Suffering Injustice
Chapter One
Amelia raced away from the castle, the sky barely lightening as dawn came upon her. The clouds were thick in the sky, threatening to rain, and she wrapped her cape tighter about her, as the cold breeze blew her hair back.
As she got beyond the borders of Seyruun, the slowed her horse, just barely, as she saw the gate. The guards were ready to block her, but she didn't let it get to her. She kicked the horse into a gallop, and jumped the gate.
How had it come to this?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Gracia came back to Seyruun, the castle had fallen into an uproar. She remembered everything from living in the castle, but was calling herself Naga the White Serpant. She also claimed that she had rightful claim to the throne, and in all honesty, she did.
Amelia wasn't charmed by her sister like everyone else was. Her sister wore dark colored dresses of course, befitting a member of the Royal throne, but she had arrived in black leather, and her mood was very dark.
Her laugh was a different story. She had a pleasant little titter she used around father, but when her father was out of the castle, a banshee seemed to take Naga's place.
Amelia was glad for one thing though. She was no longer the heir to the throne, and she had more of a freedom. But it didn't last long. Her father was always looking out for the kingdoms interest, never hers. After having it suggested by Naga, her father had engaged her to a prince of a neighboring kingdom.
The prince was a selfish fellow, with no manners, and no sense of decency. More than once had this prince tried to corner her and try something, and more than once she had to threaten him with a good sized fireball.
Now her father was pressuring her to marry within the next few weeks, and she wouldn't have it. She disowned the name "Wil Tes Seyruun", and fled the castle.
And that brings us here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was five years after the darkstar incident, and she had gone back to her life as a princess. That is, that she spent the last four years of her life signing documents and attending balls, and the other year spent with the rest of her schooling.
During that time Lina and Gourry had popped in a twice, but mostly for the free food and boarding while they were in the area.
Xelloss appeared and disapeared as was his nature, but he had been there over ten times. He would show up, spend a day teasing her while she was working, and disapear. Amelia supposed that is was to report what was happening to his master.
Zelgadiss hadn't been seen since darkstar, but Lina and Gourry had gotten a couple letters from him. The all basically said, "I'm fine, no cure yet. Heading to so and so." Amelia tried not to wonder why she hadn't gotten any letters, blaming it on the fact that she was too far away.
The last any of them had heard about him, was that he was that he was in the lost continent still, in the mountian area of Bidon.
That was where Amelia was heading. It had been two years, but a man like Zelgadiss would leave an impression on the nearby villagers, and she might be able to pick up the trail.
That was her destination, and as her horse ran through the trees of the surrounding forest, she prayed that she'd make it there.
Hours later, the horse started to wear down. He was a well bred horse, one of the best, but he was still a horse, and after hours of going the fast he could non-stop, he was about to collapse.
"Wooah boy..." she murmered to his ear, slowing him to a halt. She slid off the back of the worn horse, taking her cloak down as well.
She stretched sorely. Riding bareback for hours on end does tend to hurt. She had taken nothing with her, except the clothes on her back and the horse.
Aforementioned clothes on her back was nothing like her traveling outfit of old. It was a outfit made to blend in with a crowd. It was in a modest medium grey, made much like Zelgadiss' outfit, so that she could hide if need be.
The only color on the whole outfit was the small blue clasp on the cloak. It was a hemisphere, made out of her old bracelet, the white star still in the middle. The left over portions had been made into small round earings, duo white stars, one in each.
They weren't just decorations, but charged jewels, filled with immense power. She had not given up magic practice over the years, no matter what her father thought. Each and every one of the spells she possible knew, including many of Lina's black magic spells, stopping at Dragon Slave, had been cast into these stones.
They were made for quick drawn spells, in case chanting wasn't possible. They could also be used as backup power, in case a spell needed to be inhanced. The best part about these jewels, was that they would only answer to her, and would always find their way back to her.
She looked up at the stallion fondly, as it grazed in the grass. "I can't take you with me; not with the life I'll be living." She reached up, and quickly swatted it in the rump, sending it running back the way the two had come.
"At least it will get home," She said sadly. She then turned back toward the road. Wrapping her cloak around her, and putting the hood up, she stepped off the path, and started heading North.
As long as she went North, she was heading in the right direction. She would avoid the roads until she was far away from the castle.
Amelia walked at a brisk pace, running if the debris in the wood wasn't too thick. At times, it was so thick that she had to use Leviation to soar over the tree tops. When she started using Levitation, she went as long as she could without stopping.
