The bedroom was dark, illuminated by a single beam of light that fell through the crack between the shutters. Within the chamber, two women slept comfortably. The acrobat Amelia lay in the cozy bed, the blankets pulled up to her chin. Her newly acquired medallion of Ceiphied glinted in the morning light, illuminating her face and revealing that she'd regained a bit of her color as she slept. She was already on the mend. The other girl, the infamous Slayer, Lina Inverse, sat in a nearby chair recklessly taking her life into her hands even as she slumbered. Her feet were propped up on the bedpost at Amelia's feet and she leaned back precariously, balancing on the rear two legs of the chair. Every time she took a breath, she wobbled on the verge of collapse. Still, things were comfortable and there was a sense of safety in their surroundings.
A loud click disrupted the regular sound of the girls' breathing as the bedroom door came unlatched. The portal drifted open slowly, creaking loudly all the while. Standing in the doorway was a hunched over shadowy figure clutching a staff. It scanned the room for a moment before seemingly settling its gaze upon Lina. A smile split its face as it entered the room, its shuffling footsteps punctuated by the quiet tapping of its staff upon the wooden floor. Reaching the redhead's side, a gnarled hand reached out to grab her shoulder and a voice whispered her name…
Lina's ruby eyes flew open in an instant and she yelped in surprise as she overbalanced in the chair. A moment later, she'd tumbled to the floor in a heap, her bare legs high in the air. "Ow," she mumbled, rubbing the back of her head with a wince.
"Oh dear! Are you all right, young lady?" Lina's mysterious assailant asked as she knelt down beside the Slayer. As the meager light struck her face, it became obvious that she was Aqua. She carefully set her staff aside, took the redhead's arm, and tried to pull her to her feet.
"Don't worry about me, Auntie!" Lina said as she quickly righted herself, making sure not to lean on the old woman too much. She brushed herself off and patted down her outfit in an attempt to make herself look presentable. Well, as presentable as one could look, given the fact that she was wearing a tattered shirt caked with dried blood and long rips in the back that did little to conceal her exposed rear. She tried to pinch the back of the shirt closed with an embarrassed grin and asked, "So, how are things today, Auntie?"
"Fine, dear," Aqua answered as she made her way over to the window and flung the shutters open. The light poured in and she sighed happily. "Isn't that so much better? It'd be a shame to stay cooped up in the dark on a day like today."
Lina crossed the room in three quick steps meaning to close the shutters again. She apologetically explained, "It's nice Auntie, but Amelia's not feeling well and the last thing I need is for her to catch cold." When she reached the window, she stood there for a moment, staring out into the morning light. It was warm. Incredibly warm and on top of that, the trees and flowers were in full bloom. "What?" she mumbled curiously.
Aqua was hunched over the bed looking over Amelia. She brushed some of the raven hair out of the young lady's face, earning a small smile for her efforts. "She'll be fine, I think," she said to Lina. "Just a bit of rest and some fresh air is all she-" She stopped short as she turned to see the Slayer staring out the window with a perplexed look on her face. "Is something wrong, dear?"
"Auntie, what day is today?" Lina quietly asked. Just as she had yesterday, she was getting the distinct feeling that something was amiss. Wasn't it early autumn? She distinctly remembered wishing that she'd had a heavier cloak on the trip from Sairaag. But now… A pleasant breeze blew across her face, gently ruffling her hair. She closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the sunlight on her face before turning to Aqua in anticipation of an answer.
"Oh, I'm not quite sure, dear," Aqua said with a chuckle. She hobbled over to stand by the window next to Lina and admitted, "I'm an old lady and I tend to get my dates mixed up a bit. Besides, we don't really worry about the date around here. Everyone has their routine that they follow no matter what the day." She pointed at a middle-aged man that had just exited a nearby house. "See? There's Mister Einberg, off to work on his woodcarvings. Oh, and over there…"
Lina had stopped listening when she caught sight of a man with long blond hair entering the forest with an ax slung over his shoulder. Gourry. "Where's he going?" she asked, nodding in the swordsman's direction.
"I expect he's off to gather some lumber to fix the kitchen, young lady." Aqua smiled when she saw Lina blush in embarrassment. "Is something wrong?" she asked, a knowing look on her face.
"No!" Lina yelped guiltily. "I mean, no, it's nothing really. A couple things happened last night, a lot of things really, rooms were burnt and cats were annoyed and, well…" She ran her hands through her hair and sighed in exasperation. "I'm still trying to figure out what happened. I do know that I need to help Gourry, because it's partially my fault."
"That's men's work, dear," Aqua explained. "Gourry can do it himself. Even as a boy, he was quite the talented carpenter and I'm sure that spending a few years on the road hasn't changed that." She took Lina's hand and led her towards the door. "Now, let's get you into some decent clothes and get into the kitchen. Unless my eyes deceive me, I believe that you're about the same size as my daughter. I think you'd look just lovely in blue. Do you like blue?"
"Yeah, it's great," Lina said absentmindedly. She was more concerned with what Aqua had said earlier. "Auntie, did you say something about the kitchen?"
"Of course," Aqua said with a nod. "Breakfast isn't going to make itself, you know. And while we're doing that, you can tell me what happened last night, if you're so inclined."
Lina found herself feeling a little ill. Although the mention of breakfast had instantly gotten a positive reaction from her stomach, the notion that she was going to have to cook it was a little unnerving. She'd never cooked before! Sis had always done that when they were younger and afterwards, well, there weren't really many kitchens on the road, were there? That was stressful enough, but Auntie was also asking about what had happened last night. This was too much to deal with. "It's a really, really long story, Auntie. Long and really complicated," she said, hoping to dissuade the older woman from asking.
