Chapter 17 xxxxxxxxxx

Lina awoke the next day feeling much better. She checked. Yup, her hair was red again! She looked around. Someone had set food beside her. Sylphiel was asleep still. She looked ill and Lina was concerned, the poor woman must have taken a real hurt, perhaps one deep in her body. Oh what to do? Lina would not forgive herself if the Shrine Maiden died. Amilia was busy packing up the four horses. Lina stood up and looked around. "Morning Amilia!" she said. "Early afternoon you mean, sleepy." came the cheery reply. Lina's reply was a simple "Oh." "Don't worry, it's just past the noon hour, I left you some lunch if you are hungry. In fact Lina was busy inhaling it as Amilia spoke. "How's everything?" she asked between mouthfuls.

Amilia replied "I have given Sylphiel a "Recovery" but it only seems to hold things, not heal them. I am not strong enough for a Resurection yet, so I hope she can hold out for a day or two till I can. I'm fine, I'm packing to go, which we will do as soon as Gracia returns from looking at the cliff so she can give a true report to the King. I didn't want to see it, and I don't think she did either." Lina looked to the east. "I think I see her coming now. I agree with you, it was so horrible. I don't want to see it either. But I would like to know what the spell was, and who cast it." "We may find out yet Lina." replied Amilia. Lina finished the too, too inadequate food, and went to help her friend pack. "Well, I see your hair is black again and mine is red." she said as she tightened a cinch strap. "Well, that's good, he, he." giggled Amilia. "Wouldn't want Zel to think I was an old woman now would I?" "Oh, I don't think he'd ever make that mistake Amilia." said Lina with a smile.

She then said, in a more somber tone of voice, "I wonder how they made out?" They exchanged worried glances. "Only one way to find out." said Naga who had ridden up in the mean time. "Mount up and let's go see." "Speaking of seeing..." said Lina tentatively. "The ground looks like it was scraped with a razor, there is a small funny looking depression where the ground was right under the explosion, and it looks dead. It is horrible, but it is more like a grave site than anything else. Well, when I can I shall have my golems dig out the area, pile the soft rock on the horrible spot as a marker of sorts, and then I will fill it in with granite, and no one will dig it out." Lina nodded. "I will help, when the time comes. But for now, help me get Sylphiel mounted."

The girl proved too ill to sit on a horse, and the friends despaired of what to do until Amilia remembered something she had read in a book. Quickly the girls found two long sturdy poles in the debris of the explosions from yesterday, and some shorter sturdy poles as well. These were lashed together in a rough triangle with the thick ends of the long poles sticking out the end, and the top not closed together so it would fit on either side of a horse. They rolled Sylphiel on to the make shift travois and were able to lift it and tie it to the back of the horse. They mounted their own animals, and taking the reins of Sylphiels horse they set off slowly. They had to make an adjustment to the rig to let it drag properly, but it wasn't hard to do and soon they were walking back towards the west, and home. Unlike the journey out, they seemed eager to talk, about anything but what had just happened. Perhaps too eager. Perhaps to keep their minds off the events of the last day. But it still haunted their dreams at night, and they didn't rest well. After a day or two, Sylphiel stated to talk a bit and eat a bit, then declared she felt better and was even able to sit in her saddle again. At that the Travois was carefully tied behind the pack horse, against the possibility of future need, and they rode on.

Naga kept looking south, especially as they neared Stronghold. She was looking for the army. And one day, she spotted it. They were half a day away from the keep when it became obvious there was a cloud on the horison and something moving beneath it, but they couldn't tell who it was. "I hope, I hope..." she said. then she turned to the others and asked. "Can anyone Ray-Wing yet?" "No" was the reply. Lina asked "What is it?" "I hope it is our army, I fear it is the others, of course." she replied. "Lina looked worried. "What do we do?" "We make for the hall!" Naga said. "If it is them we can be there to greet them properly. If it is..., the others, well, I would rather no one but me has the responsibility of stopping Arthur from falling into their hands." "What do you mean?" asked Lina in a horrified tone, though she felt she knew the answer. "I mean" said Naga quietly, but with a deadly determination that Lina found frightening, "that I will put my baby to my breast, then I will fall on a sword so that the same blade sends us both to the next world as it pierces our hearts, rather than let him be taken by... them. And you girls too had better think about this, for, since daddy rode up with the west behind him, there has been no option of flight. Die, or be enslaved as you see fit, but I will go taking my baby with me." Suddenly Naga wailed to the heavens "OH! Please, let it be our men!" The girls spurred their horses on, now totally wrapped in fear. Lina was horrified by Naga's words the whole trip, yet, what else could Naga do? She hadn't realised being a Queen could be so hard. But Lina had heard the rumours, about how high rank officials were likely to be tortured for sport. And what would they do to the baby who was heir to the throne of their hated enemies?

The girls made good time, so did the army behind them. The Queen was heralded through the gate with at most an hour or two to spare before the army arrived. She called for a bath and a change of clothing, she was going to be ready before she met either the army or her son. Or eternity. In very short order the washing was done, no leisurely soak this, and she was changed into a spotless white gown that made her look absolutely beautiful. Even Lina's breath was taken. Ominously though, the Blade of Heaven hung at her side. Cymbelene appeared and brought Arthur. Naga's first act was to feed her child. She had managed to keep her milk going in the ten days they had been away, and now she meant to put it to good use, even if it was a last meal. Arthur seemed to realise his mother was back and settled down to business right away. Lina, facinated by this ritual had to turn away in the end. She looked out a window and thought of Gourry. If only fate, or the unknown god would be kind. She too wanted what Naga had, a life, and a family of her own. But there was nothing to do but wait. Amilia came and stood beside her. The friends looked out the window together. "The waiting is the hardest." said Amilia, not expecting an answer. Lina just reached out and took her hand.

The seconds were hours, and the minutes were days. But their patience was rewarded as a loud shout and peal of trumpets broke out at the gate and the doors flew open to admit a rider who was yelling at the top of his lung "VICTORY! WE HAVE VICTORY!" The three women screamed in relief and flew into the hall. The messenger ran in and straight to Queen Gracia where, falling on his knee, he said "Victory Your Majesty! His Highness the King is returned, in victory!" Naga broke out weeping with relief and joy and it was the head servants who took charge to order things for the arrival. And not a minute too soon. The army marched up in but a few more minutes and stopped to pitch camp. The nobles clattered in and entered the hall where they were greeted by the cheers of the people. King Alfred entered, with Prince Phillionel at his side. They looked disheveled but absolutely happy. Naga launched herself into Alfreds arms and was caught and met with a kiss that lasted for a time too long to count. Amilia was hugging her daddy and dancing up and down. Zelgadiss entered, making like a human crutch for an injured Zangulas, but both were grinning from ear to ear. Lina hugged them both. Tears flowed like rivers from all eyes, servant and royalty, warrior and maid. And for a long time all was a pandemonium of joy, such as the old hall might never have seen in it's whole long existance.

