Lina let out a long sigh, then sank to the ground and curled up in a
sitting
position, her arms around her legs and her head resting on her knees
and
started to shake.
"Oh Gods…I couldn't have taken much more of that!"
she
said as Zel kneeled down and gathered her into his arms, rocking her
slightly back and forth.
She'd been fairly bubbling with suppressed terror, and now that it was
only
him with her, she felt secure in letting it all out.
"Oh Zel, what am I going t do…she wants me to come home…and I just
know
it's so she can punish me; I just know it!"
"Well, you know I'll be right there with you, and your sister doesn't
scare
me." Zel said reassuringly.
"But Zel, she's dangerous!" Lina said wide-eyed.
"Well, even if she is dangerous, I don't care, I'll still go…and I'm
sure
Amelia and Gourry and Sylphiel will say the same."
Lina took a deep breath. "Well, I've got a month or two to live, at
least,
I'm sure I'll think of some way to placate her by then." Lina said
encouragingly.
* * * * * * * * *
In her throne room on Wolfpack Island, Zelas' head snapped up as she
felt a
distinctive and familiar presence enter her realm.
"Alright Luna, what do you want to talk to me about?" she asked as she
part-time waitress and Knight of Cepheid appeared before her.
"Oh, I think you know." Luna said scathingly, "A little place called
Ura no
Shinden and my sister? Ring any bells?"
"I never intended to turn her into a chimera, that was as much of a
surprise
to me as to you…I only wanted to set her back a bit…give myself some
breathing room…"
Luna laughed. "Things certainly didn't turn out the way you expected
them
to, did they? Love always screws up your plans, doesn't it, Zelas."
she
said, a little bitterly.
The JuuOu growled, and Luna laughed a little more, then got a cold
glare on
her face.
"Oh, and Zelas…I'll be keeping a closer eye on you from now
on,
and if I find you're mistreating my son, this time I'm taking him back
for
good, and there's nothing you can do to stop me." With that, she
turned on
her heel and left.
* * * * * * * * *
After talking to Gracia for a little while in private, Amelia told
Xellos
they were ready to head back to where the others were.
Xellos grinned and took each of their hands. "Hold on tight." He told
them as
he teleported with them to the inn where Sylphiel and Gourry were.
When they got there, Xellos squeezed Amelia's hand tightly for a second
before letting it go, but to his surprise, she kept tight hold of his
hand.
"Let them see, I don't care!" she whispered vehemently in answer to his
confused look.
He let a little happy smile play over his features and closed his
larger
hand back over her small delicate fingers gently.
There was a fire blazing in the hearth in the common room, even though
it
was only early afternoon, and Gourry was sitting in front of it,
leaning
back in a chair with his legs stretched out in front of him. As soon
as he
realized Xellos was there, he turned around and stood up menacingly.
"I don't understand what's going on, but you've made Sylphiel really
upset,
and I want you to go explain yourself to her now." Gourry demanded
Xellos nodded. It was true, he had left Xala's daughter far too much
time
to ruminate on the possible consequences of her birth and heritage.
He climbed the stairs and knocked on the door to the room she was in.
when
he didn't get any response, he simply teleported through the door.
Sylphiel
was asleep on the bed, and Xellos just stared at her for a minute. She
really did look remarkably like her mother, the same way her mother had
looked like him…strange how little they all resembled his own mother
Zelas…but oh well, that wasn't the issue here. The issue here was
explaining Sylphiel's heritage to her.
Softly he shook her to wake her up.
When she saw him there she turned away and pulled the blanket up over
her
head. "Just go away Xellos." She said, the threatening tears evident
in her
voice, "Are you happy? You've ruined my life, now go away."
Xellos didn't leave though, instead he sat down in a chair by the
dresser
and stretched his feet out. "Shall I tell you a story?" he asked
"The Slayers" is the product of Software Sculptors, Tokyo TV, Enoki Films Co., Ltd., Monthly Dragon Magazine, Weekly Comic Dragon, Fujimi Books, Hajime Kanzaka, Rui Araizumi, and Kadokawa Publishing Co., Ltd.
