(no subject)
Title: Habits
Author: Earthstar_chan
Fandom/Couple: Slayers/Zelgadis/Amelia
Theme: #9 Falling
Rating: G
Zelgadis could see the broken upper level of the ancient temple over the tree tops. Even though the chimera didn’t have a clear view, he could tell it was nothing but ruins now. Still, even if most of the temple had crumbled, it was worth checking out.
Zelgadis had learned of this temple from the innkeeper earlier that morning when he had gotten up to get his coffee. It had started as an off hand conversation. Truthfully, Zelgadis was only being polite and was only partially listening, until his ears heard the words “ruins” and “magical artifacts”. At that moment, he quickly asked the man where this temple was located and rushed off. He would have told Lina, Amelia and Gourry this information, except they were still sleeping in their rooms. Zelgadis didn’t want to waste time waking them up. They would understand once he returned.
Zelgadis pushed back the slim tree branch and shoved his way through the bushes. The temple was near a waterfall. The air was heavy with moisture and he could hear the sound of water crashing and falling against the rocks. He scanned the area, keeping his ears alert for any danger or threat. These ruins were located deep in the forest, where large predators tended to roam. It wouldn’t take much for a wild animal or any other kind of creature to try to make a meal out of him. Admittedly, his stone body did provide him some protection from this. Any animal that would try to bite him would most likely break its’ teeth.
So far, he hadn’t had any trouble. As he got closer to the temple, Zelgadis relaxed a little. It was possible that luck was on his side for once. Suddenly, leaves rustled behind him. Zelgadis froze and listened intently. There were footsteps. He concluded that this creature was, thankfully, not a large animal on account of the footsteps being very light. Unfortunately, they were moving at a fast pace and straight towards him. Zelgadis swiftly hid behind a tree. The best plan of action was to take the animal or creature by surprise before it attacked. Patiently, he waited. The footsteps came closer. The sound of heavy breathing grew louder.
Zelgadis held his breath. He stayed motionless, refusing to give away his position. Finally, his enemy approached the tree. He jumped out, yelling and ready to swing his sword.
He was greeted with an ear piercing scream from Amelia. The stunned princess stumbled and fell on her bottom. She held her hand over her heart, gasping for air. “Mister Zelgadis, don’t scare me like that!”
The chimera stared back, bewildered. Hastily, he sheathed his sword, blushing bright red. “Sorry,” he muttered. “But, how on earth did you get here?”
With her heart beating normally again, she rose, dusting the dirt from her pants. “I had gotten up to ask if you wanted to check out the library together, but when I couldn’t find you, the innkeeper told me you came here.” Amelia folded her arms. “I wish you had waited for us, Mister Zelgadis. I had to run all the way here to catch up to you.”
“Run? If you were trying to catch up to me, shouldn’t you have raywinged?”
Amelia blushed. “I would have, but...it’s that time of the month.”
“Ah, never mind then,” Zelgadis quickly replied, not wishing to address that topic any further. “Well, since you’re here, let’s go.”
Amelia sighed, as she followed her friend into the temple.
The interior of the temple appeared to be much more intact than the exterior. A few ancient scriptures on the walls had faded, but were still readable. Amelia couldn’t help but marvel at the sight. The whole temple, from the ceiling, to the walls and floor, was a light shade of blue. The sunlight peeking in through the holes at the top bounced off the stone walls and caused them to shimmer like ripples in water. The princess felt like she was standing in the middle of the ocean. Regardless of this beauty, she noted that Zelgadis seemed much more interested in translating the engraved scriptures on the far wall, not that this surprised her.
“How’s it going?” she asked, walking over.
At first, Amelia wasn’t sure that Zelgadis heard her, but the chimera put down his tools, stroked his chin and turned. “I’m having a little difficulty translating. This temple uses a different rune alphabet than what I’m used to. Also, some of the words appear to be missing. It’s going to take some time to translate.”
Amelia gazed up at the wall. “How old is this place?”
“I’m not sure.” Zelgadis ran his fingers across the ancient words. “But judging by the rune alphabet, it’s possible this temple was built before the Kouma War.”
The princess widened her eyes. For this temple to be that old and still mostly intact was a miracle. She could understand why Zelgadis was eagar to study this place. There was no telling what kind of information they could find here. “What can I do to help, Mister Zelgadis?”
