Zelgadis waited outside the building, nodding tersely and mumbling halfhearted greetings to party guests. Amelia was late. His mind raced. She'd gotten lost. She'd changed her mind. Some disaster had befallen her. Why'd he agree to meet her here? He should have been escorting her from the circus. He slumped against the massive base of the statue of Ceiphied and covered his eyes. "Why can't anything be simple?" he complained to nobody in particular.
Amelia coughed quietly and said, "Mister Zelgadis?"
Looking up with an expression of relief on his face, Zelgadis whispered, "Amelia." He gazed at her, trying to take in every detail of the girl's appearance. From the elaborate gown that seemed as if it had been made for her and her alone to the simple chain draped around her neck, everything seemed so perfect. He dragged his gaze upwards until he was looking at her angelic face. Her usually unruly raven hair was pulled back from her face making her loving smile seem all the brighter. Noticing the slight flush of red in her cheeks, he realized that he was staring and quickly found an interesting patch of ground to look at. "You look nice this evening."
"Do you think so?" Amelia asked shyly.
"Absolutely," Zelgadis said with a quick nod. He sighed and began to go through his pockets. He'd almost forgotten about it. "I have something for you," he explained, noting Amelia's puzzled expression.
"You didn't have to get me anything. I think I spent too much on the gown already."
"It was worth it." Zelgadis smiled as he found what he was looking for. "Here." He produced a small box from within his cloak and put it in Amelia's hand. "Open it."
Amelia nodded and opened the lid. An instant later, her face lit up. "Oh, it's beautiful!" Within the box lay a small bracelet of silver inlaid with numerous sapphires.
Zelgadis sighed in relief. Thank Ceiphied. She liked it. As he fastened the band around Amelia's wrist, he explained, "It's a token of thanks for coming with me tonight. I'll do my best to get us out of here as soon as possible. It's just that I'm obligated to make an appearance, you understand."
Amelia nodded slowly, not quite sure what Zelgadis meant. Why was he obligated to show up to a party? He could just say no, right?
"I haven't been totally honest with you," Zelgadis said as they climbed the stairs leading to the door. "I'm not really who I say I am."
"You're not Zelgadis?" Amelia asked with a puzzled look on her face.
"No, it's not that, but well… you'll see in a second." Zelgadis grimaced, remembering something else. He hastily said, "I probably didn't mention this either, but the High Priest is going to be in attendance." Seeing Amelia's panicked expression, he said, "Don't worry about it though. He won't say anything to you. You just have to remember to be respectful in his presence. Bow when he passes and whatnot."
Feeling light headed and more than a little confused, Amelia took Zelgadis's arm to steady herself. She wondered what she had gotten herself into as he led her through the double doors leading into the ballroom. "Oh wow," she whispered as she saw the interior of the chamber.
Grand pillars of marble twenty feet in diameter stretched to the arched ceiling far above the floor. The floor itself was made of highly polished white marble, doubling the light in the chamber. Tables ran the length of the chamber, piled high with exotic foods from every corner of the empire. Festive streamers, painted every color of the rainbow hung from the ceiling. But the most impressive thing was the crowd. There had to be several hundred people milling about the floor.
Amelia held onto Zelgadis's arm more tightly. "Oh my," she whispered as she eyed the crowd of well to do party goers.
Zelgadis leaned over to her and muttered, "It's nothing to worry about. You probably see more people when you perform at the circus, right?" His comment had the desired effect, as Amelia seemed to calm down a bit.
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"I swear that someone's going to die for this," Lina growled as she and Gourry made their way through the crowded room.
"Lina, people are staring at you." Gourry clasped his hands together and pleaded, "Could you please make an effort to appear pleasant?" Images of being sentenced to death for being too close to the High Priest without permission ran through his head.
"Alright," Lina hissed through clenched teeth. She put on a big cheesy grin and yelled, "Cocktails anyone? Wine?" Drinks swaying precariously on her tray, she struggled to keep her balance on the stupidly high heels that she was wearing. "Sis, how did you do this?" she muttered to herself.
