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Zelgadis laid in his bed at the tavern and stared at the ceiling.
"I know Aya wanted me to get some rest but I didn't think she was going to take measures," he thought, recalling the scene from when he first entered the tavern.
He had arrived and found Bubbles and Gourry waiting for him.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Making sure you follow doctor's orders," they said. They showed him to his room and told him to go to bed.
"When Aya said get some rest she meant it," Bubbles said. "This is for your own good." He left, closing the door and locking the chimera in.
"They locked me in. I can't believe they locked me in," Zelgadis mumbled. Even though he knew he could blast the door open he also knew that he'd have two muzuko's, a swordsman and a sorceress who liked fireballing people for fun all waiting for him downstairs. He pounded his pillow then turned on his side and thought.
He didn't want to be there. If he didn't have to change clothes he wouldn't come back at all. He couldn't explain it to the others. That this tavern, the Hideaway Inn, with its now ironic name had so much hidden within it for him, of her. She came to this room every morning to talk to him. They had so many conversations here. He had to look at her room every time he went to his. Her room, where even more memories lay that haunted him.
"They just don't get it," he sighed. The tavern screamed of her in every way, how could he sleep?
He looked at the empty half of his bed and let another memory resurface. Images of the night when he had won the crown, filtered across his mind. They had laid here and watched as the moonlight shown through the crown's crystals and made the walls light up.
"She had said that was lovely too," he whispered.
Maybe it was something about the way she said the word 'lovely'. Both times she had said it he could remember the way her lips moved and the soft amazement that filled her voice. He noticed the same thing when she said the word 'beautiful' too, and it almost made him want to cry. They seemed like simple enough moments, but for him they carried so much more. He could only close his eyes an let the bittersweet memories rush though him until he fell into a dreamless sleep.
A little later Gourry unlocked Zelgadis's door and peaked inside to check on him. He found the chimera laying on the bed, the covers curled up in a ball by his side and half his face buried in a pillow. Upon closer inspection he could see faint tear stains on Zelgadis's exposed cheek. The swordsman quietly backed out the room and locked the door.
He headed downstairs where Lina and Bubbles sat waiting for him.
"Well?" Bubbles asked.
"He's asleep," Gourry said solemnly.
"Gourry what is it?"
"I think Zel's been crying in his sleep. Why'd you want him to come back here to sleep anyway?"
"Because he needed the rest," Lina said. "The guy's become a walking zombie."
"He could have slept at the center. I don't think he wanted to come back here," the swordsman said quietly, staring up the stairs.
"It's a moot point now," Bubbles said. "Let's just be thankful he fell asleep and hopefully it'll give him the idea that sleep is good and I should do more of it."
It was already getting dark when Zelgadis finally woke up. He moved off the bed slowly, feeling the blend of sleep and exhaustion throughout his body. He stood, stretched and began to grab some things and throw them in a bag. He tested the door and found it unlocked. He grabbed his bag and headed downstairs to the center.
When he arrived Aya, Lina and the others were there waiting for him.
"We've already moved Amelia," Aya said, walking over.
"Was it necessary to have them lock me in my room?"
"Lock you in your room?" Aya asked, looking at the others. Who laughed nervously, shuffling their feet.
"We just wanted to make sure he followed orders," Gourry said.
"I see," Aya nodded.
"What are you guys doing here?" Zelgadis asked.
"We wanted to see you before you went up," Daisy said.
"Yeah," Gourry nodded.
"We'll keep you posted on things at the site," Lina said.
"Okay," Zelgadis nodded.
"Come on guys, this is about as tearful a departure we'll get from him," Bubbles smiled.
"I'll come by in the morning to check on you guys, okay?" Gourry asked.
"We'll be expecting you," Aya smiled as the group left. "Come on and I'll show you where you'll be staying," Aya said to the chimera and started walking.
They headed towards a section of the center that he didn't recall going through on his previous visits to a set of stairs. A few feet before the stairwell he saw Joliet in a chair anxiously bobbing her feet. She stopped when she saw Aya and Zelgadis.
"Zelgadis," she cheered and ran to him, jumping up to hug his waist.
"Joliet?"
