Chapter Seven: Mirror
"Oh, he's so cute!"
"Do you want a cookie?"
"He's just like my little bro back home!"
The maids in the laundry room were discussing their visitor, a young boy who had found himself in a laundry basket after
escaping from his supposed "naptime", an activity everyone else assumed he was doing.
Zel did very much want a cookie but they were strangers and you are never supposed to take gifts from strangers. Of
course, no one was actually doing work and this was soon discovered by the head maid, Eve.
Eve was 200 lb. of pure muscle, and was the only servant that could dare to boss even Prince Phil around, on
a good day.
"You ragamuffin! You go on and git outta here!" She grabbed Zel by the collar, "Out wit ya!" She swung open the
door and threw him out, much to the other maids' dismay and disappointment.
Dejected, Zel went to find his fun elsewhere. He wandered the palace looking for amusement and soon became
very lost. He found himself in a lonely hallway, and started investigating the various abandoned rooms. In most rooms,
there was nothing inside. In others, the furniture was musty or covered with white sheets. They were boring rooms and
provided little interest to a hyper six-year-old Zel.
At the end of the hall was a fancy door. Fancy doors usually led to fancy rooms and perhaps interesting rooms. He
turned the gold diamond-studded knob.
*** ***
Meanwhile, Gourry thought it would be a good time to wake Zel up from his nap. What he found was an empty, untidy
bed. He soon realized that Zel had run off, much like his adult counterpart, "Old habits die hard, huh, Zel?"
When Lina and Amelia were informed, they were very distressed. After Lina had sufficiently beaten Gourry, and
Amelia had worn a really nice ring into the foreign rug, they decided to hunt for Zel.
"It never once occurred to you to stay by the door to make sure he stayed there?" Lina asked Gourry.
"I always took my naps. I was a good kid."
"This isn't the time for excuses! We have to find Master Zelgadis before he gets himself in trouble!" Amelia
answered, hoping to delay a brawl in her palace.
"If I were Zel, where would I go?" Lina asked.
"To the library," Gourry answered.
"How do you figure that?"
"Because that is what Zel always does."
"Adult Zel, yes, but probably not Little Zel."
"Well, when I was younger, I always went to the maids' chamber rooms," Amelia replied, "I learned most of what I
know from those visits."
"Let's go there. Show us the way," Lina gestured.
*** ***
This room was less musty but it was still clear it had not been used in years. The furniture was not covered in
white sheets. The queen-sized bed was made, the windows were spot-less, the wood was polished, if a touch dusty. It was
taken care of but clearly not used.
To Zel's left was a dresser with a vanity. He turned to walk over to the vanity when he heard something unsticking
nearby. The back of his shirt felt moist but it had not been moist seconds before. He reached his right hand behind him
and felt moisture. He pulled his hand back out front and looked at it. It was wet. Wet with fresh blood. He glanced
behind him. The entire back of his tunic was covered in fresh blood.
He turned back to the closed door. There was splat of blood that was the size of his back. Before his eyes, the
splat grew and reached out until it covered the entire door and it kept growing, reaching out to the walls around the
door. The splat ran downwards, to the floor, rushing towards him.
Zel stepped backward to get away from the horrible sight and slipped. He got up and saw he had slipped in a
growing pool of blood. His pants were also now covered in blood.
Zel rushed on to the bed, to get away from the surrounding blood and suddenly pinned to the bed by an
unseen force. He looked up. There was now a man on top of him, holding a dagger at the zenith, readying it to strike
straight at his heart.
He screamed and rolled off the bed. When he had stopped screaming, the man was still there but there was a curly
haired woman under him. She was screaming and she wouldn't stop. The man wouldn't move from his position, frozen in
time in that pose. A woman kept screaming and screaming, louder and louder until Zel's ears were about to bleed.
He covered his ears and closed his eyes, "#This is not real! This is not real! This is not happening! This is not
happening!#"
The growing blood on the floor was nearly to the bed, the blood on the walls had reached the drapes and now the
white drapes were spotted with blood.
"#Dead spirits, dead memories, you have no business here! I HAVE NO QUARREL WITH YOU! LEAVE ME ALONE!#"
The screaming stopped, the couple were gone, the blood had vanished. Zel's clothes were clean and fresh again.
The vanity, he had noticed, had been untouched during the whole affair. He went up to it and looked into it. It
was an ordinary mirror reflecting an ordinary room. The frame was of ivy leaves and hearts. It was polished cherry
wood. Zel ran his hand along the frame. The reflection clouded...
