Butterflies, Dominoes, and Causality

Chapter 6 of 12

A Hentai Slayers Fanfic by RVincent

Rob.Vincent@gmail.com

PLEASE READ - I do not own ‘The Slayers’ and have no relation or ties to those people that do own the series, aside from the various DVDs and VHS tapes that I have purchased over the years. In conjunction with this statement I further decree that I am not claiming ownership, nor am I making any money off this fan work. No copyright infringement is meant, I am writing this as an expression of my fandom. Furthermore, this fanfic will contain some blood (not much) and some female x female sexual encounters and is therefore meant for adults only. If you are under 18 years of age please go back now and ignore ever reading this preface. For those other people that intend to stay I can only hope you enjoy reading this.

This is just one chapter of a multi-chapter fanfic, reading previous chapters is necessary to understand what is going on in the storyline (yes, despite the age restrictions there is a story line). Please visit the Slayers Hentai Fanfiction Archive (http://slayers.destructve.com) to read previous and subsequent chapters.

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It only took a few moments for Amelia to realize where she was, after all it was Lina’s turning in her sleep that had awoken her. The room, the window, it was all black. Still, tangled with the sorceress and covered in sheets, it was hard for her to force herself to wakefulness.

As she laid there though the slow realization of what had happened started to work her into a cold sweat. Thoughts of marriage, her prince on a white horse, Zelgadiss. She swallowed dryly her heart racing, she wanted to run. Everything had happened so fast, and felt so right, but now… She looked to the sorceress, wondering how she had ever thought this was the person she was destined to be with forever, feeling the familiar melancholy rise up inside herself for being a deluded child.

Despite any convincing she had given herself when she had given into Lina’s advances, and when she had decided to try to make advances on Lina, her justifications felt weak and all too hollow after the fact. She couldn’t deny what she had done. And it wasn’t just a matter of her saving herself, she knew her physical purity was still intact. It was her whole self that had been betrayed.

Cautiously she started extracting herself from Lina’s tangles. One leg woven between her own two legs which were pinned by Lina’s other. Just to remove herself took several minutes. But then to remove herself from Lina’s arms, especially without waking the sorceress, Amelia wasn’t sure how much time had passed but it must have been considerable. By the time she was free of the sorceress’ embrace, the dim light of the sun was beginning to spill through the window and across the foot of the bed.

Finally, untangled herself and managed to get to the foot of the bed. There was a fear that Lina could wake up any moment, and that caused Amelia to rush to the window to make her way back to her own room. In her haste she barely took the time to cover her naked body with a sheet before taking flight.

()()**()()**()()O0o.o0O()()**()()**()()

Awareness came slowly to Lina. That, in and of itself, was unusual. Life on the road and occasionally on the run had served to hone her instincts to the point where she woke quickly and with full comprehension of where she was and what she had been doing the night before. For awhile she just laid in bed, savoring the relaxing sensation as her brain slowly churned and hobbled through the facts at hand.

It took some time but the contentment that she had been feeling subsided and she managed to bribe her body to open an eyelid in exchange for a good breakfast. Soon the other followed. The absence of Amelia was duly noted. Still, it didn‘t seem anything ground shaking. She had always been one of the first to rise in the morning. One thing did worry her though as she sat up in the bed. The fact that most of Amelia’s clothes were still scattered around her room. Which meant one of two things, either she had willingly left naked, or she had been kidnapped.

Lina gave herself a moment to think it over. Amelia leaving naked voluntarily didn’t strike her as something the princess would ever do. Still, their group had not aroused the ire of any powerful enemies lately. At least anyone who had the skill to sneak off with Amelia in the dead of the night without causing a ruckus.

Honestly, both possibilities seemed far fetched so she laid back down and tried to think of a third scenario. Strange thoughts filtered into her head involving teleportation and magical circles. She began to realize that despite her motions of wakefulness she was only a hairs breath from being reclaimed by slumber. She let herself close her eyes, but just for a moment. If something had happened to Amelia she could have been wasting time.

The moment she had allotted herself continued to drag on, with Lina’s mind trailing off to the night before. She’d never before felt something so visceral and completely encompassing. She rubbed her naked legs against each other and let out a light whimper as she remembered their embrace, with Amelia straddling her leg. To even touch her skin. There were so many areas she’d never touched before, and so much she suddenly wanted to do. The thought brought a playful smile to her face, she’d had enough lounging and forced herself out of bed.

