Part I: It Can’t Be! A House Full of Relatives!?

 

            Lina grumbled to herself as she watched Gourry settle down for camp. They’d been out in the woods for at least a couple of weeks now without hitting a single town. Where the hell were they anyway? Last time she’d checked they were still in the thick, Beifstu Forest that surrounded Saillune for hundreds of leagues. They left Saillune back then, and it had been Lina’s idea to go through the forest, hoping there was something there to entertain her. After all, they’d never gone through the forest before. But they had found nothing but trees and furry animals. Even a small gang of bandits would have been welcome. But nothing. Lina wondered if they were still even in the god-forsaken forest.

            She flopped down next to Gourry grumpily. She looked at the trees around her with dissatisfaction. She was tired of being in a forest, whether it was the same one or not. She wanted a warm bed, and a large, endless supply of food from a great restaurant. They had been stuck with eating what they could catch for the last couple of weeks. Fish and pheasant were fine and dandy for the first couple of days. But after two weeks of it…she couldn’t stand another bite. Her red eyes looked at Gourry sourly. He was humming as he began to build a fire. He certainly didn’t mind the roughing it, and neither did she…most of the time. But enough was enough.

            “You know, Lina, this area of the woods kind of looks familiar. I really can’t place from where, but they do.”

            “Of course they do, Gourry,” she said kicking a stone before whirling on him. “We’ve only been in the same damn forest for the last two weeks! Every god-forsaken tree here looks exactly same as every other one!”

            “Oh, yeah…”

            Lina rolled her eyes and turned away, stomping around the campsite for a moment before, “Oh, I’ve got to see if there is at least one village around here! RAY WING!” She took off into the air, going above the canopy for a look around.

            She froze in mid-flight.

            The hell…?

            The first thing Lina saw as she burst through the canopy was not more trees as she would have assumed. It was giant mansion that lay sprawled just a league away from her and Gourry’s campsite.

            Lina’s sour mood melted away. An enormous grin spread across her face. It was not a village. It was even better. She didn’t care which wealthy family owned the great mansion before her. All she cared was that she was probably going to get a better bed than any from any inn she could imagine and a meal to rival Prince Phil’s banquets.

            “YES!!” she cried and immediately went back into the forest to pick up Gourry. She landed with a flourish. “Gourry!” she cried, surprising the warrior. She blinked at his startled reaction. What had he been doing to be so surprised…? Oh, well, whatever.

            “Come on, Gourry, pack up everything. I found a great place for us to stay!” she said, forgetting everything but trying to weasel her way into the home of those rich people just trees away.

            “But this place is just as good as any, Lina. I’ve already found myself a nice soft patch of grass,” Gourry said, slightly confused.

            Lina shook her head. “No, no, no, no, no, Gourry! Even better than soft grass! A warm bed, a banquet! Better than having fish AGAIN.”

            Gourry blinked. “Does that mean there’s a village nearby?”

            “Oh no! Even better, Gourry. Even better.”

            “Better than a village? A town? A city?”

            Lina just grinned and grabbed Gourry’s arm. “Get up from there and quit trying to guess, jellyfish brains. Just get our stuff and let’s go!”

            Gourry shrugged his large shoulders and smiled. “All right, Lina. If you say so.” She watched him beginning to grab their supplies, but he wasn’t moving fast enough for her. She went to him, threw most of it without any care into the bag.

            “Lina! Wait a minute the—”

            “Fix them later, Gourry!” She tossed the bag at him. “Grab onto me now! RAY WING!” Gourry let out a startled “eep” before grabbing onto Lina’s waist as she took off into the air.

            Lina didn’t even think twice. She headed straight for the mansion ignoring Gourry’s startled cries. As she flew over it, she realized it was twice as big as she first thought. The walls stretched around in a large square, leaving a courtyard in the front center of the building. Large leafy trees surrounded the walls, along with what Lina could guess was thousands of different kinds of flowers.

            She landed in the front of the mansion, jaw agape. Gourry just stumbled to his feet beside her. The place was even bigger up close. Marble stairs from a stone paved path lead up to the enormous double doors. On top of the doors was a huge stained glass window with a familiar shape on it, but she couldn’t quite remember where she had seen it before. Two huge pillars shaped like trees reached up to the roof and were beautifully carved marble. Lina walked up the steps half in a daze. This was absolutely amazing. Whoever these people were, they just had to be as rich as Phil… If not more so.

