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Chapter 5: The Not-so-happy Reunion

The warm air began to cool a bit as the sun began to set. Amelia's stomach growled for food, for she hadn't been able to find any at all that day. She draped her brown blanket closer to herself; not because she was cold, but because it was the only thing that gave her at least the tiniest sense of comfort.

The trees that surrounded her seemed to loom over her, and even though she had grown, the tall trees made her feel small and helpless. Amelia soon plopped herself miserably down upon a log, and lifted her feet. They were dirty, blistered, and some parts were even raw from having walked barefoot through many different forests for the past three weeks. She assumed it had been that long by now, or at least close to that amount of days. She was also tired from raywinging whenever she wasn't walking, as she tried to figure out which way was home.

Amelia sighed, thinking of the great white city of Saillune. Her home. The home of her people. The place where she had grown up. I can't believe that I ever wanted to leave, she thought, looking at her surroundings. Sure, I miss all the adventures, but I'm beginning to miss home a lot more. And father…I miss him so much. He's probably worried about me; why didn't I go home right after I escaped?? Now I'm lost…some Crown Princess I am.

She sighed, running her olive-toned hand through her raven black hair. She pulled the blanket closer, as if in doing so she would provide herself with more comfort. Travelling and going on adventures just isn't the same when Miss Lina and Mr. Gourry aren't around…and Mr. Zelgadis. She heard herself scowl. "He didn't even write to me while he was away. Even Miss Lina and Mr. Gourry wrote to me. And there I was, hoping he'd come back to Saillune to see me when he wouldn't even take the time to write to his friend," she whispered, her voice holding a bit of bitterness.

She pulled her brown blanket even closer and then hugged herself. How she wished someone would hold her and comfort her. Like her father. Or Zelgadis…..No! she screamed in her mind, and shook her head. Why would I possibly want him to hold me? He'd only be cold and hard and stiff. Get it together, Amelia.

She breathed deeply, and closed her eyes. Good…she thought to herself. Think of heroes, think of Justice, think of going back home…Tears filled her blue eyes as she thought about Saillune. Guess when you adventure all by yourself you get homesick.

Amelia lifted up her feet and cast a healing spell, knowing that they would only go raw again and start to hurt again later. Oh well, at least it takes away the pain for a while. Standing up, she hissed as she stepped on something unpleasant. "And so it begins…." She mumbled to herself, as she set out hoping to find her home, her Saillune, her father, and her life again.

The sky began to grow dark, and her stomach began to rumble loudly. She hadn't been able to find any food whatsoever. No fish, no fruit, nothing. Then Amelia stopped suddenly, looking around her, trying vainly to peer through the dark trees and their surrounding shadows. She could've sworn she had heard something.

She began to walk again, a bit hesitantly and slowly, as the sky grew darker, and the shadows filled the small gaps in between the dark trees. She pulled her blanket close around her again, and bit her lip, her eyes now filled with fear. It's probably nothing, she reassured herself. Besides, if its just bandits, I can use my magic. I'll fight back, with Justice on my side! I won't just give up like before, I'll fight…

Amelia's thoughts trailed off as she thought she heard mumbling nearby. Amelia's heart sped up, pounding at her chest, her mind screaming at her to run away, but she stood, ever so silent and still. The voices sounded vaguely familiar, but whether she wanted to remember those voices or not, she couldn't tell. Her feet suddenly began to move her forward, through the trees and the undergrowth, toward the voices, and as afraid as she was, she couldn't stop. And so Amelia forced herself to be brave.

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It had become dark, the moon high in the clear sky. The fire cast a warm glow on the three fighting, their arms and legs flying in the air as they yelled. A sound in the trees made them look up, quickly. The chimera was the first to hear, and pushing his two companions off of himself, he drew out his sword. The dumb blond swordsman was the next to draw his sword, the one he had found as a replacement for the sword of light, and the redheaded sorceress stood ready to fireball.

A figure stepped out of the shadows, their face hidden from a hood that shadowed their features, and what looked like a long, dark cloak hung from their shoulders. The figures hands were nowhere to be seen, and it was hard to tell if the figure was even human because the shadows obscured it.

The figure's head moved up a little, staying silent and watchful. The four stood completely still in the dark, the three companions watching the one stranger, the only movement coming from the wind whipping past them. Lina began to grow increasingly impatient, just standing and staring at the strange figure, and so she raised her hands and opened her mouth, ready to cast a spell….

