Chapter 14

Wondering

Zelgadis gave a nearly inaudible groan as he trudged toward the small dinning hall near his room. Coffee... his inner voice begged. That wonderful aroma hit his nostril's as he opened the door and he moved in a daze toward the side table. There sat the silver pot that held that most wonderful substance, the thing which balanced his day as nothing else could. With a sigh of bliss he poured a cup and raised it, inhaling deeply before sipping the elixir that soothed his soul.

Unfortunately, with a cup of coffee down and his next one in hand, the events of last night began to emerge from the fog of sleepiness. Scowling slightly he downed another cup and took the coffee pot with him to the table as he started in on his third. Gourry had been strangely unresponsive in the moment Lina vanished, followed by a nearly frantic attempt to find a way to go after her. Zelgadis had managed to calm him down eventually. He didn't recall exactly how he'd managed it, but suspected it was by telling him he'd be no help if he didn't get himself under control, or maybe yelling about it... it had been a frantic few minutes. He hadn't known how to react himself, but with Gourry off the deep end, he'd forced himself to keep a level head, someone had to. Though he wasn't sure why someone always seemed to be him.

He had collected Amelia and Sylphiel from the ballroom and had Amelia find a room for them to meet in. They had discussed the problem for sometime but ultimately there was little they could do. They had no idea where Lina was, and... she hadn't been struggling in any way. Zelgadis sighed. He hated not knowing what was going on. Added to his lack of information was the fact that he'd had to deal with both Gourry and Sylphiel being more than somewhat irrational. Fortunately, Amelia's royal training had kicked in and she'd been a surprising source of strength. He was sure she was the only reason he hadn't simply gagged Gourry or cast a sleeping spell on Sylphiel instead of repeatedly trying to calm them and gently refuse the idiotic suggestions they came up with. What good would alerting the guard do? Xellos had teleported somewhere and it wasn't like the guards were a match for Lina or Xellos either one. His temper had eventually frayed enough that he'd ordered them all to bed. Gourry had resisted but Zelgadis had informed him that they'd have to do some research before they could even try to track Lina and that none of them would be any good to Lina if they had no energy. Gourry had been unhappy but when Amelia and Sylphiel also insisted he'd given up and done as he was told.

The flaw with this reasoning was that Lina was the one of them best equipped to fight Xellos if the need arose... and he wasn't sure there was a need. He didn't like that Lina had disappeared with the mazoku, he'd been horrified to see them kiss, but Lina had allowed the fruitcake to kiss her. If traveling with the sorceress had taught him anything, it was the impossibility of getting Lina to do anything she didn't want to. As much as it galled him he was unsure if Lina needed rescuing.

Pouring yet another cup of coffee he reflected on what he had seen. Lina dancing standing arm in arm with Xellos on the balcony before disappearing with him inside. Lina and Xellos dancing in ways that made him blush just thinking about it. Then walking onto the balcony to see Xellos and Lina kiss before disappearing. It was all more than his poor rational mind really wanted to cope with, and he knew that even though he was an early riser the others would be here soon. He grimaced when he tipped the pot and realized it was empty. Scowling he took it back to the side table, and switched it with the second one. He knew a moment's fleeting guilt as he realized that he'd already consumed half of the coffee, but he quickly squashed it by reminding himself that he would soon be dealing with his companions again and that it was unlikely to be any better than last night.

Lina's bossiness frequently irritated him, but he was forced to admit that he missed it. If she were here she'd have taken charge and... well Zelgadis wouldn't be stuck trying to herd his sometimes companions into productivity. He was a patient man, really he was, but he just couldn't stand the lack of logic and order. He found himself once again grateful that Amelia was so diplomatic, she'd certainly matured over the years. He could remember a time when she would have loudly proclaimed that as long as justice burned in their hearts everything would turn out right, or something like that. Now she was a huge help organizing instead of part of the disorder. It was funny really, how much he thought of her...

His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of the object of his current contemplation. He watched as she breezed into the room, sunny and smiling.

"Good morning Zelgadis-san!" she chirped.

How she was so cheerful this early in the morning was a complete mystery to the chimera. He managed to return her greeting as he unthinkingly reached out protectively to claim his coffee pot. She gave him an odd smile before pulling a bell rope. When a servant appeared a moment later she gave him the empty pot and politely requested several more pots of coffee. Zelgadis gave what was probably a sound of approval, but didn't relinquish his hold on the silver pot. With a light laugh she loaded a plate from the side table and sat down next to him.

"Did you sleep well Zelgadis-san?" she asked. At his nod she continued, "I hope you liked the room, I had it made up for you specifically." A light blush stained her cheeks as she said this and her gaze remained locked on her breakfast.

