Nehszriah here! Another fanfiction. Did I not post another one-shot yesterday? Oh well. Do not get used to this, just as a warning. I do not own Slayers and anything to do with Slayers other than previous fanfictions. Oh, and the title is "My Curse" in German.
Mein Verwünschung
Zelgadis
I walked up the faded staircase. The age of the stone coursed through my body. My granite fingers trembled with the aura seeping into them. Being what I am, I could feel these things better than most people. Suddenly, I stop dead in my tracks.
"What is the matter?" she asked.
"The power. I can feel it."
I looked up at her. She was so perfect standing there, a few steps above me. Her black hair had grown a bit since I had first met her, for it was now past her shoulders. A lovely pale hand reached out to me.
"Come on," she said. "There is no need to be afraid."
I put my craggy hand against her soft touch and moved forward.
When should I tell Amelia I love her?
Amelia
He seemed so worried when he stopped. His face froze and he almost seemed like a real statue standing on the staircase. It was the ancient stone around him. It made his essence shiver. I had to snap him out of it.
"We are almost there," I said, leading him by the hand. His smooth stone skin felt like a cold lacquered carving. It worried me to think about what would happen if nothing went right once we got to the top of the stairs. We ascended anyways.
I really just want him to be happy.
Zelgadis
We reached the top of the staircase. There was a large wooden door before us. It seemed so foreboding with the steel bracing and lock. She turned to me and looked into my eyes.
"Are you sure you want to?" she asked.
"Yes. You know me," I replied.
She unlocked the padlock and I slowly opened the heavy door. I looked inside and smiled. It was everything she told me it would be.
I was in the oldest library in Seiryuun, dating back to before the country's founding. Massive scrolls and textbooks lay before me with lost knowledge that just sat around for hundreds of years and maybe more. I was absolutely giddy.
It only made me fall in love with Amelia even more.
Amelia
He was so happy as we went through the books and scrolls. I had defied my father's orders to not take him here. Yet, how could I let the old library just sit there when it could have a white magic remedy for my Zelgadis-san? We had snuck off quietly, not drawing attention. It gave us enough time to look before dusk, when everything would be dark and a torch would draw attention.
Why would I want attention to be drawn to us?
The courtly men and women all hate Zelgadis. They all believe him to be a monster. How could he be such a thing? The man sitting besides me was not horrific, but adorable. At least, I think he is. There was something about him that drew me towards him ever since we first met all that time ago.
Maybe... it was his eyes.
A person's eyes are supposed to be the window to their soul. Carefully, I looked over to look at his eyes. Ah, the same dark blue. I could see happiness for the manuscripts' existence, anger at his grandfather for cursing him, then hidden love...
I hope that love is for me.
Zelgadis
After years of searching, I finally found a spell. I read the prelude text over to make sure I was reading it right. Yes. One counter-curse to lift the one placed upon me.
Oh, do I want to be human.
To be human again, that is what I want. Never again will I be shunned by the damned court lords and ladies. I shall walk down streets without having to worry about someone calling me a monster or a freak. I can go and propose to Amelia unopposed, marry her, have children with her, grow into old age with her.
All, for when I am human.
"Amelia! I found it!"
"Really!" she asked, just as excited, maybe even more.
"Yes! Finally a cure!"
We happily jumped in place for a short while. It was something one does when they are on an ecstacy high like this. She jumped up into my arms and flung her own arms around my neck.
"I love you Zelgadis-san."
Amelia
Happily, I held him tight, crushing my body against his. There. I told him I loved him. It did truly just slip out, but I meant it with every fiber of my being.
Even though I could not hear it, I knew his heart was racing.
Carefully, he grabbed my upper arms and held me at a length. His breath was heavy, dampened by shock.
"What?"
"I love you," I repeated.
He looked at me with mixed emotions. Surprise, happiness, freight, all those and more. His face became unreadable.
"I mean it," I said. "I love you now and will love you forever. Chimera or human."
That was when he kissed me.
Zelgadis
She said she loved me as a chimera. It was like the counter-curse meant nothing to her. Did I truly attract her interest as a moving gargoyle? I thought she would wait to know the human me.
I was glad to be wrong.
