Kopii nursed his wounded pride in the comfort of his own sitting room with a little help from a cigarette and a flagon of ale. He sat in a big, high-backed leather chair with his bare feet propped on a hassock facing the fireplace and a book of transformation spells open in his lap. His feet looked rather…delicate. He had his shirt off, the better to see if he successfully sprouted breasts as he tried different spells. So far, he’d managed to eliminate his "family jewels, change the length and color of his hair and make his voice higher-pitched, but his chest remained stubbornly masculine no matter what spell he used. He was even able to make both of his eyes the same color. But he couldn’t seem to conjure boobs.
        "Hmph! You’d think there’d be a spell specifically for the growing of breasts!" He muttered sourly, thinking of a certain small-chested sorceress who’d made a fool out of him that afternoon. The idea of zapping Lina Inverse with enormous hooters in her sleep amused him until he realized she might think someone had done her a favor and be happy about it. He was certain her boyfriend Gourry would be thrilled, and he sure didn’t want to make that moron happy.
        Kopii closed his eyes and let out a long breath, focusing on the joys of being a woman and trying to convince his body that it wanted to be female. "People will acknowledge my existence," he chanted, "they will smile at me for no reason…men will buy me drinks…I’ll be able to express myself more fully…I’ll be able to get away with anything if I smile and act innocent…I will have multiple orgasms…"
        PLOOBADOOF!
        "Oh yeah!"

        The town of Marrigan wasn’t the sort to roll up the streets at sunset. As far as the Marrigans, as the town’s residents called themselves, were concerned, sunset was when the party was just beginning, and everyone for miles around knew it. This was how Marrigan made its living: Entertainment. The quaint, little shops that featured the works of local artisans remained open well past midnight and offered their patrons spiced wines and coffees and exotic teas and cakes. There were art galleries and theatres, both indoor and outdoor, a sculpture park and manicured, public garden, and the most avante garde restaurants, clubs and bars in all the land. Jugglers and acrobats, musicians and mimes performed in the streets for the coins passersby would toss into their bowls. Prostitutes offered their goods in the most elegant, tasteful brothels or wherever (and catering to whatever) their clients preferred. There were shrines to every known god and shrines to those yet to be known. Priests and priestesses, temple prostitutes and acolytes, rubbed elbows with actors and philosophers. Anything you wanted could be had in Marrigan, where every stimulant of the mind, body and spirit was available—for a price.
        Of the trio of weary travelers who rode into town that evening on equally weary horses, only one seemed unhappy to be there; the other two were looking around in wide-eyed wonder and chattering between themselves as they decided where to have dinner. Princess Amelia of Seyruun was offended beyond her ability to express it by what she saw as the scum and villainy all around her. To the justice-loving princess, Marrigan was the armpit of the world, or possibly an even smellier location on the body. Overly made-up women with dyed hair and skimpy outfits tried to lure them into their sleazy clutches for a few minutes of wickedness—right next to prophets preaching the punishments awaiting those who bought the prostitutes’ services. Shouts and raucous laughter came from almost every open door and window, along with other sounds Amelia stubbornly closed her ears to.     "What a horrible place!" She all but shouted to her companions, not caring if anyone else heard her. They did and had only mocking laughter to spare her before returning to their nightly business. "I can’t believe you brought me here, Lina! Gourry, tell her we have to leave this place! We should go to the next town—"
        Gourry grinned from ear to ear. "Huh-huh! No way! This place is great! Hey, Lina, smell that?"
        Lina was also grinning, though probably not for the same reasons. "Yeah! Grilled chicken! Let’s go!" She nudged her tired horse into a feeble trot. Gourry followed her lead, but Amelia started to cry.
        "Lina! Why won’t you listen to me? Don’t you guys care about anything?"
        "We care about starving!" Lina shot back over her shoulder. She swung out of the saddle and lashed her horse’s reigns to the hitching post outside the restaurant, next to three other, less tired-looking, mounts.
        Gourry hitched his horse next to Lina’s and did the same for Amelia’s when she reluctantly joined them. Seeing the tears on the princess’ face softened Gourry’s heart a little. "C’mon, Amelia, don’t cry. It’ll be ok. I promise, if anybody tries anything funny with you, I’ll kick their butts!"
