Inhibitions
Amelia sighed as she listened to Lina shouting up ahead on the path. It
had been years since they saved the world last, and they had been
wandering about since on the trail of possible cures for Zelgadis. Lina
was still the apparent teenager, she'd aged some, there hadn't been
much call for Dragon Slaves recently, but not much. Zelgadis appeared
unchanged, perhaps the chimera form kept him eternally young in some
manner as well. Gourry was pushing thirty and still swinging a sword in
the name of Lina's defense. Then there was Amelia.
Amelia couldn't help but notice that she had become more rigid in
behaivor as time passed. She seemed older than Lina now, in her early
twenties, and she was a tall elegant young lady now. She came to within
a head of Gourry's height now, with a slim, athletic build.
"I wish I could be as carefree as Lina," Amelia sighed. She paused in
her walk, letting the others pass around the bend ahead in the road.
"Your wish is my command, princess," am irritatingly familiar voice
declared as something knocked her on the top of the head.
"What did you do that for?" Amelia demanded as turned to face Xellos.
"You can't just go around hitting people on the head. It's unjust."
"Everything is unjust with you," Xellos yawned. "I'm just trying to
help."
"Your kind of help I don't need," Amelia said. "What is that supposed
to do anyway?"
"Just knocking away ayour inhibitions," Xellos laughed.
"'Knocking away my...'" Amelia scowled and lashed out with a fist that
knocked Xellos off his low hanging branch. "I don't need you messing
around in my head." The young princess stomped away in a dignified and
hostile march. "BLOODY MAZOKU!!!"
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The other three Slayers were watching wide-eyed as Amelia strolled
angrily around the bend. All three were more than a little shocked at
the unAmelia shouting.
"Something wrong, Amelia," Gourry asked as Amelia walked past him.
"That damn Xellos!" Amelia said, not seeming to notice the blonde
swordsman. "Offering me 'help' that damn lying, manipulative mazoku."
<You know>, she thought to herself. <That feels good, maybe he was right
about the inhibition thing at least.>
"I think we might need to stop for the night, some of us seem cranky"
Lina suggested. "What do you think, Zel?" Amelia rolled her eyes at
Lina's half-doting question of the Chimera.
<Come on Lina>, she thought to herself from her new position at the head
of the group. <Even I've given up on him, all he cares about is his
cure, doesn't worry about anybody else by the wayside.>
"We don't have much time," Zelgadis protested, expecting that to be the
end of the matter. They'd let him determine the paths of travel almost
completely of late.
"Actually," Amelia said turning her head back. "An inn sounds like an
excellent idea." Zelgadis glared at her.
"Yeah I'm tired of trail food," Gourry added.
"Seems like you're outvoted, Zel," Lina smiled.
"Okay, we'll stop for the night," Zel said. Amelia smiled, this was
more like the Slayers of old, arguing over every little detail, and
coming together over the big ones.
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They had found an inn within an hour, and another hour after that they
had settled into a somewhat normal routines. Except for one notable
individual. Amelia was dancing to the muscians with the inn patrons and
downing more ale than the other slayers had ever seen her touch before.
"What did that fruitcake do to her," Lina asked as she watched Amelia
move from dance partner to dance partner laughing almost hysterically.
"She looks like she's having fun," Gourry noted. At that point Amelia
and one of the dancers crashed into the slayers table scattering food
everywhere. Amelia stood up a little wobbily and laughing as she
dragged her somewhat terrified dance partner away from the shocked
silent slayers.
"I think Lina might be right on this one," Zelgadis noted. "This just
doesn't seem natural, we haven't heard a single diatribe on justice in
half a day."
"Okay, this does it," Lina stood up and walked out to the dance floor,
grabbing Amelia by the arm and dragging her back to their rooms. "Come
on girl, you're sleeping this off."
"Oh, lighten up, Lina," Amelia said. Gourry and Zel watched as the two
girls disappeared into the back rooms.
"Come on, Gourry," Zel said, standing up and hefting his sword. "We've
got a fruitcake to hunt."
"Heh, this should be fun," Gourry said as they walked out the door.
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Amelia let herself be dragged into the back rooms, she was not nearly
so drunk as she seemed, at least not from the alchohol.
"What did that fruitcake do to you?" Lina demanded. Amelia smiled at
that, she'd worked her way through that little mind twist already as
well, but she was having fun now. More fun than she'd had since the
last time anything major happened to them as a group.
"He rapped me on the head with his staff," Amelia answered with a
deliberately drunken voice. "I'm going to kill him next time I see
him."
"Well what ever it is, you're going to bed now." Lina tried to maneuver
the princess onto the bed and suddenly found herself falling back onto
the soft, down mattress. By the time she was aware of this fact, a
weight gently lowered itself down on her waist. She opened her eyes to
see Amelia's face leaning down toward hers.
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It took Gourry and Zelgadis a good two hours to find the trickster
priest, or rather he found them.
"So you are actually looking for me?" Xellos asked sarcastically. "How
touching." He eyed the swords pointed at his throat annoyed.
"What did you do to Amelia, Xellos," Zelgadis asked grimly.