Prince Erik showed up a bit later, helping some of the wounded, like a good doctor should do. He looked around hopefully, and seemed a bit dissapointed. Lina went to him and told him in simple terms what happened. He looked sad and promised to look in on her when he could. But his brother had overheard this and said to him "Erik, the wounded are fine in the care of your assistants. Go to her now. Consider it a Royal command!" Erik looked perplexed, but happy enough to obey that command and went to find Sylphiel and see if he could treat her. Finally, food and drink began to appear and a victory party started.

As it went on various people slipped out to change and disarm themselves, and soon the hall looked less like a living armoury and more like it was ment to, a happy place where people met to celebrate life. Lina was at the head table, she wasn't missing that for the world. Naga, her fears over, just beamed happiness. Even her laughter had such a note of joy in it that it was pleasant to listen to, for once... Amilia was latched on to Zel, and for tonight she didn't care what anyone thought. He didn't seem to mind in the least. Her father didn't seem to mind in the least either. He insisted he hold his grandson as much as possible so as to free Naga up to be with her husband. He actually had to argue with her as she pointed out she had only gotten back herself and wanted to spend time with her son too, but in the end it was agreed the Prince would sit right beside his daughter, holding his grandson, the other Prince, right next to his mother. Alfred sat on the Queen's other side, obviously this wasn't a formal supper.

At first the talk flowed around how happy they were to be all together again. Then the girls were prevailed upon to tell their story. There was silence at the end of the tale, and a few glances were exchanged between the men. Then it was their turn to tell their account. "Well," said the King, "after that tale of life on the razor's edge I don't know if our tale of utter desperation and eventual success can quite come up to the same level, but, here is what we were up to. Well, of course it starts off with our riding off to the front. With reluctance but with neccessity we pushed ourselves and did in three and a half days what might have taken us five. Thankfully we arrived ahead of the enemy,and had a time to rest. Then we put our plan into action. As you no doubt observed we have a lot of cavalry, and there were actually too many men to man the walls all at once. So, a long argued plan was put into action. The wall, as you know has no gate, still, the possibility of having to get men and horses over it was thought of, and a series of ramps were set up on both sides. We were able to move most of the horse divisions over onto the plain below. The ramps were removed and the defences secured. Your father and Lord Zelgadis, along with King Zangulas here took on the command of the wall, while I and many of the others went with the horse. We had to go carefully, the enemy could not see us for the plan to work. Our spies were out and back with as much stealth as humanly possible. The enemy was a day's march off, apparently resting for the assault, as we thought they would. The news the scouts gave us was not encouraging, they reported horde upon horde of men, still, they were giving educated guesses that the enemy was more in the range of six hundred thousands of men rather than the one million. It sounds from your tale that they must have sent one hundred thousand or so to the wall to dig, in order to have a viable force to sweep in behind us. Thankfully that menace was ably destroyed by you wonderful ladies."

"No," interjected Lina. "we may have helped, but whoever threw that unknown spell was the real hero. But it was a horror to see that final blast. I can only assume it was a new variant on the Dragon Slave, there are several forms of it after all. I wish I could meet the caster and ask him what he did. But we found no one, but ourselves." "Interesting." said the King, meaning it. He resumed the tale. "We were able to sneak out to the south onto the plain below the enemy and eventually behind him. The plan was simple, as most desperate plans were. We would let the enemy attack the wall, then when he was fully engaged we would descend like a hammer stroke and use the wall as our anvil. To be honest, I was sure the cavaly would be overwhelmed in the end, but if we could reduce their numbers to the point where they could not succeed at the wall we would not have been sacrificed in vain." At this Naga grabbed the King in a fierce hug as the realiseation of what might have been caused her to shudder in fear. "Yes, that's about how I felt too," he said softly, "but what could I do? We had to destroy their numbers, and destroy their siege weapons, and there was no other way but by a surprise assault. So, we rode far out onto the plain and circled behind them, movong warily as we came up to them. Of course, they had moved on when we crossed where they had camped, and it was awsome to see how big the mark was of where it had been. So, with fear in our hearts, and the desperate desire to spare our loved ones the horror we had seen, we went on, and in a day came upon the enemy encamped in a single tight mass before the wall. It was the late morning of the day of your battle and ours was in full swing"
"Yes." said Phil. "We heard them move up in the night, obviously to try a dawn assault, which they did. It made all of our hearts quail to see an ocean of men at arms before us. But the magic of the valley we were in did its work, they could not attack in full strength, they could only send so many against us at a time, as many as would fit against the wall. At first it was arrow play with our boys going at it bolt for bolt, in fact, I dare say we gave better by far than they gave, but the enemy had so many archers of his own it was a very dangerous thing to be on the wall as the air grew darker than in a storm with the endless filghts of the arrows. Still, the wall is well build and maintained, and most of the enemies arrows fell harmlessly behind us where they were retrieved by brave lads who fed them back up to the bowmen to return to their owners, but more effectively. After awhile it must have occured to the enemy that he was getting nowhere, for he then launched his next phase, the ladders.

All this time we could see siege engines and catapults being labouriously errected in the background, obviously build in their home countries, and transported here to be used in this battle. Now the enemy knew time was not on his side, and a long siege ment that eventually harvest and wintertime would find him less prepared than we were, so he was obviously prepared to try an all out assault, which is just what he did. The ladders came thicker than trees in an old forest, up against the wall again and again. Fortunately the ground sloped, and was twisted and rocky below the wall, the ladders were not as secure as they might have been. So we could over throw them with a certain amount of ease, but they kept coming. Our Zel was quite a hero then, he kept throwing himself into the thick of things, naked from the waist up, screaming like a berserker!"

"Well, erm, Prince Phil," put in Zel, a bit embarassed, "it was all just psychology you know. I look like a demon, and my stoney exterior is pretty impervious to cuts from the sword, so I wanted them to think I was an evil spirit summoned to defend the wall. I figured a certain number of them were likely to be superstitious and I wanted to take advantage of anything I could." "Zelgadiss Greywords! You stop being so modest! It took courage to do that, you are a hero! You hear me? A HERO!" said an admiring and delighted Amilia as she snuggled into him, hugging his arm fiercely as she glowed hero worship at him. "Amilia..." said Zel, blushing again. "There was general laughter at the table and King Alfred made "knowing" face to Phil and said "I think you'll have to watch that one, dad. You've only seen him from the waist up, who knows what else the chimera magic has done to him, eh?" Phil roared at that one as did most of the table, but Zelgadiss stiffened as if stung and shot an angry glance at Naga, who looked ashamed as she shook her head "No!" Fortunatley this interchange was missed by all except the three girls and Zel.

