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Lina woke up and felt stiff. She was not in her normal sorceress clothes. It was more of a prince outfit. She looked around at her surroundings. It almost seemed like the Seyruun palace. Was she dreaming? She pinched herself hard. It hurt.
"Ow! Okay, not a dream. But why... this outfit? Why... me?" She asked aloud. She remembered the time she had been transported to a type of wonderland where there seemed to be a puppetmaster. She was in a blue and white dress. Zel was in a different outfit as well. It ended up being a theme park, however. A really elaborate one. She laughed nervously. What if there was really a puppetmaster this time? She got up and started searching the room.
It was rather large. There were some books that had normal stories in them instead of spells, objects on the shelves that a normal prince or princess would have. The desk was a large, oak wood desk that had gold engravings and decorations. Papers were scattered on there with a pen and ink. They were delegation papers, like she had seen Amelia use from time to time.
"Wait... where's Gourry?!" Lina exclaimed finally. Noticing he was not in the room. She frantically flung the doors open into a palace hallway. She ran down it, stopping to ask every worker along the way if they knew. They were referring to her as "prince", which she thought was weird. It's true she was wearing clothing that matched the description. She stopped at a mirror. She was her normal self except for the clothes. She was getting agitated.
"Okay... this isn't good. I have to find Gourry. Where did he wander off to?" She kept looking around. When she exited the palace gates, despite the wishes from the guards, she entered the city.
It was much like Seyruun, very busy and had many stores and houses. She often felt closed in in cities like these. Some people stopped her.
"Prince Lina! How are you today?" A young man asked. He was short and had brown hair. So not Gourry.
"Do you know where Gourry is? I can't seem to find him."
"Hmm... can you describe him?"
"He's very tall, blue eyes, long blonde hair. And very handsome." She blushed.
"I have heard rumors that there is someone in need of saving. Someone that matches that description. But I'm not sure about the name."
"Where?!"
"I... I think in a dungeon, far away from here. You'll have to ask around." Lina waved a thanks and headed more into town. She inquired about this dungeon, and got various answers on who was in need of saving. She decided to go back to the palace and find a weapon. She had tried using spells but could not.
"Damn, this is not fun. Whoever is behind this is going to get pummeled." She grit her teeth. Once she had the sword of her choice, she set out for the north. The guards tried to get her to take someone with, but she said they'd only get in the way. Truth was she did not know where she was going.
Gourry had taught her a little sword training, but it wasn't much. She used to have a sword, but then switched to a dagger. What if she ran into demons along the way?
"Lighting!" She tried again. Nothing. "Crap. This is bad." Luckily nothing seemed to attack her in the forest. She was sure there would at least be some bandits. No one was around. It was too quiet. She was glad for it without her spells, however.
Soon, she reached a small settlement. She was cautious about the people, since she was outside her "her town", but proceeded.
"Hello. I am a traveler. I was wondering if you knew of the one who needs saving, in a dungeon?" She asked one older woman. She was in her 80s and hunched over. She raised an eyebrow.
"Dung... what?" She asked, loudly.
"Dungeon!" Lina asked again, louder. The woman was even more confused. Then another woman, this one younger, came running over to them.
"I'm sorry. Mom is hard of hearing. How can I help you?" Lina was relieved she could hear. The older woman scoffed at her and started to wander off. A couple of kids were playing in the distance. It seemed like a normal enough settlement.
"I am looking for someone who needs to be saved. They say he's in a dungeon?" The younger woman nodded.
"Yes. You will need some food for your travel. It's about a day from here. I can take you there. My name is Mira," she said, holding out her hand. Lina took it and shook.
"Lina. Nice to meet you. And thank you. Finally someone who knows something." Lina explained the situation (or as much as she wanted to) to Mira. They brought out a map of the area. Lina did not know where this was, was it the outer lands again? She shook her head at the thought. It seemed like she could almost not make out the words or the town/area names. Mira explained how they would get there.
During the trek, Lina talked, of course. Mira was also a talker, which Lina liked. When she was with Gourry, he never would share much. Sometimes she wasn't in the mood for talking as well.
Finally, they reached the town that was right before where they needed to be just at dinner time.
"Tomorrow we will set out for the dungeon. There are some obstacles, like traps, and there may be a guard or two."
"Oh don't worry. I'm a pretty good fighter," Lina said, chowing down on a chicken leg. At least the food tasted good still. Mira chuckled.
"I don't doubt that. You said you had powers before? And that you were not a prince but a traveling sorceress?" She took bites of her salad.
"Yes. There must be some kind of barrier or dampening spell in place. Otherwise I don't know why I can't use my spells." Mira blinked.
