Note: Wow. This chapter sure is long xD;; nya~
It's breakfast time!
The weather was great today. It's sunny. I quickly made my way in the hallway of the Inn. I feel so damn good today! I'm not sure why, but I feel happy for some reason. I walked cheerfully towards the lunch room. I looked around and saw that only a few people were seated at their own tables. Luckily, only Zelgadis was sitting at our table. I made my way there and sat next to him. "Nice day today, eh, Zel?" I said.
He nodded. "Good thing, too," he said. He was eating a hotdog with ketchup on it. He sliced it twice before eating it.
I looked at the food that was nicely placed on the table. It made me drool. Ah, goody! I must eat all I can before Lina comes and hog all the food! "This looks so yum!"
"Keep your drool inside your mouth, Gourry."
"Very funny..." I mumbled at my companion. We're having hotdogs, bacon and eggs for breakfast! My stomach couldn't wait any longer! I stabbed two hotdogs from the big plate and place them straight into my mouth. "Thees tayesh pwetty goohd!" I exclaimed, talking while my mouth was full.
"Is Miss Lina here yet?" Amelia asked. I looked up, seeing the Princess walking down a few flights of stairs between the lunch room and the hallway. She was looking around the place, then making her way at the table with me and Zelgadis. She sat on the chair opposite of me.
"Nope. I thought she was with you," Zelgadis said.
"She did say she'll be in time for breakfast..."
"Nope, haven't seen her since yesterday, I believe."
"That's far-fetched of her... Oh well, first come, first serve!" And with that, Amelia hastily forked the food over onto her small mouth and gobbled it down fast.
"Hotdogs! I want mooooreeee!" I squealed, forking more into my plate and grabbing the ketchup beside Zelgadis.
"Leave some for Miss Lina, Mister Gourry!" Amelia said, grabbing some hotdogs from my plate on toher own.
"No, way!" I squirted ketchup on my plate.
"Yes, way!"
...Slap!
I wrinkled my nose at a familiar scent. I slowly opened my eyes. It was Amelia, with a hotdog in her hand. "Wah... What are you doin' here?!" I exclaimed, sitting on my butt.
"I waited at the lunch room for an hour to have breakfast with you and you never came!" she said, brandishing the hotdog that was in front of me.
Hour? I took a snooze for an hour?! "Sorry. I didn't get a goodnight sleep and I was still tired..." I said, trying to sound convincing. "So, I took a snooze."
"Geez, you could've told me that. I was worried sick," she said, taking a bite on the hotdog.
"You... You were worried?"
She swallowed what she chewed. "Yeah," she said, handing the two-third hotdog to me. "This what's left... I kept it away from Mister Gourry." I grab the bitten hotdog from her swiftly and swallowed it whole. It didn't fill me up, but I was still happy that I ate something. "So, where are we off to today, Miss Lina?"
"Uhm, if we start today, we can make it to Seyruun in two days."
"Oh, great! I can't wait to see daddy again!" she happily exclaimed, her hands together.
"Let's not waste a second, let's get going," I said, walking out the bedroom. She followed.
When we made our way around the town, it was very sunny. This is great! My kind of day! Walking past this city will be a breeze! We kept walking without saying a word to one another. Birds were flying in a V formation right above us. Moments later, we reached the end of the town.
I turned around to face the other three behind me. "Okay, guys! Let's keep going while the sun is-" I stopped talking when I saw Amelia focusing her gaze to Zelgadis more than me. That shot me like broken glass. I shook it off. "I mean, we should keep going," I turned around to focus my eyes in the road, "while the sun is up," I continued, quietly. I didn't like the heavy and tight feeling in my chest. I placed my hand over to where it was hurting to clutch my shirt. Ouch. I hate this feeling.
Seeing Lina mumbling things to herself after smiling made me wonder if she was okay. I placed a hand on her shoulder to startle her. She turned around and I scrutinize her eyes. "Are you alright, Lina?" I asked, trying to see if there was something wrong.
She placed her hand on her side. "Yes, I'm alright, Gourry. Don't worry," she said.
As we were hiking through a hill, there was a cliff in our way. We stop to look all the way down. I especially was really scared of high places. I sat on the ground, still looking all the way down and how deep it could be if I fell down there. I look around the place and saw a rock. I threw it in the dark opening to listen when the rock hits the bottom. After a while - nothing. I didn't hear anything. Yikes. This gap could be deep. I looked away, trying not to think about it.
