Left in a Demon's Care -- Part 2 --
Chapter Two: Holding a Demon's Attention
While Lina ate her supper and talked to Xelloss' cloak, Xelloss transported hundreds of miles away, locating Lina's comrades of the past. Gourry was the easiest to find and convince, especially since Xelloss did not hide his concern for Lina's welfare, or his genuine need for the man's help.
"So, what's she doing alone?"
"She's not alone, exactly," Xelloss said. "I'm with her, or was until just moments ago."
"Lina's hurt?"
"Not hurt so much as pregnant," Xelloss repeated, growing increasingly frustrated having to explain the problem over and over.
"Lina? Pregnant? How did that happen?"
"Oh, Gourry-dear," Sylphiel sighed. "I understand Lina's in a spot, Mr. Xelloss, but what can Gourry do to help? I'm a healer, and who she needs, but as you can see, I can't travel."
"Ah, yes," Xelloss said, smiling. She was larger than Lina. "When is your happy event?"
Gourry looked as if he was about to ask "what event?" when Sylphiel answered, "Yes, we're expecting a baby..."
"Real soon!" Gourry said, grinning, proud of his achievement, apparently.
"Well, not that soon," Sylphiel demurred, blushing. "February. Only four more months, though, so, you see, I can't go."
"You see, Lina has lost her magic and requires constant supervision. I can't be there every minute, plus, I think Lina will need a familiar face or two when the time comes," Xelloss explained. "If you let him come, I'll promise to have Gourry back in time for your delivery."
"Lina without her magic?" Gourry asked. "I don't know-"
"Yes, Gourry-dear, just like me. Well, Mr. Xelloss, if you promise-"
"Yes! Cross my heart!" Xelloss said, pushing Gourry out the door of his house.
"Lina said you didn't have a heart," Gourry said matter-of-factly.
"Did she? Well, how could I live without one?"
"Yeah, that would be a problem."
Xelloss didn't let him mull the dilemma over. "Now, I need you to talk to Filia."
"Why me?"
"Because she won't see me," Xelloss explained. "While you're distracting her, I'll have a chance to speak to Valgaav alone."
While Gourry hemmed and hawed at the front door, Xelloss transported into the house where he found Valgaav bouncing a ball off the wall while lying on his back on his bed. The young dragon had flourished under Filia's care and was now a lanky teenager sporting a bored, put-upon expression. "Why should I?"
"Because..." Xelloss combed his thready mind for a convincing argument, "You can prove you're not a momma's boy once and for all. Think of this as a quest, an adventure into the unknown."
"Sounds like a lot of effort."
Xelloss found he wanted nothing more than to smack the petulance out of the dragon, but he didn't. Demon kind was better than that. "Yyyyyeah, but you'll be traveling with men, on a man's errand to protect a woman."
"A woman?"
"Lots of them," Xelloss lied, but if it was Valgaav's carrot, he'd dangle away.
"I ain't gotta sword or nothin'." No, but he had a glint in his eye now which encouraged Xelloss to promote his cause with abandon.
"No problem. I have plenty. You can take your pick. Just grab your coat and let's start by sneaking out the window."
"Mom won't like that..."
"Which is a part of growing up... and letting go. It's time to spread your wings..."
"How'dya know I had wings?" Valgaav asked suspiciously.
Valgaav dragged his feet until he found he couldn't keep up with Gourry's long stride. "How much further is it?"
"Zelgadiss said he'd meet us at the last bar in town, which is up ahead." Gourry had the patience of a mountain and the brain power of one as well.
"I'm not old enough..." Val began.
"Sure you are," Xelloss assured him. "You look to be nearly my age."
"I thought you were really old, like a hundred or something," Gourry said.
Valgaav looked at him as if he were a moron. "No way!"
"Yes way," said Xelloss. "I'm actually over a thousand. You once knew and understood what that meant." He opened his eyes and gave Valgaav a deadly glare, revealing a portion of his hidden power of persuasion. "It means I'm very, very evil."
Valgaav shivered, shaking off some of his sulleness.
"Look, there's Zel coming this way," Gourry said.
The slender, hooded swordsman halted just off the street in front of the bar and waited for Xelloss and the others to meet him. Zelgadiss had found a cure for the curse inflicted upon him by his relative, Rezo the Red Priest. Although he no longer looked freakish, old habits died hard. He continued to shroud himself in concealing outfits, like hooded cloaks.
"What's the damned problem?" he insisted the moment Xelloss was near enough to hear him.
"Lina needs your help."
"Like a hole in the head," Zel snapped.
"She's pregnant and can't do magic, just like Sylphie," Gourry said.
