Slayers: To the End...
By the Sneaky Chibi Otaku Geek
Disclaimer... Can a person get writer's block while writing a disclaimer. I think so. So, with that said, please be merciful on my disclaimer, cause I can't think of anything better at the present moment. Slayers aint mine.
Chapter 17 101 Ways to Get U Kicked Out...
Xellos stood up.
"My name is Xellos." he said. "I am Princess Lina's magic teacher." he said. "I don't have papers, since magic is not allowed to be practiced, much less, taught." He sat down and smiled inwardly. He could tell by their faces, that they hadn't expected that. If Lina had worked with Albuntra, then he knew that Lina knew magic.
There was silence as Albuntra considered their claims and read through their papers. Albuntra spoke while making notes.
"#1, what position did you serve under his Highness King Marduk and his wife, Queen Meesha?" he asked.
"I was their page." he said.
"Where you always with them?" asked Albuntra.
"Yes."
"Even today?" asked Albuntra.
"Yes. I am very loyal to the family." said #1.
"So tell me, what did the King tell his daughter today after breakfast?" Albuntra looked up at him expectantly. #1 paused as he thought.
"Um... the king told the Princess that she had behaved well during breakfast." he said.
"What else?" asked Albuntra.
"Nothing else." said #1.
"Thank you, you may rest." Albuntra wrote something on his notebook and looked at #2.
"#2.... when do you usually teach the Princess?" he asked.
"I teach her in the mornings every other day." answered #2.
"So, when was the last you talked to her?" asked Albuntra again
"This morning." he said promptly. "She had to leave and told me to pick up the scroll at night."
"Where did she go?" asked Albuntra.
"She didn't tell me. It was a private family matter and she wouldn't tell me." said #2.
"OK... #3, what dish does the Princess hate?" asked Albuntra.
"The princess likes all dishes." said #3. "She doesn't have any that isn't her favorite."
"OK,... #4... what is the Princess's favorite spell to cast?" asked Albuntra, this time to Xellos.
"That's pretty simple," said Xellos. "Her gut level reaction spell, and her favorite one is the simplified Fireball." Hopefully, he got the answer right. That was the only spell he could think off, other than Dragon Slave or some such.
Albuntra jotted some notes and nodded to himself. He smiled to himself also.
"You guys all did wonderful." said Albuntra. "A few slips here and there, but I will give you another chance. You must give me something that characterizes the Princess." The four 'candidates' were confused. What would characterized the Princess? Xellos thought. He probably didn't want a Fireball sent his way either... what did he have that was as chaotic and unpredictable as Lina?... A light bulb went off at the top of his head.
"I have something." he said to Albuntra. Albuntra nodded. Xellos took him aside and showed him something in his pocket. Albuntra saw it and nodded.
"Anyone else have something?" he asked the rest. No takers. So, Albuntra basically shooed them out of the house. "Well, nothing else to see here, go away." Then he turned to Xellos. "Make them forget this happened."
"With pleasure!" said Xellos. He was grinning and his eyes were closed. With a wave of his staff, a cloud enveloped the three men for a while before it vanished. He pocketed Lina's note. What else was as chaotic as she was, other than her handwriting?
"A pleasure to meet you, Xellos." said Albuntra as he shook his hand. "You're the only one with a slight magical aura about you." Xellos's eyes opened slightly at that.
"You know magic?" he asked.
"Some." said Albuntra. "The Princess taught me some before this happened. Enough to read auras. Besides, I write prophecies."
"So, what happened?" asked Xellos. But Albuntra was staring at him.
"So, you are the one she likes." he said softly. Xellos was slightly taken back.
"Um, excuse me?" he said.
"Oh, here, read the note she left me. I'm getting the scroll." said Albuntra. He left the room. Xellos curiously opened the note. It read...
Albuntra... Before I start... make sure you're reading this in a quiet and private place. I have a lot of things to say. First of all, although my name is Lina, I'm not the Lina you know. I come from a different dimension. Although that may seem weird, listen to me. I was sent here, along with my friend to locate a copy of the scroll you will finish tonight. Unfortunately, I have been called away to marry some old prince in Tethu My 'father' just told me today after breakfast, the idiot! Don't worry, I'm doing everything I can to make sure that the Princess won't marry the idiot in Tethu. I'm sending a note to my friend to come pick it up. The password is Sore wa himitsu desu. Please believe me. You wondered why I was different and cold. That's because I don't reciprocate your love, for I'm not your Princess. So please, trust in me, and hand to my friend, he is a priest, the copy of your scroll. Everything will work out fine. Send my greetings to him. He should be there from one till three. Take care, and tell him I love him. Lina Tirla Inverse
Xellos smiled as he read the note. Trust Lina to find a way out. They say honesty is the best policy. In this case, it was true. Albuntra walked in.
"You read it?" asked Albuntra. He saw the smile. "I guess you did. She's a wonderful person to work with. Tell her I said Hi. You're very fortunate to find someone like her."
"Thank you." said Xellos. "Can you tell me what happened?"
"Oh, I was surprised, but it made sense. Lina's control over her magic had improved a lot, and she was different. So, I knew her story was true. So, I wrote up a copy and I heard a knock at 1. I thought it was you, but then I heard a scuffle and a fight. I peeked and saw two people fighting. So, I blew a paralyzing drug at them and dragged them in. They thought it was magic or something like that. Both knew the password... so I couldn't give it to any of them. So I stuck them in chairs and taped a sticker to them and waited for the rest. Then came number 3, who looked very surprised, and finally you."
"Sounds like you had an interesting night." said Xellos. He took the scroll and put it away. "Well, thank you very much."
"Where will you go?" asked Albuntra.
"Now that, is a secret!" said Xellos, wagging his finger at him. He vanished.
Albuntra smiled. Now he knew he had given it to the right person. Why else would Lina have chosen the silly phrase Sore wa himitsu desu for a code?
*****
Lina sighed. It was night, and she was traveling in this stupid coach, and she couldn't sleep, because she was worried to death and the coach was traveling on a bumpy road.... and yeah, she was also frustrated, and her time of the month had just come. How could things get worse?
"This is stupid!" she said out loud. She had her own coach, so no one was with her, which was good. "I mean, if they let me use magic,... and if I could, then I could cast levitation.... This is so awful!!!!!!!" Of course, this last part was softer so that people didn't know what she said. To answer her unspoken question, from a distance, the sky thundered, and the harsh pitter-patter of big raindrops bouncing of the top appeared. And the wind blew, and lightning flashed. And Lina groaned in pain. What time was it anyway? So, she poked her head out and motioned for someone to come.
"Princess!" said the guard. "You shouldn't poke your head out! You're all wet now." This was the guard who had opened the door the other day and who was keeping her secret of being able to practice magic.
"What time is it?" she asked.
"Oh, it is one hour till sunrise, Princess." he said.
"When will we get there?" she asked.
"In about five more hours." he said.
