Chapter 8: In which there are nightmares, and an expected arrival
Sylphiel slipped out of Zelgadiss's tent, the now empty mug in one hand, her light spell just barely glimmering in the snow-induced gloom. She sighed, the exertion of weaving a spell that only the most expert of healers ever used, and that very rarely, draining her to clumsiness. Her lighting spell flickered behind her and went out... but she was too drained to recast it, and tried to make her way across the camp to the tent she shared with Amelia.
Just as she would have fallen in the ever-deeper snow, a large figure appeared in front of her, catching her in warm arms.
"Are you okay, Sylphiel?" Gourry's voice came out of the darkness, as welcome as his arm keeping her from falling into a heap at his feet. She shivered, and pulled her cloak tighter around her, letting his warm bulk protect her from the snow a little longer.
"I'm just tired, Gourry" her voice was rough, strained from chanting her spell. "That was a lot harder than I expected."
"Is it going to help him? I hate to see you drained like this, especially if it's not going to help..." Gourry trailed off as the woman in his arms broke into tears. Unsure what to do, and not wanting to make it worse, he stood there helplessly.
"You should take her to bed." Wilam's voice came out of the darkness, startling the couple in the center of camp. "I take it that Lina isn't going to be able to take midnight watch, Miss Sylphiel?"
Sylphiel blushed at being caught held in Gourry's arms by a virtual stranger, and at his somewhat suggestive comment. Gourry stood there, not quite sure how to answer.
"Um... yes, I gave Mr. Zelgadiss some sleeping tea, Lina needs to stay there... to watch over him... while the spell takes effect..." Not used to lying even by omission, Sylphiel stuttered her way through the explanation.
"I thought as much. Nothing terribly big is going to be out in this weather. Gourry, help her to that tent, and we can make it a two watch night... if you can take another couple of hours?" Wilam gestured towards Lina's tent. "Might as take that one down if no one is going to use it, could get damaged in the storm."
At Gourry's nod that he could take a couple more hours, Wilam stretched and made his way over to Lina's tent. Sylphiel, with a lot of help from her swordsman, made her way to her own bedroll and fell asleep almost immediately. Gourry and Wilam dismantled the tent, brushed the snow off it, and stored it in their shared tent until it could be packed away later. Wilam lay down for another hour's sleep, while Gourry made another round of camp, checked that the fire was winning the war against the snow, and generally did sleepy-but-watchful things.
Just as Gourry was starting to contemplate digging through Sylphiel's supplies for some tea, Wilam emerged from their tent. He walked out, yawning and stretching, letting the wispy remains of the snowfall land on his face.
"Ready to call it a night, Gourry?" He asked, rolling his head to one side and stretching his arms over his head.
At Gourry's nod, Wilam grinned. "Sorry about leaving you out here all alone. We'll have to talk to the girls and get them to rotate into the schedule. You have any thoughts on that?"
"Not sure... ask me once I've slept." Gourry mumbled, his only thoughts of his warm bedroll and soft pillow.
Wilam laughed, and made his way to the fire. Gourry folded himself into the tent, making the oversized tent appear small next to him. As Gourry faded into sleep, he though he heard Wilam talking to someone, but decided it was just his imagination.
It wasn't though... as Gourry slid past this side of consciousness, another being had entered the campsite.
"Hello Xellos" Wilam sounded only slightly less hostile than Zelgadis before coffee. "Finally decided to join us?"
Xellos laughed, jumping down from his tree perch, and landing gently in the snow next to the fire. "Oh I've been here and..."
"Spare me your riddles, Trickster" Wilam broke in, holding out one hand. "I don't need to be tormented by the likes of you."
"You weren't like this before, guide... what changed?" Xellos's smile never faltered, and his eyes remained closed.
"I finally placed you... and considering what you tried last time someone wanted to get to the temple, I don't think it's worth taking any chances..." Wilam's hand hovered over the journal tucked into his belt, drawing Xellos's attention.
"Oh," Xellos purred, stalking around the hostile man, "It must be something in your family... you all respond so beautifully." Xellos opened his eyes, and stared at the now angry young man, "I'd almost guess that someone had trained you to this."
