Family Secrets

Chapter: 1

Getting Acquainted

Here is the next chapter.

Lina sat at the head of a great dinning table in a large hall in the castle. She looked at the large amount of different foods laid out across the table and could not help but smile. 'This is wonderful,' she thought as she became totally focused on the meal.

A few seats down Gourry seemed to have the same idea by the look on his face. His eyes gleamed with hunger as he waited for Slyphiel to take her place beside him. After a few moments Slyphiel appeared through a door with a tray that held three bowls. She placed one on Lina's plate, one on Gourry's, and one for her. After she finished she sat down to notice that Lina and Gourry almost looked like twins when it came to their reaction to food. She giggled slightly before she said, "You can eat now."

Before Slyphiel could even pick up her spoon the two bowls of soup where moved to the side and the other occupants at the table moved their eating into high gear. As a roe and ruckus echoed through the dinning hall Slyphiel just took her time and slowly with the dignity of nobility ate her soup. 'They'll leave enough after they're done. After getting used to the Inverse eating habits I learned to cook much more than what is needed,' Slyphiel thought before lifting another spoonful of soup to her lips.

Slowly but surely the war that was Lina and Gourry's eating habits started to die down as they began to finally get full. After another minute or so Lina leaned back in her chair and patted her stomach before saying, "That was great Slyphiel! If there is one thing I will like about this place it's your cooking."

Slyphiel smiled for two reasons. One because of Lina's compliment of her cooking, and two because she still had her touch since there was a small plate worth of food left for her. She looked at Lina while she was fixing her plate to notice the young heiress glancing around the hall. "Your curious about the paintings," Slyphiel asked before eating a bite of her food.

Lina blinked and looked at Slyphiel before nodding and replying, "Yeah, I was wondering who all of these people where in the paintings."

Slyphiel looked at the paintings of people that lined the dinning hall she sighed slightly before explaining, "Each portrait is that of the lord or lady of the castle. Each person who came to own the castle by the Inverse family tradition had their portrait made when they became lord of this castle."

Lina smiled and asked, "So I guess that means my portrait will be the next to hang on the wall?"

Slyphiel nodded, "Yes, you are the new lady of the castle and the artist will be here in a few days to get what he needs to paint the portrait."

Lina looked at the portraits for a moment before her eyes fell on the odd painting out on the wall. The portrait in the dead center of the hall did not seem to share any family features that the rest of the portraits of the Inverse family possessed. She studied the portrait to try and find any similarities what so ever. The portrait was of a young man dress in very old gothic style clothing seeming to date to the dark ages. His hair was a light lavender with the bluest eyes that she had ever seen before. His hair jutted out in wings on either side of his head and a bit of hair fell down over his right eye. His pale skin seemed to shine in the painting as he looked down into the hall and its occupants. As she was still looking at the painting she was brought back to reality when she heard, "Hey...Hey you there or did a bird nest in your brain?"

Lina quickly reacted and punched what just touched her. She turned to see Gourry rubbing his cheek with his hand. She huffed before jumping from her chair and continued to pummel the blonde man. "How dare you try to say I'm dense...why I ought to!"

Slyphiel watched with wide eyes for a few moments before she walked over to the pile of Lina and Gourry and broke them apart. She stood in between them and lowly asked, "Miss Inverse please forgive Gourry dear. It was uncalled for but he really didn't mean it."

Lina stopped and looked as Slyphiel pleaded for her to stop. 'She really does care for the big lug doesn't she,' Lina thought before she turned around and huffed saying, "I think he has learned his lesson now," before sitting back in her chair.

Slyphiel sighed and looked at the disheveled and beaten Gourry that laid unconscious on the floor. She then barely picked the blonde man up and put him in one of the chairs. She then sat down and asked, "What had your attention so Miss Inverse?"

Lina looked at Slyphiel and said, "It's Lina...not Lady Inverse, Miss Inverse, or whatever else...just call me Lina okay?"

Slyphiel smiled before she nodded and said, "Okay Miss, Lina."

Lina dropped her head for a second before thinking, 'Well, I guess it's better than nothing.'

"So what are you curious about Miss, Lina," Slyphiel asked with a smile as she felt she was becoming closer to the new heir of the castle.

Lina pointed to the center portrait and asked, "Who is that? He looks nothing like any of my family no matter how long I study him."

Slyphiel looked and then frowned before she answered, "That was the original lord of this castle. He had the castle built here and was lord of all the area around. It's said that he was a just if not cold ruler who kept his territory in control from bandits and other problems. It was soon after the death of his wife that he was over come with grief and began to rule his lands with an iron fist of hate. After a few years of this oppression the peasants of his lands rose against him lead by your ancestor Alfred Inverse. After the people stormed the castle your ancestor challenged Count Greywords to a duel of the sword. The count accepted and their fight began. In the end Alfred won the day and banished the count from his throne. Every since then the Inverse line have been the protectors of the people and have lived in this castle."

Lina looked at the portrait for a moment longer before asking, "So his family name was Greywords was it? Have any of his family tried to reclaim the castle?"

Slyphiel shook her head and replied, "No, he was the last of his line. So the castle will always belong to an Inverse."

Lina smiled slightly as she thought, 'Well, at least I won't have that to worry about.'

Lina yawned as she pulled her night pulled the long sleeve t-shirt over her head. After finally getting to her room and changing Lina was ready for a good night's sleep. She yawned again as she flipped the light switch so that the room was only lit by a candle by her bedside. 'I'm glad that my family decided to hook the castle up with electricity. I would've hated to go without it for as long as I stay here,' Lina thought as she crawled into bed.

As she was about to blow out the candle she all of a sudden heard something from down the hall. She picked up the candle and walked to the door. She opened the door and looked down the hall to she something. She recognized the sound to be that of the pipe organ in the music hall downstairs. 'Now who would be playing the organ at this time at night? If that block head is responsible I will beat him silly,' Lina thought as she angrily stalked down the hall towards the music hall.

Slyphiel was starting to sink into sleep when the sound of the pipe organ awoken her. A cold sweat began to form on her skin as she thought, 'That's Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor! That's his song...He's awake! I have to warn Miss Lina before he notices her!'

With fear moving her even faster Slyphiel threw open her door and shot down the hallway in search of the new heir before she found her family's secret.

Disclaimer: Any characters or ideas from The Slayers do not belong to me. I am not selling this material, just writing for the heck of it as I go.

Feedback is requested, please send all comments to size=1 width=100% noshade>