That alone got her at least ten miles away. But eventually, she had to stop. She found a clearing in the thick woods, and lowered herself into it. It had started raining, and she was thankful for the water proofing on the cloak, but she was still damp where it had trickled down. The cloak was meant for flying in, after all.
It was around late afternoon, and she suddenly realized how tired and hungry she was. She took shelter under a wayward pine tree, the branches forming a protection of sort from the pressure of the rain. A few drips came in, but that was expected.
She'd gone hungry before, but she had used more magic now than she had in the past month, and it was draining her. She was so tired, she could hardly move.
She looked around the clearing, seeing what there might be within the vicinity to eat. Recongnizing several nut trees, she started picking around with one hand in the dirt beside her. 'This would be the perfect squirrel horde hiding place,' she thought distantly.
All in all, she found four walnuts, one off which was too decomposed to eat; it was barely there at all. Finding a rock, she cracked open the other three. Two provided meat, and while it didn't fill her, she did find some strength returning to her. The last one.. ewwww. It provided a large mealworm.
Ah well. Bug or not, it *was* edible, and she did desperately need the food. She washed it off in the dripping water, and making a face ate the still moving worm. Bleh.
She snorted. "That wasn't as bad as some of father's foriegn "delicacies"," she said to herself.
She looked around the area once more, not even moving from the spot she was sitting in, and found two "Queen Anne's Lace" flowers. Of course, no one knew who "Queen Anne" was, so it was simple known as its other name, wild carrot.
The white roots were small, very small, and harder to chew than bark, but they did taste like stronger flavored carrots, and they did energize her more.
The rain stopped, and she took a moment to dry her freezing numb hands off on her pants leg. She crossed her arms, covering her hands, trying to heat them. She did wish that she had added gloves to this outfit now.
The sun that was barely even out threatening to set, she left her little temporary shelter, and searched out dry wood.
She came back with a large armload of almost dry wood, and after casting several wards of warning on the area, she went back to the tree-shelter. She wouldn't be one to be caught unaware.
It took a lot to start a fire, in fact it took a Fireball along with some enclosing wards to keep it in the firewood area. It would stay buring all night, even if the wood were to burn to ashes.
Amelia leaned back against the tree, holding her hands up to the fire. The numb feeling left her hands, leaving her with an almost painful tingling. She lowered her hood, and reached under her hair, pulling it out of her cloak. Her hair tumbled down her shoulders, almost to the curve in her back.
"The would never even recognize it was me," Amelia giggled to herself. She had grown about a foot taller, and grown her hair out as well. Her once childish eyes had matured, and while the hadn't grown any less colorful, the "cute" of them, had turned to "beautiful".
Her bangs had stayed the same, as there was not much you could do with bangs that wild, but the rest of her hair fell to her back in a curvy way, not too unlike Lina's, but a bit less wild. As she sat by the fire, she ran her fingers through her hair, gently untangling it. After untangling it, she put it into a loose braid, using a tie that she had around her wrist to hold it.
As she sat staring out at the sky, the cloud disapating as a fanciful sunset appearing, she sighed to herself.
"No, they wouldn't recognize me at all."
"Didn't you know that talking to yourself is a sign of insanity, Ame-chan?" A cheerful voice said from above her.
A flash of dark fell from above to the ground.
"Xelloss!"
And that it was, in his full glory, kneeling in the ground beside her. His staff was out of sight, but probably not out of reach. Amelia put her hands to the ground to steady herself.
Amelia watched as his eyes opened, the light from the fire and the sunset casting an odd glint in them. It wasn't quite the malicous glint that she had seen every time before, or even aggresive, but it was something very close to that.
He closed his eyes again, and Amelia wondered if she had imagined it.
"Why Ame-chan, I went to visit you at the palace, and it seemed like the castle would collapse on itself, with all the panic radiating about. I was sure you were in some kind of danger, so I came to make sure you were alive," Xelloss said, his normal smile back on his face.
Amelia turned her head away from him, and stared into the fire, putting one hand over her lap.
"Good, and good riddance," she muttered angrily, her hand on the ground tearing up a chunk of it.
Xelloss' eyes popped open in suprise, blinking at her for a moment, before composing herself. "What did you say Ame-chan? I think I misheard!"
"You didn't mishear anything!" She growled, turning her head back to him. "Now that my sister is back, I'm not even an hier to the throne, so *father* doesn't have anything better to do with me than trade me to a pervert prince for some alliance with a useless country!"
The piece of earth in her hand burnt into ash as magic flowed around in her, uncontrolled.
"Well I'm not going to be part of that!! Any man who would sell his own daughter for *anything* is no father of mine!!" She snarled, throwing the ash away next to her.