Wilam laughed bitterly, "You mean you don't know, Trickster? I'm surprised at you... must be getting sloppy in your old age."
Xellos laughed, closing his eyes and cocking his head to one side. "Well... I suppose it's just that the offshoot branches have never been as interesting to me as the main branch." He paced towards Zelgadiss's tent, laying a hand proprietarily on the tent flap. He drew his hand back with a hiss, and looked at the tent worriedly.
"What has that priestess done now?" Xellos muttered, "I always knew she was going to be a problem..."
"Don't..." Wilam began, moving towards the tent intent on stopping the Mazoku.
Xellos laughed, "Oh, little brother has nothing to fear from me... if anything, he's the..." Xellos stopped, as if suddenly aware that Wilam was listening in avidly.
"What? He's the what?" Wilam began, laying a hand on the skinning knife sheathed at his side, "And little brother? I know for a fact that Rezo did something to him, are you saying..."
Xellos laughed, skipping out of reach, and shaking a finger at Wilam. "Ah, ah, ah" he crowed. "That..."
Wilam seethed for a moment, knowing what was going to come next. Instead, a snowball flew across the clearing, and landed directly in Xellos's laughing face. Two sets of startled gazes, one eyes open, one eyes closed, flew across the clearing to the small figure in white that stood posing on a tree stump.
"Mr. Xellos! It is unjust of you to torture our guide like this! Especially at a time when Mr. Zelgadiss is so sick, and Miss Lina and Miss Sylphiel are so exhausted taking care of him!" Amelia struck another pose, teetering for a moment on the stump. "I will not allow this to continue! I, Amelia wil Tesla Sailoon, cannot allow your blatant disregard for justice to..."
Another snowball flew, this time from the snow-covered Mazoku. It caught Amelia mid-rant and mid-chest, toppling her into a convenient snow bank. Xellos smirked at the little princess, then flitted away.
"We can continue this in the morning. You humans need your sleep." Xellos's laughter faded away, as the purple-haired Mazoku left the campsite.
Wilam hurried over to help the little princess, still angry at the unexpected interruption. He didn't really think that the Mazoku would have let anything slip, yet he was frustrated at loosing the chance for more information. His frustration made him less than completely gentle as he brushed the young princess off.
Amelia suffered his impersonal handling with only a few undignified squeaks. Her fall into the snow bank had left her a little cold and damp, but she hesitated to ask the angry young man in front of her for something warm. Wilam calmed down a bit, and carefully brushed the damp snow off her cloak before wrapping it more tightly around her.
"I'm sorry, Amelia... I'm a little... distracted by Xellos's arrival" Wilam looked down at the silent girl. "Why are you up, anyway? It's the middle of the night, you should be sleeping."
Amelia blushed at his look, and scuffed her booted toe in the snow. "I was... I just... I couldn't sleep."
Wilam sighed, wondering when he would get a chance to just sit, and motioned towards the teakettle Gourry had left out. "I was going to make some coffee, I could make extra water if you'd like some tea?"
Amelia sighed, relieved that she wouldn't have to ask for the warm drink she was craving. "I would like that."
While Wilam busied himself with the kettle and some clean snow over the fire, Amelia cleaned the snow off a log to sit on. While she was brushing the snow to the ground, she looked around at the tents. She shook her head a couple of times, and counted the tents again. When she realized that there was indeed a tent missing, she turned to Wilam.
"Where is the other tent?" She asked, pointing to the empty spot where the tent should be, "Is Miss Lina all right?"
Wilam chuckled, and shook his head a bit. "Well... you see... Lina is taking care of Zel until Sylphiel is sure that her spell took. Sylphiel seemed pretty tired when she came out, almost falling over, so I guess she asked Lina to sit up with him."
"Oh..." Amelia said, "Do you think that they are okay?"
"I wouldn't worry about them, Sylphiel said something about a sleep potion or tea of some kind." Wilam poked the kettle full of still melting snow. "I'm going to check the perimeter, can you watch the water?"