"There's no magic here. It was banished long ago by one of the kings." Lina blinked now. She stood up, dramatically.
"Whaaaat?!" She shouted. Some people turned their heads. She sat back down. "I-- I don't know why this is happening to me. And why I wasn't with Gourry." Tears formed in her eyes. She missed him.
"Are you and this... Gourry, close?" Lina blushed and sniffed.
"We've been together for about seven years now. I never had feelings for him until..."
"Until?"
"He was kidnapped by a demon lord. I realized through a dream that I needed him at my side. Even though I don't know why he continues to be with me." She buried her face in her hands. This wasn't like her. She didn't get this depressed. Mira came over and rubbed her back, which helped a little. Mira was about twenty and had short, blonde hair. She had green eyes. Her face was rather slender but she was very fit. Lina was glad she found someone to help her at least.
"I had a partner as well. He-- passed away from an illness." She got teary eyed.
"I'm so sorry. That must have been hard," Lina said, wiping her tears away and downed some more wine. Mira did the same. They finished their meal and headed to bed.
The next morning it was already dreary outside. Lina had a hard time sleeping. She wondered if it had to do with the place she was in, if there was a force at work here. Or if it was just normal restlessness. Plus not knowing where Gourry was had been draining on her.
"All right, let's get there. Remember to keep your guard up in the beginning. And it will be dark inside. I have a torch we can light, but unless we find fire it's hard to see," Mira said. Lina nodded. They had a quick breakfast before setting out. Lina could kill for her spells.
They weaved through the forest with ease until they reached the entrance. It was an overgrown stone. Mira and Lina started cutting off the branches with their weapons. Finally they were able to move the stone. At least Mira was strong. Lina of course thought she was strong to some degree. Luckily for them there was one light at the start of the dungeon. The water dripping was getting on Lina's nerves. Mira quickly turned at one point and put her hand out in front of her. Then she eased up. Lina had been in many dungeons and caves like this one. The fact that there were no enemies was a little weird. No, a lot weird.
"Shh," it was Lina this time to stop them. They heard something in the distance. Mira shown the light ahead a bit, when a hundred bats flew out at them! Lina grabbed Mira's hand and ran through them, screaming along the way. The two stopped in the entrance way of a large, circular room. They caught their breath and then explored. They avoided the traps that were obvious. Then, in the back of the room, lay a slab. On the slab there were a lot of flowers. They took a closer look, cautiously of course.
There was someone lying there, asleep. Lina gasped.
"Gourry!" She cried. Tears fell down her face. She shook him, but he did not stir. "Hey! Wake up!" He still did not. Mira took a step closer.
"Look!" She pointed to a plaque that was on the slab in front of them.
"The person lying here must be awoken by one person only. This person is their true love. They will be awoken with true love's kiss!" Mira read. Lina got bright red.
"K-- kiss?!" While it was true she had feelings for him, she did not want to kiss him! Not yet anyways.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Mira asked. Lina glared at her.
"Are you insane?" Mira shook her head no.
"The way you've been acting, it's clear that you love him. I won't watch if that's what you're afraid of."
"That's not--" but what was Lina afraid of? Being physical with someone intimately? She sighed. She might as well try it. He might not remember it after all. She grew closer, leaning in. She had her eyes open to see where his mouth was, and then their lips touched. She closed her eyes. Gourry's opened. Lina was still kissing him. She backed up and he sat upright. He held his head.
"What... happened? Wait... Lina?" Just then there was a flash of light.
Lina and Gourry were at a regular inn, no Mira anywhere. Gourry was sitting up in bed, Lina had been leaning forward.
"Lina?!" She almost fell backwards after she opened her eyes. She turned around, embarrassed. She did not know why.
"I... I was just seeing if you were awake!"
"Riiight. Say, do you remember a strange dream? In it I remember opening my eyes to you... kissing me. You had a strange outfit on." Lina gasped. She did remember. She nodded and slowly turned around to see a grinning Gourry. She could not say anything at first.
"Whoever was behind that is going to pay dearly."
"I didn't mind it so much." Lina's mouth almost hit the floor.
"A-- anyways let's get breakfast!" It was true that it was daylight, but Lina did not know what time it was.
"Thank you for saving me." Lina reached for the doorknob. She laughed nervously.
"It was nothing." Her heart was pounding.
"Lina..."
"Yeah?"
"You remember that fairytale of the princess falling asleep and the prince waking her up?"
"Oh yeah." She thought that "sleeping beauty" could have referred to Gourry. She shook her head.
"Anyways, let's get back to normal, every day demon slaying, shall we?" She asked and left the room.
"Okay, Lina, my prince."