Author's Note: Although I am loath to admit this, I have never seen any of Slayers except for the movie. That included precisely zero seconds of screentime for Zelgadis. Please submit constructive criticism, and I will attempt to bring you good stuff that people like to read.
I am rabidly anti-Zel/Ameria and I also have my own opinions on how things are spelled. Please live with it.
And now, on with the show!
Zasshu no Kokoro
-One-
'Here, if you stand in one place long enough, a lifetime's worth of adventure will find you.'
Dean Koontz- Seize the Night
For Lina, home was where the food was. For Gourry; brainless, bumbling Gourry; home was where Lina was…and consequently the food. For Ameria, home was obviously Saillune, where she could be a complete nutcase along with the king of all nutcases. Filia was just fine with the dragons. Xellos…sore wa himitsu desu. And better left that way.
But what about him?
Reflected in the mirror surface of the oasis' spring, Zelgadis Graywords frowned. You could have gone with one of them, you know.
No. That wouldn't have worked. He knew he never wanted to get in the middle of another pointless bicker about food, never wanted to hear the word 'justice' again, never wanted to get stuck with another 'Sore wa himitsu desu!', never to get whacked with another mace.
And ever if he had gone, to what would it be? More sidelong, distrustful glances, hiding under mask and cloak, running from angry mobs…well, maybe not the last one.
He was different, and that was it.
He sighed, and concentrated with all his might on the surface of the water. "I wish I had the Clair Bible." Nothing. "I wish I was human again." Still nothing. "I wish I knew what the hell to do now." Hey, at least that one was realistic.
The stockboy carefully stepped around one of the many displays of fine jewelry, lugging a big box. Not carefully enough. The corner of the box flipped a notice off of one shelf-
WARNING:
Extremely dangerous magical amulet. Do not touch. Please ask for assistance.
The pink jewel glittered innocently in its silver setting.
Ameria carefully pushed open the shop's old wooden door, eyes widening at the spotlessness of the place. Her eyes were soon entranced by something else, however. The light of the sun streaming through the huge windows caught the gold, silver and gems; covering the walls with a mosaic of light.
"P-princess Ameria! You're b-back!" Completely infatuated with the pretty co-ruler of the city, the stockboy rushed to help in whatever way he could.
"It's okay, I'm just looking." Ameria graced him with a smile, and went about her business.
Amethysts and aquamarines reminded her too much of Zel, tearing her emotions even at the sight. They didn't match the dress, anyway.
She blocked the chimera from her thoughts, choosing to visualize the dress she was going to wear to her welcoming party her father was holding the next day. King Phil had invited nearly everyone in the city to welcome back their beloved princess of justice from her adventures. The dress she had chosen was a vision of white satin and pink mesh, her favorite colors.
Ameria. The gem glittered. Over here, Ameria.
She turned her head, not quite sure what was calling her.
I'm perfect, Ameria. Don't you think so?
It was perfect. The gem had to be an extremely rare pink diamond fit for…a princess! But it looked expensive. Too expensive.
You have enough. Ameria, I can give you everything you've ever wanted. I can give you Zelgadis. Anything, Ameria.
Beautiful. She had to have it. She tentatively reached toward the glittering pink heart.
Yes. Ameria, I can make you happy. Don't you want that?
She did. More than anything. Quickly, furtively, as if she wasn't allowed to, she snatched the pendant, watching it sparkle against her hand.
An overwhelming rush of adrenaline nearly knocked her off her feet. Somehow, she felt she wasn't allowed to have this…and yet she had it anyway! No one could tell her what to do!
Buy me, Ameria. Stealing isn't right, especially for a princess.
It couldn't be bad, it was giving her good, just advice! She was suddenly seized with an irresistible temptation to wear it, itched to feel its cool metallic weight around her neck. "Excuse me?"
"Yes, princess?"
"I'll take this!"
"Wait, don't you want to know how much…"
"Just charge it to my father's account! Later!" Ameria ran for the door.
Zel tried desperately to steady himself, anxiety twisting in his chest at the unwelcome sight of the Saillune palace. He did not want to be here. He clutched Ameria's amulet, desperately wishing he could grind it to powder in his fist. Screw this. I should have thrown it off the boat.
You know what to do, Ameria. It's turning out exactly as I planned.
She smiled. He'd come back. It was enough.
Zelgadis glanced around, twitchy, and slipped through the door. Several bewildered serving girls stared back at him. "Uh…is Princess Ameria around? No? Too bad. Give this to her when you see her, would you? Thanksbye!"
Not caring about how idiotic he sounded and just wanting to get the hell out of there, Zel tossed the amulet to one of the girls and spun around.
"Zelgadis?"
Damn.
"ZEL! It is you!" Ameria dashed toward him. At the last second, she feigned tripping and fell right into his arms.
She giggled nervously. "Sorry, Zel."
"Uh…It's okay, Ameria. I should really be…leaving…um…yeah," he stammered.
"Oh, you have to stay for dinner at least, Zel! Daddy's throwing a Welcome Home party and everyone in town's coming; it'll be so much fun! Please?"
"Okay…"
"This is great! I knew you'd come back!" She dragged him toward the great hall. "C'mon, they're going to start soon!"