Zelgadis paused, he'd been so irritated last night he hadn't looked that closely at the room he'd been shown to. His stuff had already been taken there by a helpful servant who'd greeted him when he first reached the palace during the ball. Thinking back he recalled that he'd felt immensely comfortable in the small suite, which was odd.

"I like it," he said in a definite tone. He didn't remember many particulars, but the room had felt instantly like home... despite the fact that he hadn't had a home in years. He quickly chocked off this more emotional train of thought by bringing back the problem at hand. "Any ideas what to do about... last night?"

Her cheerful mood changed into a more serious and thoughtful one almost instantly. She shook her head, "I don't know what we can do really. We don't know where Lina-san is... and from what you said it doesn't sound like Xellos-san kidnapped her."

Zelgadis sighed and looked into his coffee cup as if hoping the beverage that offered him so much might also have the answer to this puzzle. "We need to come up with something before Sylphiel and Gourry show up, if we can."

Amelia nodded, "I thought maybe we should find something for them to do while we look into things ourselves."

Zelgadis blinked, it was a somewhat more devious approach than he had expected from her. Well it wasn't really all that devious... but Amelia was usually very pro-together when attacking a problem. "I agree, anything come to mind?"

Amelia blinked thoughtfully. "I'm not sure... it should be something they're good at, but something that will keep them occupied too."

Zelgadis blinked as an idea suddenly occurred to him. "I think I might have something-" he cut off with a start as Gourry stumbled into the room with dark circles beneath his eyes. He gave Amelia an alarmed glance, but Amelia winked at him before turning to Gourry.

"Gourry-san, go ahead and get some breakfast. We'll wait until Sylphiel-san shows up to go over the plan." She smiled at him and glanced quickly at Zelgadis.

Zelgadis nodded his thanks and kicked his brain into overdrive, working quickly to try and form his idea into a plan before the shrine maiden appeared. Amelia took over the duty of conversation inquiring as to Gourry's state of health and remarking on his unwell appearance. Her efforts were probably wasted, because Gourry didn't seem to notice much, giving automated answers to questions while shoveling food into his mouth, but without his usual gusto.

Sylphiel chose this moment to show up, but Zelgadis was given another slight reprieve as she immediately began fussing over Gourry. She finally filled a small plate of her own and began to eat, all the while encouraging Gourry to eat more, and when Amelia chimed in that he needed to keep his strength up, Gourry did seem to put a little more effort into breakfast. All too soon however everyone was done eating and looking to Zelgadis for direction. Amelia gave him an encouraging smile and he took a deep breath.

"Well," he said with a slight cough, "we don't have very much information to work with, but-"

"Does that mean you can't find out where Lina went?" asked Gourry.

Zelgadis clenched his teeth slightly before continuing, "no Gourry that's not what it means. It means that we don't know how to find where Lina went. However," he glared slightly daring them to interrupt again, "I do have a few ideas."

"Really? Where do you think she went?"

"I think Zelgadis-san is getting to that Gourry-san," said Amelia.

"Well," said Zelgadis his irritation more evident in his tone, "it's entirely possible that we could track them through some magical means-"

Sylphiel spoke up, "do you want me to try and predict where Lina-san is?"

Zelgadis blinked, then suddenly smiled. "Yes," he said with a suddenly cunning look on his face, " yes that's exactly what I want you to do. In fact I think we should divide into teams to find Lina faster. Sylphiel will try a prediction on where Lina went, and go with Gourry to start asking innkeepers if they've seen Lina."

"Why innkeepers?" asked Sylphiel.

"Lina-san wouldn't go anywhere without eating," said Amelia with authority.

"Hey that's right!" exclaimed Gourry brightening as this made sense to him.

"Now the two of you shouldn't go too far, be back at the castle this evening," said Amelia.

"Alright, you can count on us," said Sylphiel.

"Right," said Gourry.

"Amelia and I will go to the library and see if we can find a magical means for tracking Lina," said Zelgadis. Truthfully he thought it was the only thing likely to provide any results. But this plan would get Sylphiel and Gourry out of the way while he and Amelia did research. Sylphiel may have been helpful in the library, but they needed to be sure Gourry didn't just wander off while searching for Lina. Sylphiel would keep him out of trouble, and ensure he got back to the palace. Gourry was eager to make progress and as soon as Sylphiel had a direction, the two set off.

After they were gone Amelia turned to Zelgadis, "is it really a good idea to send them off like that?"

"Amelia... I have no idea if we can track Lina by magic or not. But I know that it will be ten times easier to find information in the library without Gourry asking questions, or getting food on the books as he eats, or snoring in the middle of the floor."

Amelia smiled slightly and shook her head, all to able to envision Gourry doing those things. "Well I suppose it is more practical," she said as she stood up. "Ready to go?"

Zelgadis nodded in the affirmative and they set off for the library, unaware that the person they were searching for was fast asleep in her room, watched over by someone else, who was making plans of his own...