A/N: I am sorry for not writing anything sooner, but i really do plan on finishing it. Soon, I dare to hope. ;)
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Somewhere, from the deep, from somewhere in her mind that slept, this panic, this urge to run away arouse. She couldn't, couldn't stay there… She hated beige for god's sake... Why was he still wearing beige? Why did he have the same smile even tough he was human? Why did he still look so …. Why was he Zelgadis still? And why did she care?
She wasn't supposed to care, not anymore. Her nails dug into the tablecloth, digging for security. A glass turned over, all over her lovely dress, but that was irrelevant now. She fought an epic struggle with the dangerous and dark chocolate bitter feelings that twisted her stomach for so long, and she won. She was cured now… So proud of herself, so independent... so strong…
And now she ran away at the first sight of him, muttering some lame excuse about her stained dress.
She stopped when she was deep in the garden. Her breath was coming in short, hurried gasps… Amelia couldn't tell if it was because of her physical or mental state.
How could he have that effect on her?
It was just the surprise. She hadn't expected him in Saillune, that's all. And why was he here? He had his cure, so he wasn't here for the great Saillune libraries. That must mean... He was here to see her? The spoiled annoying brat they all left 2 years ago? Got bored of Lina so soon?
No. That was no way to behave, even when in state of utter panic. She must calm down. Just can't let the mental shields and defenses she has been building for 2 years crumble. Even if she loved Zelgadis still. But... Wait...
Was there still love? Amelia closed her eyes and ventured deep into herself. The feelings flooded her. She carefully tried to sort and identify each and every one. There was fear, fear that she didn't forget him. Fear that he would wreck her again. There was desire; yes, Zelgadis still looked good. There were uncertainty and anxiety, which together formed panic… But wasn't she supposed to be overjoyed that he came if she still loved him? Thanking heavens for bringing him back to her? Where was that?
And where were... tenderness….longing... Where was love?
Her breath was even now. No cause for panic. She was still the same Amelia she was an hour ago. Now she felt even a little glad that he came, she hasn't seen any of them except Xellos for 2 years. The reasons of his sudden arrival were still a mystery, but knowing Zelgadis, they weren't personal. Who knew what were his goals and aspirations now, that he was human.
Yes, she could go back now.
After she changed her dress, of course.
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Zelgadis was on his third cup of coffee this evening, and Amelia still wasn't back. Well, women take their sweet time when it comes to their appearance, he mused. And Amelia certainly looked even better then he remembered now.
And of course, his return was kind of sudden. He really wasn't sure if he will come right until today. His mind wondered to the last 2 years of his life.
The search for the cure was pretty much it, for the first 6 moths. That, and getting some work as a bandit kill… I mean, cleaner, to support himself. The rumors of him being Lina Inverse's traveling companion made him very wanted, indeed.
While dispatching of a particularly nasty group, he noticed a very old and massive looking chest. He hurried with the bandit kill… cleaning, and examined the chest. There was an extremely powerful protection spell upon it. That sparkled his interest, so he dragged the chest to his inn for the painful process of breaking the spell. It took him 3 days... 3 days of not sleeping, not eating… And there it was. A copy of Claire Bible in mint condition. He had found it… His cure…
He just stared at it. Zelgadis was one of the living dead for whole following week, not talking, mechanically doing necessary things like breathing, eating and bathing. Finally the time to decide what he REALLY wanted has come. Does he ignore the cure...? And stay a powerful chimera... that would be good in some ways. He could keep his 'I don't need anyone act' and stay his usual brooding self; no one would know that he had his chance and missed it. It would be so much easier... being human, with all those responsibilities and emotions was hard and dangerous work. He would have no excuses, not any more. But... He really couldn't do that. He couldn't let his fear of changes and maturity get in the way of what he wanted for years now… He couldn't bear to look at himself in the mirror if he just let this opportunity pass him by because he was a coward. So… Human, once more… Now what?
A clean slate. A normal, even handsome appearance. All the time in the world… And nothing to do. No goals, nothing to drive him forward. No shroud of romantic mystery upon him. At first he just continued traveling and taking on jobs when he needed them, trying to find out what is it he really wanted to do. When he was a chimera, his thoughts never went as far as this… Turning human was supposed to be a happy end in itself.
It was then when thoughts of Amelia came back with a vengeance. She was always here, somewhere, in the back of his head, more then he had expected her to be, but now… The bracelet was no longer necessary as a reminder, because everything reminded him of her. Flowers, short girls, blue eyed girls, white, pink, justice, crime… It was really strange. He blamed it on being single for a while; he never stayed at one place long enough for dating. So he tried that too.
