Chapter Three
The moment they had set foot in Flaim, a sensation went through the kingdom. There were a great many people who had heard of the exploits of Lina Inverse and Gourry Gabriev. They (Lina and her group) were greeted with and given a hero's welcome, but Lina didn't notice it. Her mind was on Gourry. As he'd done on a previous time of getting hurt, he never complained once about the pain until the moment he'd collapsed.
"Okay! Knock it off, people! By Marfa! You all act like you've never even seen heroes before! Move aside so they can get through!" a voice, not unlike Lina's, shouted over the din. At once, the people parted, making a clear path for the group to get through. It was then that Lina saw their benefactor; another High Elf!
"Well, if it isn't High Elf Deedlit! How goes it with you and Parn?" Ashram asked, greeting the High Elf female with all civility.
"It goes well, King Ashram. I would ask how things are going for you, but I see that there are two wounded men that need a healer's attention." Deedlit said, as she looked at the two unconscious forms of Zelgadis and Gourry.
"Yes. I take it that Grievus and Hobb were too busy tending to someone here?" Ashram asked. Deedlit's expression darkened.
"It's King Kashue, Ashram. He's dying." Deedlit murmured, grimly.
"Dying?" Ashram asked, stunned by the news.
"Yes. He fell ill quite suddenly. No one knows just what is wrong with him." Deedlit said.
"Hey, I know that this is depressing, but can we please get Gourry and Zel to some healers? If we don't move soon, they'll be dead along with that king!" Lina shouted, not caring whether or not she was being tactless. Deedlit gave her a scathing glare, but said nothing. Then the blue haired knight spoke up.
"She is right. I hate to say this, but there really is nothing more we can do for King Kashue. If he'd been poisoned, then I am sure Priest Hobb and Priest Grievus would have determined that by now." the blue haired knight said, calmly. Deedlit stared in shock at the blue haired knight and pressed a hand to his forehead.
"Nope, you don't appear to have a fever." Deedlit said, getting a dirty look from the young knight while she was at it. Amelia, Lina, Rain, and Filia giggled despite themselves; it was an almost action for action repeat of what had been done the night Zelgadis had gotten his cure.
"What're you…………laughing at?" came a murmured question from one of the stretchers.
"Zelgadis-san!" Amelia yelped, as she rushed back over to his side and saw that he'd regained consciousness.
"How do ya feel, Zel?" Lina asked, almost wincing when she saw the bloodstained cloth around Zelgadis' middle.
"Like death warmed over. I certainly didn't miss this when I was a freak." Zelgadis said, with some sarcasm in his tone, before wincing and putting a hand to his side. By now, people were giving them peculiar looks. They had obviously overlooked the fact that the famed Lina Inverse had supposedly traveled with a chimera in the past and that it was absent from the group.
"Let's get inside the castle walls. Then we'll see if Neese can heal their wounds." The blue haired knight said, as he motioned to the guards on top of the wall to open the gate.
As the hours passed, Lina found herself wandering around the castle grounds. She ended up under a tree.
"Hello there." A male voice greeted, from above. Startled, Lina looked up and saw a knight sitting in the branches.
"Hey." Lina replied, surprising herself when she didn't fireball him for 'sneaking up' on her.
"Sorry if I startled you. You seem a little down. Anything troubling you?" the knight asked, as he came down from the tree.
"Just sorta worried about a friend, that's all." Lina said, as she took in the knight's appearance. He was tall, with tousled brown hair and ocean blue eyes that were tinged with a little sadness, but much experience gained wisdom. He wore gold armor, that looked like it had seen plenty of action. Draped over his shoulders was a cape that matched his eyes. As she took in the rest of his appearance, she noticed the slight pulse of power emanating from the sword he carried.
"Is that a holy sword?" Lina asked, catching the knight off guard.
"It is. This is the Holy Sword of Valis. It once belonged to King Fahn." The knight said, quietly, as though remembering that fact pained him.
"Ah…………..So, what's your name?" Lina asked.
"My name is Parn." The knight replied, as he offered a hand out to shake hers.
"Mine's Lina Inverse! So, you're the famous Knight of Lodoss, eh?" Lina asked, getting a somewhat embarrassed look from the knight.
"Yes, I am. Quite a bit has been said around here about you, as well. Especially about the death of Shabranigdo. Over here, the people compare it to the slaying of the demon dragon, Shooting Star." Parn said, cringing when he heard a particularly long string of expletives coming from the barracks.
"Who the hell………?!" Lina asked, as a tall mercenary entered the courtyard.
"Garrack! Watch your tongue! There's a dying king upstairs and two men getting healed in the chamber just adjacent to this yard! Have the decency to shut your mouth!" Parn snapped, furiously. The desired effect of the calling down was definitely seen on the man that now stood in the courtyard.
"Sorry, Sir Parn." Garrack said, looking somewhat embarrassed about his outburst. Parn still looked angry, but he said nothing else to Garrack.
"Want me to fireball him?" Lina asked, also immediately taking a dislike to the loud, rude man.
"As much as I might want you to right now, I don't think you should. Why don't we go in and see how Neese is coming along with the healing." Parn suggested, as he gently led Lina out of the courtyard. Lina, though she didn't want to admit it, admired Parn's quiet diffusing of the situation.
"He's obviously seen destructive power before and doesn't want to see any more." Lina thought, as she and the Knight of Lodoss silently entered the room where Zelgadis and Gourry were being healed. Lina watched as a small built, lavender-haired girl kneeled over the inert forms of the two wounded men, whispering prayers as she worked her healing magic on both men.
