Chapter 9
Filia was running. All around her was a swirling grey mist, and within the mist, voices could be heard. Shouts, screams, cries of battle and war. "Hello?" Filia called as she continued to run, "is anybody there? Please help me!" Filia cried as she ran and ran until she finally collapsed onto the ground. "Please" Filia sobbed, "somebody please help me".
And that's when she herd it, the distant howl of her purple wolf. She looked to her sides frantically, trying to locate the creature, she then turned around and that's when she saw it. The wolf was walking towards her, his amethyst eyes piercing into her own sapphire orbs. The wolf started to circle her, eyes never leaving her. "Have you come to help me?" Filia asked the wolf, hope shining within her blue eyes. The wolf didn't answer.
He circled her one more time, looking like he was studying her, deciding whether or not she was worth a meal. Filia became somewhat anxious, then without warning, the wolf pounced, pining Filia's arms down by the sides of her head with its own giant paws. Filia let out a yelp at the sudden impact, but instantly quietened as the beast began to sniff her neck, then her collar bone, and finally his nose settled right above were her heart was located, just above her left breast. The wolf let out a small light growl that could have been mistaken as a purr before he licked the spot were her heart was beating erratically. Then out of nowhere he bit her, right were he had just licked, a small prickling pain filled Filia's whole body, before quickly fading away, leaving behind a very dull sting as the wolf began to lick up any excess blood that spilled from the spot.
"Now you're mine little dragon," Filia herd a familiar voice say, she looked into the face of the wolf who had spoken, then before her very eyes the wolf began to change. The tail receded, paws became hands, fur was replaced by a travelling priests cloths, the nose shrank and the face took on a more humanistic appearance. Filia's eyes widened in shock as she recognised both the voice that had spoken, and the face of the man now straddling her waist and holding her hands to prevent any movement she may try. "Xellos!"
"Don't try and struggle Fi-chan, you are now mine, and there is no place you can run, no place you can hide, to escape me. You're mine and I'm not about to let you go, not now, not ever".
Filia awoke with a gasp, sitting bolt up, breathing heavily and covered in sweat. She put a hand to her pounding heart and felt around. She let out a small sigh of relief when she didn't feel any pain to indicate a bite mark. 'Huh, just a dream,' Filia thought to herself as she took in her surroundings to see that she was still in the room Xellos's servants had put her in, discovering that she was alone again.
Filia moaned, hiding her face in her hands, 'what is happening to me?' Filia thought to herself. She began to reflect on the dream she had, absently putting her hand back on the spot the wolf had bitten. Filia could not help but feel somewhat disappointed and empty knowing that the mark was just a dream. Like a part of her was missing.
"Ah, so you're finally awake I see, I was beginning to wonder if you were going to sleep another whole day," Filia's head snapped to the corner of the bed where she saw Xellos leaning against his staff with both hands on the top with his chin resting on his knuckles.
"Xellos, when did you get here?" Filia asked in surprise, she was certain that he wasn't there when she first woke up.
"Actually I've been here a while now, just not in immediate sight," Xellos said calmly as he moved to sit on the corner of the bed. "So, are you feeling any better now? You slept for a whole day," Xellos asked, absently twirling his staff in his fingers as he regarded her.
"What do you mean a whole day? I couldn't have slept that long. Even if I did that means I've been gone for…" Filia did a quick mental count, "…nearly two days".
"Yeah, and your point is?"
"Well I can't of, otherwise that means that Jilas and Gravos…" Filia's eyes widened in shock, "That means that those two are still alone in my shop, and they've been there for the whole time!" Filia began to panic a bit when she realized that Jilas and Gravos would still be at the shop waiting for her, and also who would be running her shop while she's away if they weren't.
"Calm down Fi-chan, it's alright. I've already stopped by your shop and spoken to them. They know where you are and what's happened. They've also agreed to look after the store until you get back, so don't worry about it, they'll be just fine," Xellos said in an attempt to calm her down, the last thing he wanted was for her to be running around in a panic and opening her wound again.
"And Val?" Filia asked.
"Right beside you on the table, it's all been taken care of".
Filia looked where Xellos had motioned and let out a sigh of relief, he really did think of everything.
"Th-thank you Xellos, for everything," Filia said while staring at her hands in her lap, not wanting to make eye contact at the moment.
