Hey all! Welcome to my latest fanfic! I've been working on it for a few weeks now, since the theme was announced as a challenge on the Amelia/Zel LiveJournal community. The prompt was for one (or both) of them to encounter the other as a child. So the plotbunnies got hoppin' and this is what I came up with!

As a side note, I wrote this entire thing while listening to the album "What's Left of Me" by Nick Lachey over and over again. I swear just about every song on there is about Zel and Amelia! Or maybe I'm nuts. Or it could be a combination of the two.

Anyway, the lyrics that appear at times throughout the story are all from different songs on that album. In case anyone was interested or curious.

On to the story!

SHADES OF BLUE

"Where I wait for you.
Pray love reaches through,
All these shades, shades of blue.
Where you close your eyes,
Feel me by your side.
I will wait for you,
In all these shades of blue..."

"I really don't think this is a good idea."

It was rare for Amelia to respond to Zelgadis in the resoundingly negative. More often than not, she went along with him without much complaint. It was, after all, the excuse of "looking for his cure" that convinced her father to allow her to go traveling once again with her favorite companion. So who was she to complain with the rare requests that Zelgadis made of her to go take a quick peak in some old library or unused temple?

Her friend seemed to be coming to grips with the fact that his rare condition (if being a chimera was in fact a condition) did not have any easy fix. Every day, with her support, he even seemed to be seeing some of the good aspects of being a chimera.

But when he caught wind of a new lead involving a creepy old cave and some enchanted object that may or may not contain clues into separating chimera parts, his excitement was tangible.

However, as they stood in the mouth of a cave that made the hair on the back of Amelia's neck stand on end, she found she just couldn't match her friend's excitement.

"Come on, Amelia," Zelgadis prompted, cupping her elbow and pulling her forward. "It's just an old cave. Nothing to be afraid of. Besides, I'm not leaving you standing alone out here on a cliff's edge during a thunderstorm."

As if to punctuate his words, a loud clap of thunder boomed in the sky behind them, causing Amelia to let out a startled yelp and jump on top of her friend.

Zelgadis sighed. "See? It's much safer in the cave. Now, even though I'm sure I look dashing wearing you as a hat, could you please get off me?"

Blushing, Amelia slid down.

"Sorry," she said, but kept a firm hold on his arm as they finally entered the darkness.

Once inside, they both started light spells that glowed merrily in their hands, breaking through some of the eeriness of the cave.

In front of them, however, were two passageways.

"Which way should we go, Zelgadis?" Amelia whispered.

The chimera's mouth turned up in a small, lopsided smile. Amelia had only recently begun referring to him by just his first name, and he was still getting used to the fact that it made him feel like the closest person in the world to her. It was a feeling he was not used to, since he had put up so many walls that kept him from getting close to people since his late grandfather, Rezo the Red Priest, had changed him into a chimera when he was barely an adult.

Still, it was a good feeling. Amelia had been the only person to bother chipping away at all those walls, and he was grateful for her presence in his life.

"Well, I think we should try the scientific approach," Zelgadis answered his friend, and proceeded to take out his various measuring instruments, abacus, and some other things Amelia didn't recognize.

With a sigh, Amelia pointed at the left passageway and began chanting, "Eenie, meenie, minie, moe..." moving her finger back and forth between the two passageways with each word, "catch a Mazoku by the toe, if he hollers let him go, eeni, meenie, minie, moe!"

Her finger ended up back on the left passageway and she announced, "We should take this way!"

Zelgadis rolled his eyes. "Due to the number of words in the song and the number of passageways, it's safe to say you were always going to end up back where you started."

"Oh, just come on!" Amelia said and grabbed her friend by the hand. She began dragging him down the left passageway with renewed fervor.

They walked for nearly ten minutes through the cramped passageway before finally coming to a large open cavern.

In the center of the cavern, being held up by a lovely stone carving of a woman with one angel wing and one devil wing, sat a large oval mirror.

The mirror had a frame of gold, and cheerfully reflected the magic orbs of light from Amelia and Zelgadis' hands.

"Zelgadis," Amelia said very quietly, "did your information say anything about this?"

The chimera shook his head. "No, my source just gave me a map to the cave and told me that I would recognize the magical object of myth when I saw it."

The princess of Seyruun rolled her eyes. "Well, this is obviously it. If it's not, I'll eat my cape."

