"Are you absolutely SURE you're taking us the right way?" asked 
Luanni.

"Yes," said Actinaea shortly.  "I grew up here in Kalmaart, remember?"

Mari sighed.  Actinaea wasn't normally this cold, but the further they 
went, the more difficult she was becoming.  She wondered why.  It had 
to be something here in Kalmaart, but what?

Luanni sighed.  "It's just that," she started, "even though we've been 
sticking to the roads, we haven't seen any hint of a village or town 
or anything.  You'd think that we'd have seen at least one village by 
now."  She emphasised her point by sweeping her hand around, drawing 
the sight of Actinaea and Mariposa to encompass the whole area.  All 
that could be seen were trees, grass, and the occasional inexpertly 
hidden secret entrance.

They'd learnt to not get excited about the inexpertly hidden secret 
entrances, as the lairs they led to belonged to incompetent raiders 
and bandits, who were barely any challenge and didn't have anything 
useful or of interest.  After the fourth lair, Luanni had given up in 
disgust, and now they ignored the out of place boulders and the bushes 
made of paper painted a horrible green.  Even now, they could see an 
obviously fake tree.  Most trees weren't flat and badly painted, after 
all.

"Oh gods, not *another* bandit lair," said Actinaea.

"Leave us alone," a small voice said.  "We're just simple chipmunks.  
Chip chip."

They looked to where the voice was coming from and saw a very bad 
chipmunk puppet that looked like it was made out of an old sock and 
bits of cardboard.  Which was quite an amazing coincidence, all things 
considered.

"Chipmunks.  Right," said Luanni.

"Yeah, nobody here but us chipmunks.  Chip chip."

"Chipmunks don't go 'chip chip'," said Mariposa.

"Us ones do," said the voice desperately.  "Leave us alone, oh 
terrible bandit killers."

"Why should chipmunks care about bandit killers?" asked Mariposa.

"Oh, no reason, forget I mention it.  I'll forget my own loot... er, 
that is, chips next."

"This is utterly ridiculous," said Actinaea, and strode over to the 
puppet.  Grabbing hold, she pulled it and the hand inside it, and 
pulled a scruffy looking bandit from his hiding place inside a bush.  
Far from being the archetypical bandit, he was relatively thin and 
scrawny, and there wasn't a single patch anywhere on his clothes.

"Help," he said quietly.

Actinaea looked at him suspiciously for a moment.  "It's Dimlit, isn't 
it?"

"Actually, I'm Zargon the Unpleasant-Smelling now," he said, then his 
brain caught up with his ears.  "How do you know my name?  ...uh, 
former name," he hastily amended.

"I remember you," she growled.  "You were always the snivelling 
gullible one in the back of the class."

"How do you know that?"  He peered at her, and recognition lit up his 
eyes.  "Hey, now I remember!  You're Ace!"

"Mono.  Volt," she replied, hitting the ineffectual bandit at extreme 
close range.  The bandit's response was to go shrieking into the air 
at a respectable fraction of the speed of sound, and disappear into 
the distance.

"Was that really necessary?" asked Luanni.

"I don't like that name," Actinaea explained.  "Especially coming from 
idiots like Dimlit.  Come on, let's keep going."

"Actually, I have a better idea," said Luanni.  Actinaea glared at 
her, and Luanni explained herself.  "It's been a very long day, we 
haven't found or come across anything, and it's getting close to 
sundown.  It'd be a lot better to spend some time now and establish a 
camp while there's still light, instead of blundering around in the 
dark."

"But we're still-" Actinaea started, and then stopped.  "Fine."

"We're still what?"

"Never mind."

Luanni and Mariposa were puzzled, but didn't complain.


   -----------------------------------------------------------
    Slayers Glorious
    Chapter 26:  History!  A time for reflection and friends!
    This chapter by Steven Scougall
    Started by Todd Harper
   -----------------------------------------------------------


The next morning dawned a shiny new day, blasting sunlight through the 
opening of the tent and right into Mariposa's face.  The assault was 
enough to jolt her from drowsy half-sleep into full wakefulness.  She 
sat up, rubbing her eyes.

Something seemed out of place.  She looked around the tent, and saw 
Actinaea still sleeping, her face away from the light.  On the other 
hand, Luanni's bedroll was empty, but at least it looked used.  
Mariposa placed her hand on the bedding, and felt traces of Luanni's 
body heat.  The woman couldn't have gone too far.

