AN: I do not own The Slayers, I just play in the sandbox.

Martina raised her arms to allow her maid, Steffi, to pull her pink silk dress over her head and down her body. As Steffi started to tie the laces, she said exuberantly. "It's hard to believe that you are already ten, Princess!"

Martina watched herself in the mirror as she admired the pink, puffy dress. She had never seen a prettier garment! "I can't wait for my party!"

"It will be so much fun. Your Daddy spared no expense." Steffi replied as she adjusted the dress and then picked up a hair brush and started doing Martina's hair. "Oh, you are just such a little doll!"

"Thank you!" Martina said as she stared lovingly at her reflection. There was no fault to be found! She was the prettiest princess. Everyone said so! She had servants who took care of her every need and she never had to worry about a thing. Life was perfect. "I want to wear some make up!"

"You're a little young." Steffi said, "But….it would be so much fun!"

Martina grinned as Steffi pulled out a bin of make up and started putting rouge on Martina's cheeks as someone knocked on the door. "Enter!" Martina said.

Her footmen, Andre and Roger, came in, "We're ready to take you down to the party, Princess."

"Good." She said as Steffi lifted her into her pink canopied litter. A proper princess never walks anywhere, not even through her own palace! Steffi walked beside her as she was carried through the hallways and into the ballroom, where the children of the various nobles were gathered. Martina recognize all of them save for one girl who towered above the rest. At around sixteen she was definitely older than everyone there, but even given her age she was tall! Taller than her footmen even! And with long raven hair she was so beautiful. Too beautiful. Worse, she didn't seem as excited as the other children about her party!

"Wow, Prince Philionel's oldest is an exquisite beauty." Steffi said, and jealousy burned through Martina as she remembered that Princess Gracia of Seyruun was visiting Xoana. Martina looked at Gracia's ample bosom and wondered if she could ever get hers to grow so big, and then withered under the foreign feeling of inferiority.

Steffi walked towards Gracia and curtsied, "Your highness, allow me to introduce you to Princess Martina."

Gracia stepped forward, "Delighted to meet you."

"You sound bored." Martina said.

"I am. This is a stupid kid's party. But my daddy says I need to improve my diplomatic skills, so here I am." She said with a laugh.

Martina reddened, "I'll show you! Just wait till you try our food! And now, let's eat!"

Steffi picked her up from the litter and seated her at the head of the table. Gracia sat at her right, and with a smug sense of satisfaction Martina noted that Gracia had to walk on her own like a commoner. And as Steffi started loading her plate and cutting her food while Gracia was left to do it herself, Martina smiled in victory. Seyruun must be doing poorly if they couldn't afford a maid for Gracia and she had to do those things for herself!

Martina opened her mouth, and Steffi dutifully fed her. She chewed thoughtfully as she said to Steffi, just loud enough to be heard. "Steffi, is Seyruun in financial trouble? Why doesn't Princess Gracia's maid feed her?"

"Only in Xoana are princesses so exalted that they never do a moment's work. The princesses of other countries have to walk, cut their food, and some even have to dress themselves!" Steffi said disdainfully. "You are very fortunate."

Martina grinned, "Naturally! Of course I would be born in the best country ever! I am the best!"

And then she laughed, causing one the young lords seated by Steffi to startle and smack the spoon filled with food out of her hand and fly through the air, smack landing onto the face of Justine, the oldest daughter of Duke Agoo.

"Oh dear!" Steffi exclaimed, "I am so sorry!"

"You clumsy little wench!" Justine exclaimed as she stood up and wiped the food off of her.

"I am so sorry, my lady. Let me help you clean up!"

"Stay away!" Justine said as she stood up to leave, "And wait till my dad hears about this!"

As Justine stormed out, Gracia sighed, "Well, these potatoes are good, but in Seyruun there's this cream that we add to them that makes them supreme! But it was a nice try."

"Daddy!" Martina cried as they carried her into the throne room, Steffi beside her, wracked with anxiety over the accident, despite Martina's assurances that everything would be alright.

"Martina!" King Moros said as he held his arms open to embrace her as he picked her off the litter. "Happy birthday, my most beautiful little girl!"

"Thank you!"

"Just wait till you see the pretty things I got you!"

But before they could open her presents, the Duke of Agoo burst into the throne room with Justine. "There she is!" Justine said as she pointed at Steffi.

"Arrest her immediately!" The Duke of Agoo ordered.

"Steffi? But she's been a loyal servant for years." King Moros said.

"She assaulted my Justine with a spoon!"

"You evil girl!" Martina said to Justine, "It was an accident! Someone pushed her."

"It was deliberate!" Justine insisted.

"Well," Moros said indecisively as Steffi looked as though she was going to faint.

"Your majesty," The Duke of Agoo said, "Let me remind you what will happen if you lose my support over the matter with the golems."

"Oh that." Moros said, "Very well. Guards, throw that maid into the dungeon."

Steffi started crying as the guards grabbed her. "No!" Martina ordered, "Stop, I command you!"