        Amelia sniffled. "I’ll do it myself, thank you!" But she latched onto Gourry’s arm, anyway, if only for the intimidation factor his size and giant sword provided over her tiny, unarmed self.
        Lina took hold of Gourry’s other arm, and the three of them pushed through the swinging doors into the smoky main room of the establishment. Nobody but the bartender looked up as they entered and scanned the room for an empty table. The place was packed with patrons gobbling down delicious-smelling food and quaffing all kinds of beverages. Some of the people were well-dressed in silks and jewels, but most were attired much as Lina and her friends were. All were armed in some way, daggers appearing to be the weapons of choice, tucked into belts, boots, or arm or thigh sheaths. Torches burned in wall sconces and chandeliers hung from the heavy-beamed ceiling where much of the smoke from innumerable cigars, cigarettes and pipes gathered in ghostly swirls. Waitresses in short skirts and bikini tops hustled between tables, trays of food and drink held high, artfully dodging pinches and pats with smiles and charming giggles. Trophy heads of wild game were mounted on the walls, and examples of local artwork were scattered throughout the room, on tabletops, walls and in corners. Lina spotted a booth in a corner by the bar and led her companions to it. She gratefully took off her cloak and sword and threw them into the booth before sliding in after them with a happy sigh. Gourry sat across from her with his sword leaning against the seat, and Amelia took the place next to Lina. "Amelia, will you dry up!" Lina hissed. "People are staring!"
        The princess obediently wiped her face on a corner of her cloak, which she refused to take off, and tried to look, if not cheerful, at least like she didn’t mind being there. "I’m not comfortable here, Lina."
        "Oh, get over yourself!" Lina snarled. "It’s just one night, and all we’re going to do while we’re here is eat and sleep. Think you can deal with that?"
        "And resist the urge to lecture people about their ‘evil ways’?" Gourry added with a stern frown. "We don’t want any trouble, Amelia, we’re in a hurry, remember?"
        Chastened and severely wounded, Amelia nodded, her eyes fixed on her folded hands on the table.
        After a moment, Gourry had an attack of conscience and patted her hands comfortingly. "I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, Princess. I’m sorry."
        Startled by that, both Amelia and Lina looked up at him in shock, but Gourry chose to ignore them. A happy Amelia was a quiet Amelia, and all he wanted right then was to be able to enjoy a good meal and a beer in peace. And do a little girl-watching when Lina wasn’t looking.
        "Hi, folks!" Said the red-haired waitress as she plunked menus down in front of them, bending extra low to give Gourry and eyeful and smiling warmly at him. "Hiya, handsome," she purred. "That’s a mighty big sword you got there." Wink.
        Lina and Amelia fumed. Gourry grinned and turned red, missing her suggestion entirely as he locked his gaze onto her ample cleavage. "It’s a family heirloom," he told her, big, blue eyes all innocence. Lina kicked his shin under the table and gave him a very meaningful stare. "Ow! What was that for?!"
        "Put your eyes back in your skull, stud-boy. You’re spoken for, remember?" Lina’s voice dripped poison. She put on a sickly-sweet tone for the waitress, who had at last noticed Gourry wasn’t the only one with a sword, and said: "Two beers and a coffee. Is coffee ok with you, Amelia?"
        Amelia nodded and said nothing, wisely staying out of the danger zone rapidly forming between Lina and Gourry. Maybe she’d be better off not sharing a room with them later.
        "Fine. Coffee." Lina reiterated. "We need time to look at the menu." When the server didn’t budge, Lina smiled dangerously at her and made a shooing motion with her hand: "Thank you!" The waitress left looking a little pale. Lina dropped her "nice girl" face and bored holes into Gourry with an icy stare.
        Gulp. "What’d I do?"
        Lina buried her face in her hands and shook her head, marveling once again at the unparalleled level of his cluelessness. Amelia crossed her arms and sighed. "I can’t believe you don’t know. How can you be so insensitive, Gourry? Flirting with that slut while Lina’s sitting right here! You owe her a big apology!"
