Chapter Six

"Oh, Medb! Now I have you. Teehee.."

That.. voice! Where have I 'eard it before..?

She was hugged tightly by strong arms. "Who.. who are ye?"

A giggle echoed in her ear. "That is a secret.."

"A secret? Why is it a secret? Who are ye?!?" She struggled in the man's unwanted embrace, and considered biting him. The blanket muffled her voice.

The man giggled again. "Very well!" The blanket was tugged at, and she whimpered. There was a pause, then another tug, and the blanket came off of her head. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness, and when they did, she saw the purple haired man.

"Peek-a-boo!" He said in a childishly excited voice.

Before she could scream, his hand was on her mouth, nearly smothering her. "Ah, no screaming! I don't want anyone to know I'm here!" His voice was so cheerful and light that it scared her.

She struggled in his tight grip and glared at him. He grinned happily and leaned his head towards her. "She's glaring! How cute!! Oh, glare again! Please?"

Aggravated and scared, she continued to glare and tried to remove his hand; he was nearly smothering her. His hand refused to budge but she kept trying. Suddenly, she got and idea, and hoped it would work. She licked his hand.

It worked. Disgusted by her action, he quickly pulled his hand away and wiped it off. That, of course, was a mistake. Medb screamed at the top of her lungs, alerting Lina and Zelgadiss that she was in trouble. Her second scream was cut off as Xelloss pushed her down onto her bed and pressed his lips to hers. He kissed her, cutting her breath off.

Just then, Zelgadiss and Lina burst into the room, holding their swords. They were ready. Xelloss lifted his head and looked back at them. He giggled excitedly at the sight of them, then pushed away from Medb.

"Hello Zelgadiss, Lina!"

"XELLOSS!! Get away from Medb, now!" Zelgadiss's voice was low and angry.

"Xelloss what ARE you doing here?" Lina demanded, glaring at him.

He smiled cutely as he lounged out on the bed beside Medb, who was slowly trying to scoot away from him. Sensing her fear of him, he giggled, and moved closer to her. Placing a hand on her arm, he smiled darkly at Zelgadiss, who was having a hard time controlling his anger towards Xelloss. "Isn't she an angel..?"

Suddenly Medb shifted so she was facing Xelloss. Her hand doubled into a fist, and she swung. Her fist connected with his jaw and he fell backward upon the bed, a hand pressed against his jaw. Medb rolled out of bed, landing on the floor with a dull "thud". Zelgadiss looked down at her, his eyes clouded with worry. She returned his stare from her awkward position on the floor, a crimson blush in her cheeks. She was fine, so he looked toward Xelloss, who was no where near fine. Medb had punched him pretty hard.

The room was silent as Lina, Zelgadiss, and Xelloss stared at each other as Medb slowly climbed to her feet. She muttered, a hand pressed to her back. "Damn it." Her hand slid from her back over her belly. Xelloss tore his gaze away from Lina, locking eyes with Medb. He smiled darkly at her and kissed the air, as if saying "Kiss me, Baby."

In retaliation, she did a very surprising thing before Lina or Zel could react. She crawled into the bed, her full red lips puckered up for a kiss and her eyes closed. As she leaned towards him, her left hand gripped a pillow. Xelloss made a face, but seeing the look on Zel's face, he grinned, deciding to put extra icing on the cake. As he scooted towards her, his own eyes closed, Lina gasped and Zelgadiss growled angrily. And just as Xelloss's lips were about to come in contact with Medb's lips, she whacked him with the pillow.

He fell against the bed, his eyes wide with surprise. She kept beating him, a mad look on her face. "This ought. ta teach ye ta 'arass me!!!" Xelloss covered his face with his arms, saying nothing. Zelgadiss and Lina both sweat dropped, not knowing what to think of Medb's actions.

After she said "me", she grew tired, dropping the pillow. Xelloss, taking advantage of that, rolled to the edge of the bed, and stood up. He giggled happily, wrapped his black cloak around himself, and disappeared.

Staring at the empty space, Medb gasped, and tried to speak, but no words came out. Lina, guessing her question, explained. "He used a transportation spell, Medb. Are you all right?"

"Aye.. I think so Gods, what a" She trailed off, gripping the pillow tightly.

"Medb.." Zelgadiss broke in. "Why don't you come down stairs and have some tea with us?"

Medb looked at him and he shyly extended his hand to her. Letting go of the pillow, she grasped his hand, and got out of the bed. The two walked together out of the room and followed Lina down the stairs.

~*~D~*~

Hours past by like minutes between the two, and Zelgadiss discovered a loving friend in Medb. Lina had left them soon after Xelloss's visit so she could go off on her own and think. Zelgadiss wasn't keen on the idea of being alone with Medb at first, but that soon changed. He learned many things about Medb just by talking to her about her past and her family. She told a few funny stories about her job as a waitress at the inn that made him laugh. Up till then, Lina had been the only one that could make a chuckle escape his lips.

Finally, he asked how she had met Rezo. Her smile faded. Zelgadiss's presence had made her forget about the Red Priest and everything that had happened to her since he had shown up. He watched as she took a deep breath then open her mouth to speak.

