Capriones 8/4/2006

Disclaimer: We shall make use of several of the characters from The Slayers, none of whom belongs to us.

Chapter Fourteen -- Confusing Feelings

It wasn't by accident thatZelgadiss walked intoLina's path; he was looking for her and parked himself between her and the food. Sooner or later, he knew, she would wend her way to partake of the feast. Lina wasn't aware of where she was going until she bumped into Zelgadiss. Her thoughts were solely concentrated on her encounter with Xelloss. She could kick herself for being infatuated with him. She didn'tchoose no-win situations, and there was no way in hell that she could win this one. Her arms tingled from histouches, and his kiss was still burning on her lips.

"Get the hell outta my way," she said tartly.

"You're in a mood," he said. "Want to talk about it?"

She gave him a scorching glare. "Do I look like I wanna talk?"

Zelgadiss deftly shrugged off her attack. No one could beat him for sullenness; especially some pretty and talented girl with no right to be feeling sorry for herself.

"You look in need of a friend," he said.

"Did Xelloss send his lapdog to clean up after him again? Ehhhh... Don't bother answering that."

As she turned to leave, Zelgadiss threw up a light spell, which lit her path and cast her shadow behind her. In his next incantation, he pinned her shadow to the ground.

"Whaaa!" she cried out.

"When you are ready to be civil, I'll take you somewhere where we can speak privately; until then, you can stand here."

"You're more than just a shaman; you know magic, too," she said, amazed, all the while attempting to tug free of the spell. She knew no counter spell.

"You would have known that had you paid attention out on the training field. I used quite a bit. It is because I am a shaman that I can cast the Ra Tilt," he added with no little pride.

It was a very powerful and dangerous spell that targeted a person's mind instead of their body. Lina couldn't cast it, for instance, so she was impressed.

Chagrined, she let out a sigh, saying, "Listen, I'm sorry for the dig before. I have no beef with you, and I don't usually go around insulting . . . friends. I'm really in a bad mood tonight."

"Come with me, then," he said, releasing the spells and leading her by the elbow away from the throngs.

Along the way, Lina watched Zelgadiss skim off a few food items, and was tempted to snatch a few herself, but in her fury didn't.

"Here," he said, offering her a napkin wrapped around a few snacks.

"Uh, thanks," she said.

Lina recognized a token peace offering when she saw one. As Lina nibbled at the pastry, the fire inside her completely diffused, and she started to talk. She didn't tell him about Xelloss' attempt to seduce her. If he had sent Zelgadiss on this fool's errand to mollify her feelings, she thought, then Xelloss probably already told him that much. Instead, she repeated how angry she was at Xelloss for going through with a wedding knowing how Zel felt about Amelia.

"Xelloss can't refuse a direct command from Zelas, but," he lowered his voice and cleared his throat. "Amelia says it is not legally binding and won't be recognized by her or Seyruun. I want to say to you, and these are not his words, Lina, but mine: please don't think badly of Xelloss."

"Well, I guess if you can forgive him, I can too. Still . . . "

"You wish it were you marrying him instead?" he asked, braving her wrath either way.

"Not your business. I won't answer that," she said, leaving him to decide for himself. It didn't matter anyway. "By the way, where do you suppose that necklace Amelia's wearing came from? I know he sent it to Prince Phil. And I know it wasn't returned with the man's reply."

"Xelloss had a copy made, naturally. He'd never send the original out of the settlement, especially to Seyruun," Zel replied. "Capriones are skilled crafts people and even better forgers."

"Oh. So that's the real deal she's wearing now. I think I'll go to bed. Ugh, my back . . . Tomorrow will be a busy enough day, and who knows where I'll be sleeping tomorrow night-- on the road or on a soft downy bed in the palace."

Zelgadiss stopped her with a hand to the shoulder, and asked, "Sore? I can help."

She wasn't sure what he meant. Was she still mad? Yes. Was her body aching? Yes.

"Yeah . . ."

His hands slid under her cape. Starting at her shoulders, he touched her lightly, sending tendrils of white healing magic deep into her muscles. Although Sylphiel had cured her aches and injuries in this manner countless times, Lina had never allowed a man she hardly knew contact her so intimately, except Xelloss. But he was the exception to the exceptions. At the moment, Lina was torn between pushing the shaman away and falling in love.

