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Aya sat in her regular office and sorted through notes and charts on her other patients when someone entered the room. She looked up and saw Lina in the doorway, smiling.
"Hey Aya, we're done at the site for the day," the redhead said.
"How much were you able to turn up?" Aya asked.
"Come outside and see."
Aya followed the sorceress outside the center and around the back. When she got there her eyes widening in surprise.
"Oh my goodness," she whispered slowly.
In front of her were two large wagons overflowing with Trialcon stones of various shapes and sizes pilled high in pyramids.
"We couldn't weigh it for obvious reasons."
"This is great," Aya cheered, "Now we can focus completely on Amelia's care and you all can get some rest too."
"But now you have the hardest job of all," Bubbles said.
"What's that?"
"Telling Zelgadis," he laughed.
Zelgadis lay on his bed, letting the early evening darkness flood through his half-circle-shaped window. Beside him on the night stand lay a tray of hardly touched food and an empty cup of coffee.
He turned his head and looked at the door that connected his room to Amelia's and sighed.
"I wonder what's happening at the site," he thought. It felt like time was creeping along at a snails pace till the next morning when they would hear about how the new Trialcon finding method turned out. The thought continued to circle in his head when a light knock came from the door and it slowly opening revealing Aya.
"Taking a rest?" she asked.
"Sort of, what's up?"
"Lina and the others stopped by," she smiled. Zelgadis sat up quickly.
"And?"
"We've got two large carts overflowing with Trialcon," she shouted, "More then enough for Amelia's care."
"That's . . . wonderful," he whispered.
"What's wrong, everything's going great. Amelia's improving and we don't have to worry about running out or not having enough Trialcon anymore?"
"I know but it's also the perfect time for something to go wrong," he said solemnly.
"Oh." Aya said also becoming somber. "Well you could be right or then again wrong, but right now things are having a well earned good turn and I plan on making sure it stays that way."
"So do I," Zelgadis nodded. "And believe me I am it's just I'm . . ."
"Scared? Cautious?"
"More worried and cautious then anything."
"Agreed, but now we have our work cut out for us," she said sitting down.
"The medicines?" He asked. Aya nodded.
"I can use three times more Trialcon in the solution bags and double the serum injections like you mentioned. But I won't have all that ready by morning without your help."
"What do you need me to do?"
"Grind Trialcon."
"All right,"he smiled.
"I need about two barrels full ground up to go in the lab so I can measure out what I need. The rest we'll try to figure out where to store it until it's needed. But I think the Sorcerer's Guild is interested in grinding some up and keeping it on hand."
"Well the Guild is going to have to wait for a bit," Zelgadis grumbled. "What we need it for is far more important."
"No question about that," Aya said.
Zelgadis pulled on his shoes and jacket. He looked into Amelia's room briefly then turned back to Aya.
"Well let's get this Trialcon ready. I want to see for myself how much was brought in," he said heading out the room with Aya ahead of him.
When they finally got outside, Zelgadis saw the carts of Trialcon and could only stare.
"Why is it all bright green?" He asked.
"I didn't ask," Aya laughed. "Come on," she said and started working.
When Zelgadis finally got back to Amelia's room it was late and he was exhausted. Instead of two barrels of Trialcon powder they had done four and levitated them up to Aya's lab. Aya left to spend the remainder of the night with Joliet after mixing the IV solution for the morning.
The chimera took off his jacket and sat down in the armchair by the bed and studied the princess's face and slowly drifted to sleep.
The morning seemed to come early as Zelgadis awoke to the faint signs of rustling. He cracked open his eyes for a moment and saw Odayaka checking Amelia and updating his charts. He closed his tired eyelids again until sometime later when someone lightly tapped him.
"Zelgadis wake up," Aya whispered, giving him another shake. The chimera moved and shifted positions but continued to sleep deeply.
Aya hated to wake him up, especially since he was sleeping so deeply. She shook him again, then stopped.
"I'll let him sleep a bit longer," she thought. Then went into the nearby closet and pulled out an extra blanket and tucked it around him.
"Besides I can get some things done by myself," Aya said.
She'd changed Amelia's solution bag to the new one and took the opportunity to change some of the top sheets and pillow cases. While doing so Aya noticed the miasma focused around her bruises and cuts.
"I'll have to see if there's some thing else we can do about those bruises," she whispered, eyeing a particularly nasty one. She finished up and decided her next stop was to pay Bubbles and the others a visit.
Lina lay in the warm cocoon of bed sheets, half asleep and sighed.
"It feels so nice to be able to sleep in," she thought.
