Carealot: A New Hope

Disclaimer: I do not own: Slayers, Care Bears, Yugioh, Aladdin (Disney version), Beauty and the Beast (Disney version), That's So Raven, Castle in the Sky, Saved by the Bell…must I really go on with this… I already lost count of how many crossovers I've got… I'm not making any money off of it! I just do it for the sick twisted fun of it all! I work for a bank people! I need some relief!

Warning: By now you've all been sufficiently warned and if you've gotten this far it's because you have nerves (as well as stomachs and hearts) of steel! So I won't bother with any more warnings!

Now…on with the show!

Episode 6: Completamente enamorados – Chayanne

By the time breakfast was over and the servants were clearing the dishes in Amelia's room all of Saillune was well aware of the romantic developments between Amelia and Zelgadis! Cid the Blacksmith from Orange Grove was enjoying a healthy boost on his sales because the word had spread that Cid gave Zel the ride to Saillune Palace that allowed him to be on time to save their Princess' party! Cid didn't mind telling anyone who listened about his friendship with Lord Greywords!

Happiness bloomed again in the streets of Saillune. Banished was the gloomy air that had settled over the city in the long months that Lord Greywords was gone because Amelia brooded over his absence! The cheer that had been zapped away by the parade of bullish princes was restored by Zel's heroically timed arrival! The happy gossip spread like wildfire and the romance of the story was exaggerated more and more with each telling.

The only ones not happy were the princes who had traveled from their countries where they were pampered and spoiled to see if they could bag themselves a rich and pretty princess! In their puny little heads Zelgadis had not only upstaged them but also swept easily away with the prize. No they were not happy at all!

Charmles was informed by his attendant that one of the palace servants had told him that Zelgadis and Amelia were now a couple. Charmles was furious! He ranted and raged at the indignity! How dare she spend the evening with some other man! She was bound to him by their family's history! He had allowed those others to dream their silly dreams but in the end only he had a right to the princess of Saillune! He – Charmles heir to the Argonian throne – was the only one who had the right to possess the Princess of Saillune! At least that's what he believed in his tiny brain!

"Who does this peasant think he is? That he should be allowed to touch what rightfully belongs to me!" Charmles huffed angrily sweat pouring from his fat face! He turned angrily at the sound of mocking laughter. Auron – his father's most loyal bodyguard – and his apprentice Tidus snickered and laughed mockingly.

"That peasant as you call him is the grandson of the Great Rezo!" Auron pointed out haughtily and laughed. Charmles looked confused and Tidus laughed even harder.

"He doesn't know who Rezo is! He barely knows his ABC's!" Tidus taunted. It was true Charmles cared only about himself and didn't know much of anything. He had a vague notion that Rezo was some sort of powerful wizard but beyond that he didn't know and didn't care.

"It doesn't matter who this Rezo is! This Zelgadis is not a titled prince like me! He has no right to even be here in this palace! He should be out there with the roughage!" Charmles scolded. Tidus rolled his eyes angrily. He'd heard all the stories about Zelgadis, Amelia and their infamous friend Lina Inverse-Gabriev. He dreamed of having adventures like theirs! Not being stuck babysitting a useless excuse for a prince! He opened his mouth to say more when Auron poked him hard in the ribs.

"Mind your manners…" Auron advised. Tidus grumbled angrily and stormed out. He was sick of being made fun of by the palace guards for working for an idiot like Charmles and if it weren't because he owed Auron and the king his life he'd quit in an instant! One of these days that Charmles was gonna push him too far! Auron let Tidus go and gave Charmles a hard look.

"Your highness… If you do something that will embarrass your father I will not protect you! If you do something to harm diplomatic relationships between Argonia and Saillune I will stop you!" Auron warned sternly. His first duty was to Charmles' father and in his eyes Charmles was an insult to the old man. He got up and left the room to find his apprentice. He had to make sure Tidus didn't get into any trouble. He was a hot head after all. He ignored Charmles threats to fire him as soon as they returned to Argonia. He knew it would never happen Charmles' father would never allow it!

