Hello everyone! As per usual, I don't own anything. I'm just a fan writing some fiction. Please enjoy!

14-On Thin Ice

"Wow, what a beautiful river!" Amelia exclaimed, grabbing onto Zelgadis' cloak. "Look, look! It looks like small waterfalls of ice! I've never seen anything like it!"

"Amelia, we're not here to look at the river." Zelgadis scolded. "You need to be searching for the cabin that Pokota mentioned. His letter said that it was along the river… somewhere around here."

"Found it! Found it!" Pestis waved his hands back and forth. "For real this time, I promise!"

"Are you sure it's not just another rock-that-looks-suspiciously-like-a-building-from- this-angle?"

"Yes, yes! I'm sure of it! It's- wait, no. Nevermind. Sorry." Pestis pulled his hand back down. "Just another rock."

Zelgadis groaned and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "You really ought to get some new glasses. I think those might be faulty."

"H-hey, that's not true!" Pestis wagged a finger chidingly. "I'm a several-thousand-year-old astral being. I doubt my prescription would have suddenly changed."

"That's not what I- er, nevermind. We have bigger problems. I wish Pokota had been more specific in his letter- or that everything wasn't covered in snow. I can't make out any landmarks at all." Zelgadis pulled a map out of his pocket again and turned it several different ways. "The river just turned sharply a few metres back… so we must be reaching this area…" He traced the river with his finger. "It's possible that one of the nearby mountains is blocking our view of the cabin… after we pass this next ridge, we'll probably be able to see it."

"I'm glad of that. It'll be getting dark soon." Pestis shivered. "Do either of you have any idea why the prince asked us to meet him way out here instead of in the city? It would make more sense to all gather in the main capital of Taforashia… this forest is really out of our way."

"Mister Pokota must have something in mind." Amelia sighed. "He said that he'd explain when we reached the cabin… if we ever get there."

"We mustn't give up hope!" Pestis thrust one hand into the air. "All of our travelling so far cannot be for naught!"

"Watch your double negatives there." Zelgadis warned.

"I know what I'm doing." Pestis waved one hand nonchalantly. "If there's anything I've never not been good at, it's keeping track of double negatives."

"Uh… what?" Amelia blinked.

Zelgadis steered Amelia back in the right direction. "C'mon- we don't have time for this. Pokota will be worried about us if we don't show up on time."

"Oh, I can't wait to meet him! A prince! A Black-Magic prince, and an adorable stuffed toy all in one! Just think of it!" Pestis clapped his hands together excitedly.

Zelgadis and Amelia exchanged a glance, but said nothing in response.

"Were Amelia and Zelgadis really supposed to be travelling this way? I haven't seen anybody around here…" Zara hopped from rock to rock along the riverbank, carefully watching his footing and avoiding the rocks that were heavy with ice.

"That's what Azarel said." Enrique replied. "Lina Inverse is mine. You two should be able to handle the princess and the chimera by yourselves. Something along those lines, right?"

Zara giggled. Enrique's impressions of Azarel never ceased to amuse him. "Right. But… what does the phrase ' we can handle them' mean? We're supposed to team up, right?"

"Beats me." Enrique shrugged. "Az made them sound like our enemies, but they're your friends, right? And we're all searching for the Key of the Aqualord, right?"

"Yeah, but… something's fishy about this. Why are they all searching for the Key all of a sudden? I guess they want to talk to the Great Sage as well, just to make sure that he stops this strange winter… but why would they separate themselves from us? Why can't we all just travel together?"

Enrique jumped down from a particularly high boulder and paused to catch his breath before answering. "Didn't you say that you wanted to go on an adventure all by yourself? Maybe they want to give you the space you wanted so badly. That would be the nice thing to do."

"Yeah, but… I don't think so. If that's what was going on, Lina would have said something. She wouldn't go so long without talking to me. There must be a reason that we haven't seen her… I wish-"

"Hey! Are those your friends over there?"

Zara's gaze shot up from the ground and followed Enrique's line of vision over to the other side of the river. "Where? I don't see… oh!"

The boy ran as quickly as he could while still making sure that he didn't slip and fall over any of the icy rocks that lined the banks of the river.

"Heeeeeey! Amelia! Zelgadis! Over here!" Zara waved his arms wildly in an attempt to be easier to spot.

Meanwhile, Amelia and Zelgadis had picked up their argument again over Amelia's fascination with the river, and it took Pestis tapping both their shoulders to get them to notice the noise behind them.

"Uh… is it just me… or is someone calling you two?" the professor asked timidly.

"Huh?" Amelia swivelled around and ran back toward the river. Zelgadis followed behind with a still-confused Pestis on his heels.

"That almost sounds like-"

"Zara-chan!" Amelia yelled and started waving her arms. "Where did you come from?"