Mari chewed her lip, wondering what she should do.  Waking Actinaea 
was the obvious choice, but she couldn't run to her teacher with every 
little problem.  She had to learn to do things for herself, didn't 
she?

The choice was taken out of her hands when Luanni twitched the tent 
flaps fully open and ducked back into it.  "Good morning, Mariposa."

"Good morning, Luanni-san.  Um," Mariposa said hesitantly, "if you 
don't mind me asking... where-"

"Just out exploring.  I found something very interesting indeed," said 
Luanni.

"What is it?"

"Something for Actinaea to explain."

"Oh?" asked Actinaea.

"Actinaea-sensei!  You're awake!"

"Yes," was the Praetor's clipped response.  "And what is it you've 
found, Luanni?"

Luanni sat back.  "Just a town less than two miles away.  All you have 
to do is go to the top of the northward hill, and you can see it.  As 
you grew up here, you have to know about it.  It's strange then that 
you're taking us westwards, away from it.  It would make more sense to 
go there.  If anything, someone in town might know about this Bell of 
yours."

Actinaea's reaction was clearly visible - there was a flash of 
recognition in her eyes, her fists clenched so hard her knuckles 
whitened, and her face reddened.  In anger or embarrassment?  Anger, 
Mariposa supposed.  But she was annoyed herself - there had been a 
town close by, where they could have gone for the night, and instead 
they camped out here in the middle of nowhere.

"You went out alone?" Actinaea finally asked.  "Without me or Mari for 
magical backup?"

"You know I can take care of myself," said Luanni, crossing her arms.  
"And you still haven't answered my question."

"Weymeart is better left alone," said Actinaea with a sniff.  "Let us 
keep on going."

"Oh really?" asked Luanni.  "Actinaea, that's not a very good excuse, 
you know."

"And, Actinaea-sensei," Mari interjected, "I'm tired from all this 
walking.  Can't we go to this Weymeart?  Even if it's only for the 
day?  And surely they know something about the Bell!"

"No, and that is final," said Actinaea.  "I grew up around here, 
remember?  I know where and where not to go."

Luanni leaned back, a grin on her face.  "Is there someone you want 
avoid in the town, perhaps?"

"No," Actinaea snapped.

Luanni's grin became wider.  "You're acting just like Naga when it 
comes to Saillune, then," she half-teased.

Actinaea's reaction was sudden and dramatic, but not particularly 
unexpected.  "I am *nothing* like that... fine!" she shouted.  "We'll 
go to Weymeart!  Don't say I didn't warn you!"  With that, she 
haughtily swept out of the tent, presumably to march all the way to 
the nearby town.

Her sudden gasp was clearly audible, even from outside the tent.

"Actinaea-sensei!  What's wrong?"  Mari scrambled out of the tent, and 
saw it herself - there was a dead body lying on the ground nearby the 
tent, a bloody knife wound in its back.  Growing up in Singe somewhat 
dulled the effect of such sights - she'd seen her first dead body at 
age three, after all.  Even so, she was still surprised.

"As I said," Luanni started, twirling a knife in one hand, "I can take 
care of myself."

"So you can," Actinaea said levelly.

                              *   *   *

Naga and Getehl travelled in silence.

Well, not silence, really.  As they travelled there was the sound of 
birdsong, the breeze rustling through leaves, the sound of their 
horses' hooves striking the path, and the occasional distant scream as 
some poor traveller was waylaid by bandits.  But the two weren't 
saying anything, so it counted as some sort of silence.

It wasn't as if he hadn't tried, Getehl thought.  But Naga just wasn't 
talking back.  Always an optimist, he tried making conversation again.  
"I wonder how Ace and the others are doing?"

Naga grunted in reply.  After a while, it became clear that she wasn't 
going to say anything more.

"I hope they're okay.  Do you think this Erika could have done 
something to them?"

Naga spurred her horse onwards, ignoring him.

"Hey!" Getehl shouted, urging his horse forward, back to level with 
her.  "Naga!  Stop ignoring me.  This isn't getting us anywhere."

She turned her head away.

"Fine, fine, geeze."

They rode in relative silence for a few more minutes.

