-A/N- Wow. It has been four whole weeks since my last update. A lot of things has come up in my personal life, and there was a brief, (four weeks isn't brief!) lose of interest on my part. Soon I will be working two jobs, so I don't want to commit to an updating schedule. Even though I really wasn't on one before, I was still able to manage an update once a week. I don't know if that will be the case again, however I do hope to update more. I do want to finish this fanfic. It seems to be moving along slowly, even though I wanted this fic to be short. Sheesh. I'm unreliable. .
Anyways enjoy the new chapter.
Chapter 9 – Embracing Encouragement
"Before you say anything, I want to explain a few things on how this is going to work." Filia said with authority, while keeping eye contact between Val and Xellos.
"The ritual to inter is rather complicated, and I am only able to bring one other person with me. I thought this over, and as much as I regret it," she glared at Xellos, "But you're going to be the most beneficial for me to bring. I have a lot of questions and perhaps your opinion might tilt us in the right directions." She said in a voice that made it clear that she wasn't trying to complement him.
"Why Filia, I'm flattered." Xellos mocked her as he held on to his staff rather tightly.
"Don't be. I felt it would be safer that way then to leave you with Daé. Me and my son can expect an erupt betrayal from you at any given minute, however she does not. Who knows what kind of evil mission your master has planted on you, which has caused you to trail after us, but I'm sure it will not be good for any of us in the end."
So basically she wanted him to come along so she could keep an eye on him, Xellos twitched.
"You don't need to think up excuses to get me to accompany you on this little side quest you've dragged us in to. If you need a body guard, you could just ask." He grinned at her.
"Not likely." She narrowed her eyes. "Remember were in Dragon territory, I don't want to worry about what you're doing out here, while I'm in there. Also there is the fact that I'm going to be around an original source of the Clair Bible. It will be pleasing to see you unable to destroy it, and only be able to stare." She grinned triumphantly.
"Is that a challenge?" Xellos questioned.
"If it was, it was a solid one. There is no possible way for you to penetrate a Dragon barrier." She smirked.
"We'll see about that." He grinned back.
Daé looked between the two with a look of alarm, worried that the two would burst in to another fight. Val put his hand on her shoulder and smiled.
"Is this going to take long? We don't want to stay in one place for too long, it will make us easier to track." Val suggested, breaking apart Filia and Xellos from there tense glares. "Remember, we all get along." He laughed sheepishly.
"Thanks, hon." Filia huffed as she gave him a smile. "You be safe while were gone. I want you two to stay here, preferably under a barrier just to make me feel more at ease."
"That's fine, Daé has been needing some practice with holding up a barrier." Val grinned down at her, as she blanched.
"Are you serious, training now?" She pouted.
"No Daé, Val is right. A barrier is something you need to improve on during these hostile times." Filia nodded at the girl. "Do your best."
Daé sweat dropped as she felt like she was backed in to a corner, as she laughed weakly.
"Right, before we leave I should explain a few things." Filia said as she pointed up in the air with her finger, as her face became focused as she concentrated on what she was about to say. "This is somewhat of a holy land for dragons. Especially this part of the island since it is where the Clair Bible was created. There are numerous spells and security measures placed all about the island to keep invaders out. So that is one of the reasons I wish you two to remain in one spot. If you wander around, you might be subjected to a trap or something worst."
Val and Daé nodded their heads at Filia's fierce expression.
"Right and one other thing. Under no circumstances, touch the water."
"Why is that?" Daé asked confused as she looked at the waterfall behind Filia.
"This water is enchanted with a spell to keep invaders away from the Clair Bible. Anything that comes in contact with the water will melt on contact, even you." She mentioned as she shot a glance at Xellos.
"Mom, just a few seconds ago you touched the water." Val pointed out.
"Ah, yes. That is because I performed a bond ritual here when I was a little girl." She explained.
"A what?" Val asked her as he looked at her in confusion.
"When I was younger, the elders would bring young to this island, to perform a Bond Ritual with the River, to insure passage inside once they have grown. A Dragon can only enter this temple once in their life span. It is meant to serve as a last resort for a Dragon who needs to put peace to their soul." She closed her eyes and placed a hand over her heart as she though back to something far in her past.
"Even in the darkest of times, there will always be peace to be found." She quoted, which seemed to calm her as a small smile spread across her face, causing Xellos to send her a skeptical look.
"Anyways-" She continued as she opened her eyes and stared at the two that were going to be left behind, "We better get going so we can quickly return and move on to the next location. I will begin the ritual now."
The three all watched her as she turned her back to them and stepped up toward the water, her boots crunching in the gravel along the way. A gentle breeze blew through her golden hair, and caused it and the fabric of her loose pink dress to follow the direction of the river. She stopped in front of the water, as she reached in to her bag, and pulled out something that they couldn't see, and brought it up her.
