AN: Thanks to the J-Novel translation as well as translation technologies we now have more accurate, canon sources of information about the Slayersverse than I frankly ever did expect to have. And some of this outright contradicts previous stories I've written dealing with Lina's past and upbringing. The good news is that this allows me to revisit things and approach them from a different lens and keep things fresh. All of this to say, my portrayal of Luna has changed significantly, and my portrayal of Lina's parents has changed along with it. I am also going heavy with Luna being mean…pretty much because HK straight up says that she is in Slayers Reading.
This has taken awhile to plot and plan and ensure that things work basically but I think I've got it mapped up now. Updates may be slow as a result or now that I know where it's going end up speeding up to my usual speed. Either way I hope that you enjoy!
Lina tiptoed quietly through the dark room so as not to wake Gourry. While there were many benefits to sharing a room there was one major drawback in that it made it next to impossible for her to sneak out and hunt bandits. But the closer she got to home the more the urge built and she simply couldn't fight it anymore! So she took longer than she usually did in the evening to bathe and do some laundry in the hopes that Gourry would fall into a deep sleep. When he started to snore she put away the socks that she was darning and grabbed her boots and quietly stood up and started to tiptoe to the door.
She had almost reached it. But before she had even registered that he had sprung, Gourry had pulled her into bed beside him.
A sense of protest warred with the thrall of excitement that rushed through her as, before she had a moment to gather her bearings, he started to initiate a sensual kiss as his hands roamed her body and…damn! She was ready for him. She'd been ready for him. But Lina had enough fear of her sister left within her to insist that it stop at kissing and Gourry had wanted to make a good impression on her family and had thought it best for them to keep separate rooms until they got to Zephyr City. But somehow Lina kept finding excuses to share and Gourry didn't protest when she did.
She melted beneath his kiss as she brought her arms around him as the fire flared within her, strong enough to melt the fear of her sister as her hunger for him displaced the desire to hunt bandits as his hands skimmed beneath her shirt as she thrilled at his daring as his fingers grazed her nipple. The pleasure peaked, filling every pore of her body as she rose against him, communicating her yes even as he pulled away. Her eyes went wide, and then she tried to appear coquettish as she asked, "Couldn't resist me anymore?"
He relaxed a little as he moved his hand over her clothed shirt to stroke her as he said, "If it keeps you in bed rather than bullying bandits then I'm fine with sacrificing the proper order of things if you are."
She throbbed with yearning beneath his hand and for a moment she was ready to throw caution to the wind. They were still a good two days away from Zephyr City. Luna would never know! And besides, things were different now. When she left Zephyr City she was a leech of a younger sister. But now she was an accomplished young woman who had defeated Shabranigdu and taken down a few other demon lords. Things were different now!
I think. Or at least I hope.
A sense of unease rose within her that had nothing to do with Gourry and everything to do with her as the urge to fight bandits reasserted itself. "You know I want you. But Sis will kill me if she finds out. Hey, why don't you come bandit hunting with me?"
"With the life we lead being dangerous enough why would I need to bully bandits?" Gourry asked as he kissed her on the forehead and then on her nose before giving her a peck on the lips again. "Stay with me. I promise we'll stop at kissing. I'm a master of self control."
"Urm, but I have some energy to get out!" Lina said even as she returned the kiss that was bestowed. But Gourry's question itched at the back of her mind uncomfortably.
"I can show you some other ways to get energy out." Gourry said as he moved his kisses to her jawbone. He sighed, the warmth of his breath caressing the spot he had kissed enticingly, "Resisting you is such a challenge, even for a master like me!"
She gasped in delight as she realized he'd already found a weak spot as she pulled him more tightly to her as one thought warred with the pleasure. I don't know that I deserve you.
Have I done enough? Lina wondered. The closer they got to Zephyr City the more the question plagued her. And on the one hand it felt as though it should have been an easy answer. She'd defeated Shabranigdu twice after all. How could she not have done enough?