Getting dressed was an interesting experience. It was a scavenger hunt of sorts with her clothing mixed with Amelia’s. Some of it was bundled in with the blankets. Assorted pieces found their way beneath the bed, and a few pieces had been tossed to the far corners. Lina did manage to find all of her wardrobe. Though, since her own panties seemed ruined, she did submit to the temptation to wear Amelia’s.

After taking a moment to make sure that her hair looked at least acceptable Lina headed out the door to try Amelia’s room. Just as she expected, there was no answer so she went ahead downstairs for breakfast. As she descended the staircase Zelgadiss gave a slight wave in her direction to acknowledge her presence and Gourry gave a big smile. To Gourry’s credit, his smile didn’t waver in the face of the strange look Lina was giving him as she surveyed the table, “Have either of you two seen Amelia?” Lina asked looking around the small table as if the princess could be hiding in a corner somewhere.

“Haven’t seen her all morning.” Zelgadiss was quick to reply, adding an extra inflection to his voice to make it apparent that his day was all the better for it.

Lina resisted the urge to smack him on the back of the head as she took in Gourry’s agreement with Zelgadiss’ observation. Finally, Lina huffed and dropped her shoulders. The kidnapping theory was starting to gain some ground unfortunately. Without much to go on she turned back up the stairs, “I’ll be back down in a minute. Order me some food, will ya Gourry?”

She ascended the stairs much faster than she had come down and rushed to Amelia’s room. Again she knocked, this time more insistent. No answer. So she knocked again, faster this time, the door shaking on it’s hinges from the quick damaging impacts. She waited, “Three!” she called out loud stomping her foot, “Two…” She seethed through clenched teeth, “One…”

The door swung wide open allowing Lina inside. “What were you doing Amelia, I was worried!” Lina chided her while pulling her into a hug and swinging her in a tight half-circle.

“Why were you worried?” Amelia asked, pushing Lina’s arms off from around her shoulders.

“Because, it’s not normal for you to be running around naked.” Lina grinned as she pulled the front of her outfit away from her waist and used her other hand to pull up the edge of Amelia’s panties, “I mean, these were just laying in them middle of my floor and I thought for sure the only way you’d leave without them is if you’d been kidnapped.”

“Kidnapped?” Amelia wondered aloud, looking absently to the window. She interrupted her own apparent contemplation by a bout of giggles, “That seems a little far fetched.”

“So, you just decided to sneak out of the room without so much as taking your clothes?” The question had a little bit of a dangerous edge to it, the initial relief that Lina had felt was waning and now she was more concerned with why exactly the Princess was acting so strange.

“I just thought it was time for me to get going.” Amelia’s response seemed a little too reflexive so Lina probed deeper.

“But after what happened last night…” Lina trailed off, unsure of how to phrase it or even if there was an accepted descriptive for what they had done together.

“Oh…” The smile that Amelia had been falsely wearing dropped momentarily from her face, “…well, I wasn’t feeling-” Amelia stopped a moment before trying again, “I don’t see how that really makes a difference.”

Lina flushed visibly, “I know, I’m a little embarrassed too but…” She wanted to continue the train of thought that she had already laid out. She had planned on going over her embarrassment but try to keep Amelia viewing the act in a positive light by mentioning how good it made her feel. However the dead tone Amelia was using left Lina worrying. Sure, she had been afraid that perhaps Amelia would make a big deal about what they had done. Something about her innocence for sure, or even… marriage. That kind of stuff could complicate things, especially with something so new and fun to explore. But there was none of that, instead Amelia was avoiding the subject as much as possible.

Amelia noticed Lina’s distraction, and took the opportunity to decisively wrap things up, “Anyway, the shops in town might have the rest of our supplies today so maybe we’ll be able to get back out on the road. Just go along without me, okay?” She wrapped up quickly, her voice carrying a nervous pitch to it.

Lina sighed deeply, trying to see some hint of what she’d been seeing in Amelia over the last few days in her now cold eyes. “Okay. I guess. See ya later.” Lina waved half-heartedly and turned out of the room, and out into the hallway.

She stood there a moment after the door closed. Her mind swirling over what had happened, and how that had caused such a change in her princess.

()()**()()**()()O0o.o0O()()**()()**()()

“So, what’s up with Amelia?” Gourry asked between bites of food. The question was a little uncharacteristic but was likely a result of Lina’s earlier line of questioning.

“She’s up in her room, worrying herself silly over something or other.” Lina said bitterly. The more she thought about the situation the more it sat wrong in her stomach. She shoveled in some more food as if the reality of it might drive away the bad feelings.

