Amelia paced back and forth in her prison, wringing her hands with worry. This is all my fault...he's going to kill Zelgadis and it's all my fault! She mentally cursed herself for getting captured and Xelloss for being so infuriating. If only I were stronger...if only I were like Lina-san, I could stop all this from happening. I could escape, and I'd get rid of Xelloss, and... She paused. She wasn't exactly sure if there even was a way to dispose of the Trickster. Perhaps Lina couldn't even do it.
She'll probably try to, Amelia decided, as soon as she finds out that he kidnapped me. And then he'll be dead. But that would also be her fault. She wasn't too big on killing people...especially since her mother's death. Did she really want his death on her conscience? More importantly...would she be able to stand there and let Lina kill him? It was doubtful. She hated to see anything die...even if it was evil. There was just something terrible about destroying life. Which was why she'd begun to study white magic in the first place...to help save lives. It made her father proud.
Her father. Amelia fervently hoped he hadn't heard of the kidnapping. Otherwise, he might do something rash like send Seiryuun's army on an attack against the Mazoku. That was a war her country could never win. But if they couldn't...did Lina and the others stand a chance?
Amelia stopped pacing and peered out the window. Because of the fog, she couldn't see anything in the distance. She just hoped that somewhere out there, Lina and the others were coming to save her.
"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA, we finally made it!" Felix declared gleefully as the boat made contact with Wolf Pack Island.
To Lina, it was a miracle Felix didn't wake up the whole island with that damn cackle of his. "Well, Felix, it was nice doing business with you, but now we must go rescue our friend. See you in a few!" Lina leaped out of the boat and starting walking towards Zelas' place. Gourry climbed out and followed Lina, leaving Filia and Zelgadis alone in the boat.
Filia quickly scurried out, avoiding Zelgadis' eyes the whole time. Zelgadis, in the meantime, took his sweet time in getting out of the boat and stopped in front of Felix. "If you're not here when we get back, I'll personally hunt you down and kill you, understand?"
"BWAHAHAHAHAHA, are you threatening me?" Felix asked. "Because that's not a wise thing to do. My brother - " The boatmaster abruptly stopped and glanced the other way, out into the ocean.
"If your brother is anything like you," Zelgadis said, a little bit of humor apparent in his eyes. "Then I have nothing to fear." And with that, the chimera walked away following the others.
"You have no idea on how wrong you are, Zelgadis Greywords," Felix whispered to his retreating form.
"No he doesn't, dear brother, does he?"
Felix whirled around to face him. "How did you, why did you, what do you - "
"Come on, bro, spit it out. And to answer your questions, I could sense you the moment you hit the water and headed in this direction, I came to visit because don't you dare think you're visiting the island without saying hello to your dear brother, and I want you to do me a favor."
"A favor?" Felix asked. "What else could you possibly want me to do?"
His brother casted a glance at the retreating forms of Lina and the others. "Tonight, for our performance, I want you to play the part of a spy."
The boatmaster cringed. "I do not like the sound of that. They already don't like me; you think they'll let me listen in on any of their conversations? BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
He waggled a finger at Felix. "Ah, but that is your problem, not mine, ne? I trust you'll get the job done in some way. Oh, and brother, would you mind keeping that laugh of yours down a few notches? You're scaring away all the wolves."
Felix gave his sibling a stormy look. "Are you always going to be this irritating?"
"Sore wa himitsu desu!"
He cursed violently under his breath as his brother's form disappeared. "Sometimes, I really hate him..." Felix grumbled as he trudged after his former passengers, into the thick of the woods.
Zelgadis paused in his long strides, listening carefully to the sounds of wildlife around him. His acute hearing could pick up all kinds of sounds that normal humans would never notice, due to the Mazoku part of his body. And he thought he heard something out of the ordinary.
Lina noticed that he'd stopped. "Zel, what's the matter?"
He motioned for her to keep quiet. "I think I hear something..." He listened again, but heard nothing this time. "Damn, it's gone."
Lina shrugged. "Don't worry about it, it was probably nothing." I hope, she added silently, thinking of all the weird creatures that might live on this island.
Gourry looked over at the red-haired sorceress. "Ne, Lina...what's the plan, anyway? Where exactly do you think we're going to find Amelia?"
"Well, there must be some sort of stronghold that Xelloss keeps himself in. Perhaps the Beastmaster's lair. I'll bet that's where he took Amelia."