            “Um… Lina?”

            “Not now, Gourry! This is fantastic!” Lina rushed up the last few steps and headed for the door. “These people are probably rolling in riches! They can afford to take care of some weary travelers like us.”

            “But Lina—”

            She ignored him and pounded on the huge gold-plated knockers on the door. She heard Gourry stand beside her and sigh. She gave him a hooded look, but all he had was a resigned, nervous expression on his face. What was wrong with him? He would usually be eager for any kind of free hospitality.

            “Gourry, what is wrong with you?”

            She gave her a slightly worried glance. “Well… I kind of remembered why those woods looked so familiar. You see, Lina, we’re—”

            The huge, shiny oak door before them gave a loud unlocking sound and opened a crack. Lina’s attention immediately fell from Gourry and to the door. Yes! At last! Great food, a warm, soft, large bed, a warm bath… Ah… She approached the door and peeked through the crack that hadn’t grown much since the initial opening. A young girl, who could not be any more than ten, with blue-black hair in a high ponytail, large gray eyes and slightly pointed ears blinked up at Lina.

            “Well, hello there! We are a couple of weary-worn travelers and we’ve gotten lost in the woods. We came across your house by accident and we were wondering if we—”

            The little girl suddenly gasped. Lina blinked at her and noticed that the girl’s large gray gaze was not on her, but on whoever was behind her. Lina looked back and saw Gourry standing there looking blankly down at the girl. Then he smiled.

            “UNCLE GOURRY!!”

            Lina didn’t know what hit her. After a few moments of blinking away the sudden pounding in her head, she found out it was the oak door that had smacked her clear out of the way. Her eyes focused and she could only stare in confusion as the little girl clung to Gourry’s neck and had her legs around his waist…and Gourry was hugging her back. She must have jumped at least two feet to reach him… Wait a minute!

            Lina bounced up with a growl of annoyance. What the hell was going on?! “Gourry! What on earth—?!”

            Gourry blinked his blue eyes at her and smiled. “Oh, Lina! This is what I was trying to tell you. I remembered the woods around here ‘cause I used to play in them all the time when I was younger. This is my house. And this is my niece Lori. She’s the eldest of my nieces and nephews. Actually, the eldest are her and her two brothers, Tommy and Riley. They’re triplets. I haven’t seen any of them in a long time.”

            Lina just stared blankly at him. Hold on a sec. This was…Gourry’s house? She looked up again at the stained glass. The image suddenly clicked in her memory. It was the Sword of Light. She looked at the carved tree pillars. The Holy Tree Flagoon? This… This was the home of the Swordsmen of Light? Gourry’s family?

            “Uncle Gourry, come on! Everyone’s going to be so surprised to see you! Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma went on a vacation to hot springs. Uncle Rowdy got married with a nice, cheerful lady and they went on their honeymoon. And Grandma Avery is trying to get Aunt Flowery and Aunt Gallery to get married. And Uncle Harry and Aunt Sherry went to Sairaag. And Auntie Cody and Uncle Mil went to Woodsville to sell the house there. Auntie Laurie and Uncle Gray didn’t come for a visit this time, they’re still at home in Madrin with Grandma Runa and Grandpa Kerry. Uncle Larry is in a far off kingdom looking for a wife ‘cause Grandma Shaury and Grandpa Manny told him to, they’re still in Shanel, but they say they’ll come for a visit when Uncle Larry brings home a wife. But everyone else is here! Even Kelly and Billy and Cory and little Kenny! Everyone’s missed you, Uncle Gourry!” The girl’s tirade never stopped as she slid off Gourry, grabbed him by the hand and began to drag him through the oak doorway. Lina was not going to be left behind.

            Once through the door, she had a hard time keeping up though. The hallway was wider than the door by at least an extra eight feet and the ceiling was so high she had to crane her neck to see the beautifully worked chandeliers. Lina’s head was still reeling from the shock. Not only the list of names the girl had trailed off without a thought, but of the sheer grandeur of the place. She shook her head and smiled to herself. Well, this wasn’t so bad. She wanted luxury and comfort and she was probably going to get more than she bargained for because… Well, because it was Gourry’s house!