*** ***
His "guardians" were in another wing when they heard his screams. They rushed to the source of his voice.
"Please, don't say he's hurt himself," Amelia thought. They went into an abandoned hallway. Amelia did not want to
be in this hallway. The reason for her distaste of the hall was at the end of the hall was her sister's old bedroom, it
was now untouched mostly, except during its yearly dusting. It was in that room that her mother had died. She hoped Zel
had not picked that room to entertain himself.
Lina and Gourry swiftly opened and banged shut the other rooms that were unused. All were empty of any
children. When they reached the last door, Amelia stopped them, "He wouldn't be in there."
"Why not?" Gourry asked.
"Because..."
"Never mind, I'm going in and he better be in here," Lina scowled. She swung open the door and found Zel looking
intently into a vanity mirror.
"You can admire yourself later, do you know...?" Lina never finished. She found that Zel was not admiring himself
since his reflection did not show and neither did hers. What he was so intently watching was a man with a dagger stabbing
a woman with black curly hair. Blood was spewing everywhere. Somewhere off the field of vision shown from the mirror,
someone was casting a spell. This was only known because a shot of light shot from a side and hit the man. Blood
splattered on the wall and a few drops landed on the mirror's surface.
"Oh Gods..."
The other two had also come in. Gourry's face was a mask of horror and disgust. Amelia's face wore a mask of
sadness and fury. She grabbed Zel by the shoulders and turned him to face her, while screaming, "How dare you enter
this room and show us this? To torture me?! I hate you!" Sobbing, she ran out of the room. Zel, after a moment of
hesitation, quietly followed.
*** ***
Amelia went to the library to have a good cry, "I thought I would never have to watch that again. I hate him."
"#There was good stuff, too.#" Zel's tiny voice interrupted.
Amelia lifted her head out of her hands. Zel had his hand on her knee, looking up at her with naive child eyes.
She sharply snapped, "Don't try that being cute trick on me! It's not going to work!" Zel said nothing. Amelia shoved
Zel's hand off her knee and stood. She strode over to the window. She noticed where the new wall had been placed after
Zel so carelessly blew it up. She scowled. She wasn't even in any danger at the time! She said to Zel, "Don't say you
understand how I feel, because you don't!" She turned to him. Part of her was distressed that she was screaming at
some poor kid that didn't even understand death yet, much less assassination. "You're just some stupid kid who grew
into an uncaring, cowardly adult. He wanted too much of what he didn't feel like earning and deserve every torment he
gets. So, don't you dare try the cute trick!"
"#Who was the curly haired lady?#"
"My mother! Alright! My mother was killed by an assassin hired by one of my late uncles! Why am I even
bothering?! This going straight over your head and it's not like you care, you selfish brat!" She again turned to the
window.
"#Was she raped, too?#"
That caught Amelia off guard, "What did you say?"
"#Was she raped?#"
"Where did you find out what rape is?"
"#Nowhere.#"
"Don't you lie to me! Tell me where you found out about
rape!"
"#One time I was at Grandpapa's house and I heard a woman screaming, calling, 'Rezo! Rezo! Help me!' and I ran
to the source of the screaming and there some blue haired lady I had never seen before and there was this man...
rubbing her up and down. And she was screaming and no one came so I got my Grandpapa to help but when I brought him
there... he asked why I brought him there, he seemed confused. So, I got Mama and told her about the lady. But
everyone said there was no lady, no one was screaming but she was still there, she was still screaming, and the man
was taking her nightgown off and was taking a knife out and he was shouting too, 'Shut the hell up! Shut up you little
whore!' And I told them what the man was saying and... Grandpapa slapped me and asked where I heard those words and
I told him, 'Just now! Just now!' But then they were gone. Mama told Grandpapa I probably had an overactive imagination
and to go to sleep. When he was gone, she told me she believed me and that woman and man were really there and I
was not a bad boy. Then she told this little chant I should say when I see things that no one else can see and they will
go away. Then I asked Mama what the man was doing and she said, kind of soft, 'He was raping her, honey. That means he
was forcing her to play a game that married people play when she didn't want to play.' I found out that the woman I saw
was really my great-grandmother and she died the way I saw.#"
Amelia sat in silence, absorbing all Zel had told her.