Zelgadis snorted. "Yeah, like we'll be able to find that. The Beastmaster probably keeps herself very well-hidden. We wouldn't be able to find her unless she wanted us to."
Lina glared at him. He'd just brought down everyone's spirits. There was no need to point out the hopelessness of their situation. What was his problem, anyway? He'd been so mean since that little incident on the boat. It was all because of love, something Lina couldn't and didn't want to understand. Magic was easy to her, but love was so damn complicated.
Filia and Amelia both liked Zelgadis, and it seemed like Zelgadis liked the both of them as well. Either he couldn't, or didn't want to choose one over the other for fear of hurt feelings. And while Lina agreed that was the smart thing to do, he didn't have to go and act all nasty around Filia. The poor maiden looked like she was about to cry her heart out.
Snap!
The sound of a twig breaking interrupted Lina's thoughts, and she stopped suddenly, causing Gourry to crash into her, and the two of them to fell to the ground. "Get off of me, you big ox," she hissed in annoyance, trying to shove Gourry off of her.
Zelgadis sweatdroped as he watched the two try to get up at the same time, a pile of arms and legs. Meanwhile, whoever was following them was being allowed the chance to run away. "Who's there?" He called, glancing around in the forest. "We have you surrounded!" Okay, so that was a lie, but the person didn't need to know the truth.
"Zelgadis-san, I'm scared," Filia whispered, inching closer to him before she realized the chimera wasn't talking to her anymore.
But Zelgadis surprised her. He might have even surprised himself.
"It's alright," Zelgadis said, placing a hand on Filia's shoulder. "I won't let anything happen to you."
"Zelgadis-san..." Filia's eyes filled with happiness.
Lina, still on the ground, rolled her eyes in annoyance. What was up with those two? They hated one another one minute, and the next they were all over each other. What the heck is going on with everyone's emotions?! "Gourry, get OFF me! Unless you want to get Dragon Slave'd..."
The swordsman scrambled to his feet. "I'm off, I'm off!"
She muttered curses as she stood. "Whoever's out there, you'd better show yourself now!! Or else!"
There was a slight rustling in the bushes nearby, almost undetectable. But no one came out from there. Lina frowned slightly. It could be just an animal, but still... She walked right over to the foliage and reached into it, hoping there wasn't anything creepy in there. The creature in the bushes squeaked in protest as her hands grasped a piece of fabric and yanked it out of its hiding place.
"Felix?!!" She was holding onto the back of his shirt, a sheepish expression on his face. "What the hell are you doing here?!"
"Er...um...well, you see..." the boatmaster stuttered, mentally cursing his brother over and over again. "I, uh...came to make sure that my customers were still alive! Yeah, that's it! You see, I won't get paid if you all die, so I was watching to make sure you don't! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
Blink. The entire group eyed him warily. That was a terrible excuse, he had to admit, but he made it up on the spot, so...
Zelgadis grabbed him by the neck. "If you laugh like that one more time..."
"We'll beat you into a bloody pulp," Lina finished. "And by the way, who the heck told you that you could follow us, anyway? You have no business here!"
He laughed nervously. "Oh, but I do! Your friend is a princess, right? Which means she'll be the one to pay me, right? So you see, in order to make sure I get paid, I must accompany you to help save the princess!"
Lina thought about that for a moment. It was a sound business plan. She herself would do pretty much anything to ensure that she'd get paid while on a job, so this made sense...sort of. She looked to her comrades. Zelgadis, of course, wouldn't like the boatmaster to come along. Filia probably didn't care, nor did Gourry. "All right then, Felix. You can come along."
"I can?" The boatmaster grinned widely. "BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"
Lina's fist began to twitch involuntarily. "Fe...lix..."
Felix saw the anger in her eyes and backed off. "Umm...maybe I'll follow you from the back.....far away in the back."
"Good idea," Zelgadis said, passing the boatmaster and taking the lead. Everyone else followed suit as they once again made their way towards the Beastmaster's castle.
"They're coming." The soft voice whispered in Amelia's ear, causing her to jump. She tore her eyes away from the window she was looking out of and glared at Xelloss.
"I guess this means you didn't kill them," Amelia replied through gritted teeth. "I guess you're an even bigger wimp than I thought you were."
Anger flashed through Xelloss' eyes but he quickly closed them and forced a smile on his face. "Was that a threat, Ame-chan?" He took a step closer to her.
