Chapter 22

Lina lay in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She’d counted all her mental sheep, and then moved on to counting the dimly lit planks of wood in the ceiling. She decided that sleep wasn’t remotely near, so she got up and dressed silently, throwing her cloak over her shoulders and opening the window to vanish into the night with a half-thought levitation spell.

She wasn’t aware of the aquamarine eyes in another window of the hotel that watched her leave.

She landed in the center of the little grove surrounded by trees and closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the night’s solace. The breeze gently blew at her hair, and she sighed softly. Too much swirled around in her mind, and she found herself repeating her actions of the other night, drawing her sword and stepping easily into the first form.

She considered the implications of the City of Stone, stepping through the motions, feeling the sword-work help release some of the energy. It was a pity that she couldn’t blast something, Lina reflected. There was no better stress-reliever than a decent-sized fireball. She stepped into the next frame, her thoughts shifting to Zelgadis and the… relationship that was suddenly becoming very tangible. True, she had always liked him, but out of respect, she hadn’t said anything to anyone. When Phibrizo had taken Gourry, she’d thought perhaps that she’d been falling in love with the blonde swordsman.

She’d proven herself wrong, however. She’d been wrong before. And now, that which she had never considered was becoming a heart-stopping reality. Zelgadis… She stumbled in the form, distracting herself with the memory of how he had looked at her earlier, just before he’d… kissed her.

She stopped, re-centered her thoughts and began the steps again. All too soon, however, her thoughts turned to Zelgadis and she stumbled again. Damn! What’s wrong with me? She thought. I can’t even concentrate anymore! I’ve gone from powerful to hopeless in one kiss!

She put her sword back at her hip and turned away, walking over to lean on a tree. The biggest concern that she had right now was the fact that Zelgadis was suddenly extremely distracting to her. She knew that there would be times that she’d need every bit of her attention on the matter at hand… but she wasn’t sure that she would be able to do it. She’d seen all too clearly just how distracted she was when she’d tripped in her forms. What on earth would she do if he were threatened? Zelgadis, threatened? In that stone body of his? I’ve only seen him bleed once… and that was terrifying, that pool of blood underneath him… the Sword of Light may be the only thing that can kill him… but other things can hurt.

It occurred to her that she wasn’t alone, and she opened her eyes to see him standing in the center of the little grove, aquamarine eyes turned to her. She met and held his gaze for a moment before blushing and looking away.

“I wanted to thank you,” his voice came to her quietly, and she looked back up towards him.

“Thank… me?” She echoed, her voice small.

He nodded. “Yes, to thank you for working so hard to understand what Rezo had done… for helping me…”

She blushed again, looking down. “You don’t have to thank me, Zel. I did it because you’re my friend… because…” Because I love him… that’s why. But why can’t I say it?

Her voice trailed off and she saw his shoes come into view. She looked shyly up at him, and he smiled softly. “There’s a lot that I want to say, but I’m not sure how.”

Oh, for crying out loud, what’s wrong with me? It’s now or never, Lina Inverse. Kiss him, say it… do something or you just might lose him. Holding her breath for an instant, she leaned up to kiss him. He brought his arms around her, responding in a fashion that Lina had only hoped for.

They stood, locked in the embrace until it occurred to him that he ought to let her go before something untoward happened… and he might be holding her too tightly, so he stepped back, releasing her with a guilty look. Confused, she looked to him. “Zelgadis? What is it?”

“I…” he smiled sheepishly. “I didn’t want to hold on to you too tightly…” Or do anything that would destroy this moment…he thought, all too aware of the fierce emotions within him. The Mazoku was a dangerous passion that even he was uncertain of.

Lina laughed softly. “Zel… I’m not made of glass. I’m not made of stone either… but I won’t break if you hold me too tight. I might complain, or even swat you… though I imagine that will still hurt.” Suddenly the memory of the first time she swatted him came washing over her, and she laughed again, softer. It’s so easy to forget that he’s made of stone… she thought, then looked to him. “Zel… why me?”

He blinked, considering that question for a few moments before answering. “You’re easygoing… yet there’s a fire of life there that no-one can deny. You’re unpredictable… uncontainable, like a candle’s flame…” His voice trailed off as he realized how sappy he must sound… and that he’d equated her to a fire twice. Maybe it’s those fireballs of hers… “And you’re one of the rare few who makes no judgements of appearances.”

Lina blushed furiously. She’d always been the fiery one in the family, what with her red hair and crimson eyes… Her sister Luna was the one with dark hair and a cool exterior that nothing ever seemed to crack… Luna hadn’t even shown emotion when she had announced that she was going off to be the Knight of Cepheid, and promptly vanished. Lina had been the one to rage and fight her way out of the family, out of the ties that bound… “I… I’m not anything…”

Embarrassment dissolved her ability to protest, and as she looked down, he smiled faintly. “Lina, you’re a whole lot to me. I may not be good at showing it, or saying it, but you are.” He was aware that he was blushing too, the heat of his cheeks an almost pleasant distraction from the heat of the moment before.

Lina shook her head at herself. “I’m acting like some silly love-struck twit, aren’t I? The mere thought of your smile can distract me so badly that I end up tripping over my sword. And I don’t know what to do about it.”

He brushed a stray lock of hair off of her shoulder and looked to her. “Why do anything about it? If we just… be ourselves… then we can see where this is going. I guess that’s one thing I have Rezo to thank for. His spell is the whole reason that I have the courage to tell you any of this. I’ve loved you for a long time… and it took the Mazoku within me to put it into words.”

She flung herself into him, a fiery bundle of red hair and tears. “I was so afraid that you wouldn’t come back… or that you’d come back so changed that I wouldn’t know who you were when I looked into your eyes…”

Her sudden embrace stunned him briefly, but he recovered and held her for a moment, face buried in her hair. She still smelled of cinnamon and glowing embers, an intoxicating combination that left him a little lightheaded. “It’s over now… and we ought to get some sleep, or Amelia and Gourry will start to talk.”

Lina smirked into his shoulder, then lifted her head to look up at him. “Like they aren’t already. I think they’ve known for longer than we did.” After all… it was Amelia who sort of grabbed me by the seat of my pants and kicked me into this. I’m still not sure if I should fireball her… or thank her. And this will make Sylphiel a very happy girl. Her precious Gourry…

“Isn’t that how it always goes?” Zelgadis asked, interrupting her thoughts and pulling gently out of her arms to they could walk back to the hotel.

“Maybe… hey! You’re not getting away that easily,” Lina said, grabbing for his hand and lacing her fingers in his.

He paused in mid-step, looking at their hands, then smiled. Yes, he could definitely grow accustomed to that…