'But perhaps it's the only thing that might make Tidus happy!' Auron thought sadly. He thought perhaps it's time to let Tidus go and make his own story…

Amelia was ushered reluctantly away from Zel by her duties. Zel took the time to catch up with his friends and Lina badgered him for details on how he created Amelia's gifts. She pestered him to show her the rest but he staunchly refused. She would just have to wait until he gave them to Amelia! Gen. Walker pulled him away later that morning and took him with him to check out Saillune army's new batch of recruits.

Phil called him back up to the palace before lunch and invited him to sit in at an informal political luncheon with several members of parliament. He had the distinct impression that Phil was testing not just his worthiness as a future husband for Amelia but as a ruler for his country. He wasn't the only one! Prime minister Cahill-Walker dragged him into a discussion about economic reform. He was glad he had been paying attention these past four years. He should've figured they'd test him this way though!

'Duh! Amelia is the soon-to-be queen of Saillune!' Brau teased. Golem laughed and Zel worked hard at shushing their teasing and responding to the Prime minister's questions. Of course they would want to know whether a quiet, private person like himself could handle the social and political realm that Phil and Amelia had been born into! As the afternoon wore on he began to get the hang of it. When he thought about it the whole thing really wasn't all that different from sword-fighting.

Thrust, parry, thrust!

'You watch your back and try to stay ahead of your opponent's next attack!' Zel realized amused.

'Politics are so dangerous,' Golem rumbled softly shrinking deeper into Zel's mind. Golem's version of hiding behind Brau and Zel!

'…but oh so exciting!' Brau teased and again Zel tried to shush them wishing he could just get away from these people and back to his princess and his friends. The luncheon finally began to let up and he was rescued by Capt Kaiba who had a message from Amelia. Phil gave him a "thumbs up" and he excused himself to go away from the bickering politicians for a while. He fervently hoped to find some "alone time" with Amelia! Especially after all the "ideas" Amelia's low cut pretty white dress had put in his head!

'Naughty little princess was helping those ideas along you know!' Brau teased recalling Amelia's roaming hand during breakfast. With some effort Zel restrained a smile as he walked with Capt Kaiba towards the gardens where Amelia was spending the afternoon. Golem rumbled happily looking forward to the reunion.

Lina and Martina and several of Amelia's royal-born female friends were there as well clustered in little groups walking about and enjoying the nice weather. Martina's tomboyish little girls ran around laughing and playing with several other children. Kelly Morris and her staff had brought the children from the daycare to play out in the sunshine and visit with the Princess who loved being around children.

Capt Kaiba growled angrily and excused himself. Zel turned in the direction Kaiba had looked. He noticed Mokuba was fascinated with a petit blonde girl doing some silly looking acrobatics. Mokuba was so absorbed in watching her he barely paid any attention to little Val. He allowed himself a short chuckle as Seto stomped away towards his brother to remind him of his duty.

Lina was delighting a small group of older girls with some minor light spells and creating little illusions. As Zel walked towards them he could see that Gourry and Zangalus were there too but they were off playing with the little ones. He allowed himself a chuckle as Gourry and Zangalus stumbled around blindfolded chasing after a group of kindergartners. Another person was there talking to Amelia and she seemed to be trying to politely make him go away. Zel's jaw tightened angrily at the sight of him.

'Charmles!' Golem rumbled angrily. The one who started Amelia's miserable week! Oh how Zel wanted to repay him for nearly ruining her birthday! He walked faster…

'Easy Zel! Don't wanna cause an international incident here! His father is Phil's best friend remember?' Brau cautioned. Zel was aware of that and he decided he would go easy on Charmles for now. However if Charmles tried anything stupid in his presence nothing would protect that bastard from his wrath!

'Agreed!' Brau and Golem intoned as one. As they neared Amelia spotted him and cheerfully waved at him. She turned away from Charmles and walked towards him. He returned her cheerful smile but that smile soon disappeared as Charmles chose that moment to do something stupid!

