Zelgadis was devastated. This can't be! Okay, so technically it was, but he wouldn't let it remain so.

"Amelia, I don't know how, but I won't let you stay like this."

Amelia looked up (figuratively speaking) at Zelgadis. "What can you do?"

"I'm more than experienced in searching for cures. I heard quite a few ways to cure blindness, so we can start there. It would require leaving Seyruun, however."

"I don't know if Daddy will allow it."

The two had been too caught up in each other to remember that Phil was still in the room, and had overheard them.

"Mr. Zelgadis, if what you say is true and you can in fact find a cure for Amelia's eyes, then I will allow for you to take her out of the palace. There will be some precautions, however." Phil said.

Zelgadis jumped, having forgotten about the king. However, he wasn't about to pass up Phil's request.

"What kind of precautions?" Zelgadis asked.

"First and foremost, you will have to disguise yourselves. This shouldn't be too hard for you, Mr. Zelgadis, but Amelia will have to avoid anything that would tie her to the throne. If any evildoer were to find out my beloved daughter was away from Seyruun and unprotected.." Phil's voice caught in his throat.

"I understand, King Philionel."

"Please, just call me Phil. Also, you have to promise me that you will do nothing to call attention to yourselves, and should you find yourselves in danger, you'll contact me immediately."

"Daddy, I'm not totally helpless!" Amelia balled her fists up.

"No Amelia, he's right. I'm not as indestructible as I used to be, so it would be wise to be cautious." Zelgadis said.

"What if we hire Miss Lina and Mr. Gourry to protect us?" Amelia asked.

Zelgadis shook his head. "Too risky. Lina attracts way too much unwanted attention, and if we were to see them at any point we'll have to avoid them at all costs."

"But Mr. Zelgadis!"

"No, he's absolutely right, Amelia. It would be best if you two lay low. Also, it would be best for you two to leave as soon as possible." Phil said.

Zelgadis nodded his head. "Of course. All I need are some supplies and I'm ready to go. What about you, Amelia?"

"I can't go around wearing dresses, it's too impractical for travel, so I'll need to get some traveling clothes. But I haven't gone into the city since..well, you know."

Zelgadis blushed. Of course she needed new clothes if they were to remain inconspicuous. He already had to go get some supplies so he'd end up doing some clothes shopping as well.

"Let me take care of that." Zelgadis said. He then remembered he was nearly out of coinage. He sheepishly turned to King Phil.

"Do we get any funds for this trip?"

As evening came Zelgadis finally returned to the palace. He wasn't empty-handed, however. He had gone back to the stable to pick up Hiro after he'd gone shopping, so the horse was laden with supplies and clothing. He left Hiro with the palace guards and took the clothes inside.

Amelia was beside herself. After waiting all day, Zelgadis had finally brought her clothing for the trip. He had helped her to her room, given her the clothes, then left her to fend for herself. That wasn't the dilemma. She had worn nothing but dresses since losing her sight (They were much easier to put on and she didn't have to worry about putting them on backward), that to wear pants again felt foreign to her. Her new ensemble included a long-sleeved shirt, pants, boots, and a hooded cloak.

"I really wish I knew how I looked..."

Satisfied she'd gotten everything on right, Amelia made her way over to the door. She opened it and stepped out.

"Mr. Zelgadis?"

Zelgadis looked up from his seat at the end of the hall. Seeing Amelia looking about, he approached her.

"Are you all done?" he asked.

"Yes, what do you think?"

Zelgadis admired Amelia's new look: a pale-colored shirt, dark pants, boots, and a black cloak to top it all off. Zelgadis hated to admit it, but Amelia looked plain in the outfit. Exactly what he wanted. If she looked like any other commoner, they'd be that less likely to attract attention.

"You look nice." Zelgadis replied. No way was he going to tell her she was wearing a 'villainous' color.

"So are we ready to leave then?" Amelia asked. She was eager to be out of the palace, especially with Zelgadis!

"Yes, we should go before it gets too dark out."

After bidding Phil good-bye, they proceeded out of the palace and toward the palace guards, where Hiro was.

Zelgadis turned to the guards. "Thank you for watching him for me."

"Just doing our duty, Sir." stated one. "Now you do yours and keep Princess Amelia safe."

"I'll protect her with my life." Zelgadis replied.

