Episode Ten

 

The City of Dragons

Peace and Quiet at Last

Return to Kuroryu!

 

 

            Lina sat back, looking at the table that had been covered with food – until the little group had managed to break away from all the joyful villagers and sat to eat. She looked around the table, noting empty chairs and still-untouched plates. Xellos had eaten and departed, but Zelgadis’ plate was untouched, the chimera sitting silently and watching with a quiet gaze.

            Amelia’s plate was only slightly touched, and she was quite happily chattering away at anyone who happened to be listening… which largely amounted to the fact that Amelia was talking to herself again. Gourry’s plate was empty, and he was staring out into space… but that wasn’t anything unusual for her blonde sidekick.

            Filia was somewhere, off on the tour with Aurin, learning the town and helping where she could with her magics.

            So it was down to the four of them again.

            Just like… normal.

 

            Normal. Who was she kidding? Nothing would ever be normal again, would it? She’d cast the Giga Slave twice in a row and taken on as the Knight of Chaos. In fact, the more that she thought about it, the more unnerved by it she became. What, ultimately, had she chosen to do? What would she become now? Lina Inverse, Chaos Knight. She pushed a little more food around on her own plate, trying to work up an appetite and failing. Too much had happened, and while Lina was typically not one to lose her appetite to something… this certainly had sapped her energy reserves.

            You are the same as you have been and will be.

            The mind-voice of the Lord of Nightmares startled her, and she dropped her fork, looking around guiltily as her three companions turned to stare at her.

            “Lina? You aren’t eating. That isn’t like you,” Zelgadis commented pointedly.

            “I keep thinking about what happened, that’s all. I’ll be fine.” Lina replied with a forced smile, and returning to picking at her food in an attempt to look like she was eating something.

            “Mmmhmm,” the chimera replied non-committally, avoiding the fact that his plate was still full as well.

            “What?” Lina managed to squeak, trying to seem like her old self. She knew that she wasn’t convincing Zelgadis, but Gourry and Amelia looked fairly content with her acting. “So… Zel… what was your test about?”

            Immediately the chimera’s blue stone cheeks tinged red and he picked up his water goblet and answered gruffly before taking a drink. “It wasn’t worth the lesson learned.”

            “Oh?” Lina asked, mentally wondering at the blush, but deciding not to ask at the moment. For an instant, she was filled with her old careless curiosity and almost gave into asking… but no, she’d let him get away with it for now. “So what was the lesson, Zel?”

            He set the goblet down, considering. “That which is perceived isn’t always the truth. What we see before us is only a part of the whole, as evidenced in the case with the Golden Dragons against the Ancient Black Dragons. What they thought was the Black Dragons hoarding power was truly Shabranigdo manipulating the Black Dragons and using his own power.” He paused, setting the goblet down. “Had the Golden Dragons looked beyond what they thought was the truth, to see the other side of the story, perhaps they would have discovered the fragment of Shabranigdo themselves and aided the Black Dragons instead of destroying them.”

            Everyone looked at Zelgadis, startled. That had been quite possibly the longest statement he’d ever offered on a single subject.

            “Um… excuse me, but, Mister Zelgadis…?” Amelia ventured. “You’re blushing.”

            That is none of your business, Amelia. Why don’t you tell us about your bracelet, and how you know Aurin?” The chimera countered, cheeks taking on a new tinge of pink. Lina decided it was rather cute.

            “Oh… that was part of my test. I went back to before the City of Kuroryu was attacked by the Golden Dragons,” Amelia muttered, fingering the bracelet. It did have some very odd properties.

            “And…?” Lina prompted, deciding to let Zelgadis slip out of this once again. She’d have to drag it out of him later, for certain, because he’d been behaving quite oddly all through the dinner. Not that he ever ate as much as she did… and she wasn’t eating much either.

            “Well, I was there just before the attack, and Aurin had decided to give me his bracelet to protect me because I wasn’t a dragon at all, and I wasn’t involved with the… problems. I suppose, in a sense, that it’s my fault that Aurin was put in the position where Garv could take advantage of his anger.”

