Chapter Four
On the last day of Filia and Xelloss' anniversary get-away, the two have a candlelit dinner for two planned. Room service was to bring them a lavish meal, all the delicacies available for miles around, the best, most expensive wine, and a grand dessert.
Unfortunately, the head chef suddenly came down with a bad case of the flu, so all room service was cancelled due to chaos in the absence of the chef.
Thus, the couple decide to eat in the tavern, like almost every other day this week. Not too special, but anything can be romantic with enough effort.
They brought a small candle, and found the darkest, most isolated table in the room. The food wasn't anything to brag about, just a casual dinner; the wine, not too old, just enough to satisfy; the dessert, double chocolate cake, just mediocre. But to Filia and Xel, none of this mattered.
"So, the chocolate cake.it's.very chocolate-y." Filia tries to find the silver lining in a not-so-good situation.
"Who are you kidding? This is terrible. I'm so sorry, Fi-chan, I really wanted this to be a special night." Xel takes her hands from across the table.
"Oh that's all right, Xel-chan. It's all right, as long as I'm here with you.I love you, Xelloss."
Gazing into Filia's eyes, he replies, "I love you too, my sweet dragon."
They go all starry-eyed and begin to go in for a kiss. Just as their lips meet, a voice interrupts their dream world.
"Filia?! Xelloss?! Is that you?"
The dragon and monster freeze, faces barely touching, and both recognize the voice.
"Lina?!"
There, in front of the table, stands Lina Inverse, clutching a leg of chicken. She looks quite a bit different: she grew taller and more buxom. (still pretty small, though ~_^) Her hair, once fiery red, has sort of dulled, and now she wears it pulled back in a ponytail. Long ago, she had abandoned her complicated outfit, and now wears a simple red tunic and black leggings under a black cape. However, she still has the black headband and the magic amplifiers that Xelloss gave her years ago. And, of course, she still retains that mischievous glint in her ruby red eyes.
"Hey! I knew I saw you guys! I could have sworn I saw Filia yesterday, but I just dismissed it. Turns out I was right, huh?" She smiles and tears into the chicken while Filia and Xelloss sit very still, staring at her.
After finishing the leg of meat, she exclaims, "Boy, was that good! Me 'n Gourry were fighting over it and it flew way over here. That was so worth the walk over."
Xel and Filia still stare blankly. Gourry comes around the corner, looking around for Lina. The swordsman, in contrast, looks exactly the same as the day they split up.
"There you are! Did you find my chicken?" he asks.
"Yeah, and it's mine now!"
"No way, I saw it first! It's rightfully mine. Now give it back!"
"I don't think so. I was the one who came all the way over here to recover my precious meat. So it's mine! Besides, I already ate it. Do you really want it back now?" She sticks out her tongue, covered in half-chewed poultry, at Gourry, who cringes in disgust.
"Ewww, Lina! Why'd you go and do that? Now you owe me a piece of chicken."
Now Amelia appears from around the corner.
"What are you two fighting about now?" The princess is also a lot taller, and her voice is less high-pitched. She's much more mature, and her raven hair now reaches half-way down her back. Instead of her old white and pink ensemble, she is clothed in a baby blue tunic with white trimmings, white leggings and boots. And, as evident from the past few years spent in the palace, the princess appears much more regal, even though she's incognito, dressed as an ordinary sorceress/adventurer.
"Miss Filia! Mister Xelloss! Wow, what a coincidence meeting you here!" she exclaims in surprise. "What are you two doing here together?"
"Yeah, you guys seem awfully cozy for supposed archenemies," Lina insinuates, wiggling her eyebrows at the couple, still sitting quite close at the table.
"Hey, that's right. You were always fighting and hitting each other, but now you're.not." Gourry observes diligently, scratching his head. "You look almost like.a couple!"
At this, both Filia's and Xel's faces turn red and Lina and Amelia both notice the position they're in, noses inches apart.
"OHHHHHHHHH! I get it now!" Lina cries. "So that's why you're here in such a romantic vacation spot together. And that's why you're all alone at a table way off in the corner!"
"Oh Miss Filia, Mister Xelloss, I'm so glad you two have reconciled your differences and have even found love within each other. For love is the most beautiful aspect of life, aside from justice, of course." Amelia starts, going all starry-eyed and staring off into space.
"Hee hee hee, Xelloss and Filia sittin' in a tree." Lina sings, making kissy noises and dreamy eyes.
"So does that mean you two are, like, married or something?" Gourry begins a series of dumb questions.
In the middle of all this noise, Zelgadiss enters, sighing. The chimera is.still a chimera. He hasn't changed at all.
"How long does it take to find one piece of chicken? Idiots."
Neither Lina nor Gourry nor Amelia pays him any attention as they continue with their respective rants. Zel pauses, taking in the scene before him: Lina singing and singing acting like a schoolgirl; Amelia, eyes glazed over, preaching about the power of love; Gourry scratching his head and various other parts of his body while trying to figure out where he is, why he's there, and what his name is; and Xelloss and Filia holding hands and almost kissing.
*Blink.blinkblink*
Zel sighs. "I need more coffee." he mumbles, disappearing around the corner.
Unperturbed, the remaining three adventurers maintain their annoyances.
Turning to Filia, Xelloss suggests, "Let's get out of here, ne?"
With a nod from the dragon maiden, they both teleport, leaving behind three very confused friends and a very stressed out chimera.
