Hello everyone! As per usual, I don't own anything- I'm just a fan writing some fiction. Do enjoy!
22-Death Warmed Over
"Well… there go our plans for tomorrow…" Zelgadis sighed sadly, sliding the last pieces of his dinner around his plate with a fork. "We can't journey out in search of the Claire Bible and be back in time to meet Azarel…"
"If you're not going to eat that, give it to me." Lina jerked a finger in the direction of the chimera's plate, and Zelgadis responded by shoving it in her direction.
"Who knows what Miss Azarel might do to us if we aren't there to meet her?" Amelia ventured.
"She's not gonna lay a finger on any of you until she goes through me." Lyos growled. "If I ever see her face again, I'm going to make her pay-"
"Please don't say that." Professor Nisery interrupted. "Violence will only get us deeper in trouble."
"Senseless violence, he means." Zelgadis corrected. "If Azarel wants to meet peacefully with us, then we should let her. But if she decides to attack us… she's fair game."
"Fair game…" Lina murmured, only half paying attention. "…sounds delicious… Hey! Gourry! Are you going to finish your rice?"
"Of course I am. There's plenty more on the stove- go get some for yourself."
"I don't want to walk all the way over to the stove. You go get more!"
"But I'm eating this."
"I want to eat it, though."
"You've already had five plates, and you-" Gourry began, but was cut off. "…ah; thank you, Professor."
Pestis gave Gourry a smile as he placed a full plate in front of Lina, who eagerly resumed eating.
"What are we supposed to do now if we can't go out in search of the Claire Bible?" Amelia began again. "If we're stuck here waiting for Miss Azarel, then…"
"Don't worry so much, Amelia. It's a good time to rest- at least for a while." Shizuri offered. "We've been working hard these past few weeks, researching, travelling… cleaning… I think we deserve a break."
"I almost fell asleep scrubbing that bathtub earlier." Lyos groaned. "I'm 'bout ready to nap for a week."
"I wouldn't mind getting some decent sleep myself." Gourry agreed. "It's hard to really rest when you're on the road like we were."
"Except for Lina, who slept the whole trip." Lyos grumbled.
"Can I help it if I need to conserve energy?" Lina quipped, grabbing a few pieces of meat off Lyos' plate. He scowled and pulled the plate further away from her.
"Well, I don't have beds for everyone, but there's plenty of comfy couches around for you to sleep on." Pestis offered. "I doubt anyone would object to giving Lina the bedroom, right?"
"We couldn't." Lyos responded. "Not if we value our safety."
"Quit it!" Lina whined. "You'd better stop teasing me, or else-"
"Or else what? You're shoot off some of your magic in my direction?"
"No. I'll cry."
"And why should that make me afraid of you?"
"Not of me. That should make you afraid of Gourry."
Lyos stopped and tentatively looked over at Gourry. The swordsman gave an apologetic smile, shaking his head. "Just go with it." he whispered, and Lyos nodded in reply.
"I'm sorry, Lina. I was just joking around."
"It's okay. I was too."
The rest of the group felt much more at-ease as Lyos and Lina gave each other friendly smiles. Amelia stood up and began collecting empty plates from the table.
"I'll clean up the dishes." she offered pleasantly.
"Oh, Amelia, no! Don't worry about that! I should be the one to wash the dishes- you're my guests, after all." Pestis jumped up after her.
"If you really want to, you can help me."
"Okay! That's fine!"
"I'll help too." Zelgadis offered and joined them. The rest of the group disbanded somewhat. Gourry remembered that he'd left a pair of gloves out on the porch and went to retrieve them while Lina picked a spot on the couch and grabbed a book from the shelf. Shizuri was busy sorting through a pile of artwork that Pestis had told her she was welcome to take with her, and Lyos almost immediately fell asleep in one of the large armchairs.
"I wonder who cleans the dishes in Lina and Gourry's home." Pestis wondered out loud as he dried off the plates and stacked them neatly on the shelf. "They go through so much food…"
"I'd be willing to bet that Zara does it." Zelgadis suggested.
