( @slayersweek ) Hi @bitter-byte! Sorry I’m on the later side. I’m your Secret Santa this time. Enjoy! (I’m a Tumblr noob so I hope I don’t mess up the formatting of this post whaha)
Title: A cherished fragment of a vanished past
Fandom: Slayers
Pairing: Amelia/Zelgadis
Rating: T
Prompt: (Idea from a discord conversation:) Lina and Gourry cop out and don’t remember what happened at the end of Next (the liars), but what do Amelia and Zelgadis remember? Does she remember dying in his arms?
A cherished fragment of a vanished past
Amelia sat at her vanity, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Just this morning she had returned from a two-month diplomatic mission to several kingdoms, and without even greeting her father, she had retreated into her personal quarters to freshen up and get ready. Tonight would be the start of the Four Dragons festival, the annual event in honor of the Fire Dragon King, Water Dragon King, Earth Dragon King and Air Dragon King. Seyruun would be crowded with people from all across the world. And she wondered… She hoped…
And she snapped out of her thoughts. “First things first,” she said to her reflection and picked up her hairbrush. Amelia had been preparing for the festival during her trip. She’d bought a new tiara in Zoana, where she met with the queen and king. Martina, Zangulas, and their entire litter. Once, she’d been kidnapped by Martina, but that was in in the past and while the queen still had her… loudness, she at least followed the righteous road of justice.
Amelia had bought her shoes in Atlas city. Being back in those streets brought a smile to her face, yet also made her eyes prick. Atlas was where it all began. Where she met Lina and Gourry.
And then she got her dress in Sairaag. A blue one, not too flashy, but pretty enough to show her stature. Sairaag is where she had met Zelgadis. The city looked very different since it was rebuilt, but the ghosts of the past still haunted the streets. The house that was now a dressmaker used to be a restaurant. She’d been there with her friends, but she could never revisit the restaurant. She wondered what Zelgadis would think of the dress.
She hoped that she would see him again. She wondered if he remembered, too, what happened when they were in Sairaag the last time. The memory was her personal ghost of Sairaag. A cherished fragment of a vanished past.
---
A drumbeat marked the start of the festivities, and Amelia raywinged out of her window as the sun sank over the horizon. Not only would walking through the palace take forever, she also didn’t want to run into Duke Such and Duchess So. She would perform her duties later. Besides, lately there has been an increase in princes and noblemen in Seyruun trying to court her. For now, she was just Amelia. Warriors of justice needed nights off as well!
From up here, Amelia had a great view of the marketplace. The Sorcerer’s Guild organized a magic show, featuring the elements in honor of the dragon aspects of Ceifeed. Amelia landed on a peaked roof and watched.
The drums turned faster—louder. They beckoned everyone to the marketplace. Sanddancers from Almekia leaped in circles around a bonfire, some of the sand staying magically suspended in the air. Whilst magnificent, Amelia’s gaze turned to the darkness. The outer ring of the gathering crowd. So many faces—but she only observed the people that obscured theirs. Hoods and masks. She squeezed the sides of her dress, just to keep her hands steady. She needed to stay optimistic. Think of wonderful things.
Then, between two food stands, she saw a familiar figure. She jumped off the roof, only startling the foreign visitors in the process of nearly crashlanding, and she dashed to the other side of the marketplace before the guards would spot her. They’d be honorbound to protect their princess, but she would manage just fine.
The woman and the kid didn’t see Amelia coming.
“Miss Filia! Val!” Amelia said and waved. Filia looked over her shoulder, holding a napkin with a grease stain she just wiped from Val’s face. He must be about five or six now. “It’s been such a long time.” One year to be exact, since Filia took it upon herself to properly educate people of Seyruun on the Fire Dragon King during the Four Dragons festival.
Filia beamed. “Amelia! It’s so good to see you. I heard you live a very busy life. Shall we watch the show together?”
Amelia smiled awkwardly and held her hands up. “Thank you, maybe tomorrow. Have you seen anyone from our old friends?”
Filia folded the napkin and put it into her skirt pocket. “I saw Miss Lina and Gourry a few months ago, actually, wreaking havoc in Alto’s restaurants. They mentioned they were heading to the far south in search of some artefact.”
“That sounds like Miss Lina alright.” Before Amelia left for her diplomatic mission, she hired twelve extra cooks in case Lina and Gourry would attend the festival. Amelia made a mental note to donate the abundance of leftovers to orphanages the day after Four Dragons. “How about…” Amelia began, her voice trailing off as she searched the crowd for any sign of him. But she didn't have to finish her sentence. Filia's smile had turned somber, her eyes filled with sympathy.
"I’m sorry. I haven't seen or heard anything about Zelgadis," Filia said, her voice soft.
Amelia's heart sank, her stomach churning with a mix of emotions. She had hoped to see him here, to finally talk to him after all this time. "I see," Amelia said, her voice barely above a whisper. She forced a smile, trying to hide the disappointment and hurt that was creeping up on her. "Well, I have to go. I have duties to attend to." She turned to leave, but Filia reached out and touched her arm.
