Hey everyone! I am not abandoning this fic 8) I actually just had some fresh ideas for it. And as I set out to make it agreeable with anime canon, meet some familiar people from Revoultion 8) I am actually thinking of pulling Rezo more deeply into the story, I even re-watched the Evolution-R series for that purpose. So tell me if you think it's a good idea or not ;)
Chapter 19
"Great", Lina and I sigh in unison.
"You think it's Dynast, then?" she adds.
I nod. Val in my arms stops clinging to me for dear life and relaxes a bit.
"It was a matter of time before he got interested. I'm only surprised he chose to hire Gracia for this."
"So, you're telling me Naga's actually Amelia's sister?" Lina suddenly stares at me. "For real?"
"That's true," I supply. "You hadn't known, had you?"
Lina stares a little more, then giggles. I let Val down on the ground.
"Well," Lina finally says, "It explains a lot. As for why she got hired... You know Dynast better than I do, but I guess he could've thought an old acquaintance would find it easier to get me to talk. Poor guy had no idea he was dealing with such a pathetic loser, you know, with all the big talk and cool façade she puts on."
I nod absently, trying to imagine that barely dressed woman in Dynast's ice chambers. No wonder she could only remember that it was cold there. Probably got her brains frozen through and through.
Meanwhile, Lina gets up and stretches with immense grace.
"Ne, guys, if you're done with your art, I'd like to move from here. Naga might still be planning something, besides it's long since lunchtime."
I have barely started applying paints to my sketch, and Val has about half a picture in bright greens while the other half is still white canvas. As for me, I can always finish what I planned to make some other time, Val though...
"Uh, let's go," he nods with a bit of uneasiness.
"You haven't finished..." I begin, but he just shrugs.
"Don't feel like it. Sorry."
Blast that Naga woman!
"It's all right," I smile while stroking Val's head. "It's just as well if we change to something else now. I'll keep the easel for you, shall I?"
As we get packed and head for the road, I suddenly realize the old Dragon has not been around since Val and I went bathing.
"Milgasia didn't see it necessary to say goodbye?" I purr quietly to Lina while Val is skipping on the stones by the roadside.
"He sent his farewells," Lina smirks. "I forgot to pass it on, my fault. He suddenly remembered he had left a mess at home, and couldn't wait any longer to get it all tidied up. I wonder if creatures of light always feel so uneasy about creating chaos that they can't even afford a messy room?"
I chuckle. I wonder if Khalia saw what Milgasia's house looked like after we left. His expression would have been priceless. Oh I absolutely love this kind of situations. He must've thought I killed his Elder in a fight, or searched his place after taking him hostage, or something... And now that Milgasia is safely back... Of course, the young bastard may be just happy to see his teacher alive and well. But he might also get very angry... ahhh, that's one of the sweetest flavors of anger I've ever tasted.
"You can as well go there and take a look," Lina suddenly suggests. At my confused stare she explains: "You're almost drooling."
So I follow her advice, and right in time.
Khalia has obviously come back to Milgasia's house right after I took him away, and having come to most drastic conclusions ran to get help. It is with a bunch of a few more scared youngsters that he is confronting the old Dragon and screaming at the top of his lungs:
"...thought you were dead or worse! How could you just leave like that? The whole temple thought you were kidnapped by that blasted Mazoku!"
Oh yes, I love it so much!
Milgasia is trying to put in a word of explanation, but in vain. Finally he gets tired and casts a silencing spell on his apprentice, and then proceeds to explain, although he is so irritated that his usually calm and soothing voice now sounds akin to barking.
"If you must know, I was kidnapped. I got back as soon as I could. I understand you were worried, Khalia, but this is no excuse for shouting at your Elder, moreover in front of other people! You will display some manners today, young Dragon! As it happens, we haven't discussed your earlier misconduct today in any detail. Shall I enlighten your peers about the incident of you angering one of the most powerful Mazoku of the age in spite of my warnings?"
Said 'peers' stare at Khalia in disbelief. Oh this is all so rewarding. Apart from all the sweet emotion, I like to see Milgasia reinstating his authority with the brat. Maybe the old Dragon can make it to be a good mentor if thoroughly enraged.
