Sing A Love Song For Me Part Two

Zelgadis sat in his room at the Midnight Blue Inn, stewing silently. He had removed his hood and mask, and the door was locked. The chimera was staring into space, resting his arms and clenched fists on a table. His head was lowered into his arms, and his cold eyes couldn�t be seen.

Someone knocked on the door. Zelgadis growled under his breath; the waitress quartet had been by at least three times trying to bring him something.

�I told you to go away,� he said sharply.

�Zel, don�t be difficult!� The voice was unmistakably Lina�s. �What�s wrong?�

Zelgadis closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. He really wasn�t up to dealing with Lina right now.

�Zel!� Lina continued to bang insistently on the door. �Let me in already!�

�Go away!� Zelgadis felt like throwing something.

�What is wrong with you?� Lina sounded utterly exasperated. �Stop being so stubborn! You could at least tell me what�s wrong!�

�Why? Would you even care?� Zelgadis shot back.

�Of course I would! Now let us in!�

�No,� the chimera said curtly. �Leave me alone.�

�Zelgadis!� Lina sighed in annoyance. �You�re acting weirder than usual. What is your problem?�

That tore it. Zelgadis strode across the room, and swung the door open. At the sight of his angry face, Lina�s eyes widened. Zelgadis almost never looked this angry.

�Zel?� she ventured.

�You are my problem,� Zelgadis hissed in a low, angry voice. �Every time I want something, you have to have it first, whether you need it or not. You have money to last you years. All I want is a little extra to help me find my cure. But do you care? Of course not. You�re too busy thinking about yourself to worry about anyone else. Just like with the Clair Bible. You didn�t need the extra power, but you�re the one who got to see it. Everything is about Lina Inverse. And I�m sick of it. Just.....just leave me alone!� And with that, he slammed the door in her face.

Lina stared for a moment, stunned speechless. Then her anger started to boil.

�Well....you just be that way!� she shouted at the closed door. �Don�t come crying to me the next time you�re in trouble, Zelgadis Graywords! You jerk! I hope you search for your stupid cure forever!� She turned on her heel and walked off, trying to ignore the sudden lump in her throat.

Inside his room, Zelgadis lay trembling in a chair. The room felt suddenly hot and stifling, and he felt as if he could barely breathe.

�You idiot!� he softly berated himself. �It�s enough that you barely have any friends, now you have to go chasing away the ones you do have!� He shook his head violently. �No! I did what I had to do. I couldn�t just--� Zelgadis lowered his head into his hands and let loose a shaking breath. �L-sama, I�m a fool. An utter fool.�

The chimera rose stiffly and went towards the bed. Even though it was only mid-day, he suddenly felt very tired.

Zelgadis awoke the next morning feeling like he had just fought an entire army. His whole body ached, and he felt strangely weak.

�Probably just this stupid gray air,� he murmured to himself as he got out of bed. The world suddenly seemed to swirl around him, and he had to sit down to get it to stop. The chimera shook slightly, feeling suddenly cold.

�I�m not sick,� he said stubbornly. �I haven�t been sick for years. It�s probably just in my mind.� He winced as he thought of what he had said to Lina the day before. That was it, he decided. The memory haunting him was making him feel ill. He stood again and stayed on his feet, not moving until everything stopped turning before his eyes. The chimera staggered over to the mirror, unsteady on his feet. Zelgadis stared at himself. His stone skin was oddly pale, and there were dark shadows under his eyes. He looked like death warmed over.

�Good thing I wear the disguise,� he murmured. He couldn�t get sick, not now. He was going to show Lina Inverse that she was not the best at everything. He was going to beat her and win that prize money.

Zelgadis put on his cloak, ignoring how stifled he felt under all the layers of clothing. He waited a few more moments to get his balance, then left the room and descended the staircase.

Lina and Gourry were already downstairs eating breakfast. Gourry gave one of his patented clueless smiles and waved, but Lina deliberately ignored him. Zelgadis swept past them both without a word, going instead to a table in the far corner of the room. Ayami appeared almost immediately with a cup of coffee, which Zelgadis immediately took. He deliberately ignored both Lina and his shaking hands as he sipped the drink.

Lina left the inn before Zelgadis, and she was already backstage preparing by the time Zelgadis reached the town square. He passed her once backstage; Lina glared fiercely at him and he would have returned the look if he hadn�t been so busy making sure the world stayed still.

