He lay in bed staring at the ceiling, thinking. Alright, so maybe
that hadn't been the best of ideas. It had certainly seemed like a good
idea at the time. If had felt like a good idea... "Gods, I got to get away
from here," he muttered. He sighed and rolled off to sit on the side of the
bed. He demon eyes glared over at the books on the small table he had been
translating. He glared down at his hands and silently cursed his body. If
he hadn't been turned into a filthy chimera, he wouldn't have even been
there. He wouldn't be here. Then again, his mind recalled, you wouldn't
have ever met Lina or Gourry or...Amelia...
Zelgadiss snorted out a disgruntled chuckle. "Life sure makes things twisted that way doesn't," he said to himself. He got up and began pacing. He couldn't sleep; he'd already tried. She was there, in his dreams, waiting for him. She had been there so many times since they had split up two years ago, but now it was worse. He had tried to forget her, but somehow, over those two years, she stayed with him. He had tried to say she was childish, but that had never worked. He knew there was only four years difference between them...well, three years and eleven months to be precise. He had always tried to keep his calm around her, but when they were close, he had always felt something. He said he didn't like to be touched, but somehow, with her, that was different. When he had come back, she didn't seem to show the same bright affection, though she did care for him...as a friend like any other, which had somehow disappointed him. She had obviously passed by him, not needing him to live happily like he needed her. Now, more then ever before, he was certain he needed her.
He was regretting ever coming back here. It only made his repressed emotions surface and fester. It was making him weak. Unconsciously, he reached for his canteen where her bracelet had hung for almost all of those two years only to find the canteen and bracelet gone. He scolded himself mentally for forgetting he had given it back to her. Part of him wished he hadn't; it would have given his hands something to play with like he always did, before he came back, when he was nervous. Maybe some air would help, he thought.
Pulling on a shirt, he walked out of his room into the dark halls. Light from the almost full moon outside spilled in through the windows to light his way as he walked down the halls. It was dead silent in the halls. Nothing could be heard. Even the guards on their nightly patrol were not making a sound. The garden, which could be seen through the windows was shadowy and almost foreboding. It was amazing how different the castle seemed at night. It reminded him of when he was a child and he use to be afraid of the dark. Eris had teased him about it on occasion, the main reason he had forced himself to conquer his fear.
As he continued down the hall, he noticed someone up ahead. At first, he thought about turning back and going down another way. Then, he realized it was Amelia and really wanted to get away. Being seen with her with her was not exactly good for his health right now. Then again, he reminded himself, you're not going to get back to sleep unless you talk to her. Just tell her was all a mistake and you haven't been feeling yourself lately. It didn't mean anything, it was foolish, it will never happen again, and we should both just forget about it.
Oh, yeah, right. You're going to forget that? Not a chance, a snide voice stated. You can't forget it and you know you'll do it again, first chance you get. His demon eyes focused on the girl who hadn't seemed to notice him. She was leaning on the sill of one of the windows, staring up at the night sky painted with stars. Her expression was sorrowful, and yet, strongly beautiful. The moonlight accented her skin, making almost glow a radiant white. Her hair had a silver sheen to it. She was wearing a pale night gown that glowed along with her fair skin. Gods, she's gorgeous. Looks like now or never. He mentally sighed, deciding he should talk to her now while they were alone. Her father, no doubtably, would make sure they were never alone together again.
The chimera approached her, but she didn't seem to notice him at all. If she had, she showed no signs of it. A thought flashed through his mind: if had been intending on killing her, she would already be dead. This startled him slightly. The thought of someone breaking into the castle to kill the princess of Saillune scared him. I'll just have to teach you better then that, he thought.
"If I had been intending on killing you right now, you wouldn't still be standing," he commented over her terrified gasp. She had whirled around to face him. He could faintly hear her heart beating rapidly.
She let out a sigh of relief when she realized who it was. "0h, Mr. Zelgadiss, you frightened me..."
"You shouldn't let your guard down like that," he stated rather coldly. "I'm sure there are many people out there who would love to assassinate you just to send Saillune in to chaos."
~*~*~
The princess looked away, trying to hide her shame. Her father had been right. She was an embarrassment. She couldn't even look out for herself anymore. "Sorry," she apologized since she didn't know what else to say.
"You shouldn't apologize to me. You should pay better attention," he replied. The was a moment's pause between them. "What were you staring at?"