It is not before I leave the family scene which started turning rather too sweet for my taste that I realize I have just been enjoying negative emotions, like in good old days. I was totally reveling in them, not a hint of doubt ever crossed my mind.
Hmm. Maybe I am not a lost case after all? Let's check it out then.
I teleport to the first anger-filled environment I can find through Astral. It turns out to be a pub fight. A couple of minutes of hovering above some drunken brawlers tells me that nothing has changed. I am not enjoying any of it.
Now I get really angry. Why is it to my taste when Milgasia is scolded by his apprentice, yet a normal human alcohol-powered fight leaves me almost gagging?
Well, I can't say I don't see the difference. Earlier at the Dragon's place I knew that everything was alright, Milgasia was safe, and it had all been a misunderstanding. Here however, people are really hurting each other.
Even if Lina never intended to change me, I am becoming a blasted humanitarian. And I should go and tell her about it, after all, my ability to feed lately has become her concern too. By the way, I wasn't quite paying attention during my earlier fight with her, but it is very likely that had been feeding off her rage without even sparing a thought to it. Interesting. Very interesting.
I teleport right to Zelein-Kmet because Lina and Val should have made it to the capital if they weren't held back by anything. But the first familiar person I spot in the central square isn't one of them. It's a light-coloured and overly serious plush toy.
"Prince Posel?" I utter, so surprised to see him here that I don't even assess the advantages of drawing his attention versus staying silent.
"Xellos?" he jumps. "What's happening?"
I look around for signs of anything being out of normal. There are none.
"Is anything happening?" I reply with a question of my own.
Pokota huffs and folds his little arms on his tiny chest.
"Like I don't know that if you appear, that means trouble. In Sailune they call you a banshee, you know. People say that seeing a violet-haired priest is an omen that there will be death in the family."
"Oh," I smile pleasantly taking a seat on the edge of a fountain parapet in the middle of the square. "It's been some time since people last invented superstitions about me."
Pokota climbs onto the parapet as well and hangs his ears in a depressed gesture.
"Anyway, what do you want from me now?"
"Absolutely nothing," I beam. "It's a mere coincidence that we met. I am simply waiting for someone else here."
"Ah, so you're going to trouble some other poor person," grumbles the small creature. He doesn't even seem relieved that I am not here for him. I study him intently. He looks tired and somewhat defeated, and his aura confirms my observations. I am just going to inquire as for the reasons of his unhappiness when he interrupts me.
"So, I never saw you since you took me to the jar with my soul," he says unexpectedly. "I guess, I never thanked you. Did you, um, heal up nicely after all that damage?"
I wrinkle my nose.
"Save the thanks for humans; I had more than enough for one day. As you can see, I am perfectly fine now. It's been quite a while, you know. But I am wondering..." I start again only to be interrupted for the second time ― by Lina.
"Hey!" she calls from the spot where a side-street flows into the square. Val at her side beams and waves. I wave back and indicate that they should come here. They cross the square to Pokota and me in no time, almost running.
"Pokota?" Lina gasps coming to a halt in front of the tiny stuffed animal. Val stares at him with curiosity mixed with anxiety. I tap his shoulder, and when he turns to me, I mouth, "He is all right, don't worry". Val doesn't look too convinced, though.
"Lina!" Prince Posel gasps back. "Are you the one Xellos is meeting here?"
"I guess so," she shrugs. "What are you doing in Zelein though? It's kinda far away from Taforashia..."
Pokota averts his royal gaze and sighs with great despair, now I can register the whole spectrum of negative emotions he emits: from frustration to ultimate self-pity. Oh L-sama, what could this little guy have got himself into? I thought that after what he has been through several years ago, nothing could get him into such a poor state of mind. Looks like I was mistaken.
Pokota sighs one more time without saying anything, then looks around and makes a sign to someone.
"Let's go take a table somewhere private," he says finally.
We get up and walk in a small group to the nearest restaurant. It's an expensive one and it provides secluded chambers for special guests. Two men who had been standing at the edge of the square now lean just outside the door of our chamber, eying us critically.
"Your bodyguards?" Lina inquires.
Posel nods.
"S'not like I really need them, but I'm on official business here," he adds as if feeling embarrassed by the necessity of having additional people to protect him.
