Amelia groaned, and opened her eyes a crack. There was someone standing over her. She couldn't see very clearly, but he looked like a handsome young man. She knew there was something strange about him, but it didn't quite seem to register. Before Amelia could even fully awake, the young man walk away swiftly. She heard him say in a very sweet voice, "See you never."
Wincing, Amelia sat up, and looked around. She was on the beach of her palace! How did she get there? She'd fallen off the boat, and.... Had that man saved her? That must be it! She had to thank him, but--- After another quick glance around, Amelia realized she didn't know where he'd run off to.
"Amelia!!"
Amelia turned, and saw Lina and Gourry running along the beach towards her. "Lina-san! Gourry-san!" she shouted.
Lina ran over to Amelia, and asked, "What happened? One minute you were on the boat, and the next you weren't! We were so worried about you, and then you just showed up here! What happened!?"
"I fell overboard," Amelia explained. "And I nearly drowned, but someone saved me.... He brought me back here...." Amelia got to her feet, and went on. "I didn't get a clear look at him, and he ran off before I could thank him...."
Lina arched an eyebrow. "Some guy came along, saved you, and then ran off?"
Amelia nodded, and would have said more, but a bough of dizziness swept over her, and she would have fallen but for Gourry catching her and supporting her.
"I think you swallowed too much lake water," Lina said. "Come on, let's get you inside."
"I agree," Gourry said, helping Amelia walk across the beach up to the palace. "Guys don't just appear out of nowhere saving people and running off."
Amelia nodded vaguely, but she knew that man was real. And she felt that she had to find him again. She knew, somehow-- like lighting --that he was the one that was right for her. She had to find him.
(~~~~~~~~~squigglies~~~~~~~~~)
Zelgadis reached the mansion around two in the morning. It had been a long walk around the lake since he didn't have enough energy to fly across again. To say the least, Rezo was angry. They had a furious row, which led to Zelgadis storming out again.
This time, Zelgadis stalked through the empty market streets. With no one around that late at night, he knew there was no way that he could be seen and stared at. Unfortunately, there was one other person on the road, who just happened to walk right up to Zelgadis.
"Out of my way," Zelgadis muttered.
"I know what you want," the other man said, grinning. He had shoulder-length purple hair and wore mostly black. He also carried a wooden staff with a red jewel at the top.
Zelgadis looked the man in the eyes. "How would you know what I want?" he asked.
"I just do," the other said. "Do you know what I'm talking about? The thing you've longed for? The thing you've been searching for these past three years? The thing that will change your life forever?"
Breathlessly, Zelgadis managed to say, "My cure."
"Yes," the man hissed. "I can get it for you. Will you come with me?"
"Of course," Zelgadis said. "But first, who are you?"
Grinning and winking, the man said, "Xellos, the Trickster Priest." With that, Xellos snapped his fingers, and both he and Zelgadis disappeared from the street.
FLASHBACK--
Xellos paced around his chambers. His mistress, Zelas, the Beastmaster, had sent him to recruit a new servant for the mazoku side. Zelas had her target already picked out, it was just a matter of tricking him into joining them. Of course, Xellos wasn't called the Trickster Priest for nothing. He was sent to persuade their target, Zelgadis Greywords, into joining them.
Right away, Xellos knew what he would do. He knew what Zelgadis longed for most in the world, and he would do anything to get it.
Anything.
END FLASHBACK
Xellos and Zelgadis both appeared in a dark chamber after a flash of black light. "Where am I?" Zelgadis asked, looking around at his dark surroundings.
"My temporary lodgings," Xellos explained. "Now, about your cure....."
"Yes," Zelgadis said. "How can I get it? What do I need to do?"
Xellos grinned, and said, "We're going to make a deal. I'm going to give you a three-day trial period to see if you can last as a human. There's going to be a small challenge. If you complete this challenge at the end of three days, you can stay a human for the rest of your life. However," Xellos said, holding up a gloved finger. "If you fail to accomplish this...." With an evil grin, Xellos concluded, "You belong to me."
Zelgadis knew that whatever the challenge was, he would do it. He could do anything for his cure. "What's the challenge?"
Xellos grinned again, and said, "You must get a girl to kiss you before sunset on the third day."
"What?" Zelgadis asked incredulously. "What's that got to do with--"
"A girl must kiss you before sunset on the third day," Xellos repeated.
Zelgadis crossed his arms. That would be easy enough, however much he didn't think that was any way of proving whether he could last as a human. He'd just find a girl, pay her something, and get her to kiss him, and be done with it.
"Not just any kiss, however," Xellos said as if reading Zelgadis' thoughts. "This must be a special kiss. A kiss of true love."
"You expect me to get a girl to fall in love with me in less that three days?" Zelgadis demanded.
Xellos shrugged, and said, "You'll be human, remember. It'll be easier. Besides, you'll do anything for your cure, right?"
"Right," Zelgadis affirmed.
"Then this won't be difficult," Xellos said. "Also, we need to discuss the subject of payment."
Zelgadis frowned. "I don't have much gold--"
"I don't want gold," Xellos said.
"Then what--"
"I just want," Xellos interrupted. "Your ability to cast spells."
Zelgadis stared. "What?"
"You heard me correctly," Xellos said, twirling his staff absently. "I'm sure you can live without magic for three days. After those three days, if you succeed, you get your magic back. If you fail, then you return to me. Understand?"
Zelgadis thought on it for a moment, but he couldn't see anything truly terrible about the deal. Servitude couldn't be so bad, and he wouldn't fail anyway. He nodded, and said, "Deal."
Xellos smirked, and snapped his fingers. A black sheet of paper that seemed to be glowing with a black light appeared, with the heading, "Contract."
"Sign this," Xellos said. "To seal the deal. This contract is unbreakable, binding, and legal. Sign at your own risk."
Without even hesitating, Zelgadis took the floating black quill pen that appeared beside the parchment, and scratched his name onto the bottom of the contract.
Xellos clenched his fist around the roll of parchment. "Done!" The contract disappeared, and Xellos held his staff in both hands above his head. He then began a chant, a swirl of darkness appearing on the ceiling above them.
"Lord of Darkness who commands me,
I call upon your power for this task!
Release your mighty magic,
And remove the voice to cast spells
From the one who stands before me!"
"My voice?" Zelgadis demanded. "I never said anything about giving up my voice!"
"Your voice is what allows you to cast spells," Xellos said. "It's only reasonable that I take it." Xellos' staff had started glowing a dull gold, and a wisp of magic mist swirled from it, and headed towards Zelgadis.
"But, without my voice, I can't--" Zelgadis started, but the goldish mist went into his mouth, and down his throat. He tried to speak, but no sound came out. The next thing he knew, he was watching the goldish mist carry a small glowing golden orb back over to Xellos and his staff. He knew that golden orb was his voice. The mist and the orb both disappeared within the red jewel on Xellos' staff.
As soon as the orb faded, Xellos let out a sharp bark of laughter, and began a strange chant of rune words that Zelgadis didn't understand. Then, abruptly, pain like Zelgadis had never felt before hit him sharply. It felt as though fire was racing through his blood. Zelgadis screamed in pain, and dropped to his knees. He instinctively curled into a ball to try and assuage the pain, but it kept blasting him like so many fireballs, only it was worse because it came from inside. Finally, Zelgadis could take it no longer. His screams died off, and he passed into unconsciousness.