Their performance times were the same as the day before. Apparently the times would be switched for the last two days, however. Today�s part of the competition was fast songs. Backstage, Zelgadis smiled weakly. That was good. The quicker the competition was over, the sooner he could return to the inn and try to shake off whatever it was that was making him feel so sick.

When Lina�s turn came, she noticed that Zelgadis was standing by the curtain looking outside. She scowled slightly.

Hmmph! That jerk. I can�t believe the way he talked to me yesterday... She shook off the small voice in the back of her mind that suggested Zelgadis might have had a point.

�Excuse me, I have a contest to win,� the sorceress said coldly as she brushed past the chimera. She noted with some surprise that Zelgadis was leaning heavily on the wooden beam near the curtain. A brief concerned look appeared on her face before she forced it away and turned to her audience.

The band behind her started to play. Lina briefly wished that they weren�t singing fast songs today. She wasn�t really in the mood to sing something fast and happy, but she had no choice.

Lina finished her song feeling a bit better. Nothing like a happy song to get one�s spirits up. She gave the crowd a victory sign and headed backstage.

�Let�s see you beat that,� she said to Zelgadis as she passed him. To Lina�s surprise, Zelgadis didn�t even acknowledge her. It didn�t even seem as if he had heard. As the chimera let go of the beam he was leaning on and staggered onstage, Lina�s concern for her friend grew.

Zelgadis could almost feel his strength leaving him as he moved onstage. He felt hot under his cloak, then felt cold a moment later. Trying to shake off his sudden weakness, he took hold of the microphone and sang.

Zelgadis managed to stay on his feet until the song ended. He heard the cheers, but they seemed very far away. Everything seemed far away, even himself. The world pitched violently in front of him, and he stumbled. He felt arms catch him as he fell and he thought that he saw a glimpse of red hair before he sank down into darkness.

When Zelgadis collapsed, Lina was the first one at his side. Gourry was there moments later, and after him came Hemnor, who had stopped along the way to keep the waitresses from clambering onstage to fuss over their hurt songbird.

�What happened?� Gourry asked Lina, glancing down at Zelgadis. �What�s wrong with him?�

�I don�t know....� Lina put one hand under Zel�s hood and felt the chimera�s forehead. She pulled her hand back with a curse. �L-sama! He�s burning up!�

�Out of my way!� A petite woman with short brown hair and glasses made her way through the crowd and joined them onstage. �I�m Ki, the village healer. Let me see him.� She started to remove Zel�s disguise, but Lina stopped her.

�Don�t,� she said.

�I need to examine him,� Ki said impatiently.

�The man wears a mask for a reason.� Hemnor backed Lina up. �Let�s take him back to the Midnight Blue, where you can look him over without all the onlookers.�

Ki nodded her assent and Gourry gently picked the chimera up. Hemnor led the way back to the inn, with Lina beside him and Gourry and Ki following behind.

�Thanks for the help,� Lina said to the innkeeper. �Zel--I mean, Graywords-- wouldn�t have been happy to have everyone around when his disguise was off.�

�Some of them might be frightened by a chimera,� Hemnor agreed.

�You know?� Lina blinked in surprise.

�When I went to congratulate him after his first performance I saw him without his disguise,� Hemnor explained. �He asked me not to reveal his secret, and I�ve respected his wishes.� He paused. �Zel....is that his real name?�

�Zelgadis.� Lina nodded.

�Old friends, are you?�

�Yeah.� Lina�s eyes lowered as she remembered their fight from the day before. Then her gaze traveled back to Zel�s still form, lying limp in Gourry�s arms.

�What�s he like?�

�Zel? He�s....he�s Zel. He�s depressed a lot, because of his condition. He can be Mr. Logic at times, too. He doesn�t have much of a sense of humor either. But...he�s a nice guy when you get down to it. The kind of guy you want at your back during a fight because you know you can trust him.�

�Hmm.� Hemnor nodded. �From the little time I�ve known him, I�ve seen how withdrawn he is. I wondered if he even had any friends.� He smiled at Lina. �I�m glad to see he has at least two.�

�Yeah...� Lina�s voice trailed off. She sighed. Aw, crud, Zel....why�d you have to go and get sick just when I was mad at you?

Go to Part Three