Muffles: Your concern about language is a very valid. I'm a big fan of the Japanese version of Slayers, and only use Japanese terms when there is no proper English translation. -San is a sign of respect most anime watchers know, and -dono is a higher form of respect, used by people ranging from people providing services (waiters, etc) to royalty to Kenshin's concept of a rurouni. It generally implies a greater distance between the people speaking. Kisama is an extremely offensive way to address someone in Japan, the way Zelgadis usually addresses to Xellos, that degree of annoyance and anger. I'll try and remember to provide an explanation or an alternative the next time Japanese comes up.

I take a long walk to calm my nerves. Becoming irritated at others, people not deserving of that emotion, would only cause more issues. I am uncertain as to what I should do now. I desperately wish to talk with Amelia and Phil, but obviously cannot return to them. I have no idea of their schedule, either. Neither of them seem to spend an especially long amount of time in their rooms. I face a choice: either wander aimlessly with my thoughts as my only company, or return to my room to study that other book. And since my thoughts do not concern my cure, any research would probably be a waste of time.

I have never just walked in Seyruun. I had always been to preoccupied to notice, but it truly is beautiful. Some time passes before I finally enter the palace. I walk aimlessly before deciding to check Amelia's room. I could always leave her a note.

I walk near my room on the way to hers, and notice a figure turning a nearby corner. Perhaps I am simply suspicious, but I move after the man as quickly and quietly as possible. I catch up to the figure and recognize him: Audric.

I am not sure who I expected, but Audric is certainly surprising. I am not certain how to properly catch his attention; he seems occupied with his thoughts. I simply form his name into a question "Audric?". He stops, slightly surprised, and starts to turn.

"Ah, Zelgadis-san." He addresses me even before his turn is complete. His tone is one of pleased surprise, somewhat diminishing whatever suspicions I may possess. "I was looking for you."

I am not sure how to respond, so I simply wait for him to continue. "I wasn't sure if you noticed me, but I was in the crowd today."

I wince in spite of myself. "Sorry." I apologize simply. To my surprise, he responds with an open chuckle.

"About what, Zelgadis-san? You reacted well. If I had the power to fry people that threatened the person I loved, I doubt I would have been able to restrain myself as you did." He smiles at me, a genuine smile that removes years and stresses from his face. I blink, pleased with his words.

"Thank you, Audric." I am not sure how to ask the obvious question. He grins at me, apparently aware of that inability. "How . . . do others feel?" His grin increases, knowing full well whose opinions I care about.

"Well, you certainly made a hell of an impression. An impressive amount of power and control. You also spoke well, perhaps scaring a few, but reassuring most." I obviously am unsatisfied with that answer, caring only of what Amelia and Phil think of me. "But you care more about 'others,' do you not, Zelgadis-san?" His grin somehow manages to increase, and I cannot help but smile slightly. "Princess Amelia and Prince Phil were shocked; both of them felt vulnerable from the threats and Prince Phil was quite angry. However, Prince Phil did not hesitate long after you departed before calling you a great Warrior of Justice." Audric laughs as I snort, amused in spite of myself.

"They seemed pleased with your restraint. Many people in the crowd were relieved you did not respond the way that Lina Inverse would have." I laugh openly at that remark, as the last bit of tension leaves me. I would have to somehow tell Lina of the event, and of the comparison, without inviting a fireball for my trouble.

"I would like to speak with Amelia and Phil-san, do you know where they are?" Somewhat less apprehensive than before, I question Audric.

He shakes his head in response. "No, I am looking for them myself. Princess Amelia might be in her room. I will let you check, I suspect my inquiry is of less importance than yours." His eye twinkles, and I decide that I want very much to have the luxury of trusting Audric. My instincts and logic tell me he is a good and noble man, who is already essentially already on my side.

I nod. "Thank you." Again, I wish I had more skill with words. We walk together to Amelia's room. He nods in farewell and continues walking. I watch him for a moment before raising my hand to knock. I hear voices, one female, another male. I hesitate, not sure if I should interrupt. I knock anyway, softly, and announce myself clumsily: "Amelia? It's Zelgadis."

"Ah, come in Zelgadis-san." I detect a little slight surprise in her voice. I enter her room, and notice Amelia is not alone– Akira has been speaking with her. I am not sure how to respond to his presence.

