Phil had apologized the other night about neglecting his duties as Zel's host, but Zel waved him off, telling him that he was fine with staying in the library and looking through the royal collection of books. Of course, Zel's riding lessons hadn't stopped despite the fact that the entire stable was worried sick over Amelia, and he now found himself looking forward to those small breaks from studying books and fighting off weird impulses to hunt down Amelia's room. It also helped that Horse Master Josh had stated that Zel had a natural riding ability, and he would soon be graduating from the gentle Breeze to a horse that Josh swore would suit Zel's personality type better than a rickety old school horse.
Zel paused next to a line of portraits of past rulers of Saillune to think back on the day Safir had, literally, blown a hole in Phil's plans to find Amelia quietly. Amazingly enough, he had taken the news of
Safir's return, and the condition the horse had arrived in, calmly, with only a small twitch of an eyebrow to betray any emotion he had felt. Phil then ordered Josh to do everything he could to get the horse back into a healthy condition, before turning his back to them.
Zel had started to follow Josh out the door, but something made him pause and look back at the large Crown Prince of Saillune. Phil's shoulders had been slumped, and they occasionally jerked with emotion as he tried to control himself. Zel had left knowing there wasn't a thing he could do for the prince, especially since he himself was finding it difficult to contain his worry over Amelia's safety and well being. He had tried to hunt down Xelloss to see if the Mazoku could offer any more insights about Amelia's location, but he had been unable to find the Trickster. Apparently, he had vanished during the confusion of Safir's entrance, and Zel found himself both annoyed and relieved that the Trickster wasn't around. He was annoyed because he had wanted to ask Xelloss about his true agenda in regards to the missing Princess of Saillune, but he knew that he probably wouldn't have gotten an answer beyond, "Sore wa himitsu desu."
Just thinking about those four words caused Zel's blood to boil, and he brought himself back to the present with a small jerk of his head. As he focused again on where he was, he found himself standing in front of a closed door, with no idea how he had gotten there. Shrugging, Zel figured that he must have been walking while lost in his musings, and wound up in the living section of the palace once again. The corridor on either side of him was lined with doors similar to the one he was standing in front of, but for some reason Zel found himself studying the intricate carving on the door, and felt a tickling sensation at the back of his mind. It was almost like something was calling to him on the other side of the door. Figuring he had nothing to lose, he reached for the doorknob. Thanks to well-oiled hinges, the door opened without a sound.
Zel walked through the doorway and found himself in a room that was full of light. There were huge picture windows lining one wall, and the light blue curtains had been thrown back to let the sunlight fill the room. A huge, antique four-poster bed took up the center of floor. A white comforter with splashes of bright yellow, pale blue, and spring green graced the bed, one corner turned down as if it was waiting for someone. A vanity sat against the wall to the right of the bed, while an over-sized chest of drawers occupied the left side. Two bookshelves on the other wall completed the room, but what caught Zel's eye was the portrait of Ailanthus hanging between the two bookshelves.
The former Crown Princess of Saillune was smiling as if she were hiding a secret, and her long hair had been gracefully arranged in an elegant French twist with a couple of curls pulled loose and framing her face. She was wearing a formal gown of emerald green silk, and emerald tear drops graced her ears. She looked very different from the woman ghost that everyone had met in the Sword Room.
Instead of looking like she was prepared for battle, Ailanthus looked ready to attend a royal ball. Her expression was calm and serene, with a mischievous twinkle in her eye and a knowing quirk about her smile. Zel gazed at the portrait, and for a moment it was Amelia he was seeing in elegant ball clothing, smiling cheerfully at everyone who greeted her. He blinked, and once again he was gazing at the painting. The corner of a small sheet of paper that had been folded up several times and stuck behind the painting caught his eye, and he carefully reached up and tugged on it, breathing a sigh of relief when it came free easily and landed in his hand. Zel walked over to a large roll-topped desk, and sat down in the chair where he could benefit from the sunlight. He unfolded the sheet of paper, not worrying about whether or not what he was doing was wrong or right. As far as he knew, the sheet of paper could contain a clue to his cure. He knew he was grasping at straws, but it helped him to feel better about reading what could possibly be a private letter to someone. He glanced once again at Aila's painting, before he began to read.
