Disclaimer: I don't own Slayers…

A/N: I actually don't know why I'm really continuing this…I had kinda given up on it and just today (March 29th, 2005) I got this review saying some stuff and I thought… well, I have been tossing ideas around my head so much that I might as well give it one more shot. I'm not making any guarantees and I'm certainly not saying anything about whether I'll stick to this or not, I've been yelled at in the Slayers section for my OOCness and OC characters which kinda doesn't make me feel warm and fuzzy inside. I have OC characters in a lot of my other stories, Yu-Gi-Oh and Harry Potter and other categories as well and this is the only area of whatever where I've been yelled at…interesting. Oh well, I'm giving this another try, so bear with me, alright?

Keeper of Souls

Chapter 3: Arrogance and Pride

Xellos

"Arrogant child thinks she can just come back here and…" I muttered as I paced around the floor of a cave. It was my cave, a little place I called home whenever I wanted to get away from things and right now I wanted to get away from Catsuya. She was so annoying and incredibly child like! I can't believe she just came back… I bet now she's going to try to be nice to Lina and her gang and that really just…Argh! It ticks me off!

Catsuya

"So…can I call you Cat for short?" Lina asked me and I smiled innocently.

"Not really, not yet, I don't know you well enough," I said, "So I will call you Miss Inverse until I get to know you better."

"No, actually call me Miss Lina if you must," she said quickly, "Miss Inverse makes me sound old."

"And let me guess, it's what Xellos calls you?" I asked.

"Yeah," she replied.

"So…are you a Mazoku?" Amelia asked me.

"Well…not really," I trailed, "I don't exactly know how to describe what I am. I guess a fitting description would be I'm a type of necromancer…at least that's as close as I can get and not confuse people…"

"Oh," Zelgadis stated, "So then you like the dead?"

"Not exactly," I said and wondered how to explain what I really was, "I guess you can think of me as a Mazoku, at least for a while…many think I am."

"Oh," Gourry said and I watched him lean forward towards Lina, "You seem almost perfect…"

"Oh no, I have weaknesses," I stated firmly.

"What are they?" Lina asked.

"Uh…no, I don't think so," I replied, "I won't say what they are, I don't know or trust you well enough." Lina nodded with a look of determination. I was afraid she just took it upon herself to find a fault or weakness with me…great…

"So…you know Xellos really well?" Zelgadis asked, almost bitter in his tone of voice.

"I've known him since we were really young," I said, grateful for the change of subject.

"You know he's evil, right?" Zelgadis asked.

"No more than I," I replied.

"So you're evil?" he asked.

"Yes," I replied.

"You don't seem like it," he stated.

"That's because you've only pretty much just met me," I pointed out.

"What makes you so evil then?" he asked.

"I'm a murderer," I stated before I could stop myself.

"Say what?" Lina asked, "What do you mean by that?"
"I've killed people before," I explained, realizing I had dug my hole and now had to lie in it, "I've killed lots of people before, and I still do."

"Were these people bad people?" Amelia asked, "Did you kill them because of Justice?"

"No," I replied with a sigh, "I kill bad and good people."

"You kill good people?" Amelia asked with a gleam in her eye, "That cannot stand!"

"Its part of my job Miss Amelia," I stated firmly, narrowing my eyes, "I do my job regardless of who I have to kill to do it."

"What do you do?" Gourry asked.

"I won't tell you, it's better to show what I do…even if it isn't a pretty sight to see… it's easier to understand once you see what I do," I said, "All I can say is every Mazoku hates me for it…"

"Why would they hate you for killing?" Zelgadis asked.

"Because they take pleasure out of the killing, I don't," I explained, "I do my job, it doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Ah, I see…no wait, not really," Gourry said with a puzzled expression on his face.

"Never mind," I said, "Just never mind."

"All right then," Lina said, "Do you have anywhere to be going right now?"

"No, why?" I asked.

"Travel with us for a while," Zelgadis said quickly, "That should keep Xellos away from us!"

"You really don't like him, do you?" I asked.

"I hate all Mazoku, but especially him," Zelgadis said.

"What did he do?" I asked, "Never mind, I don't want to know."

"You probably wouldn't," Zelgadis said, "He's a pain."

"So am I," I responded.

"How can you be? You seem so calm," Lina pointed out.

"Never give me any sugar," I said.

"Why?" Gourry asked.

"I'm hyper whenever I get sugar in me…" I stated dryly, "And since last time I had sugar I ended up burning my own house down I've since forbidden myself from having any."

"You burned your own house down?" Gourry asked.

"Well, more like the entire village," I said with a loud laugh, "But no one got hurt…" Lina shuddered.

