Chapter Two.
When Xellos finally felt consciousness returning to him, it felt almost as though he'd been hit in the chest by both the Dragon Slave and Giga Slave combined.
"Who would have thought that 'Mace-sama' would hurt so much?" Xellos found himself thinking, as he slowly roused up.
"Xellos? Are you awake?" Filia's voice asked; echoing slightly in his fogbound brain. He flinched, and opened one eye.
"H-hai...Fi-chan." Xellos whispered; hissing when even the effort of breathing sent brandlike pain through his chest. It was then he could feel what seemed to be bandages wrapped around his torso; holding his fractured ribs in place, so they could heal properly. He was confused when he heard what seemed to be a sigh of relief, and felt a soft hand touch his brow.
"Good. You've been unconscious for several days...I was beginning to wonder." Filia said, as Xellos' gaze focused on her, and her expression could be read. To his surprise, Xellos found not only relief, but also a hint of guilt as well.
"Yare, yare...Fi-chan. You can't be rid of me...that easily." Xellos softly said; with a semblance of his usual smile on his pale face. The Ryuzoku only snorted in response to that, then gently helped him sit up; moving slowly so the pain wouldn't get the better of him.
"I need to give you some medicine,...Xellos. It will help to take the edge off of the pain, and help with your illness as well." Filia stated, her hesitation to use Xellos' name instead of her chosen nickname for him very prominent. Xellos managed to arch an eyebrow at this.
"Medicine? Are you certain it isn't poison...Fi-chan?" Xellos asked, trying his best to prod the normally-fiery dragon priestess into a rage. To his surprise, it didn't work; he only got an arched eyebrow for his comment, instead.
"Even though Val would say otherwise...It is indeed medicine." Filia murmured, with a slight chuckle, as she remembered her adopted son's reaction to the homemade remedies. She watched with silent amusement as Xellos gingerly took the medicine; inwardly giggling when he made a grotesque face in response to the taste.
"Your son is right...It does taste horrible..." Xellos muttered, when he'd finally managed to swallow the vile-tasting concoction.
"But it should help...With you being what you are, I don't think healing spells would work very well. White magic would probably do more harm than good." Filia said, as she put the bottle of medicine on the bedside table for a moment, then reached out and felt his brow again.
"She has a point." Xellos reluctantly admitted, to himself; feeling himself relax slightly in response to her touch, yet wondering all the while why that was so.
"Hey, Mama! How's Priest-san doing?" Val's voice asked, as the youthful dragon poked his head into the room and gazed curiously at Xellos.
"He's awake, for now." Filia replied; her tone hinting that she wanted Xellos to get some more rest, and he was not to argue with her about that. At this, Xellos couldn't help but make a show of being petulant; getting a laugh from the younger dragon when he even stuck his tongue out at Filia for added effect.
"But I really wanted to talk to Val-kun, Fi-chan!" Xellos playfully argued, even though he still sounded somewhat tired, to the former priestess' ears.
"You two can talk all you want, later. For now, you must rest and allow yourself to heal." Filia retorted; knowing she was winning the argument, when she saw the Mazoku priest try to stifle a yawn, and fail miserably.
"Good. The medicine's beginning to take effect...It'll help with his fever and the pain." Filia mused, as she watched Xellos lay back down, reluctantly conceding defeat in this first round.
"Is Priest-san going to be all right, Mama?" Val asked, as he carefully entered the room, and watched the Mazoku drift into slumber alongside her.
"Given how stubborn he is, Val, I would say he'll be just fine." Filia replied, with a little more certainty than she felt.
"But I can only wonder what brought him here to begin with. Has he been ordered to watch over me? If so, then why?" Filia wondered, as she gently ushered her adoptive son out of the room, tucked the covers a little bit tighter around Xellos, and then sat down alongside him; secretly wondering what else was going to happen that was going to throw the already chaotic chain of events into even further confusion.
Author's Note!
Not much of a new chapter, granted, but at least it's a 'step in the right direction', ne? Sorry to keep everyone in suspense like this, but writer's block has been pretty unkind here, lately. Even though it's short, I hope it's enough to tell everybody that I haven't given up on it yet. As always, I am open to suggestions on where the story could go, and what could happen next! Thanks for reading! (And being so patient!)
Gemini14