"Mommy said I could see you before you went to stay with Amelia, right mommy?" The little girl asked, smiling at Aya.
"Mommy?" Zelgadis looked at Aya.
"Joliet is my daughter," she explained. Zelgadis looked between Joliet and Aya and for the first time saw their close resemblance of dark curly hair and large grey eyes.
"I'll tell Amelia that I saw you ," He said lifting the girl up in his arms.
"I hope to see Amy soon," Joliet said, "And Bubbles too. I want to give them these," she said climbing out of Zelgadis's arms to retrieve a bundle of long stem wild flowers. "I grew them myself." She smiled.
"They're very pretty. I'm sure Bubbles will be very happy to have flowers from you, Amelia too."
"I even picked some nice blue ones too," She said as handed a small bunch sitting next to her other flower bundle. "See they're the same pretty blue you are." Zelgadis knelt down and took the gift from the bright-eyed girl.
"Joliet . . ."
"Now you don't have to be sad anymore," She whispered. "You have pretty flowers and can see Amelia all day, an soon she'll be awake." Joliet wrapped her arms around the chimera and gave him a kiss on the check. "No more being sad, okay?"
"I'll try," he nodded and Joliet smiled.
"Mommy can I go see the nurses? I brought them flowers too."
"Of course sweetheart. Go to the nurse's station down the hall. Mrs. Crane will take you around for me."
Joliet released her hug on Zelgadis and grabbed a bag from beside her chair and headed down the hall as her mother and Zelgadis looked on.
"I've been meaning to say thank you," Aya said looking at Zelgadis.
"What for?"
"Helping Joliet. She's always been shy in public but when we moved here . . . it got worse. She became so nervous and flustered she stopped talking altogether. That afternoon you spent with her at her school really helped a lot. She chatters almost nonstop now."
"You have a very nice daughter."
"And know I have a very lively little girl and I wouldn't have any other way," she smiled. "Now come on we have lots to cover."
Zelgadis followed Aya up the stairs and onto a new floor of the center.
"This ward is closed till we finish it completely, not that its falling down around us. We're going to give you a full examine before we allow you in and brief on all the details of what will be happening, alright?"
Zelgadis nodded as she opened the door to a room that looked like a makeshift office.
"You can sit your bag anywhere you like," Aya said, gesturing for him to have a seat.
"I see you've moved some other things around too," Zelgadis said sitting.
"We needed more work space for the planning and coordination that this new venture was going to take," Aya explained. "Odayaka will give you your physical later, right now I'm going to explain the treatment regime we've designed."
"When will I see Amelia?"
"In a little bit, the sooner we get through the briefing the sooner you'll get to see her."
Zelgadis gave her his undivided attention as she started to explain the details.
"We've done the intravenous drip already so we'll be able t see how much the levels of the miasma decreases. We rotate bandages because of the infections she developed. I've come up with a concentrated Trialcon serum that will be injected in her arms and legs at different points. One of the main things you'll have to do is help exercise her arms and legs."
"You mean move them around for her in bed.?"
"Yes, to help her circulation so the Trialcon can move through her system better."
"How often will I have to do that?"
"When I give her the injections, twice a day?"
Aya went on to explain more about the treatment schedules and medicines. Zelgadis listened closely, amazed at how much work had gone into the changes an the little time they had to do it. When Aya finished he went to Odayaka and after the examine was given a clean bill of health.
"But you need to eat more and rest, hopefully we can help fix those things while you're hear," the healer said.
"They are so determined to see me eat," he thought as he settled in. His room was nice and spacious with a large soft bed. The only window was a large half circle at the beds head that was inlaid with decorative tiles. The room also had a bathroom with a good size tub. Zelgadis put his clothes away that sat on the bed, when the thought of changing his clothes came to him, as well as taking a bath.
The hot water against his stone skin was very soothing as he washed up and soaked for a bit, watching the steam fog the air around him. He took a deep breath and sighed, sinking lower into the tub.
"My work's going to be cut out for me," he thought.
"It looks like you're all set," Odayaka said coming into Zelgadis's room. The chimera was now dressed in a loose shirt and pants and busied himself toweling the last bit of water from his wire hair.