“You can take a look in the other rooms and tell me what you find.” Amelia nodded and began to leave. “But be careful!” Zelgadis quickly yelled after her. “There’s no telling how many traps there are in this place.”
Amelia replied that she would be careful and set off. The corridor turned out to have little light which would make it easy for Amelia to bump into anything. At once, she cast a lighting spell. At least she was still able to do this during her ‘time of the month’. Stepping lightly, Amelia walked slowly to be sure she didn’t step or set off any traps that were meant for robbers. It was then that the princess noticed a large object up ahead. As she grew closer, Amelia realized it was a relief of a large dragon. Its head was bowing down with its hands clasped together as if it was praying. She held up the light to see the detail. The dragon had glowing blue stones for its eyes, like radiant beacons. The dragon had Amelia mesmerized for a minute. Curious, she reached out to touch it. The eyes were as smooth and firm as glass. “The artwork is so finely detailed. I’ll have to show this to Mister Zelgadis...”
She accidently pushed in the eye. Alarmed, Amelia drew her hand back. It never occurred to her that the stones could move. Then, the floor rumbled. Before Amelia could react, a trap door flew open beneath her feet. The princess let out a loud scream as she plummeted into the darkness below.
Back in the main chamber, Amelia’s scream reached Zelgadis’s ears. Springing to his feet, the chimera threw down his tools and raced down the corridor. He hoped that Amelia hadn’t just gotten herself into a trap, but with his luck, this was probably the case. Zelgadis skidded to a halt as he came to where he heard the scream.
“Amelia!” he called out. There was no answer. He cast a lighting spell and spotted the trap that had caught Amelia moments before. Zelgadis cursed. There was no telling what was at the bottom of this hole or how far down it went and with Amelia unable to cast levitation... He shook his head. There wasn’t time to think of that now. At that moment, there was a low rumble and Zelgadis glanced down. The trap door was slowly closing itself up. Zelgadis briskly cast levitation and sent himself flying down the trap just moments before the door completely shut.
Everything became pitch black. Zelgadis could barely see his own two hands. Carefully, he lowered himself to the unknown ground below. Eventually, as he went down further, there was more light. It grew brighter and brighter as he finally neared the floor. There were larger versions of the dragon statues similar to the one up in the temple. Each held a larger glowing blue crystal, which appeared to be the source of light for the cave. At last, the floor was within reach. The chimera was never so glad to place his feet onto firm dirt again. Except that with a splash, he realized that the floor was covered in ankle deep water.
Zelgadis twitched. He just had to find the cave with water right after buying a pair of new shoes for himself. However, the chimera threw his grumbling aside and scanned the area. “Amelia!” he called out. “Amelia where are you?!”
“I’m up here!”
Zelgadis looked up. The princess was dangling from the end of the nose of one of the giant dragon statues. Although, Zelgadis was relieved to see her uninjured, he couldn’t help but blink dumbly at the sight. “How on earth did you get up there?”
“I managed to grab onto this as I was falling. Now, could you please hurry, Mister Zelgadis. My hands are...AAAH!” As she said her words, she lost her grip.
Instantly, Zelgadis cast levitation again. He flew upwards, spread out his arms and caught her. Releasing a sigh of relief, Zelgadis held Amelia in a tight hug and lowered them to the water covered floor.
“I wish you wouldn’t go scaring me like that.”
Amelia pulled back, blushing as she mumbled an apology. She then gazed about the room in awe, her boots making loud splashes as she moved about. “Who would have thought this place had an underground chamber? I wonder why it’s here?”
“No doubt to trap intruders,” Zelgadis tried to wring out the edge of his cape. “Still, I’m surprised that this place has so much water.”
“It must be connected to a stream somewhere,” Amelia paused. “I wonder if this is an old purification chamber?”
Zelgadis frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I once read that ancient shrine maidens would find streams or rivers to cleanse themselves for rituals. It’s still a common practice, but the chambers are much smaller now.”
Zelgadis nodded. “You may be right. That would also explain why there are so many dragon statues here. Still, that doesn’t help us figure out how to get out of here.”
Amelia stared, confused. “Can’t you just raywing us back through the trap door?”
Zelgadis shook his head. “It closed as I came down here to get you. I could try opening it with a fire ball, but...”
