"You must always find the root of the problem, before the problem itself can be properly dealt with."
Lina emerged wearing clean clothes and her face and hair damp. She had her things piled in her arms and she took them into Gourry’s room, put them down then quietly exited, closing the door behind her. She wandered over to an unoccupied couch and dropped into it, looking rather the worse for wear.
She felt eyes on her. Looking up, she found Amelia and Zelgadis staring at her with shocked expressions on their faces. "Lina-san," Amelia said quietly.
"What?"
"Are you and Gourry…?" the Princess started to say, but blushed and sputtered.
"Sleeping together is what she wants to know," Zel said rather tactlessly. Amelia winced and cast him a reproachful look.
Lina blushed and her eyes flashed at the Chimera. "Why shouldn’t we? He is my husband, after all."
Both Amelia and Zelgadis sat straight up. Zelgadis, unfortunately, was taking a sip of coffee at the time and ended up choking some through his nose as he tried not to spit it out. Amelia grabbed up some cloths and helped him get it cleaned up as she looked at Lina over her shoulder.
"You’re married? When did this happen?" she demanded. "And why didn’t you tell us?" She mopped at Zelgadis’ face; the Chimera took the cloth from her with a muttered thanks and gently pushed her hands away.
"To answer your questions: Yes, Harvest Festival, and we were on our way to tell you when we were attacked. I’ve only just now had a chance to tell you about it." She leaned forward and grabbed one of the sandwiches off the table in front of her.
Satisfied that Zel didn’t need her help, Amelia jumped up and ran to Lina’s side. She engulfed her friend in a hug which Lina returned, lukewarmly at first then with growing emotion as she found comfort in her friend’s embrace.
"Lina-san! I’m so happy for both you and Gourry-san! That’s so wonderful!"
"It’s about time, is what it is," Zelgadis said, pouring himself some more coffee. "You two have been dancing around what we all knew about for too long." He gave her one of his rare smiles. "Congratulations."
"Thanks, Zel, Amelia," Lina said, genuinely pleased that they were happy.
Amelia sat back and fixed Lina with a happy look. "Tell us all about it," she said. For once, Lina didn’t mind the girl’s enthusiasm and told her all about the night of the Festival.
"Oh, that sounds absolutely romantic!" Amelia crooned afterwards.
Zel shook his head. "And here I thought we were going to have to tie you two up and refuse to feed you until you’d talked things over," he said.
Lina winced. "That’s harsh, Zel."
"So is what happened today." He was suddenly serious.
The sorceress’ face clouded. "Yes," she whispered.
"What happened, Lina-san?" Amelia asked in a quiet voice.
"I’m not sure really. We were on our way here and since it was such a nice afternoon we stopped for lunch and a nap. Then Gourry woke me up saying something wasn’t right and we started on our way again. This group of mercenaries appears on the road and something about them set all Gourry’s alarms off. We thought we might be able to get through them without a fight, but they seemed to be spoiling for one. Almost as if they knew we were going to be there."
Zelgadis leaned forward. "You’re sure they were mercs?"
"Definitely mercs; the leader of the band was almost as good with a sword as Gourry." She touched her temple. "I don’t know why, but it seemed like they didn’t want to hurt me, that it was just Gourry that they wanted to take out. The leader threatened me and took me out of the picture so I couldn’t help, but other than this—" she touched her temple, which was throbbing slightly "—I wasn’t hurt."
"Oh, let me see that," Amelia said. She pushed the other girl’s hair back and winced at the sight of the nasty bruise raising on Lina’s temple. She cast a quick healing spell and both the discoloration and the inflammation were soon gone.
"Thanks, Amelia," Lina said sincerely.
"Lina," Zelgadis said. She looked up at him. "You say these mercenaries appeared to know you were there. Are you saying that someone may have hired them to attack you?"
Lina paled as the thought suddenly crystallized. "But who—"
"That’s what we need to find out. Amelia, why don’t you go let Vymes know what we suspect. He’ll need that information for his investigation."
The Princess nodded and went to look for Vymes. Once she was gone, Zelgadis leaned forward "Lina," he asked in a quiet and intense voice. "How did Gourry get wounded?" She gave him a startled look.
"I told you—"
"This is Gourry we’re talking about here. No one can touch him with a sword. What happened really?" His eyes were merciless. "There’s something you’re not telling me."
Hanging her head so that her hair hid her face, she said quietly, "I distracted him. It was my fault."
"Lina—" he said, but she shook her head, cutting him off.
"No. There were seven of them. All of them were down except for one and he had his sword at my throat so I couldn’t move. Only, one of the others wasn’t quite as dead as Gourry thought he was. He was coming up behind Gourry and I yelled at him to look out. When he turned to take care of the wounded man, the leader—who wasn’t wounded—got in under his guard. And then there was this—sword—sticking through him—" Suddenly, she put her hand to her mouth. "E-excuse me, Zel—" she managed to gulp as she jumped up and ran into the washroom. Zel followed her and held her shoulders while she brought back up the sandwich she’d just eaten.
