The early morning sun blazed the horizon as clouds light up like firelight,
fading out into what was left of the blue night. People began to leave
their houses for their work at the town square or shoppers getting an early
start, littering the ground with wet footprints. It had been obvious that
earlier that night, it had rained. Now the new sky promised better weather
for the coming day.
Amelia's eyes opened to focus upon her new surroundings. Ahead of her, she saw a nicely cleaned wooden floor, a door off to the right, and a cedar table much like the one she had always sat at in the palace although it was much better to look at. Atop the table sat an elegant vase filled with as many flowers as there were in a pack of seeds. Her eyes floated upward to see a picture holding a map of the town. Groggily, she turned herself over to see a window that had the greatest view of the sunrise in the back and the rest of the town below. Clearly she was in an upper level. There was another table beside her bed. This one had a bag she had brought and her money to keep herself afloat while on the road. Smiling to herself, Amelia began to drift back to sleep, content about the upcoming day. But something else came up to her mind. Something that she didn't see in her room. Her eyes snapped open and she sat up, looking around. 'Where's Xellos?' her mind automatically asked. 'I don't know. .' she answered back to her thoughts. She got out of bed and walked through her room, hoping she had just missed him sitting somewhere or his staff leaning against a wall. The different perspective didn't serve her any different. He wasn't in the room.
Getting dressed in her usual accord, white pants, white shirt trimmed with pink, her cape and her bracelets, she left her stuff in the room for the time being. Opening the door, Amelia glanced down the hallway of the hotel she was in. It wasn't very big, but it was well kept and very cozy. The scent of breakfast passed by her nose, brining up the other subject: she hadn't eaten in a while. 'Whoops, guess my anticipation overruled my need to eat. .' she thought, laughing to herself. Then an idea went through her head. Maybe he was just downstairs, waiting for her to get up? 'That has to be it!' she thought as she ran down the hallway. She reached the stairs and glanced down into the lower room. The sunlight stained the floor and she heard the sounds of people talking and food being cooked. These stairs were connected to the café! She hurriedly made her way down and she hopped the last step, landing with a thud. She once again made her way through, turning her head and looking around to see if Xellos was down there. She felt something inside her fall to pieces, her hopeful eyes now gleaming with sadness. She didn't see him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"WHAAAAAAAAT???!!!" A scream echoed through the empty palace hallways.
The general guard who had been smote by Amelia's elbow (who now had nice black eye) quivered his hands in front of his face in defense. He was inside the grandest room, drapes covering every corner, newly fluffed pillows on a white and silky mattress, statues of the dragon kings and lamps glowing with a dim light, the room filled with the scent of perfume. The guard was now on the floor, seemingly begging for mercy. In front of him, was a sight that could kill. Filia sat, half turned towards him, half turning ahead. One hand gripped her sheets, the knuckles white, while the other gripped her mace so tightly; he could hear the sound of the handle cracking. A great rage burning in her eyes, her teeth clenched and her tail stiff with anger. The guard piped up, scared out of his mind.
"T-the princess w-was k-kidnapped Lady F-filia," he stuttered almost bowing now. Filia, trying very hard NOT to kill the messenger, tried to sound calm, which obviously was a bust.
"Kid. .napped?!? By WHOM?!?!?!?" she screeched, both hands on the mace now, one still no the handle, the other supporting its weight. Inwardly thinking to herself, 'It had better NOT be him. It better NOT!!!' She paused, giving a smile that had no effort whatsoever to look genuine. "WELL???" she barked, making him jump.
"By X-xellos, M-miss F-filia," he whimpered. A second later a loud snap was heard as Filia's mace fell to pieces at her feet. The next few moments were nothing but an utter shriek of terror, waking everyone in the palace.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Amelia opened the door to her room, stepping inside and shutting the door, the lock not even making a click. Her appetite gone, she flopped onto her bed, staring at the ceiling.
"Why isn't he here?" she asked aloud, even though she knew no one would hear her. Then it hit her. What she had said to him before they left the palace. 'Remember, as soon as we get out of here, we go our own separate ways!' Her eyes widened.