Trying to suppress a grin, Gourry quickly stole a glance at his partner's new attire. Her fiery hair was tied with a black ribbon in a loose ponytail at the neck, similar to all the other girls working in the room. She was clothed in a short black skirt with a matching short sleeve blouse. Over that, she wore a sloppily tied white apron. He'd offered to help her with it, but she'd been none to happy to have him "peeping" at her as she called it. Her legs were clad in dark stockings that served to both conceal the minor scars and make them look less skinny at the same time. He could tell by the way that she'd been looking at herself that this was the worst for her. That and the fact that she was wearing short sleeves. She'd never liked exposing skin, although for the life of him, Gourry couldn't understand why. He thought that she looked quite pretty, although he didn't dare suggest that to her.
"Wine?" Lina called out again. "Oh wow! Thanks mister!" she said cheerily as one of the ministers took a drink and dropped a few silver coins on her tray. Her expression darkened as soon as she was out of sight of the man. "Damn heels from hell," she mumbled as her ankles wobbled dangerously.
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High over the ballroom floor hung an elaborate chandelier of brass. Numerous candles burned brightly within it. In addition to providing illumination, it also served as a fine vantage point to watch the room, provided that one was relatively light.
Jillas probably weighed a hundred pounds soaking wet, so he found the chandelier to be quite comfortable. He glanced at the ceiling and grinned. Carefully concealed amidst the brightly colored streamers, fuses ran from his perch to all four corners of the ballroom. All it would take was a touch of the candle and then…
"Boom!" Jillas said cheerfully. "Gonna bring th' 'ouse down on all o' you idjits! Jus' you wait 'Ezo!" He began to laugh maniacally and tumbled over the edge of the chandelier. "Mummy!" he yelped as he barely caught onto one of the brass candleholders.
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"It gives me great pleasure to introduce the Lord Zelgadis Greywords, Chief Minister of Sairaag and…" The herald's brow furrowed in thought and he leaned over and whispered, "What was your name Miss?"
Amelia stared at the herald, her eyes wide in shock. Her brain struggled to process what she'd just heard. Lord Zelgadis? Minister? Oh dear, everyone was staring at her. Her name? That's what they were waiting for. He'd asked her for her name. She briefly wondered what her name was before opening her mouth and quietly squeaking, "A-Ameliawilteslaseyruun."
The herald grimaced and hesitantly announced, "The Lady Emily Wiltesa Seirose."
"That's not it," Amelia quietly protested as Zelgadis gently led her away from the entrance. "He got it wrong Mister Zelgadis!"
"That's fine," Zelgadis replied as he led her through the crowd.
"But," Amelia whispered as she glanced back at the herald, "What if somebody finds out? I don't want him to get in trouble for making a mistake."
"It's alright, Amelia." Zelgadis said while patting the acrobat's hand reassuringly. "Nobody's here to see us anyway," he explained. A hush fell over the room as he nodded at the entryway. "They're here for him," he whispered coldly. With that, he dropped to one knee and lowered his head.
Amelia looked up to see the High Priest enter the room. Etiquette was momentarily forgotten, as she remained standing, the only person still doing so aside from a certain flame haired waitress and a guard at the back of the room.
Her brow furrowed in thought, Amelia stared at Rezo, feeling incredibly uneasy for some reason. Something about the man felt wrong. An instant later, it hit her. He was impossibly perfect. His features were utterly flawless and there was absolutely no wasted motion in his actions. She fancied that Rezo's eyes focused on her briefly as he scanned the room and her knees suddenly felt as if they had turned to jelly. A moment later, she dropped to a kneeling position, not so much out of respect as compulsion.
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"It's really him," Lina whispered in awe. "Rezo, High Priest of the church." Somehow, she managed to kneel without spilling any of the drinks on her tray.
"So that's the High Priest? I thought he'd be taller," Gourry said, scratching his head thoughtfully.
Lina gasped in horror when she saw that the jellyfish was still standing. Trying to be as discreet as possible, she punched him in the back of the knee, making him crouch down in pain. "Bait for brains!" she hissed in his ear angrily, "Do you want to be executed for slighting the High Priest?!"
Gourry looked at Lina nervously and shook his head silently. He massaged his injured knee and whispered, "I just wanted to look at him. Why's he so important anyway?"
"The High Priest of the Church of Ceiphied is the most holy man alive," Lina quietly explained. "Disrespecting him is like disrespecting Ceiphied Himself. You could be executed for it, or worse, cast out of the church."
"How can that be worse than being executed?" Gourry asked. He rubbed his neck nervously, wondering how much it hurt to lose one's head.