"Great. This is just great," Zelgadis said, crossing his arms. "We're lost, aren't we, Lina?"
She turned around and saw him looking straight at her. Maybe something is really bothering her. She usually doesn't get lost that easily. "I, uh... Let's just fly over it!" she said, making swirly movements with her forefinger.
"Fuh-Fly!?" I cried out. I stood up, with my hands on my head, grabbing my blonde hair.
"Unless you're willing to climb through it..." she mumbled at me. She held up her hand, casting a spell, "Levitation." Her feet lifted off the ground, with her cape floating.
"Levitation," Amelia and Zelgadis cast and they rose up as well.
Zelgadis and Lina were carrying me and I was closing my eyes to prevent me to see the great heights as I whimpered.
Once we reached the other side, we all landed safely. "We're on land now, cry-baby," Lina said to me.
I slowly opened my eyes when Zelgadis and Lina let go of me. "Phew... Glad I'm safe..."
"Did you think we'd drop you?!" Zelgadis sounded sarcastic. "That's the thanks we get for carrying your ass here?!" I glared at him. He looked away.
I looked over to Lina. She was walking around, restlessly looking for something. "Hah! There's a way!" she pointed to her left side and starts to walk in that direction.
I felt a droplet fall against my cheek. "I wonder if it's going to rain..." I asked out loud, pulling my hands out to feel anymore droplets.
"It's sunny, how can it rain?" Zelgadis asked as I got back on my feet.
"I just felt... a raindrop on my face..."
"Maybe you're just imagining things..."
We continued our quest to the next town and I noticed that it was getting dark. The bright places in the paths were getting covered by clouds's shadow. The sun disappeared. Clouds were gathering and slowly turning grey.
"Hold on. It was just sunny a second ago..." Amelia said.
"See? What I tell- Whoa!"
Heavy rain suddenly came, causing us all four to run randomly forward. There was no drizzle, just heavy, pouring rain made its way. Lina was running ahead in front, Zelgadis and me in the middle. Amelia is right behind me.
"The town is nearby! We'll make it!" Lina said, using her cape to shield off the rain.
We kept running in the storm. Puddles were everywhere. Flash of lightning came and nearly blinded me for a moment. Thunder can be heard from far away. "Thunder! We have to get out of here somehow, Lina!" Zelgadis said, his hood on.
That moment, we reached the town. People were closing their houses. Kids were running around to shield of the rain. We then spot a big building nearby. "Oh, Gods! Look! An Inn! We can rest here tonight!" Lina exclaimed, running much faster.
"Great."
"Whoa!" Amelia cried out. We all stopped running and turn around to face her, seeing her on the muddy ground, face down. She wasn't moving.
"Tsk. Amelia, you klutz!" Zelgadis said, picking her up. She was covered in mud and dirt. Her face especially. The rain was slowly making the mud disappear. "Guys, we have to get Amelia out of this rain!" he added, looking at me, then Lina.
"I know, I know!" Lina said as she ran straight inside the Inn.
I wasn't sure if Amelia was passed out or she's just faking it. Zelgadis had her in his arms as he and I ran in after Lina. We reached to her and she gave me a room key. "I was getting us four rooms, but they said they're full up and only had two rooms, so..."
"I understand," I said, taking the key.
"How about... Amelia?" Zelgadis asked.
"I'll take care of Amelia, Zel," Lina said. I turned to face them and I saw Lina carrying the fainted Amelia in her arms.
"I'll see you two later."
Lina walked towards the hot springs. I followed Zelgadis to give the key to him. "I have a bad feeling about tonight..." I said.
"Bad feeling, you say?" Zelgadis wondered, turning his gaze to face me.
"Oh, never mind." I just shook my head as we continued to walk.
Damn rain! Well, at least I got a chance to carry Amelia like this. There were only a few girls, once we got to the hot springs. So I made my way to the dressing room and sat her in the bench and propped her body against the wall. She was still passed out.