"S-shamans are healers, too?" she stuttered.

"I am, but I'm not very accomplished, or I would have cured myself. I can't perform a resurrection spell, for instance," he replied as he worked down her back and sides.

A sudden thought occurred to him. "You aren't possibly pregnant, are you?"

"What?" she cried out, the tension instantly returning to her body.

He wasn't entirely comfortable being this close to Lina, but it was the only way to apply treatment, and he particularly didn't like asking probing questions of her, but, again, he didn't want to mistreat her condition. He was fed up with her prickly temperament. Zel's expression verged on the edge of exasperation as he clarified his question.

"With. Child."

"I know what the word means. I'm not an idiot," she snapped, cheeks warm.

"Well, for all I know you are a married woman with children already. I really know very little about you or any of your friends. My point is that there's no 'cure' for pregnancy that I will perform."

Her reaction puzzled him. Her eyes opened very wide and her delicate skin lost all its color, and then flushed with color.

"Well, are you?" he repeated, the strain of being polite showing.

"No," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I've never . . . you know."

It was his turn to be embarrassed, coloring beneath his scars. He hated this. He had been sent on an information-gathering mission from Xelloss, and although he believed he understood Lina better, he wished he didn't.

"Uh, yeah." He resumed his healing magic, rushing himself to finish so he could still spend some time with Amelia. "You act older than you are," he said.

"Huh? How young do think I am?"

There was no right way to answer that, and she knew it. Zelgadiss let out a sigh and threw out his best guess.

"Fifteen?"

"Close. Not a bad guess, heh, heh . . ." she chuckled nervously. "Seventeen, about to turn eighteen. Amelia's younger, you know."

"I didn't," he said, his eyes begging for the answer to his unspoken question.

"She's almost sixteen."

It was his turn to be surprised. "That young? My gods, I thought she was at least eighteen. Her figure is so . . . mature."

Lina looked cross.

"Men, you all so alike -- shallow like pie pans."

"Well, that's one way to tell," he said with a defensive snort. "Sylphiel is older than you?"

"Yes. She's twenty and Filia is in her late twenties, very late, if you get my point."

"I see," Zelgadiss said, then searched Lina's face, judging her receptiveness to what he had to say next. "He's in love with you. It's making his job very difficult, you know."

Lina narrowed her eyes and stepped back a ways. "You mean, getting married tomorrow is a bit tough for him with me around? I'm soooo sorry to be such a big problem. I'm not the one getting married, buster."

"No, I didn't mean it that way and you know it. He's got a plan . . ."

"Yeah, yeah, I got the gist of it and I let him know I'm not interested in the 'other woman' role in his little act. Now, as much as I have appreciated the chat and the magic act, I'm still tired. Oh, and I see Amelia coming this way."

"Lina, he has a plan for tomorrow."

"Not interested."

"It is a secret--"

"Super, keep it that way. If Xelloss wanted for me to know, then he would have let me in on it, as it is . . . Never mind. I'm going to bed. Bye."

This time Zelgadiss let Lina leave. He understood what the real problem was now. He would be able to report back to Xelloss that she had feelings for him, but that nothing would come of it as long as the wedding was a sure thing. Maybe that would appease his friend's mind a little. The situation was better than Zel had hoped for. Before finding Xelloss, however, he was looking forward to entertaining the princess.

(O)

The wee hours of the morning passed in slumber following the previous night's activities. Neither the music of birdsong nor the cacophony of barking dogs and high-pitched crying of children at play disturbed the girls' sleep. But as the sun-warmed air replaced the night's chill, the girls awakened, demanding food and baths. A meager tray of toast and tea was delivered.

Sylphiel offered to help Amelia prepare her hair. She pictured it curled in coils and ringlets forming a crown with flowers. Lina and Filia would do the flower collecting while the others bathed, then it would be their turn.

"You know, it's really nice out," Lina said, standing outside their tent. "We got hours. Why don't we go swimming in that lake? Take some soap and clean up there. It's got to better than trying to wash up in some little bowl in here, right?"

"What about privacy?" Filia asked. "I'm not putting on a show for the locals."

