A/N: Insert usual disclaimer stuff here. This is the sequel to Penance and Pursuit of Merit.

Again, I went back and chopped this fic up into chapters. If you want to read the thing straight through, with no chapter divisions, just head on over to my site, Because I chopped it up, some of the chapter transitions may be strange. Sorry about that.

Reviews are always welcome and encouraged!


"Sire, there's someone here to see you," the page announced, interrupting Zelgadis. He sighed and put down the flask, turning to the young man.

"I thought I told you I was not to be disturbed," he said sharply, putting his hands on his hips.

"I know that, sir, but she was very. . .insistent."

Zelgadis narrowed his eyes. Not very many people came to see him at all, let alone demanded to see him. "Very well," he said after a moment. "Admit her."

"Right away," the page said, and scurried off.

Zelgadis slipped out of his coat and put it on a hook, stepping away from his lab bench and taking a seat by his desk. Amelia did her best to spare him most of the paperwork, leaving him plenty of time to work on a cure in his lab. He hadn't found anything yet, but he had made a few promising medicines for other ailments.

The door creaked open and he glanced up, mouth opening slightly as he saw who entered the room. "Hi," his visitor said. "Long time no see."

"Lina!" he gasped, standing. "How are you? Where have you been? You've been gone for two years!"

She smiled and blushed, scratching her cheek. "Oh, I've been doing this and that. My research was halted before I could finish it, and I don't think I'll get another chance. Sometimes you just have to give up and move on, you know?"

"I guess," he said, looking her up and down. "You look well."

"Thanks," she replied.

He studied her face for long moments, refraining from asking the hundreds of questions that sped through his mind. "Amelia would love to see you," he finally said.

"Yeah, well, I don't really have the time right now," Lina said haltingly, putting a hand behind her head. "How are you two doing, by the way?"

"Very well, thank you. We're expecting our first child in several months."

"Oh, congratulations!" Lina said with a grin. "That's great! I'm happy you still have enough human to have kids."

Zel rolled his eyes. It seemed that Lina hadn't lost her flair for tact. "Er, thank you," he replied. "We're very happy."

"I'm really glad you are," she said softly. "It's great that you get to be with someone who completes you."

"And you, Lina? Did you find any of your answers?"

Lina's face fell slightly and she shook her head. "No," she answered. "I only found more questions."

He sighed. "I'm very sorry to hear that," he said. "So what are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to give up," she said. "I suspect that I don't really need answers to those questions. I just need to do what I should have done a long time ago."

Zelgadis nodded his head in understanding. "So you visited to find out where Gourry is."

Lina chuckled. "Yeah, I guess so."

"He took it pretty hard when you left him," Zelgadis warned.

"I'm sure," Lina said with a sigh. "But I had to do it. I don't regret it."

"Someday I'd like to hear what you were up to for so long," he murmured.

"Well, maybe someday I'll tell you."

"Now would be great. Where were you, Lina, and what were you doing?"

"That's a," she began, and then her face fell, an odd, sad look taking hold of her features. "Secret," she finished lifelessly.

"I'm sorry I tried to pressure you," he said. Whatever had happened to her, she wasn't ready to talk about it. Perhaps it really was for the best that she went back to Gourry. He would accept her completely, regardless of what she disclosed and what she kept hidden. The blonde swordsman might be just the thing to soothe away the sadness he saw in her face.

"So, where is he?"

"Actually, he's living here. He's an official Seyruun knight now. He's landed and everything."

"Really? Lord Gourry Gabriev?"

"Yeah. He served Seyruun well in your absence."

"I guess so," she said with a low whistle.

"Not that he has any vassals or anything. Actually, he spends most of his time teaching students."

"He might be as dumb as a rock, but there's no one better with a sword," Lina said.

Zelgadis nodded. "He lives on the northwest perimeter of the city. I can give you directions, if you'd like."

"No, I'll just wander around," Lina said. "I'm sure I'll find him eventually."

Zelgadis smiled and looked at her again, noticing for the first time that she wore something around her neck. "Oh, that's a strange ring. What's it made out of?"

Lina blushed, then paled. "Heh, this old thing. I picked it up in a shop on the road. It's made of a rare metal, amurium, and I thought it might appreciate in value."

Zelgadis raised a brow but didn't call her bluff. The ring must be another thing she wasn't ready to talk about, which made him more eager than before to find out what exactly had happened to her. Perhaps he would discuss it later with his wife. Amelia had an odd sense when it came to such matters. "Well, it's certainly unusual," he said with a smile. "It was good to see you. After you've settled in again with Gourry, be certain to come and visit us."

