Author's note: God, I didn't think I'd ever get a chance to work on this story again. I knew that as soon as college arrived, I'd have to put this on the back burner. Fortunately, I've finally found some time in between my annoyingly time-consuming classes to write the next installment. And yay for spring break coming up in a couple weeks! Anyway, this chapter is mostly filler, but it sets up some important stuff for the next chapter.

Oh, and one more thing concerning my characterization of Zelgadis. I've gotten a few questions about it. My fic is based on the fact that Zelgadis is part demon, and I realize that the actual demon (brau?) is not necessarily evil. However, I thought it would be interesting to look at his situation in a different angle. Therefore, demon!Zel is going to be a l'il naughty. ;-) Anyway, on with the story!

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Crush : Arrests and Incantations

A leaf fell from an overhead branch and floated lazily down until it landed rudely over Zelgadis's face. The chimera quickly opened his eyes, mentally preparing himself for an attack. When he realized what had happened, he moved to snatch the offending leaf away. However, his arms wouldn't move. Something, or someone rather, was hindering his ability to raise his arms. He easily blew the leaf from his face and looked down. Gulp.

Amelia was completely draped across him, her chest flush against his. Her right arm pinned his left one down, and her right leg was hitched up over his hips. If she moved any closer, she'd be straddling him. The thin nightgown had riden up during the night and was now bunched up near her waist. Unable to form a complete thought, Zelgadis just stared. After a few moments, however, the wheels began to turn. Okay, think. How to move without waking her up and mortifying her. He slowly moved his left arm out from under her, causing her stir. Zelgadis sucked in his breath and froze. She unconsciously moved her right hand up to his shoulder but did not wake. He gave a quiet sigh of relief.

Alright. Step one down. Onto to step two. He thought a moment on how to fix the fact that she was very nearly laying on top of him. He then thought a moment on why he would even want to fix said fact. Oh, yes. Amelia...embarrassing. Okay, here we go. He gently placed his right hand behind Amelia's head to protect her and swiftly rolled over, effectively switching their positions. He sensed that the movement had caused her to awaken, so he quickly rolled back, leaving her where she was. Whew. He closed his eyes, feigning sleep.

Amelia felt something beneath her head. It felt like a hand. What the..? She opened her eyes and glanced to her left, seeing that Zelgadis was still asleep and that it was indeed his hand between her head and the cover. She yawned and leaned forward. Ack! This stupid nightgown! Amelia quickly pulled it down to her thighs. Throwing a look towards Zelgadis to see if he'd seen anything, she stood up and made her way towards her bag. Assuming her previous changing spot behind the large rock, she took off her nightgown and got dressed. She returned and found that Zelgadis was sitting up, rubbing his eyes.
"Good morning," she said.

He looked up to find her in a pair of fitted jeans and a light pink tank top. Finally. An outfit that doesn't tempt me to ravish her into next week. He tilted his head. Well. Almost. "Morning," he replied.

Amelia looked towards the sky. "Some night, huh?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Hopefully, we'll be out of this forest before we have to sleep again."

She gave a small nod of agreement. "We should start pretty soon."

With that, Zelgadis moved to fold up the blanket. However, a dark red spot near the middle of the blanket caught his attention. He leaned over to inspect the stain. His eyebrows bunched up in confusion. Blood? What in the world? He quickly reached his hand around, and indeed, he felt a slightly sore area on his lower back. That's...odd, to say the least. He looked over to Amelia, who was gathering her things into her bag, completely unaware of his situation. He didn't want to alarm her unnecessarily, so he decided against telling her about it just yet. Grabbing a dark grey shirt from his bag, he stuffed the blanket in. He put the shirt on and, picking up his and Amelia's bags, he gestured in the direction of the road. Soon, they were once again making their way through the woods.

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"Why isn't it working!" The usually calm man banged his hands harshly on the table, causing the many items on it to shake. He glanced at the crystal ball and saw, with much displeasure, the chimera and the princess walking together and chatting amicably. He threw a disgusted glance to the frightened woman near him.

"I assure you, my lord. E-everything is in place; all the items are here." She swallowed. "I am just as confused as you."

While the dark-haired man continued to fume, the two imprisoned occupants behind him listened intently. The sorceress looked pointedly at the swordsman, and he moved closer to her.

"What's going on, Lina?" he asked, whispering as quietly as he could.

