Chapter 5

Lina and Amelia drug an unconscious Gourry through the streets of Paris. "I can't believe the Captain of the Guard doesn't have a cent on him! What gives?" Lina complained as she held Gourry's arm with his feet dragging behind them.

"He probably ate his money…" Amelia wondered, holding his other arm.

"Nah. Coins don't go down properly with the system. Like one morning I woke up and…"

Amelia blinked and stared at Lina from over Gourry's shoulder. "You've eaten money before???!"

"No…" Lina coughed. "Look. We have to stash Gourry somewhere so we can get back to the Court of Secrets."

They gave a groan as Gourry began getting heavy again and they continued walking down to the church. Amelia nodded in agreement. "Maybe Mr. Zelgadis could take care of him."

Lina laughed. "Oh I think not! Do you really think that ugly, disrespectful chimera would really take care of Gourry?"

"Maybe." Amelia smiled gently and her and Lina lifted Gourry a little to put him on the steps of the church. "Do you think he would be safe if we left him on the steps?"

"Probably not. But who cares!" Lina cracked and stretched her back from carrying the heavy guy. "So, which way to the Court of Secrets, Amelia?"

"Let me get my bracelet…" Amelia put her hands in her pockets and grimaced. "Oh my…"

"What?"

"I forgot that I gave my bracelet to Mr. Zelgadis!" Amelia sighed.

"You what! We need that bracelet to show us how to get home! Even though we've lived there for many many years we still don't know the way there!"

"Strange how that works.." Amelia wondered. "That's the problem with movies, they fade in and out of scenes so much that you forget where you live. Let's go up to the belltower with Gourry and get my bracelet!"

The two girls heaved Gourry off the steps and into the church. They drug in up to the belltower by his arms with the rest of him dragging on the stone steps.

- - - - - -

Zelgadis sighed and sat on the balcony, flicking little rocks off and into the streets below. Each pebble he threw doubled in speed as they fell. He stood up and walked away before he could hear a loud crash from the pebble and a shrill scream. "Grandma! NO!"

He crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm really really really REALLY starting to get bored."

"Welcome to our life, son." Laverne said from the table with the other gargoyles playing with the little wooden figures.

Hugo was playing with the Zel and Amelia one. "Oh Mr. Zelgadis! I love you so much! Lets go behind the altar and make mad, passionate…"

"HUGO!" Zelgadis blushed and grabbed the Amelia figure away from. "You're singing was enough! Don't go and have fantasies about me and her in front of me too!"

The pig gargoyle winked at him. "Like you don't."

Zelgadis growled and blushed again. "It's not like that. It's not like I'm ever going to see her again. She wouldn't come up here in a million years."

"Mr. Zelgadis?" A sweet voice sang out from the steps.

Zelgadis' heart leaped in spite of itself. "Amelia! You….I can't believe it!" The gargoyles smiled and nudged each other.

He ran over to her and stopped when he saw Lina and Gourry come into view. "Gourry got hurt after saving the miller's family. Can he stay here? Please?" Lina asked.

Zelgadis snorted. "No."

Lina pushed past him, taking Gourry with her. "We'll take that as a yes!" Zel growled as Lina put Gourry in his bed.

"Listen here! You can't just go into people's rooms with unconscious people!"

Lina gave him a sharp glare. "I don't really care, Zelgadis. We didn't have any other place to put him, and we're not taking him to our home!"

Zelgadis opened his mouth again to say something when Amelia came into his view. "Please, Mr. Zelgadis?" His angered face softened and he sighed with his eyes narrowed.

"I guess so….but only until he's better. Who knows where he's been."

Amelia smiled and hugged him. Zelgadis stiffened.

"You just came up to put the guard up here?" Zel asked, hoping for another excuse.

"I had another reason too."

Zelgadis' eyes lit up. "Yes? Yes?"

"I want my bracelet back. Please."

Zelgadis sweatdropped. Hugo made a dive bomb sound from the ledge.

"Oh……that's what you wanted. I thought you gave it to me."

Amelia looked very flustered. "I'm sorry, I really am! Lina and I need it to find out way home!"

Zel blinked. "You don't even know where you live?" She nodded. "Okay……" He walked over to the table and gave the bracelet back to her with a sad sigh.

Lina leaned over Gourry and took out a wet cloth out of nowhere to dab his forehead. She heard him snore loudly and turn on his side. "Hey! Wake up, we thought you were hurt!" She smacked him.

"OUCH!" Gourry opened his eyes and then closed them again. "Oh my eye!"

Lina looked at his face. "What's wrong?"

Gourry gave a pained expression. "Eye……..lash…."

"Oh for the love of…Here! Open your eye!"

"No! It hurts!"

"OPEN YOUr EYES OR I'LL GOUGE THEM OUT WITH MY NAILS!"

Gourry opened his eyes.

Lina took out the wet cloth and wiped it around one of the eyes. "There, was that so hard?"

"Yes…." Gourry blinked. "You got it out!" He looked up at her and they locked eyes for a long moment. "Oh wow. Your eyes are the most beautiful shade of……red. All puffy and blood shot. "

Lina smacked him. "That's the worse thing to say to a girl! You're not romantic at all! Damn you!" She whapped him again and he cried out.

"OW! ANOTHER EYE LASH!"

Lina got up and stomped away. Amelia held up her bracelet to Lina, but she only grabbed her wrist and tugged her downstairs. Zel rolled his eyes at Lina and then looked sadly at the Amelia figure. He tucked her into the box and shut it.

- - - - - -

Rezo rubbed his temples in thought. "I've looked through every part of the city and burned half of it. I can't find those girls anywhere! I even had the guards at every door of the church, I don't understand it."

