Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Promises ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

"Food.... I need.... food…." A plea was heard from the deeps of a forest.

It had been six days since the group consisting in Lina, Gourry, Amelia and Zelgadiss had entered those woods looking for a group of bandits who they were to get ride. They did, indeed, got ride of the bandits, but at the end of the fight, they had managed to get lost in the woods, and now it had been six whole days since they had seen a piece of food.

This, of course, wasn't funny at all to Lina, who was seriously contemplating blowing away the whole damn forest with the Drug Slave if that would help them find a friggin' town anywhere near….

"I'm so hungry…" Gourry complained, holding his stomach.

"We are all hungry, Gourry, and we are all bearing with it, so shut up." Zelgadiss scolded rather hastily. Six days without a cup of coffee wasn't doing any good to the chimera's humor at all.

"But.. can't you guys make appear any food with magic?" Gourry asked again.

"Gourry" Lina's voice answered, not sounding happy at all. "Unless you want to face the dragon Slave, you better shut up right now, okay?" A hungry Lina wasn't someone to be messing up with, and Gourry had traveled with her enough to know when she was serious about her words…

"But Lina… c'mon, I know you have some spell that can make food appear! C'mon!"

…Or maybe not…

Upon watching Lina's eyes twitch at hearing the swordsman's voice, Amelia thought in warning Gourry before something bad happened. "Mister Gourry, I don't think you should…"

"C'mon, Lina! Don't be selfish! I know you can do it!" The blonde swordsman begged, interrupting Amelia.

"Come here, Amelia. If he's decided to call doom over his head, let him be…" Zelgadiss admonished her.

"But, Mister Zelgadiss…" The princess started, but when she saw the twitching under Lina's eyes had gotten far worse, she though better. "Erm, mister Zelgadiss, I think it's better for us to go ahead…" she tugged at his arm. He too saw Lina's expression, and decided for the better. "Erm… you're right. Now, you guys stay here, we'll go ahead and-" He ran like hell dragging Amelia by the cape.

Gourry looked at the two running away in wonder. "What's with them…?… oh, whatever, now, Lina, could you please make some food appear so we can-"

Twitch. "Gourry, for the last time…"

"There HAS to be some magical spell, I bet there is one…"

Twitch Twitch. "Gourry, I mean it…"

"Seriously, Lina, you shouldn't be so selfish and-"

Enough. "FIREBA-"

"Hey guys, come here! We find a town!" Amelia's call saved Gourry in the right moment. Both, Sorceress and swordsman immediately ran towards their friends, who were, indeed, at the gates of a small town.

"Finally, I'll be able to take a nice warm bath!" The princess smiled.

"And we'll be able to sleep on a comfy bed…." Zelgadiss commented.

"But most of all, we'll be able to EAT!" The blonde swordsman cried in joy. "What are we waiting for!? Let's go!" he started to run into the town. Zelgadiss and Amelia started walking into the city, when Amelia turned around. "Miss Lina, aren't you coming in with us?" she asked, watching her friend standing outside, without moving.

Lina just turned around, walking straight towards the woods, silently.

"Miss Lina!?" Amelia cried out, running towards her. Zelgadiss following near.

"You can go ahead in the town, I'll just go to Zomaelria to look for our pay" Lina explained.

"What are you saying Miss Lina? We don't know how to get back there, in this town we can buy a map and head there after a night of rest and after we eat!" Amelia said, rather shocked for Lina's words.

"I rather go into these woods and face a hundred trolls and dragons that go into THAT town ever again in my entire life!" Lina exclaimed, looking horrified at the town.

"Miss Lina, are you alright?" Amelia asked, worried.

"I'm fine, you just go ahead, I'll just-" Lina landed over her face with a thud. Amelia looked up and Saw that Zelgadiss had smacked her in the lower part of the neck, knocking her out. He silently picked her up and placed it over his shoulder. "I don't care what business does she have with this town, but I won't let her steal away a chance for me to drink a MUCH needed cup of coffee…" he explained as he entered the town with the princess and the knocked out sorceress.

+++++++++++

"I'd like to rent four rooms, please." Zelgadiss asked the girl in the counter of the inn.

The girl turned around, and looked curiously at the new guests, specifically at the one with a passed out girl over his shoulder. "Very well, mister…?"

"Graywords." Zelgadiss spoke. "Now, how much will it be?"

"four pieces of gold the night. Is that good for you?" The girl asked, smiling.

"Yeah, that's fine." He turned. "Hey, Gourry, come here and get Lina up to her room, will you!?" He roared to his friend, who was now chewing on a chicken leg.