"Oh, ah, the stars," she replied rather sheepishly. She found it amazing that he could be so cool and calm. She felt like she had a sword jammed through her heart. All this time she had been certain that she had forgotten her little crush, only to have it all come back. She had never known why she had ever felt so mentally attached to someone like him: cold, bitter, often reckless, and willing to step on anyone for his cure. Yet, she had. She quickly turned away from him, hiding a blush. She didn't want him to see her. She had really just wanted to be alone, but she couldn't go out and say that. She didn't want to be rude or hurt his feelings; though he didn't show it, he did feel pain and rejection.
"Oh," was all he said. She could feel his eyes on her. There was a another awkward silence between them. Her blush got even deeper.
~*~*~
Say it now, his mind commanded. You'll never have another opportunity. Zelgadiss took a deep breath. It was now or never, though part of him was fine with never. "Amelia," he barely breathed out, "I..."
"We need to talk," she interrupted, turning to face him.
"Yes...we...ah...do..." It was his turn to blush. He noticed she wasn't looking at him, but rather something off to the side on the floor a few feet away. There was nothing there, of course. A slight bit of color crawled up on her cheeks as he watched her. "L-look, about what happened earlier..."
"It was a mistake," she hastily supplied.
"Yes."
"Neither of us were thinking right and we haven't been ourselves..."
"No, we haven't. We should just forget it ever happened..."
"Forget?" she blurted before thinking, then regretted it. Her blush got deeper. "How?" Her voice had been very hushed and he was certain he wouldn't have heard it if he hadn't had heightened senses.
"I-I'm not really sure," he supplied. He looked away from her, trying to hide his own blush. They were both silent again. He didn't know what to say, and apparently, neither did she. He knew he would never forget it. If nothing else, he would remember it...probably cherish it. How could he expect her to forget it if he couldn't himself. Who says I need to forget? Who said she wanted to pretend it never happened? that annoying voice chided. You could always...No! I've confused her enough...I've confused myself enough! I don't even know what she thinks about anything...Well, there is only one way to find out...
Before he really had the chance to think it over, he had reached out and pulled her close. She was obviously taken off guard and gasped as he touched his lips to hers for the seconded time that day. She didn't struggle, but relaxed against him. Her beautiful ocean eyes closed along with his.
~*~*~
If she was confused before, there was no way to describe her feelings now. Why had he said forget it and then kissed her again? ...not that she was complaining or anything. Amelia rested her hands on his chest, wishing they could stay like that forever. A small voice in the back of her mind, that she normally ignored, cheered the fact that she wouldn't have a guard tailing her everywhere until tomorrow and no one would interrupt them at this hour.
She was slightly disappointed when he pulled back slowly. He didn't move too far back, though. Their noses were almost touching. She could feel his warm breath against the top of her upper lip. Her blood felt ready to boil. Cautiously, she opened her eyes. His eyes were half open, staring back at her. The moon light played across his face, making his stone skin shimmer. Oh Gods, he was handsome. Her blood only got hotter. The blush on their faces had faded.
"Why did you do that?" she asked in a gentle whisper.
"I don't know," he replied honestly in the same tone of voice as her own. "Why didn't you fight it?"
"I didn't want to." She closed her eyes again and placed kissed him again. She broke it all too soon for either of their tastes. "Why didn't you?"
"I...I...I'm not...sure," he stammered. He leaned down to kiss her again. There was a sudden clatter from her room only a few doors down. They pulled away from each other, startled, and blushed crimson again. There was some squawking from the room. "What the...?"
"Turquoise!" the princess cried, running for her room. She burst through the door and found the cage knocked to the ground. Some of the bars had been bent from hitting the ground. The door was open. Turquoise came diving down at the sight of his mistress, landing on one of her shoulders and ducking his head under her hair. He was terrified of something. The bird glanced up at the top of the canopy bed fearfully. Zel and Amelia followed his gaze. At first neither of them saw anything in the darkness. Then, one of the shadows moved. It hopped to the end of the canopy and glared down at them with its black piercing eyes. "Oh, so you're back," the princess sneered.
"Th-there's another bird?" Zelgadiss asked in almost disbelief, staring up at the black raven. This one looked a little bigger then Turquoise.
"Yes, and he's a bully. He was picking on poor Turquoise this afternoon." Amelia glared back up at the black bird, hands on her hips.