            “Forget that. If Aurin hadn’t given you the bracelet, who says that we’d have gotten back together? It’s all a blessing and a curse, isn’t it? I mean, if all of this really truly was us passing through time, which I’m not saying can’t happen… it’s amazing how one small thing can affect the path of things to come,” Lina said.

            Zelgadis, who was right in the middle of taking a drink of water, found himself choking at Lina’s words. Passage through time? Not what he went through…

            Amelia hmmed. “Well, I suppose that’s true…” She broke off, looking over to Zelgadis in concern.

 

            That which happens, usually does so for a reason, Lina Inverse. Even if that reason is both beyond your comprehension and the embodiment of the Chaos inherent to you.

            Lina looked up and blanched. “Me?”

            Everyone looked at Lina, blinking. Zelgadis caught his breath, rose an eyebrow, and remarked as calmly as he could: “Well.”

            Sitting on the edge of the table, perched, was the mirror reflection of Lina Inverse. Only she glowed with a brilliant golden sheen, an aura that enfolded and rippled around her, hinting at powers both easily carried and commanded by simple act of will.

            “Ano…” Lina said, cringing slightly in her chair and suddenly abstractly wishing she were somewhere else. “This would be… the Lord of Nightmares…”

 

            The group simply stared at the Golden One in astonishment. There She was, right there. It wasn’t like they needed Her for anything… so why had she come to pay them a visit?

            Aren’t you quite… interesting in that form? My, my. How time flies, L-Sama. I had not known that you were requiring a new Knight. You should have told me. I knew a few… candidates.

            The figure of the Lord of Nightmares turned with everyone else to see a tall and achingly beautiful blonde woman leaning against the wall in a frightfully scanty white slip of a dress, gold bracelets clinking as she took a puff from her cigarette.

            “Oh no… don’t tell me that’s Beastmaster Zelas…” Lina’s voice trailed off.

            Mellatium. Yes. That is the Lady Beastmaster herself. The Lord of Nightmares answered Lina before slipping off the table to walk regally towards the Beastmaster. It has been long since we have spoken, Zelas. You’ve changed form again as well. But it was not I who chose her, you will find. Chaos chooses for Itself with a very capricious sense of humor.

            “Um… Miss Lina? Is this going to be a family reunion?” Amelia asked warily.

            Before Lina could answer, the doors burst open from both sides of the hall, Filia came rushing in from one end shouting something about a celebratory ball, while Xellos was dashing in from the other side with a hurried phasing over to his Mistress and kneeling. It was enough to give Lina a near-instantaneous headache.

            Filia came to a screeching halt, tail extended and stared. “What is the meaning of this!?” She screeched, doing nothing to help the situation, as normal.

            Lina put her head down on the table. “Filia… not now… please?”

            There is to be a ball? How lovely. Xellos, rise.

            Xellos did as instructed, keenly aware of the Lord of Nightmare’s scrutiny. He had not intended to become involved with her… but his Mistress called… and he had no choice but to answer.

            You have done well, General-Priest. For that, you shall have a reward. Enjoy the ball, Xellos. Tonight will be yours. The Beastmaster turned to the Lord of Nightmares. Shall we, L-Sama? I feel that there is much to discuss now that you have a new Knight.

            By all means, Zelas. Come… let us go. There are new rules to be discussed.

            “Mistress…?” Xellos ventured, opening his eyes and lifting a gloved hand.

            The Beastmaster simply smiled faintly. You’ll find out, Xellos.

            And then the two vanished, leaving a highly perplexed group of people behind them to contemplate what had just occurred.

 

            Lina looked up at the ornate ceiling and sighed. This was going to be a very long night. She didn’t want to participate in the ball, and she was about to stand up and make an offhand comment about going to go sleep everything off in order to slip out of the room, but stopped as some strange magic sense tingled at her mind, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Xellos turn white and nearly fall.