They had all earned a little extra time in bed, in fact the whole town did with all the help they had given them over the past two weeks. The sorceress sighed again and snuggled deeper into the covers and hugged her pillow.
"This is heaven," she murmured.
The door to her room cracked open and Gourry poked his head through and looked about spotting the redhead still in bed. He yawned, stretched, and padded into her room in his slipper clad feet and blue pajamas.
"Hey Lina," he whispered.
"Mmmmmm,"
"Can we talk?"
"Mmmmmm,"
The swordsman took that as a yes and climbed in the bed and stretched out beside Lina and looked at the ceiling. The gradual creak of the bed under his weight woke the sorceress fully. She looked over and saw Gourry's long golden hair next to her fiery tresses on the pillow, then took in the rest of his frame, laid out atop her comforter. He took up most of the far side of the bed, not touching her but still very close. Lina blushed brightly and debated on whether to yell at him or fireball him out of the bed.
"What does he think he's doing?" she asked herself.
"Lina are we going to dig today?" Gourry asked.
"No . . . Gourry we aren't," she said slowly, still feeling the effects of sleep and embarrassment. "What are you doing here laying in my bed, anyway?"
"I wanted to talk, you said it was okay, well sort of."
"I guess so, but why are laying down?"
"Cause it's a bed and I'm still pretty sleepy, that's what people do in beds Lina."
Lina shook her head in defeat and decided not to yell or fireball him. It was a good morning after all, no point in ruining it.
"What did you want to talk about?" she asked.
The swordsman turned on his side facing her and smiled, slightly as if sensing her decision not to berate him.
"Do you think things will be all right now, with Amelia I mean?"
"They have more then enough Trialcon for medicine. Now it's just a question of time," she answered. "You were the one who said before we were due for a good turn, remember?"
"I know Lina but I still worry a little. What if something happened? If Amelia had . . . you know, who would tell Philionel. He may be a little loud at times, but he loves Amelia a lot, it would really hurt him if, you know."
"I'd thought about that too in the beginning. But that's behind us now. Aya and Odayaka have worked really hard to help Amelia and its working so there's no need to worry about . . . that."
"Do you ever think about . . . dying?"
"Yes and no. I think about it when we fight. But more then anything I think about living, my future. What I'll be doing. I don't think I'd mind dying if I've done all the things I've wanted to while I'm alive."
"I want things to go back to normal again, that's all," he whispered.
"We all do, we just have to wait it out till Amelia gets better," she said as someone knocked.
"Want me to get that?" Gourry asked.
"No I will," she said crawling out of bed. When she opened the door, she found Daisy waiting.
"Aya's downstairs, she wants to talk to us," Daisy said.
"I don't have to get dressed do I?" Lina yawned.
"No," Daisy laughed, "Just throw on a robe and slippers."
"Okay then."
"I was going over to knock on Gourry's door after telling you,"
"I'm already here," he called from the bed at the mention his name.
Daisy looked at Lina then through the door and saw Gourry and started to blush.
"I didn't mean to interrupt you guys. I didn't know that you two were . . ." she stammered.
Lina noticed the blush and instantly knew that the other girl was starting to get the wrong idea.
"Gourry came by a few minutes ago to talk," she said casually, "And decided to make himself at home on my bed while he did it. Isn't that right sleepyhead?"
"Yep," Gourry answered cheerfully.
"Why? What did you think you were interrupting?" Lina asked sweetly.
"Oh nothing," Daisy laughed nervously, "I just though . . . oh it's nothing, I'll see you downstairs in a few," she mumbled and rushed off. Lina closed the door and sighed in relief.
"Hey Lina, what's up with Daisy?"
"Um nothing. Aya's here to see us," she said. Gourry's expression changed quickly. "I don't think its bad news," she added gently, putting on her slippers and robe. Gourry sat up and pushed his own feet back into his slippers and they both headed out of the room.
"Sorry I woke you up this morning Lina?"
"That's okay, but you can't be lying around on my bed anymore. You'll give people the wrong idea."
"The wrong idea, about what?"
"I'll explain it to you later when we have more time," Lina said as they reached the bottom of the stairs. Already seated were Bubbles, Daisy and Aya. Daisy looked at Lina anxiously as she sat down.
"Sorry about this morning, I misunderstood things," Daisy whispered.
"Forget about it," Lina whispered back, then turned to their guest. "So Aya what's up?"
"Just wanted to let you know we were able to get some of the Trialcon ready last night. Thanks to Zelgadis's help."
"How's he doing?" Daisy asked.
"He's still not eating like he should," Aya said.
