Chapter 2. When the Dark Night Seems Endless Seyruun. Funny how his travels had brought him here. The Outerworld had proved of little use in finding anything that might cure his curse, and Zelgadis had decided to take up the offer Amelia had extended three years ago and search here for his cure. Not that Amelia being a princess of Seyruun had anything to do with it. He wasn't even expecting to see her, he'd be so busy with his research, and she'd be busy with her official duties. No, Amelia being here had nothing to do with his ending up here at all. With a sigh, he set off to the gates, only to stop as his sensitive ears picked up the sound of heavy, desperate footfalls. He turned, and felt disbelief set in as he saw Gourry Gabriev running as though the world depended on it towards Seyruun, his face a ghostly mixture of pain and fear marred by the trail of his tears. In his bare arms stained with blood was the limp body of a sorceress who had always seemed determindly indestructible. He shook his head to clear it, not believing his eyes, not wanting to believe his eyes. "Gourry!" he yelled. So caught up in his desperation to get Lina to Seyruun, Gourry had not even noticed Zelgadis running towards them as he approached Seyruun. Relief began to fill the swordsman. Zelgadis knew magic, Zelgadis could help her where he could not, frustrating though it was. He, not Zelgadis, was her protector, but he couldn't afford to let pride stop him from doing what needed to be done, and it was with relief that he called out to the shaman, "Zel, help her!" Zelgadis was in a slight state of shock. Never before had he heard such piercing desperation in the swordsman's voice. Yet that desperation also moved him into action, "RAY WING!" he called, a bubble wind enveloping Lina, Gourry and himself and with speed he directed it towards Seyruun. That done, he turned his attention towards Lina and felt the familiar pangs of despair creep over him. "You can heal her, right?" Gourry asked, sounding so childlike as he took Lina's hand while trying not to think about how cold it was. Quickly, Zelgadis felt for a pulse but found none. Already her skin had gone grey. Recovery would definitely be useless, as the one being healed had to supply their own energy for it, and Lina had no energy left to give. Resurrection might be able to do it, though Zelgadis was fairly certain that she was too far gone even for that spell, and even if she weren't White Magic had never been his specialty, meaning that the Resurrection spell was out of his grasp. But how could he explain this to Gourry? "It's beyond my abilities." Zelgadis said, his throat constricting, "We've got to get her to Amelia." Gourry's next move surprised Zelgadis. His blue eyes set in a determined manner that was seldom seen, he locked his hands together and effectively slammed them against Lina's chest. He then tilted her chin, leaning down to breath air into her before sitting back up to hit her chest again. "Breath, Lina, please, breath…" he muttered all the while. Zelgadis watched, amazed. Where had an idiot like him learned and, more importantly, how had he managed to remember how to perform CPR? Well, someone as skilled in swordplay as Gourry probably had a few more tricks up his sleeve as well. May be it would help. In a slight daze, the full reality of the situation not fully closing in on Zelgadis, he directed them towards the palace and frowned, wondering where in the palace Amelia would be. Desperately, his eyes searched through the large glass windows, hoping to catch a glimpse of the raven haired justice fighter, and had never been so surprised in his life when at last he did.
. . . Princess Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun finished her closing remarks and dismissed the council. It had been a long session, but justice had been served, and that had made it worth it. Tired though she was, she knew her work here was important, the thought alone being the only thing that drove into her the necessity of hurrying off to one more meeting, that and the knowledge that it would definitely be the last meeting of the day. Oh, the Duke of Hubern was insufferable, but Amelia had a way of getting him to see reason when diplomats could not, and trade would suffer without the Duke's support, ultimately leading to the suffering of her people, and she would not stand for that. Still, it wouldn't hurt if she took a little time off. Sighing, she turned to stare out into the palace gardens, a sight that she never tired of. It was always so peaceful, so comforting, so…What was that in the sky? Amelia squinted, confused. A ball of something was headed straight towards the palace. Where they under attack? Surely not. Seyruun was a peaceful kingdom, and as it was power was equally balanced among all the kingdoms, do largely to the efforts of her father who was greatly admired wherever he went. Why would someone want to attack Seyruun? Yet someone who had grown up among royal intrigue and plotting within the family knew better than to be blinded when the possibility of danger was near. Backing away from the window, she cried, "BALUS WALL!" And just in time. Not two seconds later the window had shattered throwing glass and debris everywhere. Amelia readied a Fireball, only to let it die as it registered just who had come into the palace. "Mr. Zelgadis? Mr. Gourry?" she gasped suddenly, the color draining from her face as she saw Lina, now being cradled by Gourry, lying unnaturally still and limp, dressed in Gourry's blood-soaked shirt. "Oh, Miss Lina." She whispered. "Amelia, help her!" Gourry commanded, his voice rising to nearly hysterical levels. His administrations of CPR had seemed to have taken no effect. Amelia didn't even have to be told, though. Already she was beside him, her hands spread out over the sorceress and chanting the verses to the Recovery spell, even though in her heart she knew it was too late. She had to try, though. She had to! It was Lina, after all, and Lina would never stand to hear about anyone giving up without a fight. Besides, Amelia had promised herself she would never stand by helplessly as someone she cared about died again. Never, never! Energy glowed under her hands and enveloped Lina as Amelia drew life power from the beings nearby, from Gourry and Zelgadis, from herself and the other Seyruun citizens and directed them to healing Lina. Frantically, she searched the plains of the Otherworld for some sign of Lina's existence. Lina wouldn't die without putting up a fight, she'd hang on for all it was worth, but if she had been gone for too long even someone as stubborn as Lina wouldn't be able to return to her body. She'd merely be animated