~Chapter 10~
Filia did not know when she fallen asleep but it was well after dusk when she awoke. The cottage was extremely quiet and she found herself lying in the middle of the floor of her living room. She was groggy, also very weak, and she assumed she overexerted herself by working too hard again. Sitting up now she stretched her arms and tried to soothe her aching back. It wasn't just her back her whole body was aching actually and it felt like it was weighed down with a ton of bricks as she attempted to stand up. It took a couple of tries for her not to fall over and she wondered why she was feeling like this. She made her way towards the kitchen for some tea to ease her muscles but stopped midway when she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror on the wall. She went closer to the mirror to get a better look at herself and was shocked at what she saw. Her hair that she always kept neat and well brushed was disheveled and had several bad tangles. Her face had cuts in various places and a few bluish purple bruises that were badly swollen. Strangely enough there was a long streak of dried blood on the side of her face but when she touched it there was no wound confirming that it wasn't her own. But what caught Filia's attention were her eyes as they were slightly puffy and bloodshot. From the way her eyes looked Filia thought she had been crying for several hours.
Her thoughts were broken as her muscles began to hurt again so she decided that after she got her tea she would draw a nice hot bubble bath. After setting the kettle on the stove she went to a cabinet where she kept all her teas and settled for a bag of green tea. She really needed the bubble bath to let the hot water ease out the soreness in her muscles so after she got her tea ready she went outside to get water for the bath. It was hard to take up the two buckets full of water upstairs to the bathroom and she almost fell down the stairs when the buckets pulled too much on her weak arms. Finally managing to get to the bathroom she poured the buckets into the tub and chanted a small heat spell to warm the water. After she put some bath crystals into the water to make a lot of bubbles she went back to the kitchen to retrieve her tea.
Filia returned shortly and after she undressed stepped into the steamy tub. It took a minute for her to get used to the hot water but it did take a good amount of the soreness out of her stiff body. She took a couple sips of her tea to help relax her from the inside while the water worked on the outside. Thinking back to her hair she took a deep breath and submerged herself under the water coming back up after her hair was sufficiently wet. Before she did anything else she just lied back and closed her eyes letting the water just comfort her body for the time being. It felt so good as the water lightly caressed her skin almost like a light massage. Her thoughts wandered as she noticed that it was too quiet in the house and wandered where everyone was. She wished she knew where Val went because she wanted him to give her a nice back rub after she was done with her bath. But as soon as she thought of Val her eyes began to water for she slowly started to remember what she desperately tried in vain to forget. Memories of Xelloss torturing her, and Val screaming at her, …the kiss… all flashed trough her mind. She thought if she closed her eyes it would all stop but even then she still saw the haunting images. She was so absorbed with trying to forget, that she didn't notice the sudden chill in the room and the dark shadow hovering over her. When she felt a hot breath of air brush past her ear she turned around and was met with sudden darkness.
~Elsewhere~
"She lied… she lied… she lied… SHE LIED!!!" Val screamed at the top of his lungs. He decided that he needed to take a walk and blow off a lot of steam before he would go off on an innocent passerby. He was still angry, make that infuriated at Filia for what she had done.
'All this time my life has been a lie. And she knew but never told me. NEVER!!!'
The feelings of betrayal that coursed through him were still strong. He had never felt so full of anger and rage before at someone. He had never been so angry with her! She, who scolded him whenever he lied and told him how wrong it was, that he should always be truthful no matter what. She was the liar!
He didn't care if it was for his own benefit she still lied and this was something one should never hide away. He needed to know this sort of thing; he needed to know who he was and where he came from. He wanted to know more about himself, his people, his heritage; everything there was to know about him.
He knew he couldn't go back home now until he calmed himself down. If he did go back now there was no telling what he would do to Filia. And yet through all that happened he still loved her with all his heart.
Val believed he wasn't angry with Filia, he was just more hurt; his anger should be directed towards Xelloss. That wretched person cared for nothing but his own self and was pleased by other's pain and anguish. Well that was to be expected, he is a mazoku after all.
'And one time so was I.' Val thought to himself.
Was everything that Xelloss said really true? Was he so consumed with the thought of revenge for his kind that he would resort to becoming a mazoku? Did he truly want to destroy the world and everything in it? Did he want to destroy Filia?
Of course not! Val knew who he was and he would never wish harm on Filia or anyone else, besides Xelloss that is.
Now that his anger was subsiding Val was faced with new emotions, disbelief and utter confusion.
He knew himself to be a good person. He was not someone to hate so easily and wish despair on others so he would be justified. Or was he?
Val was so confused by everything. Was there anything good that he done in his past life as a mazoku? Was the anger he felt just a few moments ago just a minor percent of what he felt before in his other life that lasted for years?
The more Val dwelled on everything he began to ask new questions. 'Why did the Golds murder my race, what did we do to them to make them hate us so? Did I hate Filia because she was a Gold? Did she hate me when I was an Ancient Dragon or a mazoku? Why was I made into a mazoku? Who was Garv? And what did he make me a mazoku for?'
Val knew that his questions would go unanswered if he just asked himself so he was going to ask the one person who, hopefully, knew the answer to everything.
He just hoped he wouldn't get hit in the head with her mace for storming out on her.
When Val finally got back to the cottage Filia was nowhere to be found.
To be continued…
A/N: Sorry this was extremely short but I've been kinda having some RL problems that couldn't be pushed aside for writing. I do hope you enjoy it however and I promise the next chapter will be longer and more exciting. Well that's all I have to say at the moment cept to remind you all of the 100th reviewer thing, I can't wait to see who wins.
