Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Inner Beings ❯ Royal Greetings and Private Conversations ( Chapter 3 )

A/N: Here comes the royal family! Hope you like it!

IV. Royal Greetings and Private Conversations

Lina and Xerxes, followed by Xerxes' guards, Gourry, Amelia, and Zelgadis, walked calmly down the road, closing in on the distance between them and the Zelphilian castle. Pico was walking alongside Lina, who had been walking silently until now. Lina was bored, so she decided to strike up a telepathic conversation with Pico.

"So how have things been here while I was gone, Pico? Don't say you didn't notice anything, because I trained you to be a top spy wolf. Just give me the most important information."

"Hmm.All right. Let's see.Well first, you should know that about three years after you left, your mother died in a dragon raid. A group of five black dragons stormed in and went around trying to cause destruction everywhere. Fortunately, I, along with the Zelphilian sorcery army, killed them before they could cause enough permanent damage. But your mother, being the kind woman that she was, bravely stepped in the path of the dragon leader while trying to save some innocent village children. Unfortunately, after saving them, she was stomped by the dragon's foot." Lina gasped in horror at this, but kept quiet and allowed Pico to continue. "After she died, your father became sole ruler of Zelphilia. He knew that you were next in line to the throne, so he appointed Luna Head of the Sorcerer's Guild and ordered her to find you. Of course, with the help of the Guild's Crystal Ball, she tracked you down a week later. I looked over her shoulder the first time she watched you. You had a bounty on your head and you were about to pretend to marry someone while in disguise. I can't believe you'd even attempt that, anyway! What were you thinking?!"

Lina chuckled nervously. "Heh.having 5000 gold pieces as payment?" When she saw Pico glare at her, she added quickly, "I didn't actually marry him, you know! As if I'd risk my reputation as both the Bandit Killer AND Princess Inverse! Besides, he wasn't my type."

Pico still glared at her. "Shame on you. You know very well that if you ever wanted money, all you had to do was come home. Why did you wait so long to come home anyway?" Lina sighed and answered back with a wistful look, "I have my reasons. But I came home NOW because the marriage deadline is almost up. I don't hate Xerxes, but I don't love him, either. Besides, even now, I don't want to marry ANYONE. Marriage just isn't for me. I don't care if I do have to rule alone. *Lina grinned mischievously to herself* It'll be a fun experience."

Pico contemplated this silently, and ventured to ask the princess a question. "But if you rule alone, how will you get any heirs to the throne?" Lina blushed and stopped to think about this. "Okay, fine. I will marry. When the time is right and when it's with someone I really love. Now can you please change the subject?"

"Oh all right. Ever since you left, Prince Xerxes has been visiting here once a month, in hopes of catching you when you returned. He was on his monthly round when you saw him today. Oh yeah, about a year ago, he brought a female wolf here to stay because he had found her wounded in the nearby forest. Well, about six months later *Pico started beaming with pride* she had five pups! I'm a father now!"

Lina squealed in delight at the prospect of Pico's puppies. Her friends looked at her strangely but she ignored them. "Oh, that's great! I can't wait to see them. Considering that they're yours, they must be adorable! Where are they now?" "Right now, we've taken to living in your old bedchamber. When we get there, I'll convince Cecelia to let you get near them. She's still very protective of her pups, you know. Although, recently, she seems to be suffering from some sort of disease. Do you think you can take a look at her for me? I'd ask the royal veterinarians to do it, but everyone is too frightened to go near a protective mother wolf. They don't understand me anyway." Lina smiled at Pico. "Of course I will. I'll do whatever I can to help. But if I can't do it, I'll have my friend, Amelia, do the examination - she specializes in white magic. But I'll talk to you more later on. We've arrived."

And indeed they had. Lina & co. stopped at the gate. The guard looked at the group of people and immediately allowed them to enter when he saw Prince Xerxes. He hadn't seemed to recognize Lina yet. Lina saw this and mentally noted to make sure that nobody would ever forget who she was and what she looked like again. At the main door, five servants were lined up on each side of the door. A butler was waiting at the end and politely asked, "Who are you and what business do you have here?" Prince Xerxes and his guards stepped back as they allowed Lina to reintroduce herself.