In a calm, crisp voice, she began to speak out to the river, in words that sounded not only rehearsed, but slowly caused the three of them to become nervous at what she was going to do.
"River Dragon of the Island, though we have only met Trice, we have formed an unforgettable bond. Today, I wish to complete the ritual and proceed to what lies beyond your watery guard. I offer a remembrance of what I offered you before, to prove myself on to you, and wish you grant me a path to your hidden treasures."
Beyond what the three could see, Filia brought up a dagger to her palm, which she had blessed that morning, and drew the steal slowly across her flesh, and held her hand out toward the water.
As the Dragon Blood hit the enchanted water, magic shot from where it landed, and pointed toward the center of the waterfall, as the water that fell split apart revealing a path underneath the flowing water.
"Only I can walk on the path, so Xellos, you will have to hover by me." She stated as she stepped on to the magical path, and began to make her way toward the cave within the waterfall.
The wind had picked up, causing Filia's cloak to flap in the wind behind her as she walked on, leaving the three behind.
Xellos grinned over to Val and Daé as he began to float. "You kids play nicely." He winked at them before setting off after Filia.
"Yeah, same to you." Val shouted after him before looking down at Daé, who instantly began to blush.
"W-what?" She stuttered as she looked down, causing Val to split in to a grin.
"I guess it's time to start practicing." He encouraged her, as she took a step back in horror.
"What?" she said again, this time with more fear than embarrassment.
"Your barriers silly, what were you thinking?" He asked her curiously.
"Nothing." She answered to soon, causing him to become more suspicious. "Let's just get started! GEEZ" she shouted in frustration, and humiliation.
Calmly, Filia entered through the waterfall, without a drip of water touching her, closely followed by Xellos. Once she stepped off the magical path on to the rocky ground, the magical path dissolved and the water resumed its fall. Hardly any light flowed through the rushing water, making visibility low as Filia continued forward, as Xellos followed behind her.
After about a moment of walking though the dark, Xellos let out an unnecessary whistle, causing Filia to lose her intense concentration on what she was thinking about, and jump to where he was standing, out of reaction, flailing her hand back to hit whatever surprised her, expecting an enemy, before he caught her wrist in his hand.
"Wha- Xellos!" She fumed as she saw his outline in the dim lighting. "What was that for? You surprised me!" She growled.
"Well then, mission accomplished!" Xellos replied merrily as he chuckled.
"Honestly, Xellos! Sometimes you can be such a child. Does silence really make you that uncomfortable?" She spat at him.
"Not really, I was just bored." He mumbled as he looked away from her glaring eyes, still grinning.
"Sheesh." Filia grunted as she turned from him in frustration. However she didn't move farther due to him still holding on to her arm.
"How is it I find it strange, but not altogether too surprising, to see a Dragon partake in a black magic ritual?" Xellos said in a lower voice than he usually spoke in behind her back.
"It wasn't blac-" Filia flared up again as she turned to glare at him, before her words were lost to her as she stared transfixed at Xellos. His haunting Mazoku eyes were open and bright as they looked on to her bleeding palm fiercely. They looked both dangerous, as a chill ran down Filia's spine, and hypnotizing, as she couldn't remove her wide eyed gaze from the sight of them.
"A ritual that calls for a sacrifice sounds like black magic to me." Xellos said in the same low voice as he brought her palm closer to him, and brushed his tongue across the wound, causing Filia to wince slightly at the pressure on the cut.
Filia's body began to react in an unfamiliar way, as her heart began to pound inside her chest. When she would think about it later, she would just excuse it to being scared of Xellos strange behavior, but for the moment, her mind remained blank as she remained spellbound to his gaze.
His eyes moved from her palm to her, as they continued to hold her attention.
"I think now would be a splendid time to get a few things out before we are pulled in to another senseless argument. Not that I don't enjoy our little 'banter' that we partake in every now and then, there are a few things I want to make very clear to you, so you do not question me again." He spoke in a hushed voice that was almost drowned out by the rushing water that was behind them in the cave.
"Over the years, we have formed an, ah understanding would be the best term to describe it. We have the chance to be as civil as we can allow ourselves to be around each other, while keeping up a barrier between each of us. You know me well enough to understand not to trust me, which is as you should be. You have enough brain power to realize that I am a ruthless monster, who has a history of betraying those who I travel with. However-" He paused as he brushed her hair off her shoulder, causing her eyes to widen farther, "In this exact predicament, you will find that for the moment at least, we are on equal sides. I cannot, and will not tell you the mission which my master has set on me, however I will say that I was not sent here to betray you, and Filia-" He paused as his gaze hardened, "You know that isn't a lie."