First, I decided to remove my outfit and place it to the side. Then, wrapped a towel around my body. I looked at Amelia and slowly removed her muddy top. It was complicated to unclasp the pink metal that holds her cape, so I decided to do that after. Her eyes stirred slightly as I was reaching down her stomach to grab the tip of her pants. "Amelia, are you alright?" I asked, removing her stained pants and boots.
"Ye... Yeah..." she said, not responding very well.
"Well, I'm going to wash you before we sleep here to night. We don't want you getting sick." She just flashed me a smile before swooning again. I shrugged and continued to remove her pants. Once they were gone, I went back to her shirt. One last pull and her top was gone. Then I reached behind her to remove her bra.
My heartbeat doubled as I saw her fully naked again, with mud in some parts of her skin. Unlike the other night, this time the light in the dressing room made it possible for me to evidently see her body and stare for long as I want to.
Ugh. I shook my head. No, Lina, you're supposed to clean her! I then wrapped her body with a towel and carried her again and made my way to the hot springs. Surprisingly, no-one was there anymore. Goody! I squatted down to lay her body down near the stoned floor and I took some water from the hot springs in a metal bucket. I grabbed a sponge aswell.
How am I supposed to clean her? I scratched my head, thinking of a way.
Once I got an idea, I got back to where she was and poke her arm. "Amelia, can you hear me?" I asked. "I'm going to clean you now, okay?" I sat on my feet on the ground. I leaned the back of her body against my leg, with her head resting on my arm. I removed her towel and dunk the sponge and the soap in the bucket of water. After I made some froth of bubbles in the bucket, I start scrubbing the sponge throughout Amelia's chest to remove the mud.
I tried to think of something else rather than perving on her naked body, so I used the bubbles to censor her private parts. I heard her giggling when I was scrubbing her sides. "Amelia, are you faking your sleep?" I asked.
She half grunted and laughed. "Myuh... I didn't..."
"Then, would you like to scrub yourself then?" I waited patiently for her response.
She opened her eyes to look at me. "No, I don't mind if you do it, Miss Lina," she said. I then continued to scrub her, making my way down to clean her legs. "The thing is... It's that I... I love you," she added.
I suddenly applied pressure on the sponge that I was holding against Amelia's thigh, causing it to fully soaking her. I stared at the sponge for a while. Not sure of what to say.
Amelia was waiting for my answer. She placed her hand over mine. "I completely understand if you don't like me back, Miss Lina," she said. "After all, it's Mister Gourry that you like..."
I looked at her, swallowing my spittle. "It's not that, Amelia, it's that I... I love you, too," I said, sounding shaky. "I don't love Gourry. It's you that I love. I'm sorry I lied to you the other day..." I dunk the sponge in the bucket to soak it, then continued to clean her legs. "The day when I thought you were going to die, I was really scared. I tried to heal you, but my powers weren't strong enough. Luckily, Milgasia helped. You weren't there to see it, but I stood up and wanted to fight for you and... also die for you. I guess I wanted revenge." I placed the sponge on her stomach and my soapy hand on her cheek. "I don't want to lose you..."
Amelia didn't reply. Instead her smile grew wider and pounced on me with her might. I started to blush when she forced her chest to push against mine. "Alright, alright, Princess," I said, moving her away. "You're still half-covered in mud, let me clean the rest."
"No, I can deal with this," she said and jumped straight in the hot springs. "Come on, the water's fine."
Huh. And I thought she was injured. I shrugged off my towel and dipped myself in the water. She glompped me before my shoulders hit the water. "Tuh-Take it easy..." I tried to pull her away from the hug.
"Don't you love me, Miss Lina?" she asked, clinging onto me.
"Wah?! Who ever said that?" I wondered. "It's just... What if someone sees us?" I blushed deeper.
"Relax. No-one is here except us!"
"Yeah, you're right." I smiled. She then splashed me with water.
"Take that!"
"Blah! No fair!"
I made my way to the hot springs in the male side. I removed my clothes and wrapped myself with a towel. I don't want to get sick right after getting soaked by the rain like that. Seemed quiet on the female side. Hm. I wonder if Amelia's all cleaned yet.
As I made my way to the hot springs, someone approachesd me. It was Zelgadis. "Oh, Zel," I said, "There's something we need to talk about."
"What is it, Gourry?" he asked, while we made our way to the water. "You're never this serious-sounding before."
I jumped in first. Then him. "Well, it's about Lina and Amelia," I said, splashing water on my blonde hair.