Naga spoke up, chiding her husband. "My Lord for shame, is this how you treat your heros? By embarassing them?" "Hey?" said King Alfred, surprised. "Oh, I am sorry if my words went amiss Lord Zelgadiss, I meant no offence, only to give you some the backhanded complements we men are famous for." He looked perplexed and perhaps ashamed. "No, no, it is for me to apologise Your Majesty" Zel cut in hastily. "I am sensitive about my looks, not being born a chimera, it is a weakness of mine. You are right, most men would have roared in laughter and boasted, some wittily, some smuttily, about their, um, manly attributes, given such an opening line, but alas, I cannot." He hung his head, ashamed now of his anger. The King shook his head silently for a secong then said "Well, Dad, go on with the story then, let us hear more legitimate praise of your high lord here."

"Well, his plan worked well enough I can say." said Phil. "I have known this young man long enough to know that even if a sword won't cut him it can beat him and hurt him. Yet he willingly took several strokes and just laughed at the enemy as they were stricken with fear at this apparently untouchable warrior before them. He went back and forth across the wall, always seeking the thick of the action and breaking up the enemy's getting a strong hold on any point of the wall, rescuing our lads, and being the hero he really is, modesty or not." Phil's voice was full of praise for the chimera, but Lina observed a look on Phil's face she didn't understand. Suddenly she got it, regret. Phil was sad he couldn't let Zel and Amilia have what they most wanted, each other! Oh, something had to be done, but what? She glanced at Naga and was even more perplexed to see the Queen with a look of extreme concern on her face. What was she thinking? Then she recalled Zel had said he might leave after the war, did Naga suspect something too? Reluctantly Lina wondered if Zel's heroism had a touch of a death wish mixed in with it. Something would have to be done!

Phil rumbled on with the tale. It seemed that Zangulas and his Demonic Howling sword had cut a swath of destruction too, only, his lack of chimeric substance meant that eventually he did get injured. Phil went on "That is how things went on for most of the morning. I was worried about what would happen in the evening or maybe the next morning when the siege engines would be assembled, we would have trouble then for sure. Fortunately, we were spared that by the timely arrival of the cavalry!"

Ha, and with that you hand the tale back to me!" chuckled Alfred. "Well, what shall I say? We came up behind the enemy, a low rise at most a thousand yards away from them hiding us from them. At that point I stopped the horse and called for our light cavalry. They are one of our most decorated units, and one of the fighting units made up of women. They take women from all ranks of society and train them rigorously. Many don't last, but those that do are fierce fighters, and very honourable ladies when not in battle. Like a lot of our units they elect talent, not rank or prestige to poitions of authority. I believe their current captain is a woman who grew up on a farm where she developed her passion for horses. Her ability to lead in battle is a gift from the gods I think. Anyway, we crept forward and spied on the enemy. We noticed the majority of the men were packed into the valley where they couldn't move very well, obviously waiting for the wall to tumble and then to press forward. They had their archers high up on a hill where they had parked the baggage wagons, their only attempt at a rear guard. They were bored and inattentive. They had no idea we were there. We made our plans. The light cavalry went north a fair distance then circled back. They would swoop into the archers and spoil their ability to stop us, and when they were engaged with the women the main body of horse would charge the distance and, gods willing, collapse the siege engines and slaughter the enemy to the point where victory was denied him, no matter what happened at the wall.

While we waited I tried to think of some sort of stirring speech to make, such as old heros were supposed to say, but, alas, I am no bard, and no wise and witty sayings about bleeding awhile with me or going to victory or the grave seemed to come. So we waited. I made a joke about how we only had to kill four men each and then we could go home. It got a laugh. It really wasn't funny, but tension and gallows humour make the strangest things seem funny. I think my greatest moment came when someone asked if I had any advice on how to win and I had the brain storm to say that the secret to success was not in dieing for your country, but in making the enemy die for his. Finally, because we were watching we could see the girls start their charge into the archers, before even the enemy bowmen did. The command was given to take horse, and then I turned and said what I could, something to the effect that "Now is the time! Let every man do his part to protect all that he holds most dear on this good earth!" Real ra-ra stuff, but there was no more time and acting was what we needed, not words. There was a sudden screaming as the light horse swept into the archers and tied them up. The bulk of the enemy were distracted and their commanders took a while to get their acts together and start moving their men in to defend the archers. Which was good, because we were not seen as we crested the hill and rode forward, in relative silence. No horns or anything, no screams or shouts, just a hundred thousand horsemen moving in for the kill. I think we got to with in a furlong of the enemy when they finally noticed us. By then they had no time to change around and form ranks against us, just time enough to try, and in the process become confused and disorganised against our onslaught. But still, though we would carry the outer ranks, we were sure we would be stopped by those farther in who would have time to react. Then...," Here the King was interupted as running feet entered the hall in the form of a messenger. "Your Majesty!" the man cried. "The defenders of the high pass have returned, what's left of them..."

The King stood up, a worried look on his face. "That sounds ominous... I apoligise ladies! I will finish the tale later, now I must go." With that he ran from the hall, out to greet the returning force. His queen rose and went out with him. Amilia stood up and said "I wonder if they need healers?" With that she too was out the hall. "NUTS!" yelled Lina. "This figures somehow, just when the tale gets good..." "What to do?" asked Zel. "For my part I can say we won, and there is more to this tale, but the King is the one to tell it, or so I've been told". He gave Lina an unfathomable look as he spoke, as did Phil. Lina was dying to know, but realised that her curiosity would have to wait upon the King, damn the luck. Oh well...

"Well, I'm going for a walk." said Lina. "If anyone wants me I know there are a few old friends in the Zefielian regiment, so I'm going to see how they fared, okay?" "Sure Lina, have fun, and may they end their tales at the end, not in the middle, he, he." said Phil with a smile. Lina laughed, then turned to Phil and said "You really sure you couldn't finish it?" she pouted, heck, it was always worth a try. "I wasn't in the charge, remember? No, when the King tells the story from his point of view, then I can say what it looked like from the wall. Be patient, oh unofficial middle daughter, it is better to have these tales told properly, not in bits and pieces." Lina sighed, and made her way out the hall, not without shaking a lot of hands and suffering a few kisses for victory, and all that without fireballing anyone, which amazed even her.

She breathed the air outside, it was a little cooler, and she made her way eventually to where Shorty had his tent. "Hiya Shorty!" she called in a cheery voice as she spotted her old friend. A big, easy smile and a "Hey! Little Lina!" came chuckling back in response. "Come on in! I was about to open some of Zephielia's finest!" he added, hoisting a bottle of wine from their homeland. "Oh great! I haven't had a taste of anything Zephielian in years!" Lina said enthusiastically, as she walkied into the tent. There was a small party of officers of the Queen's guards in the tent with Shorty and introductions were made and soon it seemed like a reunion party more than anything. Lina was actually relieved by the atmosphere, the king's court could be rather stuffy, and she had been at two of them, Seirune and Stronghold, for most of the past several weeks. Shorty made a pantomime of serving the wine like some stuffy butler at the table of a queen and soon had the gang laughing and feeling merry. They had a toast to Zephielia, then victory, then to life, at least when it was good, and anything else they felt like. They had been through a great storm, and were overjoyed to have come out the other side.