"#When I went into that room, with the mirror, I thought it was weird because it was not musty or covered
with white sheets. When I got in, blood got on my shirt and blood was on the door and it grew and spread all over the
walls and I got blood on my pants. I tried getting on the bed but I was pinned down and suddenly there was a man
there, holding a dagger. I rolled off and I saw the curly haired lady. Then I said the chant and they went away. The
blood too. When I touched the mirror, I saw things. Past things. Ghosts of strong emotions. Not ghosts themselves,
just imprints of their emotions.#" Zel looked at Amelia. She said nothing. "#You think I am lying, right? Rezo looked at
me the same way when I told him about the lady.#" He began to cry, "#I do not know why I see things! I do not want to
see them, they are scary. They always seem to be screaming. Why do I have to be the only one to see these people? Why do
they come after me?!#" He ran for Amelia's lap and Amelia put his head on her lap, "I believe you. Children never lie.
I'm sorry I yelled at you. I miss my mother very much and I didn't want to see her being killed again. I never fully
recovered from the experience." She stroked his hair, "I won't tell anyone what you told me, unless you want me to.
Do you want me to?"
"#No.#"
"You mentioned 'good stuff'. What did you mean by that?"
"#Good memories. People laughing and playing.#"
"Show me."
They got up and left the library just as Lina was entering
the library.
"Amelia? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Zel said there was other things in the mirror. Want to come see?" Amelia didn't wait for her
answer, just continued onward towards the dreaded room.
Gourry ran up and looked from Amelia to Lina. Lina shrugged and gestured that they should follow.
*** ***
Zel ran his hand along the wooden frame of the mirror. The rest of them were sitting on the bed, staring intently.
The image fogged up and suddenly cleared.
In the mirror was a young man. He had black hair and the early stages of a tiny mustache. He was thin and fragile
looking.
"Is that...?" Lina asked.
"Yup, that's my Daddy!" He was trying and failing to tie his bowtie. An older woman entered the frame, turning
Younger Phil towards her. She was speaking to him, her face showing joy and calm. She tied his bowtie. She picked up a
comb and combed his hair. The woman said something. Phil responded. They laughed. Phil said something else, his face
serious, questioning. The woman responded, her mouth forming "Fine, fine. Don't worry." Phil looked relieved. Phil bowed
to the woman. The woman curtsied to him. They smiled at each other.
The mirror fogged.
"#The next part is kind of boring. I do not think you really want to...#"
"We're seeing everything," Amelia responded. Zel sighed and averted his eyes.
The image cleared. It was night. Phil was in the bed.
He apparently wasn't wearing a shirt. He had a very nice torso.
"Your Dad was a stud! What happened?" Lina said.
"Miss Lina!"
His hands were covering his eyes. His mouth formed, "Can I look?" He pouted. He stuck his tongue out.
"What is he doing?" Lina asked. Amelia shrugged. Gourry's eyes went wide, "I think we should skip this one,
guys."
"No! We're watching all of it! I don't care if you're bored."
Phil waited. He tried to stretch his back. He smiled and uncovered his eyes. His eyes bugged out. His mouth
formed, "Where?" He was probably shouting it but it was silent so they couldn't tell. Zel covered his ears.
"Can you hear them?" Gourry asked.
"#Yes.#" He nodded.
"Well, tell us what he's saying!" Lina ordered.
"#He just said 'Where'.#" Amelia translated as he spoke.
Phil was stifling laughter.
"#A woman just said, 'I am not your wife. I am Gracia, the White Serpent! You are now my captive!' He says, 'Gracia?
I have never heard of you.'#"
Phil was crossing his arms, apparently playing along.
"#She says, 'Never heard of me? I am Gracia, the mighty warlady! You should be honored to be captured by the
beautiful Gracia, the White Serpent!'#"
Phil cocked his head, looking at the invisible speaker out of the corner of his eye.
"#He says, 'Well, I am. But what shall you do to me?' She says, 'Make you my slave, of course!'#"
Phil cocked his head to the other side, his eyebrows rose up.
"He says, 'Slave? Like do your cleaning and such?' She laughs. I can not do the laugh for you. It is painful to
hear though. She says, 'No! How barbaric! You shall be my love slave! You shall be the father of all my children and I
will have many.'#"
Phil puts a dramatic hand to his chest and melodramatically pretends to be faint.
"#He says, 'Oh, what a cursed fate! I must be forced to lie with you every night and produce children with you. Oh,
the horror!' She laughs. She says, 'Now, you shall know the mighty will of Gracia, the White Serpent!'#"
The speaker came into the frame. It was a curly haired woman, she was laughing.
"Mom... Mommy?"Amelia asked.
