Hello, and a good day to all of you! Thank you for dropping by and being interested in this next chapter; I hope it does not disappoint! As always, I don't own anything, I'm just a fan writing some fiction. Thank you very much~!

3- Good News and Bad News

By the time that they managed pull the kids into the wagon and put as much distance between them and the alleged bandit camp as possible, the sun was beginning to peek over the horizon again, and the group could see the two new additions a bit better.

The children weren't dressed as warmly as one would recommend for the weather, and they gladly huddled under the blankets when they were offered. Zara was wide awake now and paying rapt attention to the sudden new companions that were close to his age level. Lina noted that the shorter of the two kept periodically glancing back at Zara with an odd sort of curiosity in his gaze, but the two boys' eyes never met.

"So, who are you guys, anyway? Where'd you come from?" Lina began. "Sorry to be nosy, but if we're giving you kids a ride, we at least ought to know some basic information."

The taller- likely older- of the two had done all the talking so far, and took charge again, sitting up and shaking off some of the blankets, along with a braid of long, dark hair that had been tossed over one shoulder. "My name's Azarel. My brother and I have been travelling around for quite a while- we're pretty experienced, so we don't usually get into scrapes like this."

Azarel motioned at said brother, who took a moment to realise that he was being talked about and jerked his gaze away from Zara in order to face the adults.

Zelgadis leaned over Amelia's shoulder and whispered, gesturing toward the boy's blond curls and freckled cheeks. "Does he... remind you of someone?"

"Y-you don't mean Enri-" Amelia stopped abruptly, covering her mouth. She didn't think it was polite to compare someone you've just met to someone from your past, especially someone that you didn't particularly care for.

The curly-haired boy opened his mouth to respond, and now that he'd finally been invited to talk, it was almost like a dam had broken.

"Thank you guys so much for picking us up- that was really scary! Plus we're in a huge hurry, 'cause there's someone we have to meet, and so, if we'd been captured by those bandits, that would've slowed us down a lot, and that would be really bad, y'know? So it was a really good thing that you guys showed up when you did- except for almost running us over, but that was our fault and not yours, so-"

Azarel elbowed him to stop, and instructed "Tell them your name."

"Oh, I did forget that, didn't I? Sorry, sorry! My name's Enrique- just call me Enrique, alright?"

There was a pause, and then an undertone of stifled laughter. Zelgadis and Amelia had voiced what everyone was thinking, and the sudden coincidence made it seem too ridiculous to be true.

As usual, Zara was the first to break the awkward silence with his own innocent way of seeing things.

"Wow, that's a nice name- mine is Zara! Y'know, I'm going to be a big brother soon, and if I get a little brother, his name is going to be 'Enrico.' That's, like, super-close to 'Enrique!' That's a funny coincidence, huh?"

This seemed to satisfy Enrique, and his smile returned. "Oh, I see! That is a real coincidence! It's a very nice name- well, I guess I'm pretty biased, so you don't have to take my word for it, but I think so, at least, y'know? 'Cause it's not too long of a name, but it's not too short either, and it's unique but not so different that it's hard to pronounce, and-"

"So, Zara," Azarel didn't seem to have any qualms interrupting Enrique mid-sentence, and Enrique responded by cutting off and turning his full attention back toward the person speaking. "this is your mother, then?" Azarel gestured toward Lina, looking at her as though expecting her to be the one to answer.

"Yes, he's my son. I'm Lina- it's nice to meet you two. If you'll pardon me being nosy again, where are your parents? Take this as you will, since it's coming from an overprotective mother, but I don't think that kids like you ought to be travelling all by themselves."

"I agree!" Amelia chimed from the front. "Kids your age shouldn't be left all alone."

Azarel gave a sigh. "Unfortunately, you ladies seem to be in a minority. We've never had parents around- we couldn't even tell you who they are or what they look like. "

"Oh, how awful!" Amelia gasped.