"Can I go in the other room now?" Zelgadis asked, setting down the towel. Odayaka nodded. Zelgadis got off the bed as the healer went over to the door that connected the two rooms and unlocked it.
Inside Zelgadis saw that the room was laid out similar to his with a few exceptions. One being a strange box that was connected to the princess with a series of light cords running between it and her.
"What is that thing?" Zelgadis asked.
"The Liquid Nightmare gauge, it's part mechanical, part magical. The magic works because Hindin used a thin layer of Trialcon to line the device."
Zelgadis turned back to the princess and also noticed that a bag of bright pink fluid with a tube leaving it going into Amelia's arm was also by the bed.
"This is the intravenous liquid you mentioned?"
"Yes, we started it right after the night readings had been taken."
"Has there been any change?"
"A small decrease," Odayaka smiled, "It's only been in a few hours. We won't know the full extent of how much her levels will drop until morning. But this is a very good sign."
"Will I be doing anything tonight?"
"No, just sit with her if you like, talk to her some even, but what you'll be needed to do won't start until morning. Besides I think we've bombarded you with a lot of information today and it needs to soak in," the doctor said.
Zelgadis moved over to the bed and sat down, staring at the princess's sleeping face. Odayaka took this as his cue to leave and slipped out quietly unnoticed.
"I'm going to be with you here from now on. And I'll be helping Odayaka and Aya help you get better," he said idly stroking her hand in thought. He watched as the Liquid Nightmare swirled up her hand and reached out toward him, trying to find a way to latch onto his skin.
He looked at the miasma, letting it weave up his hands to his face as if it were trying to get his scent like an animal. For a few moments Amelia's arm was clear as Zelgadis could see clearly for the first time the bruises she had suffered from her battle with Nephillo. After not having any luck on Zelgadis the Liquid Nightmare retreated back to the princess. The whole experience left the chimera speechless, taking in the full extent of his immunity to the miasma's effects.
"This is why they need my help, I can have prolonged contact with her," he thought.
He rose from the bed and gently tucked the covers around Amelia, careful of the instruments attached to her arm. He brushed a hand against her forehead, studying her features and was grateful that her skin no longer had a fevered warmth. He sat down in an armchair in a corner on the opposite side of the bed and settled in for the night.
Lina sat on her bed in the darkness, curled up snugly under the covers. Her mind keep going back to the talk Gourry had with her an the recent changes with Amelia.
"I guess Gourry was right when he said things were going to turn around," she sighed, marveling at how much insight the swordsman seemed to be acquiring as of late.
Meanwhile Bubbles was in his room doing the same nightly ritual he'd been doing since Amelia had been found. He sat in the floor, eyes closed, glowing faintly scanning the astral plane. He had considered flying around like he and Daisy had done before. But the area he needed to cover was much larger and the current technique he was using seemed to be best for the job. He sat like this for great lengths of time scanning for Nephillo, fearful of what he might find. After a time he opened his eyes and took a deep breath, having come up with the same results that he'd had for the last few days.
"Nothing there," he whispered and decided to go to bed taking nothing as a good sign.
Morning greeted Zelgadis early as dawn appeared so did Aya, ready to perform the first of the days routine check ups.
"Morning Zelgadis," she smiled opening up her charts and adjusting her instruments.
"Morning," he whispered and stretched in the chair.
"You know the room next door is for you to sleep in."
"I know," he said, getting up, "Bu I haven't been near her in a while because you limited visitors and . . ."
Aya waved him off and smiled.
"I understand, being separated is a hard thing to deal with."
"Where's Joliet?"
"At home sleep, with her grandfather. It's way too early for her to be up."
"I was wondering how you managed to keep these hours with a child."
"I normally don't, but Joliet really likes Amelia and wanted me to help as much as I could. You should have seen all the gesturing she did on the matter when she learned what happened," Aya said, looking at the Liquid Nightmare gauge and taking readings.
"So what do the early mornings involve?" Zelgadis asked, walking over.
"Checking the readings, medication and bandages," she said absently.
"Odayaka said last night you wouldn't know how much the levels of Liquid Nightmare will change until today."
"He's right," Aya said, looking at the chimera. "There's been a good decrease since the IV was put in."