Xelloss sat silent for a moment. "So that what happpened while I wasn't watching," he murmured to himself. The pure magic running through her, caused by anger and betrayal, was so powerful, it would give Lina a run for her money, if she didn't have the Lord of Nightmare's power on her side.
But the thing was, that Lina had stayed the same, while this girl, no, woman now, had been getting stronger each time he had visited- twice a year. He watched her grow up, and mature, while Lina and Gourry were on the other side of the world, doing their own thing.
And she was still getting stronger, he realized. Each time a new trail stood in front of her, she got stronger with nessicity, and now that she was out alone, she would be getting much stronger. She didn't realize it, and Xelloss wasn't going to tell her that.
"So are you going to go about saving people in the name of justice, now that you've got your freedom?" Xelloss said. He smiled at her, opening his eyes slightly.
"What justice?" she snapped. "What justice is in this world? Hah, such a phony thing called justice! There is no justice!"
Amelia glared for a moment, and then turned to the fire again, wrapping her arm around her legs, and resting her head on her knees.
Before she knew what was happening, warm arms wrapped around her waist, lifting her up, her back against his chest.
"Poor Ame-chan," he whispered into her ear, his warm breath on her neck. His voice wasn't mocking, as hard as Amelia tried to find a hint of sarcasm. "I won't betray you like that."
His husky voice was sincere, and it struck a chord deep in Amelia's heart, but her mind denied it.
"Of course you will, you fool. You're a mazoku, you do whatever your told," she whispered harshly back. Her eyes shone with unshed tears, and she turned in his arms to face him.
She was unprepared for the deep kiss he gave her, and even more unprepared for her own response. Her eyes closed and her tears finally dripped down her face. After a long moment, he pulled back, caressing her face softly with his hand.
Amelia looked up at him. His eyes had that same glint in them that they had before, and he smiled softly at her, before disapearing.
When he was out of sight, she lifted a hand up to her swollen lips, staring at the spot he had disapeared at.
'Why had he....?'
After that, she had no more time to think, and she was suddenly very sleepy. Not hungry anymore, she realized in a distant way, just sleepy. She lay down beside the fire, using her cloak as a pillow.
Her eyelids closed of their own accord, heavy with needed sleep.
Amelia's hand reached up again as she lay there, and touched her lips.
'Why had he... ?'
End Chapter One
Chapter One
Amelia raced away from the castle, the sky barely lightening as dawn came upon her. The clouds were thick in the sky, threatening to rain, and she wrapped her cape tighter about her, as the cold breeze blew her hair back.
As she got beyond the borders of Seyruun, the slowed her horse, just barely, as she saw the gate. The guards were ready to block her, but she didn't let it get to her. She kicked the horse into a gallop, and jumped the gate.
How had it come to this?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Gracia came back to Seyruun, the castle had fallen into an uproar. She remembered everything from living in the castle, but was calling herself Naga the White Serpant. She also claimed that she had rightful claim to the throne, and in all honesty, she did.
Amelia wasn't charmed by her sister like everyone else was. Her sister wore dark colored dresses of course, befitting a member of the Royal throne, but she had arrived in black leather, and her mood was very dark.
Her laugh was a different story. She had a pleasant little titter she used around father, but when her father was out of the castle, a banshee seemed to take Naga's place.
Amelia was glad for one thing though. She was no longer the heir to the throne, and she had more of a freedom. But it didn't last long. Her father was always looking out for the kingdoms interest, never hers. After having it suggested by Naga, her father had engaged her to a prince of a neighboring kingdom.
The prince was a selfish fellow, with no manners, and no sense of decency. More than once had this prince tried to corner her and try something, and more than once she had to threaten him with a good sized fireball.
Now her father was pressuring her to marry within the next few weeks, and she wouldn't have it. She disowned the name "Wil Tes Seyruun", and fled the castle.
And that brings us here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was five years after the darkstar incident, and she had gone back to her life as a princess. That is, that she spent the last four years of her life signing documents and attending balls, and the other year spent with the rest of her schooling.
During that time Lina and Gourry had popped in a twice, but mostly for the free food and boarding while they were in the area.
Xelloss appeared and disapeared as was his nature, but he had been there over ten times. He would show up, spend a day teasing her while she was working, and disapear. Amelia supposed that is was to report what was happening to his master.
Zelgadiss hadn't been seen since darkstar, but Lina and Gourry had gotten a couple letters from him. The all basically said, "I'm fine, no cure yet. Heading to so and so." Amelia tried not to wonder why she hadn't gotten any letters, blaming it on the fact that she was too far away.
