A/N: I do not own The Slayers or any of the properties related to it, etc. Also, I apologize again for another long delay.
Lina, Gourry, Amelia and Zelgadis were currently seated around a table in the castle library, discussing recent developments. Little had to be done now in regards to preparations for the wedding, so Zelgadis and Amelia had some rare free time on their hands, giving them all a chance to catch up and discuss more…unpleasant topics.
"What about the girl he was with?" Zelgadis asked, the quartet of companions having been just talking about Xellos. "Are you sure you didn't sense anything unusual about her, Lina?" The self proclaimed sorcery genius sighed at this.
"Yes, Zel, I'm sure," she replied, having already answered this question twice before. "She seemed to be just another girl, like…well, not quite like any other."
"What do you mean, Miss Lina?" Amelia queried, more than a little curious. Lina grew thoughtful, picturing the girl in her head.
"Well, she was like some sort of model," Lina began slowly, eyes shut as she focused on the memory. "I've only ever met one other person that made me think that when I looked at her, though this girl seemed less obnoxious." She shuddered slightly, and then shook it off. "Anyway, as I was saying, she was beautiful, drop dead gorgeous, pick any description you want and it would fit. She was tall, had black hair, deep blue eyes and…huh."
"Something wrong, Lina?" Zelgadis inquired of her, the puzzled tone of the sorceress's voice causing his inquisitive mind to stir.
"She was staring at everything around her like she had never seen any of it before." She frowned, eyes opening once more. "But, how could that be? She looked seventeen or eighteen years old."
"That's a good question." Amelia leaned her elbows against the table, chin coming to rest in her hands. "Maybe we should try tracking her d-"
"Excuse me, Princess," a servant interrupted from the doorway of the library, bowing slightly. "There is a young woman in the audience hall asking for one of your guests."
"Which of us does she want?" Lina asked, though she had a feeling she already knew. The man straightened slightly.
"She didn't offer a name, but from the description she gave I would say you, lady sorceress," he replied, bowing out when Amelia waved him off. The quartet shared puzzled looks.
"Hey, Lina, were you expecting someone?" Gourry asked, clueless as ever. Lina rolled her eyes at him.
"No, yogurt brain, I'm not expecting anyone." She reached over and lightly smacked him upside the head. "And even if I was, wouldn't they know my name?"
"Oh, right," he murmured, going back to staring at nothing, as he had been when they'd gotten to topics that didn't interest him. The other three at the table sighed softly.
"Lina, you don't think it could be that girl, do you?" Zelgadis inquired quietly, frowning slightly at the prospect. Amelia nodded, thinking that this was all too convenient.
"Yeah, Xellos shows up, and then some random girl comes tracking me down with only a description?" Lina stood, shaking her head at the thought. "I doubt it's a coincidence."
0o0o0o0o0
Claire looked around the throne room, clearly nervous. She didn't know a single thing about how she would be expected to act. Best to be as polite as possible so as not to offend anyone. Taking a deep breath, she settled her nerves as best she could, patiently waiting for…whoever it was. Bit of a pain, not knowing her name considering she was going to ask her for help. Such was the way of things, she supposed.
"Alright, we're here," a feminine voice announced from behind her, causing Claire to jump and emit a girly squeak of surprise. Turning to face the voice, she smiled pleasantly when she saw it was the woman from before, as well as several others.
"Ah, hello," she said, voice cracking because of how nervous she was. "My name is Claire, pleased to meet you."
0o0o0o0o0
Lina blinked several times, not sure what she had expected when she had lead the way down to the audience hall. This, however, wasn't it. The woman standing before them was clearly nervous, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, hands clasped tightly in front of her. It mattered little in the long run, she just found it curious.
"Lina Inverse," she replied, a little curtly but she couldn't help it. "But I imagine you already knew that." The girl named Claire frowned, looking confused.
"Um, no, actually, I didn't," she stated quietly, shifting uncomfortably beneath Lina's intense scrutiny. Zel frowned slightly to Lina's left, finding something off.
"Wait, you didn't know who she was, yet you came looking for her anyway?" He asked, skeptical to say the least. Claire didn't respond at first, staring at the chimera, curiosity evident.
"Excuse me, Miss Claire, but I believe Mr. Zelgadis asked you a question," Amelia said to her firmly, not liking how uncomfortable Zelgadis seemed to be.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she murmured, embarrassed. "I've never seen anyone like him before and…oh, I'm rambling." She bit her lower lip briefly. "The truth is that I didn't have anywhere else to go." It was Lina's turn to frown.
"What do you mean by that?" She asked, bothered by the girl's statement. "Did that fruitcake ditch you, or something?" Claire blinked.