"Um... I suppose so... I'm not very good at cooking or anything..." Amelia replied picking up a small stick from the woodpile to poke the kettle with.
Wilam laughed, then placed his mug next the cleared off log he'd been sitting on. "Don't worry. It's just got to boil. When it does, pour us each a mug. I'll be back soon."
While Amelia settled in to watch the kettle, Wilam headed out to the edge of camp. If Amelia had been watching, she would have noticed that he headed in the same direction that Xellos had taken, but she was too preoccupied with the kettle.
A faint sound from the tent she shared with Sylphiel startled her briefly, but Amelia just shrugged, and went back to watching the snow melt in the kettle.
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Sylphiel had a difficult time falling asleep. She was exhausted, her body numb from cold and lack of energy, and her throat hurt from hours of chanting. Her bedroll didn't feel as soft as it should have been, and her pillow refused to form a comfortable angle for her neck. Her knees hurt from kneeling for hours, even though as a shrine maiden she had held nightlong vigils on stone floors, somehow her exhaustion made her very aware of all the tiny complaints from her body.
After tossing for what felt like hours, but was actually only about 20 or 30 minutes, she settled into an uneasy sleep. Rather than sleeping contentedly on her back, she dropped off to sleep curled into her pillow, with her blankets wrapped tightly around her legs.
In Sylphiel's dream, she was back in Sairaag. She was lost, and very young, no matter how far she ran, nothing looked right. People stared at her and laughed as she stumbled crying through the streets. She tripped, landing hard on her hands, and felt a terrible pain in her left arm. Crying, she rolled over onto her side, her hair hiding her face.
*blink*
Sylphiel was in the false Sairaag, staring up at Gourry's body inside Phibrizo's evil crystal. Her side ached, and the palms of her hands were slightly burnt from the dragon slave that she had cast to no effect. Her heart felt like it was breaking, and she wanted Gourry to live, more than her own life. If Lina could save him...
*blink*
Sylphiel was back in the street, her hair hiding her face, her wrist throbbing. Booted feet stopped in front of her. Inside her head she was screaming, telling herself to run, but unable to change the path of memory. A deep voice above her asked if she was lost. Her child-self cringed at the cruelty in that voice, but didn't get up, didn't run. The adult awareness in her head shrieked, waiting for the pain. Pain that didn't come...
*blink*
A young man knelt before her, holding her injured wrist gently, his long blonde hair blowing in the breeze. Sylphiel was older now, but had broken her wrist again, again being approached by a creepy stranger in the marketplace. Her mother was no longer alive to come save her, she had been ready to die there, surrounded by people who didn't care about a lost girl. The he came, caught the creepy-man's arm before the hand could touch her cringing body. Informed the bystanders that they were contemptible, beaten the cruel ones back.
He walked her home, was thanked by her father... complimented her on her then-only-adequate cooking. She vowed to learn everything she could about cooking on that day, just to live up to his praise. She thought her heart would break when he left...
*blink*
A sense of dread overcame her. She screamed her defiance at the uncaring hell-child in front of her and prepared to die. Lina... Lina would save them...
The next thing she remembered was looking into those eyes, those golden eyes in Lina's face. Hearing that golden voice coming from her friend's throat. The terror overcame her again. What if Gourry couldn't save her...
*blink*
Sylphiel stood in front of a throne, and judgment was being passed. A golden haired woman in a short white dress looked down at her.
"You've killed them, you know... and now you have to die." The woman's voice was husky, low and wild like the wind before a storm. Her eyes burned into Sylphiel's face, and her words echoed, following the shrine maiden out of her dream and into sudden wakefulness.
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A shrill scream broke the night. Wilam ran in from the woods and Amelia jumped to her feet as Gourry ran barefoot into the snow, sword in hand. Wild sobbing came from the tent that Sylphiel and Amelia were sharing, and Gourry started towards it, naked blade ready. Realizing that he intended to enter the tent, Amelia moved forward, energy dancing along her fingertips. She shook her head at the swordsman, royal training blooming in the moment of crisis.
Gourry didn't even think, he simply acquiesced to her demand. He bowed his head in acknowledgement, then stood guard at one side of the tent flap as Amelia walked inside. Wilam waited near the campfire, uncertain of what is happening, and not wanting to interrupt.