Amelia's mother (for indeed, it was she) was wearing a leather bikini with skulls on it. She was rather well-
endowed, although not as much as her first born daughter, and the leather bikini made that rather obvious. Especially
to Gourry.
"Whoa..."
Lina hit him while Amelia screamed, "That's my MOTHER!"
"She looks nice! It flatters her very well! I was admiring the...uh,... craftsmanship!"
Lina took a second look at the "nicely crafted" bikini. Where had she seen that before?
Lina jumped up, standing on the bed, "Oh my Gods! I've seen that bikini before! I traveled with someone who wore a
bikini just like that! Skulls and everything! How did two completely unrelated people have the same outfit? And same
nickname! They both call themselves, 'The White Serpent'! This is too weird!"
Amelia stared at her mother, "That can't be her! She never dressed like... that! She never acted like that! She
was a wonderful, timid person who wore beautiful dresses that covered most of her body! Who is this strange woman?"
"#Gracia, the White Serpent.#"
"Gracia" had walked over to the bed, obviously describing Phil's "torture" to him while put his hand to his
forehead, melodramatically, pretending to bemoan his "horrible fate".
"Gracia" laughed. She struck a ordering pose, obviously giving him commands since he was her "slave". Phil clasped
his hands and made a big show for demanding something else. She looked insulted and pointed at his nose, repeating the
order and turning her back to him. Phil suddenly looked honestly gleeful and started untying the top part.
"AAAAAAAA!!! I don't want to see this! I don't want to see how we were conceived!!!!"
"#I warned you.#" Zel stroked the frame again and the image clouded to everyone's relief.
The image cleared. It was dark. Bumps were moving under the sheets...
"NEXT!"
The image clouded. The image cleared. It was something they didn't want to see. They went through five such events.
As the last image clouded, Gourry said, "Well, at least, you know your parents had a really good relationship!"
The image cleared. Amelia's mother was sitting on the bed, combing her hair. Phil's backs would peek from the
bottom of the frame.
"He's probably doing push-ups," Lina reasoned.
She was smiling and looked down.
"#She says, 'I have a surprise for you.' He says, 'What?'#"
She laughed. "#She says, 'It would not be a surprise if I tell you. Guess.' He says, 'You are going to have a
baby.'#"
She looked disappointed.
"#She says, 'How did you know?' He says, 'Simple. You have not used magic in a while. I know you were not having
your "womanlies" so I asked Entela what else makes women lose magic. One, curses. Two, babies. I guessed the better
of the two.'#"
Phil got up. He looked like the Phil they all knew. He picked up Amelia's mother and swung her a little, but stopped,
realizing that spinning could be dangerous.
The couple kissed and ran out.
The image clouded. The image cleared.
There were maids all around the bed.
"#She is screaming. It sounds like she is in pain. And she hates 'Phil'.#"
"Skip this!"
Image clouded and cleared. The new mother held a baby, Phil was looking at it. He picked it up. Its face contorted
into a crying face and started kicking its feet. Amelia's mother wore a mixed face of sympathy and amusement.
The image clouded and cleared. There were few more "unmentionable activities", shots of Mother reading to
Gracia, Father tickling Gracia, Amelia's mother explaining to an unexpectingly excited Gracia that she was going to
have another child. Shot of labor (which they skipped), shots of Gracia and Amelia playing hide and seek with their
mother pretending not to see them, shots of the three jumping on the bed, shots of their mother telling them "not
to judge of book by its cover", shots of Gracia being applauded for doing a light spell for her very tired parents
very early in the morning right into their faces. Almost all were pleasant and made Amelia very sad.
As Amelia's mother was finishing telling the moral of a story, Zel said, "#The next one is the scary one. I will
stop now.#" He tapped the mirror and regain its normal conditions. Zel turned to Amelia, "#Why are you crying?#"
"Master Zelgadis, I am crying because I miss my mother and sister very much. I wish we could have moments like that
again but I know we will not. I'm not sad. I'm happy that I was able to see these things again." She stood up, "We
should finish planning our trip to Hayla." She went to the door and opened it. The others walked through and she added,
"Could you not mention that we were in here or what we saw in the mirror to my Daddy?"
"Sure thing."
"No problem."
"#He can not understand me anyway.#"
"Thanks a lot."
The door closed with a hollow click.
To be continued...
Author's Notes: How did you like my allusion to Naga? I'd like to thank Pairaka for writing "Desperado" because now I
don't have use the "S" word. C&C are welcome and needed at destinyplot@lycos.com!