"That's good to hear," he said, looking at Amelia.
"Combined with our other treatments hopefully she'll wake up soon and some of her bruising will fade."
"I sat with her last night and the Liquid Nightmare tried to latch onto me. When it left Amelia's arm I saw the bruises for a few moments then it surrounded them again. It doesn't seem interested me, just curious."
"That's good to know," Aya said, closing her charts and setting them down.
"From her injuries can you tell how she was attacked. I know there was magic involved but other then that we aren't sure."
"How about you give me a hand with this and I'll tell you what we think might have happened to her?" Aya said. Zelgadis nodded and the pair went to work.
Aya pulled back the covers on the princess allowing the full mass of miasma around her to be seen. Amelia wore loose pajamas that were the same light grey as the staffs uniforms. The shirt and pants were rolled up considerably to allow excise to her bandages and splints.
Aya pulled puled two pieces of Trialcon from her lab coat and set them on opposite ends of the princess's leg and began to inspect her bandages.
"The first thing to do is to change the wrappings on her left leg since it's the most serious. As I mentioned yesterday we change the bandages on the open cuts regularly so not to promote infection," she explained as she started unwrapping the bandages.
"If she has this many bruises and cuts along with the fractures how am I supposed to move her around? Wouldn't that make things worse?"
"Not if its done the right way," she answered, tossing aside the old bandages. "Hand me that jar and those fresh bandages, would you?"
Zelgadis went to where she had pointed and got the items and noticed small wisps of Liquid Nightmare creeping up her hands.
"Aya!"
"I know, hand me the jar first," she said calmly.
Zelgadis did and watched as Aya opened and spread a thin layer of the contents inside on her hands, making the Liquid Nightmare evaporate. She then applied some to the princess leg. Using a little extra around her wound, bandaged up her leg and removed the Trialcon stones.
"Weren't you afraid of the miasma?" Zelgadis asked.
"A little. I usually do the changing and checks with someone here to apply the stones if the miasma gets on me. The two pieces I set down can keep a bulk of it at bay but still not all. The creams are definitely an improvement," she sighed and went to work on the rest of the princess's bandages.
She repeated the same steps as before with the stones but was able to take her time thanks to the Trialcon cream on her hands. She also applied some extra on her forearms for good measure.
Zelgadis watched her work and listened as she explained the steps. He noticed the care she took with the arm that contained the IV and the Liquid Nightmare gauge attachments, as well as the splinted fractures. After she finished with Amelia's arms and legs she lifted the princess's shirt just enough to reveal her stomach. Zelgadis turned his head to the side, trying not to blush.
"I-I won't have to do that will I?" He stammered.
"No," Aya laughed. "I'm only doing this so I can but some cream on her ribs then bandage them back up. Besides it's just her stomach."
"If you say so," the chimera said but still averted his eyes. Aya looked up at him and fought the urge to laugh harder.
"Its nice to know that there's a few gentlemen left in the world," she said and pulled the princess's pajama top back down. "You can look now."
Zelgadis turned to her and nodded.
"You mentioned before about doing the moving around the right way?"
"I've got a jar of Trialcon cream that you'll use on her arms and legs. Her joints are fine, you just have to go slowly and use the cream to massage her muscles. Just remember slowly and gently and you'll be fine. With the fractures just massage them to stimulate the muscles, but only move them slightly. The fractures aren't near the joints. Talking to her while you do it will help put you at ease I think."
They spent a few minutes checking the princess's IV and giving her the mornings medication. Then making a few more notes on her charts.
"We think she was in hand to hand combat," Aya said while making notes. "The bruising she has looks like they could be from punches and we think she was kicked in the ribs, and possibly clawed judging by the gashes on her arms and legs."
"As if she were fighting a wild animal," Zelgadis whispered.
"Something more sinister if what I've been hearing is correct about this Nephillo. The Liquid Nightmare only makes things worse. Her bodies to weak to stay conscious. We hope she can tell us what happened when she wakes up.
"I hope so too," the chimera said.
Daisy sat in her room and continued to work with her defiant little piece of Trialcon as the morning pressed on. The colors of the minerals and powders she used to test the stone with had become more colorful and extravagant as she continued working in the tavern and on the site.