"That's it, you can go now." she said. He left.
"So, Xellos probably got the scroll already, I hope." she said to himself. "I wonder if he'll drop by..."
And she dug herself under covers and leaned against a wall and fell asleep, her arms pulling her knees up to her.
*****
Xellos appeared near the traveling coach, wearing his cape and a hood, so that you couldn't see his eyes. Her liked this look, it made him more mysterious. The scroll, was all dry and safe. He hadn't read it yet. They would read it together. Lina would probably bash him on the head if he did read it before she did. Speaking about Lina, he wondered,... was Lina ready to leave and go back? Probably not, she was planning to fix the Princess's life. So, he smiled.
If anybody had seen him, they would have been surprised to note that his cloak was not wet, and would have felt spooked on seeing his smile. They would have been more surprised, when they saw him wave his staff and vanish from sight, only to appear in Lina's coach.
"Knock, knock!" he said cheerfully, his eyes closed. When he didn't get a response, he opened his eyes and looked around. Yup, this was Lina's carriage. Lina was there, crawled up in a corner, and sleeping... maybe that is why she hadn't answered him. He smiled. She looked so innocent and kawaii like that. And he wanted to sleep. He had left a note for his fellow companions that he had left and that he'd be back later. So, he carefully lifted Lina up, slowly, with his magic. He sat down, and set Lina on his lap. He clasped her to him and rested his head in her damp red locks. And slept peacefully, feeling very happy and content, holding in his arms, the only thing he actually cared for.
*****
Lina awoke softly when the rays of light hit her eyes. She groaned and winced and got up. She was still in her coach, though. She was all rested and feeling better, although her lower abdominal muscles still told her that she couldn't perform magic yet. She stood up, groaned and then sat back down. Something purple caught her eyes on the windowsill. She looked at it and picked up the note. It was a light purple note with her name written in darker purple. Three guesses as to who had written it. She got it right on the first try.
Dearest Lina, How are you? Thank you for the little message. I have the scroll. Hopefully, I will see you tonight, ne, Lina chan? And I wish you tons of luck and with what you're trying to do. Would have talked to you, but you were sleeping. Did I ever tell you that you look kawaii while asleep? Oh well, now you know. Take care, Xellos.
She stared at it. He had the coolest handwriting she had ever seen! It was the total opposite from hers. Her handwriting was huge and scrawled out, majorly slanted and nearly illegible, but that was good, right? His, on the other hand, was very nice and neat. He wrote in small cursive letters with huge capital letters. And the coolest thing... it was also nearly illegible! She felt envy rising up in her, but she choked it down. It was silly to be envious of his handwriting. After all, he had centuries to perfect it. But his handwriting was so cool!
*****
Lina stepped out of the coach and stared at the palace before her. She was dressed in a pearly white dress, with bronze trim. She put a frown on her face and stared at the palace. No way she would marry the geezer, and she was going to do everything she could to make him realize that marrying her was not a good idea. She took out a pair of spotless white gloves with a lacy edge and a fan with white peacock feathers. She stood up straight, pasted on an intelligent looking frown and glanced at the task before her. Lina Inverse was here. From a nearby tree, Xellos had to bite back a laugh.
"Welcome, Princess Lina," said a guard at the gate. "His Excellency, the Prince of Tethu awaits you." He bowed and waited for her to pass by him and go inside and make his life relatively easier. Instead...
"Are you wearing a brown uniform?" she asked. She peered at him closely while forcing him up. Sure enough, he was wearing a brown coat of arms as a badge. The rest though, was white.
"Um, yes, Princess Lina." he said. "Do go in, the Prince is waiting for you."
"I will be more than glad to, but that brown,...thing... must go away!" she said. She snapped her fan open and waved herself with it. "It is so dreadfully hot here." She was about to go in, when she eyed the floor critically. "Is it me, or is this stone?" There was an insulting tone to her voice.
"It's made of granite, Miss Lina." said the guard awkwardly.
"I knew it!" she said. "Did you know that granite is harmful to birds, such as canaries?" The guard shook his head, wishing to be anywhere else but here. "It is! I can't believe you guys didn't know that!" She raised her arms and let them fall in a sign of resignation. "What is this world coming to?" Curious, the guard decided to ask her a question.
"So, what wouldn't be as harmful to birds?" he asked.
"I'm so glad you asked!" said Lina happily. "I say,... you need quartz, but not just any mind you. For example, take rose quartz..." And Lina babbled happily with the guard. After they finished...
"Well, the Prince is awaiting you." he said.
"Oh, let him wait!" said Lina. "What am I to him, a trophy princess? He thinks he can just wait inside and not pull out a red carpet for me, or come and greet me? Well, things are definitely going to change. And unless there is a red carpet, of velvet, mind you, I will not go in!" She sat down with a 'hmph' and took out her fan and fanned herself. The guard just stared at her. "Go on, tell the Prince that I, Princess Lina of Urdia, refuse to go in, treated like some nobody!" She looked the other way, and the guard quickly left to tell the Prince.
'What an eccentric Princess...' he thought to himself.
After a while, the guard came back, following the Prince to the entrance. Behind, a red velvet carpet was being unrolled, and some trumpeteers were following, ready to trumpet the Princess's entrance into the palace. The Prince arrived at the gate, and found...no Princess.
"Well, where is she?" he asked the guard. He had brown eyes and brown hair and tanned brown skin. He wore a white suit that made a nice contrast. He wasn't an old geezer, but he was an older man of about 67, with a wrinkled face. Xellos watched from a tree. This was so fun!
"She was here a while ago, highness." said the guard.
"Ask her servants then." said the Prince, gesturing to the servants walking about the front, carrying the Princess's luggage. The guard nodded, asked them and came back.
"They say she went off for a walk." he said.
"A walk? Where?" he asked, half annoyed. He had been pulled away from a very important conference with his advisor. The Princess had to be in, and ready for the wedding in eight hours. Now was not the time for walks.
"In the royal gardens..." said the guard meekly. The Prince sighed. His royal gardens were a huge maze. Many times, he had lost gardeners due to the fact that it was a huge maze. With huge walls. Sometimes, his newer ones would stumble across the older ones... Usually, they were lost, hungry, dehydrated... a very sorry sight.
"Find her before she gets lost. Bring her here. I'll escort her in, and carry on with the preparations for the wedding." said the Prince. He sat down on a bench and waited. The guard bowed and quickly dispatched a troop of guards to find the Princess. Meanwhile...
Lina was having fun. This was a cool garden! It was like a huge maze. And there were so many flowers and plants. She was about to get some, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around, ready to talk in a haughty voice when she saw amethyst eyes. He smiled at her, bowed with a flourish and presented her with a bouquet of flowers.
"For my lady." he said jokingly. Lina giggled. "The exit is a two left turns, skip an opening on the left, three right turns, skip three openings on the right, and then one left turn."
