AN: Let me answer a few questions and things from the six reviews…

Airi-chan: I think that might be the name, but I'm too lazy to go really researching, ehe. Maybe one of the names what you said is right, so I'll see about it some other time, thank you, though!

Ichiban Victory: Hmm, I don't think I said it in this chapter, dumb me, but, yes, the 'Master' put it on her when he was thinking about making her his special treat. Too bad Zel doesn't know it was him that had wrote the page to begin with. Ehe!

Chapter Two.

Amelia and her small pony trotted along the trail happily, ten guards following after her. In the saddlebag on Amelia's pony were some copies of the page she had found that would help Zelgadis and his cure, and it had only been a week since she left Seyruun, two months after they split up for the third time. They were now in the Outer World, and were searching for the Chimera, when one of the guards suddenly ran up, and dragged Amelia and her pony to the side, shoving them behind a very large oak tree. The rest of the guards quickly got off their horses, and held their swords at ready.

Amelia tried to calm down her pony, which was getting a little nervous. She frowned, something was wrong she knew that much. She didn't want to sit here hiding if there was some danger she wanted to help! But… it was -that- time, she reminded herself, so she probably wouldn't be able to help very much. Besides, these guards were some of Seyruun's finest soldiers!

The guards all gazed around carefully, when the band of bandits appeared out of the forest. "Oh?" The leader had said calmly. All the guards raised their swords. "Where's the little princess we had been following? Didn't eat her now, did you?" The bandits all laughed. The guards remained quiet. "We were going to hold her for ransom, you know. A princess of Seyruun would cost a lot."

Amelia clenched her fists, the nerve of them, those villains! It took all her will power to remain quiet, rather than springing into the action and giving those bandits a good Justice speech. She had to remind herself that the guards would take care of them to keep calm.

One of the guards charged forward, yet was abruptly slaughtered. The others looked rather startled, and quickly, they too fell. Now, this scene is cut; the horrid and morbid things that happened are too much, even for mature audience. When that was finished, the leader cleared his throat. "Little princess! Come out, come out wherever you are!"

Amelia just stared in shock... Seyruun's finest guards... her friends, all slaughtered effortlessly in front of her eyes. She finally awoke from her stupor as a realization hit. They were going to find her, and she wasn't going to just sit there and let that happen! She wasn't going to run either; she was going to avenge the deaths of those guards! She kicked her pony in its sides to get it to start running. The pony galloped towards one of the guards. She had one hand on the reins with one fist outstretched, "For Justice and Seyruun's soldiers!"

Suddenly... the poor little horse collapsed, an arrow piercing its eye and throat.

Amelia gasped, falling off the horse and onto the ground when it collapsed. She pulled herself up and stared at it, oblivious to the bandits for the moment. Another one of her friends... gone just like that. Her fists clenched at her sides and she began shaking. There was no way she'd be able to take them all without her magic, but still... She was beyond the point of lecturing them about Justice. "I-I won't... won't forgive..." Her voice wavered as she spoke. She couldn't even complete that sentence. She rushed at the nearest bandit with her fist outstretched yet again, aiming for his stomach.

They all laughed, and the one that got his stomach hit merely laughed, patting her on the head. The others decided to hurt her more, if she was so depressed and hurt, they could handle her more. "You know that... monster you went after? We found him. He was human, surprisingly."

Amelia swatted harshly at the hand that patted her on the head. She began to back up, but stopped when the bandit spoke. "How... How do you know about Zelgadis-san?"

The leader chuckled. "We've stalked you ever since you left Seyruun, my dear. We found him when we were coming back. Do you know what we did to him?" He grinned and pointed over to the group of body parts, and one bandit threw a tanned piece of fabric towards her. It landed in front of her, and was stained with an old crimson liquid.

Amelia began shaking her head quickly. What they said about stalking her unnerved her, but not as much as what they said about Zelgadis. "No. You're lying!" However, in the state she was in, it wasn't that hard for her to believe. She just witnessed the death of several guards and her favorite pony, which all died to protect her, in the span of less than half an hour. She began to charge at the one that said that again, but she collapsed before she reached him. She had been suppressing tears since the death of the guards. She had to punish those bandits after all, and she couldn't do that if she was crying. But now it was just too much.

