A/N: Geez…only 1 review? And a strange one at that? : Oh wellz. It's time for me to update. I hope this little chapter brings a smile to your face. XD
Disclaimer: I own nothing that isn't mine to own. I do NOT own Slayers, though, I wish I could meet Luna in person. Then again…maybe not.
Chapter Four: When All Else Fails, Marriage is Key
Lina ran along the hallways, listening to her sister whisper directions into her mind flow. Turn right in the next crossing. Lina came across a place where two hallways intersected and continued on. She made a sharp right turn. A few minutes later came another direction. Go up the stairs and turn left. Lina did just that. As she ran through the plush carpeted hallway, her mind raced with her. She hadn't been this excited in--no; she had never been this excited in her whole life. The adrenaline that pumped through her veins prepared a highly-sensitive barrier around her thoughts, and her heart. Nothing was going to ruin this for her. If it came to it, not even her sister.
Go through the door that is seventh on your right. Lina counted quickly and turned the knob. What she saw stupefied her. It was, beyond a shadow of a doubt, a near exact replica of the room she had had in Zephilia. On her left, around the middle of the wall, was a canopy bed with crimson sheets. A divan with plush red cushioning was situated against the foot of the bed. Exactly opposite this divan was a dormant brick fireplace with seven unlit scented candles spaced out on the mantle. Directly ahead of her was a large Monticello-type window, barely hidden behind a pair of blood-red curtains that had been pulled aside, revealing a window ledge a clear two feet in width. On it was a blanket of pillows, cushioning it from the bottom and the sides. In the corner between the bed and the window, were two identical bookcases each stacked full with spell books. The corner that separated the window and fireplace was home to a classic well-furnished dresser and full-length mirror. On the other side of the fireplace, behind an oriental parting screen, there was the tank that Lina remembered excruciatingly well, still filled with ferocious little piranhas. Luna had always made her test her underwater abilities by fighting off the fishes while taking a cleansing bath. Lina winced at the memory. Finally, directly on her left, between the door and the bed, there was the magic-proof cushioned corner. It was specifically made to practice small spells without harming the surrounding environment. One would only need to situate a target of some sort (preferably lifeless) and aim the spell at it. The cushions would protect the room, lest it catch fire otherwise. Lina had no more time to reminisce as she received her next command. Go to the fireplace, light only the third candle from the left, and step back a few feet.
Lina knew what this was. Back at home, there was only one fireplace, so Luna had magically connected the rooms, and made the fireplace spin from room to room depending on which candle was lit. This, in turn, actually allowed people to move from room to room as well, though lighting a candle may or may not have been easier than simply walking, considering a magic-user could just light it with a small fireball. Lina shrugged it off and lit the candle, stepping back instantly. The fireplace swung so quickly that if caught in its midst, one may not escape without serious injuries. Then, as quickly as it had begun, it stopped, and in place of the fireplace was Luna, seated upon a large purple recliner chair, complete with a dragon head engraved into the top of it, and a tea tray holder as an extension of the right arm. Luna sipped her tea peacefully, a catlike smile spread on her face. "Can I assume that you have what you need?"
Breathless, Lina nodded, her cheeks flushed with the exercise and pumped adrenaline. Luna set down her tea cup, and another cup appeared beside it with a flick of her hand. She held it out to Lina as a less lavish chair appeared in front of Lina. "Then let's get started, shall we? Remember; tea before dining-"
Lina finished the saying as she sat down, accepting the tea. "-Keeps the mind from pining."
Back on the balcony, Zel gaped at the sight before him. A buxom lady with long black hair, adorned in a very scantily clad outfit, watched some obvious commotion going on just beyond the balcony's ledge. Zel followed her gaze, and witnessed the reason why he now gaped. Amelia, the crown princess going on seventeen years, was being chased around the courtyard by a ridiculous looking white serpent whose head was easily ten times larger than its body. With her hands thrown up towards the sky, Amelia screamed her head off as she ran. The woman on the balcony appeared to be enjoying this transaction immensely. He walked up to her. From what Lina said, he had little doubt of her identity.
"Excuse me," the woman turned to him with a surprised look, but Zel continued, "Are you, by any chance, Amelia's sister, Gracia?"
She nodded with a bemused grin, scrutinizing his personality through his looks, to little avail. "Nobody from Seyruun except Amelia recognizes me yet though, so call me Naga. You must be one of Lina's and Ame-chan's companions."
Zel nodded back as he took the nearest seat. "Zelgadis Greywards. I met Lina on a business venture about three years back. I've traveled with her, Amelia, and Gourry off and on since then. I hope you don't mind me asking but…just what are you doing with Amelia?"
