Sword and Shield

Chapter: 4

Preparing for the Ball

Sorry I've been away but the past few months have been busy and my one vacation to Gencon every year. I'm going to try and keep on schedule as best as I can but if a chapter takes longer than normal then it will continue as is.

Lina smiled as she handed in her test to the professor at the front of the class. She had pinched herself a number of times to make sure that she was really there and that this was not another dream. Lina nodded to her professor before heading out the door and into the hall. She leaned against the wall while letting out a breath. The finals had been nerve wracking enough without her having to worry about Zelgadis invading her dreams. Lina pushed herself back to her feet and began to walk down the hall while thinking, 'I don't have time for this.'

Lina walked down the hall and out the front door of the building. Lina breathed in the air once she got outside into the midday light. It felt warm and crisp outside which helped bring Lina out of her brooding. She smiled before heading down to the street out in front of the university. She waited on the bus so she could get to Sylphiel's apartment as the girls had a day full of shopping to do. Lina was normally not one to go on the shopping trips but she had to attend the annual ball and needed a few things for the event. After another few moments she boarded the bus and found a seat. Lina sat back and let her mind roam as she waited for the bus to announce her stop. She was ready to just lay back and take it easy but she had one more thing to do before the semester was over. The annual Sailoon University ball was just around the corner and Lina had to attend this year. 'Why did I let Amelia talk me in to being on the student council,' Lina thought as the building moved by on the street outside.

It was true, normally Lina would have call it a semester and have fun, but this year Amelia had talked her onto the student council. Lina was the vice president, and though she normally did not have to do much, going to the ball was a requirement. After another few minutes the automated system on the bus announced Lina's stop. Lina waited for the bus to stop before standing up and depositing her money in the machine before hoping off. She smiled as she walked towards the apartment building that Sylphiel and Amelia lived. Lina walked into the building and up a few flights of stairs before coming to the door she was looking for and knocking. After a moment the door opened and Lina was greeted by Amelia. Amelia smiled at her friend before she said, "Come in Miss Lina, Come in."

Lina sighed at the, 'Miss,' but knew it was not worthwhile to argue the point. She smiled before saying, "Hi Amelia. So when are we going out?"

Amelia walked back into the apartment, followed by Lina, and said, "In about ten minutes or so. Miss Sylphiel just got back in and is taking a quick shower."

Lina sighed as she came into the main living room and sat down on the couch. As Lina waited she looked at the coffee table to see that there were a few magazines laid out. Lina looked through the stack until she came to one that had a familiar face staring back at her. There on the front was Zelgadis Greywords, posed with his coat over his shoulder, looking back at the viewer with a devil may care smirk. Lina looked down to see the headline and read it out loud, "Zelgadis Greywords, a day in the life of one of the nations most powerful men."

Lina almost snorted at the line as she remembered the Zelgadis that she met in the dream. 'Of course I'm still not sure if that was to actual Zelgadis or just my imagination,' Lina thought as she put the magazine back down on the top of the stack.

Lina rolled her head back and let her hair spill over the back of the couch. She looked up at the ceiling while she waited for the other two girls to finish getting ready. After a moment Lina closed her eyes as she exhaled and tried to relax now that her semester was over. As she held her eyes closed she could not help but see Zelgadis' face smirking at her. She huffed for a moment before she heard him call, "Lina."

Lina's eyes snapped open and she jumped up in a flash to where she was standing on the couch and looking around. As Lina looked to the side she saw Sylphiel and Amelia standing back and looking at her like she had lost her mind. As Lina's breath came to her she began to drop from her stance. Sylphiel moved forward hesitantly and extended her hand slowly while asking, "Miss Lina...are you alright?"

Lina stepped down off the couch as her face began to stain red. She coughed for a moment before saying, "Yeah, guess I dozed off for a moment there."

Both of the other girls sighed before Sylphiel smiled and replied, "That's okay. Now come on Miss Lina we have to go shopping and get ready for the ball."

"I'm thrilled," Lina said sarcastically as she followed behind her two friends that had gone into shopping mode and did not catch her jest.

"No, I don't think that is a good idea for the start of the commercial campaign," Zelgadis' calm voice carried through the large office as he stood up on a small stand.

Zelgadis lifted his right arm as the tailor ran his tape down the length of Zelgadis' arm into his armpit. The tailor took a note of the length before repeating the process on the other side. As the tailor continued his work Zelgadis continued to talk into his headset. "I understand that we want to make a splash with the new client but I don't think it is a great idea to be that bombastic right out the gate. We don't want to scare people off. First, work on something a bit more subtle to win the public's trust and then move from there."

Zelgadis looked down as the tailor was measuring his legs. He smirked as he thought about the upcoming ball which was the reason he was having a new suit made. The ball was at the end of the week and he wanted to have everything perfect for when he would meet Lina Inverse. 'Well, when I will officially meet her,' he mused to himself as the invasion of her dream he did not truly count as a meeting.

