Conversation between Zel and Amelia. Please start/keep reviewing!
Gerao-A: Glad you like my fics, and I'm glad Zel's victim was sufficiently detestable :)
Amelia is expecting me, so I enter without knocking. There she stood, in all her glory. She appears unchanged from when I last saw her, as it has only been a few months. As beautiful as ever.
"Zelgadis-san!" With that high-pitched cry she launches herself into my arms. Apparently her zeal has not changed either. I spin her around me to lower her momentum. She giggles happily as I set her down.
"Amelia. It's good to see you again." I cannot think of anything better to say than those simple words, but she is apparently satisfied at the warmth in my voice and in my smile. I allow myself to view her more carefully. She is wearing an elegant dress as though she was on a mission of diplomacy. She also seems a little tired and stressed. Perhaps I had not underestimated the horror of dealing with the people of the Outer Lands.
"Zelgadis-san! I didn't think you were coming, your letter was so vague." My letter. I had almost forgotten about the letter I sent with the Divine spell. I was not sure whether I should tell her about that discovery.
"Amelia, I have some things to tell you. You're dressed so well, do you have time to spend with me?" Now I want to talk to her quickly. After all this time with all these thoughts to myself, I am going a little crazy. It would do me some good to get my ideas out into the open.
At my words, Amelia glances down at herself. "I have plenty of time Zelgadis-san. I just finished a bad meeting with a few suitors." Her face changes from a happy smile to a slightly disgusted look.
I frown as well. "Suitors? Aren't you a little young?" I did not want to see Amelia married away. Especially not to anyone similar to the people from the Outer Lands that I have met.
"Zelgadis-san! I'm 16, not a child!" She is annoyed, and even a little saddened.
"That's what all children say." I reply with a slight smile. She doesn't seem amused. "No, I was just thinking that royalty don't usually have to pursue a courtship until they come of age at 18. And..." I hesitate. There was another reason that I did not want her to have suitors, but I did not want to get to that just yet. She apparently senses my hesitation and interprets it as true love. Or else her eyes start shining for a different reason.
I cough lightly before she can rave about our eternal love. Her eyes are still shiny and I sweatdrop as I try to think of something that could derail one of her raves. They never ceased to make me uncomfortable. "I brought you a gift." I smile slightly until I realize I blurted out something that would, in all likelihood, have the opposite effect. I reached into my astral pocket dimension where I remembered I put the dragon statue and temple book. I give her the statue first.
"Zelgadis-san." Her voice has so far shown zeal and annoyance, but now it is simply content. She seems to be pleased that I thought of her, and has not even looked at the statue yet. Her gaze continues to be shiny, and her hands clasp together. I wait for a few seconds, expecting to her to return from reality as quickly as she withdrew from it. Several seconds later, she was still staring at me. By now, the drop of sweat at the back of my head was quite large.
I cough again. "Amelia?" I hold the statue in front of her as her face attains a more normal expression of cheerfulness. Her right hand goes to the back of her head, as she laughs nervously in embarrassment. I smile slightly. "I found an impressive site: a deserted city in the desert." She admires the statue as she listens to my story. "It has been deserted for about a thousand years." Still no reaction, but she seems to notice the great craftsmanship of the brilliant red statue. She does not react to the probable amount of time, but I doubt anyone would. "This is a statue of the Flarelord Vrabazard." She looks up from the statue. She was unsurprised, and apparently already recognized the figure.
"Did you go to the dragon shrine, Zelgadis-san?" she asked, a little confused. She responded to Filia's negative answer about my cure with almost as much disappointment as I did. She knew that it would be fairly pointless to Filia's shrine, as it almost certainly did not hold my cure.
"No. The city was human-sized, and the books were in our language." I hand her the temple book. She sets down the statue and curiously starts to skim the book. I grin; I want her to find out from me before she reads finds something I may have missed. "They were practitioners of Divine magic." She looks up and blinks, startled.
"Zelgadis-san? You found a city of people who could cast Divine magic?" She is astounded.
"And I scoured their libraries." I grin as she struggles to digest this. "There were protection spells on everything within the town, so everything I took from it should survive. Just in case, I left most of the books there." I answer her unasked questions. "The only spell I know so far is the one." She blinks again, confused I have not elaborated. "The dove that carried my letter was sent by the Flarelord." She makes a small ah of comprehension, surprise, or both.
"I know the basics of Divine magic fairly well, but several of the cures are too difficult for me to cast. I was hoping that someone with more talent could help me." I smile slightly at her, wondering what her reaction would be. I assume she will be pleased at my confidence in her, and would probably blush a little and make a modest statement. Or will she be saddened that I hadn't come to her out of love? Worse, will she be annoyed at a selfish request?
