Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Slayers Finally! ❯ Amelia and the Fiancee ( Chapter 2 )

Amelia and the Fiancée

"NO! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO! I absolutely, completely and utterly refuse!"

"But, Amelia…"

"NO!!"

The once Crown Prince of Seyruun, now King Philoniel, sighed as he followed his furious daughter, the Crown Princess Amelia of Seyruun. "Amelia! You will listen to me!"

Amelia turned back to him, her eyes narrowed in her anger and hurt. King Phil hated seeing her like this, but he had to make her understand. "I am sorry, daughter, but you could at least give him a chance. You've never met him before, maybe you will-"

"All the more reason for my answer, 'NO!' I will not!"

"Amelia, please, be reasonable…"

Amelia began to tremble. She couldn't believe it. Her own father! Out of all the things he could have done to betray her trust like this, she never expected…! "I will not be reasonable! I've given you my answer! I WILL NOT MARRY SOMEONE I DON'T KNOW! I refuse to marry someone because of a promise you made before I was even born!! I WON'T DO IT! I ABSOLUTELY REFUSE!"

"But Amelia, if you give I'm chance I am sure you'll fall in love with him. He's a magnificent archer, comes from a good line, he's an old family friend, and I'm sure he's very handsome as well. Can't you just give hime a chance?"

Her head was down and her fists clenched at her sides. "I…told…you…Daddy…" She lifted her head up, her eyes blazing. "I WILL NOT MARRY HIM! I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY! I WON'T DO IT!"

She turned her back to her father. "RAY WING!" And with that she flew off to her bedroom quickly so that way her father couldn't follow her. When she got there she landed with a huff and slammed her door behind her with a powerful crash. She was practically trembling with rage. She couldn't believe father! He had always taught her how important Justice was…and now he pulled something like this! This wasn't just! Making her marry a man she didn't know just to honor a promise he made to an old friend?! What had her father been thinking when he said to his old Loubrev friend that when they had kids they would have them marry each other? How could he do this to her?!

Amelia took a deep breath and marched to her balcony. For five years she'd been lonelier than ever before. She had grown up during those five years and she hadn't had any of her friends to be with her during that time. She had changed so much. She was only a bit taller, but her demeanor was different. She was more mature, more serious. She sighed. The past five years had been so boring! All she had done was learn how to be a princess and in the off hours she trained some more on her magic and looked through all of Seyruun for any clue that might lead to the spell that could cure Zelgadis.

She sighed again. She had been so lonely. Only her quest for Zelgadis' cure, her training, the memories of her past adventures and the occasional visit by Miss Lina and Mr. Gourry had kept her sane. She sure missed everyone, especially Zelgadis. She looked out into the city, her eyes sad. She had turned into a very lovely young woman, her father kept telling her and she had to start acting more like a princess instead of a Hero of Justice or a normal girl. Plenty of suitors had come from everywhere to court her, but she didn't want any of them. And then this Loubrev guy suddenly appeared reminding her father of the promise they had made before Amelia had even been born. Now she was being forced to marry someone she didn't even know, she still hadn't found Zelgadis' cure, and she was even lonelier.

There was no one she could talk to, no one she could share her fear with. She knew that if she didn't find a way to convince her father, or to somehow stop this wedding, she was going to be married to Loubrev's son, no matter what she did.

But her father was sneaky. He had tried to convince her to say yes by saying that if she was truly a Hero of Justice she would have to honor the promise he had made with his old friend. Amelia's eyes narrowed. She hadn't fallen for that one. She wasn't going to be tricked into marrying someone she didn't want! If there was one thing that had remained unchanging throughout the years she'd been alone in the castle, it was her heart.

She still completely loved Zelgadis.

She sighed and wrapped her arms around herself, the beautiful dress she wore shifting with her movement as a wind blew through the balcony door. If there was only some way out of this terrible predicament she found herself in. If there was only someway to avoid getting married to this person she had never even seen! Her hands fisted. There had to be some way! She wasn't going to let herself be pressured into this!

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, disturbing her thought. Her eyes narrowed she turned to the door. "Who is it?"

The maid that opened the door had her eyes wide with surprise. She had never heard Princess Amelia speak so curtly! She was always so cheerful and happy. And she should have been even more so, now that she was getting married. She wondered what was wrong.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Princess. But this letter just came for you."

