This is the corny last chapter... prepare yourself for muy muchly corniness... evil Corny Demon
Zelgadis sat with his back to the wall, his knees drawn up, and his arms across his knees. What in L-sama's name had compelled him to shout that in front of everyone? And WHY had he shouted it? Did he really love Amelia, and just never noticed it before? Sighing, Zelgadis dropped his head into his hands, and tried not to think about anything. But he failed. He inevitably thought about Amelia again. He wondered if she was okay, and how she was getting along. He also wondered how she took that statement. What if she didn't return those feelings? What if that little crush she'd had on him was nothing more than a crush, and was gone? What if--
His thoughts were cut off when he heard the lock undone. He knew it hadn't been three hours already. Could it maybe be the interrogator? Or Prince Phil? Slowly, Zelgadis turned his head to look at the door as it opened. When he saw who was there, all he could do was stare at her.
It was Amelia standing in the doorway, looking in at him. Zelgadis scrambled to his feet and backed up a little. "A-Amelia--" he started.
Amelia took a few steps inside the dungeon and closed the door behind her, holding the key tightly in one fist. "Is it true?" she asked in a choked voice. Zelgadis couldn't tell whether she was struggling not to cry or laugh.
"I... Amelia, I--" Zelgadis started again. He couldn't find words to speak for once in his life. If he told Amelia yes, and she didn't care, then what? Likewise, if he told Amelia it wasn't true, and she did care, she'd be hurt.
"Just tell me," Amelia said quietly. "Is it true?" She took a couple steps forward. Then, her eyes pleading, she asked, "Please?"
Zelgadis hesitated only a moment, but he couldn't deny the look in Amelia's eyes. "Yes," he said, almost in a whisper.
Instantly, tears rushed down Amelia's cheeks, and she covered her face with her hands. Zelgadis stood in shock. He knew it. Amelia didn't care, and was upset now. Then, to his sheer surprise, Amelia ran up and threw her arms around his neck, nearly knocking him over. Reflexively, Zelgadis's arms went around her as he bumped into the wall behind him.
"Amelia?" he asked unsurely.
Amelia was crying and laughing at the same time. "I do too," she told him, her voice strained from her tears. "You don't know how much I do too."
Zelgadis sank to the floor out of disbelief, Amelia still clinging to him. "You-- You care about... me? Why? How?"
"I care so much more about you, Zelgadis-san," Amelia said, backing up to look him in the eyes. "I love you too, Zelgadis-san." She smiled, and said, "I know you thought it was just a crush, I heard you talk about it before, but it wasn't. And as for why and how, who knows?" She grinned, and fresh tears flowed. "Fate has a strong sense of irony."
"But--" Zelgadis started to protest.
"Don't you want me to love you?"
"Of course I do!" Zelgadis told her vehemently. "And I... I love you back... But, this doesn't change anything... They're still going to say I'm guilty of kidnapping you, and then I'll be hanged or something, and you'll be hurt. The last thing I've ever wanted was to hurt you, which is why I suppose I never--"
Amelia just shook her head, and said, "I know what to do. Please trust me."
Zelgadis nodded, and said, "I do."
Smiling, Amelia said, "We have to wait just a little longer..."
"For what?"
"Just wait," Amelia told him.
A little confused, Zelgadis nodded. Amelia sat down right beside him, leaning against him. He stiffened a little at her touch, but then relaxed. There was no reason to reject anything now. Hesitantly, Zelgadis brought up his hand, and wiped the tears from Amelia cheeks. "Why were you crying?" he asked.
Amelia smiled at him, and said, "Because I was so happy. You've never cried when you were happy?" When Zelgadis shook his head, Amelia brought her hand up to Zelgadis's cheek. When her hand came down again, her fingers were wet.
A little shocked, Zelgadis touched his face. He'd been crying... He was that glad when Amelia returned his feelings.
Suddenly, three loud knocks sounded on the heavy door. Zelgadis got to his feet and started to stand in front of Amelia protectively, but she ran up to the door and opened it, grinning. In the doorway was a female guard holding an unsheathed sword. Behind her, the door guard was unconscious on the floor.
"Come on, Zelgadis-san," Amelia whispered to him. She quickly handed the female guard the key, and waited for Zelgadis to catch up.
Stunned, Zelgadis hurried over there and watched as the guard locked the dungeon door after them, and then slipped the key into the door guard's belt.
"I'm Remmy," the guard said. She had long orange-red hair pulled back into a silky ponytail, and wore an odd uniform for a Seyruun guard. She wore a tight white t-shirt with red pants that had straps crossing over her shoulders, and red boots. "Special guard," she continued. "Personnal assistant to Princess Amelia."
Turning to Zelgadis, Amelia said quickly, "Remmy-san was away for about four months, and she just came back. I already explined everything to her, so let's go." She and Remmy both started running, and Zelgadis had no choice but to follow them.
"You've explained everything to her, but I'm still left in the dark about this," Zelgadis said to Amelia as they ran.
"We don't have time," Remmy told him from her position in the lead. "Once outside the palace Princess Amelia can explain everything to you."
"Outside the palace?" Zelgadis asked, confused, and involuntarily slowed down at that news. They were leaving the palace? Would Amelia stay there? Or would she come with him?
"Don't stop," Remmy called back to him.
Zelgadis quickly caught up with the two girls, and just followed them. Remmy took them through several narrow corridors that Zelgadis never knew were there. After she opened a few doors hidden in the wall or behind tapestries, Zelgadis assumed they were using the getaway halls between the walls, built for the royal family to escape the palace if there was a threat inside.
"I used these hallways ever since I became a guard," Remmy told Zelgadis.
Nodding, Amelia added, "And she showed them to me a few years ago-- before I met you and Gourry-san and Lina-san."
Zelgadis just nodded, still not quite sure what was going to happen once they left the palace grounds.
The three of them ran for a long time. Zelgadis knew they must be outside the palace, but yet they kept going. When they finally reached the end of the corridor and came out in a dense wood right beside a trail, Zelgadis understood. The hallways led outside Seyruun's borders.
"Are you sure you want to do this, Princess?" Remmy asked Amelia.
"Yes," Amelia said, nodding. "I do. You understand, right Remmy-san?"
Nodding, Remmy said, "Yes, Princess." She then bowed, and said, "I hope to see you again."
"Same here," Amelia told her with a grin.
Without another word, Remmy turned and retraced her steps back into the hallway.
Zelgadis looked at Amelia and prepared himself to say goodbye. He hadn't understood the exchange that went on between Amelia and Remmy, but he knew Amelia would be going back to the palace.
"Let's go," Amelia said, heading for the trail right beside them.
Zelgadis stared. "What?"
Smiling, Amelia turned to him. "I understand now, Zelgadis-san. I can't be a princess, because that's not who I am. But I can't go traveling on my own and hide my true identity. That's not me, either. For me to really be me, I have to be with my friends out on the road, traveling wherever I want." Quietly, she added, "I need to be with you."
Still, Zelgadis just looked at her.
Amelia grabbed Zelgadis's arm and pulled him along the trail. "Come on," she said to him. "We've got a whole world to explore. I'm not going to sit around here doing nothing, and it's not coming to us."
After a while, Zelgadis regained his composure, and walked alongside Amelia. Of course the world wasn't going to find them. They had to go out and see the world. Amelia could finally be herself, without the pressures of palace life, or the dangers of traveling alone and in disguise. With Zelgadis by her side, and her by his, they'd face the world, one step at a time. And always, they could be themselves, and be in love.