The last any of them had heard about him, was that he was that he was in the lost continent still, in the mountian area of Bidon.
That was where Amelia was heading. It had been two years, but a man like Zelgadiss would leave an impression on the nearby villagers, and she might be able to pick up the trail.
That was her destination, and as her horse ran through the trees of the surrounding forest, she prayed that she'd make it there.
Hours later, the horse started to wear down. He was a well bred horse, one of the best, but he was still a horse, and after hours of going the fast he could non-stop, he was about to collapse.
"Wooah boy..." she murmered to his ear, slowing him to a halt. She slid off the back of the worn horse, taking her cloak down as well.
She stretched sorely. Riding bareback for hours on end does tend to hurt. She had taken nothing with her, except the clothes on her back and the horse.
Aforementioned clothes on her back was nothing like her traveling outfit of old. It was a outfit made to blend in with a crowd. It was in a modest medium grey, made much like Zelgadiss' outfit, so that she could hide if need be.
The only color on the whole outfit was the small blue clasp on the cloak. It was a hemisphere, made out of her old bracelet, the white star still in the middle. The left over portions had been made into small round earings, duo white stars, one in each.
They weren't just decorations, but charged jewels, filled with immense power. She had not given up magic practice over the years, no matter what her father thought. Each and every one of the spells she possible knew, including many of Lina's black magic spells, stopping at Dragon Slave, had been cast into these stones.
They were made for quick drawn spells, in case chanting wasn't possible. They could also be used as backup power, in case a spell needed to be inhanced. The best part about these jewels, was that they would only answer to her, and would always find their way back to her.
She looked up at the stallion fondly, as it grazed in the grass. "I can't take you with me; not with the life I'll be living." She reached up, and quickly swatted it in the rump, sending it running back the way the two had come.
"At least it will get home," She said sadly. She then turned back toward the road. Wrapping her cloak around her, and putting the hood up, she stepped off the path, and started heading North.
As long as she went North, she was heading in the right direction. She would avoid the roads until she was far away from the castle.
Amelia walked at a brisk pace, running if the debris in the wood wasn't too thick. At times, it was so thick that she had to use Leviation to soar over the tree tops. When she started using Levitation, she went as long as she could without stopping.
That alone got her at least ten miles away. But eventually, she had to stop. She found a clearing in the thick woods, and lowered herself into it. It had started raining, and she was thankful for the water proofing on the cloak, but she was still damp where it had trickled down. The cloak was meant for flying in, after all.
It was around late afternoon, and she suddenly realized how tired and hungry she was. She took shelter under a wayward pine tree, the branches forming a protection of sort from the pressure of the rain. A few drips came in, but that was expected.
She'd gone hungry before, but she had used more magic now than she had in the past month, and it was draining her. She was so tired, she could hardly move.
She looked around the clearing, seeing what there might be within the vicinity to eat. Recongnizing several nut trees, she started picking around with one hand in the dirt beside her. 'This would be the perfect squirrel horde hiding place,' she thought distantly.
All in all, she found four walnuts, one off which was too decomposed to eat; it was barely there at all. Finding a rock, she cracked open the other three. Two provided meat, and while it didn't fill her, she did find some strength returning to her. The last one.. ewwww. It provided a large mealworm.
Ah well. Bug or not, it *was* edible, and she did desperately need the food. She washed it off in the dripping water, and making a face ate the still moving worm. Bleh.
She snorted. "That wasn't as bad as some of father's foriegn "delicacies"," she said to herself.
She looked around the area once more, not even moving from the spot she was sitting in, and found two "Queen Anne's Lace" flowers. Of course, no one knew who "Queen Anne" was, so it was simple known as its other name, wild carrot.
The white roots were small, very small, and harder to chew than bark, but they did taste like stronger flavored carrots, and they did energize her more.
The rain stopped, and she took a moment to dry her freezing numb hands off on her pants leg. She crossed her arms, covering her hands, trying to heat them. She did wish that she had added gloves to this outfit now.
The sun that was barely even out threatening to set, she left her little temporary shelter, and searched out dry wood.
She came back with a large armload of almost dry wood, and after casting several wards of warning on the area, she went back to the tree-shelter. She wouldn't be one to be caught unaware.
It took a lot to start a fire, in fact it took a Fireball along with some enclosing wards to keep it in the firewood area. It would stay buring all night, even if the wood were to burn to ashes.
Amelia leaned back against the tree, holding her hands up to the fire. The numb feeling left her hands, leaving her with an almost painful tingling. She lowered her hood, and reached under her hair, pulling it out of her cloak. Her hair tumbled down her shoulders, almost to the curve in her back.