At one point Lina remarked that the wine was good. There was a round of agreement, then Shorty said "This is good, but in all honesty, that honey wine they make here, what do they call it? Oh yeah, mead... Hey, all these years we've been raising bees in Zefielia for honey and to fertilise the flowers, and we never tried to ferment the stuff, well, wonders never cease. You learn something new all the time." "That or they were too busy with the grapes." smiled Lina. Shorty smiled and nodded in agreement then went on "Anyway, that mead, it's good too! I know of a certain restaurant that could make a good go at offering this as a speciality." "One of Luna's?" asked Lina with a bit of a gulp. "Actually, yes." came the reply.

Lina took a deep breath, thinking of her sister always put her on edge, but it had been so long since she heard anything, she was desperate for news of her family. So she gathered her courage and grabbed the emotional bull by the horns. "So tell me Shorty," she began, then checked herself. "Hey, first of all, tell me your real name. I'm sorry, but I can't remember." A couple of the officers chuckled. Shorty cocked an eye meaningfully at them and they were suddenly very interested in, well, anything that looked like they weren't the sort of people that would laugh at a superior officer's name. Shorty smirked, then turned back to Lina. "I don't think I ever told you to be honest." said Shorty. "It's an old family name, but a little unusual in Zephielia outside my family. It's Theoderic, Theo for short, which I much prefer.And no, I have no idea where it came from." "Theo, hmmm, not bad actually, suits you some how." said Lina. "So, Theo," she went on, tell me how my family is?"

"Hmm," he said, thinking for a second. "Well, your folks are fine, in fact they made their merchandising pay off finally, and are rich. But, they miss you, and it was a shock to find you had run away. Anyway, Luna has become independantly wealthy with her chain of restaurants. She got married five years ago too, same time as I did as a matter of fact. She even has a little girl, just like I do." "Wow, that's amazing!" said Lina quietly. She was sad and thoughtful for some time. then she perked up and said "So tell me Shor..., er Theo, who did Luna marry? And who did you marry? Do I know them?" "Oh well, come to think of it, you do know them Lina. Tell you what, guess." "Guess?" she said. "Yes go on, you'll never get it!" At this point there was a brief interuption as the other officers, who had been quietly sipping their wine and listening to the conversation excused themselves to make a patrol of the camp.

After they left Lina looked at Theo with a sharp eye and said "Guess, eh? Alright, I should have seen that coming! You always did like making things hard for me." she chuckled and went on, "Let's see... hmmm, she likes her men tall, about your height actually. And she would likely want him about her age. Who do I remember that was maybe a little older than her and likely to be tall? Humm, okay, how about, oh what did we call him, Mark the Lark! Shoot, I don't remember his full name, but he had an older brother, uh, Tristan wasn't it?" "Good guess, Tristan is tall." replied Theo. "But Tris married your old friend Cherry." "Cherry?" said Lina tentatively." "Um, you all called her "Tubby" if I remember." "Oh, her..." was Lina's quiet response.

"Well, she was plump, I guess we were as cruel as kids always are." "Yeah, seems to be part of growing up." replied Theo. "Anyway, they have three kids. I hear one more is on the way, and they live in Seirune overseeing the warehouses for one of Zephielia's bigger merchants. I know this because my father in law is a merchant himself and does business with them, though it isn't his warehouse they are working in. I see Tristan about once a year on his vacation home. Nice person actually. And so is Cherry." "Ah, well, that's good." said Lina with a smile.

"Well, maybe I should hazard a guess as to who you married. Hmm, I wonder what type of girl could wrap a man who could have anyone he wanted, because of his good looks, tightly enough around her finger to snare him." Theo snorted at Lina calling him good looking. He remembered a time he was anything but, and Lina had let him know it too. Well, but they were kids, and friends for all that. She thought a moment. "Was it that athletic one? Pamila I think she was called? She was fairly pretty." Theo burst out laughing so hard he dropped his wine, and Lina found herself perturbed, wondering what the joke was. "Pamila?" he gasped out between his laughter finally. "Pamila! The vixen with the dark blue hair? Ho, ho, listen, all I'm going to say on that is that she's now in Elemikia with her best childhood girlfriend. Remember Pfil? The stereotypical dumb blonde?"

"Why are they there?" asked Lina innocently. Theo had trouble replying through his giggles. "Well, let's say it's because they are, um, how to put this, cohabitating?" "Cohabitating?" asked Lina in a confused tone. She looked at Theo. He looked back at her. Something in his eye twinkled, and the light went on for Lina. The world seemed to stand on it's head for a second, then she blushed deeply and said "Oh, cohabitating... uh, really. Well, that explains why Elemikia then, Zephielia is a little more, um conservative in it's views about, um, that, okay, I'm, um, rambling..." Theo saved her. "So, no, I'm not married to Pamila then." "I never saw that one coming, that's for sure..." said Lina still a bit red in the face. "I don't know if anyone did." said Theo.

0"Well, moving right along, um, look, if I beg really nice, will you just tell me who you married and who Luna married?" Lina said, changing the subject. "Maybe." he said with a laugh in his eye now. "Depends on how nice you beg. I think this calls for both knees on the ground, don't you?" "Both your knees on the ground? Would that be before or after I fireball you?" Lina smiled back, mock menace in her voice. Theo seemed to think about that one deeply, then chuckled. "Ah, the hell with it." said Theo. "Luna married no one other than..." "LINA!" came an excited yell from outside followed by Amilia bursting into the tent. Lina turned with a little snarl to tell the Princess to keep quiet, then she saw the gravely worried look on the girls face and realised something important had happened. "What is it, Amilia?" she asked, looking worried. Amilia pointed back towards the hall, and said only one word.

"Gourry!"

Lina was out of the tent faster than the fastest arrow ever sped. Faster even than one of those novelty skyrockets being introduced into the west (well, his east actually) by the imfamous fireworks maker Jilas (apparently he was working as a subsitiary of "Vases and Maces Inc."!) Lina ran as fast as she could and then some. She even forgot to breath until the pain in her chest forced her to remember. Finally she burst into the hall to the startled looks of the guests still inside. She had hoped and prayed, and convinced herself to believe, and thus fully expected Gourry would be sitting there eating or something and that everyone would have a good laugh at her expense for falling for a trick. Now that it wasn't happening she was lost. Not for long though. Amilia grabbed her by the collar and turned her around, puffing from the effort to keep up with Lina. "Didn't you hear me?" she panted. "He's in the infirmary." She could see the confusion in Lina's eyes, so she grabbed her friend's hand and ran with her out out of the hall and around to the building that served as the medical center. The clattered in and went straight to a private room, guards and staff scrambling to get out of their way.