Naga looked from him back to Amelia and laughed. "Oh that? Just a little experiment I was trying. If she's going to be the next to rule this place, then she should at least be able to stand up to her petty fears, don't you think?"
Zel looked back over at Amelia. "She's scared of snakes?"
She shrugged. "Not so much snakes, as something obviously much bigger and stronger than she is."
"No offense, but I think she could kill that serpent golem easily."
"Personally, so do I, but apparently she doesn't see that."
Zel absently nodded. In the face of fear, one generally doesn't think clearly enough to realize they could defeat their enemy with ease. That's probably why Lina beat her enemies like it was a snap- show no fear, know no fear. He watched Amelia running around in circles and screaming for help. It was especially hard to think when one was in hysterics, a state that he could never recall happening to Lina, except when she saw those giant snails, or received Luna's letter via Filia.
"It surprises me that no one's heard her yet."
Naga looked back at Zel. "You haven't noticed? I put a silencing spell on a twenty foot radius around Ame-chan. We're the only ones who can hear her, and guards don't patrol this area."
Zel nodded silently, and saw the single full tea cup on the table, and six drained ones. He gestured towards it as he asked, "Who's this for?"
"Hmm? Oh, that's for you. Luna, Lina's sister, wanted to throw a tea party of sorts, and get them to logically guess which one was safe to drink—there were a lot more before. Lina glanced over all the cups, and chose these six, especially for us. I can't remember what she said about that one, but you should be able to tell when you drink it."
Again, Zel nodded in understanding. He looked down at the tea cup, and tentatively picked it up. Taking a deep breath of its scent, he smiled before he took a gulp. Oolong tea… and the ever so delightful hint of cappuccino- his favorite kind of coffee. It was rare, but oh so good. With an appeased sigh, he attempted conversation again. "How long has this been going on?"
"How should I know? There's no way to tell time out here. I'd guess close to half an hour by now though."
Zel winced as he witnessed Amelia ungracefully tripping, falling, and squealing in terror as the behemoth of a serpent fell on top of her and crumpled into a pile of rubble. Both he and Naga sweatdropped. Zel had a sneaking suspicion that that wasn't supposed to happen. Naga called out, "OI, AME! YOU ALL RIGHT THERE?"
Zel cringed at the piercing sound ringing in his ears. He flew over to Amelia just to have a reason to be farther away from the sound. By the time he had reached the rubble, he saw Amelia's head pop out, looking very dazed. She murmured slowly, looking around, "Zel? You're back already?"
He nodded as he helped her out. "Are you okay?"
She winced as she felt a throbbing pain in her temple, but mutely nodded. Flying back alongside her, Zel asked, "Did you know it was a test?"
Amelia turned her head toward him, a bit too swiftly for her own good. Grimacing, she asked that he repeat that. He did, and she shook her head in response. "No, she just sprung it on me after Luna left and I'd been running ever since. What kind of test could that possibly be for?"
"I'm guessing something along the lines of, 'Don't run away from your fears, but face them head on'?"
Amelia went quiet. "Oh." She blushed, feeling ashamed that she had acted so, so immaturely in front of her sister, and apparently Zelgadis-san. Softly, she remarked, "I'm sorry you had to see that. It wasn't…one of my best moments. You won't tell anyone, right?"
Zel put a hand on her shoulder. "Amelia, I've known you for more than three years now. I've seen some of your worst and best. Don't worry; I'm not the type to do something like that. Though, I can't say the same thing for your sister, considering that I don't know her as well as I do you."
Amelia grimaced, but nodded. By now, they had reached and landed on the balcony. Suddenly realizing something, she asked Zel, "Zelgadis-san? On your way back, did you happen to see Lina-san?"
As they both sat down, Zel nodded the affirmative. "Yeah, I passed her in the hallway, and she led me back here." He didn't care to relate how Lina had seemed very happy upon receiving his gift, a bit too happy for his conscience to settle. "Why do you ask?"
Amelia shrugged absently. "I was just wondering, because Lina-san left at a sort of weird time…"
"Weird? How do you mean?"
"I think she used a comment her sister said to run off… Because she didn't want to see Luna-san, um…take a second Sword of Light from Gourry's chest…"
Zelgadis was bewildered. "She did what?"
"Like I said, she just thrust her hand into Gourry and…and…."
He cut her off. "I don't mean about Luna. Are you saying that Lina purposely ran off? That would mean that she knew what her sister was going to do. If she knew that then why didn't she explain, or at least prepare us for it?"
"Maybe she didn't feel that an explanation was necessary." Both Amelia and Zelgadis jumped a little at the sudden new voice. Leaning against the doorway was Lina.
