Another quick update, mostly since I'm so depressed over the abrubt ending of Hikaru no Go that I can't bear to work on Fujiwara. (The flames I got recently didn't upset me nearly as much as the ending of the series!)
As it stands, this fic as maybe one or two more solid chapters of material to go. I'm not sure if I want to continue it beyond what I originally planned; it depends on whether or not I think I can write it well ^_^;;
Review thanks go to Kellis, Lady Dark Angel, and Ryoko'n Rain.
Rating is PG 'cause of the following scene, folks. It's very mild lime. :D Maybe key lime? Key lime pie? I like key lime yogurt . . .
* * *
* * *
It was morning when Filia woke. She was surprised at how well-rested yet sore she felt; normally she slept just enough to keep herself healthy, and she never did any sort of activity that required massive physical exertion.
Then the events of the previous day came flooding back to her, and she remembered what sort of physical exertion she had done to put her body in such a state.
The horror only lasted a moment until she realized that she felt more peaceful than she had in months. The worst -- or the best, depending on how she looked at it -- had happened. Anything that happened from this point forward was inevitable, and the incredible guilt that had eaten away at her seemed gone for the moment.
She was naked, curled up against Xelloss' back on her little four poster bed. She squirmed a bit, but the arm around her waist was strong even in his slumber. She sighed, letting herself enjoy the luxury of being held in the manner she'd longed for. Xelloss had proved to be a surprisingly caring lover, and the soreness she felt in her legs was well worth the hours of pleasure she'd experienced.
She felt him stir behind her, and the arm around her waist eased up, allowing her to face him.
"So, little dragon," he said lightly, a wide grin on his eyes as he gazed at her with opened eyes, "how did it feel to be a bad girl?"
"You should know," she retorted, shoving his shoulder playfully. "Can't Mazoku read emotions?"
"I was a little overwhelmed in my own sensations to monitor yours that closely," he said honestly, the grin widening a bit further.
"Oh. Well, if you're asking the 'was it good for you?' question, then the answer is yes." Feeling a little embarassed for the first time since waking up, Filia slipped out of the bed, self consciously wrapping herself with a sheet.
"You do an ego good, Filia-chan." Xelloss leaned back in her bed, his arms behind his head, and managed to look smug and proud at the same time. He made no move to get up and get dressed.
For that matter, as Filia picked up her discarded clothing, she didn't noticed any of his own. That's right, she told herself. The human form that a Mazoku wears is nothing more than a projected illusion that can be altered at will.
So while she distinctly recalled removing his clothing herself -- in a few places with her teeth -- they had probably simply evaporated once he no longered focused on them. For some reason the thought saddened her. All the incriminating evidence on the floor was hers, and hers alone.
"So," Xelloss answered, "tell me why something feels different about you this morning." He studied her from his reclined position on the bed as she straightened out her various articles of clothing and started getting dressed for the day. "You don't seem as tense as you have in the last few days."
She supposed that she owed him the truth, for once. "Something is a little different. I've been fighting with the . . . erm, desire I'd felt for you." She cringed at actually saying the words aloud, but pressed on. "Yet this morning none of the guilt that had plagued me before seems to be there at all. It's as if it just doesn't bother me any more."
Xelloss nodded thoughtfully. "I'd thought so." He closed his eyes and snuggled down more comfortably. "The guilt that you felt was a dark emotion, which is why it bothered you so much. Last night, part of what we did was share my . . . essence, if you will. There is now a little bit of my darkness inside of you. That essence allows you to carry the dark emotion without feeling bad about it. It's an unexpected side effect, but at least you should return to your normal angry self now."
She looked very surprised; he HAD noticed how she had changed recently. The guilt must have been very apparent to him.
"I thought you said before that there is a darkness in every light, just like the yin-yang shows us," she said, shrugging on white peasant blouse.
"Perhaps because of the nature of your being, you don't have the capacity to carry that darkness by yourself." Filia said nothing. What he said sounded very possible; they were the creations of Cephied, and weren't even supposed to be capable of any dark emotions, let alone act upon them. Yet the Golden Dragons had committed genocide in the name of maintaining peace, and Filia herself was an example of a dragon who couldn't hold her temper.
"So in a way, I've corrupted you!" Xelloss sounded very satisfied with the turn of events.
"I think I was already corrupted," Filia argued, lacing up a plain work bodice. "You just made me feel less guilty over the whole thing." She smiled at him then, the same tiny smile she gave him on only a few previous occasions. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," he said graciously. "But," he continued, "that still doesn't explain why you even allowed this . . . us, to happen in the first place. Shouldn't a former shrine maiden be more careful about maintaining her celibacy?"
Well, since the worst had happened already . . .
