Chapter 9

Secrets Revealed

Lina woke up with the headache to end all headaches. Naturally, this made her even more irritable than she normally would have been in the morning, but it didn’t stop her from noticing that Gourry wasn’t in the chair by the door anymore. Sitting up, she looked across the room in the early morning light through the

shutters and saw two blue eyes looking back at her from the shadow that had fallen by the door.

It was Zelgadis, having no doubt relieved Gourry sometime during the night. He simply nodded to her, the ghost of a smile flickering across his face before he turned to the door to allow her to get up and prepare for the morning.

“Hey… Zel…?” Lina asked quietly.

A small grouping of rocks that might pass as an eyebrow lifted as he turned back to look at her. “Yes, Lina?”

Lina picked at the blanket, looking down at it as he walked closer. Okay, Lina, get yourself together. You meant to tell him before he pulled his vanishing act, you went into the Astral and he came to fetch you… so why can’t I get up the courage to say anything? She inhaled sharply, holding her breath as she drew up some courage.

Zelgadis stopped beside the bed, frowning slightly as he looked to her, hearing what he thought was a pained intake of breath. “Lina? Is something wrong?

She shook her head, closing her eyes and releasing her breath with very quiet and slow words. “No… I… about yesterday, Zel. I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to snap at you.”

He offered a half-smile to her, a gesture that she couldn’t see. “I know. That’s why you came out to find me last night, isn’t it?”

Lina looked up at him. “Did you find me? I went out to the woods, to find you, and I remember falling, then I was caught in the spell.”

He nodded. “You fell almost at the foot of the tree where I was sleeping. How did you find me, anyway? I was using a blocking spell…”

Lina dropped the corner of the blanket. “Zel… I know you. It’s not like I’m a complete stranger. You’ve been sleeping in trees since you were old enough to climb them!” it hit her not three seconds after the words fell out of her mouth that there was no way she should have known that, and she clapped both hands over

her mouth.

He stared at her, uncertain if he should stay, or flee the now-incredibly awkward situation.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Let me explain!” Lina said, reaching out to grab the cuff of his sleeve. “Please… sit…?”

He sat slowly on the edge of the bed, looking at her with conflicting emotions. How could she know? He wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

Lina sighed, took a deep breath, and plunged in. “Since that night I found you caught by the spell, I’ve been… seeing and sometimes even interacting with your memories, your past. I’ve climbed trees with you, learned spells with you- which has an interesting promise indeed, and I’ve…” her voice trailed off as she

looked to the closed shutters. “I know what it felt like when…” She turned to look at him, making eye contact as she whispered the last few words. “Rezo turned you into a chimera.”

Silence fell in the room like a thick blanket, shock creeping unbidden into his wide, unguarded eyes.

She cringed in her mind, afraid that she had overstepped the friendship that existed between them. “Zel… I-“

He lifted a hand, stopping her in mid sentence, gaze still holding hers. “What else?” He asked. “What else do you know?” He looked at her, intensity filling his eyes with a strange desperation.

Lina blinked, looking at him. That certainly wasn’t the reaction that she had seen coming. He was taking this almost too well. Um… have I fallen back into the spell again? She did a quick mental cast-about for signs of being in the Astral Plane, but found only solid reality and mentally shrugged. Okay, Lina. Time to

start talking, she thought. So, she opened her mouth and started to talk.

“Well… the spell acts oddly and sometimes I’m just watching, unable to do a thing against it, but other times I’m there talking to you. You remember the first night…” she started.

“The night that you had to heal yourself afterwards, yes,” he replied, a tinge of shame creeping into his voice.

“That was just the start of it….”

She told him everything, from beginning to end, the memories that she had seen, the ones she had interacted with, and occasionally she saw him shake his head, or nod slowly. At the end of the long monologue, she sighed, and shook her head. “I’m sorry, Zel. I didn’t mean to intrude on your life.”

He shook his head slowly, considering the situation. “I know, Lina. But now… what? Some of it I recall as if it were a dream I was having with you in it… others I am unaware of your being there. After all is done, where does it end? Where does it leave us?”

Lina watched him stand up and turn to open the window and look out to the town with a brooding sort of glare. Glad that she’d only taken off her belt and boots, she tiptoed out of the bed and padded up behind him. “Zel… look… I don’t know how you feel about this… I know that I’d be fairly upset if someone else suddenly knew almost everything about me growing up. I just wanted to let you know that… well, I understand more now. I want to help you with whatever this spell is that is trying to destroy you…”

He turned around suddenly, catching her into another embrace, only this time it was entirely intended as the hug that it was. “Lina… I…” Clumsy fool, he thought to himself. How do you say how you feel to someone like her? If I say it wrong… I don’t wish to offend her!

To his utter surprise, she stepped in closer to him, wrapping her arms around him, to hug him close. Burying her face into his chest, she whispered “Zel… I don’t want you to feel…”

There was a sudden knock at the door, and Amelia’s voice could be heard quite clearly through the thin wood. “Miss Lina? Are you awake? It’s breakfast, and Mister Gourry might eat it all if you don’t hurry and come down…”

Lina jumped, pulling herself guiltily out of Zelgadis’ embrace and hollered back. “Yeah, I’ll be down in a minute, Amelia. Tell that jellyfish-brain that if he doesn’t leave me some food, I’ll have to fireball him!”

“Okay, I’ll do that…” There was a pause and Lina grabbed for her belt on the table by the bed. “Miss Lina, have you heard from Mister Zelgadis?”

Zelgadis looked up to the ceiling and sighed. This could get sticky…

Lina shot Zelgadis a look, then hollered back at Amelia as she pulled on a boot. “I’m sure we’ll run into him in town, Amelia. Give me a second to put my boots on…” She looked down to pick up the other boot and pull it onto her foot.

When she looked up, the room was empty except for her. Zelgadis had obviously utilized the open window, taking the hint that Lina had offered by way of talking to Amelia. She shook her head and pulled her boot on. She would have liked more time to talk to him, without the pressure of the others. There was so much

to ask him, so much to say…

She walked over and opened the door to see Amelia still standing there. “Oh! Miss Lina…” the girl frowned slightly, looking past Lina, and into the room behind the sorceress. “ Um…was someone in there with you?”

Lina looked to Amelia for a moment, then stepped out of the way so Amelia could see clearly into the now-empty room. “I was in there, but it’s empty now. Come on, Amelia. I’m hungry, and Gourry’s going to eat it all.” Okay, so it wasn’t exactly an answer, but if I know Amelia, she won’t ask… and that’s a good

thing right now, because I don’t know what I’d tell her, Lina thought.

Amelia nodded to Lina, still frowning as she looked into Lina’s room. Strange… but she could have sworn that she felt the trace of Zelgadis’ magic in there. She looked at Lina’s retreating form and shook her head. Something was definitely up, and Amelia was going to get to the bottom of it, no matter what.