Stolen
Disclaimer: Atomic Fireballs! I have Atomic Fireballs in all of their atomicy firebally goodness! Yay! Unfortunately, I still don't own the characters. Oh well. Atomic Fireballs!
Kristin: I'm aware that the prologue may have seemed a bit random, but it will tie into the story. Also, it may seem that there isn't a lot in this chapter that deals with any of the Slayers, but the next chapter should focus almost solely on Lina.
Chapter One
***
Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow-
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.
-exert from 'A Dream Within a Dream', Edgar Allan Poe
***
Soft, downy clouds drifted aimlessly in the deep blue sky. The warm rays of the sun chased off the last remnants of a slight chill caused by a gentle breeze. Wildflowers swayed back and forth, laden down with the early morning's dew. The air was sweet and heavy with the heady scent of meadow grass and flowers. In a tree a charming little bird trilled prettily. Then the aforementioned bird burst into flames and fell from its branch. Lina Inverse didn't spare it another glance.
"I feel." she began, trailing off as she seemed to ponder how to finish the sentence.
"Annoyed," Gourry ventured, warily eyeing the still smoldering bird.
"No."
"Tired," Amelia asked Lina, her unusually droopy face betraying her own fatigue.
"No."
Zelgadis spared the dark sorceress an indifferent glance. "Bored?"
"Hungry." Lina frowned as she rolled a gold coin over her deft fingers. "Isn't there supposed to be a village somewhere around here?" The other three members of the quartet ignored her and continued onward. None of them noticed the mist that crept over the ground tracking them.
*
"Adora!" Yukio Warui pushed open one of the several doors that led to his back gardens, a pleased smile on his sallow face. "Adora," he called again, this time allowing a bit of impatience to color his rather bland voice.
"I'm over here, milord," a sweet lilting voice heralded from behind a cluster of bushes to Yukio's right. Yukio grinned and with a wave of his hand parted the shrubbery to allow for easier passage. His grin widened as he glanced at a young woman of about twenty-two who was perched daintily on a stone and the large group of adolescent girls who sat at her feet. The young woman looked up from her tiny stitches on an extravagant work of embroidery and tucked a long tendril of dark brown hair behind her ear. "Is there anything that I may do for you, milord?"
"I have a bit of job for you," Yukio began as he waved away the younger girls. They silently collected their own needlework and scattered into the depths of the gardens. "I discovered a rather spectacular specimen and would like for you to acquire her for my collection. She's such a wonderfully delectable little sorceress." Adora's careful smile faltered and she bowed her head forward so that her long bangs would hide the sickened expression on her elegant face.
"Is that not a job for the meshits, milord," she asked, barely able to keep the loathing from her voice. Yukio turned toward Adora, a displeased frown turning his face from unattractive to gruesome. Adora twisted her lips into a calm smile and lowered her eyes demurely. "What I mean, of course, is that I do not have the power to ensnare this sorceress of yours if she is indeed powerful enough to warrant your attention." She glanced up at her lord through her eyelashes, a calculating look in her almond shaped brown eyes.
Yukio gazed down at her almost distrustfully for a long moment before nodding. "Of course one as weak as you could not be expected to do something like this on your own. Very well, take as many of them as you like." With a short nod Adora rose from her seat and turned to walk away in a swirl of transparent silk. She had just reached the door when she heard Yukio call out to her again. "Adora, tell Mai to come to my quarters this evening after dinner." Adora flinched at the eleven-year-old girl's name.
"Yes, milord," she replied as she walked through the door. Tossing a disgusted look behind her she closed the door and muttered, "Pedophilic bastard."
*
"Give me back my potatoes!"
"That was my hand!"
"Would you please watch where you point that thing?"
"They belong to me!"
"I had them first!"
"Ow! Ow! Owie ow! I asked you to watch where you point that thing!"
"They're mine!"
"Mine!"
"Mine!"
"Stop throwing those forks!"
"Mine!"
"Let go of my hair!"
"Don't eat that, it's still alive!"
"Then get your elbow out of my face!"
"Miss Lina! Stop hitting him with my chicken!"
"It's my chicken now!"
"Ow! That isn't food!"
