Hi-Ya! The third chapter of Terrible Destiny is done! At last! And it feels soooo good! I hope you'll enjoy it! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Terrible Destiny Part Three, A problem? Zelgadis thought about when he had met Xelloss on the way home... *FLASHBACK* Zelgadis walked along the road, it was a nice weather. He gazed at the sky... not a single cloud in sight. Maybe he'd ask Lina to come with him on a picnic or something. He smiled at that. when he had found Lina again, he had started to get used to his appearance... and he didn't care about being a Chimera all that much anymore. He had friends... and he had even fallen in love. He sighed. Of course if he would happen to stumble across a cure he wouldn't hesitate a second... but he weren't as obsessed in finding it now as he had been before. He was respected by many, and he lived with Lina in her castle. They weren't a couple... some people thought they were, he had even meet people who had asked him when the wedding was going to take place. He had in fact... never even kissed her. He hung his head a little. They were just friends... and nothing more. He sighed. Then suddenly he felt tired and decided to stop and rest for a while. He stopped at a little lake. The water was beautiful and shimmered like crystals. Suddenly he saw a reflection in the water and turned around. "Xelloss!" "Ah! You remember me, I am flattered... tell me, how is Lina these days?" Zelgadis stood up and glared at the Mazoku. "Why don't you ask her yourself?" He said. Zelgadis thought he saw Xelloss smile shrink for a moment but only for a tenth of a second and then it was back again. "I would" Xelloss said "But I can't". Zelgadis studied Xelloss for a moment. He wore the exact same clothing as he had before, and nothing seemed different with him... "And why is that?" Zelgadis asked and began walking towards the road again. "Sore wa himitsu desu" Xelloss said and smiled. Zelgadis growled silently. "That is a secret between Lina and me". Zelgadis stopped and turned to look at the Mazoku. "Lina's and your secret?" He took a step closer "She doesn't have any secrets for me" Zelgadis said. "Oh yes she does... and this one is quite important" Xelloss smile disappeared. Zelgadis stared at Xelloss, what had happened to his smile? He asked himself. "Does it have anything to do with why you haven't annoyed us in the last hundred years?". "Maybe... maybe not" Xelloss said. Zelgadis glared at him. "But I'm sure Lina would tell you... why she shut me out with a spell". Zelgadis stared at the Mazoku, he looked quite miserable now when he studied his face more. Xelloss opened his eyes... they weren't exactly what you'd call 'happy'. "Shut you out?" Zelgadis asked. Xelloss was quiet for a moment before replying "...yes". Zelgadis hated him, he had to admit... but he couldn't help feeling a bit sorry for him. "Why?" Zelgadis then asked "You must've done something horrible" He then said and folded his arms. Xelloss gazed into the sky "I can't say I did... I found her a day before you did... I met her in her restaurant... we talked... and then she said something about never joining the Mazoku. and then she cast the spell". "You tried to get her to join the Mazoku? Then I'm not surprised" Zelgadis said and glared at him. Xelloss glared at Zelgadis. "I did not" He said "I just wanted to talk to her" He then said. Zelgadis was unsure... Xelloss was the known Trickster after all... he could be fooling him. But what if not? What if he was telling the truth? "I am sorry to hear that" Zelgadis said and turned around "But I have to go now". "Wait!" Xelloss said "Could you tell her you met me? and ask her why she cast it?". Zelgadis didn't reply... but after a while he nodded his head and started walking down the road again. When he turned around the Mazoku was already gone. *END FLASHBACK* Zelgadis sighed, Xelloss had been looking truly miserable... he hadn't been very good at hiding it. That wasn't at all like Xelloss, he must've changed a lot. Zelgadis got a thoughtful look on his face. But he may be showing a facade... pretending to be miserable just to fool me. Zelgadis didn't know what to believe. They did say that your eyes reflected your soul, and his eyes HAD been miserable. Zelgadis didn't know what to believe. Later that day Zelgadis decided to go on a trip, not a long one... but still