Dragon Slave (Xellos/Filia version)

Dragon Slave
by Zanne Chaos

Chapter Four


Knock-knock. "Miss Lina?" Knock-knock. "Miss Lina, do wake up." Knock-knock. "Miss Lina, don't make me open this door, I know you're in there." Knock--

"Good morning, Mister Xellos!" Amelia said, opening the door, smiling brightly. A poorly-aimed pillow whizzed by her head and smacked on the wall. Amelia didn't bat an eye.

"Tell him to go away," Lina mumbled. Xellos heard a distinct groan, and beamed.

"My, Miss Lina," Xellos said, stepping past Amelia, looking at the Lina-shaped lump under the blankets. "You do appear to be a bit under the weather this morning."

"This is all your fault, you fruitcake Mazoku!" she grumbled, still not appearing from under the covers.

"She's been like this since roughly three this morning," Amelia announced. "Along with frequent trips to the lavatory."

"Amelia!" Lina wailed. "Would you do the world a favor and shut up?"

Xellos grinned, poking the Lina-lump. "Whyever would you think it's my fault, Miss Lina?"

"You told me to eat it!"

"I did nothing of the sort, if you'll recall."

"You told me to enjoy it!"

"You were determined to eat it regardless of what I said."

"You knew this would happen!"

"So perhaps you should have been alerted to this when I of all people told you to enjoy it."

"You fruitcake!" Lina lunged from under the blankets at him, but the sudden motion proved to be too much. She immediately turned green, and fled to the lavatory, slamming the door.

"I think Mister Gourry might be in the same shape," Amelia said.

"You did not partake on this famous dish?" Xellos asked, amused by the expected results.

"Mister Zelgadis said I probably wouldn't want to. He tried to tell Miss Lina and Mister Gourry, but they were eating too fast to listen. I'm glad I did."

Xellos chuckled. "Indeed. I would wager that Miss Lina is in no condition to see to her things, so if you would be so kind as to pack up her belongings as well as yours, we really must be off soon. Within thet hat half hour if at all possible."

"It's not even quite daybreak yet," Amelia pointed out. "We never leave this early."

"Well, there was never the threat of you winding up in jail for knowingly traveling here in the company of a Dragon before either."

Amelia squeaked. "Jail?!"

"Quite. This town is hardly the best place for a Dragon to remain."

"Mister Xellos, I don't think Miss Lina can travel."

"We shan't go far; just to the next town where things would be decidedly safer." Xellos walked over to the lavatory door and knocked on it with his staff. "Do hurry up in there, Miss Lina. It would really be a very good idea for all of us to leave this town in haste."

"What did you do?" she wailed from the other side of the door.

"It is not what I did, but what you did not do," he corrected. "If you will recall, I did caution you against coming to this town. It is a rather hazardous place for a Dragon to remain, and for those within her company."

"If anyone come her here, I'm Fireballing them clear to Zefielia!"

"It won't be far, a few hours on the road at the most. We will stop at the next town and you can rest to your heart's content. But believe me when I say that remaining in this town would be a very bad idea."

"I'm not budging!"

"Not even if someone were to bring nothing but Dradora Surprise to you for your meals, morning, noon, and night?"

The door was flung open, and a pasty-faced Lina glowered darkly at him. "I really, really hate you right now, Xellos."

"I know." He beamed cheerfully. "Thank you for breakfast, Miss Lina. It is most delicious."

The door slammed shut in his face again. "Shut up about food!"

"Oh my. I never thought I'd hear Miss Lina say that!" Amelia said, looking up from her packing.

"I will see to Miss Filia. After you finish, would you inform Mister Zelgadis and Mister Gourry that we really must depart?" Xellos asked. "When I return, I will expect to see Miss Lina out and prepared to travel." He said that last sentence loud enough for her to be incapable of not hearing it.

"What if she's not out by then?"

"Then I shall simply have to remove her."

"Touch me and you're one de--" The rest of Lina's tirade was cut short by the sound of dry heaves.

"I'll see if a healing spell will help her," Amelia said.

