M.C. II!

Disclaimer: I do not own: Slayers, Care Bears, Little House on the Prairie, Yugioh, Dragon Quest VIII, Rayearth, FF8, Castle in the Sky etc… on goes the "Where's Waldo?" game of crossovers I always play with my stories! Seriously…no harm intended.

Episode 4: Amelia and Zel... finally!

Amelia sat there with her face frozen in a look of shock. This was not the reaction Zelgadis had hoped for!

'Oh no! Zel quick! Damage control!' Brau urged. Zel immediately set himself to it.

"Amelia, I want you to know that I don't expect you to say or do anything about it! These are just my feelings and I don't want you to feel obligated in any way to respond to them," he intoned in his steadfast ultra serious voice but Amelia continued to stare in shock and confusion.

'I'm gonna miss Saillune…especially in the spring…' Golem sighed sadly.

'Quiet! Let him concentrate!' Brau hissed in anger feeling also at the brink of despair at Amelia's lack of response.

"Of course in retrospect that probably wasn't the best choice of words but you asked me a question and after all you'd been through tonight I thought you deserved an honest answer from someone who is and I hope will continue to be your friend," Zel added but his nerves were starting to fray and he was definitely going to lose it soon if she didn't say something!

"Amelia…" he intoned seriously but at her continued non-response he turned away. As he tried to steady his racing mind he began to contemplate leaving all together and not returning for a VERY long time…

It was a miracle! He said it! She could hardly believe it!

I love you…

Those three words continued to reverberate inside her head and she could hardly hear anything else! She never would've imagined it would be so easy! That all she had to do was ask! It was a miracle!

'Truth, justice and love conquer all!' her mind screamed.

These were the silly thoughts rattling around in her head. But then she wondered why did he look angry? Love is beautiful! Love is a miracle she was thinking at that moment but still couldn't fathom why he would be angry. Slowly the words he'd been saying immediately afterwards registered in her mind.

'Of course he's angry! He tells me that he loves me and I just sit here like a big dummy just staring at him!' she berated herself and did the only thing she could think of to correct the situation…

From inside Amelia's sitting room the three little handmaidens watched and listened to the conversation through a magical device Anzu had created and Yuffie had stashed behind a cushion…

"Oh crap! He took the plunge!" Yuffie whispered in awe as her co-workers oohed and aahed at Zel's boldness. But as they realized their princess was doing nothing about it their smiles turned into frowns. They peaked into the balcony.

"Arrgh! What is she doing!" Mai growled annoyed.

"She's gonna lose him if she doesn't snap out of it!" Anzu complained as Yuffie muttered her own agreement. But as they watched their princess seemed to finally get a clue and snapped out of her shock. She threw herself towards Zelgadis and for once landed where she had intended to! With her arms wrapped around Zel's neck she took the word "Glomp" to new levels! Zelgadis wasted no time at all in reciprocating their princess' enthusiasm.

"Atta girl!" Mai congratulated quietly and she smiled as Zel held on tight to his princess. She motioned for the others to move back.

"That's better!" Anzu cheered as they snuck back deeper into Amelia's sitting room to give the new couple more privacy. A short rap on the door made Anzu hurry to it to keep the late-night intruder from disrupting the love scene on the balcony.

"Oh it's just you," Anzu announced dryly as Capt. Kaiba sauntered in. He glared at her.

"Is Lord Greywords still here?" he demanded. Mai gestured towards the balcony.

"He's with the princess and if you interrupt him now it's the last thing you'll ever do!" she teased. Yuffie laughed and jumped in to the banter.

"Here lies Capt. Kaiba! Who…despite being smart and handsome… was dumb enough to interrupt Lord Greywords' make-out session with the Princess," Yuffie joked as the girls laughed. Seto rolled his eyes but let them slide. If Lord Greywords was the one the Princess chose for their king then he could relax. His worst nightmare was that Amelia would pick some brainless moron that he'd be forced to obey for the rest of his life! On the other hand Zelgadis was the kind of guy that he could both respect and follow.

"I'll just wait for him here then," he said calmly. He took his revenge on the three mischievous maidens merely by confiscating the listening device Anzu had created. He'd pass it along to his three pranksters after he figured out how she made it. Their protests fell on deaf ears as Seto casually examined the little magically enhanced sea shell. He sat down and waited for Zelgadis to be done…

"I love you too! ... I'm sorry! … You just took me by surprise!" Amelia reassured Zelgadis amidst an intense shower of kisses that she lavishly rained upon his lips. Zel for his part was completely lost! His other two parts were completely silent but the intense joy coursing through him let him know that they were still there. He poured every bit of energy he had into returning her enthusiastic display of affection. When they finally stopped to catch their breath Zel found him self completely speechless this was definitely the kind of reaction he was hoping for! Except he wasn't quite prepared for Amelia's energy!

'She had us going there!' Brau commented cheerfully. He was the first of all his parts to regain his wits.

'Surprise is the understatement of the year!' Golem added in a slightly dreamy tone.

Amelia rushed to explain why she had allowed all those loser prince-lings to loiter about to the point of nearly ruining her birthday celebrations. Her heart leapt with joy when he agreed with her ideas and voiced the exact same sentiments as her father had earlier.

"I'm really sorry I didn't get here sooner. Perhaps I could've helped you with that," he concluded as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close again.

"It's ok…You're here now and that's all that matters to me," she replied dreamily. He smiled and held her tight. All the hardship and solitude he'd endured the past six months were all worth it now that he was sitting here with Amelia in his arms. He wanted to say more but the musical clock he'd made for her last year chimed the midnight hour. So it was with a heavy sigh – and the grumbles and protests of Brau and Golem – that Zelgadis prepared to leave…

"I should get going now Amelia," he said softly and yet he could not bring himself to release her. Amelia sat up quickly and pulled him off the couch with her.