But she didn't. The stranger's voice stopped her. Stopped Lina Inverse. With only six, short words. "Miss Lina, it IS really you!" And the next thing the redhead knew, she was on the ground, the brown-cloaked figure on top of her. Only it wasn't a brown-cloaked figure. The figure wasn't even wearing a cloak; it was really a brown blanket.

Lina pushed the figure up off of her, and was able to look into the figure's face. The face that the sorceress had expected to see after hearing the figure say those six words. The face of a friend. The sweet, olive-toned face, with the raven black hair and bright blue eyes. Amelia…

Zelgadis and Gourry could only stare, wide-eyed, at the figure still crushing Lina. They both couldn't move and seemed paralysed. Amelia got up, helping Lina all the while mumbling her sorry's and making sure that the blanket stayed wrapped around her. Gourry was the first to 'almost' come to his senses.

"Hey, Lina, she looks familiar…….do we know her?" the blond swordsman asked innocently.

Lina whacked him upside the head. "You idiot!" she yelled at him, a smile breaking onto her face. "That's Amelia!"

Gourry moved closer to the Princess and stared at her face intently with very serious look. Finally, Gourry nodded, saying, "Yeah, it is her! Wow, Amelia, you look different! You've really grown!"

Amelia smiled, tears rapidly filling her blue eyes. "Oh, Miss Lina, Mr. Gourry, you don't know how much I've missed you guys!!" And she gave them both big hugs, making Lina blush a little, because of how much the Princess had missed her. Amelia's eyes brightened, and her spirits completely soared, seeing her friends well and still together.

But Amelia remembered that there had been three of them. Do I really want to see him? Maybe it was just my imagination…

She slowly turned, to see a very shocked chimera still staring at her. Emotions flew through her mind, all jumbling together. It's him! It's really him! I've missed him so much!! But…he never wrote to me. Do I really want to see him? I can't still possibly like him anymore, can I? I mean, it was just a crush. He looks the same as ever. Poor Zelgadis, he still hasn't found a cure. Should I hug him? He is my friend still, isn't he? Ah, what should I do??

She had grown. Zelgadis didn't know what to do, or what to say. It was her. Amelia. His friend…the one he'd been worried about for the past three weeks. And she looked different than he had expected. He thought she would look exactly the same, short, sweet and optimistic looking, with her innocent face and big blue eyes. But she looked so mature. Even draped with a brown blanket around her shoulders and twigs caught in her hair, she still had the air of royalty...something that made her seem like such a different person. And she seemed to have a gleam of joy in her eyes. Those startlingly big blue eyes…

"Mr. Zelgadis!" she said, running and embracing him. His scent was still the same; warm and musky, and something else that was his scent entirely. She didn't know whether to hate him or not, so she took the latter.

Then, all at once, they all began to ask each other questions, and sitting by the fire, Amelia told them of what happened.

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"Wait, I still don't get something," Lina said as Amelia finished off her story. "How did they kidnap you without anyone in the palace hearing anything? You said that they were only bandits."

Amelia's voice almost sounded choked. "T-they threatened father and my handmaiden." But Amelia didn't tell them the whole truth though…her mind had been troubled, and she had even said that she wanted to die…she had felt so tired of doing things, that she just wanted to finally accept what was happening…

"But why didn't you go back home? To Saillune?" Zel asked her. "If you escaped so soon after being kidnapped, why did you just roam around?? You should've told someone that you were okay!"

Amelia's face flushed and she looked down, knowing that he was right. "I know, but…I was going to go back home, that's were I was heading today before I found you guys!"

Gourry looked at Amelia with a very serious look slapped across his gentle features. "You know, Amelia, we've been really worried about you. Phil's been pretty worried too."

Amelia just kept her head down, and Lina whacked Gourry's arm. Lina's stomach then growled, and she rubbed it, saying, "Oh, I'm so hungry! Zel, where's that food?" Amelia then remembered that she had not eaten anything that day, and clutched her stomach. "I haven't had a bite to eat all day…" whispered the Princess.

Lina had managed to steal all the food from Zel's bag and put it to her mouth, but hearing Amelia, she moved her hands away and looked back at the food. Aww, this is the last thing I thought I'd ever do! she thought to herself. Before she could change her mind, she shoved the food over to Amelia, and Gourry not even objecting to Lina's actions.