"It won't!" Lina wailed.

"That is only because you are hardly in the condition to cast anything, Miss Lina," Xellos told her. "Now stop wailing and get yourself back together. We are leaving shortly, ready or not."

He ignored her groan-punctuated ranting as he stepped out of the room, closing the door firmly behind him. There was a town not terribly far off which would be a much better place for all of them. He was there, after all, briefly during the night to locate a suitable destination, and stash the case somewhere in the nearby vicinity. Speaking of which...

Xellos closed the door and studied the sleeping Dragon. This would likely be one of the more critical moments. Perhaps the training would not be retained once she had a chance to sleep and regain her strength. This was a possibility, he knew.

One he would certainly like to avoid coming to pass if at all possible.

Xellos set his staff aside and teleported onto the bed beside her, draping his arm over her waist, spooning his body against her back. She purred quietly for a moment, but did not awaken.

"You are my slave," he whispered, nuzzling gently against her ear. "I am your master." He kept repeating that softly as he moved his hand under the blankets, touching bare skin, stroking her body. Her purrs increased as she gradually woke up, and then she lazily stretched, pressing against him, trilling quietly.

"Good morning, slave," he whispered against her ear, licking it softly. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, Master," she murmured, stifling a yawn as she rolled over, snuggling against his chest.

Xellos grinned. Success. "While it is certainly tempting to remain here with you, I'm afraid I must insist that you dress as quickly as possible. We must leave hsoonsoon."

She didn't move. "I want to sleep, Master."

He smacked her hip, cupping his hand to maximize the sound without inflicting any real pain. "Slave, I gave you an order," he said sternly.

She jumped when she was slapped, and her eyes opened wide, staring at him with a curious mixture of fear and rejection. "Yes, Master."

He remained on the bed, watching her as she stood, gathering up her clothes and began to dress. When she pulled her pink dress over her head, he teleported behind her, deftly fastening the row of buttons.

"Thank you, Master," she said softly.

When Xellos finished, he turned her around, seizing the back of her neck firmly as he kissed her. She stared at him, wide-eyed and hopeful when he pulled back. "I would rather use you for your purpose, slave, but this is not a safe place. In the future, you will not question my orders."

"I won't, Master," she said meekly.

"Very good. Finish dressing, then come to the commons room," Xellos said. "And remember, in the presence of others, you are to address me as Mister Xellos."

"Yes, Master, I'll remember."

"You're a very good slave," he said, stroking his hand over her hair. She closed her eyes and trilled softly, a contented sound. Xellos smirked and teleported from the room.

*****


Although Amelia had been able to bring Lina and Gourry to a high enough level of health that making a trip was not entirely out of thestiostion, a little more than four hours later, they were still quite a ways off from their destination.

"I thought you said we'd be there by now," Lina grumbled as she staggered out from behind a large boulder.

"Yes, but I'm afraid such an estimation for the length this trip would take did nactoactor in the very frequent side trips you and Mister Gourry have been making," Xellos replied calmly.

"It's all your fault, you fruitcake Mazoku!"

"Indeed? And just how would you figure that?"

"You told me to enjoy it!"

"Miss Lina, we have already had this conversation. If any of you had bothered to read the visitor's guidebook, you would have known about the ingredients."

"Then it's your fault!" Lina swung her fist at her next victim, then yelped in pain, holding her bruised hand.

Zelgadis looked at her, unfazed by the blow. "My fault? It's your fault, your's and your appetite's!"

"You didn't eat it! You didn't let Amelia eat it! You knew!" she accused.

"Lina, I didn't have to know. It looked like something that was scraped out of the bottom of a swamp, and didn't smell much better."

"That's no excuse!"

"Miss Lina, the longer you complain and hold up our progress, the longer it will take to reach our destination," Xellos replied. "So if you simply must vent your displeasure, I recommend you do so while walking."

She shot off a few impolite words, but started trudging down roadroad again.

"Maybe we should start reading guidebooks for the towns we viout out here," Amelia suggested as she fell into step beside Zelgadis.