            They walked along a carpeted strip that lay down the center of the entrance hall, the only sound being Lori’s jabber about the going-ons since Gourry left. The walls were decorated with hanging drapes and imbedded decorative columns and there was a portrait of a person between columns. Lina was amazed at how many of them looked alike… and how many looked liked Gourry. Many had pointed ears too. Lina wondered about that. Did Gourry have elven blood or something…?

            Suddenly, Lina froze as she saw a portrait. “Oh, no…” It was a portrait of a young boy, practically identical to Gourry with long blue hair and green eyes. On his back was strapped the unmistakable Sword of Light, and beside him was a brilliantly smiling elven girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes. A memory Lina had long forgotten came back to haunt her. Mypros Island… The kid…the Sword of Light. The elf girl. The jellyfish… That kid…I remember now! He said his name was Rowdy Gabriev…he had the Sword of Light. Lina tugged on a red-gold tress in disbelief. Gourry is a descendant of that kid I helped in the past with Naga…? Oh, crap. If I hadn’t helped that kid back then… Well, Gourry would never have been born. The very thought sent a chill down her spine. What a scary concept. Gourry’s very existence… Well, it had all depended on her. And because of the choice she made back then, she met him. She shook her head. That was way too much to grasp at once.

            “Lina?”

            Lina looked up, startled from her thoughts and met Gourry’s worried blue gaze. The elf’s blue gaze. She gulped. Such a little thing had changed her life so much. If she had failed or if she had refused to help Rowdy…she would have never met Gourry… She mentally ‘Dragonslaved’ the thoughts. Now was not the time to be thinking such things.

            “I’m fine, Gourry. Just a bit…shocked.”

            Gourry blinked at her. “Because of the painting?” He pointed to the one with young Rowdy and the elf. “That’s my grandpa Rowdy I and Grandma Meleruna. She’s an elf so we’ve all got some elf blood in us. Some of my brothers, sisters and cousins got the pointed ears, but some of us didn’t.” He shrugged and lifted up his blond hair to show her his ears. “I didn’t. Are you freaked ‘cause I’m part elf?”

            Lina smiled at him, amazed at how close he was, yet so off the mark. “No. I’m not freaked because you’re part elf, Gourry.” He nodded and then took her arm. He pointed to another painting across the way. There was a young man and a young woman in it, grinning. The girl had her arm around the boy’s shoulders. The boy looked like a younger Gourry. And the girl a female copy of him.

            “That’s me and my twin sister Gallery. She would try to choke me every time the painter wasn’t looking. And I would tickle her to make her let go. Mom would get so mad at us ‘cause we weren’t sitting still. We drove the painter crazy. We had to get a new one after he finished with us.” Gourry said that with such pride, Lina had a hard time trying not to laugh.

            “GOURRY GABRIEV!”

            Gourry stiffened and turned. Lina peeked out from behind him and almost dropped her jaw. A beautiful copy of Gourry (and about the same height too) was looking like an avenging angel as she stomped toward them. Lina looked toward the portrait Gourry had just showed her and back again. There was no mistaking it. It was the same girl. Gourry’s twin.

            Then with a sudden burst of speed she hurled herself at him. Lina moved out of the way so she wouldn’t get stuck beneath them both. And sure enough the Gourry-sized woman tackled him to floor with a glomp. He didn’t put up a fight. He just accepted it. All that came out of Gourry was a muffled “oomph”.

            “Where have you been, you lug? I’ve missed my other half so much! We haven’t heard from you in ages. It was from Sylphiel that we got the last message until you sent that brief note saying you’d given the Sword of Light back to its original owner. Dad was raging that you would just give it away! It was a family heirloom, you know. Mom, luckily, calmed him down. He forgave you, but he’s been wanting to see you for a while now. Heck! Everyone’s missed you. When Lori came running into the salon saying ‘Uncle Gourry’s home!’ I zoomed over here. I left Carrie, Huey, Kelly, Billy and Flowery eating my dust.” She hugged him again. “I’ve MISSED you!”

            Lina just watched Gourry pat his twin’s back. “I missed you too, Gallery, but I’ve been real busy having adventures with Lina.”

            Gallery’s head shot up. “Lina?”