        Gourry gave her a wounded look. "I wasn’t flirting with her, she was flirting with me!"
        "You flirted back!" Amelia argued.
        "Did not!"
        "Did too!"
        "Did not!"
        "Did—"
        "Shut up, both of you!" Lina scolded in a muffled voice, her face still in her hands. She sighed and sat back in the booth, mimicking Amelia’s cross pose. "He can’t help it, Amelia," she said bitterly, "you know how he feels about women’s chests: They should be big and visible, which mine aren’t. After all, he’s only a man. It’s not like he can actually control himself."
        "Hey!" Gourry protested, still not entirely sure what he’d done wrong. "Gee, Lina, I’m in love with you, but I’m not dead!" Gourry sucked in a startled breath as the bottom dropped out of his stomach. Had he really just said he loved her?
        "Oh!" Lina clasped her hands and wriggled with delight. "You’re in love with me?! Really?! Oh, Gourry!"
        "Lina!" Gourry gave her his best gooey-eyed look and tried to figure out if she was sincere or being sarcastic.
        SLAP!
        Ah. She was being sarcastic. Gourry rubbed his cheek where she’d slapped him and pouted. "I really am in love with you…" he repeated sadly. Now that he’d finally found the nerve to say it in front of other people, he found he couldn’t stop saying it until she said it back to him. According to his reasoning, if she couldn’t say it to his face, she didn’t love him at all, and he was just being used. If that was true, then she had no case against him if he flirted with other girls. He slunk down in his seat, mutely enduring Lina’s angry tirade, pretending he didn’t hear her tell him he was stupid and boring and insensitive and guilty of a litany of other shortcomings. After a few seconds, he didn’t even hear her anymore, just nodded at what he thought were the right places, agreed that he was whatever she said he was and wished the waitress would return with his beer. He decided Lina didn’t love him the way he loved her and that he should just start looking for somebody else. Somebody who respected him at least a little bit and treated him like a human being with feelings that could be hurt.
        It was at that moment that Gourry’s reasoning led him to do the worst thing he could have possibly done under the circumstances: He asked the waitress for her name when she returned with their drinks. Lina, naturally, reacted in the only way she knew how: She waited until they were all in their room after dinner, then beat the hell out of him. Amelia just sat and looked out the window, not really seeing the menagerie of humanity going by and trying very hard not to hear what was going on behind her. Finally, she couldn’t take it any more and, saying she was going back downstairs for another cup of coffee, left the "love birds" to duke it out without her.
        "Back so soon?" Asked the same waitress who had served her earlier.
        Amelia nodded and tried to look friendly. "One coffee, please."
        The waitress wrote down her order, then went to fetch it. Instead of just a cup of coffee, she returned with entire pot. "I think you could use this, honey," she said with a sympathetic wink. "Guess she’s taking it out of his hide, huh?"
        Amelia wanted to tell her to mind her own business and, furthermore, the argument in question was all her fault, but just nodded instead. She wished the woman would just go away, but no luck.
        "Mind if I join you?" She asked as she took the chair across from Amelia. "You look like you could use some company."
        It was then that Amelia noticed she’d brought two mugs with the pot of coffee. From Gourry’s earlier question, she knew the woman’s name was Ruby but that was about it. Ruby poured them each a cup of coffee, took a sip from hers and smiled at Amelia again. "I didn’t get your name," she said.
        "Amelia."
        "Hi, Amelia." Ruby toasted her with her mug. "So, who’s the redhead?"
        Amelia ran a finger along the rim of her mug, finding she didn’t want coffee after all. "Lina."
        "Is she always that touchy?"
        Amelia nodded. "Especially with Gourry."
        Ruby nodded wisely. "Must be love."
        Amelia shrugged. "I always thought people who were in love were nice to each other but I don’t think Lina knows how to be nice."
        "Ah."
        They sat in silence for a while, the princess still not drinking her coffee, the waitress watching her not drink her coffee. Then Ruby asked: "So, what about you? I’ll bet you have a boyfriend you treat real nice."
        Amelia blushed and bit her lip. "Well, there is this one man," she began shyly, then her voice got all dreamy. "He’s tall and handsome and strong and a very powerful sorcerer. And he’s so brave." She sighed longingly.