A quiet murmuring was barely audible from within the tent. It might have been possible to make out the conversation, but neither man tried. Sylphiel's loud sobbing faded as the princess's quiet words sink in, and in a few minutes Amelia reappeared, drawing the shrine maiden out of the tent.
Gourry took one look at the tiny princess supporting the much taller shrine maiden, and sheathed his sword. In one flowing movement, he picked up the still weak woman and carried her to a cleared log in front of the fire.
"You two have some tea. Wilam and I will check the perimeter." Gourry motioned towards the now-boiling kettle, before looking at Wilam, one eyebrow raised. Wilam nodded and the two men faded into the darkness around the campfire.
Sylphiel accepted a cup of tea from Amelia, cradling it in both hands before looking up with a question in her eyes.
"Was Gourry... barefoot?" She asked, taking a small sip from the tea.
Amelia giggled, and took a small sip of her own tea. "I think he was... he must have been worried about you."
Sylphiel smiled sadly into her teacup. "That's just his way..."
"No," Amelia interrupted, "That's just his way with YOU."
Sylphiel almost dropped her tea in surprise.
"With the rest of us, he's..." Amelia paused, trying to find the right words, "He's just different. He is protective, but not... not as instinctively. It's like we get the trained responses while you get the actions his heart demand from him."
Sylphiel blushed and hid behind her hair before answering. "I think it's just that I'm less able to take care of myself than you are."
"No. It's not just that... he cares about you." Amelia shook her head, still not able to name the feeling, "I know, he's very caring. But with you, there is an extra level to it. And you are just as capable of taking care of yourself as I am, maybe more so."
Sylphiel looked up in surprise, momentarily forgetting about the drink in her hands. "How can you say that, Amelia?"
"Miss Sylphiel, you know about my family, right?" At Sylphiel's nod, Amelia continued, "I get to go a lot of places and do a lot of things because of my Daddy. It's not that I am better or smarter or more powerful than you are... it's just that I have connections."
"But here" Amelia said, pointing to the campsite, and the fire "Here I can't do anything more than you can... and can actually do a lot less."
At Sylphiel's involuntary sound of protest Amelia's voice grew more forceful, "You are a wonderful cook. You can find food even here, in this cold place with all the snow. I can't even make tea without help. You know all kinds of healing spells that I've never even heard of... I'm supposed to be from the white magic capital of the world, and you can cast circles around me. I tried to help Mr. Zelgadiss... and I just made his headache worse. You cast some spell that actually helped him..."
Amelia broke off as Sylphiel started crying again.
"No, I didn't..." Sylphiel tried to stop crying, but the tears only fell faster. "The spell that I cast? It's not making him better, it's just keeping him alive until we can get to the temple... if..."
Amelia looked at the shrine maiden. "If what, Miss Sylphiel?"
"If it doesn't kill Miss Lina first!" Sylphiel burst out, dropping her teacup and hiding her face in her hands.
Amelia gasped, wanting to comfort Sylphiel, but at a loss for words. She looked down at her teacup, and then glanced up at the crying shrine maiden. "If anyone can do it, Miss Lina can."
Sylphiel ignored her, trying to stifle her tears. "I never should have mentioned the spell. Miss Lina isn't one to walk away from something just because it's dangerous... I should have known she would..."
Amelia finished her tea, and set the cup down before moving to sit next to the crying shrine maiden. She leaned towards the taller woman, and gave her a comforting hug. "You just have to think positively. Miss Lina needs our support, she'll come through all right. You'll see."
Amelia drew the shrine maiden to her feet, and smiled up at her. "We should get some sleep... do you want some of that tea that Miss Lina made earlier? Maybe it will help you sleep?"
Sylphiel took a deep breath, and wiped the tears from her face. "No. You're right... I keep forgetting how strong Miss Lina is... they'll be fine, we'll get to the temple, and they will be fine."
Amelia led the taller woman back to their tent, being very careful not to bump Sylphiel or trip on the way across camp. A shadowed figure in a tree nearby watched them go.
