Notes:

Yes to the reviewer named Yee, the FireDrake does belong to the Queen of Swords, but I had forgotten to plug her site. I've gone and changed that, but I'll plug her site again. www.queenofswords.com

To the reviewer named Grey…there are any other pairings?

Romance is implied, Xellos lies and all is right in the world

Long Journey! -_-??? Who's going to drive?

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The night had been far too short for Lina's taste, especially when the sun had dive bombed her through the curtains and straight into her sleepy eye. She groaned and turned over, and felt her leg move against someone else's.

That woke her up.

Sitting straight up in bed, she looked around and found Amelia as her bedmate and sighed in relief. Looking around the room, she saw Gourry curled up near the wall and Zelgadis with an uncharacteristically vulnerable look on his face as he slept. Grinning, Lina slipped out of bed, adjusted Gourry's head so he wouldn't get too much of a crick in his neck. She tiptoed over to the wash basin in the corner and poured some water out of the pitcher into it, letting herself stare at the water sparkling in the basin and contemplating everything that had happened to her only yesterday.

" I can't believe this," she muttered, dipping her hands into the sparkling water. " I was looking foreword to just smashing bandits and taking their gold for a while."

" Your telling me," Amelia said, startling Lina, " I just wanted to be a princess like To-san always wanted me to be, but I always get caught up in quests like this…" she caught Lina's raised eyebrow and realized she had unintentionally insulted her slightly. " Not that I'd ever change anything…" she glanced over at Zelgadis who was still asleep. " I just wish it was under slightly different circumstances."'

" Not I," Lina said, grinning slightly and ducking behind a curtain with Amelia to change. " Action's so much better. Just sitting around is boring."

Amelia grinned, this was the Lina she knew. When they were both dressed decently and Amelia had pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail, they snuck outside the room and tiptoed down the stairs to get some breakfast. Zelgadis awoke first, glancing around and guessing where Lina and Amelia had gone and sat up, stretched, stones groaning, and went to wake up Gourry. Gourry awakened with a start, as though expecting a belt over the head, and looked at Zelgadis with a confused expression on his face.

" Where's Lina?" He asked, attention on the center of everything he knew. " She head out for breakfast already?" His face got a bit of a scowl when he considered the shortage of food that was sure to come after. " She usually wakes me up."

" Amelia's gone too," Zelgadis said, heading towards the doorway and pulling his mask over his face. " Maybe they wanted some…uh," he finished, looking down.

" Some…uh?" Gourry asked, confused.

" Some…girl time." Zelgadis said looking to the side and avoiding Gourry's confused gaze. " You know, to talk."

" Oh…" Gourry said, looking around and then heading towards the doorway. " Well, I think they've probably had enough time by now so lets go eat."

" Um…sure." Zelgadis said, following Gourry and pulling his hood up. He wondered just how much of Gourry's mind was worried about food and how much just wanted to be near Lina.

As they went downstairs Zelgadis could hear the sounds of scurrying waiters and waitresses and smiled. Perhaps he'd been exasperated with earlier with the constant search for restaurants, but it was comforting in a strange way to know that not everything had changed.

Gourry, meanwhile, had reached the bottom step and was striding across the room towards Lina and Amelia's table, a purposeful look on his face. When he got three feet from the table and was plainly heading towards the sausages, Lina gave him a neat little Fireball and watched him get plastered against a wall, startling a couple who had been dining.

" Do't terk mer foard." Lina said, through a mouthful of a gruel-like substance. She swallowed. " Don't take my food," she repeated, pointing her fork at Gourry. " Now, Amelia and I are catching up so you and Zelgadis can go somewhere over there--" she pointed in a random direction, "--and get your own breakfast, now go away." She turned back to Amelia, who had looked at Zelgadis once and then down at her plate, refusing to look up. Lina gave Amelia a sly grin and turned a shrewd gaze at Zelgadis. " You heard me, get a move on." She grasped her plate protectively.

