you prefer that."
"Not 'bear'?"
"Men can't bear children. What am I going to do when my host is a woman? Make my
MALE Golden Bride suddenly have a womb?"
"Oh," Amelia interrupted, "a Golden Bride can be male?"
"Yes, if the host is female. In this case, my host is male, so you are female."
"Thanks for reminding me. All that stuff you said at the balcony, who was saying
that?"
"I was. With help from Zelgadis. It was his thoughts, he just could never say them
aloud."
"Okay," Back to Lina, "how can Zel be Zel with you in him?"
"I give all my hosts free will. My original intention was to scope out one world
that my daughter created through unbiased eyes. The thing is, my nephew, Ruby-Eye, sealed
me inside. But the original host was still separate from me so all hosts afterwards were
the same."
"If you're a god, why don't you know Zel's cure?"
"I just don't. If I knew why I don't know, I'd know it, wouldn't I?"
Gourry interrupted, "Are you mad at me?"
"No, I'm not. Your intentions were honorable. It would have been sweet if mine
weren't."
"Will you guys shut up? I'm trying to interrogate the god here! Anyway, how come
you faked sick?"
"I didn't. Think of it this way: You're stuck in a glass box, you see all but can't
react. Zelgadis was in that situation. It's a little cramped in there and he hates it. It
takes a lot of will power to make him go back inside."
"Will," Amelia asked, "will my children have you inside?"
"Yes."
"Does it hurt?"
"You or them? And what is the 'it' we're referring to?"
"Them. Does having you inside hurt them?"
"No, just ask Zelgadis when he comes back. I rarely interfere. This host needed a
little shove. I'm only here to observe."
"You swear?"
"I swear. Rezo was hurt by Ruby-Eye, not me. If it's any comfort, your children will
be free of Ruby-Eye forever."
"Will I have children that are beautiful?"
"I always have beautiful hosts. I take no less."
"Will I have girls or boys?"
"I can't tell."
"WHHHHHYYYYY?"
"Because it would ruin the surprise! Are you finished with me?"
"Not exactly," Gourry interjected, "can you tell how to make Phil snap out of it?
He hasn't blinked in half an hour."
"I don't know. Try smelly salts. Good-bye Amelia, I will say no more." With that,
Zel returned to his former state.
"Damn! I WAS going to ask if Kiros had any special spell I could use to kill a
couple more Dark Lords with!" Lina fumed.
"She doesn't have any," Zel answered, looking tired.
Amelia unwrapped herself from the covers, "You know, I wonder how many children I'll
have. Kiros seems to hold all the cards."
"Oh, don't worry," Chenoa said, grinning like a prankster, "Kiros is an
overachiever. And he has to make up for lost time."
*** ***
A year and ten days after that day, Amelia gave birth to beautiful twins, both girls. A
month later, she was pregnant again. The nurses said it looked like triplets.
"NOOOOOOOO!!!!"
*** ***
The End... for us at least. Poor Amelia.
Author's Notes:
I hope that explains everything. If not, you can contact me at destinyplot@lycos.com.
Actually, just write even if you understood it and tell me what you thought.
This story is based on Alyson Metallium's "In Your Eyes". So, go read that too while you're
at it. Back? Okay, anyway, when I read anything, I always try to end it. My ending didn't
happen when I read that fic on my TRAD mailing list (which everyone should join), but the
idea was there in my mind, begging to be written. It went so far that I couldn't write
"Inner Child" anymore. But vacation is coming, so don't worry, it will return. So, I wrote
this fic and I hope you liked it. Thank you.
In case you're interested, Chenoa means "bird", Kiros means "king", Ryo means "dragon", and
Miriam means "sea".