The girl behind the counter blinked. - Lina?…. oh, I see…. - "Mister, Graywords, you seem tired and hungry. Why don't you go and join you friend over there? I'll take care of the lady." She smiled. Zelgadiss looked at her with curiosity for a second before sighing and drop Lina in the girl's arms.

"Just be careful not to wake her up, you don't want to see her in a bad mood…" He warned the girl.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm sure I can handle her…" The girl answered, smirking down at the red haired girl in her arms.

Zelgadiss raised an eyebrow at her, but decided not to pay much attention. Right now, his stomach called for more attention that the sorceress….

+++++

"Hey, where's Lina?" Gourry asked between chomps.

"She's up in her room." Zelgadiss explained. "Now, shut up and let me enjoy this…" he looked at his steaming cup of coffee.

"She didn't wanted to come to the town, so mister Zelgadiss had to knock her out. She should wake up soon." Amelia smiled, eating a piece of meat.

"Didn't wanted to come here? Why?" Gourry asked, surprised.

"I don't know, I guess she has some debt or maybe she blew up some building here… we'll find out when she wakes up." Amelia sipped her tea. "ahh… I needed this." She smiled.

"I'll go for her, I can't enjoy a meal without fighting with her over the food." He picked up a chicken leg and went upstairs to look for her.

"Hey Lina… Linaaaaa…" He called while looking into each room, all of them empty. "I wonder where she is…?" He then saw a last room, which seemed to belong to the owners of the inn, but since Lina wasn't in any other room… "Hey Lina, you here?" he poked his head in the room, and found what he was looking for. Lina was in the bed, sleeping. But why did the girl who brought Lina up placed her in this bedroom of all? He got near the bed and smiled down at Lina's sleeping face. She looked kinda cute when she wasn't yelling or angry… "Hey Lina, wake up. Time to eat!" he shook her shoulder. "Wake up~!" he singed.

Slowly, Lina woke up, feeling herself being shaked. "wha-? Gourry?" she sat up slowly in the bed and looked around in the room. "Where are we---?" suddenly, her eyes widened.

"We're in an inn. And there's a lot of food waiting for us down there! Let's go, before Amelia and Zelgadiss eat all of it!" Gourry smiled his happy-go-lucky smile while heading towards the door, when suddenly he found himself being pulled by the hair by a seriously frightened Lina, who was running like hell looking for her other friends. She found them sitting at a table near the kitchen. "Zelgadiss! Amelia! Pick up your stuff and get the hell out of here!"

"Miss Lina? Are you alright?" Amelia asked, looking up at her friend.

"I'm fine, just pick up your stuff already! Before it's too late!" Lina urged, still pulling Gourry by the hair.

"Miss Lina, what are you talking about?" Amelia asked, confused.

"Amelia, please listen to me, there's no time!" Lina seemed in the verge of tears.

"No time for what?" a girl's voice asked suddenly from the kitchen's door, making Lina freeze. Amelia, Zelgadiss and Gourry looked towards the kitchen and saw the clerk girl who had registered them into the inn. She stood with her hands on her hips, and a frown in her face, while looking at the red haired sorceress, who now seemed to be at a completely lost of words.

"That hurt! Why did you do that, Lina!?….Lina?" Gourry asked, slowly freeing himself from Lina's grasp. "Lina?" he waved a hand in front of her face, getting no response from her.

"Apologize to him!" The girl scolded Lina, who seemed to flinch at her words.

"I'm sorry Gourry!" Lina immediately bowed to Gourry.

This, of course, got a severely shocked expression from Gourry, Amelia and Zelgadiss, who stopped sipping at his coffee at seeing the scene. Never, ever in their lives they had seen the magnificent sorceress Lina Inverse bow before anyone. She had said so herself `I'd blow away an entire kingdom before bowing to anyone!'

Who was this girl who was capable to do such a thing to Lina?

"Now" the girls started again. "Why don't you come here and say "hi" the proper way? After all, it has been almost ten years since I last saw my little sister." Luna Inverse smirked.

Slowly, very slowly, Lina turned around with huge and frightened eyes to her sister. "H-hello, B-big sister" She stuttered.

+++++

"I'm Luna Inverse, it's a pleasure to meet you all" Luna shook hands with everyone, who were now gathered at the kitchen's table, after all the costumers went away.

"So, you're Miss Lina's sister, huh? This it's so great! I'm Amelia!" Amelia seemed happy.

"Zelgadis Greywords." Was the only thing Zelgadiss said.

"Yeah, I remember you." Luna smirked. "and who might this be?" She looked at Gourry, who was staring curiously at Lina, who seemed to sulk deeper and deeper into her chair. He looked up at Luna and saw her smiling. "I'm Gourry!" he chirped.