"How convenient, more like it." Zelgadis murmured suspiciously. "You don't have any parents? No grandparents? Aunts? Uncles? Cousins? There must at least be someone to vouch for the fact that you're siblings, right?"

Lina had to admit, the two children didn't look as though they were related to one another, though she wouldn't have questioned their relationship candidly like that.

Azarel seemed slightly insulted, but only showed it for a brief moment. "Enrique is my brother in the sense that we're alone together. Neither one of us has any real family in the world, but, as long as we're together, we have somebody. That all the reason he needs to be my brother, isn't it?"

Having just claimed Zara as her son, Lina had no room to argue with the logic of adoptive family members. She simply nodded in reply, putting a smile on Azarel's face again. Zelgadis, however, didn't seem so satisfied, and continued to question the children.

"But you said that you were going to meet someone didn't you? If you have no one in the world except for each other, then who is this person that you're going to visit?"

"Someone that we're hoping will help us." Azarel replied condescendingly, acting as though Zelgadis had asked a childishly obvious question. "We don't know him per se, but we know of him. We're distantly related to him, y'see, and so we were hoping that... maybe..."

"I get it." Amelia spoke up. "You're hoping that he'll take you in, right?"

"If we should be so lucky." Azarel replied. "I don't want you to pity us, though. We're travellers just like you- my brother and I are just grateful to you for getting us out of a pinch."

"Where are you guys going, anyway?" Enrique questioned, leaning over the side of the wagon and staring at the snow that was piled in banks on the sides of the road. "Not that we don't want to go there or anything, 'cause you were nice enough to pick us up and we won't make you change your course, I'm just curious because I'm not familiar with this part of the country and I'm interested in where this road goes to-"

"Enrique." Azarel's voice cut the boy off in order for someone to answer his question.

"We're going to Zephiel City to see Lina's sister." Gourry answered. "It's just a short distance north of here."

Enrique looked tentatively over at Azarel. "...weren't we just travelling south?"

Azarel sighed. "Yes; we're actually trying to get to the city of Ti Toh, in the country of Kunan. I'm sure you may have heard of it- it's in the Outer World."

"I know that place! That's where the Temple of the Aqualord is, right?" Amelia offered. "We have a friend that holds a position there- do you know someone named Shizuri?"

"No, I can't say that I've heard that name before." Azarel gave a dismissive shake of the head. "But I'll be sure to ask about her if you'd like. I can tell her that I met some of her friends."

"You're ignoring the fact that we're travelling in the wrong direction." Zelgadis interrupted.

"We know that!" Azarel shot back. "We'll be in Zephiel City this afternoon, and it's such a big city, I'm sure that Enrique and I will have transportation and be back on the road before sundown!"

"I'll be glad of that." Zelgadis was making no effort to even pretend that he wasn't suspicious of their two new companions. Azarel took the criticism with head held high, but Enrique seemed genuinely hurt that someone would be suspicious of them. He kept quiet, though. It was clear who did most of the talking in their relationship.

"Well… at least, as long as we're together, we might as well get to know each other better. What do you like to do in your spare time?" Gourry asked, trying his best to break the tension that Zelgadis had placed between their group and the two children.

"Well, I myself enjoy studying history." Azarel replied, producing a large book from the bag that was slung over one shoulder. "It's amazing to read about all the incredible things that we missed while we were busy… y'know, not being alive."

"Oh, Zara loves big books! Zara, go talk to them- you guys probably have a lot in common!" Gourry seemed almost exuberant that he'd found some common ground between their group and the new companions, and Zara seemed to echo that.

"Wow! What are you reading?" Zara jumped up and leaned over Azarel's book, trying to get a better look at the cover. "…A Brief Chronology of the Post Kōma War Era…?"

"If you ask me, there's nothing 'brief' about it." Enrique offered, crossing his arms. "And there's no pictures."

"There are some pictures." Azarel chided pleasantly, flipping toward the back of the book. "I've read this so many times, it's almost silly."

"But it's good to know things! The more you understand, the more you can accomplish in life!" Zara chimed. "I don't think I've ever met any kids my age that actually understood that!"