            “Xellos?” Lina asked, turning back to face him, her voice a little sharper than it ought to have been. No-one else seemed to notice his momentary slip of façade, and she thought it might just be related to her new… rank.

            Xellos smiled uneasily, waving it off. “Just a momentary lapse, Lina. Don’t worry about a thing.” He lifted his hand, then froze, eyes snapping open as he looked across to see Lina standing there, watching him.

            He hadn’t phased out of the room. He’d meant to. He’d tried to. He’d cast the relatively simple spell with every intention of going home and trying to figure out what his Mistress had meant. It suddenly crept over him with a dread certainty. If he was right, he could be in a whole lot of trouble if the others suspected.

            “Mister Xellos…?” Now Amelia had noticed, and slowly, so was everyone else. Murmurs began, Zelgadis and Gourry considering with Filia. The chimera’s eyes shifted back to Xellos, a strange glint of suspicion forming within them, Xellos was certain.

            Xellos’ mind started working overtime. There was something missing, his understanding of a whole lot of things wasn’t there. It was as if someone had switched him off… his perspective of the world suddenly falling into a seriously one-dimensional view. Oh yes, this was very bad indeed… suddenly human and standing in the same room with Lina Inverse, Gourry Gabriev, Amelia wil Tesla de Sailune, Zelgadis Greywords, and Filia ul Copt… this could easily get him very, very, dead. He only hoped that none of them would catch on to this fact.

            Lina stood, walking around the table and looking at the stunned Mazoku. “You’re human, Xellos.”

            Her simple statement silenced everyone in the room.

            “Human…” Xellos echoed. “She…” He wasn’t sure how to feel about this. And now that Lina had gone and told everyone… he knew they were going to kill him, and hoped that his Mistress would have the good graces to resurrect him back into Her services. “Oh my… how inconvenient.” He laughed slightly, taking a step back as Lina’s eyes darkened and she put her hands together for a spell.

            Lina smiled darkly. “I could give you payback for everything you’ve ever done to me right now, Xellos, and you couldn’t do a thing to stop me.” She let her hands fall apart. “But I think that being human is enough payback.”

            Lalli’s voice startled everyone, for they hadn’t noticed her enter via one of the open doors. “Xellos..? Are you truly human?”

            Xellos turned, scratching the back of his head in his unconscious gesture he’d picked up so many centuries ago. “It would seem so. At least… for the… night.” His gaze settled on Lalli and a smile began to fight its way to his lips. “And I imagine that it will take me even longer to get ready for the ball now.”

            Lina, Amelia, Zelgadis and Filia all facefaulted. Gourry, in a brilliant flash of deduction came to a very verbal conclusion. “Now you can dance with Lalli at the ball, Xellos! You won’t have to worry about being a Mazoku.”

            Xellos had the grace to blush as he stepped towards the door, hurrying Lalli out with him.

            Lina, Amelia and Zelgadis all turned to stare at Gourry, while Filia simply shook her head in amazement. It made sense to her, all of a sudden. Gourry must be right.

            “Gourry, where did you come up with that idea?” Lina asked him, all the while convinced that the blonde swordsman had somehow stumbled upon the simple truth that no-one else could have possibly seen: Xellos had been in love with Lalli for a very long time.

            Gourry shrugged, looking pleased with himself. “I don’t know, Lina. It just came to me.”

            Lina shook her head, holding up her hand. “Nevermind. I don’t even want to know now. I guess we all ought to go get ready for the ball. It just wouldn’t do to upset Aurin after all of this.”

            Amelia beamed brightly. “That’s the spirit, Miss Lina! But Miss Filia… what will we do about clothing…”

            Filia brightened, letting all concerns falling away in her typical fashion. “Of course we’ll all go to our rooms, clothing has been selected for us to try on and choose from.”

            “May as well get this over with…” Zelgadis muttered, standing and walking to the door.

            One by one the little group filed out of the room, each suddenly lost in their own collective thoughts of Dragons, Shabranigdo, and the Lord of Nightmares.