“That would risk the whole ceiling falling on us,” Amelia concluded. “I guess we’ll have to walk. If this place is connected to a stream, there must be an opening somewhere.”
“My thoughts exactly.” Zelgadis folded his arms. “Stay close to me. Who knows what other kinds of traps this place has.”
The princess nodded in agreement as the pair ventured deeper into the cavern. More statues appeared along the wall. Each one held one of the glowing blue crystals and provided them enough light to find their way, so they didn’t need to cast lighting. The water also continued in every direction, much to the chimera’s annoyance.
They advanced in silence. After what felt like several hours, they were still in the cavern. By this time, both Zelgadis and Amelia’s boots and pants were soaked. Zelgadis was positive they would start growing mildew if they didn’t find the exit soon.
He cursed. “I wish I had a map or some kind of clue.”
Amelia placed her hand behind her head as she peered up at the ceiling. “Miss Lina would probably have an idea of how to get out of here.”
“Probably...” Zelgadis muttered “However, she isn’t here and she doesn’t know where we are.”
Amelia grinned. “That’s not true.” She placed both hands on her hips in triumph. “Before I went after you, I left Miss Lina a note telling her where we were. As a fellow champion of justice, I’m sure she’ll realize we need her help.”
Zelgadis scoffed. “I think that may depend whether Lina is too busy eating or not. Leaving a note was a good idea, though.”
“It’s always a good idea to let people know where you are. Daddy always says that common sense is just as important as justice.”
“I can agree with that logic.” Too bad he doesn’t follow his own advice, the chimera thought to himself.
Amelia paused, then raced around Zelgadis so she was directly facing him. “Mister Zelgadis, there is something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”
Zelgadis stopped, a little concerned about what the question would be. “And what would that be?”
Amelia bit her lip. She hoped he wouldn’t take a personal offense. “Why do you keep going off by yourself?”
Zelgaids blinked, confused. “Why? Well, it’s because I need to find a cure.”
“I know,” Amelia quickly replied, “but that doesn’t mean you should just run off on your own. You should tell us so we can come with you.”
“You don’t need to. I can do my research by myself.”
Amelia sighed, exasperated. “That’s not the point.” She put both hands on her hips. “Even if you can do it by yourself, we can still help you. That’s what friends do for each other. I know that we do get easily distracted when we travel as a group, but still, you know that Miss. Lina, Mister Gourry and I are there for you to lend a hand.”
“I know you are,” Zelgadis replied, placing a hand on Amelia’s shoulder. “You are some of the few people I truly trust.”
“Then WHY do you keep running off by yourself?”
Zelgadis was ready to debate further, but he couldn’t think of any other good reasons he could give without repeating himself. “I’m not sure...I guess it’s just a habit. I’m used to having only myself to rely on.”
Amelia’s eyes softened. “I know, you have had good reasons for not trusting people in the past...”
The chimera shook his head. “It’s not just that. As a child, I mostly spent time by myself. I didn’t live close to many other children for me to play with, so I had to entertain myself most of the time. Plus, Rezo didn’t exactly spend much time with me either, except for lessons and helping him with his research.” He leaned his shoulder against the damp wall. “I suppose I’ve just gotten used to having to deal with problems on my own.” Zelgadis gave a soured smile. “You can almost say it’s a family trait.”
Amelia silently stared at him, then she gently took and held his hand. “In that case you’ll just have to break your habit. From now on, when we’re with you, you’re not allowed to run off by yourself.”
Zelgadis gave a half smile. “I appreciate the thought, but breaking an old habit isn’t easy.”
“No it’s not, but as a champion of Justice I will assist you.” Amelia threw a fist in the air. “In the name of JUSTICE and FRIENDSHIP, I’ll just have to give you a penalty each time you run off.”
“...What?”
“It’s simple, each time you fall into your habit you have to do a penalty, something you really don’t like.” The princess puffed up her chest in confidence. “Eventually, you’ll break your habit just so you don’t have to take anymore penalties, like putting a coin into a jar each time you run off.”
“I don’t have much money on me Amelia,” Zelgadis replied, not entirely sure he liked this plan.
“Hmm...well maybe your penalty will be eating something you hate.” Amelia walked off, pondering her options. “When we get out of here, we should ask Miss Lina. She probably has a few good ideas.”
