Zozobra

Author: Suten Net Title: Zozobra Chapter 5

Part Two: Zozobra

Chapter [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

The Dark Lemon Trilogy: Zozobra: Chapter Five
By: Sat-Isis/Suten Net
Notes of the Authress
The people I would like to thank for making this possible:
Crystal Dawn - the first person to archive my fic.
Tara-hime - the first person to review my fic and my greatest friend on-line.
Jenee'-chan - friend and Beta Reader extraordinary.
Ameria-hime - friend and Beta Reader extraordinary.
Zanne Chaos - friend and Beta Reader extraordinary.
RVincent - friend and Beta Reader extraordinary.
Megan - friend on-line and supporter.
GreaterBeast - friend on-line and supporter.
Frau Eva (Kristin) -- friend on-line and supporter.
Diochra - best RL friend, Beta Reader extraordinary, and my Sister.

Other Supports and Reviewers I'd Like to Thank:
AnimeSucksMangaRules
Excel
dragonlady sakura
Krissy
Pammy
Kunobaby
Anon
Ethereal_Cat
Shampoo
Sarah j
Aeris
Redhead
Funky Stinkerlenti
VeryPure
Wren
Macy Gray
Juri
Willow Bay
Samantha da slut
Stayingput29
NeonGreywords
Misa
Puppy
Mike Toth
Enishi_girl
Michigan Mike
And...anyone else I have forgotten who has fallen off into obscurity.

* * *

Dark Lemon II:
Part Five

The night was quiet. The sound of Gourry’s breathing, deep and rhythmic, floated across the room. The fire was steady and the grate fractured the light into soft stars of amber about the room. It was downright soothing.
Yet he could garner no respite from his thoughts. It had not been long since he retired and though sleep was never an easy conquest, his restlessness annoyed him. The bed too, squeaked and groaned in protest.

* * *

That morning everyone was gathered in the restaurant of The Toad and Shoe Inn ordering breakfast. Filia was absent. They had finished breakfast and Filia never came down the stairs. Unusual, since she was usually the one each morning to push them in the quest. An hour later it was discovered that Filia was no where in the inn. She had told no one she was going off somewhere, she had left no note, and neither the innkeeper nor his staff knew anything.
With growing agitation, they decided to search the town and meet back at the inn for lunch. At lunch they ate and Lina designated that she and Ameria would search The Toad and Shoe again while he and Gourry would search the area surrounding the town. They would meet again for dinner.
Dinner was a somber affair. No one knew anything. There were no leads. None had seen a girl fitting Filia’s description. No reports of a Golden Dragon in the area either. They had no idea what time she had left the inn. After dinner they would each go off in search of Filia far and wide. They would meet again at Dawn.
Each of them turned up nothing when they had arrived back at the inn for breakfast. Lina, Gourry, and Ameria dug in with their usual relish, despite their weariness, while he had a mug of coffee and a plate of dry white toast.
To everyone’s surprise the inn keeper had come to them, had leaned down close and spoke quietly to all at the table,
“Somethin’ real queer happened last night with the young blond girl that is with you.” Cutlery clinked as it was collectively laid upon plates and all leaned in closer.
“Explain,” Lina stated with more calm than expected; only gripping the table white-knuckled.
“Well,” he continued, “there was this strange man, a priest I could tell by his clothes, brought her in last night ‘round sundown. It was strange ‘cause there was somethin’ off about him, y’know? Well, anyway, he brought her in, poor pale thing, her was all scraggly and you couldn’t tell if it were mud or blood, and she was all wrapped up in his cloak like it were a burial shroud. Thought she was dead at first but she was still breathing, anyway – hey!” It was too late to stop her. Lina had thrown the table, food and all, across the room to the shouts of fellow patrons. She tore across the room, Ameria not far behind, and took the stairs two at a time shouting,
“Filia!”
Poor Gourry had received the brunt of the airborne table; he was currently lying under it. Thank the Gods he had been holding his coffee mug in hand. He rolled his eyes and took a slow sip of sweet, sweet caffeine before heading up stairs.

* * *

He kept replaying that in his mind; there had been a deep pit in his stomach the entire day. There had to be a reason for it. Filia was not the type for such reckless behavior unprovoked. He eased himself out from under the covers and his feet hit the floor. As he stood the floor whined and the bed screeched.
With careful steps he made it to the door before pausing at the ridiculousness of the situation. A soft curse escaped his lips as he turned and headed back into bed. Easing himself under the covers, he tried to relax again. Yet his mind drifted back to the morning with little prolegomenon.