"Is he drinking his coffee?" Bubbles asked knowingly.
"Of course," she laughed. "He's getting more sleep, in fact that's what he's doing now after all the work he helped me with last night. I think helping with Amelia's care has really helped improve things with him," she said.
"That's good to know," Daisy smiled.
"Did we bring you enough Trialcon?" Gourry asked.
"Plenty," Aya said. "We won't have to worry about running out now. The rest is up to Amelia."
"Will we able to see her anytime soon?" Lina asked
"Not for a bit. The Liquid Nightmare's tapered off some but its still dangerous. The last thing we want is someone else to be targeted in its attempts to survive."
"You make it sound like it's alive?"
"In a way it almost seems like it. It acts in what we would consider instinctively like, an animal would," Aya explained.
"Is there anything else we can do to help?" The swordsman asked.
"Get some rest. I know you've all been pulling really long hours and you may not have been taking good care of yourself, a little better then Zelgadis but you all still look tired."
"We feel it," Daisy sighed.
"Then take the day to be lazy and relax. It's okay. We're at a point where you can take that extra moment to breathe."
"I don't think we'll be able to completely relax until we can see Amelia," Bubbles said.
"I understand how difficult waiting can be but hopefully it won't be for too much longer."
"Breakfast, I think we could all use a nice hearty breakfast," Lina said suddenly.
"Yes, that does sound good. I haven't eaten yet either," Aya said.
"Will you have enough time?" Bubbles asked.
"Yes. They're not expecting on duty until a little later."
"Good, you could tell us more about Zel," Gourry smiled.
"Okay, let's order."
"No need, they should be bringing out everything soon."
"What did you order?" Aya asked.
"Everything on the menu, triple portions," Daisy said. Lina and Gourry grinned happily. Aya stared at the kitchen doors wide-eyed as the waitress began carrying out the first loads of food.
Zelgadis woke up again a little later in the morning. He found that the new solution bag had been hooked up as well as fresh bandages for the princess.
"They must have started without me," he thought, sitting up fully. He moved to the princess's bed and noticed the Liquid Nightmare swirling a bit more actively then before.
"What's going on?" He asked, becoming alert.
He quickly got up and checked the IV tubes and the Liquid Nightmare gauge to find everything appearing normal. He then felt the princess's face and neck and noticed she was sweating. He couldn't find a fever but he could hear that her heart was beating fast and her breathing was quicker then usual.
He ran from the room into his and grabbed the cube that Odayaka had given him the first night after the crash and pressed the indentation on the top. He took the cube with him back into the room and rolled up his sleeves to get some water from the basin near the bed.
"Relax Amelia, just relax," he cooed softly, cradling her head in his hands. He used the water on her face and let a small amount drip into her mouth, not knowing what else might sooth her. Moments later Odayaka came into the room with Aya close behind.
"What's happening?" The doctor asked.
"I don't know. I woke up and the Liquid Nightmare was more active. Her hearts beating faster, her breath is quicker and she's sweating."
"How long has this been going on?" Aya asked, rubbing on some Trialcon cream then taking a closer look at Amelia.
"I woke up less then five minutes ago. I don't know how long before that," Zelgadis said.
"I thought you weren't coming in till later," Odayaka said to Aya as he looked over Amelia.
"I stopped by the tavern to see the others. I just got in when a nurse told me about the call," Aya said. "What do you think?"
"The Liquid Nightmares fighting the new IV dose," Odayaka stated. "Her muscles are tensing like when an adrenaline rush occurs."
"So she's fighting the Liquid Nightmare that's fighting the increase of Trialcon?" Zelgadis asked.
"Yes," Aya nodded.
"How do we fix it?"
"We can start with the IV," Aya said.
"Are you thinking of stopping or slowing the solution flow?" Odayaka asked.
"Slowing. A more gradual flow should help things," she explained while working with the IV.
"When will we know that this works?" Zelgadis asked.
"Soon, she should return to normal in a few minutes. In the meantime talk to her," Odayaka said. "It should help things along."
Zelgadis whispered to her softly, stroking her hair in an effort to help calm her agitation. Aya and Odayaka stayed close by monitoring her and the Liquid Nightmare. As the minutes passed Zelgadis could hear Amelia's breathing return to normal as well as her heart, as the lower dose moved through her system. He could see her visibly relaxing and took this as another sign of improvement.
"Her heart sounds normal again," he said finally.
"Good," Odayaka said taking a listen for himself. Aya sighed in relief. "We'll up the flow gradually at each check up in the future. I think the increase from the previous formula was too quick."
"How come you didn't think of that before?" Zelgadis asked in a low voice.