"Sorry, princess, but King Moros outranks you." One guard said as he took Steffi away.

"Princess!" Steffi cried.

Martina reached her hand out futilely, "I will get you out! Somehow."

The doors closed behind them ominously, and Martina broke down into a fountain of tears, "It's not fair! You're so mean! Taking my beloved maid on my birthday! How could you?"

"Would you please leave?" King Moros said, "Now that you've upset my daughter on her birthday?"

"Just see that Steffi stays in that dungeon until I say so!" The duke said, and then he left with Justine.

"Daddy, how could you?" Martina asked as she continued to sob. Sometimes if she cried long and hard enough he would change his mind.

Moros shook his head as he said uneasily, "You're just a little girl. You don't understand these things."

"Daddy!" Martina protested. "She didn't do anything wrong! One of the other kids pushed her."

"I believe you! But you can't get on the wrong side of the Duke of Agoo. He's too important, and she's not."

"But you're the king!" she countered as she continued to wail.

"These situations are complex. A little girl like you would never understand. And it's not fitting for you to pay attention to these matters. You're so delicate and helpless you can't do a thing. It's why you have maids and footmen and why the running of the kingdom is left to us men. Now enough of this matter. Let's open those gifts! And then later tonight you can spend some time with Princess Gracia of Seyruun."

But Martina continued to cry and tantrum, and eventually Moros just had to leave her be.

This has been the worse birthday ever! Martina though as her footmen carried her on her litter while Princess Gracia walked beside her, looking disinterested.

"As you can see, even our floors are lined with solid gold." Martina bragged to Princess Gracia.

Gracia snorted, "Just so you can step on something so precious? Oh, but you don't step on anything. You're too helpless. If you could move on your own, you could come to Seyruun and see how a tasteful palace uses their gold."

Martina reddened, "I am not helpless!"

"You can't even feed yourself!" Gracia said, "Your maid has to do it for you. You just sit on your litter and can't lift a finger. That's pathetic!"

"I am so important and exalted that I have people who do everything for me!"

Gracia laughed, "Keep telling yourself that. Hey, are you trusted to even wipe your own bottom?"

Martina reddened, "How dare you insult me!? You have to cut your own food and dress yourself like a commoner and have to lower yourself by walking everywhere! It's disgusting!"

"I do those things because I have power!" Gracia said, "Do you have power?"

Martina reddened as Gracia continued, "You know, if an injustice were occurring within my kingdom, I would have the power to correct it!"

That stopped Martina. "How do you know about that?"

Gracia smiled enigmatically, and then made to leave the room. "Wait!" Martina cried, "Andre, Roger, leave me. I want to talk to Princess Gracia alone."

Gracia stopped and waited for the footmen to leave. Martina got up and walked towards her. She never walked much or for long, just usually around her bed, but her legs had not atrophied, though she admittedly wasn't very strong. "How would you help Steffi?"

"I wouldn't let the men shut me out of the running of the kingdom, or my own life for one thing." Gracia said.

"But I'm weak. I can't do anything!" Martina protested.

"All humans are weak. But we can make ourselves stronger." Gracia explained.

"How?"

"Well," Gracia said conspiratorially, "I use Black Magic to draw power from Mazoku Lords to make myself stronger."

Martina gasped, "But that's…but that's…"

"Hey, maybe it's too much for you." Gracia said as she patted Martina on the shoulder, "But I'm sure you'll find your own way."

Gracia started to walk away, and Martina called, "Gracia!"

"Oh, I never told you?" Gracia asked as she turned around, "I prefer to be called by my middle name, Naga."

"Naga," Martina corrected, "I'll do my best!"

The next day Martina asked her footmen to take her to the dungeons. The two men looked at each other, and then Andre said. "Sorry princess. But your father would never allow it."

"But I command you!" she protested.

"But he outranks you. Sorry, but we can't. Is there somewhere else that you want us to take you to?"

Martina had seldom felt more helpless as she started to cry. "It's not fair! You're being so mean!"

Billie Jean, the maid who had been appointed to replace Steffi, rushed over to her and held her, "What did you do to upset her?" she shouted at the footmen.

"She asked to go to the dungeon. We can't take her there." Roger explained.

"The dungeon!" Billie Jean exclaimed, "That is certainly no place for our pretty princess!"

"But I want to go!" Martina cried. "I want to save Steffi!"

"Honey, you don't understand. There's nothing you can do, there's nothing that any of us can do. It's just the way that things are."

"What's the point of being a princess if I have to accept the way things are?" Martina screeched as she pushed Billie Jean away from her. "Now get out of my room!"

"Princess, please let me in. It's dinner, and you didn't have lunch!" Billie Jean pleaded as she knocked on the door, which Martina had locked.

"I'm not coming out until Steffi is released!" Martina insisted.

"Martina?" she heard Moros call, "That's enough, darling, please come out and eat."

"No!" Martina stated. "I'm staying right here until Steffi is released. And I won't eat anything! You can't make me!"

