Zelgadis was having a pleasant dream when a light knocking woke him up.
"Mr. Zelgadis, sir? Mom wanted me to get you because breakfast is done. It'll get cold if you sleep in any longer." Philip's voice was easy to distinguish, even from the other side of the door.
Zelgadis rolled over and looked to the window.
"Gah!"
Zelgadis fell out of bed. The sun was already high in the sky! Just how long had he slept?! Zelgadis got up, quickly made the bed, and threw his clothes on.
"I'm coming, Philip!"
Zelgadis opened the door. Sure enough, Philip's smiling face awaited him.
"Good morning, Philip. Did you sleep well?" Zelgadis attempted to be quaint.
"You bet! I dreamed that a huge dragon attacked, but that I was able to beat it, just like you showed me! Could you teach me some more?"
"We'll see how things go. Has Amelia gotten up yet?"
"She got up a long time ago! She and Mom were talking so loud that it woke me up."
Zelgadis and Philip walked into the kitchen and were met by Gracia and Amelia. Gracia shook her head at them with a smug expression on her face.
"I thought you were going to sleep forever! You'll be lucky if your breakfast is still warm." Gracia said.
Zelgadis looked down at what must have been his plate: waffles, syrup, and a small mug of what he hoped was tea. Not what he usually had for breakfast, but it looked appetizing nevertheless. Zelgadis sat down and dug in.
Gracia meanwhile, turned back to Amelia to continue their conversation.
"Anyway, Amelia, are you about ready?"
Zelgadis choked on his tea and spent a moment coughing to clear his throat.
"What, you mean you've memorized it already?" Zelgadis choked out.
"I told you she was a fast learner!" Amelia beamed. "Gracia, I'm ready whenever you are."
"Then let's do it." Gracia started for the door.
Zelgadis stood up from his unfinished breakfast. "Shouldn't I go as well?"
Gracia shook her head. "No, you stay here and finish your breakfast. I've never cast this before, so I'm not sure how it will turn out. I'd rather not have any distractions. That goes for you as well, Philip."
"Aw, Mom!" Philip pouted.
Gracia and Amelia left the room, leaving Zelgadis and Philip to wonder and wait.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zelgadis had long since finished his breakfast, so he sat at the table, drumming his fingers impatiently. The dirty breakfast plates were starting to annoy him so he took it upon himself to wash, dry, and put them all away. (With Philip's help, of course!)
Still Zelgadis and Philip sat, waiting.
Zelgadis finally turned to Philip. "What do you suppose could be-"
Just then a shriek rang through the air!
"Oh no, Amelia!" Zelgadis lept to his feet and dashed out the door.
Upon exiting the house, Zelgadis saw Gracia and Amelia not far off. From what he could see Amelia appeared to be crying.
"What happened?" Zelgadis shouted.
Gracia turned to face Zelgadis. "Just a minor shock to the system. Nothing to be worried about."
Amelia, meanwhile, was drying her eyes then looked to Zelgadis. Tears wet her cheeks once again.
"Oh Mr. Zelgadis, I can see!"
Amelia dashed to Zelgadis, but stopped short of tackling him (much to Zelgadis' surprise.) She took a moment to study him.
"You look just the way I had imagined you!" Amelia hugged him around the waist.
After regaining his breath, Zelgadis returned the hug.
Philip walked over to Gracia. "So when do I get to learn stuff like that?"
Gracia gave a tired smile to her son. "I suppose I can't keep you safe from the world forever."
"You mean I can?"
"Well, soon enough. We'll have to find a good school for you, provided your father approves."
Amelia looked at Gracia. "Speaking of your husband, does he know about you? I mean, who you really are?"
"Well..." Gracia scratched her cheek nervously. "Not exactly. I've hinted to Lester about where I come from, but nothing else."
"You were going to tell him, weren't you?" Amelia asked.
"Yes, but I was waiting for the right time. I've spent so long hiding from the past that I've been scared to confront it again." Gracia admitted.
"Gracia, I missed you so much! And Daddy, too. Surely you'll come back to Seyruun?" Amelia glanced over to Philip. "Besides, Seyruun has some of the best teachers of magic around. And Philip is rightfully an heir to the throne."
"Wow, you mean I'm a prince?" Philip beamed.
"Well, yes, I was going to tell you. I suppose it's been wrong of me to keep away Father's only grandchild, unless you..?" Gracia looked at Amelia.
