Lina's Nocturne

Chapter: 4

Night Visitors

Next chapter up and we continue to introduce characters. This chapter deals a little bit of me playing around with ideas on cosmology and and some other things. And, I start dropping hints about what the plot is really about.

Lina continued down the main staircase to the first level. After she reached the bottom she stopped and listened for the singing once again. Lina quickly picked up on the sound and determined it was coming from the back of the house in the direction of the music room. She quietly moved towards the room while thinking, 'I know Zelgadis said not to do this but I couldn't sleep anyway.'

Lina opened the doors to the music room and looked around. There was no one inside the room as the darkness of night drifted silently about the room in its usual dance. Lina looked, as she still heard, to the large glass door that lead outside. The full moon shone through the ornate glass to create a kaleidoscope of color on the floor and far walls of the music room. Lina walked towards the door as the singing continued and she could tell what the song was saying.

LAY YOUR HEAD DOWN
AND SLEEP ON MY SHOULDER
LAY YOUR HEAD DOWN
AND START A NEW DREAM
AND FOR TONIGHT
THE MOMENT IS OVER
DRIFT IN A LULLABY
HERE WHERE THE STARS RESIDE
AND ANGELS ARE ALWAYS SEEN

The voice that sang the song was a beautiful female soprano that seemed to carry a supernatural tone as it carried through the night air and into the room. Lina moved slowly towards the door as she thought, 'I know I'm not supposed to open but that doesn't sound threatening.'

Lina slowly unlocked the door and opened the portal to the world outside. She squinted as the moon seemed to be remarkably bright on the other side of the door. After her eyes adjusted to the light Lina looked down to see as woman sitting in the middle of the small garden. Lina glanced over the woman to see she was dressed in a long, flowing kimono that was red and white. The piece of clothing looked like it had been made ages ago in the height of Japanese culture. The silky material was adorned with embroider sakura blossoms in the pure white thread that was used in the detail work along the garment. The woman's long, blonde hair cascaded down her back, like that of a maiden living in the Heinan period in Japan where the length of a young woman's hair could rival the length of her selves, as she lightly hummed. It was about this time that Lina cleared her throat to catch the woman's attention. The woman turned and looked up to see Lina. She smiled as she said, "Well, hello."

Lina looked into the sapphire blue eyes that stared back at her she smiled and said, "Hi...why are you out here by yourself?"

Right as the woman was about to answer there came a loud, and angry shout from behind Lina, "What the hell are you doing!?"

Lina turned to see Zelgadis: hood, mask, and all standing at the other end of the room. He quickly moved to Lina but was too late as the woman in the red kimono came into the room and replied, "Now, now Zelgadis there is no reason to be rude. She is new to the mansion and I'm sure you were rather vague on why you wanted nothing to come in."

Lina quickly shut the door and looked at the two as Zelgadis glared at the women. The woman turned to Lina and said, "Hello, I'm Filia and what might your name be my dear."

"Lina," was Lina's short reply as she saw Zelgadis' ire was now turned towards her.

"Great, just great," Zelgadis began, "I told you to stay in bed but you couldn't listen. You had to go and let her inside...and don't let her fool you with that name. Her true name is Fate."

Lina cocked an eyebrow before asking, "Your kidding...Like the name given to the supposed force that controls the world?"

Filia glared at Zelgadis before saying, "I told you not to use my name."

Filia the looked at Lina and replied, "It's true. I am Fate. In this place I can actually physically manifest and interact with those in the mansion. The only problem is that a certain house keeper has decided to try and bar me from the inside of the mansion."

Zelgadis' eyes told that he was not moved by the slight anger in Fate's voice, "You don't have much power here because you use a lot of it to manifest your body. And, Fate...or as you prefer Filia, I don't care what you want I'm not interested in the games you and that bastard of a son like to play."

"Now that wasn't nice," came a low male tenor from next to Lina.

Lina turned to see a tall and lithe young man with aqua green hair leaning against one of the bookcases filled with music books. His outfit consisted of a small dark blue vest that barely hid a very muscular chest. His pants where baggy and white; looking like something a monk would wear coming out of a monastery hidden high in the mountains of the mystical isle. His hair was parted down the middle of his head were a black horn jutted from the top of his head. He slowly opened his eyes to show the brilliant, golden orbs that hid behind his eyelids. He pushed off from the bookcase before saying, "Now Zelgadis...what have I ever done to you to deserve such name calling?"

Zelgadis' eyes held an angry glare as he looked back at the young man before saying, "You know exactly why I call you that...don't start another game Twist!"

The young man that was called Twist smiled before he replied, "My, my...with as long as you have been here I thought you would have been used to things like this by know."