But then when your sister is the Ceifeed Knight, how can you ever do enough to catch up to where she is naturally? Lina had always seemed so helplessly behind Luna that it felt like a fool's errand to believe that she could even have a quarter of her worth. Not that she hadn't tried. For as long as she had memories, she had tried.
Lina hadn't remembered when they found out that Luna was the Ceifeed Knight. To her it seemed that it was one of those things that always had been and always will be. Luna was powerful because she was worthy. And Lina? Was in everyone's way.
Whether it was getting underfoot when her mother was trying to cook or embarrassing Luna in front of her friends or annoying customers with her litany of questions, Lina just always seemed to be in the way. And while all younger siblings envy the ease with which their older ones do things, in Lina's case her sister was one of Zephyr City's many denizens who had superpowers. In fact having super powers in Zephelia was common enough that most towns had several and they even had a name for themselves, the blessed. Oh, they were blessed in various ways, some better understood than others. Luna was the only Ceifeed Knight but her friend Melissa was even more powerful than her, though they didn't fully understand why. It was just the way it was. And for whatever reason that breeze of miasma that blew in when they were born didn't stick around to bless Lina.
And while there were plenty of plain, boring ordinary folks in Zephelia, living with one of the blessed meant that Lina had to face the fact that she was plain, ordinary and boring in a way that most of the ordinary citizens did not.
But still, Lina hoped that there was some way that she could be special like Luna. Or to at least prove that even though she wasn't blessed with Ceifeed's power she could still do worthy things!
Only it never worked out the way that she thought it would.
"Mama!" Lina screeched as she ran home, braids flying as her skirts caught on her legs, threatening to trip her but never quite managing it, "Papa!"
She burst through the backdoor and was not too surprised to see that no one was in the kitchen. She raced to the entryway that separated the house from the store and zeroed in on her mother behind the counter and yelled, "Mom! Guess what! I just saw the mayor down by the river, naked and kissing Katy Portans!"
There was the sound of glass breaking as a woman screamed as she dropped a jar of preserves and Lina turned from the face of her scandalized mother and felt her stomach drop as she realized just how crowded the store was and that, within the crowd, was Mayor Shin's wife and children.
"Arline Inverse, you would do well to tan her hide for spreading such filthy lies about my husband!" Mrs. Shin spat as she grabbed her children and, without even offering to pay for the preserves, walked out as she said, "Don't expect us to shop here anymore."
Lina nervously glanced at her mother as she realized that she had just cost them a valuable customer as several people followed Mrs. Shin. But if that wasn't horrifying enough Lina's eyes fell on Katy Portans' father storming up to her, red faced and fists clenched as he yelled, "How dare you call my daughter a slut!"
He raised his hand, and for a moment and Lina wondered if he was going to hit her. Her stomach fell as she wondered if her mother would let him if it meant keeping their patronage.
"I'm sorry!" Lina squeaked as she made her eyes go wide as she clasped her hands together. But somehow she realized that being cute would not save her this time, "It was a joke! Just a prank!"
Arline did step in between them, but her words filled her with dread as she said, "Lina, go stand in the kitchen corner until I have a moment to deal with you."
"Right," Lina said as she raced into the kitchen and right into Luna who was standing, listening, with her blessed friends, Ashley and Melissa.
Lina's stomach fell as she realized her day had just gotten worse. "S-sis! What are you doing here?"
"Wondering what in the hell possessed you to blab about a thing like that?" Luna asked as Ashley and Melissa giggled.
"Your sister really is stupid," Ashley said. "Even for an eight-year-old."
"I wasn't being stupid!" Lina shot back, furious that people didn't understand, "None of you like Mayor Shin! Mama and Papa are always complaining about how he's hurt their business with his policies and that he's corrupt! I figured there had to be dirt on him and I found it! People will be calling for his resigatation!"
Ashley snorted as she whispered just loudly enough to Melissa for Lina to hear, "She can't even say resignation right."