"Amelia, wait. Are you okay?"
Amelia shook her head, her eyes misting over. "I'm fine, really. I just have a lot on my mind." She pulled away from Filia's touch, not wanting to break down in front of her old friend. "I'll see you tomorrow." And with that, she walked away, her heart heavy and her mind a jumbled mess of thoughts and feelings.
Of course he wasn’t here. He wasn’t here last year, or the year before. Zelgadis hated crowds—hated to be stared at, and the Four Dragons Festival brought in people from all over the kingdom. Amelia couldn't blame him, not after everything he had been through. But she couldn't help but wonder if he was avoiding her too.
The drumming was increasing in tempo, building to a climax, but Amelia left that all far behind as she pushed through the crowds towards the palace. On the way, in the circular park connecting two neighborhoods, a minstrel stood on a dais, singing to the families. Some children wore bright-colored dragon costumes in fluffy fabrics, others had paper crowns or held meatballs on a stick.
Amelia didn’t stop to listen, but she caught on the minstrel’s song was about Lina Inverse with a little bit of Gourry by her side. Quite positive too, with no mention of ritual sacrifice or eating monsters for breakfast. Amelia had worked hard on improving Lina’s reputation here in Seyruun—partly because she might be associated with her. But there was no mention of Zelgadis or Amelia in the song—
Her arm was snatched with a fierce grip, spinning her around in a whirlwind of shock and disbelief. The suddenness of the movement sent her heart pounding as she looked into the eyes of the person who had hold of her. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, her mind struggling to process the reality of the situation. There, before her, stood Zelgadis, the lower part of his face indeed covered by a piece of cloth, and a hooded cloak casting a shadow over the rest.
She felt a lump form in her throat, her mind reeling with the weight of all the emotions that threatened to overpower her. She didn't know what to say, or how to react.
“Hey,” he said, and although his voice was muffled, Amelia could have sworn he sounded slightly flustered.
“Mister Zelgadis.” And she felt her face burning—after all this time, she didn’t even know what to say.
They look at each other for a few eternal heartbeats before Zelgadis broke the silence. “As much as I enjoy hearing about how Lina ‘lights up the night’, I’d rather be anywhere else. Would you like to grab a drink together? Or fancy a meal if you haven’t dined already?”
“That would be lovely. Drink—dinner… both. I know a quiet place, close to the city walls.”
He nodded.
Amelia led the way, still mentally adjusting to what just happened. Every step seemed surreal, yet he was there, walking beside her. She breathed in slowly, then out. Something she’d learned to do before a speech to ground herself in the moment. He was here now, and might not be here tomorrow. That’s how it always went.
For the longest time she would try to convince him to accept himself as he is—to finally see that he should live in the now, but the discussion had always driven them apart.
And although she’d put it away initially, a vivid memory accompanied her on the loneliest of days. A memory from when they went to Sairaag to defeat Hellmaster. Lina and Gourry forgot what happened, but Amelia remembered.
Back then, Amelia had felt a strange sensation wash over her, as if her body was slowly shutting down. It was a feeling of finality, of impending doom. Her vision grew hazy, and her thoughts became jumbled and disjointed. She could feel the chill of death creeping over her, wrapping its icy fingers around her heart. Hellmaster, the Claire Bible… none of that mattered anymore in that moment. Not her duties as a princess, or even all the injustices in the world. She remembered how Zelgadis held her in her final moment, the desperation in his eyes. She wanted to reach out and touch him, to tell him what she felt for him, but her body refused to obey her commands.
Those feeling had never gone away—if anything, they had bloomed into more. No prince or lord would look at her like Zelgadis had.
Some nights, she has nightmares about dying again, but death itself didn’t frighten her. She feared he would not be there. That she would be old and have had an entire life without him.
---
Amelia and Zelgadis made their way to a secluded corner in The Boozy Bard. Amelia had been right—being this far away from the festivities, the restaurant was very quiet. There were no travelers, only a few locals at the other side of the dining hall.
Zelgadis removed his cloak and sat down. Amelia took in his features, the details she had almost forgotten. It had been over a year—a year and three months to be exact. That time he’d suddenly visited Seyruun to access a library. He had only stayed for three days.
Amelia fidgeted with the hem of her dress as they waited the banquet, ordered for old times’ sake.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
Amelia said, “I saw Miss Filia at the festival with little Val. It sounds like Miss Lina hasn’t changed at all.”
Zelgadis smirked and Amelia could have sworn she saw a twinkle of nostalgia in his eyes. “Lina won’t change. She and Gourry are far too content with their lifestyle.”
“Killing newly-formed gangs of pirates and bandits, treasure hunting, eating, leaving a trail of chaos…” Amelia had to smile too as pictured it. She’d send Lina and Gourry a personal invitation for Four Dragons, but if they were on the other side of the Desert of Destruction, the courier would have never found them. Even rookie couriers could catch the trail of rumors to track Lina Inverse, if she were in the north.
The server brought in the first few plates. She was polite enough not to stare or ask questions, and while Amelia thanked her, Zelgadis kept his eyes on Amelia.
“How have you been, Amelia?”