Zelgadiss blinked, but showed no other emotion. "So? What's the issue? Bring her to the palace at once, and Amelia will get healers aplenty to take care of her."
"That isn't possible," Xelloss said. "She's miles away. If I'm lucky, I'll get her as far as Burnish City."
"Don'tcha mean if she's lucky?" Valgaav muttered.
"What?!" Zel exploded. "What is she doing in that hole this time of year?! She should be home taking care of herself not out on some perilous adventure halfway around the kingdom--"
"Well, she's not actually there yet, but--" I tried to explain.
"And Val's right. You said "if YOU were lucky." What kind of a mess have you trapped her into this time? Promises of gold if she just follows you to...to... to what kind of dangerous, evil trickery of yours is she into this time?"
"I didn't promise gold," Xelloss said petulantly.
Zelgadiss grabbed him by the arms and shook Xelloss hard. "What kind of trouble is she in, damn you anyway?"
"The point is," Xelloss said, shoving Zel off. "She needs protection, which I can't provide at all times. She needs-" he swallowed, hating to admit what was true, "Friends, human company, when she has her baby."
"Her baby? Isn't it yours too?" Valgaav asked after working out the math all by himself.
"Well, yes," Xelloss lied again; although in his mind it was just about his, if you twisted the facts around and about.
"How is that even possible? No! Don't tell me! Gods, Xelloss, if you've put her in any sort of danger we can't get her out of so help me," Zelgadiss murmured. "Okay, let's regroup back at the palace where I can let Amelia know where I'm going and we can get supplied. In the meantime, Xelloss, I want to know everything."
Xelloss smiled and ducked his head. "Well, you know that--" he pulled a map from his travel bag and smacked Zelgadiss over the head with it before disappearing with these departing words, "It's a secret!"
The three men headed back toward the Palace of Seyruun, Zelgadiss grumbling under his breath all the way, while attempting to unfurl and read the map, Gourry whistling an off-key tune, and Valgaav thinking about the new sword dangling at his hip.
Valgaav whispered to Gourry, "Zel sure gets himself all worked up about stuff, doesn't he?"
"Yep, he's always been an emotional sort of guy. Now, me, I just take things as they come. See the big picture."
"Oh, yeah? So, what's the big picture this time?" Val asked with undisguised curiosity.
Gourry touched the hilt of his sword. "I get to use this again."
Valgaav returned his smile with a lop-sided one of his own. "Yeah, pretty cool."
(o)
With that duty completed, Xelloss returned, as promised, to the inn, to the room, where he found his Lina sleeping peacefully. He added a log to the dying embers and with a snap, triggered flames to dance in the fireplace as if alive. He leaned over and saw her hands gripping the edge of his cloak, pressing her cheek to the ruby gems of the clasp. "Oh, Lina," he whispered, smiling. "You don't really hate me, do you?"
She drew a deep breath and turned, but didn't waken. "I didn't think so," he said. "And I promise to watch over you forever." Thinking that sounded too sappy, he added, "Like it or not," and hitched himself onto the windowsill to monitor and wait.
When they were told that it would be several days until the horse could carry Lina again and the worst of the storm damage would be repaired, Xelloss was set against waiting. "We'll get another horse."
"But that doesn't solve the other problem," Lina said.
"She's right," the inn keeper told them. "The roads will be muddy trenches and main bridge is washed out. Be at least another day to fix it." The man smiled, and Xelloss' watchful glare intensified as the inn keeper struggled not to stare too long at Lina's toga-wrapped figure. He added, "I'll give you a special rate on the room for the extra night."
"You bet you will," Lina said, insisting to talk him down to half price for all her trouble. "Let's go eat, in the room."
Xelloss ordered two 'specials' delivered promptly and followed Lina back up the stairs. She was well rested and itching to get going.
"First off, I need clothes," she said. "Look at what I've drawn here. I'd get them myself, but, well," she glanced at the moldering pile of torn clothes, leaving him to fill in the reason."
Xelloss leaned over the table and watched Lina sketch a tunic and pants with a hunk of charcoal on a napkin. "I'll need some measurements."
"No you won't, just get mediums and I'll cut them off it they're too long. The belt will cinch it in enough. Oh, and a cape and new gloves and socks ... underwear."
His face scrunched up. "All that? Me?"
Her answering frown was enough. "Fine, I'll do it. Am I free to choose any colors I like?"
"Have a party," she grumbled. "You're the one who'll have to look at me."
"Nothing too garish then," he concluded.
"I like bright! I don't want to look like a scullery maid!" she shouted after his receding back.