"Why, thank you..." she said softly, a goofy smile on her face. He kissed her hand and then vanished slowly. Lina smiled and kept on with her walk, going for the outside. Hopefully, the ones after her would get lost. She sniffed the flowers and sighed. They smelled a little like him.
Having made it out of the maze safely, she thought... what should she do now? Oh, take a walk and see what else they had! She hummed softly and started to walk around, peering into the servant's quarters, and the kitchens, and the wash rooms. She took a huge platter from the kitchen and found the pond. With a smile, she sat at the edge and took off her shoes and socks before sticking them in the cool water. It felt nice, and she had been starving. It was probably time for lunch anyway, and she wanted to eat. (It really wasn't, but Lina had a warped sense of time when it came to food.) So she smiled, swung her feet in the cool water and ate her chicken. And that's how the guards found her.
"Your highness!" they said.
"Yes?" she asked nicely and cutely.
"Um... the Prince awaits your presence at the front gate." they told her, huffing and puffing and sweating.
"Oh, thank you!" she said. "You can escort me! Could you bring me a towel to dry me feet off?" So, they sent a guard to get a towel for her. After she dried her feet off, put her socks and shoes on, and finishing her food, she got up, snapped open her fan and let herself be led back to the Palace Gate. There, she saw the Prince waiting for her.
"Good afternoon, Princess Lina," he said as he kissed her hand. Lina quickly drew away her hand.
"Good afternoon to you too, Prince." she said coldly. She motioned for the guard who was carrying her towel to come nearer and wiped her hand on the towel. A guard snickered.
"Can I escort you in?" asked the Prince. She was pretty all right. And feisty. And a fighter. And driving him crazy.
"Yes." she said. The Prince signaled the trumpeteers, and all together, they gave a huge blast, to indicate the entrance of the Princess. "Ouch!" she said.
"What's wrong, my dear?" asked the Prince.
"The fifth trumpet on the left. He's flat!" she said. "Oh my,... My entrance is ruined!!!!" With that, she started to cry. Xellos smiled as he watched her antics. And to give her credibility, he untuned the fifth trumpet on the left for her.
"My, you have a good ear!" said the Prince. He tried to calm her, not quite sure how to... He have her an awkward hug and was pushed back by her hands. Her tears forgotten, she turned on her trusty and patented, Inverse Glare of Death on him.
"Don't touch me!" she cried out. "How dare you! You would not even greet me, and send your guards after me. You set out a carpet for me, covering up your awful sins to the birds of the sky. You starve me so I have to find the kitchen on my own. And now, you use a faulty trumpet! Not only that, your badge is BROWN!" She wiped her eyes. "No... I refuse to enter the palace!" She stomped away. The Prince sighed, rubbed his forehead and ran after her.
"Put her belongings in her room." he shouted to them. He found her sitting on a stone, staring somewhere else, fingering something in her lap. He picked up a few flowers.
"Please accept my most humble apologies." he started out. She didn't look at him. He offered her the flowers.
"No thank you. I have my own." she said.
"Princess, I am truly sorry." he said as he walked to the front of her so that he could see her face. She was really pretty, he decided. "It was not my intention to insult you."
"Are you sure?" she asked him.
"Yes, very sure." he said. "We are going to be married this afternoon, and I want you to life happily here beside me as my wife."
"Oh... bleugh." she said. "Oh well, apology accepted." she said half heartedly.
"Follow me while I lead you to your temporary room." he said. Lina sighed and followed him.
As soon as she arrived in her new room for the day, she ordered the servants around for food. Immediately, they brought her a few plates of food. She quickly wolfed them down.
"More food please!" she said to a servant who was passing beside her door. So they brought her more food. And more. And more. And then...
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, THERE'S NO MORE!" she shouted. The servants cringed.
"Um... the rest is for the wedding. Could you wait till the wedding?" asked the cook.
"NO!" she said. "I'm hungry now! When is the wedding?"
"In about six hours, Princess." said the cook.
"WHAT!!! YOU EXPECT ME TO WAIT SIX HOURS FOR FOOD?" The cook unplugged his ears, ran out and ordered that they buy some food from a restaurant to appease the Princess. Lina smiled to herself. This was fun! It was quite cool to order so many people around. She mentally called for Xellos and he appeared. She locked the door and closed the windows.
"What can I do for you?" he asked as he bowed.
"Give these away for me, please?" she asked as she pointed under the bed. Curious, Xellos lifted the bed up with magic and saw all the plates of uneaten food. At his quizzical look, she giggled. "Well, I'm not that hungry, but I have to make this guy realize that marrying Lina would be a huge mistake. She already likes the Albuntra guy anyway."
"I'll pass it out to some poor people outside, is that all right?" he asked with a smile.
"That's a great idea!" said Lina. She kissed his nose. "You're so smart!" Xellos laughed.
"OK, but be careful. I think someone is planning something. So, be on guard." he said before vanishing. Lina smiled wickedly and tugged on the bell rope. A loud ding resounded across the castle. And then her shout accompanied it.
"I want CHOCOLATE!!!!!!!!" After all, it was her time of the month. And if she didn't take advantage of it,... well, that was another opportunity lost.
*****
Knock, knock, knock.
"Yes?" asked Kimun, the Prince of Tethu. "Come in." It was the cook.
"Um, your highness?" he asked softly. "Are you busy?"
"I'm busy, but speak your piece. What's the matter?"
"Um... it's the Princess sir." said the cook. "and her appetite."
"What about it?" asked Kimun. He was tired and grouchy and was impatiently dealing with a cook and the wedding would be happening soon...
"I just wanted you to understand the nature of the bill when you receive it." said the cook. Kimun just stared at the bill the cook offered to him. How could one petite little Princess eat all that?
*****
Kimun sighed and leaned back in his chair. He had dismissed the cook and was trying to rest. It wasn't working. OK, so... Lina wanted to play hard to catch, huh? Oh well, he'd comply. She wanted a little bit of fun? With pleasure.
*****
Lina heard the knock and ran to open the door. She absolutely hated the dress. It was white... with tons of lace... and flowers,... and butterfly designs. Ugh... she didn't want to puke over her dress while walking down the aisle.
"Yes?" she asked to the servant. "What do you want?"
"Um... the Prince asks you to stop ordering so much food and to wait for the wedding..." she said, half scared to death. How would she take it?
"And why?" she asked dangerously. "...should I obey him?"
"Because he said he can't afford to spend more money on food..."
"He's the Prince! He has tons of money! He could throw money out of the windows of the palace, and everything would still be OK! So, I want chocolate cake! And make it snappy!" She slammed the door in the servants face.