Amelia was confused. Who did Zelgadis leave with the guards? As for the guards, Amelia smiled in their general direction.

Zelgadis turned to Amelia. "Before we leave, Amelia, I'd like you to meet Hiro."

"Hiro?" Amelia questioned.

Zelgadis smacked his forehead. He had forgotten that Amelia couldn't see. He took her hand and placed it on Hiro's muzzle.

"Yes, Hiro's my horse."

"Oh, I love horses! Daddy hasn't let me near them since, you know." Amelia moved over to Hiro, letting him sniff her hand before she began to pat his neck. "Hi, Hiro!"

Hiro snorted with pleasure.

Zelgadis smirked. It figured he'd have a lady's horse. "We should get going."

"Oh, right." Amelia turned to Zelgadis and smiled. "Well then, please lead the way."

Zelgadis and Amelia took all of the back roads away from the palace, as to avoid being too obvious. No one payed them much heed anyway, since the only people that were around were shopkeepers closing up for the night. It didn't take long for Zelgadis and Amelia to reach the outer city gates.

Amelia was actually enjoying herself. Having been cooped up in the palace for so long, it was nice to get some fresh air and be able to listen to all of the sounds of the city. She felt a bit guilty traipsing around with a hood pulled over her head, but she knew it was for the best.

Zelgadis was on edge. He hadn't expected to be leaving Seyruun the very same day he arrived, and to be sneaking out as well! He was thankful for the fact that he was no longer a chimera. It was much easier to go walking down the street as a normal human without drawing any attention.

They walked for well over an hour - Zelgadis wanted to get as far away from Seyruun as possible before setting up camp for the night. He had set a face pace, as was usual when he had traveled with Amelia and the others, but he noticed Amelia seemed to be stumbling more than usual. At first he blamed it on her not being able to see, but the terrain was smooth, and it was fairly dark now so he held little advantage.

"Amelia, are you all right?" he finally asked.

Amelia took a moment to catch her breath before responding. "Yes...I'm all right...my legs are a bit...tired though." Amelia stopped walking. "It's been a while since I walked for this long."

"Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"I didn't want to be even more of an inconvenience."

Zelgadis bit his tongue. Well, if that was the case... "Do you think you can handle riding Hiro?"

Amelia nodded in consent, so Zelgadis helped her mount the horse.

"He's somewhat strong-willed, so I'm going to lead him. Just to be on the safe side."

Zelgadis need not have worried. Hiro, sensing that Amelia - unlike Zelgadis - knew what she was doing, didn't even attempt to bolt. Zelgadis grumbled at this, but was thankful as well.

Finally, after Zelgadis was satisfied they had traveled far enough (and it was so dark he could hardly see his hand in front of his face) he set up camp. That's when he realized there was only one tent.

"Great. Just great." Zelgadis mumbled.

Amelia, who was currently sitting near the fire Zelgadis had built, heard his outburst.

"Is something wrong, Mr. Zelgadis?"

Zelgadis jumped. "No! Nothing at all. I'll just take first watch tonight."

"First? I guess I could take watch, or listen in my case."

Oops... "Oh no, that's not what I meant. I'll keep watch tonight."

"But aren't you tired?" Amelia yawned.

"I'll be fine. You should get some sleep though. Here, I'll show you to your tent. You can handle things from here, right?"

"Mr. Zelgadis! I'm not totally helpless!" Amelia blushed in embarrassment.

"Uh - no, that's not what I meant! I - " Zelgadis fidgeted.

"It's all right Mr. Zelgadis, really. Good night." Amelia smiled, then closed the tent flap.

"Oh, uh, good night."

Zelgadis walked over and sat by the fire, stoking it to keep it burning.

"What have a gotten myself into?"

Hiro whinnied.

"I wasn't asking you!"

Zelgadis pulled out his bed roll and set it up near the fire.

"At least it's a nice night..."

The lull of crickets sent Zelgadis into slumber in a matter of minutes.

Later (just how much she couldn't determine) Amelia was woken up by a loud noise. She lay still for a moment, trying to figure out just what she was hearing. Whatever it was, it made sound in timed intervals. It didn't sound very friendly, it sounded outright horrendous!

Whatever it was, Zelgadis would have awoke her if it was a threat.