Aqua's face lit up and she chuckled. "Oh good! I'd be ever so disappointed if there were a simple explanation. Long stories are the most interesting ones, I find. Now, maybe you could start by explaining why there's a young man with an eye patch sleeping in my tulip bed?" She frowned ruefully as she continued. "I would have asked him to move, but he looked so comfortable. It's a shame really. Those flowers just bloomed too…"
With that, they moved out of earshot of Amelia, who had been listening intently once she'd realized that there'd been voices. She sighed in disappointment. She'd wanted to ask Lina something, but didn't want to do so in front of the old woman. Grimacing in annoyance, she reached up to scratch the marks on her neck, picking away the newly formed scabs. Fresh blood trickled down her throat and she quickly wiped it away on her sleeve. The wounds were so bothersome and there was so much she had to know and, well… she really hoped that Lina came back soon.
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As the sun rose, so did the residents of the small hamlet. There were no fields to work as the trees kept out the majority of the light, so their well-being was based almost solely on the bounty of the forest. One by one, people trickled out of their homes, dispersing into woods and soon the area was filled with the sounds of production. Cheerful songs sung by gatherers, the occasional bellowed epithet when a hunter missed a sure shot, and the steady sound of axes falling.
Most of the lumberjacks worked in teams of three or sometimes four. Gourry was the exception to the rule. He worked alone with a steady rhythm to fell a tree that was a good three feet in diameter. Far more wood than he would need, but he'd be able to pick out the choice pieces of lumber this way. He'd been steadily hewing away at the trunk for forty-five minutes now and it'd still be a good while before he even got it down. If he used the Sword of Light, he could have had the job done in two or three slices, but that wasn't right. He would have been cheating himself had he done that. There was a joy in honest work that one couldn't find anywhere else and it gave him time to think.
Pausing to take a quick breather, Gourry removed his shirt and wiped his sweat soaked face with it. He thought that the weather was quite odd. Here it was early autumn and as warm and sunny as a spring day. The area had never really been known for mild winters and the temperature usually dropped fairly quickly after August. Oh well, there were exceptions to every rule, he supposed.
The swordsman was suddenly on edge when he heard the sound of a twig snap behind him. One attacker, it seemed. And a clumsy one at that. It'd be better to draw his opponent in and the best way to do that was to feign ignorance. He took a deep breath and made as if to continue his chopping. When he raised the ax overhead, he heard the sound of hurried steps thundering towards him. He grinned knowingly, recognizing the impatience in that stride. His attacker was anything but subtle. Stepping to the side, he lost a bit of hair as a wooden sword went sailing downward where he'd been standing a moment before. Without missing a beat, he reached down and grabbed his attacker's leg, using his own momentum to flip him forward.
The young man landed flat on his back with a loud grunt, the wind driven forcefully out of his lungs. His sword, he thought as he struggled to catch his breath. Where was his sword? His question was answered when Gourry stepped forward and placed a foot on his chest to keep him immobile. He then found himself looking at the point of the blade that was mere inches from his face. Still gasping for air, he grinned mischievously and threw the swordsman a wave. "Hey, Gourry."
Gourry returned the young man's smile and said, "Hi, Leon." He then removed his foot from the young man's chest and offered him a hand to his feet.
"Hey, got it in one, Gabriev!" Leon said with a laugh. "I knew even you couldn't forget me." He gratefully accepted the offered hand and his sword a moment later. "Thanks." He staggered over to lean against a nearby tree before looking at Gourry again. He whistled, quite impressed with what he was seeing. "By Ceiphied, Gourry! I knew I should have gone with you when you left with that wandering swordsman. That flipping thing you just did was so cool! And did the old man put you on the rack as part of your training or what? You're like eight feet tall or something!"
Shaking his head confusedly, Gourry said, "No, only a little over six feet," completely missing the fact that Leon had been exaggerating. He added, "I just grew up, I guess." Which was apparently something that his friend had neglected to do. When they'd both been boys, Leon had been the tall one, a full three inches taller than Gourry in fact. Now, the situation had been dramatically reversed. He could easily see the top of Leon's head as he looked down at him. His friend had changed with the years, but not nearly as much as he'd expected.
"Something wrong, Gourry?" Leon asked, absentmindedly brushing his dark hair out of his face.
"It's just that, well, you're so… short," Gourry replied with a shrug. There was really no other way to put it.
"Hey, I'm not THAT short," Leon grumbled defensively, stretching himself to his full height of five feet and eight inches. "And it's not like we're competing or anything. Besides, I've still got a couple years to catch up to you, right? So, you'd better watch out, buddy."
"Yeah, I'll bet," Gourry said with a chuckle. Even as he laughed, he was pondering his friend's words. He'd left the village ten years ago and Leon was thirteen then, so by his calculations, which might be off of course, he had to be twenty-three. Didn't most people stop growing by the time they hit twenty or so? Better not to mention it though. Apparently, his friend was a little sensitive about the whole height issue. "So, what are you doing out here anyway?" he asked, hefting his ax as he turned back to work.
"Well, I wanted to see you, obviously. I wasn't there for the party yesterday, so…" Leon shrugged and picked his ax up from the forest floor. "Better late than never, right?" He eyed the tree curiously before pointing to a small clearing. "You want it over there, I guess?" Upon receiving confirmation from his friend, he nodded and began to chop at the tree as well. "So, I guess you've been busy. Too busy to write your buddy?"
"Well, kind of," Gourry said with a noncommittal shrug. He hadn't really been busy so much as he was rushed. Everything happened so quickly in the city and he'd hardly been able to keep up, let alone write home. "I stayed pretty active. What about you?"