"What about 'em?"
"Have you noticed that they're... closer?"
He scoffed. "Closer? No. It's probably a girl thing."
"No. I mean, like-"
That moment, I heard two girls squealing and splashing in the water. I knew those voices belong to Amelia and Lina.
"Take that!" Amelia shouted.
"Blah! No fair!" Lina squealed.
Then they giggled.
"That! See?!" I said, looking at Zelgadis, while I had my forefinger up.
"Take it easy, Gourry. They're just splashing and having fun in the water."
I sighed, with my hand my head. "And don't you think that they're sleeping together in one bedroom more often now?!"
"Gourry," he sighed, "you and I share a room together more often as well."
"No! It's not that! They even sleep in one bed! Let alone they have one bed each!"
"This conversation is over," he said, ignoring on what I just said. "I don't want to talk about this." And with that, he made his way out from the hot springs and went in the changing rooms.
Sigh. Maybe I over-reacted there and said too much...
Amelia and I were giggling in our way back at our bedroom. I closed the door to lock it. She chucked her towel on the floor and suddenly pushed me into the bed. Her small hands wrapping around my wrists. "Yikes, Amelia. What are you-?" I asked.
"Oh, nothing. I just want us to sleep together in one bed again," she said, tugging on the towel that was wrapped around me.
"Okay, fine. Just don't try anything funny..."
"I know what you mean, Miss Lina." Suddenly, my towel was gone. My bare chest was revealing straight at her face. Wow. This is not the Amelia I used to know.
"Amelia..."
"Miss Lina, I love you!" She flings herself against me, then giving me a kiss on the lips.
I closed my eyes to kiss her back. This was my first kiss with someone, let alone with a girl. I could feel her heartbeat crashing against mine. I murmured something on the kiss, but by the time she breaks it off, I forgot what I was trying to say. I just laid there, trying to take it all in. "Oh, shit. That felt great..." I panted.
That moment, I felt something brush against my stomach. I look down and saw Amelia sitting there. "With my love for you, justice will prevail!" she said, posing her usual justice pose, revealing her bare figure at me.
Now, there's the Amelia I know.
It made me giggle to myself, with my hands behind my head. "You know something, Amelia? Your justice speeches are way better when you're naked!"
"Miss Lina! Don't tease me like that!" she said, laying herself on top of my stomach.
Even though there wasn't much light in the room, I saw her cheeks turning tomato red. "You're weird. That's why I love you."
In the morning, I woke up and I opened a curtain just a little to see outside. It was still cloudy and drizzly. I wonder how the girls are doing? I turned to face the other side of the room and Zelgadis wasn't there. There was a note in his bed. I took it and read it.
I went out. Don't go looking for me, or the girls. I'll be back late.
~Zel.
Wah?! Oh, great. I'm stuck with these two. I decided to leave my protective gear in my room because they're not important to wear today. I made my way to Amelia and Lina's room and knocked on the door twice. No answer. So I entered. I look around the room and saw Lina all by herself, looking out the window. I took a deep breath. "Lina?" I said.
I startled her. She turned around to face me. There was a slight somber look in her face. "Yeah, Gourry?" she asked.
"Where's Amelia?"
"She's in the bathroom washing her face," she replied, pointing left.
I sat on one of the beds. "Actually, I'm here to talk about something."
"What is it?" she sat next to me.
"About you and Amelia."
She blinked. "Wha... What about us?"
"You know what I'm talking about."
"Wha... What? I don't know-"
"You two... Are you guys... going out?"
She stared at me in aghast. Like I cast a spell in front of her or levitating in mid-air. "Ha... How did you...?"
"Oh, I could tell. You guys spent a lot of time together more often now."
I looked down and started to sniffle. How can this Jellyfish-brain figure out something like **that?!**
"Why?" Gourry asked. "Why did you choose her over... me? I always thought that it was you and me... Amelia and Zelgadis. The other night when you told Amelia in the hot springs that I was the one that you liked!"
"You... You heard us? Gourry, I lied to her that time, so it wasn't you that I liked," I sniffled. "But, I'm really sorry that it has to be this way. It's you and Sylphiel... not you and me..." I tried to hold back tears. My hand was clutching on my shirt where it was hurting. I looked at Gourry. Tears were filling up his eyes. He was biting his bottom lip, sniffling softly. "I wasn't honestly planning for this. It just... happened. I did liked you once, but I grew out of the feelings I had for you..."
