Ascend
By: blue lady
Chapter Eleven – Cleansing
Thanks to many days spent traveling down dusty roads and beaten trails, I was finally able to understand why I couldn't seem to concentrate on my search for a cure, why I had this sudden overwhelming urge to see her again, and why she kept appearing in my thoughts. It was all because of a simple, pure and nagging emotion – guilt.
No matter how many times I recalled that night, the same feeling of shame and repentance would settle in my stomach. I cringed slightly at the memory, Amelia had only meant well and I had responded with such cold, hasty words:
"Then you're a fool. I could never care for you in that way."
How had she reacted to that?
I wouldn't know, as I had left immediately after, too afraid to face the consequences of my actions.
I shook my head vigorously; there was no use thinking about something that has already been done. Looking ahead of me, I caught a glimpse of a white bell tower, it's steeple reaching for the clouds. I would arrive at Seyrruun soon, and the sooner I got there the sooner I could return to my search for a cure. I clenched my right pocket tightly, after this there would be nothing left to distract me from my quest.
Soon I felt the cool shadows of Seyruun's magnificent white walls rest gently on my stone skin. I looked up, not surprised to see the White Magic Capital gleaming before me, like a pearl among dark satin sheets. I reached into my pocket, fingering the ornament once last time before stepping through the city gate.
Upon arrival I was surprised to find that many of the guards recognized me; so being allowed entrance and granted Amelia's presence became quite an easy matter. They had instantly found a servant to send word to Amelia of my arrival and another one to lead me to a comfortable waiting area.
"The Princess is in conference with some delegates from the outer border." The little boy explained, opening the door for me "She will come as soon as she's finished. Is there anything you want me to get for you, sir? Food? Something to drink?"
"I'm fine, thanks." I replied, unbuckling my scabbard and laying it on a chair beside me.
The little boy bowed deeply to me before shuffling out the door. I moved towards one of the bookcases and began looking for something to pass the time with; for it was certain that her meeting would take quite awhile. As I settled down to the read the first page, a noise outside caught my attention. They were the sounds of footsteps and it was coming towards this direction. The footfalls were loud and noticeable, striking the marble floor beneath solidly, each tip-tap filled with unabashed pride and purpose.
I smirked; only one person walked like that.
The door swung open, letting in a very familiar destructive sorceress, "Zel! So you really are here?"
She approached me with a look that would define the expression "the cat that swallowed the canary" to a T.
"Hello, Lina." I said simply, noticing that she was dressed causally without her usual cape, shoulder guards, and gloves, "I've see you haven't change."
She only continued to smile at me with the same stupid grin as she settled down in the chair across from me.
"What?" I asked gruffly, getting somewhat uncomfortable.
"You're here to see Amelia, aren't you?" Lina asked, the grin on her face getting impossibly bigger.
"Yes." I replied, switching my gaze back to the open page of my book trying to control my rising panic. How did Lina find out about that night? I could feel the guilt beginning to eat at my stomach.
"So I guess, Amelia told you…" I trailed off, wondering what the red-head had in store for me.
"Told me? I figured it out all by myself!" Lina replied, puffing out her chest, "I'm impressed though, I thought it would take you longer to figure it out."
"Yeah - Wait, what are you talking about?"
"Come on, Zel we all know about it- well, except for the girl in question – Anyway, I'm glad you're finally here! Because of your stubbornness, I thought it would take you forever to finally confess your true feelings to her."
I immediately shot up from my chair, the book falling unheeded onto the ground.
"What are you talking about?!" I yelled, "I'm not here to do that!"
Lina's mood quickly changed from content to dangerous.
"Then what are you here for?" she demanded.
Then turning her face away haughtily she causally added, "And why are you blushing?"
"I'm not blushing!" I yelled, cursing the heat in my cheeks then calming myself a bit I continued: "Besides, there is nothing going on between Amelia and me. You know that so stop amusing yourself with such ridiculous ideas. We're just friends."
"You Idiot!" Lina growled, pulling at her hair in frustration.
Busy in our screaming match we were unaware of the new presence in the room. The servant boy cleared his throat loudly and seemed to shudder a little when we turned to look at him.
