"Lina! Are you all right in there?"
"Lina, why aren't you answering?! I don't like this."
Amelia woke up to loud knocking and voices behind the door. She got up, yawned, then cringed in pain. Her jaw was throbbing with pain. The pounding on the door only seemed to make it feel worse. There had to be a way to stop it...
Amelia looked around, noticing that one of her captors, specifically the one who had fed her, was still fast asleep. Surely she could stop that horrible racket! Amelia quietly ambled over to the bed, then nudged Lina's cheek with her nose.
Lina had been sleeping pleasantly, when suddenly something cold and wet touched her. Alarmed by the sudden chill, Lina let out a small shriek.
Lina's sudden outburst in turn startled Amelia, and the wolf dove back under the vanity. Just then, Gourry and Zelgadis burst through the door.
"Lina, what happened?" Gourry gasped. "Lina, you're bleeding!"
"I knew we shouldn't have left you alone." Zelgadis scolded.
Lina was very awake at this point, and startled by Gourry's words. She felt a wet spot on her cheek so put her hand to it, then looked at her hand. Sure enough, a small trickle of blood was there.
"I...but how?" Lina gasped.
"Lina, did that wolf attack you?" Zelgadis asked.
Lina looked down to her pillow, not seeing any blood. Her eyes then trailed across the floor, to the cowering creature under her vanity. Sure enough, Lina saw a small puddle of blood.
"Oh no..." Lina got out of the bed and kneeled down in front of the vanity. "Amelia, come here."
Amelia turned and looked back at Lina, but remained under the vanity. Despite being in the shadows, Lina could tell that the rope around Amelia's muzzle was soaked with blood.
Lina turned her head. "Zelgadis, you said you attacked Amelia, right?"
"I attacked a wolf, yes." Zelgadis responded.
"How badly?" Lina pressed.
"It couldn't have been too bad."
Lina coaxed Amelia out from under the vanity. "You call this 'not too bad'? There's a gash here at least half an inch deep! Just what were you thinking?!?"
"That I didn't want to be attacked by a wolf. What's your point? You still don't have proof that that's even Amelia." Zelgadis crossed his arms in disdain.
"Actually, you just proved it. We were following Amelia's tracks, and they led us straight to you!" Lina shot back.
Zelgadis was dumbfounded.
"I thought that might convince you. You're such a jerk, Zel! It's no wonder she's been terrified to be near you!" Lina turned back to Amelia, who was cowering with fright. "Now come here, and let me take care of that for you." Lina made to untie the rope.
"I don't think that's a good idea, Lina." Gourry said.
"Gourry's right. Amelia or not, she might bite you." Zelgadis agreed.
"Okay Zel, then how about you fix this? You did cause it, after all." Lina stood up.
"You don't have to keep rubbing it in." Zelgadis muttered. He knelt down near Amelia, who in turn leaned as far away from him as possible. Zelgadis hesitated. "It's okay, A-Amelia. I'm not going to hurt you." Zelgadis reached over and loosened the rope, then removed it entirely. Zelgadis then cast Recovery, until the wound was closed completely.
Amelia looked up in amazement. The very same man who had hurt her had just made the pain go away completely! Maybe these humans weren't so bad, after all.
Zelgadis stood back up, only to receive a hard slap on the back from Lina.
"Way to go! I bet that'll help patch things up between you two, and in more ways than one." Lina snickered. "Now come here, Amelia. You're safe with us." Lina tugged gently on the leash.
Amelia cautiously came completely out from her hiding place, observing the humans before her. The female seemed to be the one in charge.
'She must be the Leader.' Amelia thought.
Amelia rolled onto her back, exposing her stomach.
"Whoa, what's she doing?" Lina asked.
"She's showing that she knows you're the dominant one, or leader of the pack." Zelgadis replied.
"What? Where'd you get that, Zelgadis?" Lina replied.
Zelgadis shrugged. "I used to do a lot of reading when I was young."
"She sure looks cute!" Lina knelt down and rubbed Amelia's exposed tummy.
Amelia wasn't sure how to react. At first she thought 'Leader' was attacking her, but then she realized how good it felt! She went limp with ecstasy.