"Oh, he's so cute!"
"Do you want a cookie?"
"He's just like my little bro back home!"
The maids in the laundry room were discussing their visitor, a young boy who had found himself in a laundry basket after
escaping from his supposed "naptime", an activity everyone else assumed he was doing.
Zel did very much want a cookie but they were strangers and you are never supposed to take gifts from strangers. Of
course, no one was actually doing work and this was soon discovered by the head maid, Eve.
Eve was 200 lb. of pure muscle, and was the only servant that could dare to boss even Prince Phil around, on
a good day.
"You ragamuffin! You go on and git outta here!" She grabbed Zel by the collar, "Out wit ya!" She swung open the
door and threw him out, much to the other maids' dismay and disappointment.
Dejected, Zel went to find his fun elsewhere. He wandered the palace looking for amusement and soon became
very lost. He found himself in a lonely hallway, and started investigating the various abandoned rooms. In most rooms,
there was nothing inside. In others, the furniture was musty or covered with white sheets. They were boring rooms and
provided little interest to a hyper six-year-old Zel.
At the end of the hall was a fancy door. Fancy doors usually led to fancy rooms and perhaps interesting rooms. He
turned the gold diamond-studded knob.
*** ***
Meanwhile, Gourry thought it would be a good time to wake Zel up from his nap. What he found was an empty, untidy
bed. He soon realized that Zel had run off, much like his adult counterpart, "Old habits die hard, huh, Zel?"
When Lina and Amelia were informed, they were very distressed. After Lina had sufficiently beaten Gourry, and
Amelia had worn a really nice ring into the foreign rug, they decided to hunt for Zel.
"It never once occurred to you to stay by the door to make sure he stayed there?" Lina asked Gourry.
"I always took my naps. I was a good kid."
"This isn't the time for excuses! We have to find Master Zelgadis before he gets himself in trouble!" Amelia
answered, hoping to delay a brawl in her palace.
"If I were Zel, where would I go?" Lina asked.
"To the library," Gourry answered.
"How do you figure that?"
"Because that is what Zel always does."
"Adult Zel, yes, but probably not Little Zel."
"Well, when I was younger, I always went to the maids' chamber rooms," Amelia replied, "I learned most of what I
know from those visits."
"Let's go there. Show us the way," Lina gestured.
*** ***
This room was less musty but it was still clear it had not been used in years. The furniture was not covered in
white sheets. The queen-sized bed was made, the windows were spot-less, the wood was polished, if a touch dusty. It was
taken care of but clearly not used.
To Zel's left was a dresser with a vanity. He turned to walk over to the vanity when he heard something unsticking
nearby. The back of his shirt felt moist but it had not been moist seconds before. He reached his right hand behind him
and felt moisture. He pulled his hand back out front and looked at it. It was wet. Wet with fresh blood. He glanced
behind him. The entire back of his tunic was covered in fresh blood.
He turned back to the closed door. There was splat of blood that was the size of his back. Before his eyes, the
splat grew and reached out until it covered the entire door and it kept growing, reaching out to the walls around the
door. The splat ran downwards, to the floor, rushing towards him.
Zel stepped backward to get away from the horrible sight and slipped. He got up and saw he had slipped in a
growing pool of blood. His pants were also now covered in blood.
Zel rushed on to the bed, to get away from the surrounding blood and suddenly pinned to the bed by an
unseen force. He looked up. There was now a man on top of him, holding a dagger at the zenith, readying it to strike
straight at his heart.
He screamed and rolled off the bed. When he had stopped screaming, the man was still there but there was a curly
haired woman under him. She was screaming and she wouldn't stop. The man wouldn't move from his position, frozen in
time in that pose. A woman kept screaming and screaming, louder and louder until Zel's ears were about to bleed.
He covered his ears and closed his eyes, "#This is not real! This is not real! This is not happening! This is not
happening!#"
The growing blood on the floor was nearly to the bed, the blood on the walls had reached the drapes and now the
white drapes were spotted with blood.
"#Dead spirits, dead memories, you have no business here! I HAVE NO QUARREL WITH YOU! LEAVE ME ALONE!#"
The screaming stopped, the couple were gone, the blood had vanished. Zel's clothes were clean and fresh again.
The vanity, he had noticed, had been untouched during the whole affair. He went up to it and looked into it. It
was an ordinary mirror reflecting an ordinary room. The frame was of ivy leaves and hearts. It was polished cherry
wood. Zel ran his hand along the frame. The reflection clouded...
