Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Roses ❯ Chimera ( Chapter 1 )

Chimera

Zelgadis liked lying there. He wouldn't dream, he wouldn't remember, he

wouldn't think. He was just lying there, under the soft covers he didn't

even notice.

The only part he did mind was having to come back to reality enough to toss and turn. He may have been able to keep himself from thinking or

remembering, but it was hard not to remember when bruises kept you up all

the time.

A gash that stretched all the way across his stomach kept bothering him the most. He flipped around and adjusted himself, but it refused to stop

bugging him. He didn't get up and try to do something. Getting up means

he'd have go back to the real world, he'd remember and he'd be back there,

bleeding and they'd hurt him again.

Maybe it wasn't a dream, maybe Xellos really did find him and kill all

those ogres.

But then Xellos knew about it, and the only way for him to know about it

would be for him to have planned it in advance, and there were too many

nightmares waiting for him if that were true.

Zel did the only thing he thought was safe and that was curl up into a

little ball and kick when the gash started hurting.

Something happened. Someone was going through his wire hair very gently, stroking each little lock of tangled wire in a nice calming and soothing way and then moving on to the next knot.

Zel sighed. He like it, it was nice. Then a thought came to him, he had

been fighting thoughts for hours and finally he lost. It was a little

thought, but it got his attention. Someone's there, they're touching me,

and I want everyone and everything to go away and never come back ...

Zel's eyes shot open.

Any hope of it just being his imagination and water dripping from the cave onto his head drained away, and it could be seen in his eyes.

Xellos was sitting right there in front of him, leaning over him, his hand

in Zel's hair. He wanted to tell Xellos to go away, he wanted to tell him

to get his hand the fuck out of his hair, to stop touching him. He couldn't,

his throat was too dry, and he felt like he was on the verge of being sick.

He just closed his eyes as tightly as he could, hoping if he couldn't see

it, it wasn't there, and cried.

A soft hand wiped the tears from his eyes, but it only caused Zelgadis to

shiver.

Zel finally got up some courage. He didn't feel like he was physically or

emotionally capable of speaking to Xellos, so he did-- what he thought-- was

the next best thing. He hit him.

Zel swiftly sat up and made it known that he was awake. Xellos rubbed his shoulder and backed away.

Zel clutched his stomach, but refused to lie down.

"I see you're finally awake," Xellos said, nonchalantly.

Zel said nothing.

Xellos placed a hand on Zelgadis' forehead. Zel tried to avoid it, but

was too slow. "You don't have much of a fever, that's good." Zeldgadis

was thankful when Xellos removed his hand. "Gourry showed me how to see if

someone has a fever, I didn't know people could get fevers. Are you

hungry? Thirsty? If there's anything you want you can ask me. Lina says

this place has good soup."

"Lina's here?" Zelgadis asked in a quiet voice, surprised he managed to speak.

"Lina, Gourry, Amelia, I sent for them after I found you, I had no clue

what to do. Lina got here last night, but you were asleep and

they didn't want to bug you. Gourry will be here soon and Amelia's coming all the way from Seyruun."

Zel said nothing, but looked like he was gong to cry again. He didn't want

anyone at all to be here and see him like this. Especially people who knew

him. They would all leave him now because they knew. And Xellos...

Xellos told them! Zelgadis never thought Xellos was that mean.

There was a knock on the door.

More people, more people, I can't handle one person in the room, and more are coming in without asking me? Why should they? They shouldn't talk to me. They don't want anything to do with me, they just want to say goodbye

and leave me forever. I can't blame them. They shouldn't be with me and I

shouldn't be with them. They'll just scare me or hurt me or try to do the

same thing to me. Why can't they just go away now and never come back like

they want to? It's easier for everyone that way.

Xellos opened the door and greeted Lina

Lina?

Why would she care? She's the one who doesn't want things getting in her way or making her look bad or even talking to people she doesn't like. Why

her?

Zelgadis gripped the sheets around himself, frightened that Lina would try to hurt him. He was suddenly aware of what he was wearing. He couldn't

remember changing into clothes, and his old ones had been ripped off. He

was wearing faded green pajamas that were a bit too big for him. Xellos

must have dressed him. Gourry didn't seem smart enough to put clothes on

someone else who was unconscious, Lina was not that kind of person, but Xellos was.

"Are you feeling okay?" Lina asked

Zel shook his head and clutched the blanket around him tighter.

"I'm just going to put bandages on you, is that okay? Now let go of the

blanket." she said.

Zel sat there, he let her take the blanket off, but he didn't do anything

to help either. While he sat there, refusing to do anything, she took off

the shirt of his pajamas too.

Lina bandaged up the gash on his stomach. He couldn't remember where it had come from. She bandaged up more, smaller, scars on his chest.

she looked at his right arm, bruises, but no cuts. She looked at his left

arm. He had a cut on his hand, as if a thin blade had gone all the way

through his hand.

He remembered that. That was how they held him down, pinned him to the cold, damp stone. He screamed as the blood seeped along the stony floor,

starting to puddle.

"How did you get a cut like this?" she asked, as she carefully wrapped

gauze around his hand.

"They ... they had a dagger, or something, and ... "

"Who did?"

"No one."

"That doesn't make sense."

"Ano, Lina, I'm not sure Zel can think straight right now, he had a

slight fever thingy when you came in," Xellos said.

Damn, I forgot he was here.

Lina said nothing but didn't ask anymore questions.

She turned him around to look and his back and gasped.

"What the hell happened here?" she asked.

Cut marks, healed over, but very visible decorated his back. There was

even one scar that resembled a burn mark.

Zelgadis shivered. He didn't want them to know, and if they did know he

didn't want them to look at him, at his scars, at proof.

Zel finally couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed the covers and tried to

hide himself under them. Lina and Xellos could hear him crying and see him

shaking through them.

* * * * *

Outside, it began to snow. The ground and trees and rooftops were already covered in the downy blanket of light snow, but the weather decided it was the right time for a long steady shower of tiny snowflakes.

It was the most beautiful weather to watch from a window while there was a fireplace. Especially if you had a chimera who had just cried himself to

sleep to watch over.

It was not the best weather to be tromping into town through. Especially

if three days ago you had just been nearly killed by Lina, the Dragon Spooker, Bandit Killer, and definitely not ogre-slayer or chimera-hunter. Especially if the wounds were at their worst and all you could afford was a cheap hotel with drafts and cracks and thin blankets.