"Ugh," she said, spitting into the pot and sat there shivering. Zelgadis handed her a damp towel which she used to mop her face. Weakly, she looked up at him. "Thanks. Sorry about this."
"Considering what you’ve been through, I’m surprised it took you this long." He squatted down and looked into her face. "He’ll be okay, Lina," he said quietly, putting his hand on her shoulder.
"I know," she said.
"And I’m sorry for what I said just now. I thought there might have been something else; I never meant to make you feel—"
She shook her head at him. "I know, Zel, I know."
He straightened and held out his hand. She took it and he helped her up. They were just coming out of the washroom when Amelia arrived. Lina sank down on her abandoned couch and stared up at the ceiling. She wasn’t feeling too well right now.
"I really wish you two had been here for the Harvest Festival," Amelia was saying from where she’d curled up next to Zelgadis. "Oh, well. We can at least throw you a party!" she exclaimed. "The reception to announce our wedding will be in two weeks; we can turn it into a party to celebrate your marriage!"
Zelgadis winced. "Amelia…" he said in an exasperated tone.
Amelia turned to him. "I know you don’t like it, Zelgadis-san, but you know Daddy insisted on this to announce our engagement. It’s important that the peerage gets a look at the man the Heir is marrying, you know."
"That’s what I don’t like," he muttered.
"It won’t be so bad," Amelia said softly, taking Zelgadis’ hand in hers. "Especially now that we’ve got Lina-san and Gourry-san here. They’ll help take some of the attention off of you."
"Thanks, Amelia," Lina mumbled.
"Oh, I didn’t mean it like that, Lina-san!" Amelia exclaimed.
Lina sighed. She was really very tired; too much had happened today and her brain was threatening to shut down. "I know, I know, Amelia. I shouldn’t have said that. We’d love to attend your party—as long as you remember to have plenty of food this time. I can’t believe you ran out at the last one." She put a hand to her head and closed her eyes. "Uh, guys, could you excuse me for a couple hours? I’m really beat and I want to go sit with Gourry."
She heard the sound of rustling cloth. "Of course, Lina-san," Amelia said. Lina opened her eyes and watched them head for the door. Amelia turned back. "If you need anything, just ring for a servant." She gave Lina a smile and then she and Zelgadis were gone.
Taking a deep breath, Lina laid her head back on the couch. She sat there for a few moments before hauling herself out of the warm nest and headed for the bedroom.
Gourry was fast asleep, turned on his side and curled in on himself as if he still felt the pain. Lina knelt next to him and touched his forehead. He shivered and murmured something in his sleep, then said her name softly. Crawling off the bed, she shed her boots and slipped in under the covers, insinuating herself into Gourry’s arms. He seemed to sense her presence for he pulled her close. The tautness in his body relaxed as he unconsciously molded himself around her. Feeling secure in the knowledge that he was going to be okay, she let herself slip into sleep as well.
* * *
A movement woke her. Instantly alert, Lina sat up. Gourry had shifted and was lying on his back, staring at the canopy above.
"Gourry?" she whispered, leaning over him, and letting her hair brush his face.
"I had the most horrible nightmare, Lina," he said. "I dreamt some mercs attacked us and—" He sat up and winced in pain. Looking down at his abdomen, he went very quiet and still for a few minutes. There was still some traces of blood on his skin, flaking away now. "It wasn’t a nightmare, was it?" he asked in a strained voice as he put his hand on his abdomen.
"No," she said, pushing his hair off his shoulder.
"I had a sword sticking through me…" His voice went distant as he processed that information. He shuddered and curled forward around his arms, which he crossed over his stomach. "That’s something I don’t ever want to feel again."
Lina sat behind him, put her arms around him and laid her head on his shoulder. "You won’t, not if I can help it."
He smiled weakly. "Hey, that’s my line."
The red-haired sorceress let go of him and crawled around so that she could face him. Her face and voice were serious as she said, "Gourry, I know you like to think of yourself as my protector, and you are. We’re partners, right?"
He nodded. "Yeah…"
"That means we watch each other’s backs. And it makes me just as much your protector as you are mine." She touched his cheek. "Anyway, I’ve got you trained pretty well and I like you; I have a lot of time, energy and money invested in you. Gotta protect my investment."
He smiled and shook his head. "Always have an angle, don’t you?" he said, taking her into his arms and hugging her tightly.
"What angle?" she said, hugging him back. "It’s true. You’re very important to me and I don’t want to lose you." She tweaked his nose. "Hungry?" she asked.
Gourry thought about it a moment. "Yeah."
"Okay, I’ll get us something to eat." She picked at a bit of dried blood in his hair. "Why don’t you go get cleaned up while we’re waiting for it?"
He nodded. "I think I’ll do that. Is my pack anywhere around here?"
Lina slipped out of his arms and fetched it for him. He dug in it for his change of clothes and got up shakily. "I feel as weak as a newborn kitten," he muttered, clutching at the bedpost. The world tilted in front of his eyes and he leaned against it, waiting for it to decide to settle down again.