"It's funny, really," said Getehl.  He knew she wouldn't answer, but 
he felt like talking, anyway.  The silence was too oppressive, and 
weighed heavily upon him.  Talking at least made the time pass 
quicker.  "Saillune is the white magic capital of the world, and is so 
just and right, and it's strange that anyone would not want to go 
there."  He thought about that for a moment.  "Well, maybe well known 
thieves and bad guys wouldn't want to go there.  But I've been 
travelling with you for a while, and you aren't that bad.  It must be 
something else..."

"Are you quite finished playing the detective, Getehl?" she snapped.

"Um, yeah, I guess so," he answered.  "If you want me to stop, then I 
will."

"Thank you."

The rode on in silence again.

"It usually helps if you talk about things," Getehl said 
encouragingly.  "It's really obvious that there's something wrong.  
Just what is it about Saillune that has you so worked up?"

"There is nothing wrong for Naga the White Serpent!" she yelled, her 
temper finally snapping.

"You can't be her then," he joked.  "So who are you then?  A long lost 
princess, maybe?"

The effect was immediate as it was startling.  She shrank away from 
him as best she could, given that she was sitting on a saddle, and her 
face went white.  Her mouth worked, but no noise came out.

"Oi... Naga, it was just a joke, you know?"

Her composure returned.  "It wasn't funny," she snapped.  "I'm NAGA.  
Naga the White Serpent!  And don't you forget it!  OOOOHOHOHOHO!"  She 
haughtily turned back to face the road, as if switching him off.

But Getehl's mind was now working... there had been something, there.  
A clue, perhaps.  If she reacted so badly to being called someone 
else... then was she hiding something?  Something in Saillune, 
perhaps?  Or was he overanalysing the situation?

"Please, Naga, if you'd just tell me what's going on, what's wrong..."

She didn't even turn around to face him.  Getehl sighed and 
concentrated on the road.  She clearly wasn't going to talk to him for 
a while now.  This was going to be a long trip.

                              *   *   *

Actinaea sighed.  To be back in Weymeart after all these years... it 
was odd.  So much time had passed, so many things had happened, and 
yet the old town had barely changed.  Kon the fishmonger was still on 
the corner of High Street and Tremble Way, and just opposite him the 
there was still the park she and her friends used to play in.  The 
town hall was still the largest building, easily dominating the 
skyline with its five stories.  The sounds of commerce and the shouts 
of various stallholders were just as she remembered.

Her fists clenched.  With everything that had happened, the town had 
no *right* to not have changed...

"I don't see anything so horrible about this place," said Luanni.

"It's not the place," said Actinaea.  "It's the people..."

"Ah, so there is someone you want to avoid?"

Actinaea started, and mumbled something.

"What was that?"

"I don't want to talk about it," she snapped, and turned away from the 
infuriating woman.

"You'll have to talk about it sometime, you know," said Luanni, being 
annoyingly logical.  "If nothing else, whoever it is will show up and 
there'll be a nasty confrontation.  You'll have to tell me and Mari 
what this is all about then."

"Fine, fine, fine!" Actinaea shouted, whirling back to face Luanni.  
The hubbub around them died down and Actinaea was dimly aware of 
everybody turning to gawk at her and her companions.  She decided to 
ignore them for now, though she did lower her voice.  "You want to 
know what happened?"

In response, Luanni merely pointed to behind her.  Actinaea 
straightened up, and now that she concentrated she could hear the 
hesitant footsteps behind her.  She turned, and saw *her*...

The town may have stayed the same, but the people had definitely 
changed.  Renn Weard had changed from a smaller-than-average teenager 
with thick glasses into a strikingly handsome woman, with long black 
hair cascading down her back.  She was almost as tall as Naga, but 
much more sensibly dressed, and was wearing thin glasses that seemed 
to enhance her eyes rather than obscure them.

"Ace?" she asked.

"Renn?" Actinaea breathed, stepping hesitantly towards Renn.  In 
response, her old friend darted forwards and embraced her in a rib-
crushing hug.  Her laughter, just as infectious as Actinaea 
remembered, lit up the air.

"Ace!  Seeing you again... this is wonderful!  You're back!"

When was the last time anybody had hugged her, had treated her like an 
old friend?  Actinaea couldn't remember.  Slowly, she returned the 
hug.  "Renn... it's been a long time..."

"Too long, Ace."

They finally disengaged.  "Renn, please.  You know what that name 
means to me."

Renn looked abashed.  "So you still haven't gotten over it...?"