        Ruby leaned closer with an eager glint in her eyes. "He sounds wonderful!"
        The princess’ face fell. "He is but he doesn’t want me. We’re just friends, he says." She sipped coffee without really tasting it and tried not to get misty again. What was Zelgadis’ deal, anyway? What did he want in a woman? And why wasn’t she it? Where did she come up short? What crucial element was missing in her?
        "What’s his problem?" Ruby sympathized crossly, echoing Amelia’s thoughts. "You seem like a really nice girl—and you’re pretty, too."
        Amelia shrugged. "I don’t know what he wants. I just know it’s not me."
        "Oh, honey, he probably doesn’t deserve you, anyway!" Ruby soothed, reaching over to pat Amelia’s hand. "Hey, I know what! Maybe you should make a play for that Gourry guy! If his girlfriend treats him like shit, and you don’t, maybe he’ll see the light and—"
        Amelia shook her head furiously. "No! I want Zelgadis. Gourry’s sweet, but he’s dumb as a box of rocks. Zelgadis is practically a genius!"
        At the mention of Zelgadis’ name, Ruby’s eyes went wide and she giggled with surprise. "Ah! Zelgadis the chimera?! You’re in love with him?!" She squealed and practically wriggled herself out of her top. "Oh, you’re right: He is sooo gorgeous! And mysterious!"
        Amelia’s eyes bugged. "You know Zelgadis?!"
        "He was in here a few weeks ago and stayed for a couple of days," Ruby gushed. "The girls went crazy over him." She sighed. "That voice…"
        "Yeah…" Amelia agreed sadly. "What I’d give to wake up to it every morning and hear it all day long…"
        Another pat on Amelia’s hand. "Well, you said you guys are friends, right?" Amelia nodded gloomily. "So, you can still spend time with him, and maybe he’ll get a clue and see what a catch you are! These things can take time sometimes." Feeling rather pleased with her advice, the waitress poured herself another cup of coffee. "So, what’s our stone stud doing these days? Have you heard from him lately?"
        Against her better judgement, Amelia proceeded to pour out the whole, sordid story of Zelgadis and his therapist, who had turned out to be the evil trickster priest, Xellos, and their own plans for Zel’s rescue. An hour later, Amelia was so cranked on coffee, she actually agreed to accompany Ruby on a walk through the theatre district to see the street performers. Being the conscientious soul that she was, Amelia left a message for Lina and Gourry with the night manager, in case they came looking for her before she returned (on the reasoning that even Lina and Gourry couldn’t argue for a whole night). Doubtless, they’d worry if she wasn’t where she said she’d be, and, equally doubtless, Lina would probably freak out and assume the worst, leading her to (doubtless) do something rash.
        On her way through the crowded room to the door, Amelia bumped into a table, knocking to the floor the sword that had been laying on the table top. With a hasty apology, she picked up the sword and gave it back to its owner. The mercenary (for such Amelia surmised her to be by her clothes and weapons) nodded a curt thanks, then went back to her ale as if Amelia and Ruby had ceased to exist. Once the two women were gone, she counted to twenty, then rose, strapped on her sword, left a few coins on the table to settle her tab and, with a nod to the bartender, pushed through the swinging doors into the night.

        "And I can’t stand it when you tell me I’m stupid!" Gourry shouted to an unusually cowed Lina, who was sitting on the edge of the bed with tears on her red face and her eyes as big as saucers. Gourry was bent over and was eyeball to eyeball with her. "I know I’m no genius but I’m not as stupid as you say I am! And it hurts, Lina, you know that? Here I am, treating you like a princess, and you beat me up and call me stupid all the time!" He started pacing, his own face as wet and red with rage as hers. "I wanna know right now what you really feel about me, Lina—" he spun around to jab a finger in her face, "and no changing the subject, like you always do! You give me a straight answer right now: Do you love me, or not? ‘Cause if you don’t, we’re through, and I’ll go find somebody who treats me right!"
        Lina stared at him in amazement, having never seen the usually easy going sword slinger in such a fit of temper. His threat to leave her echoed around and around in her head and sent her heart into her throat. "Leave me?" She whispered. "You’d really leave me?"