"You lost a lot of blood," Lina said, going to his side and supporting him. He muttered his thanks and managed to get into the bathroom without falling flat on his face. Once she was certain he would be okay, Lina left to see about getting them something to eat.
* * *
Lina was waiting in the sitting room when the door to the hall opened and a servant came in with a cart. It was loaded down with covered dishes and was followed by another servant with another cart then by Amelia and Zelgadis. Lina jumped up and started peering under the dishes.
"Hi, Amelia, Zel," she greeted them enthusiastically, snatching a chicken drumstick out from one of the covers and waving it in their direction. "Gourry’s getting cleaned up. He’ll be out in a sec."
"I see her appetite hasn’t been affected," Zelgadis noted to Amelia. She shushed him and they made themselves comfortable at the table while the servants started setting the covered dishes on the table situated to one side in the large sitting room. Lina looked at them curiously.
"We decided to dine here tonight instead of going down to the formal dinner. Zelgadis hates it down there, and I don’t blame him." Amelia grinned and spread her hands. "We use any excuse we can think of to get out of going into the formal dining hall."
"Besides that, Vymes’ men returned with their report." Zelgadis leaned back in his chair.
"Well? What did he find?" Lina demanded.
"You’re not going to like this," he said. "They couldn’t find your mercenary friends that attacked you."
"What?" she demanded. "But it happened! We were there!"
"What happened?" Gourry asked as he came out of the bedroom, wearing clean clothes, looking freshly washed and his hair damp. "Good to see you, Zelgadis," he said, holding out his hand. The Chimera stood, took it and they shook hands like old friends.
Amelia jumped up and threw her arms around his waist and hugged him. "Gourry-san!"
"Amelia," he gasped. "Not quite so hard." She loosened her hold and he patted her head while giving her a fond smile. "I remember you healed me, didn’t you, Amelia? Thanks."
"I’m only glad you and Lina-san were close enough to Seyruun that you were able to get here in time." She went back to her chair as Gourry took his seat. The servants began serving them.
"Now what was it you were talking about when I came in?" he asked Zel.
"Vymes’ men couldn’t find the bodies of the men who attacked you."
"They couldn’t find anything? No blood? Nothing?" Lina demanded.
Zelgadis shook his head. "They did, however, find the area where you were attacked. The entire area was scorched clean—which is why there were no bodies."
"But…I only got off a couple spells! And they went wide! The only one that I know my spell connected with was the leader, and that was after Gourry was—after he was wounded."
"Then someone did it after the attack. But who would want to cover this up?"
"Cover what up?" Gourry asked, looking up from his plate.
"The attack," Lina said patiently. "Zelgadis and I think someone hired those mercs to attack us."
"But who would want to do that?"
"That’s what we’re trying to figure out," Lina said between gritted teeth.
"Is there anyone at all that you’ve managed to piss off enough to send hired killers after you?" Zelgadis asked.
"Of course not!" Lina said indignantly. "Well…the usual. A merchant or two, perhaps. But no one that would spend money to send mercs after us!"
"How do we know they were hired to kill us?" Gourry asked.
"Think about it, Gourry. You were a mercenary; did you ever do anything like that without the promise of being paid?"
"Of course not; but then again, I never took jobs that involved killing people." He thought about it a moment. "Now that you mention it, it does seem strange that they would have attacked us. They seemed awfully interested in you, Lina."
"Exactly what we’re talking about," she said. "They ganged up on you and tried to keep me out of the action."
"So, you’re saying they might have been hired to kill me and grab you?" She nodded. Gourry’s face hardened. "I don’t like that. If I ever find out who did this, I’m going to have a little ‘talk’ with them."
Everyone ate in silence a few moments, even Lina who was uncharacteristically restrained in her eating that evening. Zelgadis looked up.
"Names?"
"Huh?" Lina and Gourry said in unison.
"Did you hear any of them use any names? Maybe if we knew who they were, we might be able to find out who they were dealing with."
Gourry thought a moment then shook his head. "I didn’t hear any names. I was too busy fighting."
"I did." Lina said. "Raydon and Petran."
"Raydon?" Amelia gasped. Everyone looked at her.
"You know him?" Zelgadis asked
She nodded. "He used to be in the Royal Guard. He left sometime ago for some reason. I don’t remember what it was; I was very young, but I remember him."
"Raydon," Gourry mused. "Was he the one with the black hair, Lina?"
"Yes."
"He was good. Not as good as me, but good all the same."
"Why would he have taken a job like this? What’s he been doing since he left the Guard, Amelia? Do you know?"
She looked at her plate. "He has been—was—working as a guard on merchant caravans in and out of Seyruun for the past ten years." She looked down at her plate and toyed with her food. "I can’t believe he would take a job like this," she said quietly.
Zelgadis put a hand on her arm. "People change," he said. "Sometimes for the worse." She nodded without saying anything else.
Still no closer to any answers, they finished their meal in silence.
Slayers copyright 1991-2000 by Hajime Kanzaka/Rui Araizumi/Kadokawa Shoten/TV
TOKYO/SOFTX/Marubeni.
The other characters copyright Wendy W Lee.