"I never will," said Actinaea darkly.  "Not after what happened..."

"Um, excuse me?" asked Luanni.  "Introductions, anyone?"

"Sorry," said Actinaea.  She indicated her old friend.  "Luanni, Mari-
chan, this is Renn Weard, a very old friend of mine.  We've known each 
other since we were very small."  She gestured towards Luanni and 
Mari.  "Renn, this is my current student Mariposa Manin Felheimer, and 
a travelling companion Luanni."

"Pleased to meet you," said Renn, dipping in a picture perfect curtsy.  
"How long are you here for?"

"Not long," said Actinaea.

"You have to come to my place anyway," said Renn impishly, and started 
bodily dragging Actinaea away.  Smiling, Actinaea disentangled herself 
and walked after the other woman.  Luanni shrugged, and she and Mari 
followed the other two.

                              *   *   *

Where the road to Saillune crossed the river Sawall, there was a large 
bridge that could easily accommodate three carriages travelling side 
by side.  It was painted a pleasant combination of red and brown and 
had lanterns every several feet on both sides, making it a nice and 
light structure.  There were magical charms cast on it, preventing 
monsters from coming too close, and another spell slowed down the rate 
of wear and tear.  It was, in short, a very impressive structure.

As Naga and Getehl approached, a figure sitting in the middle of the 
bridge stood up, a long tan coat settling around its frame.  It was a 
very familiar figure - he was the same man they'd fought, defeated, 
and killed back in Salsburg.  He smiled at them, aiming his two self-
loading crossbows at the two of them.

"Hi," he said cheerfully.  "And goodbye."  There was a pair of dull 
thunks and a swish as he fired.

"DOWN!" screamed Getehl.  Naga turned and saw him dropping sideways 
off his horse, a crossbow bolt passing over his head at about the same 
time an incredible pain flared in her left arm.  Despite knowing what 
it was already, she looked at her arm, hoping against hope...

Her hope died.  There was indeed a crossbow bolt sticking out of her 
arm.  Thankfully the man had been far away when he fired, otherwise 
the bolt would have gone right through her arm and into her side.  She 
stared for a moment, uncomprehending.

There was the sensation of something warm and sticky on the lower part 
of her arm.  She focused on it and saw blood.  Her own blood.  Only 
then did she start screaming.

                              *   *   *

Luanni frowned.  Sure, the Praetor meeting her old friend like this 
was nice and all, but something wasn't right here.  First Actinaea had 
staunchly opposed the three of them coming here to Weymeart, but now 
that they were here and she'd found Renn, she was all smiles.  The way 
this was going, any minute now Renn would make a joke and Actinaea 
would laugh out loud.

She tightened the grip on the knife concealed in her sleeve.  There 
had to be something more to this town, that would make Actinaea so 
reluctant to come here.  And when it inevitably showed up, she'd be 
ready for it.

"Hey, Luanni-san?" asked Mariposa.

"Yes, Mari-chan?"

"I was just thinking about Actinaea-sensei and Naga-sama..."

"Yeah?"

"Actinaea-sensei didn't want to come here, and Naga-sama doesn't want 
to go to Saillune... do you think there could be some sort of 
connection?"

"As in, they have similar reasons for avoiding Saillune and Weymeart?"

"Yeah."  Mariposa looked up at her, hopeful, and Luanni grumbled a bit 
- she'd been with the group the least amount of time, how was she 
supposed to know things like that?

"I don't know, Mari," she sighed.  "But even if there was, it wouldn't 
tell us anything.  We don't know why Actinaea didn't want to come 
here."

Mari was silent for a while as they followed Renn through the streets 
of the town.

"Do you think we'll find out why?" she finally asked.

"Probably," answered Luanni.  "It's the way these things seem to go."

                              *   *   *

Getehl never thought he'd hear the arrogant and self-confident Naga 
ever scream.  It was loud and shrill, and more than a scream of pain - 
it was the sound of abject terror.  It was the strangest and most 
horrifying sound he'd ever heard in his life, and it jarred his soul.  
This was someone he was supposed to be helping, and here she was, a 
crossbow bolt sticking out of her arm while he got away with just dust 
on his clothes.

The man still had his crossbows trained on them.  Getehl had only 
seconds to act, if even that.  From fighting him back in Salsburg, he 
knew that the self-loading mechanisms on their opponent's crossbows 
were extremely fast.  Moving quicker than he ever thought possible, he 
ran over to Naga and hauled her roughly out of the saddle, a second 
crossbow bolt swishing through where her head been scant moments ago.