"Death is one thing," Lina hissed. "But, I'd rather die than be cast out of the church. It means that you've been denied any chance of salvation or comfort. For the rest of your short life you're hounded by all who are loyal to Ceiphied. Assisting an outcast makes you an outcast yourself, after all. Worst of all, the gates of Heaven are closed to you. Hell is all that awaits you in the afterlife." She hugged herself and whispered, "I never want to see that place again."
"He can do that?!" Gourry gasped.
"Lower your voice!" Lina commanded. "Yes, he can do that. To demonstrate His benevolence to humanity, Ceiphied gave us the High Priest to show us how to live. And since Rezo's judgment is considered above reproach, whatever he says in our world, Ceiphied has agreed to uphold in Heaven."
Gourry stared at Lina blankly.
"Yes, Gourry," Lina growled dangerously. "The short answer is, yes he can do that. Now, bow your head." She sighed happily as she gazed at Rezo. "Sis met him about ten years ago, when she first entered the service of the church. She told me what a great man he is. So kind and noble. Always choosing the good of the commoner over his own well-being." She quietly smacked her fist into her palm and said, "Ooh, I wish I could talk to him."
"Why don't you?"
Lina shook her head. "He might be nice, but he'd have me put to death if he found out who I was."
"Oh," Gourry said with a nod. A moment later, he asked, "Why?"
"Because I'm a rogue. I don't work under the control of the church."
"Oh," Gourry said again. A moment later, he asked, "Well, doesn't that make you an outcast?"
Lina suppressed a shudder and said, "Not really. Being a rogue isn't something I feel safe sharing with people, but being cast out is reserved for the most horrible crimes. I like to think that despite the fact that I'm not really under their control, I'm still doing Ceiphied's work. I think that a wise man like Rezo would understand that."
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Rezo scanned the ballroom, the faintest hint of a scowl on his face. There was so much vice and corruption in this room it was sickening. Some of these people were long overdue for retirement. He made a mental note to give Eris a list of potential retirees after the party.
Rezo's cultured voice rang out through the chamber. "Ministers of Sairaag, distinguished guests, dear friends," he said, "Let us pray for guidance." He clasped his hands together and kneeled before the assemblage. "Oh great and benevolent Ceiphied, lend us your wisdom. Drive out the shadows within us with your everlasting light. Give us the strength…"
As Rezo continued his prayer, Jillas hastily made his last minute preparations. "Gonna git ye now, ye bloody murderer," he whispered to himself as he tried to figure out which fuse led to which keg. There were so many to choose from. The ends were color-coded, but that hardly helped when you considered that the matching colors were on the powder kegs. Powder kegs that were scattered about the room, away from easy access. He didn't want to start with the wrong one; otherwise Rezo might make it out before the chain reaction brought the building down. "Can't be havin' that now," he whispered darkly. "Ah!" he said, finding the right cord. "An' now, ye die, 'Ezo."
Grinning triumphantly, Jillas stood and prepared to light the fuse. His smile faded when he saw that Rezo had finished his speech and was making his way through the crowd exchanging pleasantries with the guests. The powder stashed near the exit wouldn't reach him now. "Bloody 'ell!" he yelled. "If i' tisn't one thing, i's another!" Luckily the orchestra had begun to play, masking his outraged yell.
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"Why didn't you tell me what you do?" Amelia asked as she and Zelgadis made their way over to the buffet table.
"Well, I did tell you that I did government work," Zelgadis said with an apologetic shrug. "I just don't like flaunting my station. If I mention that I'm the Chief Minister, people stumble all over themselves to do me favors. It's pathetic and I can't stand it."
A lady's voice called out from behind Zelgadis. "Ooh, the Chief Minister?! Can I freshen your drink, sir? Get you some food? Bear your children?"
Zelgadis scowled. "You see?" he said to Amelia as he turned. "It's terribly annoying and-oh god!" He clapped his hand to his mouth when he saw Lina and Gourry standing before him.
Lina glared at Zelgadis crossly. "Well I was expecting a, 'Hey Lina, how's it going,' but that'll do I guess." She jabbed a finger into his chest and growled, "You've got an awful lot of explaining to do, and buddy it better be good!"
"Miss Lina! Mister Gourry! How are you tonight?" Amelia said with a cheerful wave.