"The would never even recognize it was me," Amelia giggled to herself. She had grown about a foot taller, and grown her hair out as well. Her once childish eyes had matured, and while the hadn't grown any less colorful, the "cute" of them, had turned to "beautiful".
Her bangs had stayed the same, as there was not much you could do with bangs that wild, but the rest of her hair fell to her back in a curvy way, not too unlike Lina's, but a bit less wild. As she sat by the fire, she ran her fingers through her hair, gently untangling it. After untangling it, she put it into a loose braid, using a tie that she had around her wrist to hold it.
As she sat staring out at the sky, the cloud disapating as a fanciful sunset appearing, she sighed to herself.
"No, they wouldn't recognize me at all."
"Didn't you know that talking to yourself is a sign of insanity, Ame-chan?" A cheerful voice said from above her.
A flash of dark fell from above to the ground.
"Xelloss!"
And that it was, in his full glory, kneeling in the ground beside her. His staff was out of sight, but probably not out of reach. Amelia put her hands to the ground to steady herself.
Amelia watched as his eyes opened, the light from the fire and the sunset casting an odd glint in them. It wasn't quite the malicous glint that she had seen every time before, or even aggresive, but it was something very close to that.
He closed his eyes again, and Amelia wondered if she had imagined it.
"Why Ame-chan, I went to visit you at the palace, and it seemed like the castle would collapse on itself, with all the panic radiating about. I was sure you were in some kind of danger, so I came to make sure you were alive," Xelloss said, his normal smile back on his face.
Amelia turned her head away from him, and stared into the fire, putting one hand over her lap.
"Good, and good riddance," she muttered angrily, her hand on the ground tearing up a chunk of it.
Xelloss' eyes popped open in suprise, blinking at her for a moment, before composing herself. "What did you say Ame-chan? I think I misheard!"
"You didn't mishear anything!" She growled, turning her head back to him. "Now that my sister is back, I'm not even an hier to the throne, so *father* doesn't have anything better to do with me than trade me to a pervert prince for some alliance with a useless country!"
The piece of earth in her hand burnt into ash as magic flowed around in her, uncontrolled.
"Well I'm not going to be part of that!! Any man who would sell his own daughter for *anything* is no father of mine!!" She snarled, throwing the ash away next to her.
Xelloss sat silent for a moment. "So that what happpened while I wasn't watching," he murmured to himself. The pure magic running through her, caused by anger and betrayal, was so powerful, it would give Lina a run for her money, if she didn't have the Lord of Nightmare's power on her side.
But the thing was, that Lina had stayed the same, while this girl, no, woman now, had been getting stronger each time he had visited- twice a year. He watched her grow up, and mature, while Lina and Gourry were on the other side of the world, doing their own thing.
And she was still getting stronger, he realized. Each time a new trail stood in front of her, she got stronger with nessicity, and now that she was out alone, she would be getting much stronger. She didn't realize it, and Xelloss wasn't going to tell her that.
"So are you going to go about saving people in the name of justice, now that you've got your freedom?" Xelloss said. He smiled at her, opening his eyes slightly.
"What justice?" she snapped. "What justice is in this world? Hah, such a phony thing called justice! There is no justice!"
Amelia glared for a moment, and then turned to the fire again, wrapping her arm around her legs, and resting her head on her knees.
Before she knew what was happening, warm arms wrapped around her waist, lifting her up, her back against his chest.
"Poor Ame-chan," he whispered into her ear, his warm breath on her neck. His voice wasn't mocking, as hard as Amelia tried to find a hint of sarcasm. "I won't betray you like that."
His husky voice was sincere, and it struck a chord deep in Amelia's heart, but her mind denied it.
"Of course you will, you fool. You're a mazoku, you do whatever your told," she whispered harshly back. Her eyes shone with unshed tears, and she turned in his arms to face him.
She was unprepared for the deep kiss he gave her, and even more unprepared for her own response. Her eyes closed and her tears finally dripped down her face. After a long moment, he pulled back, caressing her face softly with his hand.
Amelia looked up at him. His eyes had that same glint in them that they had before, and he smiled softly at her, before disapearing.
When he was out of sight, she lifted a hand up to her swollen lips, staring at the spot he had disapeared at.
'Why had he....?'
After that, she had no more time to think, and she was suddenly very sleepy. Not hungry anymore, she realized in a distant way, just sleepy. She lay down beside the fire, using her cloak as a pillow.
Her eyelids closed of their own accord, heavy with needed sleep.
Amelia's hand reached up again as she lay there, and touched her lips.
'Why had he... ?'
End Chapter One