"I said it was a strange tale." He said. "But I suppose you are bored
and it is late. I'll just be off now..."
The crowd blocks the door. The old man raises an eyebrow. "Oh,
so you mean you want to hear more!?"
"Just tell us what happened, old man...skip to the bit about the
child!!"
"No, who does she end up with?!" Another asks.
You personally would like to know that, because frankly, you cannot
picture the terrible dragon spooker Lina Inverse as anyone's romantic interest. In fact, you shudder violently at the thought.
The old man looks at you, still shuddering behind the bar, and smiles.
"My thoughts exactly. But as things stood, three ...I do not
suppose men is exactly the right word, but three individuals were
fairly serious about considering Lina in exactly that way...and
Lina herself? Well, Lina was confused to say the least.
Until a spell cleared everything up for her and she decided to get married...but I'm getting ahead of the story, aren't I?
*********************************************************************
Gourry woke with the first breath of morning. Though normally after
sleeping outside on a bit of charred earth
(where once stood a haystack), he might have been tired and not inclined
to rise despite the awful bed, today he felt inspired. His first
thought (in so far as Gourry ever thinks) was of Lina's face. Maybe
it was the sunrise just beginning to shout away the darkness with its
red and gold brightness that reminded of him of her. He stretched and looked up at the sky. What a great morning, he thought.
He wandered into the inn to search for her. "Lina....Hey
Lina?!" He picked up stools and chairs, opened closets, wandered into the
kitchen (grabbing some fruit) wondering where
she could be. "Oh, that's
right." He thought suddenly, realizing she must be in the room she'd
taken from him. With a rather stupid grin he wandered up there and
cracked the door open. From the window on the far wall over the empty
bed, light spilled into the room allowing him to see its contents.
Since there were only two rooms this had to be the right one. So he
entered looking around. "Lina?!" He called, as he prodded the empty bed.
She was small, but it did occur to him that she wasn't quite *that* small.
He looked under the bed then, having decided she wasn't on top of it.
A small monster scooted away, and at first he thought it was Lina, but
then he realized it was just a dust-bunny-monster. He petted its rather
confused head, and then swung back up to look for Lina. None of her
things seemed to be in the room either. He frowned wondering what
that could mean.
He hovered on the brink of a realization when something jarred his
tricycle of thoughts. Yes tricycle. A train is far too modern a device
to be an accurate description of Gourry's thinking process. In fact,
even a tricycle may move too fast, and too steadily in the proper direction,
unless you are thinking of a tiny tricycle driven by a toddler. Then the
description would be somewhat correct.
"NE! Gourry, what are you doing in Lina's room?" Nahga said pushing
her index finger into his back. She sounded rather irritated actually,
which was probably due to the fact that she'd had too much to drink the
night before. She hadn't gone to sleep so much as she'd passed out.
"Looking for Lina." He said turning around. Perhaps he'd grown used
to talking to Lina, which meant looking down, but for some reason,his
gaze met with her rather excessive chest. All hope of his tricycle of
thoughts arriving at its destination vanished as he forgot the very
important realization he'd been about to have. This certainly
wasn't Lina. Lina didn't have anything like *that* on her body.
She didn't seem annoyed like Lina would have been, but instead just
threw back her head and laughed without explanation. After a second,
Gourry decided he might as well laugh too, but he knew he must have as
usual missed something. Maybe Lina would explain it to him later.
That is, if he found Lina. "Say, where is Lina?" He asked, serious again.
Nahga stopped laughing. "I thought *you* knew."
He shook his head.
Nahga's face began to take on a very scary expression. An eye began to
twitch. "OH!...Now I see. Now I understand! AH HA HA HA HA!"
Gourry shook his head. "Nahga-san, I don't understand at all."
"Oh, Gourry-kun, you are very very very naive!! You underestimate Lina,
but I, her greatest ally and rival, Nahga the White Serpent cannot be
so easily fooled!"
"You don't look like a snake." He said as he looked her up and down.
"That Lina Inverse...such genius!"Nahga squared her shoulders and
ran to the window. "AH HA HA HAHA AH AH "
"I don't get it." Gourry said. "Why are you a snake?!"