*** ***
His "guardians" were in another wing when they heard his screams. They rushed to the source of his voice.
"Please, don't say he's hurt himself," Amelia thought. They went into an abandoned hallway. Amelia did not want to
be in this hallway. The reason for her distaste of the hall was at the end of the hall was her sister's old bedroom, it
was now untouched mostly, except during its yearly dusting. It was in that room that her mother had died. She hoped Zel
had not picked that room to entertain himself.
Lina and Gourry swiftly opened and banged shut the other rooms that were unused. All were empty of any
children. When they reached the last door, Amelia stopped them, "He wouldn't be in there."
"Why not?" Gourry asked.
"Because..."
"Never mind, I'm going in and he better be in here," Lina scowled. She swung open the door and found Zel looking
intently into a vanity mirror.
"You can admire yourself later, do you know...?" Lina never finished. She found that Zel was not admiring himself
since his reflection did not show and neither did hers. What he was so intently watching was a man with a dagger stabbing
a woman with black curly hair. Blood was spewing everywhere. Somewhere off the field of vision shown from the mirror,
someone was casting a spell. This was only known because a shot of light shot from a side and hit the man. Blood
splattered on the wall and a few drops landed on the mirror's surface.
"Oh Gods..."
The other two had also come in. Gourry's face was a mask of horror and disgust. Amelia's face wore a mask of
sadness and fury. She grabbed Zel by the shoulders and turned him to face her, while screaming, "How dare you enter
this room and show us this? To torture me?! I hate you!" Sobbing, she ran out of the room. Zel, after a moment of
hesitation, quietly followed.
*** ***
Amelia went to the library to have a good cry, "I thought I would never have to watch that again. I hate him."
"#There was good stuff, too.#" Zel's tiny voice interrupted.
Amelia lifted her head out of her hands. Zel had his hand on her knee, looking up at her with naive child eyes.
She sharply snapped, "Don't try that being cute trick on me! It's not going to work!" Zel said nothing. Amelia shoved
Zel's hand off her knee and stood. She strode over to the window. She noticed where the new wall had been placed after
Zel so carelessly blew it up. She scowled. She wasn't even in any danger at the time! She said to Zel, "Don't say you
understand how I feel, because you don't!" She turned to him. Part of her was distressed that she was screaming at
some poor kid that didn't even understand death yet, much less assassination. "You're just some stupid kid who grew
into an uncaring, cowardly adult. He wanted too much of what he didn't feel like earning and deserve every torment he
gets. So, don't you dare try the cute trick!"
"#Who was the curly haired lady?#"
"My mother! Alright! My mother was killed by an assassin hired by one of my late uncles! Why am I even
bothering?! This going straight over your head and it's not like you care, you selfish brat!" She again turned to the
window.
"#Was she raped, too?#"
That caught Amelia off guard, "What did you say?"
"#Was she raped?#"
"Where did you find out what rape is?"
"#Nowhere.#"
"Don't you lie to me! Tell me where you found out about
rape!"
"#One time I was at Grandpapa's house and I heard a woman screaming, calling, 'Rezo! Rezo! Help me!' and I ran
to the source of the screaming and there some blue haired lady I had never seen before and there was this man...
rubbing her up and down. And she was screaming and no one came so I got my Grandpapa to help but when I brought him
there... he asked why I brought him there, he seemed confused. So, I got Mama and told her about the lady. But
everyone said there was no lady, no one was screaming but she was still there, she was still screaming, and the man
was taking her nightgown off and was taking a knife out and he was shouting too, 'Shut the hell up! Shut up you little
whore!' And I told them what the man was saying and... Grandpapa slapped me and asked where I heard those words and
I told him, 'Just now! Just now!' But then they were gone. Mama told Grandpapa I probably had an overactive imagination
and to go to sleep. When he was gone, she told me she believed me and that woman and man were really there and I
was not a bad boy. Then she told this little chant I should say when I see things that no one else can see and they will
go away. Then I asked Mama what the man was doing and she said, kind of soft, 'He was raping her, honey. That means he
was forcing her to play a game that married people play when she didn't want to play.' I found out that the woman I saw
was really my great-grandmother and she died the way I saw.#"
Amelia sat in silence, absorbing all Zel had told her.