"We better start walking if we want to make it to the next village before sunset," Amelia stated and we all began to walk to get back onto the path. I looked over each of the group and smiled.

"You seem like such a mismatched group," I stated.

"So…what of it?" Lina asked and I leaned in close. I'd probably get my arse kicked for teasing but oh well…

"You are the weirdest of them all, you have such small breasts!" I said laughing, and then noting her extremely pissed off look, immediately followed by finding myself caught in a fireball. A puff of smoke escaped my lips and I fell to the ground.

"I learned a long time ago not to tease her about that," Zelgadis stated, staring down at my twitching form.

"…" the others said nothing as Lina glared down at me with a 'don't do that again' look and stalked off. I let Zelgadis help me up and I brushed soot off of my arms. I was a total mess.

"Who said you could get up?" Lina exclaimed and I let out a cry of pain as a second fireball hit me. This wasn't going to be fun traveling with this group; they had no sense of humor!

…

"Are you going to force Xellos to marry you?" Zelgadis asked as we all began to eat dinner. The inn we were staying at apparently had a reputation for good food and Lina had been the first to jump on the opportunity.

"Yes, of course, why should I?" I asked, "He's mine, he was promised to me."

"I don't think that's right," Amelia said, pausing between bites of her food. Gourry and Lina were completely ignoring the conversation altogether and eating as fast as they could. The must have iron stomachs. I wasn't eating anything, partially because I wasn't hungry and partially because this wasn't really my kind of food. I was particularly picky in my tastes, except when I was hungry, really hungry, which I wasn't at the moment, so I decided just to not eat at all.

"Why do you say that Miss Amelia?" I asked.

"Forcing someone to marry you against their will isn't right Miss Catsuya," she stated, "How do you think that person would feel, never mind the fact that Mr. Xellos is a Mazoku."

"I don't really care about that," I replied firmly, "I shouldn't have to, he's been promised to me."

"But what about love?" she asked, "Don't you love him?"

"Marriages aren't made based on love Miss Amelia, they're based on convenience and that's a fact," I said.

"What if you were in his shoes, how would you feel?" she asked. I hid the fact that the question bothered me.

"I'd do my duty and bear it like a man," I said, "I wouldn't mind."

"Yes you would," she said and her gaze seemed to pierce right into my heart and I looked away.

"It doesn't matter, that's not how the situation is," I stated, "And that's not how it will be."

"You have a point Amelia," Zelgadis said, "As much as I hate Xellos, being forced into something isn't right."

"Right, like how you weren't asked whether you wanted to become a chimera or not!" she said cheerfully.

"Don't compare those situations," he muttered.

"But they are similar, aren't they? You weren't given a choice and Miss Catsuya here obviously isn't giving Mr. Xellos a choice," she stated and I looked up at her, trying to hide any emotion that might be showing on my face.

"I don't care what you think," I said, a blatant lie and she knew it.

"I hit a nerve with you, didn't I?" she asked and didn't wait for my response before continuing, "I think you're just afraid he'd leave you forever if you gave him the choice."

"That's not it at all!" I exclaimed, slamming my hands down on the table and shaking a few of the plates that were starting to pile up, "You don't know what you're talking about!"

"Shhh…people are staring," Zelgadis whispered, looking embarrassed and ashamed at the same time.

"But there is some truth to it, isn't there?" Amelia asked, keeping her calm and I blinked twice and regained my own sense of self and calmed down.

"I apologize for the outbreak," I stated and walked away from the table, "I need a little air, don't worry, I won't go far."

"Miss Catsuya…" Amelia began but she stopped herself from saying whatever it was she was planning on saying… She saw regret in my eyes and a few tears that I quickly wiped away, and also, I believe she did see…in my eyes, I loved Xellos…

…

I stayed outside the inn for a while, trying to calm myself down and such. I sat on a nearby bench and lay back against it.

"I must be nuts to actually have accepted a traveling invitation from this group," I said, "They're smarter than they realize. Miss Amelia…she's something else." She was blinded by an intense search for justice but she had a lot of common sense…and that was what she just used on me. I did love Xellos…honestly did but I never thought he liked me, much less loved me back. The only thing tying us together was the arrangement and even that had begun to break now for whatever reason, and I struggled to hold it together. I sighed and buried my face in my hands, what was I doing here? Amelia had truth in her words, more than she even knew… I give up…I wouldn't dwell on them just yet, but…they would haunt my sleep, of this I was certain.

TBC

A/N: Any better? I kinda made Amelia a little better than in some of my other fics…I still don't know why I bothered to continue but here it is. Just lemme know what you think if you want, just don't flame me! Flames will be used to roast marshmallows!