"Stop it, you're going to domesticate her!" Zelgadis scolded.
Lina shot Zelgadis a strange look. "She isn't supposed to be wild in the first place."
"Hey Lina, shouldn't we get going soon?" Gourry asked.
Lina suddenly realized something, and looked at her clothing. Sure enough, she was still in her pajamas. She turned to eye Gourry and Zelgadis, who were already in their traveling clothes.
"How about you give me some privacy first?"
A little later Lina came down into the main room of the inn, Amelia staying close to her. Gourry and Zelgadis were already there, and waiting.
"You all ready?" Lina asked.
"Of course!" Gourry smiled.
"Just where do you plan on going, anyway, Lina?" Zelgadis asked.
"That should be obvious. To the nearest restaurant, of course!" Lina grinned.
"Why do I even bother?" Zelgadis muttered. "I meant, how do you intend to reverse what's been done to Amelia?"
"I really have no idea. I'm sure we'll find something eventually." Lina beamed. "In any case, I'm starved!"
Lina and Co. left the inn, making their way down the street to the nearest restaurant. Once Lina found it to her liking, they went in and sat down at a table. (Amelia chose to instead hide under Lina's seat again.)
Zelgadis looked down at her. "I'm still not convinced that's Amelia. She never acted so shy before."
"Yeah, it's almost like she doesn't know who she is." Gourry replied.
"Hmm... Well, that old guy did say he was paid off to do something. We can already see what that was, but what if he drugged her as well?" Lina pondered.
"What, drugged her to make her lose her memory?" Gourry's voice quavered.
"It is a possibility." Zelgadis responded.
Lina's arm suddenly shot up, flagging down a passing waiter. "Ooh, waiter! I'll have the 'A' meal! Oh, and a bowl of soup on the side."
"I'll have the 'B' meal, double portions." Gourry continued.
Zelgadis slumped in his seat. You just couldn't hold a decent conversation when food was involved.
The waiter turned to Zelgadis. "And you, sir?"
"I'll also have the 'B' meal, and some tea." Zelgadis replied.
The waiter walked off to relay the orders.
"So anyway, it's a possibility that Amelia was also drugged to forget. But why..?" Lina continued with the previous conversation.
"Monsters, corrupt royalty, pure coincidence? You name it." Zelgadis replied.
"We'll have to listen for any news from Seyruun. I don't know if we should go directly there, especially if whoever we're dealing with means Amelia harm." Lina said.
"They sure have a weird way of doing it." Gourry frowned.
"I hate trying to figure things out on an empty stomach. Where's that..Oh!" Lina grinned.
Just then the waiter came back, divvied out the food, then left. Lina and Gourry instantly dug in. At one point Gourry made an attempt for the soup, receiving a smack from Lina.
"That isn't for you!" Lina snapped.
"Well, you weren't eating it." Gourry sulked.
"That's because it isn't for me, either." Lina picked up the bowl of soup and placed it on the floor. "Amelia may have forgotten everything, but she still knows what food is.: Lina winked.
Sure enough, Amelia was quick to lap up the soup.
"Lina willingly giving up food? I thought I wasn't dreaming any more." Zelgadis smirked.
"You make me sound like some monster! I'm not about to let her -Gourry, that's mine!"
Lina and Gourry resumed their feasting, much to Zelgadis' chagrin.
Finally, another chapter comes to a close! I know this may seem a bit slow to get going, but much like any good work of art, it has to be fleshed out and well-developed to be any good. (So there! ...sorry, I just always have people criticizing my drawings. "That doesn't look like a ____." "Hey, I'm not done yet!") And yes, I do have the ending planned out. It just might take a while to get there... (It's not like the gang has any mode of transportation, other than their own feet to speed up traveling. Blah!)
Also, the 'A' 'B', and unmentioned 'C' meals came from the Slayers Royal video game (for Sega Saturn, or Playstation). You constantly go to restaurants, thus opening up more discussion for the group (much of it going over my head, not being fluent in Japanese), some of which being the group ordering their food. It never actually says what it is they're ordering exactly, which is just fine with me! (It's bad enough that Lina and Gourry need to eat constantly, but to have to come up with all of the types of food they're eating? No way!) ^_-