"You know us well enough to know that we can hurt you," Gourry added.
Xellos considered his answer and decided that the truth would be the
most fun at the moment.
"I didn't do anything to her," Xellos yawned.
"You're lying," Gourry growled.
"I did pretend to do something," Xellos admitted. "But it was really
just to get her to let loose for a little bit." The mazoku teleported
into a higher branch and stretched. "So, has she confessed her love to
you yet, Zelgadis?"
"Oh so that's it," Zel nodded. "You want me out of Lina's life."
"Whatever makes you think that?"
"Hey, Zelgadis, if Amelia is acting without restraint," Gourry noted.
"You're right," Zelgadis noted turning his back on the smug mazoku.
"Time to go back."
"So what do you think is happening," Xellos asked, with genuine
curiosity.
"That maybe Amelia might try to kill Lina," Gourry said.
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"You're beautiful, Lina," Amelia said, stroking a lock of hair from
Lina's face.
"What are you doing, Amelia?" Lina asked nervously. She couldn't cast
magic when she was so entangled, and Amelia was stronger than her of
late. The princess, no sign of drunkeness apparent now, laughed and
traced a line down the side of Lina's face with her finger.
"Does Gourry ever tell you that," Amelia asked. Lina could feel the
princess's breath on her face. Amelia took a breath death and sighed in
apparent bliss. "Does he ever tell you how you smell like perfumed
smoke?"
"This isn't you Amelia," Lina protested. The princess kissed her
forehead, <L-sama, do it again.> Lina thought as the warmth of the
princess's lips pulled away.
"Does Zelgadis even notice how your hair is like fire," the princess
kissed the hollow of Lina's neck. Lina's neck arched and she sighed
with ecstacy. "Or your eyes are like rubies?"
<It feels so good>, Lina thought. <No! No! No! This isn't Amelia, it's
some mazoku spell that's controling her.>
"Amelia, stop it," Lina demanded. The princess breathed out and shook
her head, letting Lina up. "Youre acting crazy, that trickster cast a
spell on you or something." The red-headed sorceress sat up and eyed
her friend cautiously.
"Do you really think I wouldn't know if someone magicked me or not?"
Amelia asked.seriously. "Can you feel any magic on me?" Lina checked
and found nothing.
"But you don't act like this," Amelia reached out and brushed Lina's
face with the tips of her fingers again.
"I'm allowed to act out," Amelia said. "After twenty-three years of
being proper and following everyone's expectations, I think I'm allowed
to act out. How about you Lina, aren't you tired of everybody ignoring
you?"
"Nobody ignores me," Lina protested. "I'm Lina Inverse."
"No people certainly don't ignore the Bandit Killer," Amelia agreed,
she leaned over a rigid Lina's shoulders and blew in her ear. "By does
anybody else look at you?"
<I am tired of the act>, Lina silently agreed, her breath caught as
Amelia kissed her ear. <Where'd Amelia ever learn this stuff?>
"But Amelia.." Lina said, leaning back on the bed as Amelia bent over
her.
"You don't have to be anyone but Lina for me," Amelia said, caressing
Lina's hair. "Not with me, I'll never ignore you."
<Just be Lina>, the sorceress repeated in her thoughts. <Not be ignored.>
"Do you want to be mine, Lina," Amelia asked. Lina stared her in the
eyes.
"Yes," she said, surprising herself. <L-Sama, yes, I want this.> Amelia
smiled and bent down kissing Lina full on the mouth, her hands working
downward to reach around Lina's tunic. "I love you Amelia."
"I love you Lina-chan," Amelia said back. After that words were
unnecessary.
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That was an hour before Gourry and Zelgadis found Xellos, it was an
hour later when the men returned.
"Not enough property damage for a sorcerous duel," Zelgadis noted. In
fact it barely looked enough for a good bar brawl.
"Maybe Amelia was too drunk," Gourry said. Zelgadis nodded in agreement
as he picked his way around the unconcious drunks in the common room
and reached the private chambers.
"Lina?" he knocked on the sorceress's door and received no answer.
"This place reeks of good humor," Xellos muttered as he teleported next
to the chimera. "So how did Lina kill the little snob bitch?"
"We haven't found either of them yet," Zelgadis growled. Gourry passed
them on the way to Amelia's quarters.
"Hey, Amelia, are you in there?" Gourry called out, Xellos appeared
behind and felt a wash of love, security and happiness from the room
beyond. It was positively sickening.
"Go 'way," it was Lina's voice, the one she used when she was half
asleep and wanted to stay that way. The three men looked at each other,
Xellos's expression seemed to fall into a deep bottomless pit as they
creaked the door open. They caught a glimpse and shut the door again
without waking either of the room's occupents.
"I don't believe it," Xellos stammered as his legs gave way beneath
him.
"Congratulations," Zelgadis said dryly. "You lost her for both of us."
"How...?" Gourry asked.
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Inside the room, Lina and Amelia cuddled against each other, in a spent
sleep. Amelia idly and unconciously twisting Lina's hair.
"Ame," Lina muttered drowsily.
"Lina-chan," was Amelia's equally sleep-filled response.
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