"No way- they wouldn't stick him with all the work!" Amelia protested. "Everyone probably takes turns."
"Or maybe all three of them do the cleaning at the same time, like we're doing." Pestis suggested. "It's a perfect family work-ethic!"
"I suppose." Zelgadis gave a sigh, handing the last plate over to Pestis to be dried and put away.
"Thank you again for dinner, Mister Pestis." Amelia continued. "We really do appreciate you hosting us."
Zelgadis laughed at that comment, but Amelia elbowed him to be quiet.
"Oh! Hey! Speaking of which-" Pestis began and grabbed their hands. "Come with me! I was going to say it earlier, but I forgot. I want you two to stay in the room at the end of the hall."
"That one? But we didn't clean that. You told us not to even open the door." Zelgadis protested as Pestis dragged them down the hallway.
"It doesn't need cleaning… or, at least, it shouldn't." Pestis responded. He reached the door and struggled with the knob for a moment before managing to push it open. The professor had been right- the room didn't need cleaning at all. It looked as though someone had been living in it just recently, though Amelia sneezed and raised a cloud of dust, indicating that it had been a bit longer than it looked.
"What's this?" she asked as she rubbed her nose.
"This was my room." Pestis replied. "Er, our room."
"Yours and…?"
"Yeah."
"Oh."
Amelia and Zelgadis exchanged a puzzled glance. "But…" Amelia began. "…why is it set apart from all the other rooms of the house?"
"I haven't been in this room in many years." Pestis sighed. "After she died, I… I just couldn't bear to come in again. So I closed it up and stayed away."
Amelia frowned. "You didn't want to go into your own bedroom?"
"It wasn't just mine." Pestis replied. "It held too many memories… I just couldn't face them. Not back then, at least."
"Then why now?" Zelgadis asked.
"I have friends now." Pestis gave a weak smile. "And I've realized that I can't let those old memories die. Not while I'm still living. I have to move on- to face the rest of my life. Embracing my new memories only makes the old ones all the more important. That's why I want you two to stay here."
"Why not you? It's your house, your room." Zelgadis argued.
"I can't sleep here- not alone. That's the one thing I can't do." Pestis sighed sadly, and gave a forced chuckle to cheer himself up. "Just- don't tell Lina that I'm playing favourites! She'd be very unhappy with me!"
"Oh, are we your favourites then?" Zelgadis smirked.
"Maybe kind of a little… just a bit." Pestis shrugged, working hard to keep his composure, though eventually he broke down and grabbed both friends for a hug. "I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH!" He slid his arms away slowly and gave a long sigh. "Can I… ask you guys a favour?"
"What's that?" Amelia responded.
"Will you promise… to always be my friends, no matter what?"
"Why would you ask that?" Amelia ventured. "Of course we'll always be friends! There's no doubt about it!"
Zelgadis said nothing, watching the two with an emotionless expression.
Silence filled the room once again as the professor looked around awkwardly. "Well, uh, I guess I'd better leave and let you two get some sleep, then…" Pestis began, inching out of the room.
"I wasn't going to sleep just yet." Amelia replied. "I'm still wound up from the whole fiasco with Mister Xellos. I was going to make myself some tea to help me calm down."
"Oh! Well, go ahead!" Pestis quickly corrected himself, jumping out of the doorway in order to let Amelia pass by. He smiled and waved at her as she walked down the hall.
As soon as she was out of hearing range, Zelgadis spoke up.
"I know that she asked it rhetorically, but Amelia did have a good question."
"Huh?"
"Why would you ask that?"
"I… I beg your pardon? I don't-"
"Why would you need confirmation of our friendship all of a sudden? What are you hiding?" Zelgadis continued. "This was such a sudden reaction on your part, I'm curious. I have a feeling that you know why Azarel wants to talk to you… is that what this is about?"
Pestis unsuccessfully feigned a smile. "Wow, you're sharp, Zelgadis. Can't get anything past you, can I? Amazing, really. Just amazing-"
"What is it? You told me some about you and Azarel before, but not enough. I need to know what's bothering you- if only to be able to defend you tomorrow, if need be." Zelgadis demanded.