Amelia blushed bright red. "No, no! I've not even courted anyone...yet." Amelia stole a glance at Zelgadis.
Gracia gave a skeptical look. "You would have me believe that you two have been traveling around together, just because? Not courted', indeed!" Gracia laughed, then addressed Zelgadis, "Then you are you? A soldier? Or a page perhaps?"
"No, nor do I intend to be." Zelgadis crossed his arms. "I am merely an old traveling companion helping out a friend."
Gracia noticed the faint blush on Zelgadis' face. "Oh-ho, I see."
Amelia could see the tension between Zelgadis and Gracia building. Better put a damper on it...
"Gracia, I am extremely grateful to you, but Mr. Zelgadis and I should be leaving soon. I've been away for a long time, and I wouldn't want to worry Daddy any further." Amelia said.
"No, I would imagine not. Before you go, could you deliver a letter for me? Father ought to know what I've been up to before I just drop in." Gracia replied.
"Yes, of course, Gracia. Daddy will be delighted to hear from you again!" Amelia clasped her hands together happily.
"Well then, let's go back inside so I can write it, first!"
Zelgadis was back in his room packing his things. Philip, of course, had never left his side.
"So you're really leaving?" Philip asked.
"Yes, I've got to take Amelia back home."
"Mr. Zelgadis, sir, I'm going to miss you! Do you think we'll ever see you again?"
Zelgadis looked at Philip. The boy appeared really torn up about this. Zelgadis still considered the boy an annoyance, and yet he was starting to like Philip. It had been nice to share some of his knowledge and skill. Perhaps having children wouldn't be so bad after all.
"I'm sure we will, Philip." Zelgadis smiled at the boy.
"And you'll teach me more about sword fighting too, right?"
Zelgadis sighed. "Yes, Philip, I'll teach you more about sword fighting."
"Yay!" Philip hugged Zelgadis then dashed out of the room. He stuck his head back in a moment later. "I'm going to say good-bye to Aunt Amelia."
"All right, Philip, she'll appreciate that."
Philip disappeared from view again, but could easily be heard stomping down the hallway. Zelgadis shook his head. Some children...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Do we have everything?" Amelia asked. "I'm not even sure of all we brought with us, other than Hiro, of course."
Hiro whinnied in response. He was eager to get going!
"Yes, other than saying good-bye." Zelgadis motioned to the front porch where Gracia and Philip stood.
"Good-bye, Gracia! Good-bye, Philip! Be sure to visit soon!" Amelia waved.
"You can bet on it." Gracia responded.
"Bye, Aunt Amelia! Good-bye, Mr. Zelgadis, sir!"
Zelgadis gave a short wave, then began walking down the path, Amelia and Hiro right behind him.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They walked for most of the day, choosing to take the quickest route back to Seyruun (which meant avoiding all of the major cities.) As evening fell, they stopped and set up camp for the night.
Amelia was pulling out some cookware, but then turned to Zelgadis.
"Mr. Zelgadis, I was wondering."
"Yes, what is it, Amelia?" Zelgadis looked up from setting up the tent.
"Well, I was just wondering if you would come back to Seyruun with me."
"Aren't I doing that already?" Zelgadis grinned. He knew where this was going.
Amelia fidgeted nervously. "I mean, to stay."
"Amelia, I thought you would never ask."
"Really?" Amelia blushed, then noticed something.
"What happened to the other tent?"
And that is the end! No more I say! (I like to leave something to the reader's imagination.) As for the query on Gracia's husband, I saw in the special novels that a guy actually does like Naga', so I swiped him and made them get married. (I have a picture of him on one of my Fight cards, and his name really is Lester. Or Resta if you want to translate it directly.) As I said before, I hadn't planned on putting Gracia in the story originally, but it just worked out better that way. (That, and writing Philip's character was actually fun!) And just so you all know, I do NOT plan on writing anything else on this story. Not only do I have no ideas for what else to write on this, I have other fic ideas I'd rather be writing, and also my poor wrist really needs a break from all this typing.
And one last note, I know the end was a bit overused (after all, Amelia seems to ask Zelgadis that question at the end of every season), but it was the best way to end it. I've always thought that Amelia implies more than what she says when she asks that question anyway. (How I love implications, although some people don't seem to pick up on it well. Oh well, we all can't be the same, that would be dull!) And now I leave you to pursue other things, but hopefully I'll have my next fic idea written up soon