"The Princess is finally done and is on her way here. She will arrive shortly." The servant boy said, leaving the room as quickly as possible.
We spent the rest of the time sitting and glaring at each other in silence.
"Girls are such hopeless romantics…" I mumbled silently to myself. If Lina heard anything she didn't act like it as she continued to glare at me, cracking her knuckles.
However, I quickly stood up upon hearing the echoing of light, lady-like steps in the hallway. I felt unexpectedly nervous and as I watch the wooden doors slowly swing open, revealing Amelia. She was dressed simply in an off-the shoulder, white dress with the royal colors of Seyruun (blue and gold) sewed in fancy patterns around the hem. Though Amelia still had the same childish look, she had grown taller and had the air like those of her class.
"Zelgadis-san, it really is you!" Amelia said, smiling brightly at me.
Then turning her attention to the glowering sorceress, she said, "Lina-san, I'm sorry but I don't think I'll be able to join you and Gourry-san for lunch today."
Lina got up, waving her hand dismissively, "Nah, don't worry about it. You can always join us for dinner. You are coming, right?"
Amelia nodded, the smile still on her lips.
"Good, because if you don't I'll gonna have to find a way won't I? Well, if you'll excuse me, I'll be going now. I've already wasted enough of my time talking to certain rock-headed people." Lina said, looking at me pointedly, before slamming the door behind her.
"Don't ask." I sighed, noticing the quizzical expression on Amelia's face.
"So what can I do for you, Zelgadis-san?" Amelia asked, settling in a chair across from me.
"Well, you see…" I stopped, hesitating a little, realizing that I had no idea what to say.
Amelia looked at me expectedly, her eyes encouraging me to go on.
"There's something I want to talk to you about" I began, "I want to talk to you about that ni-"
I was interrupted by an urgent knock as a young girl hurriedly entered the room.
"I am sorry your highness, but your presence is needed at the drawing room. The High Priest has already arrived to discuss the final details for your coronation."
"Coronation?!" I thought to myself, looking at Amelia questioningly.
"I thought he wasn't suppose to arrive until this afternoon." Amelia said, standing up, "I'm sorry Zelgadis-san, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to take this. Are you staying for dinner? I'm sure by then we'll be able to talk."
I nodded as Amelia hurried out the room.
"Please tell the servants to set another place on the table and to get one of the guest rooms ready." Amelia said, addressing the servant girl who curtsied in response.
"I'll come by a little before dinner, so we can talk okay? I'll see you later, Zelgadis-san!" Amelia said before disappearing behind the door.
I stood there letting the silence and the peacefulness of the room settle around me.
"Coronation, huh?" I wondered to myself, time sure did fly by.
"What was he doing here? He wasn't supposed to be here?" I thought to myself, feeling a panic raise in my chest. His arrival had been unexpected, after that night I was certain I would never see him again. However that was not the only factor for my uneasiness. I thought that I would be happy to see Zelgadis-san again. However, what rose in me was panic, dread and confusion. How was I supposed to act in front of him? How would he treat me now that he knew about my feelings? The situation seemed dismal and I found myself regretting that night when I had said too much.
"Princess?"
"Wha-?"
"Don't you think you should stop before you wrinkle that lovely dress?" The High Priest said, his eyes twinkling at me with mirth.
I looked down at my lap and noticed that most of my dress was now a twisted bundle wrapped tightly around my right fist.
"Yes. Sorry, Please continue." I replied, blushing as Uncle Christopher gave me a puzzled look. It wasn't like me to wander off.
Cephires-sama nodded at me before continuing, "As I was saying, I think it would be better if…"
I let his voice slowly trail off as I focus my eyes at the window right above his graying head. Why was Zelgadis-san here? And most importantly can we ever go back to being comfortable around each other again, to a time when awkward silences never reigned between us? My heart dropped a little at the answer I gave myself.
No.
A few hours later I found myself wondering back and forth in front of the guestroom hall, frantically picking at my dress (a bad habit that I seemed to be developing recently) as I tried to gather enough courage to see him.