Nahga ignored him. "Lina...we must go after her."
"Did she leave!" Gourry asked in horror abandoning the puzzle of why
Nahga called herself "the great white serpent".
Nahga broke off her dramatic pose. "Weren't you listening?!"
Gourry blinked. "Well, I started to listen. But its hard to pay
attention when you laugh."
"So I've been told."She said proudly.
"Actually, its always hard to pay attention when Lina tells me stuff.
Maybe she said we were going to leave early and I forgot." He smiled
cheerfully. 'I always forget stuff."
Nagha shook her head. "No! She is very clever....she thought she could
give me the slip, and even abandoned her lover to do it!"
Gourry blushed crimson. "ER, I'm not...that is yet, er..." He stammered.
Nahga laughed. "I'm not that unsophisticated, Gourry-kun. Come,
let's go....wherever Lina is, I'm sure she's eating something
delicious and here we are wasting time!"
With a dramatic twirl of her cape, she jumped from the window. A few
seconds later, she managed to dust herself off from the glass
that had shattered in her face. "Let's go."
"Uh, Nahga...."
She paused in the window. "Nani, Gourry-kun?!"
"I can't fly." He said pointing out the window. "I'm going to go
take the stairs if you don't mind." He may be slow, but he wasn't
an idiot. Ok, he was an idiot, but he didn't have a death wish.
He liked danger, but he didn't want to hurt himself unnecessarily.
That was Lina's job.
"Oh." Nahga replied "Then I'll just have to carry you."
"WHAT!?"
"Ne, if I do not, how can we catch up with her?! She flew to get
away from here! Lina Inverse will not get the better of me this time!"
"huh?" Gourry asked. "But why would she do that?!"
"Because now *I* have to pay the bill..." Nahga grumbled. "You two
are truly suited for each other...you're both SO SO SO naive! Just why do you think she snuck off?
I will get you for this Lina Inverse!!!" She threatened the sky,
bringing her fist of fury right down into Gourry's head, as she grabbed
him and took off through the window.
**************************
Lina let the wind slide over her body as she flew. Using magic so early in
the morning, and on an empty stomach usually upset her. Not today, though,
for today, she thought, she would see him. A soft smile hovered on her face
as she thought of Zelgaddis. What an idiot she had been to walk away from
him yesterday...whatever had possessed her? They'd been standing
together, right there and...Lina sighed.
She would find him and....she would what? A sneaking thought tried to
fight its way free of the wish-spell, but didn't quite succeed. She
would do whatever Zelgaddis wanted to do. After all, she loved him.
She would want whatever he wanted. That was her role wasn't it?
She pushed the unbidden thoughts aside and flew faster to the base of
the mountain, her eyes scanning for the unfamiliar features of her beloved.
"THERE!" She cried seeing a young man/boy with feathered brown hair that
flowed out like two wings, parted dead center. Down she flew, like
an arrow straight to its target as she threw her arms around him.
"ZELGADDIS-SAMA!" She shouted as they rolled to a stop finally using up
the momentum of her forward flying motion. "I've missed you."
"ERK." Was all Zelgaddis could manage. He suddenly found his arms full of
a rather volatile bundle of muscle and magic that he knew as Lina Inverse.
But it was a side of Lina Inverse he'd never seen before, a side that
clung to *him* they way she usually clung to treasure.
"HELP ME" He gasped as Lina continued to hold him, perfectly content with
the situation.
"Is that your last wish?" Kari asked. She said it in a sweet goddess
like tone, but somehow, it sounded ominous.
"No...but...help!" Zelgaddis complained, edging the words around
Lina's attempts to kiss him. Actually, she succeeded in kissing him,
but just about everywhere except where she wanted to kiss him.
Ameria blushed as she looked at them. "Lina-san, are you feeling
alright?"
"Oh, I'm fine now that my Zel-chan is here...." Lina said in a cute
little voice that didn't sound like the Lina they knew.
Zel backed away from her as horrified as if she'd suggested shoving squid up his nose.