"It… it's nothing."
"Right."
"Really! I promise!" Pestis waved his hands around. "It's just… well… both Azarel and I have questionable backgrounds, you know. I've done my best to turn everything around- to make a new life for myself by breaking all the ties of my old life and starting anew. And I don't tend to mention it much because, well, no one wants to hear about that. Right?"
"Pestis…" Zelgadis sighed. "Whatever you did, you can't pretend that it never happened and…" He cut off suddenly. "...I mean… well… never mind. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry."
"But wait! You're right! I can't just pretend that it never happened and expect it to go away-"
"No. I didn't mean- don't worry; I won't ask you about it again."
Pestis blinked in confusion. "Zelgadis… is everything okay?"
"Everything's fine. I just… sort of realized that I was being nosy. I apologize."
"What… what are you hiding?"
"I'm not hiding anything. I just think that I of all people have any room to criticize you."
Pestis seemed to catch on, and his expression softened. "You know that you can tell me anything, right?"
"…yeah…" Zelgadis turned away. "…I brought some work with me from Seyruun that I need to finish."
"Work? Now? That's silly! How about this? Let's both tell our stories to each other- in fact, I'll go first! I'll tell you my story and you tell me yours!"
"No. I have work to do."
"But I'm just trying to help! Please, Zelgadis-"
"I refuse to get tangled up in personal issues."
"But Zelgadis-"
"No."
The last word came out a little more forceful than Zelgadis had intended, and he shrunk back. "I mean… no thank you, Pestis. I appreciate the concern, but… I think now is not the time."
"Okay." Pestis murmured softly. "Are we… still friends…?"
Zelgadis sighed.
"Of course."
"The rain cooled about half-past three to a damp mist, through which oc-ccasional thin drops swam like dew. Gatsby looked with vacant eyes through a copy of Clay's Econ-n-nomics, starting at the Finn-n-ish tread that shook the kitchen floor, and peering toward the bleared windows from time to time as if a series of invisible but alam-alarming happenings were taking place outside. Finally, he got up and informed me, in an uncer-certain voice, that he was going home. …Okay, Zara- your turn. Zara? Hey, are you alright?"
Enrique lowered the book he'd been reading from to stare at his friend. He'd been following the events of the story with rapt anticipation and assumed that Zara felt the same way. But the boy was instead leaning against the window, staring out at the snow with a hollow expression.
"Oh! Uh… yeah, yeah." Zara picked his head up from the glass and moved back toward Enrique. "Sorry about that. Just… lost in thought, I guess."
"What were you thinking about?"
"Nothing."
"No, really!"
"Just…" Zara shrugged his shoulders awkwardly. "…about what the grown-ups said to us a couple weeks ago. I've been thinking about it more and more lately… I don't want it to be true, but the more I interact with Azarel, the more I begin to wonder…" He looked up at Enrique with a forced smile. "Don't worry about me."
"I can't help but worry about you. Not when you're so upset over this." Enrique replied quickly. "You're right to look around and make your own decisions, but don't let it consume you."
"What if the grown-ups are right, though? What if Azarel is really lying to us? The more I hear, the more I've begun to think…"
Enrique paled. "W-well, it's… you know… I mean… you've gotta decide that for yourself."
"What about you?"
"Me?"
"I know that I can trust you to tell me the truth. Is Azarel really as evil as everyone says?"
There was a moment of silence between them. Enrique took a few deep breaths, unsure of what to say or how to say it.
"I… I don't know what to tell you."
"You don't know what to tell me? What does that even mean?"
"I just… I mean… I guess… I've been around Azarel long enough to know, but I'm just scared that you might-"
"I might what?"
"I…" Enrique faltered, making abstract gestures with his hands as though that would somehow do a better job of communicating his feelings. "…I just want you to be safe-"
Zara flinched. "Keep me safe? You sound just like them!"
"But I don't know what else to do!" Enrique cried. "Please, just believe me! Even if Azarel is evil, we're safer where we are! And if Azarel isn't evil, then we're where we're supposed to be! Staying here with Azarel is the best option- the only option. Why question it?"