"We thought with the serum being the . . ."
"You could have made things worse for her! Do you know that?" He interrupted shouting. He left the room for his with Aya following will Odayaka stayed to further check the princess.
"I was going to say. The solution bag is the same grade as the serum. We haven't had any negative effects with that so we didn't foresee any problems," Aya explained.
"We didn't mean to scare you," Odayaka said from the door frame. "This is as new for us as it is for you, but all our information from her exams and charts made us feel sure nothing remotely negative would happen and . . ."
"You don't have to apologize. I -I understand," Zelgadis said quietly. "It's just I think of what could have happened and well . . ."
"She would have become exhausted after the adrenaline rush ended. Her circulatory system is working faster due to the rush, that's why the lower dose was able to set in so quickly. Her life wasn't in any danger, she's been past that point for a while," Odayaka said.
"I'll be more careful in the future. This was an unexpected turn," Aya said.
"I suppose you've experienced lots of those."
"Yes, we have," Aya nodded.
"In the meantime, let's keep things business as usual and keep an extra close eye on her," Odayaka smiled.
Aya and the doctor went back into Amelia's room and did one last check on the Liquid Nightmare gauge and took down the current levels. After making sure everything till seemed to be in order, Odayaka left to tend to his other patients but Aya stayed with Zelgadis.
"Are you all right?" She asked.
"Just back in reality and not in the clouds," he said.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You didn't think something bad could happen, but you know as well as I how delicate things have been for her. We, correction I have gotten a little comfortable here. We aren't as cautious as we were before and she just suffered the results of it. I'm not saying you were careless. You looked over her charts and other exam records to make your determinations."
"But you feel that we need to be reminded that just because we plan things a certain way they may not turn out that way." Aya said.
"That's what I'm saying," he nodded.
Aya nodded in turn understanding that the chimera was still unnerved.
"I went to see the others this morning," she said, changing the subject. "I told them to get some rest and that we now had plenty of Trialcon to work with."
"How are they?"
"Good, tired, but cheerful after the hard work" Aya said, but noticed the chimera's gaze was steady on the princess.
In her room Daisy and Lina sat on the Muzuko's bed eating fruit and chatting idly between bits.
"It was nice of Aya to stop in this morning," Daisy smiled.
"And it's nice to hear that Zel's getting some sleep even if he isn't eating that much still," Lina said. "Then again he never ate a whole lot before."
"Hmm," Daisy nodded, eating a bit of fruit. "He cares about Amelia so much . . ."
"But doesn't yet see how much, the stubborn idiot."
"Lina!"
"Well it's true. He's been worried crazy but won't admit he's this crazed because he cares so much about her, more then as a friend," the redhead said, not giving any details about what was told to her by her friend.
"I think things will change when Amelia finally wakes up," Daisy said. "He's had a lot of time to think and maybe in that time he's figured out a few things."
"Where are Gourry and Bubbles?"
"Don't you remember? They went to spread the word about no more digging. Bubbles and I were thinking we should do something for everyone to say thanks for all the hard work."
"To be honest, I'm not going to feel much like celebrating until Amelia's awake," Lina sighed.
"Me either."
"I wish I could talk to her again. We'd done that a lot lately, talk like you and me are now. I've been trying to be a little better about things."
"A little better?"
"I had this weird dream before we came to Briseral and Gourry asked me if I hated him. Then he starts acting weird about the pageant and I had a blow up with Amelia at the spa about me teasing her about Zel. I tease a little sometimes and I guess I went too far. I figured something was telling me I have good friends and to keep my good friends I have to be one in return. That sounds pretty cheesy I guess," she laughed self-consciously.
"No, that sounds good to me, really good," Daisy smiled.
"I think so too and Gourry gave me this necklace as a gift of appreciation," Lina smiled, pulling on the gold chain to show off the tiny sword. "No one's ever given me anything like this before. He said it was for all the work I did to help him for the pageant."
"It sounds like your new pearl of wisdom has begun to reap some benefits."
"It has," the redhead nodded. "I still wish I could talk to Amelia though, no offense."
"None taken."
"But we talked a little during the festival and there's a few things I want to tell her about what we'd discussed that I've had the chance to think about."
"You could write a letter and have Zelgadis read it to her," Daisy said. "Unless of course it's really personal then maybe that wouldn't be the best thing."
"Actually," Lina smiled "That just might be what the doctor ordered."