" I met Rezo.. um a year ago, I think. 'e was so kind ta me. 'e 'ad.. come ta the inn, looking for someone. I served 'im.. tea, I think. 'e 'ad the kindest smile. 'e asked me some questions, and then 'e paid and left. I didn't think I'd see 'im again."

As Medb talked, Zelgadiss realized that she had actually met Rezo because it wasn't that long ago that Rezo had been killed. He frowned slightly, his thoughts becoming complicated. Medb kept talking.

"A few months after I met Rezo again, I began 'aving these really weird dreams, with that purple 'aired man-"

"Xelloss."

"Oh, Xelloss. Anyway, Rezo came to me house. 'e 'ad the most kindest smile I 'ave ever seen in a long time. And it attracted me ta 'im. 'e's.. now like, n father to me .. Ye said 'e was dead. But 'e was 'ere, before ye arrived. 'e assured me 'e wasn't dead. 'e is alive, Zelgadiss."

Zelgadiss shook his head sadly. Poor Medb. So passionate, so beautiful. So easy to manipulate despite her strong will. He reached out to touch her face, but stopped, and turned his head away. He had to tell her.

"Ah Medb.. Rezo is dead. I assure you. I was there when he was killed, and I watched as his soul helped Lina use her most secret spell to conquer the Dark Lord that had taken over Rezo's body. I am not lying to you, Medb. I was there, Lina was there, Gourry was there

"When he came to the inn a year ago, that must have been him. He was still alive then. But the second and third time, I think it was someone disguised as Rezo."

He had looked back towards her as he talked, and it was her turn to look away. "Not Rezo..?" Tears began to form in her eyes then flooded down her cheeks. "If.. 'e is not Rezo who is 'e..?" She seemed afraid to ask that question, but before he could answer, she did. "Xelloss.. isn't it..?" She peeked at him, and he nodded.

Suddenly she covered her face in her hands as more tears came. He could hear her muttering in another language as she tried to regain her composure and wipe the tears away. On an impulse, he offered her one edge of his cloak, and she used it to soak up her tears. With a small giggle, she gave it back to him. "Thank you.."

The room was silent now as the two locked eyes. He could read the questions in her mind through her bright green eyes that always seemed to swirl with emotions. Medb blushed prettily and turned her face away.

Finally, the silence was broken. "Zelgadiss what does 'e want with me?"

The answer he learned from Rezo popped into his mind, but a small voice deep inside told him "let her find out for herself.. she's not ready for the truth she will learn on her own when the time is right.." He nodded mentally, knowing the voice was right. Medb wasn't ready for the whole truth.

"Medb.. I don't know. That's something you will have to find out.. on your own."

"Oh.." Frustrated tears threatened to come out, but she refused to cry in front of him again. Slowly, she rose to her feet and approached him. She acted so fast he couldn't react. She was in his lap, her arms sliding around his neck and getting cut by the shards of his hair. She hugged him tightly, clinging to him. She was making him uncomfortable, especially since she was in his lap, but he had no choice except to hug her back. Slowly, his arms crept around her waist, and his fingers intertwined.

It had been forever since Zelgadiss had been hugged. And although he could barely feel it, god it felt good. His arms tightened around her waist, but still, he could hardly feel her in his arms. He would have clung to her tighter if he knew he would not hurt her.

His heart beat fast. Medb was in his arms. She was holding him, her breath warm in his ear. It felt so right. But he wasn't comfortable with himself. In his mind, his stone lap wasn't comfortable, he was holding her too tightly and would leave bruises, the shards of his hair cut her arms. In his mind, he was a monster, undeserving of the beautiful rose he clung to. But he couldn't let go. He closed his eyes and buried his face in her hair. His nostrils were invaded with the wild rose smell that was her. Slowly, he rocked her back and forth as they clung to each other in her kitchen. Zelgadiss was afraid to admit it, but deep down he knew he had fallen in love with Medb Morrigan.

~*~B~*~

Medb clung to Zelgadiss tightly, and wondered what had possessed her to make her hug him. Not that she minded. She shifted a bit, as his stone lap was a bit uncomfortable, and cut her arms with the shards of his hair again. She bit her lip to prevent herself from crying out "ow!" She didn't want to hurt his feelings.

She was taken by surprise as he wrapped his arms around her and clung to her desperately, as if he needed her. As he buried his face in her hair, her hug tightened, and she wished this could go on forever. His embrace was so different than Rezo's had been. Zelgadiss was, in his own way, soft and gentle. He didn't grip her arm tightly to show his authority over her. He didn't hold her to his chest to prevent her from leaving. Yes, his embrace was a little tight, but somehow she knew he could not feel her. So she hugged him as tightly as was possible for her.

Suddenly Zelgadiss pushed her back, and gazed into her eyes. Then slowly, oh so slowly, he leaned towards her. She met him in the middle, and he kissed her, their tongues gently exploring. His hand slid up and down her back, then down her thigh. He could barely feel the silkiness of the nightgown she still wore. His other hand became tangled in the wild locks of her hair as he pulled away from her and gently kissed on her soft neck. She sighed as he kissed her chin, trailed across her jaw line, then began to nibble on her ear. The hand that was on her thigh slid down onto her leg past the hem of her nightgown. She turned her face to him, wanting him to kiss her again, and he obliged.