Lina looked at all three parties before yelling, "Will you all be quiet!!"

All the arguing came to a halt as the three other people in the room turned towards Lina. "Now let me get this straight... She is actually what we refer to as, 'Fate,' and he is her son, 'Twist' and they actually exist?"

Zelgadis nodded before saying, "Yes, the two entities exist but they normally cannot manifest physically in the world. Something about the mansion and its grounds allow them to manifest and interact with those here."

Lina was still having trouble believing what she was hearing, "So...that means the mansion existed outside the normal realm of reality...but how is that possible?"

"There are ways but not many people know the secrets of this place," Twist began, "And, can we please stop calling me Twist...So many people overact to that name. I prefer to be called Val."

Lina rubbed her temples and asked, "Why do you both care what names are used?"

Filia was about to answer when Zelgadis interrupted, "It is a theory that beings such as these can be controlled if you know their true name. Thought the idea does not seem to apply within the confines of the mansion it seems to make them somewhat uncomfortable."

Filia glared at Zelgadis before saying, "You know you don't have to treat us as enemies Zelgadis. We are only here to check on those in the mansion. Just let us be and there won't be any problems."

"I don't care. Get out of my room right now," Zelgadis replied heatedly.

Lina looked at Zelgadis after the outburst from the usually stoic house keeper and asked, "What do you mean by your room? I thought you said no one owns the mansion."

It was at this moment that Val smiled and walked forward with an mischievous tone as he replied, "So he's given you that talk. Don't let this man trick you he is the master of the house. He cannot open the gate for you but this place is keyed to him and he is its controller. This room is his most prized...yes the fabulous music study of Zelgadis...the master of music..."

As Val was about to continue his taunting Zelgadis moved forward and thrust his hand forward to cause the young man to go flying into the wall. Lina's eyes widened as she saw a ripple shoot through the air as Zelgadis had thrust forward. It was like his movement had caused a ripple in the space between the two and cause quite a force to slam into Val. Lina could have also sworn that Zelgadis' eyes changed color from the brilliant sapphire blue to an almost crimson red. Though his eyes were now blue again Lina could not shake the thought that they had turned red. "I will have no more of your games...leave this place now or I will do more then throw you around the room," Zelgadis threatened in a low tone that conveyed that the owner meant what he said.

"Fine, I'll talk to you once you've cooled off," Filia replied as she and Val disappeared into the night as if they had been spawned by shadow itself.

Lina stared at Zelgadis while trying to comprehend what she had just witnessed. 'There is something going on here and Zelgadis knows more than what he is telling me. He...he somehow shifted the air between him and Val...and if he can do that then he is surely capable of other things,' Lina could not help but think.

"So what else can you do other than send focused movements of air," Lina asked as she placed her hands on her hips.

Zelgadis looked at Lina with that look of coldness that seemed to say that his veins ran deep with ice. The cold stare that glared out from under the hood told of a man that seemed to be devoid of emotion other than hatred and anger. His gaze seemed to process that Lina was not going to take no for an answer but at the same time seemed to say that he did not care if she got the answer she wanted or not. It was in this moment of tension that Zelgadis said, "None of this would have happened had you just stayed in your room like I had instructed."

Lina huffed at the attempted change in subject and said, "What else can you do? I know what I saw and according to Val you are able to effect this mansion so either tell me the truth or I will not let you rest until I get an answer."

Zelgadis smirked as he turned away from Lina. Lina was about to start yelling at him when she noticed that he was walking towards the piano. Zelgadis seated himself on the seat and pushed back the protective covering of the keys. Zelgadis then proceeded to play a few notes to check the piano's tone. After feeling satisfied with the sound of the instrument he slowly begins playing a low melody. Lina watched as the young man began to play Braham's Lullaby on the piano. She could not help but feel swept away by the lovely melody that played through the air in the night. She drew closer to the piano and its player as the music continued to dance through the air to her ears and caused her body to want for sleep. She leaned slightly against the piano as she watched Zelgadis' fingers lightly dancing across the keyboard as he began to come to the close of his music piece. As he began to play the final notes of the piece he looked up at Lina and whispered, "Sleep."

Lina saw his irises change their color once again before her mind was muddled by an intense need to sleep. He body gave away as she drifted off in a second. Zelgadis caught Lina's form as she fell to the ground. He held the young girl in his arms as he began to walk towards the door. He smirked under his mask; the first true smirk of humor that he had in quite a time. 'Still the same bull-headed little girl that wanted to hide in the bushes so many years ago. I will let you in on the secrets soon enough but for now do not push your luck,' Zelgadis thought as he made his way towards Lina's room to lay her to rest for the night.

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.

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