Immediately, one lunged at Amelia, driving a spear across her upper arm, before the leader barked. "Only knock her on conscious! We need her alive." He ordered, walking away. Multiple bandits surrounded her, before one fell. There, a guard that was late on following stood. "Hurry, Princess! Get away! I'll hold them!" He 'squeaked.'

Amelia made a sound when she was hit, but she didn't scream. She placed a hand on the bleeding gash and stared at it. It was like she was numb. She looked up sharply when the guard made his presence known. He was going to die too wasn't he? Nevertheless she nodded and squeezed through the circle of bandits and began running through the forest.

Following her were cries, screams, hollers, and other things before finally a blood-curdling scream erupted.

Amelia stopped in her tracks and whirled around. Was that the guard or the bandit that screamed? No time, she began running again. If she were caught then they'd surely kill her. And what would happen to her Daddy if she were gone? He'd be a wreck, and what about Seyruun? There was no other heir to the throne...

Now, Amelia ran and ran until she collapsed, and it started to pour. Finding a small cave, Amelia crawled into it. The whispers of animals were carried to her through the wind as it continued to pour.

Amelia's outfit certainly wasn't in the best condition by now. It was soaked, ripped, and covered in mud. She curled up on her side, ignoring the sounds of animals. What was she going to do now? Her guards were dead. Her pony was dead, and worst of all… "Zelgadis-san…" She whimpered and curled up tighter.

In the cave Amelia stayed for at least four days, however, when she finally came out... she wasn't herself at all. Her eyes were blank, and her lips were locked in a frown. Aimlessly, the princess wandered until she collapsed in the desert, and a few of the girls found her. The rest is nothing but a blur.

Amelia bolted up. She was now sitting up in bed. Her expression was as blank as ever, but in her head she was frightened. What happened? Why was she here? How did she get here? She looked around the room. That blue man took her from that man in the desert didn't he? She didn't know why but she felt thankful to him for that. What had woken her up though? A dream... what was it about again? She wasn't sure but she knew it was bad.

It was barely morning, and the room was dimly lit by the fading moonlight. The room was quite cold, as well.

Zelgadis was sitting in a corner of the room, appearing to be fast asleep.

Amelia stared blankly at Zel. She felt herself shiver from the cold. It was an odd sensation, especially because her movement mainly consisted of turning her head and blinking. She tried to remember the dream. There was rain... and blood, lots of blood. She turned her head back in Zel's direction.

Zelgadis' ears twitched for a moment, a small sort of whimper emitting from him as he shifted in his sleep.

Amelia stared at him for a few more moments. She got a strange sort of de ja vu feeling, but not quite. Like she had seen him somewhere before but never really noticed it until now. She felt herself shiver again. She crawled out of the bed with the blanket still wrapped around her. She began making her way towards Zel, very slowly. She wasn't used to walking without someone leading her. She sat down next to Zel. The shivering sensation, which was so strange to her, seemed to stop now that she was here. She closed her blank eyes and leaned against Zel.

Zelgadis twitched slightly when he felt the new pressure against him, but slowly relaxed, sighing softly.

Amelia opened her eyes when she felt Zel twitch. Maybe he was getting that strange shivering sensation too? She gave him some of blanket. She snuggled closer and pulled the blanket up to her chin. She began to drift into a more peaceful sleep.

Zelgadis had calmed down from whatever dream he was having, still fast asleep.

Well, two hours later, now at least seven thirty, the sun light shown down on the two's faces. Outside there were chirps from birds.

Amelia opened her eyes, which were still quite blank. She felt a little stiff, maybe because she was pretty much sleeping against a rock? She turned her head and just stared at Zel, not much else she could do besides wait for him to wake up.

Zelgadis emitted a murring type of sound, his eyes blinking open. He winced from the sunlight, moving his arm up to rub his eyes.

There were some clanks and laughter from downstairs, and a few footsteps going past their door, before they went into another room. The birds continued to chirp.

Amelia turned her head towards the door. After a few seconds she found it uninteresting and turned back to Zel. She didn't really know what she was waiting for.

Zelgadis suddenly irked, looking to where Amelia was leaning against him. His face turned a light lavender color, blinking quickly. "A-ah..."

Amelia tilted her head to the side slightly. That sound... He made that sound a lot. And his face had changed colors again, she noted.