"Oh my, did I just hear Miss Filia Ul Copt, little miss stuck up, too proud for her own good, thank me? After months of being called nothing but rotten garbage, I actually get a thank you? Talk about flipping the world upside down. I must say this is not like you," Xellos did nothing to hide his amusement at the situation.
"Would you be quiet! I can be appreciative when I want to be. Besides I'm starting to regret I said anything," Filia huffed, crossing her arms in front of her chest and turning her nose up and away from him.
"Aww, come on Fi-chan, don't be such a kill joy, and really you can't blame me for being somewhat surprised, seeing as this is the first sign of appreciation you have ever shown me," said Xellos, his usual 'innocent' smile planted firmly on his face. Filia turned her head back to Xellos, arms still folded. 'Well, he does have a point there,' Filia thought to herself. It was then that Xellos had an idea.
"Hey Filia, since I'm new to this whole 'thank you' thing, I could be wrong about this. Is it true that if someone does something nice for you, you have to do something for them as a form of thank you? I mean if we're going to do this whole gratitude thing right, shouldn't you do me a favour to repay your debt to me?" Xellos asked, a smirk crawling its way onto his features.
Filia, least to say, was near struck dumb by Xellos's idea. She was not expecting him to use the 'I do for you, you do for me' excuse. "I suppose, but I never asked you to do any of this for me, so I don't see why I have to do anything for you," Filia retorted in self defence. She wasn't too sure about whatever it was that Xellos would ask of her, but she would bet that she probably wouldn't like it.
"Whether or not you asked for my help is not the issue here. The fact remains that I went through a lot of trouble to help your scaly hide, and I would like some compensation for my troubles," Xellos stated firmly. He was not going to let her back out of this.
"Bah, compensation? Your just using that as an excuse to get me to do your dirty work again aren't you?" Filia spat, as if Xellos would need any form of compensation from anyone, least of all her.
"Well it's not often that I get any form of gratitude from you now is it? Of course I'm going to take advantage of it when it finally does come around Fi-chan, and besides, I did save both your and Val's life and organise your domestic affairs, I think that a small price for my generosity is the least you could do." said Xellos, giving her his signature wink and finger point.
"Arr, why me?" Filia growled as she flopped back down onto the pillows, one hand holding her head to comfort the head ache she now had. "-Sigh- what would be your price Xellos? So I can get this over with".
"Hmm, I don't know," before Filia could even blink Xellos was above her, arms either side of her head, straddling her waist, "I guess I'll just have to think of something now wont I?" Xellos purred, his face nose to nose with Filia's.
Filia gasped and held her breath, her mind instantly recalling her recent dream. Filia struggled to form any coherent sentences, but ended up with her mouth gaping like a fish gasping for water, and the only sounds she could make were little squeaks and whimpers as Xellos continued to stare at her with open eyes from his close proximity.
"Hmm, what to do? What to do?" Xellos half sang as he moved his head closer to her neck towards her ear. "What do you think I should ask for Filia hmm?" Xellos said as he nuzzled her hair, moving to her neck where he brushed his lips ever so slightly against her flesh, causing Filia to shiver beneath him and breakout in goose bumps. Xellos then went on to put wet but light kisses along her neck, her collar bone, back up to her chin, up to her ears, down to her cheeks, and slowly but surely making his way to her lips. All the while Filia lay completely paralyzed, unable to move even if she wanted to due to Xellos's hold on her wrists.
When Xellos finally made it to her lips, he paused for a second, hovering just above her, his lips barely a feather light touch that Filia wondered if he had made contact at all. He then fully closed the difference between them and consumed her lips in a light, but passionate kiss. As time went by, the kiss became more forceful, Xellos then ran his tongue along her bottom lip, asking for entrance. Finally, Filia timidly responded, she opened her mouth to allow him access and Xellos seized the opportunity and claimed her mouth with his tongue, sweeping it all along her mouth, exploring and tasting. Filia then decided to bring her own tongue into play, shyly reaching it out and brushing his own with it, and gently returing the gesture and slipping past his teeth.
Xellos let slip a small moan as he felt her tongue explore his mouth. He never thought that such a small and timid act could have such a profound affect on him. He then felt Filia give her own little moan and it was nearly his undoing. The sound and the vibrations in his mouth was pure bliss to him. Xellos then released one of her hands and began to make his way down her arm and stroke the side of her breast. Filia gasped, breaking the kiss, but Xellos continued to kiss the side of her mouth and down to her jaw as his hand moved to stroke the sensitive area under her breast through the bandages that still bound her.