Amelia took a step back and found herself pressed against the wall. Why was it every time Xelloss came to visit her they found themselves in compromising positions? She didn't even want to be in compromising positions with Xelloss! Just Zelgadis...well maybe Zelgadis..... Amelia shook her head. All the time spent in the castle was making her lose her sense of judgment. But she did know one thing, she had to take action or else things would go too far too fast.
"Maybe it was, " Amelia replied to Xelloss' question, shoving him away from her and crossing the room to put as much distance between the two of them. "I can fight, Xelloss. I'm not scared of you. So yeah, I was threatening you!"
Xelloss opened one eye and glanced at Amelia, amused. "Are you telling me you want to fight, Ame-chan? Do you actually think you can stand up to someone like me?"
Amelia sweatdroped. What had she gotten herself into this time? "Um...of course I can stand up to you!" She struck a pose. "Because justice is always with me! And justice always triumphs!!"
The Trickster facevaulted. "Ame-chan...do you know what you're saying?" he asked as he picked himself up off the ground.
"Nope!" she declared, causing him to facevault again. "But I do know one thing. I'll never give up, because Zelgadis-san is coming to save me, his only love!"
Xelloss eyed her carefully. "Are you that delusional, Ame-chan?"
"Delu...what do you mean by that?"
The Mazoku chuckled to himself. "Poor, misguided Ame-chan... Did you really think Zelgadis loved you?"
She put her hands on her hips indignantly. "What are you talking about?"
All of a sudden, Xelloss was next to her, whispering in her ear. "He doesn't love you. He never loved you."
Amelia stiffened. "That...that's not true."
"Is it?" He grinned. "You've doubted it yourself, haven't you? He only thinks of you as a student...a friend, at most. He'll never return your feelings."
She could feel the tears already beginning to creep into her eyes. "He...he...you don't know what you're talking about."
"Ah, but I do. You see, Zelgadis is in love with someone else."
The words struck her hard. "Th...that can't be!! You're lying!" She held back tears, not wanting it to be true, but somehow knowing that it was.
Xelloss smirked. "I don't lie, Ame-chan. I may keep secrets, but I don't lie. Here, see for yourself." He whispered a few foreign words under his breath, casting a beam of light on the wall behind Amelia. His link with Felix. The light twisted and warped, gradually producing a forestlike scene. And in this scene walked her friends.
The image focused on two beings, one a blond dragon and the other a blue-skinned chimera. Something had alerted them, they were talking...
"Zelgadis-san, I'm scared," Filia whispered, inching closer to him.
"It's alright," Zelgadis said, placing a hand on Filia's shoulder. "I won't let anything happen to you."
"Zelgadis-san..." Filia's eyes filled with happiness.
Zelgadis looked back at her with fond, care-filled blue eyes, a smile slowly coming over his features. "Filia..."
Amelia felt as though her heart were breaking. As if it had been crushed beneath the chimera's heel. Zelgadis didn't love her. Zelgadis had never loved her. Zelgadis would never love her. Zelgadis loved Filia. She had no chance with him.
She could feel the tears previously held in check dripping down her cheeks, staining them. Her breaths began to come in quiet sobs, which she unsuccessfully tried to hold in. Oh, L-sama...what did I do to deserve this? she thought miserably, her tears falling faster. He doesn't love me...he loves someone else... But had she ever really loved him? Amelia didn't know, and didn't quite care at the moment. All she knew was that Zelgadis was forever out of her reach. Her trembling legs collapsed out from under her and she fell to the cold floor, sobbing louder.
Suddenly, Xelloss was beside her, stroking her hair in an odd attempt to comfort her. She weakly pushed him away. "Leave," she mumbled through her tears, burying her face into her knees.
Amelia could feel the Mazoku wrap his arms around her, his breath hot against her cheek. "I can make you forget about him," he whispered, placing his lips against her neck and trailing them down to her collarbone. "I will make you forget."
The princess froze. This is wrong, she thought. He's Mazoku and I'm a practitioner of white magic. It's not supposed to be like this. Stop him, stop him! she told herself as he kissed her on the mouth. This is wrong! His hands around her back. The softness of his lips. This is wrong... The faint growling sound he was making. The general closeness of the two. This is...wrong? It was a question this time, a question with no resolve...
Xelloss's eyes were strangely predatory as he deepened the kiss, pushing her gently to the floor.
Zelgadis fervently wished Lina had not agreed to allow the boatmaster to accompany them. Despite the various warnings they'd given him, he continued to blast out that ridiculous laugh every chance he got. The chimera was ready to kill him. And this forest was so thick; it seemed like they'd never find the Beastmaster's lair! Besides, they still didn't know what they'd do once they got there...