"Something has to work," she murmured to herself, "I have to be close."
She had dragged everything she could from her lab at her and Bubbles home so that she could work in close proximity to the dig. Daisy stopped for a moment and looked around her makeshift lab in thought as a knock came from the door.
"Come in," she said and Gourry entered the room.
"Hi Daisy! What's with all the bottles?"
"I've been experimenting with a piece of Trialcon from the site," she explained, cleaning off the stone.
"Any luck?"
"'friad not."
"What are you experimenting for?"
"I'm trying to find something that will react to the Trialcon when it touches it."
"Like the way the Liquid Nightmare dissolves when the Trialcon is close to it?" Daisy nodded.
"The problem is finding something that works."
"What kind of stones have you been using?"
"Mostly minerals like Maxinile, cadaron . . ."
"I don't know much about minerals but maybe it belongs to a group, like a rock family," The swordsman said. Daisy's interest was instantly peaked.
"Rock family, huh?"
Yeah, like there are different types of books, but there all still books so they have similar qualities. Some books are about magic others about food and stuff, right? So maybe Trialcon has something in common with other stones."
"And the differences would clash with one another when the two types meet," Daisy finished excitedly.
"I guess," Gourry smiled.
"Gourry thank you, you've just helped me think of a way to narrow my search down a lot," she smiled.
"Uh sure. Hey I came by to ask you if you wanted to get some breakfast before heading to the site."
"I think I'm in the mood to," she smiled as they head out.
After breakfast the three headed to the site where Bubbles was wrapping things up with the night crews.
Lina went inside the main tent where she found the muzuko examining the records she had been attending to the day before.
"So how did we do?" The redhead asked sitting down next to him.
"Three pounds, large pieces, actually very good," he said still looking at the records.
"I was going over those yesterday, I didn't get that chance to finish with the message and all. Did you find something?"
"I was thinking about Zelgadis's explosion theory," he said turning to the sorceress. "We've been inward on the site and from what I can see his calculations should be correct."
"But we haven't found anything in the section that's supposed to be the heart of the blast, not even small pieces like on the outer rim," Lina said, pulling the site map out from under the files. "Maybe the spot Daisy pointed out was off?"
"Or the room's not where we thought it was," Bubbles added.
"Zel did say he didn't know what part of the fortress he was in. In any case we don't have anything more to work with and the sections currently being dug have been promising."
"Daisy's been working on something she thinks might help us, but I'm not sure what yet."
"You don't know what your own sister is up to?"
"Daisy likes to work on her own when it comes to her lab. She loves discovering new things and solving problems. As soon as she gets a breakthrough we'll be the first to know," he smiled.
"I can't believe they got three pounds," Lina said, looking at the bag.
Bubbles watched her take on a quiet yet gentle expression as the sorceress thought of her friend.
"Your eyes do the cutest little crinkling around the edges when you get compassionate," he whispered. Lina turned to him surprised and noticed just how closely Bubbles was watching her.
"You promised you wouldn't stare at me like that anymore," she stammered.
"I try," he said melodramatically and pretended to swoon. "But I can't resist all your cute expressions," He sighed and placed his head on her shoulder looking up at her with blue-grey puppy dog eyes.
"You are an odd muzuko," she laughed. At this he pouted and she laughed even more.
"Lina how can you mock my devotion?"
"Are we interrupting you guys?"
Lina and Bubbles looked up to see Daisy and Gourry at the tent entrance. They looked at each other and fell out laughing.
"I guess not," Gourry shrugged.
"Well if you two are done laughing like maniacs, the day crew has started," Daisy said.
"Sorry about that," Lina said, regaining her composure. "Hey guys they made three pounds on the night shift."
"Three pounds." Daisy said, her eyes falling on the sack sitting at the table. "That's the most yet."
"Zel will be glad to hear that," Gourry said.
"So will Aya, she'll be able to make more medicine for Amelia," Bubbles said.
"I'll take it over to center and give them the news," Gourry said and picked up the bag.
"I think I'll go tell the day crew about the progress we made during the night," Lina said.
"Why?"
