dances- Oh yes! Oh yes! I have written something for everyone to see! Can you all believe I wrote this in all of… -counts on fingers- …three and a half hours? That I did! This is my first Slayers fic on and hopefully not the last. By the way, I do not own the Slayers series. I just own a fan-girl mind and wishful thinking. Thank the otaku gods.

Skin Deep

Zelgadis walked wearily through the crowded Seiryuun street, not really caring where he went. He was tired and needed rest more than anything. He would have to head towards an inn soon, for night was falling on the peaceful little country. Night always turned things into a party in those parts and Zelgadis wanted to be away from the festivities soon, having an even lower tolerance than usual considering he was ending his long quest. Absentmindedly, he ran his shoulder accidentally into another man. After muttering an apology, the man just smiled and let it go. That was the thing with the citizens of Seiryuun; they didn't like to get into fights.

Suddenly, Zelgadis realized something. The man didn't cringe. He wasn't awestruck or afraid or taken aback by his appearance. That meant it really was the antidote and not a trick. He truly was human again. Pale skin, dark eyes, wonderful jet black hair; everything that made a human a human was there, but Zelgadis could feel something was off. He had not aged since the incident where he was turned into a chimera. He was still a twenty year old man. It bothered him that Lina, Gourry and Amelia had all grown and aged, while he was the same.

Amelia, he thought. Sure he was in the country her father ruled, but how proper would it be to just go and try to see her now. She would not recognize him and throw him out before he could prove his identity. It felt awful now. He told everyone to leave him be, so he could find the antidote to his curse himself. Now that he was a normal human again, how would he be able to face the others and have them believe it to truly be him? He could barely admit it to even himself, but he missed the others.

Finding an inn, Zelgadis went and ate some food and rented a room for the night. It felt nice as he sat down on the soft bed. Wearily, he laid down and drifted off into sleep…

Cold, Zelgadis could feel the cold.

Dark, he couldn't see.

A spark of light!

Spin around.

Where did it go?

There it was! A tiny flame.

Creeping over to it. What was its purpose?

Flames erupt from the minute source.

A demoness is part of the inferno

Zelgadis

Too scared to talk.

You only have twelve hours left in this body.

What!

Your antidote was not the true one.

Twelve hours…

The demoness fades into the dying flames.

No, she can't go.

Zelgadis cries out for her to stay, but it is too late, she is gone.

"No!" Zelgadis yelled, sitting straight up in bed. He looked out the rude window to find it was past daybreak. Rushing, he dressed quickly and rushed out of the inn.

He had to find Amelia.

Running through the city streets, Zelgadis could easily direct himself to the center of the city. The center was where Amelia and her father, Prince Phillenus lived. He could remember the route from all the times the traveling party visited Prince Phil. Amelia was such a daddy's girl.

Wait, that was almost four years ago. Four years ago, when Amelia was fourteen. That was when he left. She could even be unrecognizeable at this point as well. Was she still the odd little girl she was back then? No, she couldn't be, she had aged, unlike Zelgadis. Still, he had to let her see him as a human. He was not sure if the omen meant that he would die or change back into a stone chimera or even into something else, but he just had to see her. That way, at least someone would have gazed upon his true form.

Zelgadis stopped to rest once he got to the central walls of Seiryuun. He had run quite a ways. It had taken him most of the day to reach his destination, for the afternoon sun was beating down hard. Catching his breath, he slowly walked into the gate.

Everything was as he remembered it. There was the temple surrounding the central-most part of the country and there was the palace. He needed to go to the palace to find Amelia. He walked up to the door, but was stopped by a pair of guards.

"Who are you and what is your business here?" one said. Zelgadis couldn't tell which one it was, for both soldiers had helmets on that covered their faces.

"I have to seek counsel with Princess Amelia. I am an old traveling companion of hers," Zelgadis said, trying not to show how nervous he was. The guard to his right leaned forward sternly and growled.

"You may pass," he reluctantly said. Zelgadis walked through the high doors and found himself in a room filled with young men. All of them seemed nervous and some were muttering amongst themselves.