OK, this was fun, but it was starting to get redundant. She didn't want to do this anymore. It was time to bring this to a close. She opened the window and climbed up the wall to get to the roof. Sure, it was a little hard to do it with her huge dress, but she handled it fine. After all, she wasn't just good at magic. She made it to the top with minimal problems and then she sighed. It felt good to do something by herself. Stupid dress. She almost felt like taking it off. She should have changed out of her wedding dress before climbing! Aaaaaaargh, she was such an idiot! Now, what could she do to upset the prince? She was running out of ideas. Not having magic was not helping her one bit. If she had magic, she could do some small things, make it look like she knew some, but not enough to condemn her. But she couldn't do that. And a princess wasn't supposed to act childish. So, what to do? Well, what the heck, now was as good as any other time to end this joke. So, she started off in one direction, and then stopped. She had no idea where his stupid office/room was. Stupid palace with trillion rooms...
*****
She finally found it, silly thing. She climbed down, and opened the window from the outside. The prince looked up on hearing the commotion.
"Greetings Princess." he said as he opened the window for her.
"We have to talk." said Lina.
"You look dashing in the dress, my Princess." said the Prince. "And yes, we must talk. I was about to send someone for you. Come, follow me into my private office." Lina sighed and followed him, holding the dress so that she wouldn't trip. Well, at least she could speak to him... "Before you start, my Princess, I do believe I know what is happening." said Kimun. Lina raised an eyebrow at that.
"I doubt it." said Lina.
"Oh, but I do know." said the Prince with a smile. His eyes seemed to glow for a second, before Lina's own eyes widened. She jumped off to the side, just in time. The spot she was standing on turned into a blackened spot. "You're quick, my Princess, but just, how quick are you?" Another fireball was hurled in her direction. Lina easily evaded it, just to get hit with a Flare Arrow he had thrown right after.
"Ouch." she said as she got up. "Is that a way to treat a Princess, Mister...." she said angrily. She got in ready stance for his next one.
"My, my, my... do my eyes deceive me?" asked Kimun sarcastically. "The fiery sorceress supreme, Lina Inverse, is not fighting back?"
Lina growled at him, and from within the folds of her awful and huge wedding dress, she drew out her sword.
"I'm not as unprepared as you may think." she said as she lunged at him. He teleported out of the way of her thrust. "You're a Mazoku." she said, stating the obvious.
"Why, how intelligent of you." he said. "Now, it's my turn to be intelligent. Seeing as you won't do magic, perhaps, you are unable to do it. Perhaps, incapable, at the present moment..."
"Shut up." said Lina as she once again faced him off, sword at ready stance in her right hand, her left grabbing the full skirt to make sure it didn't get in her way. "What's your name?"
"Oh, I'm touched." said Kimun. "Well, my name in Numik. How come?"
"So that I know who I killed." she said. She jumped at him again. He dodged and fired another blast of energy at her as she went flying past him. Lina got up again. She really hated this. Having to fight Mazoku with out magic was a pain in the rear end. He just laughed at her attempts.
"Now, now, Princess Lina." he said. "I know you to be very intelligent. And you must realize that fighting a Mazoku while you are facing... how can I put it?.... a delicate female problem, is not the wisest thing to do." Lina blushed hotly at that. "So, why don't you give up and let me lock you up? After all, I wouldn't want to damage such a lovely face."
"Just fight! If you want to get me, you'll have to fight me first!" She was about to attack again, when Numik appeared next to her and placed a Fireball at her back. The blast sent Lina flying into the wall, where she slowly stood up again. She was breathing heavily as she got up. She really hated this. Her sword had flown across the room in the blast. Gosh, she really, really, really hated this. But she didn't have too much time to think about that as she was suddenly surrounded by a black cage.
"What?" she asked, as she grabbed the bars. Big mistake. The bars shocked her, and the last thing she remembered was that she really hated having her period. Oh, and that Mazoku would die painfully. She blacked out.
*****
Xellos appeared in her room that night. He had been watching all day long, ever since he had distributed the food, and nothing had been happening. Well, not nothing... the wedding things had been dismantled and put away. There were not wedding cakes to be eaten nor wedding bells ringing. That probably meant that Lina had stopped the marriage, just like she had planned. How odd, her room was empty. All her belongings had been moved elsewhere. For a minute, fear gripped his heart... but then he pushed it back. Probably a misunderstanding. Lina must have left already while he was watching them put the decorations away. He hoped. Out of curiosity he turned himself invisible and walked outside, hoping to figure out something. There was something going on. But he didn't know what... Everybody was acting pretty normal, not really caring about anything and doing their job. He found himself facing an oak door. From the talk of the servants, he knew this was the Prince's room. He was about to pass by it, but something stopped him. He looked at the door. Very solid oak. Very thick walls, almost sound proof. Maybe the nagging feeling he had was because Lina couldn't stop the wedding? Or,... something. He shook his head. Thing was, there had been no fireballs or screams of rage or anything like that... but then, Lina couldn't cast magic at the present moment...
BUT,... she had cast some magic. She called him before, almost as if she hadn't realized what she was doing. So, could she cast magic or not? He knew she normally couldn't cast magic during that 'time o the month.', but now, she wasn't exactly normal. So, maybe she could cast magic, but hadn't realized. Or maybe she couldn't, and period. Whatever it was, he knew he'd find a clue to her whereabouts in the room. So, he took a deep breath and went into the room.
As soon as he stepped in, he was hit with a strong sense of magic in the room. Not only had the room been sound proof, but it had been magic proofed also. He could sense wisps of Lina's aura around him, but it was weak, for she hadn't cast any magic. There was another trace of magic though. One that seemed quite familiar... of a .... what was a Mazoku doing here?
The room was empty, and some walls looked freshly patched up by magic.
'So, Lina chan was in a fight.' he mused to himself. He inspected the walls carefully. He caught sight of a little wisp of white. He leaned to pick it up. It was a very delicate cloth piece.... part of Lina's dress, no doubt. He checked under some tables and chairs and saw what he was looking for. It was Lina's Chaos Sword. It allowed her to channel vast amounts of Chaos Magic, just like his staff did. It had been left behind. The attacker probably hadn't noticed the importance of this little sword. But the sword was cold; she hadn't cast magic through it...
"Well, now to find Lina chan." said Xellos softly as he picked up the sword. It reacted to him, the pommel stone glowing softly as he stroked the sword. It was truly a magnificent sword.
AUTHOR'S NOTES... Hi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How are you all?? I hope you've been doing great. Finally, Fanfiction.net is up! Hurray! Poor ff.net... so many things going wrong. You're doing a great job, ff. net!!!!!! Anyway, here's the next chapter. What do you think? Can anyone guess where this is going? Then good for you! If you have no idea... don't worry, I'm sort of there also! ^.^ Anyway, I hope you found this chapter amusing and fun. Please remember to R and R. C and C are extremely welcome, as usual. Don't feel like writing a review? Drop me a note at hml_kimiko@hotmail.com So, yeah... all that! I have one more month of summer break,.... how horrible!!!!!! Oh well.... I just have to write as fast as I can, right? ^.^ Thank you for your reviews, and take care, all of you!
