Author's notes: This is the first fanfic I've uploaded, so let me know what you all think! Slayers to not belong to me, which goes without saying.
The ballroom looked fantastic. Streamers of all colors hung across the room. Wreaths of roses and violets adorned the walls. The light of the chandelier danced across the golden finish of the staircase, making it sparkle. The guests were all wearing ball gowns and sharp tuxedoes. There was only one thing missing from the fabulous scene. The Guest of Honor.
She was currently sitting at her dresser in her room, desperately trying to figure out what to do with her hair.
"Amelia, what's keeping you? Everyone's waiting." Lina tapped her heeled foot impatiently.
"I don't know what to do with my hair!" protested Amelia, anxious and frustrated.
Lina cocked an eyebrow. "Since when do you care about your looks that much?" she asked.
"Since now," Amelia replied, and went back to fussing with her hair.
Lina walked over and grabbed Amelia's hands. "Amelia, leave your hair alone, it looks great, it always does."
"You think so?"
"I know so."
Amelia smiled and gave her friend a hug. "Thanks, Miss Lina."
Lina smiled back. "Now hurry up and get your butt downstairs before they all think you jumped out the window or something." Her friend laughed and walked out of the room with her.
Meanwhile, in the ballroom...
"Zel, quit cowering in the corner and come and have some food," insisted Gourry, who was busy stuffing himself at the refreshment table. Zelgadis simply remained quiet and discreet. "No thinks, Gourry. I think I'll just sit here and....sit here," he said.
The other swordsman shrugged and continued to eat.
The murmuring crowd suddenly became alert and applauded. Zelgadis and Gourry looked up to see what the excitement was all about.
The princess of Seyruun had finally appeared. She smiled at the crowd and seemed to be drinking in all of the attention. Lina was certainly enjoying it too. She ran down the steps to join her friends while Amelia stayed behind to talk with some officials.
"So, guys, what do you think? Doesn't Amelia look great? Not to say that I don't of course," Lina said, flipping her red tresses back.
Gourry swallowed the food he was chewing. "Yeah, she does," he said. "You look nice too, Lina."
"Thank you, Gourry," said Lina. She blushed, to her surprise.
Zelgadis didn't answer Lina's question. He was too busy watching the princess out of the corner of his eye. She was wearing a satin, robin's egg blue gown that shimmered and swirled around her with every step. Her shiny black hair framed her face, outlining every feature. The only jewelry that she wore was a pearl necklace and a silver crown with sapphire gemstones in it that matched her sparkling eyes perfectly.
"Hey, Lina, I forgot, why are we here again?' asked Gourry.
The sorceress smacked him upside the head and sighed in exasperation. "We are here, Gourry, because Phil wanted to give a ball to welcome his daughter home, so naturally we'd come," she said between her teeth.
"Oh."
Lina piled her plate full of food and turned to Gourry. "I'm keeping my eye on you, so don't even think about stealing any of my food," she stated, pointing her finger at him. Then she glanced over at Zelgadis and followed his gaze across the room. "Looks like I'm not the only one with their eye on someone," she added teasingly with a smirk.
The band began to play.
"Hey, Lina! Music! C'mon, let's dance!" Gourry suggested enthusiastically.
"Oh, o-ok," Lina stammered, and went to join Gourry on the dance floor. Gourry took her in his arms and twirled her around, making her blush.
Hearing the music play, Amelia excused herself from the boring politicians who were trying to get her to tell them whether wide-mouthed tree frogs or land snails would make a better mascot for their company. She scanned the room for someone to dance with. Spotting the chimera in the far corner of the room, she quickly skipped down the steps. Amelia dodged the dancing couples and just narrowly missed getting run over by Gourry and Lina, who were zooming across the room, tango style.
The princess finally reached Zelgadis, who was looking fairly bored and gloomy. She took his hands, surprising him. "Mr. Zelgadis, come on and dance with me. Please?" she said sweetly.
The chimera was about to protest, but when he looked at her innocent and happy expression, he knew he had to give in. "Alright," he said, and let himself be pulled onto the dance floor, just as a slow waltz began.
For someone who hadn't danced in years, Zelgadis glided them along the floor smoothly. They swayed in rhythm to the music. Their shadows seemed to dance along with them, on the floor and on the walls. He felt completely at home with Amelia in his arms, gently swaying.
Amelia laid her head against him, taking in the warmth of his body and the faint scent of cologne. Who would've known, she thought. Who would've known he would actually come out of his shell and dance with someone, and me of all people? She smiled into his chest and closed her eyes. And he sure does look great in that tux, she thought, and blushed as his handsome image came to her mind.
Her perfect dream world was suddenly broken as a cheery "Hello, there!" startled the dancing couple, causing them to jump away from each other.
"Having a good time, I see?"
"Xellos!" growled a rather annoyed Zelgadis. He was just beginning to really enjoy himself, and HE of all people had to show up! "What are you doing here?"
"No need to sound so disappointed, Zelgadis. I was under the impression that it was an open invitation, so I decided to stop by and see how things are going. My, my, you two seem to be getting along well.," Xellos said, smiling in his normal cheery way. Amelia and Zelgadis exchanged glances at that last statement, looked away, and walked away, leaving Xellos behind.