"#When I went into that room, with the mirror, I thought it was weird because it was not musty or covered
with white sheets. When I got in, blood got on my shirt and blood was on the door and it grew and spread all over the
walls and I got blood on my pants. I tried getting on the bed but I was pinned down and suddenly there was a man
there, holding a dagger. I rolled off and I saw the curly haired lady. Then I said the chant and they went away. The
blood too. When I touched the mirror, I saw things. Past things. Ghosts of strong emotions. Not ghosts themselves,
just imprints of their emotions.#" Zel looked at Amelia. She said nothing. "#You think I am lying, right? Rezo looked at
me the same way when I told him about the lady.#" He began to cry, "#I do not know why I see things! I do not want to
see them, they are scary. They always seem to be screaming. Why do I have to be the only one to see these people? Why do
they come after me?!#" He ran for Amelia's lap and Amelia put his head on her lap, "I believe you. Children never lie.
I'm sorry I yelled at you. I miss my mother very much and I didn't want to see her being killed again. I never fully
recovered from the experience." She stroked his hair, "I won't tell anyone what you told me, unless you want me to.
Do you want me to?"
"#No.#"
"You mentioned 'good stuff'. What did you mean by that?"
"#Good memories. People laughing and playing.#"
"Show me."
They got up and left the library just as Lina was entering
the library.
"Amelia? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Zel said there was other things in the mirror. Want to come see?" Amelia didn't wait for her
answer, just continued onward towards the dreaded room.
Gourry ran up and looked from Amelia to Lina. Lina shrugged and gestured that they should follow.
*** ***
Zel ran his hand along the wooden frame of the mirror. The rest of them were sitting on the bed, staring intently.
The image fogged up and suddenly cleared.
In the mirror was a young man. He had black hair and the early stages of a tiny mustache. He was thin and fragile
looking.
"Is that...?" Lina asked.
"Yup, that's my Daddy!" He was trying and failing to tie his bowtie. An older woman entered the frame, turning
Younger Phil towards her. She was speaking to him, her face showing joy and calm. She tied his bowtie. She picked up a
comb and combed his hair. The woman said something. Phil responded. They laughed. Phil said something else, his face
serious, questioning. The woman responded, her mouth forming "Fine, fine. Don't worry." Phil looked relieved. Phil bowed
to the woman. The woman curtsied to him. They smiled at each other.
The mirror fogged.
"#The next part is kind of boring. I do not think you really want to...#"
"We're seeing everything," Amelia responded. Zel sighed and averted his eyes.
The image cleared. It was night. Phil was in the bed.
He apparently wasn't wearing a shirt. He had a very nice torso.
"Your Dad was a stud! What happened?" Lina said.
"Miss Lina!"
His hands were covering his eyes. His mouth formed, "Can I look?" He pouted. He stuck his tongue out.
"What is he doing?" Lina asked. Amelia shrugged. Gourry's eyes went wide, "I think we should skip this one,
guys."
"No! We're watching all of it! I don't care if you're bored."
Phil waited. He tried to stretch his back. He smiled and uncovered his eyes. His eyes bugged out. His mouth
formed, "Where?" He was probably shouting it but it was silent so they couldn't tell. Zel covered his ears.
"Can you hear them?" Gourry asked.
"#Yes.#" He nodded.
"Well, tell us what he's saying!" Lina ordered.
"#He just said 'Where'.#" Amelia translated as he spoke.
Phil was stifling laughter.
"#A woman just said, 'I am not your wife. I am Gracia, the White Serpent! You are now my captive!' He says, 'Gracia?
I have never heard of you.'#"
Phil was crossing his arms, apparently playing along.
"#She says, 'Never heard of me? I am Gracia, the mighty warlady! You should be honored to be captured by the
beautiful Gracia, the White Serpent!'#"
Phil cocked his head, looking at the invisible speaker out of the corner of his eye.
"#He says, 'Well, I am. But what shall you do to me?' She says, 'Make you my slave, of course!'#"
Phil cocked his head to the other side, his eyebrows rose up.
"He says, 'Slave? Like do your cleaning and such?' She laughs. I can not do the laugh for you. It is painful to
hear though. She says, 'No! How barbaric! You shall be my love slave! You shall be the father of all my children and I
will have many.'#"
Phil puts a dramatic hand to his chest and melodramatically pretends to be faint.
"#He says, 'Oh, what a cursed fate! I must be forced to lie with you every night and produce children with you. Oh,
the horror!' She laughs. She says, 'Now, you shall know the mighty will of Gracia, the White Serpent!'#"
The speaker came into the frame. It was a curly haired woman, she was laughing.
"Mom... Mommy?"Amelia asked.
