Amelia woke up to the sound of someone pounding desperately at the door. She bolted upright as a nervous excitement exploded within her.

Could it be…?

Amelia heard her father answer the door. "Christopher? Luna? Eruk? What is it?"

Amelia's heart sank. Of course it was stupid to think she had returned after all these years. But what could her Uncle Christopher, Aunt Luna and Sylphiel's father want?"

"Is she here?" Luna asked, and Amelia heard the sound of footsteps in the hallway. Curious, she got out of bed and walked to the door to see that her uncle's wife had barged in.

"Is who here?" Phil asked.

"My sister." Luna said as she glared at Amelia.

Amelia froze under Luna's fierce gaze. The only downside to meeting Lina had been meeting Luna. And having Luna meet and then marry her widowed uncle. "I-I've not seen her since this evening when you left with her. Why? Why happened?"

Luna motioned to Christopher, "Search her room."

Amelia's eyes widened in panic. "There's no need for that." Phil said.

"You're too lenient with her." Luna said as Christopher went into Amelia's room. "If you're not careful she'll turn out just as rotten as her sister."

"Where's Miss Lina?" Amelia asked.

Luna shook her head in exasperation, "Stop pretending you have no idea where she is!"

"There's no one else here." Christopher said from Amelia's room. Eruk returned from searching the rest of the cottage and nodded in agreement.

Luna shook her head, "Damn, I was hoping she was here."

"This may help." Christopher said as he came out with Amelia's journal. Amelia hadn't thought it was possible to feel any worse than she did until that moment.

"Please, there's nothing in there…"

"Then you won't mind our reading it." Luna said as she took it from Christopher and opened it towards the end. Luna's lips pursed as it became apparent she would not find the information she desperately wanted. "Well, aside from your pathetic pining over the hermit, it looks like there isn't anything here."

Amelia blushed as Luna glared at her, "Where are they?"

"Luna, if Amelia says she doesn't know where they are, then she doesn't know." Phil said in a placating tone, "Let's all cool down and have a seat. Tell us what happened."

"No, there's no time." Luna snapped, "The hermit. You have to take us to where he lives."

"Zel?" Amelia asked. "But he doesn't like people to…"

"You will take us there or I will organize a group of men to find his cave!" Luna yelled.

Amelia started to shake. "Let me get dressed."

"Grab a shawl. It's not that cold out."

Amelia and Phil exchanged a glance. But few dared to stand up to Luna. And now that she was married to Christopher it gave her the authority to bend the townspeople to her will. Amelia ran to grab her shawl and put her sandals on while Luna explained, "I was giving Lina something to calm her nerves. You know how women are the night before their wedding. Well, she decked me good. I've got a hell of a goose egg." Amelia looked at Luna's head but she couldn't see it. As always, the upper part of her face was concealed by her thick bangs. "When I came to she was gone. I had a bad feeling. So I went to Gourry's house first, and wasn't too surprised to find he was also gone. Naturally Sylphiel is devastated. She's with her mother."

Amelia's heart was beating fast. Had Gourry run away with Lina? Even though Amelia felt devastated that her friends had fled, she could not deny there was something romantic about them fleeing together. But that thrill of them striking back at Luna was buried under her grief. It had gutted her when her sister had run off. Her sister had always been a little odd, so when she met Lina her eccentricities didn't bother her and Lina became the surrogate sister she had been looking for. And now Lina was gone, too.

All the same, considering she had cried herself to sleep after learning that Lina was going to marry a merchant from out of town, it had already seemed likely that she would never see her again. And part of her was glad that if she had to go away, at least it was with Gourry.

Amelia finished dressing, and they left her father's cottage and started to the woods. "I just don't see why Gourry would leave my daughter for that lunatic." Eruk mumbled.

"He must have been dropped on the head one too many times." Luna said.

Amelia felt her anger rise over how they talked about her friends. But she kept her mouth shut. Part of her realized that Eruk had every right to be upset. "Amelia," Christopher said, "Did they say anything, give any indication they were planning this?"

Amelia thought. But she couldn't think of anything. "None. Look, none of us knew Miss Lina was getting married until yesterday. So they didn't even have a reason to flee until then. Most likely Mr. Gourry just snapped and decided to run with her."

