AN: Reviews! Yay! * wipes tear*
Deep Sea Dolphin: Hey, thanks for your reviews! It's great getting some feedback and thanks for the suggestion. With any luck this chapter helps (this was added into what I had originally posted). I hope that I can keep the story flowing and interesting.
Kaeru Shisho: Thank you so much for your wonderful comments!! I'm so pleased that I've managed to capture your interest. Hopefully I can fix up Zellas a bit to what she's "supposed" to be and hopefully I don't slip too OOC with any of them…
Also, thanks to Lisa, for emailing me her comments on my original posting of this story! Hopefully you come back and read the revisions. Thanks again.
Remember, reviews are what keeps the stories going and getting better, so if you think there's anything you can suggest to improve this fic, don't be shy! Comments, criticisms, suggestions, or if you'd just like to point out some spelling or grammatical errors, click the little blue button on the bottom and let me know! (or email works to) ^_^ Now, on to chapter four!
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Lina stifled a yawn as she stretched lazily while they walked, listening carefully as Amelia and Sylphiel carried on an animated discussion about Amelia's pregnancy and upcoming childbirth. She dared not enter the conversation for fear of being discovered just yet, though she desperately wanted to talk about her own experiences. Sighing inwardly at her dilemma, she mentally stored away the information her friends were sending back and forth, noting which specific details applied to herself.
"Any white magic sorcerer or healer will be able to heal you after the baby's born," Sylphiel was saying.
"That's good to hear," the young queen responded with a grateful smile. Suddenly a quizzical look passed over her face as she glanced between the dark-haired shrine maiden and her oddly quiet mentor. "But why haven't I lost my magic yet?"
"You won't," Lina answered. "You lose your magic at that time of the month because you're bleeding, losing part of yourself. Just like you grow weaker the more exhausted you are." Sylphiel nodded in silent agreement as Amelia's eyes widened slightly. "While you're pregnant, the baby is growing inside of you and though you are lending your life-force to helping the fetus develop, it's not much and you're not expelling it."
"I never thought of it that way…."
"Lina-san's right," Sylphiel concurred with a smile. "Just like when you have the baby, you'll lose your magic then and for as long as you bleed afterwards. For a typical woman that's around six weeks after the birth."
The ebony-tressed queen gasped in surprise. "That long?" she asked, a hand flying to her belly.
"Don't worry," Lina grinned. "Sylphiel told you that the healers would fix you up!"
"Yes. So you'll only bleed for perhaps the length of a menstrual cycle."
"Still that long?" Lina wondered, her brows furrowing slightly. "I thought that you'd be back to normal pretty much the next day."
To this the soft-spoken shrine maiden shook her head though she offered a small smile. "No. See the healers can only heal the physical damage and speed up the recovery, but the rest is the body's normal function. Normally it takes a while for the uterus to contract back to normal size, and it is only sped up by the magic, but the body still must finish flushing the system of everything as well as it takes time for the uterus to fully contract back to normal, so blood will continue to flow from the within. Hence the loss of magic. Until your body has returned to normal and you no longer bleed, you will have very limited or no magic."
"Well, at least it beats six weeks, Amelia," Lina pointed out with a friendly pat on the younger woman's shoulder. "By the way Sylphiel, how do you know so much?"
"I've aided midwives before," she answered matter-of-factly.
"Oh."
"Would you be here when I have my baby, Sylphiel-san?! If it's not too much trouble," the young queen remembered to add.
Sylphiel noticed the excitement shining through Amelia's cobalt eyes and smiled. "Of course."
"Oh, thank y-"
"Lina Inverse."
The three sorceresses froze in place, their conversation suddenly interrupted by the low, almost growlish female voice. Slowly they all turned to assess who'd hailed, finding a tall, striking, and lithe woman standing before them, her tanned body scantily clad in a filmy slip of a dress. Amber irises bored steadily into the crimson depths of Lina's eyes as several golden bangles tinkled musically as she reached a slender hand up to flick her blonde tresses over her shoulder.
"Zellas Metallium," Lina greeted in a firm tone, devoid of emotion.
"Hmmm… Whatever shall I do with you?" the Greater Beast purred, her eyes narrowing slightly as she ran her gaze over the petite redhead.
"What do you mean by that, Zellas-san?" Amelia asked softly. Zellas had never given any indication of hard feelings against Lina in any of her letters to the queen, but Amelia was unsure of the dark look in those amber eyes.
"Well, she has kept my dear minion rather preoccupied of late," Zellas quipped. Suddenly she smiled and rushed forward to envelope Amelia in a tight embrace. "So good to see you, Queen of Seyruun!"
"Amelia's fine, Zellas-san!" the young woman gasped as she patted the taller woman's back hesitantly.