"Check please." The waitress inched her way over, looking as though she would rather face a pack of starving lions than enter the war zone that was Lina and Gourry's lunch. She hastily shoved the check at the single sane person at the table, which was odd because he was the only person she had ever seen with blue stone skin, and fled to the back room where she could hide under the sink. Zelgadis scanned the check; inwardly flinching at the damage one restaurant could do to their funds he wordlessly passed it to Amelia who had given up on ever rescuing her chicken. It was sort of sad that they could still be surprised by how much their two companions would eat if given the chance. With a resigned sigh Amelia began fishing the correct amount of coins out of her pouch.
".could empty the royal treasury.never eat this much if they were paying.can't be natural.daddy's going to kill me." Amelia grumbled, not her usual optimistic self when faced with the much lighter pouch.
"Excuse me, but would one of you happen to be Lina Inverse?" Amelia turned in her seat and smiled at the lone woman behind her.
"She's the one with gravy on her nose," Amelia answered. The woman's lips tightened slightly as she looked over the princess's shoulder at the red- haired sorceress, who did indeed have gravy on her nose. As well as her shirt. And in her hair. And on her ear. Trying desperately not to look too put out at the sight of the girl that her lord had taken an interest in she squared her shoulders and walked around the table to Lina's side.
"Miss Inverse, might I have a word with you?" Lina, who was busy playing tug-a-war with Gourry over a loaf of bread, ignored her in favor of food. The woman arched an eyebrow before sighing irritably. With an impatient frown plastered on her face, she snatched the bread from the two warrior's hands, broke it in two, and gave Gourry one half while dangling the other in front of Lina's face. "Miss Inverse," the woman began again, this time allowing her voice to take on a sharper edge, "I really must insist on having a word with you."
Lina looked up at the rather tall woman who was towering over her and grabbed the bread from her hand. "So talk."
The woman pulled a chair up to the table and sank down onto it. "My name is Adora Dorei and I am supposed to be here on behalf of my lord, Yukio Warui, who has taken a special interest in you, Miss Lina. However, seeing as you would probably not like what he has in mind, I thought that I should warn you. The meshits should be here any moment. Once they arrive I won't be able to help you, so I must say this quickly. You need to hide, right now. I don't care where you hide, just as long as it is someplace that they won't see you. The kitchen would work fine," Adora said quickly, holding one hand up in a gesture for Lina, who was in the middle of opening her mouth to talk, to stay quiet and listen. "The moment that we leave, you need to get to holy ground or sacred ground, or anything like that. My lord's magic is not able penetrate the barrier that surrounds that type of protected ground, and it is with his magic that he will try to find you again." The four young people at the table stared at Adora blankly for a moment.
"Come again," Amelia asked, a somewhat dazed expression on her face as she peered around Lina's shoulder. Adora sighed and pressed her face into her hands.
"There's no time for that right-"
"Miss Dorei. Is this her?" A voice that sounded like a mixture of fingernails scraping down a chalkboard and gravel grinding together echoed through the room. Adora slowly stood, her pitying eyes fixed on Lina's.
"Yes. This is her." Several tall figures swathed in tattered black cloth glided into the room, their glowing, blood red eyes the only visible features on their faces. The air grew heavy with magic and seemed to shimmer as they passed through the door. The next instant they, along with Lina and Adora, were gone. Gourry leapt up from his seat, all thoughts of his lunch forgotten.
"Lina!"
***
Kristin: Yes, I do have a reasonable explanation for how she was kidnapped. I'm just not going to tell you yet.
Special Thanks to:
Cookie: I'm hoping that the entire thing will be original, but even if it's just the beginning that is, I'll still be happy.
Slayers Otaku-Girl: *grins sheepishly* Yep. I convinced myself about an hour after I posted chapter one that I wouldn't be able to continue it at all, so I took it off. However, on Friday I felt the urge to try and write up an outline for the story, just to see if I could do it. Low and behold I could! So here I am, the second chapter already done, and itching to get back to my computer (I have to use the family computer to update) so I can work on chapter three.
Celestyl- *looks at the poor little bruised tips of her fingers* I'm writing as fast as I can! Well, not really, but I am trying!
Samanda Hime-sama- You wrote Like Snow Upon A Raven's Back! And you're reviewing my story? Your story is awesome. When do you plan on updating again?
paintedstars- Is that a good interesting, or a bad interesting?