"Yes! It's been a long day! Especially for you! You need to go and get some rest!" she instructed with a serious look on her face.

'She's so cute when she does that!' Brau commented dreamily. Golem had yet to fully regain his wits after Amelia's "assault" and only managed a happy rumbling sound. Zel couldn't resist pulling her close once more to kiss her deeply and he delighted in the way she melted against him. They smiled at each other and hand in hand walked back to the sitting room but not before Zel retrieved a little magical listening device in the form of a sea shell tucked behind one of the cushions on the couch.

He had sensed its presence just before Amelia jumped him but he hadn't been able to do anything about it until now. No doubt it was the work of Amelia's handmaidens. Amelia wouldn't have allowed it had she known about it. Such subterfuge was after all unjust! Sure enough Amelia's hackles were raised the instant she saw the little device. She chastised her handmaidens as soon as she was inside the room.

'She's cute even when she's angry!' Brau put in once more. Again Golem could only rumble in agreement. He was surprised to find Capt. Kaiba in the sitting room standing at parade rest. He offered Zel the other half of the device but Zel told him to keep it and handed him the transmitter he'd found outside.

"Your men could find use for it…especially the ones you have on special assignment," he explained. Seto smirked proudly. Yea, this was definitely the kind of guy he wouldn't mind taking orders from!

"It's just what I was thinking sir! I've thought of a few other uses too once I can extend the range," he added. Zel nodded then turned again to Amelia and pulling her close to him once more kissed her lightly.

"I'll be back at breakfast time," he promised and then left with Kaiba at his side ignoring the giggles from Anzu and Yuffie. As he closed the door behind him he suddenly felt like he could take on Rezo, Darkstar, Hellmaster Phibrizzo and every other psycho he's ever encountered on his own blindfolded and with one hand tied behind his back!

"Sir, is it safe to assume you will be taking over the princess' protection?" Seto asked as they walked down the hall way towards Zelgadis' room. Zel frowned.

"As far as I know captain that's still your job!" he replied solemnly leveling Seto with a stern look. Seto was unfazed.

"I'm sorry sir…I meant from the visiting nobles," Seto corrected spitting out the last word with undisguised disdain. Seto hated people that used their titles and their inherited fortunes to force others to bow down to them. If you wanted respect from Seto you had to earn it! Strength was the only thing Seto Kaiba respected! He was extremely loyal to Amelia because her adventures with Lina and Co. had proven that she could acquit herself well in extremely dire situations. His petit and cheerful leader was tough enough to hang with the big guys!

"Yes! That I will do! They want to get to her they'll have to through me," replied Zel with a proud smirk.

"Yea like that's even possible!" Seto laughed as they reached Zel's room. Zel smirked in satisfaction. He was starting to suspect there was another reason why the guards were so happy to see him. They had their own favorite in mind for Amelia!

'I wonder if that's why the people in the city were so happy to see us?' Brau thought. Zel thought this was a good possibility. He observed many of the men in the ball room earlier and they all seemed like self-centered jerks. He wouldn't want to be ruled by someone like them either but it was a bit of a shock to think they would prefer Zelgadis – the chimera; grandson of the fallen priest – over someone with a less dysfunctional family history. He shook it off this seemed like a topic he should discuss with Amelia and maybe even Phil. He would leave it for tomorrow…

'Best to discuss it with Phil' Brau put in 'he should be the first to know of how serious we are about Amelia!'

'Brau's right he's her father and he has a right to know,' Golem added seriously finally snapping out of his daze. Yes, Amelia was independent enough to pick her own companions and she was strong-willed enough to do as she pleased but Phil's blessing in this matter was something he didn't want to go forward without.

"I'll talk to Phil in the morning. I don't think this will go over well with Amelia's "guests" so be prepared for trouble," Zel added as Seto turned to leave.

"You'll think there will actually be trouble?" Seto asked dubiously. Zel shook his head.

"I'm not sure but those men are low-end bullies, they'll take their frustration out on the defenseless," Zel replied thoughtfully.

"Of course the people in Saillune or even the staff here in the palace might be targeted!" Seto added in comprehension.

"Like Mokuba…" Zel put in ominously. Seto's thoughts had gone straight to his little brother who worked at the stables and was currently helping care for the mounts of the visiting nobles. Zel knew Seto's little brother was barely twelve and still too young to join the Guard he was a polite and cheerfully little kid much loved by everyone who knew him. One of those frustrated nobles wouldn't mind taking his anger out on his kid brother who was prone to defying grown-ups if they were rude. It was a disturbing thought but that's the reality about bullies…

"I hadn't thought of that! I'll get on it!" Seto exclaimed. Anything having to do with Mokuba was the sure fire way to rattle Seto's usually unflappable demeanor.

"Mokuba will be fine. He's a sharp kid! If you give him sufficient warning he'll be able to avoid any flak," Zel reassured calmly putting as much conviction into his statements as he could muster. Considering the state Zel was in it was no wonder Seto immediately relaxed. The captain nodded solemnly and with a quick salute he excused himself then turned and left…

Zel sighed in deep satisfaction as he entered his room and removed his party clothes. As he hung them carefully in his closet he laughed as he realized that the staff had already placed several more elegant outfits – one for every occasion it seemed – in his closet neatly pressed and ready for wear. Matching boots provided of course! This confirmed what he had suspected. Not only did the Palace Guard prefer Zelgadis for their future king but apparently the staff did too. He tiredly climbed into bed and with all these happy thoughts floating in his head he was finally looking forward to the rest of his life…

Well, that's it for now! Perhaps I should've put a disclaimer on this chapter...there's so much sugar in it I'm sure my dentist would disapprove! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Anyway...thanks for reading and reviewing! Until next time!