Headed towards the city of Seyruun, Lina and her merry band of travelers hadn't seen an inn in three days. The group was tired, hungry, dirty, and cranky. Even Amelia was cranky, and the only thing keeping her in good spirits was visiting her kingdom and seeing her father once again. Zelgadis had given up on any hope for his cure, only sticking around because he had nothing better to do and nobody to be with. Gourry was Gourry, only asking the stupid questions. Xelloss remained silent, gazing of into space thoughtfully.
By nightfall, the group had reached a small hill overlooking the kingdom of Seyruun. Zelgadis wanted to keep going, but Lina and the rest were to beat to go any further. After some arguing, they set up camp for the night, deciding to continue their journey the next morning. Amelia sat on a log next to Zelgadis, ever so slowly inching towards him. Gourry planned to keep watch but he was already asleep, snoring loudly. Xelloss leaned against the nearest tree, gazing at the stars through closed eyes.
Lina caught the priest gazing at her. "What are you looking at?" she demanded coldly. "What ever do you mean?" he replied innocently, grinning. Lina growled at him. "You know very well what I mean. Quit staring at me or I'll shove that staff of yours down your throat." Xelloss' grin widened. Hmm... resorting to violence would not work with Xelloss. Perhaps she shouldn't have said that. Lina frowned at the mazoku and laid down on the soft grass, pulling her cloak over her tiny frame. Lina heard Xelloss chuckle and shut her eyes tightly, forcing herself to sleep.
The next day, the group was in higher spirits. They were almost in Seyruun and that meant food, baths, and no more walking...for a little while. Lina was aching for a nice long hot bath, her muscles were tense and sore. She was also so hungry she could hardly walk. She hadn't eaten in about two days and felt weak. Having to walk this distance hadn't helped much, it only made her weaker. Just hang in there, she told herself, You're almost there.
When Lina and the gang finally arrived, they were too impatient to deal with the greetings. They headed straight for the nearest inn, to get some food and rest up. Philionel could wait, they all agreed, They needed to take care of themselves first.
The first thing Lina did was order some food. She had it delivered to her room and munched on a piece of chicken happily, enjoying having food in her stomach again. After her abnormally large meal, She headed for the bath house, clad only in a towel. Amelia was just climbing out. "Hey Amelia! Stay for a bit!" she called to the younger girl. "Like to, Miss Lina" Amelia replied, "But I'm starved! I haven't eaten yet! See ya." Lina shrugged and removed her towel, sinking into the hot water. She sighed contently. She felt her entire body loosen a little, the steaming liquid almost massaging her sore muscles. Lina leaned back her head, smiling with pleasure.
By the time Lina left the bath, her skin had gotten a bit wrinkly from being in the water so long. She wrapped her towel around her tightly and nimbly exited the bathhouse, dripping water as she went.
Lina entered her room and removed the towel, tip toeing across the floor bare. She pulled on the provided house coat and ran a brush through her flaming locks, which were still damp. She leaned back and sighed deeply. She almost didn't want to leave Seyruun, not after coming to far to get here. Maybe she could convince the others to at least stay a couple of days, just to rest up a bit. Lina smiled at the thought and leaned back into her bed, closing her eyes.
A soft tap at the door jolted Lina out of the sleep she had just drifted into. She quickly tightened her house coat around her. "Come in, it's open." She answered, sitting up and running the brush through her hair once more. "Sorry to disturb you, Lina." said Zelgadis apologetically as he entered the room. Lina smiled at him. "Don't worry about it. What did you want to see me for?" Zelgadis looked down at his shoes. "Well, I was thinking maybe, would it be allright to leave Seyruun tomorrow, and head for Atlas city. I hear there is a great magician head that way, and I think he might be able to help me." Lina frowned. "You mean your cure? I though you gave up on that ages ago." Zel turned a bit red. "Well, I did. But, you see, I...this sorcerer is very powerful, more powerful then Rezo ever was and I think he just might be able to make me human again." Lina's face softened and she smiled at him gently. "If that's what you want. I'll talk to the others." Zelgadis smiled at her shyly. "Thanks Lina." "No problem Zel. Now go get me some food." Zel chuckled and disappeared behind her door.