"If they put that little planning into it then hopefully they won't be that difficult to track down." Luna said.

Amelia's stomach twisted and turned. She was scared out of her mind that they would be there. While she would give anything to say "good bye" to Lina, she also did not want Luna to catch her sister. Luna's wrath was terrible to behold. Amelia started to pray fervently that they wouldn't be there.

It became more difficult to traverse the terrain as it became uneven in the dark. Not even the light from their lanterns helped much. But Luna was not slowing down one bit in the brisk pace she set. Amelia did not think she had ever seen her so livid.

Finally they came upon Zel's cave. Amelia went first and knocked, "It's me." She said. "I have company."

"What are you doing here so late?" he asked from inside his cave. Amelia was worried that it did not sound as though they had woken him.

"Lina and Gourry are missing." Luna took over as she barged into Zel's cave uninvited. She swung her lantern around to illuminate the cracks and crevices and Zel darted into the shadows so he couldn't be seen. The cave was Spartan but comfortable enough. There was a bed, a hearth, and a shelf for his items. "Where are they?"

"I haven't seen them since this evening." Zel replied, and Amelia could detect the surprise in his voice. She relaxed a bit. He was telling the truth.

Luna was not so easily convinced. She looked back into the cave, "How far back do these caverns go?"

Zel let out a long breath, "I've been living here for three years and I still haven't explored them completely."

"Damn!" Luna spat. "I was hoping to catch them without organizing a search party."

Amelia suddenly realized what should have been obvious before Luna had bullied her into taking her to Zel's cave. Luna would have preferred to keep this hush-hush.

"Luna," Christopher said, "Doesn't this solve a lot of problems? If she's run off you don't have to care for her anymore, or worry about her and what she's doing."

"And give other people the idea it's okay to flaunt our authority?" Luna cried in disgust.

"What about Gourry?" Eruk cried in indignation at the same time, "He abandoned my daughter! He stole the sword my wife and I gave them as a wedding gift! Not the mention the dowry we paid…"

Christopher put a hand on his arm, "Perhaps we can come to a financial arrangement?"

Amelia could see that her uncle was eager to wash his hands completely of his troublesome sister-in-law. Luna, however, rounded on him, "What the hell are you talking about!? There's no way in hell we're paying for that imbecile's mistakes!"

"Say we do it your way. We're going to have to pay to put our men on a search party." Christopher pointed out.

"But when we find them we can sue that blacksmith for every penny!" Luna shot back. "We're wasting time here talking about it. Chris, keep an eye on them. Eruk, let's gather some men."

Amelia waited quietly as Luna and Eruk left, and she breathed a sigh of relief once they were gone. Amelia looked at Zel. "I'm sorry I brought them here. She was threatening to send more people if I didn't take her here."

"I wouldn't want you to get on her bad side." Zel said, his voice understanding as he remained in the shadows. Amelia could just barely detect him shaking his head, "I was scared something like this would happen."

"Is this your friend?" Phil asked.

"Yes, this is Zelgadis Greywards." Amelia said. "Come on out Zel. This is my daddy, Phil, and my uncle, Christopher."

"I-I'd prefer to stay here."

"Amelia talks about you a lot." Phil said. "She's very fond of you. I know what it's like to not be happy with your appearance. I mean, look at me!"

Phil laughed, a gruffly, hearty sound. But Zel remained in the shadows, "That may be, but I would give everything I have to look like you."

Amelia looked down in disappointment as she realized it was futile to get him to come out. "I hope they're okay."

Silence stretched awkwardly for a bit. Then Phil said, "It's late."

Amelia looked at Zel, still hidden in the shadow. A deep yearning grew within her, and before she realized what she was doing she had run and grabbed his hands. "Come home with us." She said.

"I couldn't…"

"Daddy has so much work right now, he can't keep up even with my help! You know how to write, you can copy books. We're getting in so many now! You'd never have to go outside. I could take care of all of the outside business for you. We could make it work." Amelia pressed, the words tumbling out of her mouth faster than she could control them.