A friendly smile briefly crossed Lina's face as she returned Amelia's wave. "Hi!" Then her scowl fell back into place and she turned her attention back to the horrified Zelgadis. "Well?! I'm waiting!"
Zelgadis struggled to keep his meager lunch down as he explained. "Well, ah, it's like this, Lina…" Everything was going to pieces. It was just as he had feared.
Lina watched Zelgadis squirm for a few moments before waving dismissively. "Ah, forget about it. Do me a favor and I'll forgive you." She quickly reached out and wrapped him in a painful headlock. "Listen," she whispered in a conspiratorial way, "I don't want to waste any more time than I have to. Just tell me which one of these pompous scumbags is Diol and I'll get out of your hair, okay?"
His mouth moving wordlessly, Zelgadis stared at Lina. She was furious, and why shouldn't she be? Zolf had done an excellent job of motivating her, it seemed. She was apparently ready to kill Diol, which was good. He was an ardent supporter of Rezo and had to be eliminated. However, she apparently wanted to do it here, at Zelgadis's party. That was bad. Very bad.
"Lina," Zelgadis sighed, trying to sound casual, or as casual as one could be while being physically assaulted. "You might notice that there are a lot of people here tonight. I don't even know if Diol was on the guest list."
Lina blinked in surprise and released Zelgadis. "Oh," she said while rummaging around in a pocket on her apron. "Do you mean this guest list?" She produced a long list and pointed to Diol's name.
"Where'd you get that?!" Zelgadis demanded.
"Oh, it fell out of one of the servant's pockets and I didn't want it to get lost or anything."
"Fell out of…?" Zelgadis muttered. He glanced up at Gourry who quickly shook his head. He got the distinct impression that there was more to the story than Lina let on. "I don't know where he is," he said resignedly. "I haven't seen him tonight. Now will you two please get away from me?"
Lina feigned a hurt expression and said, "Well, since you put it that way… Come on, Gourry. We'll find him ourselves." She winked at Zelgadis and Amelia. "Now you two have a nice time tonight and don't forget to tip your waitress." With that, she dragged Gourry off into the crowd.
"What was that all about?" Amelia asked. Zelgadis looked incredibly ill all of a sudden.
"I… I need air," Zelgadis gasped. His cape felt incredibly tight around his throat and every time someone brushed up against him, it felt as if he were being suffocated. He took Amelia's arm and led her towards the exit. "Just a little bit of fresh air," he repeated, more to himself than anyone else as he staggered towards the door.
"Lord Greywords, I'm sure that you're not planning to leave already, are you?"
Zelgadis looked up to see Rezo standing in front of him, an amused smile on his face. "N-no, I was just," he swallowed hard before continuing, "just going out for some air."
Rezo shook his head. "My, my. This certainly will not do. I'm sure that your young friend would much rather be dancing." He smiled at Amelia as he spoke. Just then, the orchestra began to play a slow song. "Ceiphied be praised! Ask and ye shall receive," he said with a quiet chuckle. He extended his hand to Amelia and asked, "My dear, would you give an old man the pleasure of a dance?"
Amelia stared at Rezo's outstretched hand uncomprehendingly. The High Priest's gray eyes bored into her cerulean ones, seeming to pierce her to the core of her being. Lost. She was falling into those eyes. She must have nodded, as he suddenly took her hand in his icy one and swept her away from Zelgadis onto the dance floor.
Giving Zelgadis one last cruel grin, Rezo pulled Amelia close as they began to dance. In a moment, they were the only two on the floor as everyone else quickly scattered in fear of accidentally brushing against the High Priest. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "My dear, you dance divinely."
Shaking her head as if coming out of a daze, Amelia realized that, yes as a matter of fact, she was dancing. How should she address him? He'd complimented her and it'd be rude not to respond. After a moment of thought she said, "Thank you, Mister High Priest sir," in a quavering voice.
Rezo laughed, a cold sound despite his apparent good humor. "Rezo, my dear. Please, call me Rezo. No need for useless formalities." He gestured for the rest of the assemblage to join him and in a moment, the floor was full of dancing couples again.
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Lina watched Amelia and Rezo with a bemused grin on her face. "Wow, who would have guessed that Rezo was such a charmer?" She scrunched up her nose and muttered, "What's that smell?"
Tarimu stepped out of the crowd and took a drink from Lina's tray. He put a single copper coin on the tray, which she eyed distastefully. "Lovely evening, wouldn't you say?"