"Isn't it obvious? I fell in love with you, silly."
Xelloss looked at her strangely then. "You . . . what?"
"I told you before that I hated that I didn't hate you anymore. Now that I no longer hate the fact, I might as well tell you that." Her eyes were shadowed by her bangs as she shyly turned to face him and repeated, "I love you, Xelloss."
The Mazoku did not look pleased by this turn of events. "You mean it wasn't lust over me you were feeling guilty over?"
"Well, of course that was part of it." She sat down on the edge of the bed and reached out to touch his cheek, but he shrank away as if her touch might burn him. "Xelloss, what's wrong?"
"I have to go," he said abrubtly, and snapped his fingers. Just like that, he was once again fully clothed. "I'm sorry Filia, Juuoh-sama is calling me. Goodbye."
"Wait!" Filia cried, but he teleported away before she had a chance to make him explain. The sheet he had been lying under fluttered to the bed, making the rumpled plane look extraordinarily lonely. She touched her hand to where he had lain, and it was still rather warm from his projected body heat.
She didn't even noticed she was crying until the tears landed on those empty sheets.
"What have I done?" she asked herself in quiet horror. "I've gone and scared him off."
* * *
The pain was unbearable.
Xelloss lay in a crumpled heap before Juuoh-sama, who sat on her throne and observed him, quite concerned looking. He did not care what she thought of his present situation. All he could think of was the pain.
"What did that dragon girl DO to you?" Zelas asked, twitching one stocking-clad foot in something akin to nervousness. "I've never seen you this bad off."
"It's rather . . . personal, Juuoh-sama," he heard himself say.
"Hmmm. If I had someone kill the dragon girl, would that make you feel better?"
Xelloss's pain increased sharply, and he all but blacked out from the intensity.
"I guess not." Zelas stood up and walked over to Xelloss, who further collapsed onto the ground. "You've fallen in love her, haven't you." It was not a question.
"Mazoku can't love," he choked out in denial, and finally fell into a delerium from the severity of the agony. He was vaguely aware of Zelas picking him up and carrying him to his room, but he didn't remember much of anything beyond that.
* * *
Xelloss didn't show up for tea that afternoon. Filia felt a bit hurt; he could show up whenever she specifically asked him not to, but when she wanted him here, he didn't bother to make an appearance. Typical Mazoku.
She shoved pieces of fired pottery out of the smaller kiln with much more force than was necessary. The porcelain test vase still had another day of firing before its bisque stage was done, but at least Xelloss would have to come pick it up himself. She'd corner him then.
Xelloss was right about one thing. Now that the guilt was mostly gone, she once again felt her normal anger.
"Stupid Mazoku. Stupid yin-yang. Stupid dragon!" she berated herself as she stacked the pottery and started carting it inside to her workroom. "ARGH! I just want to mace something!"
"Um, onee-sama?" Jillas said carefully from the doorway of the workroom, and he blinked in surprise when a mace when flying towards his head. He ducked just in time, but cowered in fear of the towering dragon, who had erected a battle aura that rivaled that of an enraged Dark Lord.
"Jillas! Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" Filia cried when she realized she'd nearly maced an innocent bystander. Then she remember that Jillas had told Xelloss to find her "near the kiln" yesterday, and decided that Jillas had deserved a scare if nothing else. "What's wrong?"
"Grabos and I were just worried about you. We didn't see you yesterday hardly at all."
The fox looked at her ernestly. Filia sighed; they had probably been genuinely worried, with the Mazoku dropping in all the time.
Filia's rage left her as quickly as it had come. "I'm fine, thank you, Jillas. I just felt a little tired so I went to bed early."
Jillas didn't look as if he believed her. "Are you sure, onee-sama? If anything happens to you, Grabos and I will never forgive ourselves."
She gave him a tired, crooked smile. "I appreciate your concern. Everyone should have friends as loyal as you. But I'm fine. Honestly. We have a lot of work to do today, however. All these need to be glazed and back in the kiln before the porcelain items reach their heat peak this evening."
Jillas nodded and picked up the nearest stoneware pot. He looked at the yin-yan symbol engraved on it, then shook his head as if he didn't understand it, before picking up a pot of white glaze to turn the bisque stoneware into genuine china.
* * *
Zelas Metallium looked at her general/priest with something akin to pity. He lay on the bed he kept in his room, but he did not sleep; instead his body twisted and turned as he fought against the pain in his unconsciousness. He had long since lost total control of his human form, and occasionally dropped into a shape like a small black whirling tornado, his true form from the astral plane. His astral side wasn't faring much better, either.
Xelloss was dying. And there was nothing Zelas could do about it.