Cautiously, the two travelers approached the strange stone statue and the mirror it held.

"It's so beautiful," Amelia breathed, her eyes in an almost trance-like state, as she reached a hand toward the mirror.

With lightning quick speed, Zelgadis' hand shot out and grabbed hers, pulling it back.

"Be careful," he said, spinning Amelia forcibly toward his body. She ended up pressed against his chest, and she felt her cheeks flush.

Zelgadis, however, didn't seem to notice his close proximity to Amelia. Instead, his gaze was focused intently on the mirror.

"We shouldn't try anything until we know what we're dealing with," he continued. Amelia nodded, finally releasing his hand and stepping away from him a bit.

"I'm sorry," she smiled at her friend, "I just felt compelled to touch it, for some reason."

"That could be further proof that it's enchanted," Zelgadis said, more to himself than to the princess. "I'm going to go look around for any clues as to this thing's power. There has to be a tablet or a scroll or something about this thing laying around. You stay here and stay out of trouble."

Amelia pouted but Zelgadis did not back down.

"I'm serious, Amelia. Stay here and just keep watch. PLEASE don't touch anything. Okay?"

"Fine," Amelia crossed her arms in front of her

Zelgadis began to walk away from his friend, but threw one last (somewhat suspicious) glance back over his shoulder at her. She stuck her tongue out at him.

Shaking his head, Zelgadis wandered out of the cavern in search for clues.

Amelia sighed and sat down on the ground with her legs crossed, staring at the mirror and the beautiful statue on which it stood.

The statue of the woman was so detailed, so vibrant...Amelia decided it wouldn't hurt to get a little closer and take in the details of the statue. She clasped her hands behind her back so that she would not be tempted to touch. It would be unjust of her to break her promise to Zelgadis.

As she neared the statue, she noticed the forlorn look on the woman's face. Also, that her eyes were closed. Not shut tightly, but just as if she were sleeping.

"So beautiful," Amelia whispered. Without realizing what she was doing, she had unclasped her hands and ran a finger down the cheek of the statue, as if tracing a long forgotten trail of tears.

As soon as she made physical contact with the statue, the mirror it held began to ripple and move. Amelia, however, was so engrossed in the statue that she did not notice.

Suddenly, four words came unbidden to the princess and escaped her mouth before she could stop them.

"You are not alone."

The statue's eyes flew open, and glowed a brilliant white light that momentarily blinded Amelia.

The princess screamed as her hand flew up away from the statue and brushed the wildly rippling mirror.

Amelia frantically tried to pull away but found that her hand would not budge. In fact, it seemed to have sunken into the face of the mirror.

Still feeling a bit dazed, as if she'd been under a spell, she vaguely heard Zelgadis' voice in the distance.

Her arm sunk further into the mirror and she found her vision becoming black around the edges.

"ZEL-!" Was all she was able to get out before the darkness closed in all around her.

The last thing she would remember seeing is the horrified expression on Zelgadis' face as he screamed her name.

"But if the world should ever fall apart around you,
And if you're lost and barely breathing,
I will find you,
And carry you back home.
I won't forsake the only love I've ever known,
When you're out there on your own..."

Zelgadis couldn't believe what he had just seen.

Hearing Amelia's scream, he had immediately run back to the cavern. The last thing he expected to see was the gold-framed mirror effectively absorbing Amelia into it.

He had tried to reach her in time. To grab her and pull her away from the object, or even smash the damned thing if it had come to that.

But he had been too late.

The slender chimera stood in the palatial cavern, feeling no bigger than an ant, and being suffocated by the deafening quiet that surrounded him.

His eyes had not left the mirror. The place where his companion had once been. Now she was gone. Possibly forever.

He had not been able to protect her. To save her.

"GODDAMN IT, AMELIA!" Zelgadis dropped to his knees and a stony fist hit the cavern floor, creating a rather large hole in its wake.

The feeling of wetness on his face was not completely foreign to him, but it was not often he allowed himself to shed tears. They were usually reserved for moments of torturous anger or blinding self-pity. Or some combination of the two.

In this case, Zelgadis did not even care to control the sobs that wracked his body.

He had no idea what kind of magic the mirror contained, nor the statue that held it. For all he knew, Amelia could be dead.

"Ame...lia...," her name escaped his lips, as it so often did, and he felt another sob overtake him.