Joyously, I brought her close and pressed my lips against hers, careful not to crash her skull on my hard skin. My hands went from her upper arms to around her shoulders and waist, embracing her as lovingly as I could. Her arms crept up slowly to clasp my torso. We stood there and kissed for a long time.
Then again, it could have been a few seconds. Like love knows time.
Amelia
As he kissed me, I could feel my ghostly warmth on his skin. It was an effect of his curse, to be perpetually cold-blooded like a lizard. It did not matter though. We were in each other's arms.
We were in heaven.
No! The light! My eyes snapped open and sure enough, it was fading. I pushed away and looked out the window. The clouds were a sickly yellow, a grey overcast sky mixed with the sunset. Beyond my vision, there was th rumble of a thunderclap.
"We have to read that spell quickly! Sunset is coming!"
By instinct he read over the paper in the withering light. He stood right next to the window, reading over every word. His eyes showed fierce concentration. Carefully they sped over the incantation, his lips mouthing instructions before they were cast.
Then out of nowhere, it all changed.
His eyes widened, his lip quivered, his whole body shook. He leaned up against the wall and sank to the floor.
"What is the matter?" I asked.
Nothing. Just a tear running down his cheek.
Zelgadis
A sacrifice. The process called for a human sacrifice. It nearly killed me to read the words. In order for the transformation into a human form was to be complete, I would have to sacrifice my true love.
It was no wonder chimerism was a curse.
I could hear Amelia's voice in the distance, though I knew she was right next to me. There was no way I could use the spell. Not now. Not ever. She knelt down next to me, trying to get an answer.
I can not lose Amelia.
Quickly, I grabbed onto her. I took her body and pressed it against mine as I cried. Her soft flesh was a sharp contrast to my solid features, it was almost unreal.
Was I really doomed to be a living sculpture forever?
Suddenly, I could feel her nuzzle into my shoulder, as if to comfort me. She allowed me to cradle her in my arms. I put my weight on a bookshelf for support so I could sit up effortlessly.
Since when was holding a female in my arms so assuring and exhilarating?
Amelia
There was something wrong with the spell, I could feel it.
Why else would he break down and cry like that? He brought me close and I nestled myself in. He cried for a very long time. I knew it was tears because some fell onto my hair and face. It streamed down his face and onto his neck and my hand.
What could possibly be so painful?
"What is wrong?" I asked. Hopefully he would answer me this time.
"The incantation calls for something I could not possibly give," he answered. As he poke, his embrace tightened slightly.
"What is that? Is it a separate potion? A magical artifact? An extinct herb?"
"You."
The blood rushed from my face.
"Me...?"
"Yes," he said, tears still chocking his words. "In order to become fully human, I have to kill you as a sacrifice. The spell calls for the sacrifice of my true love. I could not possibly do that."
His true love.
"Amelia, I am sorry."
"Don't be," I cooed. "It is alright. You do not have to be human for me to love you." I looked up to his face, wet with tears and covered in a strained smile.
"Thank you."
Zelgadis
Why do I have to love Amelia this much?
Yes, she said it did not matter that I was a chimera, but what did she really know except love? Love is blind and it took away her vision to see what other people see. It was already a task to convince everyone to let me stay here at the royal palace. To announce my love for her would be suicide. The courts hate me and would run me out of the country before I could say fireball.
Why does forbidden love have to suck?
As I tried to clear my eyes of tears, Amelia shifted in her spot. She laid herself down onto the stone floor and dragged me down there with her.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Nothing," she lovingly said, snuggling up into my chest. She sure was fast-moving. I drew my cloak over her so she could be warm. Stone is usually cold.
Really, I should know.
Sadly, my eyes found the ceiling. There was a beautiful painting on it. The picture was depicting harpist angels and the warrior cherubim. In the very last speck of the sun, I could see the brilliance of the color, the harmonic existence of golden music and flaming swords.
The light faded at least to dusk. I dare did not move.
Amelia was sleeping.
Done! Right then. Heh. Zelgadis cryed. Well, I guess anyone can be pushed into crying, right? I remember writing a RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE TSUBASA fanfic in this style and really enjoying it and I was dying to try it out with Amelia and Zelgadis. It seemed quite dramatic with the two of them. They are my favorite pair to write. It actually came to me while writing the sequel to Guy Talk, which got me a happy five reviews. Well, review please! Sayonara for now!