"Tell me, Gourry, what relationship do you hae with my sister?" She eyed him carefully.

"I'm her protector!" Gourry said proudly. "Wherever she goes, I go too, to protect her!"

Luna seemed relieved by this answer. "Why, I didn't knew my little sister was traveling around with this kind of company! At least she picked up nicely…" she smirked down at her sister, who sulked even more. "But you picked up a bad day to come, you know sis. Mom and Dad are away, visiting aunt Zalda. You'll have to wait for them for at least a week…" She smiled brightly now. "But that will give us enough time to prepare everything!"

Lina laughed nervously. "Y-You m-mean… m-my punishment?" she asked shakily.

Luna looked evilly at her. "That too, Lina, that too…. But don't worry, we'll get over that tomorrow, after you have rested up enough…" Lina trembled under her gaze.

"But anyway, it's getting late, and I bet all of you are longing for a nice warm bed, right?" Luna smiled brightly. "Now, go and rest, since tomorrow it'll be a great day!"

"You're right *yawn* I can't wait to feel a soft mattress again…" Amelia headed upstairs. "Good night, guys."

"I'll go too" Zelgadiss announced, heading upstairs too.

"I suggest for the two of you to follow their example, specially you, Lina…" Luna advice evilly. "I'm going to bed… good night!" She waved at them as she headed to her room.

Lina sighed. "I guess we should go to bed too…" Lina said, getting up. "Now, come one, Jellyfish. Time to get some rest." She sounded dull…

Gourry stood up and followed her. While going through the hall, he spoke. "Hey, Lina, I want to ask you something…."

"What is it, Gourry?" Lina asked, still sounding rather dull.

"When you asked your sister about your punishment being prepared this week, she answered saying "that too", what does that means? Will something important occur this week?" he asked her.

- He noticed that detail? Wow, I wonder if he's getting ore brain cells lately…- Lina thought, and smiled sadly. "It's nothing, Gourry, don't worry… now go to sleep." She said, as he stopped in front of his room.

"If you say so… good night, Lina!" He smiled at her.

"yeah, good night…" she answered, heading to her own room.

+++++

Luna slowly tip toed towards her sister's room. - Ahh, just like the old days… - She thought with an evil smirk. She opened the door slowly, and found her sister sleeping. Her face showing stress. - She must be scared… she has reasons to be scared! - she slowly raised a finger, forming a small fireball.

"RISE AND SHINE, SLEEPING BEAUTY!" was heard along a series of small explosions fireballs in Lina's bedroom.

"I'm awake, I'm awake!!" Lina whimpered from a corner in her bedroom. "Please, no more!"

Luna's eyes got an evil shine. "Oh, but it's more to come!"

+++++

"Good morning, Mr. Zelgadiss!" Ameria greeted cheerfully at the chimera, who was already having a nice breakfast.

"Good morning" Zelgadiss answered, smiling a little.

"Where are Mr. Gourry and Miss Lina?" The princess asked, looking around. "Shouldn't they be up already?"

"After six days lost in those woods, I'm amazed that both of us are down here already. Yesterday I was so tired I thought I would sleep a week." Zelgadiss commented.

"I guess you're right, Mr. Zelgadiss!" She smiled brightly. "And I guess it's nice to have some breakfast without them around to eat most of the food either… not that I dislike Miss Lina and Mr. Gourry! It's jus that-"

"Calm down! I know what you mean!" Zelgadiss interrupted, calming her down. "and now, enjoy your calm meal before those two come down." He went back to his coffee.

Amelia smiled and promptly served herself with some buttered toasts. "Ne, Mr. Zelgadiss, why do you think Miss Lina fears her sister so much? She seems like a nice person!"

Zelgadiss calmly chew on his toast before answering. "Who knows… maybe Lina did something bad to her sister and she fears her punishment. I guess it's siblings stuff."

"Maybe you're right, my sister and I used to fight a lot too when she lived with us! But I never feared her that much…"

"They're Inverse's." Was Zelgadiss only answer.

"Oh. Right."

+++++

"Good morning Zel and Amelia!" Gourry waved at them as he approached their table with a cheery smile.

"Good morning Mr. Gourry!" Amelia waved back. Zelgadiss only nodded at him.

Gourry blinked. "Hey guys, and Lina?"

At that question, suddenly Amelias cheeks reddened in suppressed laughter, and even Zelgadiss had to smile. Gourry, of course, was confused as ever. "Um, guys? You okay?" Amelia could only nod. "Then… you know were Lina is? She isn't in her room, so I figured out she would be down here. You know where she is?" He asked again, getting the same response from his friends.