Amelia's mother (for indeed, it was she) was wearing a leather bikini with skulls on it. She was rather well-
endowed, although not as much as her first born daughter, and the leather bikini made that rather obvious. Especially
to Gourry.
"Whoa..."
Lina hit him while Amelia screamed, "That's my MOTHER!"
"She looks nice! It flatters her very well! I was admiring the...uh,... craftsmanship!"
Lina took a second look at the "nicely crafted" bikini. Where had she seen that before?
Lina jumped up, standing on the bed, "Oh my Gods! I've seen that bikini before! I traveled with someone who wore a
bikini just like that! Skulls and everything! How did two completely unrelated people have the same outfit? And same
nickname! They both call themselves, 'The White Serpent'! This is too weird!"
Amelia stared at her mother, "That can't be her! She never dressed like... that! She never acted like that! She
was a wonderful, timid person who wore beautiful dresses that covered most of her body! Who is this strange woman?"
"#Gracia, the White Serpent.#"
"Gracia" had walked over to the bed, obviously describing Phil's "torture" to him while put his hand to his
forehead, melodramatically, pretending to bemoan his "horrible fate".
"Gracia" laughed. She struck a ordering pose, obviously giving him commands since he was her "slave". Phil clasped
his hands and made a big show for demanding something else. She looked insulted and pointed at his nose, repeating the
order and turning her back to him. Phil suddenly looked honestly gleeful and started untying the top part.
"AAAAAAAA!!! I don't want to see this! I don't want to see how we were conceived!!!!"
"#I warned you.#" Zel stroked the frame again and the image clouded to everyone's relief.
The image cleared. It was dark. Bumps were moving under the sheets...
"NEXT!"
The image clouded. The image cleared. It was something they didn't want to see. They went through five such events.
As the last image clouded, Gourry said, "Well, at least, you know your parents had a really good relationship!"
The image cleared. Amelia's mother was sitting on the bed, combing her hair. Phil's backs would peek from the
bottom of the frame.
"He's probably doing push-ups," Lina reasoned.
She was smiling and looked down.
"#She says, 'I have a surprise for you.' He says, 'What?'#"
She laughed. "#She says, 'It would not be a surprise if I tell you. Guess.' He says, 'You are going to have a
baby.'#"
She looked disappointed.
"#She says, 'How did you know?' He says, 'Simple. You have not used magic in a while. I know you were not having
your "womanlies" so I asked Entela what else makes women lose magic. One, curses. Two, babies. I guessed the better
of the two.'#"
Phil got up. He looked like the Phil they all knew. He picked up Amelia's mother and swung her a little, but stopped,
realizing that spinning could be dangerous.
The couple kissed and ran out.
The image clouded. The image cleared.
There were maids all around the bed.
"#She is screaming. It sounds like she is in pain. And she hates 'Phil'.#"
"Skip this!"
Image clouded and cleared. The new mother held a baby, Phil was looking at it. He picked it up. Its face contorted
into a crying face and started kicking its feet. Amelia's mother wore a mixed face of sympathy and amusement.
The image clouded and cleared. There were few more "unmentionable activities", shots of Mother reading to
Gracia, Father tickling Gracia, Amelia's mother explaining to an unexpectingly excited Gracia that she was going to
have another child. Shot of labor (which they skipped), shots of Gracia and Amelia playing hide and seek with their
mother pretending not to see them, shots of the three jumping on the bed, shots of their mother telling them "not
to judge of book by its cover", shots of Gracia being applauded for doing a light spell for her very tired parents
very early in the morning right into their faces. Almost all were pleasant and made Amelia very sad.
As Amelia's mother was finishing telling the moral of a story, Zel said, "#The next one is the scary one. I will
stop now.#" He tapped the mirror and regain its normal conditions. Zel turned to Amelia, "#Why are you crying?#"
"Master Zelgadis, I am crying because I miss my mother and sister very much. I wish we could have moments like that
again but I know we will not. I'm not sad. I'm happy that I was able to see these things again." She stood up, "We
should finish planning our trip to Hayla." She went to the door and opened it. The others walked through and she added,
"Could you not mention that we were in here or what we saw in the mirror to my Daddy?"
"Sure thing."
"No problem."
"#He can not understand me anyway.#"
"Thanks a lot."
The door closed with a hollow click.
To be continued...
Author's Notes: How did you like my allusion to Naga? I'd like to thank Pairaka for writing "Desperado" because now I
don't have use the "S" word. C&C are welcome and needed at destinyplot@lycos.com!