Sylphiel slipped out of Zelgadiss's tent, the now empty mug in one hand, her light spell just barely glimmering in the snow-induced gloom. She sighed, the exertion of weaving a spell that only the most expert of healers ever used, and that very rarely, draining her to clumsiness. Her lighting spell flickered behind her and went out... but she was too drained to recast it, and tried to make her way across the camp to the tent she shared with Amelia.
Just as she would have fallen in the ever-deeper snow, a large figure appeared in front of her, catching her in warm arms.
"Are you okay, Sylphiel?" Gourry's voice came out of the darkness, as welcome as his arm keeping her from falling into a heap at his feet. She shivered, and pulled her cloak tighter around her, letting his warm bulk protect her from the snow a little longer.
"I'm just tired, Gourry" her voice was rough, strained from chanting her spell. "That was a lot harder than I expected."
"Is it going to help him? I hate to see you drained like this, especially if it's not going to help..." Gourry trailed off as the woman in his arms broke into tears. Unsure what to do, and not wanting to make it worse, he stood there helplessly.
"You should take her to bed." Wilam's voice came out of the darkness, startling the couple in the center of camp. "I take it that Lina isn't going to be able to take midnight watch, Miss Sylphiel?"
Sylphiel blushed at being caught held in Gourry's arms by a virtual stranger, and at his somewhat suggestive comment. Gourry stood there, not quite sure how to answer.
"Um... yes, I gave Mr. Zelgadiss some sleeping tea, Lina needs to stay there... to watch over him... while the spell takes effect..." Not used to lying even by omission, Sylphiel stuttered her way through the explanation.
"I thought as much. Nothing terribly big is going to be out in this weather. Gourry, help her to that tent, and we can make it a two watch night... if you can take another couple of hours?" Wilam gestured towards Lina's tent. "Might as take that one down if no one is going to use it, could get damaged in the storm."
At Gourry's nod that he could take a couple more hours, Wilam stretched and made his way over to Lina's tent. Sylphiel, with a lot of help from her swordsman, made her way to her own bedroll and fell asleep almost immediately. Gourry and Wilam dismantled the tent, brushed the snow off it, and stored it in their shared tent until it could be packed away later. Wilam lay down for another hour's sleep, while Gourry made another round of camp, checked that the fire was winning the war against the snow, and generally did sleepy-but-watchful things.
Just as Gourry was starting to contemplate digging through Sylphiel's supplies for some tea, Wilam emerged from their tent. He walked out, yawning and stretching, letting the wispy remains of the snowfall land on his face.
"Ready to call it a night, Gourry?" He asked, rolling his head to one side and stretching his arms over his head.
At Gourry's nod, Wilam grinned. "Sorry about leaving you out here all alone. We'll have to talk to the girls and get them to rotate into the schedule. You have any thoughts on that?"
"Not sure... ask me once I've slept." Gourry mumbled, his only thoughts of his warm bedroll and soft pillow.
Wilam laughed, and made his way to the fire. Gourry folded himself into the tent, making the oversized tent appear small next to him. As Gourry faded into sleep, he though he heard Wilam talking to someone, but decided it was just his imagination.
It wasn't though... as Gourry slid past this side of consciousness, another being had entered the campsite.
"Hello Xellos" Wilam sounded only slightly less hostile than Zelgadis before coffee. "Finally decided to join us?"
Xellos laughed, jumping down from his tree perch, and landing gently in the snow next to the fire. "Oh I've been here and..."
"Spare me your riddles, Trickster" Wilam broke in, holding out one hand. "I don't need to be tormented by the likes of you."
"You weren't like this before, guide... what changed?" Xellos's smile never faltered, and his eyes remained closed.
"I finally placed you... and considering what you tried last time someone wanted to get to the temple, I don't think it's worth taking any chances..." Wilam's hand hovered over the journal tucked into his belt, drawing Xellos's attention.
"Oh," Xellos purred, stalking around the hostile man, "It must be something in your family... you all respond so beautifully." Xellos opened his eyes, and stared at the now angry young man, "I'd almost guess that someone had trained you to this."