There was only one bed in the room. Zel, and Phil, and Naga were there, watching Prince Erik examine the figure on the bed. Tall he was, well muscled, with long, dirty, disheveled blond hair that reached down to his waist. He needed a shave in the worst way, but for all that there was no mistaking his identity. Lina had found Gourry. If only he weren't at death's door... Lina sprang forward and was caught by Zel. "Let the doctor finish Lina." he whispered. "We don't have Sylphiel, we have to rely on their experience." "Wha-what's wrong with him?" asked a trembling Lina. Zel pointed. Now Lina noticed the cut off shaft of a wicked looking arrow sticking up from his left shoulder. It looked too deeply embeded to simply have it's tip in his muscles or even his joint. No, this was deep, possibly into his lungs. Erik looked grave as he examined the patient. Finally he turned and said "His life hangs by a thread. That arrow is deadly where it lies, it is amazing the trip home didn't cause it to cut something it shouldn't have. It has to come out, but I warn you, the chances of death are great. But they are absolutely certain if we leave it in place. We have no choice. I go to prepare for the surgery. Alas, all the nurses are busy, but someone must watch him and make sure that, no matter what, he doesn't move, not even to roll over. But alas and alak, he seems to be in a deep coma, he might not move anyway". Lina spoke up in a strange voice "I will watch him, he will not move." Then, ignoring everyone else, the distraught girl lowered herself down to where she could whisper in to Gourry's ear and hold him gently. "Gourry?" she asked quietly. "I hope you can hear me. It's Lina. Gourry, don't leave me, please don't go where I cannot follow. I have been looking for you since you left me at the inn. I'm sorry Gourry, I'm sorry I laughed at you, it wasn't meant the way it came across. Do you remember you asked me a question Gourry? Please remember that you did, because I have wanted to give you the answer for so long now. It's yes, Gourry. Yes! I do love you, and I want to marry you. I do Gourry, I do! Gourry, why won't you wake up? Why won't you talk to me and let me know it will be alright? Gourry?"

As she spoke Lina stroked his face and kissed him, but no matter what happened, the blond swordsman just lay there in a state deeper than sleep. Lina despaired that he could even hear her, and that he would go to his grave not knowing that she loved him. Poor Lina. She had confronted many losses in her life, but most, if not all of the people were still alive, and there was still hope for a reunion. But Gourry threatened to go away in a manner that would not allow any such hope. Still, she didn't allow herself to cry, Gourry didn't need that. She kept a long vigil. Her friends took it in turns to sit with her when they could, but they talked little. Mostly Lina tried to talk to Gourry, hoping he'd hear her voice and wake up. But alas, Gourry stayed asleep.

Finally, they were ready for him, and strong but gentle men came to lift him carefully onto a stretcher and move him to where Prince Erik himself would attempt to save his life. Lina wasn't allowed to go, and so she sat on the bed, looking hopeless. Whoever had watched with her last had gone, and she felt crushed by the loneliness. She hadn't felt that way since when she first left home for good at Luna's insistence. Then a voice spoke. "Excuse me, Miss, are you Lina?"

Lina looked up, to see an exhausted and wounded, but obviously expertly cared for young man standing there. She nodded. "Wow," said the young man. "So, you are the goddess that Jellyfish is in love with." Lina was startled by that, but it had the effect of giving her her voice back. "What is that supposed to mean?" she asked, not sure what the youth was getting at. "Um, well, I know the man they just took off to the doctor there, the one you were staying with." said the man by way of explanation. "I don't know what his right name is, he never told us, he only signed up by his nickname "Jellyfish." Lina gulped at a big lump that suddenly came to her throat. So he HAD been listening all those years! The man went on "Um, he was really quiet, and we all figured something was bothering him, but he was a great swordsman, and that, plus his magic sword, well he was a natural for the dangerous assignment we got, to go to the high pass and hold it against any and all comers. And sometimes he'd talk a bit, tell us a few brief stories of how he traveled with a young lady whom he never named, having adventures of all sorts, but he was always sad. It wasn't until the last battle, when we were at our most desperate time, that he seemed to get a sudden burst of courage by calling on the name of someone named "Lina". We wondered if it was someone he loved, but others thought he was calling on a goddess. Now that I see you, I think he was doing a bit of both!"

Lina's heart stopped for a minute. What was this kid talking about? "I am no goddess, just a girl, a girl with a big mouth, and no brains to think with before I speak." She was silent for a minute then said to the young man "What is your name?" "Latimer." was the response. "Latimer, please tell me what happened? I need to know. Please?" "Okay, um, sure! I'd be happy to, Miss Lina." he said. He sat down on the bed beside her, obviously tired from his ordeal and his own injuries, and proceeded to tell Lina about their adventure. Of course, the first part had not much to say, they had heard about how the new land in the east had put out a call for warriors, meaning mercenaries, of course. Not a hugh number had answered but many hundreds did come. Latimer had been one, he and a few friends and family members were of a mind to try adventuring. Along the way they had met others and the little party had grown, including a fairly silent man, obviously a warrior of some sort, who would only give the name "Jellyfish" when asked. He had been going north through Zefielia on his way to Elemikia when they had over taken him.

Lina slapped her forehead. She had thought he was going south the Seirune. But she realised she wouldn't have likely found him if she had gone north anyway, and going south had allowed her to meet Zel, and the adventure. "Maybe this was ment to be, so I'd meet Naga again, and be there to help with the battle and all. I'd like to think there was some sort of higher meaning to it at least..." she thought to herself as the young man went on. The group had gone to Westhold, and been admited, and went to Stronghold, and been tested, and then the best had been taken aside and offered a special high paying, but very dangerous job. Those that had accepted were joined with a hand picked corps of fighters from Westhold, and were sent to learn of their duties, while the rest of the mercenaries were marched off with some regular troops to man the wall and set things in order at the bottleneck pass. Of course the special team's duties were to go on a series of forced marches and guard the high pass. They set to with a will and made good time, coming to the pass shortly before midsummer. But, when they got there they found the pass was aready overtaken by the enemy!
There were three narrow places along the trail where a man and a horse could go only in single file, and and the enemy was just emerging from the first, or from the enemy's point of view, the third, such narrow. It was a lucky thing they got there just when they did, for their first man was litteraly going around a bend in the pass when he encountered the enemy going the other way, if they had been even fifteen minutes later they would have had a sizeable force of enemy soldiers facing them on a wider part of the path where their numbers could be put to good use. As it was it was almost a defeat as it quickly became a battle of attrition where the front man would pitch one or two enemies off the cliff face, only to be pitched himself. The enemy had come in numbers, easily ten thousand men, and against them, the five hundred who stood for Westhold would have simply lost by sheer numbers. But then Jellyfish came pushing his way to the front, and his magic sword turned the tide. No enemy could stand against a sword that simply cut through any weapon, or shield, or armour, or even flesh, like a red hot knife cuts through melted butter. The enemy simply had to back up.