It was a disaster. Not the dates, he knew what he was doing. The girls swooned and bought every cliché he threw at them. But they were all so… similar to each other… Predictable, blind. Maybe it was his fault, for never lingering long enough to know the better. Maybe he should have tried harder…
… If he could only forget... About her smile. How could she smile like that, after all she's been through, after everything she had seen? What kind of strength was that? About her random chatter which just radiated positive energy, and it was almost like he fed of it, despite being part mazoku. About her non-wavering trust in people, that they would do well, if only they had the chance. And her big blue eyes. And her breasts, heaving with her breathing… Zelgadis quickly stopped this train of thoughts, getting... excited was no use to him now.
So he decided to come back to Saillune, to see her again, to see what he really felt. It would be fun, and… It was not as he had anything better to do.
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She hummed under her breath while searching her closet. She wanted to look dangerous, new, different. Untouchable, independent. She came across a long black crushed velvet dress, strapless, with a slit in the back, tight, flaring only from the knees... kind of mermaid-ish. She twisted her hair up into a messy knot, and then applied some black eyeliner. Her normally expressive eyes looked even more alluring, her pale skin seemed porcelain…Yes, she did look her age now.
The feeling of eyes devouring her. 'Hello Xellos, missed me already?', she spoke casually as she turned around.
'Not really. But as your date, I had to go and find you when people began to notice your disappearance. ', he winked.
Then he took a long, hard look at her, and opened his eyes.
'My, my princess, this is a new style for you. One that suits you perfectly, I must say. But I thought only villains wear black?'
Amelia giggled, and said with a mischievous glint in her eyes: 'I know, I know… But I do feel a little bit evil myself tonight. By the way, Zelgadis is back. As a human.'
'So you decided to make him see what he was missing all these years? The dress is very appropriate then, Ame-chan.' Xellos replied, his grin shrinking a little.
'You don't have to worry… Nobody can replace you as a friend; you've been here for me when nobody else has. And as something more… It was good seeing Zelgadis again. It made me realize I am truly over him. But yes… Showing him what he was missing might be somewhere in my mind too. I am against revenge and all that... Just… Maybe he could suffer just a little bit; after all he put me through? 'Amelia said, her grin resembling that of Xellos a bit.
'In that case, I'll be of help. Annoying Zelgadis has always been a special pleasure', the mazoku answered. He took her hand and led her back to the ball.
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Xellos cursed under breath. After all this time, why did he have to come back? Things with Amelia were going better then ever, and he even caught her looking at him a couple of times with more then friendship. Why did he feel such a desire for a human that was a total opposite of him and everything he represented was beyond him, but…? He always got what he wanted.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Somewhere, from the deep, from somewhere in her mind that slept, this panic, this urge to run away arouse. She couldn't, couldn't stay there… She hated beige for god's sake... Why was he still wearing beige? Why did he have the same smile even tough he was human? Why did he still look so …. Why was he Zelgadis still? And why did she care?
She wasn't supposed to care, not anymore. Her nails dug into the tablecloth, digging for security. A glass turned over, all over her lovely dress, but that was irrelevant now. She fought an epic struggle with the dangerous and dark chocolate bitter feelings that twisted her stomach for so long, and she won. She was cured now… So proud of herself, so independent... so strong…
And now she ran away at the first sight of him, muttering some lame excuse about her stained dress.
She stopped when she was deep in the garden. Her breath was coming in short, hurried gasps… Amelia couldn't tell if it was because of her physical or mental state.
How could he have that effect on her?
It was just the surprise. She hadn't expected him in Saillune, that's all. And why was he here? He had his cure, so he wasn't here for the great Saillune libraries. That must mean... He was here to see her? The spoiled annoying brat they all left 2 years ago? Got bored of Lina so soon?
No. That was no way to behave, even when in state of utter panic. She must calm down. Just can't let the mental shields and defenses she has been building for 2 years crumble. Even if she loved Zelgadis still. But... Wait...
Was there still love? Amelia closed her eyes and ventured deep into herself. The feelings flooded her. She carefully tried to sort and identify each and every one. There was fear, fear that she didn't forget him. Fear that he would wreck her again. There was desire; yes, Zelgadis still looked good. There were uncertainty and anxiety, which together formed panic… But wasn't she supposed to be overjoyed that he came if she still loved him? Thanking heavens for bringing him back to her? Where was that?
And where were... tenderness….longing... Where was love?
Her breath was even now. No cause for panic. She was still the same Amelia she was an hour ago. Now she felt even a little glad that he came, she hasn't seen any of them except Xellos for 2 years. The reasons of his sudden arrival were still a mystery, but knowing Zelgadis, they weren't personal. Who knew what were his goals and aspirations now, that he was human.
Yes, she could go back now.
After she changed her dress, of course.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zelgadis was on his third cup of coffee this evening, and Amelia still wasn't back. Well, women take their sweet time when it comes to their appearance, he mused. And Amelia certainly looked even better then he remembered now.