"Oh, you know. The same old stuff on different days. Still helping dad with the whole carpentry thing." Leon looked at the Sword of Light enviously. "You any good with that?" he asked.
"I guess."
"Cool." Leon grinned and asked, "Kill anyone yet?"
Gourry ceased his chopping for a moment in favor of giving Leon a cool look. "A few," he quietly admitted before resuming his work. "It's not really what you think though."
"How's that?"
"I don't like doing it. Killing I mean. If I had my way, nobody would ever have to die."
Leon laughed out loud, irking his blond companion. "That's pretty rich, Gourry! What did you think you were learning? Did you think that Rodimus was going to teach you knitting or something? It's swordplay. He was teaching you to kill people in the most efficient way possible."
"It's not like that," Gourry patiently explained. "I learned my lessons because I didn't want to kill people. I did it because…" He sighed and shook his head. "Never mind. I don't think you'd understand."
Unnoticed by either of the men, Lina peeked out from behind a nearby bush. She'd been on her way to call Gourry for breakfast, an immensely satisfied smile on her face. She'd made him food, real food, with her own hands. She sniffed, trying to suppress a sneeze and patted her face sending up a cloud of flour. Making breakfast hadn't been easy, even with Auntie's tutelage, but she was sure that she'd have it down in no time. Maybe next time she'd actually ask Auntie if she could handle some of the food instead of just boiling the water for the coffee. She shook her head irritably. She was missing the conversation! She sat down and listened, curious to hear Gourry's reasons for fighting. There was so much she didn't know about him. She'd have to rectify that.
Apparently, Leon was curious as well. "Go ahead, Gourry. Try me. I can usually make sense of the weirdness that you come up with sometimes."
Gourry sighed and said, "I did it to protect people, Leon. I was a mercenary for a few years after I left Rodimus and hated every moment of it. All I did was fight in the name of profit. That's why I settled down in Sairaag and joined the guards. Because I wanted to help people."
"Oh, and I'm sure you didn't have to kill anyone while you were in the SCG, right?" Leon sarcastically asked.
"I did, but that's not the point. I was doing it for a good reason. That's what really mattered." Gourry thought back to how Gaav had tried to kill him. He hadn't really understood why, but apparently even helping the innocent wasn't quite as easy as he'd once thought if the Sairaag City Guards had been after Lina. She hadn't done anything wrong, he was sure of it. A warm smile crossed his face at the thought of the Slayer.
Noting Gourry's smile, Leon grinned knowingly and said, "Oh, I see how it is. You've got the whole 'knight in shining armor' thing going on, is that it?" He shook his head and muttered, "Gourry, you big dope," in a joking way. "Well, what's she like?"
"Who?" Gourry asked curiously.
"Your damsel in distress, dummy! I know you're not smiling like that because you're helping just anyone. So, come on, give up the goods. Is she pretty?"
Lina listened with bated breath in anticipation of Gourry's next words. How would he describe her?
Gourry scratched his head thoughtfully before nodding as he decided on a description. "Well, she's kind of skinny, almost bony really. She's got a little nose and big red eyes…"
"What's wrong with my nose?" Lina whispered to herself in a hurt tone, crossing her eyes in an attempt to look at it. "And bony? I'm willowy. I keep telling people that and nobody listens." Well, things hadn't started out well, but Gourry was bound to say something positive soon, right? He'd told her that he loved her, after all.
"On top of that, she's got this wild red hair that sticks out in every direction…" Gourry added, gesturing wildly to show just how wild said hair was.
Well, maybe she had been neglecting the brush lately, Lina begrudgingly admitted as she absentmindedly patted down her crimson and silver locks. It wasn't really her fault though. Didn't Gourry understand that being who she was meant not drawing attention to oneself? If she dolled herself up too much, she'd be a magnet for every vampire for miles on end. "C'mon, Gourry," she quietly pleaded, "say something nice about me. I know you can." She crossed her fingers and said a quick prayer for a small compliment. The third time was the charm, right?
"…incredibly flat chested, with a temper like a rabid hyena."
"That's strike three," Lina whispered, her voice and expression frighteningly neutral. "Time to make you a dead jellyfish." She started to stand, intending to leap out from behind the bush and throttle the life out of Gourry when she realized that something was missing. A moment later, it hit her. Why weren't they chopping anymore?
"Hey, there's a tree falling!" the two woodsmen called out in unison as the trunk gave way with a loud crack. They both laughed as it fell to the ground, obliterating a bush that seemed to scream like a woman just before impact.
"You know, Gourry. A 'timber' would have sufficed."
"I like my way better. There's no confusion." Gourry said as he set about chopping the largest limbs from the trunk. "By the way, did you hear something just now? It sounded like a screech."
"Probably a bird or something," Leon said with a shrug. "Anyway, I'm sorry to hear about your problem."
"What problem?" Gourry asked curiously. He had problems?
Snorting in amusement at Gourry's bewilderment, Leon shook his head and said, "What, are you in denial or something? I'm sorry that you're stuck with the carrot topped, flaming scarecrow bitch of doom, that's what. Were you that hard up for a date, Gourry?"
Gourry stared at Leon incredulously. That incredulity was quickly turning to anger when he realized what his friend had called Lina. A few moments ago, he'd actually been worried that Leon might actually try to steal Lina away from him when he heard the description of her looks. Didn't his friend understand that he'd just described what he loved about her? Her cute little nose and sparkling ruby eyes. That wild red and silver hair that looked as if it had a life of its own. Her small form that made her look almost helpless and made him feel needed, even though deep down he knew she could take care of herself. And her strong willed personality and quick wits that kept him focused… well, more focused than usual. Couldn't Leon understand how amazing she was? "You take that back right now," he quietly said, a hint of the fury welling up within him evident in his voice. He balled his hands into fists so tight that his knuckles were white.