Lina and Amelia were walking down the street where Rezo was. Amelia said happily to Lina, "That was so nice of Zelgadis to take care of Gourry. I told you he was a good guy! He even helped us, two gypsy girls on the run, escape from the church by taking us down the belltower!"

They froze when they saw Rezo standing before them. He didn't seem to notice, but only scratched his chin. They gave each other a glance and then took off. "You don't think he heard us?"

Rezo rubbed his chin. "I have a sinking feeling that Zelgadis helped the two gypsy girls on the run escape from the church by taking them down the belltower. My god, how do I do it? I'm so smart! It's no wonder why I'm the villain in this story!" He laughed evilly and made his way to the church.

- - - - - -

Zel poked Gourry in the side. "Move it, I want to go to bed." Gourry was curled up on Zelgadis' bed and refused to move.

"I'm hurt and injured! I need the bed to recover!"

"For God's sake, it's just a damn eye lash!"

"Well it's a BAD eye lash!"

Hugo held up a coin to show Victor. "I bet you one coin that Zel's gonna kick Gourry's ass."

"You're on."

Rezo walked up to Zel's loft. "Zelgadis? Zelgadis, you piece of puke….I mean, dear. Where are you?"

Zel gasped and dragged Gourry from his bed. "I gotta hide you or Rezo will kill me!" He pushed Gourry under the table, kicking his legs to fit them completely under. Putting a long tablecloth over it to cover him, he spun around to face his master.

"There you are, Zelgadis. I want to have a word with you." Rezo said singsong like while carrying a basket.

Zelgadis looked at the basket. "What's that for?"

Rezo managed to sit down at a chair and put the basket on the table. "It's for you." He pulled back the cloth on top of the basket. "Have some cookies. It's chocolate chip, you're favorite."

"You've never given me cookies. I can't have a favorite." Zel droned, looking into the basket.

Rezo forced a smile. "But you'll love them! Here, have one!"

Zel picked up one and stared at it. Before he took a bite Rezo added, "I made them myself." Zel put down the cookie.

"Oh really. You're blind, but you can make cookies." He held it away and pretended to chew on it. "Good…mm…Tasty. Thanks." Zel put the cookie on the table and it accidentally fell onto the floor. To his horror Gourry reached out and ate it and chewed it, making a loud crunching sound.

Rezo's ears perked up. "Having another one, are we? On the floor too?" Zel yelped and got a cookie and ate it for real to cover up the sound from the floor.

"Mmm mm!" He made as many loud crunching noises as possible. Zel finally tasted it and almost retched. "OH dear god!"

"Is it realy that good?" Rezo smiled.

Zel nodded his head while his eyes watered up. "Uh huh.."

"Well, now would be a good time to tell that I'm going to attack the gypsies' hideout! I found the place after twenty years of searching and badda-boom, there it was! Good thing you don't have any friends down there or you'd probably want to go and help them. But you don't so, oh well. I must go, enjoy your cookies you miserable sack of…..I mean you sweet, respectable boy." Rezo got up and left the belltower.

The first thing that came to Zel's mind was to empty his stomach of the cookies and threw up off the balcony.

Gourry got out from under the table. "Oh no! Rezo is gonna kill the gypsies! We gotta help them!"

Zelgadis wiped his mouth. "It can't be worse than making them eat his cookies, oh jeez…I can still taste it."

"We have to find them!"

Zel held up his hand. "Listen, Rezo can't find the hideout. He's the only powerful man in Paris that hates gypsies, and he's blind. You do the math."

Gourry looked confused and grabbed his shoulder. "But what if he did! You don't want Lina and Amelia to die!"

Zelgadis' heart did that leaping thing at the sound of Amelia's name. "Amelia…." He growled and pouted. "Don't worry, nothing is going to happen."

Gourry frowned. "You don't care?" Zel didn't say anything. "Well I'm gonna find them and help them anyway…" He ran down the stairs humming the Indiana Jones theme until his voice faded away.

The chimera stood alone in his belltower. He looked down at his Amelia figure on the floor and picked it up. Zel waited for someone to tell him to go and find her, but no one did. He turned to the gargoyles that were napping on the ledge. "Hey guys! Aren't you gonna tell me to help them?"

Hugo yawned. "Why would we do that?"

"Because it's the right thing to do and it's in the script….Wait! Are you doing that reverse psychology on me? You have to be doing that! If you insist I will go find them!" Zelgadis grabbed his cloak and raced downstairs.

The gargoyles shrugged and went back to sleep.

- - - - -

Gourry was having a hard time trying to decide which road to take. "If I were a gypsy where would I hide…" He looked under one of the wagons. "Nope not there. Hmmm."

"Hey Gourry."

"Zelgadis! You going to find the hideout and save them?" Gourry clapped his hands together.

Zel put the cowl up closer to his face. "Yes. We have to hurry. If Rezo knows we have to beat him to it. But where to start? I wish I could have kept that bracelet Amelia had."

Gourry leaned up against a wall. "Maybe it won't be as hard as you think." Zel glanced up at the wall.

"Don't tell me that's what I think it is…"

"What's what?"

The both of them looked at the one wall. There was a line of words written in big white letters that read, 'Court of Secret This Way' followed by arrows.

Zelgadis banged his head against the wall. "Tell me this is a joke!"

Gourry blinked at the words. "What does it say? Sorry I can't read."

"Quite frankly no one in Paris can. My god, if I have come down from that belltower I would have been the smartest man here. I HATE irony!"

"I hate irony too! I can keep putting wrinkles in my shirts."

Zelgadis squeezed his eyes shut. "How bad are these jokes going to get?" He looked up at the wall and walked to where the arrows were pointing. "We might as well follow them. 'I need the bracelet to find our way home', my twenty-pound stone ass."

To be continued….