Disclaimer: I don't own this series or any of these characters and I don't wish to make a profit from writing this tory.

Author's Note: I wrote this story for Mayura_4_Loki since she won the bid for the charity auction at the Help_Haiti community on LiveJournal. I had a lot of fun writing this.

It Won't Be Long

It had taken a few months for Zelgadis to track down the map to the ruins of an ancient temple. It had first started as a rumour that he had heard from some drunks in a tavern. Then, he went to the library and discovered the ruins did actually exist, but that, only one map was ever made. It was a bit of a hassle to look through libraries and records, but he finally tracked down the map and he couldn't believe the irony.

It was kept in the archives of the Seyrune royal library. Thus, Zelgadis found himself heading towards Seyrune and Amelia. Not only did he need to go to the city, but he also needed permission from Amelia to gain entrance. The royal archives was an area only open to members of the royal family, which meant Zelgadis wouldn't be able to enter the archives without Amelia's help. The thought had crossed his mind that he could just sneak into the archives and leave without anyone knowing, however Amelia wouldn't forgive him if she found out he did that. Also, it had been a while since he'd visited Amelia and she would no doubt be glad to see him. She would probably insist they go for a cup of tea to catch up on the latest news. It was simple, he would visit Amelia, locate the map and then head to the ruins to see what information he could find there.

At least, it was supposed to be a simple plan. As he had normally done before, Zelgadis approached the palace gates. The guards were not alarmed at the chimera's appearance. All of the guards in the palace made it their duty to memorize all of the faces of Princess Amelia's comrades. The guards were diligent about this ever since the time Lina Inverse blew open the gates because the guards refused to to let her enter. The guards did not want to repeat this mistake.

The two guards saluted to him. Zelgadis recalled their names were Terrance and Thomas. "Good day Sir!' greeted Terrance. "Princess Amelia didn't tell us you would be coming."

"It's a surprise visit." Zelgadis removed his hood. "Would you please tell Amelia that I'm here."

"I'm sorry, but we can't." Thomas replied, quickly adding, "Princess Amelia isn't home at the moment."

Zelgadis never expected this answer. "She isn't? Where is she then?"

"She went to help a small village outside of the city. They were having trouble with some trolls and Princess Amelia went to assist them."

Zelgadis frowned. He never imagined that Amelia wouldn't be home. "How long will she be gone?"

"In a couple of days," Terrance replied. "Princess Amelia didn't think it would take her too long."

The chimera sighed. He couldn't ask Amelia, but perhaps Phil could grant his pass into the archives. "What about Prince Phil?"

"He's gone for the month. He went to Atlas City to negotiate a trade treaty."

"What about Prince Christopher?"

"He's with Prince Philonel."

So much for that option. He didn't have much of a choice. "Very well, I'll wait until Amelia has returned." It was a setback, but he could wait a couple a days. He could kill time in the regular library and then, when Amelia was back, he could move on with his plans.

As the chimera left, Terrance looked to Thomas. "Say, what will we do if Princess Amelia isn't back yet when he comes back?"

Thomas stared back perplexed. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, Mister Zelgadis will probably get mad if she isn't back. What if he gets all emo and starts to set things on fire and weird stuff like that?"

Thomas sighed. "You've been listing to the maids again. That's just gossip. It's not true."

"But I heard he gets depressed easily and can cause as much property damage as Miss Lina."

Thomas shook his head. "Those stories are just exaggerating the truth. Besides, Mister Zelgadis isn't nearly a big of a threat as Miss Lina is. He's mature enough to know better."

Terrance sighed, hoping his friend was right.

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The days passed by more slowly than Zelgadis would have liked. He had just run out of things to research in the library when the day arrived that Amelia was supposed to be home again. However, when he came to the gates, he encountered another obstacle he hadn't counted on.

"What do you mean she isn't back yet?"

Terrance and Thomas exchanged awkward glances. "That's not it Sir," Terrance replied, clearing his throat. "She was back this morning, but then she left again."

"Where?"