Already sensing that there might be trouble, Lina frowned. "It certainly is, sir. I hope you enjoy the rest of the party." She quickly turned to leave, but was restrained by a greasy hand on her wrist. Scowling darkly, she turned and said, with forced politeness, "I'm sorry, was there something I could help you with?"
"What's your hurry?" Tarimu asked with a lecherous grin. "We were just getting acquainted. I know most of the girls very well, but I don't believe that we've met before. Are you new?"
"Yeah, you could say that," Lina said nervously. She glanced around, hoping to catch sight of Gourry. She'd sent him off to search the far side of the room for Diol and, just her luck; he was nowhere to be seen. "Well, it was nice meeting you. I've got a lot of work to do, so I'll see you around, okay?" she said as she tried to pull her arm free of his sweaty grasp.
"No need to be shy," Tarimu said, forcefully yanking Lina towards him.
"Hey!" Lina yelped as the drinks on her tray spilled. "Watch it!"
"Is there a problem here?"
Tarimu turned, meaning to tell the intruder to back off, but his words died in his throat. Standing before him was a tall muscular man who looked as though he could snap the minister in half.
Gourry scowled and repeated, "I asked you if there was a problem?" with a hint of malice in his voice. Lina noticed that he'd ditched the constrictive armor in favor of his own clothes. That was probably why Tarimu was intimidated. With no sign of station or rank on his clothing, it was impossible to determine whether or not it was safe to tell him off.
"No problem," Tarimu said with a hasty shake of his head. "The young lady and I were just getting acquainted."
Sparing Lina a quick sideways glance, Gourry growled at Tarimu, "She's spoken for."
Getting the swordsman's not so subtle hint, Tarimu nodded and beat a hasty retreat through the crowd.
"That was pretty dumb, Gourry," Lina scolded as she knelt down to pick up the spilled contents of her tray. "He's going to cause trouble later you know. And what's the idea of taking off your disguise? Do you want us to get caught?"
Gourry fetched a deep sigh of resignation and knelt down beside Lina. "Lina, would it kill you to say thanks once in a while?" he asked as he helped her gather the glasses.
Lina looked at Gourry guiltily and muttered, "Well, no. But…" She snorted, her fierce independent steak taking over. "I could have handled that myself. I was just about to ask him where Diol was when you butted in."
"And then?" Gourry asked, raising an eyebrow. "What then?"
"I would have gotten rid of him," Lina said with a nod. "Simple as that."
"Oh, I see," Gourry said. He nodded at something behind Lina and said, "And when that happened, what would you have done?"
Lina looked over her shoulder to see Tarimu harassing another poor girl. As she watched, the fat toad kissed the disgusted waitress. Quickly looking away, she stammered, "I-I would have made him sorry. He's lucky he didn't try that with me."
"So, let me see if I have this straight. You were about to hit a minister of Ceiphied, is that right? How do you think that would have gone over with the guards? Or the High Priest for that matter?"
"I… well, I… I… I'm sorry, Gourry," Lina whispered contritely. A long moment later, she added, "Thanks."
Gourry took Lina by the arm and helped her to her feet. "Don't worry about it." He looked around at the couples around them thoughtfully before asking, "Hey, do you want to dance?"
Blushing furiously, Lina hissed, "No, I don't! I'm supposed to be serving drinks, remember?" She pointed to her tray for emphasis.
"Lina, all those glasses are empty. Just leave it there and come dance with me."
Lina looked at her tray and scowled. He had a point. That arrogant minister made her spill everything when he grabbed her arm like that. "I'll just go and get some more. I'll get in trouble if someone catches me. Do you want to blow our cover or what?"
Gourry glanced around the room briefly before pointing out, "None of the other girls are working and they're not in any trouble."
It was true. Most of the other serving girls were already dancing. It seemed that not all the guests were as lecherous as Tarimu as most of them appeared to be having a good time. The girls that were still working watched their luckier companions with no small amount of jealousy.
"Focus, Gourry!" Lina growled, snapping her fingers in front of the swordsman's face. "We're here to find Diol, remember?"
"Oh, that's right." Gourry scratched his head briefly before smiling. "You know, I'll bet that he's probably out there dancing. That's why you haven't been able to find him yet. Come on. Let's go look." Gourry took Lina's hand and gently led her out onto the floor.