Lina scoffed. 'Geez. I haven't been away that long, have I? Oh, well, might as well get it over with.' Lina cleared her throat. "My name is Lina Inverse, also known as the Bandit Killer or Princess Inverse. These are my friends Gourry Gabriev, Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune, and Zelgadis Graywords. I'm here on official business with the royal family, as well as some personal reasons." The butler and the servants had gasped as soon as Lina mentioned "Princess Inverse", and the butler instantly smiled and bowed at Lina. "Forgive me for not recognizing you sooner. Please follow me to the throne room to meet King Inverse and then to the dining hall to have something to eat. I'm sure you must be hungry after traveling so much."

Lina nodded with approval and told her friends to follow the servants to their guest rooms and get washed up before meeting her in the dining hall. Just then, a messenger boy came up to Prince Xerxes and gave him a note. After reading it, Xerxes turned to Lina. "Lina-chan, I'm sorry we couldn't spend more time together, but I really must be going now. Perhaps I'll visit you another time. Until then, farewell." Lina again, nodded her consent and waved goodbye to the prince. After doing so, Lina silently followed the butler to the throne room, with Pico alongside her.

Once they arrived at the throne room, Lina looked around quickly. Nothing had changed at all, excluding the fact that her mother wasn't sitting next to her father on the throne. There were still the same royal banners decorating the walls, and three large gold-trimmed chairs on a slightly lifted platform in the center of the back wall (The third one is for Lina, in case you couldn't figure it out). When King Inverse caught sight of Lina, he stood up in surprise. Lina quickly made her way to the front of the throne and bowed her head slightly. Pico sat obediently by Lina as she made a small curtsy and greeted the King. "It's been a long time, Father. But now I have returned. However long I shall stay, I do not know at the moment." The King, in response, walked down from the throne and hugged Lina tightly. Lina gasped at her father's tight grip. He whispered in her ear, "I missed you, Lina. I'm sorry if you ran away because I tried to force you to marry someone you didn't love at a young age. I won't do it again and will allow you to marry whomever you wish. As long as you think that they could rule by your side as King of Zelphilia, that is. And welcome back, sweetheart." Lina smiled and hugged her father back. "I missed you, too. Thank you. I'm not sure at the moment, but I promise you, when I do find him, I'll make sure he's the best king Zelphilia's ever had! Well, close to it anyway." Lina broke the hug. "This means that the whole marriage dueling is off, right?" At the King's smile and nod, she happily continued. "Good. I'm glad I don't have to worry about that. Now then, I was on my way to the dining hall to eat and see Luna. She's still here right?"

When the King nodded again, Lina grinned back and added, "Great! I'll see you again at dinner, with my friends, okay? Alright, I'll see you later! Bye for now!" With that, Lina whistled to Pico, who immediately transformed into a snowy-white wolf, three times bigger than before (He had already went up to Lina's waist before transforming, too). Lina smiled and jumped on Pico's back. Then, at a slight nudge from Lina, Pico gallantly sprinted off to the dining hall, with his mistress riding side-straddle on his back.

Right before they got to the dining hall, Lina got off Pico and had him transform back as Lina fixed her hair a little. She held her breath, put her right hand on Pico's head for comfort, and proceeded to walk into the dining hall with an air of dignity. Seated in front of her sipping a cup of tea, at the end of a long table, was Luna Inverse, Knight of Celpheed and Lina's sister. Also seated at the table were Lina's friends. Luna looked up to see Lina, and surprisingly smiled. "Ah. So the little princess has arrived. Come, sit down next to me." Nervously, Lina made her way to Luna, and seated herself at Luna's left side. Lina noticed that Luna was in the King's chair, but let it go by and looked around. "Did you guys eat yet?" When they shook their heads 'no' Lina sighed. "Oh well. I'll order something for you. Oi! Marie! *Catches the attention of a young girl in a waitress uniform* Can I have two orders of Lunch of the Day EXTRA large? And umm.a cup and pot of decaf coffee, and a regular-sized Lunch of the Day. Great! Thanks a lot! ^.^" The girl looked at Lina trying to remember where she had seen her, she remembered, smiled, and said, "Right away, Princess Lina!"