"I'm told that my mother looked exactly like me, but it's so difficult to believe that sometimes. If it weren't for the fact that I often see her in my dreams, I wouldn't believe them at all. Most of my memories of her are hazy at best, and non-existent at worst. It seems that I can't remember anything about her past my fourth year, but I know from records that she died when I was five. I don't remember much at all from my childhood, now that I think about it. I know I had an older sister who vanished after Mother died, but I don't remember anything about her other than this horrible laugh. Hmmm, I ramble as I'm wont to do when I have time to take a breather during paper signings and going over treaties. It's probably because Daddy keeps me so busy that I hardly have time to hear myself think. That's one reason I like to travel around with Lina and the others. Once the initial annoyance of having a diplomatic mission interrupted wears off, I can drop the princess and become just plain Amelia." Zel jerked a bit when he realized that he was reading Amelia's writing, but he couldn't stop himself now. For some strange reason, he was almost craving some link with the missing princess, some reminder that she existed. Being stuck in Saillune, which was in a state of guarded emergency over her missing status, was taking more out of Zel than he was aware of.
Everyone kept asking the same question, was Amelia alive or not? Hearing that for the past three days was slowly starting to wear on Zel's nerves. Zel shook his head, and went back to reading. "As usual, I digress once again. I'm supposed to be talking about my painting, that's why I originally began a journal in the first place. Like I said, I'm told that I look like my mother, so in a way, this painting of my mother is a self-portrait. I'm not sure where I got the idea that Mother had pale purple hair and brown eyes. I can't remember, and in my dreams her face is usually a faint, fuzzy blur. I guess I heard Daddy mention that Mother had hair and eyes of those colors, and it just stuck in my subconscious until I needed it. I do know that she had a dress like the one I painted, because Daddy gave that very dress to me a year ago, stating that Mother would have wanted me to have it. Looking at it makes me nostalgic, so I keep the dress in my closet. I can't quite bring myself to wear it yet. Maybe one of these days."
In place of a signature, there was an A with an S through it. Zel got up and walked over to the painting, finding the exact same A and S in the right corner of the canvas. Zel stared at the signature, trying to incorporate this new facet to Amelia that he had just learned. He never knew, and he bet neither Lina nor Gourry knew, either, that Amelia had such talent in the art department. She always seemed to be so full of energy that it was nearly impossible to picture her standing in front of an easel and taking the time to mix paints without getting impatient and smearing the paint all over the canvas.
Zel shook his head, once again acknowledging that there was more to Amelia than he had originally given her credit for. He carefully refolded the slip of paper, and replaced it underneath the frame. As he pulled away, he glanced to the left and noticed that the bookcase next to him had hinges bolting it to the wall. "Why would a bookcase need hinges?" he wondered out loud, and walked over to the other side. The right side didn't have hinges, and he put his fingers into the small space between the wall and the back of the bookcase, and pulled. The right side slowly pulled away from the wall and swung to the left, leaving Zel standing at the foot of a circular staircase. Zel furrowed his brow, and began to climb the stairs, remembering that he had seen a circular tower at the north end of the castle when he and the others had first walked into the courtyard.
As he climbed, he wondered why Amelia had a concealed staircasebehind her bookshelves, for there was no doubt in his mind that it was her room he had just been in. It served no purpose as an escape route as far as Zel could see, and there was very little point in trying to defend the palace from such a small area. Not to mention the complete lack of space for someone to defend themselves should they be chased into the upwards twisting staircase. Zel smiled slightly as he imagined Amelia backing up the stairs away from her attackers, only to have a klutz attack and fall down the stairs, taking her attackers with her.