Slowly, Filia nodded her head at him. Not that she wanted to trust him, she just couldn't help to do it. When he said it so bluntly, there was no denying the truth behind his words.
"Things are going to get rough Filia, you need to grasp this. When the time comes, I might have to get violent to allow us to continue this journey to the end. I can't have you reaching out to slander me for that, this is a fair warning. Even if we don't always agree on the same terms, we need to find a level on which we can maintain a peaceful understanding."
Again, without anything to say, Filia nodded her head once more.
Xellos eyes stayed locked on to hers for a moment longer, before they looked beyond her at something she couldn't see, before he dropped her arm and placed up a false grin back upon his face.
Curious, Filia turned to what he had been looking at, and saw a dim glow slowly make its way toward them.
As the light grew closer, two figures made their way near them, Filia recognized who the outlines belonged to.
The smaller figure was a female, with black shorts, a black turtleneck, and a dark gaze. She had short black hair and grey eyes that looked sharp and alert. In her hand she held a shimmery piece of fabric tight in her grip.
Beside her was a male, who held out a torch to light the path. He was taller than Xellos, and just as thin. His longer light hair was held in a tail at the nape of his neck, while the rest fell in a wavy mess around his face. He had a bright smile on his face as he drew closer to them, which showed that he was going to be more cheerful than his companion.
"Greetings." The male smiled genuinely as he reached closer to the group. "It has been a while since we have had visitors."
"It has been a while, Master Dominic, and Master Corelle." Filia nodded to the two of them.
The male, Dominic brought the light closer to Filia and Xellos to get a better view of their faces, as his grin widened.
"Aw goodness, please just call me Dom. Mister makes me sound like an old man, and if you want to please the misses, just call her Core. She and I were never much for titles." He smiled, as he took Filia's hand and stared at her with reddish brown eyes that looked like they were more ancient than they seemed. "Good to see you again, Filia-Chan."
Filia's eyes widened in shock as she stared at the man's smiling face. "You remember me?"
"Try not to seem so surprised. I remember every Dragon who has came to the temple to form a bond. It's been a couple hundred years since you and your elder came to this temple, you have grown in to a beautiful young lady." He smiled.
Xellos kept a snort to himself as he tried to ignore the man's over polite attitude.
"However," Dom said as his eyes shifted to Xellos, as he stood from where he hunched over to look at Filia, "I've never met you, at least not in person. Your Xellos, the General-Priest under Lord Beastmaster Zelas, am I correct?" He stated as he continued to smile warmly, even though the question really wasn't stated as one.
Xellos copied the man's expression with a fake version of the kind smile as he shifted his staff in his hands. "My, you seemed to be a well informed Dragon."
"Oh, I wouldn't go that far. My mate is the one who recognized you, not I." He motioned toward the small female.
Xellos looked over the female quickly trying to place if he had met her before. No memory would rise as he looked at her briefly. From her build, and the way she presented herself, Xellos deducted that she was the brawn of the duo, even though she was smaller and weaker. By looking at her, Xellos assumed that magic and speed were her strengths, which brought him to believe that the male was the brains of the group.
Too bad for Filia that he put himself in both roles for their group, he grinned.
"I don't believe I have met you either." Xellos smiled at the woman, even though he didn't expect on in return, which he didn't receive. Instead the woman looked at Filia, with guarded eyes.
"Why have you brought a Monster to our temple, do you wish to destroy it?"
"I do not wish that." Filia stated as she looked at her with confidence. "I have come to seek wisdom in a dark time. He is here under my wishes, only so that he can't cause harm outside of the temple. Due to rather detailed and unfortunate events, we're currently traveling together, along with two others. One is my son, and the other is his . . . ah, girlfriend." She paused as she tried to think of the best way to describe Daé. She wouldn't go so far as to call her Val's mate, at least not yet any ways. As far as she knew, that hadn't reached that status, at least if the both of them wanted to remain living, she thought to herself.
"Well then, shall we journey farther in to the cave, were we can make preparations for you to enter Filia? Due to the Bond, no matter the circumstances you are granted one visit to this temple." Dom smiled as he then extended his hand toward the dark tunnel which he and Core just came from.
"Yes, we would like to make it a quick trip. I believe you would agree that both parties would like to make this a swift visit."
"Rather smart statement." Dom grinned.
"Forgive me for bringing an unwanted guest into your home." Filia bowed as a vein throbbed on Xellos forehead in irritation though he continued to smile. She didn't even try to hide the fact that she was talking about him.
"Well then, onward we march!" Dom stated happily as they began their way through the tunnel.
