Amelia's jaw ached. As the sleep spell slowly wore off, this revelation became more apparent. With consciousness came the urge to be free of her bonds by any means possible. Amelia opened her eyes.
She saw the familiar sight of a campfire , with three humans sitting around it. Amelia knew them to be friends, but the urge compelled her to bark, bite, to do anything to scare them off!
"Mrp!"
Amelia quickly realized that something was preventing her mouth from opening. The thought enraged the urge even more, and she began to struggle to free herself.
One of the humans was coming closer! Amelia wanted to bite the intruder, but that had already proved useless. She opted to growl threateningly instead. Before she could do anything else, the human exclaimed something and touched her forehead. The overwhelming desire to sleep gained a hold of her again, and Amelia relapsed into unconsciousness.
"You can't keep doing that, you know." Zelgadis sighed.
"Oh, so you'd rather she go mad right now? Is that it, Zelgadis?" Lina shot back.
"Well no, it's just...it..." Zelgadis sighed in frustration.
Lina's anger quickly died. She put her hand on Zelgadis' shoulder. "I know it's hard, but what else can we do? Until we reach Seyruun we need to keep her as intact as possible."
"She seemed to be okay at first." Gourry commented.
"Yes, until she fully woke up. If only there were a way to keep her in a semi-state of consciousness." Lina began to ponder.
"Let's just get going. We need to get her back to her homeland as soon as possible." Zelgadis stood up and made his way to Amelia. "That may help her regain her senses."
Gourry stepped over to Amelia as well. "Want me to carry her for a while?"
"No, she's not heavy." Zelgadis picked up the passed out wolf and resumed walking.
Lina trudged on ahead. "Man, this feels like a death march. Just walk, walk, walk, walk, walk."
"We could have had a snack if you hadn't eaten it, Lina." Gourry walked beside her.
"Yeah, well, somebody really should put a label on food they're saving." Lina grumbled.
Lina and Gourry continued to talk to each other, but Zelgadis wasn't listening. As he walked he silently hoped and prayed that they weren't already too late.
"Hey Lina, look! We made it!" Gourry shouted out excitedly as he looked down into the valley below.
Lina crested the hill soon after and joined Gourry. "Thank goodness! This has got to be the fastest I've ever been driven to Seyruun, and oddly it wasn't Amelia doing the driving. Well, not knowingly." Lina winked at Gourry.
"What driving? We don't have a wagon." Gourry puzzled over Lina's statement.
"Not that kind of driving, Gourry! I meant we were forced to come here." Lina scolded.
"Oh, right!" Gourry shot Lina a look. "So why didn't you just say so?"
"Never mind, Gourry." Lina looked back to where they'd come from. "What's taking Zel so long?"
"Well, he has been carrying Amelia the past few days, and I know that's been hard to him whether he says so or not. Also, he hasn't been eating much." Gourry replied.
"What? But he's been taking the same share as we did." Lina was amazed.
"Actually, mine was smaller because you kept swiping my food." Gourry glowered at Lina.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. So Zel's been stashing his share then? I wonder where he hid it?" Lina started to drift off, lost in thought.
"Actually, he's been giving it to Amelia." Gourry replied.
This brought Lina back to reality. "How do you know this, Gourry?"
"I saw him the other night, after you'd gone to bed."
"All right, but how'd he manage to feed her when she's been asleep this whole time?"
Gourry just shrugged. "Slowly, I guess."
They grew silent as they heard Zelgadis approach.
"Hello Zelgadis, have a nice trip?" Lina smiled.
Zelgadis just gave Lina a cold look as he climbed to the top of the hill. He then laid Amelia on the ground at his feet.
"We made it here, now what?" Gourry asked.
"I'm glad you asked. I actually thought that we should scout about the area before we just barge in on the palace." Lina stated, quickly resuming her role as leader.
"But what about Amelia? We can't just take her into town." Zelgadis noted.
"Actually, I figured only two of us need to go check things out, so the third can stay here and keep an eye on her." Lina looked at Zelgadis.
"The third being me?" Zelgadis knew where this was going.
"Of course! Thank you for volunteering, Zelgadis!" Lina grinned
Zelgadis grumbled under his breath.
"Well now that that's been determined, we should get moving. We'll be back later this evening, Zel! Let's go, Gourry." Lina gave a quick wave to Zelgadis then joined Gourry as they descended the hill, toward the city.
