A/N: Insert the standard "I don't claim the rights to these characters" spiel here. Beware, this story contains adult themes (i.e., big chunks o' lemon) and gets VERY explicit at times. Read at your own risk. Also, this story only covers the exploits of Lina and Xellos. Gourry, Amelia, and Zelgadis' adventures during the time frame that "Penance" takes place are detailed in a fic called "Pursuit of Merit", which is about halfway written but probably won't be done until '05. "Penance" is followed up by "Reckoning" and then "Absolution" series, all of which are available here on fanfiction.net.

You can view this story in its un-chaptered form at my website, also. I went back and broke it up into chapters because I was getting complaints that it was too long. Sorry if the chapter divisions seem awkward in places, or if some chapters seem too short or too long. That's what happens when you write a story without chapter divisions, and then later chop it up.

Reviews are welcome!!

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What was wrong with her, she asked herself as she strode down the road. She had been practically drooling over Xellos the entire time he had been talking! She growled to herself and shook her head, not believing what an idiot she was. It was Xellos, after all, and he didn't look any different than he had before. Well, except she had never really had an opportunity to study him with his shirt off, and she hated to admit that she was impressed. He wasn't bulky like Gourry, but every single muscle in his abdomen and chest was well-defined, and he had a great set of shoulders. She wished he would walk around shirt less more often, and began to run over the appearance of his rear and thighs, wondering if they were as firm as they looked. He really did have a phenomenal rear, he always had. His skin was lightly tanned and healthy, and she wondered what it would be like to run a finger down between his amazing stomach muscles. She shook her head again. It was Xellos! Little fruity Xellos, who always annoyed the hell out of her! Oh sure, she had always had a thing for that fantastic hair of his, but who wouldn't? It was just so shiny and heavy-looking. He had probably reeled in lots of women as a Monster simply with his hair. She kicked a stone as she walked along, scowling at herself. Hadn't she gone on this journey to get away from men? Then what in the hell was she doing drooling over Xellos?

She waved away her attraction with a hand. It was probably just that she had gotten used to physical intimacy with Gourry, and now that she was going without she wanted some action. Well, that wouldn't be happening anytime soon. Still, she didn't really fancy the thought of a beautiful woman like herself going through life with only one lover. A scowl immediately settled on her face and she ground her teeth. What was she thinking? She didn't want to deal with that sort of thing right now. After all, she was on a mission to find spells, and the Library was absolutely huge. She suspected that it would take her all winter to go through everything. Unfortunately a lot of the books were in languages she couldn't read, and so she had been bringing them back to the cabin and storing them there. She had managed to fill up a few of the bookshelves and had stored others in the shed attached to the house. Perhaps Xellos would take a look at them over the winter. He certainly wouldn't be working in the fields then.

She wondered what it was he would do over the winter. If he didn't want to look at the books for her there was certainly nothing she could do about it. After all, how did one persuade Xellos to do anything? He was stronger than she was, both magically and physically, and while the latter didn't bother her, the former did. In fact, she was willing to bet that he was stronger even than Rezo had been. She wondered how he managed to retain so much strength after becoming human, but then again, she didn't know exactly how much power he had actually possessed as a Monster. It must have been quite a lot, she realized, and was suddenly very glad he hadn't ever presented himself to her as an enemy. She knew that he had practiced human spells throughout time as well, and it made sense that after thousands of years of that he would be a lot stronger than anyone else she knew. Yes, practice made perfect, there was no doubt about that.

Before she knew it she was in town, wandering the streets of the small village. Luckily they had plenty of supplies, and she managed to exhaust nearly half of the money Xellos had taken from the bandits. She had her own stash as well, and could always send him out to kill more bandits if they needed the money. Heck, if it wasn't too cold out she'd probably just go herself. It wasn't the bandits she minded, it was the cold. Up in the mountains where their cabin was she knew it was going to be a bitter winter. Oh, how she hated the cold. Thank goodness that pond could be made into a hot spring with a well-placed fireball.

As she walked through town she remembered to locate the Piper Inn. She left a note with the innkeep, then wondered if she should stay over herself. The memory of his hand upon her hair earlier that afternoon was still fresh in her mind, the muscles in his strong forearms rippling as he fingered her silken locks. Maybe she could wait for him in a room. . . Scowling at herself, she stormed out of the inn, ignoring the puzzled look the innkeeper gave her. There were so many times that she could have slept with Monster Xellos, and she had turned down every single one of them. Of course, she had been with Gourry then, and things had been different. Still, she had been used to the desire for her that always lurked beneath his cheerful, nonchalant exterior. She wasn't certain what sort of desire it was back then, but it seemed to have left the former priest. He didn't really seem to want her at all, on any level, at present. She knew he liked her and cared for her, something he hadn't been capable of as a Monster. If he didn't care for her he wouldn't have carried her all that way when she had been hurt. His concern and strength had really impressed her then, which is why she had allowed him to stick around. Well, that and the fact that she really was sort of worried about him. He seemed to be doing much better since beginning work in the fields, but she could tell his discontent was right below the surface. The suffering of being a human still hadn't left him, and she wondered when and if it might return.

She made a quick stop into a store to purchase a cot, then revisited all the vendors she had bought things from, instructing them to have everything she ordered ready for shipment the next morning. She stopped for a quick bite to eat and picked up a few goodies that she could simply carry home, and then headed back to the cabin.