More crossbow bolts would be coming in seconds, and there was nowhere 
further down to go.  Getehl looked wildly about and saw a rock by his 
feet and a large boulder at least ten meters away.  Praying he could 
pull this off, he scooped the rock up and hurled it at the man's head.  
The man's eyes, just as he hoped, moved to follow the missile, and 
Getehl ran, Naga held in his arms.

Their opponent almost immediately turned his gaze back to Getehl and 
fired.  It was too late;  Getehl skidded to a halt behind the boulder, 
the deadly crossbow bolts flying a few inches behind his back.

"...blood..." Naga whimpered.  "...again...  Too... delicate..."

Getehl's vision reddened.  He was aware of drawing his sword, but 
everything was hazy, and it was hard to think.  He realised he was 
falling into his berserker rage, and fought to clear his head as he 
stepped back out into the open.

Almost immediately there were two crossbow bolts streaking towards his 
chest from middle range.  He was going to *die*...

There was a pair of metallic clangs, and Getehl blinked.  He was 
definitely still alive and in a distinctly non-perforated state.  He 
looked down at his sword and at the crossbow bolts at his feet, and 
realised he'd just hit them out of the air.

His opponent was staring open-mouthed.  "I thought only I could do 
stuff like that," he said, clearly impressed.

If the berserker rage let him do things like that, then...  Getehl 
stopped worrying and let it overcome him.  The last thing he was sure 
of was dashing at high speed at his opponent.

                              *   *   *

From the outside, Renn's house was small.  On the inside, however, it 
seemed large and airy, comfortable yet practical.  Mariposa stared 
open-mouthed - never in all her life had she ever seen such a 
beautifully kept house.  It was truly a marvel of domestic 
engineering.

"This is a nice effect, Renn-chan," said Actinaea, looking around.

"It's all in the white wallpaper," Renn said matter-of-factly.  "It 
makes everything look lighter."

"It still looks nice, Renn-san," said Mariposa.

"Thank you," said Renn, smiling at her.  "Does anyone want anything?"

A bit later, all four were seated in the main room, Actinaea and Renn 
catching up on old times.  The discussion had turned to the subject of 
magic.

"How does the study of magic go?" asked Renn.

"That's part of why we're here," said Actinaea.

"Yes?"

Actinaea quickly explained her current situation - that she was 
Praetor of the Singe Magic Guild, and she was currently on a mission 
to find the Silent Bell for the guild.

"A Praetor now?" asked Renn.  "I thought you'd be running several 
guilds by now, with the way you started studying so young."

Actinaea sighed.  "I was sidetracked a few times."

"Yes?"

The Praetor looked down.  "It's not something I like talking about."

There was a sudden pounding on the door, accompanied by a rough male 
voice.  "RENN!  Open up!  I know that Ace is in there!"

Actinaea's face went white.  "*He* is still here?"

Renn's face was sad.  "Yeah, Ace, he is.  I hoped he wouldn't notice 
that you were back..."

"And the other shoe finally drops," said Luanni with a sense of 
satisfaction.

"Excuse me?" asked Renn.

"I knew there had to be something here that Actinaea-san didn't want 
to see.  It's this guy, right?"

"She didn't tell you?"

"No, Renn," said Actinaea, "I never did.  It's not something I want to 
talk about, ever again."

"How many secrets do you have?" asked Luanni.

"OPEN UP!" yelled the voice at the door, in tones that promised much 
violence.  "OR I BREAK DOWN THE DOOR!"

"Coming!" called Renn.  "I'm sorry Ace," she whispered as she hurried 
to the front door.

"Ne, Actinaea-sensei, who is it?" Mariposa asked urgently.

"Drogan Nyschilde," she spat.  "The sorriest excuse for a man that 
ever walked this world."

"Well, I don't know about that, but at least Ace got the name right," 
said the newcomer as he walked in, bowing deeply.  "Drogan Nyschilde, 
at your service."   Mariposa looked up and gave him a once-over.

He was tall, very tall.  Broad across the shoulders, but not too much 
so, and he had lovely soft hair that cascaded down his back.  His 
clothes were cut in the latest fashion and made of high quality 
material that seemed to shimmer as he walked, and there was a good-
natured smile upon his face.  His eyes, however, were cold and ice 
blue.  The good impression the rest of him faded in the face of their 
chill.

