Things Past.
Chapter Three: The last of the Fey.
"I guess we should figure out our next move." Naga said as she cast the recovery spell on Gourry's head, he just stared ahead, "We should find her quickly before that old man can do anything."
"Do you know where to look?" Gourry asked.
"Well no but. . ."
"Then what possible chance do we have?" He said clenching his fists, "I've failed her I promised I'd always protect her and I failed," he dropped his head into his hands, "I failed!"
"You most certainly did not!" Naga grabbed his shirt and forced him to look at her, "listen I . . . I know someone at Saillune, she should be able to help us and we should sent a message to that priestess friend of yours and get her to meet us there." She let go then placed a hand on his shoulder, "we will get her back you mark my words."
"Who are you?" Lina was suspended in the air by some sort of magic, her abductor stood to her right with his back to her busying himself with something on a table and for some reason she was terrified of this man. "Who are you!"
"I am known as Balthazar." He said lifting up a measuring glass to the light and studying it, "And you my dear are Celina Firestone the last of the fey."
"I'm sorry but my name is Lina Inverse not Celina whatever so could you just let me go now so I . . ."
"Oh ho!" the old man laughed and put the measuring jug down and approached her, Lina struggled to get away despite herself, "but I'm afraid you are my dear Princess Celina."
"P-P-Princess!"
"Why yes, your dratted nurse maid did such a good job of hiding you it's taken me all these years to find you."
"Hold it; I have no idea what you're talking about!"
"Oh of course my dear you will have to forgive this old man," he cupped her chin and revelled in the tremble I caused, "I shall tell you a story." He waved his other hand and a chair appeared behind him, he sat down and cleared his throat, "once upon a time in a kingdom known only in myths, that of Avalon many magical creatures dwelled there including those of the fey. Do you know what fey are Celina?"
"Legend has it they are a cross between a human and a fairy, usually heroes and such that have earned their place there."
"That is correct my dear," Lina shuddered wishing he would stop calling her his dear, "well there was a fairy known as Seyuri who fell in love with a hero on Avalon and that fairy was the queen of the fairies a very beautiful young woman gifted with magics far greater than most of her fellow fairies. Seyuri married this hero and the pair were greatly adored by all of the inhabitants of Avalon. However one day a sorcerer looking to make himself the most powerful being alive, even more so than the monster race, appeared. He managed to find a way to Avalon using a unicorn horn once there he proceeded to work his way through the fairies and the fey, sometimes just one at a time and sometimes large groups. He used a spell that drew out their magic and place it into his soul this would eventually give him eternal youth and life. Finally, despite Seyuri's armies many attempts to stop him he came to her palace and using lesser demons against her soldiers and her hero and the spell he thought he had finally managed what no other sorcerer had ever done but two had escaped her newborn child Celina and her nurse maid. I tracked the maid down three years later and stole her powers after finding out that she no longer had the child and would not tell me where it was and ever since I have searched to complete the spell to return my youth. And now . . . now I have found the lost princess of Avalon. Dark spirits hear my plea take from this fey before me that which I desire," Lina tried to yell out as a white aura encased her but she couldn't she couldn't even struggle, "give me her power! Soul Drain!"
Lina gasped as she felt something leave her body and noticed her fringe turn white, then she heard a yell and someone had her in their arms and was carrying her away. She wanted to yell at them to go back and make him give whatever he'd taken back but she couldn't she was too weak and soon fell into blackness.
"Lina?" a voice called for her through the darkness that sounded like Zelgadis, "Lina wake up." Now she was being shaken.
"Uh maybe you shouldn't shake her like that." Another voice said that she was sure belonged to Amelia; she opened her eyes and groaned.
"Zel? Amelia?" She said sounding weaker than she had done when she couldn't sleep for weeks, feeling it too.
"Oh Miss. Lina I was so worried when we found you and . . . and. . ." Amelia scrunched up her face and tears began to fall.