        "Just answer the question!" Gourry all but screamed at her.
        She cringed and an even greater flood of tears poured down her face. The thought of losing him, of Gourry really leaving her, of facing a day without his company…no, she couldn’t. He was right: He’d always been nice to her, sweet, even to the point of risking his life on several occasions to save hers. And she’d rewarded him with harsh words and biting insults. She looked up at him with a quivering lip, seeing him as if for the first time: He really was handsome, but his big, blue eyes, so often full of innocent trust, were now hard and cold. And scared and heartbroken. All her cruel words came back to her and for the first time she heard them as he must have heard them; it hurt. She took a deep breath and, with a pounding heart and a tremble in her voice, which was rough from screaming and crying for hours, said:
        "I love you," she sniffled and wiped her cheeks. "I always did. I always will. Please don’t leave me!" Lina threw herself into his arms, and he wrapped her in a bone-crushing embrace. "I’m sorry I’m so mean, but I can’t help it! I don’t want to hurt you, Gourry! Don’t leave me!"
        "Shhh…" he held her for a long time, then scooped her up and lay her on the bed. He slid on top of her and pressed his lips to hers in a long, warm, wet kiss. "No more talking," he whispered hoarsely as he tangled his fingers in her thick hair and gently, eagerly kissed her face and throat.
        They forgot all about Amelia, Zelgadis and the rest of the world for the next few hours, then, utterly exhausted, they fell asleep in each others arms.

        On his second day out of Triskela, Zelgadis discovered he wasn’t the only one who couldn’t wait for his next session with Dr. Sorez. He’d stopped for lunch at a roadside inn, thinking he’d just rest for an hour or two before continuing on to Grenich but his plans changed as soon as he walked in the door.
        "Zelgadis!"
        Stunned to hear his name in such an out-of-the-way place, Zelgadis kept his hand on his sword hilt as he looked around for the source of the voice.
        "Zelgadis! Over here!" The female voice called again. This time Zel saw an arm waving from a table near the far end of the room. He couldn’t believe his eyes.
        "Doctor—Doctor Sorez?!" Zel hurried over to her table and sat in the chair next to hers. "What are you doing here?" He couldn’t believe his luck. He’d been thinking about her almost constantly and wishing he had a way to contact her to ask if they could meet sooner—and here she was. It was almost too good to be true: A woman who thought like he did!
        She blushed a little, one hand supporting her chin, the other studiously stirring her coffee. "I hope you don’t mind, but I—well, I just thought, maybe I might meet you on the road if I hurried enough," she stammered shyly, "and I’ve been thinking it would be nice to see you again," she looked up at him suddenly and smiled, "unofficially, you know, socially. Oh, gods, I feel so stupid!" She turned a deeper shade of red started gnawing on her fingernails.
        Zelgadis hastened to reassure her. "Don’t! Actually, I’ve been thinking the same thing but I couldn’t think of a way to reach you," he blushed a little himself. "I’m glad you’ve found me. Really."
        They both laughed self-consciously, then found themselves stuck in one of those awkward pauses. Fortunately, a waiter showed up to take Zelgadis’ order, rescuing him from having to come up with the first intelligent thing he and the doctor said to each other. Frankly, his mind was an absolute blank. Even before becoming a chimera, his social skills weren’t exactly stellar and were even worse when the situation involved a female. Girls turned his usually agile mind into a plodding sloth. Once the waiter was gone, she started telling him about her decision to find him before their scheduled meeting, but all he could do was nod stupidly at the appropriate places and stare at her. Her hair was down and the blouse she wore was low-cut, showing more cleavage than Zel’s brain was equipped to handle at the moment. On closer examination, he realized it wasn’t a blouse at all but a leather vest. A tangle of bead necklaces fell about her décolletage, at once concealing and drawing attention to it. Bright, noonday sunlight streamed through a window and sparkled on the beads. Damn, she smelled good! Flowers and spice and…something else…
        All of a sudden, she reached out and tapped his chin upwards. "Zelgadis? My eyes are up here."
