Thank you for all the great reviews... And Airi-chan: Yes, the characters are ooc. But... can you honestly say that you can't see traces of self-centeredness and selfishness in Lina and Zel? I'm just putting a stronger accent on those. As for Amelia... I've always liked her. It seemed to me she was never given much place to grow as a person, and was always in the shadow of everyone else. Hence... This fic. Which is, I admit, AU and OOC at the same time. J
Now.. Onwards with the story!
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Amelia woke to find Xellos gone, as always. Was he even here last night? He must have been, because the warmth of his body still hasn't left her or the empty place in the bed beside her. The interesting thing about the mazoku was that their body seemed to radiate heat; sleeping next to Xellos made a blanket or a furnace unnecessary. While it was slightly unnerving and well, abnormal, she had gotten used to it and now craved the heat.
Her head felt like it was smashed in with a hammer. Her sleep was often interrupted with weird dreams and panic attacks, and if there wasn't for the Trickster, Amelia wondered if she would have gotten any sleep at all. But... There was something strange going on with him as well, she could tell. He comforted her and held her close like he always did at nights, but in the rare intervals of the night that she was awake enough to notice anything, he felt... distant. And restless. And somehow in pain. Could it be? Could mazoku feel pain in that way? And why had she felt it? Was the bond between them that strong now?
Enough with the questions for now, she decided, this wasn't making her head feel any better. After contemplating returning to bed for a couple of seconds, she proceeded with her morning routine, aware of all the things that must be done this morning. A little magic, water and tea did wonders for her, and soon enough she felt almost strong enough to come out of her room all smiling, cute, innocent little Amelia as expected. That Amelia never had a bad day.
A walk through her personal gardens would be a nice way to start the day, she decided. Sun and flowers, the birds and the bees, maybe they would somehow dispel all the angst she seemed to constantly feel these days. Amelia knew she shouldn't be like this; she had everything a girl could possibly want... Ponies, pink dresses and hundreds of gallant gentlemen asking for her hand to live happily ever after. But... She wasn't any girl, then. That wasn't what SHE wanted. The question was, though... What did she want? Did she even know?
She wanted Zelgadis for such a long time, and after that part of her died, it seemed that nothing could ever replace it. Her friendship with Xellos and hard work as a princess helped fill a part of that void, but still, some of the emptiness remained. How to fill it? How can she become complete again? Maybe giving in to Xellos was the answer, and Amelia would once again be filled with sun and smiles.
No. She didn't want that. 'I belong to myself', she said aloud. 'Never again will I allow all my happiness to depend on one person only. I have to find myself. I have to know what I like, I have to have things that are mine and mine alone. Then I will be stronger, and no one can ever crush me or take the sun from me again'. With that said, the day somehow seemed brighter, and she happily skipped on the path to the palace.
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Zelgadis spent the morning heavily drinking. Coffee, that is. After last night, he really didn't need or want anything stronger. He spent most of the night thinking about the conversation he and Amelia had, or lack of it, as you could put it. His only company was a bottle of fine red wine he stole, ahem, acquired at the reception, and every time he remembered the cold way Amelia spoke to him, the bottle became a bit emptier. The evening was filled with laughter too, because Zelgadis didn't fail to realize the corniness of the situation he was in. Drinking himself senseless over a girl, really. And it wasn't over Amelia, he kept telling himself. She meant nothing, really. This was just… One of those things...
One of which things? Love? It couldn't be love; he wasn't the type for it. Lust? It could be, Amelia became... quite an attractive young woman. Was that the reason the lack of attentions to him by Amelia bothered him that much? Probably just his wounded ego, he concluded. And one more thing.
Xellos. The only man, no - entity – he has ever hated this much, and he was better that him in this case. Amelia smiled sincerely for him, and that thought drove him mad. He would get Xellos – and he would get Amelia too, she wasn't as annoying as she used to be, really – and he would show them all.
The only thing left to do now was to think of a way to do it.
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The island defied the laws of physics - there was no other way of putting it. Although it seemed very small when looking at it from a distance, it actually had no end. If you would only there and stray a bit further from the coast, you would find forests, and jungles; deserts and oasis's; snow covered mountains and eternally frozen land. You would never find the same thing or in the same place, and there was only one creature that was always present. Because this was Wolf Pack Island, and there was a yellow pair of eyes watching you wherever you go, and more often than not, after a bit of playing, these wolves would be your end.
In a place only Xellos and a few of other faithful minions knew, was a Palace. This Palace was so grand and luxurious that it definitely deserved the capital P. Even here wolves roamed freely, among their stone replicas and busy servants, because this was a home of Beastmaster herself, and the wolf was Her beast.
In this grand place, one figure sat alone. His hair had a purple shine to it, and it would be deemed strange in any other place, but here, he somehow fit in perfectly. A wolf licked his hand like a puppy, and he petted it absently. He looked deep in thought.
Xellos knew the way he was made. His Mistress chose a lowly human, and used it as a bowl in which to pour a part of her immeasurable powers to get her General and Priest. The Energy and Power she poured in were so pure and of such strength that no human could withstand it; the person the human was; his memories and personality was destroyed and someone new was born – Xellos. So much more powerful, so much BETTER than a human that was before. Of course; he was a tabula rasa, complete blank waiting to be written at the beginning. But his master educated him, showed him everything, taught him everything, made him into what he was now – the Trickster Priest.
So why were his human memories coming back now? And what did Amelia have to do with them?