Lina grinned and caught him up in a brief hug. "I will, Zel. Thanks for your help. I'm glad I can count on you."

"Anytime," he replied, and turned back to his work.

Several hours later he slid into bed next to his wife, putting his ear to her stomach and sighing. "You'll never guess who I saw today," he murmured as her fingers danced lightly through his hair, her soft touch tracing the curve of his long, pointed ear.

"Oh?" she asked gently, smiling down at him. "Who was it?"

He kissed her belly and laid beside her, gathering her into his arms and resting his chin on the top of her head. "Lina," he replied.

Amelia sat straight up in bed, staring down at him. "You saw Lina?" she gasped. "And you didn't bring her to see me?"

Zelgadis sat up as well, crossing his legs beneath the sheets and facing her. "She had some things to take care of, I think. She didn't seem to want to hang around, otherwise I would have brought her straight to you."

"How was she?"

Zelgadis leaned forward and kissed her full lips, smiling as she sighed and pressed against him. He watched as her dark blue eyes fluttered open, shining as she looked at him. "She seemed...odd. First of all, she appeared drained, not radiant like you."

She shook her head. "Zelgadis, stop kidding around."

He smiled. "I'm not. Why, can't I compliment my own wife?"

A blush stained her cheeks. "Of course you can, but I want to hear about Lina! I haven't seen her in a really long time, you know."

"Fine, fine," he said. "She really did seemed drained. I suspect that she's been through a lot. Anyway, she just visited to find out where Gourry was."

"And you told her, I hope."

"Of course I did. That's why I didn't pressure her to come visit you. I did tell her to call on us when she had things squared away with him, though."

Amelia sighed and placed her hand on his chest, pushing him down onto his back and settling her head against his shoulder. "Well, that was probably a pretty good idea."

"I thought so," he replied. "I guess they'll end up together, now. Something was strange, though."

"Like what?"

"Well, her eyes were sort of sad, like a lot had happened to her that hurt. She was wearing an amurium ring around her neck, too."

"A ring? Of amurium? What's that?"

"Well, from what I've read, amurium was a metal that was used hundreds of years ago. It looks sort of like gold, but is a lot harder. It can't be destroyed through normal or magical means. You have to throw it into lava or something similar. At any rate, it is capable of absorbing a single spell and re-casting that spell an infinite number of times for all eternity. The technique was lost centuries ago, though, and it's incredibly rare to find anything made out of it anymore."

"And it was a ring?"

"Yes."

Amelia frowned and pressed her lips into a line, thinking. "That's very odd."

"That's what I thought. I guess it doesn't surprise me that Lina has such a valuable piece of jewelry, but why wear it around her neck? And why would Lina have a ring? The chain looked like orihalcon, too, so it's probably got a pretty strong spell on it."

Amelia's eyes opened wide and she stared up at him. "Maybe someone special gave it to her. Rings are very symbolic, and Gourry has never given her anything."

"You think Lina was off having a tryst?"

"Well, you told me she left because she had to figure things out about her relationship with Gourry. Now she's back. Maybe she got involved with someone and it didn't work out, and now she's looking for someone familiar to soothe her wounds."

Zelgadis narrowed his eyes, putting one hand behind his head and the other around Amelia's shoulders. The swell of her belly pressed into his side and he squeezed her tightly. He was happy he didn't have to worry about such things anymore. "I'm not sure Lina would just fall in love with a stranger and take up with him, though," Zel replied.

"No, I can't see her doing that, either. Miss Lina isn't the lovestruck type."

"No. If your theory is correct, it would have to be from someone we know," he said.

Amelia nodded, silent for a few moments. "I can't think of anyone," she said, nuzzling into his shoulder.

"We should sleep, anyway. I'm sure we'll find out what's going on in time. This is all conjecture, anyway," he replied, blowing out the candles next to the bed.

"Mmm," she answered, snuggling against him.

He sighed, the situation still turning itself over in his mind as Amelia's breathing slowed. Who could she have run into? Who could have possibly given her an invaluable enchanted ring? Was there anyone Lina would even consider having as her lover? Suddenly amethyst, slitted eyes flitted across his brain, and he opened his eyes wide in the darkness. Could it be?

He considered for several moments, mulling it over slowly. The thought was a strange one, and he turned it over in his mind several times. "Nah," he finally said into the night, and drifted off to sleep.