"Gourry!" Lina yelled, digging in with her heels while desperately trying to think of something to deter him. After a moment, she yelped, "I don't know how to dance!" sounding almost triumphant. That would surely stop jellyfish brains. She'd never danced in her life. There'd never been much reason to.
Gourry frowned and for a brief instant, Lina had hope. "Oh," he said almost sadly. A moment later, he leaned down and whispered in her ear, "To tell you the truth, I don't either." Smiling warmly, he swept her into his arms. "I guess we'll just learn as we go, huh?"
Lina stared at Gourry, her eyes as big as saucers. "You're crazy," she whispered. Despite her nervousness, the fingers of her left hand interlaced with his, seemingly of their own volition. Her right hand crept up until it rested on his shoulder. A few strands of his blond hair brushed against her fingers and she instinctively latched onto them eliciting a small hiss of pain from her partner.
Seeing the raw terror in Lina's eyes and feeling her tense up against him, Gourry whispered, "Hey, take it easy," while smiling at her warmly. He could feel her trembling and gently stroked her fiery hair in an attempt to calm her down a little. "What are you afraid of?"
"I… I'm not afraid," Lina whispered almost inaudibly. If possible, her eyes seemed to grow even larger when she felt Gourry's hand come to rest on her waist.
"You're not in any danger, you know. I promise that I won't let you fall. Come on." Gourry nodded at a couple dancing beside them. "See? It's a slow dance. It should be easy. Let's just do what they do."
Hesitantly nodding, Lina turned to watch the couple's feet. It didn't look so hard, she realized after a moment. Three slow steps and then a turn. She could manage that, couldn't she? Sighing in relief, she shyly looked up into Gourry's eyes, the beginnings of a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
"That's better," Gourry said with a satisfied nod. "Let's try it."
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The High Priest and the acrobat appeared to glide across the floor, seemingly unhindered by gravity. They dipped and twirled, putting all the other dancers to shame.
Rezo smiled as he and Amelia began to dance to another slow song. It was their fourth dance of the evening. He reached down and ran a finger along the edge of the gold band hanging from the chain around Amelia's neck. "Miss Amelia, what is that intriguing trinket that you carry?"
Amelia glanced down at the ring and smiled. "It was my father's." Pointing to the band, she explained, "The markings are-"
"Seyruunian," Rezo interjected. A shadow briefly crossed his face as he muttered, "How… fascinating."
"You know about Seyruunian?!" Amelia practically shouted.
Rezo winced and glanced around at the people that were now staring at him and Amelia.
"Sorry," Amelia whispered.
"You sound surprised," Rezo said with a quiet chuckle. "You shouldn't be. I've made a point of learning as much about our history as possible. After all, how am I to lead us into the future without knowing where we've been?"
"I'm sorry. It's just that it's a dead language. Nobody's used in for a thousand years."
Rezo nodded slowly. "Very true. A dead language for a dead people. Which makes me wonder. Where did your father acquire such a rare and valuable treasure?"
"It's actually a family heirloom. My father got it from his father. It's always been in my family. That's what my Uncle Christopher told me."
"And your Uncle Christopher? What does he do?" The warmth in Rezo's voice had slipped away at some point in the conversation.
Sensing that something was amiss, Amelia frowned. Rezo held her hand a little more tightly than before. And had he been looming over her like that the entire time? She didn't think so. "Well, he runs a circus. The Seyruun Family Circus. Haven't you heard of it, sir?" Unconsciously, she'd dropped the use of his name. He didn't seem quite as pleasant as she remembered.
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Zelgadis watched Rezo dance with Amelia, struggling to come to grips with the gamut of emotions that he was feeling. He was happy that she was having a good time and yet, he felt incredibly jealous of his father at the same time. On top of that, he was terrified. Terrified of what Rezo would do to him, if he found Lina here. Terrified of what the priest might do to Amelia, should she say something wrong.
"Damn it all," Zelgadis snarled as he snatched a goblet of wine off a nearby serving girl's tray. He drained the cup in one long draught, uncaring of the fact that the fluid spilled down the front of his dress shirt, staining it blood red.
"A fine party, Greywords!" Tarimu practically bellowed into Zelgadis's ear. The smell of liquor hung about him, almost masking the sour odor that usually followed him. Almost.