Zelgadiss chuckled and despite Lina’s irritation with the princess she still wanted to smack him in the head for it. Instead she managed a chuckle in response. “So, let’s see…” Lina started out, trying to think of something else, “That lamp oil should be in today. And we should be finally getting some more of that pickled meat you like Gourry.” He smiled in response before Lina continued, “After that, we might be able to head out tonight or at the latest tomorrow morning.” Lina paused to take a drink from her stein, “And who knows, maybe within the week we’ll have a new Zel to look at.” Lina smiled, mock toasting the duo before sitting down.

She hadn’t meant strictly to get his hopes up, but Zelgadiss looked a bit crushed, she guessed having so many cures fail could do that to a person though she had never known Zelgadiss to give up before. Besides, even he had said that he had a good feeling about this one. The Katart mountains were known for their magical energies and the ruins they were searching out, a second entrance to the Claire Bible, definitely held more than enough promise. Especially since the description of the place didn’t explicitly state what the site promised, it was only gave a cryptic outline of what one explorer found inside, warped space. And that held promise enough in Lina’s experience that the Clair Bible could be afoot.

Lina looked between Zelgadiss and Gourry. Even though they were putting on a front that they didn’t care, without Amelia there it really was a different atmosphere than any of them were used to, even considering the way Lina and Amelia had been acting over the previous days. They ate in silence. One course was polished off, then another. “Gourry…” Lina finally started, breaking the stalemate, “Do you think you could come with me to pick up the lamp oil?”

Gourry gave a nod between bites of food, but didn’t slow enough to afford a verbal response, actually parlaying the movement into a drink from his cup. Lina nodded back, “And Zel, you mind picking up the rest of the provisions from that place at the end of the street?” She hoped Zelgadiss knew where she was talking about because she couldn’t for the life of her remember the name of the grocer located there.

Zelgadiss nodded as well, “Do you think we’ll be heading out today? Or should we keep these rooms for another night?”

Lina pursed her lips, it probably would be for the best to ensure they had a place to stay, and push come to shove she knew she could get their money back if they felt like ditching town, “Good call, better make sure we go these rooms for at least another night while we are at it.” Both Zelgadiss and Gourry nodded in agreement. A moment later Zelgadiss left the table and went off toward the front of the Inn. Lina looked at the bill in the middle of the table and left a few coins to cover it plus tip.

“Come on Gourry, time to go.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet.

“What’s the hurry?” He shouted, likely holding out for more food.

“The sooner we get our gear, the sooner we can leave this town behind us.” She said with a wink to mask her irritation. They really had been in this town too long, and not by choice either. Lina was looking forward to leaving, plus there was always the hope that a change of scenery might turn Amelia’s mood to something more manageable.

()()**()()**()()O0o.o0O()()**()()**()()

“Sorry dear, but our supplies just haven’t come in yet.” In order to soften the blow, the older lady behind the counter wrung her hands out and continually gave slight bows.

If it wasn’t for the age of the shop keep Lina would have socked her, “Haven’t you ever heard of things like overhead? You know, keeping extra stock in case something like this happens.” Lina growled out. “You didn’t have anything yesterday, and you had time before that too, just to get supplies here. You’re not that cut off from the rest of the world!” Lina sighed deeply, the oil would have to wait. Absently she wondered if they could get by without it but blanched at the idea, it proved to be pretty useful at times, especially for starting fires in the rain.

Lina tried again, “Did anything come in? Any new shipments to town?” She asked, wondering if Zelgadiss would have the same crummy luck as her and Gourry.

The lady put a finger to her chin, “Now that I think about it…. We did get some new fishing poles…they’re eight gold apiece.”

“Eight… a piece… they better be made of gold for that price!” Lina smacked a palm on the table, rattling a nearby display of porcelain figurines. Gourry knew that look, Lina was getting ready to haggle.

The old lady put a finger to her chin, slitting her eyes slightly, “I might be able to let one go to you for only six, seeing as how you’ve been put in this bind.”

“How about you show me one of these poles and I tell you what it’s worth…” Lina stated succinctly.

Reaching beneath the counter the lady removed a fishing rod of slightly longer than arm’s length, Gourry took that as his que to leave, things could get messy. “Three silver.” Gourry heard Lina offer as he was walking out the door, causing him to cringe, there was such a disparity between the stores price and what Lina offered he knew they might be in there for a while.