Sincerely... Hotaru Kimiko Lai
Disclaimer... Can a person get writer's block while writing a disclaimer. I think so. So, with that said, please be merciful on my disclaimer, cause I can't think of anything better at the present moment. Slayers aint mine.
Chapter 17 101 Ways to Get U Kicked Out...
Xellos stood up.
"My name is Xellos." he said. "I am Princess Lina's magic teacher." he said. "I don't have papers, since magic is not allowed to be practiced, much less, taught." He sat down and smiled inwardly. He could tell by their faces, that they hadn't expected that. If Lina had worked with Albuntra, then he knew that Lina knew magic.
There was silence as Albuntra considered their claims and read through their papers. Albuntra spoke while making notes.
"#1, what position did you serve under his Highness King Marduk and his wife, Queen Meesha?" he asked.
"I was their page." he said.
"Where you always with them?" asked Albuntra.
"Yes."
"Even today?" asked Albuntra.
"Yes. I am very loyal to the family." said #1.
"So tell me, what did the King tell his daughter today after breakfast?" Albuntra looked up at him expectantly. #1 paused as he thought.
"Um... the king told the Princess that she had behaved well during breakfast." he said.
"What else?" asked Albuntra.
"Nothing else." said #1.
"Thank you, you may rest." Albuntra wrote something on his notebook and looked at #2.
"#2.... when do you usually teach the Princess?" he asked.
"I teach her in the mornings every other day." answered #2.
"So, when was the last you talked to her?" asked Albuntra again
"This morning." he said promptly. "She had to leave and told me to pick up the scroll at night."
"Where did she go?" asked Albuntra.
"She didn't tell me. It was a private family matter and she wouldn't tell me." said #2.
"OK... #3, what dish does the Princess hate?" asked Albuntra.
"The princess likes all dishes." said #3. "She doesn't have any that isn't her favorite."
"OK,... #4... what is the Princess's favorite spell to cast?" asked Albuntra, this time to Xellos.
"That's pretty simple," said Xellos. "Her gut level reaction spell, and her favorite one is the simplified Fireball." Hopefully, he got the answer right. That was the only spell he could think off, other than Dragon Slave or some such.
Albuntra jotted some notes and nodded to himself. He smiled to himself also.
"You guys all did wonderful." said Albuntra. "A few slips here and there, but I will give you another chance. You must give me something that characterizes the Princess." The four 'candidates' were confused. What would characterized the Princess? Xellos thought. He probably didn't want a Fireball sent his way either... what did he have that was as chaotic and unpredictable as Lina?... A light bulb went off at the top of his head.
"I have something." he said to Albuntra. Albuntra nodded. Xellos took him aside and showed him something in his pocket. Albuntra saw it and nodded.
"Anyone else have something?" he asked the rest. No takers. So, Albuntra basically shooed them out of the house. "Well, nothing else to see here, go away." Then he turned to Xellos. "Make them forget this happened."
"With pleasure!" said Xellos. He was grinning and his eyes were closed. With a wave of his staff, a cloud enveloped the three men for a while before it vanished. He pocketed Lina's note. What else was as chaotic as she was, other than her handwriting?
"A pleasure to meet you, Xellos." said Albuntra as he shook his hand. "You're the only one with a slight magical aura about you." Xellos's eyes opened slightly at that.
"You know magic?" he asked.
"Some." said Albuntra. "The Princess taught me some before this happened. Enough to read auras. Besides, I write prophecies."
"So, what happened?" asked Xellos. But Albuntra was staring at him.
"So, you are the one she likes." he said softly. Xellos was slightly taken back.
"Um, excuse me?" he said.
"Oh, here, read the note she left me. I'm getting the scroll." said Albuntra. He left the room. Xellos curiously opened the note. It read...
Albuntra... Before I start... make sure you're reading this in a quiet and private place. I have a lot of things to say. First of all, although my name is Lina, I'm not the Lina you know. I come from a different dimension. Although that may seem weird, listen to me. I was sent here, along with my friend to locate a copy of the scroll you will finish tonight. Unfortunately, I have been called away to marry some old prince in Tethu My 'father' just told me today after breakfast, the idiot! Don't worry, I'm doing everything I can to make sure that the Princess won't marry the idiot in Tethu. I'm sending a note to my friend to come pick it up. The password is Sore wa himitsu desu. Please believe me. You wondered why I was different and cold. That's because I don't reciprocate your love, for I'm not your Princess. So please, trust in me, and hand to my friend, he is a priest, the copy of your scroll. Everything will work out fine. Send my greetings to him. He should be there from one till three. Take care, and tell him I love him. Lina Tirla Inverse
Xellos smiled as he read the note. Trust Lina to find a way out. They say honesty is the best policy. In this case, it was true. Albuntra walked in.
"You read it?" asked Albuntra. He saw the smile. "I guess you did. She's a wonderful person to work with. Tell her I said Hi. You're very fortunate to find someone like her."
"Thank you." said Xellos. "Can you tell me what happened?"
"Oh, I was surprised, but it made sense. Lina's control over her magic had improved a lot, and she was different. So, I knew her story was true. So, I wrote up a copy and I heard a knock at 1. I thought it was you, but then I heard a scuffle and a fight. I peeked and saw two people fighting. So, I blew a paralyzing drug at them and dragged them in. They thought it was magic or something like that. Both knew the password... so I couldn't give it to any of them. So I stuck them in chairs and taped a sticker to them and waited for the rest. Then came number 3, who looked very surprised, and finally you."
"Sounds like you had an interesting night." said Xellos. He took the scroll and put it away. "Well, thank you very much."
"Where will you go?" asked Albuntra.
"Now that, is a secret!" said Xellos, wagging his finger at him. He vanished.
Albuntra smiled. Now he knew he had given it to the right person. Why else would Lina have chosen the silly phrase Sore wa himitsu desu for a code?
*****
Lina sighed. It was night, and she was traveling in this stupid coach, and she couldn't sleep, because she was worried to death and the coach was traveling on a bumpy road.... and yeah, she was also frustrated, and her time of the month had just come. How could things get worse?
"This is stupid!" she said out loud. She had her own coach, so no one was with her, which was good. "I mean, if they let me use magic,... and if I could, then I could cast levitation.... This is so awful!!!!!!!" Of course, this last part was softer so that people didn't know what she said. To answer her unspoken question, from a distance, the sky thundered, and the harsh pitter-patter of big raindrops bouncing of the top appeared. And the wind blew, and lightning flashed. And Lina groaned in pain. What time was it anyway? So, she poked her head out and motioned for someone to come.
"Princess!" said the guard. "You shouldn't poke your head out! You're all wet now." This was the guard who had opened the door the other day and who was keeping her secret of being able to practice magic.
"What time is it?" she asked.
"Oh, it is one hour till sunrise, Princess." he said.
"When will we get there?" she asked.
"In about five more hours." he said.
"That's it, you can go now." she said. He left.