Barely suppressing the desire to throttle the man, Zelgadis turned and glared into Tarimu's bloodshot eyes. "I'm glad you're enjoying it," he said icily. Something was wrong. The odious little man seemed even happier than usual.
"There are going to be some changes around here," Tarimu explained. "I talked to Rezo this morning. He's as wise as I've heard." Fixing Zelgadis with a meaningful glare, he added, "He is well aware of who is loyal to him and who is not. I expect there are going to be some changes in management very soon." Laughing in his superior's face, he reached for a goblet of wine. "Here's to the future," he sneered, raising his glass to Zelgadis mockingly.
Zelgadis had taken more than enough. He grabbed the front of Tarimu's robe and snarled, "Get away from me, you toad!" before violently shoving him. He watched with no small amount of satisfaction as the startled Tarimu stumbled back into the throng, taking several people with him as he fell.
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Gourry and Lina danced on, almost as if they'd been doing it their entire lives. Practicing swordplay had made them quite nimble, easily up to the task of learning a simple waltz. Other couples that watched them would have been surprised to learn that they'd never danced before. They seemed to be so right together. Lina with her cheek lying against Gourry's chest. Him with his chin comfortably nestled amidst the coppery curls atop her head. Their bodies so close to one another.
Lina had her eyes closed, happy just feeling Gourry's chest rise and fall against her face. All thoughts of finding Diol were temporarily forgotten, her attention now focused on savoring every nuance of her current situation. The warmth of Gourry's hands and the gentle way that he held her, almost as if she were glass. The comforting sound of his heartbeat drumming quietly in her ear. The bit of his golden hair that spilled down the front of his shirt, tickling her nose.
Slowly, Lina became aware that a single violin was playing a lonely melody. She smiled dreamily, realizing that she didn't feel so alone anymore. Her smile faded only slightly when she realized what she had to do. "Gourry?" she whispered.
"Yeah, Lina?"
Swallowing hard, Lina forced out her words. "I… I'm really sorry that I hit you yesterday."
"Oh, okay." Gourry thought for a moment before asking, "Which time?"
Lina cringed, feeling incredibly guilty. She had hit him a lot yesterday, hadn't she? "All of them," she said, unconsciously pressing herself more closely against him. "I'm sorry for all of them."
"Hey, it's alright," Gourry said, briefly holding Lina more tightly for emphasis, "I probably deserved some of them, right?"
A smug grin crossed her face and Lina looked up into Gourry's eyes. "You got that right!" she said with a nod. "You're actually lucky that I let you off as easily as I did!"
"Yeah, I'll bet." Gourry said with a chuckle. A moment later, he asked, "So, what'd I do, Lina?"
Shivering ever so slightly, Lina broke eye contact with her protector and hesitantly explained, "Well… you… you kinda hurt me." Seeing a look of self-loathing cross his face, she mentally cursed herself and quickly shook her head. "Not 'hurt' me," she hastily corrected, "but… you hurt me. Does that make any sense?"
Gourry looked down at Lina, slowly realizing what she was trying to say. "I get it," he said with a satisfied nod. "I hurt your feelings, right?"
Lina nodded happily and buried her face in Gourry's chest. She sighed in relief, feeling incredibly grateful that he understood. Thank goodness she didn't have to tell him how much she'd worried over coming between him and Sylphiel, or how she laid awake at night, wondering what it would have been like to kiss him. Or that-
"It was the flat chested thing, wasn't it? Oh Lina, I'm sorry." Gourry pulled a thunderstruck Lina back to arms length and said, "I didn't even know that you heard that." He looked her in the eyes and explained, "They are kinda small, but it's not that big a deal." Laughing aloud, he added, "I mean, it's not like every girl can have a knockout body, right?
Gourry was spared his untimely and most likely gruesome death by the impact of someone slamming into him. He and Lina staggered briefly before turning to see a furious Zelgadis standing amidst the fallen partygoers.
"Never come near me again!" Zelgadis snarled at the fallen Tarimu. "Or so help me, I'll feed you your entrails!" He took a threatening step towards the fallen man.
"Zel!" Lina yelled, trying to distract the furious Chief Minister. She'd seen him like this before, back when they'd fought against Grou. He looked up at her quizzically, and she sighed in relief. He wasn't too far gone, then. "Just calm down," she said in a soothing voice. "It's going to be alright."
"Lina? What are you-?"
