Zelgadis' Gambit

Chapter: 9

Rose and Grey

Now to have some fun with with our two forgetful friends. Time to start with some actual Zel/Lina (aka Grey/Rose) subplot.

She laid under a tree as the midday sun shown down on her. Her eyes were closed as she sunbathed on the edge of the field she had stopped near. Anyone that traveled by would know that the young woman was a sorceress from the clothing she wore. Though it was not as flamboyant as he last outfit is was enough to announce her occupation. Most of her old been replaced by one item which was a robe of purple. The robe was made of a crushed velvet in the shade of a deep, royal purple. All over the garment the pattern of roses were embroidered with a crimson thread. A hood came off the top of the robe that she only used if it rained. Around her middle was a simple black belt with the demon's blood talisman attached to the middle. The robe itself shone in the light of the sun and was quite easy to spot amongst the backdrop of nature. Rose sighed as she rolled her head to the side as she continued to rest under the tree.

The next part of her outfit was a cape that came off of her belt. The cape was black on the outside with a crimson hue on the inside. As the cape came up her to her shoulders it came over and overlapped the robe to the point of covering over her shoulders to the start of her chest. The second demon's blood talisman was the lynchpin that held the cape to her body. The last bit of her outfit where a pair of sleek white gloves on her hands. On each wrist were attached the last two demon's blood talismans. There was a noise above her and Rose opened her eyes to see Grey above her in the tree. She smiled before saying, "So what's the scouting report?"

Grey crouched on a tree limb as he looked down at Rose. His outfit had changed a bit as well. Not in the complete from as Rose but enough to be worthy of notice. His shirt was that of a dull brown that match the underbrush of the forest. His shirt was pulled through a belt before billowing out over his pants. His pants were a flat black that helped to blend into the shadows. Hanging from his hips was another belt that was used to connect his sword to him as well as the sword hilt from the sword of light. Around his shoulders was wrapped a deep, hunter green cloak with a hood that was over his head. His hands were held in the same color green gloves that where cutoff at the knuckles. As he heard Rose ask about the situation he smiled and said, "There is a group of bandits up ahead. We can bypass them by taking the mountain pass."

Rose huffed as she stood up and stretched. As she stood her red hair tumbled down to reveal that Rose had tamed her wild hair into a long ponytail that hung down to the top of her hips. After stretching Rose yawned and replied, "But, the mountain pass is the long way to the town isn't it?"

Grey dropped down to the ground before pulling his hood back to reveal his blue hair that could not change if he wanted to because of its steel consistency. He nodded before saying, "Yes, the mountain pass is the longer of the two routes but we won't have to deal with the bandits...and with the timing..."

Rose arched an eyebrow at Grey as he trailed off before she asked, "What do you mean by that? It's midday so there is no time problems."

Grey coughed slightly as he tried to control the red coming over his face. "No, I didn't mean the time of day...I...I meant that it's about that time of the...the month," he replied somewhat embarrassed.

Rose went red as Grey pointed this out before she turned away from him to hide her embarrassment. She looked back at him while asking, "How did you know?"

"I can smell it...my sense of smell is very keen and I can smell blood," Grey replied while looking at Rose.

Rose shook her head to dispel the blush before turning and saying, "Yeah...it's just starting. That's why I want to get to the town now so I don't have to worry until it is over."

"As you wish," Grey replied as he started walking down the road with Rose by his side.

After about thirty minutes there was a new blast mark in the road. The bandits had attacked as expected and Rose and Grey had dealt with them. Now the bodies of bandits littered the area with Rose standing in the middle breathing deep as she tried to catch her breath. She went to walk and her knees gave out. She began to fall but stopped as an arm wrapped around her waist and held her up. "I told you not to over do it," came Grey's voice from behind her.

Rose continued to catch her breath before replying, "Finish them quickly and the quicker I can rest."

Grey sighed before moving his arms and picking Rose up in a bridal carry. "What are you doing," Rose screamed as she went red in embarrassment and panic.

Grey looked down at her and replied, "Well, start resting and I'll carry you the rest of the way to the town."

"Oh," was Rose's reply as the blush continued to stain her face.

Grey began to walk down the road as he carried Rose. Rose would shift, almost seeming to be unsure of her position, before she settled down in his arms. They were partners in their travels because neither remembered who they were or where they came from. Both had earned each other's trust in the month they had been together but this was the first time for Rose to need help walking. She could not bring herself to look at Grey's face as her heart was pounding, 'I've never been this close to Grey,' she thought to herself.

Rose could not help but notice the feel of his chest as her side was pressed against him. She could feel the makeup of his muscles of his chest as he walked with her in his arms. Rose knew Grey was attractive, she would have been dense not to, but she had yet to truly see him in that light. Grey had been he constant companion but at the same time he seemed to distance himself from her. He would talk and converse but there was always a look of brooding to Grey. 'Well, once we get to town we'll rest up for a few days and I'll find out what Grey is hiding,' Rose decided as she got comfortable in Grey's arms.

They crested the final hill before looking down into a small town. Grey stopped at the top of the hill and looked down to see Rose had fallen asleep. He smirked and though about just continuing and letting Rose sleep. But, he also though that maybe he should see if Rose would rather walk into town. Rose was a strong woman and Grey was not sure if she would be offended by being carried into town. Grey moved to the side of the road and laid Rose under a tree. He shook her shoulder genteelly while saying, "Rose...Rose time to wake up."

Rose slowly came to before sitting up and stretching. She yawned before looking up at Grey with sleep still clinging to her eyes. "What's going on," she asked as she looked around.

Grey kneeled down near Rose before saying, "The town is just over this hill. I didn't know if you wanted to walk in or not."

Rose blushed slightly at Grey's admission before saying, "I...I...wouldn't have cared if you had...had carried me into town."

Grey smirked before saying, "I didn't know. You tend to be strong minded and want to do things without help so I wanted to make sure."

Rose was able to look back at Grey and it were these moments that she could not help but think about pouncing on Grey. He was sometimes secretive, but he always seemed to live more for her than himself. She smiled before saying, "That's sweet of you."

Grey turned and looked away as it was his turn to blush. He coughed slightly before saying, "Well...I just wanted to make sure I didn't embarrass you."

Rose stood up and stretched before turning towards the town. She began to walk towards the town before stopping at the top of the hill. She looked back at Grey as he was walking towards her. The setting sun shimmered off of his hair making it seem like a mass of sapphires on his head. She smiled before saying, "Thank you, Grey."

Grey smirked before nodding his head in acknowledgement as he joined her on the hilltop. The two looked down into the town before beginning their walk. 'We'll talk over dinner,' Rose thought to herself as she continued to walk beside Grey but could not work up the courage to get near him. 'There always tomorrow.'

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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