        "Huh?" Oh-oh. Zel reddened all the way to his neck and apologized in a disorganized tumble of words, claimed to be admiring her necklaces, admitted that was a lie, claimed he wasn’t usually like that, then insisted he wasn’t usually like that.
        She stopped him with gentle fingertips over his mouth. "I had no idea you felt that way," she purred, letting her fingers trail from his lips and down his chin. "Me too," the doctor admitted with a coy smile. "I’ve been wondering what’s under here," she tapped his shirt with her finger. "You cover up so much, it makes a girl…curious." She blushed and bit her fingernail. "You don’t think I’m too forward, do you? I’m not usually like this, but, then, I’ve never met anyone like you," she looked down in utter mortification. "I really feel stupid now."
        "For being attracted to me?" Zel wanted to say but didn’t; if that’s what she meant, he honestly agreed with her. However, he knew that wasn’t what she meant at all. He reached out with a trembling hand, lay it over hers and squeezed. "Don’t. I’m flattered. I don’t hear that very often," he confessed nervously. "I just get dumb jokes about the solidity of my body."
        She blinked at him for a second, got it, and giggled. "Always hard? Someone actually said that to you?"
        "No. I overheard one woman making that joke to another." He chuckled. "I only just got the joke myself the other day."
        The doctor snickered. "I guess it’s a girl-thing."
        Zel shook his head. "I guess so."
        After another long, awkward pause she asked hesitantly: "You don’t think I’m being too forward, do you?"
        He did, but there was no way Zelgadis was going to tell her so. "No, it’s alright. I’m used to being around really outgoing women." Actually "pushy" was probably a better word, but Zel thought that would only make her feel sillier than she already did. Another pause ensued, then Zelgadis remembered what he’d been wanting to ask. "You know, I don’t even know your name."
        The way she smiled at him turned his already sluggish mind into mush. "It’s Lara."
        "Lara…" Zelgadis savored it. "That’s a pretty name."
        "Why, thank you."
        By the time Zelgadis’ lunch came, the two of them were laughing and chatting like old friends, and Zelgadis had decided to stay the night in Triskela.

        In the morning, Lina and Gourry went on a reluctant hunt for Amelia. (Which is to say, they would far rather have stayed in bed). They got her message about going out on the town with Ruby the waitress, but no one at the restaurant had seen the princess return. Lina asked the morning manager if Amelia had booked her own room, but he didn’t show any record of it. Ruby didn’t come on shift again until evening, but the manager, seeing how worried they were and knowing what can happen to strays in a town like Marrigan, gave Lina Ruby’s address so she could see if Amelia had spent the night there. If she hadn’t, hopefully Ruby would know where the princess had gone before they’d parted ways.
        "Well, this is the place," Lina said uncertainly. They’d arrived at a run-down, two story house with tall grass and weeds in the yard. The yard was surrounded by a broken, rusted wrought iron fence. Most of the windows in the house were cracked or broken and part of the roof appeared to have caved in. Gray paint peeled in many places, revealing termite-eaten planks beneath. Lina motioned toward the door with an exaggerated gesture. "Shall we?"
        Gourry nodded, loosened his sword in its scabbard and followed Lina through the grass to the house’s front door. He scanned the surrounds while Lina knocked, straining his ears for any sound of life. Silence, except for birds twittering in the ancient trees in the yard of the house across the street. That house had a nicely manicured lawn with a cute, little fountain made to look like a cat trying to catch fish in a pond. Cheery blue curtains hung in its windows and rocking chairs sat on its prim, white-painted porch. The other houses on that block were equally well-kept and quaint, except for the one he and Lina faced. "I don’t like this, Lina," he told her, "something’s not right."
        Lina agreed. It felt like her hair was standing on end. Not only was something "not right", the house was saturated with magic. Black magic. She reported her feeling to her partner, who responded by drawing his sword. Lina knocked on the door again and again got no response. Lina went to one of the dusty, cracked windows, rubbed a peephole clean with her palm and peered inside. What furnishings there were looked like they hadn’t seen use in years. The wooden floor was rotted in places, buckled in others. A rat scurried across the floor and into a fluffy, filthy nest in the cold fireplace.
        Gourry was peering into another window. "I don’t think anybody’s lived here in a while."
