Love Sees Not With Its Eyes

by Cooking Spray

Konnichiwa, minna! Actually, I only got two reviews... *scowls* Oh, well. Thanks, Rune-Rune and Meta Lise! Peace and Zel-kun chibi dolls to you! Well... Don't have much to say. Read! And... go here! You'll find the link on my bio, under fan fiction. Trust me, it's good stuff!

Now to the ongoing saga...

~*~*~*~*~

Act I:

The Princess Goes Clue Hunting and a Rooftop Confrontation

Wearing a simple, robin's egg blue high-collared blouse and a white starched apron, cradling a basket under her arm, Amelia was ready to boldly travel into the town and seep unnoticed like a fogotten shadow in the sea of people. With her mission a clear, driving force in her mind, she flung open her door and bounded down the hall to her father's quarters.

Prince Philonel had just awoken, and sat, in burgundy silk pajamas, at the foot of his enormous four-poster, yawning. Amelia poked her head over the doorframe.

"Father?"

Phil snapped to attention. "Amelia.....? Up so early? Why are you wearing those clothes?"

"I'm spending the day out on the town," she announced, careful not to reveal her true intents. Her father tended to be a slight absentminded and usually consented to anything she proposed. "A princess needs to be with her people now and then."

Phil scratched his neck. "Huh? Oh well, yes, I guess you may go, you need some fresh air every once in a while," he consented, still a bit puzzled in his foggy morning awareness.

"Arigato! Sayonara, Papa!" And with a quick wave she set off, traveling with swift purpose to find the one she seeked.

~*~*~*~*~

Amelia was lost. Utterly, hopelessly stranded, up-the-creek-without-a-paddle wayward. And not just your garden-variety lost, either. She was lost in both the physical and mental sense, a baffling, lethal combination, especially in the case of princesses on secret missions.

She had no idea her fellow Sailoonians were so pushy and rude! It crushed her mortal, justice-loving soul to see their faces marred with hatred. She stood forlornly in the writhing mob of peasants and pushcarts, tears forming in the corners of her eyes as she tried to follow her people, while every insult that could be thrown was being done so at her.

"Lousy wench! Move your feet, we's got places to go!"

"Yeah, little girl! Move it or else! You's think you too uppity for peasant folk such as us?"

"Pond scum! Get your ass out of the road!"

At that last comment Amelia was very tempted to shed her disguise then and there and give them all a good talking to on the ethics of politeness and morality, but for the sake of her mission she kept her charade and stumbled along, being occasionally kicked and elbowed and shoved.

After about an hour of being rattled more than a maraca in a Spanish orchestra, a breathless Amelia staggered onto the side of the street, narrowly avoiding being harrowed by an angry vendor wheeling a pushcart full of plushies, which she, with a slight sweatdrop, acknowledged as herself. It was past noon. Would the flood of people never end?

Well, the rumble of her stomach quickly silenced her despairing thoughts, and she efficiently navigated through the streets to find the nearest restaurant. It could flood to everyone's necks and buildings could burn to the ground, but Amelia wil tesla Sailoon would not go hungry.

~*~*~*~*~

Content, the undercover princess munched on a large drumstick, surrounded by a hefty stack of plates (A/N: But not half as large as Lina's would be!) and a wide-eyed, disbelieving waitress. With a final chomp, Amelia deposited the bare chicken bone on the top of the tower, stretching leisurely.

"Finished!" she announced.

Slightly dazed, the waitress cleared the plates, and asked mechanically, "What will be your method of payment?"

"Cash!" she chirped, extracting from her purse a large amount of gold pieces. Then, thoughtfully, she added a bit more to the mound and said, "Oh, and could you please bring some desert? Maybe an ice cream milkshake or something like that?"

"Coming... right... up..." the dazed woman answered, collecting the heap of gold and wobbling under the weight of Amelia's dishes.

The girl just smiled jovially and shouted, "Thanks!"

While waiting for her food to be prepared, Amelia, sufficiently watered and fed, bobbed her legs and casually listened in on some of the conversations going on in the bar.

"And can you believe? He just up and stopped courting me, all because he said he'd found a better girl!"

"And you just sprinkle a little salt, keep's them nasty rabbits away all year-"

"Horseshoes rose? We'll just have to go and pelt that horrid tax man's house again!"

"And they say the stone man's been spotted again, lurking, as always, in the shadows. Some say he's in search of some mysterious power..."

This piece of gossip pricked Amelia's ears. The stone man! She must listen closely, valuble information to her mission might be exposed!

"He's seen most often around the Pearl Shrine, I hear... once or twice I've even seen him myself, pacing around there..."

"He's a sorter funny-lookin' fellow, ain't he? Some strange, blue skin! Something turrible awful musta happened to him!"

"Well you know, I think..."

That was all she needed to know. The Pearl Shrine! So the power he seeked resided there. Without a moment to lose, she bolted from her chair, much to the surprise of some customers near her, and headed for the door.

"Wait! Don't you want your-"

Amelia flew through the door and down the sidewalk at Olympic speed. The princess had left the building, along with a milkshake and a very confused waitress.

