"Amelia, your highness, please come out. It's not healthy to lock yourself in your quarters and refuse your meals!" Isabelle pleaded as she knocked firmly at the door, just as she'd been doing for the last ten minutes.
An ill-mannered reply caused the young woman to fret even more. "I'm not hungry. I wish to be alone... don't bother me. That's an order!"
As the maidservant pressed her head to the door, she heard sobs from within. Her eyes narrowed. How cold was that man, to tear up her heart like this. Isabelle tried to think of a comeback. "Princess, your father will not be pleased that you have been abusing yourself. Come to dinner?"
The sobbing stopped for a short span of time and Amelia replied softly to herself. "Daddy..." Her eyes watered anew. "He will not understand at all what I'm suffering. He never saw Zelgadiss as a possible candidate for my fianc�." Still, she rose from her seat at the vanity and ran a handkerchief over her moistened cheeks. "Who has Zelgadiss fallen for instead of me?" She muttered as she brushed out the knots in her hair. She stared long and hard at her reflection, then, something snapped in her mind. "Oh gods... no?" Her brush clattered to the floor as she dropped in total numbness. "Please, not Lina Inverse."
"Princess!" Came another plea from the door.
"Isabelle, I'm coming now..." She shouted back, a bit on the venomous side. She snatched her brush from the floor and slammed it back on her desk, eyes flashing in anger and hurt. "Lina Inverse, how could you take him away from me!?" She whispered, shaking. "You... I can't call you friend anymore..." She raked her nails against the wood furnish and pulled away to the door, making sure her hair was in place at the vanity mirror, before leaving her chamber.
"Amelia my dear!" Prince Phil took his daughter's hand as she entered the dining hall. "What troubles my little girl?" His kind eyes tinted concern.
"Daddy, it's nothing." Amelia began softly.
"Nothing? Nothing has kept my dearest daughter from rest and food... nothing has kept her captive in her room. Amelia, tell me what is wrong?" He father insisted and led her to the exquisitely decorated table.
Amelia bit her lip and took her seat hesitantly, while the servants fussed around them to make them comfortable. "I'm just nursing a broken heart, Daddy."
Prince Phil half-rose in his seat. "Nursing a broken heart? Who would cause my daughter grief? I'll see to it he-" Justice flamed in his eyes.
"D-Daddy, no..." Amelia sweat dropped and left her seat to calm him. "It's alright. I'll get over it." She forced out. "It was just a little crush, nothing more. I realize that now."She hoped that huge lie of hers would quiet him down. She smiled in knowing that her father would always back her up in everything she did, well, that which was justly or pure anyhow. She bent down and kissed him on the forehead. "Don't worry about me."
And so, for the rest of the meal, father and daughter ate in complete silence.
Late into the night, Amelia finally found herself back at her sleeping quarters after listlessly roaming about the gardens in deep troubled thought, as she fought with her jealous hate towards her former redheaded traveling companion. It is Lina, or I'm a fool!Amelia concluded and turned the handle to her door, slipping inside with one last long sigh, before collapsing exhaustedly into the soft sheets of her newly made bed.
In the hall, Isabelle bent over, hands covering her face. She knew the princess' heart and love for the man who shattered her hopes and it pained her almost as much as Amelia herself, though the princess wouldn't believe her.
Many, many miles away a sleep-ridden figure snapped out of the sheets of his inn bed, a loud sneeze disrupting the silence and then braced himself for a second. He rubbed his forehead and stole a glance at the clock aside from him. One in the morning? Damn, this is lousy! The chimera grumbled to himself. He was convinced he should have been able to nod off just happily by now, but something preoccupied his mind. He would like to believe it was Lina, but no. I have to forget about her! They way she looked at me, as if I'd stabbed her through the heart! Amelia! Damn it! He grabbed his pillow and pressed it over his head as he twisted around in the sheets. He loved Lina, and he knew that now, one hundred percent.
"Amelia, leave me alone." He murmured and let out an exasperated sigh.
Lina's forehead wrinkled at the thumping in the room next to her own. "What the hell is Zelgadiss doing? Arrghh... I want to sleep!" She scrunched up her nose and frowned as she tried to plug her ears with her pillow. Seconds later a soft knock at her door made her shoot out of her bed like a bullet. "Y-Yes?" She replied with a tone of aggravation.
"It's me." The chimera voiced as he leaned slightly on her door.
"Zelgadiss?" Lina smirked and shook her heavy head and stumbled to the door in the near darkness. "Wait a minute..." She drew her robe around her and opened the door wide enough to poke her head out at him. "Yes?"
