"No Gourry. I want to be at the next town by nightfall. 'My time of the month' starts soon and I don't want to be out in the woods without my magic," Lina said, blushing a bit.
"Oh," Gourry said. He was silent for a moment. "Why aren't Zelgadis and Amelia traveling with us?" he asked.
Lina sighed. "Amelia has duties that she forced into at Saillune and Zel is off looking for his cure. That leaves just the two of us since Xellos has disappeared," Lina replied, her blush deepening.
Gourry nodded and focused his attention on the ground below his feet. He started to think. 'Lina said it's just the two of us and then she blushed. She does that a lot now. I wonder why. Was it something I said or did?'he asked himself.
"Watch out for the tree root Gourry," Lina warned an instant before Gourry tripped over it and sent the both of them crashing to the ground.
Gourry expected Lina to blow up at him for tripping the both of them and was sort of worried when she just dusted herself off and continued walking. 'Something's wrong with Lina,' he thought, his worried blue eyes following the tiny sorceress as she walked ahead of him.
Lina could feel Gourry's eyes on her and knew his was worried, but she was too tired to care. She kept her head down and made her feet move in the direction of the town she could see through the forest.
Once they reached town Lina and Gourry went to the nearest inn and demanded two rooms.
"We're sorry, but there is only one room available tonight and all the other inns in town are full," the innkeeper said regretfully.
Lina looked up at Gourry. "Do you mind sleeping on the floor?" she asked him.
Gourry looked confused but shook his head.
"We'll take the one room you have left," Lina told the innkeeper, pulling out a pouch full of gold and silver.
The innkeeper shook his head. "I'm sorry miss, but I can't allow you too. We don't allow unmarried couples to share a room in this establishment. It's the rules," he said.
Lina could feel her temper flaring. "Since there aren't any other rooms available," she said, her voice dangerously soft. "Where do you expect us to sleep?"
The innkeeper was quaking in his boots, but held his ground. "I'm sure you can find a family that will take you in for the night," he said nervously.
Lina's eyes narrowed as she glared at the innkeeper. "I don't think so. Do you know who I am?" she asked.
"N-no miss," the innkeeper replied.
"I'm Lina Inverse and if you don't give my companion and I that room, all that will be left of your inn will be ashes and burnt timbers," Lina growled.
The innkeeper quickly handed Lina the key to the room and sighed when she and Gourry made their way upstairs.
Lina unlocked the door to the room and went inside, her lighting spell illuminating the room. "He gave us the Honeymoon Suite?!" Lina demanded incrediously. Then she sighed and dropped her stuff, flopping onto the bed. She yawned and rolled over, curling into a ball and falling asleep.
Gourry stood in the doorway, his eyes on Lina. He saw that the lighting spell was still working so he knew she was alive. He stepped inside and shut the door, locking it behind him. He dropped his stuff near Lina's and approached the bed. "How can she sleep with her armor on?" he asked himself and removed Lina's cape and armor before grabbing a pillow off the bed and his bedroll. He settled himself inside the bedroll with a yawn and fell asleep.
A priest unlocked the door and silently opened it. He looked around the door and frowned at what he saw. He shut the door as silently as he'd opened it and went back downstairs where the innkeeper stood. "They are indeed sharing the room as you told me. I shall do what you asked and then the reputation of you inn will be saved," he told the innkeeper and walked back upstairs.
The Next Morning:
Lina sat up and stretched, yawning. She ran her fingers through her long flame-colored hair, grimacing at the tangles she'd have to work out later. Then she noticed the gleam of gold from the corner of her eye. She turned her head and her mouth dropped open.
Gourry heard Lina's strangled squeak and woke up, ready to do battle. All he found was a shell-shocked Lina sitting on the bed. "What's wrong Lina?" he asked.
Lina grabbed Gourry's left hand and looked at it with horror. "That bastard!" she gasped.
"Lina? What's wrong?" Gourry asked again.
"I'll tell you what's wrong. That blasted innkeeper roped a priest and had us married while we slept," Lina replied, her voice rising in her fury.
Gourry scratched his head with his free hand. "Is that such a bad thing?" he asked.
Lina fell silent and stared at Gourry. "You mean you actually want to be married to me?" she asked.
"Sure. I did promise to protect you forever and this just makes it easier," Gourry reasoned.
Lina dropped Gourry's hand and buried her face in her hands with a low moan. "It's too early for this to be happening to me. I mean, I haven't even eaten yet," she said. She looked up at the touch of Gourry's hand on her shoulder.
"It's not so bad Lina. We are always together anyways and I'm not planning on settling down any time soon, so that wouldn't be a problem," Gourry said, looking deep into the ruby eyes of his new wife. He had a half-smile on his lips at the expression on her face. "It'll be all right," he said.