Wilam laughed bitterly, "You mean you don't know, Trickster? I'm surprised at you... must be getting sloppy in your old age."
Xellos laughed, closing his eyes and cocking his head to one side. "Well... I suppose it's just that the offshoot branches have never been as interesting to me as the main branch." He paced towards Zelgadiss's tent, laying a hand proprietarily on the tent flap. He drew his hand back with a hiss, and looked at the tent worriedly.
"What has that priestess done now?" Xellos muttered, "I always knew she was going to be a problem..."
"Don't..." Wilam began, moving towards the tent intent on stopping the Mazoku.
Xellos laughed, "Oh, little brother has nothing to fear from me... if anything, he's the..." Xellos stopped, as if suddenly aware that Wilam was listening in avidly.
"What? He's the what?" Wilam began, laying a hand on the skinning knife sheathed at his side, "And little brother? I know for a fact that Rezo did something to him, are you saying..."
Xellos laughed, skipping out of reach, and shaking a finger at Wilam. "Ah, ah, ah" he crowed. "That..."
Wilam seethed for a moment, knowing what was going to come next. Instead, a snowball flew across the clearing, and landed directly in Xellos's laughing face. Two sets of startled gazes, one eyes open, one eyes closed, flew across the clearing to the small figure in white that stood posing on a tree stump.
"Mr. Xellos! It is unjust of you to torture our guide like this! Especially at a time when Mr. Zelgadiss is so sick, and Miss Lina and Miss Sylphiel are so exhausted taking care of him!" Amelia struck another pose, teetering for a moment on the stump. "I will not allow this to continue! I, Amelia wil Tesla Sailoon, cannot allow your blatant disregard for justice to..."
Another snowball flew, this time from the snow-covered Mazoku. It caught Amelia mid-rant and mid-chest, toppling her into a convenient snow bank. Xellos smirked at the little princess, then flitted away.
"We can continue this in the morning. You humans need your sleep." Xellos's laughter faded away, as the purple-haired Mazoku left the campsite.
Wilam hurried over to help the little princess, still angry at the unexpected interruption. He didn't really think that the Mazoku would have let anything slip, yet he was frustrated at loosing the chance for more information. His frustration made him less than completely gentle as he brushed the young princess off.
Amelia suffered his impersonal handling with only a few undignified squeaks. Her fall into the snow bank had left her a little cold and damp, but she hesitated to ask the angry young man in front of her for something warm. Wilam calmed down a bit, and carefully brushed the damp snow off her cloak before wrapping it more tightly around her.
"I'm sorry, Amelia... I'm a little... distracted by Xellos's arrival" Wilam looked down at the silent girl. "Why are you up, anyway? It's the middle of the night, you should be sleeping."
Amelia blushed at his look, and scuffed her booted toe in the snow. "I was... I just... I couldn't sleep."
Wilam sighed, wondering when he would get a chance to just sit, and motioned towards the teakettle Gourry had left out. "I was going to make some coffee, I could make extra water if you'd like some tea?"
Amelia sighed, relieved that she wouldn't have to ask for the warm drink she was craving. "I would like that."
While Wilam busied himself with the kettle and some clean snow over the fire, Amelia cleaned the snow off a log to sit on. While she was brushing the snow to the ground, she looked around at the tents. She shook her head a couple of times, and counted the tents again. When she realized that there was indeed a tent missing, she turned to Wilam.
"Where is the other tent?" She asked, pointing to the empty spot where the tent should be, "Is Miss Lina all right?"
Wilam chuckled, and shook his head a bit. "Well... you see... Lina is taking care of Zel until Sylphiel is sure that her spell took. Sylphiel seemed pretty tired when she came out, almost falling over, so I guess she asked Lina to sit up with him."
"Oh..." Amelia said, "Do you think that they are okay?"
"I wouldn't worry about them, Sylphiel said something about a sleep potion or tea of some kind." Wilam poked the kettle full of still melting snow. "I'm going to check the perimeter, can you watch the water?"
"Um... I suppose so... I'm not very good at cooking or anything..." Amelia replied picking up a small stick from the woodpile to poke the kettle with.
