The
Crucible
By: Crystal Dawn Phoenix
*standard
disclaimer: I hate disclaimers. Therefore, I'll hand over this boring chore to
someone else. Today's special disclaimer host will be Jesse from Team Rocket, of
Pokemon fame. Jesse?
Jesse: None of
these characters belong to CD. She doesn't claim they do. Of course, if I were
her, I would claim them. Do you know how much money you could make from that?!
And by the way...
What?
Jesse: Are you
ever going to finish the Team Rocket fics you were writing?! Dammit, CD! I've
been waiting a whole YEAR!!! *stomps foot for emphasis and brings out da MALLET
™*
Errr, anyway.
Let's start my first Slayers fic! ^_^;; *runs away from Jesse and her blunt
object*
The
Crucible
It was a little
past midnight in the forest. The full moon cast its light into the treetops,
causing it to filter down into various odd, beautiful, and frightening shadows
along the floor of the forest. The sounds of frogs, crickets, and nightbirds
permeated the air. In a clearing, a group of five weary travelers had started a
campfire, and were now sound asleep in their bedrolls. One, a girl with fiery
red hair, lay closest to the fire. A few feet away, off to her right, lay a
young man with long blond hair, all curled up in his blankets. Across the fire
from them, lay two others, also several feet apart. One had a face lined with
stones - he was a chimera, part golem, part human. The other was a cute little
girl that looked like she surely couldn't have been more than 15 or 16 years
old. They were both curled up fast asleep in their respective bed rolls as well.
A little way away from the others was another young woman. She had long golden
hair, and was tightly tucked into her pallet, snuggling a very heavy mace in her
sleep. She muttered something about a "blasted namagomi", and just as
suddenly, went back to sleeping silently.
Meanwhile, just
on the edge of the campers' little clearing, a lone soul sat among the branches
of a willow tree. At first glance, he appeared to be an ordinary man. In
actuality, however, he was quite the powerful Mazoku. His cheerful smile and
purple hair could give a false perception of his true nature and power. Xellos
looked over the five campers, his eyes finally resting on the sleeping form of
the girl with the golden hair. He grinned as he stood up on a branch of the
tree.
With a leap and a
flash of his black cape, he was gone from the tree. In a few more seconds, he
stood over the yellow haired girl, Filia. She got an odd look on her face for a
second and rolled over. Xellos looked at her curiously, making sure she was
still asleep. She'd never come with him if she were awake. In one smooth
movement, he knelt down and scooped Filia into his arms, leaving her bedroll
virtually untouched. He looked around to see if anyone else had been awakened;
they were all still asleep. Xellos grinned to himself and disappeared with Filia
into the night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Xellos stopped
over a clearing a few hundred meters away. This looked like a nice spot. He
looked over the scenery, most notably a shallow stream cutting through the
clearing. A mischievous grin crept over his face as he levitated above the
stream. He looked at Filia sleeping in his arms... then at the water. Then back
again. Grinning, he let go of her, dropping her in the water, and vanished.
Filia sputtered
to the surface of the shallow stream, gasping for air and screaming. "What
in the world!?!", she shrieked, splashing and trying to get out of the cold
water, "How did I get here!?! Arrrghhh!"
Xellos reappeared
high in the branches of a nearby tree, smiling. "Well," he thought to
himself, "That completely voided the entire reason I brought her out here,
but I think I can manage to salvage this."
Filia pulled
herself onto a nearby river bank and out of the water. She shivered when the
cold night air hit her soaking wet nightgown. "I bet that lousy namagomi
Mazoku did this," she grumbled, "He's trying to kill me, I just know
he is!" She sneezed, slinging the cold water everywhere. She wiped the
cold, wet hair out of her face and looked around. The scenery was a little
unfamiliar to her, especially since they were all just traveling through this
place. Filia stood up and looked around to get a better view. No, nothing she'd
seen before. She sneezed again as the chill night air stirred slightly behind
her. Her eyes shot open as she felt the presence behind her, its darkness
setting her nerves on fire. Filia jumped, her tail showing from underneath her
soaking wet nightgown, and turned around.
