Chapter 4
Sunday Evening.
Lina stood around the front entrance of Iris waiting for Lin to show up. Lina had her hair up in an elegant style, and in her hand she held a fan. The cool early summer breeze made it tolerable for her to stand outside and wait. Lina was dressed in a long silk black dress with red roses on it. She had on little pearl earrings and that was about it.
Lin had promised her that they would meet in front of the restaurant at 6p.m., and now it was already 6:30, but there was no sign of Lin showing up. Lina sighed, and decided that she’d give Lin five more minutes before Lina would leave, when some one bumped into her.
Lina looked at the person, intending on giving a few cruel words, when she gasped at the familiar face her eyes fell on.
"Xelloss?!" She asked surprised.
"Lina-san!?" Xelloss seemed equally, if not more surprised to find her there.
Lina looked at him and could feel herself slightly blush. He looked perfect!! A black tuxedo, simple and elegant. He seemed slightly irritated, which seemed to make him even more handsome.
"What….are you doing here?" Lina finally asked, slightly stumbling on words. She then noticed that she was only standing an inch away from Xelloss and stepped back, slightly enlarging the distance between them.
"Waiting for someone."
"A date?" Lina asked teasingly. Silently hoping it wasn’t.
"Kind of. It is weird that she is late though. She was suppose to come half an hour ago."
"Same here." Lina sighed. "She is usually so punctual. I can’t help but wonder if something happened."
"She? Lina-san, you planned on coming here tonight with Amelia-san?"
"Amelia? No, no, this girl that I teach magic to, she lives in the town about half an hour from here, said that she wanted to come here but she didn’t know any one who was interested. So she asked me."
"…She obviously didn’t know much about this restaurant then…"
"What do you mean?" Lina inquired.
"I meant that…" Just as Xelloss started to explain a waiter came over to them, with an incredibly cheerful smile on his face.
"You two are the last ones!! Hurry up!!" He than grabbed Lina and Xelloss’s arm and started to pull them towards the entrance.
"Excuse me but you have the wrong…." Xelloss never got to finish setting the waiter straight since the waiter sat them at the first closest and open seat he found, handed them the menus and walked off.
"What’s going on?!" Lina hissed at Xelloss after the waiter left. Obviously not amused by the situation, what ever it was.
"It looks like he mistook us as the last couple." Xelloss muttered.
"What does that mean?" Lina asked.
"…Every Sunday night, this restaurant only allows 50 men-women couples to enter the restaurant. It must be that your student didn’t know about this." Xelloss sighed.
Lina was taken aback by that information. This meant, that everybody in the restaurant thought she and Xelloss were a couple.
"Do they have any type of…..events that come along with this?" Lina asked.
"Well….possibly a dance from what I heard."
"Great" Lina muttered under her breath. This meant that she was expected to ‘dance’ with Xelloss when the time came. Lina hadn’t known about this. How could this have happened.
"Lina-san, do you want anything to eat?" Lina shot her head up with that and noticed that a waiter was standing waiting for her to order.
"Um, I will have, on the menu from here to…." Lina pointed to one thing on top of the menu, "here." She then pointed to something only three items short from the end of the menu. The waiter looked like he was going to faint as he left and Lina couldn’t help but wonder what was wrong.
Xelloss smiled as he watched Lina. Maybe Lin was doing him a favor by NOT showing up. It gave him an excuse to go out with Lina, something he’d been wanting for awhile. At least he couldn’t be bothered, Lina’s friends were probably all in the town she was staying at any way. Xelloss also knew for sure that Lina was not going to turn down ANY meals.
"What did you order?" Lina asked smiling sweetly at him. Her mood had obviously improved now that she knew for sure she would have food to eat.
"A salad and some steak." Xelloss answered still smiling at her.
Lina looked so nice in the dress she wore. The red roses were the same color as her eyes, and the black seemed to be a nice contrast to the bright colors she usually wore.
"I hope the food here is good." Lina added. Xelloss just nodded and continued to look at Lina as she amused herself by looking around.
Sheela was in a fury. She wanted to shove Lina Inverse out of that seat and sit herself in place of her. How dare she be in this restaurant with Xelloss! Sheela couldn’t remember a time she felt more angry at someone then she did now. Oh how Sheela would LOVE to see Lina Inverse suffer. Even if it wasn’t Lin who was sitting with Xelloss she can still do what Sheela had originally intended on doing. It would be so much more fun to see both of them, Lina Inverse and Lin, suffer at the same time!! Of course, she couldn’t do that though, and would have to settle for getting them one at a time.
Sheela focused her attention on her companion, Gaury Gabliev, the blond human, Lina Inverse’s best friend. He and Sheela held one common goal. To break up what ever ‘can happen’ between Lina and Xelloss. No, as long as Sheela had a say in things, NOTHING was going to happen.