"So, Xellos probably got the scroll already, I hope." she said to himself. "I wonder if he'll drop by..."
And she dug herself under covers and leaned against a wall and fell asleep, her arms pulling her knees up to her.
*****
Xellos appeared near the traveling coach, wearing his cape and a hood, so that you couldn't see his eyes. Her liked this look, it made him more mysterious. The scroll, was all dry and safe. He hadn't read it yet. They would read it together. Lina would probably bash him on the head if he did read it before she did. Speaking about Lina, he wondered,... was Lina ready to leave and go back? Probably not, she was planning to fix the Princess's life. So, he smiled.
If anybody had seen him, they would have been surprised to note that his cloak was not wet, and would have felt spooked on seeing his smile. They would have been more surprised, when they saw him wave his staff and vanish from sight, only to appear in Lina's coach.
"Knock, knock!" he said cheerfully, his eyes closed. When he didn't get a response, he opened his eyes and looked around. Yup, this was Lina's carriage. Lina was there, crawled up in a corner, and sleeping... maybe that is why she hadn't answered him. He smiled. She looked so innocent and kawaii like that. And he wanted to sleep. He had left a note for his fellow companions that he had left and that he'd be back later. So, he carefully lifted Lina up, slowly, with his magic. He sat down, and set Lina on his lap. He clasped her to him and rested his head in her damp red locks. And slept peacefully, feeling very happy and content, holding in his arms, the only thing he actually cared for.
*****
Lina awoke softly when the rays of light hit her eyes. She groaned and winced and got up. She was still in her coach, though. She was all rested and feeling better, although her lower abdominal muscles still told her that she couldn't perform magic yet. She stood up, groaned and then sat back down. Something purple caught her eyes on the windowsill. She looked at it and picked up the note. It was a light purple note with her name written in darker purple. Three guesses as to who had written it. She got it right on the first try.
Dearest Lina, How are you? Thank you for the little message. I have the scroll. Hopefully, I will see you tonight, ne, Lina chan? And I wish you tons of luck and with what you're trying to do. Would have talked to you, but you were sleeping. Did I ever tell you that you look kawaii while asleep? Oh well, now you know. Take care, Xellos.
She stared at it. He had the coolest handwriting she had ever seen! It was the total opposite from hers. Her handwriting was huge and scrawled out, majorly slanted and nearly illegible, but that was good, right? His, on the other hand, was very nice and neat. He wrote in small cursive letters with huge capital letters. And the coolest thing... it was also nearly illegible! She felt envy rising up in her, but she choked it down. It was silly to be envious of his handwriting. After all, he had centuries to perfect it. But his handwriting was so cool!
*****
Lina stepped out of the coach and stared at the palace before her. She was dressed in a pearly white dress, with bronze trim. She put a frown on her face and stared at the palace. No way she would marry the geezer, and she was going to do everything she could to make him realize that marrying her was not a good idea. She took out a pair of spotless white gloves with a lacy edge and a fan with white peacock feathers. She stood up straight, pasted on an intelligent looking frown and glanced at the task before her. Lina Inverse was here. From a nearby tree, Xellos had to bite back a laugh.
"Welcome, Princess Lina," said a guard at the gate. "His Excellency, the Prince of Tethu awaits you." He bowed and waited for her to pass by him and go inside and make his life relatively easier. Instead...
"Are you wearing a brown uniform?" she asked. She peered at him closely while forcing him up. Sure enough, he was wearing a brown coat of arms as a badge. The rest though, was white.
"Um, yes, Princess Lina." he said. "Do go in, the Prince is waiting for you."
"I will be more than glad to, but that brown,...thing... must go away!" she said. She snapped her fan open and waved herself with it. "It is so dreadfully hot here." She was about to go in, when she eyed the floor critically. "Is it me, or is this stone?" There was an insulting tone to her voice.
"It's made of granite, Miss Lina." said the guard awkwardly.
"I knew it!" she said. "Did you know that granite is harmful to birds, such as canaries?" The guard shook his head, wishing to be anywhere else but here. "It is! I can't believe you guys didn't know that!" She raised her arms and let them fall in a sign of resignation. "What is this world coming to?" Curious, the guard decided to ask her a question.
"So, what wouldn't be as harmful to birds?" he asked.
"I'm so glad you asked!" said Lina happily. "I say,... you need quartz, but not just any mind you. For example, take rose quartz..." And Lina babbled happily with the guard. After they finished...
"Well, the Prince is awaiting you." he said.
"Oh, let him wait!" said Lina. "What am I to him, a trophy princess? He thinks he can just wait inside and not pull out a red carpet for me, or come and greet me? Well, things are definitely going to change. And unless there is a red carpet, of velvet, mind you, I will not go in!" She sat down with a 'hmph' and took out her fan and fanned herself. The guard just stared at her. "Go on, tell the Prince that I, Princess Lina of Urdia, refuse to go in, treated like some nobody!" She looked the other way, and the guard quickly left to tell the Prince.
'What an eccentric Princess...' he thought to himself.
After a while, the guard came back, following the Prince to the entrance. Behind, a red velvet carpet was being unrolled, and some trumpeteers were following, ready to trumpet the Princess's entrance into the palace. The Prince arrived at the gate, and found...no Princess.
"Well, where is she?" he asked the guard. He had brown eyes and brown hair and tanned brown skin. He wore a white suit that made a nice contrast. He wasn't an old geezer, but he was an older man of about 67, with a wrinkled face. Xellos watched from a tree. This was so fun!
"She was here a while ago, highness." said the guard.
"Ask her servants then." said the Prince, gesturing to the servants walking about the front, carrying the Princess's luggage. The guard nodded, asked them and came back.
"They say she went off for a walk." he said.
"A walk? Where?" he asked, half annoyed. He had been pulled away from a very important conference with his advisor. The Princess had to be in, and ready for the wedding in eight hours. Now was not the time for walks.
"In the royal gardens..." said the guard meekly. The Prince sighed. His royal gardens were a huge maze. Many times, he had lost gardeners due to the fact that it was a huge maze. With huge walls. Sometimes, his newer ones would stumble across the older ones... Usually, they were lost, hungry, dehydrated... a very sorry sight.
"Find her before she gets lost. Bring her here. I'll escort her in, and carry on with the preparations for the wedding." said the Prince. He sat down on a bench and waited. The guard bowed and quickly dispatched a troop of guards to find the Princess. Meanwhile...
Lina was having fun. This was a cool garden! It was like a huge maze. And there were so many flowers and plants. She was about to get some, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around, ready to talk in a haughty voice when she saw amethyst eyes. He smiled at her, bowed with a flourish and presented her with a bouquet of flowers.
"For my lady." he said jokingly. Lina giggled. "The exit is a two left turns, skip an opening on the left, three right turns, skip three openings on the right, and then one left turn."