For the most part Amelia's morning had been rather peaceful. She had attended the early session of parliament and her father sent her off into town to have lunch with her friends. Except for Sylphiel who had left with Zell Dincht that morning and was still MIA! The people in the city seemed even more eager to please than usual! When she returned she found out that Zelgadis had been dragged in her place into the luncheon with the Prime minister and some of the other members of parliament. That's why he hadn't joined them for lunch!

"That was so unfair of Daddy to just throw him in there with no warning!" Amelia whined after lunch as they walked into the garden.

"Oh don't worry Amelia! Zel will be fine!" Lina reassured. Amelia shook her head.

"I hope so!" she countered worriedly.

"Don't worry Amelia! Zel's tough as a rock!" Lina laughed at her own silly pun and ran off to join Gourry who was already busy entertaining several children. Amelia rolled her eyes and watched her friends scamper off to join Kelly Morris and her staff in playing with the daycare's children. She couldn't help worrying about him and wondered whether he'd be angry or not when he returned.

'Well I suppose I can always make it up to him,' she thought dreamily looking forward to being in his arms again soon. She waved at her friend Yuna who was off chatting cheerfully with a boy dressed in a yellow vest and yellow shorts with a blue sword attached to his back. He seemed familiar but she couldn't see his face from this angle so she wasn't sure who he might. Rinoa and Aerith were on the swings talking. She looked around for their husbands Squall and Cloud but they didn't seem to be there at the moment. She was sure they'd show up soon. They were never too far away from their beloveds!

Paine – Yuna's head bodyguard – was off by herself up on a tree just enjoying the scene and keeping an eye on everyone but returned Amelia's cheerful greeting with a short wave of her arm. Riku – Yuna's little cousin – was making the children laugh with some silly acrobatics. Mokuba watched her with complete adoration and little Val tried unsuccessfully to get his attention. Martina and Zangalus reunited with their children and Amelia smiled…

'Life is good…' she sighed happily and was about to join Lina when a familiar annoying whiny voice stopped her.

"Amelia! I need a word with you!" he commanded imperiously. Charmles always managed to sound like he was whining even when he was trying to sound commanding. She fought the urge to roll her eyes.

'Alright! Subtlety hasn't worked with his thick head so I'm just gonna have to go for blunt!' Amelia thought and explained in as plain words as she could think of that there was just no hope for the two of them to have any romantic involvement!

"That makes no sense! How else do you expect to maintain a relationship with my kingdom! Why else do you think our fathers are friends? Obviously because you have to marry me so we can unite our kingdoms!" he snapped angrily. Amelia took a deep breath and fought the urge to plant a "Pacifist Crush" right on his nose!

"Our fathers are friends because they like being friends!" she retorted trying very hard to be polite and princess-like.

"And extortion and blackmail are not very good reasons to marry anyone!" she added self-righteously revving up to give him a good long justice lecture but just then she spotted Zel entering the gardens with Capt Kaiba and all other thoughts escaped from her mind. She smiled and waved at him and he smiled back. Without giving Charmles another thought she moved away to meet her beloved. Suddenly she felt his fat fingers wrap painfully around her arm and yank her roughly back to his side.

"I will no longer tolerate anymore of these shenanigans! You are supposed to marry me and that is final!" he declared obviously not realizing the danger his selfishness had just placed him in. Amelia was so shocked by Charmles' sudden aggressiveness that it took her a second to react. She soon recovered and her fist barreled in the direction of Charmles' head. However by the time her fist got there Charmles was no longer there and neither were his fingers around her arm. Charmles was face down on the ground screaming like a little girl. His arm was twisted behind him and Zelgadis' knee dug painfully into the small of his back.

"Don't touch!" Zel growled dangerously and applied more pressure to the offending arm with his right hand as his left fist dug into Charmles' shoulder blades. Charmles shrieked in exaggerated agony for help from his guards! Quickly Amelia pulled Zel away assuring him that she was alright. It was not easy! Tidus showed up then and swallowed most of an angry growled at the embarrassment his master had caused him. Charmles flailed dramatically on the ground as Zelgadis glared angrily down at him standing in front of Amelia as if to shield her. Tidus swallowed his pride – something he did often in Charmles' service – and bowed penitently toward Amelia and Zelgadis.