            “Yeah, this girl over here, Gallery,” a new voice said from behind Lina. She whirled around and saw a tall older woman with short blonde hair and green eyes and a girl that looked about Amelia’s age with curly white-blonde hair and blue eyes. Both had pointy ears and were striking.

            “Carrie, Flowery! Wow, Flowery you’ve gotten big,” Gourry said.

            The curly haired girl stuck out her tongue at Gourry. “Not like you noticed, Gourry. You’ve been out having adventures and you never come to visit. You didn’t even see me grow my extra two inches!”

            Gallery slid off her twin and Gourry sat up, scratching the back of his head. “Yeah, sorry about that, lil sis.”

            Lina blinked at the four siblings and out of the corner of her eye spotted a man and two kids running toward them. The little girl looked to be no more than four and the boy had to be at least two. The little girl looked to be all blonde pigtails and huge blue-green eyes and the boy had a puff of white hair coming out of his head and these large golden eyes. She looked up at Carrie Gabriev. She supposed that the man was her husband and little girl and boy had to be her children. And there were more relatives still? Yeesh… How many of these people was she going to meet?

            A hand suddenly popped up in front of Lina. She looked at the hand for a moment before looking up to Gourry who was extending it to her. She gave him a small smile as he helped her up. She took a deep breath. This was going to get more interesting by the minute it seemed.

            “So, Gourry, are you going to introduce us or not?” Carrie said with a sly smile.

            “Is dat Uncle Gouwwy’s an’ hif’ wife?” the little boy said as he, his father and his sister came up to them. He clung to his mother’s skirt. “She skinny!”

            A vein pulsed on Lina’s head. Ooh… This kid was SO going to get it…

            “We don’t know if she is Uncle Gourry’s wife yet, Billy dear. Uncle Gourry still hasn’t introduced her yet,” Carrie stated as a matter of fact.

            Gourry nodded and was about to open his mouth when he got interrupted.

            “Lina Inverse!”

            They all turned to the man (who was clearly Carrie’s husband) standing by the little girl. Lina blinked at him from a moment. He looked familiar…but she couldn’t quite place him yet…

            “Huey, love,” Carrie said in a silken voice. “How do you know that?”

            He blinked at his wife and then gulped. He turned back to Lina. It was then that it hit her. She let out a cry of surprise. “AH! The golem-maker’s son!”

            He nodded. He turned back to the Gabriev women and Gourry. “She helped me and my father straighten out our differences several years ago. He made an awesome golem with Miss Lina as the model.” Lina’s eyes widened as he pulled something out. It was a small version of the SD golem of her. Her face flushed. “See. This is she.”

            Carrie grinned. “You mean the toy golem you gave to Kelly and to Billy? This adorable one that I fell in love with?”

            He nodded.

            Lina could feel all eyes on her. That happened so long ago. What rotten luck that Gourry’s older sister had to be married to the golem-maker’s son of all people! She could even feel Gourry’s eyes on her.

            Suddenly, she felt two pairs of hands on her. She opened her eyes and saw both Kelly and Billy looking at her with sparkling eyes. “She’s the golem toy! It’s her! It’s really her!” Kelly shouted.

            Billy grinned up at her. “Awe you Uncle Gouwwy’s wife?”

            Lina shook her head, her face flaming. “Um… No. And I’m not a golem-toy. I was the model for that one… Unfortunately.” She muttered the last word under her breath so the kids couldn’t hear it.

            “Wait till I tell my sister you’re here, Miss Lina! She’ll be so happy!” Huey said.

            Lina looked up at him. “You’re sister? She’s here?”

            He nodded. “Yes. She married my wife’s cousin Danny Uriev. They have a lovely daughter named Cory. Looks just like her too!”

            Lina blinked and then looked up at Gourry. “Just how many relatives do you have, Gourry?”

            He looked at her blankly for a moment before lifting up his fingers and counting off from them. “Um… Well, there’s Grandma and Grandpa. Then my dad and my mom. Then there’s Aunt Shaury and Uncle Manny, and Aunt Runa and Uncle Kerry. There’s my big big brother Rowdy III, then my big sister Carrie and Huey, then my big brother Barry and Selina, then Gallery and me and then Flowery. Then my cousins from Aunt Shaury’s side are Mary and her twin Cody and Mil, then Danny and Gaia, then Larry. And from Aunt Runa’s side there’s Fanny and Gabe, then Harry, Sherry, Laurie and Gary. Big sister Carrie and Huey have Kelly and Billy. Big brother Barry and Selina have Kenny. Cody and Mil have Milly. Danny and Gaia have Cory. Fanny and Gabe have the triplets, Lori, Tommy and Riley. And…” Gourry blinked and then dropped his hand. “And that’s about it!”