Filia did not know when she fallen asleep but it was well after dusk when she awoke. The cottage was extremely quiet and she found herself lying in the middle of the floor of her living room. She was groggy, also very weak, and she assumed she overexerted herself by working too hard again. Sitting up now she stretched her arms and tried to soothe her aching back. It wasn't just her back her whole body was aching actually and it felt like it was weighed down with a ton of bricks as she attempted to stand up. It took a couple of tries for her not to fall over and she wondered why she was feeling like this. She made her way towards the kitchen for some tea to ease her muscles but stopped midway when she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror on the wall. She went closer to the mirror to get a better look at herself and was shocked at what she saw. Her hair that she always kept neat and well brushed was disheveled and had several bad tangles. Her face had cuts in various places and a few bluish purple bruises that were badly swollen. Strangely enough there was a long streak of dried blood on the side of her face but when she touched it there was no wound confirming that it wasn't her own. But what caught Filia's attention were her eyes as they were slightly puffy and bloodshot. From the way her eyes looked Filia thought she had been crying for several hours.
Her thoughts were broken as her muscles began to hurt again so she decided that after she got her tea she would draw a nice hot bubble bath. After setting the kettle on the stove she went to a cabinet where she kept all her teas and settled for a bag of green tea. She really needed the bubble bath to let the hot water ease out the soreness in her muscles so after she got her tea ready she went outside to get water for the bath. It was hard to take up the two buckets full of water upstairs to the bathroom and she almost fell down the stairs when the buckets pulled too much on her weak arms. Finally managing to get to the bathroom she poured the buckets into the tub and chanted a small heat spell to warm the water. After she put some bath crystals into the water to make a lot of bubbles she went back to the kitchen to retrieve her tea.
Filia returned shortly and after she undressed stepped into the steamy tub. It took a minute for her to get used to the hot water but it did take a good amount of the soreness out of her stiff body. She took a couple sips of her tea to help relax her from the inside while the water worked on the outside. Thinking back to her hair she took a deep breath and submerged herself under the water coming back up after her hair was sufficiently wet. Before she did anything else she just lied back and closed her eyes letting the water just comfort her body for the time being. It felt so good as the water lightly caressed her skin almost like a light massage. Her thoughts wandered as she noticed that it was too quiet in the house and wandered where everyone was. She wished she knew where Val went because she wanted him to give her a nice back rub after she was done with her bath. But as soon as she thought of Val her eyes began to water for she slowly started to remember what she desperately tried in vain to forget. Memories of Xelloss torturing her, and Val screaming at her, …the kiss… all flashed trough her mind. She thought if she closed her eyes it would all stop but even then she still saw the haunting images. She was so absorbed with trying to forget, that she didn't notice the sudden chill in the room and the dark shadow hovering over her. When she felt a hot breath of air brush past her ear she turned around and was met with sudden darkness.
~Elsewhere~
"She lied… she lied… she lied… SHE LIED!!!" Val screamed at the top of his lungs. He decided that he needed to take a walk and blow off a lot of steam before he would go off on an innocent passerby. He was still angry, make that infuriated at Filia for what she had done.
'All this time my life has been a lie. And she knew but never told me. NEVER!!!'
The feelings of betrayal that coursed through him were still strong. He had never felt so full of anger and rage before at someone. He had never been so angry with her! She, who scolded him whenever he lied and told him how wrong it was, that he should always be truthful no matter what. She was the liar!
He didn't care if it was for his own benefit she still lied and this was something one should never hide away. He needed to know this sort of thing; he needed to know who he was and where he came from. He wanted to know more about himself, his people, his heritage; everything there was to know about him.
He knew he couldn't go back home now until he calmed himself down. If he did go back now there was no telling what he would do to Filia. And yet through all that happened he still loved her with all his heart.
Val believed he wasn't angry with Filia, he was just more hurt; his anger should be directed towards Xelloss. That wretched person cared for nothing but his own self and was pleased by other's pain and anguish. Well that was to be expected, he is a mazoku after all.
'And one time so was I.' Val thought to himself.
Was everything that Xelloss said really true? Was he so consumed with the thought of revenge for his kind that he would resort to becoming a mazoku? Did he truly want to destroy the world and everything in it? Did he want to destroy Filia?
Of course not! Val knew who he was and he would never wish harm on Filia or anyone else, besides Xelloss that is.
Now that his anger was subsiding Val was faced with new emotions, disbelief and utter confusion.
He knew himself to be a good person. He was not someone to hate so easily and wish despair on others so he would be justified. Or was he?
Val was so confused by everything. Was there anything good that he done in his past life as a mazoku? Was the anger he felt just a few moments ago just a minor percent of what he felt before in his other life that lasted for years?
The more Val dwelled on everything he began to ask new questions. 'Why did the Golds murder my race, what did we do to them to make them hate us so? Did I hate Filia because she was a Gold? Did she hate me when I was an Ancient Dragon or a mazoku? Why was I made into a mazoku? Who was Garv? And what did he make me a mazoku for?'
Val knew that his questions would go unanswered if he just asked himself so he was going to ask the one person who, hopefully, knew the answer to everything.
He just hoped he wouldn't get hit in the head with her mace for storming out on her.
When Val finally got back to the cottage Filia was nowhere to be found.
To be continued…
A/N: Sorry this was extremely short but I've been kinda having some RL problems that couldn't be pushed aside for writing. I do hope you enjoy it however and I promise the next chapter will be longer and more exciting. Well that's all I have to say at the moment cept to remind you all of the 100th reviewer thing, I can't wait to see who wins.