“Leave Lina out of this!” The last thing Zelgadis wanted was for Lina to devise ways to annoy him even more. She would have way too much fun with that.
“But I’m sure Miss Lina...”
BOOM! The roaring sound echoed through out the cavern. The whole place rumbled and shook. Pieces of stalactites broke and splashed into the water. Amelia stumbled and would have also landed with a splash if Zelgadis hadn’t grabbed hold of her.
They both remained still until the shaking subsided. “What was that?” Amelia asked.
Zelgadis sighed. “I must be travelling with Lina too much.”
The princess looked up, puzzled by his sudden statement. “Why would you say that?”
“Because I’m starting to recognize the sounds of her explosions.”
As Zelgadis said this, the pair heard shouts coming towards them.
“Hurry up Jelly-fish brains! We’ve finally found them!”
“Hold it Lina! My socks are getting wet!”
The sorceress ignored Gourry’s complaining and dashed to Zelgadis and Amelia. “It’s about time! Do you have any idea how long it took to find you guys?! I had to skip lunch because of you two!”
“In that case, the town should thank us for saving half of their food supply.”
“Watch it Zel.” Lina shook her fist. “I’m wet, cold and hungry. It’s not a good time to make wisecracks.”
“I’m so glad you found us Miss Lina” Amelia quickly replied, hoping to spare Zelgadis the fate of being toasted. “I was starting to think it would take us forever to get out of here.”
“It wasn’t easy,” Gourry replied as he came up. “It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack in here. This place is huge.”
“No kidding,” Lina gave a tired sigh in agreement.
Gourry smiled. “But I’ll admit, Lina was pretty smart. It would have taken us longer if she hadn’t cast that tracking spell on...”
Lina smashed her elbow into her partners ribs. “Gourry, can it!” she hissed, watching Gourry moan in pain.
Zelgadis’s eyes narrowed. Something told him that his anger level was about to go beyond normal bounds. “Lina, what tracking spell?”
Lina squirmed like a worm caught by a bird. “It’s nothing...totally nothing.”
Zelgadis persisted in his glare. Lina sighed. She knew the chimera would not let this slip by. “Okay. I may have... cast a tracking spell on your pin... when you were sleeping.”
Every inch of Zelgadis’s body shook. “You cast a tracking spell on me?!”
“Mister Zelgadis, calm down!” Amelia cried as she tried to hold him back.
Lina rolled her eyes. “Oh Zel, don’t be so dramatic. It’s not that big of a deal, besides I only did it for you as a friend.”
Zelgadis snarled. “Lina, how is casting a tracking spell like I’m some criminal a sign of friendship?”
“Well, it is when you keep taking off on your own,” Gourry commented, laying his hands behind his head. “If you get yourself into trouble, like today, then at least Lina’s tracking spell gives us a way to find you and help you out.”
“He has a fair point Mister Zelgadis,” Amelia replied, giving a gentle smile. She felt content that someone else had also pointed out Zelgadis’s bad habit. Perhaps now he would understand that they all worried about him.
Zelgadis was not quite as pleased. He wanted to protest the notion that he had to be treated like a child who would often get himself lost and act as if he couldn’t take care of himself. The rant was full and ready to be let loose, except then, Amelia’s words from earlier rang through his memory. Ever reluctantly, the chimera began to wonder if his friends were right. His arms dropped to his sides in defeat. “Fine, but you should have told me.”
Lina scoffed. “Oh, and I suppose you would have let me if I did?”
“...Point taken.” Zelgadis sighed. “It still annoys me though.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Lina replied as she waved her hand. “Let’s head back to town for dinner. Then, tomorrow we can loot...er I mean search this place together.”
Zelgadis nodded. With his soggy shoes, he was more than prepared to leave and walk on dry land again. “I can live with that.”
“Oh, Miss Lina, dinner will also give us a chance to discuss penalty ideas for Mister Zelgadis.”
Lina’s raised a curious eyebrow. “Penalty? Do tell.”
The chimera groaned, as he watched his three companions start to brainstorm ways to stop his habit. “If I was smart, I would leave right now on my own so I wouldn’t have to be bothered by this,” he thought. But his body refused to go into the opposite direction. Instead he was being lured towards the sounds of his friends’ chatter. Perhaps, it was time to break and start some new habits.