Outside the weather was beautiful. Another nice day, even with his armor it felt cool, like autumn. That was one good thing about heading into the mountains. And the snow, he wondered if Zelgadiss would help him build a snow man. He quirked a smile at the thought, despite how up tight he acted, Zelgadiss really did lend himself easily to having fun, once he started something that was. Slumping against the building Gourry could hear the two of them bickering back and fourth inside. As far as he knew they didn’t need any fishing gear. Especially where they were in the mountains, the only thing the rivers carried was melt water. There weren’t any fish here.

“Looks like we’re stuck here.” He muttered to himself, he was with Lina on that respect, he was sick of the town. He didn’t like it one bit. Things had changed here. Sure, something had been in the works since just after they got out of the desert, but it was only after they made it to this town that the feeling had cemented itself. He looked through the window at Lina, frazzled, practically yelling at the shop keep. Somehow he’d lost her. He’d lacked the courage to act, just as he had with Sylphiel. He sighed, taking his gaze to the sky.

Was he just being selfish he wondered, or had Lina been the one to get the raw end of the deal due to his negligence. If it came down to it, all things equal, would she choose Amelia over him from the start? He shook the thought from his head. Letting the weight of his armor pull him down, Gourry slid with his back against the building to the ground. Something about this journey had felt different from the start. The way Lina and himself had joined back up with Zelgadiss, then with Amelia. The real promise of finally getting Zelgadiss a cure. It had just gone like clockwork. Almost too perfect. Sure, the road hadn’t been free of obstacles, but for once it hadn’t been the impossible they had been facing. It was just the normal, the routine. It made him wonder if their adventures together were really over. Their last hurrah. He looked down to his side, the Sword of Light was long gone. He remembered Lina after she’d cast her first Giga Slave, the white hair. So much had changed. The battle with Gaav, Zelgadiss laying broken and bleeding on the ground, they had all been through so much. Would it really be that much of a tragedy for it all to be over?

“Hey!” Gourry looked up, Lina had just walked out of the shop and was standing right over him holding out two fishing poles.

Her smile said enough but he had to ask, if only to feed her ego, “How much?” He said with a smile.

“Six silver… for both.” Lina’s face lit up even more and caused Gourry’s smile to double in response.

“And what did we need those for again?” He asked a little chidingly.

She didn’t dignify the question with a verbal response, just a raspberry.

Gourry figured as much, but it looked like Lina was feeling better. Whatever was going on between her and Amelia was bringing down his spirits, and Zelgadiss’ as well as much as he could tell. She handed the fishing poles off to him.

“Well, let’s go see how Zel’s doing.” She said smiling, putting her hands behind her head and starting to walk down the street.

Gourry nodded, “Yeah, maybe he’s had some luck too.”

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Zelgadiss cursed, if anything the supply situation seemed like it would stick the four of them in town another week at best. Maybe even longer. He was seriously considering just ignoring the supplies. He knew that he would be fine, he never had to eat much with his body the way it was. And they couldn’t have had too much further to travel, maybe two or three days tops the way he figured it.

The only fly in the ointment was that once they reached this temple, if they wanted to stay there for any length of time they would need food. They would need water. They would need all of the provisions that they were waiting around for. He grumbled to himself as he walked away from the store. It sucked and he knew it but they had to at least have the essentials. Lamp oil be damned though, Lina could always resort to a lighting spell, or a fireball. He smirked at the thought.

Again he sighed. To have the possibly of a cure so close at hand… They could always hunt, but it was widely known that in the Katart mountains most animals were eerily missing, even settlements of people would randomly vanish. The old, unpredictable magics still roamed there, ancient spells that never expired still floated around cast during who knows which war between the gods and monsters. Suffice it to say, the chances of surviving off the land, save what roots they might be able to forage, looked like a dim possibility.

Absently he wondered if Lina was having any more success than him. He didn’t believe so, but maybe the shop she went to had received some stock, and maybe they would have the provisions necessary for them to leave. He doubted it. A bit crestfallen he continued back to the inn. Out of the corner of his eye though he spotted a library. He’d been so concerned with making it to the next leg of his journey that this library had avoided his usual scrutiny. Still, now that he had the time. A smile tugged at the edges of his mouth, he wondered if he should go back to the inn and see if Amelia wanted to join him.

His face went sour. It seemed even less likely than the town suddenly getting a shipment of provisions. Still, he figured it was worth a shot. She’d been with him to enough libraries and had enough training to know exactly what was crap and what wasn’t with respect to finding him a cure. Unlike Lina who managed to get distracted by every last little thing she found and Gourry who, despite his good intentions, brought Zelgadiss every scrap of paper with the word ‘Chimera’ on it. No, Amelia was a great help and he could really use her company, at least for now. And maybe he could find out a bit more about what had been going on with her lately while he was at it.