Amelia saw the surprise in the maid and smiled. Just because she was confused and scared and hurt didn't mean she had any reason to take it out on anyone else. She approached the woman with a smile and took the letter. "Thank you, and I'm sorry I snapped at you."

The maid looked up and smiled. "Don't worry about it Princess. I'm sure it's only the wedding jitters!"

Amelia crushed the letter in her hand, surprising the maid. Amelia's voice turned distant. "It's not the wedding jitters. I don't even want to get married."

The maid blinked. "But Princess…I heard Master Loubrev's son was a great archer and very handsome and wonderful gentlemen…"

Amelia's hands fisted. "I don't care how wonderful he is! I don't want him! I'm in love with someone else! I won't marry him!"

The maid went quiet and bowed to Amelia. "I'm sorry I made you sad, Princess. I didn't mean to. You're always so happy and cheerful. I was wondering why you were so solemn recently. I didn't know that you loved someone else." The maid turned to leave, but Amelia stopped her. The maid turned around and saw Amelia's desperate eyes.

"Please. Please, don't tell my Dad what I just told you. He doesn't know I love someone else. In fact, the man I love doesn't even know I love him! Don't tell! Please don't tell! I still have to think this through!"

The maid nodded and smiled. She left the room with a sigh. So that was what was bothering the princess… Razelle couldn't believe it. Amelia was betrothed to someone! She had heard the rumors, but she hadn't believed them. She never thought King Phil would do that to Amelia! Well, that only meant that she had to speed up her plan! She had to get Amelia and Zelgadis together quickly!

Amelia looked at the closed door and blinked. She couldn't believe she had just given that away to one of the maids! The woman was sure to tell the whole castle that she was in love with someone else and her father was sure to find out. Amelia sighed and collapsed on her bed, closing her eyes in despair. What was she going to do? The paper in her hand crunched and she opened her eyes to look at it.

The letter she had received. She wondered whom it was from. She sat up and opened it, her eyes slowly widening as she read the contents. A grin burst across her face. She leapt up with a cry of joy and rushed to her closet. She had to get traveling clothes and money. She would buy some food in the town as she made her way out. Miss Lina's invitation couldn't have come at a better time! She would sneak out of Seyruun and go to the Hot Springs Resort at Mypros Island for the reunion! And she wasn't going to tell her father either! If she did, he would either make her take her betrothed or make her get married before she left and she wasn't having any of that! She would sneak out of the city and make her way there. Dad would have no idea where she had gone!

She grinned from ear to ear as she gathered her things and disguised herself in normal clothing. She would go to the reunion! …Suddenly she remembered something important. She couldn't see Zelgadis again empty handed. She had sworn to herself that before she saw him again she would have the cure to the spell Rezo had cast on him. She shook her head. Well, then, she would just find out where it was and make a detour there on her way to the Hot Springs Resort. She didn't care if the cure was at the end of the earth! She would find it and have it before she arrived at the reunion!

She wasted no more time. She sneaked out of the castle through a secret passage that she had found when she was a little girl and escaped into the crowded market streets of Seyruun. Amelia was extremely pleased with herself. She had managed to escape with no one the wiser. She had even left a decoy Amelia in her bed to throw her father off for a while. She grinned. She had done well.

"Oh, if it isn't the Princess of Seyruun!"

Amelia stiffened and turned to see a smiling old woman in front of a green tent, a glowing crystal ball floating before the old lady. Amelia rushed to the old woman. "Shhh! Don't say that out loud! You'll give me away, ma'am! I don't want anyone to find me!"

The old lady stopped smiling and opened her wide silver eyes. "Oh? And why is that, Prin-"

Amelia placed a hand over the old lady's mouth and pulled her into the green tent, the crystal ball floating behind them. She then let the old lady go and looked at her desperately. "I said 'Shhh!' please! If anyone finds out I'm the princess, my cover will be blown and I won't be able to escape! Please don't give me away!"

The old lady nodded her head. "But from what are you trying to escape, young woman?"

Amelia sighed and sat down on the nearest chair. "I'm trying to escape from a marriage I don't want."

The old woman blinked. "But all princesses are supposed get courted and then the king chooses the husband for the princess. Isn't that right?"

Amelia nodded. "In most kingdoms, but my daddy would never have done anything like that…or so I thought. Now he's doing it too. He's trying to make me marry someone I don't want to marry and there's nothing I can do right now except escape for a while."