"Oh, I got you this to pass the time," he said, handing her a thick book he had pinched from Zelgadiss' bag.
"How long ago was that?" she asked, but she took it just the same. "Ancient Dragon Language Translations. Hey, this is great. I've never known anything like this ever existed? Where did you get this? Has this something to do with where we're going?"
But Xelloss only smiled and shrugged, saying, "That's a secret," and vanished.
While Lina settled into the big armchair by the fire to read, Xelloss strolled the marketplace looking for clothiers. One shop looked promising, having signs regaling their travel gear.
"I need clothes for a girl about so high," Xelloss began.
"Hmm, we deal mostly with men here. Try across the way for women's frocks.
"Not frocks." Xelloss offered the napkin sketch to the proprietor. "Like this. And adjustable around the middle."
The shopkeeper rummaged through his assortment of tunics and pants with drawstring waists, locating a few choices in the 'boys' category. "This is it for one so small."
Xelloss picked out the softest fabrics in green-tones, two tops and two bottoms. "Also a heavy cloak."
He found nothing appropriate, but was given a lead as to where to look next. He paid and carried his parcel out. "That wasn't so bad," he thought, knowing the ladies underwear shop would be far more difficult.
He was the only man in the shop-- that he noticed immediately. Two salesgirls stared at him and giggled, but an older woman, whom he judged to be their mother and the owner, approached him. "Can I be of assistance?"
"Ah, yes. I need, well my...ah...wife needs a few things. She can't come in. She's... ill."
"I'm so sorry to hear that. I'll do everything possible to help. Where should we start?"
"Underwear and socks. She's pregnant, about six months."
"Let's begin with maternity wear, then," the lady said and directed him to the far corner of the store, far away from the giggling girls, who were now ogling the stranger. "Do you know her size?"
Xelloss shook his head, his dark hair shimmering in the glow of the gas lights. Behind him, he heard a girlish sigh. "She is this tall and very small around, otherwise."
"Petite thing. Cold weather's coming; does she need outdoor wear or party wear?"
Xelloss smiled, thankful the woman knew what questions to ask. "Definitely outdoor. We're traveling."
"I hope you have a warm carriage." The woman opened boxes and rustled tissue paper in her search for the correct size.
"She's riding a horse."
"Oh, for Cepheid's sake! Not for much longer, I hope!" The woman's concern was evident in her tone of voice.
"Why's that?"
She spoke to him on length about the dangers to the baby which would come about from bumping. Pleased to have found such a polite and avid listener, the woman continued to pile up purchases with advice from diet and exercise to delivery to care for the baby after the birth.
"Don't let her overeat, and no garlic. Terrible for the indigestion and later when it gets into the baby's milk, oh Lordy!"
"Milk?" He couldn't imagine Lina putting garlic in milk and especially sharing the strange refreshment with another person, even her own offspring.
"Why, of course she must breastfeed. You insist that your wife breastfeed the baby for a year at least."
Xelloss paled, imagining himself looming over Lina telling her to feed a baby her breast. No, he would not do that. Ever. He didn't think it was a popular notion either, since none of the women he had seen appeared mutilated in that manner.
"... I always craved oranges. Oranges from the south, such an expense, but my Edmond never no-said me. He did want me to rest, though. I was a girl then, didn't have the shop here and could rest all I needed. Well, I had to get off my feet, water collects, you know, and so must your wife, poor thing."
"She hasn't complained..."
"Oh, she will!" The woman declared it like prophesy. "Ankles can swell up like fat baby piglets. And her back will get sore. Hot compresses and a nice massage will help."
"A massage?" Xelloss parroted, wondering how long it would take Lina to singe him with a fireball if he tried a thing like that, then remembering that she couldn't use magic, decided that he might give it a try.
"Like this. You must use the correct technique. Let me see your hands, not the gloves."
Xelloss extended his arms and within seconds his gloves were off and the woman was studying his hands. "Not a working man's hands, naturally. You must be a nobleman?"
"Yes, well," he murmured, snatching back his gloves and covering his hands again. "I dabble in this and that. Have I got all I need now?"
"All? Heaven's no! You'll need this liniment to avoid stretch marks and...," the lady continued, lining up the bottles and powders she kept hidden away beneath the counter.
Xelloss never knew anything could be so complex. There were so many things that could go wrong! He assured the woman that his wife would have the best care and be surrounded by family and friends, and thanked her for all the information. He bought more delicate wool camisoles, bloomers, silk 'drawers', and socks than he had planned for, but he was assured that the selection would take him to the very last day and beyond.
