The songs I used for the songfics are Gorecki by Lamb and an old demo by Bakkslide 7. My friend made an AMV out of it, the scenes taken from Metropolis. It is a truly beautiful video, and to those of you with decent internet connection... I sincerely recommend it. The link is:
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Red. Red was all Xellos saw. It was the biggest battle he has been in since fighting Darkstar with Lina, Amelia, and the rest, and he has forgotten the strange feeling of peace and cold detachment he felt whenever he was faced with such aggression. This was not complicated. It did not require him to reexamine himself over and over again, and he could just act on his instincts. He was powerful and almost invincible – he could pick off the stupid humans one by one, at his leisure. And it made the emptiness and confusion disappear... Yes, this was what he was made for.
It was a minor affair, this battle. Not so important, really. Definitely no need for the General to get involved himself. But he did, and relished every painful cry and every twisted emotion he caused on this battlefield. There were a lot of battles of this kind he was getting involved now, for no apparent reason... His Mistress was already getting curious. But he just couldn't loose this! It was so hard... to hang on to his sanity... This double life was essential.
Every day, or night, it didn't matter; he would spend hours with Amelia. Sometimes she knew he was there and talked to him and hugged him, and sometimes he would just watch from afar and tried to understand. Her proximity was enough to make him feel things... it was so strong! He didn't understand it, and didn't dare to even to think about it – he couldn't tell if he liked it. But Xellos was addicted – he kept coming back for more, every single day.
She was always so nice to him. And smiled so much! He knew she has almost completely forgotten about his true nature , that she has somehow pushed out of her mind the idea that he was a mazoku, and did many terrible things daily, all in the service of his Mistress. What would she say even now, should she see him inflict such cruelties and pain on humans? What would she say if she knew he enjoyed it, and that it was perhaps the only thing that made him feel himself these days?
Amelia must never know, because he couldn't stand the thought of her turning away from him... Even if he didn't really know why. She made his existence hell, but she must never fear him.
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The room was quiet and dark, the only light coming from a single candle in a corner of a much cluttered writing desk. Papers and quilts were everywhere, and the sound of furious scribbling was the only thing that could be heard. A lone figure was hunched over the desk, a look of intense concentration twisting her gentle features into a serious expression that somehow didn't look natural on such a small form. A sense of peace and creation hung in the air, and the room was getting darker by the minute, the candle coming to its end. But the figure seemed lost in a world of her own, and didn't seem to notice anything. Because... Amelia was writing.
Ever since that walk, where she felt she should be herself again with such clarity, she has been searching for a way to make it happen. She searched her heart, not avoiding and hiding from anything, the emotion being pure or ugly. She thought about everything she loved, and everything she wanted to do, and realized it all headed in the same direction – writing,
It was a way to purge herself of everything dark that would left unsaid fester and make her bitter, and share herself with the world.. To bring smiles to people she has never met, and maybe even offer small comfort to some who went through the same things she has. It was creation; it was giving something new to the world… The idea grew until it filled her and left no space to think about anything else, and that was when she took quill and started. The words poured out with unexpected strength and seemed to take a life of their own, and all she could do was channel it to paper.
Amelia was writing a novel. It was about a princess who was not as beautiful and pure as she should be, about a prince who left her alone and about loves old and new and inappropriate. There were no villains in her novel, because she now knew that you don't need villains to make life sad or complicated. She wanted to make her characters grow and wanted to see what would happen – maybe even getting to her own salvation this way.
It was early morning, and she hadn't slept at all, and the she still couldn't stop. Soon The-Crown-Prince-Her-Father would come for her and she had thousands of papers to sign and boring people to listen to. Amelia didn't know if she could manage staying awake, but it didn't really matter. This was worth it.
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Where the hell is she?
Zelgadis has been searching for Amelia the whole day, and she was nowhere to be found. Princesses liked to stroll gardens, so he checked all the Palace gardens, and nothing. Riding horses was also suitable entertainment for young ladies, so he checked the stables, with similar success. Where is she? What did she like to do?
That though made him pause. He knew Amelia for years, and that was the first time he asked himself that question. And the truth was... He didn't know. And what started him even more… He felt a sudden urge to find out. A strange thirst to know everything about her, to drink in everything that was Amelia.
The thought was strange and new to Zelgadis, and slightly disturbing. Not wanting to think about it now, he wandered of in search of Prince Phil. He has been pestering him to 'have tea and discuss old times' ever since he got here, and he should have a lot of information on what Amelia liked. After all, it might prove useful.
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A/N : I know this had no character interaction in it, and was strictly introspective, but this is just the way it came out. I never plan what I write in advance. I guess the next chapter will be a bit less introspective then J
Lina and Gourry will probably make their comeback to the story, but I can't say when.
Ja ne!