"Drogan," said Actinaea, in much the same way people greeted mortal 
enemies who were siding with the Mazoku and carrying a terrible 
disfiguring disease.  Mariposa had heard her teacher sound cold and 
mean before, but this was definitely the frostiest Actinaea had ever 
been.  "What brings you here?"

"Unfinished business," he responded gruffly.

"I believe it was *you* who took something from me that could never be 
replaced," she shot back.

Mari's eyes widened in horror.  Did that mean that this man had forced 
himself upon Actinaea?  Her opinion of him, already somewhat low, 
immediately dropped three thousand percent.

"Hmph, yeah right," he said.  "It wasn't as if you were trying to keep 
it to yourself."

"That's a lie and you know it!" Actinaea screamed.

"You got it back in the end," rumbled Drogan.  "That's part of why I'm 
here."

"I do NOT believe this," said Actinaea.

"Excuse me," said Luanni.  "What, exactly, are we talking about here?"

"Let me tell you," said Renn.  Actinaea caught her eye and slowly 
nodded.  "Very well then.  Many years ago..."

                              *   *   *

Many years ago, two young girls floated through the air above 
Kalmaart, giggling and shrieking happily.  They weren't going very 
fast and the Levitation spell was wobbling all over the place, but 
what made it so impressive was that they were still only seven.

"Waaai!  This is *great!*  It really worked!" said one of the girls.  
She had distinctively gray hair in a long braid, and the outfit of an 
apprentice sorceress.

"This is really cool!" shouted the other, who was wearing extremely 
thick glasses and had long black hair, and was holding to the other 
tightly.  "Go higher, Ace!"

"To get away from them?" asked Actinaea, pointing downwards.  At 
ground level, a large crowd of the Weymeart children, but mainly the 
boys, was gathering.

"EEEE!" shrieked Renn.  "I'm wearing a skirt!"

"Gotta wear pants when practicing Levitation," said Actinaea, 
grinning.  Her Levitation spell jinked a few feet to the right.  
"Better go down now, it's getting worse."  She quickly descended to 
ground level.  They were instantly mobbed by the crowd.

"That was really cool, Ace!"

"Teach me, teach me!"

"You really shouldn't wear a skirt when doing that," sniffed one of 
the older girls primly.  "It's not proper."

"Let me go next!"

Actinaea rolled her eyes at Renn.  "Gotta go now.  Come on Renn."  She 
quickly hurried away.

                              *   *   *

"And they just kept on hounding her," said Renn.

"I'd hardly call it hounding," said Drogan darkly.  "We were just 
trying to express our admiration for Ace, being one of the youngest 
magic students in Weymeart for a long time."

"You started following me everywhere, practically from the moment I 
stepped out of my front door," said Actinaea.  "I'd call that 
hounding."

"I can see where this is going," Luanni said somberly.  "He kept on 
hounding you and hounding you-"

"I tell you, it wasn't hounding!" protested Drogan.

Luanni ignored him.  "And it continued for several years, until you 
were in your teens, and he tried something really stupid?"

Actinaea nodded.  "Him and his friends," she spat.  "They just would 
not leave me alone.  Even though I kept on telling them to go away.  
Not even a Mono Volt or two would make them leave me alone."

"The hard to get chicks are always the more interesting ones," 
philosophised Drogan.  Everybody glared at him and he shut up.

"Then what happened?"

                              *   *   *

One particular day, many years ago...

Actinaea, now a teenager, stumbled through the streets back home, 
crying.  Her clothes were ragged and dirty, there was a nasty bruise 
on her face, and her gray hair was a mess hanging all around her.  

She made it home and fell through the door, tucking up into a ball and 
bawling her eyes out.

"ACTINAEA!" shouted her mother.  "What happened!"

"They... they were horrible!" cried Actinaea.  "Drogan!  And his 
friends!  They were all over me, they hit me, they dragged me through 
the fields, they wouldn't leave me alone!  They NEVER leave me alone!  
I hate them!"

"But... your magic!  Couldn't you fight back!"

"Magic's useless if your mouth is taped shut," Actinaea said bitterly.  
"And then... they stole it!  I'll never be able to get it back!"

Her mother's mouth set in a thin line.  "I see.  I shall go see about 
this immediately."