"Your highness…"

"Stop Tidus!" Amelia commanded pushing past Zel to face him "Neither you nor your country have to apologize! The only one who committed a transgression here was Charmles! He is the one who should apologize to me, my father and Zelgadis!"

"As you wish," Tidus replied allowing himself a slight grateful smirk and nodded.

Stone faced Tidus picked up his master and glared only once at Charmles as he whined that Tidus was being too rough. He set his face in a stoic blank look and with a solemn heroic effort he practically carried his obese master away! Only once did Tidus look away ashamed and it was when Yuna caught up with the crowd that had gathered around Amelia and asked what happened. Tidus said nothing and dragged Charmles a little more roughly.

Amelia realized it was Tidus the boy Yuna had been speaking with a few minutes ago. It made her even angrier! Charmles was a selfish idiot and that was no secret. Nobody liked him because of it. She barely tolerated him before on account of their fathers' friendship. Now she would never again have cause to be nice to him! He had embarrassed Tidus in front of someone he respected and that was simply unforgivable in her book! She vowed she would do something about it…

Zel frowned as he watched Tidus carry his awful burden away with solemn dignity. Tidus was Auron's apprentice and Auron was a man Zel had much respect for. Auron had once told him that working in Argonia was like a paid retirement. He liked it just fine Tidus on the other hand it was obvious that he didn't enjoy it at all! He had never liked Charmles in the past. He liked him even less now! He turned to see if Amelia was alright but words were cut short by Amelia's kiss!

"Thank you!" she said softly as she released him. It took Zel a moment to gather his wits to respond. His mind was still exhausted from the verbal dueling he'd been doing with Saillune's politicians earlier.

"You're welcome," he replied quietly as the crowd dispersed to give the couple some privacy. Capt Kaiba approached her to ask her if she was alright but it was just a formality. He knew that Zel had done exceedingly well at protecting the princess' honor! Zel wrapped his arms around Amelia and nodded. She just smiled happily and agreed. He pulled her gently towards a nearby stone bench.

The captain excused himself to go attend to his duties and inform Prince Phil that there had been an incident. Unfortunately he hadn't seen the whole thing so it was likely Charmles would fabricate something to make Lord Greywords look bad. He would conduct an investigation but he knew there was still going to be some backlash! He decided he'd put Jesse and Mai on it and see if they could dig up something they could use against Charmles. He stopped for a moment to promise little Val and Mokuba that he would return soon.

Nobody noticed Paine quietly retreat from her spot up on the tree and head back into the palace in search of Phil. She had seen and heard the whole thing. From the moment Charmles approached Amelia to the minute Zelgadis slammed Charmles on the ground. Phil would get a blow by blow account! When Charmles gets around to tattling to Phil he will be in for a nasty surprise.

She smirked mischievously for a moment as she spotted a maid walking towards her on her way to her duties. She stopped to tell her that Prince Phil's door knob needed polishing. It was the signal that the maids used to pass the word that interesting gossip could be heard. The maid smiled and said she would get on it right away! Paine chuckled softly as the maid hurried off taking the service corridor short cuts. By dinner time all of Saillune would know…

The incident was soon forgotten by Amelia and Zelgadis who were so absorbed on catching each other up on their day so far that they didn't notice anything else going on around them. Yuna was no longer very cheerful now that Tidus was gone. And everyone wondered where Paine had disappeared to! The news spread like wildfire through the palace. Not only did the maids spread it but so did Kelly's staff who had witnessed the whole event. Lina loudly declared that from now on no matter what anyone said the next idiot would simply get a fireball up his ass! No questions asked!

