Protector

Chapter: 1

Death of Light


Here is the newest idea to roll off the brain wagon. This will be a serious/romance fic. It will also go into more detail about the Inverse sisters and their relation to Vladimir. Hope you enjoy.


He looked around his surroundings while contemplating what to do. The desert sand swirled around him as he trudged through the heat of the noon day sun. The sweat rolled down his face as he marched through the desert of destruction. He had looked all over but had not found what he was after. He had not found the cure to his curse. Zelgadis wiped the perspiration from his brow as he walked on under the beating sun. He lifted his canteen to his lips for a drink of water. There was only a small amount of water left and he finished it off in one take. "Damn," he cursed as he put the canteen away, "I need to find some water within the next few day."

Night soon came and he was sitting near a fire made of some wood and sage brush he had found earlier. He looked down at his canteen and saw the wrist band that Amelia had given him. He plucked it from the rim and held it in his hands, studying what he had not looked at in about three months. He smiled slightly at the reminder, but soon frowned as he remembered the reason she had given it to him. She never said it but he knew all to well it was meant as a showing of love. 'I'm sorry Amelia, but my heart belongs to another,' he thought while reaching into his cloak. He removed from the pocket dimension a lock of red hair tied together by a small strip of black lace. He ran his fingers through the soft hair as he whispered her name, "Lina...," He soon put the hair back in its place and prepared to sleep for the night.


The next day found Zelgadis wading through mounds of sand. The mourning sun wasn't beating down on him as bad. He walked forward trying to find an oasis or source of water. "If I don't find water soon it's going to be a rough afternoon," he said to no one in particular.

The day passed and still no water was found. Zelgadis breathed heavy as he continued to trek on, sweat running down his brow. He looked around and gathered some sagebrush for the night's fire. He looked around his campsite while the fire crackled next to him. 'Not even one damn cactus around. I'm beginning to think that I'm not going to find any water,' he mused while looking back at the fire. As he watched the flames dance he was reminded of a certain vibrant sorceress with flame red hair. He closed his eyes and began to picture her. Her always present smile, her energy, and the pure feeling of life that came from her. He could go on and on with a list of things that had helped to steal his heart those years ago. He soon sighed and commented to himself, "Such a wonderful dream, but that's all it will ever be...a dream."

Zel soon extinguished the fire, rolled over, and went to sleep. As he began to slip off he suddenly had this feeling he was being watched. He shot up and looked around, all the while his hands slowly moved towards his sword. After a moment of scanning with both his eyes and his astral sense he could detect nothing and started to calm down. He sat back down and relit the fire as he looked out across the dunes. 'I'm getting jumpy,' he reasoned as he saw nothing in the newly created fire light. 'I can't sense anything on the astral plane like if a Mazuko where around, and I can see nothing. It's not like there are that many places a person could hide out here.' "Oh well...might as well try and sleep," Zel mumbled to himself as he put the fire out for a second time.

Zel rolled over and soon fell into a somewhat peaceful sleep. He would of been if a certain woman wasn't haunting his dreams. After tossing for a bit Zel settled into a position and actually smiled as the dream took a turn for the pleasurable. The sky soon began to lighten and mourning approached as Zel shot up from his dream. Even thought the desert nights were almost freezing he was still able to work up a sweat over the dream. He looked around and when he remembered where he was and knew he would be stuck with another memory of a risqué dream. "If Lina only knew she would probably blow me sky high," he slightly chuckled at the thought.


After gathering what small amount of things he had brought he began moving again. He could feel the need for water starting to affect his body. He needed to find an oasis or find his way out soon or he would be as good as dead. As he began to trek on through the sand he got a strange ting in the back of his mind. He quickly turned while drawing his sword to be met with nothing but sand in any direction. 'What is going on here,' he asked while yelling out, "Whoever you are come out. I know your out there."