Amelia was about to fall back asleep, but then a thought struck her: what if it had attacked Zelgadis? Amelia didn't hear him, that was for sure. She crept closer to the tent flap and listened.

Whatever was outside was still being as noisy as ever. Amelia thought of what she could do.

If she ran out at it, she'd most likely scare it off. Unless, of course, it attacked her instead of fleeing. Scratch that idea...

If she stayed silent inside of the tent, it might leave her unscathed. But should Zelgadis be in real trouble, waiting would only make things worse! Scratch that...

She still had one option: her magic. True she hadn't used it forever and was unsure how effectively she could use it not being able to see her target, but even if she were to miss she still had a high chance of scaring off the noisy creature. Magic it is!

Amelia crept up right to the tent flap and began to chant as quietly as she could, then she quickly tossed open the flap and yelled, "Burst Rondo!"

Zelgadis had been sleeping soundly, until he heard a sudden outburst! Having small fireballs exploding around him didn't help! He did the smartest thing he could think of: he yelped!

Zelgadis sat straight up, quickly looking around. The ground around him was scorched and his blanket had actually caught on fire but he was quick to put it out. He glanced over at the only movement he saw: the tent flap.

"Amelia, is something wrong?"

Zelgadis was mildly irritated. Hearing no response, he got up and tromped over to the tent.

"Amelia, are you in there?"

Amelia had been cringing inside the tent just as soon as she figured out just what she had done. She couldn't ignore Zelgadis for long though, so she sheepishly poked her head out of the tent.

"Oh Mr. Zelgadis, I feared the worst! I heard this horrible sound and didn't know what it was so I did the best thing I could think of but then I heard you yell, and Mr. Zelgadis, I'm so sorry!" Amelia was near tears.

"Calm down Amelia, it's okay. Now what was this noise you heard?"

Amelia looked thoughtful. "Well, it sounded big and nasty. Sort of like this." Amelia breathed through her mouth.

Zelgadis sweat dropped. "Amelia, haven't you ever heard anyone snore before?"

"Well I, uh...Oh!" Amelia looked embarrassed. "But I didn't know you snored, Mr. Zelgadis!"

Zelgadis scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Nor I, actually."

Crisis over, Amelia let out a yawn. "What time is it, anyway?"

"Good question. Considering the sun isn't up yet all I can say for certain is very early."

"Sorry I woke you up so rudely." Amelia twiddled her fingers.

"Don't worry about it. The sun should rise soon. Can't you hear the birds?"

"Of course I - oh."

Amelia had been too involved talking with Zelgadis to notice the birds beginning a new day with song.

"Amelia?" Zelgadis noticed she had tuned out. She quickly came to and looked in his direction. "We should have some breakfast before we set off."

"All right, I'll be there in a moment!" Amelia ducked back into the tent.

Zelgadis moved off to get his pack which, thankfully, he had restocked before leaving Seyruun. Nothing like boring trail rations to start off the day.

"Amelia, I'll apologize in advance for the less than fancy meal." Zelgadis smiled sheepishly, but then remembered she wouldn't be able to see him anyway. When he didn't get a response, he looked up.

Amelia, being unable to see, was slowly working her way over to where Zelgadis was. She didn't want to trip, so she was taking very cautious steps. Zelgadis got up and walked over to Amelia.

"Here Amelia, let me help you." Zelgadis took Amelia by the arm and led her over to a nearby log. Zelgadis then handed a small bag to her. "Here, it isn't much, but it should keep you until lunch, or until we reach a town. Whichever comes first. I'm going to go check on Hiro, I'll be right back."

Amelia listened to Zelgadis walk off, but then decided to check on the bag's contents. She reached in and pulled out something soft, but firm. Curious, she smelled it.

"Oh, dried fruit. I wonder what kind it is?"

Amelia chewed on the fruit, determining that it was an apricot, and waited for Zelgadis' return. True to his word, Zelgadis was back soon after.

"Mr. Zelgadis, where did you plan on looking, anyway?"

"Actually, I thought that Sairaag would be the best place to find something, but we'll also look in the towns we pass."

"Oh, of course! Sairaag should be well settled by now." Amelia gave a sad smile. "Poor Miss Sylphiel, having to deal with her home being destroyed...twice."

"Is Sylphiel still in Sairaag? She could be quite helpful if she is."