Actinaea rose from her crouch and latched onto her mother.  "NO!  
Don't leave me alone!"

Her mother's face softened, and she hugged Actinaea tightly, rocking 
her back and forth.  "I'm sorry Ace-"

"Don't call me that!"

"But Ace-"

"They call me that!  Don't call me that ever again!"

"Actinaea-chan... I'm sorry, so sorry... if I'd known that this would 
have happened, all that time ago, I never would have had you study 
magic so little."

"Don't say that!  It's the best thing I've ever done!  It's just some 
idiots like Drogan that have ruined things!"

"But still, we have to do *something*, Ace-ch... I mean, Actinaea-
chan."

Actinaea's sniffling was the only reply.

                              *   *   *

Korvadus was impressed and upset.  Impressed, for there were very few 
people who could do something like slashing crossbow bolts out of mid-
air.  This man was clearly one to watch.  And also upset, because now 
he had to fight that man, instead of inviting him to drinks and 
sharing war stories.

Roaring inarticulately, the man - Getehl, his memory supplied - closed 
and slashed at him.  Korvadus easily dodged away, bringing his 
crossbows to bear and fired.  In response, Getehl slashed the bolts 
out of the air again, and Korvadus's impression of him grew.  Hitting 
bolts out of the air from middle range was one thing; doing it at 
close range was quite another.

Korvadus dropped one crossbow, going for his sword.  To cover his 
movement, he fired once again at close range.  This time, the bolt was 
reduced to splinters in mid-air, and the return swing cut the crossbow 
right out of his hand.  Korvadus dropped the pieces and parried the 
third swing.

He sighed.  Getehl might have suddenly become much faster and 
stronger, but not much more skilful.  His strikes were obvious, 
telegraphed from a mile away.  Korvadus readied himself for the fourth 
strike, and prepared the counterattack that would split his opponent 
from shoulder to hip.

There was a flash from the side and the air chilled - a spell.  
Obviously Naga had recovered enough to throw a Freeze Arrow at him.  
He danced backwards -

The man moved so quickly he seemed to teleport, going *under* the 
spell, and launching himself upwards with blinding speed.  Off 
balance, Korvadus brought his sword up to parry, and wasn't entirely 
surprised when it went spinning into the air and his opponent's sword 
went right through his chest.

"Ow," he said, and died.  Again.  This really was most inconvenient.  
At least it wasn't permanent, he thought, just before the blackness 
took him again.

                              *   *   *

"And then?" asked Luanni.

"We moved away soon after," said Actinaea.  "My mother thought that 
things had been going on like they had for far too long."

"But not before beating me up," growled Drogan.  "I still owe you for 
that."

Actinaea stared him in the eye.  "I don't think so.  You attacked me 
and beat me up and took something from me, after several years of 
harassment."

"You still beat me up.  *Nobody* beats me up and gets away with it."

"Tough.  At least I got it back from you."

"Um..." said Mariposa.  "What is this something, Actinaea-sensei?"

"Just her doll," sneered Drogan.  "I bet she still has it, too."

"A... doll," said Luanni, sounding dazed and more than a little 
surprised.

Actinaea looked embarrassed.  "Well... yes, it was a doll.  But not 
just any old doll, it belonged to my grandmother."

"It was a small Princess Rexina doll that could fit in one hand and 
was tooth-rottingly cute," grinned Drogan, clearly enjoying Actinaea's 
discomfiture.  "I bet she still has it, even."

"It reminds me of the thrashing I gave you, every day," Actinaea shot 
back, and then realised what she'd just said and turned red-faced.

"She does," said Drogan, grinning nastily.

"The hell with this," said Actinaea, and stood up.  "You want to fight 
again, hm?  Let's go outside then."

"Ace!" cried Renn, wide-eyed.  "All his friends will be out there!"

"I'm counting on it," said Ace, just before walking outside.

There was a large explosion and several screams, and Ace walked back 
in, dusting off her hands.  "And good riddance."

"Ne, Actinaea-sensei, can I see it?" asked Mariposa.

"See what?"

"The Princess Rexina doll, of course!" clarified the teenager.  "I've 
always wanted to see one, but you can't get them anywhere any more."

Actinaea sighed, and with no small amount of embarrassment fished the 
small doll out of her pouch.

"It's so cute!" exclaimed Mariposa.