"I'm so sorry," he began speaking to no one in particular. "This is all my fault. If I hadn't been so obsessed with finding a cure...I should have never allowed you to come with me to such dangerous places..."

Zelgadis choked back his tears and stood up on shaky legs.

"Here's my resolution, Amelia. I'll never let you go. I'll either find a way to bring you back, or die trying. Because if you never leave this cavern alive, neither will I."

He turned to the statue and suddenly noticed that her mouth had turned up in a smile.

Zelgadis' expression was incredulous.

"The hell?"

Amelia awoke to a canopy of green leaves, the sun shining on her face, birds chirping, and a sky so blue she thought for sure she must be dead.

Then she felt a finger poke her cheek, and a young voice say, "Hey lady, are you hurt?"

Blinking rapidly and blocking the sun with her hand, Amelia turned to see a little boy looking at her with concern.

He couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 years old, dressed in fairly fine clothes that denoted wealth or stature. He had messy lavender hair that flopped in his face, and light blue eyes that shone with happiness.

"I'm...fine," Amelia answered, warily. She sat up slowly and checked herself over for any sign of injuries. After giving herself a clean bill of health, she stood and dusted the grass and dirt from her white traveling clothes.

The little boy stood still, watching her.

"You're pretty," he finally said with the honesty and innocence that only a child could muster. He said it as a statement of fact, making no apology.

Amelia felt herself blush a bit at the compliment. "Thank you very much. You're such a little gentleman. What's your name?"

The boy stood up proudly and puffed out his chest.

"My name is Zelgadis! Zelgadis Greywords!"

Amelia blinked at him. "Come again?"

"Zelgadis," the boy repeated.

Amelia had certainly had confusing days in her life (especially during her adventures with Lina) but she had rarely felt as dumbfounded as she did at that moment.

The boy who claimed to be Zelgadis was looking at her like she had just sprouted Shabranigdu out of her ears.

"Are you sick?" He asked her. "I can take you to my grandpa! He's the greatest healer in the whole world!"

And at that moment, Amelia actually did feel a little bit sick. She flopped back down on the ground.

"How is this possible?" She whispered to herself. "Ah, I know!" Amelia exclaimed out loud and jumped to her feet once again. She pointed an index finger at the boy and announced, "You're a figment of my imagination!"

The boy looked at her awry and asked, "What's a figment?"

"You are!" Amelia proclaimed, not really caring how crazy she sounded, or if she was even making sense.

"No, I'm Zelgadis," the boy repeated for the third time. "What's your name, crazy lady?"

Amelia lowered her hand and muttered, "Oh, um, I'm Ame...Amy. My name is Amy."

She couldn't explain exactly why she had lied, other than a sinking feeling that this was all real and she'd somehow traveled back in time to when Zelgadis was a child. How or for what purpose, she still had no idea. But she knew that she couldn't contaminate his young memories with things he was never supposed to have any prior knowledge of.

"Come on, Amy," little Zelgadis grabbed her by the hand and began leading her away from the tree she had woken up under.

"What were you doing out here anyway, uh, Zelgadis?" Amelia asked, allowing him to lead her away from the forest and lovely green pasture it opened up to.

"Training!" He chirped, happily. "My grandpa is blind, but he takes good care of me. So I come out here to train so that someday I can be strong and take good care of him right back!"

Amelia felt a little piece of her heart break, but kept her mouth shut and tried to smile.

"That's very sweet of you," was all she said.

They came to a clearing and Zelgadis let go of her hand.

"So you don't need healing or anything?" He asked her. Amelia shook her head.

"Well, okay then. It was nice meeting you!" With a wave, the boy began running off.

Amelia had to choose. If this was all real, this could be her only chance to get to know more about Zelgadis. He was always so guarded, even with her, and while he'd opened up a lot more over the years, he still rarely spoke of his past. As if anything before he became a chimera was a dream not worth mentioning.

A perfect dream. A perfect world.

Amelia looked all around her and took in the scenery. Then she looked at the gorgeous and happy little human boy in front of her and realized that she was currently standing in Zelgadis' perfect world. No wonder he so desperately wanted it back.

"Wait!" She called out, and the boy stopped and turned back to her.

"Um, would you mind walking with me for a bit? I'd like the company." Amelia gave him a big smile and Zelgadis smiled back and ran to her side with boundless energy.

