Xelloss sat up abruptly, as cold sweat poured off of his shaking body. His breath came in short, hurried gasps. If he were human he would probably have been hyperventilating. His eyes were thrown open, wide open, and staring at nothing. The sharp lavander shards peircing the twlight directly in front of him, and unblinking.
The dream...again. This time it had played through almost to the end. He had given Her his answer. What was it? Damn it! Why could he never remember his reply? It was important; it could mean their life or death! It was -- it was just a dream. His heart, fluttering faster than a hummingbird's slowly began to slow to a normal pace, and he realized slender arms were around him, and a soothing voice was whispering comfortingly to him, and it was Lina...his Lina...safe.
Lina had been terrified when he sat up like that, startling her out of a nice dream about a large, ungaurded treasure room filled with magical goodies and tomes all ripe for the permanate borrowing. He had been completely unresponsive for almost three minutes as she begged him to answer her, and craddled his trembling body to hers. What could have a mazoku like Xel scared enough to act like this? She wasn't sure she wanted to know. She had pulled him to her, into her lap, and rocked him, smoothing his sweat dampened hair away from his face, until he finally seemed to be snapping out of it.
"Xel? Xelloss, it's alright...It was just a dream."
Her words penetrated his mind along with her voice, and he drew a deep steading breath. How had he gotten on her lap? He couldn't remember...
Her wounded body laying still in his arms as a golden lord loomed above them and creatures a mazoku would shrink from swirled in the darkness.
He tensed again and tried to force the image away, burring his face in her soft shoulder. Unlike other dreams, this one didn't fade. It was the same each time he had it, and it never completely left him afterwards. A bit more ingrained itself on his memory nightly to torment him during the day. It had never been this bad before though. He had always been able to handle it.
He felt himself slipping back into that horrible vision, until gentle words drifted to his ears, and he became aware of tender, but worried caresses.
"Xel!? Please Xel, it's alright, I'm here, I'm safe! See?"
He must have called out her name without realizing it. Slowly he raised his face from her skin, absently noting how good she smelled...like ash and cinnamon, "Lina-chan?"
Lina was very visibly relieved. A huge breath she hadn't realized she was holding escaped her lungs in a 'whoosh' of air. "That's right, who else would be holding you, naked, when you woke up?" she attempted a bit of humor, then eeped as his arms abruptly encircled her in a tightly possesive embrace.
"Xelloss-Xel. Kiobito. Lina -- need -- breath!"
His arms loosened reluctantly, just a bit. "Gomen, I -- " he started, then realized she what she had called him. Kiobito. Beloved.
"Xelloss?" she questioned, not sure he was listening.
"Huh?" he forced himself into the present.
"I said, what happend? You scared me shitless!" she playfully smacked his arm, trying to lighten the mood. She didn't like the pensive look on his face, or his palour.
"A dream Lina-chan..." he whispered. "Just as you said. Nothing but a dream." Abruptly he turned his eyes, like tiny purple flames, on her, forcing her ruby orbs to hold his stare. "Promise me you'll be careful Lina-chan. I -- "
She frowned as he seemed to change what he was about to say.
" -- I don't want to lose you." he finished.
"We should get back." she stood abruptly, and began gathering her clothes, until he caught her arm and whirled her around to face him again.
"I love you." There. He had said it to her. While she was awake enough to hear it.
It felt surprisingly GOOD
Her smile felt just as good, as she threw her arms around him and kissed him hard, her lips pressed demandingly against his.
"I love you too, Fruitcake." she whispered huskily into his ear when the kiss finally broke. "Don't scare me like that again, okay?"
He couldn't promise her that, but the worry in her eyes was so geniune, and he wanted nothing more just then, than to sooth it away. "Alright, Lina-chan. I'll try."
She smiled brillantly once more and hugged him tightly, before handing him, his clothes, and slipping into hers.