        Lina would’ve agreed with him if it wasn’t for the strong magic hovering about the place. "Maybe that’s just what we’re supposed to think," she mused as Gourry joined her at her window. "What if all this magic I’m feeling is actually some kind of illusion spell to make the building look abandoned?"
        Gourry scratched his head in puzzlement. "Why would anybody want to do that?"
        "It could be a security system of some kind," Lina replied, inwardly congratulating herself for resisting the urge to call him dense. After his performance last night, she was willing to accept all the stupidity he cared to throw at her and forgive him on the spot. In fact, she’d never felt so mellow in her life, like a cat in a warm patch of sunshine. Even Amelia’s disappearance wasn’t throwing her into a fit as it usually would. Why, she hadn’t had the urge to toast anything all morning.
        "I’d think people’d be more likely to break into an abandoned house," Gourry reasoned as he looked through the clear spot Lina had made on the window. "You know, to just crash there for free."
        "Huh." Lina left the window to take an exploratory walk around the house’s perimeter, her magical senses keyed to detect even the slightest crack in the mysterious spell. It was tight as a drum. "I wonder if this spell is for us," she thought aloud, "to keep us away. What are they hiding?"
        "Amelia?" Gourry suggested. "Maybe they figured out who she is and they’re holding her for ransom!"
        The idea had merit, except for one, little detail. "I’d think they’d send a ransom note, wouldn’t you?"
        Gourry thought about that. "I guess, yeah. But they wouldn’t send it to us, they’d send it to Prince Phil, right?"
        Lina considered it but decided it didn’t feel right. "If we weren’t up against Xellos and Kopii Rezo, I’d agree with you but I have a feeling they’re involved in Amelia’s disappearance somehow and with the spell on this house."
        "Maybe Amelia’s ok, but there’s a sorcerer living here and he’s the one that put the spell on the house so nobody can find him?" Gourry argued. "You can’t always assume the worst."
        Lina nodded thoughtfully but didn’t really agree with him. She didn’t have any hard evidence to back it up, just a feeling in her gut that all was not well and it had something to do with Zelgadis’ current situation. Kopii had already tried to stop them once by stealing their horses; what was to stop him (or Xellos) from making another sabotage attempt by kidnapping Amelia? It would force her and Gourry to make a choice: Look for Amelia, or warn Zelgadis. Or split up in order to do both, thus making themselves more vulnerable to attack. "No, Gourry, I don’t think this is as innocent as you think. I just have this feeling…"
        "Women’s intuition again?"
        "Right."
        "Great." Gourry moaned. "So now what do we do? Can you break this spell?"
        "I can try." Lina took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
        "Don’t bother," said a smooth, female voice behind her. Lina spun around with a start, a fireball starting to form between her hands; Gourry pointed his sword in the stranger’s direction. It was as if she’d appeared out of nowhere, which, in Lina’s and Gourry’s minds put her in the "bad guy" column. The woman held up her hands to show she meant no harm, but Lina and Gourry didn’t drop their guard. "I have information for you about the whereabouts of your friend. Interested?"
        Lina powered down but motioned for Gourry to keep his guard up. "Who are you?"
        She favored them with a smug half-smile and rested one hand on the hilt of her sword, but removed it when Gourry motioned with his sword for her to keep her hands away from her weapons. "Someone who has information you want," she finally answered.
        How annoying. Lina let a new fireball fully materialize in her hand and hauled back as if to throw it. The newcomer didn’t flinch. "Better throw it before it blows up in your hand," the woman drawled, crossing her arms and assuming a bored pose.
        Lina thought about it, seriously considered blasting that conceited wench into the next life, then relented. She threw the fireball up in the air, where it exploded harmlessly with a loud boom. Faces peered fearfully out of windows on neighboring homes, a few brave Marrigans opened their front doors enough to poke their heads out for a better look. A man’s voice from farther down the street shouted for them to keep it down, adding a colorfully-worded curse on magic users in general. "Huh," Lina thought to herself, "so they’re used to magic being tossed around, are they? Interesting." Aloud, she asked: "Ok, how much will it cost us for this information of yours?"