"Don't you want her to act that way!?" Kari said, with her usual
peaceful smile back in place, as she beamed at them. "Granting
wishes makes me *SOOOOOOOOOO* happy." Only someone who knew her
really well would have detected the artificial sweetener at work in the
phrase. Oh, she did feel happy granting wishes, but only when
she knew they actually would make the wisher happy. Somehow, she
felt this one would not. It certainly hadn't made *her* happy.
She stopped, the magic stream rippling as her attention shifted,
as she examined her last thought. Why was she unhappy that Zelgaddis
had wished for Lina to love him?
Stone began to appear on Zelgaddis hands..
"NO!" He shouted and suddenly, Lina pulled back.
He frowned...his curse couldn't return, not now, not when he'd
finally been set free.
Kari began to focus herself again. She raised one hand high, sweeping
it in a circular motion, then touching the small bottle holding the
temple at her waist. A white glow traced a thin ribbon to Zelgaddis.
The stone faded away. Zelgaddis sighed in relief, and removed his
hands from attempting to tear out his hair. Even the strands he'd
removed were brown and silky rather than steel-blue needles.
"Oh Hi Zelgaddis." Lina said, perfectly normal. "How did I get here?"
Zelgaddis blinked, dropping his hair to scatter on the wind
"You don't know?" He frowned. She shook her head and shrugged.
Kari sighed and began to restore the second wish, as she raised
her hand again, and less enthusiastically then before, touched the
temple.
Lina sighed, her eyes fogging over.
"But I don't care. As long as you're here..."
She began to smother Zelgaddis again with a hug.
"What's going on!?" He complained pulling back.
"Its your wish..." Kari said offhandedly. "That is, so long as you
keep up the desire for the wish itself."
"I uh..." He said inelegantly. "I don't want this...that's it then...
I'll use my last wish to--"
"You cannot. You cannot unwish a wish."
"But...you almost turned me back to a chimera."
"No, I almost revoked the wish. Once made, a wish can only be ended
by revoking it."
"So how do I do that!??!" He said leaping to avoid Lina's outstretched
arms. It was just too weird he thought.
"You may not want to do that...."Kari protested.
"Are you crazy?! I've got the most powerful sorceress in this
realm chasing me, and its impossible to get away from her..." He froze at the
thought of what might happen if he didn't. Lina giggled as she caught him.
"Oh, you're being naughty Zelgaddis-sama, running away and teasing
me like that." She said seductively. Chills ran down his spine. This
was just....all wrong, he thought. "Don't call me that!!!" He spat
as he dive rolled away.
He ended up on his knees in front of Kari.
"Tell me!!" He ordered urgently.
"You have to revoke your wishes...but I'm afraid if you did that, you'd have to revoke them both. They were a package deal." Kari said. "In fact,
you'd have to use the last wish to do it....you cannot unwish
a wish you haven't made." Her voice faded a bit as she said that...
Zelgaddis stared at Kari. "WHY...YOU....YOU..." He muttered really
loudly. "You could have told me this would happen!!!! You know
I didn't really mean that wish!!! Not like this!" Yes, he'd
wanted Lina to...he blushed as Lina's hands clenched around his waist
and then strayed just a little too far. He shook with anger and
fury that threatened to explode. His whole body twitched, his
hair standing on end. What kind of rules were these?! And why
hadn't she explained them before granting wishes in this twisted
way?
Lina blinked, stopping her cuddling of Zel. "Has she made my
kawaii Zel-chan mad?! Don't worry, its under control, darling. FIREBALL!!!!"
Kari barely got a shield of white light up in time.
Ameria just stood there, completely immobilized. "Uh, Lina-sama?
But I thought you liked Gourry-san?"
"Like that idiot!? " Lina said, her eyes briefly losing that glazed
look. "Where is he anyway? Don't we have a quest to complete here?
And I'm hungry...come on Zel-chan, let's get some food." She
grabbed his arm half dragging him away. He found that without
the added strength he'd had as a Chimera he could not even
begin to break away. His body banged along the ground as she
jerked him behind her, apparently wrapping him around her little
finger.
Ameria cringed. "She's scarier than usual."
Kari sighed staring after the couple. "Wishes are always so
complicated. Still, I'd better go after him in case he needs his
last wish." It wasn't the only reason, but Kari squelched
the thought. "Come on, Ameria." She grabbed her cousin and
dragged her after the other two.