Of course, Ameria insisted that he sit next to her at Prince Phil's table, attracting interested stares from everyone in attendance. Zelgadis studied his reflection in the polished inner surface of his wine goblet and did his best to disappear. He could just hear what was going through everyone's heads: Doesn't the princess look lovely? I wonder who her… interesting… friend is.
"Zel? I'll be right back. I forgot my…um…purse!" A nervous titter escaped her lips. Zel frowned. She patted him reassuringly on the shoulder. "Don't worry, silly! I wouldn't run away on you!" she chirped. With a rustle of skirts, she disappeared into the crowd.
Ameria trotted purposefully out of the hall, her eyes cold and narrow. "Guards!" she snapped, glancing about expectantly. The heel of her left shoe suddenly snapped, and a very nasty and particularly unprincesslike word escaped her lips as she narrowly avoided falling.
A few slightly inebriated guards straggled to attention, sniggering loudly. "Yes, princess?"
"You. Yes, you. The one laughing. You think this is funny? Get me a new pair of shoes. The rest of you, lock every exit to this castle, and put a double watch on every door. No one gets out of here until I say so."
"Yes, prin-"
"NOW! Or I'll have the lot of you executed!"
By the time Ameria got back, albeit flushed and decidedly purse-less, King Phil had launched into a series of long-winded toasts, all of which were well-received by the crowd.
"To my wonderful, brave, beautiful daughter, your princess, Ameria!"
The crowd cheered.
"To the era of peace and justice being held up in our kingdom!"
The crowd cheered.
"To the ludicrous tax hike I will put in place tomorrow afternoon!"
The crowd cheered. Hey, they were all drunk.
"Just kidding!"
The less drunken faction of the crowd cheered.
"And now, if I may have your attention, please…Princess Ameria has an announcement to make."
Ameria smiled sweetly. "Thank you, daddy. Everyone! I have seen and learned many things on my travels." The crowd cheered. "Yes, thank you. And if I have learned one thing, it is that people need someone to look up to." The crowd cheered, involuntarily looking up at Ameria. "And that is why I have decided to announce my engagement to the heir to our kingdom tonight!" The crowed cheered, but many young men in the crowd looked devastated.
Huh. I wonder who the poor bastard could be. Hope he knows what he's getting into.
"The marriage will take place in just a few days time! And I wouldn't want to keep you waiting an unjust length of time, so I might as well just tell you who the lucky guy is."
Ameria grinned. "Zelgadis Greywords!"
Zel gibbered. "Wh…heh…er…you…" His expression was akin to that of a man, who, upon coming home from work, discovers that squirrels have kidnapped his wife and are having a toga party in the bathroom. It didn't help that several guards attempted to haul him to his feet at that same moment.
Ameria chuckled. Her necklace twinkled. She then attempted to hug the living daylights out of Zel, who turned a deeper shade of blue.
Zel staggered backward, gasping for breath and managing a pretty good fish imitation. A guard caught him.
"You…you…"Fear replaced disbelief, which was in turn overridden by fury. "What…you…!" Somewhere in between fury and fear, the ability to stand under one's own power was achieved. "What the hell…" He was still speaking incoherently, but hey, we can't all be perfect.
Still moving backwards, his eyes trained steadily on Ameria, Zel somehow managed to not trip over anything and still maneuver his way to the door. He had come to the conclusion that he was having a bad dream and that consciousness would be regained if he exited the castle.
A particularly plastered young man failed to get out of his way, and the chimera was knocked neatly off his feet. It hurt like hell. He failed to wake up.
Zel came up with the better conclusion that the world had gone insane, and Ameria especially.
He struggled to his feet, dimly realizing that Ameria was screaming some order at him. A sparkle near her throat alerted him to the presence of the strange necklace. Oh, shit. She had a Lairise Amulet. Wonderful. He seriously suspected it wasn't under the control of any third party. Even better. Which meant she would stop at nothing until she got exactly what she wanted- him.
All the swear words he'd ever learned mashed into one offensive phrase didn't seem like enough here. Best just to leave while he could. People were beginning to titter and murmur to each other.
His fingers groped over the carved mahogany doors until they reached the cool metal of the doorknob. He grabbed at it madly, and attempted to twist it open. It halted stubbornly and clicked. He pushed, pulled, turned, poked, jiggled, teased, and finally flat-out hit the damn thing, and wound up with nothing to show for it but a sore hand. Locked.
At this point, the chimera was, among other things, tired, hungry, and hadn't had a hot shower in a good long time. In short, he was just flipping pissed off. With an enraged squall, the lock was melted and the door half-incinerated due to a well-placed fireball.
"Seize him!" Ameria barked. The guards complied.
Zel scuttled along the marble passageway to the main entrance, barred a blocked by no less than six palace grunts. Well, they don't look like the brightest bunnies in the box.
"Hey, you guys mind if I use this window? No? Okay." He quickly jimmied open the large picture window, which swung out on rusty hinges. It was a full twenty feet to the ground. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea…
"ZELGADIS GREYWORDS, YOU GET BACK HERE!!!"
He jumped.
TO BE CONTINUED