(Warnings and Disclaimers same as previous chapter)

To Love a Monster (part 9)

~Playing Fair~

by: AniDragon and TheLostZelda

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The rest of the walk to the library was a blur. The only thing Zelgadis could think of was what he’d seen in that room. Or… at least what he thought he’d seen.

They might not have been doing anything, He tried to tell himself, There’s a chance that they weren’t… But…

He’d seen them kiss before, so it wasn’t unlikely that it happened regularly. Just how often did they… And had it gone further than kissing?

He groaned in frustration. He needed to get his mind far away from Xellos and Amelia. His steps automatically led him to the alchemy section, where the collection on chimera books was.

A good book should distract him from all of this. He located the new books quickly, noticing that there was more than double the amount since the last time he’d been here.

She really wasn’t kidding, He thought with a small grin as he grabbed as many of them as he could easily carry, then brought them to a table by the window.

It wasn’t long before he was completely immersed, the frustrations of the morning pushed to the back of his mind. There wasn’t really any useful information, but at least the writing wasn’t as dry as most research documents. Becoming so entertained by the current tale of experiments, he didn’t even notice when the door opened and a figure walked up behind him.

“Zelgadis-san?”

Zelgadis jumped out of his chair and turned quickly, shocked at the close proximity. “Amelia? What are you doing here?”

Amelia gave him a slightly confused look, “I live here, remember, Zelgadis-san?” She looked down at the table, books opened and blanketing its surface, “You’ve been busy”

Zelgadis followed her gaze sheepishly, “Yeah, I had some free time, and you had told me before about getting some new books...”

She smiled, “That’s right, I meant to tell you about them when you arrived, but, well… I guess with everything that’s going on, I forgot…”

“That’s alright,” He told her, avoiding her gaze as he remembered his actions, “So… What brings you to the library? Are you done with your paperwork?”

“I needed to reference something from a book here, and I suppose I wanted a bit of a break, too,” She admitted, “Do you mind if I sit with you?”

“Go ahead,” He answered, making a show of clearing some of the books he’d already gone through so that he wouldn’t have to look at her.

She sat down adjacent to him, and the two sat in awkward silence for a moment. Zelgadis tried to get back into the book he’d been reading, but found he couldn’t quite concentrate on it. Amelia being there kept reminding him of what he’d seen earlier.

“Anything interesting?” She asked, eyeing the book and leaning closer.

“Nothing I’ve never read about before,” He shrugged, “But still, thank you for gathering so much information.”

“I thought it might be helpful to you, or at least interesting, so that you’d have something to do when I was busy during your visits… I’m sorry they’re not more useful.”

“Don’t worry about it. I appreciate the effort.”

“But still, I wish I could be of more help,” She leaned closer still, trying to read over the cover of the book he held in front of him. Before she noticed that her chair was now perfectly balanced on only two legs, she shifted her weight, making the chair legs slip, and she pitched sideways with a small cry.

Zelgadis dropped the book on the table and instinctively caught her. Forgetting that he was trying to avoid eye contact, he looked at her in concern, “Are you alright?”

She winced, but nodded, “I bumped my ankle a bit, but I think I’m fine. Probably just a bruise.”

“Ah,” He lifted her a bit and helped to detangle her from the chair. He noticed some swelling on one of her ankles, “Looks more like a sprain, actually.”

As he began to cast a recovery spell, Amelia suddenly became aware of just how closely he was holding her. She blushed, but didn’t say anything. If she mentioned it, he’d probably get nervous and move away.

He looks so cool when he’s casting magic, She thought to herself, watching the look of concentration on his face.

He finished quickly and looked back at her, “Is that bet… ter…?”

He trailed off as he noticed, just as Amelia had a few seconds ago, that he was holding her very closely. She was blushing, and staring at him intently.

“Um, yes… It’s much better,” She replied softly, but didn’t make any move to get back up.

He brought a hand up to brush away a strand of hair that had fallen in front of her face. When he did, she closed her eyes and tilted her head towards his hand.

He could sense her will pulling him closer and he did not, nor wished to, fight it. He let his head move on it’s own. His fingertips slowly followed her hairline around her neck, the palm of his hand cupping her jaw line. His eyes shut to savour the moment…

“Amelia-san,” A voice called from the door as it opened, “What’s taking you so long?”

Zelgadis’s head dropped and turned away from Amelia as she opened her eyes and looked towards the door.

“X…Xellos-san?”

The Mazoku was grinning, “Ah, I’m sorry, did I interrupt something?”

“Nothing,” Zelgadis said coldly as he helped Amelia up, “She just fell.”

Amelia’s blush told another story, but Xellos didn’t press it. He had a pretty good idea of what he’d just interrupted, if the taste of embarrassment with a hint of frustration was anything to go by.

“Did you get the documents you came here for?” He asked, breaking the awkward silence.

“Ah, not yet,” She stammered, “But they’re just over here…”

She walked by Zelgadis, staring straight at the ground, while the chimera glared daggers at Xellos.

“Is everything alright, Zelgadis-san?” Xellos asked, still grinning.

“Fine,” He snapped, “Just fine.”

He sat back onto his chair and tried shifting his attention back to his books, but he was seeing red. Great. Just great. Now even his favourite distraction wasn’t working.

Amelia came back with the reference documents she needed, and ducked out of the room with Xellos on her tail. When the door clicked shut, Zelgadis slammed the book down on the table, making it shake so much he was surprised it didn’t break.