"You're doing fine, I don't understand what you were so worried about." Val grinned as he spread out across the grass in triumph. Daé was creating a perfect barrier without any problems. True, at first she had a few problems calling up the barrier without damaging the grass surrounding them, but after a few tries she was able to create an effective barrier.
"I don't see why I have to do this, a Dragon barrier is much stronger and longer lasting than a human one." Daé mumbled in a distant tone, as she stared over the journal she had bought the day before.
Val grinned as he sat up and wrapped his body around hers as he looked over her shoulder to see what she was doing.
"Wow . ." His voice trailed off as he looked down on the page of her journal. It wasn't complete yet, but in the short time between when Filia left and she put up the barrier, she had began a sketch of what looked like the waterfall in front of them. The detail was amazing, showing a life like likeness to what was in front of them. Though it was only a graphite sketch, she managed to bring the image to life as if it had more colors than the spectrum.
"What are you doing that for?" Val asked curiously over her shoulder.
"I want to keep a journal of all the places we travel. I want to always remember the towns we visit, and the things we see. I want to keep a record of all that happens while were away from Astoria." She said quietly in the same low, distracted voice as before, as she moved her hand across the sheet of paper that was bound in to the journal.
Val continued to watch Daé as she finished the drawling. She even went in to detail about the flowers that surrounded the forest, and then put details of the path that opened when Filia crossed the water. If there was one thing Val could say, Daé really noticed the details in things.
"You know, when you become serious like this, like when your reading, or working on a paper at school, or anything you really concentrate on, you become really- sexy."
For a second, his words didn't register, but then Daé went red as she turned to look at Val wide eyed in horror. Val laughed as he took pleasure in her surprised face. He loved the way her light, milk green eyes seemed even more bright when her face was flushed. He always found that her features were just too beautiful. Her pale white skin always had a glow when she blushed, so he always loved how she would become flustered around him. It always brought out her best features. He admired silently as he stared calmly at her.
"Val- are you looking to become closer in our relationship by reaching the point of intimacy?" She blurted out without warning as she stared at him in horror.
This time it was Val's turn to look at her in horror, before a faint blush rose from his own cheeks.
"W-what?"
"Be honest with me!" She shouted, which seemed to surprise even her as she tried to stare at him fiercely.
"Wait, is this what you were trying to talk about earlier?" Val questioned as he stared at her, as things were beginning to click.
Daé rose from where she was sitting to face him. "Of course it was. It isn't the easiest thing to bring up in conversation."
"You seemed to have proved that statement is utterly wrong." Val scratched his head as he turned away from looking at her, feeling rather bothered from the course the conversation spiraled down.
"It wasn't easy, I could die from the embarrassment." Daé shouted as she covered her face in shame. "What else am I supposed to think? Nora said perhaps you wanted to be alone with me for that reason, and that it was what dating leads to." She mumbled as her face was covered by her arms.
Val looked at her in surprise than sighed, feeling drained by the surprise outburst, before he smiled despite the situation.
"What am I going to do with you?" He shook his head, as he reached out and gently grasped her hands and pulled her close to him in a hug, causing her to blush more.
"Listen, first, don't ever listen to what Nora says. If you have a question about how I'm feeling, always come to me first, got that. Second, just being with you makes me happy. I'm not looking for anything more, or less than what you are willing to offer me, you understand?"
Daé blinked for a moment, then sighed in relief as she buried her head into his chest in happiness, as she mumbled quietly, "Uh-huh."
Val kissed the top of her head as he held her close to him. "Look, I will be honest with you, someday, I want to be able to, uh how did you phrase it? Become closer by reaching a point of intimacy, however if that ever happens, we will both be ready for it, because if not, it will mean nothing, and I want it to mean everything. Of course I want that, but I am just as happy holding on to you like this."
"Truly?" Daé asked as she rose from where he was holding her, as she stared in to his golden eyes, her red face inches from his.
"Y-yes." He stumbled over his words as he looked at her.
An elated smile spread across her face as she leaned in and kissed him out of happiness. It took him briefly by surprise for a moment, since usually he was the one doing the advancing, however he didn't mind the change at all.
Once they broke apart, he grinned as he ran his hand affectingly down the side of her face.
"Truly, what am I going to do with you Da?"
A/N- Fun fact for readers! Dominic and Corelle are characters that I have showed up in every fanfiction universe I write for, (Like slayers, YYH, ect) I don't know why but they do. In one story they are vampires, in another they are psychics, here they are dragons! I couldn't find a place for them in 'Pilgrimage to the Future' so I thought they would be perfect to this scene! It's fun to make them cross over like this. HOWEVER, it made me sad that I just realized that not only does Core have personality qualities that resemble Salvia, she also has a resemblance to her as well. (They both have Grey eyes, and short black hair.) Lol. I hope you enjoyed their brief cameo!