************************************************************
Ordinarily, Xellos liked complications that threw people off their
paces. In fact, had Kari's little spell involved anyone other than
Lina, he might have been highly amused, and may have even sought the
priestess out to thank her personally. Instead, he found himself wrapped
by an anger so intense that it wiped his every inclination to smile
right off his face. Mess with his plan, would she? He'd see
about that. What were wishes against carefully laid plans and
schemes? What was a spell against his devotion to securing his
Lina? Besides, he knew exactly how to turn this to his advantage...
How, you might wonder? Ah, that was a secret, and thinking about it, made
Xellos smile.
****************************************************************
"I have no idea where I am going." Zelgaddis complained as they
walked along the forrest. He'd tried to use his superhuman speed
to get away from Lina, only to discover he'd lost that ability as well.
How much of his increased powers stemmed from Rezzo's transformation
of him and how much from his own hard work at learning magic? Apparently,
without his chimera body, he could barely even manage a small spell of
his own. He'd tried several, just to get away from Lina...nothing
had worked. "If you hadn't detoured us for the
food, I wouldn't have lost the markings that led to the Orihalcon
Mountain." His only hope at the moment was to find Gourry who would
hopefully distract Lina from chasing him like this At least, Zelgaddis hoped
that would work. Rather ironic, he thought that he was wishing
for the presence of a man who in some senses rivalled him for
the real Lina's affection.
"Oh, Zel-chan, I'm so sorry!!!" Lina blinked. "But if I
fly us up--"
"I can fly too." He said quietly suppressing his irritation. He didn't
know if it were true, but he hoped he still could at least ray-wing.
Lina's sudden sugary devotion reminded him more of the fate that would have
awaited him if Ameria, god forbid, had ever gotten bolder about
approaching him. "We must be close to the mountain..."
Lina sighed dreamily as she grabbed his arm, and laid her head on
his shoulder. "You're so talented, Zel-chan."
He sputtered for a minute, and then tried and failed to fly.
"Oh...poor Zel-chan...its ok...I have enough magic for the both
of us." She cooed. "It happens sometimes...its perfectly normal to
lose your magic." She leaned over to kiss him and he dodged again.
"Oh, don't tease me like this!" She called.
He rolled his eyes. This fawning creature (he couldn't think of her
as Lina) irritated him more than he'd thought possible. And if he broke
the spell that broke its hold on her, he would turn back into a chimera.
If he did that, he could get away from her...but if she were normal,
he wouldn't want to get away from her.
If Kari had tried she could not have tortured him more, he thought.
He turned back, his gaze briefly meeting those of the Priestess who
struggled to keep up with him. She
smiled at him peacefully as if nothing in the world could be wrong,
and gave him a little wave.
He groaned which made Lina turn and start attempting to "comfort" him.
This just couldn't get any worse, he thought morosely.
Two hours later, and he decided he'd underestimated the danger of his
situation and the cruelty of the wish-granting girl. She'd been
blithely informing Lina and Ameria of what else she did besides be
a "Priestess." "Usually, I cater events...I enjoy celebrations and
music...and of course, I can perform weddings too, which is probably
my favorite thing to do."
Lina stopped trudging up the mountain. "Weddings...you do weddings?!
Can you do one here?!"
"A wedding?! Of course, the temple is with me, so I could..."
She said to a slightly blushing Lina. "Why do you ask!?"
"Then Zel-chan and I are getting hitched!" Lina declared extending
a hand into the air. "Right after dinner!"
"Oh my." Kari replied. She smiled tremulously. "Isn't that rather sudden?"
Ameria looked absolutely shocked. "Ne, Lina...are you sure you're
alright!?"
Zelgaddis blanched turning stark white from head to toe. "If you'll
just excuse me a second!" He grabbed Kari's wrist. "The Priestess and
I need to have a little conversation about the, er, ceremony."
"Don't be gone too long sweetie...or I may get jealous!!!" Lina suggested
a bit too calmly except for the last part which made her voice shoot
up high.