"Fruitcake?" She echoed curiously, thinking for a moment. "Do you mean Mr. Xellos?" When Lina nodded she went on. "I wouldn't say he abandoned me…I'm sure something important must have come up."
"Right," Zelgadis drawled wryly, arms crossed over his chest. "Because he's such an upstanding guy." Claire frowned, obviously not liking the chimera's tone.
"How dare you speak about him like that?" She asked, sounding irked. "He helped me, clothed and fed me, brought me here so I could…anyway, why would you talk about him in such a manner?" The group exchanged glances.
"What do you know about Xellos?" Lina asked after a long moment, something not right here.
"Only that he's a priest of Cepheid," Claire replied, causing them all to stare at her in silence. "What?"
"That fruitcake?" Lina queried, cracking up. "A priest of Cepheid?!" Zelgadis snorted derisively.
"If he's a priest, then I'm a shrine maiden," he muttered dryly, clearly amused by the notion as well. Amelia, meanwhile, looked less than amused by the thought.
"How dare he claim to be a priest of Cepheid?!" She cried, sounding offended. "The next time I see that villain, I will sing 'Life is Wonderful' until his head pops off!" Gourry, being Gourry, looked clueless.
"Wait, I thought he was a bad guy," he murmured, looking thoughtful, causing Lina to laugh harder.
"Stop laughing!" Claire shouted suddenly, sounding pissed. It worked, however, Lina stopping moments later. "You have no right to speak about him in such a manner!"
"Look, Claire, you-" Lina began, only for the girl to cut her off.
"He found me in the woods, unconscious and alone," she began heatedly, looking ready to rip them all a new one. "He took me in, treated my wounds, provided me with clothes, was nothing but kind to me." She took a step towards them, looking threatening now for some unfathomable reason. "He could have just left me to die but he saved me and all you can do is laugh at him?! I won't forgive you for this!"
"Whoa, Claire, hold on!" Lina exclaimed, holding her hands up in an effort to placate the girl. "Calm down, we didn't mean anything by it." A lie, but she didn't need to know that. "He really told you that he's a priest of Cepheid?" The girl nodded stiffly. "And he really saved your life and all the other stuff you said?" Claire, not trusting herself enough to speak again yet, simply nodded once more. "Hang on a second." Lina then turned to her friends, frowning slightly. "Something is seriously off about all of this," she said to them quietly so Claire wouldn't hear.
"Xellos actually going out of his way to help someone?" Zel shook his head, clearly suspicious. "I can imagine him doing a few small things in order to get what he wants but to go to so much trouble when positive emotions make him sick? You're right, Lina, something is very wrong here."
"What are we going to do now, though?" Amelia asked, deeply concerned. "Mr. Xellos could be planning to drag us into another of his nefarious schemes." If that turned out to be the case, she'd smite him mightily with the Hammer of Justice™.
"So, Xellos is a bad guy, right?" Gourry piped up, needing clarification. Lina groaned, exasperated.
"Yes, Gourry, Xellos is a very bad guy."
"Then is Claire also a bad guy? Or bad girl, in this case?" He'd actually raised a valid point for once.
"I hate saying this, but Gourry could be right," Zel admitted softly, glancing at Claire. "She could be another mazoku in disguise, trying to trick us into a false sense of security."
"But Daddy had the guild mages transcribe those detection runes over the gates, remember?" Amelia reminded him, though it wasn't impossible for them to be fooled. "Besides, why wouldn't Mr. Xellos be trying to trick us himself?"
"While he's worked through other people before, Xellos does enjoy doing this kind of thing in person," Lina added, stealing a glance at Claire herself. "I mean, he's always been like that, using us like pawns in some convoluted scheme to do who knows what and stringing us along with his annoying catch phrase." She raised a finger and wagged it back and forth, doing her best Xellos impression. "That is a secret!"
"So, what now then?" Trust Gourry to cut to the chase.
"We talk to her again, hopefully without her blowing up in our faces this time."
0o0o0o0o0
Claire was growing impatient as they continued to speak amongst themselves, deeply troubled by how they had reacted to her story of how Xellos had helped her. They were shocked; she could just see it in their faces afterwards. But why? They obviously knew the priest, so why was it that they were so surprised by what she said? And then there was their reaction to her saying that he was a priest of Cepheid.
They'd actually laughed…well, the odd looking man and the red headed girl and seemed amused. The young woman with them had been outraged, absolutely livid, however. Like Xellos had no right to claim such a thing. Of course, the blond swordsman's-well, she assumed he was a swordsman from his garb and choice of weapon-had just appeared confused. And hadn't he asked if Xellos was a bad guy?
"Just what in the world is going on here?" She murmured, feeling quite lost at that moment. Then she noticed they had stopped talking, the red head, Lina, turning back to face her.
