AN: I do not own The Slayers, I just play in the sandbox.

"So, you're not going to challenge me to another duel, are you?" Gourry asked as the barkeeper set two mugs of beers before him.

Zangulus laughed a little as he grabbed one, "Not tonight, but who knows about tomorrow? No, I just needed some time away from the royal court, so I was glad to hear that you and Lina were in town."

"Yeah, it did smell pretty bad."

Zangulus reddened a little, "It's more of the courtiers being insufferable than the smell."

"I've never seen a royal court held in a barn before!" Gourry said.

"You probably forgot!" Zangulus replied.

"Still, whether you live in a palace or in a barn, it's good to be king, isn't it?" Gourry observed.

"Yeah, there are things I enjoy about it." Zangulus agreed.

"Well, it suits you." Gourry said as he indicated the medallion Zangulus wore with the monstrous Zoalmelgustar on it. "I see Martina still takes that seriously."

"We both do! We wouldn't have survived without his protection!" Zangulus said reverently. "And Martina keeps saying if we keep him in our good graces and work hard he will soon bless us with Xoana's rebirth!"

"Oh, and then you'll move out of the barn!" Gourry said.

"Keep that up and I may challenge you to another duel before the night ends!" Zangulus said.

"Sorry, sorry." Gourry said as he raised his hands in defeat.

"Oh, giving up so easily? I would have thought you'd want to defend your record!" Zangulus said, "Or do you not think you can win against me again?"

"No, more of I'm so confident in my success that I don't feel the need to bother." Gourry said mindlessly before he quickly changed the subject, "So where did you learn swordplay anyway?"

"I asked the local swordsmaster in my village for lessons. He said he had never seen anyone with so much talent, especially since I was born to a family of boring farmers. I quickly surpassed his skills, and it was at that time that Rezo came through the village and heard about me. He offered to pay for me to receive lessons and in exchange I would run errands no questions asked for him in the future. It was a deal that I jumped at. I never fit in with my family or in that town so I was happy to leave."

"Was your teacher trained in the Patricelli style?"

"Good call. Though I would expect you would recognize that. Your style is obviously Elmekian."

"That's what I am." Gourry said with a smile. "Is that how you got that Bowling Sword from Rezo?"

"Howling Sword!" Zangulus corrected, and then he said proudly. "And I earned that sword. Rezo was generous, but he also expected results and he didn't have time for anyone less than first rate. He would periodically hold competitions to see if we were worth his investment or not. I never lost even one competition. After I won the championship for the third year in a row he trusted me with the Howling Sword."

"Wow, that must have been hard!"

"It was, and I enjoyed every minute of it! What real swordsman doesn't crave the opportunity to show his skill and prowess?"

"So since you knew Rezo from back then, did you ever run into Zelgadis?"

Zangulus chuckled before he said proudly, "Oh yes I did! Who do you think I would beat in those competitions? At first Zel didn't even make the top ten. During the second competition he made it to the penultimate round. After I beat him the third time he was so humiliated and Rezo was so disappointed in him that he agreed to let Rezo turn him to a chimera so he could be stronger, or so I heard. We weren't friends, the only time we saw each other was during the competitions, but he must not have liked me much."

"Wow, that must have been hard."

"Not really. I've never liked hanging around with a lot of people or making friends."

"But what about that sorcerer who would never die? Vaccuming?"

"You mean Vrumagan?"

"Yeah."

"Rezo ordered us to work together. I don't like working in pairs so I wasn't happy about it at first, but we actually complimented each other. He drove me crazy at times with his cautious approach to things, but it was what I needed." Zangulus explained, "Martina and I ended up appointing him as court sorcerer."

"Wow, so it seems you all are settling down! Even if the palace is in a barn."

Zangulus fumed as he said, "It's just temporary until we raise funds to rebuild Xoana!"

"Oh, and how long will that be?"

"Well, palaces are expensive, so it will be awhile." Zangulus muttered. "But if you want to make a donation…"

"Oh, Lina has all my money, so you'll have to ask her!" Gourry said brightly.

"Just forget I asked then."

"So I guess you're giving up the sword and settling down?"

"What?" Zangulus yelled, "I'm surprised at you! No real swordsman ever gives up the sword! It's in my blood, so even if I wanted to, I couldn't! I'm just giving up the life of a bounty hunter and focusing on using my talents to defend Martina and Xoana."

"Glad to hear it!" Gourry said, "The world needs more real swordsmen defending it!"

"Indeed it does." Zangulus said as he looked at the clock, "Well, we'd best get back to the palace."

"You mean the barn?"

"I mean the palace!" Zangulus snapped.

"Why, it's still so early."

"Well, I am a married man now."

Gourry's eyes widened, "Ah, I see. She's got you under her thumb."

"You're one to talk!"

"Huh?"

"The way Lina has you eating out of her hand…"

"Well, Lina has good taste in food and if I don't hurry she'll eat it before I can!"

Zangulus sighed, "Whatever."

"Well, I guess you're right. We should stop by the b-b-" he faltered under Zangulus' glare, "…palace and make sure that Lina and Martina haven't killed each other!"

"That's a good point, actually." Zangulus said as he threw some coins on the counter and got up and adjusted his hat.

"It was good seeing you again! I hope you will stop by next year. Hopefully we'll have broken some ground on the palace by then."

"Well, my life is unpredictable, but we'll see."

"Good." Zangulus said, "And, by the way, before you go. Just one thing."

"What?"

"One last duel before you leave tomorrow!"

AN: This gave me an excuse to watch Prime again, and I actually got my 3 year old into the series in the process (though I think the character she latched onto was Amelia), so score all around! I hope you enjoyed!