"You might have the right idea there." Zelgadis looked over to Xellos, glowering. "I suppose it would be too much to hope for that even now, with several hours between us and the town, you'd tell us why it was so important for us to leave before I could even have my morning coffee."

"You only had to ask," Xellos replied cheerfully, and to his enjoyment, received the expected result of seeing Zelgadis twitch. "I would have been more than happy to answer once we were actually underway."

"And why didn't you mention this before now?" Zelgadis retorted.

"No one asked!"

Another twitch. The chimera was such fun. He felt Filia grab his arm and glanced at her. She stared at him, eyes wide with fear, a silent entreaty for him not to tell. Xellos cracked one eye open slightly, staring back at her until meekmeekly lowered her gaze, letting go. He smirked inwardly, pleased with her continued obedience.

"The town is simply a hazard to Dragons, which is why I suggested that we not go there in the first place," Xellos replied.

"A hazard how?" Zelgadis didn't look convinced. He didn't sound convinced either.

"The town has a history of capturing lone Dragons and forcing them into slavery for a high price." It was the truth, after all. He simply would not specify whatd ofd of slavery.

"What?" Amelia stopped walking, staring at him, agape. "And you didn't tell us when we could have done something about this injustice?" she demanded. "We must go back there now, and let the pureness of justice burn away this wicked crime! Did they hurt you, Miss Filia?"

Filia stopwalkwalking, eyes wide, stammering. los los firmly took her arm, leading her along. "She is quite all right, merely spooked by her near-miss with slavery. I got her out, of course, but need I remind you, Miss Amelia, that we are working within a limited, but undetermined time frame? There is a prophesy which suggests that the very fate of our world hangs in balance; first we deal with that, then you can teach them the merits of justice all you wish."

At the princess' starry-eyed expressionllosllos immediately wished he'd phrased that differently. "You rescued Miss Filia from their vile clutches, and now you're seeing the importance of justice! Oh, Mister Xellos! I always knew you'd repent your evil ways and embrace the purity and goodness of just ng wng with a converted heart!"

Ahead of them, Lina facevaulted. Zelgadis and Xellos exchanged looks, sweatdropping. "Err, yes, of course, Miss Amelia, whatever you say. Come along, Miss Filia, we really mustn't tarry "
"

*****


"Here we are, a bit late for lunch, I'm afraid," Xellos said as they entered the town, making a beeline to a nearby inn. "But I'm certain you could persuade the innkeeper to prepare a nice, big meal for you, Miss Lina."

"I hate you."

"Something finally put a cap on Lina Inverse's formidable appetite? I'm shocked," Zelgadis said.

"I hate you too."

"Miss Lina, it's not very just to hate someone."

"That's not a bad idea," Gourry cut in, scratching his head and interrupting whatever retort Lina was formulating for Amelia. "Hey, Lina, I am kinda hungry. Want to get some lunch?"

"DILL BRAND!"

Xellos watched in amusement as Gourry's reflexes kicked in to compensate for his lack of survival instinct as the ground exploded upward from beneath him. He looked at Filia, who had been remarkably quiet for a change, and took her arm gently, leading her to the inn. "Well, I know Miss Filia could stand a chance to eat. Anyone who wants to join us is welcome to."

"I'll get us a room if you'd rather rest, Miss Lina," Amelia said.

"I hate being sick."

"I know, Miss Lina, but you'll be better by tomorrow at the latest," Amelia replied, consoling her as they entered the inn.

"Lunch is over," the innkeeper said as Xellos led Filia into the dining room.

"I'm quite certain you will find it worth your while to provide us with a late meal," Xellos replied calmly, pulling out a chair for Filia. "Miss Amelia, if you would be so kind...?"

After a few long minutes of haggling, Amelia was able to secure the man's agreement to prepare a meal for them, at twice the normal price. Lina staggered off up the stairs, and Zelgadis and Gourry joined them at the table.

"I'm glad Miss Lina's not hungry," Amelia complained. "That man was rather unreasonable."

