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Chapter Two: Among the Crowds

Filia stood in the middle of the room, gazing at her image in the mirror. She turned to look at the window. The blind was down, along with a few other cloths she had stuffed around it. She wished they were not covering the window, though. She wished for someone to see her – to comment on her attire – even if it was just a trickster priest.

A beautiful blue dress graced her slender figure, much different from her usual garb. It extended to the middle of her thighs and was tight fitting at the top, yet loose and somewhat frilly at the bottom. To match it, a pair of blue high heels, which she had to admit, she still was not accustomed to wearing. On her bed lay the silver brush and as she picked it up, she remembered the events of the morning.

It was nearly enough to spoil her good mood.

Why did she have to go to the festival with that… mazoku? Why couldn't he just go with Lina or Amelia? Or better yet, find someone else in town to harass. She had thought of playing sick and just not going to the festival, but as the manager of the inn had told her, it was a festival to honor the great dragon gods, and she could not pass up such an opportunity.

"Knowing that namagomi, he will find some way to ruin everything."

She would not let him get to her. All the times she was around him, he tried to bait her into losing her temper. Most of the time, it worked. She knew mazoku were creatures that thrived off of negative energy, but Xelloss was taking his fetish way too far. Every time she was in a good mood, he seemed to be there to bring out the worst in her.

"Baka namagomi…" She muttered.

"Oh, so you're thinking about me, are you? I'm flattered, Filia-chan!"

She reached for her mace, yet it was not where she had left it.

"Looking for this?" Grinning, Xelloss held the mace just out of her reach.

"Give that back!" Filia tried to swipe the tool, but found she could hardly reach the height at which Xelloss held it.

"Nope. I'm not giving it back until you promise to be nice to me for the entire evening. And you promise to actually enjoy yourself?" Xelloss smiled, fully aware of how much he was testing her boundaries.

"I have to go with you, but no one ever said I had to enjoy it!" She jumped for the mace again, but he pulled it farther away.

Through her struggle, Filia had managed to get within inches of Xelloss, and since they were nearly the same height, especially with Filia's high heels, it made the situation very uncomfortable. On first instinct, Filia blushed, then, coming to her senses, punched the mazoku hard in the stomach.

"What was that for?" Xelloss asked, winded.

Filia picked up the mace from where he had dropped it and proceeded to hit him, yet again, in the stomach. "The same thing that was for, namagomi."

With a smile of triumph, Filia left the room, leaving Xelloss once again in a heap on the floor. Damn that woman. If only she didn't have that mace…

'If only she didn't have that mace, what?' He asked himself.

He could certainly play more tricks on her, something he enjoyed. He could see the look on her face when she caught him spying on her, or the rage in her voice as she screamed 'namagomi' at the top of her powerful lungs. Negative energy. A mazoku favorite. He loved seeing her mad, and she knew it. It's cute when she tries to pretend like she's not mad... especially when her tail gives it away.

'Cute?' He thought. 'Where'd that come from?'

He shrugged it off, calling it a sadistic satisfaction he got when she was angry. He really did like to see her angry, but had he seen her in any other state? Sometimes, when she was angry, it almost seemed as if she were sad, as well. "You should try being human around her for a change." Lina had suggested once. But he wasn't human. He was mazoku. Yet if that were entirely true, why couldn't he feed off of the golden dragon priestess' sadness? And why did he feel a slight tinge of guilt every time he thought of her being sad?

"Hurry it up, will ya? We haven't got all day!"

Lina was certainly back to her normal self, and quite annoyed, much to Xelloss' pleasure, at being forced to wear a dress. He walked out of the inn room and down the stairs, noting he was the only one not present.

Amelia had latched herself onto Zelgadis, who was dreading wearing his tuxedo as much as Lina was dreading wearing a dress. Gourry was in a tuxedo also, although it looked as if someone had thrown it in the washer, as it was about an inch too short for him. Lina was dressed in a tight-fitting green dress, which, had she anything to show off, he thought with a smirk, would have shown off quite a bit. Filia was standing by the door, anxious to leave. He had never complemented her on her dress, he realized, after seeing it was quite the elegant one.

He himself was dressed in his normal robes, refusing to wear a tuxedo, and who was to stop him? He had no Amelia to beg him and no Lina to threaten him. All he had was Filia. Lonely Filia who stood by the door, eyes downcast. Saddened Filia, who couldn't seem to stand being in the same room with him. Beautiful Filia, who seemed to radiate with an interesting glow.

Xelloss stopped himself. She was beautiful, yes. He had openly admitted that a long time ago. Yet it was no reason to dwell on that fact. He gazed at her from his stance at the bottom of the stairs. Hurt played in her eyes, and the tinge of guilt hit him again.

"Filia-chan, I must say, that dress looks absolutely stunning on you!" He offered cheerfully and truthfully, crossing the room to stand next to her.