Zel looked from the black bird, to Turquoise, and back. "I can see that."
"He probably knocked over the cage to get poor Turquoise." She reached up and lovingly stroked the blue colored bird. The black bird cawed, jeering at its blue opponent. It flustered its wings, losing a feather in the process. It turned up its strong ebony beak arrogantly. Turquoise cawed back at it, glaring. The black one puffed up its feathers bitterly.
"Must be one hell of a fight," Zelgadiss commented, watching the two birds caw at each other. "Most animals don't hold grudges for more then an hour or two."
"Well, that one does," Amelia sighed. "Even if he does leave, he'll probably come back later when no one's around."
The birds continued their bitter exchange for almost five minutes before the black bird seemed to give in a flew out the window. Amelia and Zelgadiss had sat by, watching the whole thing, both slightly curious about what was going on between these two bizarre birds. As Zel was about to say good night and return to his room, he noticed something: despite all the noise, no one had come to check on the young princess. At first, he found it just plain odd, then disturbing. If it had been someone breaking in...The former unconscious protective instinct he had felt before suddenly came rushing back.
"Say, Amelia, how long have we been here?"
"Hm? Oh ah, about five minutes, I guess," she stated, glancing at the clock in her room.
"I thought so..."
"What?"
"Don't you think it's odd that none of the guards have come to check on what the noise was?" he questioned.
She thought about this for a moment before replying. "Your right. Someone should have come. At least the guard down the hall would have heard..."
"Not to mention all the people sleeping..." he interrupted. He glanced back out the window. He could see the black bird perched in a near by tree watching them. "Something's not right here." He walked over and closed the window, scanning the gardens it over looked for intruders. All he saw were a pair of oblivious guards. He scowled at them and turned back to the nervous princess. She had her bird clutched close to her chest and was watching the chimera. He glanced around the room, trying to find anything out of place. Aside from the knocked over bird cage, nothing looked wrong...yet he could feel it. "I should stay here..." Amelia was about to protest, but he cut her off, "To make sure nothing decides to take advantage of the guards lack of senses. I'll be right outside..."
*****
As the sun was coming up, Zel could feel himself starting to nod off. He had stayed right outside her open door all night. Aside from the restless princess rolling over in bed, the rest of the night had been quiet. He had only left his post once during that time to get his sword now balanced on his knees. He glared out the window, hating how cheery the morning looked. He closed his eyes...
He jerked himself awake again, not even realizing he had fallen asleep until he had woken up. He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but the sun had already come up. He leaned over and glanced inside the lavishly decorated room. Amelia was sleeping soundly with her bird perched on the headboard watching over her. He twisted back to his sitting position, all his stiff mussels protesting the movement. Oh, it's been a long night, he mentally reminded himself. His body started to nod off as his mind struggled to stay awake and screamed for coffee...sweet coffee...wonderful coffee...
~*~*~
It was early, yes he knew, but Amelia had always been an early riser. Just like her mother, the prince mused as he walked down the hall. Her room was in the second hall away from his and he wanted to speak to her before breakfast. He sort of wished she was in the same hall as his room so he didn't have to go as far.
Phil had been thinking about it all night and thought maybe he had been a bit too hard on Amelia. He had said a few unkind things that he hadn't meant and was feeling dreadful about it. I really should apologize, he had decided. Amelia, as much as he hated to admit it, wasn't a child anymore and was entitled to make a few mistakes...he had let her go out in the world with Lina to learn on her own, after all. He could keep her under his wing forever. The truth was, he was rather embarrassed about how he had acted. He knew Zelgadiss would have never intentionally hurt Amelia, but he had let his over protective nature get the better of him...
He stopped in his tracks when he spotted the chimera sitting outside her open door. He slowed his pace and approached cautiously. Zelgadiss was asleep. He peered in the room; Amelia was asleep as well. The bird was out and the cage had a rather large dent in it. He glanced back at the sleeping man. Now just what is going on here? he wondered, scratching his head. He leaned against the wall and stared at the young man.
Zel suddenly jerked awake. He looked exhausted. He yawned and rubbed some of the sleep out of his eyes before he noticed the prince. He jumped to his feet, grasping at his sword which dropped anyway. The sound of it hitting the floor startled the girl out of her sleep and received a disapproving caw from Turquoise. Zelgadiss hurriedly picked it up, still only half awake. Amelia sat up groggily, moaning something about a bad night, cutting off when she noticed her father. Phil remained silent, waiting for one of them to speak first.