"Sure, let's go into town!" Zelgadis grabbed her hand once again and they took off down a narrow dirt path together.

Back in the cavern, Zelgadis stood scowling at the offending statue that had just smirked at him.

"You think you're so clever," he said to it, not stopping to reflect that talking to a statue was crazy and that he might have finally lost his mind. "Standing there holding your stupid mirror and mocking me. You kill my...Amelia...and you think I'm going to just sit down and forget about it?"

The statue kept quietly smiling at him.

The chimera began pacing in front of the statue with pent-up energy from his anger and aggression.

"Sure, everyone thinks they have all the time in the world. All the time they need to set things right and tell people certain things that maybe they're only waiting to say because they know they'll probably get shot down because she's so beautiful and I'm a..."

He brought his train of thought to a grinding halt, and started over.

"That's not fair, I know she feels the same way. At least, I think she does. But I can't do anything about it until I'm human again, right?"

On the last word, he spun and faced the statue again.

"What am I saying?! I can't do anything now anyway, because you're a little bitch and took her away from me!"

Zelgadis removed his sword from its sheath and raised it above his head. With an animal-like cry, he charged at the statue.

Before he could connect with it, however, the eyes began to glow once more and Zelgadis soon found himself on his backside with no recollection of how he got there.

"Bitch," he scoffed and threw his sword down.

The statue just smiled.

You're beautiful,
That's all that I can say.
Unforgettable,
I'm caught in every way.
Don't ever let the mirror tell you lies,
Just look at your reflection through my eyes.
You're beautiful...

"So, Zelgadis," Amelia began, trying to disguise her prying as idle conversation. "What would you like to be when you grow up?"

They were sitting in a small café in an even smaller town that Zelgadis' "famous blind grandpa" (who Amelia hoped to avoid) had been visiting so that he could offer help to a small group of people who had broken out in Dragon Pox. In an attempt to keep the boy entertained, Amelia had bought him ice cream and some crème puffs, which he happily munched on as he answered her.

"I want to be a healer like my grandpa, and help good people get better! But I also want to fight bad people and make sure they're brought to justice!"

He took another lick of his ice cream cone and Amelia blinked back tears.

"But I also want to meet a girl and fall in love!" He went on, rambling away while munching with enthusiasm. "I want to be a father and take care of my family, because my parents died when I was a baby so if I have a big family I won't ever have to be alone again!"

He smiled. Amelia's heart shattered.

"But, Zelgadis," Amelia persisted, "You have your grandpa, right? So you're not really alone."

At that, the boy's smile faded a bit and he took a moment to collect is thoughts before answering.

"Yeah, grandpa takes good care of me...but he isn't around much, you know? He's always healing sick people and spending time with important sorcerers and stuff. And then there's his research. He's in his lab a lot, doing research on...stuff."

Amelia did not ask what stuff his grandfather was working on.

After looking a bit crestfallen for another moment, Zelgadis perked back up and stuffed a crème puff into his mouth.

"Well," Amelia said, almost to herself, "The girl you marry someday will be very lucky."

"Thanks!" Zelgadis said between bites, spitting a bit of food as he did so. "I hope she's as pretty as you!"

Amelia suddenly reached over the table and grabbed the boy by both hands, squeezing them as if her life depended on it.

"I want you to know something," she began, choosing her words carefully. "Someday, even if things aren't going your way, please remember that you are not alone." She stopped momentarily, taken aback by the words she had just spoken, but then she plunged on.

"You will always have people who care about you. Even if they're not blood-related, okay? Even if they're just friends, don't be afraid to let them love you. Also...when you meet the girl you'd like to marry someday...don't be afraid to tell her."

Zelgadis began blushing due to the fact that Amelia was still holding his hands, and giving him a look that his young brain couldn't quite identify.

"I won't be afraid!" He finally said. "I'm not afraid of anything!"

"I was afraid of this."

Zelgadis was still talking to himself, but he had finally left the cavern and had begun focusing himself on the task of finding some clue as to the type of spell cast on the objects. But as he dug through dirty scroll after dirty scroll, never finding the answers he sought, he became increasingly frustrated until finally ripping the last one to shreds.

Defeated, he collapsed to the ground and wept openly into his hands. Amelia was gone, and there was about as much chance of getting her back as there was of finding his cure.