        The woman grinned. "The whereabouts of the Princess of Seyruun? Hmmm…could get expensive."
        Damn. A glance in Gourry’s direction showed he looked just as worried as Lina felt. Either this woman had been told who Amelia was, or she’d actually seen the Princess and recognized her, which would indicate someone who had been to Seyruun at least once, probably more, to be able to know it’s crown princess on sight. "How expensive?"
        Her hazel eyes glinted icy gray. Behind her, some of the neighbors had gotten brave enough to leave their homes to watch the show. "Why don’t we go someplace a little more private, hm?"
        Lina and Gourry agreed but insisted the woman surrender her weapons. She refused. "You’re not in a position to make demands, Inverse," she sneered, smirking satisfaction at Lina’s angry reaction to her knowing her name.
        "How do you know my name?" Lina demanded.
        The woman looked amused. "Who hasn’t heard of Lina ‘the bandit killer’ Inverse?"
        "Especially a bandit, eh?" Lina retorted, thinking to insult that irritating female but to her astonishment the stranger just chuckled.
        "Am I that obvious?" She asked coyly. "It’s the sword, isn’t it? Or the knives, yes?"
        Gourry gaped at her. "You admit to being a bandit?! To Lina Inverse?!" He looked from the bandit to Lina and back again a few times, wondering who would make the first move. "Are you crazy?!"
        Again with the irritating grin. "Possibly, but I don’t think she’ll kill me while I have something she wants. Isn’t that right, Lina?"
        "Just spill it, ok?" Lina barked in return. "Where’s Amelia? The longer we stand here, the shorter my temper gets!"
        "It can get shorter?" The woman feigned shock.
        Gourry looked like he might tear out his hair at her audacity. Lina looked like she would explode at any moment. "Where. Is. Amelia?"
        "Well," the bandit cooed, tapping a finger against her chin thoughtfully, "I believe you were about to tell me how much my information is worth to you, then we got a little sidetracked." She threw her arms wide in a too-friendly gesture. "No money, no info. So. How much is it worth to you to find the princess?"
        Lina’s eyelids lowered threateningly. She clenched and unclenched her fists at her sides. Through her teeth, she managed: "How about your life?"
        Instead of being intimidated, the bandit gave that offer serious thought. "Hmm…my life for hers…?" She made weighing motions with her hands. "No, I don’t think so. Guess she stays missing, then." She turned on a booted heel and cheerfully waved good bye. "See ya!"
        Lina had finally had enough. "Don’t turn your back on me! Fire-BAAAL!"
        Neighbors shrieked and slammed their doors. Shutters and curtains were quickly pulled over windows. The fireball sailed toward the retreating bandit, who made absolutely no attempt whatsoever to dodge. It hit her and exploded in a flash that drowned out the mid-morning sun. When the light faded, the bandit stood, unharmed, arms crossed and tapping her foot in irritation at her attackers. "Happy now?" She spat and furiously brushed ash off of her long, chain mail shirt and the loose, white shirt beneath it. "I just had this thing cleaned! Dammit!" The bandit spewed curses as she worked her way down, wiping at her black leather pants and boots and shook out her long, black trench coat. "I can’t do business like this! Find her yourself!"
        As the furious bandit turned and started to walk away again in a huff, Lina found her tongue and called after her to wait. The other woman just waved and shook her head. "No way! You’re nuts!" She called over her shoulder. "I’d rather deal with a monster! At least they pay!"
        That got Lina and Gourry’s attention even more than her immunity to the fire spell had. They exchanged suspicious looks, then Lina shouted: "And which monsters would those be?"
        Stop. Grin. "The one who has your friend." She casually turned around again and regarded them with a sly look. "So, are we gonna talk like civilized people, or are you gonna try to kill me again?"
        Lina sighed. "Ok, fine. Let’s talk."
        The bandit grinned and trotted back to the house, motioning for Lina and Gourry to follow her. She mouthed a quick spell, then pushed open the front door. "Step into my parlor," she said with a wink, walked through the door and abruptly disappeared.
        "I got a bad feeling about this…" Gourry murmured as he followed Lina through the magical door.
        Lina muttered: "You said it!"