Zelgaddis wiped his brow, and let the sweat rain down as he led Kari
behind a huge rock and into a cave of sorts.
"You've got to get me out of this!"He growled to Kari.
Kari bit her lip and swallowed hard. "I'm not the one who made the
wish." She breathed at last, her voice as hard to detect as a dew drop before
the dawn.
"But you're keeping it up somehow, aren't you?"
"My part in it is really very little....and will fade completely
actually once you make the third wish....I'll be gone when you
make that wish." She said.
"Great....one more wish...and I cannot unwish the first two..."
He said as he balled a hand into a fist. "My life is ruined..."
"I wish I could change the rules for you Zelgaddis-kun, but I cannot."
Kari said sadly. She leaned forward and placed her hand on his fist.
"And what is so bad? You've gotten what you wanted haven't you?
Lina is in love with you, and you're human..."
"She's obsessed with me....and as a human I cannot access the powers I
used to have...I'm weak again...I wanted to be human yes, but to still
be able to do the things that have come to define myself."
"Then do you wish to ...wish...to.."She couldn't finnish.
"I don't know...I'm afraid what will happen if I use the last one...what
other twisted thing will you do to me now?" He said sliding down against
the cave wall.
Kari felt the blood rush out of her cheeks. "I didn't mean to hurt you.
I just want to make you happy...and they were your wishes..." She
knelt to crouch beside him.
Through slitted eyes he briefly glanced at her contemptuously.
"No...they were *your* interpretations of my
wishes...I know what I meant, and somehow, that is not what you
gave me...you've made me weak, and now you're marrying me off to Lina...
Do you get some sort of sick pleasure out of seeing me tortured? Wasn't
my life bad enough? You know, before I met you I thought my life couldn't get any worse... You've proved me wrong..."
She shook her head and placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort
him but he shrugged it off sending her careening into the wall of
the cave.
"What did I ever do to you?" He whispered. "You know, I didn't think
I could despise anyone as much as I despised Rezzo, but now..."
She bit her lip, a hand flying to her mouth as the other grasped the
temple at her waist. "No!!! I mean...I..." She broke off and
turned around as she gasped and ran out of the cave.
She ran for a while, just feeling
the wind whip past her. Had she totally messed up as he accused her?
Her first job of granting wishes, and had she gotten it wrong? The
shame surrounded her and she sunk to the ground covering her hands and
began to cry. What a mess she had made. Oh poor Zelgaddis!
As soon as he'd said the sharp words, Zelgaddis knew he regretted them.
Perhaps it was not Kari that had been cruel but just fate itself. Perhaps
Rezzo had been right to tell him that to get what he thought he wanted,
he would need to suffer through things he did not. Rezzo may have been
evil, but that didn't mean he hadn't said something true.
Zelgaddis turned his hand over staring at the lines and curves on his skin. Of all people he should have known that wishes do not come cheap....and
yet, he'd wished anyway. The wind carried the sounds of someone crying
and he felt something pour ice through his veins. Idiot, he told himself,
as he stood and prepared to go apologize for what he'd said. There
would be another way out of this mess if he stopped being angry enough
to think about it. He could still fight with a sword, and in time he
could relearn some of the magic that had just "come" naturally to him.
Humiliating as it might be, surely Ameria would teach him or, if
her crush could get under control, even Lina. Besides, what was
so awful about having *Lina* love him?
"I just don't want to be married to her right now." He announced out
loud to himself (or so he thought) as he exited the cave.
"AH....good, I was thinking I don't want you married to my Lina
either! This is so good we are in agreement!" Xellos said appearing
before a stunned Zelgaddis. Xellos bowed clapping his hands. He
looked up and opened one eye. "Then
surely you won't object to *my* marrying her in your place?!"
"WHY YOU--" Zelgaddis sputtered as something started fading the world around
him. He felt his head hit the rocks below, and to his amazement, he
looked up into an unfamiliar and rather plain face hovering over him.
He knew that face... He'd seen it recently, but where? Oh, that's right...he thought as sleep claimed him...in a mirror.
*******************************************************************
Somewhere in the depths of Lina's mind a voice told her that she didn't
want to be putting on the wedding dress that Kari had created for her.