by the life energy, much like Rubia was. Tears stung Amelia's eyes as she found no trace of the woman who had become a surrogate sister to her, who had showed her that the world was not quite as black and white as Amelia had taken it to be, who had served as an inspiration to the cause of justice, even if Lina's definition of justice was a little whacked out. Yet to no avail. Lina was nowhere to be found. Amelia screamed as she stepped up the search, desperate to pull Lina back, only to collapse from shear exhaustion. She couldn't do it. Failure set in hard on her as she felt the tears well up inside of her. May be if Lina had gotten here sooner…But she couldn't tell Gourry that. Gourry would blame himself for not being fast enough, just as Amelia blamed herself for not being strong enough. Slowly, she lifted herself up, and felt a comforting hand on her shoulder. She turned to look up at her father, who stared at the cold body that had once belonged to the most powerful sorceress in the world, his eyes blazing with fury born of sorrow. It was hauntingly like the scene after her mother's assassination… Trembling, Amelia brought herself to look at Gourry, who was holding Lina's hand, his eyes lost and staring. "Mr. Gourry," she breathed, "I'm so sorry, may be if I had been more powerful…" "May be if I had been a better protector." He said, his voice in a manner that she had never heard before. "Now I don't want to hear any more of that from any of you kids." Prince Philionel said. Zelgadis and Gourry looked up with a start. Like Amelia, they had not noticed his entrance, which was rather mystifying as a man as big and loud as Prince Philionel was rather hard to miss. "Do you think that Miss Lina would want the three of you sitting here taking the blame for her death? Did any of you hand to her the blow that killed her? Of course not! Why she'd come down and berate you all thoroughly if she knew you were doing this rather than finding some sort of meaning to her death." "But her deathblow was meant for me." Gourry whispered. The reasonable part of him had found some sense in Philionel's words, but the emotional part had not. He had failed in the job that had meant the most to him, the job of being Lina's protector. If he had succeeded he'd be dead instead of her, and he'd have rather it been that way. He'd rather she be living and safe with him gone rather than dead with him here. But he had failed.
I'm sorry Lina. Zelgadis turned to stare out of the window, while Amelia laid a hand on Gourry's shoulder. Philionel tried to keep the rage he was feeling at the injustice of it all inside. He had to be strong and controlled for now, because loosing control would not benefit Amelia, Zelgadis and especially Gourry. "She has saved the Kingdom of Seyruun, and so she will receive the funeral rights accorded to such a heroine. But first we must make sure that the evil that killed her no longer brings harm to other innocents! If we just sit by and do nothing…" "She took care of that," Gourry said, his voice flat, "She took him with her." Even the duty of avenging her death was taken from him.
What do I do now, Lina? For once, Philionel was at a loss for words. He had to get the kids out of here before he lost it infront of them, had to remain cool for just a little bit longer until they were as settled as they could be for the night, "Well, then, I think that the three of you should get some rest. You two boys do remember where your rooms are from your last visit?" Zelgadis nodded, Gourry just stared at Lina. "Well then, get some rest and once the shock clears we'll discuss what to do then. Amelia." He said gently, helping her to stand up, her legs shaky with grief and overexertion from performing Resurrection. Quietly, he led Amelia from the room, dreading the task before him of preparing the funeral rights for a sorceress whose skills were indispensable and nursing three kids through their grief while trying to reign in on his own. Once he had left, Zelgadis took a deep, shuddering breath, trying not to think about the woman who had been one of the rare people who could get him to crack a smile, one of the first people to see past his stony features and treat him like a human. Heck, she even had an intellect that rivaled his, particularly in the fields of Black Magic, history and strategy. Who else could he converse with that might provide insights into his search for his cure and understand why he still felt driven to find it, even if he had come to realize that he wasn't a freak anymore? And who else could he count on to just be a friend? Zelgadis turned around and forced himself to stare at the scene before him. It hurt to see someone who had been so vivacious looking so empty and cold, and to see someone else who had always been so carefree and happy looking weighed down and miserable. He was tempted to just walk away and find his room to suffer his grief in private but he couldn't leave Gourry like this. He had to help him, but helping people in this manner was not something that came naturally to him. After withering over his conflicting thoughts on what to do, he walked over and clasped Gourry on the shoulder, "Come on, there's nothing you can do for her now. Phil's right, some rest would do you some good. Lina wouldn't want you to waste your strength. Gourry?" Gourry's fists clenched. He did not want to leave her. He knew that leaving her would be the first step in acknowledging that she was really gone, gone forever and that nothing he could do would bring her back. He would be doing the very thing that Lina preached against: accepting defeat. "Gourry," Zelgadis said a bit more forcefully, "Lina wouldn't like it if you spent the rest of your life sitting here mourning. Come on, let's go." Gourry shuddered with the knowledge that Zelgadis was right. Gathering the remnants of his courage and strength, he shakily got to his feet, nodding his thanks to Zelgadis. Head bowed, he followed the shamanist swordsman out of the conference room and to his guestroom. He had thought he would not sleep well at all, yet as soon as he laid down on the bed, shock claimed him, dragging him into a sleep fraught with nightmares, the images of Lina being pierced repeatedly by Goidbyn burning in his head.
Author's Note: For the record, I have taken enough CPR classes to be able to teach the class myself, and I know that the way depicted above is not the correct procedure for CPR. However, as it was the way that Sylphiel performed CPR on Lina in "Slayers Prime" and it worked in "Slayers Prime", I am mimicing CPR as it is depicted in the Slayers universe. Anyway, more editing to do before I can post the rest, so farewell till then!