Now, in hindsite, if they had been smart they should have stayed there and denied the enemy the pass until the winter set in and closed it with them trapped, but they were afraid of the enemy breaking through, so they gave pursuit. It was harder in the wider areas that followed, partly because the enemy had room to maneuver, and partly because they were fighting on slippery slopes with sheer drops on either side. But wherever the battle was hardest, there was the magic sword and the blond madman who wielded it. Lina's eyes went wide as she heard that, Gourry was usually too skilled to be careless. Did he have a death wish? Latimer went on. He explained how they finally drove the enemy back to the last and most dangerous of the three narrow spots. This one was the narrowest and the slipperiest. It was the most overhung with rock and snow too. It was here that the enemy finally decided to make a stand. "I don't know why they chose to do it there Miss Lina, I suspect they were under a threat of death if they returned the way they went. All I know is this. There was some sort of wierd ritual going on in the background as we tried to push them back, a lot of painful screams suddenly filled the air, like some sort of a torturous sacrifice was being performed."

Lina was horrified, she had heard of human sacrifice of course, in tales of the old days, she never imagined anyone except a few criminal magicians still practiced it. Hmmm, maybe that's why she never recognised the spells at the cliff face when she fought them... Latimer continued "The screams suddenly got wierd, then terrifying, and inhuman. Suddenly a mighty warrior rushed to the front, frothing at the mouth and with his eyes rolled back. I think he was possessed. Anyway, he had superhuman strength. He scattered us about like leaves, tossing many of us off the cliff. And he held a glowing quarterstaff in his hands. It struck left and right in rapid order, and whoever it hit seemed to just go down. I found out why when it was my turn. I didn't take a full blow, just a brush along the back of my hand which I had thrown out to defend myself. That brush numbed my hand, it still doesn't feel right, and I felt black despair creep into the edges of my soul. I imagine those who took a full blow simply had the will to live knocked out of them. And then came our hero to the fore. He swung, and to our amasement, although the possessed warrior was sent staggering back from the force of the blow, the weapon didn't break or get cut! He struck again and again with the same result. The warrior was always able to parry his blows and the magic staff didn't break. Then Jellyfish over reached slightly and was slow getting back from a blow, leaving an opening. He took three solid blows from the monster and went down. We thought he was dead. So did the monster who roared in hideous laughter at his foe. But Jellyfish wasn't out. He looked around, and even as we crowded forward to try and free him he had a plan. He gathered himself together even as the demonic warrior prepared to give one more blow that would have sent him into the abyss. He suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs, like it was a battle cry, the name "LINA!" and went straight up the cliff face to the overhang. He hacked and hewed with his sword until the whole thing came down in an avalanche. The warrior was swept away and the path was blocked. Jellyfish sprang to get away, and as he did so an arrow came from the enemy side and landed in his shoulder. We rushed forward and pulled him away, some of us getting injured in the process as more shafts came speeding by, but we got out of range and settled down to tend the wounded and see what would happen. Eventually the sun set and in the darkness of the night a snow storm came upon us"
You must realise we were that high up that snow storms can come any time of year. Still it was as if the mountain's gods were saying "ENOUGH!" The storm trapped us for a night and a day and another night before abating. We were cold and tired, we didn't have enough fuel to keep a fire going the whole time and some of us were almost frozen, including Jellyfish. Now he wasn't passed out at that time, he was awake, but very tired, very, well, depressed. I think it was from the blows of the magical weapon. He just slowly started retreating into himself. Still, at first he could walk, and when the weather broke some of the guides we had picked up assured us that the storm would return and that the pass was about to be snowed in and not passable again till next year. They did say it was early this year, but that it was not unknown for the pass to close even at the height of summer. We did the only thing we could, we packed up and retreated back to the high plain before the first pass. We waited a week, it was tough and some good men died of their injuries, but there weren't enough of us left to both move the wounded and watch the pass and all agreed, even the wounded, including Jellyfish, that we had to be sure they weren't getting through. A week passed, it was getting more cold and snowy, and we had to go or die of cold. We left, but we were sure they wouldn't follow in this weather. We finally found some villages where we got help. We had bound Jellyfish's arrow as best we could, for we knew it was deep. The problem was that it stuck out so much that every movement threatened to make it move, so one of us, who was a woodworker by trade, and used to dealing with small pieces of wood for delicate carvings, spent the week removing what he could of the arrow shaft so it was easier for him to move and walk. But he wouldn't eat, we had to coax him to drink water.

When we were secure we moved down making for Stronghold to report. We found other villages, but they all had the same problem, the doctors had gone to the muster and only lesser trained people were there to help. We were really afraid for Jellyfish, the other seriously wounded were dead or were stable and being cared for in various villages awaiting the return of the doctors, but he couldn't wait so we brought him with us, but he kept getting weaker and that arrow was a threat with every step. Finally, about a week out, we found a small hamlet where an old wise woman knew a couple of tricks. She put some sort of an immobility spell on the arrow and it froze in place. I don't think you could have driven it in with a sledgehammer. And just in time too, Jellyfish was stumbling by now, not talking, slowly ebbing away. But he was very strong for all that. He finally collapsed about a day out from Stronghold and we made a stratcher and carried him the rest of the way, getting here earlier this evening. But you know that. I'm not sure when he lapsed into a coma, when he first collapsed he would babble a bit, I'm sure he said Lina more than once, then silence. And it was about noon today the freezing spell wore off and we had to go slow and careful. But finally we made it, and now, thank the gods he has Prince Erik himself to look after him. From what the native Westholders tell me there simply isn't a finer doctor to be had. If he can't do, I don't know who can, short of the Golden Lord herself. But what worries me is the blow to his spirit that magical rod gave him. I think that's done as much as anything to sap his spirit. I don't know what can help there. I don't know how to describe it, it's like, like, I don't know, all the music goes out of your soul or something, and I think if you took a full blow the light must follow the music. I hope he lives and recovers, a lot of people want to thank him.

Lina sat there taking it all in. Finally she said, utter amazement in her voice "Gourry did all that? And I inspired him..." "Gourry eh?" said Latimer. "I never knew his name till now." Lina looked up "Yeah... it's Gourry, Gourry Gabriev. he's from Elemikia." Latimer nodded. "I'm Latimer Ivanchuck! I'm from Zoana. I hear that my King came out to the battle too." "Zangulas? Oh yes, he was there, I think he got an injury too, so hey, you are in good company!" answered Lina, trying to make a joke. Latimer smiled and said "Hey that's true! Wait'll I tell everyone I did just as good as the King! So, if I may be so bold, what's your full name, Lina? And where are you from?" "Me. Oh, I'm Lina, Lina Inverse from Zephielia." she replied a bit absentmindedly. "Ah, you have the same name as that sorceress everyone talks about." said Latimer sincerely. If she hadn't been so worried Lina would probably have had something sarcasticly clever to say as she decked him, but as it was all she could do was give Latimer a strange look, and say "Yeah, how about that?"