Luanni smiled.  "It's very nice, Actinaea.  It's surprising you still 
have it."

"Don't you dare tell anyone else," Actinaea said, glaring at them.

"Oh... I don't know about that," said Luanni with a good-natured grin.  
"I just might tell Getehl, and see what he thinks."

"He already knows," said Actinaea shortly, going even redder in the 
face.  "Can we please stop talking about this?  There's still the Bell 
to worry about."

                              *   *   *

Getehl let his sword drop, the redness sweeping away from his vision, 
and stared.  He'd just fought the nigh-invincible enemy to a 
standstill, and then defeated him.  He'd been slicing crossbow bolts 
*from the air*, in mid-flight.  He'd been so much faster and stronger!  
But... how?  How was that possible?

Whatever it was, there was definitely more to this odd berserker rage 
of his than he thought.

Naga moaned in pain.  Getehl looked up and saw Naga was slumped 
against the boulder, the bolt still sticking out of her arm.  He 
stopped worrying about himself - Naga was in greater need.  He hurried 
over, his face grim - dealing with arrow wounds was never fun.

Her eyes were looking in the direction of her arm, but only half-
focused, and her mouth was moving.  As he approached, he could hear 
her voice.

"Naga?"

"...blood... my blood..." she mumbled.

"I know," he said grimly.  "Let me have a look.  And brace yourself.  
This is going to hurt."

Her eyes were still vacant, and it didn't look like she had heard him.  
"So much... make it stop, make it go away, I'm too delicate for all 
this blood, I can't stand it..."  She paused, her eyes closing.  
Worried, Getehl reached towards the bolt.  It was time to get rid of 
the accursed thing.

"...Mother," she whimpered.

"What?"  He crouched down in front of her, and shook her shoulder 
gently.  "Naga, it's me!  Me, Getehl!  Snap out of it!"

Her eyes focused on him.  "I... she... Getehl?  What have I been 
saying?"

Getehl had the idea that it would be a good idea not to mention what 
he'd heard.  "Nothing important," he said.  "Let's get this bolt out 
of your arm."

"Let me," she said.  Taking a deep breath, she reached up to the bolt 
and, incredible slowly, pushed it through her arm, her face ashen by 
the time the arrowhead broke through the skin.  With a quick snap, she 
broke the point off, and she pulled the shaft out of her arm.  Blood 
tumbled free.  It splashed against Naga's leg and she visibly winced.

"We need a bandage," said Getehl.  "It's horribly cliched, but I'll 
tear strips off the bottom of my shirt and use those."

"No need," she said.  Looking firmly in the opposite direction, she 
cupped her good hand over the wound.  "Recovery," she chanted softly.  
A small light started to glow between her hand and her arm.  It felt 
like almost no time had passed when Naga stood back up, her arm 
noticeably clear of any holes or any other blemishes.

"Naga," started Getehl, "I'm no expert on magic, but... that use of 
Recovery was fast."  He swallowed nervously.  "Much faster than I've 
ever seen it before.  And you didn't even chant.  Don't you always 
have to chant?"

"OOOOHOHOHOHOHOHO!" she laughed, hand over her mouth.  "The White 
Serpent is highly knowledgeable in all areas of magic!  Don't be so 
surprised, Getehl!  And now I, Naga the White Serpent, shall fight on!  
OHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!"

"But-"

"But nothing!  Time's wasting!  Every second we take could be another 
second in horrible captivity for Mari-chan!  And Actinaea and your 
Luanni, too, I suppose.  Now, onwards!"  She hopped back onto her 
horse and cantered off along the road.

Getehl stared at her rapidly disappearing form.  He'd certainly found 
out something today, now he just had to work what it was.  But 
meanwhile, he was getting left behind.  He shrugged, climbed back into 
the saddle and rode off after her.


Author's Notes
--------------
First of all, I apologise for the title.  For some reason, thinking up 
titles is something I am very very bad at doing.  Hopefully the 
chapter itself makes up for the title.

Actinaea's past needed to be explored sometime, and they're in her 
home country.  It seemed like a good enough opportunity to delve into 
her history.  In a suitably Slayers fashion, of course.  ^_^

Many thanks to Todd for prereading, and also suggesting the tie-in to 
item stolen from Actinaea in chapter 10.

Thank you for reading.

Steven Scougall
10th September 2000
http://www.crosswinds.net/~sscougall/