Zel immediately asked her, "Why not? It's not like we knew what was going to happen!"
Lina sighed, and looked over at Gourry with a soft smile. He was sleeping like a log, sprawled over a bench in the corner, a bubble blowing in and out of his nostril. It seemed that all but his torso was hanging off of it, in every which way. She squatted down to his level and playfully popped his bubble. Lina giggled childishly, seeing Gourry jolt, as if being woken up. He moaned and groaned, like a child wishing to stay in bed for "five more minutes". Under her breath, Lina began whispering a chant in a soft, melodic tune.
"When the spirits have arisen, a path must be taken. Take this little candy, and award those who are traveled and wary. Spirit Treat."
At that instant, Lina enclosed her lips lightly, but completely over Gourry's, surprising the onlookers to their wit's end. Gourry's eyebrows furrowed, as if tasting something he didn't recognize, and didn't particularly like. Then, carefully sitting up on her heels, Lina looked down at Gourry with a soft, endearing look bordering on sympathy. Then, she sat back, watching as Gourry's mouth started to glow slightly green. He had a smile on his face now, though, as he instinctively swallowed, engulfing the light and taking it down as if it were food. For a moment, his whole body glowed green, and then nothing. Lina nodded approvingly.
She leaned in again, as she caught Gourry slowly trying to open his eyes. This time though, she hovered over his ear. "Don't move now. You swallowed your medicine like a good little boy, now sleep and let it work its magic," she whispered. "Oh, and I want to thank you for your Sword of Light. Trust me, it's in good hands. Sleep in peace."
As Gourry noticeably drifted off, Lina gave him a small peck on his forehead before standing up to address their audience. "He'll be all right now. Luna told me to come by to make sure he got his aftermath dosage. She felt it appropriate that I do it rather than her, should rumors ever spread." Her demeanor lightened with a playful grin. "Now that that's done, I've got to get going. Naga, don't be so mean to your sister, okay? Luna's orders. Oh, and she also says that you should all be in the dining room in exactly two hours. Don't be late, promise?"
Mutely stunned, they nodded. With a soft giggle, she nodded back, and gave a short wave, gesturing her departure. Zel shook off his daze enough to ask Lina, "Wait a minute. Answer this first: You've been acting really strange recently. Why? You seem eccentrically happy, but not in any way that I've ever seen from you."
Lina winked as she turned the corner. "There's more than one way someone can be happy. I think Naga and Amelia might know this one- it goes along with one of their ancient laws. See ya later! Don't be late!"
The three close companions to the renowned Bandit Killer stared at the place of her previous position, spellbound by what they had witnessed. With a deep intake of breath, Zel turned to the royal sisters. "So? What does she mean by that?"
Stumbling, Amelia sat down, and Zelgadis followed suit. It was apparent that both girls were furiously trying to remember their lessons of Seyruun's laws. Of course, Naga's recollection of it was much vaguer and already ancient history, and since Seyruun's laws were extensive, and the history long, it took a while for them to use process of elimination in order to decipher Lina's puzzling attitude.
Meanwhile, Zel collapsed his fingers over each other as he contemplated the recent turn of events. Lina's older sister sent Lina a letter, beckoning her to Seyruun, to her. Then, upon arriving in the city, Zel received a letter as well, telling him to buy her jewelry for her birthday. When he had come back, she had positively glowed with happiness when she discovered what he had gotten her. Then, after running off, she rendezvous with them long enough to give Gourry, apparently, mouth-to-mouth magical medicine. This last piece puzzled him the most, at the moment. Was it really necessary to be mouth-to-mouth? Zel eventually surmised that it had to be, considering that Luna wanted Lina to do it instead of her; the implications would be more troubling than it was worth, if a rumor spread that the Knight of Celphied was discovered kissing her little sister's bodyguard. Zel almost guffawed aloud at his own thoughts. Yes, the thought itself was disturbing, as well as mind-boggling. Suddenly, Zel's thoughts were interrupted by the simultaneous exclamation of both sisters present.
"I got it! She's talking about Regnum Femina! Women Rule."
Zel growled lowly, not understanding. "Um, what?"
Amelia blinked out of her daze and turned to him, excited. "It's a very ancient marriage ritual. Zelgadis-san, it means-"
Naga finished for her. "Lina's getting married! Ha ha ha! And her groom has no choice whatsoever once she decides it! This is hilarious! OH HO HO HO HO HO HO HO HO HO HO HO HO HO…."
A/N: Well? How'd you like it? I know since it's my story, I'm obviously biased, but I can't help it; it was hilarious writing this chapter, and thinking of the rest. XD Please review! (If you take the time to read, you might as well take a bit while longer to review!)