"We are aware that you can fend for yourself," I offer.
Val seems to be completely out of the conversation just staring at Pokota without so much as a blink. I wonder what he is seeing. But it might be unwise to let it on Pokota that Val and I are close, so I'll wait till we are alone.
We have to wait for another quarter hour while Lina orders food. She takes her time going through the menu, and then tries to get Val to choose something for himself, but he isn't exactly responsive. Lina shoots me a disturbed glance and ends up ordering some food for Val without his approval.
"Who's the child?" Pokota asks rather unceremoniously, but then Lina never introduced him.
"My son," Lina explains quickly. "He's a bit tired from the road, never mind."
"Oh," Pokota's eyes widen. "Well... It's been a long time, hasn't it?"
"Kind of," Lina shrugs. "So. What brings you to Zelein?"
Posel immediately sinks back into his depression.
"You'll never guess... This is so embarrassing." He sighs again, then continues. "My father isn't getting any younger, you see, so I have to be prepared to take over the reign of the country."
"Well, your people've recognized you, haven't they?" Lina lifts her eyebrows.
"Yeah, sure," Pokota nods, "But, umh... you know, there is this law... The king must be married." He blushes as Lina splutters with laughter even as I am trying hard to hold it in. Really, it must be very embarrassing for a stuffed animal to be looking for a bride. And to think Zelgadiss had problems with his appearance!
"It's not funny!" Pokota bristles. That only makes Lina cover her mouth with both hands and grow red in the face. Pokota sighs. "Okay, I know, it is funny, but you could really spare my feelings and keep a straight face."
Lina is trying so hard to do exactly that, that her eyes start watering as if she were chopping exceptionally nasty onions.
"So let me guess," I draw Pokota's attention to myself while Lina is working hard to get her laughter under control, "you are here to ask one of the Zelein princesses in marriage?"
Lina moans and ducks under the table. I feel the corners of my own mouth twitch, but I have much greater control over visual manifestations of my emotions.
"Yeah," Pokota confirms.
"Which makes me think," I continue, "that all the high-standing ladies of nearby countries have turned down your offer."
Pokota stays silent, but from his slouched form I can tell I'm right.
We are interrupted by a waiter who brings in Lina's food. That at least makes her come to her senses.
"What does the Zelein king think about it?" she asks catching her breath and then sinks her teeth into some kind of poultry.
"He's okay with it actually," Posel says with a hint of disapproval. "They are rather uncivilized here, in the East, you know. Besides, he has twelve daughters and there is no chance in the world that they will all get happily married to princes and kings. Besides, my conditions are quite good. So, diplomatically speaking, marrying one of his daughters off to me is a good deal. But you can imagine how embarrassing it would be to any girl to be married... to a stuffed animal."
He blushes so hard that he is on the verge of tears. It takes him a few minutes to compose himself again.
"Of course the king is no monster, he will only support the marriage if one of his daughters agrees to it willingly. So now I have to meet them all one by one and try to convince them. So far I've talked to seven, and they reacted pretty much like you, Lina."
"Poor you," Lina muses biting another piece of meat. "But..." she starts, then gulps with an effort, and only then goes on, "the ultimate reason for marriage is that you in turn have an heir, right? But, errr, can you really?" she barely utters the question before collapsing in another fit of laughter. Pokota goes VERY red and not just in the face and then sputters and stumbles over a few obscenities.
"I think another question is more important," I interfere before these two start fighting. "Is there a necessity for you to have an heir? Are you going to die eventually? It's not like this body is very prone to ageing, I mean."
Pokota takes a deep breath.
"No one knows," he says. "Only Rezo could tell that, but he is unavalible, you see. Some think my soul is still ageing, even though the body is artificial. Anyway it will take a long time to find out because I'm a rather powerful mage, so I won't get old in a couple hundred years or so. Still, there is a possibility that I might die of unnatural causes, so..."
He pauses, then waits while Lina pulls herself together once again.
"As for your question," he says to her, "the next prince will have to be adopted."
"What about next of kin?" I ask before Lina can start laughing again. "Don't you have cousins or nephews to pass on the throne?"