I blink, trying to determine their conversation. I study their demeanor after their slight surprise wears off. They both seem almost relieved. They are still staring at me, however. "It is nothing urgent, I will come back." I start to turn around, feeling slightly disappointed and very foolish. Amelia makes a small noise of protest, perhaps trying to figure out how to ask me to stay without possibly offending Akira.

"Nonsense, Zelgadis-san!" The words might have been of Amelia, but the voice is definitely Akira. "Princess Amelia and I were just talking, and you seem to want to say something to her as well." I had turned to face them again by now, and he smiles at my expression. "By your leave, Princess Amelia." He bows to her before walking to me. "Quite the fighter, Zelgadis-san!" He exclaims those words enthusiastically, and I find myself nodding in response. He pats me on the back with a familiarity I do not quite care for, and murmurs as he continues walking. "I need to talk with you tonight." I try not to visibly acknowledge his words: if he wanted Amelia to know he would have told her.

"You as well, Akira-san. I'm sure I'll see you soon." I grin slightly, and am pretty sure I perceive a slight grin grace his own features.

"F-Farewell, Akira-san." Amelia manages to say goodbye to Akira, who bows in response. I walk to Amelia as Akira closes the door. Amelia, who is still staring at me.

I cough before drawing breath to speak to her. "Amelia, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for today."

My intentions of continuing to apologize are interrupted by a righteous tone I know all too well. "For what, Zelgadis-san? You fought well as a Warrior of Justice! Attacking those who are evil, but not harming the innocent!" Her eyes blaze with fire, her fists clenched, as she looks at me with admiration and approval. I sweatdrop. At least she did not try to jump on one of her book shelves.

"Amelia, I was not acting in the name of justice. They threatened you, and I was angry. That's all. I reacted the way I did in order to see them punished." I say these words in a soft, explanatory tone.

She tilts her head slightly and looks at me. "Warriors of Justice fight for different reasons, Zelgadis-san." She matches my tone. I blink in surprise, and sigh quickly. I apologized, explained my reasons, and she yet cannot seem to understand I do not share her love of justice.

"Amelia, I'm just afraid that my anger might control me. When I'm that angry, I feel the demon inside me guiding my actions. I'm not always sure what will happen." I look at her in concern.

"Well, Zelgadis-san, you'll just have to control your anger." She approaches me, and squeezes my hand reassuringly. I open my mouth to respond to her simple words. Are the words those of a child, or of a woman more wise than I thought? The advice, though simple, is certainly valid.

"I suppose so, Amelia." I smile, and squeeze her hand. We stand that way for what seems like only a brief moment, but is probably longer. A knock on her door startles us both, and I withdraw.

Amelia glances at me, before glancing at the door. "Yes?"

"Amelia?" The voice responding from beyond the door is that of her father.

"Come in, Tou-san!" I cannot read much from her voice.

The large figure of Prince Phil enters. "Ah, Zelgadis-san! Thank you for not fireballing anyone!" His laugh is somewhat restrained, though of course a person who has not heard many of his laughs would be nonetheless affected. "Thank you also for stopping them. I don't know what I would do if my Amelia was hurt." The giant man looks quite vulnerable while contemplating this possibility.

"Tou-san." I hear Amelia whisper with concern.

"It was quite a pleasure, Phil-san." I grin at him reassuringly and start to walk to him. "Think nothing of it." Phil-san jerks from his deep and depressing thoughts, then smiles broadly at me. Before I can even blink, he grabs me in a giant bear-hug. My arms twitch outward in surprise, and I can only imagine how expressive my face is. Amelia giggles behind me.

"Zelgadis-san, with you at my daughter's side I will have nothing to worry about!" With that he laughs uproariously again, this time with even more enthusiasm.

I blush at his remark, and speak quickly into his ear "Please come to my room tonight if you can, whenever you have the time Phil-san." He nods enthusiastically in response. Between all of this damned cloak-and-dagger treatment, not to mention the thrice-damned bear hug, my nerves are becoming strained.

"If that's all, Amelia, Phil-san. . ." I nod and smile slightly at each of them as I address them. "I will see both of you tomorrow." What I have said seems slightly insufficient, but I nonetheless start to walk past Phil-san, to the hallway door.

"Ano . . . Zelgadis-san?" Amelia speaks with a soft hesitation I have only rarely heard in her voice. I stop even before she says my name, and start to walk to her before she finishes. "I was wondering . . . ?" This time, she glances at her father as she speaks in that same soft hesitation. I have only twice before now heard that tone: when she asked me to follow her to Seyruun, and when she asked me to hold on to her bracelet. She is conceivably asking me something of equal importance to her: extremely important indeed.