After scanning around for about ten minutes he still could find nothing. 'Either fruitcake has found me or I'm starting to go crazy,' he mused as he sheathed his sword. Zel turned on his heel and began to walk over the next dune. When he reached the top he stopped and looked around to try and get his bearings. Nothing but sand so far as the eye could see in all directions is all he could make out. He sighed heavily and began walking again, his shoulders slumping as he continued. He walked for hours and still had no sign of anything other than sand. As night began to fall he started gathering materials for a fire. He lit the fire with a small controlled flare arrow and looked at the quickly darkening surroundings. "It's been too long sense I've been in a town. I guess you never truly know what it is like to be alone until you are alone," Zel sighed as night swiftly came to the desert.

Zel reached into his cloak and pulled out a small hardtack biscuit and began to nibble on it as he looked into the pure blackness. 'I would trade all my food for just a canteen of water,' he thought miserably as the biscuit caused his mouth to become dry. He finished the biscuit and began to lay down for the night. As he was drifting off he heard a sound, kind of like leaves rustling in the wind, call out to him, "Zelgadis...Zelgadis."

He sprang up and looked around but saw nothing. The sound was so faint he couldn't tell if he was just imagining his name being called or if it actually happened. He put a hand on his face and shook his head lightly, as to wipe out any delusions he might be having, and looked around again. Still nothing appeared to him, nothing but the blackness of the desert night. 'Man this lack of water is starting to get to me,' he thought as he laid down again and went to sleep.


The next morning found Zelgadis climbing more sand dunes in his hope to find either water or some form of civilization soon. As he crested another dune he stopped and looked to the horizon as to decide which way to go. As he scanned the horizon he saw them. They were vague and barely visible, but there they were on the very edge of the horizon. 'Trees,' Zel thought somewhat excitedly. 'Where there's trees there's water,' he thought logically as he began to trek towards the vegetation in the distance. "If I can hold out for a few more days then I will be fine," he said to himself as he unconsciously picked up the pace of his walking.

As the sun began to set Zelgadis felt the stress of days without water break into his mind. He decided to stop for the night and started a fire. He didn't eat as to preserve what water was left in his body. He watched as the star began to shine in the nights sky and began to think, or you might call wish. 'Just let me get back to her...That's all I want is her now,' he thought as he pulled out the lock of hair he hide in his cloak. "Who am I kidding...She would never want a freak like me," he scoffed at the notion of Lina ever loving him.

He laid down and began to drift off into sleep when he heard a whispery voice in the back of his mind. "Zelgadis...I can help you win her..."

Zel sat up abruptly and looked around, 'I must be going nuts, no one is here and I can't sense any Mazuko...hearing voice in my head this is just great,' he berated as he laid back down again. "She can be yours Zelgadis...yours till the end of time...," the voice whispered again.

'I doubt that,' Zel thought back to the voice, 'She would never want me as I am and I wouldn't dare force her to do anything.' He soon heard the voices reply, "You would be surprised...If you could feel like us then you would know there is much more there then you think..."

'Whatever. Now let me sleep, I won't believe you until I am shown prove of that,' Zel thought as sleep took him. Out in the darkness of the desert a voice whispered across the wind, "As you wish...Zelgadis Greywords."


When Zel awoke in the morning his mouth was dry and he could feel how parched his body was. 'I better get moving before the sun get too high,' he thought as instinct began to take over for his survival. He continued climbing dunes, coming closer and closer to the trees in the distance, as the sun began to rise at his back. "It doesn't look to good," he mumbled to himself as he went down a dune.

About midday the sun was beating on him and he found it hard to continue moving. As he began to descend a dune he lost his footing and rolled down the mountain of sand. As he body came to a stop, face first in the sand, he tried to get up but his body just gave out. He barely rolled onto his back with his body like it was. He closed his eyes against the brightness of the sun. As he laid there he felt the sand next to him move and slightly opened his eyes. He saw above him a figure but couldn't make out anything. All he saw was a shadow outline of the person standing above him. He weakly reached a hand towards the figure as he saw the figure raise something in its arms. He closed his eyes as he felt searing pain running through his chest and whispered, "Why...," on his last breath as his heart was impaled by a blood red sword.

The figure drew the sword from the young man's body. He looked down as dark energies began to form a circle around them and in that same whispery voice from the night before said, "Sleep well...Zelgadis."


Disclaimer: Any characters or ideas from The Slayers do not belong to me. I am not selling this material, just writing for the heck of it as I go.