"I was trying to find you! Azarel sent me to join you!" Zara called back, trying to get closer without slipping on any of the rocks. "You're here to investigate the library at Taforashia, right? That's what we're here for! But... you're going the wrong way, aren't you?"

"This is the way Pokota told us to-" Zelgadis began to call, but stopped mid-sentence. "-wait a minute; who is that?!"

"Who, me?" Enrique pointed to himself. "But you met me before, Zelgadis! Don't you remember me?"

"Oh, sure I remember you! Azarel's little dog, aren't you? The one who conspired with her to kidnap Zara, right?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Enrique seemed genuinely confused. "I don't understand... I didn't kidnap anyone..."

"Yeah! This is Enrique! He's my friend! You have to meet him- he's really sweet and funny an-a-a-aaaa-"

"ZARA!"

SPLASH

One wrong step over an ice-covered rock knocked the boy off of his feet and into the river before he even knew what was happening.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Amelia dashed downriver as fast as she could, trying to keep up with the current of the river. "Zara-chan! Zara-chan, are you okay? Hey! Hey!"

"Zelgadis! What should we do?!" Pestis looked back and forth frantically.

"D-don't worry. Zara's a good swimmer." Zelgadis seemed to be trying to assure himself as much as Pestis as he rushed to follow after Amelia.

"But that river must be freezing! Won't he catch hypothermia and freeze to death?"

"Amelia!" Zelgadis called loudly. "Whatever you do, don't do anything stupid, like jumping in after him-"

"Zara!" The sound of another voice cut off their conversation. "I'm coming to save you!"

SPLASH

"Did that blond boy just...?" Zelgadis breathed in disbelief. "You've gotta be kidding me..."

"Zelgadis, I don't think Enrique can swim!" Pestis observed. "Zara is keeping his head above the water pretty well, but Enrique is-"

"Then why the hell did he jump in after Zara?!"

"He might drown! We have to help him-"

"He's Mazoku, you idiot. He's not going to drown. Use your common sense."

"But he's still-"

"Hang on you two! Don't try too hard to fight the current; I'm going to help you!" Amelia was yelling ahead of them.

"Amelia, I told you not to-"

"Keep your eyes on me! I'm coming for you!"

"Amelia, no! Don't you dare-"

SPLASH

"AMELIA!"

"I can't believe it! She jumped in too!" Pestis gasped.

"Any other bright observations, Captain-Obvious?! Gods, am I surrounded by idiots today?!" Zelgadis snapped, grabbing Pestis' arm brusquely.

"Don't take it out on me!" Pestis defended. "I didn't do anything!"

"Exactly. And I want it to stay that way."

By the time Zelgadis and Pestis had caught up to them, Amelia had managed to drag the two boys to the riverbank where Enrique was coughing and spluttering and Zara was curled up into a ball, shivering.

Pestis and Zelgadis both spoke at the same time.

"Are you all okay?"
"Are you all insane?!"

"I-I-I think..." Zara began slowly. "...th-that we're all t-t-too cold to be e-either..."

"Don't be a smart-aleck, kid. I've got enough of that to deal with already." Zelgadis quipped.

"He wasn't t-trying to be funny, Zelg-g-gadis." Amelia stammered.

"I just don't want to hear something like that from a kid whose lips are turning blue." The chimera sighed.

"Aaaaah! He's right! Zara, what's wrong with you?!" Enrique gasped.

"Yours are t-turning blue too." Zara responded.

"Huh?!" Enrique placed a hand to his own lips with a horrified expression. "Oh no, oh no! Here! Have my coat!" He began peeling off his waterlogged coat, but Zara grabbed a handful of the green fabric to stop him.

"It's n-not going to help. Th-th-that jacket is wet- it's j-just gonna make me c-colder."

Enrique shrunk back, looking positively dismayed. "B-but then... how am I supposed to help you...?"

"We need to get you three to some shelter, and right now." Zelgadis looked around, and Pestis thought he noticed a twinge of fear show through the chimera's calm exterior for just a split second.

"Well, uh..." Pestis raised his hand. "I... uh..."

"You what? We don't have time for this, Pestis."

"Well... I, uh... think I found the cabin. For real this time."

"Are you serious? All three of them fell in the river? What in the world were they doing?"

Pokota seemed a little more amused than upset by the situation; probably because he was in a nice warm cabin by a fireplace rather than out in the cold.

"Well, Zara fell in accidentally." Zelgadis sighed. "The blond kid jumped in after him, but then couldn't swim... so Amelia had to go wrangle them out before they made it all the way downriver."

"Geez... what dumb kid would jump in a frozen river if he couldn't swim? Even if he is a Mazoku, that's an idiot decision." Pokota murmured.

"That may be so, but this just proves my hypothesis." Pestis offered.

"Which was...?"