"I'm not sure. From what you told me earlier, it sounds like he's trying to free the demon part of Zelgadis." She gave a small shrug. "I never knew it was that big of a deal; he's never mentioned it before." She looked back over to the man. "Well, whatever he tried, it didn't work."

"Maybe he'll just give it up," suggested Gourry hopefully.

Lina looked disbelievingly at her blonde companion. "I wouldn't count on it."
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"Finally!" Amelia exclaimed as she moved past the last few trees of the forest. She looked out across the open plain. "You know..." She turned towards Zelgadis, who had just stepped beside her. "I think I recognize this land."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, we're near Seiruun!" she answered excitedly. "We could go ask my father for help with our search. He could send messengers out to neighboring villages."

Zelgadis nodded thoughtfully. "He could, but what makes you think he will?"

Amelia looked at him as if he'd grown a second head. "I'm his daughter. I'll make him!" And with that, the young princess began marching in the direction of her kingdom.

Zelgadis lifted his eyebrow, an amused expression on his face. "Well, I suppose that settles that," he muttered to himself and followed after her.

A few hours later, they tiredly reached the gates of Seiruun. Making their way towards the castle, they failed to notice the piece of parchment with a sketch of Zelgadis's face plastered to the stone wall. However, they did notice the quiet whispers and hooded stares of many passersby. Amelia unconsciously stepped closer to Zelgadis as they walked. They gave each other quizzical looks but remained silent. When they neared the castle, the doors opened to reveal Prince Phil and a number of castle guards.

"Daddy!" Amelia grinned and ran towards her father, leaping up to hug him.

Phil whole-heartedly hugged his daughter back, setting her back down on her feet. "Amelia, it's wonderful to see you! How have you" He stopped abruptly upon seeing Zelgadis. "Amelia, what is he doing here?"

Amelia looked from Zelgadis to her father. "Daddy, what do you mean? He's a friend of mine; we've been traveling together. What's wrong?"

Phil turned back toward the guards. "Chain him and take him to the dungeons," he commanded. Zelgadis snapped his attention to the dark-haired prince, his mouth slightly open in shock.

Amelia's eyes widened. "Daddy! What're you doing!" Seeing the guards advancing toward Zelgadis, she quickly ran to stand in front of her friend. "I demand an explanation," she said sternly to her father.

"Amelia. Move aside," Phil ordered, determined to keep the upper hand. When he saw that she wasn't going to give in, he gave an impatient sigh. "Your 'friend' here is a criminal. We received word from Elmekia a few weeks ago that a man fitting his description decimated a temple of theirs. As Seiruun is allied with Elmekia, we gave our word that we would bring this man to justice."

Amelia spun around to face Zelgadis. "You destroyed an Elmekian temple?" she asked incredulously.

Zelgadis winced, remembering the day clearly. He'd been looking for his cure there and had been in an extremely bad mood once he found that his search had again been fruitless. "If it's any consolation, I hadn't planned on doing it." He inwardly cursed his temper.

Amelia continued to stare at Zelgadis. He's so hell-bent on finding a cure. After a few moments, she took in a deep breath and let it out in a huff. She had no idea what to do.

"Amelia," her father began worriedly. "You shouldn't be near him...he's dangerous."

Oh, for heaven's sake! She turned a bit so she could see both Zelgadis and Phil. "Daddy, he's not dangerous. I've been traveling with him for months!"

"You've been with him for months? By yourselves?" he asked, suddenly alarmed for his daughter's safety.

"Well, no. That's why we came here...but nevermind that now." She shook her head. I've got to get this arrest thing settled before I bring up anything else. She saw Phil give the guards a slight nod, and they once again advanced. She ran quickly to Zelgadis, ignoring her father's protest, and threw her arms around his neck. Making sure no one else could overhear her, she whispered, "I'll get you out, Zel. Just don't do anything rash, okay?"

Zelgadis, darting his eyes quickly from her father to Amelia, gently put his hands on her back. "Alright, princess. Don't make me wait too long." He knew that if she were planning on getting him out in a civil and legal manner, he probably shouldn't make matters worse by attempting a jail break. He looked down at her and noticed her nerves looked like they were about to fry, so he gave a small smile. "It'll be fine. We'll fix this."

She nodded slightly and leaned back down, stepping back to allow the guards to chain his wrists. He allowed himself to be led to the castle without protest. Amelia watched sadly as he disappeared. Well. Welcome home, Amelia. Giving her father a final glare, she walked inside and made her way up to her room to think.

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"I want to see Zelgadis, the man that was brought in today," Amelia stiffly told the officer who was keeping watch that night.