Sighing, Zelgadis followed Gourry over to a table in the side of the restaurant. They had just managed to snag a waitress to take their orders when she looked over their heads at the wall, gave a startled shriek and did a pretty good imitation of disappearing into thin air. Turning, Zelgadis and Gourry found themselves looking up at Xellos…or, to be more precise, Xellos's head. It was sticking out of the wall and grinning at them. They pondered this, that is, until Gourry reached up with a plate and brought it down on Xellos head. Xellos tumbled out of the wall and saved himself just in time to prevent himself from landing on the table. He levitated to a spot, gave a cheery wave to the bartender, who promptly fainted, and surveyed the traveling party. Giving a cheery wave, he disappeared again, but not before Lina had noticed his cloak had been fastened wrong and his trousers weren't fully tied.

They had finally convinced the bartender that they needn't be thrown out, mostly due to the fact that Lina's eyes had gone distinctly feral when it looked as if she might be denied food. After they had eaten their fill, and subsequently eaten the entire stock of food in the inn, they decided to head out, but they ran into one problem…they had no idea where to go. Lina solved that problem when she had pointed out that if they set of in any direction Xellos was sure to pop up to lead them the right way. They decided to head south, along the edge of the ocean and on one of the newly established trade routes that had popped up since the barrier had gone down. Lina strutted along, her stomach full, the ocean wind in her face and Gourry at her heels, everything was right with the world…except for one little detail that nagged her. She watched from the corner of her right eye as Zelgadis snuck a glance at Amelia and then, catching Lina's gaze, stared straight ahead at the road and Lina was unable to tell if he was blushing due to his mouth covering. Looking to the left, she saw Amelia looking straight ahead, her face bearing a light blush that she too had seen Zelgadis's little glance. Lina, being busy with looking at other people, didn't notice the slightly round, grey rock in her path and promptly tripped over it. She cried out as she fell, twisting while she fell and landing on her ankle wrong. Tears came to her eyes but she quickly wiped them away in a swift motion and bending down to heal the ankle. White magic flowed out of her hand and around her ankle, soothing it. When she was done she looked up to see Gourry's large blue eyes staring at her. She blushed immediately and attempted to push him away, but only served in letting him get a grip on her arms and hoist her up onto his shoulder.

" N-Nani!" Lina spluttered, checking to see what the others thought of it. Zelgadis's eyes were unreadable, he was staring at the ocean quite determinable, and Amelia was busy checking her pack for white magic items she had just remembered that she had brought along. Gourry, meanwhile, had picked up Lina's small bag of trade items, hoisted it over his other shoulder and moved out, Zelgadis and Amelia following close behind.

" Isn't this cozy," a voice said from right behind Lina, causing her to screech and attach herself to the top of Gourry's head like a frightened, over-caffeinatted squirrel. " Ah, Lina-san, you are so rude to me."

Zelgadis, Amelia and Gourry, and thus Lina, turned to see Xellos standing on the road behind them. He gave Lina his innocent little confused look and let his staff droop a little.

" Ah, and I came to lead you to your destination too," he said, trying to sound hurt. Lina gave him a very critical stare.

" You," she said, " are trouble. Even more then me; the first time we were with you, I almost got lost to oblivion because of some Mazoku in need of a shrink, the second time, the world almost got swallowed by a homicidal, suicidal ancient dragon. You practically scream 'End of the World' and you know it. You never show up unless you want to torment us."

" But Lina," he said, allowing his face to pretend to look hurt, " I wasn't directly responsible for those events anymore then you were."

" Yheah, but you're a high level Mazoku who could influence things, whereas I'm only human."

" Ah, but Lina-san," Xellos said." We have little time to dawdle, less she skin me for putting off her 'function'," at this Xellos scowled, his eyes straightening into lines as he contemplated that. " I'm under strict orders to get you to a place by a certain time."

" And who's ordering you around?" Lina asked, curiosity springing like a cat into her eyes. " It certainly can't be Zellas, she'd never sleep with you."

"…" Came from Amelia, Zelgadis and Gourry. Amelia blushed deeply and lowered her head.

" Lina-san," she whispered, trying to dissuade her from going any further. Xellos's face went unreadable.

" What?" He questioned, tilting his head.

" You heard me," Lina said, releasing her deathgrip from Gourry's head. " I saw the state you were in this morning, and even when you were in battle you're clothes never got that ruffled." She gave Xellos a scathing look. " I'm nineteen, I have some idea of what happens afterwards."

Xellos got a rather eerie grin. " Oh really," he stated, giving a rather suggestive look between Gourry and Lina, " I had no idea you two were that far along."

" FIREBALL!"

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Chapter Seven: Desert rose…Lina?