"That'll depend on whether Zel left enough of him for you to do that Lina!" Gourry laughed. Lina laughed in agreement with him and the two resumed their happy afternoon…

The rest of the afternoon went by peacefully and eventually Amelia and Zel left to go talk to Phil. Zel had been prepared to defend his actions. The only thing he was sorry about was that he didn't hit Charmles harder! But to their surprise Phil knew everything that had happened and had already scolded Charmles. He congratulated Zelgadis on showing self-restraint. He also congratulated Zel on how well he did at the luncheon! The Prime Minister had been very impressed and Amelia was positively glowing with happiness!

The banquet at dinner time went by fairly cheerfully. At the ball that night Amelia refused to dance with anyone but Zel. The prince-lings seethed! Because of the events in the garden no one noticed as in a corner of the ballroom Raven's prophecy was fulfilled and Gaston and Akmed made their wicked plans. Zel was the hero! Even Raven had forgotten all about her vision as she helped spread the story in town that afternoon. So it did not surprise Zel to discover later that evening on Amelia's balcony that Anzu had found yet another way to spy on them. He was tired so he let it go for now…

And for the record...he shouldn't have!

The next morning Gen. Walker woke him up before sunrise to take him out to the training ground and break in a few of the new recruits. So after having breakfast with the general and some of his commanders he returned to the palace. He had a quick bath and changed into the next outfit that according to the note pinned to the jacket was picked out by Raven to compliment Amelia's riding suit.

'Raven's really pulling out all the stops isn't she?' Brau commented amused as Zel dressed. Amelia had mentioned yesterday that her over-eager fashion expert had to restrain herself from showing off her skills. Raven had explained to her that it was because those "fashion challenged" idiots wouldn't know who to compliment a girl properly to save their lives! She didn't want to waste her artistic talent on people who couldn't properly appreciate it!

'You know Raven does have a point… Why should Amelia show off around people who don't really care?' Brau pointed out as he went to find his Amelia and his friends. Well Zel had no such impediments! He could certainly appreciate Amelia's wardrobe!

'Hey do you remember that little "hero of justice: May" costume!' Brau reminisced as Golem sighed dreamily.

'She wore it last year again during the costume ball at the beginning of harvest season!' Golem added in a soft rumble. Oh yea he remembered and that little white skirt was much shorter than he recalled from the first time he saw it! He doubted Raven had anything to do with that.

'And the shirt was a little tighter too!' Brau laughed. He was certain that had nothing to do with Raven's fashion instincts either. Yes she had grown quite nicely indeed he thought and allowed himself a slight smile. He caught up with them in the grand ballroom where Amelia was busy lecturing the prince-lings about how selfish and rude they have been all week! He greeted Zangalus, Gourry, Lina and Martina amicably and turned his attention to Amelia's speech.

He quickly scanned the crowd and took note of where Charmles, Gaston and Akmed were. Charmles shrunk slightly behind Auron as he noticed Zel looking at him. The old guardian seemed to be trying hard not to laugh at him.Auron turned and nodded towards Zel. Tidus was nowhere to be seen and Zel noticed that neither was Yuna. Gaston and Akmed weren't really paying attention to Amelia. They did look up to glare at him and Zel smiled challenge glowing in his eyes.

'Bring it!' he thought as Golem and Brau laughed. He turned away then putting them out of his mind for now. He had not forgotten Raven's prophecy he was just simply not concerned.

'More concerned about where Amelia is right now Zel!' Golem warned seriously. Amelia in her self-righteous anger had climbed onto a tall ladder. Granted she wasn't wearing a dress today so she was less likely to trip but Amelia's landing skills were…well… not so good. He sighed and pushed forward through the crowd towards Amelia's precarious perch. Just in case…

'She has gotten better though,' Brau defended. It was true she didn't fall off as often but over the years he had developed a myriad of techniques for keeping Amelia from getting hurt by her weird quirk of always wanting to be standing on the tallest perch she could find when giving one of her "justice for all" speeches. Ten times out of ten it was Zel who would have to catch her. He didn't mind though! Brau and Golem calmly discussed the many techniques that they had developed. They ranged anywhere from the simple "hold out arms and catch" to some very complex maneuvers depending on situation and location.