"Then you're a fool. I could never care for you in that way."
"It was obvious what he wanted to talk to me about, but why? For what reasons?" I thought, hugging myself tightly.
I sighed, "Well, it's not like I can avoid him forever. Unless, I kick him out of course…"
However, I knew I could never do that to him, he was a friend and it would be unjust to throw him out because of my own discomfort. Besides, the palace guards didn't stand a chance against him.
I smiled a bit at the thought and then straightening out my skirt; I headed for his bedroom.
Before I could even knock, Zelgadis-san had already opened the door.
"Hello!" I said, smiling brightly at him, "We have about half a hour before dinner starts. Wasn't there something you wanted to talk to me about?"
Zelgadis-san looked around quickly before stepping aside and letting me into his room.
After closing the door behind us, I coughed slightly before turning around to face her. She was looking up at me, her big blue eyes twinkling with curiosity and the ends of her black hair curled beneath her chin.
"Amelia…" I trailed off, once again at a lost for words, "I want to – I mean – that is- "
"This is about that night, right?" Amelia continued to smile at me, however her eyes seemed to take a deeper shade of blue.
"Yes."
A tinge of pink appeared on her cheeks as she tore her glaze away from me.
"Look Amelia, I just want to apologize to you. I shouldn't have said what I said. I had no right to. I was too hasty."
She turned to look at me, astonishment clearly written in her eyes. I felt a slight pang in my stomach, so even she thought I was heartless.
"I'm sorry," I muttered.
Amelia continued to look at me, her blue eyes now glistening with emotions, "Don't worry about it Zelgadis-san. You were only telling me the truth." She replied gently, "And by actually coming here to apologize for it…"
"Thank you…" She said, beaming up at me, "Well, we better start heading to the dining room before Lina-san eats all the food." Amelia said, wiping at her eyes carefully, "That reminds me I have my birthday celebration all next week, do you think you can stay till the end? Everyone's coming, think of it as a reunion kind of thing. Besides, don't you need a break from all that wondering?"
I considered it for a minute, though I hated the idea of being at a ballroom full of people, but such an important celebration meant many different people from different regions coming to one area and with people came gossip. I could probably pick up a lead of some kind, "Fine, but when if find a possible lead…"
"You'll take it. I know." Amelia supplied for me, laughing slightly, "What kind of friend would I be if I didn't let you go? Come on before Lina-san eats all the food."
"Amelia, there's one more thing."
Amelia stopped to look at me, her eyes became attentive and curious as I slowly reached into my pocket and retrieved the bracelet that seemed to burn in my pocket. I held it out to her letting it dangle carelessly between my thumb and index finger.
"I tho-thought I should return this to you."
Her eyes turned a dark navy and I could feel a strange chill prickling across my chest.
"Of course. Thank you…" She said, responding quickly with a smile, causing her eyes to return back to it's normal royal blue.
I watched as Amelia gently slid the bracelet on as she walked down the hallway, the long hem of her dress gliding along behind her. I trailed her slowly, deep in thought, as her figure to moved farther and farther away from me. Light-hearted relief was the emotion I had excepted to be pouring through me right now, but instead I felt…a bit unsettled. I looked at my empty hand where moments ago the bracelet had been twinkling merrily at me. I had finally cleared my conscience and everything between us, which logically meant I could continue my search for a cure without any distractions. Then why do I feel…disappointed?
Author's NotesOh my god! A new chapter! Sorry for the delay…I had some major problems with this chapter and unfortunately no Clarence… Next Chapter definitely and a nice ball too! Also I would like to make a comment about the differing footsteps of Lina and Amelia. Don't think that because I am bias towards Amelia that I gave describe her footsteps as being more lady-like, it's because Amelia's a princess so she'll have to be able to walk nicely. Also I don't know if the royal colors of Seyruun our gold and blue but I noticed that Alfred, Christopher, and Phil always wore those colors during royal functions. Also a little bit of Final Fantasy X-2 is tucked into this chapter! I love that game! Tidus where are you?! Anyway read and review! Chapter twelve should come out sooner than eleven