Luckily, or not so luckily depending on how one looked at it, the potential violence between the two old friends was quickly diffused by the flaming scarecrow bitch of doom in question, popping out of the uppermost branches of the fallen tree. A moment later, twin screams pierced the air before they were abruptly silenced. Everyone that had heard looked for the source of the sound curiously. They'd sounded almost masculine, but theoretically, only women could express that much terror in shrieks.
A few moments later, Lina was forcefully dragging a bruised and battered Gourry back to the village by his arm. A horrible chill seemed to fill the air and the villagers watched the couple pass as if sensing that something was quite amiss. "What are they looking at?" she grumbled angrily. She snarled at a small mutt that was staring at her causing it to flee in terror. Seizing Gourry by his throat, she shook him until he saw stars and growled, "I go out of my way to cook you some breakfast and you repay me by gossiping about me and calling me names behind my back?" Struggling not to cry, she growled, "How could you?!"
Gourry grimaced guiltily at that last bit. Apparently, he'd really hurt her feelings this time. "Lina, it wasn't quite like that." Thinking quickly he muttered, "Thanks for making me breakfast." That would help a little right? She was upset because he didn't appreciate breakfast, but he hadn't even known that she was doing it, so this wasn't really his fault. Thinking about food made him think about what Lina had done to Leon. It didn't really seem fair. She hadn't even made him breakfast and he still got punished. "Did you have to do that to Leon? I really don't think tree bark is supposed to be edible."
Flashing Gourry a terrifying look, Lina hissed, "He ate it, didn't he?!" punctuating every word with a sharp jab of her index finger in his chest. "You should be more worried about what you're about to eat," she growled, her fingers curling into a tight fist.
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Amelia was wandering in a dream world of sad singing and purple haired priests when she was awoken by the sound of the bedroom door slamming. Drowsily, she opened her eyes to see Lina storming across the room carrying a steaming bowl. Judging by the expression on the redhead's face, this might not be the best time to ask, but she had to know what was wrong with her. The marks on her throat itched incessantly and… well, her mind raced with the possibilities. "Miss Lina, I'm glad you're here."
Lina all but snarled in response and produced a fork from a pocket in the apron that she'd worn while cooking. Apparently, she'd been so furious that she hadn't even noticed that she hadn't grabbed a spoon. "Eat," she commanded flatly, jamming the fork into the porridge and producing a heaping pile of the incredibly hot paste.
"Miss Lina, I'm not very-" Amelia tried to protest just before the fork was shoved forcefully into her mouth. Her eyes bugged out in a comical expression of pain and shock as she almost choked on the molten material. She didn't know what was worse, the third degree burns or the fact that Lina had almost skewered her tongue. Swallowing quickly in an attempt to minimize the damage, she forced a grateful smile and quickly mumbled, "Thanks for the food, Miss Lina, but I'm really not-" She uttered a noise somewhere between a cough and a groan as another forkful was shoved into her mouth. She hastily forced this down as well.
"Not hungry?" Lina muttered quizzically, feeling her own stomach rumbling. "Nonsense. Everyone's hungry. You, Zel, and the stupid, heartless, bait for brains jellyfish! I just ate enough eggs to populate an entire country of chickens and I'm still hungry." She laughed shrilly as she wildly stirred the porridge with the fork, flinging small clumps of it about the room. "Everyone's hungry, Amelia!"
Heartless bait for brains? Mister Gourry, heartless? For the moment, Amelia forgot her own problems in favor of pondering this new mystery. "Miss Lina," she whispered, desperately wishing that she had the strength to get out of bed, away from her infuriated nurse. "Did something happen between you and Mister Gourry?"
Lina set the bowl down on the bedside table, her ire suddenly gone. Instead it was replaced with an entirely unconvincing smile. She laughed and winked at Amelia. "I really don't know what you're talking about. You must still be delirious, I guess. 'Something between me and Gourry.' It's stupid, Amelia."
"Well… do you want to talk about it?" Amelia cautiously asked. Noting the sudden hostility in Lina's expression, she quickly corrected herself. "Of course, I mean do you want to talk about what didn't happen?"
"He's suck a jerk," Lina mumbled angrily. "I do all this nice stuff for him and he calls me names behind my back." She proclaimed, "I cooked him breakfast, Amelia!" as if it were an incredibly big deal. For her, it had been. She'd never cooked for anyone before and even if it was just boiling water for coffee, she was boiling Gourry's water, damn it!
"Oh, it's okay, Miss Lina," Amelia said, patting her friend's hand sympathetically. "I'm sure he didn't mean any of the things he said. You know how Gourry is. He's too nice to lie." Her burned mouth still incredibly fresh on her mind, she hesitantly asked, "Um, by the way, you didn't try to feed him, did you?" With the way the Slayer had treated her; it was a testament to her basic kindness that she hadn't started flinging insults herself.
"No… What's that have to do with anything?"
Tittering nervously, Amelia quickly stammered, "Oh, nothing!" She cleared her throat and hesitantly said, "Mister Zelgadis told me that you were… you know, with Gourry when he found you this morning. Does that mean that you…?" The color of Lina's face was answer enough and she clapped her hands happily. "Oh, I knew it! I mean, I didn't 'know' it, but I knew it!" Her cerulean eyes sparkled with joy as she whispered, "It's true love isn't it? I could tell the first time I saw the two of you together. Back when Martina told your fortune. Do you remember that?"
"Can we not talk about that?" Lina muttered nervously. "And do you have to call it 'true love'? It's not like that. He called me a short-tempered rabid hyena this morning. Does that sound like love to you?"