* * *

In her haste to reach Filia’s door, Lina had slid across the floor and crashed into a decorative side table with a vase of decorative flowers. Ameria, not far behind, crashed head long into the vase with the wild flowers Lina had managed to keep from smashing to the ground.
Under different circumstances, he might have found it amusing. He had left Gourry to his own devices; he could take care of himself.
“Damnit, Ameria!” Lina shouted as she wiped her wet hands on her pants. Dazed and confused, Ameria spit out a few stem and petal fragments and muttered her apologies. He did crack a smile when he noticed some of the yellow flowers formerly in the vase were commonly known by the colorful slang of “pissing on the road side.”
His hand closed over the door and a second later Lina’s closed over his. He turned to her, meeting her gaze,
“This is not a contest, Lina.”
“Let go then,” she said without missing a beat. Irritation overtook him,
“I was here first!”
“This is not a contest, Zelgadiss,” Lina said and smiled at him. He rolled his eyes, jerking his hand from under hers.
“Damnit.” Zelgadiss crossed his arms over his chest and stepped back. He noticed Lina starring down at her hand on the doorknob.
“You were the one who wanted to open the door so much, so just do it!”
“No! Just, give me a minute!” Lina, it seemed, was also getting frustrated. Suddenly, a voice from behind drew them around,
“We should knock first, before barging in.” Ameria, as always polite, and surprisingly level headed. Zelgadiss and Lina looked at each other, shrugging,
“Yeah, sounds like a good plan,”
“Satisfies me,” they said.

* * *

He threw the covers aside, and planted his feet on creaking floorboards. Again, he walked to the door. Carefully, he placed his hand over the doorknob and slowly turned it. When he heard the slight click that indicated the bolt had passed the lock, Zelgadiss pushed and let the door ease outward into the hall. After releasing the knob as silently as he first turned it, he then swung the door back slowly towards its frame without closing it. Padding again to Filia’s door, he tried to be as unobtrusive as possible. Yet as soon as he reached her door he clenched his teeth together, and hissed out,
“Shit.”
Jerking his body away from her door he realized the form of the stairs softly illuminated in a pale grey light. Unsure of the source he glanced about, finally discovering a discrete skylight fixture in the ceiling. He had suddenly become aware of how thirsty he was. Zelgadiss glided across the floor and placed his hand on the banister, proceeding downward on squeaking stairs.
On the ground level, Zelgadiss wished he had remembered to don his slippers before leaving the room; the floor was not as warm as it had been upstairs. Wriggling his toes for warmth as he walked, he haltingly made his way to the lounge where a small, continuously open bar was located. Here the hard wooden floors were covered with festive rugs containing patterns and designs he could not place to any culture he knew. They appeared very old, but under his bare feet he could still feel a stiffness to the threads. Dipped in tea and shrouded in soft orange light from wall sconces could lend any rug the ability to create an elegant ambiance to a room.
Resting his right arm and side against the wooden bar, Zelgadiss used his left hand to ring the bell sitting there. A tall, broad man with a scarred face emerged from behind a curtained doorway to his left. Tying on his apron, he asked,
“What’ll it be?” Zelgadiss replied promptly,
“What do you have that will help me sleep?” The man grinned -- though on his face it looked more like a grimace -- and spit into a bucket close to the edge of the bar,
“Well, if’in it be warm milk from yer mommy you’re lookin’ for, we ain’t got none o’ that her’.” The barkeep laughed at his own joke. Zelgadiss sighed and resisted the urge to smash his head, or for that matter the bartender’s, into the rough wooden surface.
“I think I just want some water right now, actually,” he said after a moment. The larger man grumbled under his breath. So gruff was his voice, Zelgadiss could only make out “damn tourists,” “salads,” “fucking bar,” “fagot,” “tea party,” and “fancy pooh-pooh lady water.” His eyebrows raised incredulously at what that had just been all about and instead of dwelling on it, Zelgadiss let his mind wander.

