Seductive Reflections
Amelia stared south towards the city of Sailoon far in the distance. Tomorrow was the Benediction. Tes would be expected to show herself to the masses. If Amelia and Gracia could appear beside her for that, then Tes would be revealed. It seemed that these last few months had already been plenty for her people. She doubted that they would take very long to believe that Tes was an imposter.
Then Gracia would take the throne. Amelia thought about her sister. Justice gave the throne to her, but the woman who seemed to be her sister was a bit like Tes in some ways. Too many ways sometimes, but she seemed quite a bit less malicious. Maybe she'd make a good queen maybe not, it wasn't Amelia's place to say. Gracia, Naga, was next in line. Actually, that was relieving in a way.
"You shouldn't be out here alone?" Amelia turned back to look at Xellos and smiled shyly.
"I'm not alone, you've been watching me for the last half-hour." She pointed to where he had been perched.
"How did you....?"
"I always know when you're around," she said quietly. "Detecting dark presences and all that."
"I see." He sat down next to her, Amelia leaned against him. "So you always knew?"
"That you were mazoku? No, Lina....Lina set it off too." They remained silent for several moments. "What is it you want to talk to Filia about?" She felt him wince at the question.
"A message Zelas wants me to give her."
"And that's it?" Xellos smiled.
"Are you jealous?" She smacked him in the head, playfully.
"Don't pretend you're not empathic," she quipped.
"If you insist," he smiled. "It's been on my mind recently what with Xenith pressing me about it all the time."
"I know," the consistent urgings from Xenith had been giving her some concern. She had been wondering just what that was all about up to now. "So what do you want to ask?"
"I'm not that obvious," Xellos said pouting
"You've been watching me for half an hour and only now come out?" Xellos nodded reluctantly.
"This is going to be a dangerous plan you and your sister have come up with."
"It is the only way other than outright revolution. We have justice and the law on our side."
"It might still come to fighting," he warned her. "Tes is no fool, the guard and army will have people of less desirable qualities than you remember."
"Sounds like you'd like it."
"Despair is not an emotion," Xellos noted. "It is what is left after emotions are burned out."
"So the only reason you're helping is because the city doesn't help you either now, or perhaps to keep the other mazoku from its power?"
"I have not been commanded to help you, this is my choice," he told her. "But I have to ask you something."
"Hmmm?"
"Would you accept the pledge of immortality?" Amelia stared at him and blinked. Xellos could feel nothing coming from her. She was shocked blank. "I would have waited to ask, but I'd like to be certain that you survive this." Xellos relaxed as a smile crept over Amelia's face. The princess leaned up to his face and kissed him on the cheek. Suddenly Amelia was certain of why she was relieved to not have to rule any longer.
"Yes, Tomorrow before we go," she said, shifting to sit on his lap, facing him.
"And what would we do tonight," Xellos asked, innocently enough. Amelia blushed and looked away a moment, before turning back to face Xellos and kiss him fully on the lips.
~Rested?~
"Yes," Sherra sighed pleasantly. She stood up and collected the concealing servants garments that she reluctantly used to skulk about the castle. At least she felt as rested as she could feel.
After centuries of incredible strength, speed, raw power and sensory acuteness, she now felt weak, slow, mundane and blind. Which is why she doubted herself when she heard clodding footsteps in the cooridors of the dungeons.
~Guardsmen, coming this direction and not stopping.~
"He betrayed me!"
~Whether he was or not they're coming.~ Sherra grabbed hold of the hilt as Duofolger flew to her hand.
Stepping out of the small room she saw a small contingent of guards facing her.
"The queen was right, there is a mazoku down here!" The cooridor rang with the sound of swords exiting sheathes. There was a bright flash of light and when it was gone only the sword was there, hanging in midair. "She's turned invisible!"
The guards surged forward to battle against the sword and its invisible master, never noticing a ripple moving along the wall. Sherra turned to face the rather onesided battle, the sword still had near its full power after all, and padded quietly away. She passed into the hallways, where a servant was an average sight, and no one would pay her much mind.
"She had been taking audience the last time," Sherra had chosen that time very specifically for that reason. She paused and grudgingly ducked to the side as a noble walked through the halls.
"Don't just stand there, get to work!" the man shouted as he passed. Sherra felt like ripping his throat out, and she could do it. Even as weak as she was it would take an exceptional human to challenge her, not that simpering noble. She resisted though, such would draw attention to her, and she didn't need that.
It didn't take long to find the throne room, and there she stopped cold. The entire room radiated magic, what with all the protection spells placed about. In fact Sherra felt moderately ill in the room. Pretty soon that feeling would be unbearable and she'd have to leave, but until then she was certain the pledge stone was in here. Its signature hidden by the mass of other signals. She walked cautiously to the throne itself, a rag in hand as if to clean the seat of royalty.
"Black magic," she muttered. "Somewhere in here is an signature of black magic." She walked past the throne and started scanning the stone tiles and bricks surrounding it. She was close, she knew it was here somewhere.
"My, you are getting quite unobservant," Sherra whirled at the voice and found herself facing Tes's smiling face. She had time to register this information before Amelia grabbed her throat and slammed her into the throne. Sherra landed on the floor and tried to shake her head clear as she felt the sensation of teleportation. She opened her eyes to Tes's bedroom. "I have another deal for you."
"The Queen requires your presence in her rooms," the shadow-Zelgadis regarded the guard cautiously. Then he relaxed, Tes just probably got bored with the guards and servants again and wanted him for purely mundane reasons. She couldn't have known about Sherra, not so quickly anyway.
"I shouldn't keep the lady waiting then should I," he said. He turned toward Tes's rooms and took up a steady stride. It was not lost on him that the guard followed, nor that he was joined by other guards. This was suddenly looking to be very bad news.
The chimera was frowning as he entered the rooms, and suddenly felt sick with fear. Amelia was undressing to the side of the bed, on which a familiar humanoid form was huddled in the blankets. Sherra looked up at him hopelessly. The shadow angrily cast a fireball at the queen, and wasn't surprised to see it vanish against the field of Tes's immortality. Then the guards swarmed in and wrestled the chimera to ground before he could take any further action.
"I appreciate your taste in women, dear," Tes said. "But if you were to share, it might be much less painful for you." She walked around the bed to where Sherra lay huddled in the sheets. The Queen sat down next to her and the mazoku shivered, but didn't shy away.
"You are going to fall, Tes," the shadow-Zelgadis promised. Tes ignored him, running her hands through Sherra's hair.
"Fortunately for you Sherra seems to hold some loyatly towards, strange for mazoku." She gathered the mazoku into her arms and kissed her. "Now be a good boy and leave quietly with the guards, or..." She twisted Sherra's arm, eliciting a grimace but no cry. "There's plenty I can do that won't risk killing her."
"Aren't you going to say anything?" Zelgadis demanded of Sherra.
"She's not allowed to speak for the moment." Tes explained, smiling. "Now then, you are dismissed. I have business to attend to." The guards escorted Zelgadis out of the room, dragging along the incredibly strong chimera. There were too many of them for the shadow-Zelgadis, however, and soon Sherra and Tes were alone. Unfortunately for Sherra.
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