Epilogue
Amelia's eyes slowly shifted. She could feel consciousness slowly return to her. She could feel sunlight dancing on her face and she could hear soft words being chanted.
What? What on earth? What was going on here? The last thing she could remember was chasing after that malevolent Kurt and fighting him - only to face his extraordinary powers in all their brutal glory.
Where was she? Surely she couldn't be at that part of the forest? Surely she couldn't be still in the hands of the enemy?
Surely she couldn't be dead.....?
Okay she thought to herself. I'll just open my eyes and if I don't like what I see, I can always close them again.....
Slowly, reluctantly and somewhat forcibly, the princess opened her eyes.....
And to her surprise, and delight, she found herself not in the forest. Instead, she was lying down on a bed of the finest of silk sheets in a room in a tavern somewhere.
And there, standing alongside the bed were two familiar faces: Gracia and Sylphiel.
"Ah!" Naga grinned. "You're awake at last!"
"Gracia!" Amelia beamed. "Sylphiel!"
"Welcome back Amelia!" the shrine maiden smiled.
"Where....am I?" A confused Amelia inquired.
You're back in Dakeyras. In the tavern." The priestess replied.
"Seems your healing spell worked wonders." Naga said, nudging Syl. "She's back to her old self!"
"Old self?" Amelia inquired. "How can I? I'm a chim....."
"No, you're not." Naga interjected, smiling.
Amelia looked at her hands....
And to her delight, she found her hands to be that of human hands! No chimera hands at all! She ran her fingers through her hair - No longer was it hard and rigid! It as soft as she'd always known it to be! She was completely free of the chimera curse!
"I'm human...." Amelia said in bewilderment. "I'M HUMAN!"
And with a whop of joy, Amelia leapt of the bed and into the waiting arms of Naga. The two sisters embraced each other, each laughing out loud.
"I can't believe it!" Amelia exclaimed happily. "I'm human again! I'm not a chimera any more! Oh, I'm so happy!"
And then, much to Sylphiel's astonishment, Naga let loose one of her infamous laughs:
"OH-HO-HO-HO-HO-HO-HO-HO-HO-HO!!!!!!!!!!"
Amelia giggled - adding to the cacophony that occupied the tavern room.
Eventually Amelia and Naga ceased laughing. It was then that Amelia managed speech:
"Where's Lina? I have to tell her this!"
"Downstairs" the raven-haired sorceress replied. "She's waiting for you."
Great!" Amelia beamed. She turned to Syl.
"And thank you Sylphiel" the princess said. "For being a great friend."
Syl didn't reply. Instead she smiled a smile that at once was warm, friendly, inviting and relieved.
The shrine maiden watched as Amelia dashed out the door. And she felt, for the first time in a long time, happy. She also felt proud of herself. Proud of her involvement in this adventure. Proud of her contribution to the downfall of Damenamecus. Proud of helping out Amelia in a time of crisis.
It was then and there that something ignited within Sylphiel's heart.
It was the flame of achievement.
A flame that will never die.....
A flame that will continue burning.....
Forever.
Amelia dashed out the room and downstairs into the dining room.
Once there, she soon picked out Lina and Gourry at breakfast. How could she miss them? they were the only people in the dining room going for it like there was no tomorrow!
"Lina!" Amelia called, bounding over.
"Amelia!" The sorceress grinned over her food.
"Hey! You're up!" Gourry added.
Amelia smiled at her friends. Even though they looked worn with battle, fatigue and lack of sleep, they still looked as energetic as she'd always knew them.
"So tell me" Amelia said, taking a seat at the table. "What happened?"
It didn't take her long for her to find out. When she heard Lina and Gourry relay the story of the battle, her attention was established from the word go and she never turned away once. She laughed at Naga's luckless golem. She grew tense at Adolphus' thunderbolt. And she breathed a sigh of relief to hear of Lina's Dragon Slave.
Just then, as Lina was winding towards the end of her tale, the trio heard a distinctive voice.
"Aha! I knew I would find you all here."
This was enough to break the trio from their meal, completely. Immediately, Lina, Gourry and Amelia all turned around to see Xelloss approaching their table. With his eyes closed and his smile as large as ever, he radiated with smugness.
Instantly, Lina reached out and grabbed the Trickster in a massive head lock!
"DAMN YOU XELLOSS!" she snarled. "How can you remain so smug and clean when we've all but been through hell?!"
"That's a secret!" came the reply.
Lina roared with fury and looked ready to pound Xelloss into a bloody pulp.
And such a pounding would've happened had it not been for Amelia's intervention:
"Say, where's Zelgadis?"
Upon hearing this Gourry, dropped his eating utensils, and Lina dropped Xelloss. No one noticed the huge thud the Trickster Priest made as his head hit the floorboards.
"Umm....actually I never saw Zel after the battle" Gourry said. "The last I saw of him, he was running off from the battlefield after you."
"Right" Amelia said in acknowledgment.
Just then a thought struck her: "Hold on! Where's Kurt!?"
"He is dead" answered Xelloss getting up off the floor with his eyes open. "I had the pleasure of killing him myself"
Amelia grinned with the satisfaction that justice has been done to the malevolent teenager.
"You mean to tell me that you actually did something?" Lina muttered.
Ignoring Lina, Amelia continued talking to Xelloss.
"Hang on here" she said. "How did I get my human form back?"
"You know that antidote Kurt was telling you about?" Xelloss replied, still with his eyes open. "It was the genuine thing."