There were lingering thoughts in the back of his mind. Ones he had pushed aside to do what was needed, but now saw fit to resurrect themselves in the wake of the morning's excitement. His thoughts of her declining health and possible death by pain and other forms of agony clouded his mind as he went through his daily conversations and massages of her limbs. The light tunes he strummed on his guitar were ones of loss, sadness and fear. Every part of him permeated with the doubts and fears he'd held in the beginning. He ate nothing and stayed in her room by the bed watching her closely. His quiet talking, punctuated with bouts of silence so that he could listen to her heart in reassurance that all was still well.
Aya passed by Amelia's room in the early afternoon and looked in through the slightly cracked door to check on the pair. She found Zelgadis close to the bed quietly talking to Amelia in soft tones of reassurance. She could hear the sadness and concern laced in is voice and saw eyes filled with emotion as he chattered in supporting comfort that he did not truly feel. And she worried.
Bubbles and Gourry spent the afternoon spreading the news about no more digging and thanking the volunteers for their help. They also talked with store keepers about returning donated supplies.
Gourry stopped by the library and picked up a few books that caught his attention during his research trips. The librarian smiled and congratulated him on the success at the site. When he left, he met up with Bubbles who had taken on the task of working out the particulars of returning some items donated back to their owners.
"Well I'll have to deliver the pick axes and shovels along with some other things tomorrow. It's a good thing we made a list of who donated what," Bubbles said.
"But everything's used can they still use it or sell it in their stores?" Gourry asked.
"I guess they'll have to figure it out by the condition everything's in when they get it back," the muzuko shrugged. "So what's the book?"
"Oh it's 'The Logistics of Magic in the Ancient World," the swordsman from the books spine. "It's got all kinds of stuff about ancient cities and the evolution of magic. I found when I was researching before and I figured I'd read it now since we don't have anymore digging to do."
"You've had your nose in books a lot these few weeks."
"I know, but they're all kinds of cool stuff to read and what's even better is I'm remembering it all. I sorta have trouble with that sometimes. I'm lousy with names," he laughed.
"How many books have you read so far?"
"I don't know, about five full books the rest I've read sections of. But I went through a lot of books that way. I see why people like to study magic it's really neat."
"So are you considering taking up sorcery?"
"Nah. I like swords better. They're more reliable. I just think this stuff is nice reading," Gourry smiled.
"At least you have something to do for the rest of the day."
"Pretty much, unless Lina wants do something before dinner," he shrugged. "Other then that I was going to stop by the center to see how Amelia's doing but since Aya came by we already know."
"It was nice that she gave us an update on things, especially Zelgadis," Bubbles said as the approached the tavern.
"Hey lets go see what the girls are up to," Gourry said going inside, with Bubbles following.
The afternoon quickly drifted into evening and left Zelgadis where he had been throughout the day in Amelia's room. He played his guitar by the bed, the same melody from his song at the talent show. Things had stayed the same with Amelia after the adjustment to her IV and lightened the chimera's worrisome thoughts though they still lingered.
He set down the guitar and took a moment to tuck Amelia in and straighten her pillow. The Liquid Nightmare ignored him even as he brushed her hair from her forehead and without thinking kissed her lightly on the arch of her eyebrow and sighed.
"It sometimes feels like, sitting here I'm watching you die instead of get better," he whispered. "There is so much I . . . like during the festival, despite everything that has happened since, was really good for me. I've learned a lot about myself and you too and if you die because of me I'd never be able to forgive myself. I want to tell you I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused, all the pain. You'd be better off if I weren't around at all."
"I think she'd disagree with that."
Zelgadis looked up and saw Aya standing near the door with a tray of food.
"How long have you been there?"
"Not long really, enough to hear you blame yourself and curse your existence," she said offhand and set down the tray. "I brought you something to eat."
"I'm not hungry."
"Sure you are. You're just not thinking about yourself now."
"That's what's gotten us into this mess, me thinking about myself and forgetting that there are other people around me."
"As I understand it, this situation wasn't your fault but the actions of a woman obsessed."
"With me. Her fixation was on me. I'm just as responsible," He cried.
"I'm not going to tell I know how you feel, quite frankly I don't. But I do know that everyone is where they are because they chose to be, to help their friends."
"No one should have to go through what Amelia is for the sake of a friend."
"But it's not just friendship that made her fight Nephillo, or that makes you stay here day in, day out."
At this Zelgadis looked at her with an unreadable expression.
"In any case, eat your food even if you don't want to and drink your coffee," Aya said.
"I told you I'm not hungry."
"Eat anyway. If you want to continue your bedside vigil, you'll need to keep up your strength. I mean pity parties take a lot of energy," she said then left.
"What does she know about what I feel," he grumbled at her last remarks. He turned his attention back to the sleeping princess.