Amelia looked at Lina gratefully, and gave Lina, Gourry, and Zel all a piece of a loaf of bread, before eating the rest of the food. It didn't take long for the food to disappear, and Lina sat quietly, wishing now that she hadn't given Amelia all that food.

Grumpy, Lina got up and went over to her tent, but before she reached it, Amelia called out to her. "Miss Lina! Umm….I don't have a tent of my own, so…do you think we could share?"

Lina sighed. "Alright, Alright! G'night guys," came the redhead's reply, before she entered her small tent. It was then Gourry who followed. "Yeah, I think I'll go to sleep too. Night!" And he retreated to his own tent, beside Lina's.

The flame flickered a bit, and Zel tossed in a log. The flame shot up, the light illuminating both of their faces. An awkward silence fell between them, before Zel spoke.

"Umm…Amelia…I want to give you something."

Amelia's heart skipped a beat, and she didn't know if she wanted to feel happy about it or more upset. What could Zel possibly want to give her? She turned to look into his eyes.

He turned away, and then took something out of his pocket. "I want to return this to you." And in his hand he held her bracelet, the one she had given him before they parted ways. For a moment, Amelia was filled with joy. Zelgadis had kept the bracelet! And then as quickly as her happiness had come, it left, and tears filled her eyes. Why…why?

"Why?" she asked out loud. It was barely more than a whisper.

"You told me to give it back to you, remember?"

"B-but Mr. Zelgadis…. I told you to give it back to me when you returned to Saillune."

"Well, I might never return to Saillune, Amelia."

She fought hard to stop from drowning in her tears, the tears that threatened to fall down her smooth cheeks. He doesn't want it anymore. He doesn't want to keep it. He'll never come back to Saillune. He doesn't want to remember me…

"You can keep it, if you want, Mr. Zelgadis," she said, her voice almost cracking. Don't let him see you cry. You're strong, Amelia. Strong.

"But it's yours, Amelia. And I don't deserve it. Besides, you told me to give it back to you, so I am. I'm just keeping a promise." He didn't understand why giving it back hurt her so much. He didn't want to see one of his only friends hurt. Sure, she was annoying at times, but that didn't mean he hated her, although sometimes it seemed that way. Surely her little crush for me is gone by now? I mean, it's been so long, and she doesn't seem like she feels that way any more.

"B-but…" she looked down at herself, her pathetic little form wrapped tightly in a brown blanket. And then she knew she hated him. Knew that a friend would want to keep it. She was just a nuisance, an obstacle in his way. And he didn't want to keep her promise. He would never return to Saillune, even if he did find a cure. She quickly grabbed the bracelet from his hand, giving him a cold, hard stare. She saw in his eyes…. confusion? Sadness, even? And she knew she didn't hate him. She couldn't hate him. He was, or at least had been, her friend. And he had stopped his search for his cure to help find her.

Amelia turned, and went into Lina's tent, the tears now spilling from her eyes. Zelgadis wanted to hit himself. Why did he refuse to keep it? Why couldn't he be more sympathetic? Because I'm cold. And because I don't want to hurt her if she hopes to see me return to Saillune, and then I never do. Hmph…but if I'm so cold, then why in L-sama's name do I even care? And he sighed, being left alone in front of the fire again, which gave him no heat, and no light. All that he saw and felt was darkness. And he was alone.

Alone. And the only thing in his mind were…Those startlingly big blue eyes…

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*AN: Congrats to MoroTheWolfGod on guessing right about the person in the shadows being Amelia! Here's your prize *hands over a Lina plushie with 'kill-me-lina' Gourry plushie included* ^__^ Was that last chapter really not that boring? Ok, then, I take back all those 'sorry's!' I said Ah, the title of this chapter REALLY gave it away, huh? Hehehe…and maybe that last chapter wasn't much of a lead-up….maybe I should consider it a lead-on!! HAHAHAHA! Ahem….just joking, it really does lead-up to something…I think ^__~ But I fear that the chapters will start taking more time. But I won't take too long, don't worry! Oh, and double sorry if anyone is OOC!!!

Thnx again to anyone who reviewed! You guys/girls are really the best! B-E-S-T! Better than everyone else! (just don't tell them I said that, ok? This'll be our little secret.) Review and I'll make shrines for you all…Or, maybe not…

……Oh, and any criticism is welcome, so long as its not really a flame….

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| ^;^ | Oh, and this is a pic of Xellos my brother attempted. Looks nothing like him!

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