"That's amazing! I feel the same way!" Azarel grasped Zara's hands with an inviting smile. "It must be fate that we ended up meeting like this- right Enrique?"

"R-right!" It was the most brief piece of dialogue that Enrique had spoken up to this point. He seemed to be a little intimidated by the way that Azarel was greeting their new friend, but that didn't stop him from peppering Zara with questions later on. For the rest of the ride to Zephilia, the children's chatter from the back of the wagon was all that everyone could hear. Zelgadis wasn't very happy, but he made no effort to voice his opinion and simply remained silent. The children's exchange brought a smile to Gourry's face, even if he didn't totally understand some of the more complex topics that they were discussing, and Lina… well, she was asleep, so it didn't matter much.

The sky was overcast again when they finally made it to the outskirts of Zephiel City. Lina had warned them, but no one was really expecting how abruptly the "country" ended and the "city" began. One moment they were riding past snow-laden trees and bushes, and the next they were surrounded by tall wooden houses that lined the streets of the city. Many had a familiar design- storefront on the first floor and living quarters on the second floor- and made the place seem awfully homely. Gourry commented that maybe they ought to consider moving back here with Lina's family, but the sorceress quipped that she was happy back in Craighouse, thank-you-very-much.

With the wagon tied up at the depot, they began in the direction of Lina's old house. Azarel and Enrique bid a tearful goodbye to the group- Zara mostly, who, though rather saddened by the loss of his newfound friends, gave them his address and made them promise to send him a letter once they were established in Ti Toh- and went away in their own direction.

"Good riddance." Zelgadis huffed. Lina and Amelia eyed him harshly, but he made no attempt to apologize.

"Our house is just across the market from here." Lina pointed out, taking Zara's hand and leading the group. "My parents know the best location- just close enough to the local marketplace that it's convenient for people to drop by to do their shopping, but not too close to avoid too much competition."

"It sounds like your parents are a lot like you, Miss Lina. All that business expertise must run in the family." Amelia commented, running up ahead of the group.

"I'm surprised that it's so crowded, considering the weather and all." Zelgadis glanced around as though he were somewhat puzzled. "You'd think that the snow would keep people indoors."

"Maybe in other places, but not in Zephiel City!" Lina chimed proudly. She noted that something at a nearby stall had caught Zara's eye, and paused to accompany him closer. The more things that delayed her impending meeting with her sister, the better.

"Wow, Lina, look! These are carved out of wood! Aren't they pretty?" Zara had been to enough marketplaces to know that there was a look-and-don't-touch policy with this sort of thing, but that didn't stop him from getting as close as he possibly could to the carvings without actually physically touching them.

"They are nice, aren't they? Do you want one?"

"Oh, Lina, could I?"

At this point, the seller seemed to notice the newcomers admiring her wares. She turned around to speak to them, but paused for a moment in realization.

"Lina? Lina Inverse?!"

Hearing her name, the sorceress perked up and looked in the direction of the familiar face. "M-Mrs. Stewart? No way!"

The woman clasped Lina's hands in hers with a welcoming smile. "Oh my goodness; just look at you! You were still a tiny thing when I last saw you- you've grown so much! Your mother told me that you were living with your husband and son down in some tiny town in Seyruun. I was surprised, because I never imagined you as the small-town sort of girl, y'know?"

"I'm not- I'm a world traveller!" Lina enthused in response. "The open road is the home of a travelling merchant like me!"

"But I like our house." Zara added, standing on the tips of his toes in order to see better over the countertop. The woman looked down at him with a smile.

"And is this Zara that I've heard so much about?"

"Yes~! That's me!" The little boy gave a toothy grin- he was at the age where his smile always had one or two gaps in it at any given time, which only made it all the more endearing. "It's nice to meet you!"

"The pleasure is all mine!" Mrs. Stewart replied, smiling back at him with a wave of her hand. "Oh, Lina- that boy is possibly the cutest thing I've ever seen."