The old woman nodded and sat down, the crystal ball floating onto the table where they were sitting. "Well, why don't we look into the crystal ball and see what it says about what you should do with your future, young woman."

Amelia smiled at the old woman. "All right, ma'am."

The old woman nodded and looked into the crystal ball. She nodded and then turned her silvery gaze to Amelia. "The crystal ball says to follow your heart. That is very important. Especially for this decision you are making. Oh! Now, it is showing me your heart's deepest desire, what you want most. Would you like to look?"

Amelia blinked and leaned over to look into the crystal ball. She gasped and her heart clenched in her chest as she saw Zelgadis walking alone amidst a forest, the wind making his cloak billow. Her heart began to pound until she finally made herself look away from the ball and into the old woman's eyes. "How…how did you do that?"

The woman only smiled. "The crystal ball knows all, young one. This man is very important to you, isn't he? But how important is he?"

Amelia's turned a bright red, heat creeping up her neck. She lowered her head and whispered the truth in her heart, "I would give my life for him in a heartbeat. I've loved him forever. I would do anything to make him happy."

The old woman nodded her head. "Do you know what would make him happy?"

Amelia nodded. "He would do anything to be human again. That's why I've been looking for the cure for him for over five years. I've tried everything, but I couldn't find not one clue here in all of Seyruun."

The old woman nodded again. "Look into the crystal ball for your answer, young one."

Amelia looked up, her cheeks still rosy, and gazed into the ball. Inside she saw an old building that seemed to be slowly crumbling. The vision then began to move into the building and it traveled down the halls to an old library that was hidden within the crumbling castle. Inside the library the vision moved to a book that was upon the bookshelves. At one time the cover had probably been made of white hide, but now with age and dust it was more of a tarnished light brown. Amelia's eyes widened as she recognized the symbol on the spine of the book and the vision abruptly ended. She turned to the old woman with wide eyes.

"That building is now a home for demon worshipers. It is extremely dangerous to travel there and then to enter is to ask for your own death. You must be willing to die for the spell within that book to travel there, but you must have the will to live to survive and acquire the book. This is the Book of White Magic and Healing. It contains every spell for healing in existence. Use it wisely and be careful, young one."

Amelia's eyes filled with tears of gratitude. "Thank you so much, ma'am. I don't know how to repay you. Tell me if there is anything I can do."

The old woman smiled and nodded. "Get me some pastry from the bakery. I'm quite fond of the cinnamon rolls."

Amelia nodded and grinned, rushing out of the green tent and to the bakery to collect the cinnamon rolls. But when she returned the green tent had vanished along with the little old woman. In her place was short old man with his cloak open trying to sell watches. Amelia stopped before the old man and blinked in confusion.

"Uh…"

The old man looked up and grinned widely. "Oh, hello, youn'un! Would ya like a watch?"

Amelia blinked and then shook her head. "Uh…Excuse me, but wasn't there a little old woman with a green tent and crystal ball here just a minute ago?"

The old man looked at her like she had lost her mind. "Old lady with a green tent? Sorry, honey, but I'm the only person who's been here. Ya suddenly stopped in front of me, stared off at something and then ran inside the bakery for them cinnamon rolls. They looks awful good too. If ya want I'll trade ya a watch for a cinnamon roll!"

Amelia shook her head. Had the woman just vanished? She closed her eyes and sighed. Well, if the old lady was gone she was gone. But Amelia had really wanted to give her the cinnamon bun.

She turned to the old man and smiled. "Well, thank you anyway. Here." Amelia handed him the bun. "You can have it." The old man grinned and went to offer her a watch, but she only shook her head. "It's all right. I don't need the watch. The little old woman gave me everything I need already, whether or not I imagined her."

Amelia then turned and ran into the crowd heading toward the gates of the city and toward the rundown castle that held the spell book she would risk her life for. The old man followed her with his eyes and he smiled. The disguise melted and he vanished into the air. Razelle floated above the city, the crystal ball beside her and the cinnamon roll in hand and took a bite. She smiled as she saw Amelia hitch a ride on a wagon. She was proud of Amelia. The girl would give anything for the man she loved and Razelle liked that the most.

She sighed and turned to the crystal ball, picking it up softly within her hands. "Now to put the Claire Bible back."