Disclaimer: Atomic Fireballs! I have Atomic Fireballs in all of their atomicy firebally goodness! Yay! Unfortunately, I still don't own the characters. Oh well. Atomic Fireballs!
Kristin: I'm aware that the prologue may have seemed a bit random, but it will tie into the story. Also, it may seem that there isn't a lot in this chapter that deals with any of the Slayers, but the next chapter should focus almost solely on Lina.
Chapter One
***
Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow-
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.
-exert from 'A Dream Within a Dream', Edgar Allan Poe
***
Soft, downy clouds drifted aimlessly in the deep blue sky. The warm rays of the sun chased off the last remnants of a slight chill caused by a gentle breeze. Wildflowers swayed back and forth, laden down with the early morning's dew. The air was sweet and heavy with the heady scent of meadow grass and flowers. In a tree a charming little bird trilled prettily. Then the aforementioned bird burst into flames and fell from its branch. Lina Inverse didn't spare it another glance.
"I feel." she began, trailing off as she seemed to ponder how to finish the sentence.
"Annoyed," Gourry ventured, warily eyeing the still smoldering bird.
"No."
"Tired," Amelia asked Lina, her unusually droopy face betraying her own fatigue.
"No."
Zelgadis spared the dark sorceress an indifferent glance. "Bored?"
"Hungry." Lina frowned as she rolled a gold coin over her deft fingers. "Isn't there supposed to be a village somewhere around here?" The other three members of the quartet ignored her and continued onward. None of them noticed the mist that crept over the ground tracking them.
*
"Adora!" Yukio Warui pushed open one of the several doors that led to his back gardens, a pleased smile on his sallow face. "Adora," he called again, this time allowing a bit of impatience to color his rather bland voice.
"I'm over here, milord," a sweet lilting voice heralded from behind a cluster of bushes to Yukio's right. Yukio grinned and with a wave of his hand parted the shrubbery to allow for easier passage. His grin widened as he glanced at a young woman of about twenty-two who was perched daintily on a stone and the large group of adolescent girls who sat at her feet. The young woman looked up from her tiny stitches on an extravagant work of embroidery and tucked a long tendril of dark brown hair behind her ear. "Is there anything that I may do for you, milord?"
"I have a bit of job for you," Yukio began as he waved away the younger girls. They silently collected their own needlework and scattered into the depths of the gardens. "I discovered a rather spectacular specimen and would like for you to acquire her for my collection. She's such a wonderfully delectable little sorceress." Adora's careful smile faltered and she bowed her head forward so that her long bangs would hide the sickened expression on her elegant face.
"Is that not a job for the meshits, milord," she asked, barely able to keep the loathing from her voice. Yukio turned toward Adora, a displeased frown turning his face from unattractive to gruesome. Adora twisted her lips into a calm smile and lowered her eyes demurely. "What I mean, of course, is that I do not have the power to ensnare this sorceress of yours if she is indeed powerful enough to warrant your attention." She glanced up at her lord through her eyelashes, a calculating look in her almond shaped brown eyes.
Yukio gazed down at her almost distrustfully for a long moment before nodding. "Of course one as weak as you could not be expected to do something like this on your own. Very well, take as many of them as you like." With a short nod Adora rose from her seat and turned to walk away in a swirl of transparent silk. She had just reached the door when she heard Yukio call out to her again. "Adora, tell Mai to come to my quarters this evening after dinner." Adora flinched at the eleven-year-old girl's name.
"Yes, milord," she replied as she walked through the door. Tossing a disgusted look behind her she closed the door and muttered, "Pedophilic bastard."
*
"Give me back my potatoes!"
"That was my hand!"
"Would you please watch where you point that thing?"
"They belong to me!"
"I had them first!"
"Ow! Ow! Owie ow! I asked you to watch where you point that thing!"
"They're mine!"
"Mine!"
"Mine!"
"Stop throwing those forks!"
"Mine!"
"Let go of my hair!"
"Don't eat that, it's still alive!"
"Then get your elbow out of my face!"
"Miss Lina! Stop hitting him with my chicken!"
"It's my chicken now!"
"Ow! That isn't food!"