Amelia shook her head. "No, she moved to Seyruun about 12 years ago to stay with her uncle. She was one of the clerics Daddy summoned to help me."

"I really have been gone too long. Did you ever hear anything from Lina and Gourry? Assuming they stayed together."

"Mr. Zelgadis, of course they are! Miss Lina did write to me about a year ago. She mentioned about her and Mr. Gourry's travels, but I never heard anything from her after that. Oh, I hope they're all right!"

"I'm sure they're fine. If anything had happened to them, we would have heard something. Word travels fast, you know."

"I know all too well! I've been stuck inside the palace since I got sick, for fear word would get out that Seyruun might lose it's future heir to the throne. Daddy was able to keep anything form getting out, but I would have gone crazy had you not come along." Amelia smiled at Zelgadis.

Zelgadis, seeing the gratitude in her expression, coughed nervously. "We really should get moving if we want to reach a town today."

Amelia's face fell. She had been enjoying the chance to talk to another person again. Especially an old (and fondly thought of) traveling companion.

"Do you need help with anything?" Amelia asked.

"No, I can get the tent and bedrolls. However, I'm betting that Hiro would like some company."

Amelia laughed. "Oh, how cruel of us to leave him out!"

"I'll accompany you to him." Zelgadis helped Amelia up.

Zelgadis led Amelia to the nearby tree that the horse was tethered to. Zelgadis then placed Amelia's hand on Hiro's back, then turned to leave.

"It won't take me long. Just stay out of trouble until then."

Amelia looked cross. "Mr. Zelgadis, I -"

Zelgadis placed his fingers over Amelia's mouth.

"I was talking to Hiro." Zelgadis then walked off.

"He sure is an odd one, isn't he, Hiro?" Amelia whispered to Hiro, scratching him behind the ear.

Hiro neighed in agreement.

The morning's journey was uneventful. To save time, Zelgadis made Amelia ride Hiro, while Zelgadis led the horse. Around noon they reached a small forest. Zelgadis was uneasy to enter it, but he had little choice unless he wanted to forge a new path. The walked on in silence...

"It's really quiet today. I can't even hear the birds anymore." Amelia said.

"We can change that for you, Missy."

Zelgadis whipped his head around. A group of about 20 bandits materialized from the trees.

"Great, I pick the one forest Lina didn't clean out." Zelgadis groaned. "What do you want?" he demanded.

The leader grinned. "Your valuables, of course. And the girl."

Amelia was beside herself. She knew that these evildoers meant her harm, but if she were to bring them to justice, she would blow their cover! Maybe this outing hadn't been such a good idea, after all.

As the bandits moved in closer, Zelgadis whispered to Amelia. "Whatever happens, do NOT come back! I'll take care of this trash."

Having said this, Zelgadis smacked Hiro's rump as hard as he could. Hiro reared up, Amelia clinging on to his neck, and fled down the path.

"I don't think so. You'll have to kill me first!" Zelgadis spat.

The bandits, furious with the audacity of this man, moved in for the kill.

Zelgadis smirked. "Sorry, but I don't think so!"

"Dug Haut!"

As Hiro continued to dash blindly through the forest, Amelia clung on for dear life! Even though she was a skilled rider, Hiro was too panicked to respond. Hiro left the main path and headed into the trees. As he ran he almost hit a tree. Luckily for him, he didn't. Amelia however, wasn't so fortunate. Her leg smashed into the tree, and she was sent flying!

Zelgadis panted to catch his breath. After he had taken out most of the group with his Dug Haut, he had managed to beat the rest with his sword. Having caught his breath, Zelgadis dashed off down the path. He ran for five minutes when he was met with a disturbing sight: Hiro. Alone! Zelgadis ran to Hiro.

"Hiro, it's okay, calm down." Zelgadis tried to soothe the frightened horse. "What happened to Amelia? Amelia! Amelia!!"

Zelgadis looked about frantically. He saw a horse-sized hole in the brush nearby, so went in to investigate.

Amelia was in a daze. She knew that she had fallen, but how long ago she didn't know. All that mattered was that she needed to breathe!

"Pain, so much pain...it hurts too much to breathe. Still, I've got to try!"