Not because it wasn't a beautiful dress. In fact, if she'd dreamed
up a dress this probably would be it. A wide skirt of silk
combined with a high bodice decorated with tiny rosebuds of silky
made the most of her slim figure,and slight curves. In fact,
it made her look as if she had curves.
The priestess smiled, but her eyes looked wistful and perhaps, sad.
"You look beautiful, Lina. Weddings are such happy events."
Ameria twirled in her bridesmaids outfit. Like most dresses,
she looked cute in it. "Its so romantic--a
spur of the moment wedding--but I promise Lina--We can go to
Sairune and I will hold a reception for you with a famous
Sairune Wedding Banquet--"
"Food?!" Lina said her eyes orienting marginally on Ameria rather than
the happy dreamy place they'd been for the whole day.
"After the ceremony, Lina."
Lina blushed. "Ah, the flower of my youth so quickly passed, and here
I am, a blushing bride, so beautiful and ready to start a new journey
of love...." Lina paused and made a face. "Did I *say* that?!
What's going on!?" She looked about suspiciously. "Who put
those words in my mouth?!"
Ameria sighed. "I thought it was beautiful...its a shame no one else
is here to celebrate...but I guess Gourry wouldn't want to watch this..."
Lina frowned. "He wouldn't?! Why not, what's wrong with seeing me get married? He's almost seen me do it before!"
"That was a pretend wedding, Lina...and you two weren't...I mean, I
don't think you were then, but now...well you're not now obviously
or you wouldn't be marrying Zelgaddis, but--"
"Ameria, you're not making any sense. Now help me put this veil
on."
Ameria stopped stuttering and nodded. Poor Gourry, she thought, wondering
what had happened to make Lina leave him. She wanted to ask, but
somehow, she didn't dare.
Music floated into the dressing room of the Temple which Kari had
expanded after Xelgadis had said he'd changed his mind and wanted the
wedding.
"Are you ready Lina-san?"
Lina smiled and fluffed out the dress, executing a graceful twirl.
"OH yes...take me to my Zel-baby."
Ameria grimaced as if she'd been chewing battery acid, but then smiled.
"Let's go..." She skipped down the aisle of empty chairs throwing petals
and then stopped before the small stage/alter where Kari stood draped in white robes with a white turban wound around her head that for some reason resembled
whip cream.
To her left stood Xelgaddis, wearing a neat purple tunic of sorts crossed
with black. He looked rather handsome in it, and for a second Ameria
felt a familiar quickening of her pulse but squelched it. He
was going to marry Lina now, and anything else...well....it
was too late for that. Yet besides Ameria's crush on Zelgaddis
something else in the back of Ameria's
mind made her feel Lina might just be making a big mistake.
But Ameria, being the kind of friend she was, just held her tongue.
Luckily, Ameria wasn't Lina's only friend. "AH HA HA HA AH AH....." a laugh resounded through the temple doors
which swung wide open. A second later a woman's rather voluptuous shape
appeared as a shadow against the light.
"LINA INVERSE...HOW DARE YOU HAVE A WEDDING AND NOT INVITE ME!!!"
A voice crackled like thunder as Nahga stepped into the room.
"I am your greatest and sexiest rival, the great White Serpent
Nahga, and I say you cannot hold this wedding unless I am invited!"
"So, you're here already...Kari, if you please, get to the part
where I Xel, am married to Lina..." Xel said.
Kari narrowed her eyes. For a second while that woman cackled she'd
noticed something different about him, but she couldn't place it.
"If you wish."She hadn't wanted to hurry through it, but perhaps the
sooner she completed the task, the better.
Lina however was distracted. "Nahga!? How'd you get here?"
"I followed you." She replied and then reached outside and tugged
in a rather bewildered looking Gourry. "And I brought your lover."
"HE's not my---" Lina's face paled. "Gourry?!"
"Lina? Why are you wearing a wedding dress?" He looked horrified.
"I'm getting married Gourry." She said taking a step off the dais
before Xel could stop her. She all but ran to him.
Gourry started laughing. "You know, I almost forgot we were getting
married today, hope you're not mad."