"Well, Claire, I really think we have to talk," she said, arms crossing over her chest. "We promise not to laugh, or anything, again."
"Fine," Claire replied stiffly, still miffed despite her confusion. Xellos had gone to all that trouble for her, after all. Their insults and derogative attitude towards it really made her angry.
"I think we should retire to my study," the dark haired young woman wearing a courtly gown said, gesturing to one of the doors leading out of the room. "Shall we?"
0o0o0o0o0
Once there, introductions had been made all around. Lina Inverse, Gourry Gabriev, Zelgadis Graywords and Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun. The last was the crown princess of the kingdom, as it turned out. Learned something new every day, it would seem.
"So, Claire, you said Xellos introduced himself as a priest of Cepheid." This from Lina, sounding a little like she was interrogating the amnesia plagued girl.
"Well, he actually introduced himself as 'the Mysterious Priest'," Claire told her softly, thinking back to when she had woken up to find him in the cabin with her. "It was only later, when I asked him about his order, that he told me they followed Cepheid and they were based in a monastery to the north of here." Amelia frowned at this.
"I'm sorry to inform you, Claire, but there is no monastery to the north," she informed her quietly, Claire staring at her afterwards in shocked silence.
"W-what are you talking about?" Claire asked shakily after several long moments, not believing her ears. "He said that…no, that makes no sense!"
"He lied to you, Claire," Zelgadis told her sternly, grim of demeanor and looking quite serious. "In a way, though, Xellos is a priest."
"He is?" Claire felt hope stir at this, looking at them expectantly. Lina sighed, suddenly appearing tired.
"Yeah," she began softly, a little hesitant, like she was about to break some very bad news, "he technically is a priest." The sorceress met her gaze, a hint of pity in her ruby red eyes. "He's the general-priest of Greater Beast Zelas Metallium, one of the three remaining mazoku lords of this world."
0o0o0o0o0
Xellos was currently down on one knee in his master's throne room, staff on the floor beside him, his head bowed respectively. "…and that concludes my report, Master."
"And there was no sign of the artifact?" Zelas Metallium asked, tapping ash from the end of her cigarette, graceful fingers holding the black stem of its holder as she took another slow puff, blowing it out after a moment. She was sensually dangerous in appearance, looking like she could kiss you or kill you depending on her mood at the time. As she was a mazoku lord, torturing and killing you was the more likely outcome.
"No, Master, there was no sign." Xellos looked up at his mistress, one eye cracking open slightly. "I did, however, find something you might be interested in." Zelas sat up a little straighter, crossing her long, slender legs as she did so.
"Do tell, Xellos," she urged him, taking another drag from the cancer stick's holder, slightly curious. "If it intrigues me enough I could consider lessening your punishment." As her punishments could be very creative, he wasted no time in regaling her with his tale, finishing on when he left Claire to deliver his report. Zelas, who had been listening in silence, was now grinning with predatory interest. "Oh, my, I think I would really like to meet this Claire."
"Shall I retrieve her for you, Master?" Xellos inquired, hoping this had bought him a reprieve from her ire. She nodded.
"Yes, go and fetch this…creature you discovered." She ground out the cigarette on a nearby ashtray on a small stand next to her throne, the grin having turn into an evil smile that had an edge of anticipation to it. "From what you've told me, she'll make an interesting pet."
0o0o0o0
"She's just been sitting there for the past half hour," Lina murmured, staring into the next room, where Claire still sat at the study's table, staring blankly at nothing. "Has no one ever lied to her, or something?"
"This could be the first time she's ever been betrayed." Zel pointed out, keeping his voice down as well. "Not every woman out there can handle things like you and Amelia."
"Should we try snapping her out of it?" Gourry asked, his chivalrous streak showing again. "I mean, she looks in a really bad way right now."
"I'm no therapist, Gourry, so what do you expect me to do about it?" Lina snapped, her patience gone. "That's it, I'm going in there." She stormed into the room, Amelia trailing after her.
"Miss Lina, don't do anything-" Then Lina slapped the near comatose girl, Claire's head jerking to the side from the impact. "-rash. Oh, dear."
"Come on, you weakling, snap out of it already!" Lina barked, cracking her knuckles threateningly. "Next time I won't just slap you, so wake up and get your head out of your ass."
"Leave me alone," Claire murmured, hanging her head, looking like a little girl, completely hopeless and lost. "Please, just leave me be."
"Tough shit, Claire, that ain't happening," the sorcery genius informed her harshly, arms crossed over her chest now, clearly pissed. "So Xellos lied to you, well guess what: he lies to everyone, it's just the way he is."
"Then why help me?" Claire asked after a moment, sounding a little less pathetic. "Why didn't he just leave me to die?"