"Daddy," Amelia sighed rather confused. She glanced at the clock, rubbed her eyes, and focused on it. As she realized the time, she gasped. It was almost nine thirty. She never slept past eight at the most.
"Good morning," her father commented. Zelgadiss was still standing there as if not sure what else to do. He glanced at the blue stone skinned man. "Sleep well?" Zel didn't answer. "Is there a reason you were sleeping out here?"
"Another bird attacked Turquoise," Amelia informed him. Her glanced back at her. "He knocked over the cage..."
"And no one heard it but us," Zel hastily interrupted. Phil looked back at the chimera.
"And Mr. Zelgadiss stayed to make sure no one had broken in..." Amelia trailed off, blushing slightly and looking away from her father. He got the impression more may have happened, but he didn't press the subject. The girl glanced at Zel and noticed how weary he looked. "Oh, Mr. Zelgadiss, you look terrible. You should go get some sleep." He was going to protest but was over taken with a yawn. Deciding she was right, he stumbled down the hall back to his own room to sleep.
Phil turned back to his daughter and frowned. It wasn't a disapproving frown, but rather one of concern. He didn't like this news one bit. He was starting to regret canceling the personal guard for her this morning. He spied over at the bird. There was something odd about the bird, and not just his color. "Are you alright, sweetheart?"
"Of course, daddy," she smiled. "No one was here..."
"And you're sure no one heard anything?" She nodded. "Not even..."
"The guards right outside the open window didn't hear it," she interjected. "I'm alright, though. Nothing happened."
He nodded, listening carefully to her words. "Good to know...Amelia, about yesterday. I think I may have over reacted just a little..."
"It's alright..."
"No, it's not alright. You are not a child, and I shouldn't treat you like one. And the things I said. I didn't really mean any of them..."
"I know," she said as she reached for some clothes to change in to. "We all over reacted, daddy. Now that we've all had some time to calm down and think about it, it doesn't seem quite as big of a deal as we made it and...well...I forgive you. I probably would have reacted the same way if I were in your shoes."
Phil stared at her dumb founded. She may have looked young, but there were times when she seemed even older them himself. He sighed, grateful for the fact that his daughter still loved him. "Yes...well then, I'll see you at breakfast." She smiled brightly at him, despite her less then peaceful night, and he left, closing the door behind him.
Zelgadiss snorted out a disgruntled chuckle. "Life sure makes things twisted that way doesn't," he said to himself. He got up and began pacing. He couldn't sleep; he'd already tried. She was there, in his dreams, waiting for him. She had been there so many times since they had split up two years ago, but now it was worse. He had tried to forget her, but somehow, over those two years, she stayed with him. He had tried to say she was childish, but that had never worked. He knew there was only four years difference between them...well, three years and eleven months to be precise. He had always tried to keep his calm around her, but when they were close, he had always felt something. He said he didn't like to be touched, but somehow, with her, that was different. When he had come back, she didn't seem to show the same bright affection, though she did care for him...as a friend like any other, which had somehow disappointed him. She had obviously passed by him, not needing him to live happily like he needed her. Now, more then ever before, he was certain he needed her.
He was regretting ever coming back here. It only made his repressed emotions surface and fester. It was making him weak. Unconsciously, he reached for his canteen where her bracelet had hung for almost all of those two years only to find the canteen and bracelet gone. He scolded himself mentally for forgetting he had given it back to her. Part of him wished he hadn't; it would have given his hands something to play with like he always did, before he came back, when he was nervous. Maybe some air would help, he thought.
Pulling on a shirt, he walked out of his room into the dark halls. Light from the almost full moon outside spilled in through the windows to light his way as he walked down the halls. It was dead silent in the halls. Nothing could be heard. Even the guards on their nightly patrol were not making a sound. The garden, which could be seen through the windows was shadowy and almost foreboding. It was amazing how different the castle seemed at night. It reminded him of when he was a child and he use to be afraid of the dark. Eris had teased him about it on occasion, the main reason he had forced himself to conquer his fear.