"No. ." she murmured to herself. He was gone. Whatever had fallen apart inside her before now had a big dagger running through it. She felt something slide down her face, bringing her hand up quickly and touching it. She was crying. 'Look what you've done! Now you're alone! He isn't here anymore! It's all YOUR FAULT!!' a piece of her mind screamed, the same one that had longed for Xellos's company and made her act so weird around him. It was then that Amelia noticed something about this part of her mind. Every time she had been around him, it grew. She noticed that all the suspicion that she had for him, all hate for mazoku's had been taken over by this strange, alien part of her mind. She wasn't acting anything like herself; every passing thought had Xellos somewhere in it, her emotions sky- rocketing whenever he was around. For a moment, she was scared, shocked that her mind was thinking this, that her mind had the images of him running through it, making her face red and her heart jump. But it hardly lasted for even a moment and her fright vanished. She began to realize that she actually liked this feeling and longed for it all the same.
Amelia turned over on her side, looking out the slightly open window for a moment, wondering what she was going to do. She felt the breeze pick up for a moment and blow into her room, the flowers swaying and. . something flapping? Her head turned toward the noise and noticed it to be a slip of paper. Why hadn't she noticed it before? It wasn't there a second ago. She sat up and took the note from its place atop the table and read it. She recognized the handwriting right away. It was a short massage and she read it under her breathe.
"I'll be around"
Was all it said. She blinked and then realized he had been there for a second and put the note on the table. She shot up quickly from her spot and grabbed her bag, running out the door.
*~~~~~*~~~~~*
Xellos walked out into the town square, having just left Amelia's room with the note he had put on her dresser. He sat at a large fountain in the center of the square and looked around. It had been pretty quiet since everything that happened the night before, noticing something odd about those turn of events. It brought an odd feeling that he didn't understand. 'Hm, oh well. .' he said to himself, shrugging it off for the time being. A glimmer of light out of the corner of his eye made him turn. It was a set of bells hanging from a post next to the fountains edge. He followed a rope down to a sign and he got up to read it.
"Toss a coin in the fountain and ring the bells for good things to happen - signed the Town Committee"
He glared at the sign for a moment and looked up at the bells. 'Oh no, not this time!' he growled under his breath. He had a bad experience with these things once before and THIS time he wasn't going to let it happen. . Well to him at least. He slowly made his way to an alley across from the fountain and watched the people pass for a moment, waiting for a large group to come by. His eyes glanced up at the bells again. They were at least 5 times bigger, most likely more, then the ones that had fallen on him in Rikido Village. Pointing at the ropes supporting them, he concentrated a ball of light at the tip of his finger. He watched as a large group of people were passing under the bells and took sharp aim for the top rope supporting the bells. He fired a laser so thin, it was only seen as a ray of light, blending in with the morning sunlight. He was about to turn and walk away like he always did from commotion, when something caught his eye. Black hair, a white outfit, a bit shorter then him, Amelia!!! She had come in with the crowd of people and was standing directly under the bells that would soon, if at any given moment, snap! His eyes widened as he watched the ropes burn away and break, a noise similar to thunder as the bells collided with one another. Amelia looked up and froze from the shock, the one thing he hoped she wouldn't do. On some unknown impulse, he phased out. He appeared next to Amelia, momentum still carrying him and grabbed her, phasing out again just as the bells hit the ground, creating a rather big and dusty crater. They appeared on a rooftop above the square, Amelia not having even noticed the he was carrying her.
Amelia was in a state of shock. One moment she was about to be crushed by those bells, the next she was on a roof? She came to see that she was sideways, in this whole event. Either she was levitating or. . Her mind clicked into place. The only way she could've escaped that is if she teleported and since she can't teleport, there was only one person she knew that could. Her head jerked up and came face to face with Xellos's, whose expression was filled with surprise.
Xellos couldn't understand it. What in Shabranigdo's name made him react like he had?? His mind had trailed off so deep, that he had forgotten that he was holding Amelia close, her face only inches away from his. He blinked out of his state of thought and realized he had momentarily forgotten that she was still in his arms.
"Uh. Oh, whoops, sorry!" he stated quickly, setting her down just as fast as he had said it. Amelia's eyes glittered with happiness and awe.