"To boost their morale," she smiled at the swordsman.
The early afternoon sun shone through Amelia's window as Zelgadis rolled up his sleeves. Hours had passed since the morning check up was given and the chimera had begun his education in the particulars of Amelia's care. He rolled up the pants legs of the princess's pajamas along with the sleeves of her shirt. Aya had come in to administer the first injection of serum and left Zelgadis to work on promoting Amelia's circulation.
As he worked on making the cuffs of her pajamas secure the Liquid Nightmare reached out to him, once again like a dog sniffing a stranger. He paid it no heed as he opened the jar of Trialcon cream and sat on the bed. He put a glob of the cream in his hand and began working it into the princess's leg and watched as bits of the sniffing miasma began to evaporate and retreat higher up on Amelia's body.
He rubbed the cream on her leg, careful of her bandages and watched as small traces of miasma continued to evaporate. He then stood up and lifted her leg slowly. He bent it at the knee and slowly pushed it toward her chest. He kept repeating the motion all the while moving his hands up and down her leg, gently massaging in the cream.
"It's nice outside," he said. "We got word from the site that the night crew pulled in three pounds of Trialcon. Gourry was the one who brought the bag in. He and the others have been working pretty hard," he ended, switching legs and getting another glob of cream, then repeating the same movements.
"Aya said I should talk to you, but I'm having a hard time thinking of what to say. I forgot to tell you Aya's Joliet's mother. When you wake up you'll get to meet her," he said, setting down her leg. He then began working with her arms, skimming around the IV needle and the Liquid Nightmare gauge tubes taped on her arm. He continued to talk to her about the weather, the center and anything else that came to mind.
When he finished massaging her limbs, he unrolled her pajamas then stretched the soreness out of his arms and sat down to think. As he moved his neck around in circles, The door creaked open, announcing Odayaka's entrance.
"How are things going so far?" The doctor asked.
"I just finished massaging her arms and legs. I talked to her a little too."
"I ran into Aya and she told me about the three pounds of Trialcon. It's definitely a good turn," Zelgadis nodded in agreement.
"It gives Aya more to use for the medicines."
"I think she's in the lab she set up down the hall getting the Trialcon ready to use," Odayaka said, checking the Liquid Nightmare gauge. "It looks like the numbers have gone down a little more since this morning."
"The treatments are doing their job then," Zelgadis said.
"Nothing makes me happier," the doctor said. "I'll come back up later to check on her again and you too," he smiled and headed off to finish his rounds.
Zelgadis got up and left the room and stood in the hallway. He heard noises not too far off and followed them to a door slightly cracked. Inside he saw Aya with a mortar and pestle at a table working tediously.
"Aya, what are you doing?"
"Grinding Trialcon, what does it look like?" She said, stopping to wipe her brow.
"A time consuming way of doing something that you could just use magic for."
"That would be fine if I knew any."
"You're not a sorceress?" Zelgadis asked surprised.
"Nope. I know about magic but I don't cast and this wouldn't be so time consuming if my assistant wasn't out today," she sighed.
Zelgadis when over to the work table and studied her work. "How about I show you a spell that will grind this up for you?"
"That would be wonderful," Aya smiled.
Zelgadis took a handful of stones, chanted a brief incantation then with a flash the stones turned into a powdered pile that poured onto the table.
"Is this fine enough for your needs?" He asked.
Aya dipped two fingers into the powder and rolled it between them and nodded.
"All right, grab some stones and repeat the incantation I recited and focus."
Aya grabbed some stones as did Zelgadis who started the spell again with Aya following him word for word. Two flashes of light occurred resulting in two piles of Trialcon powder. Aya looked at her pile and smiled.
"I can't believe I just did that. How did I do?"
"Good, you have good control," Zelgadis said, feeling the fine powder grains in front of her.
"This will cut my preparation time down considerably."
"You did all the grinding with just an assistant for the creams and fluids?" He asked a little amazed.
"Most of it. Odayaka did a lot too, probably with that spell you just taught me."
"If they find anymore then what's been coming in so far, hand grinding it all will be impossible."
"Right now I just want to get this batch done, I'll think about the ones ahead later."