* * *

“Who is it?” Filia’s voice floated through the door and the hallway’s three occupants making them jump. Three pairs of eyes darted back and forth between each face. Lina was the first to break out of her guilty reprieve and called out,
“Zelgadiss and Ameria are with me. Can we come in, Filia?” Silence. Three pairs of eyes sought each other’s faces again, wondering if they had imagined her voice. They had not, for Filia called out to them again.
“Come in.” The three of them expelled their breaths -- unaware of holding them. Lina opened the door. As they entered the room, Zelgadiss first zeroed in on Filia’s face as she sat upright in bed. Her face seemed pinched and tired. She was pale and very still. How beautiful she was.
He soon noticed other things: her white nightgown that covered all but her face and fingers, the haphazard lay of the sheets and blankets as though she had been sleeping or had quickly pulled the covers up. Her pallid face was either from a lack or an excess of sleep and only helped to accentuate the penumbra around her furiously darting eyes.
Lina strode up to the bedside with arms akimbo. She looked hard at Filia, as if deciding what to say. Her mouth worked a bit before biting out,
“Well, what do you have to say for yourself?” Filia flinched as if Lina had smacked her. She opened her mouth and no sound came out. Ameria darted around Lina to come to Filia’s bedside. She reached out and grasped Filia’s hand,
“Are you all right, Filia-san?”
“Fine!” She said blinking and trying to smile widely. Zelgadiss leaned back against the door frame with his casual elegance and crossed his arms over his chest, content to quietly observe for the time being.
“Fine? Fine? Fine!” Lina was nearly shouting. Ameria’s attempts at calming her down with “Lina-san, please!” had little effect. Zelgadiss heard Gourry mounting the stairs.
“Where the hell have you been?” Lina demanded, near spitting with rage. Filia clutched Ameria’s hand in a white knuckled grip. The Princess was nearly grimacing with the effort to not withdraw her hand from that of the Shrine Maiden’s. Zelgadiss nodded to Gourry without looking at him as he crossed the threshold into Filia’s room.
“Answer me!” Lina was burning with rage. Filia’s eyes flicked onto Gourry and then Lina. Rather quickly, she settled her gaze again on Gourry, a slight look of confusion puckered her face.
“Gourry,” she started hesitantly, “you have a fork in your hair.” Gourry’s eyes rolled up in his head, seeking out the fork as a “huh?” escaped his parted lips. Zelgadiss glanced at Gourry; he did indeed have a fork in his hair. Quick as a snake Lina turned about and faced Gourry,
“Gourry! You idiot!” She gnashed her teeth. Ameria sighed. Then a most curious thing occurred. More curious than a fork in Gourry’s hair. Filia began to laugh. She laughed as Lina bellowed at Gourry and tried to rip the fork out of his hair to his pained protests. She laughed until she cried. Tears leaked down her temples into her pillows. Ameria was stroking the top of Filia’s hand clasped in hers. Lina whirled from Gourry screaming,
“Why are you laughing? What is so damn funny?” Still crying, though her shoulders heaved with laughter, Filia gasped,
“Please…no more yelling…Lina. I am not…feeling well.” Gourry had managed to get the fork untangled from his hair. There was still a piece of spaghetti on it. He ate it. Zelgadiss did a double take. Gourry shrugged as if to say “what?” Ameria’s voice drew his attention back to across the room,
“What happened, Filia-san?” Lina was pacing across the length of the room; keeping her eyes on Filia and her hands fisted at her side. Filia sucked in a breath before beginning,
“I could not sleep and I went out for a walk. I just kept walking and walking. I got lost and I did not know where I was or how to get back. I had to sleep outside. It was very cold. I still feel ill.” Gourry shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Ameria made cooing noises and sooth gestures to Filia. Lina still paced back and forth, tightly, stiffly. By the looks of it she did not believe Filia’s account one bit.
Neither did he.
“So, Filia, how did you get back?” Lina asked harshly. Filia’s throat bobbed at bit as she swallowed before answering,
“Xellos.”

* * *

Zelgadiss was jolted out of his recollections when the scruffy barkeep flung the curtain out of his way to exit the back room and plop the dripping water glass in front of him. At least it was clean.
“Thanks,” enunciated Zelgadiss; laconic and sardonic. He bit back a grimace as he lifted the glass with the tips of his fingers and made to leave the bar. He felt the man’s glare on his back as he heard the sounds of a towel furiously wiping water from the polished surface of the bar. Zelgadiss rolled his eyes and started to gulp down a mouthful of the water. He allowed his attention to be drawn once again to the decorative rug and traced the bold floral patterns with his eyes. He took another gulp of water into his mouth and began testing the weave of the carpet with his toe.
Before he knew it, he had finished the water and headed back upstairs, but not before earning more stellar service from the barkeep when he returned the glass.
Setting each foot carefully upon the steps of the stairs and then the floor of the hall, Zelgadiss made it back to the room without creaking too many boards. Again, his gaze was drawn towards Filia’s door, but again, he cured himself and turned his head away. Easing himself as carefully into the room as he had eased himself out of it, he then crawled back into bed.
After settling himself, he turned his head to look at Gourry. Thankfully, his restless wanderings had not woken the other man. Zelgadiss looked towards the ceiling and closed his eyes. He concentrated on his own breathing and relaxing his muscles. When he had achieved a rhythm with his breathing each muscle in his body began to go pliant and his mind was able to drift off. He had just reached the state when the mind is not yet awake and not yet asleep. The state where dreams form when the mind is not yet ready to rest…

