Lost and Found
Chapter Six

        The morning dawned on the sleepless chimera. He’d sat on the porch all night long, trying to unravel the mystery presented to him. So far, he wasn’t having much luck. Xellos’ staff was across his lap, the sphere dull and silent. He’d cast a few spells on it during the night, but nothing had brought it to fiery life.
        He heaved the sigh of one much put-upon, and leaned against the railing beside him. The door opened, and from the light footsteps he heard, he decided that it was Amy. She sat beside him, feet bare under her long green skirt. For a while, there was only silence, and then Amy spoke.
        “What happened last night? I went after you… but what happened after you found me? I woke up this morning in my room… and I don’t remember a thing. It’s like a hole in my mind…”
        Zelgadis looked off at the rising sun. “Lina.”
        Amy sighed. “Lina… I’m tired of this, Zelgadis. I’m tired of her shadow, whoever she is.”
        Zelgadis blinked. This was an unexpected development. He turned to look at her, saw the tears glistening unshed in her eyes. “Amy…?”
        “It’s like she’s some older sister that I have to outshine! I don’t want to! I just want to be me! I want to be Ian’s daughter and run the mercantile!” She stood suddenly, tears starting to fall.
        “Amy…” He started, reaching up to her, but she gathered her skirt and took off down the porch stairs, running across the field beside the house, leaving him to sit and watch in bewilderment. Lina had once said the same thing about her sister…

        All through the morning, Zelgadis took it upon himself to do the chores. Ian went off to tend the store, not even asking where Amy was. Zelgadis decided that Ian probably thought that she was asleep.
        He finished washing the dishes and turned his attention to the fact that Amy still wasn’t home. With a sigh, he decided that it was time to head out after her.
        He slipped into his room, picked up his sword and fastened it at his hip as he headed out of the house. No sense in heading out unprepared. If Amy had half the ‘trouble magnet’ effect that Lina had… he was sure to have his hands full when he found her.

        Except that he didn’t find her.

        The sun was starting to set and Zelgadis was officially worried. He wasn’t the worrying type normally. But this had him seriously worried. It was mildly annoying. He wasn’t the emotional type. Yet… here he was, emotion tingeing his voice as he called for Amy.
        The only place I haven’t searched is the forest. Those woods… what if she’s gone in there? He shook the thought out of his head. There had to be somewhere else. The store. He hadn’t checked the store. It would be a good place for a merchant’s daughter to go… He turned on his heel and cast levitation around himself and sped off towards the town and the mercantile.

        The store was dark and locked, but neither of those things particularly got in his way. He’d never bothered to learn the unlock spell. After Rezo had taught him how to open almost any lock by hand, it seemed rather… pointless. A slight twist there… a touch of pressure there… The door opened smoothly and he stepped inside.
        A sound off to the side caught his attention immediately, and he moved quietly over towards the counter. It was Amy, he knew it by the sound of her breathing. Moving as if he belonged there, just happened to be walking by, he sat down beside her. “It’s a nice evening.” He was relieved to see that she was safe, and it took everything within him to keep his voice as noncommittal as could be.
        She sniffed softly, looking up to see him sitting there. “What?”
        “I said, it’s a nice evening.” Without looking directly at her, he offered her a handkerchief from his cloak pocket, which she took after a moment of hesitation.
        “Is it? I… I didn’t know,” she wiped her eyes and blew her nose. Privately, he hoped she wouldn’t hand the cloth back to him now. Thankfully, she didn’t. He wasted a moment chastising himself for that.
        “It is. Would you like to come see?” He asked softly, wondering at himself. When did he ever learn to be like this? He wasn’t… kind and gentle. He was the heartless mysterious swordsman… wasn’t he? Damn. Amelia and Sylphiel have really worn off on me…
        “You’re only doing this to make me feel better, aren’t you?” She looked at him, scarlet eyes watered to the color of rubies.
        He blinked at her. “No,” he said simply. “Perhaps you are right. Maybe you should just be yourself.”
        Ruby eyes looked at aquamarine ones. “But who am I, Zelgadis? I don’t remember enough to be Lina… and I remember too much to be Amy…”
        He sighed. “You have to decide who you are. I can’t do that for you. It might be better if I left here, Amy. My presence can only add confusion to your life.” He looked away and started to rise. Her hand caught his arm and he stopped, looking back at her.
        “Don’t go… I… I’m sorry. I…” her voice trailed off and she looked away.
        Zelgadis ignored the tug at his heart and tilted his head. “I’ll stay, if you ask.”
        She looked at him, something akin to hope burning quietly in her eyes. “Will you? Stay? Here…?”
        He nodded, aware of the voice of reason in his head starting a miniature rant about him becoming soft in his old age. Ignoring the voice, he nodded to Amy. “You asked, I will stay.” He looked around the darkened store. “Perhaps we should go back. Ian hasn’t seen you all day… and dinner is going to be late.”
        Amy leapt to her feet. “Oh my gosh! Dinner! You’re right, Zelgadis, I have to go home!” Heading for the door, she called over her shoulder. “I’ll see you at home!”
        He stood and shook his head slowly. How did it always seem that he got himself into these things with very little resistance?

        Dinner was late, but good. Ian said nothing, only offering Zelgadis a quiet understanding nod. After he’d helped Amy with the chores, Zelgadis stood out on the porch, contemplating Xellos’ staff. The sphere was dull, and Zelgadis couldn’t ever recall seeing the sphere dull. It had always had some kind of light within it before… and only once or twice had he ever seen it flare brilliantly. The only thing that he could think of was that it meant the Trickster truly was gone.
        But what had the power to completely destroy the General-Priest of Zelas Metalium? And what would Zelas Metallium have to say about that?
        Amy’s soft footsteps tiptoed across the porch, and she looked at the staff. “He was a pain, wasn’t he?”
        Zelgadis looked to Amy, a stone eyebrow raised. “Who, Xellos? Yes, at times.”
        She looked at the sphere quietly, shaking her head. “It all dances so far out on the edge of my mind… refusing to come any closer.” She looked up to him now, offering a weak smile. “I don’t know who I am supposed to be.”
        Neither of them saw the black shadow that moved on its own, swirling around the base of the staff as Zelgadis held it.
        “Why don’t you just take it moment by moment?” Zelgadis offered. “It’s a rough way to go… but in the end, you might make some sense of it.”
        The shadow swirled past his hand on the staff.
        She sighed faintly. “It’s frightening, not knowing… and yet… I feel like I ought to know…”
        She was working herself up again, and Zelgadis knew it. Setting the staff against the railing of the porch, he reached out and took her hands. “Maybe you should, maybe you shouldn’t. But I promised you that I would help.”
        The shadow touched the quiet sphere at the top of the staff.
        She smiled shyly at him. “Thank you…I… I don’t know what I’d do…”
        He offered her one of his rare smiles. “You’d manage, I think.”
        “My, my. What have I walked in on?”
        Zelgadis dropped Amy’s hand, spinning to stand before Amy, a defensive spell ready, teeth bared.
        Violet eyes glinted in the darkness at the pair, lips curled in dark amusement.