"I promised not to let you down and I won't," he said. "They keep talking about eating and sleeping and other foolishness, but how can I?" he thought, leaning his back against the wall.
Lina sat on her bed with her legs crossed, tapping a pen against her knee in thought. In front of her lay a blank sheet of paper whose whiteness glowed from the lantern light illuminating from the far side of the room.
The tapping increased in rhythm as Lina stared harder at the paper, as if looking at it deeply enough would make words appear. It wasn't that she didn't know what to say, it was a question of where to start and how to say it.
So many things had been on her mind and even more so after her mornings conversation with Gourry about death. It wasn't until then she saw the full extent of how all this had affected him.
"I guess it's a good thing I didn't fireball him after all," she whispered, letting her focus on the paper waver briefly.
"Maybe I should just write whatever comes first," she thought and put pen to paper and started.
Turning her thoughts into sentences on paper became easier then she thought as one sentence led to the next. She thought of everything that had happened so far and the things that were most important to Amelia in that stretch of time, to fuel her pen's movements.
As the lantern light grew dimmer Lina yawned and felt her eyelids fight a battle to stay open as she pressed on writing. When the lantern finally died she was fast asleep with her letter by her side.
She woke up a bit early the next morning, feeling a bit of urgency and excitement as she moved about the room through the normal preparations of the day. The letter still lying on the bed. It's contents having long overflowed past the one blank sheet she'd started with.
She grabbed the pages, checked to see if they were in the right order then folded them neatly. She left the room, absently thinking she forgot something but figured it could wait till later when she ran into Bubble's chest head first.
"Oww. Watch where you're going!"
"Sorry Lina."
Upon recognizing the muzuko's voice the sorceress softened slightly.
"That's okay," she said, rubbing her forehead. "That was like walking into a wall or something. What are you made of, bricks?"
"A wall huh?" he chuckled. "So where are you off to this early."
"I have something I need Zel to read Amelia for me. I wrote it last night, but I can't wait to give it to him."
"Obviously," he laughed again, staring at her petite frame.
"What does that mean?" She asked, studying him in return.
"You forgot something, didn't you?" He said.
Lina looked down and saw she was still wearing her nightshirt and let out a little 'eep' as she tugged down the shirts hem in an attempt at modesty.
"You have nice legs," he said as the redhead scampered back to her room. Closing the door with a loud bang.
"Why didn't you say something sooner?" She called through the door.
"I thought maybe you were trying to start a new fashion trend. And like I said, you've got nice legs," he laughed and continued down the hall.
Inside her room Lina sat against the door grumbling about flirtatious muzuko with roaming eyes.
Zelgadis moved uneasily from his position against the wall. He could feel every stiff muscle, from the unnatural position he'd slept in and moved about slowly to work them out. He looked over at Amelia and upon seeing her face relaxed.
They had gradually increased her solution drip every few hours, to allow her system to adjust. The slower approach had been incredibly well and the new solution was quite effective despite the incident the morning before. Zelgadis could see a clear decrease in the Liquid Nightmare surrounding the princess, which made his worried thoughts disappear.
He thought about what Aya had said about his true motivation behind his care of the princess. The question of his feelings seemed to come up more often from others and as well as himself since his abduction by Nephillo.
The back wheels of his mind had been turning on the matter as the front wheels concentrated on the immediate things, helping Amelia. But those thoughts, those questions of his feelings were always close at hand no matter what he did. They were always close and would surface so that he could be painfully aware of how consuming it all was.
"I've become so irrational theses days. So out of sorts," he thought.
He got up and walked into his room and changed into loose comfortable clothes and returned to Amelia just in time to see Aya doing the morning check up.
"Did you sleep any?" She asked.
"A little."
"Still on the pity parade?"
"No, he grumbled.
"Good," she nodded curtly. "Because I really don't like working with people who are looking at the negative side of things. Besides I think what happened yesterday actually helped her along,"she murmured.
"What?"
"Remember how I said her circulation was working faster due to the adrenaline rush?" Zelgadis nodded. "Well it moved a lot of the new Trialcon solution through her system in a short period of time, killing a lot of Liquid Nightmare."
"Are you serious?"
"Here look," she said, showing him the princess's charts. "Out of all the declines in miasma we've had this is the biggest yet."
"Unbelievable and I was so scared things had gotten worse," the chimera whispered.
"We can smile on it later, now we have work to do," Aya said.
"What do you need?"
"I have to check the IV needle and all the usual stuff, but I think she could use a wipe down with some cool water on her face and neck to refresh her just a little."