Finally alone, Zelgadis gave out a sigh of relief, then collapsed onto the ground. He glanced over at Amelia, who was still sleeping away. Zelgadis leaned against a tree and relaxed, waiting for Lina and Gourry's return.
The sun was beginning to set when Zelgadis woke up. He scolded himself for dozing off, but then saw that Amelia was still asleep. Zelgadis relaxed again, this time determined to stay awake as he waited for Lina and Gourry to return.
As he was thinking this, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He focused his attention to see Amelia's ear twitching. Zelgadis looked on as her other ear joined in, then saw her nostrils flare.
She was waking up.
Unsure what her reaction would be, Zelgadis made sure he still had a hold of her leash, and that he could easily detain her if need be. He then watched as her eyes opened ever so slightly.
Amelia continued to take in the sounds and smells around her, then gazed down the hill. Spotting her beloved home, she wagged the tip of her tail as she settled back in to sleep.
Calmed seeing her close her eyes again, Zelgadis nearly jumped in surprise when they shot open a moment later!
Amelia whimpered as she glanced about in fear. Her heart lept when she spotted Zelgadis, as did the rest of her as she got to her feet and trotted over to him.
Zelgadis was about to take action, but he saw how happily she wagged her tail. He settled back down, only to be bombarded by a cold, wet nose!
"Yes, Amelia, I'm glad to see you!" Zelgadis pushed the happy wolf away, then wiped his face on his sleeve.
Amelia's eyes grew large as she saw the tears in his sleeve. She sniffed at it, then whined at Zelgadis.
"Oh, it's nothing. I was just careless." Zelgadis stammered. He wasn't about to remind Amelia on what she had done!
Amelia perked up again, then looked around. "Rff?" Amelia was surprised to find her jaw restricted, as she noticed the muzzle around it for the first time.
"Lina thought it was wise to take some precaution. As for Lina and Gourry, they went to go check out the city. They ought to be back soon." Zelgadis replied, somewhat surprised he was actually carrying on a conversation with Amelia.
Amelia gave a muffled sigh, then lay down beside Zelgadis. She rested her head on his leg.
Zelgadis was startled by this, but didn't move. He listened as she fell asleep again. Thinking it safe, he rested his hand on her back.
Amelia replied with a contented sigh, thumping her tail a few times.
Zelgadis blushed a bit, realizing that Lina would most likely catch him like this and would never let him hear the end of it. Amelia would find him uncomfortable and move before then, right? Zelgadis could only hope.
Zelgadis awoke the next morning, still with no sign from Lina and Gourry. He gently slid out from under Amelia (she had crawled into his lap during the night!), and stood up. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his missing companions making their way back up the hill. Zelgadis quickly brushed the tell-tale wolf fur off of his clothes.
"What took you so long? I was getting ready to go after you." Zelgadis said, as soon as the two made it over the hill.
"Zel, you won't believe what's down there! Look!" Lina pulled out a folded paper from her pocket and handed it to Zelgadis.
Zelgadis spent a moment unfolding it, but gasped when he realized what it was. "A wanted poster?!"
"Yes, we're being accused of kidnapping Amelia!" Lina exclaimed.
"There were guards everywhere down there! We were lucky they didn't find us!" Gourry added in.
"We had to hide out over night so we could sneak out!" Lina continued.
"How are we going to get into the city if everyone is looking for us?" Zelgadis asked.
"Luckily that shopkeeper didn't recognize us, so we got some disguises." Gourry smiled.
"Yeah, here ya go, Zel." Lina dug into a bag and pulled out...
"A dress? Is this some joke?" Zelgadis was in shock!
"They're looking for a sorceress, two swordsmen, and a captive princess. They won't suspect a sweet little family." Lina winked.
"..family?" Zelgadis didn't like the sound of this!
"Besides, none of the dresses were tall enough to fit Gourry." Lina pouted.
Gourry beamed happily as he took off his armor and put on the garb of a farmer.
"You get sick pleasure out of this." Zelgadis glared.
"Oh hush! You're not the only one who has to suffer." Lina slipped into a skirt and top, then tied her hair up in pigtails. "How do I look?"
"Like a little kid." Gourry replied.
Lina giggled cutely and winked. "For once you are correct, Gourry."