'These are the first things to go,' Xellos thought to himself as he swiftly removed the offending cloth with magic, the remains falling open to fully expose her flawless skin. Filia was startled at the sudden loss of support and moved to cover herself with her free hand, however Xellos's own hand caught her own and moved it back to the side of her head. "It's no use trying to hide yourself from me Filia, so don't even try, and besides, I kinda like the view," Xellos commented, a smirk on his face and eyes piercing into her own.
Filia's mind began racing. This was too much too soon! What had come over her? She began to struggle in earnest. "No Xellos stop! Get off me!" Filia began to wriggle and squirm in an attempt to break his hold on her, but his grip was like iron and he didn't budge.
"Settle down Fi-chan, you dragons may be fast healers, but you will still reopen your wound if you keep squirming like that. At least wait until tomorrow, then you can wriggle all you want".
"Well then let me go and I'll stop wriggling and start bashing your head in you pervert!" Filia snapped, however she did stop moving as her back was starting to throb and sting a bit. She figure it would take another day or so for her wound to heal, however her wing wouldn't grow back, her kind did not possess the regenerative traits that the monsters had, so while her wound will heal, she would never fly again. This thought brought tears to her eyes. She would never fly again. Never feel the wind under her wings or see the land from above the clouds, like a bird trapped in a cage, or an angel fallen from heaven, never to return back home.
Xellos sensed Filia's sudden change in emotion and was almost caught off guard. One second she's radiating blissful outrage, the next she's breaking down in pure misery. Since this rather down Filia was not aiding his plan, he sought to find its cause and eradicate it. "Filia what's wrong? What happened to all that rage I was enjoying? Don't tell me you've lost all your fight already, I expected more from you Fi-chan," said Xellos, trying to rouse an answer from her as well as trying to get her fired up again, at least he knew how to deal with her when she's furious.
Filia continued to sob lightly for a few more seconds before finally meeting Xellos's curious orbs. "Xellos… -Sniff- I'm, I'm never going to fly again, I'm deformed, a pathetic excuse for a golden dragon. Do you have any idea what that's like, to never feel that freedom again?" Filia sniffed again before her face turned hard again as she glared at Xellos. "But then again, you probably don't really care do you? You're probably getting a good feed out of this like the lowly leech that you are!" Filia growled, her aura sparking with barely checked rage.
Xellos's own rage peaked at Filia's comment, but he managed to keep his temper in check and maintain his mask as he let Filia vent. "Now now, there was no need for that last remark, yes I may be a monster and yes, I do enjoy feeding off others pain, but quite honestly, your pain is not what I'm after. It's rather dull and lacking flavour, while it will sustain me, it doesn't quite satisfy," Xellos said as he slowly began to stroke her hair. Filia hushed as Xellos continued to toy with her hair, his words leaving her speechless. Meanwhile Xellos was having trouble admitting that he just said that out loud, when this whole thing started, revealing his rather picky tastes of Filia's emotions was the last thing on his mind. 'Oh well, can't change what's already been done, just got to make the most of it and move on'. "Filia, what if I told you that you could have your wing back again?"
"HA, I would call you a fruitcake with a few too many nuts," Filia replied somewhat harshly, tears still falling freely down her cheeks. Filia then looked into Xellos's eyes and took a deep breath, "Xellos, it's impossible for me to get my wing back, no amount of healing charms can replace an amputated limb, it's hopeless," Filia replied in a softer voice, turning her head to the side as more tears threatened to fall.
"Ah-ha you see, that's where you're wrong. I do it all the time you see, so there may be a way to help you regrow your precious wing," Xellos said, his cheery demeanor back in place.
"But you're a monster Xellos, that's natural for your kind, but for the rest of us it's not as simple as growing a new one".
"But it could be," replied Xellos.
Filia turned her head back to Xellos, not quiet believing what he was saying, but hoping none the less. "Really? How? How is that even possible? And why are you telling me this? What's in it for you?" Filia inquired.
Xellos let out a small chuckle. "You're learning quickly my little dragon, you see there is a little catch to repairing your wing," said Xellos, bringing his face closer to her own.
"-Gulp-What's the catch?" Filia asked hesitantly.
"The catch is you have to agree to be my mate, for life".