"Enrique can't be the evil mastermind that you guys make him out to be. He has to be being manipulated by Azarel in some way."

Zelgadis gave a sceptical frown. "And what leads you to this conclusion?"

"Did you hear his exchange with Zara? He had no idea what to do in a situation like that. Don't you think that it's common sense that giving someone a wet jacket will make them colder?"

"Yeah. So? The kid's stupid. Is that what you're getting at?" Zelgadis was unamused.

"No, not at all! That's not stupidity, it's ignorance!" Pestis exclaimed. "Don't you get it? Enrique's inexperience gives him away! He's never experienced cold weather before!"

"Never? He'd have to live pretty far south for that." Pokota mused. "Unless, of course..."

"What?! Pestis, you don't think that he could possibly be that young, do you...?"

"It's the beginning of September- that would put him at 6-ish months. Can't be more than that. Could be less, depending." Pestis nodded. "Mazoku are fairly competent when they're first created, but they still have to gain real-world experience. Enrique has none. It doesn't make him stupid, it makes him young. There's only so much one can learn in five months or less."

"You can't be serious. That kid? He's, like, ten years old." Pokota argued.

"Six months or less. I'd bank on it." Pestis asserted.

"I don't know about that..." Zelgadis murmured.

"Zelgadis, he jumped into freezing white-water after his friend without even giving a thought to his swimming ability. It seems like he didn't even realize that it was a learned ability- he probably thought that swimming was somehow instinctive."

"And what makes you think that he and Zara are friends?" Zelgadis asked.

"I'll tell you if you tell me if you tell me what's making you so cynical today." Pestis sniffed.

"Hey! I'm not being cynical- I'm just not going to let him fool us again. Zara is too important for that... he's not getting out of our sight."

"You mean like how he's in the other room right now?" Pokota asked, motioning to the other door.

"That's different. Amelia is with him, besides." Zelgadis shrugged. "I trust her with him."

"You didn't trust her with him this afternoon." Pestis commented quietly.

"It wasn't that. I just didn't want her putting herself in danger too-"

"Pokota! We hung the clothes up by the fireplace! Do you want us to do anything else with them?" Amelia stuck her head out of the door and waved. She was wearing a mottled old grey bathrobe that was several sizes too large for her and had her wet hair wrapped up in a towel. It was the best thing Pokota could offer them on short notice, and no one really cared much.

"Nah; just leave them there until they dry out. We have tea and hot chocolate if you want some." Pokota responded.

"Yaaaaay, hot chocolate!" Zara and Enrique had as normal a reaction as any pair of children would have to the offer of sweets. Their robes were the same size as Amelia's, making them more than several sizes too big for them. The ends of Zara's belt were even dragging the ground, though he didn't seem to mind much. Amelia had braided his hair and at least manage to brush Enrique's. The blond boy had been unusually appreciative, saying that no one had ever done that for him before. Amelia's response was simply that she could tell.

"Now that we're all in the same room," Zelgadis began, gripping his mug of tea. "would you mind explaining what we're doing here, Pokota?"

"Zelgadis is right." Pestis nodded, finishing a sip of hot chocolate- he'd sadly had to settle for that due to the lack of his favourite beverage. "What are we doing so far from the main city of Taforashia? This forest is nice and everything, but I doubt that the trees have much to say about the Key of the Aqualord."

"It's not the trees, silly." Pokota shook his head. "There's nothing for you in the main city. The libraries were destroyed five years ago, during the battle with Shabranigdo."

"What?! No! Not all those books!" Pestis looked like he was about to cry. "First Sairaag, and now Taforashia?

"But not all the books were kept in those libraries- in fact, most of the important books weren't. Instead, they were stored in an underground storage facility outside of the city."

"Oh! That's why you called us out here!" Amelia exclaimed.

"They had good foresight, protecting the books like that." Zara smiled. "I'm so glad!"

"It's too late today to be running off to look at the libraries, but we can start tomorrow. When is it that you need to be back. Seyruun?" Pokota continued.

"Two weeks." Zelgadis replied. "And it'll take us three days to get back."

"That gives us a week and a half to search." Pestis sighed. "I don't think that's enough time for all the books that would be in this particularly library."

"But they're well-sorted, right?" Amelia questioned. "We know exactly what we're looking for, so it shouldn't be any hassle to search for books on the subject."

Pokota gave a nod, finishing up the last of his hot cocoa. "She's right, you know. This isn't a wild goose chase like some of the journeys we've been on. It's just a little research trip. Don't be so worried, professor."

"Well, I'm just glad that everything seems to be going according to plan... unlike today." Zelgadis muttered. "So long as some people's clothes dry out by tomorrow morning..."

"I'm so sorry..." Zara curled up in his chair, burying his face against his knees as though he were going to cry. "Everyone got all wet and cold... because of me..."