"Lina what happened?" Zelgadis asked and she noted he had placed a comforting hand on Amelia's shoulder.
"That guy kidnapped me, said I was some princess then cast a spell on me, "she sat up slowly and caught a glimpse of herself in a mirror jut behind Amelia to her left and saw her hair had turned white and it looks like he took some of my magical energy with it." She threw the covers off and went to stand but instantly regretted it as her knees crumbled and she fell to the floor, Zelgadis caught her and placed her back in her bed.
"I don't think it wise just yet to move Lina," He told her pulling the covers back over her, "despite both Amelia and I casting various recovery spells it's taken you four days to wake up." Lina gaped at him in disbelief.
"Yes and since then we have had to go from town to town in hay wagons and stay in a different tavern every night so that we can get you back to saillune."
"Saillune?" Lina looked at her friends.
"Yes we've had to fend off three bounty hunters already," Zel told her, "we decided it was best to get you to Saillune as quickly as possible to so that Phil's forces can help us protect you."
"That and there's no better place to work out how he did what he did I'm sure there must be someone at home that can reverse the effects." Amelia told her smiling. "But Miss. Lina what happened to Gourry?"
"I . . . I don't know, I remember being captured and him coming to rescue me with Naga . . . "
"Who's Naga?" Zelgadis asked.
"Oh someone I knew before I met all of you, we used to travel together but one day she just wondered off and didn't come back, then a couple of days later I met Gourry." Lina shuddered despite herself remembering what she'd been rescued from and reluctantly carried on, "Anyway, I remember them rescuing me then Naga and Gourry yelling about something and that was it, before I woke up with that creepy old guy."
"Lina can you use any spells?" Lina looked up at Zel and then at her hands, under her breath she breathed the incantation then;
"Lighting!" Nothing happened, "Guess not, man even when it's my time of the month I can manage lighting. Sigh, I guess I may as well consider my powers sealed."
"You get some rest Lina, we'll organise another ride and we'll be on our way to the next town in a couple of hours." Zel grabbed Amelia's arm and pulled her out of the room closing the door behind him, "We have to got her to Saillune and find Gourry."
"Do you think we can make Miss. Lina better again, unseal her powers?" Amelia followed Zelgadis down along the corridor.
"I don't think it's as simple as that," Zel led her down the stairs and out to the yard outside where a young man was waiting for them, "We'll need to leave in two hours be ready then," he threw a bag of coins at the man who caught them and tested the weight, "you'll get the rest when we get there safely," the man nodded and left to prepared the horses, "anyway I don't think he sealed her powers." He continued his previous conversation with Amelia.
"You don't?"
"Remember I've been searching for a way to change my body back to normal for years now and I've come across many unusual spells many have never heard of," he sat on a hay bale outside an empty stable and Amelia sat herself down on an upturned bucket, "as you probably already know a spell of sealing will do just that it won't take your power away from you it'll just stop you from using them. Whatever that old man did to her it seemed to drain her magical energy, which explains her white hair. If that's the case then we need to find out how the 'Soul Drain' works in order to reverse the effects effectively."
"So does that mean Miss. Lina won't be able to use any magic until we can reverse the spell?" Amelia yelled.
"We can't be a hundred percent sure, it's just a theory, but it certainly looks that way. Of course Lina's no ordinary sorceress; I've never met anyone like her. And those red eyes . . . there has to be a reason he targeted her and it may not be simply because she's a renowned sorceress."
"You mean she may not be human?" Amelia asked looking worried, "I always thought there was something strange about her," Amelia said louder than she'd meant to, "oh I mean not that she's evil or anything, although she does seem to get a little too much pleasure out of taking the loot of bandits, but that doesn't mean she's evil just um . . ."
"Forget it Amelia I know what you mean." Come on let's go."
Wow it's been a while anyway I'm hoping to keep going with this one sorry it's taken a while, please review! Toodles Angel!