After the food came, Luna watched in amazement as her petite little sister started to devour the food in front of her like there was no tomorrow. "Lina! Where are your manners? You're at the castle now, for L- sama's sake! Eat politely!" Lina stopped eating immediately, shuddered at Luna's scolding, looked quickly at Luna, and then at Pico. Aloud, she asked Pico, "Pico! Did you forget to unseal my manners again? Give them back!" Everyone watched in astonishment as a small golden orb rose from Pico's head and melted into Lina's hands. Lina calmly smiled and went back to eating, with a lot more restraint and manners. Luna sweatdropped. "I didn't mean that literally, you know. I didn't even know that you could do that." When Lina just continued to smile and eat, Luna sighed. "Excuse me, I have some unfinished business to attend to. Lina, I'll see you at dinner." When Lina nonchalantly nodded and still continued eating, Lina's friends watched as Luna got up and left the dining hall. Lina exhaled in relief, stopped eating briefly, and slumped back in her chair.

"That was fun, wasn't it Pico? I always seem to enjoy doing things that make Luna sweatdrop. Ha ha!" Again, everyone watched as Lina went back to eating, politely but quickly. After everyone finished, Gourry looked at Lina and remembered something. "Lina? If you eat so much, how come your figure never changes? You're still as petite as the day I met you!" Amelia chimed in and added, "Yeah! Where does all that food go?" Zelgadis quietly sat back and drank the last of his coffee. He already knew the answer. Lina wiped her mouth with her napkin and sat back.

"Thanks for the compliment, Gourry. Well, it's because in a way, I eat for two. First, I eat to keep up my magic power, or MP. It's what allows me to cast a certain amount of spells, bigger spells taking up more MP than smaller spells, of course. If I run out or run low on MP, my magic either doesn't work or doesn't work very well. The more I eat, the more I regenerate my magic powers. However, black magic takes the most food to regenerate, especially when you're as powerful as me. Well, magic of all kinds can also regenerate when you rest, just like your energy does. So, every time I eat, the food is converted into MP and is stored in my body for future magic use. When I use magic, I summon it from my MP stash. So, in a sense, the food doesn't make me fat because it never really stays inside my body. Second, after my MP level is at max, I eat for myself so that I don't die of hunger. That part is simple enough - If you don't eat, you don't live. Oh yeah, I also exercise a lot, so that takes off any fat that I might have."

Amelia understood immediately, but it took Gourry ten minutes of straight blinking and staring before he even replied. "OH! Uh.What did I ask again?" was his intelligent reply. Everyone face faulted. Lina sighed and shook her head at Gourry's forgetfulness as she stood up. "Forget it. If you want to know, ask Amelia later. Well, I have to do something in my bedchamber now. Amelia, I want you to come with me for back up and I need to talk to you. Gourry, you can roam around the city, if you want. Just say that you're Princess Inverse's close friend and that I'll make sure they pay dearly if they don't do as you ask, and they'll let you have everything practically free. Just don't ask for too much, or Zelphilia will be in trouble money-wise and I'll get into trouble for allowing you to do it." Seeing Gourry's blank and confused expression, Lina sighed and added, "Ugh.Never mind. I'll just write you a note to show them. And Zelgadis, the castle library is straight down the hall to your left. You can't miss it - at every turn there are signs pointing to where each path leads. You can do your researching there. I'll give you a note to show to the librarian and she'll let you into the restricted area. Everyone got it? Okay! I'll see you all back here at sundown for dinner. Bye! Come on Pico. Amelia, follow me." Everyone sat stunned as Lina hastily scribbled two notes, handed them to Gourry and Zelgadis, and started to leave. Pico had gotten up and followed her. She looked back and saw that everyone was still sitting at the table.

