DISCALIMER: I still do not own The Slayers...
Alright. We're at Chapter Three, so if you're still with me after Amelia's little change, Xelloss' bit of fun and the intro of Dira and Dara, then your with me with me all the way...
As such, I can drop this act and be me again! (nn)
Yea. Here's Filia and Zel's intro! Enjoy!
- Nicci Rockdad
Special Thank's Too:
Story Weaver1: You're on to me, aren't ya?! Heh, good. I'm glad you like the OPEN sign, I grinned when I did it. (nn)
cyberimp6: Hee, thankies! I already responded to you, but thanks again for your complements on my buildup! (n-)
kazster: And it jumps again here, I'm afraid. But don't worry, I gotta a plan! (n-)
Thanks so much you guys!
Now let's do this...
Chapter Three
Traces…
Filia blinked open her crystal blue orbs, taking in the sights around her, vivid and clear.
It was bright here, so very bright, her entire being felt aflame, and yet calm as though she was safe and warm.
She felt like she was home...
"Golden Dragon..." A great masculine voice boomed. "Why have you forsaken me?"
Filia fell to her knees in realization, shock coursing through her veins like liquid ice. "Forgive me! Fire Dragon King, it is not you but my own that I have forsaken."
"You were born to serve as a Priestess..." The voice declared with calm authority. "And now you are not. You are all that is left, will you still walk away?"
She flinched. "I..."
"Will you still abandon me?"
Filia hung her head meekly. "No. For you, Fire Dragon King, I shall serve."
"Then look on..." He ordered as she raised her head. "... and witness..."
O O O
...The light burns bright, beyond all night...
... For the night is wrought with blood and lust...
...The suffering of the wicked and the joy of the fooled...
... They shall join and be well met...
... But in the end only the wicked shall stand...
... For he is pure...
O O O
The flames grew hotter on her face, the heat overwhelming and she let out a fearful gasp...
And then she woke up, the birds singing in the new morning without a care in the world.
She gasped, sitting up and holding a hand to her chest, her heart beat coming faster than her breathless pants.
"A... a vision..." She breathed, her eyes wide as she stared stunned into the crisp morning. "I... he gave me a vision..."
And then she wept, collapsing into her covers and clutching her pillow in terror.
"A horrible, horrible vision." She sobbed, eying the sunlight streaking the floor in terror. "And it's already begun..."
Her heart sank like a stone in her chest and she sat up with a start.
Not only had it already begun, but she knew in that instant without a doubt where it had begun.
"I must go to Saillune..." She whispered, fear as she had never known creeping under her skin. "I have to warn them!"
... Before it's too late...
O O O
It the was singing on the air that had led him here, back home to Saillune...
"Home?" Zelgadiss asked himself in confusion. "That's not my home, I have no home."
"You do now, Mr. Zelgadiss." A soft voice spoke up happily and he turned to meet his princess' gaze.
She looked stunning; the few years had been more than kind. She had been transformed beyond a princess...
She was a queen...
"A... Amelia..." He breathed in awe. "My, how you've grown."
The Queen-Amelia giggled at his lingering stare, but did not blush as the old Amelia would have done.
He smiled nervously and then cried out as he felt a burning sensation against his flesh.
"Wha..." He asked in shock, pulling his canteen away from his waist in shock.
There was the bracelet Amelia had left him, cool and blue, not even warm to the touch and yet...
"It burned me..." He whispered in awe looking up to meet this new Queen-Amelia suspiciously. "Why?"
Amelia stared at it in confusion. "I don't know Mr. Zelgadiss, but here..."
She pulled one of Lina's talismans out of her pocket. He noticed immediately that it was broken. "I can give you this instead, it won't burn you Mr. Zelgadiss, see?"
She arched her neck gracefully, allowing him to see the other one fastened there and smiled at his confusion.
"Come home, Mr. Zelgadiss." She whispered softly, locking his silted teal gaze with her soft blue one. "Come back home, to Saillune and all will be made clear..."
She met him face to face, leaning up to him and gently stroking the side of his face, causing him to swallow hard.
"Come back home, and we can finally be together..." She whispered, closing her eyes and breathing gently on his lips, her own just mere inches away.
He leaned in to meet the promise they offered and she smiled softly, her image fading away in a shimmer of red before their lips could meet.
"Come back home..." Her voice whispered longingly once more...
And then he was awake, the crisp stars of early morning winking down on him and the desert beneath him.
He blinked once, recalling her image in his mind, the fire beside him still burning.
Idly he reached down to his canteen, needing to feel the bracelet there and the promise it still held.
It was gone.
He held his canteen in his hand for sometime, lying there and staring at the crackling flame.
"It wasn't a dream." He finally declared aloud, sitting up in concern and staring off at the sunrise, the way of Amelia. "I guess I have no choice then. I must return to Saillune..."
... Home... His mind whispered treacherously.
...Amelia...
O O O
"What do you mean you don't need any mazoku-exterminators?" Lina asked, slamming her hands down on the desk in exasperation, nodding to the holding wards behind her. "You have nearly twenty monsters bound back there!"
The guardsman laughed. "Oh those? I see! You thought we might need help getting rid of 'em? Well that's mighty kind of you, but I'm afraid you're mistaken."
He nodded over to the seals. "Those wards were put up by the Saillune Crown-Princess herself. And she'll send for 'em any day now, until then, I'll gladly watch over them."
"Wha?" Lina asked staring at him as though he had two heads. "Amelia wanted you to hold them here, for her to pick up later?"
"Aye-yup." He agreed easily, smiling wide at them. "Any day now. You'll see."
Lina sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Fine. Whatever. I guess I'll just go see her about getting a job then."
"Come on, Gourry." She declared, turning and heading out the door. "I guess we're heading to Saillune."
Gourry cast the wards one lat strangely thoughtful look and followed her out.
Lina sighed loudly, as they headed away from Atlas City and back to the road they'd come in from. "First all the Bandits run away from me to the other side of the Desert of Destruction..."
"Can't say that I blame them..." Gourry mused, loud enough for her to hear, smiling softly as he noted her twitch.
"And now!" She went on, clenching her fists. "Amelia's finally decided to go be a real heroine, and she's stealing all of our potential clients!"
"Why don't we just go chase those bandits over on the other side of the desert?" Gourry asked thoughtfully and Lina rolled her eyes, back-whacking him in the stomach.
"Because I like it over here." Lina replied evenly. "So I'm staying here."
"Works for me." Gourry replied with a shrug, growing serious. "Although, didn't all that ward business seem a little out of character as far as Amelia's concerned?"
"Nah." Lina muttered, waving it away with a easy smirk. "Knowing, Amelia she probably just wants to torture them to death with speeches on kindness, hoping they'll recant their evil ways."
Gourry grinned, shaking his head in amusement.
"Good old, Amelia."
O O O
Well now that everyone's in, let's get them all to Saillune. (nn) Next Update on Wednesday! See ya!