            Gallery clamped her hand on her brother’s shoulder. “Ah! You can tell you haven’t been around, twin! Our big brother Rowdy III got married a couple of weeks ago! He’s out on his honeymoon now! Soon you’ll have more nieces and nephews!”

            Gourry grinned. “That’s great!” He looked at his twin then at Flowery and then back again. “Hey, didn’t Lori say that Mom was trying to get you and Flowery married?”

            “I’M TOO YOUNG!” Flowery hollered in defiance.

            Gallery just sighed and shrugged. “She sure wants too, but it isn’t going to work.” Gallery winked at him. “Until you settle down, Gourry, I sure won’t even start looking for a husband.” She lifted an eyebrow. Lina stiffened as she felt Gallery’s blue gaze on her. Gallery grinned. “I guess I better start looking, huh?”

            Lina felt her face flush. What was with these Gabrievs? That’s all they’ve been making her do! She’d thought before that if she ever met Gourry’s family she would go crazy because there were all like him. But from the looks of it…they weren’t. They were all completely different!

            Kelly and Billy tugged on her cape happily.

            Lina rolled her eyes. But they were all still way too weird.

            “What on earth is going on here? Why are my daughters gathered around guests without inviting them in properly? Lori just managed to tell me there were people here before disappearing to look for her mother and brothers. Oh, lord, Kelly and Billy! What on earth are you doing to that poor girl’s cape! In heaven’s name, what is going—”

            Lina turned to see a majestic, stunning older woman with white wavy hair and electric blue eyes suddenly come to a stop. Lina shook her head. Yeesh… Were all the Gabriev women so beautiful? And who was this lady supposed to be…? Wait a minute. Daughters? Then that means…

            Gourry stepped out beside Lina and said, “Hi, Mom.”

            The woman’s striking blue eyes watered up and her long willowy figure took a step toward Gourry. “Oh… Oh my… Gourry? My baby boy?” Gourry gave her his heart-stopping smile and the woman hurled silk at him. Lina blinked. The woman looked so tall and big but when she ran toward Gourry and hugged him, instead of hearing the thud that Gallery and Lori had produced, all there was for sound was a shifting of silk. Lina blinked. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought that lady had elven in her. But from what she could gather the elven came from Gourry’s father side of the family… Didn’t it? Either way, the lady reeked of magic.

            “Where have you been, Gourry? You never write, you never send word. In all the years you were gone, all you ever sent us was the note saying you’d given away the Sword of Light—”

            “I didn’t give it away, Mom. I returned it.”

            His mother continued as if he hadn’t interrupted and moved away from him, but was still holding onto his hand. Her eyes glittered with emotion. “I was so worried about you and your father was furious. It took me days to make him understand that you would only do what you felt was right. I told him I was sure you had a good reason and when you eventually came home you would explain it. Everyone was sorely missing you and wondering what you were doing. If you were all right, if you were happy… Oh, anything, Gourry dear! You worried your poor mother into a stupor…!”

            Gourry’s mother trailed off. Lina looked up and saw the majestic woman looking at her with those piercing blue eyes. Lina stiffened. Oh, no… Now what would happen?

            “Gourry?”

            Gourry smiled. The blank look on his face told Lina a million things. The  one at the top of the list was that he hadn’t heard a word his mother had just said. “Yeah, Mom?”

            “Who is this lovely young red-head? Is she your wife?”

            Lina flushed beat red as she waited for Gourry to refute the statement. When the answer didn’t come right away she looked up to him in confusion. To Lina’s surprise, Gourry was blushing and stammering.

            “A-a-actually, no she-she isn’t, Mom… She-she’s Li-Lina Inverse. I-I-I protect her. I-I promised,” Gourry’s face turned redder and Lina’s face began to match his.