"Come on, Come on, Come on!!! I don't have all day, you know! Hurry up and leave! Some people from the kitchen will come soon to wipe off the table. Amelia!" At this, they all jumped and ran for the door. Gourry turned right, Zelgadis turned left, and Lina led Amelia and Pico to her bedchamber straight ahead. When Lina opened the double doors, Amelia looked around, amazed. There were dozens of ancient-looking scrolls of dragons and wars on the walls, and a crimson-red four-poster bed a few yards in front of her. On the opposite wall, there was a large window, with a door that led to a large balcony overlooking the garden. There were also two lounging chairs and a sofa positioned in front of a brick fireplace. Overall, the room was simply large and magnificent, even in Amelia's eyes. "Wow. Lina, you sure lived in style when you were growing up. I'm impressed. I think your bedchamber is even bigger than mine!" Lina chuckled softly and walked in. "Thanks, Amelia. Hold on, Pico. Let me give you a magical translator so that you can tell Amelia what's wrong." With that, Lina bent down and put two fingers on Pico's nose. As she whispered a spell, Pico's mouth briefly glowed a bright golden color. When the glowing stopped, Pico cleared his throat and spoke in perfect Human language (Japanese, English, whatever language Lina's friends spoke). "Thank you, Lina. Now then, I'll show you Cecelia and you can tell me what you make of it." Pico then walked around the bed and stopped. Lina and Amelia followed.

Amelia gasped. "Oh my. What's wrong with that wolf?" Pico sighed and replied, "You tell me. I have no idea. It's just that one morning she woke up and started scratching furiously. She took a bath soon after waking up, but the spots didn't disappear. I think her scratching them made them worse, though." Amelia was surprised. She had never heard of this sort of illness before. She looked at Lina to see what she thought. Lina had her eyes closed and seemed to be trying to remember something. When she opened her eyes again, she smiled and laughed softly. "Oh, my dear Pico. You need not worry. Cecelia just has a case of 'chicken pox'. Although, I must admit, chicken pox are supposed to only be caught by humans, if at all. Anyway, just tell her to stop scratching herself, it will make it worse. In the mean time, I'll create some lotion that will make her feel better. A few days of good bed rest, and she'll be just fine." Amelia stared at Lina in shock. "Lina! Where did you learn that? Even I've never heard of this disease." Lina waved off her question and sat on the edge of the bed. "Oh, it's nothing. My friend told me a long time ago. She was reading a bedtime story to me and it came up. Now then, Pico - where are your puppies?" Pico smiled as he nudged Cecelia over, revealing a huddled mass of fur, er - puppies. Lina and Amelia's eyes immediately lightened up with adoration. "OH!!! THEY'RE SOOO CUTE!!!" After looking at them for a while, Lina sat back down on the bed. At Lina's gesture, Amelia joined Lina on the bed. "Well, what did you want to talk to me about?" "Well, I know you still have a question or two to ask me. Since the guys aren't here, you can make it more personal, if you want. I'm kind of tired, so I'll just lie on the bed while you ask questions. Don't worry, I won't fall asleep just yet. I have other things to do today."

