Lina Looked up from tossing stones in the lake as Zelgadis walked by, arms full of wood. "Cutting firewood, Zel?" She asked.

"No. And don’t call me Zel." The prince muttered darkly, refusing to look at her.

Lina looked confused. "The what is it?" She glared at the water and flung another stone.

"It’s for fishing." He said sarcastically. Stupid little girl, wasting time tossing stones in the water. And calling it fishing! Zelgadis rolled his eyes and dragged the wood out of sight.

Lina sniffed annoyedly and threw another stone.

* * *

Lina walked back to the hut with a full belly. "So," She said, in a great mood, "What were you making?" She looked at the tall, chimney-like construct beside the hut.

"Building a smokehouse, which was more than you were doing." He said, not even looking at her but walking around the smokehouse critically. "I figure if we’re staying, we’ll want stuff in the hut that’ll last for when we can’t hunt or something. I’m going out hunting tomorrow to get something to put into it."

Lina considered hitting him in the head and keeping her catch, but decided against it. They had to work together, after all. "You won’t be needing to, actually. I have enough to tide us over for a week."

Zelgadis snorted. "All you did today was toss stones in the water. Sure Lina. Whatever you say. If you try to kill me like that by starving me, you’ll a. starve yourself and b. won’t succeed."

Lina once again measured the consequences of beating him senseless and tossing him in the lake and decided against it. "You really piss me off, you know that?"

"It’s mutual."

Must…not…kill…"For your information, I was not just ‘tossing stones in the lake’, I was fishing."

He rolled his eyes. "Right. Fishing." He sighed and tested one of the walls of the smokehouse for sturdiness. "Women."

Lina once again resisted the urge to kill him, but she was now visibly clenching her jaw and fists and her voice was strained. "Yes. Fishing. Do you want to see the fish?"

He rolled his eyes yet again. He was good at that. She hoped he got eyestrain and an awful headache. "I don’t have time for games right now, Lina," He said, pronouncing it the way he might to a five year old. "Princey is busy now."

Lina was having a hard time keeping him alive. "Would you like to see the fish I caught?" She repeated through clenched teeth.

Zelgadis rolled his eyes again. Lina couldn’t help thinking he looked like a scared fish. "Alright, I’ll go see your ‘fish’." He said, acting as though he was humoring a particularly stupid child. Lina really, really wanted to kill him, but, to he credit, she didn’t.

"Fine. Come on." She all but dragged him to the lake.

Lina grinned and shut Zelgadis’ lower jaw for him. "Do you like them?"

There was huge mound of fish on the bank, with fires around them to keep animals away. It was higher than Lina, and wider than she was tall. She grinned.

"B-but.." Zelgadis managed.

"I was throwing stones at the fish, dimwit." She said sweetly. "I believe you want to start up our smoke house, ne?"

* * *

"Have you made ANY progress, Xellos?" The empress said angrily. Now that the prince was suitably dishonored, she would be able to yell insult the moment the king tried to press the marriage. Which, Xellos assured her, he would. Everything was going fine.

They just had to FIND the damn little runaways!

"I already have found where they’re hiding. The irony is unbelievable. It’s a cottage I used to use for experiments a while ago." Xellos smiled. It was an amazing coincidence. Of course he wouldn’t have traced there auras if they were in an area as magic shielded as that!

"I trust you are taking measures to get them back?" The empress leaned back, Zellas-style, on her couch. Xellos gritted his teeth to keep from strangling the smug expression off her face.

"Of course."

"Good." She took a sip of her wine. "Do not fail me."

Xellos glared. But he was still smiling. I will not fail myself, my lady. You are another matter altogether.

* * *

"But it’s just a little cottage!"

"We’ve got orders to burn it down. Go men!!"

Lina and Zel watched from the bushes.

"Damn it! We had it all fixed up, too!" Lina fumed. "That asshole!"

Zel shrugged. "Well, he IS trying to get us. Maybe not alive."

Lina paused. "Of course he’d want me alive." She said with certainty. Of course he would. Xellos wouldn’t permanently damage her…

Zel snorted. "Are you so sure of that?" He crossed his arms.

She nodded. "Positive. Hmmm…let me put it this way. Would you damage a precious ruby purposefully?"

"No."

"And he won’t hurt me. Permanently."

Zel shifted where he was crouching. "Gee, you don’t sound so indebted to him anymore. What’s the change?" He didn’t really expect an answer.

"Let’s just say you woke me up…sh! They’re walking this way!"

"You’re the one who was talking."