Zel's musings were brought to a halt when he came to the end of the stair case to find himself standing yet again in front of a large, wooden door. He reached, and easily pushed the door inwards, and passed through the threshold into a room that was full of light. The round tower was composed of nothing but a large bank of windows that must have been disguised by magic to make the solid rock appearance from the outside. The large windows allowed for every single ray of the sun to light up the room no matter what time of day it was. Zel stood blinking in the doorway for a few seconds before his eyes finally adjusted to the brightness of the room, and then what he saw caused his eyes to widen in stunned amazement. Stacks and stacks of paintings were leaned against the walls and filled up almost every available floor space that the tower room offered. Each painting had a small folded piece of paper stuck to its right corner, but what really sent Zel's mind reeling was that each and every painting was composed of either Lina, Gourry, Gourry and Lina, himself alone or with Gourry and Lina, one strange painting of a young girl in a fetal position, and one painting of Prince Phil.
A large easel was set up in the center of the room, with various paint and painting instruments laying about, all of them having been meticulously cleaned prior to the artist leaving the room. A large canvas was situated on the easel, and Zel walked around to the front to get a better look at what the canvas contained. He felt his heart start to pound as his own features were revealed to him. He was in a fighting stance, half crouched with one hand braced against the ground, almost as if he were getting ready to cast a spell. His cape was flying behind him in a breeze, and his eyes were cold and focusing intently on whatever it was he was getting ready to fire the spell at. In the right-hand corner was the word, "Untitled" with a now familiar A with an S through it underneath.
Feeling strangely reluctant, Zel reached up and gently grasped the piece of paper that had been placed on the right corner of the painting, unfolded it, and began to read. "It's disgusting . . .," was how it started out, and Zel quickly looked up at the painting as anger raged through his mind. All her proclamations of friendship were nothing more than a lie! She didn't see him as himself, she only saw him as an IT! Just as briefly, he calmed himself, regaining the control he so carefully exerted over his emotions. He returned to the paper, having decided to learn all of its secrets. He continued to read. "It's disgusting that Zelgadis can be so beautiful and graceful, and not be aware that he is. I can't recall how many times we've passed through a town and I saw all the young townswomen sighing after him simply because he walked past them. I can't believe that he considers himself a freak. He's one of the most beautiful people I've ever seen. The simple way he picks up a coffee mug or wine glass is so elegant that I find myself envying him his poise and grace. I, a princess, have my klutz attacks and have occasionally had to deal with embarrassing mishaps at the dinner table during my younger years. I wish that I could think of a title for this painting, but I'm not even sure it captured what I had hoped it would. I wanted to try to capture the grace and economy that simply is Zelgadis, but I think I simply caught the focus and determination that makes up such an important part of his soul, which is fine. I can't always be so picky, simply because I wasn't able to get what I wanted out of my paints. I can be content with what I have. I've had years to learn that art."
Zel looked up from the intertwined AS at the end of the note, and gaze again at the painting. "She thinks I'm beautiful?" he asked himself, feeling his face heat up despite his best efforts to keep it from doing so. He carefully refolded the note and replaced it in the right hand corner of the painting, before turning his attention to the other paintings. He no longer felt many qualms about going through Amelia's little notes. He found himself almost hungry for some understanding of how the petite princess saw her traveling companions. He wasn't about to admit to himself that he wanted to know once and for all just how she saw him, personally.
*******************
Lina stared in horror at what was taking place right in front
of her eyes. Gourry and . . . some woman . . . doing .
. . that . . . . The image was too
horrifying for Lina, and she whirled away from the passionate couple and
ran down the hallway that was suddenly visible. She ran and ran,
her breath hissing in and out of her lungs as tears clogged her throat
and streamed down her cheeks. How dare he! How dare he do something
like THAT with another person when he was engaged to HER! Lina let
loose a broken sob as she came to a halt and collapsed to her knees, burying
her face in her hands as she struggled to contain the tears that were threatening
to choke her.A soft laugh jerked her head up, and she found herself staring
into the coldest pair of green eyes she had ever seen. It was the
woman Gourry had been . . . Lina stopped that line of thinking as she quickly
got to her feet and glared at the woman, only noticing now that the woman
was completely nude.
