"Zelgadis-san!" Amelia scolded, blushing faintly as she trotted to catch up to her friend. "Was that really necessary?"

"Yes, Amelia. It was." Zelgadis growled, striding stiffly away from the shot they had been stopping at and more importantly, the wide-eyed dock workers that were the source of his aggravation. The princess gave them one last look before finally catching up to the seething chimera.

"But... but... to call them -THAT- and then...." Amelia blushed again, unable to bring herself to repeat what he had said.

Zelgadis sighed, some of the tension in his body draining way now that they were lost in the crowd. "Sometimes Amelia, there's a time for swords, and there's a time for words."

He paused, then added "-Not just the kind Lina says before something explodes, either."

"Ah." Amelia nodded, smiling at that. "I guess calling you a grunt and insulting your intelligence was the last straw?"

She blushed again when Zelgadis snarled wordlessly. "Yes." He finally agreed.

He had let the comments about his appearance and gender roll off his stony hide. He'd ignored the jokes about his sword and supposed mastery of it. He'd gotten a bit steamed at the suggestions about his I.Q.. 

But when his sensitive hearing had picked up on some of the rather crude musings about his traveling companion and relations there of, he'd decided to nip it in the bud. Preferably before Amelia heard it.

So he had stood up and rather imaginatively, if not expressively, explained to them in great detail how and where to stuff it.

Along with their mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, their little dog Skip, and their donkey too.

Amelia looked up at the sky and decided it was time to change the subject. "You think Lina-san will be mad that we're late?" She questioned.

Zelgadis sighed again, his posture relaxing back to his normal easy grace. "I suppose so." He mused. He then smirked, casting an amused look at the princess. "I could always explain why. In detail."

Amelia blushed again. "Zelgadis-san!"


Fortunately, Lina hadn't noticed that they were late and they were spared having to explain. 

Unfortunately, some of the dock workers had decided to follow them to the bar and were in the process of going through every dirty (or at least non-clean) joke they could think of. At least, until they got several dirty looks from the bar-maids. Then they switched over to jokes about the places they had been.

They had finished with Lyzeille several of Lina's helpings ago, and were finishing up jokes about Ralteague and were starting in with jokes about Saillune.

Zel took a sip of coffee as he watched Amelia out of the corner of his eye. If the ramrod posture, indignant expression and white knuckled grip she had on her fork were any indication, she had heard them. Zelgadis sighed internally, silently bracing himself for the up coming Justice rant. 

Amelia's chair scrapped back from the table. "Excuse me." She said quietly, looking down at the table top, her eyes shadowed by her bangs.

"Eh?" Gourry and Lina paused, surprised by the meekness in the Princess' tone. They continued eating, but at a slower pace as they watched Amelia. More like spectators munching at a jousting tournament than human vacuums.

Amelia calmly walked over to the sailors and tapped one of them on the shoulder. He looked up. "Eh?"

"Was that a joke about Prince Phil, the Crown Prince of Saillune?" She politely asked, her hands loosely clasped behind her back. 

"His Hairiness? Yeah? So? Ya got something about him?"

Zelgadis twitched, considering heading toward an exit. Amelia and her Father were highly protective of each other. He had a feeling this was going to be bad, loud, explosive and in the Name of Justice.

"As a matter of fact, I do." She said with deceptive cool. 

Lina and Gourry froze as Amelia started explaining just what she thought of the way the sailor's parents had brought -them- up. In detail. 

And over a half dozen languages.

Zelgadis nearly ended up shooting coffee out his nose as he caught one that the sailors obviously didn't get. He hadn't known that it was anatomically possible to do THAT with a head of cabbage. And a plunger, no less.

Evidently growing up in a palace surrounded by diplomats from several different countries had done wonders for Amelia's vocabulary.

The room slowly went still as people stopped and stared at the tiny girl who was patiently out swearing the toughed shell-shocked sailors. Without repeating herself.

For a little over five minutes. 

She finally ended it with one Xelloss had muttered once about his boss before something very large, very heavy and unidentifiable had squashed him, before turning on her heel and returning to the table.

Lina and Gourry stared at the Princess as if they were seeing her for the first time. She shot them one of her usual grins as she took her seat next to Zelgadis.

"You were right, Zelgadis-san!" She chirped, picking up her fork again. "Words really are the best weapons!"

Fin.