Zara didn't answer, staring unhappily down at the floor in an attempt to avoid eye contact with his friend.
Enrique looked around frantically in an attempt to find some way to distract Zara from such serious thoughts. "Here," he began, getting up and walking across the room to retrieve a large bag that had been placed on the table. "I'm pretty sure… Azarel has some cake in here somewhere… do you want some?"
"No, I do not want cake."
"You sure?" Enrique waved the bag around. "It's probably chocolate."
"I don't like chocolate."
"Liar. You drank hot chocolate with us before."
"That's different. The chocolate is watered down with milk and stuff." Zara waved his hand dismissively, but he couldn't help giving a little smile. "…maybe if there's a lemon cake, though…"
"That's the spirit! Forget about all that bad stuff!" Enrique laughed, tossing the bag onto the table. "Let's see what's in here, shall we…? This is a… knife."
Zara jumped back a little when Enrique pulled out the weapon from the bag. The elaborately carved handle indicated that it wasn't meant to be a cooking utensil.
"That's… good for cutting a big cake…" Enrique quickly set down the knife and dug into the bag again. "So, what about this thing? Is it some kind of toy?"
"Umm…" Zara reached for the object tentatively. "That's a gun. It's a mechanical weapon that uses black powder to fire a projectile at high speeds."
Enrique gave him a puzzled look.
"…it means that it's dangerous. Put it back before you hurt someone."
"Well, uh, I'm sure I can't hurt anyone with this… this… uh… fancy nutcracker…" Enrique absentmindedly fidgeted with the hinged metal object.
"That's an ancient torture device. Its use was discontinued several hundred years ago due to the high rate of accidental deaths resulting from it." Zara offered.
"O-kay!" Enrique laughed nervously. "There must be some cake in here somewhere! I wonder… what's in this fancy bottle? Is it, like, perfume, or…?"
Zara read the label. "That is a highly toxic chemical. Just a small dose would be enough to kill an adult human."
Though the poison didn't present any danger to Enrique, he flinched and ended up dropping it back into Azarel's bag.
"Why does Azarel even carry around this… this… this… bag of death?" he stammered. "Mazoku feed on negative emotions. A dead human would be useless."
"I don't know." Zara shrugged. "Not that I think the guy is hero or anything… but I never took Azarel for a murderer."
"Yeah, me neither. While it's true that Mazoku do sometimes kill their prey, Az always seemed more… intricate than that."
"I know what you mean." Zara pulled the bottle of poison and the knife back out, examining them. "It's like that play Lorelei keeps bugging me to go see- Romeo-and-Juliet-or-something-like-that."
"Never heard of it." Enrique replied. "Is it good?"
"I don't know." Zara shrugged. "Lorelei says that it's hilarious, because lots of people think it's a play about love when it's really a play about hatred and suffering."
Enrique smiled. "That doesn't sound too bad."
"Maybe for you."
"Maybe." Enrique chuckled. "We'll have to go see it together sometime."
"Let me see if I can remember the scene that Lorelei always does…" Zara picked up the knife and held it up dramatically. "O, happy dagger, this is thy sheath! Rust there and let me die!"He pulled the handle close to his chest with a grunt and fell dramatically to the floor. Enrique clapped and laughed loudly as Zara got up, placing the weapon back on the table.
"Haha- happy dagger- it sounds like you're trying to sell it to me!"
"It does, doesn't it?" Zara laughed, examining the knife's carved handle. "I could give a sales pitch, kinda like Lina does! Happy dagger and poison- conveniently travel sized for all your death-related needs!"
The two boys laughed for a few moments before they managed to calm down and put the items away. They didn't bother searching for cake- neither wanted to uncover what other horrors Azarel had packed away.
"The thing is, no matter how evil Azarel may seem, as long as the three of us are working together, Az isn't going to hurt us." Enrique finally sighed. "So we don't have to worry."
"I guess not…" Zara murmured. "Okay. You're right. I shouldn't be so worried either! Now, where did we leave off?"
