Xellos sat in the inn's common room, waiting patiently for Gourry and

Sylphiel to descend from their room. It was almost time for Dinner to

be

served, and he'd never known Gourry to miss a meal if he could possibly

avoid it. He let his mind roam up to their room and smiled. He was

right,

they were just getting dressed now. When they came into the common

room,

Xellos waved to catch Gourry's eye.

Gourry waved back. "Hi Xellos, when did you get here?" he asked when

he got

to Xell's table.

"Oh, just a little while ago." Xell said urbanely, "You know, I don't

think

I've ever been properly introduced to your lovely friend."

"Oh, this is Sylphiel…She's a really good cook." Gourry said

nonchalantly,

but his body language said something else. He put one arm around her

shoulders, and there was a dangerous, possessive glint in his eyes

which

said, 'She's mine, so don't even THINK about trying to take her!'

Xellos checked himself. His purpose here was definitely not getting on

Gourry's bad side, and Gourry operated on a more basic, instinctual

level

than most humans…and he just happened to possess a weapon which was

quite

capable of hurting him. Better to establish everyone's relationships

right

at the beginning.

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Xellos." he said in the most casual voice he

could

muster. She really did look an awful lot like Xala, and it was

bringing

back some fairly painful memories. "Why don't you sit down and order?"

he

invited.

Gourry sat down and waved to the waiter, who hurried over to their

table.

"Your usual, Sir?" he asked.

"Yeah, that'll be fine." Gourry agreed.

"And for you, Miss?" the waiter turned to Sylphiel.

"I'd like the trout, if you don't mind."

The trout, of course…and you sir?"

"Oh, I'll just have tea." Xellos said, making a little negating gesture

with

his hand.

As they were waiting to Gourry and Sylphiel's food to arrive, Xellos

looked

over at Sylphiel.

"You know," he said casually, "You look an awful lot like someone who

was

very dear to me."

"Dear to you?" Sylphiel frowned slightly, "Xellos, I may not have been

properly introduced to you before, but I do know who, and more

importantly

what, you are…how can a Mazoku hold anyone dear?"

"It's a flaw, I know, and one that runs through my entire line. We not

only

have the ability to love, but tend to love too deeply. It can be our

downfall, as it was with my poor dear daughter Xala."

"X…X…Xala?! But that's my MOTHER'S name!!" Sylphiel blurted out.

* * * * * * * * *

Neither Zel not Lina planned on getting much sleep that night…after

all,

Chimerae don't need much sleep, and who knew when they'd see a bed

again.

Not that a bed was really NECESSARY per say, but hey, it was much more

comfortable. What little sleep they did get was a short nap after

dinner,

and when Zel woke up, Lina was still asleep, and the pillow beneath her

head

was littered with chips of crystal.

"Dream tears." he whispered with a tone of awe.

He had discovered that whenever he had a truly wonderful dream, he

would

wake up with these chips of crystal on his pillow, so that's what he

called

them. Remembering the ring Lina had showed him, he scooped a few of

the

glittering gems aside, then bent off a few of the long, coppery strands

of

her hair that looked like they had weak points. He wasn't wearing

anything,

and consequently had no pockets to put them in, so he slipped them

beneath

the pillow, then kissed the tip of her ear to wake her up.

"Good dreams?" he asked.

"Yes, but I can't remember what they were about."

Zel grinned. "We have most of the night still to make better ones." He

whispered seductively.

Lina blushed. "Let me just check that the others haven't gone

anywhere."

she said. Slipping out of bed, she reached into her cloak. This time,

as

well as the lock of Gourry's hair, she pulled out a braided lock of

long

purplish-black hair tied at each end with a bit of gold tassle.

"Well?" Zel asked when he saw her worried expression.

"Xellos is there now, and Sylphiel is so upset I can actually feel it.

I'd

say it's definitely time to pick up the pace…but not until morning."

She

kissed him and slipped back into bed.

Zel kissed her back avidly. "No, they can take care of themselves, and

besides, even with our speed, it will take a couple of days to get

there.

Lets just forget about it until the morning." he said as he pulled her

into

his arms.

* * * * * * * * *

"You're ready to come home?" Amelia couldn't quite decide how she felt

about this. She was happy that her sister was coming back, but she was

also

angry at her for leaving for so long…and Gracia looked so much like

Mother

now…Amelia felt her head spinning with confusion and had to sit down.

* * * * * * * * *

"Yes dear, I know that's your mother's name, because my daughter WAS

your

mother." Xellos said patiently.

"Y…you mean…you mean I'm…a Mazoku?!" Sylphiel's voice was shaking with

the

shock and fear she was feeling at this information which should have

been

impossible…she Couldn't be evil…could she?

Xellos shook his head. "Only half, but Xala suppressed that part of

your

heritage as soon as you were born." Xellos explained.

All of a sudden he felt a jolt of unhappiness and hurt over the link he

always kept open with his Ame-chan. She needed him, and his

granddaughter

would probably be better off with time to think about all this new

information.

"Look, why don't I let you process all of this, and I'll come back

later."

Xellos said, patting Sylphiel's hand.

Walking off, he slipped into a shadow and teleported to where Amelia

was.