"Why, thank you..." she said softly, a goofy smile on her face. He kissed her hand and then vanished slowly. Lina smiled and kept on with her walk, going for the outside. Hopefully, the ones after her would get lost. She sniffed the flowers and sighed. They smelled a little like him.
Having made it out of the maze safely, she thought... what should she do now? Oh, take a walk and see what else they had! She hummed softly and started to walk around, peering into the servant's quarters, and the kitchens, and the wash rooms. She took a huge platter from the kitchen and found the pond. With a smile, she sat at the edge and took off her shoes and socks before sticking them in the cool water. It felt nice, and she had been starving. It was probably time for lunch anyway, and she wanted to eat. (It really wasn't, but Lina had a warped sense of time when it came to food.) So she smiled, swung her feet in the cool water and ate her chicken. And that's how the guards found her.
"Your highness!" they said.
"Yes?" she asked nicely and cutely.
"Um... the Prince awaits your presence at the front gate." they told her, huffing and puffing and sweating.
"Oh, thank you!" she said. "You can escort me! Could you bring me a towel to dry me feet off?" So, they sent a guard to get a towel for her. After she dried her feet off, put her socks and shoes on, and finishing her food, she got up, snapped open her fan and let herself be led back to the Palace Gate. There, she saw the Prince waiting for her.
"Good afternoon, Princess Lina," he said as he kissed her hand. Lina quickly drew away her hand.
"Good afternoon to you too, Prince." she said coldly. She motioned for the guard who was carrying her towel to come nearer and wiped her hand on the towel. A guard snickered.
"Can I escort you in?" asked the Prince. She was pretty all right. And feisty. And a fighter. And driving him crazy.
"Yes." she said. The Prince signaled the trumpeteers, and all together, they gave a huge blast, to indicate the entrance of the Princess. "Ouch!" she said.
"What's wrong, my dear?" asked the Prince.
"The fifth trumpet on the left. He's flat!" she said. "Oh my,... My entrance is ruined!!!!" With that, she started to cry. Xellos smiled as he watched her antics. And to give her credibility, he untuned the fifth trumpet on the left for her.
"My, you have a good ear!" said the Prince. He tried to calm her, not quite sure how to... He have her an awkward hug and was pushed back by her hands. Her tears forgotten, she turned on her trusty and patented, Inverse Glare of Death on him.
"Don't touch me!" she cried out. "How dare you! You would not even greet me, and send your guards after me. You set out a carpet for me, covering up your awful sins to the birds of the sky. You starve me so I have to find the kitchen on my own. And now, you use a faulty trumpet! Not only that, your badge is BROWN!" She wiped her eyes. "No... I refuse to enter the palace!" She stomped away. The Prince sighed, rubbed his forehead and ran after her.
"Put her belongings in her room." he shouted to them. He found her sitting on a stone, staring somewhere else, fingering something in her lap. He picked up a few flowers.
"Please accept my most humble apologies." he started out. She didn't look at him. He offered her the flowers.
"No thank you. I have my own." she said.
"Princess, I am truly sorry." he said as he walked to the front of her so that he could see her face. She was really pretty, he decided. "It was not my intention to insult you."
"Are you sure?" she asked him.
"Yes, very sure." he said. "We are going to be married this afternoon, and I want you to life happily here beside me as my wife."
"Oh... bleugh." she said. "Oh well, apology accepted." she said half heartedly.
"Follow me while I lead you to your temporary room." he said. Lina sighed and followed him.
As soon as she arrived in her new room for the day, she ordered the servants around for food. Immediately, they brought her a few plates of food. She quickly wolfed them down.
"More food please!" she said to a servant who was passing beside her door. So they brought her more food. And more. And more. And then...
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, THERE'S NO MORE!" she shouted. The servants cringed.
"Um... the rest is for the wedding. Could you wait till the wedding?" asked the cook.
"NO!" she said. "I'm hungry now! When is the wedding?"
"In about six hours, Princess." said the cook.
"WHAT!!! YOU EXPECT ME TO WAIT SIX HOURS FOR FOOD?" The cook unplugged his ears, ran out and ordered that they buy some food from a restaurant to appease the Princess. Lina smiled to herself. This was fun! It was quite cool to order so many people around. She mentally called for Xellos and he appeared. She locked the door and closed the windows.
"What can I do for you?" he asked as he bowed.
"Give these away for me, please?" she asked as she pointed under the bed. Curious, Xellos lifted the bed up with magic and saw all the plates of uneaten food. At his quizzical look, she giggled. "Well, I'm not that hungry, but I have to make this guy realize that marrying Lina would be a huge mistake. She already likes the Albuntra guy anyway."
"I'll pass it out to some poor people outside, is that all right?" he asked with a smile.
"That's a great idea!" said Lina. She kissed his nose. "You're so smart!" Xellos laughed.
"OK, but be careful. I think someone is planning something. So, be on guard." he said before vanishing. Lina smiled wickedly and tugged on the bell rope. A loud ding resounded across the castle. And then her shout accompanied it.
"I want CHOCOLATE!!!!!!!!" After all, it was her time of the month. And if she didn't take advantage of it,... well, that was another opportunity lost.
*****
Knock, knock, knock.
"Yes?" asked Kimun, the Prince of Tethu. "Come in." It was the cook.
"Um, your highness?" he asked softly. "Are you busy?"
"I'm busy, but speak your piece. What's the matter?"
"Um... it's the Princess sir." said the cook. "and her appetite."
"What about it?" asked Kimun. He was tired and grouchy and was impatiently dealing with a cook and the wedding would be happening soon...
"I just wanted you to understand the nature of the bill when you receive it." said the cook. Kimun just stared at the bill the cook offered to him. How could one petite little Princess eat all that?
*****
Kimun sighed and leaned back in his chair. He had dismissed the cook and was trying to rest. It wasn't working. OK, so... Lina wanted to play hard to catch, huh? Oh well, he'd comply. She wanted a little bit of fun? With pleasure.
*****
Lina heard the knock and ran to open the door. She absolutely hated the dress. It was white... with tons of lace... and flowers,... and butterfly designs. Ugh... she didn't want to puke over her dress while walking down the aisle.
"Yes?" she asked to the servant. "What do you want?"
"Um... the Prince asks you to stop ordering so much food and to wait for the wedding..." she said, half scared to death. How would she take it?
"And why?" she asked dangerously. "...should I obey him?"
"Because he said he can't afford to spend more money on food..."
"He's the Prince! He has tons of money! He could throw money out of the windows of the palace, and everything would still be OK! So, I want chocolate cake! And make it snappy!" She slammed the door in the servants face.