Author: Earthstar_chan
Fandom/Couple: Slayers/Zelgadis/Amelia
Theme: #9 Falling
Rating: G
Zelgadis could see the broken upper level of the ancient temple over the tree tops. Even though the chimera didn’t have a clear view, he could tell it was nothing but ruins now. Still, even if most of the temple had crumbled, it was worth checking out.
Zelgadis had learned of this temple from the innkeeper earlier that morning when he had gotten up to get his coffee. It had started as an off hand conversation. Truthfully, Zelgadis was only being polite and was only partially listening, until his ears heard the words “ruins” and “magical artifacts”. At that moment, he quickly asked the man where this temple was located and rushed off. He would have told Lina, Amelia and Gourry this information, except they were still sleeping in their rooms. Zelgadis didn’t want to waste time waking them up. They would understand once he returned.
Zelgadis pushed back the slim tree branch and shoved his way through the bushes. The temple was near a waterfall. The air was heavy with moisture and he could hear the sound of water crashing and falling against the rocks. He scanned the area, keeping his ears alert for any danger or threat. These ruins were located deep in the forest, where large predators tended to roam. It wouldn’t take much for a wild animal or any other kind of creature to try to make a meal out of him. Admittedly, his stone body did provide him some protection from this. Any animal that would try to bite him would most likely break its’ teeth.
So far, he hadn’t had any trouble. As he got closer to the temple, Zelgadis relaxed a little. It was possible that luck was on his side for once. Suddenly, leaves rustled behind him. Zelgadis froze and listened intently. There were footsteps. He concluded that this creature was, thankfully, not a large animal on account of the footsteps being very light. Unfortunately, they were moving at a fast pace and straight towards him. Zelgadis swiftly hid behind a tree. The best plan of action was to take the animal or creature by surprise before it attacked. Patiently, he waited. The footsteps came closer. The sound of heavy breathing grew louder.
Zelgadis held his breath. He stayed motionless, refusing to give away his position. Finally, his enemy approached the tree. He jumped out, yelling and ready to swing his sword.
He was greeted with an ear piercing scream from Amelia. The stunned princess stumbled and fell on her bottom. She held her hand over her heart, gasping for air. “Mister Zelgadis, don’t scare me like that!”
The chimera stared back, bewildered. Hastily, he sheathed his sword, blushing bright red. “Sorry,” he muttered. “But, how on earth did you get here?”
With her heart beating normally again, she rose, dusting the dirt from her pants. “I had gotten up to ask if you wanted to check out the library together, but when I couldn’t find you, the innkeeper told me you came here.” Amelia folded her arms. “I wish you had waited for us, Mister Zelgadis. I had to run all the way here to catch up to you.”
“Run? If you were trying to catch up to me, shouldn’t you have raywinged?”
Amelia blushed. “I would have, but...it’s that time of the month.”
“Ah, never mind then,” Zelgadis quickly replied, not wishing to address that topic any further. “Well, since you’re here, let’s go.”
Amelia sighed, as she followed her friend into the temple.
The interior of the temple appeared to be much more intact than the exterior. A few ancient scriptures on the walls had faded, but were still readable. Amelia couldn’t help but marvel at the sight. The whole temple, from the ceiling, to the walls and floor, was a light shade of blue. The sunlight peeking in through the holes at the top bounced off the stone walls and caused them to shimmer like ripples in water. The princess felt like she was standing in the middle of the ocean. Regardless of this beauty, she noted that Zelgadis seemed much more interested in translating the engraved scriptures on the far wall, not that this surprised her.
“How’s it going?” she asked, walking over.
At first, Amelia wasn’t sure that Zelgadis heard her, but the chimera put down his tools, stroked his chin and turned. “I’m having a little difficulty translating. This temple uses a different rune alphabet than what I’m used to. Also, some of the words appear to be missing. It’s going to take some time to translate.”
Amelia gazed up at the wall. “How old is this place?”
“I’m not sure.” Zelgadis ran his fingers across the ancient words. “But judging by the rune alphabet, it’s possible this temple was built before the Kouma War.”
The princess widened her eyes. For this temple to be that old and still mostly intact was a miracle. She could understand why Zelgadis was eagar to study this place. There was no telling what kind of information they could find here. “What can I do to help, Mister Zelgadis?”