He gave her a strange look in reponse. The prince's daughter was not notorious for visiting criminals. "Forgive me, Princess, but may I inquire as to the reason for this visit?"
"You may not," she answered bluntly. I am, after all, royalty. I shouldn't have to explain myself to a guard.

The officer nodded, quickly realizing it was not his place to question her. "Follow me." He turned around, fished out the keys, and unlocked the large wooden door that lead to the dungeons.

Amelia stepped through behind him and peered around. They were in a long hall of roughly seventy feet. Nothing occupied the room except a few dusty paintings that were poorly illuminated by about twenty candles nestled in sconces along the two longer walls. The room immediately gave Amelia an uneasy, forboding feeling. I am going to strangle Zelgadis for making me come here. The two walked silently through the room until they reached another door, which the guard easily opened. Leaning around the officer, Amelia saw a stone staircase, also lit with candles, winding down to a lower floor. Upon descending to the bottom, Amelia gazed down the new hall; it was lined by numerous cells, obviously for the criminals. The cells, she saw, were separated by stone walls but were enclosed by black metal gates, unfortunately allowing the current inhabitants to stare avidly at the princess as they passed by. She dared a glance at one man but quickly looked forward, not at all pleased with the fact he seemed to be undressing her with his eyes. She shivered, despite the fact that she was sweating profusely. Are we ever going to get to Zel?

The guard sensed her unease and spoke up. "They were afraid he would try to harm the other prisoners, so he was locked in the back."

Amelia bit back her sarcastic response and settled, instead, for rolling her eyes. They finally arrived at his cell, and Amelia nearly gasped. Zelgadis was sitting on his bed, staring solemnly at the floor. The heat of the underground room had drove him to discard his shirt, and sweat was running down his neck and chest. The candles' flames that meagerly lit the room danced across him, making him seem much more mysterious and imposing than before. She also saw that his wrists were still chained together, though he had about two feet of slack between them. He looked up and, upon seeing Amelia, he gave a slight smile, which looked more a smirk in the flickering candlelight. Amelia swallowed. God, he looks... She saw him stand up and walk gracefully toward her. Delicious.

"Hey," he said, breaking the silence.

The officer looked taken aback. "You will address her as 'Princess'," he told Zelgadis condescendingly. After all, he was a common criminal.

Amelia bit her bottom lip, trying desperately to keep from smiling. Little did he know that Zelgadis usually called her that, though using the term more of an endearment than an actual title. Zelgadis saw her hidden smile and smirked.

Amelia turned to the guard and said, "You may let me in now."

He very nearly fell over. "L-let you in? With him?" He threw a glance toward the chimera, quickly looking incredulously back at Amelia.

Amelia sighed dramatically. "Yes, with him. I'm not asking again," she stated, tired of this whole mess. It was so stuffy in there, she thought she might pass out at any second.

The guard slowly, reluctantly pulled the keys out of his pocket. It seemed he'd rather be doing anything other than what she was requesting. He thought of what Prince Phil would do to him if he found out. He placed the key in the lock and looked up at Zelgadis. "Move to the back of the cell," he ordered. Once he was satisfied, he unlocked and opened the gate.

Amelia quickly walked through. It's about time. She turned to the guard, thoroughly annoyed. "Could we have some privacy?"

"Princess! I couldn't possibly leave with the gate unlocked. I would lose my job!"

"Well, then. Lock it back." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Zelgadis holding back laughter. She began to get grumpier. "I'll let you know when to come get me."

The guard was beginning to think the young princess had lost her mind. Seeing that this would be a losing battle, he grudgingly locked the gate and walked to the bottom of the staircase.

Amelia quickly turned to face Zelgadis, who was no longer able to contain his laughter. "And just what is so funny about all of this?" Her previous mental image of strangling him was looking more satisfying by the minute.

Chuckling, Zelgadis answered, "You'd think I was a mass murderer!"

"Well, for all he knew, you are one. He's a night watchman; he has no idea why you're here." Amelia sat down on the bed in a huff. "If I known how much trouble visiting you would have been, I would have thought twice about it."

"Oh, you don't mean that, princess," he said good-naturedly, sitting down beside her. "You wouldn't have been able to live yourself, knowing how miserable I must be." He leaned back against the wall, lazily looking up the ceiling.

At that, she actually looked around at the bare chamber. The ground was extremely dirty, and the lumpy bed that they were on was the only piece of furniture. She noted that his sword was missing. "They took your sword?"