"Well, no," Amelia begrudgingly admitted. Then, before she could stop herself, an incredibly dangerous statement slipped out. "But I think I know why he said it." She held up her hands defensively as Lina dangled the bowl of hot food over her head. "I'm injured!" she yelped, frantically pointing at the marks on her throat.
Lina's look quickly changed from fury to concern and she quickly laid the bowl aside. "Jeez, Amelia, you're bleeding again." She grabbed a cotton swab and began to dab alcohol on the acrobat's throat, eliciting a hiss of pain. "Don't you dare whine," she growled. "You've been scratching them, haven't you?" Noting the guilty look on Amelia's face she nodded knowingly. "I knew it. You're never going to get better if you don't stop picking at them."
Amelia nodded and swallowed nervously. She'd almost forgotten what she wanted to ask when she heard the happy news about Miss Lina and Gourry. But now, with Lina ministering her wounds, her questions couldn't be ignored. "Miss Lina, am I going to die?" Deciding that she wasn't quite ready to hear the answer, she quickly said, "Because, I'd heard stories that when people get bitten by a vampire they die and then turn into vampires themselves. I'd always thought they were stories, but now I know that they're real and… and…" She sighed shakily and pointed at her throat. "It's just that they itch so much and I know something terrible is happening to me. The sun's so bright and I feel so thirsty. Vampires are always thirsty and they hate the light, right?" She shuddered fearfully and quietly confessed, "Miss Lina, I don't want to turn into a monster. I don't want to eat people. And I really don't want you to kill me."
Lina stared at Amelia for a long moment, an inscrutable expression on her face. Finally she sighed and said, "Amelia, the only reason I'd ever kill you is because you drive me up the wall. As for the symptoms you described, well…" She shook her head regretfully and said, "They do sound pretty serious. I'll do what I can with them though." She poured a glass of water from a nearby pitcher and thrust it into the acrobat's hand. "That should take care of that horrible thirst you're feeling," she said sarcastically. She stood and walked over to the window where she drew the curtains, blocking out most of the light. "And that should help your little aversion to light. As for the itching, it'll go away in a few days if you don't scratch it."
"Does that mean I'm not going to die?" Amelia asked hopefully, staring into her glass. She was suddenly feeling incredibly embarrassed by her little display and found herself quite unable to look at Lina.
"No, you're not going to die, silly," Lina said, not unkindly. She sat down by the bed and, unable to hide a warm smile, reached out to squeeze Amelia's hand reassuringly. "You're going to be fine. If you were going to turn into a vampire you wouldn't be here to worry about it. Vampires spread by killing their victims. Three nights after their deaths, they rise from their graves as new vampires. Besides," she said with a quiet chuckle, "I don't think you have it in you to be a vampire. You'd probably be asking permission before you bit anyone."
Amelia laughed a little at that. She started to reach up to scratch her throat, but thought better of it when she saw Lina giving her a reproachful look. "Sorry. It's just that I was so scared and I was sure that you were going to stab me with a silver stake…"
"Wooden," Lina automatically corrected. "You use wood on vampires, preferably oak as it holds up better on impact. Silver's for lycanthropes."
"Lyca- Lyco- What'd you say, Miss Lina?"
"Lycanthropes," Lina repeated, more slowly this time. "Werewolves. Or foxes in the case of your annoying little sidekick."
"Why's silver hurt them?" Amelia asked curiously. "And the wooden stake? Why's that work on vampires?"
"One question at a time," Lina said. "First off, nobody is really sure why silver hurts werewolves. Good thing it does though. Not much else will stop them or even slow them down. You pretty much have to turn them into mulch if you don't have silver." She nodded when she saw the disbelieving look on Amelia's face. "It's true. I had to grind one up in some gears once. It was quite a hassle explaining why there was ground up flesh and fur in the Atlas City clock tower and they almost made me pay to have it repaired. Getting back to the original question, my personal theory is that in addition to giving you an irresistible urge to howl at the moon for three nights a month, the werewolf curse carries a severe allergy to silver."
"Like how some people sneeze around flowers and things like that?" Amelia eagerly asked. She'd been totally sucked in by Lina's story and her explanation of werewolves. All she could think about was how cool the Slayer was and how much she wanted to be like her.
"Well, not exactly," Lina explained, uncomfortably trying to ignore the starry eyed look that Amelia was giving her. "More like a bee sting. Some people barely notice them. Some people die from them. Silver causes werewolves to react pretty violently while normal people aren't bothered by it."
"I'll bet that's exactly right, Miss Lina! You're so smart!"
Grinning embarrassedly, Lina said, "I'm not really that smart. Almost everything I know I learned from Sis. She's the genius when it comes to this stuff. All I do is come up with half baked theories about allergies." She sighed and muttered, "Sis was always the smart one. She never made mistakes. Except for the whole Rezo thing, but I still haven't figured that out. Anyway, I didn't come here to talk about me. I want you to tell me what happened to you last night."
"Didn't you say that Mister Zelgadis told you everything?"
"Amelia, are you listening? I said I wanted you to tell me. In your words." Lina neglected to add that she was beginning to think that she didn't trust Zelgadis as far as she could throw him. "Well, go on." She picked up the bowl of porridge and began to eat, deciding that since Amelia wasn't hungry, it'd be a shame to let it go to waste.
Taking a deep breath, Amelia nodded and said, "Well, I guess it all started when I met Marco."
"Marfo?" Lina muttered, spraying food on the sheets and the acrobat. Grinning apologetically, she wiped her face and said, "Sorry about that. Marco's the kid you were mumbling about earlier, right? Are you sure you didn't imagine him? Nobody else saw a boy."