She forced herself to be cheerful. A warrior of justice. Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun. “Oh you know, doing my duties. My father is the king since my grandfather’s passing, and now some of his previous responsibilities fall onto me. But I’m happy I can change the world from this position of power.”
“I heard you’ve managed to calm down the tensions between the coastal states.”
“Yes, well—it wouldn’t be just if the people suffered because of the bickering of those above them. I couldn’t let that happen, and intervened by waving my fist of justice into the air and putting them to work on a trade agreement.”
Zelgadis had to laugh.
Amelia pricked her fork in some food and transferred it to her plate, just to be doing something with her hands. She wasn’t hungry at all. He’d heard things about her. Did that mean he asked about news about her during his travels? Or did he stumble upon that piece of information?
She squeezed courage out of her fork. “What else did you hear about me?”
His smile turned into a subtle frown. “I heard you turned down every marriage proposal so far.” The fork fell to the ground.
She couldn’t look at him, but she didn’t move to pick up the fork either. Because her sister wasn’t coming home anytime soon—if ever, members of the court have been raising concerns. Her father would not have it, but the pressure was rising, and apparently, the common folk have been wondering as well. A diplomatic marriage would be one of the best things she could do for the kingdom. It could form a strong alliance or prevent a war, yet this was her only duty she had actively avoided.
“Amelia, I found a lead on how to cure my affliction, a very promising one this time.”
She looked down at the table, but the lines of the wood turned blurry as tears welled up in her eyes. There was no point in holding them back anymore. This is how it always went. “So you’re here to do your research, and in a couple of days you will leave again.”
“I’m here because I needed to speak to you.” He reached over the table and grabbed Amelia’s hand. “I wanted to see you,” he added.
The skin of his fingers was rough against hers. She wanted to savor that feeling, but the memory of his face when he watched her die flashed by. He had looked so defeated. Pained. She had always been so certain she understood what it meant, but maybe it was just something she read into it. Maybe her memory wasn’t that accurate, after all, she died. Maybe her death was the only reason he had realized how important she was to him.
He continued to speak. “So, what I wanted to say to you… what I need you to know is that this lead points to a land further away than I’ve ever been, someplace in the far south. Amelia?”
“Mister Zelgadis,” Amelia started, fully aware he must be able to feel her hand tremble in his, “do you remember when we went to Sairaag to defeat Hellmaster Phibrizzo, when we were there—”
He flinched. “You died.” Amelia wiped the tears from her eyes with her free hand and finally looked at him—and there it was. An expression a prince or nobleman wouldn’t give her. She saw Zelgadis for who he truly was, and he her. “It’s burned into my memory. You died, and there was nothing I could do as your body went limp in my arms. Seeing the life fade from your eyes… I was powerless. For the longest time I tried to forget; the damage was undone, after all.”
It didn’t matter to him she was a princess. He would have felt the same for her if she’d been lowborn. He had no interest to rule. Maybe that was exactly why he couldn’t stay.
“Amelia, following this lead would take months at best, but it could end up costing me years.” And there were no trade routes yet that reached so far into the Outer World. There would be no letters. Only silence. “I wanted to ask you to come with me.”
Time seemed to slow as his question fully registered her. She couldn’t just leave.
Zelgadis leaned in closer, his voice a low whisper. "Amelia, I know this is a lot to ask. But I want you by my side. I need you to be my rock. I cannot do this without you.”
Amelia pulled back her hand to cross her arms and looked away. “Miss Lina and Mister Gourry are heading to the far south, Mister Zelgadis. I don't think I'm needed.”
Zelgadis remained quiet for a while, before saying, “I mean, I came to realize I’m not willing to travel that far without you. Sleep a couple of nights on it, all right? I will not leave without you."
Amelia's heart skipped a beat as she heard the raw emotion in his words. She knew that he was not just asking her to come with him, but to take a leap of faith with him. She knew that this journey would change them both, and that there would be no going back.
Amelia nodded. “All right. I will sleep on it. But I want you to attend the festival with me.” There. She said it.
He smiled and sat back. “All right, I suppose I can do that.”
---
As the King, Phil believed there was plenty of diplomatic opportunity to be found in the far south, and who better to go than Amelia. As a father, Phil believed Amelia should go because she was young, and seemed to be missing something in her life—adventure. As a fellow warrior of justice, Phil knew evil has no borders, and Amelia would be a blessing for humanity wherever she went. So, Amelia stepped into the carriage that would take her and Zelgadis to the coast with a guiltfree heart.
And as they sat, side by side, Amelia glanced at Zelgadis. He looked at the window, to the road ahead—no frown or brooding. He looked content. And she wondered… perhaps this journey wouldn’t be so much about finding a cure. Perhaps he needed to justify dragging her out of her castle. To spend time with her. To live a life with her on the roads.
Amelia’s breathing grew unsteady as she moved her hand slowly, until her pinkie touched the side of Zelgadis’s hand. He didn’t pull back, and instead interlaced his fingers with hers. For the next hour, they didn’t say a word to each other, and they didn’t let go.
This journey would truly be different.