            There was a sudden collective sound of understanding among the Gabrievs. Lina looked up and felt a sudden chill at the wicked look in Carrie and Gallery’s eyes. The shocking blue eyes of Gourry’s mother looked pleased.

            “Ah, I see,” she said softly. She released Gourry and stretched out her hand toward Lina’s. Lina took it hesitantly. She wasn’t really sure what to do. How do you say hello to this kind of lady… A lady who was Gourry’s mother.

            A smile formed on the woman’s lips. “Welcome to the family, Lina dear. I’m sure you and Gourry with have lots of babies.”

            “WHAT?!”

 

*           *           *

 

            Lina’s head was whirling with way too much information as she flopped down onto her luxurious bed. She had met all of Gourry’s family currently in residence in the humongous mansion. It seemed like the entire clan actually lived here, they just had random seasonal homes spread out throughout the country and a couple which belong to those that had married in of course. They used to live in Sairaag, but when the family got too big they moved to this large mansion that an old friend of Kerry Loubrev gave them. She found out that Gourry’s older brother Barry had married the girl Selina from that village with that weird golem that chased after Naga because of the bracelet she stole. Gaia, Huey’s sister, had been happy to see her too. She wondered whom else the Gabriev clan had married that she knew.

            She met Gourry’s father Rowdy II and had nearly been overwhelmed. What the heck was she talking about? All of Gourry’s family was overwhelming! Avery (Gourry’s mother) had introduced her as Gourry’s fiancée and had her sputtering a denial in front of everyone. No one could grasp the concept that Gourry had devoted his life to protecting her…and wasn’t going to marry her.

            She spent the entire time meeting Gourry’s family torn between embarrassment and the desire to blow them all up. But she sensed right away that Avery was a pretty powerful sorceress and so were probably a lot of Gourry’s sisters and cousins. Carrie was one definitely. She was as scary as Gourry’s mother. And while she was sure she could take them on… The last thing she wanted to do was piss them off and in the process hurt Gourry. No matter how much it killed her, she had to at least be somewhat civil. But if they pushed the wrong buttons… BOOM! Though…while Gourry didn’t care how much she tossed him around…she was sure the rest of his family did. She would have to put a lot of restraint on herself while she stayed here… Crap. She didn’t like it, but she didn’t have much choice.

            Luckily, she didn’t have to see the Rowdy she knew along with his elf wife yet. She wasn’t sure if the geezer would recognize her, but she didn’t want to take the chance and was really glad he wasn’t in house. According to the Gabrievs, he and his wife had gone on their yearly vacation to Mypros Island. Lina’s relief had been palpable. If, by slim chance, the old man remembered her, she didn’t want to have to explain to Gourry how. She really didn’t want him and the rest of his family to know she’s responsible for them all being alive right now. That would just be way too much.

            Lina sighed and rolled over on the soft bed. She had only come to this mansion looking for good food and warm place to sleep. She should have listened to Gourry. Then maybe they wouldn’t be stuck here. Dinner had been fantastic and this room was the most luxurious place she had ever been in… But for some reason she felt as if… Well, being surrounded by Gourry’s family sure got her to thinking about their relationship. His father and mother didn’t look too approving of them not being engaged or married. And that thought always made her think back to her own family…and she shivered at the horrific thought. What would be her big sister’s reaction if she found out about Gourry and her relationship…or, as the case may be, the lack thereof?

            Lina didn’t even want to think about it.

            She got out of bed and changed into her pajamas. She reaffirmed her decision. She would just try not to think about it. She already had the sinking sensation that she and Gourry weren’t going to be able to leave in the morning. Actually, she knew for a fact, they were going to be stuck here for a while. While the concept of having an endless supply of great food and pure, wonderful luxury sure was tempting…the thought of having to deal with Gourry’s family and what that meant, scared the hell out of her.

            Lina snuggled into bed and wondered how long they were going to keep them here. She didn’t like staying in one place to long. She shook her head. That was a lame excuse and she knew it. She just didn’t want to be around people that she knew could read her so well. Around his family she was like an open book and she knew it. And while she also knew she was actually in love with Gourry, Granny Aqua and the Lord of Nightmares had made her realize that, the last thing she wanted was his family to meddle. And from what she already knew of his family just from meeting these few…

            Meddle was exactly what they were going to do.