Amelia grimaced and flicked a bit of porridge from her cheek. "I know what I saw. When we were all at that party yesterday…"
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"Told ye somethin' was up, boss," Jillas explained. There was no condescension in his tone; it was just the simple statement of a fact. He respected Zelgadis too much to think himself superior.
Zelgadis sighed and muttered something dark under his breath. He was already starting to miss the broken jaw. "I know you did," he begrudgingly admitted. "Can we discuss this later? I want to get this done before the sun gets too high. He pulled his hood up across his features and continued to scour the ground.
They'd returned to the scene of Amelia's attack, hoping to find some clue as to her assailant's identity. Sadly, any physical remains of the vampire had burned off with the fog in the morning sun. Blood had evaporated; hair and more substantial flesh turned to traces of ash that had since then been scattered by the breeze. Who had done it? More importantly, why? Was Amelia the target of one of Rezo's assassins? The High Priest didn't tolerate the existence of vampires, so the odds of it being his servant were slim.
Which brought up the possibility of it being a coincidence. It was hard to believe, but looking more feasible by the minute. Nobody knew better than Zelgadis that vampires were attracted to virtuous young women. It was an instinct. Oh, they'd take the town drunk, should nothing better be readily available, or in his case, the random animal, but there was something tantalizing in the blood of the innocent that drew them like moths to a flame. Amelia would certainly make an enticing target.
Zelgadis was quite fond of the acrobat himself. He'd refrained from getting to close to her because he'd recognized the attraction between them. It wasn't anything so foolish as shyness or suspicion that kept him away from her. Despite the fact that he was suspicious by nature, he trusted her with his life and should he want to, he'd explain his feelings for her in a heartbeat. That wasn't the problem. The problem came when he considered his attraction to her. Who really wanted Amelia, Zelgadis the man or Zelgadis the predator?
"'Ey boss!" Jillas called, startling Zelgadis out of his thoughts. "Take a look at this!" He excitedly beckoned his master over while pointing at something on the ground. White scraps of cloth had become caught in some brambles. It was a wonder that they hadn't burned when the blood combusted. Admittedly, it wasn't much, but at least the trek back out into the woods hadn't been a total waste.
Zelgadis knelt next to Jillas with a weary sigh. Aside from a few moments this morning after seeing that Amelia was okay, he hadn't slept a bit since arriving at the village. He absentmindedly fished a bit of the fabric from the forest floor and looked it over. At least he had proof that something had happened last night. The whole incident had a dreamlike quality to it and he was beginning to doubt what he'd seen. "It's not silk," he muttered curiously. "Nor any other type of fine material." It was roughly spun cotton, the stuff that the clothing of a commoner would be made of, an anomaly as far as vampires were concerned. They were notorious for wanting the finest things in life even after death. Many of them considered themselves superior beings, worthy of only the best that money could buy.
Snorting in amusement, Zelgadis released his hold on the scrap of cloth and watched it drift lazily away on the breeze. Who'd ever heard of a humble vampire? He had to admit, it gave credence to Amelia's theory about Xellos. A priest, an honest one in any case, wouldn't give much thought to useless finery. And Xellos was about as noble as one got, if Lina's story about him was to be believed. But, to go from an angel to a devil, well, that was something to think about. "It's strange," he mused aloud.
"Wha's that, boss?" Jillas chimed in, eager to lend his considerable brainpower to the mystery perplexing his master.
"Well, Jillas," Zelgadis said, fixing his companion with a contemplative look, "I was just considering the possible identity of Amelia's assailant. It may have been an agent of Rezo, but that begs the question of why he'd specifically target her and, more importantly, if he knows where we are. This in turn makes me wonder, if Rezo does know where we are, why haven't we been killed yet? Why only try to kill Amelia? Although he seemed to be quite upset with her for some reason I have yet to ascertain, I can't see him trying to kill her before Lina or myself. Theoretically, we're both greater threats than Amelia."
Noting the smile on Jillas's face had given way to confusion, Zelgadis smirked and continued. "Of course, the attack may not be related to Rezo at all. Maybe it was just a random vampire. But that raises all sorts of new questions. Why this far from an urban area? Why in a small village? Disappearances are far more conspicuous in a rural environment such as this. Why then, would a vampire take up residence around here?"
"And then there's the question of what Amelia saw. She said she saw Xellos." Zelgadis's lip curled back in a snarl as if the priest's name tasted bitter. "Now, as we both know, Xellos is dead. That might be little more than an inconvenience to something like him, but he can't come back on a whim. If we take what Amelia said about what Lina said about what Gourry said at face value, which we shouldn't, we have to consider that Xellos isn't following the divine laws established for Ceiphied's servants. Angels aren't allowed to act directly. They're only allowed to inspire and direct humanity's actions. On top of that, they're given specific tasks. If I had to guess, I'd wager that Xellos was charged with the mission of thwarting Hellmaster's plan. Nothing else that's happened recently seems to warrant the direct intervention of a servant of Ceiphied. However, now that his task is done, he's gone and I wouldn't expect him back for another thousand years."
Jillas cleared his throat and hesitantly interjected, "Uh, boss, ye totally lost me."
"All this happened before your arrival." Zelgadis said with a dismissive wave. "This is mostly for my benefit, but if you do have an idea, feel free to jump in. Anyway, if Xellos is back, and that's a big 'if', it means that he's not done or I'm totally mistaken about his purpose…" A sudden irritating tugging on his cape drew him out of his thoughts. "Jillas, I've told you that I hate it when you do that."
"Sorry 'bout that, boss. 'Ave a look at that, though." Jillas pointed to a young boy that was peeking out from behind a nearby tree. How he'd gotten so close without either of them noticing was a mystery.