"So, what are we going to do once we get there?" Felix asked, breaking into Zelgadis's thoughts, and oddly mirroring what the chimera was thinking.
"That's none of your business," Zelgadis replied, glaring at the boatmaster. "You promised you would leave us alone...keep that promise! I'm growing rather tired of you and your stupid laugh - "
"Whoa, Zel, hang on a sec," Lina interrupted, holding up her hand. "There's no use in fighting. Felix is a part of the group, whether you like it or not. You can put up with him for a few more hours, right?"
"I guess," Zelgadis admitted, looking away. He caught Filia's glance, who was half-smiling at him. At first, he felt a race of anger; was the maiden laughing at him? But he pushed that aside and allowed a little smile on his face as well. "Alright, let's go. The more time we spend out here - "
"The more time Xel spends with Amelia," Lina finished, casting a worried look at the dark forest that surrounded them.
"Lina, why don't you just Dragon Slave these trees away?" Gourry asked. "That way we can go straight to the castle - "
"You think the castle would still be standing after she cast a Dragon Slave?!" Zelgadis asked, amazed at the swordsman's stupidity.
"It wouldn't be?" Gourry asked.
"Of course not!" Lina yelled in his ear. "Don't you pay attention to me when I tell you about magic and spells?!"
As the group continued fighting, Felix backed away into the forest. This was going way to far. His brother, his stupid action first, think later, younger brother, had neglected to tell him that Lina Inverse was capable of casting a Dragon Slave. "The stupid jerk doesn't care about me. He doesn't care if I get killed in the process of him getting what he wants." Well, Felix had enough. He was switching sides, playing the double crosser. "Xelloss can do his own dirty work, because I'm through!"
Just when Amelia thought things were going to go way out of hand because Xelloss was taking advantage of her in her vulnerability, he suddenly pulled away from her and got up. She could see the raw anger in his eyes and became very scared.
"X-Xelloss?"
Xelloss squeezed his hands into fists and growled. He was so close and yet - Damn you Felix!
So his older brother felt like fighting for the good side, ne? Not as long as this Mazoku was still standing. Felix was going to pay for being a coward. He was going to pay dearly...
Xelloss paused in his fuming for a moment, noticing that Amelia had scrambled, frightened, back into a corner and was now fervently trying to readjust her clothing and pull herself together. She must have seen the anger on his face. He donned his usual cheerful mask and approached her, acting as if nothing was wrong. "Gomen nasai, Ame-chan..." he whispered to her.
Amelia's face was still streaked with tears. She wiped them away angrily; angry at her friends for not showing up sooner, angry at Zelgadis for putting her into such abject despair, angry with herself at having gotten into that situation, angry at Xelloss for being so damned persuasive. Her voice shook. "You...you..."
He kept his smile cheerful and secretive, though inside he felt like snarling and blowing big holes in the walls aroung him. "I believe we shall have to continue this later, Ame-chan. It seems I have some...business to take care of. So I'll be leaving you for the moment. But," he added darkly, leaning in close, "I will continue this later."
The princess shrank back from him as he phazed out of the room. Oh, this was not a good sign. Not at ALL. Generally, when Xelloss said he would do something, he did it. No matter what. If my father hears about this... She couldn't even imagine what Phil would do. It was one thing to kidnap someone, and another to try and...and...
Amelia buried her face in her hands. What am I going to do? He could come back here any minute. Lina-san and the others certainly aren't getting here anytime soon. If something hadn't angered him like that... Which made her think. What exactly had made the Mazoku so angry? She'd never seen him that mad. In fact, she'd never seen him mad, period. He kept a very calm facade most of the time, when travelling with Lina and the others. What could possibly do that to him? If she could figure that out, perhaps she could stop these uncomfortable situations from occuring.
Yeah. Fat chance of that. Even if she could stop him, she didn't know if she wanted to. It was confusing. She was terrified of the Mazoku, yet she still felt drawn to him. He was different from anyone she'd ever known. Amelia had grown up around peace-loving people...had always befriended peace-loving people. They were all she knew. Well, except for Lina, but she was an exception. At least she fought for the safety of the world. But Xelloss...he was another matter. Amelia didn't know many Mazoku (nor did she care to), so she wasn't very experienced in dealing with their kind. He was evil and destructive, standing for everything she was against. And yet there was still something about him...