* * *

"I liked that place." Lina sulked. "Why did Xellos have to send those stupid guards to torch it?"

Zelgadis snorted. "Get over it. We can find another one." He looked at the sky. "And we’d better get settled soon, it looks like rain."

"Just what we need," Lina grumbled, "More rain."

Zelgadis sighed. "Look, grow up please?" He begged. "It’s not like we have to walk. Gourry and his sister were kind enough to give us a horse. Or stupid enough. Anyway, quit complaining, it’s not that bad."

"Not that bad? I’m stuck riding on a horse that can’t damn well keep it’s pace steady enough to keep from making it so I can’t sit for weeks, and I have to ride two to a saddle with you, of all people, I haven’t had anything to eat in half a day, and I still can’t use my magic. Not bad? HAH!" Lina whined from behind Zelgadis. Not that riding this close to him was all that bad, actually, but she wasn’t going to let him know that.

Zelgadis, who had been thinking about the same thing, was nonetheless getting extremely annoyed. "Then perhaps her grand highness would like to walk?" He asked sarcastically, "The you won’t be stuck riding with me and getting saddle bruises. And that way I can keep your annoying voice from complaining in my ear twenty-four seven." Zelgadis didn’t even turn to look at her. "And that way I can be spared the embarrassment of being this close in this damn saddle to you!"

Lina’s grip at his waist tightened painfully and made him gasp for air. "Lina, what are you--"

"Don’t want me? Fine! I don’t want to be anywhere near you, either! I can do just fine on my own, you asshole, and I don’t need someone constantly insulting and hurting me!" With that she reached around him and grabbed the saddle pommel with both hands and manages to twist up enough to kick him squarely in the seat of his pants. This, consequently, shove his pelvis up against the pommel. Hard. Which was what Lina was intending.

Lina leapt to the ground as Zelgadis slowly fell off thew horse, clutching his groin in pain. She flipped her hair and glared at his prone, pain-filled form on the ground near the confused equine beast of burden. "Asshole. I don’t have to take your name calling, your taunts, and your veiled threats. I’m leaving. I’m going to do this my way, and I don’t need your better-than-thou attitude, and I don’t need your ‘superior intelligence.’ I can do fine on my own, and I certainly don’t need you hurting and degrading me! I hope you’re happy!" With that, she tuned on her heel and disappeared into the trees off the road.

* * *

Zelgadis glared at the campfire. Damn little bitch, He thought miserably. Don’t need me, huh? Well fine! I don’t need you either!

Zelgadis stopped in his thoughts. Hold on here…He thought, going over her little speech in his mind. Hurting her? I was…hurting her? She certainly hadn’t seemed to be hurt, just angry. I thought…I was the only one who ever got hurt by mere words.

When you’re in court, you always had to hide feelings, or it gave others a weapon against you. But words were just that. Words. Zelgadis had thought it weak of him to be hurt by mere words, especially since no one else seemed to.

Then, all those times she got angry, did that mean I had hurt her?

She was certainly angry often enough. At the stupidest times, too. Like when he had said she wasn’t pretty,

Oh shit.

And when he had commented on the fact that she would never get a husband, she was so dislikable,

Oh shit oh shit…

And just when she’d kicked him into the pommel, he’d outright said he was disgusted and embarrassed by being so close to her…

Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh SHIT. I’m not a royal prince, I’m a royal IMBICILE. Zelgadis slammed his head against the tree he was leaning on. I didn’t notice. I fucking didn’t notice. I am such a fool. He was too busy sulking that he hadn’t noticed he was doing what Angela had been doing. All the time.

Gods, I thought I was just keeping us from freezing. How must it have looked from her vantage point when I held her al night? Gods, he’d done just what he hated Angela for doing. Damn it! It’s not fair! Why can’t I just be allowed to sulk in peace?? Why can’t I have one damn selfish, thoughtless moment in my damn miserable life? Because all his life he’d been selfish. Oh, he’d been entitled to, given how it had turned out, but he’d gotten into the habit.

Damn it damn it damn it.

Now, A little voice in the back of his head said, what are you going to do about it?

* * *

Lina glared at the fire, going over all the stupid things she’d said.

Damn it, I sounded like a lovesick idiot.

How had she been so stupid? She’d lived for 300 years and she hadn’t cared about emotions once. They were a weakness, you shouldn’t let them get to you. Intelligence and ambition was the only thing that ever got anyone anywhere, and anything else was useless. So she’d taught herself not to care. And it had worked.

Until now.

Damn it, why did I have to do something stupid like fall in love? Lina wiped away tears she didn’t know were there until they started dropping to her leggings.