Posel sighs for the umpteenth time during this talk (something tells me he sighs a lot this days anyway).
"Father and I don't have any close family left after the Durum sickness. The royal family was affected worst of all. The second-cousins-twice-removed that we have are pretty much the same as any ordinary citizen in terms of blood relation to us. If I decide to make one of them my heir, I'll still have to adopt the person."
"Well, cheer up, Pokota," Lina snickers. "I'm sure there is some old hag of royal blood who'd be delighted to marry you. I mean, if it's just for the formalities' sake."
He actually does slam her face first into a bowl of salad, and I can't find it in me to blame him.
The sudden commotion makes Val come to his senses all of a sudden. He blinks wide-eyed at Lina covered in salad and edges to me, inconspicuously pulling my sleeve. As Pokota is still raging at Lina, I think he won't notice, so I bend down to Val.
"What's up, little one?"
"May I get my album out?"
"Sure, but aren't you hungry?"
"No, I just need to sketch something, quick".
"All right, go ahead. Do you remember how to open the Astral pocket?"
Val nods, closes his eyes face all screwed up in concentration, and here comes the album followed by a few pencils. Val grabs on them for dear life and moves a plate of shrimps out of the way with his elbow. As soon as a blank page is found, he starts sketching furiously, turning the paper this way and that, as if afraid that the image would spill out at the edge like melting ice cream.
What comes out surprises me to no avail. Val has sketched Posel's true look, the body he had lost at Rezo's mercy. Even better, actually, because in the sketch Posel looks a few years older than he did right out of a ten-year-long hibernation. Val appears to be slightly out of breath.
"Da-ad," he whispers. "Do you think it's okay to show this to anyone?"
"Why not?" I wonder.
"Well... You said I shouldn't tell people that I know how they feel... And this is the same thing. I just can't help seeing it in him!" he darts a quick glance to the scowling stuffed doggy.
I take a close look at Pokota. I can sense his emotions, no problem there. But to see his true form? Definitely not from this plane.
"Wait a sec," I wink to Val and change to the Astral. Nope, nothing even close. I can see the shadow of his soul, but it doesn't take the shape of his old body. I have no idea where Val had got it from, but definitely not from me. It's not a Mazoku feature.
I came to the real plane again to find all three of my companions staring at me.
"Where have you gone?" Pokota asks.
"Just checking something," I smile pleasantly. "Ne, Val, I think prince Posel will enjoy your drawing."
My little Dragon hunches a bit at Pokota's attention and tentatively pushes the album to the other side of the table. Pokota gives me and Val each a confused look, then finally turns his eyes to the picture and STARES.
"How..." he gulps, "How do you know what I looked like?" he manages hoarsely.
Val clings to Lina and shrugs nervously.
"He has a talent at seeing true forms of things," Lina offers. "And people."
Pokota nods a few times, then sniffs.
"Thank you, little one," he says in a strained voice. "It's... It's really nice to know someone still can see me like that."
He seems unable to take his eyes off the picture, and when Val pulls on the corner to drag the album back to his side of the table, Pokota's desperate look follows it. Val expertly pulls out the page and pushes it back to Posel while hiding the rest of the album safely in a subdimensional pocket. All right, I think I should be going, because right now there is going to be a massive gratitude attack.
However, I stay in place. As Pokota explodes in thanks and tears, I can feel that Val is getting sick. Here comes the Mazoku heritage. Poor boy. I have to protect him somehow before he gets sick on the table.
I end up simply stretching a part of my Astral body in between Pokota and Val and taking a direct gratitude-hit from the sobbing prince. By the time he calms down a bit my head is spinning, but I can tell that Val is feeling almost fine, and nothing else really matters.
Lina sends me a worried look which makes me realize I'd better be going before the overdose of positive emotions hits home, but... haven't I learnt something today? Let's see...
"Ne, prince Posel... I remember Zelgadiss mentioning that Rezo had a hobby of collecting dolls. Maybe I could fine a nice couple for you in that collection?"
Lina doubles up in laughter while Pokota launches himself at me, and smashes right into the wall as I teleport to the other side of the table. After a few such futile attacks he is left exhausted on the carpet, and I find that gratitude is actually quite easy to deal with.