Rezo's hand clamped down on Zelgadis's shoulder and he spun the much smaller man around to face him. "What's the meaning of this?!" he snarled, his face contorted into a mask of hatred. He held Zelgadis in one hand while his other was tightly clamped around Amelia's wrist. "Did you think that I wouldn't find out about her?" he demanded, shaking the girl for emphasis.
Zelgadis just shook his head; not understanding in the least what Rezo was so upset about.
Amelia squeaked, "Mister Rezo sir, you're hurting my arm!"
Lina cringed at the sight of Rezo's fury. This was supposed to be the man that Sis had told her was so kind and noble? "Hey, leave them alone, you jackass!" she yelled before realizing to whom she was talking.
Music, conversation, dancing, everything ceased in the wake of Lina's outrageous comment. The only sound was a collective gasp from every single person in the chamber save Lina and Rezo.
Glancing up at the sound of Lina's voice, Rezo's face lit up in recognition. "It's you!" he gasped in surprise. He released his hold on Amelia and Zelgadis in favor of staring at the Slayer.
Hesitantly pointing to herself, Lina replied, "Um, me?" How did Rezo know her? They'd never met before. The sight of Eris stepping out of the crowd to stand next to the High Priest interrupted her thoughts. This time it was Lina who yelled, "It's you!" her hand instinctively reaching for a sword that wasn't there. It was back in the alley, hidden alongside the unconscious serving girl that she'd borrowed the outfit from.
At the same moment, Eris went for her dagger. Luckily for Lina, there weren't many hiding places on the tight gown that Eris was wearing and she was also unarmed. The two Slayers glared at each other, neither willing to make the first move.
Sensing an opportunity to make his exit, Zelgadis grabbed Amelia's hand and pulled her towards the door. "Come on!" he hissed when she wouldn't keep up.
Amelia glanced over her shoulder at the confrontation and said, "Shouldn't we help Miss Lina?"
"She can handle herself. We need to get out of here, now!"
"Lina Inverse," Rezo whispered, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "So you've finally returned." A cold smile crossed his face. "How delightful."
Lina glanced up at the sound of the High Priest's words and asked, "Returned from what?!" totally flabbergasted.
"Ey, you guys!" a voice called out from high above. Standing atop the chandelier, holding a thick length of rope was Jillas. He cackled and said, "Now's th' time fer me revenge, 'Ezo! 'M gonna blo' ye all strai't ta 'ell!"
Lina glanced around at Gourry, Eris, and finally Rezo. "Anybody catch any of that?" she asked. Everyone slowly shook their heads and she nodded. "I didn't either." Cupping her hands around her mouth, she called out, "Hey, pal! Enunciate!"
Jillas scratched his head. "Wha'? Whacha say there?" he yipped back down to Lina.
"I said enunciate!" Lina shrieked, jumping up and down in her irritation. "We can't understand a single word you're saying!"
His lips pulled back into an animalistic sneer, Jillas yelled, "Unerstan' this!" as he set a candle to several fuses. They caught immediately and sparks raced along the lengths of cord towards the insane little man's caches of explosives. Laughing maniacally, he barked, "Now, we all die togetha'!"
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Next Chapter: An explosive end
Notes: Another chapter that I thoroughly enjoyed writing. Rezo's coming along pretty well, better than I expected in fact. I loved the L/G bit, of course. There wasn't very much Z/A in this chapter which was really odd as I'd originally planned the chapter to revolve around them. Impossible to tell where these things are going sometimes, isn't it?
Reviewer Response:
Miss Gabriev, I'm a little frightened to hear that you finished TRY twice already. I think that you need a little break from the Slayers series. Might I recommend the Slayers movies? And of course the tears worked. No self respecting guy can refuse the request of a tearful maiden.
Otaku Girl, that was a lot of questions. Xellos is mad... because. I rarely know what I'm talking about. Lina's not killing Gourry, is she? It's pretty obvious what Jillas is up to at this point. Lina was dreaming. The implications of which I haven't touched on yet. Um, and no, Lina didn't know how to dance before this chapter. Phew! Any other questions?
Dragonet, nice to see that you're back. Did you take a vacation from the story too? Everything's confusing, you say? Good!
Thanks for betaing, Pogo. I'm glad you enjoyed the way I changed the L/G bit at the beginning of 24. 'Til next time!