"Can I at least blow the inn to kingdom come?" Lina asked hopefully. She was still furious at the innkeeper and blowing up the inn would relieve some of the anger.
"Maybe after breakfast would be a good idea," Gourry said.
Lina nodded and put on her armor and cape, gathering up her stuff, watching from the corner of her eye as Gourry did the same.
They walked down the stairs to the inn's taproom and ordered double of everything on the menu, nearly causing the barmaid to keel over in shock. Then they began to make their plans for the next few weeks.
Gourry was very insistant about there being a honeymoon. "All married people go on a honeymoon trip and since we're married, we're going to be going on a trip," he said.
Lina just rolled her eyes. "At least we can cut down on room prices," she muttered. She barely listened as Gourry rambled off plans for their honeymoon trip, instead, she was contemplating what married life would be like with Gourry as her husband.'Maybe it won't be so bad. I mean, I've known him for almost six years and we've become really close. Maybe marriage was the next step. I know I love him and I'm sure he feels the same, so maybe this could work. He did say he wasn't planning on settling down so we can still travel like we normally do. At least I know how to cook better than he does. That means we won't starve. Poor Sylphiel.She really had her heart set on getting Gourry.This is gonna kill her,' she said to herself, her thoughts scattered like windblown leaves. She looked up, startled, when Gourry called her name. "What?" she asked.
"I asked if you wanted to eat your breakfast now," Gourry repeated. He gestured to the pile of food that had been placed in front of Lina without her noticing.
Lina nodded and began to eat.
Once the meal had been paid for, they walked out of the inn and Lina took great pleasure in blowing it up with a Dragon Slave.
"I feel much better now," Lina said and walked out of town with Gourry at her side. "Where are we going to go now?" she asked.
"On our honeymoon," Gourry said decisively. He was for once firm in his resolve.
Lina sighed. "Sure. Fine. Whatever," she said.
Gourry took Lina's hand in his as they walked on, chattering about nothing in a desperate attempt to get Lina back to her usual cheery, hyper self.
The Seaside Resort for Honeymooners:
It was a week later when Lina and Gourry arrived at their destination.
Lina stared in open mouth shock at the sunny paradise where they would be staying for the next two weeks. "This is where we'll be staying?" she breathed in awe, looking up at her husband. She and Gourry had finally cleared the air between them and were now comfortable and even affectionate with each other when no-one else was around. She snuggled up to Gourry and smiled when he wrapped his strong arms around her.
"This is where we'll be staying," Gourry confirmed as he started walking with Lina towards the main building where they checked in. He scooped Lina up into his arms when they entered their private cabin, carrying her over the threshold.
Lina giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck,playing the blushing bride to the hilt. She really felt like a bride now. After she and Gourry had left the town where she'd blown up the inn, they'd been remarried quietly in a small church with all the trappings. She hadn't really wanted to wear a wedding dress and veil, but had done it with Gourry's insistance.
Gourry set Lina down with a lingering kiss on the lips before running to the kitchen to see what food was there. He let out a happy cry that had Lina joining him.
Later that night, Lina crept out of the bed, leaving Gourry asleep alone under the sheets. She walked out the front door and just sat on the steps, watching the stars and the moon. She rested her chin in her palms and sighed happily, thinking of the wonderful day she'd spent and the wonderful days ahead.
The hidden figure on the roof crept closer to the edge to get a better look at it's quary. 'Soon Lina Inverse, you will be under my control and do my every biding,' it thought. It disappeared when it felt another presence approaching.
"Lina? What are you doing out of bed?" Gourry asked as he walked out the front door. He sat down beside Lina and wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on top of her fiery curls.
"Just thinking and enjoying the peace. We rarely ever get to enjoy it when we're traveling or on a quest," Lina replied. She looked over her shoulder at him. "Don't you ever miss being able to stop and smell the flowers?"
"Sure I do. But I'm more interested in keeping you safe than smelling flowers," Gourry replied. He kissed the back of Lina's neck, making his way up to her ear to nibble on it.
Lina shivered and giggled. "Maybe we should go back inside," she said.
Gourry nodded and led the both of them inside.
Lina had been in the bathing room of their cabin, her mouth in a wide smile as she realized something, when she was grabbed from behind. She couldn't even scream before she was gone.
Gourry came back an hour later to find all of Lina's stuff there, but no Lina. He searched the whole resort looking for her, but still couldn't find her. In the bathing room, he found some signs of a struggle, but nothing that could help him. "Lina..."
"You like Xellos, don't you?" her captor asked, his voice coaxing.
"Xellos is an exception. Besides, he a good person to take all my agressions out on," Lina said. "You, Dynast, aren't worth my time."
"We'll see, pretty Lina. We'll see," Dynast said and left the cell, locking the doors behind him.
"I have to get out of here," Lina whispered, wrapping her arms around her abdomen protectively. "For all our sakes."