“You can take a look in the other rooms and tell me what you find.” Amelia nodded and began to leave. “But be careful!” Zelgadis quickly yelled after her. “There’s no telling how many traps there are in this place.”
Amelia replied that she would be careful and set off. The corridor turned out to have little light which would make it easy for Amelia to bump into anything. At once, she cast a lighting spell. At least she was still able to do this during her ‘time of the month’. Stepping lightly, Amelia walked slowly to be sure she didn’t step or set off any traps that were meant for robbers. It was then that the princess noticed a large object up ahead. As she grew closer, Amelia realized it was a relief of a large dragon. Its head was bowing down with its hands clasped together as if it was praying. She held up the light to see the detail. The dragon had glowing blue stones for its eyes, like radiant beacons. The dragon had Amelia mesmerized for a minute. Curious, she reached out to touch it. The eyes were as smooth and firm as glass. “The artwork is so finely detailed. I’ll have to show this to Mister Zelgadis...”
She accidently pushed in the eye. Alarmed, Amelia drew her hand back. It never occurred to her that the stones could move. Then, the floor rumbled. Before Amelia could react, a trap door flew open beneath her feet. The princess let out a loud scream as she plummeted into the darkness below.
Back in the main chamber, Amelia’s scream reached Zelgadis’s ears. Springing to his feet, the chimera threw down his tools and raced down the corridor. He hoped that Amelia hadn’t just gotten herself into a trap, but with his luck, this was probably the case. Zelgadis skidded to a halt as he came to where he heard the scream.
“Amelia!” he called out. There was no answer. He cast a lighting spell and spotted the trap that had caught Amelia moments before. Zelgadis cursed. There was no telling what was at the bottom of this hole or how far down it went and with Amelia unable to cast levitation... He shook his head. There wasn’t time to think of that now. At that moment, there was a low rumble and Zelgadis glanced down. The trap door was slowly closing itself up. Zelgadis briskly cast levitation and sent himself flying down the trap just moments before the door completely shut.
Everything became pitch black. Zelgadis could barely see his own two hands. Carefully, he lowered himself to the unknown ground below. Eventually, as he went down further, there was more light. It grew brighter and brighter as he finally neared the floor. There were larger versions of the dragon statues similar to the one up in the temple. Each held a larger glowing blue crystal, which appeared to be the source of light for the cave. At last, the floor was within reach. The chimera was never so glad to place his feet onto firm dirt again. Except that with a splash, he realized that the floor was covered in ankle deep water.
Zelgadis twitched. He just had to find the cave with water right after buying a pair of new shoes for himself. However, the chimera threw his grumbling aside and scanned the area. “Amelia!” he called out. “Amelia where are you?!”
“I’m up here!”
Zelgadis looked up. The princess was dangling from the end of the nose of one of the giant dragon statues. Although, Zelgadis was relieved to see her uninjured, he couldn’t help but blink dumbly at the sight. “How on earth did you get up there?”
“I managed to grab onto this as I was falling. Now, could you please hurry, Mister Zelgadis. My hands are...AAAH!” As she said her words, she lost her grip.
Instantly, Zelgadis cast levitation again. He flew upwards, spread out his arms and caught her. Releasing a sigh of relief, Zelgadis held Amelia in a tight hug and lowered them to the water covered floor.
“I wish you wouldn’t go scaring me like that.”
Amelia pulled back, blushing as she mumbled an apology. She then gazed about the room in awe, her boots making loud splashes as she moved about. “Who would have thought this place had an underground chamber? I wonder why it’s here?”
“No doubt to trap intruders,” Zelgadis tried to wring out the edge of his cape. “Still, I’m surprised that this place has so much water.”
“It must be connected to a stream somewhere,” Amelia paused. “I wonder if this is an old purification chamber?”
Zelgadis frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I once read that ancient shrine maidens would find streams or rivers to cleanse themselves for rituals. It’s still a common practice, but the chambers are much smaller now.”
Zelgadis nodded. “You may be right. That would also explain why there are so many dragon statues here. Still, that doesn’t help us figure out how to get out of here.”
Amelia stared, confused. “Can’t you just raywing us back through the trap door?”
Zelgadis shook his head. “It closed as I came down here to get you. I could try opening it with a fire ball, but...”