OK, this was fun, but it was starting to get redundant. She didn't want to do this anymore. It was time to bring this to a close. She opened the window and climbed up the wall to get to the roof. Sure, it was a little hard to do it with her huge dress, but she handled it fine. After all, she wasn't just good at magic. She made it to the top with minimal problems and then she sighed. It felt good to do something by herself. Stupid dress. She almost felt like taking it off. She should have changed out of her wedding dress before climbing! Aaaaaaargh, she was such an idiot! Now, what could she do to upset the prince? She was running out of ideas. Not having magic was not helping her one bit. If she had magic, she could do some small things, make it look like she knew some, but not enough to condemn her. But she couldn't do that. And a princess wasn't supposed to act childish. So, what to do? Well, what the heck, now was as good as any other time to end this joke. So, she started off in one direction, and then stopped. She had no idea where his stupid office/room was. Stupid palace with trillion rooms...
*****
She finally found it, silly thing. She climbed down, and opened the window from the outside. The prince looked up on hearing the commotion.
"Greetings Princess." he said as he opened the window for her.
"We have to talk." said Lina.
"You look dashing in the dress, my Princess." said the Prince. "And yes, we must talk. I was about to send someone for you. Come, follow me into my private office." Lina sighed and followed him, holding the dress so that she wouldn't trip. Well, at least she could speak to him... "Before you start, my Princess, I do believe I know what is happening." said Kimun. Lina raised an eyebrow at that.
"I doubt it." said Lina.
"Oh, but I do know." said the Prince with a smile. His eyes seemed to glow for a second, before Lina's own eyes widened. She jumped off to the side, just in time. The spot she was standing on turned into a blackened spot. "You're quick, my Princess, but just, how quick are you?" Another fireball was hurled in her direction. Lina easily evaded it, just to get hit with a Flare Arrow he had thrown right after.
"Ouch." she said as she got up. "Is that a way to treat a Princess, Mister...." she said angrily. She got in ready stance for his next one.
"My, my, my... do my eyes deceive me?" asked Kimun sarcastically. "The fiery sorceress supreme, Lina Inverse, is not fighting back?"
Lina growled at him, and from within the folds of her awful and huge wedding dress, she drew out her sword.
"I'm not as unprepared as you may think." she said as she lunged at him. He teleported out of the way of her thrust. "You're a Mazoku." she said, stating the obvious.
"Why, how intelligent of you." he said. "Now, it's my turn to be intelligent. Seeing as you won't do magic, perhaps, you are unable to do it. Perhaps, incapable, at the present moment..."
"Shut up." said Lina as she once again faced him off, sword at ready stance in her right hand, her left grabbing the full skirt to make sure it didn't get in her way. "What's your name?"
"Oh, I'm touched." said Kimun. "Well, my name in Numik. How come?"
"So that I know who I killed." she said. She jumped at him again. He dodged and fired another blast of energy at her as she went flying past him. Lina got up again. She really hated this. Having to fight Mazoku with out magic was a pain in the rear end. He just laughed at her attempts.
"Now, now, Princess Lina." he said. "I know you to be very intelligent. And you must realize that fighting a Mazoku while you are facing... how can I put it?.... a delicate female problem, is not the wisest thing to do." Lina blushed hotly at that. "So, why don't you give up and let me lock you up? After all, I wouldn't want to damage such a lovely face."
"Just fight! If you want to get me, you'll have to fight me first!" She was about to attack again, when Numik appeared next to her and placed a Fireball at her back. The blast sent Lina flying into the wall, where she slowly stood up again. She was breathing heavily as she got up. She really hated this. Her sword had flown across the room in the blast. Gosh, she really, really, really hated this. But she didn't have too much time to think about that as she was suddenly surrounded by a black cage.
"What?" she asked, as she grabbed the bars. Big mistake. The bars shocked her, and the last thing she remembered was that she really hated having her period. Oh, and that Mazoku would die painfully. She blacked out.
*****
Xellos appeared in her room that night. He had been watching all day long, ever since he had distributed the food, and nothing had been happening. Well, not nothing... the wedding things had been dismantled and put away. There were not wedding cakes to be eaten nor wedding bells ringing. That probably meant that Lina had stopped the marriage, just like she had planned. How odd, her room was empty. All her belongings had been moved elsewhere. For a minute, fear gripped his heart... but then he pushed it back. Probably a misunderstanding. Lina must have left already while he was watching them put the decorations away. He hoped. Out of curiosity he turned himself invisible and walked outside, hoping to figure out something. There was something going on. But he didn't know what... Everybody was acting pretty normal, not really caring about anything and doing their job. He found himself facing an oak door. From the talk of the servants, he knew this was the Prince's room. He was about to pass by it, but something stopped him. He looked at the door. Very solid oak. Very thick walls, almost sound proof. Maybe the nagging feeling he had was because Lina couldn't stop the wedding? Or,... something. He shook his head. Thing was, there had been no fireballs or screams of rage or anything like that... but then, Lina couldn't cast magic at the present moment...
BUT,... she had cast some magic. She called him before, almost as if she hadn't realized what she was doing. So, could she cast magic or not? He knew she normally couldn't cast magic during that 'time o the month.', but now, she wasn't exactly normal. So, maybe she could cast magic, but hadn't realized. Or maybe she couldn't, and period. Whatever it was, he knew he'd find a clue to her whereabouts in the room. So, he took a deep breath and went into the room.
As soon as he stepped in, he was hit with a strong sense of magic in the room. Not only had the room been sound proof, but it had been magic proofed also. He could sense wisps of Lina's aura around him, but it was weak, for she hadn't cast any magic. There was another trace of magic though. One that seemed quite familiar... of a .... what was a Mazoku doing here?
The room was empty, and some walls looked freshly patched up by magic.
'So, Lina chan was in a fight.' he mused to himself. He inspected the walls carefully. He caught sight of a little wisp of white. He leaned to pick it up. It was a very delicate cloth piece.... part of Lina's dress, no doubt. He checked under some tables and chairs and saw what he was looking for. It was Lina's Chaos Sword. It allowed her to channel vast amounts of Chaos Magic, just like his staff did. It had been left behind. The attacker probably hadn't noticed the importance of this little sword. But the sword was cold; she hadn't cast magic through it...
"Well, now to find Lina chan." said Xellos softly as he picked up the sword. It reacted to him, the pommel stone glowing softly as he stroked the sword. It was truly a magnificent sword.
AUTHOR'S NOTES... Hi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How are you all?? I hope you've been doing great. Finally, Fanfiction.net is up! Hurray! Poor ff.net... so many things going wrong. You're doing a great job, ff. net!!!!!! Anyway, here's the next chapter. What do you think? Can anyone guess where this is going? Then good for you! If you have no idea... don't worry, I'm sort of there also! ^.^ Anyway, I hope you found this chapter amusing and fun. Please remember to R and R. C and C are extremely welcome, as usual. Don't feel like writing a review? Drop me a note at hml_kimiko@hotmail.com So, yeah... all that! I have one more month of summer break,.... how horrible!!!!!! Oh well.... I just have to write as fast as I can, right? ^.^ Thank you for your reviews, and take care, all of you!
Sincerely... Hotaru Kimiko Lai