As the door closed behind him, the tiny bell at the top chiming in his ear, he adjusted the additional packages to better balance them in his arms, and considered where to go next. His mind was reeling from the onslaught of information. He could buy thousands of items the woman thought they couldn't do without, or none. He decided to stay the course and purchase the cloak, which he knew was essential, and then let Lina decide.
The outerwear store was on the next street, so with his mind made up, Xelloss embarked on his last shopping task for the day.
"Hello," he said, greeting the young salesman he judged to be about Lina's age. "I need a good quality cloak. One that will hold up to hard use and for a small woman and... Oh, yes..."
There were two about the right size, but one was black with a red lining. He knew Lina would choose that one over the gray.
"There's an optional fur lining that fits it," the salesman said. "These buttons hold it in place like this." He inserted the red fox lining and held it up for Xelloss to admire. "It's pricey, but if she's going to be outside in the snow..."
"Which is possible," Xelloss said. "How much more?" He would have to dip into his funds to cover the extra cost, but a frozen Lina was a dead Lina. And besides, he wasn't getting her any carriage; they would be lucky to get a horse over the mountains before winter. They bartered a few minutes, the salesman tossing in a matching fur-trimmed pair of gloves to seal the deal at last.
Satisfied with his purchases, Xelloss wended his way back to the inn. He hoped Lina would be pleased and not make him take anything back.
"Oh!" Lina gasped at the sight of the bundles. "Are those all for me?"
"Naturally. Here, start at the top with these." He handed her the various underwear parcels.
"Underwear, yeah, but so many?" Lina said, folding back the crisp tissue to reveal the dainty under things.
"I was told the different sizes would see you through and keep you warm."
"I'll say," she murmured, her eyes glittering with excitement. "Oh, Xelloss," her voice filled with awe. "These are so fine. I've never worn anything as nice as these. You shouldn't have spent so much!"
Xelloss sat forward on the chair. "I have to return them?"
"Not on your life!" she said sharply, grabbing the delicate things and clinging to them.
He chuckled softly and picked up the next package. "Well, these are tougher, I guarantee."
Still, the fabrics Lina was used to wearing were far coarser than those Xelloss had chosen. She caressed each piece as she looked it over.
"I got you greens because it was either that or gray or blue. It seems that here women wear 'frocks', not pants and shirts as the men do."
"Yeah, I noticed that in the inn, but then I usually do stand out wherever I go. These are fine, Xelloss. Nothing in orange?"
He shook his head. "No, or yellow or red or..."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. What's in that last big box?"
Xelloss grinned and pushed the box over to Lina with his foot. "Take a look!"
"Oh, my gods!" Lina cried out. She pulled the cloak tight around her shoulders and twirled. "It's just gorgeous!" She dove back into the box. "Gloves? Oh! What's this fur...?!"
"Removable lining for winter." He showed her how the buttons worked.
"Yeah, I get it. Lemme do that." She attached the fox lining and immediately wrapped herself inside. "Call me in the morning!"
"And miss your dinner?" he asked. His mood lightened significantly and he chuckled at her antics, so glad everything was acceptable.
Her head popped out. "I was kidding. Now, go so I can get dressed." Her command wasn't as harsh as it sounded; Xelloss could sense her excitement and eagerness to see how the new clothes fit.
"So, we're friends again? I'm forgiven my trespasses?" he asked at the door.
"Sure. I didn't know demons were so sensitive," she said, pushing to close the door.
"I'm certain, I'm the only one," Xelloss thought as the door closed behind him with a snick.
The next day they set about buying a few necessities so that when the sun dawned the following morning, Lina rode out with Xelloss at her side, ready to meet adventure head on. The afternoon passed without incident. They made excellent progress and found a dry, sheltered spot in an old, abandoned hunting cabin to spend the night.
That evening, after settling into camp, eating a small meal, Xelloss watched Lina nestle into a makeshift bed, preparing to read before sleeping. Xelloss was at a loss for something to occupy his time. He pulled a stool next to her cot, while she flipped through pages in the book he'd given her by the light of his glowing staff. His eyes roved over Lina. Her cheeks were ruddy from her rush of excitement and the frosty night air. She looked so alive, radiant. Xelloss couldn't help but reach out and touch her cheek.
"Eh?" she blurted out, surprised by his invasive fingers, dropping the book. "I lost my page!"
"Oh, ah..." he blushed, caught without an excuse.
"Did I spill something on my chin or something?"
"No, it's just that you are incredible," he murmured. He was very close and could hear Lina take a deep breath. "I'm sorry."
"No, it's okay. It's just that... It's strange, you know?"
"What is?"