Amelia gasped a few times until she was able to breathe in a lungfull of air. But still, it hurt so much! As she continued to take deep breaths, she became aware of a sound. Somebody was calling...but who? Amelia tried to respond, but only a squeak came out. She could hear a loud commotion coming towards her...

Somebody grabbed onto her arm, and she became aware that they were calling her name. The person was obviously male.

"Why can't I see?"

As she became more aware of the outside world, the pain increased.

"My head..." Amelia touched her head with her hand.

"I know, Amelia, I'm doing my best to heal it. Just lie still."

Zelgadis was glad that Amelia was alive. When he had found her, she lay in a puddle of blood. He was relieved to see that the bleeding was from a small gash on her forehead, which he was healing. Hopefully she would be less groggy... Zelgadis finished healing her wound. She would have a nasty bruise, but nothing else.

"Amelia, can you hear me now?"

"Yes...yes I can...Mr. Zelgadis?"

"Yes." Zelgadis breathed a sigh of relief. "Is there anywhere else that you hurt?"

That seemed a silly question. Amelia hurt all over! She tried to pinpoint the most painful spot.

"My knee."

Zelgadis looked down and gasped. Amelia's knee was smashed up pretty badly, but it wasn't something he couldn't fix.

"Just stay still, Amelia. I'll take care of it."

As the pain subsided, Amelia's thoughts began to clear. "What happened to all of the bandits?"

"I made sure that they'd never harm another traveler again. There, all done. You should be able to walk on it now, provided nothing else is broken."

Amelia sat up, but grimaced in pain.

Zelgadis was quick to react. "Amelia, what's the matter?"

Amelia grit her teeth. "It's nothing serious, I'm just bruised."

"Will you be able to walk?"

"Yes, just give me a moment." Amelia willed herself to get up.

Zelgadis stood to assist her. "I would let you ride Hiro, but I think that would aggravate things even more."

Amelia waved him off. "Oh, I'll be all right. Besides, I think it would be best if he had some time to calm down."

"Well, if you insist."

"I do. I'm fine Mr. Zelgadis. Really!" Amelia smiled weakly.

Zelgadis shook his head. Amelia never was one to complain about herself. He could tell she was still hurting badly from the way she hobbled along.

"Please let a town be nearby." Zelgadis thought.

As they exited the forest, Zelgadis spied a town. His wish had come true! True, the town was rather small, but it would have to do.

"Come on Amelia, we're almost there. I'll go find an inn and you can rest while I look around." and he led her into the town.

Amelia sighed in relief. Zelgadis had left her in an inn room for the day, then left to go look around town. Amelia slowly sat down on the bed.

"I know I told Mr. Zelgadis I was all right, but this really hurts! Time to do something about it, but first..."

Amelia slowly undid her cloak and dropped it on the floor. She knew she should fold it up neatly, but she was too sore to do it just yet. Instead, she spent a good part of an hour casting Recovery on herself until most of the pain was gone.

"Much better!"

Amelia then reached down to pick up and fold her cloak.

"This is filthy! I guess I shouldn't be too surprised after rolling along the ground like that."

On impulse, she ran a hand through her hair.

"A twig? Leaves? More dirt?! I must have looked awful coming into town! Hmm...I wonder if they have a bath house here? Not that I can go by myself...I'll have to ask Mr. Zelgadis later. I'm sure he'll love that." Amelia blushed at the thought. "I hope he finds something."

Then Amelia, having nothing else to take care of, lay down on the bed. Not wanting to get the sheets in the bed dirty, she covered herself with her cloak and fell asleep.

Zelgadis was not faring well. This town, Toba, didn't seem to have a library of any kind. On to the alternative: talk to the locals. It was only midday, so there were plenty of townsfolk around. Zelgadis spied a man near a vegetable cart, so he walked over to the man.

'Excuse me." Zelgadis tapped the man on the shoulder.

"Yes?" said man turned to look at Zelgadis.

"Do you know of any libraries here?"

The man thought a moment. "Well, there used to be one down the street. Until it burned down to the ground, that is."

"What?" Zelgadis exclaimed. He coughed nervously and continued, "Do you have any other records here? A healer's guild, perhaps?"

"Actually, yes. It's the next street over. Big white building, so it's hard to miss."

"Thank you." and with that, Zelgadis dashed off.