a trip. He had left Lina a note saying that he'd be back in a week. He then left the castle once again. He walked along the road yet again, only this time... he didn't know where. He had gone of to think for a while. Why had Lina cried? And why had she cried for Xelloss? Zelgadis felt a throbbing pain in his chest. "Don't tell me... they were inlove...?" "Who's inlove?" Zelgadis turned to the voice and found out it was Xelloss. Xelloss smiled his usual smile with closed eyes. "Xelloss..." Zelgadis said, he didn't know if he should be angry at meeting him or relieved not having to seek him up. "Zelgadis" Xelloss repeated with a smile. "Tell me... what did Lina say?" Xelloss said. Zelgadis eyed the Mazoku for moment before telling. "She cried" Xelloss shoulders slumped a little and he opened his eyes, they were sad. "She cried...? Why did she cry...?" Xelloss asked Zelgadis. "I don't know... I was going to ask you". Xelloss turned away from the Chimera "I don't know... I don't even know why she shut me out..." Xelloss hung his head. "Did you... do anything to her?" Zelgadis asked. The Mazoku turned around to face him "Hurt her!?! Why would I ever hurt my Lina!?!" Zelgadis felt a lump in his throat "E-excuse me? YOUR Lina?" Zelgadis glared at Xelloss. "Yes" he answered. "If she's YOURS then why did she shut YOU out?!" Zelgadis yelled at the Mazoku. Xelloss turned away from him again. "Well... when I talked to her she did mention something about you forcing her to join the Mazoku" Zelgadis smiled smugly and folded his arms "Why do you THINK she shut you out?". "I didn't try to force her into ANYTHING" Xelloss said "...and I know you're lying... Lina would never say that if it weren't true". "Exactly, she wouldn't have said it if it weren't true... but she said it... and so, it has to be true" "Will you leave her a message for me?" Zelgadis locked surprised. "Tell her that... I don't want her any harm... and that I've never wanted" Xelloss then faded out and left Zelgadis alone. "Right trickster... I'll give her your message" Zelgadis murmured and started walking home again... Lina would be surprised that he was back so early... but maybe she never even noticed, maybe she hadn't come back after whatever she had been doing when he left. Zelgadis sighed again and continued on his way back to the castle. Lina had all this time been sitting in a dark room, deeply concentrated. She was searching for Xelloss presence... he had not been on Wolf Pack Island... which he ruled now, and she wondered where he was. She had been doing this quite a few times before. She couldn't really do it with that many... just those which she had some kind of linking too. She had two linkings to Xelloss... the bloodstones... and the spell she had cast at him... Ah! She found him! Hmmm... odd... he was just outside the barrier... had he come to meet someone? Maybe... Lina broke out of her concentration and got up, she had been sitting on the floor... "Lina-sama?" Lina turned to the voice, it was one of her servants. "I've got an important message for you... they said it was urgent" The servant handed her a plain white letter with no text on it. "Thank you" She said and the servant bowed and left. "I wonder who it is from..." She asked no on in particular and went to her room. Back in her room she sat down on her bed and opened the letter. * Lina Inverse, We would want you to be present at the yearly peace conference. We have asked all of the Mazoku lords to join us. * And that was all it said (I'm not good at writing that kind of stuff) Lina lowered the letter slowly, all the Mazoku lords...? That meant... that Xelloss would have to... and she was supposed to be present there too... She sighed and leaned down against her bed... there was only one thing to do... she'd have to break it for a couple of days... if that was possibly. She closed her eyes and relaxed... why did life have to be so complicated? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter three is done! Bam-dam-para-bam Bam-dam-para-dam! Dam-dam-para-bam-tam-bam-bam! Ehh... okay. Now... what did you think of this chapter? Personally... I don't think it's the most exciting thing I've ever written... but I hope you'll survive anyway. Tell me what you thought: hannafrid@hotmail.com Hanna Fridén http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/blake/193/fanfiction/slayfic.html