"Hm." She is thinking, probably weighing her options and abilities. I wait anxiously. I know she won't be able to help me constantly, as she obviously has important royal duties. But I am sure she would be able to help me to some degree. I am still slightly anxious. "But Slyphiel-san is still helping with the rebuilding of Sairaag." My eyes widen as I fall to the floor with an undignified splat. She looks down at me as I quickly heft myself up.
"No, Amelia. I'd like you to help me." I manage to keep the slight irritation I am feeling out of my voice. She smiles, and I have a sudden suspicion.
"You just pretended to misunderstand me, didn't you?" I smile slightly as my irritation for some reason fades.
She laughs lightly in response. I have never heard her laugh before. For that matter, she has not heard me laugh either. "I see why Gourry-san likes to act this way. The look on your face, Zelgadis-san!" Her laughter increases. I chuckle a little, as well, as her laughter is pleasant and contagious. "Ah, you're laughing Zelgadis-san." She looks pleasantly surprised. "I didn't know you laughed, I've never heard you laugh before."
"I've never heard you laugh, either." My amusement continues, though my chuckle does not. She looks a little surprised, and then smiles.
"Zelgadis-san...I'd be happy to help you. But it would take me a long time to master Divine magic, let alone a spell that would be powerful enough to cure you." She looks almost vulnerable as she says this.
"I know, Amelia. It would probably take at least several months for you to learn the advanced spells." I wince slightly as I realize she could interpret this as a lack of confidence in her abilities. But truly, it would take everyone that long. Most would need even more time, if they could ever learn the spells at all. To my relief, Amelia realizes this.
"It would probably take me even longer than that, Zelgadis-san." Of course it would, I do not expect her to drop everything for my benefit. "I have been very busy lately with the suitors and negotiations with people of the Outer Lands."
I nod. "Yes, I...met a few of them in town. They...ah...were not pleasant to deal with." I manage to mince my words. Judging by her expression, she is trying to decide how to ask for clarification. I do not want to admit my actions, though I do not regret them. I realize where this conversation is leading, and what I could say to forestall her questions. "Amelia, I think I'll stay in Seyruun. For a while, at least."
Her face lights up with joy, and her eyes sparkle again. This time I expect such a reaction, though I doubt I'll ever become accustomed to it. "That's wonderful, Zelgadis-san!"
"While I traveled here, I thought about whether I should stay or not. There are not many places left for me to search for my cure. I think the best way now to search for a cure is to provide a reward for information. Information would have to be sent to a location, and Seyruun will do well in that regard. If I leave in response, you could send me a message with the same Divine spell I used or a courier." She looks a little dissatisfied with my answer. I know she thinks I look fine the way I am, but no matter how grateful I feel, I still want a cure. Most people don't see me the same way as my friends do. Besides, this body has other downfalls.
She thinks for a few seconds. Hopefully she is reasonably pleased. "Well, Amelia, since I'll be staying here for awhile..." I pause here for a second, reassured by her wide smile, before continuing, "Perhaps you could tell me what's been going on in Seyruun."
She manages to amplify her wide smile. "Of course, Zelgadis-san." She beams, apparently happy that I want to know about the events in her life. "You already know about the people from the Outer Lands. Most of the dignitaries are here for treaties, but several are here to court me and others just want to visit our continent. It's very stressful." Her voice shows sincerity. I think that she does not want to give me the details yet, but I would like to know.
"Amelia, you can give me more details later when you're less stressed." She is a little surprised at my perception. I can wait until tomorrow to hear her side of things. For some reason I'm anxious to learn about developments in Seyruun. Prince Phil will probably be a good source of information.
"No, Zelgadis-san, I should tell you now." Her statement surprises me a little. She either wants to get it out of the way, or thinks there is a pressing need for me to know.
Author's note:
I am reasonably confident of my ability to write from Zelgadis' point of view. Women are completely different. I of course cannot simply "take away reason and accountability."I hope that Amelia is not terribly out of character, as she's quite difficult for me to write. Reading over it, she seems a bit young, but she's always been very open with her emotions so hopefully that's not much of a stretch.
I also tried a little humor. I'm not sure if Slyphiel would be in Sairaag or not, but it was the best Slayers-type joke I could come up with :)
I like this chapter the least out of all that I've written, but at least there's no longer anything I know to change. I ended it here so the next chapter will begin with Amelia's explanation, as the perspective will shift. Comments and suggestions are welcome and very much appreciated.