Wilam laughed, then placed his mug next the cleared off log he'd been sitting on. "Don't worry. It's just got to boil. When it does, pour us each a mug. I'll be back soon."
While Amelia settled in to watch the kettle, Wilam headed out to the edge of camp. If Amelia had been watching, she would have noticed that he headed in the same direction that Xellos had taken, but she was too preoccupied with the kettle.
A faint sound from the tent she shared with Sylphiel startled her briefly, but Amelia just shrugged, and went back to watching the snow melt in the kettle.
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Sylphiel had a difficult time falling asleep. She was exhausted, her body numb from cold and lack of energy, and her throat hurt from hours of chanting. Her bedroll didn't feel as soft as it should have been, and her pillow refused to form a comfortable angle for her neck. Her knees hurt from kneeling for hours, even though as a shrine maiden she had held nightlong vigils on stone floors, somehow her exhaustion made her very aware of all the tiny complaints from her body.
After tossing for what felt like hours, but was actually only about 20 or 30 minutes, she settled into an uneasy sleep. Rather than sleeping contentedly on her back, she dropped off to sleep curled into her pillow, with her blankets wrapped tightly around her legs.
In Sylphiel's dream, she was back in Sairaag. She was lost, and very young, no matter how far she ran, nothing looked right. People stared at her and laughed as she stumbled crying through the streets. She tripped, landing hard on her hands, and felt a terrible pain in her left arm. Crying, she rolled over onto her side, her hair hiding her face.
*blink*
Sylphiel was in the false Sairaag, staring up at Gourry's body inside Phibrizo's evil crystal. Her side ached, and the palms of her hands were slightly burnt from the dragon slave that she had cast to no effect. Her heart felt like it was breaking, and she wanted Gourry to live, more than her own life. If Lina could save him...
*blink*
Sylphiel was back in the street, her hair hiding her face, her wrist throbbing. Booted feet stopped in front of her. Inside her head she was screaming, telling herself to run, but unable to change the path of memory. A deep voice above her asked if she was lost. Her child-self cringed at the cruelty in that voice, but didn't get up, didn't run. The adult awareness in her head shrieked, waiting for the pain. Pain that didn't come...
*blink*
A young man knelt before her, holding her injured wrist gently, his long blonde hair blowing in the breeze. Sylphiel was older now, but had broken her wrist again, again being approached by a creepy stranger in the marketplace. Her mother was no longer alive to come save her, she had been ready to die there, surrounded by people who didn't care about a lost girl. The he came, caught the creepy-man's arm before the hand could touch her cringing body. Informed the bystanders that they were contemptible, beaten the cruel ones back.
He walked her home, was thanked by her father... complimented her on her then-only-adequate cooking. She vowed to learn everything she could about cooking on that day, just to live up to his praise. She thought her heart would break when he left...
*blink*
A sense of dread overcame her. She screamed her defiance at the uncaring hell-child in front of her and prepared to die. Lina... Lina would save them...
The next thing she remembered was looking into those eyes, those golden eyes in Lina's face. Hearing that golden voice coming from her friend's throat. The terror overcame her again. What if Gourry couldn't save her...
*blink*
Sylphiel stood in front of a throne, and judgment was being passed. A golden haired woman in a short white dress looked down at her.
"You've killed them, you know... and now you have to die." The woman's voice was husky, low and wild like the wind before a storm. Her eyes burned into Sylphiel's face, and her words echoed, following the shrine maiden out of her dream and into sudden wakefulness.
-----------------------------
A shrill scream broke the night. Wilam ran in from the woods and Amelia jumped to her feet as Gourry ran barefoot into the snow, sword in hand. Wild sobbing came from the tent that Sylphiel and Amelia were sharing, and Gourry started towards it, naked blade ready. Realizing that he intended to enter the tent, Amelia moved forward, energy dancing along her fingertips. She shook her head at the swordsman, royal training blooming in the moment of crisis.
Gourry didn't even think, he simply acquiesced to her demand. He bowed his head in acknowledgement, then stood guard at one side of the tent flap as Amelia walked inside. Wilam waited near the campfire, uncertain of what is happening, and not wanting to interrupt.