Zelgadis sighed and, removing his cape, slipped the dress on. At least it wasn't fancy, so he wouldn't draw attention to himself. Also, it came with a wrap that he could cover his head and most of his face with.
Just then, Amelia woke up, perplexed with all of the people. "Rr?"
"What are you going to do about Amelia? We may be able to fool the guards, but they won't let her by." Zelgadis realized.
"I actually couldn't find anything to help us there." Lina admitted. She had really tried, too...
Lina and Zelgadis pondered on what to do.
"Hey, what about this?" Gourry held out a small amulet.
"Where'd you get that?" Lina took the amulet and looked at it.
"Oh, that Hayoo guy gave it to me. Oh, and this too." Gourry held a small note out.
Lina snatched it away and, opening it up, read it out loud. "'My mistress used this to tame the Gryphons and Wyverns. Maybe it will help you as well. Affix it to the wolf's neck and "Activate" it. -Heydu.' Gourry, why didn't you show me this before?"
"I forgot?" Gourry shrugged.
"You're not going to try it are you, Lina?" Zelgadis asked.
"We don't have much of a choice at this point." Lina walked over to Amelia, who wagged her tail in greeting. "Hi, Amelia! Glad to see you're feeling better." Lina patted Amelia's head, then attached the amulet to her collar.
Nothing happened.
"Well, that's nice. How's it supposed to work?" Lina snatched up the note again. "Affix it to the wolf's neck and "Activate" it."
Suddenly the amulet began to glow until Amelia was enveloped by the light. The ball of light shrank, then faded, leaving a tiny wolf pup in Amelia's place.
"Adorable!" Lina scooped up Amelia and cradled the tiny pup.
Zelgadis and Gourry gaped.
"Is that...Amelia?" Gourry poked at the ball of fur.
Amelia, now free of the muzzle, clamped onto Gourry's finger. Gourry jumped, then realized she was trying to suckle it.
"Lina, she's hungry." Gourry cooed at the pup.
"Can't blame her since she's been asleep for almost the past week." Zelgadis stated in his no-nonsense way.
Lina cooed happily.
"Lina, don't we have a palace to visit?" Zelgadis asked.
"Yeah, yeah, hang on a moment." Lina dug a ribbon out of her pocket, then tied it around Amelia's neck, covering the amulet and collar. "There, she's perfect!" Lina cuddled the yapping pup.
"We should get some food, too. I'm starved from all that running around!" Gourry whined, his stomach joining in.
"She's so cute! Yes she is! She's my little puppy!" Lina sang.
"Lina!" Zelgadis yelled in anger.
"What, Zel?!" Lina snapped.
Zelgadis regained his cool composure. "Let's go, we don't know how long Amelia will be like...that."
"Aw, but she's so cute, isn't she?" Lina grinned and held Amelia up to Zelgadis' face.
Amelia wagged her tiny tail and licked the tip of Zelgadis' nose.
"And she likes to, 'ta boot! Such a sweet baby." Lina cuddled the pup again, as she started down the hill.
"I fear when she has children." Zelgadis shuddered.
"Could be worse. She could be blowing things up instead." Gourry replied.
Zelgadis thought about Gourry's response as they trekked to the city.
Tada! Another chapter done! And now to continue with notes from the previous chapter...for those who wondered, the first part was a dream. I like using dreams to help further the story, and I've also had quite a few dreams myself (not like this, they dealt with real life issues I've gone through), so of course I had to put it in! (And Zelgadis got to have it...well, you'll just have to wait and see why!)
Anyway, this chapter was actually more fun to write, as I had no idea what I was going to write! (They got to Seyruun, now how are they going to get in?) Thankfully the ideas came easily, and Amelia being babified was an idea that I had originally intended to happen way back when Thisbe was looking her over, but I originally dropped the idea. (It kept nagging me though, so you get to see a slight variation on it.)
Thanks again for all of the reviews! (And a special note to the reviewer who recognized Thisbe's name! I admit I had been taking a Shakespeare class in high school when I first created that D&D character, and I'm lousy with names. -Plus Thebestian made me think "Thisbe", so there you go- Congrats on noticing!) ^_^
On to the next chapter, when the gang finds out things are a bit off in the palace of Seyruun... (I'll try and have it posted by sometime this weekend!)