"I'll help you finish," Zelgadis said.
They grabbed more stones and began to magically grind them as the afternoon continued on.
In another part of the city, Daisy worked diligently pouring through the books of the Sorcerer's Guilds library.
"I should have brought Gourry along," she thought. "He's spent more time here then any of us."
She flipped through books, setting aside the ones the could prove useful until she found the one she needed and started reading. After a few minutes she began to smile.
"Looks like I know what family you're from, you stubborn stone you," she laughed, slamming the book closed. She grabbed the other books she'd found on the matter then ran out of the library in search of her new found friend Hindin to get supplies.
Meanwhile Bubbles and Lina ate their lunch at the food tent by the site while Gourry stayed in the main tent keeping an eye on things.
"Are you sure about Gourry watching over the dig this afternoon?" Bubbles asked between bites.
"Positive. The crews like him and he know how things are set up as good as any of us," Lina said. "Besides it's his turn."
"That's true," Bubbles nodded. "The volunteers are working even harder then before. Things have gotten a bit more demanding since we started."
"Well we were given double good news, first the three pounds from the night shift and Gourry's news about Amelia showing improvement. Everyone's starting to feel like their hard work is paying. So the more demanding things have gotten is a good thing, I think."
"I wonder how Zelgadis is holding up?" Bubbles murmured suddenly.
"Me too."
Zelgadis sat on the floor by the princess's bed and idly stroked her hair.
"Joliet was really happy when I saw her before coming here. She even had flowers to give me and some of the other people who work here. You should see this place. They've been helping a lot of people. I told you about the people from town who volunteered to search through the fortress. They're about thirty volunteers and a lot of others who've donated supplies and food. You should see it, you really should. You'd be pleased," he whispered smiling.
He stared out the window at the late afternoon sun. Since working with her arms and legs he'd spent afternoon quietly talking to her. In the beginning, he felt awkward, since he never considered himself much of a conversationalist. But as the day went on he found it a bit easier to talk.
Zelgadis stood up and headed into his room to get the guitar that Bubbles had dropped off for him. Then went back into Amelia's room, sat back down again and started playing.
The tune was melodic and light. Zelgadis plucked the strings gently, invoking whatever note seemed right at the moment. As he continued to play he thought about the day he'd had. Caring for Amelia was intense, now that he knew all the work that was involved.
"I should have been here helping them a lot sooner," he thought, changing keys.
"I never asked you what music you liked," he said suddenly and stopped playing in Mickey. "We've known each other for years and I've never asked what you like in music, or books . . . or anything like that. I guess you don't think about those things when you're self-absorbed," he sighed and continued playing.
Daisy sat with her piece of Trialcon in the side tent she set up next to the main one. Around her were an array of jars and bottles. She worked steadily taking samples from the jars and grinding them finely. She had her own mortar and pestle that she used instead of magic, not wanting to corrupt the samples.
After her research at the library, Daisy was confident that her current batch of minerals would pay off in the results she wanted. With this thought in mind she worked even harder. Daisy was able to make some determinations she thought she was greatly narrow the field of minerals, from her talk with Gourry and the supplies she collected.
Lina entered Daisy's tent, looked around and noted the tables and shelves of bottles and jars.
"Is this what Bubbles says you're working on?" The sorceress asked.
"Yes," Daisy sighed, taking a break.
"You set up this tent to work in too?"
"I figured this is easier then carrying all this stuff from here to the tavern and back. I had a talk with Gourry this morning that helped me get on the right track of what I'm looking for," the muzuko smiled excitedly.
"Gourry came to see you?"
"To got me for breakfast and he found me working. He's been really helpful and sweet."
Lina nodded. "Gourry's great that way sometimes," she smiled. "What exactly are you trying to do anyway?"
"Find an element that reacts to Trialcon. I think it could help us," Daisy said and resumed her work with the mortar and pestle. "Have you heard anything about Zelgadis?"
"I hear he's been doing well on his first day from Odayaka."
"That's good to know. I think spending this time with Amelia , helping her could be good for him. He's been so concerned about not being there."
"I'm still a little concerned about him though. He holds a lot of things inside, being with Amelia could make things worse for him instead of better."