The princess whacked her head against the wall to knock some sense into it. Everything was way too confusing. She didn't know how she felt anymore, and was confused as to what was right or wrong, or up or down. She wasn't sure of herself at all. Amelia buried her face in her hands again and wept, wondering why all of this had to happen to her.
"So," Felix said cheerfully, quickening his pace so that he was walking next to Lina. He casually placed an arm around her shoulders. "What are we going to do after we rescue that princess of yours? Blow everyone up?"
Lina glanced at his arm around her shoulders and said nothing. Maybe this whole trip was getting to her. Or maybe she was jealous of Zel and Filia. But for now, she would allow the boatmaster to -
"What are you doing?" Zelgadis said, looking at Felix with a grimace on his face. The chimera looked as though he had smelled something rotten.
"Why?" Felix taunted. "Jealous?"
Okay, that was it. Lina shoved Felix's arm off of her shoulders and pushed him into Zelgadis. "If you boys want to fight, then do it far away from me. I've had enough of your stupid bickering!"
Gourry blinked a few times and decided now was not the time to open his mouth. He clamped it shut tightly and followed Lina through the forest.
"Get off of me," Zelgadis growled, shoving the boatmaster as far away from him as he could. Filia held out a hand to help Zelgadis up and he gladly accepted it. The two stared at each other for a few moments, neither daring to breathe...
Felix pushed himself up and brushed the dirt off his robe. That was when he felt a flicker in the back of his mind, something only one person could set off.
"My, my Felix, what on earth do you think you're doing?" Came Xelloss' normally calm voice. It almost didn't sound like Xelloss because it was shaking with so much anger.
Felix, Zelgadis, and Filia whirled around to see Xelloss standing, his staff glowing with magic.
"Xelloss!!" Zelgadis yelled, taking a step closer to the trickster priest. "When I get my hands on you I'll - "
"This is not your fight, dear Zelgadis-san." Xelloss raised his staff. "So stay out of it."
"Not my fight?! You're damn wrong this isn't my fight!" Zelgadis retorted.
A beam of dark magical energy shot out from Xelloss' staff, hitting Zelgadis squarly in his chest. The chimera went flying through the air, crashing into a tree and falling to the ground.
"Zelgadis!!!!" Filia rushed to his side immediately, cradling his head in her arms.
Felix glared at his brother. "Leave them out of this, Xelloss. If it's me you want, than fight me, alone!"
Xelloss opened his eyes. "That is what I intended to do, dear brother."
Filia gasped. Had Xelloss just called Boatmaster-san his, his...brother?!
Lina began to sputter. "B-b-brother?!!! You mean you're related to that namagomi, and you didn't tell us?!!!"
Felix looked a little sheepish. "Well, would you have let me accompany you if I did?"
"BAKA!!" the red-haired sorceress yelled, thwapping him repeatedly with her fists. "How DARE you lie to us!!!!"
"But Liiiiina..." the boatmaster whined. "I didn't lie to you. I just declined from telling the whole truth."
She facevaulted. "That's exactly why I'm hitting you!"
Behind them, Xelloss coughed insistently. "Excuse me for the interruption, but my brother and I have something to settle." Although he had closed his eyes again, his anger was apparent; a promise of death hovering around his words.
Felix gulped. He knew his brother was much stronger than he could ever be. There was no way he'd win in a direct confrontation. Yet he stood anyway and faced the Mazoku without fear. "You're right, brother. We do have something to settle."
Xelloss's expression turned dark, a little smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "Very well, my traitorous brother. I'll take care of you on the first shot." He lifted his staff, pointing it at the offending boatmaster, and began chanting a lengthy spell in a language no one else knew. "This will teach you," he said in a low voice as he finished the spell, "to cross someone like me." The dark magic that had been circling Xelloss quickened, forming into spearlike shapes that instantly began hurtling themselves at Felix.
"STOP!!"
The Mazoku's eyes went wide as Lina threw herself in front of the boatmaster. He quickly cut off the spell, not wanting to anger his master by killing the sorceress. She was the only one in the group he could not kill. And as long as she stood between him and his brother, there was nothing he could do.
Zelgadis coughed from his place on the ground, pushing himself up onto his elbows. "Lina, what are you doing?"
The red-haired sorceress glared at Xelloss. "If you're going to fight Felix, then you'll have to fight me as well." She glanced over her shoulder at the boatmaster for a moment before turning back to Xelloss. "I don't know why, but I can't let you kill him. You'll have to fight all of us to do that."