And why did I have to fall in love with him?

It was stupid. It was stupid, pointless, and devoid of any possible reward. There was no way.

No one would ever love a scrawny brat like me.

Hadn’t everyone told her that? Everyone that was supposed to care?

Daddy said I wasn’t pretty. That I should be happy to get a husband at all.

He had, too. In a way, she was glad of it. She wasn’t the pretty he liked, so unlike her poor little sister, she was free of her father’s cruel manipulations and…attentions. She felt sorry for her poor sister, she hadn’t even understood what was going on.

Of course, her father was long dead now. And he didn’t die by natural causes, either. Lina thought smugly. Damn bastard, he deserved a worse death. But I was too weak to consider killing my own father in a more bloody way. Ripped apart by hyenas would have been an idea she’d have had now.

Xellos always said I was his. But that doesn’t mean love. No, that was possession, plain and simple. Didn’t have to be a sorcery genius to figure that out. I’ve been told by everyone I’m not worth loving. It’d not going to change now. Lina pushed back against the tree she was sitting under. I’m fine by myself, never depend on anyone but yourself, if you lean on someone you never know when they’ll pull away and let you fall on your face…

Damn that Zelgadis, anyway! Didn’t he realize what he was doing?

Probably not. He never did seem to think in those lines. More like, ‘what are people going to do from hate of me?’ Damn fool…but I’m fine. I don’t need him. I don’t need anybody…asshole…

"Lina?"

Lina nearly jammed a knife up his gut. He jumped back just before it touched. "What the hell do you want? Here to make sure you hu- insult me more?" She asked angrily, catching herself too late. He’d notice. If she’d gone straight through, maybe he wouldn’t, but he notice the catch.

"I thought I should…ah…" Damnit, this wasn’t his specialty! He could hack at things with a sword, but…"Apologize?"

"Suuuure. And pigs are flying in tight formation over the palace."

"Damnit, I’m trying to make you feel better here!" Zelgadis all but yelled.

"You’re doing a hell of an awful job of it!" Lina yelled back. "Are we going to have another of those stupid hate lectures? Cuz it’s getting old. Just pack up and leave and stop torturing me!"

"Torturing you?"

Lina spun around and decked him so hard he landed hard a foot away. He stared up at her. She’s so furious! …I did that?

"Torturing me, you damn psychopathic self loathing idiot! You think the words don’t HURT?" She glared down at him. "But I don’t care. They don’t hurt anymore. I don’t need anyone. I can take care of myself. I don’t need anyone." She glared at him, daring him to challenge her.

Zelgadis paused. On the one hand, that comment came totally out of nowhere and he didn’t see how it pertained to anything that had just been said. On the other hand, he understood why she said it.

"You need someone to love you."

"What?"

"I know."

Lina paused. Zelgadis took that moment to jump up and out of hitting range.

"Shut up."

"Lina…"

"I said shut up."

"I…"

"What did I just say?"

"…."

"I just asked you a question."

"…."

"Don’t get all smart assed on me, asshole!" Lina threw a stone at him. "Go crawl back to your hole, prince, and enjoy the fact you’ve done to someone else exactly what was done to you."

"I know."

"Good."

Zelgadis Shrugged. "If you say so."

Lina was getting madder by the second. "Asshole!"

"Yes."

"Bastard!"

"Yep."

"Jerk!"

"Right on three counts."

Lina threw another rock at him, which he merely dodged. "Goddammit, REACT, will you!"

"No."

"Why not!?"

"Because."

"Damnit, stop it! Yell something! Hit me! Do SOMETHING!"

"No."

"WHY??"

"Because I love you, too."

Total pause. Lina blinked a few times, completely unsure of what just happened.

"You what?"

"Didn’t hear. Too bad. I’m not saying it again."

"Did you just say…"

"Yes."

This time Zelgadis wasn’t expecting the rock that flew his way. He dodged anyway.

"Dammit!" Lina screamed at him. Zelgadis stared at her. "This isn’t a story book! It’s not some fairy tale, Zelgadis, and we’re not living in make believe."

Zelgadis moved towards her. She moved back. She hit a tree. "The heroine always gets the prince, Zelgadis, and there’s no way I’m perfect enough to be a heroine. I’m a bitch. I’m a murderer."

Zelgadis moved up close to her.

"There’s no way this is true. It can’t be. Besides, it’s always the princes who gets the prince, not the nobod--" She was cut off short by Zelgadis kissing her.

But it felt so right…

She didn’t want to move…

But she did…

* * *