It was so easy to disguise in the human world. All she had to do was put her hair down and wear a dress that suited her perfectly, add an innocent look in her eyes and the humans all believed what she was saying. They were so easy to manipulate Sheela was genuinely surprised that a human was the one that grasped hold of Xelloss.
But still, it was probably just a small interest at the moment. Or it had to be, how can a mazoku seriously be together with a human. Mazoku were of the higher race, and humans were of the lower, so, it can only possibly be a small short time interest.
Gaury stared as Lina smiled. She had never smiled that way in front of him!!! That mere thought made Gaury want to kill Xelloss, no, not Xelloss, who ever Lina smiled to in a way she didn’t smile in front of him, that’s who he wanted to kill. Gaury was possessive of Lina, he would be the first to admit to that.
Lina had found a special ‘liking’ to Xelloss that no one understood. But it can only be temporarily. Mazoku were sadistic and Humans were sane, well, maybe Lina wasn’t exactly ‘sane’ but she certainly wasn’t sadistic….unless she was fighting robbers. Her liking for Xelloss couldn’t be anything BUT temporary.
Lin groaned as she saw Sheela and Gaury. The blond human and the general to Dynast were making so many things harder then they can possibly be!! All Lin hoped was that she could get Xelloss and Lina Inverse in the same place. All Lin cared for was that her master was happy. But the human and the general had to keep on ruining it for her.
Lin sighed. And allowed her eyes to wonder about. Her eyes were better than those of a normal human, and Lin could see faraway things. Suddenly some one caught her eye. It was a girl with black hair dressed in white clothing and she seemed to be paying attention to the road in front of her.
"What is Amelia Will Tesla Seyluun doing here?" Lin asked out loud but not loud enough for Amelia to hear her. But since Lin was on top of a tree unless Lin shouted there was no way Amelia could hear her.
Amelia seemed to be paying intense attention on something and didn’t seem aware of her surroundings. Lin followed that gaze and groaned as it fell on a familiar face. Zelgadiss Graywords seemed to be paying attention to the restaurant.
What now!? Lin thought to herself. Is Zelas-sama going to appear. I won’t be surprised EVERYONE is appearing. Lin thought sarcastically. The fact that Lina and Xelloss were in the same place was what she had planned. That’s fine, that went according to plan. But Sheela and Gaury being there?! That was not planned. Lin needed to find a way to get rid of them. FAST.
Lina finished eating her food when she noticed that Xelloss was looking at her with a weird smile on his face.
"What?" Lina asked as she wiped her face off.
"Nothing Lina-san." Xelloss replied still smiling. "I just thought that you seemed very lively while you are eating."
"…Um…. Thanks. I guess." Lina managed and suddenly felt uneasy. There were some times when she was with Xelloss alone but not that often. She couldn’t think of anything to say. She let her head go around and something caught her attention. A guy with blond hair. Long blond hair. He was wearing a tuxedo.
"Gaury?" Lina asked out loud. The man, Gaury, did snap back and looked at her. Lina’s mouth dropped open. Gaury was the last person she expected to see in this restaurant. She then noticed the girl he was with. She was wearing a simple black dress and had brown hair and round eyes. She looked genuinely cute.
"Uh… um, hi Lina." Gaury managed and he looked uneasy to see her.
Did Gaury succeed in his flirting? Lina thought, Is that why he looks uneasy since he knows I now know? The girl he was with seemed pretty, but she also had an evil aura that seemed to surround her. Lina was quick on making the judgement she didn’t like her. She had a look that if looks could kill, they’d be measuring her coffin now.
"Sheela-san?" Xelloss asked as he noticed the girl. "What are you doing here with Gaury-san."
The girl called Sheela turned to Xelloss and put on one of her sweetest smiles. "I was wondering around when this man asked me if I would like to go here. I agreed, naturally, since there was no reason not to."
Lina thought she’d throw up when she heard the sappy voice the girl used. How did Xelloss know this girl?! And why was he talking to her in such familiar terms. For no reason Lina didn’t like it.
"When can I leave?" Lina asked in a dangerous tone. "I’m bored, why don’t we just leave now. I need to get up early tomorrow anyways." Lina declared that and stood up. She wanted to get away from Sheela for no particular reason at all.
"Lina, they don’t let you out until ten o’clock." Gaury told her as Lina started to walk towards the door.
"Great." Lina mumbled and turned around and sat back down on her chair. This was one of the most uncomfortable places she’d ever been. Lina grimaced and bit her lip. Why couldn’t she just leave! Stupid Lin, Lina vowed that when she saw her next she was going to receive a lesson that she’ll never forget.