"Are you
catching a cold, Filia?", Xellos asked, smiling at her. Filia glared at
him, then sneezed again.
"No thanks
to you, I'm sure," she said angrily, "You're the one that brought me
out here and dumped me in that horrible river, aren't you?" He continued
smiling as she sneezed again, glaring daggers at him. "You're trying to
kill me, aren't you?", she said, glowering, "I just know you are!
Because I'm a dragon!" The wind picked up a bit, cooling the already
freezing water on her a bit more. Filia shuddered and sneezed again. She reached
down to grab her mace... then realized that it wasn't with her. It must have
been back in her blankets! Filia growled at Xellos. He reached up to the clasp
that fastened his cape around his shoulders and undid it. Filia blinked at him
and sniffled. "What are you doing?", she asked suspiciously. He took
the cape off and put it around Filia's shoulders. She blinked in disbelief.
"I'm not
trying to kill you," he said, smiling that infuriating smile, "You
look cold." He fastened the cape on her shoulder as she stared at him in
disbelief , blushing.
"Why are you
being so nice?", she asked, "What do you want?" She sneezed
again. Xellos put his hand behind his head.
"Well,
actually, Filia," he said, "I wanted to tell you something. So I
brought you out here." She shivered again, and wanted to huddle inside the
cape. But she remembered who gave it to her and decided against it.
"Well, *achooo!*
what is it?", Filia asked, rubbing her nose, "I'm tired and I want to
go back to bed. I don't have time to waste out in the woods with some Mazoku."
Xellos' expression didn't change. Instead, he cupped Filia's face in his hands
and bent forward. He placed a small kiss on her forehead.
Filia didn't know
what to do. This was an odd situation for her, to say the least. She stared
blankly ahead of her, not saying anything. A second later, he was grinning at
her as usual. Then, he disappeared. Filia blinked, sneezed, then blinked again.
Typical. She shivered, then looked around to try and find her way back to camp.
She could faintly see the light from the campfire off in the forest. She
followed it through the woods and back to camp, wishing she had her mace the
whole way.
When she arrived
back at the campsite, no one had stirred. They were all still asleep in their
respective pallets. Filia once again resisted the urge to huddle herself into
the cloak and made a beeline for the fire. She dragged her blankets closer and
sat on them to warm herself. As the warmth of the fire evaporated the water
droplets that were still clinging to her, Filia reflected on what it was that
had just happened. Xellos had taken her away while she slept, thrown her in a
river, given her his cape and a kiss, and had vanished. What kind of game was he
playing? This was too odd. On top of all that, he never did say what it was he
wanted to tell her. Filia looked at the black cape that she was still wearing.
Then something struck her.
"Was he
trying to say... that he... likes me?", she asked herself, picking up the
hem of the cape and looking at it. Filia sat in stunned and curious silence,
allowing herself to dry.
Meanwhile, from
the branches of a nearby willow tree, a lone Mazoku sat, smiling to himself.
**************************
"What do you
have need of, Lord Beastmaster?", Xellos asked, bowing. He'd been summoned
by his master shortly after his meeting with Filia in the woods.
"I have a
task for you," she said, "One in addition to your current one."
Xellos nodded to her.
"What would
you have me do?", he asked. She smiled at him.
"Kill Filia
ul Copt, the dragon priestess," she replied, "She is one of the Golden
Dragons. Kill her, bring me her heart, for she is our enemy." Xellos tried
to keep an expressionless face, but he was shocked.
"But...
Filia's harmless, master," he said, "She's really not powerful at all.
She's no threat to anyone." She didn't seem pleased.
"Do as I
tell you, priest," she said, "Do not question me." Xellos was
troubled, but didn't let it show.
"Yes, Lord
Beastmaster," he said, vanishing.
***************************
"Filia! Wake
up!", Lina said, shaking the blonde, "It's time for breakfast! Get
up!" Filia rolled over, wrapped up in her blankets, and rubbed her eyes.
She sat up and looked at Lina, blinking the sleep from her eyes. She noticed
that the expression on Lina's face had changed into one of disbelief and
mischief.
'What is she
looking at so oddly?', Filia thought to herself, "Miss Lina, what's the
matter?" Lina's eyes teared up with pent-up laughter for a moment before
she finally let loose. She fell onto her back laughing hysterically. Filia
glared at her for a second before she realized exactly what Lina was laughing
at: she was still wearing Xellos' cloak. Filia blushed heavily and tried to hide
the cloak under her blankets. Since it was around her shoulders, however, it was
pretty difficult to disguise. And Lina was still laughing. How would she ever
explain this and keep her reputation or her dignity, or either? "Miss Lina,
please!", she said, trying to hush her laughter, "He only let me
borrow it because I looked cold." But it was too late. Lina's laughter had
attracted Amelia over.
"Miss Lina,
what in the world has gotten into you?", Amelia asked, eyeing the red
haired girl, who was still chuckling to herself. Amelia looked over to the
fiercely blushing Filia and saw what was causing Lina hysterics. "M-m-miss
Filia?", she asked, "Why are you wearing that?" Filia sighed.
"It doesn't
matter," Filia said, still slightly blushing, and removing the cloak from
her shoulders, "Let's get our breakfast and get moving. We've got a long
day of walking ahead of us." She folded the black cloth up neatly and
tucked it into her bedroll. She rolled the bedroll up and began packing her
belongings up. Lina hopped up and snapped her fingers.
"Breakfast!",
she said, "C'mon, Amelia, let's eat!" She grabbed the smaller, black
haired girl by the wrist and ran over to where their food stores were being
kept. Filia smiled, happy to be rid of their teasing.
************************
By the end of the
day, the travelers had covered quite a distance. Finally, they'd come to a
small, quiet town and found a cozy little inn to stay in with a hot spring in
back. Lina had already ordered dinner from the inn's kitchen. Her order was so
large that the cooks were taking quite a while to get it done. In the meantime,
they told her, she and her companions should go out back and soak in the hot
springs. Which is what they did. Amelia, Lina, and Filia occupied one portion of
the spring, while Zelgadis and Gourry were in another part on the other side of
a picket fence.
Lina was, of
course, splashing and teasing Filia. "Please, Miss Lina," Filia said,
exasperated, "Just drop it already." Lina laughed and splashed some
more.
"But this is
too funny, Filia!", she replied. Amelia got big, wet, puppy dog eyes.
"I think
it's sweet!", Amelia said, clasping her hands to her breast, "How two
bitter enemies like you and Mister Xellos could become such good friends! Awww,
I think it's romantic!" Filia had finally had enough. She jumped out of the
spring and grabbed her mace from the deck nearby. She crouched down to Amelia's
eye level and pointed the mace straight at her face.
"Now,"
Filia said threateningly, "What did you say you think it is?" Amelia
blinked, a terrified look in her eyes, then threw her hands up.
"Ah, I-I-I,
that is, you know, uhmm," she stuttered, "Nothing." Amelia
defeated, Filia turned her unhappy gaze to Lina.
"And what
about you, Lina?", she asked in a low voice. Lina threw her hands up in
surrender.
"I give
up!", she said playfully, "Geez, Filia! You don't have to take
everything so seriously!" Filia snorted and stood up, crossing her arms.
Just then, they heard the sound of a bell ringing. "It's our food!",
Lina yelled, jumping out of the spring, revealing her bright pink bathing suit,
"Dinner's ready!"
From the other
side of the springs, Gourry made a great deal of noise throwing all his clothes
on as quick as he could. He came running by, trying to fit his pants on over his
swimming trunks. The only problem with this was the fact that he already put his
shoes on. So he came tumbling by just as Lina pulled on her outfit. From there
on out, the two were in a dead sprint to get to the dinner table inside. A few
seconds later, Amelia had pulled on her clothes, only she'd bothered to get
dried off first. Zelgadis came around the corner of the picket fence a few
moments after, fully clothed and in no particular hurry.
"Why don't
you come in for dinner, Filia?", Zelgadis asked as he passed her. Filia
smiled and put her mace down on a nearby table.
"Oh,
sure," she said, "I was just about to come in. I'll be dressed in a
minute, then I'll be in there. Make sure they leave me something to eat,
okay?" Zelgadis nodded, then went inside.
Filia took a
towel and began to dry her hair out. It was so long that it took forever to dry
out on its own. As she rubbed her hair with the towel, she looked at her
surroundings. The springs were surrounded by a hedge of trees and other assorted
shrubbery. As it was dusk, the extinguished sun threw strange and fascinating
shadows into the thickets and brush. Some of them obscured bushes and plants,
and some just made them look mysterious. Filia looked over at the doors to the
inn. They were heavy and wooden, without windows to make sure that no one
invaded the customers' privacy while they were bathing. Filia went from looking
at that back to looking at the beautiful plants, trees, and shrubs that
surrounded the spring. She failed to notice that something in the shadows was
looking back at her.
Xellos watched
her carefully, making sure he wasn't noticed from his particularly shady hiding
spot. For probably the first time in his existence, he had qualms about killing
someone. He watched as she finished drying her hair and began to brush it out,
her pink ribboned tail wagging behind her. He watched her sadly. How could Lord
Beastmaster want him to kill someone so... innocent? She began to hum softly as
she brushed her hair out. Her humming was almost hypnotizing. Xellos forced his
eyes shut. He told himself that he had to do it, no matter what he felt. If not,
he'd be punished badly, or worse. But maybe if he could talk her out of it?
Filia laid the
brush down on the table beside her mace. It was also where she'd laid her head
ornaments before getting in the hot springs. She picked them up and began
adjusting them onto her head. As soon as she was done, she felt a cold darkness
behind her. It sent a chill up her back. Filia turned around to see Xellos
standing behind her, staff in hand. She noticed that he had his cloak on, and
thought that perhaps he'd already retrieved it. She also noticed that he didn't
have his usual infuriatingly cheerful look about him. He seemed rather gloomy,
actually. His eyes were hidden underneath his bangs, and it seemed almost as if
his whole face were in shadow. It was starting to unsettle Filia.
"What do you
want, Xellos?", she asked, sounding perhaps a bit more short-tempered than
she'd meant to. He said nothing, which unsettled her even more. "Xellos?",
she asked, growing increasingly more nervous. He remained silent, but moved his
mouth, apparently reciting something. "What are you... do... ing?",
Filia said, trailing off. His sleep spell had taken affect on her.
Filia slumped
down, losing consciousness. Xellos extended an arm, catching her before she hit
the ground. He looked her over sadly, then took one of the bathrobes that were
laying on the table and covered her with it. A few seconds later, he
disappeared, Filia in his arms.
***************************
Xellos reappeared
in the lair of his master. Filia was sound asleep in his arms.
"She's not
dead," Lord Beastmaster's voice echoed across the black room. She didn't
seem pleased in the least.
"No, Lord
Beastmaster," Xellos said quietly, "I offer my most sincere
apologies." He bowed down onto one knee in respect, laying Filia on the
ground.
"Why did you
bring her here?", she asked impatiently. Xellos looked up to her. He chose
his words carefully.
"I've come
to ask you spare her life, my lord," he said. There was a moment of pause.
"No."
Xellos hung his head. He had no choice. He stood up, a deathly gloomy look on
his face. He raised his staff high over his head, the pointed end aimed directly
at Filia's breast.
A tear slid down
his face. "Forgive me," he said softly, bringing the staff down.
***********************
Lina woke up
early. She'd stayed in the same room with Amelia and Filia. Well, she would've
stayed with Filia, except she never came in for dinner the night before. Lina
looked around the room. There was still no sign of her. She'd bundled up her
robes and dress and laid them on the night stand, and they were still untouched.
