Mass disclaimer; The following story uses characters that do not belong to me. I make no profit from thier usage however and intend no harm.

There will be 15 chapters contaning just about every pairing possible from TRY. Anyone who knows me knows i favour the TRAD couples but you can read as much or as little into each chapter as you like. Updates will occur as and when i get each chapter finished. Happy reading!

"Well isn't that pretty?" Said Gourry as the group of six (himself, Lina, Amelia, Zelgadiss, Filia and Xellos) made their way into town to find an inn for the night before they all went their separate ways.

"Isn't what pretty Gourry-san?"

"That garden."

Amelia followed the direction of the swordsman's gaze and frowned. There was a wall blocking her view, though Gourry was clearly was tall enough that it didn't impede his vision. The tiny princess jumped to try and see over it, only managing to catch a glimpse of leaves from the various trees she could already see over the wall.

Chuckling kindly Gourry lifted her up and set her on his shoulders, holding her hands so she wouldn't tip backwards as her legs draped round his neck and down his front.

"Oh wow!"

Amelia's face lit up at the sight of the garden in front of her, it was truly beautiful. Gravel walks divided flowerbeds filled with so many different colours it was like a kaleidoscope -except, she thought, it was arranged so well that the colours faded into each other and didn't clash at all. At the centre there was a water feature, simple and elegant, throwing water reflections onto a nearby bench. Pink and white lily flowers floated in the water looking very tranquil. Pear, cherry and apple trees lined the edge of the wall, all flowering in the early spring and losing delicate blossoms to the gentle breeze.

"It must have taken a long time to grow it all. But it was worth it, it's beautiful!"

"Does it really take such a long time for plants and stuff to grow?"

"Hmmm… Well flowers grow fairly fast, a couple of months or so. But trees and shrubs take a lot longer, years even –like us."

Gourry frowned and tried to work out how he grew like a tree. It took him a moment, but eventually he realised she meant trees grew slowly like they did. Not that humans grew by standing completely still with their feet buried in the ground. He smiled as he made that connection in his head and another thought occurred to him.

"You're a flower then."

"What?"

"Well you said flowers grow faster than trees and such… and you've grown a lot recently, so you're like a flower."

Amelia blinked then scratched the back of her head in embarrassment, blushing slightly at the comparison.

"That's not really what I meant."

"You have grown though."

"You said that before Gourry-san."

"I did?" Somehow he got the impression she wasn't referring to this conversation.

"Yeah, when we were at the fake marriage temple remember?" 'of course he doesn't remember' she corrected herself mentally before elaborating "You said I was getting really tall and I told you how my sister is almost as tall as you."

As she was speaking she reached up form her perch on his shoulders and plucked some blossoms from one of the trees hanging over the wall and began weaving them into a wreath.

"I didn't mean you've grown tall… although you have… I mean you've grown… inside y'know? You don't rush into things as much as you used to."

"You mean I'm mature?"

"Yeah! That's it!"

As he said it Gourry slammed a fist into his open palm, the sudden gesture causing Amelia to lose her balance given as she wasn't holding onto him anymore. Inevitably she slipped off his back to land on the ground with a thump.

"Owie."

"You're still Amelia though." He commented as he helped her up.

They began walking again to catch up with the others enjoying the late morning sunshine and the amiable mood before Amelia spoke up again.

"Hey, Gourry-san?"

"Yeah?"

"You will come and visit me in Saillune won't you?"

"Of course" he grinned "I'll have to check up on how you've grown."