After Zel had left her room, Lina lay back on her bed, sighing deeply. So much for resting up for a few days. Oh well. For a friend, there were more important things. Especially Zelgadis.
Amelia was waiting for Zelgadis when he left Lina's room. "Did you ask her?" Zel glanced down at the small princess. "Of course I did." "Well? What did she say?" "She said it was okay. We'll be leaving tomorrow afternoon." Amelia smiled happily at him. "That's great, Mr Zelgadis! Now we'll be able to find you a cure and turn you back human again!" Zelgadis raised a brow at her. "I hope." Amelia frowned at him. "That's no way to talk, Mr Zelgadis. You have to have a positive attitude! Faith heals, remember that." She winked at him, almost looking like a little Xelloss, her index finger pointed out. Zelgadis shook his head in frustration and walked away.
After Lina had gotten dressed, she came out of her quarters, ready for a good meal. Amelia and Gourry greeted her heartily and she sat down at the table. Lina blinked and glanced around them. "Where's Zel?" Amelia smiled. "He went to go see the man who told him about the sorceror." "....Oh.." "Are you okay, Miss Lina?" Lina waved her hand. "Oh, I'm fine, don't worry about me. I was just thinking about something else, thats all." Ameli gave her a worried look. "I think you've been pushing yourself to hard, Miss Lina. Maybe we should let Mr Zelgadis go see the sorceror by himself." Lina dismissed the though. "No way! Even if he found the man and was healed, he'd be completely vunerable on the way back. Besides, there's no telling if he'll even help Zel. That's why I'm going too." "I..If you're sure..." "Of course I'm sure! Now shut up and hand me the potatoes."
Zelgadis pushed his way through the crowds, eager at finding more about becoming human once again, annoyed at the people blocking his way. Couldn't they move any faster? Zel growled and shoved an overweight man out of his way. "Hey!" the man yelled. "Watch where your going!" something in Zel snapped then. He turned to the man, who gulped when he saw the chimera's face. Zel took a step towards him. The man screamed and ran off fast as lightening. Zel swallowed thickly. The sooner he had his original form back, the better. He was tired of being a freak, being stared at, judged, critized. Only his friends understood him, they didn't judge him for how he appeared. Gourry was a good friend, always watching everyone's back. Amelia was a bit eccentric, but she was a good person, loving him for who he was, not who he seemed. Lina was the only one who he felt really understood by. She had knowned him the longest, shared his persuit in hunting down treasure, even if she wanted it for another purpose. Zelgadis shook his head angrily. There was no way that a powerfull, beautiful sorceress such as Lina Inverse would ever love a stone freak like himself. Maybe once he had his human form back, then maybe she could love him. More detirmined then before, Zelgadis pressed onwards.
"Why is he taking so long?" Lina growled, her mouth half full of beef. Amelia gave her a worried look. "Miss Lina, calm down. Mr Zelgadis will been just fine. Why are you so worried about him?" Lina turned to look at Amelia. her face softened. Why was she so worried about him? Zelgadis could take care of himself. She wasn't his mother or anything. Lina shoved another peice of meat in her mouth. "I'm his friend, of course I'm going to be worried. Lay off, Amelia." Amelia obviously didn't buy that, but said nothing else and resumed eating. Gourry looked up from his dinner at her. "Hey Lina, do you want me to go look for him?" Lina facefaulted. "No really Gourry, it's okay. He's a big boy, he can take care of himself." I hope.