Marco gawked at the two strangers, his jaw almost hitting the ground. Standing before him was a man with wings conversing with an honest to goodness talking fox. There was something you didn't see every day. Seeing that they were staring at him, he smiled nervously and said, "Um, have you guys seen Sarah? She was supposed to meet me here…" His voice trailed off at the end when he realized that he was talking to a fox and a bat. It was more than a little disconcerting.
Zelgadis and Jillas exchanged looks of recognition. Sarah. It was the name Amelia had mentioned. Well, this certainly put an interesting spin on things. It pretty much put to rest the notion that she might have hallucinated the whole thing.
"You're Marco, right?" Zelgadis asked, taking a step towards the boy.
Marco nodded reluctantly and took a step back; trying to keep what he hoped was a safe distance between himself and Zelgadis. He'd never seen a man with wings before and the cloak draped about him was kind of creepy too. On top of that, he knew Marco's name while the boy had absolutely no idea who he was. All in all, he didn't like Zel a bit. Still, there was Sarah to think about. Mustering his courage, he stammered, "H-Have you seen her? Sarah, I mean?"
"We can talk about that later," Zelgadis said gruffly. "Right now, I want to know what you were doing last night. Where were you taking Amelia? Why'd you leave when she was attacked?"
"Boss, ye might wan' ta' take it easy on th' kid," Jillas meekly suggested when he saw Zelgadis becoming agitated at Marco's hesitation. When the boss got agitated, he got big. Big and scary. And that wasn't really what was needed here, in his ever so humble opinion. "It's no' good scarin' 'im ye know."
Zelgadis sighed in irritation and snapped, "I'm not scaring him, I'm just asking him simple questions!" causing his luckless servant to cower in fear. Taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down, he turned back to Marco and said, "Amelia. I just want to know what happened to Amelia, okay? What did you see?"
Marco was on the verge of panic. Now the bat guy wasn't even making sense. Attack? Last night? Amelia? He didn't know any of it. "I don't know anyone named Amelia," he said apologetically as if he were somehow at fault in the situation. "I just want to find Sarah."
Zelgadis stared at Marco coolly for several seconds, seemingly trying to look through him. Finally he shook his head and said, "You're lying." He stiffened up slightly as something dark stirred within the recesses of his psyche. "I won't hurt him. Not for your amusement," he mumbled angrily in answer to a voice only he could hear. Taking another step towards the boy, he put his hands up, indicating that he meant no harm. "Listen, I just want to ask-"
Apparently, Marco had heard enough. Between the weird looking fox guy and the guy with wings talking to himself, he decided that it'd be best to make a quick exit. He turned and ducked into a nearby bush. Erupting from the other side in an explosion of leaves, he ran as fast as his legs would carry him, wishing that he'd just left well enough alone. He'd known that they were weird when he'd first laid eyes on them.
"Wait!" Zelgadis yelled, unable to keep the anger out of his voice. Whatever was within him was goading him on, urging him to lose control. He dropped to one knee and clutched his head, groaning in pain as whatever it was within him wreaked havoc in his skull. He looked up long enough to indicate that Jillas should pursue the boy. "Catch him," he hissed. "Don't hurt him though. There's no reason for it." He said this as if Jillas could hear the dark suggestions being whispered within his head.
Jillas looked into Zelgadis's eyes for a moment before shuddering and running off to do as he'd been commanded. There'd been something cruel in the boss's gaze that he'd never seen before and the sooner he got away from that, the better.
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"What happened then?" Lina quietly asked. Amelia had just gotten to the part of the story where her attacker made his appearance. This was what was important. Never mind Marco for the moment. He may have been a figment of Amelia's imagination or a dream. Maybe she was a sleepwalker or something.
"Well, he just appeared in front of me. He was like a ghost, Miss Lina. One second I was with Marco, the next he was gone and Xell-" She quickly stopped herself, wondering if it was a good idea to say such things about the man that Lina had considered to be a father figure of sorts. "That man in the cloak, I mean, appeared." she finished weakly.
"How do you know that it was a man?" Lina poured herself a glass of water to wash down her breakfast. She was still hungry, but that could wait for the moment. "What did he look like?"
Xellos fresh on her mind, Amelia shook her head and said, "I just know it was a man. He was taller than me or I think he was. I'm pretty sure he was crouching and his body was like…" Unable to think of the right word to describe it, she stretched her arms wide to indicate the size of the cloaked man. His cape had seemingly moved of its own volition, constantly flapping in a breeze that hadn't been there, making it hard to tell how big he was. "He was strong too," she whispered with a shudder, recalling how tightly he'd held her. "I think he said my name."
Lina raised an eyebrow. Now they were getting somewhere. "So, you think he knew you, then? Did you get to see his face?" She leaned forward a bit in anticipation of her friend's answer.
"Y-Yes," Amelia hesitantly admitted. There was nothing for it then, she realized. She'd have to tell Miss Lina the truth. "I saw his face. It was kind of dark, but I could tell it was a nice face. It was so white it almost looked fake. Does that make sense?"
"Almost like a doll, right?" Lina said with a nod. It was a common perception that she'd seen before. The transformation between human and vampire seemed to accent a person's most prominent features. Beautiful people looked almost unearthly and the ugly, well, the ugly ended up looking like Lupin.
"A doll," Amelia repeated thoughtfully. "Yeah, that sounds about right. He had purple hair, about shoulder length," she said, stealing a quick glance at Lina's face. The redhead's expression was unreadable. "And he had purple eyes that were kind of hidden by his bangs. I saw them though. They had a tricky look to them, just like his smile." Taking a deep breath, she said, "I think it was Xellos."