"I have to get her," the Dark Lord said to herself, taking a long drag on her cigarette to calm her nerves. "I have to get that dragon girl. She has a right to know what she has done."
* * *
End part five
As it stands, this fic as maybe one or two more solid chapters of material to go. I'm not sure if I want to continue it beyond what I originally planned; it depends on whether or not I think I can write it well ^_^;;
Review thanks go to Kellis, Lady Dark Angel, and Ryoko'n Rain.
Rating is PG 'cause of the following scene, folks. It's very mild lime. :D Maybe key lime? Key lime pie? I like key lime yogurt . . .
* * *
* * *
It was morning when Filia woke. She was surprised at how well-rested yet sore she felt; normally she slept just enough to keep herself healthy, and she never did any sort of activity that required massive physical exertion.
Then the events of the previous day came flooding back to her, and she remembered what sort of physical exertion she had done to put her body in such a state.
The horror only lasted a moment until she realized that she felt more peaceful than she had in months. The worst -- or the best, depending on how she looked at it -- had happened. Anything that happened from this point forward was inevitable, and the incredible guilt that had eaten away at her seemed gone for the moment.
She was naked, curled up against Xelloss' back on her little four poster bed. She squirmed a bit, but the arm around her waist was strong even in his slumber. She sighed, letting herself enjoy the luxury of being held in the manner she'd longed for. Xelloss had proved to be a surprisingly caring lover, and the soreness she felt in her legs was well worth the hours of pleasure she'd experienced.
She felt him stir behind her, and the arm around her waist eased up, allowing her to face him.
"So, little dragon," he said lightly, a wide grin on his eyes as he gazed at her with opened eyes, "how did it feel to be a bad girl?"
"You should know," she retorted, shoving his shoulder playfully. "Can't Mazoku read emotions?"
"I was a little overwhelmed in my own sensations to monitor yours that closely," he said honestly, the grin widening a bit further.
"Oh. Well, if you're asking the 'was it good for you?' question, then the answer is yes." Feeling a little embarassed for the first time since waking up, Filia slipped out of the bed, self consciously wrapping herself with a sheet.
"You do an ego good, Filia-chan." Xelloss leaned back in her bed, his arms behind his head, and managed to look smug and proud at the same time. He made no move to get up and get dressed.
For that matter, as Filia picked up her discarded clothing, she didn't noticed any of his own. That's right, she told herself. The human form that a Mazoku wears is nothing more than a projected illusion that can be altered at will.
So while she distinctly recalled removing his clothing herself -- in a few places with her teeth -- they had probably simply evaporated once he no longered focused on them. For some reason the thought saddened her. All the incriminating evidence on the floor was hers, and hers alone.
"So," Xelloss answered, "tell me why something feels different about you this morning." He studied her from his reclined position on the bed as she straightened out her various articles of clothing and started getting dressed for the day. "You don't seem as tense as you have in the last few days."
She supposed that she owed him the truth, for once. "Something is a little different. I've been fighting with the . . . erm, desire I'd felt for you." She cringed at actually saying the words aloud, but pressed on. "Yet this morning none of the guilt that had plagued me before seems to be there at all. It's as if it just doesn't bother me any more."
Xelloss nodded thoughtfully. "I'd thought so." He closed his eyes and snuggled down more comfortably. "The guilt that you felt was a dark emotion, which is why it bothered you so much. Last night, part of what we did was share my . . . essence, if you will. There is now a little bit of my darkness inside of you. That essence allows you to carry the dark emotion without feeling bad about it. It's an unexpected side effect, but at least you should return to your normal angry self now."
She looked very surprised; he HAD noticed how she had changed recently. The guilt must have been very apparent to him.
"I thought you said before that there is a darkness in every light, just like the yin-yang shows us," she said, shrugging on white peasant blouse.
"Perhaps because of the nature of your being, you don't have the capacity to carry that darkness by yourself." Filia said nothing. What he said sounded very possible; they were the creations of Cephied, and weren't even supposed to be capable of any dark emotions, let alone act upon them. Yet the Golden Dragons had committed genocide in the name of maintaining peace, and Filia herself was an example of a dragon who couldn't hold her temper.
"So in a way, I've corrupted you!" Xelloss sounded very satisfied with the turn of events.
"I think I was already corrupted," Filia argued, lacing up a plain work bodice. "You just made me feel less guilty over the whole thing." She smiled at him then, the same tiny smile she gave him on only a few previous occasions. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," he said graciously. "But," he continued, "that still doesn't explain why you even allowed this . . . us, to happen in the first place. Shouldn't a former shrine maiden be more careful about maintaining her celibacy?"
Well, since the worst had happened already . . .
"Isn't it obvious? I fell in love with you, silly."
Xelloss looked at her strangely then. "You . . . what?"