For the first time in his life, Zelgadis felt truly alone. When Rezo had first transformed him, he still had the friendship and loyalty of Zolf and Rodimus, and even Dilgear and Noonsa. While Rezo's madness began to take over, slowly pulling his only living relative farther away from him, Zelgadis at least still had them.

Then, suddenly, they were gone, too. All but Dilgear had been killed in the wake of meeting Lina Inverse and discovering the truth behind Rezo's madness. It had never really been Rezo's fault, which was somewhat comforting to Zelgadis...knowing that it was probably not even really Rezo who turned him into a chimera, but the influence of Shabranigdu which took a blind man's desperation and twisted it into something evil.

But he had spent so many years hating Rezo that he was not completely swayed to forgive him. Not yet. But then she had come along and chipped at his heart until finally even he could smile and say, "It's not that important anymore."

In his friendship with Lina and Gourry, he had found a new family. They were like the siblings he never had. Much more like real friends than Zolf and Rodimus had ever been, simply because they had been so much older than him and treated him more as their leader due to his status as Rezo's grandson. He could never talk to either of them about magic theory like he could with Lina, or about swords and fighting technique like he could with Gourry.

Amelia had been nothing more than a cute kid back then. A very cute kid with a nice body, sure, but much too young to be anything more than a nuisance to Zelgadis.

Or so he had thought.

For some reason, she had taken a particular interest in him. After the battle with Copy Rezo, she invited everyone back to Seyruun, including Zelgadis. She announced that all their libraries on white magic would surely have some information that could help him.

He had looked, and she had often come out to help him. After a while, he grew used to her company and her presence. Her knowledge as a priestess was top notch, and he enjoyed talking with her about everything and nothing.

But after a while, he grew restless again. He left town one night, saying nothing about his plans.

Funny, he had never asked Amelia what she thought the next day when she discovered he was gone.

Probably because he was afraid of her answer.

Months later, he ran into her again in Zoana and actually threatened her. Sure, he never had any intention of actually hurting her, but she couldn't have known that.

It was that adventure, with Garv and Hellmaster Phibrizzo and the ghosts of Sairaag, that made him realize he actually liked having Amelia around. He needed her to be around, to live on.

Somehow, he had begun falling in love with her.

"And now she'll never know," he said out loud.

He had tried to keep his distance. He had even tried leaving again, but of course fate eventually brought him back to Lina and Gourry, and back to Amelia.

After the fight against Valgarv and Dark Star, Zelgadis had gone back to Seyruun once again. But when he finally left, he had not dared to slip away during the night. He left during the day, giving Amelia a hug goodbye, and accepted the enchanted bracelet she gave him.

It was then that Zelgadis learned what it was like to have someone love you back.

His tears slowed, and he couldn't help but smile at the happy memories. A year or so after Dark Star, Phil had called him back to Seyruun and given him the arduous task of following Amelia around and acting as her bodyguard.

It had all sounded a little fishy to Zelgadis, but he went along with it. After all, how could he complain about an official request from the acting King of Seyruun to go spend time with his favorite person in the world?

Of course, they had gotten caught up in another one of Lina's adventures, and that always meant having to see Amelia in the clutches of death at least once or twice.

They had beaten back Shabranigdu AGAIN. They had killed Rezo AGAIN. Amelia had practically gotten the life crushed out of her at one point...and yet it was Zelgadis and his damned cure that had finally beaten her.

"Asshole," Zelgadis moaned, then lamented not having a larger vocabulary of insulting adjectives to call himself.

Slowly and wearily, the chimera dragged himself back to his feet and made his way back to the cavern.

"Thanks for the sweets, Amy!" Zelgadis called, waving wildly at Amelia as she headed back to the tree where he had found her.

Amelia waved back, a huge smile lighting up her face.

As she walked away, Zelgadis slowly lowered his arm and watched her go, a thoughtful expression making him look older than his 6 years.

He turned and headed for the inn where he and his grandfather were sharing a room.

"Grandpa?"

A tuft of lavender hair poked around the inn room door.

Rezo the Red Priest smiled and beckoned for his grandson to enter.

"Zelgadis, my boy! What have you been up to today?"

The boy entered the room, all smiles. He bounced up to his grandfather and exclaimed, "I met my wife today!"

Rezo laughed. "Is that so?" he said, humoring the child.

Zelgadis nodded, knowing that his grandfather could not see him do so, but would sense the movement of his head.