"I couldn't." Zel said, "I couldn't burden you with living with someone as repulsive as me. Just go. Probably, it'll be better if you don't come back here now that they're gone."

Amelia felt tears start to slide down her cheeks. She couldn't lose all three of them in one night! Phil put a hand on her shoulder, "Let's go home. We can think about these things in the morning."

Amelia felt numb as she washed the breakfast dishes. Phil had some transactions to attend to, so Amelia was now alone in the house. She hated to be alone. And today she hated it more than she usually did. First her sister had left her, and now Lina and Gourry had. And the thought that Zel would refuse to see her was so unbearable she didn't feel she could stand it!

Someone knocked on the door. Amelia sighed and walked over to answer it. Her hands shook as she placed them on the door handle. The thought that Lina and Gourry had been found petrified her! So she was slightly stunned to see Luna standing there with Sylphiel. Sylphiel, understandably, had looked better. Her eyes were red and puffy and though she had tried to cover it with a scarf her hair was obviously disheveled.

"Can I help you?" Amelia asked.

"Yes, I believe you can." Luna said, "And don't leave us standing on your doorstep. Invite us in."

Amelia stood back and motioned them in. "Have a seat."

Both women took a seat at the table, and Amelia asked, "Can I get you anything?"

"I think we could do with a cup of tea." Luna said.

Amelia nodded. Fortunately she still had some left from breakfast and was able to quickly get everyone a cup. "Have you found Miss Lina?"

"No. Actually, that's why we're here." Luna replied.

Amelia looked at her warily as she sat down. "I told you, I don't know…"

"Please, Miss Amelia." Sylphiel interjected as she grabbed her hands. "Why did he do this? Did he say anything to you? What could I have done differently?"

Tears leaked from Sylphiel's eyes as she finished her plea. And Amelia felt her stomach flip as a desperate need to rescue her feeling's rose. "It wasn't you, Miss Sylphiel. Mr. Gourry said all of the time that you were a good wife and he didn't deserve you."

"But why?" Sylphiel asked as her voice cracked, "What did he see in her?"

Amelia flailed for something to say. But before she could come up with something she asked, "Did they, were they lovers?"

"No," Amelia said honestly, "I was with them most of the time. Honestly we were just telling stories with each other."

It was the truth. But a partial one. Amelia knew very well that somehow they had fallen in love with each other. But neither had acted on those feelings.

"But why couldn't he do that with me?" Sylphiel asked.

Amelia's insides clenched. There was nothing she could tell her that would make it better! "I don't know."

"Amelia." Luna said quietly but forcefully, "You know something more than you're telling us. And you may not know why Gourry did what he did, but the only way Sylphiel can get her answers is if we find them. Now, tell us what you know."

Amelia's first instinct was to protest her innocence once again. But then she looked at Sylphiel's face, and the words died in her throat. Sylphiel was completely innocent in all of this, and Amelia desperately wanted to give her some solace. At the same time, the only thing giving Amelia any comfort was the knowledge that Lina was safe with Gourry and not with the unknown merchant. And as much as it devastated her that they were gone, she was terrified that at any minute the search party would return with them.

What if she could protect her friends and give Sylphiel some comfort?

"L-last night," Amelia began with a stutter as she scrambled for a story. Then she remembered something Luna had said, "When Miss Lina knocked you out. Well, she thought she'd killed you, and she was scared she'd be arrested. So she found Mr. Gourry, and I guess they decided to flee together."

Luna stared at her blankly as Sylphiel's lips grew thin. Amelia continued, "I was with Zel in his cave and Mr. Gourry and Miss Lina came there. If you travel through the caves long enough and you'll end up in Petesborough. That's where they decided to go. I think Mr. Gourry just didn't want to see her go to jail. She'd never survive there, you know. As frail as she was. He was just trying to protect her."

Sylphiel slammed her cup down and it shattered over the table. Amelia squealed as she brought her hands up. It was a good thing she did as one of the shards hit her right hand, drawing blood. Amelia turned her hand around to examine it as Sylphiel yelled. "I was the one he pledged himself to protect! Did he, just once, give a damn about me? Just one damn thought!?"