"Okay, we'll put our towels on the pier and jump off that in our underwear. No one goes out that way. We can get one of those nervous little boys to stand guard," Lina said with finality.

"Here's a few of them now," Sylphiel said.

"We are bringing the princess' herbal bath," boy in the forefront said to Lina, who was blocking his way to the tent.

"What about the rest of us? We could use some mollycoddling too."

"Some what?"

Filia pushed past. "Come on, Lina. You and I will brave the lake. Let Sylphiel take care of Amelia."

Since this plan suited everyone, Lina picked off the last boy in the group, pressed a few coins into his palm, and told him: "You've been hired to guard us."

He was pleased to have the money and to be chosen for guard duty, although even he realized that either Lina or Filia could have flattened him with a single punch.

"Yes, Miss!"

Lina explained his duties on the way to the pier. "See these towels? They will remain dry and where we leave them on the deck with our clothes. You will stand guard over them. Let no one near them. Who, you ask, can touch our stuff? No one. If anyone should come close to us or to our belongings, you are to shout, yell, and scream your head off to get our attention. Got that?"

He nodded having no idea what she was talking about. When they strode to the end of the pier, he was still confused.

"Turn around," Lina ordered. "We're getting undressed. When we're in the water, you can turn around again. Better yet, we'll let you know. Now turn!"

He spun like a top. His mind had stopped processing after he heard her say they were going into the water, but it kicked in again when she yelled at him the second time. He heard two splashes and squeals. He didn't wait for the 'okay', but dashed about looking for them. He was in a panic. The girls were in the water. They were about to drown and he could do nothing; he certainly couldn't jump in and save them. And these weren't just any girls; these were special to Prince Xelloss.

"I'm getting help!" he yelled, then sped back up the pier, past the posts which had held the fiery torches the night before, then disappeared in the clusters of tents.

"Look at him! Where's he going?"

"Damn it all, that little beggar's ripped me off. I paid him!"

"You should have waited until he had done his job. Capriones aren't trustworthy," and Filia added for good measure, "none of them."

Lina hoped that wasn't as true as it was looking to actually be. "Oh, well, might as well enjoy the water. It isn't as cold as I thought it might be."

"Just stay close to the surface where the sun warms it," Filia advised, then followed Lina in a little swimming exercise.

The workout did them both some good. Lina needed to stop thinking about Xelloss, the wedding, and her journey to Seyruun. She needed to unwind. She had been surprised when Sylphiel had announced her engagement to Gourry, and yet was also happy for her. She had really tried to feign happiness, and if her own feelings for Xelloss hadn't been inflamed– scorched was closer to the truth– Lina would have been more convincing.

As it was, she knew everyone felt sorry for her. Her, Lina inverse! It was no surprise that she, Lina Inverse, should catch the eye of a good-looking man; she was a great catch! She had oodles of sex appeal. Naturally Xelloss would flirt with her! What miffed her was that Xelloss had the gall to expect her to reciprocate. What kind of a girl did he think she was? No, scratch that. Definitely, Lina did not want her mind to take that direction. Time to forget. . .

"Thanks, Filia, for coming swimming with me. I needed this."

"It's all right. I needed it just as much. That place, the dust, and the back-woodsy people– it all gets to me. I can't imagine having to live that way forever, like Amelia, but Sylphiel has chosen to! I'll miss them, because I can't see myself coming back here for visits. Well, maybe. Later. Oh . . . this feels so freeing," Filia said, sighing as she slid easily over onto her back and floated. "I should be thanking you for thinking it up."

Lina heard voices, a commotion in the distance, alerting her to danger at once. Treading water lifted her high enough to get a glimpse back to the water's edge, then to the pier. People.

"Ah . . . Filia, don't be in a hurry to thank me. We got a problem."

"What? Oh, dear . . . what are the yokels in a stir about this time?"

"Us," Lina said. "They are looking at us. Oh, geez . . . there's Xelloss. Gods . . . If I ever get my hands on that kid's neck I'm going to ring it clean off, I swear! Just what I didn't want."

While Lina was conflicted over her feelings for Xelloss, Filia had other concerns.

End Capriones, Chapter Fourteen.