"I guess we'll know one way or the other soon enough," Daisy said.
The next day was the same for Zelgadis. He still ate very little, but slept a bit more then the day before. He helped Aya change bandages and check the Liquid Nightmare levels.
"They've gone down even more," she smiled and started switching Amelia over to a new IV solution bag.
"Does that mean she'll wake up soon?"
"We hope so. In the meantime she'll be able to get some more healing done physically and her life energy replenishing, well things may turn around soon. We just have to be patient. Have you been talking to her?"
"Yes and Bubbles brought the guitar I used in the talent show over so I've been playing a little too," he blushed.
"What kind of music does she like?"
"I don't know . . . we never talked about it," he sighed. "I thought she liked what I played at the talent competition so I've been playing stuff with a similar mellow sound," he explained.
"I'm sure Amelia would like anything you played for her."
"The problem is I'm not sure what to talk about to her sometimes. I've told her about you and Joliet and what's been happening with the others already."
"Talk about times you've spent together. You've done a lot of traveling with her and Lina, surely you must have had some interesting moments," Aya said.
"Yeah, we've had some experiences," he said.
"Then talk about them, the silly things and the adventures."
"I'll try."
"Good," she smiled and finished up for the morning. "I'll be back later for the first injection."
That said Zelgadis turned his attention back to the princess and tried to think of something from their past to talk about.
"Okay remember when we had to go to that town for shrine maidens? And you dressed me up like a girl?" He started. "Well I've always wondered were did you find the clothes? Not that I like being a girl or anything, but I actually fooled people, even that psycho queen of theirs," he laughed.
"I guess being a princess you've had to get dressed up for lots of different things like when I saw you in Zoana," he whispered, remembering the pink dress she was in. "You probably miss that since you travel with us so much."
He continued to ramble on about whatever came to his head from their past and other things he thought were interesting. And by late morning he had fallen asleep next to the bed.
Daisy worked through the night into the morning in her site side tent, grinding minerals and running tests. She would have stopped hours before but felt sure this was the patch that would turn the tide.
"This is the last one, maracon," she sighed wiping her forehead. "If I'm right you'll be working some magic for me in just a few moments."
She scooped a small handful of the powdered mineral then sprinkled onto her piece of Trialcon that had been so defiant and watched. Nothing.
Daisy ground her teeth in a anger and began grumbling under her breath.
"I don't understand this. My theory was sound. All I needed was to run the tests," she shouted , losing her composure and pacing.
"I've spent hours, days, almost two weeks of hand grinding and looking for samples. How could I have been wrong?"
She stopped her pacing and looked back at the table she had been working at. As she looked at all the open bottles and jars along with the loose rocks scattered about, she became overcome with emotion.
"This couldn't have been all for nothing," she sobbed, banging her fist on the table, rocking it so viciously that a beaker of water spilled onto the Trialcon.
Daisy started to clean up the mess in self defeat when she noticed the little stone was turning a distinct shade of bright green.
"Absorption," she cried, excitedly. "The water helped the maracon be absorbed into the Trialcon, letting it react." She laughed jumping up and down. "I did it, I finally did!"
"You did what?"
Daisy looked up and saw her brother at the tent entrance watching her confused. She ran over and dragged him to the table.
"Look!" She cried. Bubbles looked at the table, still bewildered at his sister's excitement.
"It's a green stone, so?"
"It's not just a green stone, its Trialcon! I found the mineral I was looking for."
"So now you can tell me what you plan on doing with this stuff then?"
"We use the maracon on the dig site. You mix it with water, spray it on the site and all the Trialcon turns green."
"Making it easier for us to find," Bubbles said with sudden realization. "We'll have plenty for Amelia in no time. Sis you're brilliant." Bubbles laughed, picking her up and hugging her. "Will we be able to get more of this stuff?"
"Yes, " Daisy nodded, "It's a common thing in magic shops. The sorcerer's guild should have a good stock of it."
"By this afternoon I want to have this sprayed from one end to the other of the site."
"This time tomorrow the medical center will have two, maybe three times more Trialcon then before," Daisy murmured.
"And we'll have good news for our neurotic blue friend," Bubbles smiled.