()()**()()**()()O0o.o0O()()**()()**()()

As Lina and Gourry had made their way into the Inn, the Inn keeper flagged them down and passed along the message the both Zelgadiss and Amelia were at the library. Lina sighed, it was obvious if that was the case that his mission had failed. That meant they really were stuck for another night. Along with that she was staring to feel buyers remorse for the fishing poles she’d bought. She’d even been hard pressed to explain their utility to Gourry which really made her doubt herself.

The both of them found their way into the dining room. The lunch crowd had cleared out and they had it all to themselves. Almost absentmindedly Gourry reached into a pouch on his side and withdrew a whetstone. It was something he tended to do when he didn’t have any immediate plans for battle.

*Schinnnnkkkk*

He drew the stone down the sword in one fluid motion. The sound cut through the silence as well as any metaphor could describe and he continued sharpening the blade. Lina looked around apprehensively, wondering if the Inn keeper or kitchen staff would take offense to the noise, but seeing that they ignored it she unclasped her own dagger, “Could you get mine too while you’re at it?” She handed it to him with a smile and he accepted it, giving her a nod in return.

Again she watched Gourry draw the stone down the blade. It wasn't hurried like when she did it. Each movement was just as controlled, just as concise as the previous. She wondered if he just thought about the sword, or if his mind was wandering. She wondered what he was thinking about right now.

Gourry hadn't changed. Well, not his core. Gourry was still Gourry. He'd just gotten faster, stronger, and after he lost the Sword of Light, even a bit smarter to compensate. But he was always the same. She'd wondered for years now when he would make his move for her heart. It had been within reach more times than she cared to count, but he never reached out to take it. She gave a sad smile, wondering if there was something she was not seeing. She’d wanted him so badly to make that move before, but now… the distance between them was growing.

Lina put her head in her hands and continued to watch Gourry. He never looked up, he was too focused. Did he have the same feelings? Why didn’t he just come out with them and say something. Back when it meant something, she admitted to herself. That nagging feeling was back again. And she wasn’t sure if it was her joke with Amelia that had caused the rift, or if it was just Amelia herself. She wanted to do it again. She felt the heat come to her cheeks at the thought. But was that all she wanted. Gourry drew the stone down the blade one more time before lifting it to eye level and looking down the blade. Was what she was feeling for Amelia, the same as…

()()**()()**()()O0o.o0O()()**()()**()()

Zelgadiss and Amelia barely made it back before the end of dinner. “Where were you two?” Lina asked as they hurriedly put themselves down at the table.

“Oh, you know, the usual, spending hour after hour looking through stacks of worthless books.” Amelia muttered uncharacteristically cynical, earning her strange looks from both Lina and Zelgadiss, he’d honestly thought she had been enjoying herself.

Zelgadiss cleared his throat, “Sorry, I guess I lost track of time. Apparently they don’t have any windows in the library because the action of the sun on the books causes them to fade. I’d noticed it before but never made the connection. Torchlight doesn’t seem to have the same effect so neither of us had much to go on until the librarian shooed us out.”

“Hummm…” Lina processed the bit of new information.

Amelia looked around a moment, “I’m not hungry.” She said unexpectedly and rose from her seat and ascended the stairs.

Gourry was the first to speak, just as Amelia was out of sight, “Amelia is sure acting strange today.” Both Zelgadiss and Lina looked at him. It was true but neither wanted to say it.

“Yeah,” Zelgadiss started out, “did anything happen between the two of you?” He finished.

Lina nearly spit out her wine but instead it just went down the wrong pipe. “What would make you think that?” She croaked, coughing a bit.

Zelgadiss sighed, “You know we won’t be able to keep dancing around the issue forever.”

Lina gave a false smile in return, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Zelgadiss returned with a serious look. “Don’t act like we’re not on to you two. Just talk it over with her and get it out of your systems.”

Lina looked down into her glass of wine, it was hard keeping up her act when Zelgadiss was so determined to force a heaping of reality on her. She looked to Gourry, did he know as much as Zelgadiss? She doubted it but he had shown himself to be pretty insightful before. “You know, I’m not hungry any more either…” And with that she walked away up to her room for the night, leaving Zelgadiss and Gourry watching after her.

/\/\||/\/\-=End of Chapter 6=-/\/\||/\/\

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