'My favorite is the "Fighting fall"…We haven't used that one in a while though,' Brau commented. The "Fighting Fall" as they called it was a complicated technique they used in heavily wooded areas. Amelia would climb on a tree and sure enough when she tripped or stumbled Zel would jump, catch her in mid-air, use the branch she fell off of to wind up a powerful kick for the nearest bad guy then slide the rest of the fall sword in hand to cut down any enemies within reach. Very flashy!

'That's because Amelia knows better now than to climb on a tree when her friends are in the middle of a melee! Duh!' Golem defended indignant. Zel smiled as the two continued their banter and he watched as Amelia climbed on to the final precarious step in the ladder and with fists on her hips she continued her righteous tirade. He pushed further through the crowd trying to get closer to the ladder. He noticed that as Amelia ranted angrily her foot was sliding off the step. He sighed he knew she was going to fall and he had better be there! He pushed harder…

As he finally reached the bottom of the ladder Amelia's foot finally slipped off and she lost her balance. The prince-lings standing nearest Zelgadis dove away to keep from being smashed by Amelia's falling body but Zel calmly held out his arms and easily caught her letting his arms drop and his knees bend just a little to soften the fall. He smiled at her…

"Good Morning," he greeted calmly. She returned his smile and greeting sweetly and not caring that all the prince-lings were watching she reached up to kiss him full on the lips. Well if those princes had any hopes remaining they were immediately dashed. Zel's simple rescue had thrown into sharp contrast their inadequacies. They were diving away to save their own hides while Zel had calmly stood his ground to protect Amelia.

But spoiled as they were they refused to back away! They grumbled angrily as Zel put Amelia down but her lips remained locked with his for a few seconds longer. She finally released him and then turned to continue giving the loser gang a piece of her mind. Auron's laughter cut her off…

"Take your defeat like men and walk away with some dignity!" he taunted in his deep solemn voice at the assembled spoiled princes. Then with a slight nod and smirk to Zel he turned and sauntered away calmly with Charmles close at his heels. Amelia giggled…

"Auron's so cool!" she laughed Zel laughed and nodded. Her friends finally joined her then as the princes dispersed. They had themselves a laugh at the loser gang's expense. Zel cast about looking for Akmed and Gaston but he could no longer see them. He wondered how long they'd been gone…

Gaston and Akmed had not stayed to listen to the end of Amelia's speech they were busy raising to Zel's challenge… or trying to anyway! No one gave them much thought…except for Zel. He never lets his guard down after all!

And off went the gossip mill! The palace maidswere becoming extremely popular in town. Once more Zel was the hero of the ongoing fairytale and the people in town just couldn't get wait for the next chapter!

Too bad for Zel…

"Totally in love" is the translation of the title of this chapter. I chose to write it in Spanish because it sounds cornier on Chayanne's lips! Who is Chayanne? He is a Hispanic singer who is a million times hotter than Ricky Martin has ever or will ever be… not to say that I don't love Ricky Martin! I do! He's just not in Chayanne's league! (sigh) But I think you need to have been raised in a south or Central American country to fully appreciate his beauty!

Speaking of men I love (aside from my husband!) I met Crispin Freemen today! (squeals in girlish delight!) He is so hot! I got to take a picture with him and he autographed my season one of Slayers! squeals in girlish delight some more

I was at AX2006 with my friends and my husband and we saw him yesterday at one of the panels where those who attended that panel got a ticket to come back today and get an autograph! He spelled my name correctly without being told and he wrote "Rah Tilt" and "Zelgadis" before and after his name! I'm still geeking out about it! YAY! (squeals in girlish delight once more!) He has the most amazing voice! He did an Orlando Bloom impression that was positively eerie! sigh

Oh and the next Hellsing is coming out in December! Yay! (squeals in girlish delight yet again!) Sorry can't help my self! He's just so beautiful!

Ok anyway this chapter is still more set up…

The gritty stuff will come next!

Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!