The chimera snorted. "Yeah, like I'd ever help out that weirdo..." he muttered. Filia shushed him.
Xelloss's eyes were hidden behind his bangs; he seemed to be glowering for a moment. "Very well then," he finally said, stepping back into the foliage. "I'll leave you for now. But when I find you again, brother, you will be sorry."
Lina watched as the Trickster disappeared into nothingness and gave a small sigh of relief. She turned to Felix. "So. You're a Mazoku?"
The boatmaster looked indignant. "No, of course not!"
"Then you're human? How is that possible?"
"Yes, how IS that possible?" Zelgadis interjected. "If Xelloss has been a Mazoku since before the Kouma War, then you'd have to be a few thousand years old!"
Felix sweatdropped. "Yeah, well...I am."
"Nani?!"
"You see, I am immortal! BWAHAHAHAHA! My brother turned me this way when he became Mazoku! BWAHAHAHAHA!!" Felix announced, much to the annoyance of the others.
Zelgadis tried to get up but realized he was to weak to do anything but sit up. Which meant he was forced to listen to Felix's insane laughter and even more insane tale of immortality.
"You're...immortal?" Lina asked. She looked at Zelgadis. "Is that possible?"
He shrugged. "With Xelloss involved, who knows what's possible and what's not?."
Felix was practically bouncing with joy at being able to share his side of the story. Being the boatmaster to his brother's master's island had left him with a rather boring and lonely life. Besides, the price of immortality went hand and hand with the loss of your loved ones. It was hard to see people you liked getting older and older while you remained the same.
"Why didn't Xelloss kill Lina?" Filia asked suddenly, gazing at Felix with a questioning look on her face.
"Well, it seems dear drunken Zelas has a thing for Lina Inverse," Felix replied.
"Nani?" Lina asked.
"She has a crush on Lina?" Gourry asked, blinking a few times. His comment caused Zelgadis to sweatdrop and Lina to turn bright red. She started punching Gourry for his comment.
"NO!" Felix exclaimed. "Of course not! Whoever heard of something so stupid?! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
"You laugh like that one more time and I'll Ra-Tilt you," Zelgadis threatened, struggling to get up.
Lina stopped beating up Gourry, much to his relief, and looked at Felix. "Ne, Boatmaster-san, does this mean that as long as I jump in front of one of you guys like I did before, Xelloss will turn tail and run?"
"I guess so," Felix replied. He gazed off into the trees, as if he saw something no one else could. "Until Zelas does whatever she wants with you, you aren't to be touched. That are her orders."
"There's something I don't understand," Filia said quietly. "Xelloss was threatening to kill you. Unless he undoes the spell of immortality he placed on you, how can he kill you with a magic spell?"
Felix sweatdroped. "Xelloss actually put a different immortality spell on me. I don't grow old, but I can die from mortal wounds..."
"That's a ridiculous spell!" Zelgadis exclaimed. "Why didn't you ask him to make it so you couldn't die from wounds either?"
Felix looked Zelgadis in the eye. "Because then I would be a Mazoku..."
Zelgadis averted his glance. "That's stupid. You shouldn't play with fate like that."
"What, and let my baby brother have all the fun?" Felix asked. "You may not think it, but Xelloss does love his family. He wanted to keep us all together, even if it meant putting an immortality spell on us."
"It's hard to imagine Xelloss coming from a normal family," Lina said.
"Normal?!" Felix blinked a few times. "After this is all over, remind me to take you to meet my parents. They've never heard the word "normal" before in their life!"
"Nani, they're still alive?!" Lina asked, surprised.
"I told you he liked his family," the boatmaster answered, glancing once again at the forest. "Come on now, let's start walking again. I'll answer all other questions you have on the way." He started walking away and Lina jogged to catch up to his long strides.
"Now wait a second," Zelgadis mumbled, standing up slowly. Since when did Felix think he could give all the orders? And since when did Lina listen to anyone but herself?
"Come on Zelgadis-san," Filia said, helping the chimera up. "We'll walk nice and slowly and hopefully Lina-san will wait for us when she gets to Zelas' castle."
Zelas's castle, Zelgadis thought. Once they got there, they would hopefully find Amelia and get the hell off of this island and the hell away from Felix. But were they going to have to fight Xelloss? And more importantely, were they walking into a trap? Xelloss' anger seemed real, but Felix could be using them for bait. What was going to happen when they made it to Zelas?