He was starting to wonder if there was even a point to him being there. It was obvious that Xellos just wanted to feast on his misery, and Amelia seemed happy enough with him…

Argh, what am I thinking?

He was there for Amelia’s sake. She had to see that Xellos was just manipulating her. He couldn’t just leave her with him.

He must be up to something… He thought to himself, If he was just after Seyruun, then why would he have gotten me to come here? Is it really just a sick game to him?

But if he was just trying to mess with their heads, then why the proposal? What made him make such a drastic decision? Mazoku took contracts seriously, and marriage was legally binding.

Maybe… Maybe there was some sort of fine print against marrying Mazoku? It was a long shot, but the thought was strong enough for Zelgadis to want to research it. If he could find some sort of loophole, then he could put a stop to this madness.

Amelia would be angry if he halted the wedding like that, but what choice did he have, at this point?

It’ll be a last resort, He told himself, Only if I can’t convince her otherwise.

But if there wasn’t any law or loophole against it… Zelgadis didn’t want to think about the fact that divorce wasn’t legal in Seyruun.

~*~

Back in her office, Amelia couldn’t concentrate on her paperwork. Her thoughts kept returning to what could have happened in the library. She was sure that Zelgadis had been about to kiss her. If they hadn’t been interrupted…

“Is something the matter, Amelia-san?” Xellos asked, placing his hands on her shoulders.

“That was a very unjust thing you did back there, Xellos-san” She snapped, refusing to lean back into him.

“Whatever do you mean?”

“In the library,” She specified, “You knew what was going on! You were spying on us, weren’t you?”

“Actually, I didn’t know,” He admitted, “I came in more out of curiosity than out of any intention to interrupt.”

She sighed, and finally allowed herself to relax and lean back into him, “You really don’t play fair…”

“This is news to you?” He asked rhetorically. He moved his arms into a hug, pulling her closer.

Her body didn’t resist the pull, but her mind kept returning to Zelgadis. What was he up to now?

“You’re still thinking about him, aren’t you?” Xellos asked her, resting his head on her shoulder.

“Of course I am,” She answered, “You know how I feel about him.”

“Hm…” He mused, “You’re always saying that… Just who are you trying to convince?”

He felt her confidence waver as she thought on his words. His eyes opened slightly as he whispered in her ear, “Do you really love him?”

“Of course I do!” She exclaimed, “I have for a long time!”

“So long a time… With him not even being here… Sometimes the heart wants what it can’t have. Would you feel the same for him if he were always here? Or is it only the distance from him that’s making your heart crave him?”

“I… felt the same way about him during our travels…” She argued.

“Well, of course,” He said, “But in a life or death situation, it’s easy to mix up feelings of friendship with feelings of love, isn’t it? And besides, Amelia-san, even if you do love him, as you claim, would a relationship with him really be what’s best for you?”

“What are you implying?” She turned her head to him, finding his face surprisingly close to hers. She’d gotten so used to his presence that she was starting to let him get closer and closer to her.

“Humans will often make grave mistakes in the name of love,” He brought a hand up to her cheek, “Can you really justify following your heart so blindly?”

“Is loving Zelgadis-san such a mistake?” She asked in a shaky voice.

“You tell me,” He brought a finger up to his lips, and vanished from the room.

She shivered from the sudden disappearance of his body heat. The fall chill was starting to reach even the central rooms of the palace, and Amelia found herself craving Xellos’s return, if only for the warmth of his arms.

“You really don’t play fair,” She repeated.

~*~

As Xellos left Amelia’s office for the Astral Plane, he felt a familiar tug that meant he was being called by Lord Beast Master. He supposed it was only a matter of time, since it had been a while since his last report. He wondered idly what she would think of the situation he’d gotten himself into. Zelas Metalium wasn’t known for her sense of humour.

He teleported himself to Wolfpack Island with a thought, and bowed before his mistress, “You called?”

“You’ve been away for some time, Xellos,” Her voice was silky as she spoke, “What have you been up to?”

Xellos raised his head, “Merely keeping an eye on anyone seeking the Claire Bible, as you ordered me to.”

She raised an elegant eyebrow, “Really? So why have you been in Seyruun almost constantly for the past few weeks?”

He laughed nervously, “Well, I suppose it’s partially to keep an eye on that great-grandson of Rezo’s…”

“I see, so has he finally given up on that silly ambition of his to become human again?” Zelas smirked, amused by the idea.

“Actually, he got distracted by something in Seyruun.”

“Does this have anything to do with the princess’s new love interest?” She asked, crossing her arms.

“Maybe…” Xellos looked away and scratched the back of his head.

She leaned forward, interested, “And is this in any way connected to the rumours that you’ve been seen hanging around the princess a lot?”

“There might be a connection…” He admitted.

“Cough it up, Xellos,” She demanded, “I have a feeling that you’re in a bit too deep.”

“I… may have gotten her to start falling for me…”

She let out a laugh, “Oh, this is too much… We should take advantage of this. To have Seyruun in the palm of my hand... This is an opportunity I can’t ignore. Now, tell me everything.”

~End of part 9~

(A/N: So, we actually were planning on having Zelgadis and Amelia kiss in this chapter, but Zelgadis was too shy and wouldn’t let us write it. :P Jerk. So we had Xellos interrupt them, and now Zel’s miserable. It’s his own fault.)