"My guess is that he thought you might be useful to him somehow," Lina replied, letting go of her anger for the time being. "What is the last thing you remember?"
"Waking up in the cabin."
"No, I meant before that, stupid." The temper was back. Claire seemed to think about it, though, which was an improvement.
"There's nothing…well, I obviously know things, like walking, talking, how to dress myself." She sighed, suddenly exhausted. "Well, actually, there is something."
"What?" Lina was interested by what it could be.
"Just the name I chose." She looked away, thinking again. "He said I had to pick a name and the name Claire was just…well, there in my head suddenly."
"Usually people with amnesia don't remember something like their names that quickly." Lina was thinking now as well, pacing back and forth as she did so. "And you said he brought you here hoping to cure it…that could be something."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, he could have been hoping to learn something, something important that may have been in your lost memories," Lina reasoned, coming to a stop as she did so. "But then he left…that just doesn't make sense."
"Why not?"
"Because…wait, how come you still don't remember anything?" Lina suddenly asked, unable to believe it took her this long to notice that. "You said you went to a cleric. Well, what happened?" Claire shrugged.
"He told me I didn't have amnesia, said I was insulting him and wasting his time, then told me to get out," she said, uncomfortable suddenly. He'd been very angry, after all.
"But how could he say that?" Amelia butted in suddenly, outraged. "How could you not have amnesia, when you don't remember a single thing other than a name?"
"I don't know," Claire said meekly, staring down at her hands as they rested in her lap. "I don't have any answers at all." She sounded on the verge of tears.
"Lina," Zel said to get her attention, taking the sorceress out of the room so they could talk in private.
"What is it, Zel?" She asked, glancing back to see Amelia trying to comfort the girl. Gourry, meanwhile, was at a nearby window, looking outside intently. Maybe looking out for trouble, or something.
"Did you see her hands?" He inquired, not giving her time to answer despite that fact. "There were no calluses, none, like she's never so much as handled a knife to cut her food with. Even though you wear gloves I bet you have a few."
"Yeah, but Zel I've trained to use a sword," she pointed out, then pointed at Claire. "I bet she's never so much as touched one before."
"Yes, but she's no delicate princess either, so that explanation is out." Zel puzzled it over for a bit. "I want to check her feet."
"Well, Zel, I had no idea you were that kind of guy," Lina remarked dryly, causing the chimera to blush.
"I mean to check for blisters!" He bristled, anger and embarrassment equally evident. "I'll bet you anything you could name that she doesn't have a single callus from walking all her life, either."
"What makes you so sure of that?" Lina sounded genuinely curious.
"You know I'm part demon," he began, Lina nodding at this. One third demon, on third golem and one third human. This made him a chimera, obviously. "Well, because of that fact, my senses are more sensitive than yours or even Gourry's." He said this because the swordsman could be awfully perceptive at times. "She smells…new."
"New?" Zel nodded. "What, like she's a new carriage?"
"I don't think I could really explain it but…well, take you for instance." He gestured to her for emphasis. "You smell well traveled, the scent of travel dust clings to you most of the time unless you've just taken a bath You also carry the smell of burnt things as well, for obvious reasons." Then he gestured to Gourry. "He smells like travel dust, treated leather, and the oil he uses to clean his sword with, despite the fact he doesn't need to since it's maintained by magic. Even Amelia smells different in her own way but Claire…Claire smells like a human being and that's it."
"What's that mean exactly?"
"She barely has a hint of that well traveled smell that you and Gourry do. She doesn't even smell like she's spent most of her life indoors, like a pampered maiden would." He rubbed his temples, trying to puzzle it out. "So, like I said, she smells new, almost like…well, an infant."
"But, Zel, that doesn't make any sense," Lina said, looking at the girl in question, who was now talking to Amelia in quiet tones. Then a thought struck her. "What does Xellos smell like?"
"Usually?" He shrugged. "Nothing much at all, other than the occasional smell of fear and pain."
"Fear and pain have scents?" He nodded. "Creepy…anyway, like I said, that doesn't make any sense." She started to pace again. "I mean, how does that work? She looks at least seventeen, for crying out loud!"
"Uh, Lina?" Gourry spoke up, looking over his shoulder at her.
"Yes, what is it Gourry?" She asked testily, coming to a stop. "Can't you see I'm busy?"
"Well, it's just that Filia's down in the courtyard talking to one of the guards." He frowned slightly. "She's also carrying this little kid and doesn't look all that happy."
"A kid?" Little Val must have hatched. "Let's go tell Amelia and head down to meet her, then." First Xellos shows up and now Filia. What next, a pompous sorceress claiming to be her most powerful and foremost rival? Wait, don't answer that.
A/N: I hope you liked this latest chapter of The Slayers: A Heart of Darkness. Read and review, please!