A/N: Yup, here you go. This chapter's short, but I figured that'd be a nice break for you readers. I know a few of you are liking my story, but if you'd like to see me update more quickly, encouragement via reviewing is a great way to do so. *grin* I'm probably about two-thirds done now, so hang in there!
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Lina nursed her mug of ale, slumped low in her chair so that she was mostly lost in the folds of her black cloak. The common room was a riot of voices around her, but she noticed none of the commotion as she glanced at a calendar on the wall. A year. It had been a whole year since she had left her children. Were they well? Did they miss her? The heaviness in her heart that she had grown accustomed to grew even more leaden, and she realized that she deeply missed her children. She longed for the days when she would sit in their backyard, reading as Xellos puttered around the garden and the children chased one another in circles on the grass. It just wasn't fair.
She missed Xellos, too. He had become her best friend. Even when he was a Monster, he was the person who understood her best. That understanding had only deepened with time, and she realized he had become the other half of her soul. She would find him. He wasn't dead, of that she was sure. As to where he was, however, she had no clue.
Sighing, she finished her ale and set the mug down on the table, standing and brushing herself off. Tomorrow she would set out again. She would find him. Hey, waitress! she heard someone call, and she glanced at them out of the corner of her eye, scowling when she realized they were talking to her. Another ale!
I'm not your waitress, she growled. Get off your fat ass and get it yourself.
The fellow was indeed rather corpulent, and he rose out of his chair, towering head and shoulders above her. No bitch is going to talk to me that way, he spat, raising a meaty hand as if to strike her.
Lina didn't wait for him to launch his blow, instead moving right in and punching him in the solar plexus as hard as she could. The large man grunted and sank to his knees, wheezing. Be glad that's all I did to you. Greater men than you have met their ends calling Lina Inverse names.
One of the men the large guy was with stared at her, his mouth dropping open. Lina Inverse? he gasped.
she smirked, putting her gloved hands on her slim hips.
I heard you were dead!
Her smirk turned into a grin. You heard wrong.
Let's go. We don't want to mess with her, another of the men said, and soon the common room was emptying at an alarming rate. It seemed as if many unsavory characters had been hanging around. She looked around slowly at the overturned chairs and tables, the barkeep standing with his mouth hanging open.
Lina chuckled, walking over to the bar. She reached over and closed the barkeep's mouth, then flipped a gold coin at him. Sorry to drive away your business, she said over her shoulder.
No problem, the keeper said, greedily taking in the sight of the gold coin in his palm.
Lina smiled to herself as she climbed the stairs to her room. It was nice to know that she was still famous. She was glad to know that having a husband and children hadn't tarnished her image. The thought gave her energy, and for the first time in a long while she looked forward to searching for Xellos.
The next morning she slung her pack over her shoulder and disguised its bulk with her heavy black cloak, inhaling deeply as the sun broke over the eastern horizon. The sky was stained with streaks of gold as the violet of night retreated, and Lina was happy to see no trace of red in the sunrise. She hated it when it rained on her. The morning dew was keeping the dust in the road down, so even the stroll was pleasant. It was such a beautiful, peaceful morning, with the birds beginning to sing in the trees alongside the highway and the sun slowly rising into the sky. A smile curled her mouth, then relaxed again as she wished that Xellos was there to share it with her. Of course, if he had been there, he would have been the one to point out the beauty of the morning. He had always noticed pretty things, even as a Monster, and as time wore on, his appreciation of peaceful beauty had deepened a thousandfold. She was certain he would have had something poetic to say. She missed him.
Lina missed her children, too. Lecia was just getting to really be an independent person, after all. She was in her teens and nearly ready to start her own life. Lina could actually talk to her daughter like a peer, on occasion. Lecia was a voracious reader, and as ambitious as she herself had been and still was. She knew that someday her daughter would surpass her. If only Lecia could get rid of that cold, cruel streak inside of her. Lina knew that she got that from Xellos, and got her sense of humor from Xellos as well. Still, Lecia was a wonderful, lovely person, and Lina adored her. She hoped her daughter knew it.
Gorran was a different kind of child altogether. His temperament was far more like her own, but in the end he was far more gentle and disliked conflict, much like Xellos. He didn't have his father's or his sister's cruel streak, but he had all the good traits of his father. Even as a little boy he was loving and devoted, and smart as a whip. Gorran was growing like a weed, too. Lina had actually raised Gorran from birth, unlike Lecia, and so her memories of him were a bit clearer and more plentiful than her memories of Lecia. She remembered both of her children's first words and first steps, but it was Gorran's sweet mouth she remembered on her breast, and his milky scent she inhaled. Lecia was old enough to understand why she had to stay behind while Lina searched for their father, but she worried about Gorran. He was still little, after all, and while he was smart enough to comprehend why she had to go, he wouldn't understand it emotionally. She worried about him constantly. Only recently had her worry eased somewhat, when she felt a strange flicker through the ring she still wore. Gorran must have picked up Xellos' ring, and was trying it on once in a while. Then Lina could feel her son, and she knew he was okay. He was hurting with missing his parents, but he was somehow keeping occupied, and she knew he was safe.
Lina did not know, however, if Xellos was safe. It had been far too long since he had disappeared, and a part of her thought that he would have at least sent word by that point in time if he was still alive. Every day her hope of him being alive waned. If it had been anyone but Xellos, she would have been certain he was dead. Her husband hadn't been called the Trickster Priest for nothing, though, and if anyone could think of something on the fly to save his own ass, it would be him. She knew that he would die to protect his family, but she also knew how strong his desire was to live and be with his family. Xellos treasured the three of them, and she felt that every day she had been with him. She would feel it in the future, too. She knew she would.