"No, no! It's not your fault! The rocks were slippery- anyone could have fallen!" Enrique assured him. "Please-please-please don't cry..."

"Zara-chan, sweetie, he's right. We went after you because we love you and wanted to make sure that you were safe." Amelia agreed. She then turned to the others, pounding a fist onto the table. "Zelgadis! Look what you did! Could you please stop talking about it? It wasn't Zara-chan's fault!"

"Of course it wasn't! He's not the one I'm talking about!" Zelgadis rose to his feet. "He wasn't the one who jumped in of his own accord, even when there was no reason to!"

"No reason?!" Amelia was on her feet as well. "Zara-chan and Enrique-chan could have been really hurt, or worse! Someone had to do something."

"Zara is a good swimmer. I'm sure he would've been fine And Enrique is a Mazoku- don't add '-chan' to his name!"

Amelia crossed her arms indignantly. "I can add it to whoever's name I want to! Why is it that you don't care about the well-being of the two children? Do you really hate children all that much?"

"You know that's not true, Amelia." Zelgadis growled. "I do love Zara."

"Not enough to care whether or not he drowns, obviously." Amelia sniffed.

"That's not true- that's not the issue here! It's not that I don't care, I'm just yelling because I'm concerned abo-"

"Concerned? That's it? Maybe you're too concerned! Why can't you just go back to caring only about yourself, like you used to? A few years ago, you wouldn't have given a damn whether anyone fell in the river, so long as it wasn't you! Would you rather that I had pushed you in after them?"

"Yes!" Zelgadis hissed.

Everyone was quiet for a moment. Zara and Enrique were huddled together in fright, Pokota was too horrified to say anything, and Pestis was watching with an indecipherable expression on his face. Zelgadis sighed and then continued.

"...look; you want to know a secret? The truth is, none of this is about you. It's all about me. This is all my problem."

"So that's it, then." Amelia huffed. "The control freak in you wants to be in charge of everything that we say and do, huh?"

"No, no, no! Listen to me, Amelia!"

"I'm done listening to you. All you do is yell and try to tell everyone what to do, and I refuse to be lectured for doing the right thing." She turned and left the table, walking back into the other room and closing the door behind her.

"Unbelievable..." Zelgadis muttered, turning to the outer door, grabbing his cloak on the way out.

"W-wait! Zelgadis!" Pokota finally found his voice. "It's getting dark! It'll be too cold; you can't-"

Pestis grabbed the end of Pokota's cape. "He'll be fine. I'd let him go if I were you."

"But..." Pokota murmured, glancing across the table. Zara was crying with his face buried in Enrique's chest, and Enrique couldn't do anything but rest his hands on Zara's shoulders in an attempt to comfort him.

"Those two have been at each other's throats for weeks now, both ready to strike. I'm sorry that you got caught up in it."

"...Lina... Gourry..." Zara sobbed pitifully. "Please... I want to go home... I want my mommy and daddy... Lina, Gourry, please!"

Pokota jumped over and nestled in the boy's arms, allowing Zara to cling to him as a child would a beloved toy. Enrique put his arms around Zara from one side, and Pestis did so from the other. The physical contact made Zara cry even harder, but when Pestis and Enrique pulled away, he stopped them and pulled them back. "...please... don't leave me..."

"We won't leave you." Pestis whispered softly. "We promise..."

It was cold outside, but Zelgadis didn't really care anymore. He'd waited until all the lights in the small cabin had gone dark, and was contemplating what to do now. If there was anyone still awake, he didn't want to go back inside. He'd heard Zara's breakdown and all the effort that Pestis and the others had gone through to get him calmed down. Amelia tried to apologise to him, but Zara wouldn't take it- not after all the yelling she'd just done. Amelia was crushed, Pestis was frustrated, and Pokota had no idea what to do. From the sound of things, Zara had finally fallen asleep with the help of a lullaby the professor seemed to pull out of nowhere. It had at least done the job, and now everyone was asleep... or so it seemed. Zelgadis sighed, watching his breath turn into a fog before dissipating into the dark air.

"Wow. The snow is really coming down, huh?"

The chimera stiffened, grabbing onto one of the porch columns. He'd been so wrapped up in his own thoughts, he hadn't noticed the sound of the door opening. The voice had caught him off-guard, and that was already a step in the wrong direction for this conversation.

"What are you doing awake anyway?"

(A/N: Oh, guys! Anybody else super-excited for the new upcoming Disney movie Frozen? I just saw the newly released trailer today, and I have to admit, I was a little scared by the similarity between the premise of that story and the beginning of this fanfic- the whole summer-to-winter scenario. It's been done plenty of times before, I'm sure, not to mention that it's fanfiction, so it's not like it makes a lot of difference, but... I'm still very self-conscious about it. Oh well! Nevertheless, I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far!)