"Thanks for saving me!!" she said cheerfully, her hands balled up at her face. Xellos rubbed the back of his head.
"Well, in truth, Amelia, you shouldn't be thanking me. Since I was the one who kinda made those bells fall in the first place. I didn't. ." he trailed off not knowing exactly how to phrase it. Amelia leaned forward, waiting for what he was going to say.
"You didn't what?" she asked, more concerned then mad, which also confused him.
"Um. Well I didn't realize you were there. I wasn't TRYING to hit you or anything," He paused, wondering what the hell he just said. 'You weren't TRYING to hit her??? Spreading chaos is what we Mazoku's are supposed to do! What loss would it have been if she had gotten hit?' normal reasoning asked.
"A big one. ." he answered quietly, still not understanding himself, which was unusual for him. Amelia blinked, not quite hearing him.
"What'd you say?" she squeaked in wonder. Xellos, who didn't expect her to be listening, rubbed the back of his head once again.
"Nothing, nothing!" he said quickly, pivoting to look in the opposite direction. Amelia leaned sideways a little bit so she could see his face. Acting rather clueless and happy over finding him, she smiled.
"Hey, Xellos, can Mazoku's get sunburn?" she asked in speculation, her hands behind her back. He raised an eyebrow at her, giving a sideways glance in confusion.
"Umm. . Why are you asking me that?" his mind on the verge of a breakdown from the random question.
"Well, your face is turning kind of pink. I was wondering since your outside all the time." She said with a giddy tone.
Xellos's eyes widened at the comment. It was an emotion he wasn't supposed to have. 'Oh shit, am I BLUSHING???' his mind rang frantically. Why would he be getting human emotions?? It wasn't like any monster at all to like or be liked! A thought came to pass while he was trying to figure it out. 'Wait. When Lord Beastmaster disappeared, did she give us FREE WILL??' If that were true, then every emotion was possible. Was he living his own life now? That meant that he could if he wanted to, live amongst humans? 'That's ridiculous!! Or, is it? . .' he thought, trying to throw the idea. Somehow though, it seemed to be the only explanation. 'Don't bother with it for now. Let's just save this for a little bit later.' He concluded; mad at himself for being unable to figure it out.
"Xellos? You okay? You're being awfully quiet," Amelia asked, concerned. He had been staring at the sky for about 7 minutes and he hadn't moved. The glazed expression of thought cleared and came back to life, quickly plastering his normal smile on his face.
"Nevermind that. What brought you out here? I'd expect you to be eating by now," he interjected, driving the present topic away. Amelia knew he'd ask that sooner or later and she forced herself not to blush.
"Well, I was thinking about what I said before. About how we should go our own separate ways and well, I think I jumped to conclusions a little too quickly," she began, trying not to make herself obvious, about what was still a big question to herself though, "Since I know Filia wont stand by idly and watch me go, she'll most likely send out for people to retrieve me and I was wondering if, uh, maybe I could travel with you?" she paused, "Um, for a while at least."
Xellos seemed surprised by her question. 'She wants to travel with ME?? Is she crazy? I thought she hated Mazoku's. I thought she hated me. .' his mind pondered, only to again see that he had asked a senile statement. He seemed sad at the comment, which again, was not something he was used to feeling.
"But then, you don't have to. I know I can be a pest sometimes," Amelia added sadly, noticing his silence. Xellos blinked out of his thinking state again and smiled.
"You're not too much of a burden. Your justice rants are annoying, but besides that, I guess if you want-" he was cut off by two arms embracing him, an overjoyed Amelia hugging him tightly around his neck.
"Thank you!! Thank you!" she cheered gleefully. Being so close to him seemed to quench her thoughts and emotions for the time being, even though she didn't want to let go, she knew she had to. Slowly sliding her hands off him, taking in the last few seconds of it, she hopped down to her feet and smiled her usual happy smile. "I have all my stuff with me; we can head out now if you want!" She added, holding up her bag.
Xellos had no clue what had just happened, but he knew that he didn't mind it like he normally would have. Beginning to get freaked out by this new turn of events, he pushed it out of his mind for the while and nodded in response.
"Alright, then!" he said as they jumped down from the rooftop and headed out of the town.