"To the mountains. There were some mountain people who were desperate for healers. Princess Amelia organized a group and is currently leading them there."

"And when will she be back?"

"Two weeks...I think."

Zelgadis buried his face into his hands. Two weeks? It was going to take that long? He shook his head. No, there was no reason to let this get to him. He would just have to wait. "Fine, I'll come back in two weeks."

"I'm sure she'll be back then," replied Thomas.

Zelgadis turned and left.

Terrance whispered to Thomas. "He's cracking, I'm telling you he's cracking."

Thomas sighed. "You're being stupid."

Terrance gulped as he looked at the chimera. "Fine, but when he burns something down I've got full rights to I told you so."

As he waited, Zelgadis found himself getting bored researching in the library. This rarely happened but he found it quite tough to do research when his mind kept wandering to the map waiting for him in the archives. He had never realized just how much of his time he spent with Amelia when he wasn't in the library. Amelia normally dragged him along for shopping trips, eating at their favorite restaurants or just having a nice walk in the garden. However, without Amelia there, there wasn't much else he could do in Seyrune. He didn't enjoy shopping, and he already had his needed supplies. He couldn't even leave, because he knew if he did, the second he left it would turn out that Amelia had returned early. It was irritating and he became so bored that he ended up polishing his swords twice a day to help pass the time.

At last the day came, and shortly after lunch he went to the palace. Once again, Terrance and Thomas were waiting at the gates. Yet, as he came closer and saw their pained expressions a knot twisted in his stomach. Neither solider made a sound as Zelgadis stopped in front. He folded his arms and tried to hold back the anger in his voice, praying he was just being paranoid. "Let me guess. She's not back yet?"

Terrance gulped and tugged at his shirt collar. "No Sir, she was back, but she left again early this morning."

"Why?" A vein in his forehead was throbbing.

"There was an emergency from the fishermen along the cost. They're being harassed by a sea serpent."

Zelgadis eyes narrowed. "Didn't you tell Amelia that I was here?"

"We tried to tell her Sir," Thomas replied quickly. "But she kept muttering one of her justice speeches and it's difficult to talk over that. You know what it's like when she's fired up."

Zelgadis couldn't deny that. "How long this time?"

Terrance gulped. "A week from today Sir."

Both soldiers looked away as Zelgadis promptly stomped off, punched a hole into a tree and set it on fire. As he shot a freeze arrow at it to stop the flames, Zelgadis muttered under his breath something about copying Lina's style and finding a bandit gang for stress relief on the way out.

Terrance turned to Thomas. "See? I told you so."

Thomas sweated. "Be quiet."

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That night Zelgadis ordered a pot of tea and attempted to drown his frustrations. He heard a pair of feet approach him from behind, but he didn't care about them until a hand tapped him on the shoulder. As a reflex, Zelgadis seized the hand and twisted the arm that grabbed him.

"Ow! Ow!" Gourry cried. "Zel you're going to tear my arm off."

Zelgadis stared, shocked. "Gourry? What are you doing here?"

A slipper suddenly hit Zelgadis's head. "Never mind that!" Lina cried as she put her slipper away. "Geez! Let go of Gourry!"

Zelgadis let go and glared. "I'm sorry, but Gourry should know better than to sneak up on me."

The swordsman rubbed his sore arm. "Okay, point. Sorry Zel, I thought you heard me coming."

Zelgadis remembered the pair of feet he heard. "Oh right, I did." He turned away like a schoolboy who was just corrected by his teacher. "Sorry, I was distracted. What are you two doing here anyway?"

"We're passing through," Lina replied as she pulled up a chair. "And we thought we would pay Amelia a visit-"

"Don't bother," Zelgadis sipped his tea. "She's not here."

"Oh we know." Lina leaned back in her chair. "We went to the palace and were told by the guards." She placed her feet on the table. "Who also mentioned about how you've been trying to see Amelia and are still waiting."

Zelgadis folded his hands. "Oh did they?"