"If you would be interested in going to a musical performance with me tomorrow!" She finishes her question quickly, and offers an exaggerated smile. The left side of my lip curves upwards, unbidden. She may see this, or may not have, but continues in the same tone: "It's the premiere of the Seyruun Orchestra! I know you love music, and I thought you might want to get away from all this tension, I know I do . . . " She interrupts her own rambling and looks at me. While I did not think of saying "No" to her, I know now that I would be unable to. "Certainly, Amelia." Her smile replaces the nervous tension I could see in her face earlier, and I feel my own expression lightening. "Though I don't really have anything formal to wear." I gesture with some deprecation at my normal attire.

"Don't worry, Zelgadis-san! I'll find something!" She is again excited and cheerful, perhaps more so even than usual.

"Okay, Amelia, I'll see you tomorrow. And thank you." I turn away from her again, this time with more effort, and find myself looking straight into Phil-san's grinning face. I had completely forgotten the giant was in the room. He slaps me on the back and winks inconspicuously as I walk past him. Before exiting the door, I turn back to Amelia. She is staring at me with sparkling eyes. I sweatdrop and blush only slightly, and wave my right hand lightly. She blinks in response before her own cheeks redden. My lip curves up again as I close the door behind me.

I am occupied with pleasant thoughts as I walk, rather unusual for me. So occupied I do not quickly perceive Akira standing next to my door, looking at me with an unrestrained grin. "Hello at last, Zelgadis-san. Amelia spent a little more time with you than I anticipated." I manage to keep my face from reddening, and merely open my door after raising an eyebrow. I enter my room and leave the door open, an obvious invitation. Akira enters without hesitation.

I face him quickly, as his gaze quickly travels over my fairly barren room. "You wanted to speak with me?" I prod him simply.

"Yes, Zelgadis-san." His face showed good-natured teasing less than a minute ago, but now shows only seriousness. He draws breath, unsure of exactly how to begin. "I wish to speak about myself . . . and of another man from what you call the Outer Lands." Here he pauses, either to inspire drama or draw another breath. "I have heard rumors of him: an advisor without a true alliance. Kingdoms and influential households where he was present were often dramatically affected for the worse. Here, a respectable warrior killed himself and his wife, drawing an influential city into a vulnerable state of chaos. There, a wise king gracefully allowed a coup before killing himself and the traitor. Rumors spoke of a man present at these events, of his demeanor and of his talent. He has never given his true name. I do not know his name, or any of his aliases. I only know that the rumors say he left my land as people began speaking of a beautiful kingdom of healing magic." Another pause. I nod as I think of his words, seeing the obvious conclusion, but also worrying about the man he is describing.

"As you are obviously intelligent enough to surmise, I left for that kingdom, touring my own land on the way, searching for clues as to who entered my area and how I might find them. I journeyed from town to town. Finally, I was lucky. People in one town spoke of an angel . . . and a demon." He pauses again, and another nod of mine encourages his story. Filia and Xelloss are certainly hard to forget.

"The angel was described to me as beautiful and capable of flight and healing, somewhat short, with black hair." That's certainly not Filia. Amelia? "The demon had a light-blue, stone-like skin, wiry hair, and could use destructive magic extremely well. He was said to be in search of something, and though he did not harm anyone, he caused a great deal of fear, not to metnion property damage." Akira looks at me, restraining his emotion, as I feel somewhat ashamed, though nonetheless a little defensive.

"I wanted to meet those people, Zelgadis-san, and I obviously have." At this point he is cheerful again. "I came also to see magic, which has always fascinated me. The only magic I have seen cast in my land is a feeble light spell, nothing like the abilities you and others seem to possess. I imagine that only certain people can learn magic, but I would certainly love to try." He is looking at me intently, leaving the request unsaid. I temporarily move past the other points he as raised in favor of this question.

"I can't teach you right now. Between the possible dangers in Seyruun, and my search for a cure, I would not be able to teach you. But you could learn here in Seyruun or even in Atlas City."

"Very well, Zelgadis-san, I understand. Others have told me about the opportunities to learn magic in Atlas City. I will soon journey there." I am startled again. I didn't mean to shoot him down that badly. More importantly, an ally here in Seyruun, especially one with a different perspective, is extremely valuable.