Zelgadis got a small rag and dampened it then began gently wiping Amelia's forehead and cheeks, when they heard the ringing of a bell.
"What's that?" Zelgadis asked.
"I'll go see," Aya said, setting aside her paperwork. "Just keep cooling her off."
Aya left and Zelgadis returned to his task. As the cool clothe wiped over her face and neck the chimera could almost swear her expression seemed to soften in relaxation.
When Aya returned she had a smile on her face.
"Lina's here to see you."
"I wonder what she wants," he said getting up.
"Be sure to clean up before going downstairs," Aya called.
He left the room and headed for Aya's lab understanding her meaning. He got a stone of Trialcon and used it on himself to be sure no Liquid Nightmare was hiding on him then headed out.
Zelgadis came down from the ward, he found an anxious Lina waiting for him.
"Lina, what is it?"
"I wrote a letter to Amelia and I want you to read it to her," she said and handed him a set of neatly folded papers.
"Are you sure about this?"
"I wouldn't ask if I wasn't Zel. Just read it to her okay?"
The chimera nodded and went back upstairs, hearing Aya further down the hall in her lab as he headed to Amelia's room. Once there he sat down by the head of Amelia's bed and opened the letter.
Amelia,
This is from me Lina, but since I can't be in your room Zel's reading this for me. Its been a week and a half since we found you in Nephillo's fortress. We all wish you would wake up. The people in town are all working hard to help you get better. Its something you'd probably like to see. But that's not why I wrote to you, it's about Zelgadis.
Remember you told me about what happened between you two after the talent show. I'm glad you felt you could tell me especially after what happened at Tradewinds. Now this part is for Zel since he's reading don't get mad or embarrassed that I know you two kissed.
Anyway, remember what you said about what happened? How you felt it was unbelievable? And the conversation you and Zelgadis had after? You said you felt like you couldn't let it end and give up, that you had this new sense of determination and how you liked kissing him.
Well I want you to find some of that new determination you had for Zelgadis and use it to wake up. The sooner you're up and around the sooner you get to kiss him again. And I know you want to. You should see Zel, he's a total wreck worse then the fortress even. You'll have to tell us what happened when you get better. I know you're trying hard and I want you to know we're all trying to help the best we can. The point is you care about Zelgadis and whether he's ready to say it or not he cares about you too and well . . . that's a pretty big deal, you know. So you just gotta wake up. Besides how can my prediction of the future come true if you don't. And more importantly I'd really like my friend back.
Your Friend,
Lina
(P.S. We can talk later if you want Zel.)
Zelgadis folded the letter back up and looked at Amelia. He reached over and brushed aside wisps of her dark hair.
"I can't believe you told her about that night, but I guess you needed to talk things through. Seems Lina had a lot on her mind," he sighed and moved closer to the princess's bedside.
"I have so much to tell you, we have so much we need to say to each other ," he whispered in her ear. "I've had a lot of time to think, to sort things out inside me. I want, no I need to share that with you. I know you've improved but I still . . ."
"She'll be all right," Odayaka said, coming in for his routine check up. "Things are looking up, she'll be up and about soon."
"Lina's always so carefree but Amelia she has this sunny kind of optimism that just makes everything seem brighter. Things have felt kind of dark since this happened."
"I wonder what kind of dreams she's been having all this time?"
"Good ones I hope."
It felt like she had been drifting, floating through something strange and eerie for what seemed an never-ending length of time. She could hear whispers that seemed concerned for her, one in particular. It was there always, the others would come and go but this one stayed so close to her. It was low and sad, so very sad that it pulled at something inside her soul. She tried to reach out to it but couldn't. Something surrounded her that she couldn't break through. That on the other side would bring her pain. She didn't know how she knew just that it was there and she wasn't ready to go back, not yet.
She moved through what she could only label as nothingness until she found herself on a level plane and could drift no further.
"Where am I?"
"Sort of in between things," someone said.
A woman with long thick red-gold hair and bright eyes appeared in front of her, smiling.
"In between things?" Amelia asked confused.
"Yes. You're not in reality and you're not dreaming, although lately you've been spending a lot of time in the dream world, ne?"
"Am I dead then?"
"No just . . ."
"In between things," Amelia nodded.
"Exactly."
"Who are you exactly miss . . ."
"Forgot to introduce myself sorry, I'm the Lord of Nightmares," she said nonchalantly.
"The Lord of Nightmares," Amelia whispered in shock. "Miss Lord of Nightmares ma'am why are we here?"
"What? You have somewhere else to be?"
"N-no ma'am," she answered shaking her head quickly.