"Excuse me," Zelgadis asked a pair that was talking to each other. "Why are you all here? I am not native to this country, so I do not know."

"Really?" the taller one said, quite surprised. "You should know, even if you do not live in Seiryuun!"

"Huh?"

"You can't possibly mean you do not know," the shorter sighed.

Zelgadis shook his head.

"Prince Phillenus is abdicating the throne to Princess Amelia, but before that can happen, she needs to be married and time is running out."

"Why is time running out?"

"Because," the tall man said. "She needs to be married or at least engaged by the end of her eighteenth birthday. That is tomorrow! Every young man in the country is eligible to seek her hand!" With that, the men turned away from the former chimera and tried to calm their wracked nerves.

"Amelia has to get married?" Zelgadis asked himself. It was shocking to imagine this happening. Sure, Amelia was Seiryuun royalty, but her father would never subject her to such an awful thing. He would never, unless it was a law uncovered when it was too late. Sadly, Zelgadis leaned up against one of the massive marble columns and sighed deeply.

"Psst," a voice called out from behind the column. Zelgadis looked warily around to find nobody was there. He crept behind the column, only to have a hand cover his mouth and be dragged away. After being dragged through a few halls, Zelgadis was able to wrench the hand from his mouth. He dropped to the floor with a loud thud.

"Ow, who in the hell are you?" he asked as he stood up. He looked to find it was a woman…

Amelia

Oh, how much she had changed! She was taller, almost as tall as him, slimmer too, any baby fat that would have still lingered when she was fourteen was gone and her body was draped with an elegant, yet simple pale blue dress. Her hair was still black and sleek, just slightly longer than before and what really caught Zelgadis was her breasts. It was a set up Lina would kill to have. No, he couldn't think about something like that. Amelia had grown into a perfect woman, but why did she pull him out of the crowd?

"Who are you?" she asked skeptically. "You said you did not know of my father's abdication or my predicament. Have you had no contact with humanity for a whole year?"

A year, yes. That was when Zelgadis first started to climb the mountain range to the west of Seiryuun. A year had passed since he began the leg of his quest that lead him to a craggy cave in the mountainside. There was his antidote. Shame it would only last less than another day.

"This is the first place I have been to with people in a year, yes. Amelia, do you know who I am?"

"Don't talk to me as if you know me!" Amelia scoffed. She walked away, but Zelgadis followed.

"Please, just listen to me!" he cried. She just kept on walking.

Oh, no, it is just what I was afraid of, Zelgadis thought. He now had to half-run to keep up with Amelia's brisk pace. Soon, they had reached the door to her room. She turned around on her heel and glared Zelgadis right in the face.

"Don't you even dare to follow me any longer!" she hissed. She went to go into her room, but Zelgadis grabbed onto her forearm.

"Amelia…"

"Don't make me call the guards on you!"

"It is me, Zelgadis."

Amelia's eyes went wide.

"H-How can that be?"

"I found an antidote Amelia."

"Oh! Mr. Zelgadis!" Amelia cried. She jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm so glad you are alright! I was so worried! Why did you not write?"

"Please Amelia, drop the "Mr." bit. I am only slightly two years older than you now," Zelgadis laughed.

"What?"

"I did not age a second since I was turned into a chimera. I also did not write because I have been keeping low contact with people in general." Zelgadis was so happy to be with Amelia again. She knew who he was.

"I'm glad to see you are human again! Oh, come in." Amelia took Zelgadis by the hand and dragged him into her room. There, he stood awkwardly, being he was now standing in a woman's bedroom.

It wasn't an elaborate space. There was a four-poster bed on one wall, a large window on another and then a bookshelf that took up the two other walls. A table and some chairs sat in the bookshelf area and the entire tabletop was littered with books.

"You and your father did not know you would be pushed into this, did you?" he said solemnly as she closed the curtains and lit some candles for light. She stopped at the last candle and turned to face him.

"Only last week did the advisors come to us with the bad news," Amelia said, on the verge of tears. "Oh, Zelgadis! I do not want to get married! Not now!" She ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him, crying into his chest. He carefully held her for condolence. It felt strange.