And of course, his return was kind of sudden. He really wasn't sure if he will come right until today. His mind wondered to the last 2 years of his life.
The search for the cure was pretty much it, for the first 6 moths. That, and getting some work as a bandit kill… I mean, cleaner, to support himself. The rumors of him being Lina Inverse's traveling companion made him very wanted, indeed.
While dispatching of a particularly nasty group, he noticed a very old and massive looking chest. He hurried with the bandit kill… cleaning, and examined the chest. There was an extremely powerful protection spell upon it. That sparkled his interest, so he dragged the chest to his inn for the painful process of breaking the spell. It took him 3 days... 3 days of not sleeping, not eating… And there it was. A copy of Claire Bible in mint condition. He had found it… His cure…
He just stared at it. Zelgadis was one of the living dead for whole following week, not talking, mechanically doing necessary things like breathing, eating and bathing. Finally the time to decide what he REALLY wanted has come. Does he ignore the cure...? And stay a powerful chimera... that would be good in some ways. He could keep his 'I don't need anyone act' and stay his usual brooding self; no one would know that he had his chance and missed it. It would be so much easier... being human, with all those responsibilities and emotions was hard and dangerous work. He would have no excuses, not any more. But... He really couldn't do that. He couldn't let his fear of changes and maturity get in the way of what he wanted for years now… He couldn't bear to look at himself in the mirror if he just let this opportunity pass him by because he was a coward. So… Human, once more… Now what?
A clean slate. A normal, even handsome appearance. All the time in the world… And nothing to do. No goals, nothing to drive him forward. No shroud of romantic mystery upon him. At first he just continued traveling and taking on jobs when he needed them, trying to find out what is it he really wanted to do. When he was a chimera, his thoughts never went as far as this… Turning human was supposed to be a happy end in itself.
It was then when thoughts of Amelia came back with a vengeance. She was always here, somewhere, in the back of his head, more then he had expected her to be, but now… The bracelet was no longer necessary as a reminder, because everything reminded him of her. Flowers, short girls, blue eyed girls, white, pink, justice, crime… It was really strange. He blamed it on being single for a while; he never stayed at one place long enough for dating. So he tried that too.
It was a disaster. Not the dates, he knew what he was doing. The girls swooned and bought every cliché he threw at them. But they were all so… similar to each other… Predictable, blind. Maybe it was his fault, for never lingering long enough to know the better. Maybe he should have tried harder…
… If he could only forget... About her smile. How could she smile like that, after all she's been through, after everything she had seen? What kind of strength was that? About her random chatter which just radiated positive energy, and it was almost like he fed of it, despite being part mazoku. About her non-wavering trust in people, that they would do well, if only they had the chance. And her big blue eyes. And her breasts, heaving with her breathing… Zelgadis quickly stopped this train of thoughts, getting... excited was no use to him now.
So he decided to come back to Saillune, to see her again, to see what he really felt. It would be fun, and… It was not as he had anything better to do.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
She hummed under her breath while searching her closet. She wanted to look dangerous, new, different. Untouchable, independent. She came across a long black crushed velvet dress, strapless, with a slit in the back, tight, flaring only from the knees... kind of mermaid-ish. She twisted her hair up into a messy knot, and then applied some black eyeliner. Her normally expressive eyes looked even more alluring, her pale skin seemed porcelain…Yes, she did look her age now.
The feeling of eyes devouring her. 'Hello Xellos, missed me already?', she spoke casually as she turned around.
'Not really. But as your date, I had to go and find you when people began to notice your disappearance. ', he winked.
Then he took a long, hard look at her, and opened his eyes.
'My, my princess, this is a new style for you. One that suits you perfectly, I must say. But I thought only villains wear black?'
Amelia giggled, and said with a mischievous glint in her eyes: 'I know, I know… But I do feel a little bit evil myself tonight. By the way, Zelgadis is back. As a human.'
'So you decided to make him see what he was missing all these years? The dress is very appropriate then, Ame-chan.' Xellos replied, his grin shrinking a little.
'You don't have to worry… Nobody can replace you as a friend; you've been here for me when nobody else has. And as something more… It was good seeing Zelgadis again. It made me realize I am truly over him. But yes… Showing him what he was missing might be somewhere in my mind too. I am against revenge and all that... Just… Maybe he could suffer just a little bit; after all he put me through? 'Amelia said, her grin resembling that of Xellos a bit.
'In that case, I'll be of help. Annoying Zelgadis has always been a special pleasure', the mazoku answered. He took her hand and led her back to the ball.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Xellos cursed under breath. After all this time, why did he have to come back? Things with Amelia were going better then ever, and he even caught her looking at him a couple of times with more then friendship. Why did he feel such a desire for a human that was a total opposite of him and everything he represented was beyond him, but…? He always got what he wanted.