It didn't take him long to find the building. Zelgadis took a moment to catch his breath, then went in. As he entered, Zelgadis noted that there was a fairly large collection of books.

"Perhaps this will be easier than I thought."

Zelgadis noticed a man in white robes watering plants (of all things!) and made his way over. The man heard Zelgadis coming and looked up from his task.

"How may I be of service to you?" he asked.

"I'm looking for a way to cure blindness. Do you have any books on the subject?"

"Blindness, eh? That isn't so common these days. We ought to have a book or two on the subject. I'll be right back."

Zelgadis waited, but after a few minutes he began to let his eyes wander around the room. It seemed like an eternity since he'd last stepped into a place like this. True, he had usually looted the place in his desperate search (a thought that grew more tempting as he waited for the priest to return), but he didn't have to rely on such methods now. ...at least not yet.

"Here you are, Sir."

Zelgadis nearly jumped, having been in his thoughts and not aware of his surroundings. The priest was holding a book out to him.

"Oh, thank you." Zelgadis took the book.

"I will have to ask that you stay here while you peruse it. We've had a problem with people stealing our books. Some are irreplaceable." the priest said, then he resumed watering the plants.

Zelgadis noticed a little table in the far corner and made his way over to it. He then sat in a nearby chair and began looking though the book.

"Cure for blindness caused by accident...care for blindness caused by birth defect...cure for blindness caused by cataracts..." Zelgadis flipped further through the book. "Cure for blindness caused by hexes...cure for blindness caused by illness! Here we go."

Zelgadis began to read.

Amelia awoke to knocking on the door.

"Yes, who is it?" she asked.

"The innkeeper, Miss. Sorry to interrupt you, but you've been in there for a long time. Would you be wanting some dinner?"

Dinner? Amelia hadn't even had lunch! Food did sound good, but she thought it would be safer for Zelgadis to get back first.

"Thank you for the offer, but I'll wait for my traveling companion."

"All right, Miss."

Amelia listened to the fading steps. She had slept through most of the day and Zelgadis wasn't back yet. Hopefully he hadn't run into any trouble. Amelia tried to keep her fears at bay. The last time she had let them run amok she had horribly embarrassed herself! Zelgadis had said he'd be back, and she would believe him. Amelia lay back down on her pillow again...

KNOCK! KNOCK!!

"Ack!" Amelia awoke with a start. She hadn't even noticed that she had dozed off again. "Yes, who is it?" she yawned.

"Amelia, it's me, Zelgadis. Is it all right if I come in?"

Amelia tried to straighten her hair as best she could (and the general amount of last minute primping girls do.) "Yes, the door is unlocked, Mr. Zelgadis."

Zelgadis opened the door and stepped in. He noticed Amelia's 'bed-head'.

"I see you slept well." Zelgadis smirked.

"Oh, well yes, I did. Did you have any luck, Mr. Zelgadis?"

"Yes, and no. I was able to find a spell that would regain your sight, but the caster has to be very skilled in White Magic. I'm not even sure you would be skilled enough to cast it successfully."

"What about the priests and clerics? Did you ask them?"

"Yes, they all admitted it was above their skills as well. It seems that Rezo was a renowned Sage for a reason. No one since his passing has had nearly as much healing power as he did." Zelgadis replied.

"What do we do now?" Amelia pondered.

"Now we begin searching for someone able to cast this spell. There has got to be somebody who can!" Zelgadis clenched his fist.

"Wow, Mr. Zelgadis, your optimism puts me to shame!" Amelia teased.

Zelgadis blushed. "Force of habit. I would have gone insane searching for my cure if I hadn't."

Suddenly, Amelia's stomach growled.

Zelgadis looked at her in surprise. "You should have said something, Amelia. Would you like to get some dinner?"

"Yes!" Amelia jumped up. "I would love to! ...however, I would really like to wash up beforehand. Does this inn have a bath house?"

Zelgadis hid his face behind his hand. He had totally forgotten about that! Bathing didn't sound like a bad idea (he was pretty filthy from the day's events as well), but what to do with Amelia? No way was HE going to help her! There has got to be a way out of this...

"Ah...yes. Here, come with me."

Zelgadis led Amelia from the bed and out of her room. A female employee happened to be walking by just then.

"Excuse me, Miss? Do you mind assisting my friend here to the bath house?" Zelgadis practically pleaded.