Zelgadis blinked quickly, shifting slightly from her. "A-Amelia? "

Amelia's expression was the same as always. 'Amelia' he said that a lot didn't he? He was always looking at her when he said it. That man from the desert did that but he called her 'Ailema' She liked the way Amelia sounded. "...Am...?"

Zelgadis' blush disappeared, nodding quickly. "Yes. You're, Amelia."

Amelia repeated, "A... me... l... ia" She paused between each syllable. She frowned at the way her voice sounded. It was weak, almost hoarse. She hadn't used it in 2 months after all.

Zelgadis nodded encouragingly. "That's it."

Amelia blinked, voluntarily for once in two months. Saying that seemed to make him happy, and he had saved her from that nasty man in the desert, so she repeated it again, but this time she said it a little faster and only paused once. "Ame... lia." She tried to say a little louder.

Zelgadis smiled this time, nodding again. He seemed to be getting a bit excited, shifting his position so he was across from her.

Amelia's expression changed a little. She broke into the tiniest of smiles; it was nothing compared to her usual smile though. For some reason seeing him happy seemed to make her happy.

Zelgadis faltered for a moment, staring at her before smiling again in return. "At least you're starting to come back a little bit."

Amelia started staring blankly again. She knew what he said but she didn't understand it. Come back? From where? "... Amelia." She responded.

Zelgadis blinked then sighed slightly.

Abruptly, there was a knock on the door.

Amelia turned her head towards the door and stared at it.

Zelgadis jumped and yelped, staring at the door before getting up and opening it.

On the ground were two trays of eggs, bacon, pancakes, sausage, and toast. There was also milk and tea.

Zelgadis picked up the trays, balancing them both on one arm as he re-closed the door.

When Zelgadis closed the door, a small note fell from one of the trays.

Amelia closed her eyes. The food smelled good. She had never really noticed smells before. She opened her eyes and watched Zel.

Zelgadis yelped stumbling for a moment as he tried to grab the note before it fell out of his reach, while making sure the trays didn't fall.

On the note read clearly: "A doctor will be by later today to see if he can help your friend."

Amelia stood up, leaving the blanket where it was. She began slowly making her way towards Zel. She stopped near him and began staring at one of the trays.

Zelgadis ohed softly putting the note away in his pocket then blinking at Amelia, "Err, hungry?" He walked to the bed and sat down carefully, setting the trays down next to him.

Amelia moved towards the bed, stopping in front of one of the trays. She stared at the tray. She reached down and picked up a fork, but she just stared at it.

Zelgadis sweatdropped and took a fork as well. "Here, Watch." He began to 'teach' her on how to eat some of the foods and also to drink again.

Amelia looked at the fork then stabbed some of the eggs with it. Eating she already knew how to do, but usually she had someone else feed her.

Zelgadis sweatdropped again watching her, Amelia set down her glass after drinking some milk. She noticed Zel looking at her and blinked. "... Amelia?"

Zelgadis sighed but smiled slightly. "I wonder how you teach someone to talk..."

After several hours of attempting, Amelia hadn't been able to progress any further for the time being. There was now a sudden knock at the door, this time a bit quieter and faster. "Excuse me... Graywords-san?"

Zelgadis looked behind him at the door, raising an eyebrow. "Come in?"

Amelia turned towards the door as she always did. She stared blankly at it, "Amelia." She said to the door.

In came a woman, she wore glasses and a 'suit.' She pulled them down slightly, and raised an eyebrow at Amelia, before gazing at Zelgadis. Her lip twitched slightly, although she had been warned beforehand. She walked over to him, and extended her hand. "You can call me Hiroshi."

Zelgadis hmed and shook it. "Right..."

Amelia tilted her head a little, but other than that she just stared without expression at Hiroshi.

Her hair was tucked up in a small bun, and the color was a brownish gold, her eyes brown also. She set down a large case and walked over to Amelia. She did random checks before looking at her eyes. "What's her name?"

Zelgadis watched passively. "Her name's Amelia."

Amelia didn't really know why this new person was doing whatever it was she was doing to her. But the blue man seemed okay with it, so that must mean it was okay.

The woman checked over her again, before walking over to Zel. "What happened?"

Zelgadis shook his head slowly. "I don't know...You could say, 'I found her like this'. "
Hiroshi raised an eyebrow, but shrugged. "Do you know how long she's been like this?"

Amelia stared at the floor. What was this lady talking about? She seemed to think that there was something wrong with her...

Zelgadis shook his head. "No."