"What's her name?" Rezo asked, patting his knee as an invitation. Zelgadis hopped up on the knee, and Rezo began bouncing it gently.

"Her name is Amy," Zelgadis told him. "She's very beautiful, and she's the nicest person I've ever met! Besides you, I mean."

Rezo laughed. "When is the wedding?" he joked.

"How should I know?" Zelgadis said, incredulous. "I have to grow up, first. But when I do, I'm going to find her again and marry her!"

Rezo gave his only living relative a small smile and stroked his messy hair.

"Then she's a very lucky girl, my handsome boy."

Zelgadis blushed and jumped down from his grandfather's knee.

"And you'll be there, right? At the wedding, I mean?" The boy asked, looking very serious as he did so.

"Of course I will," Rezo answered, "Barring any major catastrophe, I don't see why I would possibly miss it."

Zelgadis beamed up at the great mage, taking in the love radiating in Rezo's face.

Yes, Rezo took care of him and loved him. Rezo would always be there. He would never have to be alone.

"I'm holding on for you,
I'm fighting for your life.
And when you're blinded by this jaded world,
I'll be your eyes.
Even if you fall,
I won't let you break.
When all the noise is telling you
To run away,
Run to me..."

Amelia felt drained.

The princess flopped down underneath the tree where she had arrived, and waited. She wasn't exactly sure what she was waiting for, but she knew it would be important.

In the meantime, she couldn't help but replay her conversation with the young boy in her mind. He had said so little, but told her so much.

Amelia could hardly believe that the optimistic and trusting boy she had just met was the Zelgadis she knew and loved, but every fiber of her being told her it was true. The pain he had gone through due to Rezo's curse had changed him from a boy who she could see growing up and writing love songs, to a man who kept people at arm's length and couldn't verbalize his feelings if his life depended on it.

The princess had always felt a certain amount of animosity toward Rezo the Red Priest, which she knew wasn't exactly fair or just, but she simply couldn't help herself. While the great healer had never descended upon Amelia and forced her to fall in love with his grandson, he was responsible for creating a situation which made it harder for her to be close to him.

But then, Amelia thought, If Zelgadis had never been changed into a chimera, we may have never met, and he would not be the same person I love now.

There was a saying. 'Everything happens for a reason' and Amelia had no choice but to believe that. She was good at taking leaps of faith, and she had taken a big one when she started chiseling away at Zelgadis' defenses all those years ago. She also had to believe that she had been thrust into his past for a reason.

"Maybe," she said out loud to herself, "The wall is about to tumble down...and it just needs one last push."

With a smile, she leaned back against the tree and closed her eyes. The sun was so warm and she was so exhausted...

Zelgadis stumbled back into the cavern and glared at the statue that was still silently mocking him. At least, in his opinion, that's what it was doing.

As he approached the statue, however, he noticed that the mirror it held had begun to ripple and wave, giving the impression of stormy seas. His anger and pain momentarily forgotten, Zelgadis approached the mirror with curiosity.

As he watched, the statue's glowing eyes faded and then closed, regaining the look of light sleep.

And then something incredibly unexpected happened. Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun was forecfully propelled from the mirror, and landed in a heap on top of her bodyguard.

In a damp cave, on his back, on the cold and dirty ground, Zelgadis had never been happier than he was at that moment. As the pile of Amelia on his chest wiggled around and finally lifted her head to look at him, Zelgadis felt a stinging in his eyes which could only mean that his body was about to betray his act of casual confidence and manliness.

"Zelgadis!" Amelia cried, flinging herself back down on top of him and wrapping her arms around his neck. The chimera returned the hug, but did not yet trust himself to speak.

"I'm so glad I'm back!" Amelia continued, not letting go of her friend. "At first I didn't know where I was, and I was so afraid I'd never see you again, but then somehow I knew everything would turn out all right!"

"Amelia," was all Zelgadis could manage, and then pulled her even more tightly to his chest. He wanted to take in the warmth of her, and the vibrant life force that poured from her very being.

The princess heard something in her friend's voice that caused her to look up and meet his eyes. She saw them shining and knew he must be fighting back tears.

"Zelgadis," she said, her voice almost a whisper. "What's wrong? Everything's fine, I'm here now..."

But she was suddenly cut off by his lips on hers.