~Authors note~ Whoohoo! The longest chapter yet! How's it been going, minna?? Hope my story's still good, don't wanna make you bored! So, give me your input! What do YOU think? ^___^
Amelia's eyes opened to focus upon her new surroundings. Ahead of her, she saw a nicely cleaned wooden floor, a door off to the right, and a cedar table much like the one she had always sat at in the palace although it was much better to look at. Atop the table sat an elegant vase filled with as many flowers as there were in a pack of seeds. Her eyes floated upward to see a picture holding a map of the town. Groggily, she turned herself over to see a window that had the greatest view of the sunrise in the back and the rest of the town below. Clearly she was in an upper level. There was another table beside her bed. This one had a bag she had brought and her money to keep herself afloat while on the road. Smiling to herself, Amelia began to drift back to sleep, content about the upcoming day. But something else came up to her mind. Something that she didn't see in her room. Her eyes snapped open and she sat up, looking around. 'Where's Xellos?' her mind automatically asked. 'I don't know. .' she answered back to her thoughts. She got out of bed and walked through her room, hoping she had just missed him sitting somewhere or his staff leaning against a wall. The different perspective didn't serve her any different. He wasn't in the room.
Getting dressed in her usual accord, white pants, white shirt trimmed with pink, her cape and her bracelets, she left her stuff in the room for the time being. Opening the door, Amelia glanced down the hallway of the hotel she was in. It wasn't very big, but it was well kept and very cozy. The scent of breakfast passed by her nose, brining up the other subject: she hadn't eaten in a while. 'Whoops, guess my anticipation overruled my need to eat. .' she thought, laughing to herself. Then an idea went through her head. Maybe he was just downstairs, waiting for her to get up? 'That has to be it!' she thought as she ran down the hallway. She reached the stairs and glanced down into the lower room. The sunlight stained the floor and she heard the sounds of people talking and food being cooked. These stairs were connected to the café! She hurriedly made her way down and she hopped the last step, landing with a thud. She once again made her way through, turning her head and looking around to see if Xellos was down there. She felt something inside her fall to pieces, her hopeful eyes now gleaming with sadness. She didn't see him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"WHAAAAAAAAT???!!!" A scream echoed through the empty palace hallways.
The general guard who had been smote by Amelia's elbow (who now had nice black eye) quivered his hands in front of his face in defense. He was inside the grandest room, drapes covering every corner, newly fluffed pillows on a white and silky mattress, statues of the dragon kings and lamps glowing with a dim light, the room filled with the scent of perfume. The guard was now on the floor, seemingly begging for mercy. In front of him, was a sight that could kill. Filia sat, half turned towards him, half turning ahead. One hand gripped her sheets, the knuckles white, while the other gripped her mace so tightly; he could hear the sound of the handle cracking. A great rage burning in her eyes, her teeth clenched and her tail stiff with anger. The guard piped up, scared out of his mind.
"T-the princess w-was k-kidnapped Lady F-filia," he stuttered almost bowing now. Filia, trying very hard NOT to kill the messenger, tried to sound calm, which obviously was a bust.
"Kid. .napped?!? By WHOM?!?!?!?" she screeched, both hands on the mace now, one still no the handle, the other supporting its weight. Inwardly thinking to herself, 'It had better NOT be him. It better NOT!!!' She paused, giving a smile that had no effort whatsoever to look genuine. "WELL???" she barked, making him jump.
"By X-xellos, M-miss F-filia," he whimpered. A second later a loud snap was heard as Filia's mace fell to pieces at her feet. The next few moments were nothing but an utter shriek of terror, waking everyone in the palace.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Amelia opened the door to her room, stepping inside and shutting the door, the lock not even making a click. Her appetite gone, she flopped onto her bed, staring at the ceiling.
"Why isn't he here?" she asked aloud, even though she knew no one would hear her. Then it hit her. What she had said to him before they left the palace. 'Remember, as soon as we get out of here, we go our own separate ways!' Her eyes widened.