"And you must be Sylphiel," the blonde purred, releasing Amelia and encompassing the shrine-maiden within her long arms. "So glad to meet you at last!"
"Likewise," Sylphiel smiled timidly as the Beastmaster released her. "I've heard that you have been experiencing the human world and have purchased and Inn with Zelgadis-san. How is that working for you?"
"Oh very good, my dear, very good. And you're busy keeping up Sairaag after my bratty brother destroyed it again, aren't you? That city certainly doesn't have much in the way of luck, does it?"
"No," Sylphiel answered quietly. She was nervous being around a Dark Lord. She was one of the three remaining and one of the strongest from what she knew… Finding out from Amelia through their letters that Xelloss had been staying with Lina, and Zellas with Zelgadis had taken quite a bit of getting used to. Those two were Mazoku! And powerful ones at that! "But all we can do is try."
"Too true. That's where having such short life-span must really be a bother. Oh well," Zellas shrugged as she turned a feral grin upon the redhead standing on the other side of Amelia. "So Lina, we finally meet. You're not exactly what I expected for someone of your reputation."
"I could say the same, Greater Beast," Lina replied with her own smirk as she crossed her arms loosely across her chest. "So are you going to try your hand at killing me too?"
To this, the scantily clad blonde laughed heartily, throwing her arms around the smaller woman. "L-sama no!" Suddenly her voice dropped to a whisper as her embrace tightened fractionally. "Not at the moment anyway, and so long as you stay out of my way."
"And what could I be in the way of?" Lina asked softly, refusing to move.
"That's… a secret!" Zellas chirped as she skipped away, grinning widely.
"Not you too," Lina groaned, dropping her head into her hand with a shake as Zellas danced down the trail through the gardens, her white, nearly transparent "dress" threatening to bare what it was meant to keep covered.
"Hey, Lina!"
Lina glanced over her shoulder at the sound of Gourry's voice even as Amelia and Sylphiel started walking after Zellas. She smiled brightly up at him as he approached, not moving away when he dropped an arm companionably over her shoulders. "Hey, Grourry. What're you doing out here?"
"I wanted to talk to you a bit before we all have to go get ready for that party tonight," the tall blonde replied with a warm smile. "It's been a long time since I've seen you… I think… at least it has been since I last remember."
Lina chuckled. "Yeah. So what've you been doing since we were all together?"
"Oh, I've become a knight in Sairaag and I'm also teaching swordsmanship to any who want to learn," he answered proudly. "What about you? Sylphiel said that Amelia wrote saying you were with Xelloss. Then Amelia told us this morning that you two showed up together." He glanced down at her with a dubious expression as he asked, "Is that true?"
"Yeah, but it-"
"He hasn't hurt you has he?!" the self-proclaimed guardian interrupted suddenly while grasping her shoulders and carefully looking her over. "Because if he has…!"
Lina's fist promptly connected with Gourry's face, forcing him to release her as he reeled back, clutching his injured nose as tears sprang into his eyes. "Quit lookin'!" she growled, crossing her arms defensively over her chest as she stalked after her companions. "And no, he hasn't hurt me," she answered quietly.
"Good," Gourry responded, his tone nasal. "But I should have been there to protect you anyway."
"Don't worry about it," the sorceress admonished. "I can take care of myself!" Yeah, she thought, that's why I'm pregnant! "Besides, Sylphiel needs you more than I do. I know that you can be happy with her."
"Yeah, she's a really good cook," Gourry said brightly, the pain in his nose apparently forgotten as Lina sweatdropped. "I love her, Lina."
"I know," Lina said softly, surprising even herself with the heavy emotion lacing the words. "She's always loved you."
"But you need someone to protect you, and I did swear it…"
"Gourry!" Lina growled, turning on him. "I do not need a guardian, dammit! I can look after myself just fine! You've been gone for nearly two years and see, I'm just fine!"
"Yeah but Xelloss…"
"What about him? He's the same nutty fruitcake he was before! I can handle him."
"Ok, ok, but seriously, Lina," Gourry began, looking curiously into Lina's eyes. "Are you gaining weight?"
"Aaarg!" the redhead screamed as she pulled magical energy into her hands. "FIREBALL!"
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AN: So…? Anywho, the next chapter has the possibility of sex. If anyone thinks that I should either change the rating for the entire story and post the chapter as is or state the rating at the beginning of the chapter, or just post the "edited/censored" version and offer those types of chapters by email, let me know… When I'd posted the story originally, I posted the pg-13 version…. What do you think I should do? Just let me know so I can post it… I have both versions ready to go, I just need some feedback to decide. R/R!
~Ishy-chan