Quite obviously, Amelia and Zelgadis are the intended couple of the creators, but they seem to be one of the most frequently denied. (A great deal of this due to the many female fans, who claim Zelgadis for themselves. o.O;). However, despite the many dissenting opinions of fans, I still feel that the Amelia/Zelgadis coupling is one of the most compatible ones in the entire show.

Besides the overused "Opposites Attract" theory, there is plenty of evidence that support a favorable, romantic relationship between Zelgadis and Amelia. Let's take a look at the couplementing qualities of Amelia and Zelgadis:

Motivation

++ If you had to choose a single word to describe Amelia, "motivated" would be a darned good choice. At first glance, it appears that Amelia is a lot more laidback than Zelgadis. But, when you look more carefully, you'll see that there really is not that much of a difference. Amelia's determination can sometimes go into overdrive when she feels that something must be accomplished. For example, she takes her royal role as the Princess of Saillune *very* seriously, and generally won't do anything unless it has something to do with a) spreading justice b) accomplishing a mission. She's a bit more choosy with her activities than one may be inclined to think.

++ There is no possible way in the world to belie this statement: Zelgadis is a highly motivated, driven individual. Again and again, Zelgadis has demonstrated his dutiful, "get-it-done" lifestyle. For the most part, he HATES indulging in time-wasting activities that have nothing to do with his goals, but traveling with Lina & Co has made that quite inevitable. When faced with failure (which happens quite frequently amid his quests in finding a cure o.O;), Zelgadis can become extremely aggravated and annoyed. This is because he HATES to be detained, and he HATES to find out that his efforts have been fruitless. Once Zelgadis has deemed a certain task as important (i.e. - finding a cure), he immediately is willing to channel every bit of his energy into completing it, and sees no wrong in doing so.

My point? Neither Zelgadis nor Amelia have acquired a laidback lifestyle -- they both possess the need/desire to accomplish something. These two characters protray the true meaning of self-motivation.

Logic and Intelligence

++ Because Amelia's reputation of being the "annoying comic relief" is so overblown, fans often overlook the fact that she is indeed very intelligent. But, one should really learn to "look past the cover of the book" and understand just how precocious Amelia really is. First of all, her magic skills are far beyond her age/experience level. She can perform powerful spells from the field of White Magic and Shamanism (such as Ra Tilt, Elmekia Lance, and the healing spell) -- and yet, she is still constantly improving. She shows a great deal of creativity when conducting spells -- she has even managed to develop her very own spell (Visufuranku). Just from all that, we know that Amelia is likely to have a high I.Q., being that she learns so well and quickly.

++ Zelgadis' intelligence is rather easy to grasp, so there no need for any elaboration. In nearly every episode, Zelgadis has demonstrated his level-headedness and logic skills -- so, most fans have no objection to the statement that he is extremely intelligent. However, he has been known to blow his top every once in a while, mostly because he has a bit of trouble coping with the disappointment of failure.

Support/Friendship

++ Much to the surprise (or annoyance...) of Slayers fans, Amelia has developed a long-time "crush" for Zelgadis, and often helps/supports him whenever possible. More than once, Amelia has saved Zelgadis, directed her smalltalk towards him, or just accompanied him for no reason in particular. Remember the instance when Amelia rushed to save Zelgadis from Rezo (original series)? Her impulsive action surprised him, but from that point on, he began to open up a bit and realize that Amelia wasn't quite as annoying as she had seemed. In addition, Amelia needs Zelgadis' company; she needs someone to socialize with -- someone whom she can smalltalk with and discuss her dreams. At the same time, Zelgadis unconsciously needs Amelia, because her benevolent nature causes him to open up and see a reason to consider others' feelings. They're like mutual saviors, you know? ^^;;

++ Although Zelgadis has been rather stubborn in the past with accepting Amelia as his ideal partner, he often finds himself pretending to be indifferent instead of truely being indifferent to her actions. Zelgadis is rather stubborn in the fact that he has tricked himself into believing that Amelia is nothing but an annoying, "happy Miss Sunshine" type of girl. But, if his body language (i.e. - consistent reddening of the face) isn't enough to show you that he is very much attracted to Amelia, then let me bring another thing to your attention. In retrospect, Amelia does fit Zelgadis' needs in practically every way. Being that they have both suffered from hardships at some point in their life (either with royal family members, or with crazy Red Priests who strip you of your human qualities o.O;), they seem to have dealt with the same lessons in life. Sure, it's true that they've handled their situations quite differently... Zelgadis has chosen to stay cynical/indifferent and Amelia has chosen a more happy/optimistic attitude, but ultimately, they agree on a lot of things. It's true that Zelgadis isn't exactly fond of Amelia's happy justice endeavors, but he accepts them, nonetheless. And in return, she accepts his cynicism.

By summing up all that has been stated above, one should understand that not only do Zelgadis and Amelia support each other's beliefs and motives quite frequently, but they also share a great deal of personality traits. By all means of logic, these two are perfectly compatible with each other.

However, there will always be some people who disagree with mere logic and canon. (And believe it or not, some of them actually do have a pretty good argument. Others are just stupid fangirls who worship Zelgadis. o.o;) Now, don't get me wrong; I fully understand the sheer popularity of the Zelgadis/Lina couple and the Amelia/Xelloss couple. But, you must admit that non-canon couples are far less easy to prove (considering that there just isn't as much proof to begin with), which is why I tend to stick with the traditional ones. ^_^ Viva Zelgadis and Amelia!