"No. ." she murmured to herself. He was gone. Whatever had fallen apart inside her before now had a big dagger running through it. She felt something slide down her face, bringing her hand up quickly and touching it. She was crying. 'Look what you've done! Now you're alone! He isn't here anymore! It's all YOUR FAULT!!' a piece of her mind screamed, the same one that had longed for Xellos's company and made her act so weird around him. It was then that Amelia noticed something about this part of her mind. Every time she had been around him, it grew. She noticed that all the suspicion that she had for him, all hate for mazoku's had been taken over by this strange, alien part of her mind. She wasn't acting anything like herself; every passing thought had Xellos somewhere in it, her emotions sky- rocketing whenever he was around. For a moment, she was scared, shocked that her mind was thinking this, that her mind had the images of him running through it, making her face red and her heart jump. But it hardly lasted for even a moment and her fright vanished. She began to realize that she actually liked this feeling and longed for it all the same.
Amelia turned over on her side, looking out the slightly open window for a moment, wondering what she was going to do. She felt the breeze pick up for a moment and blow into her room, the flowers swaying and. . something flapping? Her head turned toward the noise and noticed it to be a slip of paper. Why hadn't she noticed it before? It wasn't there a second ago. She sat up and took the note from its place atop the table and read it. She recognized the handwriting right away. It was a short massage and she read it under her breathe.
"I'll be around"
Was all it said. She blinked and then realized he had been there for a second and put the note on the table. She shot up quickly from her spot and grabbed her bag, running out the door.
*~~~~~*~~~~~*
Xellos walked out into the town square, having just left Amelia's room with the note he had put on her dresser. He sat at a large fountain in the center of the square and looked around. It had been pretty quiet since everything that happened the night before, noticing something odd about those turn of events. It brought an odd feeling that he didn't understand. 'Hm, oh well. .' he said to himself, shrugging it off for the time being. A glimmer of light out of the corner of his eye made him turn. It was a set of bells hanging from a post next to the fountains edge. He followed a rope down to a sign and he got up to read it.
"Toss a coin in the fountain and ring the bells for good things to happen - signed the Town Committee"
He glared at the sign for a moment and looked up at the bells. 'Oh no, not this time!' he growled under his breath. He had a bad experience with these things once before and THIS time he wasn't going to let it happen. . Well to him at least. He slowly made his way to an alley across from the fountain and watched the people pass for a moment, waiting for a large group to come by. His eyes glanced up at the bells again. They were at least 5 times bigger, most likely more, then the ones that had fallen on him in Rikido Village. Pointing at the ropes supporting them, he concentrated a ball of light at the tip of his finger. He watched as a large group of people were passing under the bells and took sharp aim for the top rope supporting the bells. He fired a laser so thin, it was only seen as a ray of light, blending in with the morning sunlight. He was about to turn and walk away like he always did from commotion, when something caught his eye. Black hair, a white outfit, a bit shorter then him, Amelia!!! She had come in with the crowd of people and was standing directly under the bells that would soon, if at any given moment, snap! His eyes widened as he watched the ropes burn away and break, a noise similar to thunder as the bells collided with one another. Amelia looked up and froze from the shock, the one thing he hoped she wouldn't do. On some unknown impulse, he phased out. He appeared next to Amelia, momentum still carrying him and grabbed her, phasing out again just as the bells hit the ground, creating a rather big and dusty crater. They appeared on a rooftop above the square, Amelia not having even noticed the he was carrying her.
Amelia was in a state of shock. One moment she was about to be crushed by those bells, the next she was on a roof? She came to see that she was sideways, in this whole event. Either she was levitating or. . Her mind clicked into place. The only way she could've escaped that is if she teleported and since she can't teleport, there was only one person she knew that could. Her head jerked up and came face to face with Xellos's, whose expression was filled with surprise.
Xellos couldn't understand it. What in Shabranigdo's name made him react like he had?? His mind had trailed off so deep, that he had forgotten that he was holding Amelia close, her face only inches away from his. He blinked out of his state of thought and realized he had momentarily forgotten that she was still in his arms.
"Uh. Oh, whoops, sorry!" he stated quickly, setting her down just as fast as he had said it. Amelia's eyes glittered with happiness and awe.
"Thanks for saving me!!" she said cheerfully, her hands balled up at her face. Xellos rubbed the back of his head.