"The air around you; I notice it when you get close up. It seems sweeter. I guess I expected a fouler scent, something dismal and filled with despair, rank and nasty that you'd associate with demon-kind."
"You're saying demons smell?"
"I said I thought you'd reek, but you don't. You have a distinct, I can't describe it, but musky, forest scent, I guess. I don't know, maybe it's just your cloak."
He continued to study her, smiling.
"What's with the funny look?" she asked.
"You were so young when I first met you, a child really, and now here you are a grown up woman. Human's change so fast."
"Oh, yeah, I guess to someone like you that's right." Lina looked away.
"Do you think about him?"
"Who him?" Lina asked evasively.
"The father of the child you are carrying," Xelloss spelled it out.
"Ah, not much. On occasion, but it's not like I'm pining for him or anything."
"He must have meant something to you, at one time."
"Xelloss, is it just that you want to know his name? He's not a part of my life. He never will be again. It was just a...mistake."
"But you loved him once?"
"You wouldn't understand."
"Try me."
"Okay, you've come this far so I guess I owe you some explanation," Lina said. She twisted around and sat up. "I left home a real innocent kid. I mean, I got the bad guys and murder and stuff like that, but all I knew about sex was that in order to get a baby a girl got 'poked' by a boy. My period had started and I figured that had something to do with the whole process, too, and it hurt, so I figured sex wouldn't be so great either. Plus I was just a kid, as you put it, when I met Gourry and he was like twenty, a grownup. And, yeah, I did have a crush on him for the longest time, but, well, I was really happy for him and Sylphiel, settling down an all."
"I didn't know," Xelloss said. "I never met Sylphiel." Again, he lied. He hadn't told Lina about his visits to her friends, soliciting their help.
"Yeah, I know. Meeting her was before you came on the scene and we never crossed paths since. Anyway, I got the house you found me in and settled there, using it as a stopover place while I continued adventuring. So, one day, I got a visit from an old friend I hadn't seen or heard from in years." Here, she stopped, blinked, and looked into the distance. "Naturally, he knew what to do and showed me, since I didn't mind his...appearance."
"Showed you what to do?" Xelloss repeated.
"Sex, you idiot!" Lina snapped.
Xelloss thought about what she had said. An old friend that looked odd– could that be that shaman chimera man? "Zelgadiss is the father of your baby?"
"Looks like it," she said, followed by a long sigh.
"And he doesn't know, does he?" Xelloss had found him staying at the Seyruun palace. He was eager to help out, but no more than Gourry, or that kid Valgaav. No, Zelgadiss had no idea what had resulted from his brief affair with Lina.
"No. It was just a-a fling, for both of us. He was down because Amelia had dropped him because he wasn't an eligible suitor, at the time, but of course he was just waiting for paperwork to happen."
"What kind of paperwork?"
"Oh, Amelia's father said he'd approve their getting married if Zel was landed gentry or titled or something, so Zel filed as Rezo's heir."
"So while he was waiting for Amelia and paper work," Xelloss said with disgust, "He used you to pass the time?"
Lina looked at him sharply. "Not exactly, Xelloss. Things weren't going too well; he was discouraged. The cure had fixed his looks but not his life, as he had expected it magically would. And he and Amelia had had a little spat, or something. He didn't expect to get the title to Rezo's lands and he took to traveling."
"He took to you, too," Xelloss pointed out. "He wasn't around when I found you sick."
"No, a messenger came one day." Lina stared off into the distance, pausing.
"He got the title and Amelia wanted him to return," Xelloss filled in.
Lina nodded and looked down at her hands. "We knew it wouldn't work between the two of us. We're too much alike, temperamental, and immature. I congratulated him and wished him well. Amelia and the court life will be good for him. Stable. They'll be happy. He was gone before I knew what had happened, and there was no reason to mess up his life by telling him."
"He won't hear it from me," Xelloss vowed. "It's his loss, though. I understand that there are two steps to manhood in the human world. First, to get the girl, and second to father children."
"Well, if he and Amelia never have any, I'll think about telling him. Um, thanks for listening," Lina said, yawning widely. "Now I gotta get me some sleep."
"Good night, Lina." Xelloss said, disappearing until she was asleep. Zelgadiss' treatment of Lina continued to concern Xelloss. He wouldn't have spread his seed so carelessly or left his precious offspring to grow up by chance. Xelloss shook his head, his smile bitter. He had never produced anything he could call his own, and never would. Still, Zelgadiss had agreed to accompany the dragon-boy and the swordsman and to attend Lina in her grand event—at least he felt that much responsibility toward her. Xelloss might not have to kill the bastard.
End, Chapter Two: Holding a Demon's Attention