Zelgadiss rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I-can't sleep."
Lina scowled. "Well, neither can I, with you making that racket next door."
"I knew this was a wasted effort." The chimera mumbled and backed off, until he was almost sent flying backwards as she took hold of his arm with a jerk.
"So you want to (blush) share my room?" Lina replied coolly, but her shaking body gave away her uneasiness.
"O-only if you don't mind." Zelgadiss almost choked.
"Mind? Mind?" Lina chirped. "Why would I mind; maybe we'll actually get some rest this way... but will you wait a minute?"
"S-Sure," He answered with a shrug. "But why?"
"I need to put my PJs on." She giggled.
"You-you (gulp) sleep in the nude?"
"Not normally," Came a snappy return. "It was just that...never mind!"
In a less than a minute, the door swung open wide and a slightly nervous chimera entered the sorceress' room. The last sound that disturbed the quiet of the inn was the light slam of a door.
"So this is new Siaragg. It's really changing a lot; I almost didn't recognize it." Gourry commented to the waitress as she served him his mid day meal.
"Yes, they've made much progress since the last destruction." The woman answered brightly. "Will you be needing anything else sir?"
"Well, actually do you know of Sylphiel Nes Rahda?" Gourry asked.
"Who?"
"She's a shrine maiden. She is a resident here and I can't remember where she lives. It's been a while you see." He laughed nervously.
The waitress tapped her chin in thought. "No, I can't say I have. I only moved here a short time back. Let me ask my boss. He'd know..." She skipped off to the kitchen and Gourry looked on in half amusement.
Perky little thing, just like Lina. He slapped himself on the face at that thought. "I wonder where she's got to? I don't know what I did to make her upset, but I wish she'd come back..." He frowned and poked at the foodstuffs on his plate. He only hoped Sylphiel would know. He smiled then at the thought of seeing the shrine maiden once more. It had been so long.
"Mmmm..." Lina muttered into her pillow and rolled in the sheets, only to end up on the floor. A frazzled sorceress rose from her place on the wooden flooring and peered over the mattress. "What? Where?" Her eyes strayed around the room to settle on a slouching blue form in the corner chair, still sound asleep. "Zelgadiss? What's he-" She rubbed her hands over her face. "What time is it?" She stood up and strode over to the window and opened the shutters to receive a face full of golden sunlight. "Damn, we slept in quite a bit." She muttered and covered her eyes, turning once more to face the snoozing chimera. "Hmm..."
She crept up as stealthily as possible to where she slipped behind him, ready to lay her hands over his eyes, when once again, as had happened before, two strong arms shot up and held her wrists in a firm lock. "Lina Inverse, you know better than to try and pull a trick on me..." Zelgadiss rolled his head back to flash a smile at the grinning sorceress.
Lina shrugged. "Going to let me go?"
"Nuh-uh." He shook his head and brought her to stand in front of him.
She smiled sweetly. "Please?"
Zelgadiss raised a stony eyebrow. "Nope..." He pulled her closer.
Lina's bright eyes flickered playfully. "What are you planning?"
A deep chuckle in answer made Lina's skin tingle.
Lina pulled at his grip. "Zelgadiss..."
"Hmm?" Now they were face to face and he could feel her rapid breath on his cheeks. "Oh nothing..." He let her fall back from him and reclined in the seat. "So, I take it we shall be heading off soon?"
"Heading off?" Lina breathed, still gathering her composure. "Oh right. I think we should be going, but not until we've had our breakfast-"
"Breakfast?" Zelgadiss shook his head. "Do you know what time it is?"
"Yes! Breakfast and lunch!" She replied eagerly. Lina suddenly grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him forward. Much to both their embarrassment, his face mashed into her chest, as she reached behind him to retrieve her articles of clothing he'd been sleeping on. In surprise, they fell back from each other, sweat dropping heavily.
Zelgadiss rose from the seat in an instant and turned his back to her, and cleared his throat unevenly. "I think I'll just go...to my room (cough)......now and...get-dressed (cough, cough)...... myself."
"Y-Y-Yeah..." Lina answered with a twitch of the eyebrow. "See you downstairs..."
She fell back on the bed as he closed the door behind him, a very foolish look plastered on her face. "Oh gods, I can't believe I... he...he-!!!" She hugged herself and burst into a fit of giggles, tangling herself up in the sheets, trying to repress full-blown laughter. Zelgadiss cringed in the hall as the giggles escaped under the door.
He passed a hand over his face and miserably shuffled into his room. "At least she didn't dragu slave my ass off..." He concluded in relief.