"I told you before that I hated that I didn't hate you anymore. Now that I no longer hate the fact, I might as well tell you that." Her eyes were shadowed by her bangs as she shyly turned to face him and repeated, "I love you, Xelloss."
The Mazoku did not look pleased by this turn of events. "You mean it wasn't lust over me you were feeling guilty over?"
"Well, of course that was part of it." She sat down on the edge of the bed and reached out to touch his cheek, but he shrank away as if her touch might burn him. "Xelloss, what's wrong?"
"I have to go," he said abrubtly, and snapped his fingers. Just like that, he was once again fully clothed. "I'm sorry Filia, Juuoh-sama is calling me. Goodbye."
"Wait!" Filia cried, but he teleported away before she had a chance to make him explain. The sheet he had been lying under fluttered to the bed, making the rumpled plane look extraordinarily lonely. She touched her hand to where he had lain, and it was still rather warm from his projected body heat.
She didn't even noticed she was crying until the tears landed on those empty sheets.
"What have I done?" she asked herself in quiet horror. "I've gone and scared him off."
* * *
The pain was unbearable.
Xelloss lay in a crumpled heap before Juuoh-sama, who sat on her throne and observed him, quite concerned looking. He did not care what she thought of his present situation. All he could think of was the pain.
"What did that dragon girl DO to you?" Zelas asked, twitching one stocking-clad foot in something akin to nervousness. "I've never seen you this bad off."
"It's rather . . . personal, Juuoh-sama," he heard himself say.
"Hmmm. If I had someone kill the dragon girl, would that make you feel better?"
Xelloss's pain increased sharply, and he all but blacked out from the intensity.
"I guess not." Zelas stood up and walked over to Xelloss, who further collapsed onto the ground. "You've fallen in love her, haven't you." It was not a question.
"Mazoku can't love," he choked out in denial, and finally fell into a delerium from the severity of the agony. He was vaguely aware of Zelas picking him up and carrying him to his room, but he didn't remember much of anything beyond that.
* * *
Xelloss didn't show up for tea that afternoon. Filia felt a bit hurt; he could show up whenever she specifically asked him not to, but when she wanted him here, he didn't bother to make an appearance. Typical Mazoku.
She shoved pieces of fired pottery out of the smaller kiln with much more force than was necessary. The porcelain test vase still had another day of firing before its bisque stage was done, but at least Xelloss would have to come pick it up himself. She'd corner him then.
Xelloss was right about one thing. Now that the guilt was mostly gone, she once again felt her normal anger.
"Stupid Mazoku. Stupid yin-yang. Stupid dragon!" she berated herself as she stacked the pottery and started carting it inside to her workroom. "ARGH! I just want to mace something!"
"Um, onee-sama?" Jillas said carefully from the doorway of the workroom, and he blinked in surprise when a mace when flying towards his head. He ducked just in time, but cowered in fear of the towering dragon, who had erected a battle aura that rivaled that of an enraged Dark Lord.
"Jillas! Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" Filia cried when she realized she'd nearly maced an innocent bystander. Then she remember that Jillas had told Xelloss to find her "near the kiln" yesterday, and decided that Jillas had deserved a scare if nothing else. "What's wrong?"
"Grabos and I were just worried about you. We didn't see you yesterday hardly at all."
The fox looked at her ernestly. Filia sighed; they had probably been genuinely worried, with the Mazoku dropping in all the time.
Filia's rage left her as quickly as it had come. "I'm fine, thank you, Jillas. I just felt a little tired so I went to bed early."
Jillas didn't look as if he believed her. "Are you sure, onee-sama? If anything happens to you, Grabos and I will never forgive ourselves."
She gave him a tired, crooked smile. "I appreciate your concern. Everyone should have friends as loyal as you. But I'm fine. Honestly. We have a lot of work to do today, however. All these need to be glazed and back in the kiln before the porcelain items reach their heat peak this evening."
Jillas nodded and picked up the nearest stoneware pot. He looked at the yin-yan symbol engraved on it, then shook his head as if he didn't understand it, before picking up a pot of white glaze to turn the bisque stoneware into genuine china.
* * *
Zelas Metallium looked at her general/priest with something akin to pity. He lay on the bed he kept in his room, but he did not sleep; instead his body twisted and turned as he fought against the pain in his unconsciousness. He had long since lost total control of his human form, and occasionally dropped into a shape like a small black whirling tornado, his true form from the astral plane. His astral side wasn't faring much better, either.
Xelloss was dying. And there was nothing Zelas could do about it.
"I have to get her," the Dark Lord said to herself, taking a long drag on her cigarette to calm her nerves. "I have to get that dragon girl. She has a right to know what she has done."
* * *
End part five