As he continued down the hall, he noticed someone up ahead. At first, he thought about turning back and going down another way. Then, he realized it was Amelia and really wanted to get away. Being seen with her with her was not exactly good for his health right now. Then again, he reminded himself, you're not going to get back to sleep unless you talk to her. Just tell her was all a mistake and you haven't been feeling yourself lately. It didn't mean anything, it was foolish, it will never happen again, and we should both just forget about it.
Oh, yeah, right. You're going to forget that? Not a chance, a snide voice stated. You can't forget it and you know you'll do it again, first chance you get. His demon eyes focused on the girl who hadn't seemed to notice him. She was leaning on the sill of one of the windows, staring up at the night sky painted with stars. Her expression was sorrowful, and yet, strongly beautiful. The moonlight accented her skin, making almost glow a radiant white. Her hair had a silver sheen to it. She was wearing a pale night gown that glowed along with her fair skin. Gods, she's gorgeous. Looks like now or never. He mentally sighed, deciding he should talk to her now while they were alone. Her father, no doubtably, would make sure they were never alone together again.
The chimera approached her, but she didn't seem to notice him at all. If she had, she showed no signs of it. A thought flashed through his mind: if had been intending on killing her, she would already be dead. This startled him slightly. The thought of someone breaking into the castle to kill the princess of Saillune scared him. I'll just have to teach you better then that, he thought.
"If I had been intending on killing you right now, you wouldn't still be standing," he commented over her terrified gasp. She had whirled around to face him. He could faintly hear her heart beating rapidly.
She let out a sigh of relief when she realized who it was. "0h, Mr. Zelgadiss, you frightened me..."
"You shouldn't let your guard down like that," he stated rather coldly. "I'm sure there are many people out there who would love to assassinate you just to send Saillune in to chaos."
~*~*~
The princess looked away, trying to hide her shame. Her father had been right. She was an embarrassment. She couldn't even look out for herself anymore. "Sorry," she apologized since she didn't know what else to say.
"You shouldn't apologize to me. You should pay better attention," he replied. The was a moment's pause between them. "What were you staring at?"
"Oh, ah, the stars," she replied rather sheepishly. She found it amazing that he could be so cool and calm. She felt like she had a sword jammed through her heart. All this time she had been certain that she had forgotten her little crush, only to have it all come back. She had never known why she had ever felt so mentally attached to someone like him: cold, bitter, often reckless, and willing to step on anyone for his cure. Yet, she had. She quickly turned away from him, hiding a blush. She didn't want him to see her. She had really just wanted to be alone, but she couldn't go out and say that. She didn't want to be rude or hurt his feelings; though he didn't show it, he did feel pain and rejection.
"Oh," was all he said. She could feel his eyes on her. There was a another awkward silence between them. Her blush got even deeper.
~*~*~
Say it now, his mind commanded. You'll never have another opportunity. Zelgadiss took a deep breath. It was now or never, though part of him was fine with never. "Amelia," he barely breathed out, "I..."
"We need to talk," she interrupted, turning to face him.
"Yes...we...ah...do..." It was his turn to blush. He noticed she wasn't looking at him, but rather something off to the side on the floor a few feet away. There was nothing there, of course. A slight bit of color crawled up on her cheeks as he watched her. "L-look, about what happened earlier..."
"It was a mistake," she hastily supplied.
"Yes."
"Neither of us were thinking right and we haven't been ourselves..."
"No, we haven't. We should just forget it ever happened..."
"Forget?" she blurted before thinking, then regretted it. Her blush got deeper. "How?" Her voice had been very hushed and he was certain he wouldn't have heard it if he hadn't had heightened senses.
"I-I'm not really sure," he supplied. He looked away from her, trying to hide his own blush. They were both silent again. He didn't know what to say, and apparently, neither did she. He knew he would never forget it. If nothing else, he would remember it...probably cherish it. How could he expect her to forget it if he couldn't himself. Who says I need to forget? Who said she wanted to pretend it never happened? that annoying voice chided. You could always...No! I've confused her enough...I've confused myself enough! I don't even know what she thinks about anything...Well, there is only one way to find out...
Before he really had the chance to think it over, he had reached out and pulled her close. She was obviously taken off guard and gasped as he touched his lips to hers for the seconded time that day. She didn't struggle, but relaxed against him. Her beautiful ocean eyes closed along with his.