"Ano......"

~*~*~*~*~

The violet-haired princess, suspended high in the air with Levitation, skimmed through the city below, trying to pinpoint the Shrine. But why would he be interested in coming there? True, it was a major tourist attraction, due to the myth surrounding it. Legend has it that, years before, an angel fell from the heavens to her death in the well, and a shrine was built around it. People from all around came, trying to tap into her holy power by drinking the supposedly magical well water. Amelia had been there before, when she was very young.

Was he, too, trying to tap into the mythical Angel's power?

Upon spotting the familiar spherical pearly-white dome (hence the title Pearl Shrine), Amelia landed deftly on the ground. Few people were around, and the sun, it being winter still, was beginning to shine the lazy yellow light of evening. This area was almost completely the shrine's land, so, if the gossiping girls were correct, the stone man wouldn't be hard to find here.

So she searched, and, when coming up relatively empty-handed, she waited.

And waited.

Snow flurries began to fall, and Amelia shivered.

And then, a jab of motion. She snapped her head up sharply. There he stood. She merely stared a moment; his appearance was no ordinary sight, after all. But then, a moment later, remembering the urgency of this task's completion and her strife to become queen and impress the elders, she sprung to her feet. The chase began, both leaping and darting through the vast and lavish architecture surrounding the temple, until at last each found themselves face-to-face on the turret rooftop.

Panting slightly, the princess began her confrontation without delay."Halt! I, Amelia wil tesla Sailoon, command that you freeze this instant! Only I know the secrets within these city walls! Justify your actions or be subject to my punishment!"

The stone man, slightly surprised (though it didn't show much by his face) about being confronted so boldly, especially by the crown princess, did freeze, studying the violet-haired server of justice's determined expression and pointed finger of accusation, and deduced that she probably was taking this seriously.

"Who are you, and what business have you in my city? I demand to know your identity!"

At this his lips twisted into an amused half-grin. He might as well play her charade. "My name," he answered, "is Zelgadis. Zelgadis Greyweirs."

He wasn't taking her seriously! She tensed her face again, scraping together composure and heroine bravery again. "Do not mock me! Answer, Zelgadis," she commanded, tasting this newfound sense of power, "what it is you seek. Obey me!"

"Zel" closed his eyes and responded, in a smooth tone, "To find a cure for this skin. Surely you've heard. In fact, that's probably why you're here. No?"

This caused Amelia to falter. He wasn't bowing to her supreme power, acknowledging her royal requests? Half of her wanted to continue to bark out orders, half was perplexed and curious about this Zel's strange attitude. Her yelling had no effect on him.

"Ano... I guess, yes... I heard about you, and went looking..." She dropped the interrogation persona completely. His calamity was unnerving. She couldn't seem to finish, to put the words in the proper places.

"I figured as much." There was a bit of a silence. Then Zelgadis suddenly smiled, and Amelia's stance wavered in uncertainty.

"So, Amelia-hime," he said, "you say you know the secrets of Sailoon. How would you like to... say, escort me on a tour of them? I'd leave if you'd only do so."

Now she was really confused. Her mind was having trouble grasping all of this encounter. Was he asking a favor of her? Even after her confrontation? Nevertheless, she replied. "Well, my father, King Philonel-" She added the last part for emphasis, in case the strange "Zel" tried to advance on her in any way "-is aware of more than I am, but I do know a few secrets, yes..." Then, she turned defensive. "Why should I tell you? You could be a spy from another country, using me to pump information from! Or worse, for all I know!"

Zel reguarded her coolly, all the same. "You're right, why should you? You can't trust me. An excellent reason for refusal."

Amelia was torn. He didn't respond in any way a normal person would. She studied him. What she said was true, it was risky to provide someone she knew nothing of with valuble Sailoon secrets, possibly destructive if ever revealed to rivaling kingdoms, but somehow... it was almost a feeling of desperation. Despite her precautions, she knew, oddly, that he would do her no harm.

She faced away from him, into the snow-filled twilight. "Very well. Here, there are some places that have rumors of magical power surrounding them... but no one is ever certain. People have been trying to utilize it for centuries. If you'd like, you could try... I'd show you what I know. But then, at all costs, you must leave this place. You'll arouse too much suspicion." She turned so they faced once more.

Zelgadis smiled again, perhaps genuinely. "Thank you, Amelia-hime. Very well. A civil decision, you'd make a fine ruler."

Amelia almost blushed at this sincerity. Paying the stray comment no heed, she proceeded to finish.

"We begin tomorrow morning. Meet me here. We shall not be seen."

He bowed. "Understood." And with that he disappeared amidst the shadows.

Amelia still stared into the snow, feeling lost and confused while she liked to be on top of everything. The mission had taken on unexpected turns.

What was she getting into?

~*~*~*~*~

At last, they meet! Tee-hee. Things start moving more fluently after this point, so keep reading! And, as always, our chapter preview:

~*NEXT CHAPTER*~

Act II:

Winter Weather and a Rendezvous at the Pearl Shrine