"Go away, namagomi! And stay away!" She snapped harshly, the hurt vanishing from her eyes. In its place, the fiery temper he knew best suited her.

"Well, that won't get us anywhere, will it? Most people don't stay as far away from each other as they can on a date…"

"Number one, I'm not most people, and number two, this is not a date!" She pulled out the mace and he backed away, wondering where exactly she found to put it under her dress.

Filia watched Xelloss retreat to the far corner of the room. She felt guilty with herself. Mad at her own actions. He had complemented her, hadn't he? And that was how she repaid him? It was probably just some sick, twisted mazoku humor anyway.

Lina took her focus off of her own dress for a moment to watch Xelloss and Filia. They were fighting again. This time, she had to go with Xelloss. He had, after all, complemented her, and she didn't even say thank you. But, then again, she had no knowledge of what Xelloss might have said before Filia came running out with her mace in hand.

Her mind returned to the scripture. Sides too stubborn to forget… that was it! Forgiveness! Lina smiled happily, amazed she had not thought of it before. If she could get both sides to forgive each other… but that was easier said than done. Dark lords did not forgive and forget easily. A plan came to her, and she decided she would test it out later, using Xelloss and Filia as her guinea pigs.

***

The man at the inn had told them it was a highly regarded festival, yet they never imagined how many people would be there. Zelgadis looked extremely uncomfortable, Amelia contributing to most of that effect. As soon as they made it through the door of the festival shrine, Xelloss and Filia got as far away from each other as they possibly could.

"Alright, food!" Lina and Gourry said at the same time.

The buffet table was lined with food, though no one besides Lina and Gourry really felt like eating. It was a good thing, too. Within moments of them spotting the delicious food, it was gone, and the caterers were busy making more.

Lina looked up from her seat upon yelling for another serving and receiving a quick "Yes, ma'am! Right away!" It was definitely different from any festival she'd ever been to.

A soft instrumental began to play, and she saw Amelia drag Zelgadis onto the dance floor. A few other people were up there, and she glanced over at Gourry, blushing slightly. A vein popped out on her head when she noticed he had left the table to pester the people in the kitchen. Same as always… Oh well. I guess it gives me time to work on my little project.

She directed her gaze toward Filia, who sat alone in the far corner of the room. She looked so depressed. If things were different, she would try and cheer her up first, but this was a matter of life or death, she realized. Things had to move quickly or not at all. Especially experiments.

She crossed the dance floor determinedly, barely noticing when she bumped into a few couples along the way. It hadn't seemed so far a walk to the other side.

"Do you mind if I ask you something, Filia?"

Filia looked up and forced a smile. "No. What is it, Lina?"

Lina thought for a moment, trying to decide whether she should beat around the bush for a few minutes or just get to the point of her conversation. The latter won out.

"Why do you hate Xelloss so much?"

Xelloss perked up at this. He was all the way across the room, yet had been tuning into Lina's conversation, wondering just what the sorceress' intentions were.

"What do you mean why do I hate him? Which reason should I give you?"

"Well, how about the main one?"

"The main one? Because he slaughtered my people! That dirty mazoku slaughtered my people!" She said loudly, causing a few people to turn, and gaining Amelia's interest in the conversation.

"I guess that's a good reason, isn't it? Well… didn't that happen a long time ago?"

"It still happened, Lina! If someone murders your family, you can't forget it just because it happened a long time ago."

"I never murdered your family personally, dragon." Xelloss stated inaudibly.

Lina sighed, realizing she made a good point. "Haven't you ever considered forgiving him?"

"And what would that get me? A smile and something that told that trickster priest he was better than me? Why should I?"

Lina sweatdropped. She had gone back to her 'ryuzoku against mazoku' way of thinking.

Xelloss smiled even at that statement. Filia? Forgive him? Now there were two concepts that just didn't coincide. Ever since he'd met Filia she'd been swinging her mace at him for the very reason she had explained.

"What if it ended the fighting? Wouldn't you like to just have a peaceful conversation with him for once?"

"No one can have a peaceful conversation with a mazoku. Especially not that one." She said, pointing across the room to Xelloss.

He smiled and waved at them. Lina sweatdropped again. "Oh, for crying out loud! Would you just forgive him! For me? Please?"

"Why do you want me to forgive him so bad, Lina-san?"

"I think I know why." Amelia said, winking at Lina.

Lina interpreted that wink as meaning Amelia had misinterpreted her conversation with Filia. She knew Amelia's nature. Xelloss and Filia? A couple? She nearly burst out laughing at the thought. Something was definitely not right there. All she wanted was for them to forgive each other so she could test out her theory on the dark lords.

"Because I'm tired of hearing all of your bickering all of the time, that's why!" Lina said, grabbing Filia's hand and pulling her over to where Xelloss was.

"Thanks, Lina-chan, but I prefer to catch my own prey." He said, a grin smothering his face.