"You must be the Lina Inverse I have heard about." The girl names Sheela smiled, a smile that was obviously a fake one. "I have heard so much about you. You are the ‘Enemy of all that live’, ‘The sworn child of destruction’, ‘Robbers Killer’, ‘The one that after she crosses a path no grass would grow’, and last and finally, the ‘Doramata’, a.k.a. ‘The one even the dragon won’t mess with.’. Am I correct."
Lina could tell this girl was trying to get her mad. But Lina refused to fall for it, a hard task to say the least. But if Lina did give in the urge to Dragon Slave the girl, she was sure she’d be added another nick name which she didn’t want. Lina just squeezed her hands into a fist, trying to let the anger subside. She wasn’t going to cause a scene no matter what Sheela did.
Lin was fidgeting. She HAD to do something to get that general and blond human out of the way. But how!? She just couldn’t go in and say, "Hi Lina, Xelloss-sama, I set this up for you two since I personally think you two were made for each other. I’ll just shoo these two out of the way. Oh, by the way Lina Gaury’s hunch was right, I am mazoku. Bye."
No way in the world could she do that. Lin would tell Lina that she was mazoku, after Lina and Xelloss got together. She would confess that she had set them up, only after she could find a place to keep her safe while Lina decided to give her a lesson. She would also confess that she had made up the pathetic excuse of learning magic to get to know ‘Lina Inverse’ personally, so that she could truly judge if Lina was right for her master. Upon doing that Lin was now sure as ever that Lina was the one for Xelloss. If only others would stop interfering!!
Lin sighed. She was the one interfering in something she wasn’t suppose to. She had deliberately stuck her head in her masters personal matters, which was something a mazoku just couldn’t do.
But she wasn’t pure mazoku. She was mostly mazoku but there was a part of her that was elf. Five hundred some years ago, an elf’s tribe was attacked, and Xelloss had found an infant elf, gave her power to live as a mazoku, and that was Lin. She was raised as a mazoku and believed that she was nothing like an elf.
Lin owed her life to Xelloss, she had to do something for him. She wasn’t much help in a battle, any kind that would actually require Xelloss to have help. She was strong but not as strong as her master. All she could do was house work, until Lina Inverse came along.
Lina Inverse was the perfect one. Lin knew that in a way she fantasized the sorceress, but who wouldn’t!! Brave, beautiful, strong in both body and mind, and most of all self-confident. Lina was all Lin wished to someday become, it just made sense that the woman Lin believed was great to get together with her master, which Lin knew to be great.
One problem though, there were too many who wished to interfere with the perfect match. Gaury Gabliev, the one who refused to accept Lina Inverse was a grown woman and can take care of herself, General Sheela, who wanted Xelloss’s attention for herself, Amelia Will Tesla Seyluun, who believed that all mazoku should be destroyed and that a human and mazoku couldn’t possibly get together, and Filia Ul Copt for the exact same reason.
Why couldn’t they see that Lina Inverse and Xelloss were perfect for each other!! Lin wanted to shake their heads until they understood it, but of course that was impossible, they wouldn’t see it.
"Lin?!" A voice called to her. Lin jumped to look down and gasped. On a branch right below her was a face that was made out of stone, Zelgadiss Graywords was staring right at her.
Zelgadiss was surprised that he found Lin sitting on top of a tree. When Zelgadiss saw a figure on top of the highest tree, he thought it was Amelia and levitationed up to tell her that it was dangerous, he never expected it to be Lin, who was suppose to be at the restaurant with Lina.
Lin jumped a mile when Zelgadiss muttered out her name and she surely looked terrified and surprised to see him. Zelgadiss didn’t mean any harm to her, but he wondered if she got the wrong idea.
After seeing Lin with Lina Zelgadiss was quick to rule out the possibility that she was mazoku. How can a girl so innocent and sheltered be a mazoku!!
"What are you doing here?" Zelgadiss asked in what he hoped was a calm voice. "It’s pretty dangerous."
"I was looking at the restaurant." Lin didn’t elaborate and turned her gaze away from him.
"Aren’t you suppose to be in that restaurant?"
"No. I’m not."
"But Lina said that you asked her to go to the restaurant with you."
"I did, but I didn’t intend on Lina to go with me."
"Who did you intend Lina to go with." Zelgadiss could tell that Lin grimaced at that. She turned to look straight into him. Zelgadiss couldn’t believe that this was the same girl he had seen in town. She was searching his eyes intensely, as if she were debating whether she could trust him or not. A chill ran down his spine, something that hardly ever happened.
"If I tell you, you’d tell Lina as soon as you can. I can’t let that happen." Lin finally stated.
"What if I promise you that I won’t tell Lina."
"I can’t take chances." Lin declared. "That’s a risky gamble."
"It is but…"
"Look, I am not going to tell you and let’s leave it at that." Lin said that much and turned her eyes to the restaurant again.