“That would risk the whole ceiling falling on us,” Amelia concluded. “I guess we’ll have to walk. If this place is connected to a stream, there must be an opening somewhere.”
“My thoughts exactly.” Zelgadis folded his arms. “Stay close to me. Who knows what other kinds of traps this place has.”
The princess nodded in agreement as the pair ventured deeper into the cavern. More statues appeared along the wall. Each one held one of the glowing blue crystals and provided them enough light to find their way, so they didn’t need to cast lighting. The water also continued in every direction, much to the chimera’s annoyance.
They advanced in silence. After what felt like several hours, they were still in the cavern. By this time, both Zelgadis and Amelia’s boots and pants were soaked. Zelgadis was positive they would start growing mildew if they didn’t find the exit soon.
He cursed. “I wish I had a map or some kind of clue.”
Amelia placed her hand behind her head as she peered up at the ceiling. “Miss Lina would probably have an idea of how to get out of here.”
“Probably...” Zelgadis muttered “However, she isn’t here and she doesn’t know where we are.”
Amelia grinned. “That’s not true.” She placed both hands on her hips in triumph. “Before I went after you, I left Miss Lina a note telling her where we were. As a fellow champion of justice, I’m sure she’ll realize we need her help.”
Zelgadis scoffed. “I think that may depend whether Lina is too busy eating or not. Leaving a note was a good idea, though.”
“It’s always a good idea to let people know where you are. Daddy always says that common sense is just as important as justice.”
“I can agree with that logic.” Too bad he doesn’t follow his own advice, the chimera thought to himself.
Amelia paused, then raced around Zelgadis so she was directly facing him. “Mister Zelgadis, there is something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”
Zelgadis stopped, a little concerned about what the question would be. “And what would that be?”
Amelia bit her lip. She hoped he wouldn’t take a personal offense. “Why do you keep going off by yourself?”
Zelgaids blinked, confused. “Why? Well, it’s because I need to find a cure.”
“I know,” Amelia quickly replied, “but that doesn’t mean you should just run off on your own. You should tell us so we can come with you.”
“You don’t need to. I can do my research by myself.”
Amelia sighed, exasperated. “That’s not the point.” She put both hands on her hips. “Even if you can do it by yourself, we can still help you. That’s what friends do for each other. I know that we do get easily distracted when we travel as a group, but still, you know that Miss. Lina, Mister Gourry and I are there for you to lend a hand.”
“I know you are,” Zelgadis replied, placing a hand on Amelia’s shoulder. “You are some of the few people I truly trust.”
“Then WHY do you keep running off by yourself?”
Zelgadis was ready to debate further, but he couldn’t think of any other good reasons he could give without repeating himself. “I’m not sure...I guess it’s just a habit. I’m used to having only myself to rely on.”
Amelia’s eyes softened. “I know, you have had good reasons for not trusting people in the past...”
The chimera shook his head. “It’s not just that. As a child, I mostly spent time by myself. I didn’t live close to many other children for me to play with, so I had to entertain myself most of the time. Plus, Rezo didn’t exactly spend much time with me either, except for lessons and helping him with his research.” He leaned his shoulder against the damp wall. “I suppose I’ve just gotten used to having to deal with problems on my own.” Zelgadis gave a soured smile. “You can almost say it’s a family trait.”
Amelia silently stared at him, then she gently took and held his hand. “In that case you’ll just have to break your habit. From now on, when we’re with you, you’re not allowed to run off by yourself.”
Zelgadis gave a half smile. “I appreciate the thought, but breaking an old habit isn’t easy.”
“No it’s not, but as a champion of Justice I will assist you.” Amelia threw a fist in the air. “In the name of JUSTICE and FRIENDSHIP, I’ll just have to give you a penalty each time you run off.”
“...What?”
“It’s simple, each time you fall into your habit you have to do a penalty, something you really don’t like.” The princess puffed up her chest in confidence. “Eventually, you’ll break your habit just so you don’t have to take anymore penalties, like putting a coin into a jar each time you run off.”
“I don’t have much money on me Amelia,” Zelgadis replied, not entirely sure he liked this plan.
“Hmm...well maybe your penalty will be eating something you hate.” Amelia walked off, pondering her options. “When we get out of here, we should ask Miss Lina. She probably has a few good ideas.”