The woman rolled her eyes. "Typical." She then did another check over Amelia. "I suppose, if you were special in any way, such as a friend before this, that just being around her might help 'cure' her." Hiroshi then took her bag. "There's nothing I can give her to help."

Amelia felt a tad annoyed; though it would be hard to tell. She was tired of this woman poking at her...

Zelgadis' eyebrow twitched slightly. He didn't seem the like the woman at all either. However he nodded anyway. "Alright."

She suddenly grinned. "However... I'm quite interested in your skin disease, sir."

Amelia turned her head back in their direction. For some reason she felt like that was a very bad thing for the woman to say...

Zelgadis glared at her lightly. "It's not exactly what you would call a 'skin disease'. Now if you're done checking on her, would you kindly -leave-? "

Hiroshi protested, loudly. "But sir, I really would like to learn about it!"

Amelia's expression actually changed. Her eyebrows came closer together in a scowl.

"It's not a disease, alright?! Now leave! I don't wish to talk about it."

Hiroshi pouted, turned on her heel, and quickly left, slamming the door after her.

Amelia's expression relaxed back to blankness now that Hiroshi was gone.

Zelgadis sighed heavily, shaking his head. He walked over to the door and locked it. "What to do now..." He reached into his cape and pulled out the choker, the stone still imbedded in it. "Perhaps I should try to cure this 'disease' of mine?"

The stone randomly glinted and sparkled, looking quite beautiful.

Amelia looked at Zel, with no expression as usual, as if to say 'Are you talking to me?'

Zelgadis didn't notice Amelia, now taking out the sheet with the 'directions' on it. He looked over it boredly, twirling the choker around his index finger now and again.

Zel looked over the sheet a few more times, before he set the choker down on a desk. He placed his hand over it, holding the sheet up with the other. He chanted the chant, loudly, and the directions said that once he did, he should feel the power. However... there was nothing from the stone. When he looked down to the bottom of the paper, he noted something he hadn't before. There in small writing was; "If you followed this page, you are stupid and an idiot! Get a life!"

Amelia watched Zel as he did all that. She was curious about what he was doing, of course you wouldn't be able to tell from her non-expression.

Zelgadis twitched several times before he tore up the paper into shreds quite quickly. "GOD DAMNIT! Why can't anything EVER go right?!" He shook his head before smacking the palm of his hand on his forehead over and over again. He fell onto one side of the bed, still smacking himself lightly. "Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid..."

Through the window jumped a gray cat and landed on the stone. It sat still, before jumping onto the bed, and sniffed at Zel.

Amelia almost felt a sense of de ja vu, but not quite. It was more like seeing him insult himself was familiar... but she hadn't met him before had she? She looked at the cat for a moment before she stood up and moved towards Zel, though she wasn't sure what she was going to do.

Zelgadis stopped smacking himself to stare at the cat, blinking. "What the..." He hadn't notice Amelia get up, moving his hand to pet the cat.

The cat immediately started purring, rubbing it's head against his hand, before wrapping it's paws around his wrist, and pulled his hand against it's chest. The cat continued to rub its head against his hand.

Amelia stopped and sat down near Zel and the cat. She stared at the cat. What was that? She felt like she had seen something like it before, just forgot what it was called.

Zelgadis cocked his head to one side at the cat before seeing Amelia. He smiled slightly, "At least cats still like me, huh?"

The cat, with one paw still hooked around Zel's hand, attempted to go over to Amelia. It purred even louder than before.

Amelia tilted her head upon hearing Zel's comment; "Amelia likes you too." She said calmly then began petting the cat.

AN: This is a small chapter, I know, but there wasn't really anything to go on, next chapter will be longer, as for the name of Hiroshi, and her character, I have utterly no clue. I just came up with it at the last moment. It seemed nice to throw in another character, even one that's just a tad insane and infatuated with all sorts of diseases… too bad she's not all there in the head, eh? Now, before anyone jumps to conclusions, she isn't a Mary Sue here to ruin Amelia's and Zel's relationship, even though she does become infatuated with him like Martina, but that's besides the point!

The name for Hiroshi I got from my Tenchi Muyo soundtrack, 'Your Hiroshi'. I adore that song. Anyway, I got a good amount of reviews for chapter one, so I hope this answers some questions and make everyone willing to wait for the next chapters!! Thank you all for reading.