A quiet murmuring was barely audible from within the tent. It might have been possible to make out the conversation, but neither man tried. Sylphiel's loud sobbing faded as the princess's quiet words sink in, and in a few minutes Amelia reappeared, drawing the shrine maiden out of the tent.
Gourry took one look at the tiny princess supporting the much taller shrine maiden, and sheathed his sword. In one flowing movement, he picked up the still weak woman and carried her to a cleared log in front of the fire.
"You two have some tea. Wilam and I will check the perimeter." Gourry motioned towards the now-boiling kettle, before looking at Wilam, one eyebrow raised. Wilam nodded and the two men faded into the darkness around the campfire.
Sylphiel accepted a cup of tea from Amelia, cradling it in both hands before looking up with a question in her eyes.
"Was Gourry... barefoot?" She asked, taking a small sip from the tea.
Amelia giggled, and took a small sip of her own tea. "I think he was... he must have been worried about you."
Sylphiel smiled sadly into her teacup. "That's just his way..."
"No," Amelia interrupted, "That's just his way with YOU."
Sylphiel almost dropped her tea in surprise.
"With the rest of us, he's..." Amelia paused, trying to find the right words, "He's just different. He is protective, but not... not as instinctively. It's like we get the trained responses while you get the actions his heart demand from him."
Sylphiel blushed and hid behind her hair before answering. "I think it's just that I'm less able to take care of myself than you are."
"No. It's not just that... he cares about you." Amelia shook her head, still not able to name the feeling, "I know, he's very caring. But with you, there is an extra level to it. And you are just as capable of taking care of yourself as I am, maybe more so."
Sylphiel looked up in surprise, momentarily forgetting about the drink in her hands. "How can you say that, Amelia?"
"Miss Sylphiel, you know about my family, right?" At Sylphiel's nod, Amelia continued, "I get to go a lot of places and do a lot of things because of my Daddy. It's not that I am better or smarter or more powerful than you are... it's just that I have connections."
"But here" Amelia said, pointing to the campsite, and the fire "Here I can't do anything more than you can... and can actually do a lot less."
At Sylphiel's involuntary sound of protest Amelia's voice grew more forceful, "You are a wonderful cook. You can find food even here, in this cold place with all the snow. I can't even make tea without help. You know all kinds of healing spells that I've never even heard of... I'm supposed to be from the white magic capital of the world, and you can cast circles around me. I tried to help Mr. Zelgadiss... and I just made his headache worse. You cast some spell that actually helped him..."
Amelia broke off as Sylphiel started crying again.
"No, I didn't..." Sylphiel tried to stop crying, but the tears only fell faster. "The spell that I cast? It's not making him better, it's just keeping him alive until we can get to the temple... if..."
Amelia looked at the shrine maiden. "If what, Miss Sylphiel?"
"If it doesn't kill Miss Lina first!" Sylphiel burst out, dropping her teacup and hiding her face in her hands.
Amelia gasped, wanting to comfort Sylphiel, but at a loss for words. She looked down at her teacup, and then glanced up at the crying shrine maiden. "If anyone can do it, Miss Lina can."
Sylphiel ignored her, trying to stifle her tears. "I never should have mentioned the spell. Miss Lina isn't one to walk away from something just because it's dangerous... I should have known she would..."
Amelia finished her tea, and set the cup down before moving to sit next to the crying shrine maiden. She leaned towards the taller woman, and gave her a comforting hug. "You just have to think positively. Miss Lina needs our support, she'll come through all right. You'll see."
Amelia drew the shrine maiden to her feet, and smiled up at her. "We should get some sleep... do you want some of that tea that Miss Lina made earlier? Maybe it will help you sleep?"
Sylphiel took a deep breath, and wiped the tears from her face. "No. You're right... I keep forgetting how strong Miss Lina is... they'll be fine, we'll get to the temple, and they will be fine."
Amelia led the taller woman back to their tent, being very careful not to bump Sylphiel or trip on the way across camp. A shadowed figure in a tree nearby watched them go.