"Hey miss, where's my food!?" A man asked from a table near them.

"Coming!!" A girl cried out from the kitchen, stumbling out with the man's food over a tray. Gourry's eyes widened at the girl, and Amelia couldn't hold any longer as she bursted out laughing.

"L-Lina!?" Gourry asked in disbelief. "You're a waitress? Wow!"

Lina blushed hard, and looked down. "I'll be with you in a moment, sir." She mumbled past him, as she knew that if she was impolite to even her friends, she would be painfully scolded by her sister.

Gourry sat down with the other two and grinned widely at how Lina tried her best to be polite to those people in the other tables. Soon, she was with them. "What do you wish to order, mister?" she asked politely, blushing and looking down at her notepad.

"Erm.. the whole menu, please. And, why don't you join us, Lina? My treat!" He smiled at her.

"I'm not allowed to take breaks, mister. Your order will be here soon." She answered, turning away and entering the kitchen.

Gourry blinked and turned to Amelia, who was wiping ters of laughter from her eyes. "What was that about?" he asked.

Amelia giggled. "Miss Luna's punishment for Miss Lina. I was so amazed when she came to the table and asked if we needed something else!" She giggled even more.

"Hey sis, go take care of the door! I'll take the orders now!" Luna ordered from the kitchen.

Lina trembled. "Y-Yes!" she hurried to the door to greet the new costumers.

"Here you go, enjoy your meal!" Luna announced as she came to Gourry's table with the huge order. "And don't worry, it's on the house!" she winked at them.

"Wow, thank's Miss Luna!" Amelia smiled.

"Hehe, no problem! After all, you've taken care of my little sister!" she looked towards Lina, who was now greeting a few new costumers. "Say, how has been Lina doing? Has she taken care of herself?"

"Yeah, she is very healthy! She eats a lot too!" Gourry answered.

Luna giggled. "That's my sister!" she turned to Gourry. "Hey, you've been traveling with her, right? Tell me, is she still…um…you know…?" She asked.

Gourry stared blankly at her. "What?"

Luna sweatdropped. "Um.. you know…Innocent?"

Amelia was blushing and Zelgadiss looked away. Gourry, stayed as oblivious as ever. "Innocent? What do you mean" he asked as he ate a piece of ham. Luna was ready to punch him…

"Erm, Miss Luna? Don't worry, she has taken care of herself in…well…"that way"." Amelia answered, a little uneasy about having this kind of conversation.

Luna sighed. "Oh, thank L-sama!" She smiled. "Then, everything should run out smoothly!"

"What should run out smoothly?" Amelia asked, curious.

"Oh, didn't she tell you? She is going to-"

"Lina-chan!?" Luna was interrupted by a men's voice from the door. All of them turned around and saw young men, like Gourry's age, with short black hair and a red bandanna, standing at the door, eyes widened towards Lina, who seemed as surprised as him.

"G-Garnad!?" Was Lina's answer.

Suddenly, the boy's expression turned a happy one, as a huge smile spread over his face. "Lina-chan! You're back!" He ran to her and hugged her tightly. "I knew you would be back! I knew would keep our promise!" He laughed as he picked her up in his arms and spun her around.

"Garnad! Put me down!" Lina was blushing.

Garnad, laughing, placed her down again, and looked into her eyes with a huge smile. "I knew you would come back, Lina-chan… I knew you wouldn't break our promise!"

"Garnad… " Lina looked around, and saw that Gourry, Zel and Amelia were looking towards them with strange expression. Luna, was smiling. - Like this should surprise me…- she thought. "I-I have to get back to work." She turned around quickly and entered the kitchen.

"Luna-chan, thanks for calling me here! I'm so happy!" He went towards Luna and shook her hand.

"Here, Garnad, I want you to meet Lina's friends. They protected her when she was traveling around!" She motioned towards the amazed group, who did nothing but stare at the young man.

Garnad, smiled at them and shook their hands. "Thanks a lot for taking care of my Lina-chan while she was out there!"

Gourry froze. "Your Lina-chan?" he asked, not liking the friendly way in which this kid acted towards Lina.

"Oh, that… hehe" Garnad put his hand behind his head. "I know she isn't mine yet, but she will soon! After all, that's why she came back, right?" he blushed, his ever present smile still there.

"Mr. Garnad, what do you mean by that?" Amelia asked, as she noticed the sudden tension in Gourry.

Luna smiled brightly as she patted Garnad's arm. "Don't you know it? Good Garnad here is my sister's fiancée!"

A.N. Well, I should leave it here, don't you think? A good cliffhanger or good for anyone's health…please review? I need to know what do you think of this.