"Gatsby just said that he was going home."
"Ah, yes. Of course."
"Oh, Lina! Are you looking for something? You ate so much for dinner, you shouldn't be hungry now."
Amelia arrived in the kitchen to see Lina searching through the pantry, reading through all the jar labels one-by-one.
"I know." Lina groaned. "The problem is, I ate too much. I'm looking for something to help settle my stomach…"
"You shouldn't do this to yourself, Lina. Please be careful, especially now." Amelia scolded.
"I know, I know. But there's a very fine line between eating for three and eating myself sick, and sometimes it's hard to tell."
"If you'd like, I can make you some tea."
Lina perked up at the offer, closing the door of the pantry to focus on Amelia. "Tea? What kind?"
"I need to see what kinds I have with me. Pokota gave us some orange pekoe while we were in Taforashia, and I picked up some chamomile blend from home-"
"Is that the same chamomile that you gave me a few months back- the one for when I was sick, I mean?"
"Yeah!" Amelia nodded. "Let me go get it- it's really effective for taking care of a stomach-ache."
"I sure know that!" Lina sighed as Amelia ran off and returned moments later with the bag that she'd brought with her. "That tea saved me when I thought I was going to die!"
"I doubt that anyone has ever died from ordinary morning sickness, Lina. The tea just helps to fight some of the discomfort."
"Food is my life, Amelia. I was rightfully dying." Lina protested.
"Were not."
"Okay, maybe not. But it felt like I was dying!"
Amelia giggled. "Don't worry, Miss Lina. I understand completely. It does feel like you're dying- I agree."
Lina rolled her eyes at her friend. "How would you know?"
"Oh, look! I found the tea! Could you get the tea kettle out? I think Mister Pestis keeps it on the bottom shelf in the corner cabinet."
Lina sighed and got up, retrieving the kettle and blowing the dust off of the top. Thinking about it logically, she realized what little capacity Amelia actually had for teasing and sarcasm, and began rethinking her last retort. Amelia wasn't the kind of person to offer false sympathy. When she comforted her friends, she meant every word. And the way she'd said it, there was no doubt that she was being sincere.
"Wait… how would you know?"Lina paused a moment and then continued. "Amelia… is there something you're not telling me?"
The princess stiffened and turned around to her friend. "No, no, no! That's not it. I didn't mean to say that, anyway. I just meant that… uh… I mean… being sick is-"
"But you're saying that you were…?"
"Sick? Everybody gets sick sometimes, Lina-"
"No! Amelia, answer me!" Lina interrupted. "…you… but you don't… you can't have… it's just that… you…" The sorceress' gaze fell to the ground and her expression clouded in realization. There was only one conclusion she could draw from the conversation, and it wasn't good. "…when did this happen…?"
Amelia didn't answer right away. Her voice was shaky and uncertain.
"…not recently. Don't worry about it."
Lina stiffened. "Don't worry about it?! Is…is this what you've been fighting with Zelgadis about? This is why you're both so upset? Not because of anything that either of you did, but because of something that happened that you both blame yourselves for… oh my gods, Amelia-"
Lina abruptly dropped the kettle onto the table and threw her arms around her friend. Tears were already streaming down the princess' cheeks.
"I didn't want… to say anything… to you… especially now… because I was so worried… and I just couldn't bring myself to-" Amelia had to stop talking in order to regain her composure.
"Amelia," Lina murmured. "how could you hide something like this from me? I'm your friend. Can we at least talk about it?"
Amelia shook her head and wiped the tears away from her face. "We won't talk." she responded, and before Lina could protest, she continued. "I'll talk, and you'll listen, alright?"
Lina closed her mouth and nodded.
"Alright."
(A/N: *ahem* For those of you who had your Shakespeare collections handy and were thumbing through to check Zara's accuracy, he did, in fact, slightly misquote the original line. Considering he's never read/seen the play, only being one word off is not too bad of a mistake- not that there was anyone to correct him or judge his performance for line memorization. What? That's not the issue you're concerned about? Huh?)