I don't own Slayers
Chapter VII
Lina awoke, refreshed and ready for the new day. She barely remembered the other night and didn't know that Zel had decided to sit outside her room the entire nighttime to make sure that she would be safe. So, when she opened the door, she promptly tripped over his body and landed face first on the floor. This, did not make her happy at all.
"Pervert! What are you doing there?! " she practically screamed. She felt inside her sleeves for her daggers, but knew that they would do no harm against a man with stone flesh.
He, looking not the least bit distorted on the outside but was a mass of angry nerves pulsating in the inside thanks to the lack of sleep, got up and dusted himself off. "Nothing. I enjoy sitting outside young women's doors and waiting for them to trip on me!" He stared at her squarely in the eyes for a moment then looked quickly away.
"Get ready. We're leaving soon."
Lina, who had turned to her door stopped with her hand hovering over the knob. She replayed the words he used and focused in on that one itsy bitsy word that no one would have paid real attention to…except for her. "We??? What do you mean we? I don't need an escort!!!"
Zel smirked at that. "Ah, but Lina," he said slowly, dragging her name out over his tongue just to irritate her. "We don't trust you the same we you don't trust us. I'm coming with you whether you like it or not."
Before Lina could pounce, Zel managed to slip away and hightail it down the halls. He wasn't about to piss her off and wait for her anger. No, he'd send someone else to take the full brunt of it…someone like… "XELLOSS!"
===
He sat in the carriage that morning, and stared outside his window. His thoughts, so filled with the woman that sat next to him that it was starting to give him a headache. He turned slightly, to spy on her beneath his cold wiry hair.
"Who's Gourry?"
"He's my old partner. We use to take jobs together…I thought I told you all of this."
"I must've forgotten. Why was he after you, do you know?"
Lina sighed slightly. She looked as if she had given a lot of thought to that question. "No idea. I know he was late for our appointment. I didn't think he'd be out to get me." She hesitated before adding the next part. "He…didn't seem to be acting like himself…like there was something around him. I think I could feel something…" Lina stopped realizing what she just said.
Zel just nodded then continued to stare out the window. "Maybe he was being controlled by an outside force," Zel muttered under his breath. 'They must know you're with me,' he added in his mind.
Lina almost laughed. "Like a Monster?"
"Precisely."
Lina's eyebrows drew down in thought. Finally, she said, "Listen, you don't have to come with me. I swear I'll return with the painting or whatever it is you want me to steal."
Zel glanced back at Lina. Her eyes looked hopeful and pleading. She knew that he knew she was changing the subject on purpose. Zel nodded slightly, but that could've been mistaken for the slight bump they felt in the rode. "You might find that you need a partner for this job."
Hours later, after her many failed attempts to start a different conversation, and Zel's many attempts at thwarting the conversations, the sky was turning a dull blue color. It was nearing night.
Lina's head was bobbing up and down, on the brink of sleep. Every time her chin would so much as touch her chest, her head would snap back up and she would look around the near empty carriage completely alert…for about a second. Then the whole cycle would start once again.
Finally, she seemed to have let sleep engulf her and she started to fall forward. Zel reacted quickly and pulled her to his side. He let her head rest against his shoulder, making sure she wouldn't fall every which way, then continued to stare outside, his own mind drifting into the realms of sleep.
"Will you let her know what her real role is?" Xelloss had asked the previous night.
=Flashback=
The man stood, silhouetted against the morning's rays. His back was to the young boy and he held in his hands three scrolls of parchment. "I want you to watch her, Zelgadis. Her life is more important than yours."
Zel stood motionlessly behind his grandfather. He took in the elder man's harsh voice and winced inwardly. His grandfather thought him nothing more than useless and dumb. Some day, he'd show the old man…but not know.
"Stay with her and help her as much as you can," Rezo tucked the scrolls into his robes and tuned to his young grandson. "If she dies, then you will find yourself near death as well."
Zel frowned, his hands tightening into little fists. How he wished his grandfather to the dark realms of oblivion.
"Now, go watch Lina Inverse until she is needed once again."
=End Flashback=
Zel woke with a jolt. The pressure of Lina's head was now gone and he wondered where the heck she had decided to bolt off to.
As his eyes adjusted to the dimly lit sky, he realized that the carriage door was slightly ajar. She had to be in the forest.
Getting out of the carriage, he looked at the driver. He appeared to be unconscious. His heartbeat immediately quickened. Did someone else try to take her away?
As soon as his feet hit the ground, he bent over the dirt road. He could see foot prints, as if there was a struggle. Following it closely, he saw a track emerge from the cloud of foot prints and lead into the forest.
Taking off quickly, he ran straight into the forest, following the tracks closely. The led to one place and continued down another. Whoever had taken her looked as if they didn't know which direction to go to.
Zel continued on the track, his feet racing, his mind working through intricate spells just in case he needed them.
Finally, he saw something red/orange against a tree. "Crap, did they kill her?" He ran toward the area and stopped in his tracks.
The second he saw her, he regretted it.
She raised her eyes and caught him starring at her. Her anger burned throughout her body...he could almost see the flames roaring to life. "CAN'T A PERSON TAKE A PISS IN PRIVATE ANYMORE????"
=End Chapter=
Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Next chapter, she finally gets to steal something. Dang it took a while, especially for a story called "Thieves."