"Check please." The waitress inched her way over, looking as though she would rather face a pack of starving lions than enter the war zone that was Lina and Gourry's lunch. She hastily shoved the check at the single sane person at the table, which was odd because he was the only person she had ever seen with blue stone skin, and fled to the back room where she could hide under the sink. Zelgadis scanned the check; inwardly flinching at the damage one restaurant could do to their funds he wordlessly passed it to Amelia who had given up on ever rescuing her chicken. It was sort of sad that they could still be surprised by how much their two companions would eat if given the chance. With a resigned sigh Amelia began fishing the correct amount of coins out of her pouch.
".could empty the royal treasury.never eat this much if they were paying.can't be natural.daddy's going to kill me." Amelia grumbled, not her usual optimistic self when faced with the much lighter pouch.
"Excuse me, but would one of you happen to be Lina Inverse?" Amelia turned in her seat and smiled at the lone woman behind her.
"She's the one with gravy on her nose," Amelia answered. The woman's lips tightened slightly as she looked over the princess's shoulder at the red- haired sorceress, who did indeed have gravy on her nose. As well as her shirt. And in her hair. And on her ear. Trying desperately not to look too put out at the sight of the girl that her lord had taken an interest in she squared her shoulders and walked around the table to Lina's side.
"Miss Inverse, might I have a word with you?" Lina, who was busy playing tug-a-war with Gourry over a loaf of bread, ignored her in favor of food. The woman arched an eyebrow before sighing irritably. With an impatient frown plastered on her face, she snatched the bread from the two warrior's hands, broke it in two, and gave Gourry one half while dangling the other in front of Lina's face. "Miss Inverse," the woman began again, this time allowing her voice to take on a sharper edge, "I really must insist on having a word with you."
Lina looked up at the rather tall woman who was towering over her and grabbed the bread from her hand. "So talk."
The woman pulled a chair up to the table and sank down onto it. "My name is Adora Dorei and I am supposed to be here on behalf of my lord, Yukio Warui, who has taken a special interest in you, Miss Lina. However, seeing as you would probably not like what he has in mind, I thought that I should warn you. The meshits should be here any moment. Once they arrive I won't be able to help you, so I must say this quickly. You need to hide, right now. I don't care where you hide, just as long as it is someplace that they won't see you. The kitchen would work fine," Adora said quickly, holding one hand up in a gesture for Lina, who was in the middle of opening her mouth to talk, to stay quiet and listen. "The moment that we leave, you need to get to holy ground or sacred ground, or anything like that. My lord's magic is not able penetrate the barrier that surrounds that type of protected ground, and it is with his magic that he will try to find you again." The four young people at the table stared at Adora blankly for a moment.
"Come again," Amelia asked, a somewhat dazed expression on her face as she peered around Lina's shoulder. Adora sighed and pressed her face into her hands.
"There's no time for that right-"
"Miss Dorei. Is this her?" A voice that sounded like a mixture of fingernails scraping down a chalkboard and gravel grinding together echoed through the room. Adora slowly stood, her pitying eyes fixed on Lina's.
"Yes. This is her." Several tall figures swathed in tattered black cloth glided into the room, their glowing, blood red eyes the only visible features on their faces. The air grew heavy with magic and seemed to shimmer as they passed through the door. The next instant they, along with Lina and Adora, were gone. Gourry leapt up from his seat, all thoughts of his lunch forgotten.
"Lina!"
***
Kristin: Yes, I do have a reasonable explanation for how she was kidnapped. I'm just not going to tell you yet.
Special Thanks to:
Cookie: I'm hoping that the entire thing will be original, but even if it's just the beginning that is, I'll still be happy.
Slayers Otaku-Girl: *grins sheepishly* Yep. I convinced myself about an hour after I posted chapter one that I wouldn't be able to continue it at all, so I took it off. However, on Friday I felt the urge to try and write up an outline for the story, just to see if I could do it. Low and behold I could! So here I am, the second chapter already done, and itching to get back to my computer (I have to use the family computer to update) so I can work on chapter three.
Celestyl- *looks at the poor little bruised tips of her fingers* I'm writing as fast as I can! Well, not really, but I am trying!
Samanda Hime-sama- You wrote Like Snow Upon A Raven's Back! And you're reviewing my story? Your story is awesome. When do you plan on updating again?
paintedstars- Is that a good interesting, or a bad interesting?