"You're as delusional as you are stupid." Luna snapped. "And it's bad enough that you get yourself into trouble all of the time by sticking your nose in other people's business but do you have to take us with you? You just lost us some business from some very wealthy people and plenty of others will blackball us now! If we go hungry this winter it will be all your fault!"
Luna grabbed a handful of uncooked rice and let it fall on the floor. Lina felt a sense of dread rise within her as Luna said, "I think Mom would agree that this is appropriate. I don't want to hear any complaints. And if you start whining and crying I'll beat you black and blue."
"Right," Lina said as she knelt down on the rice. There were times to fight, and this was not one of them.
"You can do my chores tonight as well." Luna said.
"We need to get home for dinner." Ashley said. "But we can meet up at the fountain after that."
"Sounds good. It's not like Lina has anyone to hang out with anyway." Luna said.
Lina felt the hatred rise within her as Ashley and Melissa left but she managed to bite her tongue as Luna grabbed a book and sat down to read. From the shop Lina could hear the sounds of Arline trying to smooth things over rather unsuccessfully as the rice started to bite into her knees as a sense of powerlessness rose within her as she was plagued with the question that had haunted her all her life.
Why had Ceifeed given Luna such power anyway? If he'd given it to Lina she would have used it to punish Mayor Shin and force him from office! She wouldn't pal around with her friends all day while Mayor Shin destroyed their city. But he'd overlooked Lina, leaving her forever trying to prove herself and always coming up short.
"Your heart was in the right place but your tactics were all wrong." Walt Inverse said as he untangled his fishing line.
Lina threw a rock at the river and watched it skip across the surface. "I was just so excited that I found something, you know? I mean I really found some dirt! And I was stealthy! He never suspected I was following him."
"We all get excited but you can't let yourself get stupid, especially if you want to bring down someone big." He said, "If you shoot for the king don't miss. Be careful who you confide your plan in. And most importantly make sure it's something people will care about. I hate to break it to you but powerful men take mistresses. It's expected for everyone to turn a blind eye to it. And now Katy Portans is having to go live with her cousins in Saillune."
"And crummy Mr. Shin remains the Mayor." Lina said as she threw a rock in with a plop as it sank below the surface. She sighed as she waded back to him, "I can't do anything right."
"You can't with that attitude, and I don't want to hear it from your mouth again." Walt said. "Look, you're eight. And you're setting the bar a bit high. Eight-year-olds aren't supposed to take down corrupt mayors. Why don't you challenge yourself more your studies or to do better with your chores?"
"There's nothing special about learning history or doing the dishes." Lina said. "Besides, I've about read all the books at the library. Well, at least the one that regular citizens can read. I can't get into any of the guild libraries."
Walt snorted as he smiled warmly, obviously impressed, "What eight-year-old reads every book in the library?"
"Papa! It's not flashy!"
Walt sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, "Look, Luna has a chip on her shoulder, and it sucks but you have to accept you're never going to be in that club with her and the others who are blessed. Most people aren't, honey, and there's no shame in it. Your mother and I aren't there and we still worked out okay and made a good life for ourselves. If you want my advice you have to focus on the talents you do have. They may not be flashy but you can build a good life with them. You could be a librarian…"
"Ms. Jacobs doesn't have real power." Lina said as she kicked her legs in the water as she thought of the kind librarian, "And you and mom don't either, always having to kowtow to corrupt city officials. Sis has real power!"
"Look, Mayor Shin gets away with bad stuff, but I can tell you I'm a lot happier with my life than he is with his. And Luna may be powerful but she's also limited in what she can do with it. You know good and well what would happen if Luna and the other blessed ones got too showy. Other kingdoms would get scared and might try to upset the balance of power by attacking us. And while Luna alone would be enough to handle them, it's not worth the cost in lives. So whatever it is that spawns so many super powerful people in Zephelia also neuters them. Luna has to hold back. You get to use the talents you were born with to your fullest."
"Just because she can't take down baddies in other kingdoms doesn't mean she can't do that here." Lina said.
