DISCLAIMER: … I do not own the Slayers or any quotes I have listed at the top of the chapters…
-x- Chapter Twenty-One -x-
When it comes to how to live his life he can't be told...
Says he got everything under control...
Thinks he knows he's not a problem he's stuck with...
But in reality it would be a problem to just quit...
-x- "Carousel"- Linkin Park -x-
"Welcome to my home and country." Lord Mevvan stated easily, offering Filia his elbow as his coachman helped her from the carriage. "We are a moderate but successful country, our main concern being to keep our nation as peaceful and stress-free as possible."
"Oh!" How progressive!" Filia stated in a pleased tone, hoping her face didn't betray herself as she took his arm. The truth was that if she had learned anything on her mission to save the world from Dark Star it was that trying to keep things peaceful and stress-free seemed to make life more stressful and violent than before one meddled with it. Half-way through the mission, no, more around the time when Miss Lina had taken out a chunk of her temple, she had just decided to go with the flow.
Except when it came to Xelloss that was...
She tried! But that mazoku's flow often led to rapids!
"Are you quite alright, Miss Filia?" Mevvan asked warily. "You look like you just swallowed something bitter and unpleasant…"
Filia pulled on a smile hoping to hide her pained expression. "Oh? I suppose…"
"I suppose it's just these clothes!" She countered quickly, pulling on a furrowed pout as she tugged at them sadly. "I'm not happy about the mud, but I know I shouldn't have worn white. Still… the cold…"
She shivered for effect and Mevvan shook his head sadly."You poor thing." He murmured softly, escorting her a little faster. "We'll get you something else to wear, don't you worry."
Meanwhile in the astral realm, Xelloss had managed to laugh himself out of his chair.
"What's most amusing to me…" His Mistress stated peering down on him as he grinned sheepishly up at her from the floor. "...is that I'm quite certain that only thinking of you would put a look that sour on our little golden dragon's face."
Xelloss smirked smugly. "Right? I mean she simply just can not get me off her mind."
Zelas rolled her eyes. "Ah me, you are certainly the master of manipulation alright."
Xelloss' grin widened as he phased back into his chair, finger arch. "Learned from the best!"
Zelas smirked."Well then I'll leave you to get back to observing your little apprentice…"
Filia sighed as she was left alone in her new bed chambers with her new garments.
Calmly, she replaced her muddied clothing with the crisp clean formal dress.
"Thank goodness it has a simple back, I really wanted a moment to prepare myself without some of his attendants having to lace me up."
She murmured taking in the sight of the long sheer fabric in the mirror. It was embroidered on the sleeves and the hem. Also along the collar which was a simple V-cut.
"Blue, huh?" Her reflection observed in a nasal tone. "Well I guess that means he likes your eyes!"
"Xelloss?!" Filia gawked staring at her smugly grinning reflection until it faded into the image of the monster talking to her through it. "What are you doing in my mirror!"
"Keeping an eye on you!" He replied amiably."Keeping…" She trailed off a look of cold-blooded horror dawning on her. "Did you… did you see me get undressed?!"
"No." Replied, cracking an eye coolly. "But I did see you get redressed."
"Gah…" Filia gaped in pale-faced terror. She had no idea what to even say to that.
"Looks better when you're in mid-transformation though." He added, both eyes now open as he drank in her mortification. "Like a little golden light show that accents your every curve." Not to mention the fact that it was deliciously taboo!
"Gah…" She replied once more, now even more at a loss.
"You can tell a lot about a man by what he likes to on see a woman." Xelloss stated crisply, taking advantage of her slack-jawed silence to add in some extra training. "Mainly on whether he prefers his women naughty or nice."
"Or if he prefers women at all." He added as an afterthought.
"Wha…" Filia sputtered, closing her eyes briefly and forcibly shaking his previous words from her mind for the present moment, only to re-open them in full learning mode. "What does this dress say? Besides that he likes my… eyes…"
Filia gave a little blush at the thought that Xelloss found he didn't quite care for, and yet he couldn't think of any logical reason to care about whether or not Filia blushed over some dumb slackard of a Lord thinking her eyes were a perfect shade of cerulean. Huh, nope no reason at all.
Even if he had picked a dress the exact same hue…
Showoff.
"Well?" Filia asked once more, blush gone as she frowned at Xelloss who looked like he'd just been force-fed a piece of salt-water taffy and couldn't quite chew through it. "What else does it say?"
"That he likes nice girls." Xelloss replied finally, re-meeting her gaze with a shrug. "And that he's a breast-man."
By the time Filia had looked from her V-neck trim back to the mirror Xelloss was already gone."Xelloss?" She whispered, unconsciously shifting to try and cover the actually quite modest trim. "Xelloss?"
"What?" Her reflection asked in a tired but amused tone.
"Erm…" She arched a brow and leaned in closer as her own reflected also leaned in, although it was smirking rather than matching her curious frown. "What would you like to see me in?"
"Why Filia." He chided, phasing through her reflection so that their noses were touching; giving her quite the start. "I prefer you at your most vulnerable of course!"
"You… you mean…" Filia trailed off as it occurred to her just what he meant and Xelloss smirked wanly fading away as the dragoness turned the brightest shade of red she had ever turned in her half-a-millennium of existence.
"And in the end the biggest blush was my doing, Dearest Lord Mevvan." Xelloss smirked to himself as he reappeared in his chair, casually propping his feet up on his desk and taking a victory-sip from his tea-cup.
"Gak…" He spat a new sour look appearing on his face although for quite a different reason.
"Oh dear, cold tea."