"And stop calling me ma'am, Ni will do."
"Okay Ni," Amelia said, feeling a little at ease. "If you don't mind my saying for some reason I always thought you were blonde."
At this the Lord laughed. "Oh that was a few millennia ago. I decided to try a little change."
"It's very nice," Amelia said.
"I think so too, have a seat." Instantly a living room surrounded them completely furnished. "I have homes everywhere, a summer house in the astral plane, a winter cottage in reality and the best part is I can move them anywhere."
"I thought you liked Lina," the princess said taking a seat in a cushy armchair beside her. "You let her use your power, wouldn't you rather talk to her?"
"Lina's cute. She kind of remains me of myself at that age, so chaotic and carefree. But Lina's not the one I need to talk to, you are."
"Me?"
"Yes, about this whole Evette, Nephillo mess. I have to say I'm impressed. And to think I use to find you a little annoying."
"Hey, I'm not annoying," Amelia yelled.
"Didn't mean to offend," Ni chuckled. "But I have to ask, do really love him that much?"
"Zelgadis, yes I do."
"Enough to die for him?"
"No, enough to live for him," she answered firmly. "It's easy to stand their and let the inevitable come. Its harder to hang in there and fight for those you love and find the strength to keep fighting, even when you don't think you have any left. I love him that much."
"How very idealistic of you. Have told him yet?"
"I've said I loved him before, but never in a way he could take seriously. Now I may never get the chance," she said sadly.
"Look , I told you already, you're not dead. There's just some time between now and when you can return to your body. I just thought I'd keep you company," Ni shrugged. "And ask you about that spell you used against whats-her-name. What made you think to try something like that?"
"I couldn't let Nephillo win. She said she wanted Zelgadis and was willing to kill me to get him. Who's to say she would have stopped with me? She could have taken her anger out on Briseral too."
"I see," the Lord mused. "You did something rare, how did you know it would work?"
"I didn't, but I figured if I combined black magic with my Ra-tilt she would absorb the spell like she did with the Liquid Nightmare instead of deflecting it. And in the process of absorbing the black magic she'd absorb the Ra-tilt. Which destroyed her from the inside out like I hoped it would."
"It's quite impressive that you could figure all that out in a matter of seconds. Your calculations were crude but in the end effective."
Amelia blushed at the praise the Lord had given her. "Thank you."
"I want you to do something for me."
"What?"
"Actually a few things. First don't tell anyone about that spell, including you friends. Even though I don't think anyone would be able to duplicate it."
"And what else?" Amelia asked.
"Continue to work with it, perfect the calculations. I figure if you had more time it would have been more effective then it was and not drained so much from you, correct?"
"I think so. You said what I did was rare, how many times has it been done?"
"Never," the Lord said flatly, and for the first time the princess understood completely just how serious this was.
"However, its time for you to get back to your friends," Ni said and Amelia started to fade.
"WAIT! I still have more questions," the princess shouted as she disappeared.
"I'm sure you do, and so do I," the Lord said to herself.
Amelia opened her eyes and found herself in bed with a pounding sensation that seemed to resonate from her head to her toes. She turned her head and groaned as the pounding increased. In the corner she could see someone sitting on the floor with their legs pulled tightly to their chest hugging them. The pound in her head returned to its previous rhythm after a few moments and she focused her eyes to make out her guest.
"Zelgadis," she said in a small voice that was just barely loud enough to get his attention.
The chimera looked up and was greeted with large blue eyes that regarded him in hazy confusion. "Amelia," he said feeling a sigh of relief wash through him. With his chimeric speed he was across the rom at her bedside in a matter of seconds.
"Amelia, are you all right?"
"Too loud," she rasped.
"Is this better?" He asked in a lower, softer voice. She nodded as best she could.
"What happ-" she tried to ask and made an attempt to sit up only to have Zelgadis's hand stop her.
"Take it easy, there's plenty of time for that later. Right now just lay back and work on getting better," he smiled.
She laid in bed and smiled weakly as he placed a fresh compress on her head and had her drink a bit of medicine and a little soup from yet another untouched lunch tray.
"Get better," she thought as Zelgadis readjusted her blankets. "I have to get better so I can tell," she told herself as sleep seemed to overwhelm her.
Zelgadis watched as her eyes closed and her breathing took on an even steady rhythm. When Aya came in minutes later she found him on the floor by the bed in shock, hands shaking with a smile on his face.
"Zelgadis? What is it, what's happened?"
The chimera looked at Aya and leapt to his feet, hugging her.
"She woke up," he cried, "She woke up."