When Zelgadis finally reached his destination, the inhabitants were nowhere to be seen. Damn it, he thought to himself. Did the bastard just leave town? Maybe the whole thing was a lie. Zelgadis growled and pushed over the table. "Hey! How are you! And why are you trashing our house?" said a voice from behind him. A small boy, about ten years old, stood infront of him, glaring up at the chimera. "Get out of here, before I show you a lesson." he said menacingly, shaking his fist at Zel. The chimera almost burst out laughing. A kid...was..threatening...him? As if! Zel turned his head. "Get out of here kid. My business is not with you." The boy clenched his teeth. "If you think you're going to stay here and trash my house, you've got anoth thing coming. My granfather is a very powerful shaman and will kick your ass if you destroy our house."
Such lauguage for a little tyke. Grandfather huh? "Take me to your grandfather." Zel told the kid sternly. "Alright, but you'll be sorry." Zelgadis smiled inwardly. I doubt that.
Gourry looked out the window. "How long untill we're suppossed to go see Prince Phil?" he said, looking back at Amelia. "We should be leaving now. I wonder what's keeping Mr Zelgadis?" Lina frowned. "We can't wait forever. I say we go to Phil's without him. We'll leave him a note. If he gets it in time he can meet us there and we can all see him. But we can't just wait here." Amelia nodded in agreement, her young face full of concern. "Allright. Let's go."
Zelgadis followed the boy as he lead him through the long hallway, taking him to go see this suppossedly powerful shaman. Grandfather is getting old, so I'm the man of the house." the boy told Zel proudly. Zelgadis raised a brow. "Where's your father?" "He died, when I was only a week old. He was a merchant, he traveled and sold things. Mother told me he was attacked by some bandits." Zelgadis remained silent. "Mother takes good care of me. She says I look just like my father and I'm going to be just like him when I grow up." "You must be proud." "I am." Zelgadis glanced at the walls. "Your house sure is big for seeming so small outside." "It is. We're actually under the house now. We have this passage and underground house incase bad guys come to try and hurt us. Like you." Zelgadis twitched. "I'm not a bad guy." "You were going to trash our house if I hadn't stopped you. You're a monster or something, aren't you? I can tell by looking at you." Zelgadis sighed. "I'm not a monster. I was human, a normal boy like you once. I was offered a choice and I made the wrong one. So I became what I am. As for trashing your house, I only pushed over your table because I was angry there was no one home." The boy turned around to look at him. "Well, I guess that's a good enough excuse. Or maybe you're just afraid my grandfather is going to beat you up." He turned back around and continued walking. "But either way, he's a forgiving man. I broke a bottle of his magic potion and he didn't punish me." He stopped suddenly and kicked a floorboard. The wall spun around and Zelgadis and the boy entered a small, dark room. "You never told me your name." ventured Zelgadis, following the child. "It's Lyne." "I'm Zelgadis." "Nice to meet you Zel." "You too." Zelgadis was actually surprised at himself. He was never one to like to chat. Small talk wasn't his idea of a good way to pass time. But he enjoyed talking with this small child, the boy was a good listener. "So what does your mother do for a living?" he asked, glancing at a painting on the wall. "She's a baker. She can cook really well. Everyone comes into her store and buys the cakes and breads she makes. There's never any day olds. Not even to bring home." "Does she teach you how to cook?" "My grandfather does. Everything Mother knows, Grandfather taught her. I always burn the cookies though." he giggled. Zel chuckled as well. "My sister did most of the cooking at home, She made the best pot roast. " "Tell me about your family, Zelgadis." Zelgadis rubbed his chin. Best to leave out his grandfather, ne? "Well, I never really knew my parents, they died when I was three. My older sister raised me and my brother, so she because our mother, even though she wasn't that much older then us. Then when I because in this form, I left home to..to search for a cure, and met Lina Inverse." "Who's Lina? Yer Girlfriend?" Zel felt himself grow warm. "No! She's a really good friend of mine. She's stuck by me and helped me search for a cure for almost four years. Then there's Gourry. Gourry can be a real idiot at times, but he's got a good heart and stucks by his friends, he watches over Lina. If anything happened to her, He wouldn't know what to do." And neither would I. "Then there's Amelia. You probably know her. She's the princess of your city." "Yup. I know Amelia. She's cute." "Yeah, well, anyways, She's a really good understanding person as well. She always fights for whats right and what she believes in. Truth, Justice, and Love. That's her idea of a perfect world. Amelia gets kind of clingly at some times, but she has a good heart." Lyne pulled on a candle stick on the wall and another door opened. "So your friends are more like your family then your real family was then?" "I guess you could put it that way, yes." "You're lucky. Good friends are hard to come by. And I think good friends are more important then personal wants anyways." "You're too wise for your age, kid." Lyna smirked and extended his arm. "This way, Mr Zelgadis. You are about to meet the greatest shaman ever known. You are about to meet my grandfather."