"Was it really open invitation?" Zelgadis asked after they were safely out of Xellos' range.
"No, actually," Amelia replied, sighing.
"Oh." Zelgadis decided to change the subject. "So, Amelia...um, want to go outside and get some air?"
Amelia smiled. "Sure," she responded.
They walked out the doors into the lamp-lit garden. "Zelgadis?" Amelia asked hesitantly.
"Yeah?"
"Do you like me? I mean being around me?" the princess asked, fidgeting.
"Of course I do," Zelgadis replied, looking at her sincerely. "Why do you ask?"
Amelia was feeling a little uncomfortable. "Well....sometimes I get the feeling that you people just sort of tolerate me, and that you'd rather not be around me."
Zelgadis was surprised. Why would she think like that? he pondered. Have I really rejected her that much before? He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. "Listen, Amelia," he said gently. "None of us feel that way. We wouldn't just `tolerate' you if we didn't like you; we'd probably kick you out of our travels. But we do like you' I like you. You're a very good friend, Amelia."
Amelia looked at him intensely. She had never heard him say anything resembling "I like you" to her before, and here he was, simply blurting it out, right then and there. But does he only like me as a friend? she suddenly thought. Stop that, she told herself firmly. "Thanks, Zelgadis," she said to him, taking her mind off her thoughts and hugged him. Zelgadis hugged her back, much to her pleasure.
It suddenly occurred to them that they could hear the music from out in the garden where they were. Zelgadis comically held out his hand to Amelia. "May I have this dance?" he said, unable to keep a straight face.
Amelia giggled and gave an over exaggerated curtsy. "I'd be delighted," she responded, taking his hand, and began an even paced waltz around the garden. Zelgadis twirled Amelia around, dipped her, then drew her near again. It felt...nice, being with someone he felt close to. Close to? As in close friend or close as in...close? Zelgadis thought. His grip around Amelia loosened as he pondered the thought.
Stepping on a rock, Amelia tripped, stumbled backwards, and fell into the relatively shallow pond. She surfaced, sputtering and trying to stand up. Zelgadis rushed over to the edge of the pond. "Here, take my hand!" he said, holding out his arm. Amelia regained her balance and took his hand with both of hers, and pulled him into the pond as well, grinning mischievously.
"You little rat!" Zelgadis exclaimed good-naturedly. The princess laughed and ran to the other side of the pond, splashing as she went. Zelgadis gave his own mischievous grin and used his chimera speed to run over and tackle Amelia down into the water. They both came up, laughing and trying to catch their breaths.
They stopped as they realized how close they really were. With a blush, Zelgadis cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. He'd never imagined he'd have the courage to do anything to show his feelings like he was now.
Parting, they gazed into each other's eyes. "Wow.." whispered Amelia, amazed, but thoroughly delighted. Then she wrapped her arms around his neck in a loving embrace. The chimera gladly returned the gesture. Holding each other this way for several minutes, Zelgadis finally said, "Shouldn't we get out of the pond?"
Amelia chuckled. "Oh, yeah." The two climbed out of the pond and headed back towards the party, smiling. Sopping wet, they stood at the doorway, wide-eyed. People were running around looking completely fuzzed and drooling.
Xellos suddenly appeared in front of them. "Hello, again, for the second time tonight," he said cheerily.
Amelia glared at him. "Did you spike the punch?" she admonished, arms crossed.
"Because it's very unjust to do a thing like that!"
"Well, now, that is a secret," Xellos answered and disappeared.
"Yup, he did," commented Zelgadis, watching Lina and Gourry making out on the floor.
"Definitely," agreed Amelia, and told one of the servants to refresh the punchbowl. Then she turned to Zelgadis. "Erm, do you think we should just leave them there?" she asked, glancing at the busy pair.
"Yeah, they seem pretty happy," Zelgadis answered. "If Gourry's lucky, Lina will have such a bad hangover she won't remember."
At that moment, the said couple got up and walked over to their friends, large smiles plastered on their faces. "Thishh iss sshuch a great party," Lina said, slurring her words together. "We're gonna have some REAL fun, right Gourry?" she giggled, grabbing Gourry by the arm, and headed towards the staircase.
Their friends exchanged concerned glances. "Um, maybe we should stop them before-" Amelia began, them cut herself off as the intoxicated pair ran into the wall and passed out.
Zelgadis sighed and turned to Amelia. "Well, now what are we going to do?" he asked.
The princess gazed into his eyes and smiled. "This," she whispered, and softly kissed him.
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Amelia's friends had spent the night at the palace after all of the other guests had gone home. Amelia came down to breakfast to find Zelgadis already there. "Good morning," she said, and gave him a light kiss on the cheek.
"I wonder what happened to Lina and Gourry," Zelgadis mused aloud.
What indeed.....
Lina woke up in bed with a nausea and a huge headache. She marched straight over to Gourry's room and knocked on the door. It opened.
"Fireball!!!!"
Amelia cringed as a loud explosion was heard from upstairs. "I think she woke up," she commented quietly.
Zelgadis nodded. "Butter?"