Lina raised an eyebrow. "Possibly?"

The two shared a laugh for a moment before the woman behind the counter resumed her questions. "But, what are you doing back in Zephiel City? I mean, I'd heard… er, well, I assumed that you'd visit a few months from now, when you could bring the baby, but…"

"It's… a long story." Lina murmured. "With the weather the way it is, and everything else… we just had to come and pay a visit, y'know?"

"I suppose. It's a shame, though- you just missed your sister. I'm sure she would've liked to meet her precious little nephew."

There was a pause.

"…my sister? She… she's not here?"

"I'm afraid not." Mrs. Stewart was rather apologetic. "She left two days ago- something related to her work, I think I heard…. I'm sorry- is that going to be a problem?"

"No!" Lina spoke a little too harshly before she realized that she'd shouted almost loud enough for the whole marketplace to hear her. "Er, I mean, of course not! It's fine! No worries!" She turned to Zara. "Did you… want one of these?"

Zara stood on the tips of his toes again, trying to get a good look at all of the little carvings. "Be sure to pick carefully." the seller instructed. "They're magic, you know."

Finally, reaching back across several rows of figurines, Zara picked out an ornately decorated carving of a small bird. Lina had to admit, she wasn't very surprised, though it certainly wouldn't have been the one she'd have chosen.

"Zara, that's a pigeon." She pointed out.

"Not just a pigeon, though." Mrs. Stewart corrected. "This is a homing pigeon. It's special because, no matter how far it flies away from its nest, it always finds its way back home again."

This elicited a smile from Zara. "I like that very much."

Lina paid for the object and bid the woman a fond farewell, promising to meet up again when the family returned in a few months. Having been separated from their group, Lina and Zara took one another's hands and made their way back in the direction that they'd last seen everyone.

"Lina," the boy spoke up as they walked, still examining his pigeon. "Do you think that, if I made something like this to give to Lorelei, she'd come back to visit me more?"

"She's a Mazoku, Zara. She comes and goes as she pleases- I'm not sure that anything you could do would change that."

"But… I miss her…"

Lina took a deep breath. "Y'know, maybe you ought to give this whole puppy-love thing a rest. I know you like her and everything, but you ought to get to know other people too."

"I don't want other people." Zara responded with a rather obstinate expression. "I like Lorelei."

"Zara, you're only 8 years old. When I was your age, I thought boys were stinky."

"We are."

Lina had to stop and cover her mouth, otherwise she would have burst out laughing at his point-blank answer.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing." Lina waved her hand. "Just remember not to limit yourself based on what you think you want without giving other people a chance. What would've happened if I'd turned Gourry down because he's not very bright, without getting to know him better and finding out that he actually has a lot of good qualities to compensate for it?"

Zara mused over it for a moment before replying with "You'd probably be dead."

That wasn't the answer Lina was going for, but it was probably true.

"And I'd probably be very sad on top of it." Lina finished. "So, just… think about these things, okay? As grown-up as you act, you're still just a kid, and falling in love takes a long time."

"I understand." The boy nodded in reply. "Gourry said it took you a looooooong time."

"Oh, Lina! Zara! There you are! We've been looking for you-"

"You idiot!" Lina grabbed the front of Gourry's shirt and pulled him down to her level. "Just what kind of nonsense are you filling Zara's head with?!"

"Besides that, where have you been?" Zelgadis interrupted, stepping between the two of them. "You and Zara just sort of disappeared into the crowd."

"Lina bought me a bird!" Zara held up the figure proudly for everyone to see.

"Zara never asks for things when we're travelling, so of course I'm going to buy him something if he wants it badly enough to say so." Lina defended. "And, anyway, we met an old friend of my family, and got some wonderful news!"

"Wonderful news?" Amelia asked, clapping her hands together in delight. "What kind of wonderful news?"

"My sister isn't here!"

There was a pause.

"Wh-what do you mean, she 'isn't here?!' How is that good news?" Zelgadis demanded. "We came all this way to talk to your sister, and she isn't even here? That's not good news for us- that's just good news for you."