To change the subject she said "Poor Gourry, he's going to be upset to learn he's lost his second magical sword." "Huh?" asked Latimer. "Gourry used to bear nothing less than the Sword of Light, but he willingly gave it up when it's owners from the Overworld came and asked for it." "Wow!" said Latimer with a little whistle. "Yeah," Lina went on, "then he found a cheap sword from somewhere and had to do battle against a mazoku high lord, Dynast Grausherra to be exact, who is a master of the cold, well, in the battle the cheap blade gets heated up, then Dynast grabs it with his freezing hand and the blade shatters. So all seems lost till suddenly it is noticed that there is a second blade in the first one. That's wierd isn't it? Hiding a blade inside a blade? Only of course it turns out to be the magical Blast Blade, the blade so sharp it can cut anything except it's magically charmed sheath, and I guess the cheap sword it was hidden in had some sort of magic too, and well, he's had it for a long time now, but it's likely still cutting it's way through the earth if it hasn't fallen out the bottom already on it's way to another of the Lord of Nightmare's four worlds." She gave a sigh. Latimer beamed a big smile at her and said "Now you wait right here Miss Lina!" and painfully got up and went out of the room.

Lina wondered what he was up to. She thought about what he had said. Gourry had taken his very inspiration from her. Oh, what a fool she had been! "Now, now," said part of her soul. "Don't beat up on yourself Lina, you didn't know all this was going to happen, and you were entitled to be sure before you said yes to him." "I could have been faster about it!" bemoaned the other half, but before it turned into a Lina Inverse Super Special Pity Party she was rescued by the return of Latimer, triumphantly holding up the Blast Blade, with it's sheath! Lina gasped and gave squeal of joy! "Where on earth...?" she began. "Hey" said Latimer, "He had the sheath tied on with extra cords, and one of them held, and he had such a death grip on the sword that it took two of us ten minutes to pry his fingers open enough to get it out. Of course, they were being careful of both the arrow and the super sharp blade, but still, that's quite a grip!" He handed it to Lina telling her he figured she was the best one to keep it for him. Lina's eyes shone with tears of gratitude as she thanked the young man profusely. "Well, happy to help Miss." he smiled back. He excused himself as he had to go report to various people now that he was on the mend, he said he had only stopped by to see how the hero was doing. With a broad smile he left, and Lina sat back down on the bed with the sword, safely sheathed, hugged tight against her, wishing she was holding Gourry that tightly instead. She wasn't sure how much longer she sat there, but finally movement in the hall heralded the return of her Gourry. The stretcher was brough in, and Gourry was put back to bed and tucked in tight. A nurse sat down there, her job was to watch the patient all night and make sure nothing went wrong, or to get Prince Erik if something did.

The Prince himself walked in just behind the strecher, and the King came with him. "Well, that's over." Erik said. "It was trickly, but we have had a few lucky breaks and I am very confident he will heal." "So, this is the man named "Jellyfish" the one who stopped the invasion of my kingdom from the north. And it turns out he is your Gourry we were looking for, Lady Lina." added the King. "No wonder we couldn't find him. Westhold owes him much, and he shall have it too." Lina looked hopefully at Gourry. His face seemed a little more at ease, but he was still in a coma, there was no word to describe it, there just was something about him that you knew he wasn't asleep. "Please, my Lord Prince Erik," said Lina in a low voice, being very formal for once as an immense wave of gratitude for the man flowed through her, "Tell me how the operation went?"

"Sure, but drop the formal stuff okay? This isn't a state occasion!" he replied with a chuckle. "So, what's to tell? We got him in there, we trickled some drugs down his throat, enough to make sure he was deeply asleep, then we had a good look at the wound. It had been stablized well, and I had the chief medical aide who had gone north with the special force there to tell me what had happened. They were lucky they found that old woman who could stabilize the injury, it really helped, as did having that carpenter or woodcarver cut off the most of the arrow so it didn't flop around as he walked. I think they both deserve a big reward for this." "Already noted." said the King with a smile. "Great!" said Erik "Well, the other thing that helped was his shirt." "Huh?" said Lina, confused. "Oh, we issued silk shirts to all the soldiers." said the King. "Huh?" repeated Lina. "Well, it's a trick we've learned from the enemy over the years." he went on. "Turns out that if you wear a loose silk shirt, erm, well, let me back up a minute. Silk is strong. We don't know why, but it acts stronger than steel somehow. Not bad, considering that it is the thread a little worm spins for itself to make a cocoon when it wants to become a butterfly. Or is it a moth? I can't remember. Anyway, it spins yards of the stuff at a time as a single long thread, and that's why it can be used for cloth. It's like spider thread, apparently. It cost us a lot of money to import so much, but it makes wonderful soft shirts for soldiers, and beautiful gowns for ladies, as I believe you know, Lady Lina." Lina nodded, wondering where this was going.

The King went on. "The stuff is delicate in some ways, but as I said, it is stronger than steel wire drawn to nearly the same diameter. And that's why the soldiers get it. You see, as the enemy has demonstrated for generations, if it's worn loosely, so that it has some give, it doesn't rupture or cut when an arrow hits you, rather it drives into the wound with the arrow!" Lina looked up, eyes open in surprise. The King went on, again, "Because of this it surrounds the arrow head and reduces the damage it does and the depth it penetrates. It also keeps the wound cleaner." Prince Erik spoke up. "It also makes it easier to withdraw the arrow head." Lina gave a gasp! The wound was bad, but not as bad as they feared. Prince Erik was right, he would heal! She allowed a joyful smile to come to her face. "Oh thank you both, your Majesties, that is better news than I feared!"

"One more piece of news, my Lady." said Erik, as he held up a wicked sharp pointed bit of metal. The arrowhead itself! "This is an armour piercing point. No wicked, cruel barbs. No bladed edges, just the nasty point. Passage through his armour and the shirt stopped it before it reached the major vein that runs under his collar bone, which was our main fear. Also, the wound was fairly clean, thanks to the shirt again. We have packed it with healing herbs and cast what magic we have on him to speed the recovery. My greatest fear is now the wound to his soul the magic weapon seems to have dealt him. You have heard his story, have you not, lady?" "Y-yes, one of his commrades at arms came by to see how he was, just after you took him. He sat awhile and told me what went on up north." She looked up at Prince Erik and said "Your Majesty, please don't send me away from him till he at least wakes up. Please!" The Prince looked softly at Lina. "Okay." he said with a smile. "Well, I shall leave you to him then. The nurse will help if you need anything." He and the King turned to go.