"I'd like you to stay here in Seyruun until the danger here passes. You have a unique perspective, you can mingle with people from the Outer Lands without difficulty, attempt to learn if they mean Amelia or Phil any harm." He appears only nearly convinced; what could influence his decision? "If you help me with this, I will help you with magic. I must warn you that not everyone can become a sorcerer, and it takes a great deal of dedicated effort to do so."

"Very well." Akira grins. "If, while I'm here, you demonstrate the power of magic, and explain a few things to me." He offers his hand to clench the deal.

I shake his hand. "Deal." I nod to him. "Was there anything else? I need to research my cure." I gesture to the two books behind me.

"No, Zelgadis-san. I'll leave you to your research . . . Thank you." His words of gratitude contain a great deal of emotion. I nod in response and sit down to look through that second book.

Several pages later, I hear a soft knock on my door. "Zelgadis-dono?" Phil-san's voice enters my room.

"Come in." I should not be annoyed at the interruption since I had asked him to come by. That fact did not eliminate my instinctive annoyance at being hampered from my efforts.

"Zelgadis-dono, I am glad you asked to speak with me. I have a few things for you to see and hear." Phil starts talking before he even closes my door. I notice that he is carrying a few thin books. For a second, I dare to hope they might be related to a cure, but Phil-san would be unlikely to bring such books to me. What could they be, then?

"First, before you try to apologize to me as you attempted with Amelia, today you did exactly what I and anyone else would have wanted." I am so surprised I have no way of asking for clarification. This must be shown in the way I look at him, for he continues. "You harmed no innocent, brought them to a textbook form of justice, and did not even seriously hurt them." He smiles broadly. "If you can keep up that form of restraint the entire time you stay in my kingdom and with my daughter, I will be quite pleased." I smile with slight uncertainty at him.

"A few other things you should know if you stay here for a long period of time." At this, he hands me the books. The two are thin and hardback: The Laws and Justice of Seyruun and The Rules of Civility: Seyruun's Responsible Gentleman. "You don't need to memorize them or anything, of course, but it would be a good idea to keep the information within these books in mind if you stay here. Especially if you live here. Another thing to keep in mind is the creed of my family: 'A monarch that rules through fear may be a good one, but a great and just ruler rules with love and respect.'" Another big grin from Phil-san, while I am a little startled.

"Phil-san. I don't intend to rule anyone." That is the only statement that comes to mind.

"Perhaps. But people here are expected to take these to heart, and I expect no less from you. This is probably a little overwhelming. Just take it slow: read over them, that sort of thing." His large grin is still present.

"Very well, I'll read them soon." I gesture to the book I am studying. "The search for my cure, and events in Seyruun, will occupy most of my time, however." I am perhaps expecting Phil-san to emphasize the importance of that which he has shared with me just now.

On the contrary, his grin broadens agreeably. "Of course, Zelgadis-dono." He continues to grin at me, and I continue to stare at him. Several seconds pass, leading only to a sweatdrop.

"Ah, thank you Phil-san." I attempt to dismiss him with more civility than I usually demonstrate.

"Of course, of course. I'll let you get back to your research, Zelgadis-dono." The man's grin continues, undiminished. I nod to him as he turns and departs. I start to sit down as he closes my door and departs. A loud guffaw marks his exit, and I look at the door as a sweatdrop forms at the back of my head. Phil-san's laughter diminishes only slightly as he walks away from my room.

I attempt to temporarily block all thoughts unrelated to my cure from my mind as I skim the large book in front of me. My only measurable progress is the fact I am slowly eliminating sections of the volume. I feel the usual frustration as I prepare for sleep.

Author's Note:
Another long chapter, hampered by a bit of writer's block. I hope this chapter flows well, everyone is in character, and the plot is adequately thickening.
The Rules of Civility was written in 16th century France, and was used by much of Europe and their colonies. I figure that sort of thing would probably be used in Seyruun and other Slayers kingdoms.
I'll be in Virginia, out of town and not possessing regular computer access, from this Thursday (6/9) until mid-August. I doubt very much I will finish any chapters of this story before mid/late August, and will probably only write another chapter or two before my school year starts. At that point, I won't have time to write. Life has interfered with this story again, but I will try to make this pause less dramatic.
Thank you for reading and reviewing (If you haven't reviewed yet, take a hint, heh); there's nothing an amateur writer appreciates more than sincere comments.