Zelgadis grimaced. "Yeah, it's common to search a criminal before locking him up. Looking for weapons and talismen and the like." And amulets, he thought angrily. He didn't know why, but not having that blue amulet unnerved him. He'd felt strangely vulnerable ever since they'd taken it.

She glanced at his chained wrists and looked at his face. "Is it really that bad in here?" she asked, a tone of worry in her voice.
Zelgadis tilted his head to look at her. "Well, I'm not jumping for joy, but it's easier knowing that I'm not going to be here for long. Speaking of, did you talk to your father?"

Amelia let out a frustrated groan and stood up, pacing. "Yes, but I can't get through to him...no matter what I say. Loyalty between kingdoms isn't something he's going to easily give up," she said glumly. She stopped for a moment to gauge his reaction.

He thought for moment. "Well," he began quietly. "If it comes down to it, I can get out of here whenever I want."

Amelia sighed. "Yeah, I know that. I just wanted..." Her voice trailed off.

Zelgadis gave a small smile. "I know." He stood up to walk towards the gated opening, his shoulder brushing hers as he passed. The brief contact sent a spark through him, causing him to involuntarily shiver. God, I wish I wasn't so attracted to her. He reached up to grip the metal bars that caged him in.

She looked over at him, worried. She was about to speak when she noticed a mark on his lower back. She squinted, attempting to find out what it was. "Zel?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"There's something on your back," she started. "Looks like...a bruise." Amelia looked at him questioningly. I didn't even know he could get a bruise.

He released his hold on the bars and looked over his shoulder, trying to get a glimpse of the wound. "Oh, yeah. I guess I got it during my scuffle with that bird," he said.

Amelia raised her line of vision to his face. "Does that...happen often?"

He thought to himself before answering. "Not really. Why?"

"Well," she began thoughtfully. "I've never seen a bruise on you before. How do you get bruised with skin made of rock?"

He paced around her as he answered. "The rocks are a part of my skin. The only way to bruise me would be for a stone to be...ripped off my body."

Amelia winced. "God...that sounds awful." She watched him until he came to a stop at the back of the cell. "How often does that happen?"

He looked away and slowly answered, "Almost never." He wouldn't allow himself to tell her about when he had first received his body of stone...how his contempt had driven him to drastic measures. He brought his gaze back to her. "Why do you ask?"
She gave a defeated sigh. "I don't know. I just hope it isn't a sign."

"A sign of what?" he asked curiously.

At that, Amelia looked directly into his eyes. "Trouble."

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Once again, the dark-haired man had everything in place. He was determined to succeed this time. He poured a vial of dark red powder into his hand and closed his eyes. He opened his mouth, and as he spoke, he slowly poured the powder in a circle around the stone on the table before him.

"Bringer of terror...collector of lost souls, let the darkness come forth and cause misery to rain. Free the chaos within." So he chanted quietly to himself, repeating the spell again and again. Finally, after the fifth time, he held his hands over the stone. A brilliant glow suddenly appeared, illuminating the stone and causing it to glow as well. The man opened his eyes and spoke the final words. "Let the devil inside be unleashed."

A flash encompassed the entire room, and the man felt a surge of power radiate through him. Nothing could have stopped the terrifying grin that spread across his face.

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"Trouble."

Zelgadis met her worried gaze. "Amelia, there's no reason to think" He was suddenly silenced as a tremor of blinding pain coursed through his body. He fell to his knees, groaning and clutching his head. What..? He felt as if a part of him was slipping away. He opened his eyes and stared at the ground in horror. Oh, God.

"Zelgadis!" Amelia quickly ran toward him but instantly saw him lift his arm, as if to stop her. "What's happening? Are you okay?"

"Amelia, you have to get out of here." The pain was still too great for him to move. How is this happening?

Amelia's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Zel, what's wrong?"

"Leave, Amelia. Before it's tooah!" Another wave of agony rushed through him. He knew that he was rapidly losing control. He fell forward, clawing at the ground.

Tears formed in Amelia's eyes, threatening to spill down her cheeks. "Please, tell me what's wrong! I don't know what to do!" she begged desperately. She slowly moved closer and reached out to touch his shoulder.
As soon as her fingers grazed his skin, Zelgadis sprung up and spun around to face her. She gave a startled cry. Without warning, he grabbed her shoulders, closed the distance between them, and crushed her lips with his own.

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Muahaha! I know. I'm evil. :grins impishly: