I have to take this moment away from pulling out my hair to thank everyone for their wonderful and sweet reviews! I decided that if I didn't, you'd probably slash my tires. J/K. Anyway, I especially want to thank those who mentioned specific parts of the story they liked, because then I know that you're really reading it and understanding it . . . I still love the reviews that aren't as specific, but it's always nice to know what it is you guys really enjoy about the fanfic, and I've been really blessed with having some of the best reviews on the site, IMO. ;-) I definitely got a kick out of it every time someone mentioned how funny a scene was, especially when someone wishing to remain nameless called Xellos a slut . . . now THAT was entertaining . . . LOL! I think I'll hold that over his head for a while . . .

Some reviews I've found a bit confusing, such as one saying that a chapter before Xellos became a slut made them angry, and another that stated that I had said there was going to be a kiss . . . o.O There are lots of kisses . . . (sweatdrops) I wasn't sure how to reply because I wasn't really sure what they meant, but I'd love to know if I can clear up any confusion, and if the fanfic is confusing, please, let me know!

As for everyone . . . you're all amazing and I hold all of your reviews dearly! Sometimes I go back and read them because it's so cool to know I really touched and affected so many people. I wouldn't be able to pull together the drive to finish this without your feedback.

Unfortunately . . . I have to interrupt this heart-felt message for some blatant advertising . . .

GO SEE MY WEIRD FIANCEE'S FANFIC! It's actually good, I swear . . . It's . . . a bit MORE weird than mine . . . (let's just say that he's the one who helped me with my completely insane sense of humor in THIS fic, so you can just imagine how strange HIS is gonna be when he's left to his own devices . . . o.O Scary . . . ) Anyway, here's the name of it and his name too, can't really link to it in here . . . :"Slayers: Duality" by Crazy Elf Paladin.

'Kay! Smoochies to everyone . . .

Ukchana


Chapter 19

Wolfpack Island
June 6th, 2002

Valgaav let out a long breath and leaned against the trunk of the slim young maple. The leaves shimmered above him as a stiff breeze flowed through the ocean of grain before them.

Deeper in the copse of trees, Iyzeka sat and watched him with quiet curiosity. The skin around her green eyes tightened slightly as the silence lingered.

Biting his lip, the young dragon gazed across the horizon, shivering slightly in his indigo suit. Waves of emotion swelled and ebbed within him, yet he could feel them fading slowly. Some part of him felt guilty, but mostly he wished to collapse against the tree in relief. Finally, he knew that Xellos and his mother would talk; without interference, without fear.

It's so much, he mused, an odd pain cascading through him. How can anyone hold the fate of the world in their hands like this? Vague ghosts of images fluttered in his mind; a vibrant, red-haired woman grinning down at him and laughing joyously . . . How did she go on so carefree? Without remorse or dread or consideration of the bleak future that could have come about . . . He leaned his aquamarine head back and closed his eyes, teeth clenching in effort. I will NOT vent . . . I have to help Xellos and Mom, and they won't feel any better if I keep . . .

The thought deserted him as another wave of bitter resignation rolled through him. And if they can't keep from stressing out NOW, how are we going to beat him? He slowly released another breath and shook his head. I'm so tired of this . . .

Behind him, there was a whisper of movement, and he turned his head to look through the leaves at Iyzeka.

"Hey," she tried to smile weakly. "Um, you seem pretty upset still."

Nodding, Valgaav took a slow, deep breath, eyes flickering unsteadily over to her. "Yeah. I guess so."

Her viridian gaze slowly ran across him and she bit her lip. "So . . . I bet it's been pretty difficult. I," she floundered, blinking and looking away. "Not sure what to say," she laughed nervously. "Lady Filia . . ."

She winced slightly and looked out across the waves of grain with an almost pained expression. The distant wind caressed through the saffron grasses. "Hellmaster Zelas always kept me away from other Mazoku. Still . . . I knew what we were supposed to be. But . . . I'm still not sure . . ." she looked back at him, a pixie with luminous eyes, "why."

They stood quietly, and Valgaav nodded once.

"Master Xellos," the demoness mused, "has changed."

He shivered in the wind, and nodded again.

(-(-o-)-)

The wind danced furrows through the sandy grain as Xellos gazed at her, eyes hollow and afraid. His mouth opened, but he simply began to raise a gloved hand from his lap, then stopped suddenly.

The violet-tressed man dropped his gaze to his outstretched hand. With a strange jerk of his shoulders, he slowly, methodically, began removing the pale blue gloves.

Filia watched him and took slow, heavy breaths as he smoothed the pair of discarded gloves between his fingers, finally setting them down. The demon's eyes rose to her again, his gaze weighted with time and pain, and he gave her a weak smile. His bare hand rose as if it were a leaf on the wind, and gently plucked a stray stem of grass from her hair. "You," he laughed brokenly, "you have difficulty keeping neat."

The blonde chuckled, and raised a hand to catch the fingers brushing her face before he could pull away. "Xel-" Tears ran down her cheeks as she fell forward to wrap her arms around him.

Stunned, he embraced her and began laughing softly to himself as she buried her head against his chest. The purple-haired priest shook his head and tightened his hold on her, then slowly wrapped his cloak around her shoulders. "Filia," he sighed. "I . . ." His chin dropped, and he breathed into her golden hair as she relaxed in his lap. "I want to be strong enough for you," he whispered finally.

Curling up against him, she closed her eyes. "You are."

(-(-o-)-)

The young man shook his aquamarine head and broke the silence. "Maybe we should go get them," he said.

Iyzeka bit her lip and leaned a shoulder against the tree. "Do you think we can beat him?" she asked softly.

"We can," Val's gaze swept across her face as he turned his head. "We have to."

(-(-o-)-)

Xellos' bare fingers rubbed along her back in a slow rhythm as his thoughts pulled together with more cohesion. "I want you to know," he began, voice stronger, "that I didn't want to act distant today."

She nodded against his chest and sighed. "I know."

The sensation of her held against him was so warm and inviting that he closed his eyes to savor it. "And . . . Filia . . ." He stopped, the correct phrasing escaping him.

"Yes?" The dragoness slowly raised her head to glance up at him.

He inhaled leisurely and gave her a lopsided smile. "I know that . . . everything that's occurred has been very frightening." The grin fell, and he clutched her shoulder, mouth tightening as his orchid-colored eyes gazed into her own. "But it was worth this. And even if . . ." His expression slackened and he turned his head. Clearing his throat, he said, "We should find Valgaav."

"Xellos?" Filia blinked and opened her mouth as he slowly began to stand, pulling her up with him. "Xellos, don't . . ." She grabbed at his cloak as he turned away.

He awkwardly returned his gaze to her, deep-set eyes troubled, and the blonde released a heavy breath. "Xellos," she said softly, azure gaze kind, "I . . . I don't regret it either." She smiled at his sudden intake of air and took his bare hand in hers. "No matter what happens."

Brow quirking, he gazed at her with disbelief. "Alright," he said, and gave her a relieved grin. Filia . . .

She smiled back.

"Let's go get 'the children'," Xellos joked, squeezing her hand in his. "And we still have that tour I promised you."

They made their way through the tall grasses, wind tossing their hair as the stalks broke under their feet.

Where they had sat, the pair of satin gloves rested in the dirt, discarded amongst the twigs and strands of grass.

(-(-o-)-)

Iyzeka and Valgaav stood in an uncertain silence among the maples and oaks. Over the ridge, the elders appeared, hand-in-hand.

Mouth twisting slightly, Val smiled at his mother, then gave Xellos a timid glance. Beside him, Iyzeka's head was bowed in subservience, dusky-red hair tossing in the wind and opal robes whipping slightly.

The demon's brows rose and he grinned at the younger man. "Did you kids behave while Mommy and Daddy were having their little spat?" he closed his eyes and beamed at them.

Iyzeka blushed, but Val stepped forward, reassured, and went to his mother. "Hey, Mom," he gave her a bright smile. –Did you kiss and make up?-- he teased Xellos telepathically.

Filia let go of Xellos' hand to hug her son, a blissful look in her azure eyes. "Val, I'm sorry," she murmured.

"It's okay."

--No, no kissing yet.--

--You're such a late bloomer, Xellos.—

Sighing, Xellos nodded to Iyzeka. "Come on, no bowing. Well," he said loudly, catching everyone's attention, "we're right outside the next point of interest."

"Which is what, exactly?" Valgaav asked with forced cheer, pulling back from his mother and trying to act normal.

Smiling at the green-haired dragon, Xellos chuckled and raised a bare hand. "Why, the Hollow Hill, of course. Doesn't this appear to be the perfect place for a hill to be?"

Val's brows rose as he noted the bare hand, an obvious change in the demon's ensemble, but chose to remain silent for the time being. "Curiouser and curiouser . . ."

With a broad sweep of his arm, Xellos turned to face his uncertain blonde companion. "Filia, what's wrong? Come on," he beamed at her, "it'll be fun, I promise!"

Her cerulean eyes looked up at him and she chuckled nervously. "I guess it's still hard for me to believe that . . . that this is Avalon. I mean, I don't understand! How . . ." She shook her head, gaze dropping past him as her maroon dress danced in the breeze.

"Let me explain to you, then," Xellos offered, taking her hand again. "Come with me, and I'll tell you everything."

Looking down at their hands held together, Filia lifted her head and peered at him. "What happened to 'that is a secret'?" she smiled slightly.

He smiled back. "Some secrets I choose to share."

0

Filia walked with Xellos down the slope, the feeling of his warm hand around her own sending little shivers along her back. Behind them, Iyzeka and Valgaav followed quietly as Xellos began his tale.

"Well, it all starts in the year of eleven-fifty-three," the orchid-haired demon murmured, voice becoming low and mysterious as he led them through a shallow gully, cape darting behind him as the wind grew. "The polytheistic religions were in full swing right after the Romans were driven from Britainia, and the druid gods had declared to the British that the only man who could rule the country must first pull a magical sword from a stone."

As they turned a corner in the small valley, a large mound came into view, a dark gap jutting in its side. The dragoness tensed as she saw it, a breeze fluttering across her back.

Squeezing her hand, Xellos gave her a quick glance and continued. "Mistress Zelas knew of the Catholic Church spreading from Rome, and the destruction and disaster they left in their wake."

They neared the opening, and Filia's sapphire eyes widened at the ancient stone archway set into the hill. The darkness beyond the carved arch dropped into nothingness, and the blonde stopped suddenly before it.

"Filia?" Xellos blinked at her, purple gaze concerned. "Don't be afraid," he chuckled, tipping his scarlet-orbed staff.

Sudden flames erupted within the cavern, and the dragoness jerked back. "Dammit, Xellos," she muttered, and shivered again in her pock-marked russet dress.

"Anyway," he grinned and glanced back at the two youths behind them, "The Hellmaster wanted the Christian religion to spread to England, but the Romans had lost the war smartly." He pulled a reluctant Filia through the doorway into the torch-lit chamber. "At this time, the people of what is now England had taken to having fighting tournaments in order to choose new kings for their country, since none had the strength or power to pull the sword from the stone, and the only human strong enough had yet to be born."

All of them gathered in the center of the stone-set room, firelight flickering off their faces as they listened to the story. Xellos purple eyes glistened as he smiled, his black robes blending into the darkness. "So, I conceived a plan. It was obvious to me that the only way to cause such a great religious change was for a king to begin it, a king that none would dare oppose. And who would oppose a man who could pull the magical sword from the stone?"

Filia blinked as she watched him, then let go of his hand. "Wh . . . what?"

Brows raising, the demon smirked at her. "You guess correctly, my dear. I changed my form to that of a child who had recently ran away from his home and abusive foster-father, and took his place."

Her cerulean gaze faltered, mouth opening to speak silent amazement. "You . . . you were King Arthur?"

"In a nutshell," Xellos nodded.

The dragoness stared at him. "But, but - But wasn't it that the sword had a magical enchantment on it so that it could only be unsheathed by its rightful owner?"

"No, Filia," Xellos sighed with mock-exasperation, "the damned thing was stuck in a rock!" She narrowed her eyes at him. "Well, it's not like playing the lottery," he added, grinning. "Trust me, that sword wasn't going ANYwhere."

Growling, she snapped, "Xellos!" then turned her glare onto her snickering son.

"Okay, okay!" the priest laughed, closing his eyes. "No, really, the stone itself appeared to have a spell on it so that nothing placed within it could be removed. We think that Phibrizzo may have done it himself, but who's to say? He was more of a nutcase than I am."

Mollified, Filia let him take her hand and continue down a long, dimly lit stairway, deeper into the ground. "Whatever."

"Neat," Valgaav's voice floated down the steps, "I know King Arthur!"

Covering her face with her hands, Filia moaned, "Okay, please continue."

Her companion chuckled. "Very well. Now then, I pulled the sword out, straining myself AND my new form, and was quickly named the king in the resulting astonishment of the country. The rest, I believe you already know."

A tiny voice peeped from the darkness. "Um, your Lordship . . . I don't believe I have ever heard of this story."

They stopped and turned to stare at Iyzeka, who rubbed her slim shoe into the cobblestone floor. "Really?" Xellos breathed. "Well," he blinked and shared a glance with Filia, "that's quite the surprise. What HAVE you been doing all this time?" he asked the short-haired demoness.

"Um . . ."

"Never mind," Xellos tossed his head, and the purple strands glinted in the light. Laughing, he returned to strolling down the hallway. "Very well, then, I suppose I can do a short recounting of the events."

"Well," the younger man's eager voice echoed, "I'm kind of curious myself as to how it really played out!"

"Alright," Xellos chuckled. "Very well then. Let's see, now, according to the legends, Merlin found Arthur before he took the sword from the stone. However, the truth is, Merlin wasn't nearly as powerful as everyone said he was. Of course, it was hard for anyone to see that, because I would make sure that whatever the old codger was trying to accomplish succeeded." He stopped as the stairs ended and led them down another hallway. "He was actually assigned to me after the coronation and tried to educate me, but usually ended up drinking himself into a stupor. What?" he cried, chuckling at their stunned expressions.

"You can't be serious!" Filia exclaimed, hands grasping at her maroon dress in shock. "But, then-"

"Now, now, Filia," Xellos intoned, "Iyzeka has yet to hear the whole story. I'll take questions after the lecture period," he grinned at her. "So, about ten years passed, and I had the difficult decision ahead of me: I could either risk the expansion of the Christian religion in order to save myself trouble, or I could marry a princess of a clan of Celts living in Britainia so that my kingship would be strengthened by the alliance."

In the torchlight, Valgaav's golden eyes glinted above his lush suit-coat. "Gwenevierre."

Filia's eyes narrowed in the shadows and she crossed her arms.

"Genevieve, actually. Her father had married a Frensh princess himself in order to cement his own ridiculous alliance, especially foolhardy considering how little Franse was doing at that time in history." Xellos leaned against the stone wall of the corridor, setting the staff against the wall and putting his hands behind his head. "Anyhow, I was forced by my mission to marry her."

The dragoness glared at him and pursed her lips. Swallowing, Xellos smiled and chuckled nervously, "So, well, we got married."

Enthralled, Valgaav nodded. "Was she really as beautiful as the legends say?"

A soft hiss came from Filia and she muttered, "Yes, Xellos, tell us all about your beautiful wife. Did you pick out china together?"

"Heh, um," the Mazoku stuttered, eyes widening, "really, she wasn't as wonderful as all that." Scratching the back of his head, Xellos chuckled anxiously, "It really was more of a, um, political marriage."

"So," Filia snapped, "those tales of legendary beauty were all mistaken?" How could he have been married and never told ME?

Dropping his arms, Xellos straightened his cloak. "Um, really, Filia, she was just a human, royalty is often said to be beautiful to make them feel better about their inbreeding!" he tried to joke.

"That would explain Morgana," Filia growled, azure gaze piercing into him. "I bet you expect me to believe that she's the ugliest woman on earth!"

Xellos blinked, and his expression shut down, face suddenly slack. "Filia, that was not my son," his cold voice returned firmly, ringing down the corridor.

Blushing, the dragoness dropped her head. She could feel her hands beginning to shake, and she bit her lip. What's WRONG with me? Why am I . . .

0

She's . . . she's . . . JEALOUS . . . Xellos clenched his teeth and reigned in the sudden desire that flared up within him as the tang of her rage touched his mind. But WHY?

The two stunned youngsters murmured a few things in the uneasy silence, and began traveling further down the hallway. "Xellos," Valgaav called back softly, "I'm assuming there aren't any traps to look out for?"

"No, there are not," the Mazoku General answered tiredly, stepping forward to close upon the troubled blonde. "Filia," he breathed, "why are you doing this to yourself?"

She didn't answer, just shook her head, arms wrapped around her stomach. "I'm sorry," the dragoness murmured miserably. "I . . . I don't know what came over me . . ."

Closing his eyes, Xellos sighed and wrapped his arms around her. "Mordred was not my son, Filia. Morgana had him with someone else."

"It doesn't matter," the blonde muttered into his yellow long-shirt. "It shouldn't matter. Whoever you . . . whatever you choose is your own business."

No, don't turn away like this, he winced. "No, Filia." He pulled back slightly to look down at her. "You're . . . my friend." Their eyes held each other deeply, and a stray tear fell down her face. Catching it on one ashen finger, Xellos smiled weakly. "I don't want to keep any more secrets from you," he whispered, "but some I am not allowed to share. This, I can."

She took a deep breath and tried to smile back.

Touching her face gently, the priest cocked his head. "Did you think that anyone else had ever been closer to me than you? It's not true," he softly spoke, and the sensation running through him at that realization held more euphoria than a billion deaths.

"Zelas," she shook her saffron head slowly.

He chuckled and embraced her again. "She's my mother, Filia. She doesn't count." The demon held her affectionately, running his fingers through her silken hair. "That was over fifteen hundred years ago. I was still young then," he told her. "I hardly had any emotions at all. I'm a different person now, Filia."

And I AM, he realized, finally admitting it to himself. I have changed. I am more and less than what I once was. But . . . I think in the end . . . I am definitely more.

(-(-o-)-)

Valgaav smiled at Iyzeka and blinked as the iridescent-robed Mazoku took a step back. "Hey. What's wrong?"

They stood before a large stone coffin, closed tight and elaborately carved. The short-haired redhead was backed against a rock wall, and her eyes flashed with nervous energy above her smile. "Nothing. Really!" she chuckled, holding up her hands.

"Right." Folding his arms, the young dragon rolled his eyes and sighed, feeling much more stately in Xellos' deep blue finery. She's so obviously afraid, he told himself, not realizing that it would never be that noticeable to anyone else. Not to mention that she probably wishes to be anywhere but here.

Beaming, the tiny girl glanced around. "So, what is the rest of the story?" she asked.

Turquoise brows raising, Val shrugged. "After marrying Gweneviere, the legends go as follows: Arthur becomes a powerful king, uniting the fiefdoms and clans of Scotland and England, ruling through kindness and persuasion rather than fear and oppression."

"Doesn't sound much like Master Xellos," Iyzeka giggled, then paled. "I mean . . ."

Laughing, the tall young man grinned down at her. "No, it doesn't, does it! He then gathered a group of knights, honorable soldiers. Arthur had a round table that he held war councils around. The round table was supposed to stand for the respect he held for his knights, since there was no head of the table. All around it were equal."

She blinked, then raised her green eyes to gaze at him. "I see." Yes, Valgaav mused, Zelas had a round table for her war council as well. I wonder if that is where Xellos got it, or if she copied him?

"Anyhow," he continued, "the knights had many adventures. But the most valiant knight and Arthur's best friend was a knight called Lancelot. There was also another knight called Galahad who was the bravest. Lancelot and Gweneviere had a long going affair for many years, and during that Arthur was supposedly magically seduced a single time by a sorceress named Morgana le fey, or 'Morgana of the faries'."

Her eyes widened, but Val merely continued. "Ironically, Arthur discovered his wife's continuous affair with Lancelot and was forced by law to kill them both, because extramarital affairs at that time were punished by death. No one ever found out about the king's own affair, until," Valgaav smirked, "Morgana appeared directly after the two were put to death and announced that she had given birth to Arthur's first child, twelve years prior."

Iyzeka blinked as he paused to let her take in the information. "So, that is why Lady Filia became so upset," she murmured, eyes narrowing in contemplation. "But years had passed and Arthur and his wife never had children . . . until he had one tryst with Morgana and a child was conceived. How odd."

"Heh," Valgaav looked away, blushing slightly. "Well, some people think that Arthur may have had some trouble in that department, and that the boy wasn't his but someone else's. Though, at the time in the legend, it was said that the boy resembled Arthur and everyone believed it was his son."

"And that son was . . . Mordred," Iyzeka stated, emerald gaze catching his. "How odd," she said again.

"Oh, it gets worse," Valgaav shook his head. "She was his half-sister. Same mother, different fathers."

Frowning, the slim girl blinked. "What? Isn't that considered unhealthy for mortal creatures? It damages the genes of the offspring, doesn't it?"

"Yes, not to mention being a social taboo most of the time," he added.

"Incest." She scratched the back of her magenta head, putting the convoluted tale into order. "Sounds terribly complex. It's so hard to believe that his Lordship was the lead in such a drama."

The sound of footsteps turned their heads, and a familiar cheery voice answered, "True, but I was there." Xellos and Filia appeared, her hand on his arm and both of them smiling. "So, I see that young Val is giving you all the sordid details," the General-Priest smirked.

The spiky-haired teen rolled his eyes as they came to a stop before them. "Basically. So, we can assume there was no affair, then . . ." his lips pursed as he looked the elders over carefully.

Xellos' eyes met Filia's. "There was no affair," he stated, mouth quirking into a smile. "She attempted but failed in her seduction. She was foolish to try to use magic on me."

Releasing a breath, Valgaav smiled. "Okay, then. Would you like to finish the story, then?"

The purple-haired man nodded and used his staff arm to sweep through the air grandly. "And the tour. Let me quickly give you exposition of the end of the tale first, however." His violet eyes twinkled. "I, of course, refused to accept the young man as my heir. Immediately, Mordred and Morgana raised a rebellion against me, in an attempt to either take the crown or force me to accept him. He had his mother's magic, so he drew a sizable rebellion to his hand."

The flickering light of the torches cast sharp shadows across his face as Xellos smiled at his small audience. "There were small skirmishes at first, but finally there was a large battle. At this point, by the way," he added, "Zelas felt that I had accomplished her goal and wanted me out of there before anyone discovered anything. So, we decided that in the final fight, Arthur would 'die', leaving me free to leave. But, back to the battle."

Leaning against a nearby wall, Xellos squeezed Filia's hand and continued. "Galahad managed to kill Morgana in the final fight, so she wasn't a problem any longer. I had conveniently 'lost' the sheath to Excalibur, the name of the damned sword, so 'King Arthur' no longer had the protective magical qualities of the sheath. However," he raised his staff into the air slightly, "I fought on!"

Everyone laughed at his melodrama, and he lowered his arm, shaking his head. "It was inevitable that I would 'die', especially when Mordred and I fought. A terribly long battle, that was. I couldn't use my full power at all, and I needed to be mortally wounded to make it realistic. It was hell holding back on that smug bastard," he added cheekily, and winked at his blonde companion. "But I finally felt that he had damaged me enough, so I took him out and collapsed on the field. Galahad came to my side and tried to help me, but I told him flat out that I was dying. I asked him to return the sword to the Lady of the Lake . . . Oh, yes," he added, laughing, "you don't know about that either, do you!"

Iyzeka shook her head shyly.

"Very well," Xellos sighed. "I told everyone that my 'father' had gotten the sword from a fairy woman who lived inside of a lake, and then he had stuck the sword into the stone. Those yokels would believe anything you told them!" he giggled. "So, I told him to return the sword to her."

His audience nodded, enthralled, so he went on. "Galahad left right away to follow my orders, but I found out later that the sentimental fool couldn't bring himself to give it back to her until the third time he went out to the lake," he rolled his eyes.

"Anyhow," the priest gave a secretive smile to the dragoness beside him, "then appeared three witches who were actually servants of Zelas, called, among other names, 'the weird sisters' or 'the three sisters of Avalon'. These three were said to be powerful fey creatures from the island of Avalon. They were known by everyone because Hellmaster had ordered them to show up and pretend to hold up the druid ways of religion, thus promoting chaos and confusion. Are you getting all of this?" he chuckled.

"I believe so," the young demoness nodded, frowning slightly. "There sure was a lot going on."

"Yes, yes there was!" Xellos nodded. "So, the three witches showed up. They announced that they were taking me to Avalon, the magical island of the fairy creatures, where all of them had come from originally. They told everyone that they would place me within a hollowed hill where I would heal, and that I would return when needed again." His voice lowered as he continued. "They brought my body onto a barge with a funeral pyre burning on it, and they floated us away . . . and that was the last that the world saw of 'Arthur'."

Valgaav's brows rose and he smirked. "So then, how did anyone know about the rest of Avalon? And why build it all here, if no one was to ever see it?"

"Hmm," Xellos' eyes narrowed in thought. "Well, to be quite frank, Mistress Zelas was having a Spanish Catholic architecture phase, and felt that building exact replicas of the stories we had created would be delightfully entertaining. Also, she said that I would appreciate it later," he frowned and took a long, panning look around him at the stone and firelight. "I suppose I do feel a bit of nostalgia, now that I think about it!" the black-clad demon chuckled.

Beside him, Filia spoke up finally. "It's . . ." her large sapphire eyes gazed at him in shock. "It's so unbelievable. Was the sheath really magical? How could Mordred have looked like you?" Her mouth opened and she shook her head. "And what about the oaths?!"

Iyzeka's expression contorted in confusion. "Huh? What oaths?"

Xellos winced and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, actually . . ." he stepped over to a tall, square column, illuminated by torches at the base. "These oaths."

Gasping, Filia stared at the words inscribed upon the column, written in the most ancient dialect of the world. "This is written in Sanskrit," she murmured with amazement. The shocked quiet that followed seemed to echo in and of itself.

Behind them, Valgaav stood in the shadows and recited the words. "'I pledge my strength to peace . . . my might protects the weak . . . my word speaks only truth' . . ." He dropped his head after only the first few. They gazed at him as he quietly wondered, "Why would Zelas want this built here?"

The elder Mazoku's chin dipped, and he murmured, "I always thought it was to be accurate. She had ordered me to instill these virtues into the knights under my kingship, in the attempt at solidifying the Christian religion," Xellos added.

Firelight dancing across her face, Iyzeka stepped forward, tiny form indistinct in the dim lighting. "I'm not so certain of that, Master."

Everyone's attention turned to her, and she laughed nervously. "Um, Hellmaster Zelas 'raised' me directly after creating me. I'm not sure what she was molding me for," she admitted, "but . . ." Her green eyes hardened. "I know that she wanted me to be free of the social programming that most Mazoku are subjected to." Her gaze rose to pin Xellos, and the ashen-faced man's brows twitched, mouth tightening. "Master Xellos . . . I can't speak for Her Highness . . . but I am certain in my own heart that she . . ." her eyes fell fearfully, "intended on those oaths to be on her island."

His violet eyes stared at her in shock. "She . . . she wrote those oaths, she made them based on what she knew of Christianity. But she never told me to follow them. In fact, she was, she was cold, she did NOT promote compassion!"

Smiling weakly, Iyzeka dared a glance up. "But how could she have befriended the Knight of Cepheid so soon after, if she was truly that evil?"

In the distance, the sound of trickling water rang loudly in the silence that fell over the stone chambers. Beside Xellos, Filia touched his arm and looked up at him, almost as if his feelings were palpable to her.

The priest blinked, then clutched at Filia's hand and peered at Iyzeka. "Then why . . . why continue on this way?" he asked softly. "It was only in the past centuries that she began to teach me that Mazoku were chaos and not evil. Why would she have not started in the beginning, as she did with you?"

Valgaav let out a long, sad breath. Poor Xellos. It hurts him so much that Zelas seems to hold Iyzeka closer to her heart than she holds him. But . . . that's not the truth! he realized, Zelas couldn't have taught Xellos to be compassionate. Iyzeka was created much later, and the war was over. Xellos was needed for the war, she needed a cold-blooded killer.

"I don't know," Iyzeka answered carefully. "But I can only assume it was because your youth was during a more difficult time. When I was created, the war had been over for a few centuries."

Xellos nodded, suddenly composed as the mask returned. "I suppose that does make sense."

Xellos, Valgaav began.

I don't think we should talk right now, he replied harshly, gazing at the monolith with hardened eyes.

Please.—

Filia touched Xellos' shoulder, and he looked down at her. "I think I should be alone for a little bit," he whispered. With a weak smile, he blended into the shadows and disappeared.

Not so fast, Old Man,-- the boy narrowed his eyes. –I won't let you jump to an assumption with this.—

I know my Mistress better than anyone, Child,-- came the angry retort, ­--don't assume you can tell me what to think.—

Valgaav looked to the two women, both appearing rather despondent. "I'll get him back," he promised them, "just wait for us."