"It's good news for all of us! You guys don't know what my sister is like!" Lina protested.

"I know that your sister might be the only one who can help us get out of this mess! Do you want the Demon King of the North to wreak havoc on this world?"

"We don't know that this is all the Demon King's doing."

"But you can't argue with the evidence, and-"

"Calm down, everybody!" Gourry waved his hands as if trying to dull the pointed arguments that were being thrown back and forth. "Maybe she'll be back soon. We can stay until she returns, or at least leave a message for her. Let's just go to Lina's family's house, and sort things out there. Okay?"

"Mister Gourry is right. There's no need to get so upset about everything. Everything will work out for the best; I'm sure of it." Amelia agreed. "Miss Lina, can you lead us to your house?"

With no fears keeping her from it, Lina happily obliged.

With Luna out of town and Lina's father also out on a trip, her mother was the only person remaining, diligently managing the store along with a couple of employees. Though the weather hadn't slowed down business, the shop was fairly empty, and so Mrs. Inverse invited Lina and her friends upstairs so that they could all sit together in the living room to talk together. Of course, they did have to wait for Mrs. Inverse to finish fawning over her beloved grandson.

"-and, so Lina bought me this one! The lady said that it was a special pigeon that can always fly home, no matter where it goes! Isn't that amazing? Have you ever seen a pigeon like that, Grandma? I've never seen any like that- all the ones I see are the ones in Seyruun city that are always hunting for people's breadcrumbs, and-"

"Hey, Zara," Lina put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "other people need to talk to Grandma too. Why don't you put your bird in your backpack now to keep it safe, and let us talk about grown-up things, okay?"

Zara stiffened and gave a brisk nod before jumping off his grandmother's lap and running across the room to where he'd set his bag down.

"You're going to have your hands full with that boy and a baby too." Lina's mother commented with a laugh. "He always has so much energy!"

"Let's just hope that the baby is better at sleeping than the big brother is." Gourry commented. "Zara is up at all hours of the night in the library- I wouldn't be surprised if he's read every book in there already."

"At least he's recently been awake to make me whatever snack I suddenly want to eat at 3 A.M." Lina remarked. "That's insomnia put to good use, isn't it?"

"Lina!"

"Zara, I was just kidding around!" she assured him. "I didn't mean to sound so-"

"No, no! That's not it! Oh, I knew that my backpack felt heavier than usual!"

"Th-that's…" Lina stared at the book Zara was holding up, recognizing the title right away. "…A Brief Chronology of..."

"This is Azarel's book!"

"Azarel?" Lina's mother inquired.

"A kid we met on the way here;" Zelgadis explained before turning back to Zara. "How did Azarel's book end up in your backpack?"

"I… I… I don't know!" The little boy appeared to be panicking. "We were reading it together on the way here… but I didn't think that… I guess… Azarel must have put it in my backpack by accident… oh, what should I do?!"

"They might not have left yet!" Amelia exclaimed. "There may still be time for you to return it, if you hurry!"

"The depot wasn't too far from here. I can probably make it in five minutes if I run!" Zara responded, stuffing the book back into his bag.

"D-do you want someone to go with you?" Lina's mother stood up as if to accompany her grandson.

"No, no! I'm fine! I'll be right back!" Zara waved and rushed down the staircase, taking two steps at a time.

"He'll be fine." Lina sighed, as much to assure herself as her mother. "He goes off by himself all the time. If he needs an ingredient for dinner or something like that, he runs into town and gets it himself. He knows what he's doing."

Zara rushed out the doorway of the shop, almost running into a man cloaked in a dark robe who was entering the store at the same time.

"S-sorry!" the little boy yelled as he rushed out.

"Be careful, kid!" the man called with such genuine concern that Zara stopped a moment to glance back for a split second, and then continue running on his way. He could talk to the man on his way back.

(A/N: And… that's that. I don't have much to say about this chapter, I suppose. Until next time, then!)