~*~*~
If she was confused before, there was no way to describe her feelings now. Why had he said forget it and then kissed her again? ...not that she was complaining or anything. Amelia rested her hands on his chest, wishing they could stay like that forever. A small voice in the back of her mind, that she normally ignored, cheered the fact that she wouldn't have a guard tailing her everywhere until tomorrow and no one would interrupt them at this hour.
She was slightly disappointed when he pulled back slowly. He didn't move too far back, though. Their noses were almost touching. She could feel his warm breath against the top of her upper lip. Her blood felt ready to boil. Cautiously, she opened her eyes. His eyes were half open, staring back at her. The moon light played across his face, making his stone skin shimmer. Oh Gods, he was handsome. Her blood only got hotter. The blush on their faces had faded.
"Why did you do that?" she asked in a gentle whisper.
"I don't know," he replied honestly in the same tone of voice as her own. "Why didn't you fight it?"
"I didn't want to." She closed her eyes again and placed kissed him again. She broke it all too soon for either of their tastes. "Why didn't you?"
"I...I...I'm not...sure," he stammered. He leaned down to kiss her again. There was a sudden clatter from her room only a few doors down. They pulled away from each other, startled, and blushed crimson again. There was some squawking from the room. "What the...?"
"Turquoise!" the princess cried, running for her room. She burst through the door and found the cage knocked to the ground. Some of the bars had been bent from hitting the ground. The door was open. Turquoise came diving down at the sight of his mistress, landing on one of her shoulders and ducking his head under her hair. He was terrified of something. The bird glanced up at the top of the canopy bed fearfully. Zel and Amelia followed his gaze. At first neither of them saw anything in the darkness. Then, one of the shadows moved. It hopped to the end of the canopy and glared down at them with its black piercing eyes. "Oh, so you're back," the princess sneered.
"Th-there's another bird?" Zelgadiss asked in almost disbelief, staring up at the black raven. This one looked a little bigger then Turquoise.
"Yes, and he's a bully. He was picking on poor Turquoise this afternoon." Amelia glared back up at the black bird, hands on her hips.
Zel looked from the black bird, to Turquoise, and back. "I can see that."
"He probably knocked over the cage to get poor Turquoise." She reached up and lovingly stroked the blue colored bird. The black bird cawed, jeering at its blue opponent. It flustered its wings, losing a feather in the process. It turned up its strong ebony beak arrogantly. Turquoise cawed back at it, glaring. The black one puffed up its feathers bitterly.
"Must be one hell of a fight," Zelgadiss commented, watching the two birds caw at each other. "Most animals don't hold grudges for more then an hour or two."
"Well, that one does," Amelia sighed. "Even if he does leave, he'll probably come back later when no one's around."
The birds continued their bitter exchange for almost five minutes before the black bird seemed to give in a flew out the window. Amelia and Zelgadiss had sat by, watching the whole thing, both slightly curious about what was going on between these two bizarre birds. As Zel was about to say good night and return to his room, he noticed something: despite all the noise, no one had come to check on the young princess. At first, he found it just plain odd, then disturbing. If it had been someone breaking in...The former unconscious protective instinct he had felt before suddenly came rushing back.
"Say, Amelia, how long have we been here?"
"Hm? Oh ah, about five minutes, I guess," she stated, glancing at the clock in her room.
"I thought so..."
"What?"
"Don't you think it's odd that none of the guards have come to check on what the noise was?" he questioned.
She thought about this for a moment before replying. "Your right. Someone should have come. At least the guard down the hall would have heard..."
"Not to mention all the people sleeping..." he interrupted. He glanced back out the window. He could see the black bird perched in a near by tree watching them. "Something's not right here." He walked over and closed the window, scanning the gardens it over looked for intruders. All he saw were a pair of oblivious guards. He scowled at them and turned back to the nervous princess. She had her bird clutched close to her chest and was watching the chimera. He glanced around the room, trying to find anything out of place. Aside from the knocked over bird cage, nothing looked wrong...yet he could feel it. "I should stay here..." Amelia was about to protest, but he cut her off, "To make sure nothing decides to take advantage of the guards lack of senses. I'll be right outside..."
*****
As the sun was coming up, Zel could feel himself starting to nod off. He had stayed right outside her open door all night. Aside from the restless princess rolling over in bed, the rest of the night had been quiet. He had only left his post once during that time to get his sword now balanced on his knees. He glared out the window, hating how cheery the morning looked. He closed his eyes...