"Such power! Not even in Seiruun did I feel this kind of power from any one person!" Lina thought, as she watched the girl finish what she was doing and stand up straight again. With a graceful move, she turned and faced Lina and Parn.
"Sir Parn! Sorceress Lina! I didn't know that you were watching me! I'm so sorry for being so rude!" the girl said, obviously abashed by what she took as rudeness on her part.
"Think nothin' of it! How's Gourry and Zel? Are they going to be all right now?" Lina asked, as she looked over at the two men.
"Yes. They will be quite all right, though they will sleep the rest of the day, since they had lost some blood before arriving here." Neese said, as she gazed at the two sleeping figures.
"That's good." Lina muttered, relief in her voice.
"Neese, have you seen Deed and Cecil anywhere? I need to speak to them." Parn said, seriously.
"I think they're in the main audience chamber. Last thing I'd heard was that they were holding a meeting there with the members of Lina's group and a few of your old friends, Sir Parn." Neese said.
"Thank you, Neese. Lina, care to come along?" Parn asked.
"I think I'll stay here for a few minutes more. Ya'll go on ahead, you can brief me later on what ya'll decide." Lina said, as she gestured for both of them to leave.
"Okay then. See you later then." Parn said, as he and Neese left, leaving Lina alone with Gourry and Zelgadis. Carefully, so she wouldn't disturb them, Lina sat down beside Gourry's bed and watched as he slept.
"He looks so peaceful." Lina thought, as an uncharacteristically tender smile crossed her features. Without even noticing what she was doing, she brushed a strand of golden blond hair off Gourry's face, noticing when his eyebrows twitched just slightly.
"Gourry?" Lina asked, softly. Responding to his name being called, Gourry opened his eyes and smiled tiredly at her.
"Lina………" Gourry whispered.
"Shh. Rest up. How does your leg feel?" Lina asked, gently.
"Better. Doesn't hurt anymore. Are you all right?" Gourry asked. At first Lina was surprised that he'd been concerned about her, but then again…………
"I'm fine. And you will be too, after you get some sleep. If anything, we're soon gonna have some company traveling with us that's almost as famous as we are. Do you think you can handle that?" Lina asked.
"I can handle anything………….so long as you're with me, Lina." Gourry admitted, before drifting back off to sleep. Lina blushed, secretly glad that Zelgadis hadn't heard what had been said, nor seen her reaction. Before she stood and walked out of the room, Lina gently placed a kiss on Gourry's forehead, confident that no one had seen. After she had left, Zelgadis' eyelashes fluttered, and his eyes opened. Moving only slightly, he looked at the door and smiled, a slight, almost secretive smile. He'd finally caught her in the act.
Filia sighed as she watched the sun rise. A decision had been made for them to leave for Kanon at dawn. With a sad sigh, Filia looked away from the sight, knowing that she was wishing she'd had someone to watch the sunrise with her.
"Hang on, Xellos, we're coming. Just hang on." Filia thought, as thoughts of a particular Mazoku came to her mind.
Far away, Xellos perked up when he felt the reassuring thought come straight from Filia. She was safe! Despite the pain he was in, Xellos thanked whatever had been watching over him for keeping Filia safe. Hissing in pain, Xellos propped himself up against a wall and tilted his face upwards.
"Please hurry, Filia. Even your own darling Mazoku can't handle this much pain." Xellos thought, knowing that the thought would make Filia angry. As he relaxed for a few moments' sleep, Xellos became aware of the presence of an intruder. Without even opening his eyes, he addressed the intruder.
"Did you find any water?" Xellos asked, smiling when he sensed that he'd startled his unlikely friend.
"I found an underground spring, but I don't have anything to carry water in." a boy's voice said, in response. Xellos cursed his rotten luck, but then the boy said something else.
"Do you think you can handle the walk down there?" the boy asked.
"I don't know. I don't know how far along my old wounds are in healing. And, with my new wounds, I don't know if I will make it." Xellos said, with some disgust in his voice. He hated being helpless!
"Wait a moment! I think I have an idea!" the boy said, as he took a clean cloth out of his pocket (where he'd gotten it, even Xellos didn't know) and dashed off. It was some time before the boy returned, with a sopping wet cloth. Now getting the message as to what the boy had in mind, Xellos allowed the boy to hold the sodden cloth over his mouth so he could catch the precious drops of moisture. After getting all he could from the cloth, Xellos allowed himself to slump against the wall, exhaustion and pain evident in his eyes.
"Do you need anything else, Xellos?" the boy asked, a little worried about the lavender-eyed Mazoku.
"Some more water would do." Xellos replied, quietly. With a nod, the boy dashed back to the spring, knowing that the Mazoku was weakening. When he returned with the soaked cloth, Xellos had already gone to sleep (or something that resembled it). Cautiously, the boy approached and placed the cloth on Xellos' burning forehead.
"How much longer can he continue like this? Even for someone as powerful as he, this is almost too much. As it is, I am too weak right now to get him out of here. I can only hope that outside help comes." The boy thought, as he watched Xellos very closely, while a weak aura surrounded him, shielding his presence from the demon dragon. He smiled as his sensitive elfin ears picked up on a roar of rage from the higher levels of the castle.
"Seems as though something has made him angry. I wonder………….." the boy thought, as he sighed and sat back, waiting for the next time when the wounded Mazoku would wake up.