"I see....."
Then it hit her.
"You mean to tell me.....?"
Lina nodded solemnly. Xelloss, still with his eyes open, followed suit.
"So where is Zel now?" Amelia asked slowly.
"I heard him early this morning" Lina answered. "I think he headed onto the roof to watch the sunrise."
Amelia nodded. That was all she needed to know. She got to her feet and headed for the door.
Lina watched her go.
"Good luck kid" she said. "Considering what Zel has been through, it's gonna take a lot to cheer him up"
Gourry blinked in confusion. "So what happened with Zel and Amelia exactly?"
Upon hearing this, Lina slammed her head in exasperation. Xelloss. now with his eyes closed, giggled.
Suddenly, the dining room echoed with a sound that was, at once, disturbing and horrific.
"OH-HO-HO-HO-HO-HO-HO-HO-HO-HO!!!!!!!!!!"
Lina's eyes widened with terror as Naga strode up towards the table.
Slowly the red-head turned around to face her former travelling companion.
"Aha Lina!" the raven-haired sorceress grinned. "I'm so glad I caught up with you! We still have to settle that matter of that unpaid debt you left me with!!!"
As Xelloss chuckled to himself, Gourry blinked at Naga.
"Lina, who is this?" the swordsman demanded. "She seems to know you."
Lina groaned. This was going to be a very long day.....
From the roof of the tavern, Zelgadis scanned the ruins of Dakeyras. Already the townsfolk had forgotten completely about the evil that threatened their village and were returning to their lives. There they went, rebuilding destroyed houses, recovering any lost treasures and making something out of the ruins before them.
Zel sighed. Yeah, ruins. That was just like he felt right now. Picking up what could be salvaged from the ruins.
But in his case there was little left to salvage.....
After spending so long, searching for a cure, he finally found one. Yet even as he spent so long in his search it didn't take long for this discovery to slip through his fingers. The tower of hope that was once there had now collapsed. The relief of a journey ended had now fallen away completely. The taste of victory had grown sour.
It's funny how high hopes can travel before plummeting so far......
There was little he could but go back to square one. But how long would he have to journey onward before he finds another cure like it? How much further does he have to travel? How many more dangers must he face? How much more hell must he endure before his body is returned to normal.
Zel looked at his hand. He had it in his grasp. He could feel it's warmth, it's power, it's promise....
And it all fell away.
Just then, Zel felt the presence of another.
He looked up to see Amelia make her way across the roof towards him. In all her humanised glory.
Zel turned away, not wanting to look at her.
"Hey you" Amelia said. "Lina told me I could find you here....."
Zel said nothing. Regardless, Amelia sat down beside him.
"I know what happened" she began.
Zel sighed
"No, don't give me that!" Amelia said. "I want you know that what you did was very noble. And now that I've been a chimera myself I now understand your pain of bearing dubbed a freak and a monster."
"No, you don't know." Zel retorted. "You don't know how much I have been through! You don't know how frustrating it is to be searching for something impossible! You don't know because you found a cure just as quickly as you became a chimera!"
Amelia got to her feet and turned away from the chimera.
"It seems my time spent with you has been all for nothing." She said solemnly.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I'll tell you what!" Amelia snapped, turning around. "All those times I saved your arse! All the times I tried to make you smile! All the times I tried to make you see things beyond your chimera curse! All the times I persuaded you to enjoy life! All the times I said I loved you!"
"Yet all that" she concluded, turning away. "Can't change you at all."
Zel remained silent.
"No matter" she replied, turning around. "I still want you to know that your sacrifice was an honourable one. Giving up everything like that for a friend. I'm so proud of you."
Zel sighed again, his dispair too great to bear.
Amelia sighed at his inconsolable behaviour.
"Well the least I could do is offer my thanks" she said.
And with that she placed her fingers underneath the chimera's chin and brought his face up so she could place her lips onto his.....
Then, after what seemed like an eternity, she broke off the contact.
The chimera blinked at this move, but his eyes sparkled with hope. And his lips formed into a smile. A small smile. A smile just for her.
Amelia smiled back, satisfied with his response.
"It seems my time spent with you hasn't all been in vain after all" she grinned.
Then she placed her arm around Zel's shoulders.
"I know we'll find you a cure for your curse" she said. "I just know it...."
Author's Endnote: Hurrah! This monster is all complete at long last! Woohoo!
Thank you to everyone who read this fic and stuck by it as it developed. Thanks also to all those who posted reviews - Namely: Cyristal, destructive sorceress, Earth Star, Gee Daruko y Darukoshi, Graelyn-chan, Melinda the Digimon poet and Moro the Wolf God
Thanks also to Alyson, Kebinu, Kelly-chan and everyone else who urged me to continue with this monstrosity - Without your support, this fic would not have got this far!
Special thanks to: My intrepid proof-reader, Diane (ichiban_victory).
My favourite author David Gemmell - Anyone who's read the Waylander novels would recognise a tip of the hat in the name of the village featured in this fic ^__~
And finally, extra special thanks to Amelia no Miko () who was courteous enough to review EVERY chapter! I am humbled to be lauded with so much praise!
As for a sequel...erm...maybe.....But seriously, following up on Crimson Moon wasn't an easy task and now that The Woodsman is complete, the rate of audience expectation is raised even higher! Therefore, it's going to take a long while before I write another epic of a Slayers serial.
Still, who knows? I might change my mind....watch this space!
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