He jerked himself awake again, not even realizing he had fallen asleep until he had woken up. He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but the sun had already come up. He leaned over and glanced inside the lavishly decorated room. Amelia was sleeping soundly with her bird perched on the headboard watching over her. He twisted back to his sitting position, all his stiff mussels protesting the movement. Oh, it's been a long night, he mentally reminded himself. His body started to nod off as his mind struggled to stay awake and screamed for coffee...sweet coffee...wonderful coffee...
~*~*~
It was early, yes he knew, but Amelia had always been an early riser. Just like her mother, the prince mused as he walked down the hall. Her room was in the second hall away from his and he wanted to speak to her before breakfast. He sort of wished she was in the same hall as his room so he didn't have to go as far.
Phil had been thinking about it all night and thought maybe he had been a bit too hard on Amelia. He had said a few unkind things that he hadn't meant and was feeling dreadful about it. I really should apologize, he had decided. Amelia, as much as he hated to admit it, wasn't a child anymore and was entitled to make a few mistakes...he had let her go out in the world with Lina to learn on her own, after all. He could keep her under his wing forever. The truth was, he was rather embarrassed about how he had acted. He knew Zelgadiss would have never intentionally hurt Amelia, but he had let his over protective nature get the better of him...
He stopped in his tracks when he spotted the chimera sitting outside her open door. He slowed his pace and approached cautiously. Zelgadiss was asleep. He peered in the room; Amelia was asleep as well. The bird was out and the cage had a rather large dent in it. He glanced back at the sleeping man. Now just what is going on here? he wondered, scratching his head. He leaned against the wall and stared at the young man.
Zel suddenly jerked awake. He looked exhausted. He yawned and rubbed some of the sleep out of his eyes before he noticed the prince. He jumped to his feet, grasping at his sword which dropped anyway. The sound of it hitting the floor startled the girl out of her sleep and received a disapproving caw from Turquoise. Zelgadiss hurriedly picked it up, still only half awake. Amelia sat up groggily, moaning something about a bad night, cutting off when she noticed her father. Phil remained silent, waiting for one of them to speak first.
"Daddy," Amelia sighed rather confused. She glanced at the clock, rubbed her eyes, and focused on it. As she realized the time, she gasped. It was almost nine thirty. She never slept past eight at the most.
"Good morning," her father commented. Zelgadiss was still standing there as if not sure what else to do. He glanced at the blue stone skinned man. "Sleep well?" Zel didn't answer. "Is there a reason you were sleeping out here?"
"Another bird attacked Turquoise," Amelia informed him. Her glanced back at her. "He knocked over the cage..."
"And no one heard it but us," Zel hastily interrupted. Phil looked back at the chimera.
"And Mr. Zelgadiss stayed to make sure no one had broken in..." Amelia trailed off, blushing slightly and looking away from her father. He got the impression more may have happened, but he didn't press the subject. The girl glanced at Zel and noticed how weary he looked. "Oh, Mr. Zelgadiss, you look terrible. You should go get some sleep." He was going to protest but was over taken with a yawn. Deciding she was right, he stumbled down the hall back to his own room to sleep.
Phil turned back to his daughter and frowned. It wasn't a disapproving frown, but rather one of concern. He didn't like this news one bit. He was starting to regret canceling the personal guard for her this morning. He spied over at the bird. There was something odd about the bird, and not just his color. "Are you alright, sweetheart?"
"Of course, daddy," she smiled. "No one was here..."
"And you're sure no one heard anything?" She nodded. "Not even..."
"The guards right outside the open window didn't hear it," she interjected. "I'm alright, though. Nothing happened."
He nodded, listening carefully to her words. "Good to know...Amelia, about yesterday. I think I may have over reacted just a little..."
"It's alright..."
"No, it's not alright. You are not a child, and I shouldn't treat you like one. And the things I said. I didn't really mean any of them..."
"I know," she said as she reached for some clothes to change in to. "We all over reacted, daddy. Now that we've all had some time to calm down and think about it, it doesn't seem quite as big of a deal as we made it and...well...I forgive you. I probably would have reacted the same way if I were in your shoes."
Phil stared at her dumb founded. She may have looked young, but there were times when she seemed even older them himself. He sighed, grateful for the fact that his daughter still loved him. "Yes...well then, I'll see you at breakfast." She smiled brightly at him, despite her less then peaceful night, and he left, closing the door behind him.