"Well, in truth, Amelia, you shouldn't be thanking me. Since I was the one who kinda made those bells fall in the first place. I didn't. ." he trailed off not knowing exactly how to phrase it. Amelia leaned forward, waiting for what he was going to say.
"You didn't what?" she asked, more concerned then mad, which also confused him.
"Um. Well I didn't realize you were there. I wasn't TRYING to hit you or anything," He paused, wondering what the hell he just said. 'You weren't TRYING to hit her??? Spreading chaos is what we Mazoku's are supposed to do! What loss would it have been if she had gotten hit?' normal reasoning asked.
"A big one. ." he answered quietly, still not understanding himself, which was unusual for him. Amelia blinked, not quite hearing him.
"What'd you say?" she squeaked in wonder. Xellos, who didn't expect her to be listening, rubbed the back of his head once again.
"Nothing, nothing!" he said quickly, pivoting to look in the opposite direction. Amelia leaned sideways a little bit so she could see his face. Acting rather clueless and happy over finding him, she smiled.
"Hey, Xellos, can Mazoku's get sunburn?" she asked in speculation, her hands behind her back. He raised an eyebrow at her, giving a sideways glance in confusion.
"Umm. . Why are you asking me that?" his mind on the verge of a breakdown from the random question.
"Well, your face is turning kind of pink. I was wondering since your outside all the time." She said with a giddy tone.
Xellos's eyes widened at the comment. It was an emotion he wasn't supposed to have. 'Oh shit, am I BLUSHING???' his mind rang frantically. Why would he be getting human emotions?? It wasn't like any monster at all to like or be liked! A thought came to pass while he was trying to figure it out. 'Wait. When Lord Beastmaster disappeared, did she give us FREE WILL??' If that were true, then every emotion was possible. Was he living his own life now? That meant that he could if he wanted to, live amongst humans? 'That's ridiculous!! Or, is it? . .' he thought, trying to throw the idea. Somehow though, it seemed to be the only explanation. 'Don't bother with it for now. Let's just save this for a little bit later.' He concluded; mad at himself for being unable to figure it out.
"Xellos? You okay? You're being awfully quiet," Amelia asked, concerned. He had been staring at the sky for about 7 minutes and he hadn't moved. The glazed expression of thought cleared and came back to life, quickly plastering his normal smile on his face.
"Nevermind that. What brought you out here? I'd expect you to be eating by now," he interjected, driving the present topic away. Amelia knew he'd ask that sooner or later and she forced herself not to blush.
"Well, I was thinking about what I said before. About how we should go our own separate ways and well, I think I jumped to conclusions a little too quickly," she began, trying not to make herself obvious, about what was still a big question to herself though, "Since I know Filia wont stand by idly and watch me go, she'll most likely send out for people to retrieve me and I was wondering if, uh, maybe I could travel with you?" she paused, "Um, for a while at least."
Xellos seemed surprised by her question. 'She wants to travel with ME?? Is she crazy? I thought she hated Mazoku's. I thought she hated me. .' his mind pondered, only to again see that he had asked a senile statement. He seemed sad at the comment, which again, was not something he was used to feeling.
"But then, you don't have to. I know I can be a pest sometimes," Amelia added sadly, noticing his silence. Xellos blinked out of his thinking state again and smiled.
"You're not too much of a burden. Your justice rants are annoying, but besides that, I guess if you want-" he was cut off by two arms embracing him, an overjoyed Amelia hugging him tightly around his neck.
"Thank you!! Thank you!" she cheered gleefully. Being so close to him seemed to quench her thoughts and emotions for the time being, even though she didn't want to let go, she knew she had to. Slowly sliding her hands off him, taking in the last few seconds of it, she hopped down to her feet and smiled her usual happy smile. "I have all my stuff with me; we can head out now if you want!" She added, holding up her bag.
Xellos had no clue what had just happened, but he knew that he didn't mind it like he normally would have. Beginning to get freaked out by this new turn of events, he pushed it out of his mind for the while and nodded in response.
"Alright, then!" he said as they jumped down from the rooftop and headed out of the town.
~Authors note~ Whoohoo! The longest chapter yet! How's it been going, minna?? Hope my story's still good, don't wanna make you bored! So, give me your input! What do YOU think? ^___^