On the last day of Filia and Xelloss' anniversary get-away, the two have a candlelit dinner for two planned. Room service was to bring them a lavish meal, all the delicacies available for miles around, the best, most expensive wine, and a grand dessert.
Unfortunately, the head chef suddenly came down with a bad case of the flu, so all room service was cancelled due to chaos in the absence of the chef.
Thus, the couple decide to eat in the tavern, like almost every other day this week. Not too special, but anything can be romantic with enough effort.
They brought a small candle, and found the darkest, most isolated table in the room. The food wasn't anything to brag about, just a casual dinner; the wine, not too old, just enough to satisfy; the dessert, double chocolate cake, just mediocre. But to Filia and Xel, none of this mattered.
"So, the chocolate cake.it's.very chocolate-y." Filia tries to find the silver lining in a not-so-good situation.
"Who are you kidding? This is terrible. I'm so sorry, Fi-chan, I really wanted this to be a special night." Xel takes her hands from across the table.
"Oh that's all right, Xel-chan. It's all right, as long as I'm here with you.I love you, Xelloss."
Gazing into Filia's eyes, he replies, "I love you too, my sweet dragon."
They go all starry-eyed and begin to go in for a kiss. Just as their lips meet, a voice interrupts their dream world.
"Filia?! Xelloss?! Is that you?"
The dragon and monster freeze, faces barely touching, and both recognize the voice.
"Lina?!"
There, in front of the table, stands Lina Inverse, clutching a leg of chicken. She looks quite a bit different: she grew taller and more buxom. (still pretty small, though ~_^) Her hair, once fiery red, has sort of dulled, and now she wears it pulled back in a ponytail. Long ago, she had abandoned her complicated outfit, and now wears a simple red tunic and black leggings under a black cape. However, she still has the black headband and the magic amplifiers that Xelloss gave her years ago. And, of course, she still retains that mischievous glint in her ruby red eyes.
"Hey! I knew I saw you guys! I could have sworn I saw Filia yesterday, but I just dismissed it. Turns out I was right, huh?" She smiles and tears into the chicken while Filia and Xelloss sit very still, staring at her.
After finishing the leg of meat, she exclaims, "Boy, was that good! Me 'n Gourry were fighting over it and it flew way over here. That was so worth the walk over."
Xel and Filia still stare blankly. Gourry comes around the corner, looking around for Lina. The swordsman, in contrast, looks exactly the same as the day they split up.
"There you are! Did you find my chicken?" he asks.
"Yeah, and it's mine now!"
"No way, I saw it first! It's rightfully mine. Now give it back!"
"I don't think so. I was the one who came all the way over here to recover my precious meat. So it's mine! Besides, I already ate it. Do you really want it back now?" She sticks out her tongue, covered in half-chewed poultry, at Gourry, who cringes in disgust.
"Ewww, Lina! Why'd you go and do that? Now you owe me a piece of chicken."
Now Amelia appears from around the corner.
"What are you two fighting about now?" The princess is also a lot taller, and her voice is less high-pitched. She's much more mature, and her raven hair now reaches half-way down her back. Instead of her old white and pink ensemble, she is clothed in a baby blue tunic with white trimmings, white leggings and boots. And, as evident from the past few years spent in the palace, the princess appears much more regal, even though she's incognito, dressed as an ordinary sorceress/adventurer.
"Miss Filia! Mister Xelloss! Wow, what a coincidence meeting you here!" she exclaims in surprise. "What are you two doing here together?"
"Yeah, you guys seem awfully cozy for supposed archenemies," Lina insinuates, wiggling her eyebrows at the couple, still sitting quite close at the table.
"Hey, that's right. You were always fighting and hitting each other, but now you're.not." Gourry observes diligently, scratching his head. "You look almost like.a couple!"
At this, both Filia's and Xel's faces turn red and Lina and Amelia both notice the position they're in, noses inches apart.
"OHHHHHHHHH! I get it now!" Lina cries. "So that's why you're here in such a romantic vacation spot together. And that's why you're all alone at a table way off in the corner!"
"Oh Miss Filia, Mister Xelloss, I'm so glad you two have reconciled your differences and have even found love within each other. For love is the most beautiful aspect of life, aside from justice, of course." Amelia starts, going all starry-eyed and staring off into space.
"Hee hee hee, Xelloss and Filia sittin' in a tree." Lina sings, making kissy noises and dreamy eyes.
"So does that mean you two are, like, married or something?" Gourry begins a series of dumb questions.
In the middle of all this noise, Zelgadiss enters, sighing. The chimera is.still a chimera. He hasn't changed at all.
"How long does it take to find one piece of chicken? Idiots."
Neither Lina nor Gourry nor Amelia pays him any attention as they continue with their respective rants. Zel pauses, taking in the scene before him: Lina singing and singing acting like a schoolgirl; Amelia, eyes glazed over, preaching about the power of love; Gourry scratching his head and various other parts of his body while trying to figure out where he is, why he's there, and what his name is; and Xelloss and Filia holding hands and almost kissing.
*Blink.blinkblink*
Zel sighs. "I need more coffee." he mumbles, disappearing around the corner.
Unperturbed, the remaining three adventurers maintain their annoyances.
Turning to Filia, Xelloss suggests, "Let's get out of here, ne?"
With a nod from the dragon maiden, they both teleport, leaving behind three very confused friends and a very stressed out chimera.