Amelia had always pictured her first kiss taking place in a more romantic atmosphere, and not on the cold and dirty floor of a cave. But as she closed her eyes and returned the kiss, pulling herself so tightly to Zelgadis that she thought she might melt into him, she knew she would not have had it any other way.

Finally, it was Zelgadis who pulled away, his face slightly flushed. He sat up, legs crossed, and situated Amelia on his lap.

In his eyes, she had never looked more beautiful. Her cheeks were rosy, and her lips were slightly swollen from their kiss. Zelgadis raised both hands and placed them on her cheeks, cupping her face more gently than he had ever held anything in his life. Amelia's lips were slightly parted, and his sensitive hearing could pick up the sound of her pounding heart and shallow breathing.

"What was that for?" She finally asked, trying to regain her composure.

Zelgadis smiled. "It was a 'thank you' for finally making me realize how stupid I am."

Amelia giggled. "Oh, is that all? My pleasure. I've been trying for years to make you realize how stupid you are."

Zelgadis' smile twitched a bit. "Amelia..." he warned.

Still giggling, Amelia stood and extended her hand. "Come on," she said, "let's get out of here."

Zelgadis took her hand and stood, and the two of them left the cavern behind them with their hands still intertwined.

"When you forget,
You're not fighting on your own.
You are not alone.
When your sky is falling,
When your pain is calling,
Don't forget,
I will take you home,
You are not alone.
You're not fighting on your own..."

"You know," Zelgadis said, once the duo had finally reached Seyruun and settled in. "There may come a time when I still feel like running away."

The night had gotten chilly, so he and Amelia were enjoying each other's company in front of a big blazing fire burning in the hearth of the library. As the flames danced merrily, Amelia closed the book she had been reading and gave Zelgadis her full attention.

"I know," she said. "I know it's hard for you. But I need you to know one very important thing."

As Zelgadis watched, Amelia stood and walked over to the chair in which he sat, and stood looking at him with the fire reflecting in her eyes.

The princess leaned in and whispered, "When you feel like running, you can run to me. Because I love you. You are not alone."

Then she closed the distance between them and kissed the only man she could ever possibly love.

Zelgadis could smell sunflowers and feel sunshine. Everything was green and lush, and Amelia tasted of sweets. He pulled her closer, deepening the kiss.

He was still a chimera, but he could be a chimera and also be happy.

Zelgadis finally felt whole.

"Oh, hey, Gourry, check it out!"

A boisterous redhead by the name of Lina Inverse was holding a letter in her hand, waving it around to grab the attention of her best friend and partner, Gourry Gabriev.

"What is it?" The blonde swordsman asked, popping in from the bathroom of the inn room they were sharing.

"It's a letter from Amelia. She talks about all the usual stuff like what's going on in Seyruun and with her dad, and she asks how we are, but it's the last part you have to hear!"

Gourry sat down at the foot of the bed and waited.

Lina cleared her throat and raised her voice in what she probably thought was an impression of Amelia, then began reading.

"Anyway, I hope you and Gourry-san are doing well and I hope you both visit Seyruun soon! One last thing, if you need to find Zelgadis-san, you should be able to reach him here at the palace from now on. Love, Amelia."

Lina finished and slapped the letter down on her lap, looking triumphant.

Gourry, however, looked bewildered.

"What was the important thing I had to hear, Lina?"

Before he realized what had happened, Gourry had been slapped upside the head with a fuzzy slipper and Lina was bellowing at him.

"Jellyfish! It means Zel is living in Seyruun! Not just that, but at the palace! With Amelia! Do you get it now?"

Gourry scratched his chin for a bit and looked thoughtful before suddenly breaking out into a smile and announcing, "So that trick you left for them to find in that cave worked?"

Lina smiled and sat back down, crossing her arms. "Bingo!"

Gourry went on, "But I thought you said you weren't exactly sure what was going to happen, but the statue was supposed to help people who are already in love learn more about each other and strengthen their relationship or something?"

"That's right," Lina said, still grinning from ear to ear. "Which means it sensed that they were already in love and built on that. It worked perfectly! I knew it!"

"Hey, Lina...do you think that statue would work for us?"

"GOURRY!"

THE END

"Did I ever tell you I'm better to have known you?
I don't want to leave you with the shadow of a doubt
Did I ever give you the strength you've given me?
And how can I begin to make each moment mean the most so you will see?
I never loved you more then I do today
Sometimes life just seems to get in the way..."