"Filia, are you okay?" Zelgadis asked.

"She's fine," Xellos answered for her. "She's merely had a trying time, combined with not having a chance to eat since yesterday. Not very healthy for a Dragon."

"I was asking her." The Chimera's tone was as sharp as his gaze.

"I'm fine, Mister Zelgadis," Filia said. "Really. It has just, as Mister Xellos said, been a very long day."

"It's good to see you two are getting along now," Amelia said. "Especially since Mister Xellos has converted to the side of justice!"

"Will you quit saying that?" he complained as Filia produced her tea set.

"Why? It's true, isn't it?"

"Whether or not it is, it's still making me sick."

Zelgadisrkedrked. "I never thought I'd see this day," he said to Amelia, and the smirk deepened, along with a wicked glint in his eye that Xellos didn't like. "Isn't life wonderful?"

Xellos suppressed a twitch, and inwardly he glowered. Lord Beastmaster, are we quite certain he's necessary to all this? No one will miss him, really.

Zelgadis' smirk deepened for just a moment before his mouth was covered by his coffee cup. That same sip of coffee almost choked him a moment later when Filia politely asked Xellos if he would like some tea.

"I would be delighted, Miss Filia," Xellos replied, smiling in amusement while Gourry clapped a coughing Chimera on the back.

"Isn't this wonderful?" Amelia asked, getting starry-eyed. "Just yesterday, they were fighting and Miss Filia was crying, and now today..."

"I wouldn't quite describe it as 'wonderful'," Zelgadis retorted. "Freaky, maybe. Bizarre, definitely. Wonderful? That's a bit much. Rather a big change for overnight."

"Mister Xellos takes care of me," Filia said, her tone soft and wounded. Xellos bristled at the intrusion on his territory. What Zelgadis said didn't bother him in the slightest. But Filia was his, and no one else was to harm her. Ever.

"I though you had more sense than this." Zelgadis was clearly ignoring the pointed glare Xellos was giving him. "Xellos does a lot of stuff, and some of it's apparently beneficial, sure. But he never does anything without an ulterior motive. I thought you realized that."

Filia glanced at him, and Xellos saw the confusion there, the training weakening, wavering. He cursed inwardly; they were hardly in a good place or time to either reinforce the training, or leave the table.

Time to get creative.

"Miss Filia." He kept his tone low, but still loud enough for the others at the table could hear. "Do you remember what I told you last night?"

She nodded slightly.

"Answer me," he instructed.

"Yes, Ma-- Mister Xellos."

It was a near slip, but one Xellos didn't ry miy mind. She almost called him Master; so it was still holding for the moment. "Do you remember that I said I would keep you safe?"

"Yes, Mister Xellos," she replied softly.

"Have you known me to tell a falsehood?"

"No, Mister Xellos." Her gaze flickered to the side when she heard Zelgadis snort in derision, then returned to his face. "You might phrase things with the intention to mislead, and I always assumed before that you lied, but thinking back, I can see that you haven't."

He kept his smile small, although inwardly he was beaming with pleasure at her initiative. "How did I phrase things last night, Miss Filia?"

"You said that nothing would happen to me that you would not allow, and that you would keep me safe."

"Filia!" Zelgadis interrupted. "Listen to what you just said. What he might allow could be a hell of a lot!"

"But in allowing harm, he would contradict himself and make the second part a lie," Filia countered.

Xellos grinned, touching her shoulder gently. "Thank you, Miss Filia. That was an excellent answer." She looked at him in adoration, and Xellos smirked. Yes, the training was holding up nicely.

"Food!" Gourry shouted, forestalling any further conversation as the innkeeper brought out their late lunch. Although there were minor scuffles between Gourry and Amelia, Xellos noted with some amusement that the meal was a less dangerous affair without Lina, due in part to the fact that the other two were not quite as territorial.

"Miss Filia, when you have finished your plate, I will take you to your room. You are still clearly exhausted, and you should rest," Xellos said. "But for now, do eat. You need some nourishment, having skipped some meals."

to be continued...