"And if they ever came here she would." Walt said as he pulled a cigarette out of his pocket.
"But Mayor…"
"He's human." Walt said as he lit his cigarette, "You know the blessed can't use their powers against ordinary humans unless it's life or death."
Lina's eyes narrowed as she reflected that Luna and her friends were happy enough to use their powers against her! Instead she said, "Are you trying to send the fish away with that smell?"
"Nice try, but fish can't smell." Lina held her breath as she hoped for a breeze to push the smell of the smoke away from her as Walt continued, "Look, you're young. You have your whole life to figure things out. What's something that you really like that you can be good at?"
"I thought I'd be a detective but that didn't work out so great." She coughed and hoped he'd get the hint.
"If you give up on everything that doesn't work out you'll never get anywhere." Papa said as he blew the smoke in her face, "And you did a lot of good work. You found some dirt and didn't get caught but were careless about who you shared it with and when. Rookie mistake. Next time learn from it. If you want to be a detective then practice and work hard at it. Is that what you want, or is there something else?"
Lina felt her mouth go dry. But there was something. But it would be expensive and there was no way he would agree after all of the business they had lost because of her. She felt wrong for even asking. But Walt looked at her piercingly, "Out with it, Lina."
"It's hard to become a detective if you're a girl if you don't know magic." Lina said quickly. "And I really liked the magic lessons that Mama gave me."
If he was put off by the expense he didn't show it as he puffed away at his cigarette as he glanced at his fishing line, "If you have the talent it will open doors for you. Doors you wouldn't otherwise have."
"I know." Lina said. Sure, she could invest in a loom and make textiles like most women did or become a shopkeeper or a librarian or even a teacher. But none of those held her interest the way that jobs she could do if she was a trained sorceress did. She could travel for the guild, do research or become a bodyguard and detective. And hopefully get paid a bit better as well!
"Your mother thinks you have the talent for it." Walt said and Lina felt a spark of hope flare within her that she could not quite keep from spilling to her face. "And we're willing to invest in this if you study hard, don't hold back and keep up with your chores."
"You mean you're not hoping some poor dope will marry me and take me off your hands?"
"Where'd you hear a thing like that?"
"Ergh…" Lina said.
Walt sighed as he wrapped an arm around her, "I'm going to have a word with Luna. Pay her no mind, sweetheart. Remember, I don't raise losers. No daughter of mine will have to settle for a desperate jerk."
"But what if I'm no good at magic?" Lina said, "Sis…"
"Sis is more powerful than Mama and I am combined," Papa said quickly, "It's hard for you to understand because most people aren't raised in the shadow of someone like that. But if you compare yourself to her you're always going to sell yourself short. A word of advice, find a better measurement. There are lots of things that you can do, there are lots of ways you can make us proud. Even this with the mayor, you tried to take him down. Yes, it failed and it cost us a lot. But if no one ever tries then no one will ever succeed. Always remember, I would rather have a daughter who fights and gets her nose bloodied and broken than one who goes belly up because she thinks it will be too hard."
"Lina goes and ruins our lives by telling pervy stories about the mayor and you go and reward her with sorcery lessons!" Luna screeched at breakfast the morning that Lina was going to start training at the Sorcerer's Guild.
Lina stood out of sight on the landing and listened as Arline said with forced patience as she scarfed down a quick breakfast, "If she's busy learning sorcery then she will stay out of trouble now, won't she?"
"You can also keep her busy by hiring her out to clean chamber pots!" Luna said. "Mama, I'm the only one of the blessed who doesn't have a silk dress! I look so shabby compared to the rest of them! People in our situation…"
"You have the power you have regardless of what you wear. Lina doesn't so we have to invest in her in ways we don't with you." Arline replied, "Now Luna I simply don't have time to argue with you, not with all the inventory coming in today. If you want a new dress so badly then go into town and get a job! But get the dishes done first!"