Lina hadn't been worried before, but at this point, she was beginning to get a
little bit nervous. She reached over, grabbed one of her house shoes, and flung
it at Amelia, who was still sleeping. The shoe bounced off Amelia's forehead
waking her up. She sat up, rubbing her eyes and yawning.
"What is
it?", Amelia asked, stretching her mouth with a big yawn.
"Hey,
Amelia," Lina asked, "Did you see Filia come in last night at all? Did
you hear her or anything?"
"No, I
didn't," Amelia said, laying back down, "I'm going back to
sleep." In another second, she was back on her pillow, slipping back off to
dreamland. Lina still wasn't satisfied.
"But what if
she's gotten lost or kidnaped?", Lina asked, "She's our dear friend!
And besides, we'd never be able to get around here without her currency! Come
on! We need to go find her!" Lina hopped out of bed and threw some clothes
on. In a few more seconds, she had rousted Amelia from her comfy, warm bed, and
was pushing her into her own clothing. As soon as Amelia was dressed, Lina
herded her to Zelgadis and Gourry's room, where she almost broke the door down
by knocking on it so hard. "Get up! Get up! Get up!", Lina yelled,
adding more noise to her banging. Zelgadis eventually answered the door, looking
more disgruntled than usual.
"What is
your problem?", Zelgadis asked. He was already dressed. Lina noted,
however, that Gourry was still asleep in bed, cuddled up with a stuffed
jellyfish. Lina ignored Zelgadis and ran over to Gourry, trying to wake him up.
"GourrygetyoursorrytailoutofbedrightthissecondWe'vegotaproblemandyoucan'tsleeprightnooooooow!",
Lina yelled at the top of her lungs, shaking Gourry fiercely. He was of course
awakened by the screaming and shaking, and in a matter of seconds, his
frightened yelling added to the cacophony. During the commotion, Amelia had
wandered in. She stopped beside Zelgadis.
"What is she
doing?", Zelgadis asked, looking at Lina and Gourry with some mixture of
disbelief and frustration.
"Miss
Filia's still not come back," Amelia replied, "She's been gone all
night long, and Miss Lina's worried, because she has our money."
"I
see," he said. A few minutes passed, and eventually, everyone was settled
down, and at least partially awake. They made their way out onto the grounds of
the inn, which was surrounded by a large field full of sheep. Amelia looked
through the hot springs, while Zelgadis took to the roof of the inn. Gourry had
taken to inspecting the privacy hedges and trees surrounding the hot springs for
no apparent reason, while Lina was searching the field.
Gourry was poking
the shrubbery and coming up with nothing, save for the occasional rabid
squirrel. Amelia was also coming up empty handed. Finally, after about twenty
minutes of searching, Lina gave a victorious shout. The others ran or Ray Winged
their way over to see what Lina had turned up.
There, in the
middle of a large tuft of grass in the pasture, lay Filia, sound asleep. Her
long blond hair was strewn out all about her, and she was wrapped in Xellos'
cloak. The group looked at her with expressions ranging from the mildly confused
to complete disbelief. And not far away, hidden safely in early morning shadow,
one man had an expression of satisfaction on his face.
**********************
"Enough,"
Lord Beastmaster had said. The staff came down, and stopped, only an inch or so
above Filia's heart. A few beads of sweat trickled down Xellos' forehead.
"You've done well," she had said. Xellos looked up at his master, not
wanting to question her again, but not understanding her, either.
"But,
Lord," he had said, "She's not..." She put a hand up to silence
him.
"My
objective was not to kill that dragon," she had said, "But to test
your allegiance to me. You made a wise decision." Xellos looked at her, and
for one of the few times in his long life, was speechless. "Had you decided
to disobey me," she had continued, "I would have had the dragon
killed, and you would've been punished severely." He nodded and knelt down
over Filia's sleeping form. "Good work, Xellos," she had said,
dismissing him with a wave of her hand. Xellos undid the clasp on his cloak and
took it off. He wrapped it around Filia, making sure she'd stay warm, then
lifted her off the ground, vanishing from sight.