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Amelia wasn't the only one with Xellos on her mind at that moment. Zelgadis was also thinking about the mysterious priest as he played catch-up in his pursuit of the young boy. To be specific, he was considering the similarities between the priest and Marco.
Just like Xellos, Marco had an almost uncanny ability to disappear at a whim, darting behind one tree only to emerge from behind a bush a dozen feet away. Apparently, the boy knew the forest like the back of his hand. It was quite perplexing to say the least. Even Jillas seemed more than a little confused by his erratic movements, often veering to the left only to have his quarry appear on the right.
"Tricky lit'l fella, ain't 'e, boss?" Jillas said between pants. He stumbled over a large root concealed beneath some leaves and barely caught himself. He did manage to lose another few feet to Marco, however. "Neva' seen a kid tha' foxy," he grumbled as he watched the boy leap over a small puddle of water while simultaneously ducking a low hanging branch.
Zelgadis grunted in agreement, not wanting to waste his breath on a more elaborate answer. By Ceiphied the boy was fast! He'd thought himself quicker than most, but the boy had the environmental advantage. His wings kept getting snared on innumerable branches as he ran. It seemed that Marco was fairly clever as well, he begrudgingly admitted as he watched the boy duck into a tangle of bushes far too dense for him to follow. He'd have to circle around and hope that he didn't get lost on the other side. "Jillas!" he yelled, pointing to the brush, indicating that the fox should pursue.
Jillas nodded and easily made it into the bushes given the fact that he was on all fours. One could easily track his and Marco's progress by the rustling of the leaves coupled with the visual disturbances.
To Zelgadis's sharp eye, it appeared as if Jillas were catching up to Marco. Nodding in satisfaction at this, he quickly circumnavigated the thicket until he was on the other side. According to his calculations, Marco would be coming out right about…
As if on cue, a figure exploded from the underbrush right into Zelgadis's waiting arms. The impact knocked him off balance and he fell back, losing his wind when he struck the ground. He determinedly maintained his hold on the boy though. Marco had led them on a merry chase, but now he was going to have his answers. "Hold still, damn it!" he growled as his captive thrashed about.
Jillas obediently went limp. "Sure, boss. Whateva' ye say." He laid his head against Zelgadis's chest with a sigh of contentment. Never look a gift horse in the mouth, he thought as he took the opportunity to catch his breath.
"Get off me!" Zelgadis growled, shoving the fox aside. Crawling on all fours, he poked his head into the dense tangle of branches. The bushes showed no signs of life. "Where is he?" he demanded. "What happened?"
Looking up from his task of picking brambles from his tail, Jillas shrugged apologetically. "Don't rightly know, boss. 'E was ahead of me one second, gone the next."
"The devil, you say! You lost him. You didn't turn when he did or something." Zelgadis stood and glanced about, desperately seeking any sign of Marco. There was no movement, nor sound to betray the boy's flight. He was just gone.
"Beggin' ye pardon, boss, but I didn't lose 'im. 'E disappeared. I was right behind 'im, actually reachin' out t' grab 'im when 'e turned. When I followed 'e was gone." Jillas sighed in irritation. "I did m' best."
Zelgadis shook his head in disbelief. He hated to admit it, but Jillas was right. Even he thought that they had Marco. He'd been just ahead of the fox, he'd seen it.
"Funny thing, boss," Jillas remarked. "No smell."
"What?" Zelgadis asked, not quite understanding what the fox was getting at.
"The boy. 'E didn't 'ave a scent." Jillas grinned proudly and added, "If I could smell 'im, I'd track 'im t' th' ends o' the earth for ye, boss."
A terse nod of Zelgadis's head was the only indication that Jillas received that he'd been heard. It seemed that the boy was something of an enigma. He was as quick as the wind and incredibly clever. Rather unusual for a boy of ten or twelve. To say nothing of the fact that he'd led Amelia into trouble and refused to confess to it.
"Whacha thinkin' boss?" Jillas inquired.
"You were right about this place," Zelgadis admitted with a nod. "There's something very wrong around here." Taking one last look around in a fruitless hope of seeing Marco, he turned on his heel and began to walk back towards the village. There was some force at work here and he was determined to find out what it was.
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Next Chapter: It seems that there are more questions than answers for Lina and her friends. Is Xellos back? Why did he attack Amelia? There may not be time to answer the questions as something dark has stirred…
Notes: I know this chapter may have been a little dry, but trust me, I'm going somewhere with this. I did like the Lina/Amelia bit. I've always thought that they had an interesting relationship. You know, the whole "Blow things up and ask questions later" type balanced with the "Let's think things out… but, you know, blowing stuff up does sound cool" type.
Depending on how things go, the next chapter MIGHT be posted next week. That's a big 'might' though. It really depends on if I get over this bit of trouble I'm having with 33. I'm a little stumped at the moment, but working through it.
Reviewer Response:
Hmm, no vampire circus performers… *scribbles in notes* I got it Ichiban! And we'll be getting around to the mystery of Zel's condition pretty soon.
Otaku Girl, I really would like to read your stories, but if you really don't want me to, I mean REALLY don't want me to… I won't. *sniff* Wow, a lot of questions… Um, wait for the next chapter.
Thanks for the kind words, Blue Lady. I'm especially glad everyone's enjoying the way the L/G stuff is going. I was a little nervous about that.
Well, I hope all your questions were answered, Miss Gabriev. Sorry, but you missed #200, by one. Nice try though.
*puts paint away* Are you sure about that Raven? I got this stuff on special and it'd be a shame to let it go to waste. *sigh* Zel lose it on Amelia? I don't think he has it in him to do that, do you? On the other hand…
Dragonet, not too many twists, but a couple answers so I hope you enjoyed it.
Thank you all for reviewing and thank you to Pogo for her fine betaing.