The girl smiled at him. "Of course, Sir. Come right this way, Ma'am." and off Amelia and the girl went.

Zelgadis gave a sigh of relief, then went off to find his own place to clean up.

A much cleaner and happier Amelia was back in her room, attempting to manage her wet hair when again there was a knock at her door.

"Yes, who's there?" Amelia asked.

"It's me, Amelia. Are you ready to get dinner?" Zelgadis responded.

"Most definitely!"

Amelia whirled around on her stool, then jumped up to her feet. She had too much momentum and began to stumble about, as she tried to regain her balance.

Zelgadis listened to the racket outside the door. "We'd better heal her soon, before she kills herself!" he thought.

Zelgadis heard a thud against the door, then watched the doorknob slowly turn. Amelia poked her head out the door, wearing an embarrassed smile.

"I must be hungrier than I thought." she giggled nervously.

Zelgadis just shook his head and smiled.

"How about I lead the way? I have to get you back home in one piece." Zelgadis said.

Amelia pouted. "You're just having fun teasing me! Just you wait, I'll get you back!"

"Oh? How so?" Zelgadis grinned.

"Well, I...I'll... All right, I don't know, but I'll think of something."

Zelgadis grinned as they walked down the hall, down the stairs, and into the dining area. He found a booth and sat himself and Amelia down. Then they waited...

Zelgadis tapped his finger on the table impatiently.

"How long are they going to take?" Zelgadis wondered.

"I don't know, you tell me. It sounds like there are a lot of people here, though." Amelia said.

"Yes, it would seem that everybody decided to eat here tonight." Zelgadis sighed. "It never took this long to be waited on when I traveled with Lina."

Amelia laughed. "That's because Miss Lina demanded attention. 'Get me five chicken dinners, and step on it!'"

A nearby waiter snapped to attention. "Right away, Miss!" and off he ran to the kitchen.

Amelia gasped.

"You sure got his attention, Lina!" Zelgadis joked.

"How was I to know there was a waiter nearby? I must have sounded so rude!" Amelia looked devastated.

"Don't worry about it, Amelia. Just tip him well and he'll forget the whole thing. That was a pretty good impression of Lina, though."

The waiter came back a moment later. "Here's your order, Miss. Is there anything else I can get for you?"

Zelgadis cleared his throat. "Yes, could we get some tea as well?"

"Yes, I'll bring it right out. Will that be all?"

"Yes, thank you." Amelia tried to sound extra polite.

After the waiter left, Zelgadis turned to Amelia. "I hope you like chicken. You have five plates of it!"

"You can have some as well, Mr. Zelgadis. There's no way I could eat that much! ...it smells good though."

Zelgadis slid a plate in front of Amelia and handed her a fork, then sat back and watched her search about for her food.

"You know I'd help you out, but I thought it best to leave you some dignity." Zelgadis said.

"Don't worry, I'm doing just fine." Then, to change the topic she asked. "So where are we going next?"

"Well, unless we get a good lead on somebody who can help us, we'll just have to travel around."

Amelia contemplated this while she ate.

Zelgadis continued, "I didn't find anyone here so we'll set off for the next town tomorrow."

Zelgadis looked up from his thoughts to see that Amelia had moved onto her third plate.

"Hey, save some for me!" Zelgadis grabbed the last two plates and put them out of her reach.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Zelgadis. I guess all of this traveling works up an appetite!" Amelia beamed.

"Well, we made it back to your room. I want to leave first thing in the morning, so be prepared." Zelgadis said, leading Amelia back into her room.

"Yes, I know, Mr. Zelgadis. Good night."

"Good night."

Amelia waited until Zelgadis had left the room, then felt around for some pajamas. After struggling into them (and hoping she didn't have them on backward) Amelia crawled under the covers of the bed and settled down for sleep.

A moment passed...

Amelia rolled onto her side to get more comfortable. Still no luck, so she rolled onto her stomach, resting her chin on the pillow. Her body was willing to get rest, but her thoughts were keeping her awake.

"Oh, I hope we find somebody who can help me. If only Mommy hadn't been killed. Daddy says that she was on of the best practitioners of White Magic in the world."

Amelia wiped a tear from her eye.