* * *

“What?!” Lina’s voice managed to drown out that of the others in their simultaneous gut reaction. Xellos? Helping? Inconceivable.
Ameria’s eyes darted from Filia to Lina. Gourry unconsciously moved closer to Lina. Zelgadiss was still in shock. His only comfort was that he was not gaping like a fish. He came close, however, as his arms had fallen to his sides limply with Filia’s revelation.
Lina was desperately trying to get a hold of herself. Her eyes were squeezed shut as tightly as her fists. Her brow was furrowed and her lips pulled back across her clenched teeth. She breathed hard through her mouth, spitting with each rush of air forced through her teeth. Zelgadiss felt the urge to move further away from Lina. Ameria and Filia’s eyes were impossibly large as their stare was fixed on Lina.
For a moment, she had looked ready to scream or perform some major act of property damage. The moment passed without reaching critical mass. Lina’s whole body slacked as if she were finally submitting to something. A sigh escaped her lips. Gourry and Zelgadiss’ eyes sought out and held each other for a beat. With a quirk of their brows they broke the look as Lina walked past them. Their eyes widened when Lina walked out of the room without further ado.
The sound of eight eyelids blinking in unison was deafening in the silence left by the wake of Typhoon Lina.
Gourry turned on the balls of his feet, and smiling at Filia said,
“Genki desu!” Then he too left the room. There was much blinking.
“Are you sure you will be fine?” Ameria asked Filia. Filia presented a weak smile and nodded to the Princess. They squeezed their clasped hands once more before Ameria got up and left. Zelgadiss followed her retreating form with his eyes. When he leveled his gaze on Filia’s again she met him head on. He felt in that moment as if something had just passed between them as he began to lose himself in her eyes. She blinked and he was Zelgadiss again. He inclined his head to her in parting and she returned the gesture. Zelgadiss turned on booted heel and strode out of the room. He closed the door behind him without looking back.

* * *

His whole body jerked, effectively waking him out of his state of half sleep. Zelgadiss could have sworn he had really heard the closing of the door. He nearly groaned, it seemed sleep would completely elude him tonight. With a low growl, Zelgadiss began punching the stuffing out of his pillow.
“Can’t sleep?” Gourry’s calm, soft voice cut across the room, startling Zelgadiss.
“God, Gourry! How many times do I have to tell you not to do that?” A pause. A sigh.
“Sorry, did I wake you?” Zelgadiss sat up and then slid his legs over the edge of the bed. Gourry was on his back, his profile sharp in the firelight, and his hands rested on his chest. Gourry said,
“Just go talk to her.” Zelgadiss furrowed his brow and lowered his head to contemplate his rough hands. Gourry continued,
“I would go talk to her, but I wouldn’t say the right things.” Zelgadiss glanced back up at Gourry,
“What do you mean?” Gourry sighed,
“Honestly, I have no idea what to say to a girl who’s just been raped.” Zelgadiss was shocked. Utterly shocked, not only at what Gourry just said, but at the delivery. He said Filia had been raped in the casual tone one uses to say “the soup is hot,” or, “the soup is cold.” It took a moment for Zelgadiss to blurt out in an overly loud voice,
“What?!” He retained the incredulous look on his face as Gourry responded solemnly,
“I’ve seen a lot of bad things, Zelgadiss. Horrible things. I know the face of rape.” His heart was throbbing in his chest as Zelgadiss blinked several times to dispel his disorientation. Then Gourry fired off another round.
“You’ve a crush on Filia, yet it would seem you love Ameria.” Zelgadiss tried to suck in a breath as tunnel vision overtook him. He heard Gourry’s mattress shift as he rolled towards him.
“You okay?” Gourry asked. Zelgadiss held up a trembling hand, once again unnerved at Gourry’s deducing abilities – berating himself for forgetting again. He drew in another shuddering breath, one after another until he reached some semblance of calm.
“Listen,” Gourry began, “Filia needs a friend right now…a friend that won’t cause major property damage…or something. Out of all of us, I think you’re the one with the most control.”
“Shit,” Zelgadiss cursed as his head fell into his hands. He rubbed his eyes and the stood up abruptly. This might well be the hardest thing he would ever do in his life. He knew it would not be the easiest. He nodded to Gourry and then turned on his heel. He walked to the door and at the last minute half turned to Gourry. His hand on the knob he said,
“So, when are you going to clue Lina in?” Gourry smiled,
“When the time is right.” Then he winked and Zelgadiss turned back and exited the room.
With a determined stride, he walked softly to her door. Without hesitation he knocked quietly – three quick raps. A moment of excruciating agony passed as he debated whether or not to knock again. His anxiety made the silence defeaning. He raised his hand again-
“Zelgadiss?” Came her voice from inside. He lowered his hand.
“Yes,” he said, “am I disturbing you?”
“No,” her voice floated through the door, “do you need something?”
“Can I come in?” Silence again and Zelgadiss strained his ears to catch even the faintest whisper of sound. Then Filia said,
“Come in, please.” His hand was already on the door knob. The floor seemed to drop out from under him. Zelgadiss opened the creaking door, stepped in, and closed the door behind him.
End of Chapter 5

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