Amelia was looking up as Zelgadiss and Lin talked. They seemed to be having a quarrel and that made Amelia relax, even though it shouldn’t have angered her since fighting, any form of it, was not the way of justice. Still if Zelgadiss and Lin were quarreling it meant that they didn’t get along and there was a chance for Amelia.
Amelia sighed as she saw Lin. Lin was cute, with round innocent looking purple eyes, long black hair, and a figure that looked healthy. She was not too tall, and not too short, just the right height, she wasn’t too skinny, and maintained an ideal weight, or so Amelia would guess.
Amelia was fine for now, but in the next two years she would be standing like a beanstalk, she knew it, it ran in the family and Amelia couldn’t do a thing about it. She was clumsy, Shilfiel was very orderly, Amelia would jump to conclusions, Filia would analyze them, Amelia’s hair was a boring black, Lina’s was a bright fire color that matched Lina’s unusual personality, Amelia was childish, Lin wasn’t.
Amelia felt like crying. She would never be as pretty or beautiful as Shilfiel, Filia, Lin and Lina. She would grow to be a beanstalk and look like a freak. No one would want to marry her and if Amelia’s older sister didn’t return Amelia would end the line of the Seyluun family. If only she had more self-confidence as she made out to have. If only Amelia wasn’t a useless little good-for-nothing princess.
She hated this.
Lina wanted to kill Sheela and she barely held down the urge. How much more could she take of Sheela’s bad mouthing until she lost it?! Not much more Lina decided. Lina had no clue why Sheela hated her and had no interest in finding out.
Gaury had been coming to Lina’s defense on some remarks, and on others laughing or nodding his head in agreement. Sheela seemed to be endless in her remarks, though it was obvious she was getting frustrated that Lina wasn’t showing any outward reaction. Lina let her eyes slowly slide to her side, to Xelloss.
He didn’t seem to find the situation amusing or boring, he acted as though nothing was happening as he looked at the other couples dancing. His eyes were showing for an unusual thing, and he had his face set in concentration.
Perhaps he was thinking about his ‘date’ that never showed up, and Lina didn’t like the thought of that idea. For now, Xelloss was her date and he didn’t want him thinking about any other girl.
That thought surprised Lina. She was acting possessive, one thing she vowed not to be, yet that was what she was doing. Frankly, she didn’t want Xelloss thinking about any other female but her at any time. What was wrong with her!? She had no interest in the world of romance, in fact she had tried to keep herself as faraway from it as possible. Men were all full of themselves. They marry women but don’t take the responsibilities, they don’t take ANY responsibilities. She already learned that men weren’t to be trusted.
Lina was not going to fall in love. Love was for fools who didn’t mind throwing their life away. Shilfiel, Filia and Amelia had tried umpteen million times to try and change Lina’s thought but they all failed, love was for fools and that was final in Lina’s mind.
So why didn’t she want Xelloss with any other female but her. There must be something wrong with her, Sheela’s words were probably coming to her.
Suddenly she felt a hand enclose her own. She looked up and saw Xelloss’s face looking down at her and quickly moved her gaze.
"Lina-san, loosen your hold on your hand." He told her as he bought her hand that was on her side in front of his eyes. Lina inhaled sharply as she saw her hand covered with blood. Xelloss slowly opened each of her fingers.
Lina couldn’t believe it. She had dug her nails so deeply in that her hand was bleeding? And she didn’t notice!? The moment Lina acknowledged the injury pain shot through her. It hurt like crazy.
Xelloss pushed a strand of her hair away from her face as Lina bit her lip, keeping herself from crying. She would not cry in front of anyone!! Not even in front of her sister, crying meant showing your weakness, that was not something Lina could allow.
"You okay Lina?" Gaury asked with worry evident in his voice. Lina merely nodded, refusing to speak, cause if she opened her mouth she was sure she’d scream.
"How could you have not noticed it?!" Gaury demanded again. Lina just shook her head and shrugged her shoulders lightly.
"Lina!!" Gaury yelled at her to speak but Lina refused to. Xelloss put a hand in front of him and silently told him to promptly shut up.
"Lina-san, does it hurt at all?" Xelloss asked. Lina nodded, and with her left hand proceeded to cast a recovery on it.
Xelloss stopped her hand as he bought her right hand to his lips. Lina inhaled sharply as she felt Xelloss’s lips on the palm of her hand.
Before Lina could mutter a word, Xelloss released her hand, and Lina noticed that it stopped hurting. It must be a spell. One that would stop the bleeding, must be a mazoku spell since it wasn’t recovery or resurrection. Lina told herself. She couldn’t stop her face from blushing though. Everything was just all too weird.
"Thank you.." Lina finally managed as she wiped the blood off her hand with her napkin.