"Ca... Can we just try again?"
"No, Gourry. I can't do this with you anymore... I just can't. Maybe we'll make it happen..." I whimpered, then squeaked out, "in another life..."
He suddenly hugged me. I couldn't help but to hug him back. I just couldn't hold it anymore. Tears were steaming down my eyes, even if I tried holding back. This was hurting me so badly. Losing my best friend was like losing my whole world. But no matter how much I wanted Gourry to stay, there's nothing I can do, but to let him go for him to be happy. If I wanted him to stay, all he's ever going to gain is pain upon seeing me and Amelia together. There's nothing else for him to do here now. I must set him free.
He then holds me closer and tighter. "Gourry... G... Gourry... Please let me go... I can't... breathe..."
"Oh, sorry," he sniffled. He gently let me go. I looked at him as he was wiping his miserable tears.
I just sat there, letting every single drop off my desolated tears to just crash down from my eyes. "Li... Listen, I..." I managed to squeak out, "I need to do... something..."
"I understand," he said straightforward, walking out of the doorway.
We spoke no word. I just sat there until he was gone. I decided to look out the window again. It was raining hard now. People in the streets were running around, trying to shield off the rain.
I wipe my eyes with my sleeves because the tears make it hard for me to see. They were sore than ever. They were stinging in the touch of my attire. When the blurry vision faded away much while later, I turned to look at the right side of my window. A man was trying to control a horse that was dragging a carriage behind it. The horse was turbulent and was moving everywhere. In the other corner, I saw a familiar blonde-haired man running. I knew it was Gourry.
I could tell that he couldn't see because the horse was in the other side and a tall building was preventing him seeing it. He was directly heading in the same direction of where the horse is! Oh, that Jellyfish-brain! Standing here won't help. I need to... Yes, I need to help Gourry!
As I walked out of Lina's room, I quickly sprinted out of the hallway. My eyes were clouded by more tears. I don't want to look back. I don't want to slow down. I don't want to stop running. And I don't want Lina leaving me. But who am I to stop her? She doesn't want me. She obviously wanted Amelia. It hurt me so much when she said for me to move on... without her.
I always thought that she was mine alone. She was the only one I really loved. Only her. "Luh... Lina..." I squeaked out, sobbing more tears out. As soon as I reached outside, I kept running. Cold wind was whisking away the tears off my eyes. My lips and throat were dry. My throat felt really tight like someone was strangling me. The rain just kept falling down on me. Every part of my body was soaking wet. My clothes and hair are sticking against my skin with every step I take.
Suddenly, I approach an old woman. It made me run the other direction to dodge her. Instead, I tripped and my body pounded hard on the wet ground, directly on my stomach. I was laying there for a while. I sniffled again. It was all over anyway. I slowly stood up on my hands and knees. Grazes, blood, mud and dirt were all over my clothes, skin and hair. I looked up. Everything was a blur from the tears. Looked like the place is a painting that was ruined by spraying water all over it.
I don't want to stay here. I just want to keep running. I wiped my sniffling nose with my gloves. I got up, slowly and kept running, not knowing where the path will lead me. I made splashes on the puddles as I keep running. I just wanted to get out of here. There's no point of me being here anyway! I kept wiping the tears from my eyes. I couldn't stop crying no matter what. The pain wasn't gone. It was still here and it won't go away.
I hastily pushed the window open. Cold air and rain gusted its way in the room. "Ray Wi..." I called out, jumping out from the window, "Ray Wing!" I cast the spell as I let myself fall from my bedroom window. The rain was making my whole body wet. The icy, cold wind was making it worse. I had a sudden chill straight to my bones. I was coming down way too fast and I can't control it. Tears left my eyes again. All the pain I've caused Gourry... I knew he wasn't going to forgive me after that.
The ground was getting closer. The trees on the side of the building cut my skin and clothes as I came down. I let myself loose. It was too late for me to even cast a proper Levitationspell now to save me for me from my fall. This was it. I was going to die. My head was first. It hit a tree branch and I stumbled down on more branches. Every inch of my body was hit against something and was prepared for my death.
...