Zelgadis rushed forwards so quickly that even Xelloss didn't see him comming. One moment he and Lina stepped into the camp, and the next thing he knew, he was pressed rather pleasantly up against the rough bark of a tree by the chimera's hands on his neck.
"Zel!" Lina shouted and kicked him in the shin, which hurt her foot more than him. "Let Xelloss go!"
Said chimera growled and tightened his hold on the mazoku, who was still smiling.
"Deim Wing!"
"Aww...Lina-chan! It was just getting fun!" Xelloss pouted as Zelgadis was sent into a tree of his own on the other side of the small clearing.
"Zelgadis-san!" Amelia rushed to his side, as he shakily stood up, holding his head.
"Where. Have. You. Been." his whisper held an odd edge that made Amelia back up a step away from him, as he faced the two, obviously lovers, across the firepit.
Xelloss sensed his anger, worry, and something else...hurt? jealousy?...and wondered why he hadn't picked up on it before. The chimera was also in love with his Lina-chan. His hand snaked out possesively, and caught hers, and his suspiscions were confirmed with the tightening of Zel's jaw, and the flare of dark emotion in his eyes.
"Zel -- " Lina's voice broke the uneasy silence. "Xelloss and I -- er..." she didn't quite know how to say it.
Xelloss saved her the trouble. "Lina-chan and I are lovers." he said cheerfully, feasting on the deliscious hatred Zelgadis sent his way.
"Lina-san!" Amelia gasped, "he's -- "
"I know what he is Amelia!" Lina snapped. She had expected a little understanding from the princess.
The younger girl's eyes sought out those of her best friend and mentor's with an unspoken question, and Lina nodded in answer. Amelia placed a restraining hand on Zelgadis's arm.
"Don't Zelgadis-san...It's alright." without further word she walked to the chared circle in the ground where they had held their fire the night before, and began stirring the coals to life.
Lina cast an apprehensive glance across the glade at her best friend who was staring angrily at nothing. His stance was still ridged and his fists were clentched in anger, but he didn't look quite so crazed anymore. She would have to talk to him later, she realized. Why was he so upset?
Wondering that, she made her way to Amelia's side, and began helping her prepare the fire and cooking utensils for a late dinner.
Xelloss started to follow, when a cold stab of pure dread hit him full force.
Xelloss, return home. I have a task for you.
A horrible feeling of resignation settled in the pit of his stomach. "I've got to go minna-san!" he chirped, not letting his feelings show through his mask. He winked at Lina, then disappeared. He wanted to hold her, kiss her, be with her one more time...but he couldn't keep up the act that long, in the end, it would be better this way.
Zelgadis watched him disappear and sighed, finally relaxing a little.
"Mazoku...I don't know what you've done to her to make her trust you like that...but I'm not leaving until she sees the truth of what you really are..." his eyes narrowed on the place the purple haired priest had stood and he promised himself that much. This time he wouldn't walk away. He would stay and prove to Lina that Xelloss wasn't the right guy for her, then he would find his cure, and show her what real love was.
It would be Hell watching them together...but Zelgadis was intimately aquainted with Hell. He lived in it each day of his life he woke up in a stone body. He dealt with that. He would deal with this. For once in his life, he would do something right.
Xelloss knelt in front of his mistress's day lounge and tried to hide his trepidation.
"Xelloss, my General Priest, some of your previous actions have been brought to my attention, and... I. am. not. pleased." smoke rose lazily from her lit cigerette, and she set down her wine with slow deceptively calm, grace.
Xelloss bowed his head still further.
A werewolf passing outside the closed doors of the throne room wondered idly who had incured the wrath of the Mistress enough to warrant whatever was making him scream so loudly. He hoped it was something nasty enough that the rest of them would get a turn later. Zelas-sama often let her favorites help 'encourage' those minions who displeased her to do better next time. He passed on down the hall casually licking his fangs, as the screams of the tormented soul reverberated around the vaulted ceilings and penetrated into the depths of Wolf Pack Island.