The conversation he was having continued and Zelgadis had to span himself out of his little daydream. "Okay, that sounds a little more down to earth. Let's start with that and then we can ramp the campaign up after a month or so. Thank you," Zelgadis finished as he hung up the phone but kept the headset on just in case someone else called.

Zelgadis looked out the window of his office, through the cavernous outline of the cities high-rises, and onto the streets of Sailoon. He smirked again as he watched the people go back and forth like small insects. He could not help but try to spot his target in the mass, though he knew it was impossible, but could not help himself. He knew he only had a small window of time to convince Lina to trust him before her friends got her to one of the other houses. 'If she becomes ensconced with the house of water Filia will not let me anywhere near the girl. I have to make the first move and I have to do it while her friends are too worried about the social event of the year instead of their duty.'

Zelgadis knew that the other two witches being more concerned with the ball was good for him but he could not help but feel a slight contempt for them for not sticking to their first order of business which should have been securing Lina Inverse for the house of water. As Zelgadis waited his phone rang again and he answered with a tap on the headset. "This is Greywords, how can I help you," he asked into the microphone.

"Really, so you have spotted her in the shopping district," Zelgadis talked with one of his hunters, "That is good. Just keep a discreet eye on her...oh and if she goes to buy a dress just have the store put it on my account."

Zelgadis glanced down to notice that though the tailor was still working he was paying attention to Zelgadis' side of the conversation. Zelgadis smirked while thinking, 'This is going to end up in the gossip panel. Oh, well not like it really matters.'

"What," Zelgadis continued, "That's fine just pay for the whole group if you have to. Just make sure that they are taken care of and they know who is taking care of them."

The called ended and Zelgadis sighed before thinking, 'The things I do.'

Lina looked at two dresses that she was trying to pick for the ball. She was between a white dress, which she did not feel worked for here but Amelia did, and a dark blue dress that she thought would look better. Lina looked back and forth but was not sure which to choose. First of all, she did not like the idea of having to wear a dress in the first place. But, she was going to the ball and could not just show up in jeans and a tee-shirt so here she was. Both dresses where very simple with a bit of frill at the midriff but other than that nothing special. Lina placed the white dress in front of her and looked for a moment. 'Not bad,' Lina thought, 'But, I not sure if I want to put off the sweet girl vibe that white tend to convey.'

Lina sighed again before switching over to the dark blue dress. 'Goes well with my hair color but I'm pretty sure most people are going to be going with white or black so it might stand out.'

Lina usually would not care what someone thought but it was different this time. This time she was representing Amelia's choice in bringing her into the student council and she did not want to disappoint. After a few more minutes she sighed and decided on the dark blue. After she put the white dress back Lina began walking towards the front to pay for the dress. As she came to the front she was joined by her friends and the proceeded to the front. "So which did you go with Miss Lina," Sylphiel asked as the laid their choices on the counter.

Lina smiled before saying, "I went with the dark blue. Pure white just isn't me," she ran a hand through her hair before continuing, "That and I don't want to look like everyone else in either black or white."

Sylphiel laughed a bit before replying, "I felt the same. I went with a nice purple dress. Hopefully, he'll notice."

Lina smirked before looking at Sylphiel and teasing, "I don't know what you see in that bone head but to each their own."

"Miss Lina," Sylphiel shot back but was interrupted by the clerk saying, "Here you go...everything is all ready."

"How much," Amelia asked.

The clerk looked confused and replied, "It has been taken care of."

Lina snapped around and asked, "By who?"

The clerk smiled and said, "Well, you three are very lucky. Zelgadis Greywords is paying for the whole thing."

The eyes of the three girls grew wide as they now all had the feeling of being watched. No one but them was around however none of them could shake the feeling that the puppet master had pulled the string and began tightening the control of the story.

Lina got home later that night and was ready to go to sleep. It had been a long day and she could not wait to just have some time to herself. 'All the test, shopping, and finding out that Zelgadis is watching me has made quite a day,' Lina thought to herself as she climbed the stairs to her apartment.

After another minute she rounded the corner to be meet with a bundle of roses at her front door. She looked the flower suspiciously for a moment before reaching down and picking them up. She unlocked the door and slowly made her way into the apartment on high alert. After sweeping her entire apartment Lina calmed down and laid the roses down in the sink. She pulled the card from the flowers and read to herself, "Hope to see you at the ball, ZG."

Lina sighed as she prepared a vase to put the flowers in while thinking, 'This might actually come off as kinda sweet or romantic if I didn't know he is after me for other reasons. Hell, any girl would swoon for a lease a minute if they though a millionaire doing this.'

Lina placed the roses in the vase and put some water to keep them alive. She placed the vase on her coffee table before going and hanging up the dress she had purchased, 'Or Zelgadis had purchased,' she corrected herself mentally.

After finishing her tasks Lina went around and made sure that the door and windows were locked. After finishing she turned off all the lights and went to bed. As she laid in bed in the dark of her room Lina looked at the ceiling while saying, "Well, I will be meeting you soon Zelgadis Greywords. Hopefully, I can just have a normal conversation for once in the past month.'