From the other side of the door, she heard Moros sigh. "She'll get hungry eventually."

"Right, your Majesty." Billie Jean said.

They don't even take me seriously! Martina thought in despair.

Martina's stomach rumbled as she laid in her bed, unable to sleep. She wished she was strong like Naga, that she could take power from Mazoku Lords and use it to free Steffi. And then, in the dim light, the image of a Mazoku appeared before her. He had a white bleached skull with a triangular eye socket on his right side and on his left side he was yellow with a round eye socket. He had four horns, spaced asymmetrically around him, and his face was perched on a giant three toed claw. She gasped, and then rushed to her desk and dumped her junk drawer, working feverishly until she had replicated what she had seen.

When she had finished, Martina looked at the talisman and smiled. "I shall name you Lord Zoemelgustar! And with your help and your power, we will free Steffi! Isn't that right, Lord Zoemelgustar?"

She then lowered her voice and replied, "Why, yes, Martina."

In the dead of the night, Martina crept through the palace. At first it wasn't that difficult, but as the journey grew longer, the more tired she became. But every time she thought of turning back and going to her room, or even just sitting on the floor to rest, she squeezed her talisman and pleaded with Lord Zoemelgustar to give her strength. And he did! It would pulse through her, allowing her to get closer and closer to the dungeon.

But once she got to the door that led to the dungeons, it opened to reveal a flight of stairs. Martina laughed with exhaustion as she held the talisman over her head, "I will get down these stairs, with the help of the Monstrous Zoemelgustar!"

Methodically she made her way down the stairs, meeting no one along the way (but of course she wouldn't meet anyone, Zoemelgustar was protecting her!) Finally she reached the bottom of the stairs. The guards sat up straight as she approached. "Princess Martina?" one asked.

"Let me through!" she commanded, talisman still in hand as she brandished it about. They stepped back, and once again Martina was amazed at the power of her talisman.

"Where are you going?" one of the guards asked.

"Release Steffi!"

"Only King Moros can order her release." The guard said as Martina made her way down the line of cells to find Steffi, "And you must leave."

"Don't even think of laying a hand on me!" she stated as she showed them the talisman, "Or you will be cursed by the Monstrous Zoemelgustar!"

"Um, right." one guard said as he sweatdropped, while the other one said, "I'll, um, go alert King Moros."

Martina found Steffi's cell, who was rising in her bed looking bleary eyed as she stared disbelieving at Martina. "Princess Martina?"

"I will get you out of here, with the help of the Monstrous Zoemelgustar!" Martina said as she showed Steffi her talisman.

Steffi blinked, "The help of what? What are you doing here? You'll get sick!"

"Lord Zoelmelgustar will protect me!" Martina said found that the cell next to Steffi's was empty. She walked in, and gratefully sank down on the bench, her limbs shaking with the effort.

She was still recovering from her long walk when her father came in, "What are you doing in here!?" he demanded to know.

"Making you release Steffi!" Martina said, "I won't leave this cell unless you free her, and promise never to lock her up again!"

"B-b-but…" Moros said, "You come out of there at once!"

"No!"

"So help me, Martina, if you don't get out of there at once I'll…"

Martina showed him her talisman, "I made a pact with the Monstrous Zoelmelgustar!"

"A-a pact!?" Moros said as he whitened and sweatdropped, and Martina felt a thrill of victory as she realized that he had no idea that Zoelmelgustar was a made up Mazoku! "With a Mazoku!? My daughter?"

"Yes! Your daughter! If you try to make me leave he will curse you! So you can't make me! The only way I'm moving from this spot is if Steffi comes with me! You wouldn't want to anger the Monstrous Zoelmelgustar would you?"

Moros reddened, "Fine, fine! Just get out of there at once!"

"Release Steffi first!" Martina insisted, "And then you can call for my litter."

"Guards," Moros said, "Release Steffi."

Steffi rushed from her cell and into Martina's and embraced her, "Thank you, princess!"

"Of course! And thank Zoelmelgustar!" Martina said as she glowed.

"No thanks." Martina said as Steffi started to cut her food, "I will eat this food myself, with the help of the monstrous Zoelmelgustar!"

Steffi looked a bit hurt, but gave Martina the utensils as Moros looked uneasy as Martina awkwardly held them. "You, um, didn't come to breakfast in your litter." He stated.

"No, I'm burning it. I can walk on my own, with the help of the monstrous Zoelmelgustar!"

"And, um, what will I say to the Duke of Agoo?"

Martina laughed, "Let me handle him, Daddy. From now on, I will run this kingdom, with the help of the Monstrous Zoemelgustar!"

AN: I may have made Naga slightly younger than she actually should have been, but let's not get too over caught up in the details! Basically I assumed that Martina is about Lina's age and calculated from there. And this would take place before Naga and Amelia's mother was assassinated.

Hope you enjoyed! This is probably the last of the minor character exploration I'm going to do (much as I love Filia and regret that I only got to write her twice, I think TRY nicely summed her up, and Pokota just squicks me too much to think about).