It felt…

He could feel her! It was amazing! He remembered they had touched before, when they were traveling companions, but he could never feel her. His stone skin kept him from sensing her warmth, the softness of her skin and hair, the delicate build of her body.

What am I doing? he thought. She is Heir to the Throne of Seiryuun and what am I? Just a wandering mercenary. I should not be thinking such thoughts.

Yet Zelgadis could not help himself. He was becoming attracted to Amelia with every second that was passing. He clutched her tightly and did not want to let her go. He wanted to protect Amelia from her fate.

"Zelgadis," Amelia said softly, lifting her face. "Why did you come to see me?"

"I wanted to see you and have you see me, before it was too late…"

Zelgadis stopped abruptly. He saw the look in Amelia's eyes. It was the look of worry and concern, a look of fear for his being.

"Too late?"

"Last night, I had a dream that I only had twelve hours left as a human, for the antidote I took was a fake. I don't know if I shall die or simply turn into a stone chimera again, but all I know is, my time as a mortal is limited. I probably only have two or so hours remaining.

"Then you should know why I have not settled on a suitor yet," Amelia whispered. She leaned in closer to his ear. "I can't marry a man when I am in love with another."

"What?"

"I love you, Zelgadis. I can not remember for how long, but I love you." She looked at him longingly in the eyes. Zelgadis knew the sun was going down, he had to do something before it was all over.

Leaning forward slightly, he kissed her. Zelgadis had never kissed anyone before and worried that he was not good enough. Surprisingly to him, Amelia kissed him back with the same uncertainty he had. They stopped for a moment and looked at each other. It was odd, how strong of a bond they shared even after all this time apart. It was a lovers' bond, one not easily broken. Amelia released the clasp holding Zelgadis's pale cloak in place and let it fall to the floor. Her hand trembled as she touched his cheek, but he held it in a comforting manner. They kissed again until their whole bodies were shaking and sweating from pure adrenaline. Amelia tried to sit down on her bed, but Zelgadis would not stop. She welcomed it…

Zelgadis woke with a start. He sat straight upward and tried to pick out his surroundings. He was still in Amelia's room. Looking around, he discovered he was in her bed, his clothes on the ground.

What…? he thought. Zelgadis could not remember clearly what had happened before he fell asleep. He looked to his left to see Amelia, sleeping soundly.

What in the world? He could tell by her bare shoulders and upper back that she had on nothing as well. This was bad. If what was racing through his mind had just happened, they both would be in big trouble. Zelgadis immediately went to get dressed. At least he was still a human. That was a good thing.

"Zelgadis," Amelia said as he reached the door. He turned around to she had gotten out of bed too, yet she had on a night robe. She ran up to him and cried. "Don't leave me Zelgadis! Please do not leave!"

"I am sorry Amelia," he sighed. He leaned in and kissed her for what was hopefully the last time. He kissed her lovingly, until something slowly came to his mind.

I can't feel.

He could not feel Amelia's warmth anymore. He could not feel her hair or skin. He could not feel her lips against his. He snapped open his eyes and let go of her. Looking down at his hands confirmed his suspicions; he was once again living stone.

"Zelgadis?" Amelia said sadly. "You… you are a chimera again. Oh, why is this happening?"

"It must not be my place to be human now," Zelgadis whispered. He opened the door and was almost out of the room before Amelia grabbed him by the hand.

"Write me this time, please?"

"Don't worry. Every time I can, I shall write my fiancée to make sure she does not worry."

"You will…?"

"Of course."

With that, Zelgadis turned and walked away, returning to his never-ending quest.

There we are! Yes, touching, wasn't it? -cringes- Well, I have drained myself of gut-wrenching crap for one day, so I will give you all this opportunity to click that little button and review. Depending on what I get, I might put up my other Slayers one-shot… once I finish it of course. Oh, by the way, I know I make a completely random assumption at ages. I do not know how old the Slayers characters truly are. Did you know I hate plotlines? Yes, that's why I like writing one-shot like this, to keep my attention span rapt. Review please! Domo arigato!