"Um, Gourry." Lina said sadly. "We're not getting married today."
"Oh good...then I didn't forget it. I know you'd be mad if I forgot
a thing like that."
"*I'm* getting married today."
"Huh?"
"To Zelgaddis...it just happened so suddenly, and I realized, that
I love him and want to be with him...I know I let you think...or
I thought you and I meant something...." She trailed off. "But
its like I can't help it...and I'm sorry Gourry."
Gourry just stood there somewhat frozen. "Uh...so are you
going to have a wedding banquet at least?" He said at last not
looking at her but sounding perfectly calm.
"GOURRY...you IDIOT!! Didn't you just hear me say I was marrying
another man, and that's all you can say!!!!" She stormed as she
started smacking him. She wasn't sure why it made her so intensely
furious, but it did. How dare he not even be jealous!
"Uh...yeah. Congratulations?" He finished weakly. "So when's
the banquet!?"
"DIL BRANDO!" She shouted the spell doing absolutely nothing.
"No fighting in the temple please..." Kari's voice called.
"Oh...I get it, no dark spells in the temple..." Lina wound up
her fist with the bouquet of flowers in it and rammed them into
Gourry's face. He sneezed and stumbled down.
"Ne, Lina-chan, I think you can beat him up later...let's get
married first." Xel said as he tugged the violently shaking
Lina back towards the altar.
She struggled against him, her anger allowing her to shrug him off
with a right hook. "Zel, I'm a little busy right now..." She
said as she began to storm towards Gourry.
"Lina-chan!" Xel exclaimed completely frustrated with her.
In the temple, he couldn't use his magic without revealing his
identity and he wasn't quite prepared to do that just yet.
He should have known better than to think a silly white magic
spell could have a strong effect on someone like Lina. He'd
misjudged the situation but only slightly. He still
could get this under control.
"Gracia?" A small voice called as Ameria finally reclaimed her
voice, running past Lina and Gourry to stare at the tall woman
barely clad in black leather who'd not followed Ameria's
rules on wedding etiquette.
Nahga frowned looking down at the small cutely dressed girl who
looked *slightly* familiar. "That is not my name." She said
coolly.
"It is you, isn't it?!" The younger girl pleaded with eyes wide.
Xel tapped his foot in impatience. "Touching sisterly reunion, but
we do still have a wedding to complete." He grabbed Kari's arm and
tugged her towards Lina who he spun around. "The reunion can wait."
"Say it..." He said.
Kari blinked. "Two become one, forever with a single heart, a single
mind, a single thought, let the red ribbons of your destiny keep
you together forever." Xel smiled as he deftly tied the ribbon on his
wrist to Lina's and then let go.
Kari sighed. "You are now Man and Wife."
"What kind of wedding was that?!" Lina said confused. "I didn't
even say anything."
"The short version..." Kari said. "Its what Zelgaddis requested."
"Hey, what about what *I* wanted?" Lina complained. "This is
my first and hopefully only real wedding...I wanted it to be
special..."
"I'm hurt....isn't it special because its our wedding?" Xel
asked.
"I don't think I'm ready for this..."
Lina narrowed her eyes at him. "Undo it Kari."
"It was your idea." Xel said. "I wasn't the one who wanted
to rush into this..."
"But....I changed my mind..." She said not sure why she'd
been in such a rush to marry Zelgaddis. She felt as if someone
had pulled the cotton-candy that had sunk into her head lately.
"Ne Lina...its too late, and besides can you even think of a reason
we shouldn't be married?" He challenged.
Now that she could think she began to assess her situation.
"Actually, yes, Zel...if you thought Nahga was ticked that I didn't invite
her, just think if my sister Luna found out that I'd gone
and---"
"Too late." A voice said as a woman with a chest just slightly larger than
Nahga's entered the room. Seriously, that and her enormous bangs
were the only remarkable thing about her. She looked as if she'd
not been expecting to go to a wedding, dressed as she was in a
waitress uniform. In one arm she held a tray of drinks, the
other held a slightly bound and struggling familiar looking blue
Chimera...
"Wait..." Lina said as chills ran up her bare arms. "If Zel's over
there, then who did I just marry?"