Amelia lowered her hand and stuttered uselessly as Sylphiel continued to vent. Somehow Amelia had failed to help her feel better. Worse, the pent up frustration Sylphiel had felt since Gourry had met Lina had exploded. Amelia had never seen the quiet and gentle woman so angry! Luna put a hand on Sylphiel's arm, and her voice lost its steam, and she dissolved into tears as she buried her face into her hands.

Luna locked her gaze with Amelia, "My men are waiting outside, and we will take you to the hermit's cave. And you will show us the route they took."

Amelia nodded as tears leaked from her eyes. "Yes."

Luna stood up and glared at Amelia distastefully, "If you had told us last night we could have found them a lot easier. Now who knows how much of a lead they have."

Amelia didn't trust herself to speak, so she just nodded. Suddenly Luna moved real close to Amelia and grabbed her arm roughly, "If you're lying I will see you rot in jail for making a false statement to the wife of the mayor during a missing person's case."

Amelia gasped as Luna's gripped on her arm tightened, "Are we clear?"

Amelia nodded, "It's what happened."

Luna let her go. "Let's go."

Amelia was trembling so badly she was surprised she was able to support her own weight. But she managed to follow them out of the cottage. She barely registered that blood was still coursing down her hand, and she grabbed her handkerchief from her pocket and wrapped it around her hand, thinking as she did that she had just made a terrible mistake. She had lied. And Amelia had a bad feeling the lie was going to shatter around her, just like the tea cup.

As she closed the door behind her, she saw the table with the shattered cup and spilt tea, and desperately wanted to clean up the mess and piece the cup back together. But she knew there was no way Luna would permit that.

"Wow, he is disgusting." One of the men Luna had recruited to search for her sister said as they entered Zel's cave uninvited. "What is that on his face?"

"It's not catching, is it?" Another asked.

Amelia's stomach was in knots as she saw Zel stand up in alarm. "What the…" he started.

Amelia started to cry, "I'm sorry, I had to tell them."

"Tell them what?" Zel asked.

"About Miss Lina thinking she had killed Miss Luna and Pet…"

"Idiot girl!" Luna screeched as she rounded on Amelia and slapped her hard enough to send her tumbling to the ground.

"What are you doing?" Zel yelled as he knelt down to check on Amelia as she brought her hand to her cheek. She tasted blood in her mouth.

"How the hell am I supposed to verify your information when you go spilling it out like that?"

Amelia glared at her as she stood up, "You never told me to stay quiet."

"Amelia, what did you do?" Zel asked, and Amelia silently pleaded with him to pick up on what she was doing.

Amelia lowered her head, "I'm sorry. I told Miss Luna everything."

Zel looked at her, his eyes widening. Then to Amelia's relief he said, "You little snake. I should have sent you away the moment they arrived."

"I'm sorry." Amelia said again.

"Enough of that." Luna said, "We don't have time for it. Where did they go off to?"

Amelia's nerves ratcheted up another notch. Zel took a deep breath, "Petesborough."

"Show me the cave to get there." Luna ordered.

"You'll never make it on your own." Zel said. "Gourry and Lina can do it because I showed them how to navigate the passages. You'll get lost without my help."

Luna stared at Zel suspiciously as her men snickered and laughed, "If you try and fool me I will see you paraded through town in all your freakish glory."

Zel shrugged as though it was of no matter to him, "Fine. It's the passage to the left. Good luck."

Luna looked at the passage warily. "What else do I need to know?"

"About a thousand feet in there will be a fork. You'll need to hang right, then left. Then you'll come across a lake, but if you look carefully there's another cave about twenty feet up that you can easily climb to. It's a bit difficult to find, but if you're persistent it will be there. And then…"

"Fine. You're coming with us." Luna said. "But remember…"

"Paraded through town in all my freakish glory." Zel said. "Got it."

Zel exchanged a glance with Amelia. There was so much to say, but no way to do it without being watched! "I'll talk to you later."

Amelia nodded, and watched in silence as he disappeared into the caves with Luna and her men.

AN: Thanks to those who left feedback. I honestly had three different paths to go with this because I wasn't sure people would find it that interesting, but now that I see people are interested I set this on the best path. This also means the rating will go up a bit in future chapters, but not too much. Hope you enjoy!