Lina spoke up. "I-I'm sorry, but may I ask one more question?" "Of course." he said kindly, turning back. Lina asked "How is Sylphiel?" A sad look came over the Prince's face. "Well, she is talking a bit, eating and drinking a bit, but, she is still very sad, I think. Or in shock. Her body is healing, but the wound she bears seems more one of the heart. Alas, for that I have no cure." "You might." said Lina. It was the Prince's turn to look puzzled. "She told me once that she felt something for you, Prince Erik, something I suspect, and she did not deny, might have been the beginings of love. She hoped you felt the same way. If this is true I believe simply having you around will do more to call her back than any other magic or leechcraft known to mankind. I know you are busy, but she gave so much there on the cliff, and had to withstand such a shock to her soul. If you can but talk with her, about herbs or whatever you were discussing before the war even, I think it might help. I hope I haven't made trouble for telling you this, but I care for her too." The Prince looked a bit stunned, then blushed, but he smiled warmly. "No, and I thank you for telling me! I will do as you ask, when my duties allow." He turned and walked out, perhaps there was a spring in his step? The King chuckled and turned to Lina. "I think that's the best news my brother has had all day! Thanks Lina!" he smiled, and left the room too. Lina sighed. The nurse tried to reassure her, and Lina tried to be reassured. They settled in for a long watch.

Gourry did not wake up that night, nor the next day. Lina did not give over her vigil either. She was tired, but too wound up to sleep. Her friends were terribly worried when they had to coax her to eat, this was so not like Lina! They missed her at the meals, and in the activities of the day, but they realised she was where she needed to be and respected her wishes. But if only she would sleep, or eat something. But there were other duties, other sick people, armies to march off home. Zangulas for one, packed up his troop the next day after the victory, he was after all, only the King, and he had his orders from she who must be obeyed! So, being he wan't too badly injured he mounted up and rode off, taking his subjects with him, including one Latimer Ivanchuck whom he had overheard describing to his friends about the small redhead who was Jellyfish's mystery goddess. "She even has the same name as that infamous sorceress, Lina Inverse."

The others chortled, until they were cut off by a kingly "TWIT! That's because she IS the sorceress." The crowd turned in fear and shock to face their lord. Zangulas smiled knowingly and added "Think about the description..." Latimer, trembling before his king, mentally went through the list, then with a shakey voice said "Y-Y-Your majesty, this one didn't have the temper..." "Okay, I'll grant you that, but that's because she's tired now. And you are very lucky. And so are we that she isn't here to overhere this conversation. Now, get ready to leave!" was the royal reply. And so they did, and so did many others. It was the start of the waning of summer, and many would not get home until hard on harvest time, and what with many men not returning, as always happened in a war, there would be lots to too much work for everyone, provided they got home in time. So, while Lina watched over Gourry, life did get on. Oaths of friendship were taken, rewards were handed around in full measure, pay was paid out, and the accounts settled in a busy, hectic time. Finally the last troops marched off, leaving only a few hold overs who were staying for their own reasons.

Prince Phil for example, had sent the troops back under the care of a general, and had kept a small guard on stand by to let him return with Amilia after he had had a chance to visit with Gracia and her family a bit, now that there was peace again. Zelgadiss seemed to be in good spirits on the night of the return, but then he became moody again, and Amilia tried to put it off to tiredness, but deep inside her old fears surfaced. He was leaving... Naga found herself very busy, everything from the demands of her baby, to her duities to grieving families, to state duties, to magical duties, to you name it. And still Gourry slept on, and still Lina kept her lonely watch. She was tired now, but sleep eluded her. Doctors and friends popped in and out, but, nothing changed.

There was even a surprise visit from Sylphiel in the middle of the second night. She had gotten up from wherever she was lying in the hospital, and had wandered in. Lina was startled to see her, but even more startled by the vacant way she just stared at Gourry. She didn't respond to Lina at all, just stared at Gourry. Lina was starting to get freaked out by this when she suddenly turned away from Gourry and looked at Lina. She said in a strange voice "I'm sorry Lina, I'm so sorry for everything!" and took off running. Lina had thought she wasn't able to sleep before this, now she was even more wound up. She kept a lonely, scared vigil throughout the night, wondering what would happen next.

The third morning dawned and Lina was begining to despair. Prince Erik came in eventually and examined the wound, which he declared to be healing. He then told Lina that Sylphiel seemed to be much better that morning, she was more alert and talkative, and had even eaten a good breakfast. He told Lina that this ment there was always hope. Lina told him of the strange visit, and the Prince thought for a moment then said "I wonder if she was sleep walking? But she's only getting better, not fully healed yet." Lina was too tired to argue, so she accepted the explanation. The day wore on, people came and went, Gourry was helped to drink, but it was a slow process of dribbling a bit down his throat till his reflex kicked in and he swallowed. Lina was a bit of a godsend for she did that without fail, seeing the staff were too busy to do it regularly or properly.

As the day wore on she talked to Gourry, trying all sorts of things to get a response. She threatened to eat all the food. She offered to leave him some. Later on she offered to, just this once, serve him his food herself and let him eat his fill before she touched a bite. She talked about what they might do once they were married. She held his hand, she even kissed him like in the fairy tales of her youth, but alas, such cures only seemed to work for sleeping maidens. Night came around again, and Lina was running well beyond empty. She was getting a bit babbly, and the staff quietly prepared orders left by the Queen, they were sure she'd finally be a sleep by morning. And they were right.

In the small of the night Lina had snuggled into bed with Gourry. She was too tired to stand, she kept drifting in and out. It was as if she wanted to do something but could no longer think of what to do. Somewhere in the confusion she even found herself praying to the unknown god again, even though she couldn't remember why. But she asked for Gourry to wake up please, and that would be all the miracle she would ever need, and couldn't he do it please, and..., then she woke up again and sighed, what was she doing? She lay there awile, drifing, whispering to Gourry, pouring her heart out, telling him she really was a scared little girl deep inside and wouldn't he please come back and be her guardian once more. Finally sleep crept up and over her once more like a dark, soothing tide, and she drifted.

As she did she got the urge to sing a song. She didn't know where it came from, exhaustion probably, but it seemed like a good idea, so she reached into her memory and found that of all the songs she knew only an old love song, maybe one that her mother used to sing, or maybe one that Luna sang, she couldn't remember, came floating up ready to go. Lina was rumoured to have a screechy voice. This was mainly because that's what a lot of people heard just before a never to be forgotten encounter with a fireball happened, an event which fixed the voice in their memories indelibly. Also, she did tend to sing to herself quietly in a tuneless manor, letting her memory fill in the notes, and she herself would say she didn't have much of a voice, but in truth, although she had never taken any formal lessons, and was rather shy about singing in public, when she tired, she sang beautifully. This was one of those times as she sang quietly to Gourry.

"Somewhere in the world,
Somewhere in the dark,
I can hear the voice that calls my name.
Might be a memory,
Might be my future,
Might be a love waiting for me.

Rock me gently,
Hug me tenderly,
'Til the morning breaks, night fades away.
I've spent my time in vain,
Trapped inside pain,
Don't let me down,
Help me see the light.
Feeling bitter and twisted, all alone,
Wading through an empty life too long.
I close my eyes,
Listen to the wind,
Longing to belong to a higher place.

Let me hear your voice,
Let me be with you,
When the shadow falls down upon me.
Like a bird singing,
Like a breeze blowing,
It's calling me,
Somewhere in the world."

Finally, the sleep washed over her, and as she drifted off she whispered to Gourry "Come back to me Gourry, I need you..."