"Damn it Zel! We can't wait any longer." Lina fastened her cloak. "Lets get a move on, Gourry. Prince Phil is waiting for us." She opened the door to the inn and stood outside, tapping her foot impatiently. Amelia and Gourry both ran out the door. "Boy Miss Lina, you seem in a hurry." "You're right Amelia, I am. But if anyone should want to get going quickly, its you. This is your dad we're going to see, you know." "I know that Miss Lina. But...I feel kinda bad for leaving behind Mr Zelgadis. Do you think he will be mad at us?" Lina shrugged. "Who knows? If he is, it's his own fault for not being here." "I..I guess your right." "Of course I'm right. Now lets go!" Lina grabbed Amelia and Gourry and dashed of for Seyruun Castle.
Zelgadis brushed pass Lyne and entered the room. It was dark. And cold. "Hello?" he called softly. Lyne entered the room after him. "Grandfather is probably asleep." he felt the wall and suddenly there was light. An old man lay on the bed, his breathing harsh and shallow. Lyne got down on his knees and shook his grandfathers arm gently. "Grampa...This is Zelgadis. He wanted to see you." Zelgadis approached the bed cautiously. "I've come to ask you for help. A man at the house told me of a traveling sorcerer, who might be able to break the curse on me. Do you know where I can find this sorcerer?" The old man smiled at Zel, his beady eyes looking at him from their wrinkly foundations. "The man you speak of is staying in Atlas City for a few days. My Son probably told you he'd be around there. I must warn you, however. This man can be dangerous. He cannot be killed by normal means. Proceed with caution." Zelgadis bowed his head. "Thank you sir."
He cannot be killed by normal means. Proceed with caution.
A Mazoku? What else could this powerful sorcerer be? He HAD to be Mazoku! There was no other logical explanation for it! With this thought in his head, Zelgadis stood up. "Thank you Lyne, for all your help. I hope to meet you again soon. I enjoyed our talk." "Bye Zelgadis. See you around." The two shook hands and parted.
I hope I'm not too late, thought Zel, dashing off into the street.
"Amelia, My Daughter! So nice to see you again!" exclaimed Prince Phil, grabbing Amelia in a tight bear hug. Amelia winced. "H..Hi Daddy. It's so nice to see you too," she replied, gasping for air. Phil turned to Lina and Gourry. "You two have taken such good care of my sweet Amelia. Stay here and have dinner with us." Lina and Gourry's faces lit up. "Sure thing!" Phil looked around. "And where is Amelia's sweetheart, your chimera friend?" Amelia blushed. "Daddy!" Phil chuckled. "Well, I don't see him anywhere." Lina smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. "Zel kinda..got caught up in his own business. He'll be here shortly." Lina sweatdropped. Phil smiled. "While we're waiting, I can show you around the castle." Amelia groaned. "Daddy, they've seen the whole castle already! Four times!" The prince ignored her. "Come along, you three. Who wants to see the Heirloom room?" the group groaned and followed Phil at a sluggish pace.
Outside, Zelgadis dashed up the steps which lead to the castle.