Lina heard the sound of the door between the store and kitchen open and shut, and Lina felt her anxiety rocket as Luna walked to the stairs and glared up at her. "Why don't you get a job rather than draining us of every copper?" Before Lina could get a word out Luna continued, "Nevermind, you'd just mess it up and end up getting us in more debt! You do the dishes while I go into town and get a job!"
"I already did my morning chores! I have to train, all you do is hang out with your stupid friends. You do your own damn chores!"
Lina was expecting it and she tried to steel herself against the sharp blade of fear she felt as Luna bounded up the stairs and grabbed her harshly by the arms. Not for the first time Lina wished for a spell she could use against her to get her to stop. As pain surged through her arms Lina reminded herself that soon, soon she would know magic, soon she would be able to protect herself!
"Are you going to let her walk all over you or are you going to fight?" Walt asked. When had he joined them on the landing? Did it matter?
Blindly through the pain, Lina thrust her hands forward and pushed and scratched at Luna. The pain intensified as the helplessness rose within Lina. But no one was coming to help her. Luna was bigger, stronger and unfathomably more powerful and capable of setting her every nerve on fire when she channeled her will into her. Through the pain Lina tried to remember what Walt had taught her about fighting. She kicked her leg out to try to trip Luna but ended up losing her balance and falling on the floor. Luna kicked her in the stomach and yelled, "Do the damn dishes, Lina!"
Lina did not feel much satisfaction as Walt slapped Luna upside the head but let her walk out the door. Lina exhaled as she thanked her lucky stars that at least the only one there to witness her humiliation was Walt. He reached a hand out to her and said, "Sometimes we fight like hell and still get our ass handed to us."
Lina took his hand and stood up and dusted herself off and shook her head when he asked if she needed a healing spell. "But because you fought like hell I'll help you with the dishes." He said.
"Thanks," Lina said gruffly as they walked down the stairs and to the kitchen. She stared at the sink of dirty dishes as she felt a lump rise in her throat. While she wasn't going to sneer at his help now the fact was that she would have appreciated it more a few minutes ago when Luna was attacking her.
"Big day," Walt said as though nothing had even happened as he picked up a plate. "Do you want me to walk you to the guild?"
"I'm not a baby." Lina said as she grabbed a rag and tried to hide just how badly she was smarting. Indeed, she was determined to have a good start to sorcery lessons. This was a chance to be someone other than Luna's sister after all! And having her parents there would cramp her style.
"That's my girl."
The sights became more familiar as she drew closer to Zephyr City with Gourry. Despite the years that had passed it appeared as though little had changed, something that worried Lina. She had grown and changed. Surely everyone else there would have as well. But what if they hadn't? What if she got there only to learn that nothing that she had accomplished mattered?
You're worrying for nothing, Lina told herself as Gourry's hip brushed against hers as he put an arm around her. She smiled a little. She still couldn't quite believe all that he had stood beside her through. And perhaps no one else back home had changed but she had something she'd never had before: someone in her corner. If Shabranigdu wasn't enough to send Gourry running then nothing they found at home would.
But as they drew towards the entrance to Zephyr City Lina realized that her conviction in Gourry's fidelity would soon be put to the test as she recognized Luna, standing expectantly by the sign post. A sense of dread filled Lina as she saw that her sword was drawn. Surely Luna wouldn't do this or would desist when she realized she knew one of the members in the approaching traveling party…
"Well, well, well, look who decided to come home." Luna said as she leaned against her drawn sword.
"I figured it was time for a visit." Lina said as Luna drew her into a perfunctory hug.
Luna pulled away as quickly as she could as she puffed her chest out and stared at Gourry appraisingly, "And who is this?"
"My companion, Gourry." Lina said as Gourry smiled. "This is my sister, Luna."
"It's good to meet you." Gourry said as he extended his hand.
But Luna drew back as she picked up her sword and fell into a fighting stance as she said, "Fight me, and if you win you may go in peace. But if you lose you have to buy something from my mother's store."
Lina groaned as her hands turned into fists, "Must you really pull this crap?"