Gourry nodded. "Yeah, and they also asked if we could keep an eye on you to make sure you don't cause any more property damage."

Zelgadis rolled his eyes. "I only punched one hole in a tree."

Lina raised an eyebrow. "And set it on fire?"

Zelgadis sipped his tea. "Fine, and set it on fire, but assuming you know how long I've been waiting, you can't blame me for getting annoyed and wanting stress relief."

Lina shrugged. "Sure, but it's still not that big of a deal Zel, especially when you compare it to how many times Amelia had to wait for you."

Zelgadis tilted his head. "What are you talking about?"

Lina pointed her finger at him. "She always waits for you. Remember when she postponed her birthday party for a week because you found a lead on a potion that could cure you and wanted to check it out?"

The chimera coughed. "Well yes-"

"And, how about when you were supposed to meet up with us and Amelia in that sea side village, but you were two days late getting there," Gourry replied.

Zelgadis blinked. "How did you remember that?"

"They had a great octopus stew there."

"Our point is, it's only fair that you have to wait for Amelia every once in a while. Besides, she is a princess with royal duties. You didn't expect her to be waiting here twiddling her thumbs waiting for you to arrive did you? She has things to do too."

Zelgadis sighed. He hated to admit it, but Lina was right. He had gotten used to Amelia always waiting for him and ready to help, which wasn't fair to her. "Yes, I get it."

Lina clapped. "Alright, now that we got the life lesson over with, let's pass the time with some grub!" Lina raised her hand. "Hey waiter, three rounds of the number eight special, and make it snappy."

Gourry patted Zelgadis on the shoulder. "Don't worry Zel, we'll wait with you. Lina and I are planning to go to an all you can eat buffet tomorrow. You can join us."

Zelgadis's stomach cringed. "I'm starting to wish I was waiting alone again."

Amelia was dead tired as she reached her bedroom. As unjust as it sounded. she really hoped there wasn't another village that needed help because all she wanted to do for the next week was sleep. She kicked off her boots and proceeded to head to her bed. Suddenly, the door to her balcony opened. Amelia froze. A dark figure entered her room.

No longer tired, Amelia got into her fighting stance. "Whoever you are villain, be prepared to meet a fist of justice!"

"Amelia calm down! It's me."

The princess blinked. "Mister Zelgadis?" She sighed. "You shouldn't scare me like that." Then she rushed over to to greet him. "It's wonderful to see you, but why are you sneaking into my room?"

Zelgadis closed the balcony door. "Sorry, but I happened to see you come into the palace. I knew the guards wouldn't let me in this late, so I used leviation to fly up here."

Amelia raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that a bit extreme? You could have waited until morning-"

"And take a chance of you leaving again before I had a chance to talk to you? I don't think so."

Amelia folded her arms, puzzled. "What are you talking about?"

"I've been waiting here in Seyrune for the past month to talk to you."

Amelia jumped up from her bed. "What? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I tried, but you had just left when I first got here."

"Well, why didn't you leave a message with the guards to tell me?"

Zelgadis twitched. "I did and they apparently tried to tell you, but you were too preoccupied with the other missions that came up."

Amelia was about to argue, but paused. Now that she thought about it, she did recall one of the guards trying to tell her something. She blushed. "I'm so sorry Mister Zelgadis. I never meant to make you wait this long."

Zelgadis coughed. "Well, don't worry about it. Let's forget about it."

Amelia shook her head. "No, I want to make it up to you."

Zelgadis sat down at a desk chair. "You can make it up to me by letting me gain access to the royal archives. There's a map in there that I desperately want to see."

Amelia nodded. "I see."

Zelgadis gave a half smile. "But, I can give you more details on it tomorrow, when we go to that tea shop you like."

Amelia clapped her hands. "Yes, that would be wonderful. But you sure you don't mind taking extra time for that?"

"It's a fair trade, for making you wait too."

Amelia wasn't sure what he meant by that, but she let it slide. After her last couple of days, a cup of tea and chatting with a friend was just what she needed.