"So, what's your problem, Lina Inverse?" the woman asked, flipping
her long black hair over her shoulder as she continued to gaze at the petite
red head.
"What did you think you were doing with my fiance?!" Lina demanded,
now angry that the shock finally wore off.
"Why, making love with him, of course," the woman said, trying
to look innocent but looking more like the cat who had eaten the cream
instead. She folded her arms underneath her ample breasts, and said,
"Surely you didn't think you could keep a virile young man like him interested
with such a small, flat body like yours, did you? Not when there
are others like me who would be more than willing to share his bed and
offer him more attributes than you would ever get no matter how hard you
try."
Lina grabbed her ears in an effort to stop that hateful voice,
but it continued to penetrate into her brain. "Little flat body,
can't keep his attention, he'll leave you eventually, you'll be all alone
again, he doesn't love you . . ." Over and over and over the words
worked their way inside her entire being until they began to find all the
dark places of her soul that she had kept hidden from the world.
Lina jerked awake with a gasp, sitting up and clutching the
sheet to her chest as she dragged in great lungfulls of air. It had
only been a nightmare. Gourry was still her intended and no one was
going to take him away from her. Yet, there was now a small corner
of her brain that whispered, "Are you sure about that?"
Lina shook her head and swung her feet to the floor. There
was no way she was going to return to sleep after the dream she had just
had. She padded to the door, and slowly made her way down to the
kitchen, where to her surprise she found Meliroon moving about and preparing
to cook breakfast.
"Good morning, Lina," Meliroon said softly, smiling at the sorceress.
"Um, good morning. What are you doing up? It's so
late!" Lina said.
"I should be asking you the same question. I always get
up this early when Gourry is visiting, because it takes a while to prepare
a breakfast big enough for him. And since you're here, a feast is
in order," Meliroon said.
"I'm sorry if I'm trouble," Lina said in an uncharacteristic
show of meekness.
"No trouble. I love doing things for Gourry and
the ones he love. But why are you up?"
"I . . . . had a nightmare and just didn't want to go back to
sleep," Lina confessed, feeling secure with Meliroon as she puttered about
in the kitchen.
"Why don't you have a seat at the table and I'll bring you some
tea," Meliroon said, and Lina did just that. When Meliroon placed
the cup of steaming liquid on the table, Lina picked it up and began to
sip.
"What did you dream about?" Meliroon asked, looking concerned.
"Nothing important, really," Lina lied, saying to herself, "There's
no way I could tell her what I really dreamed about."
"I see," Meliroon replied, looking thoughtful.
"Meliroon, may I ask you a question?" Lina asked, fiddling with
her mug.
"Sure, go right ahead."
"How is it that you and Rowdy are both still alive? That
fight with Joyrock took place a long time ago, and I know elves have long
life spans. Then why . . ?"
"Is Rowdy here, you want to ask, right?" Meliroon finished,
and Lina nodded. "Well, that's a long story, so I'll try to shorten
it up a bit. As Rowdy told you, my father didn't appreciate the fact
that I was in love with a human, but after Rowdy, with your help, saved
us from Joyrock, he became a little more tolerant of Rowdy's attentions.
When it became apparent that he was growing up faster than I was, I begged
my father to increase my aging process so that I would grow with him.
My father agreed, but instead of increasing my age, he took half of my
life span and gave it to Rowdy. This slowed down his own growth process,
and I eventually caught up with him. Once that happened, we both
aged at the same rate, and, well, here we are."
"Makes sense," Lina mused as she finished up her tea.
"Now, I want you to go back to bed, that tea should help you
sleep without dreams," Meliroon said, and Lina nodded, already feeling
sleepy as she got up from the table and made her way back up to her room.
Meliroon watched her go in concern, then got up to find Rowdy.
************
Next episode: Zel in Amelia's studio, what he finds surprises
him.