Amelia nodded and looked around, trying to think of her questions. "Why did you run away from marrying Prince Xerxes?" Lina sighed deeply. "I can't tell you the whole reason for that yet. But, mark my words, before you leave this town, you will know the answer and much more. The main reason, though, was because of a curse Luna put on me. The curse is that whenever I see Xerxes, I immediately adore him, hug him, and then kiss him. The reason behind the curse was supposedly to make it easier for me to love somebody, mainly Xerxes. But the spell kind of backfired and now I'm even more resistant to guys, love, and marriage." Lina shrugged and added, "Next question?" Amelia looked at Lina as she contemplated her answer. The more she learned about Lina, the more mysterious she seemed. Amelia shook off the thought and asked another question. "Do you know why some people call you a Dragon Spooker? Looking at the scrolls on the walls, you seem to like dragons quite a bit." Lina looked up in thought and slowly shook her head. "You're right. I did like dragons when I was little. They had that strong, powerful look whenever I see them. But I have no idea why I'm called that. Sometimes I wonder that, too. Pico, do you know what might have started it?" Pico quickly replied, "I'm not sure myself, but I believe it has to do something with you almost effortlessly killed Allenzheimer, the dragon warrior, when you were 9, no 8, with a Dragon Slave." Amelia's eyes widened. "You took out a DRAGON warrior when you were only EIGHT!?! Why would you even do that?"

Lina continued to stare at the ceiling and mused aloud. "Oh, now I remember. Heh. I did it because it was Luna's scariest creature that she used to attack me with. I had just done something that made her REALLY mad, well, more embarrassed actually. Then, she did something really sickening to me. So, I got back at her by killing her most powerful dragon. Feeling that anymore retaliation would be, in the end, pointless, she decided to give up and call it a truce. When I was 12, I finally had the nerve to run away, when I made a horrifying discovery. But she started it by putting that curse on me. Don't bother asking what the discovery was, I won't tell you." Amelia's eyes grew wider, if possible. "Okay, I won't. Just what did she do that sickened you so much?" Lina shudder involuntarily at the thought.

"She.She.oh, I can't say it! Pico, you tell her, you were there too." Lina rolled sideways and started shaking a little. Pico willingly obliged. "Well, you see, it went something like this: One night, when Lina was 8-years-old, Lina's family had escargot for dinner. She had never tried it before, and she liked it immediately after she tried just a little. She quickly devoured about 20 of them straight, if my memory is correct. Well, after dinner, Luna pulled Lina to the side and told her that since she ate so many of its friends, a large snail would visit her in the morning. This didn't faze Lina, but she had nightmares about snails eating her when she went to sleep that night. While she was sleeping, Luna silently crept into her room, whispered a summoning spell, summoned a giant snail, put it at the foot of the bed, and left. By morning, the snail had climbed up the bed and was standing on Lina's feet, on top of the covers, when Lina woke up. She shrieked so loudly in surprise, that it woke up everyone in the castle. When her mother came in to comfort her, she saw Luna in the shadows of the door, snickering to herself. She knew that Luna had summoned it, and it made her mad. That's the basic story I think." Lina nodded as she sat up with a sullen face. Amelia's face softened with sympathy. "So that's why you're so terrified of snails and slugs. First, you ate cooked snails for dinner, then straight afterward you had nightmares about them eating you, and you woke up to find a snail hovering over you. I feel sorry for you." Lina nodded.

"I think that's enough questioning for me. I have a lot to do today. I need to tie up some loose ends here and do a little bit of shopping. After I finish my business, do you want to go shopping with me?" Amelia jumped off the bed and replied, "Of course I do! But Lina-san, why do you need to go shopping? For one thing, you never shopped with us when we were traveling. Also, aren't all of your clothes, fancy or not, still in the castle?" Lina shrugged and casually replied as she gently pushed Amelia to the door. "My 18th birthday ball is coming up and I want to wear something that's in fashion, you know? I want to get you, Gourry, and Zelgadis something good to wear as well. I can't have you guys showing up, all dirty and everything, now can I? I'm a princess after all. I have a reputation to uphold. Now, while I do my things, wait for me in the garden. I won't be long. The entrance to the garden is straight to the left from here, with one turn at the end of the hallway. Okay? I'll meet you there. Bye!" With that, Lina pushed Amelia through the door and closed it after Pico followed her. Lina and Amelia went their separate ways.

A/N: Hmmm.I need to make Luna scarier. So far, Lina doesn't really have anything big to be scared about. How do you like my story so far? I'll post another chapter soon. Please REVIEW!!!