"But then, if Mommy hadn't been unjustly murdered, then Gracia would have never left home, and...and I would have had no reason to leave Seyruun. I might have never met Miss Lina, Mr. Gourry, and especially Mr. Zelgadis."

Amelia wiped another tear from her eye.

"Life can be so unjust at times, but it always seems to make up for it. I do miss Mommy and Gracia, but I'm grateful for all of the friends I've made."

Amelia yawned, her thoughts beginning to drift.

"Well, if Miss Sylphiel is still in Seyruun, we can always go find her. Maybe she'd be able to help. I just...want to see...again..."

Amelia's head drooped to one side, as she finally succumbed to sleep.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Amelia awoke with a start, but unsure if she had actually heard anything or not, began to drift back to sleep.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

"Amelia, are you up yet?" came the slightly disgruntled voice of Zelgadis.

Amelia rolled onto her back, just wanting to drift back to sleep. The voice outside her door wouldn't let her, however, so she got out of bed.

"Yes, I'm up." she yawned.

Amelia reached for her clothes. Then, after taking off the pajamas, quickly got dressed. She then felt for the nearest wall and followed it to the door. Finding the knob, she opened the door.

"Sleep well?" Zelgadis asked.

Amelia yawned again. "I guess the mattress was really comfortable. What about you?"

"Oh, it was just fine, until some bird decided to screech right outside my window." Zelgadis replied.

"I prefer your wake-up call to mine." Amelia grinned.

"Yes, well, sorry about that. I just wanted to get out of here while it's still fairly early. Are you all set?"

Amelia shook her head to rid herself of sleep. "Yes, all ready here! Are we going to get Hiro?"

"That's where we're going first. The stables are right next to the inn, luckily." Zelgadis took a hold of Amelia's arm and proceeded to leave.

"Off we go trot-ing!

Me and my Hi-ro!

Off, to places that I can-not see!"

"Amelia, of all the songs you had to use to make that up, why did it have to be that song?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Zelgadis, that tune is just so catchy! Actually, I would sing the original song, but I forgot the words. So I've been making up my own lyrics! What do you think?"

Zelgadis just sighed and continued walking down the road. He lead Hiro (who Amelia was currently riding) behind him.

"I would like it better if you sang to a different tune." Zelgadis finally replied.

"Hmm..." Amelia thought for a moment. "Now I can't think of anything but that one!"

"Just my luck."

"Don't you like to sing, Mr. Zelgadis?"

"No, I don't sing very well. I'd rather play."

"You play an instrument?" Amelia inquired.

"Well...I can manage on stringed instruments, such as a guitar, but I haven't really tried much else. What about you?"

"No, I never had the patience. Daddy tried to get me to learn to play the flute, but I preferred to play outside instead. Especially with the horses." Amelia gave Hiro a big hug.

"I should have guessed."

And on they went. They traveled for most of the day, and set up camp in the early evening. After an uneventful night they resumed their journey. About mid-morning Zelgadis noticed two people coming from the opposite direction.

"No, it couldn't be!" Zelgadis gasped.

But of course, it was. Zelgadis quietly spoke to Amelia.

"We have some unplanned guests. Keep a low profile."

Zelgadis pulled his hood over his head, Amelia following suit. As the couple approached, they could be heard talking. Amelia couldn't help but listen.

"So where are we off to?"

"For the last time, Gourry! We are going to Zephilia, just like you wanted. It's just as well. My family -especially my sister- would have hunted me down eventually."

"So what's with all this money we're been saving?"

"Consider it a peace offering, to smooth things over with my sister."

"Why?"

"You don't want to know!"

Within minutes, the couple was out of sight. Zelgadis breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was a little too close for comfort!" Zelgadis said.

"Oh, but Mr. Zelgadis, it's so romantic!" Amelia replied.

"Romantic? How? Lina and Gourry are just going to her homeland."

"Yes, but Miss Lina is taking Mr. Gourry to meet her family! And after that..." Amelia giggled. "I hope they invite me to the wedding."

"You really are a hopeless romantic, aren't you?"

"Hey Lina, did you see those people back there?"

"Who, those peasants? What about them?"

"Well, they looked familiar."

"Since when do you hang out with peasants, Gourry?"

"Well, never, actually."

"Just as I thought. Now come on, we should be reaching a city soon, and then we eat!"

Gourry grinned in anticipation.

To be continued...