Filia smacked him as hard as she could, feeling it not the right time to bring out her mace just yet. Lina grabbed her and stopped her from doing it again as the mazoku began to smile much wider, obviously extracting some sort of pleasure from the sharp hit.

"Now forgive! And act like you mean it!"

"I will never, ever forgive this stupid namagomi as long as I live! You can count on that!" She said, turning her back on Xelloss.

"Xelloss?"

"Me? Forgive her? Have you lost all sense, Lina?" He turned his back with a resigning "hmph".

"Damnit! Why can't you just say 'I forgive you' and make me happy?!!!" Lina yelled.

In an instant, she was jumped by Zelgadis and Gourry before she could cause any harm. Everyone looked on with wide eyes as they strapped Lina down in a chair. After she had cooled off some, Amelia sat down beside her.

"I guess your plan didn't work, did it?"

"No, I guess not."

"Well, that's okay. We'll bring those two destined lovers together some other time, right Lina-san?"

"Destined… lovers…?"

Lina watched the two Amelia was referring to. Filia was eyeing the punch, but would not go near it simply because Xelloss had been the last one to touch the serving spoon. Lina sweatdropped.

"Are you insane?! Those two can't even share a room together much less share anything else!" Lina screamed, entangling her hands in her fiery red hair.

Amelia backed as far away as she could while still sitting, and Zelgadis and Gourry both muttered something about women. Xelloss stole a glance at Filia. Her gloved hand rested on a pillar, and as she caught him looking at her, beginning to grow angered, the pillar began to glow.

"Filia, I wouldn't do that if I were you…" He said cautiously.

She paid him no mind, bringing out her mace. Even though she was no longer touching it, the pillar glowed even stronger, and her tail, its little bow tied around the end, was visible from her dress.

The other people at the festival stopped in mid celebration, watching the ryuzoku priestess as she stomped toward the mazoku priest. They acknowledged her tail and let of gasps of awe and admiration. In an instant, they were on their knees, bowing down to her, yet Filia did not stop.

"Uh… Filia-chan? Don't you want to acknowledge your devoted followers?"

"Don't Filia-chan me you… you… namagomi!"

Xelloss opened his eyes to glare at her. You think you're going to get away with hitting me, do you? Well, you'll see. I'll even fight fairly.

Filia brought the heavy mace above her head and prepared to swing. Her followers, watching with great admiration, grabbed weapons of their own, prepared to finish him off at the dragon's slightest word. She closed her eyes and brought the mace down with all her might, and it came against a strong pair of blue gloved hands.

"Wha…" She began to ask.

Opening her eyes, she noticed Xelloss, a strained look on his face, holding her mace back with his hands. Blood began to pour from his hands and he stared at them in shock. Wait a minute… this shouldn't happen…

He lost his composure long enough for her to bring back the mace and strike again, this time clobbering him in the side of the head, letting out all of her pent-up anger. She had expected him to get up, dust himself off, and smile his crude smile at her, yet when he fell, he remained on the ground.

An enthusiastic yell resonated from the crowd. Their new-found dragon goddess had taken care of someone who was obviously her enemy. Clutching their weapons, they rushed toward the fallen mazoku, ready to finish him off.

Filia stood in a daze. As the masses came rushing in, she called for them to stop. When they refused, she yelled at the top of her voice. Everyone settled down until she instructed them to go back to what they were doing before all of this started. Only Lina, Amelia, Gourry, and Zelgadis looked on.

"Xelloss?" She said, a hint of fear in her voice. When he didn't answer, she shook him violently. "Xelloss? Wake up! Baka trickster…"

Lina walked over to make sure Filia had not clobbered him to death. She turned the priest over and discovered a pool of blood. He was still breathing, however, and she turned to Filia, a confused look on her face.

"Why did he…"

"The shrine."

"What?"

"It's a shrine to honor dragons." Filia said quietly. "In some shrines, they react off of a dragon's feelings. They will punish any who make the dragon angry."

The crowd looked on as Filia began to worry. She did not feel guilty for what she did, did she? Wasn't the intention of swinging at him to hurt him? No. The intention was to end her pain. Yet, as she saw him lying there, muttering 'violent dragon' over and over again as Lina reluctantly used a healing spell on him, she began to wonder if this didn't hurt her even more.

***

Lost among the crowds, a pair of cold navy blue eyes watched on with great satisfaction. The first challenge has commenced.

From somewhere else, another voice called to it. Just whose side are you on?

"What is that supposed to mean, master?" It hissed.

"If she realizes, there will be no hope for us! Your stupid challenges have so far helped them."

Helped them? How can he say that? The mazoku priest is lying on the floor thanks to the ryuzoku priestess' hand.

"She will never realize, master. By the third night, she will have long since forgotten everything." He chuckled to himself. Yes. This is not the worst of it, dragon maiden. I will see to that myself!

On to Chapter Three: The Priest