“Leave Lina out of this!” The last thing Zelgadis wanted was for Lina to devise ways to annoy him even more. She would have way too much fun with that.
“But I’m sure Miss Lina...”
BOOM! The roaring sound echoed through out the cavern. The whole place rumbled and shook. Pieces of stalactites broke and splashed into the water. Amelia stumbled and would have also landed with a splash if Zelgadis hadn’t grabbed hold of her.
They both remained still until the shaking subsided. “What was that?” Amelia asked.
Zelgadis sighed. “I must be travelling with Lina too much.”
The princess looked up, puzzled by his sudden statement. “Why would you say that?”
“Because I’m starting to recognize the sounds of her explosions.”
As Zelgadis said this, the pair heard shouts coming towards them.
“Hurry up Jelly-fish brains! We’ve finally found them!”
“Hold it Lina! My socks are getting wet!”
The sorceress ignored Gourry’s complaining and dashed to Zelgadis and Amelia. “It’s about time! Do you have any idea how long it took to find you guys?! I had to skip lunch because of you two!”
“In that case, the town should thank us for saving half of their food supply.”
“Watch it Zel.” Lina shook her fist. “I’m wet, cold and hungry. It’s not a good time to make wisecracks.”
“I’m so glad you found us Miss Lina” Amelia quickly replied, hoping to spare Zelgadis the fate of being toasted. “I was starting to think it would take us forever to get out of here.”
“It wasn’t easy,” Gourry replied as he came up. “It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack in here. This place is huge.”
“No kidding,” Lina gave a tired sigh in agreement.
Gourry smiled. “But I’ll admit, Lina was pretty smart. It would have taken us longer if she hadn’t cast that tracking spell on...”
Lina smashed her elbow into her partners ribs. “Gourry, can it!” she hissed, watching Gourry moan in pain.
Zelgadis’s eyes narrowed. Something told him that his anger level was about to go beyond normal bounds. “Lina, what tracking spell?”
Lina squirmed like a worm caught by a bird. “It’s nothing...totally nothing.”
Zelgadis persisted in his glare. Lina sighed. She knew the chimera would not let this slip by. “Okay. I may have... cast a tracking spell on your pin... when you were sleeping.”
Every inch of Zelgadis’s body shook. “You cast a tracking spell on me?!”
“Mister Zelgadis, calm down!” Amelia cried as she tried to hold him back.
Lina rolled her eyes. “Oh Zel, don’t be so dramatic. It’s not that big of a deal, besides I only did it for you as a friend.”
Zelgadis snarled. “Lina, how is casting a tracking spell like I’m some criminal a sign of friendship?”
“Well, it is when you keep taking off on your own,” Gourry commented, laying his hands behind his head. “If you get yourself into trouble, like today, then at least Lina’s tracking spell gives us a way to find you and help you out.”
“He has a fair point Mister Zelgadis,” Amelia replied, giving a gentle smile. She felt content that someone else had also pointed out Zelgadis’s bad habit. Perhaps now he would understand that they all worried about him.
Zelgadis was not quite as pleased. He wanted to protest the notion that he had to be treated like a child who would often get himself lost and act as if he couldn’t take care of himself. The rant was full and ready to be let loose, except then, Amelia’s words from earlier rang through his memory. Ever reluctantly, the chimera began to wonder if his friends were right. His arms dropped to his sides in defeat. “Fine, but you should have told me.”
Lina scoffed. “Oh, and I suppose you would have let me if I did?”
“...Point taken.” Zelgadis sighed. “It still annoys me though.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Lina replied as she waved her hand. “Let’s head back to town for dinner. Then, tomorrow we can loot...er I mean search this place together.”
Zelgadis nodded. With his soggy shoes, he was more than prepared to leave and walk on dry land again. “I can live with that.”
“Oh, Miss Lina, dinner will also give us a chance to discuss penalty ideas for Mister Zelgadis.”
Lina’s raised a curious eyebrow. “Penalty? Do tell.”
The chimera groaned, as he watched his three companions start to brainstorm ways to stop his habit. “If I was smart, I would leave right now on my own so I wouldn’t have to be bothered by this,” he thought. But his body refused to go into the opposite direction. Instead he was being lured towards the sounds of his friends’ chatter. Perhaps, it was time to break and start some new habits.