navy = dreams
Amelia stood before the tribe elder, blushing furiously. She had "captured" Kaltier, according to the Miwagi warriors who had seen her healing him in the forest. They did not understand that she was merely helping a friend, nor did she understand that they were angry with her. It was a case of jealousy, but it would soon pass. The other young women wanted Kaltier for themselves; they considered him to be a much sought-after prize. To lose that prize to someone so much younger than them was almost a slap in the face. And so they argued.
"She's too young, Kalila-elder!" one brawny-looking woman protested.
"I agree, Kalila-elder!" another spoke up. "She should not have search for mate at such an age!"
The elder was drumming her fingers on the table beside her. "But she did capture him, no?"
The young woman hesitated. "Well...yes...but I still think she too young! I call for overruling!" A swell of voices backed her up, the other females anxious to get another try at the black-haired man.
Kalila's eyes narrowed considerably. "Denied." She silenced the following protests with a raised hand, invoking her position as the elder. "This slave now belong to Amelia-sister. I not allow objections. It was done by the rules, was it not? Then he is hers, by law." A few of the young women grumbled complaints, but none were bold enough to object to her ruling. "Amelia-sister is not too young, not at all. And she has prove herself by capturing slave, especially since he is of the shadowed ones. She is skilled huntress."
Amelia was blushing. "But Kalila-elder...I can't..."
The woman shook her head. "Now, now, there's no reason for you to do what they say. It only fair. You capture, you keep."
"But..." She looked helplessly at Kaltier, who was standing beside her. "Sorry, Kalen-san..."
He flashed her a smile. "Don't worry about it, Amelia-san. It's not your fault." Kaltier blinked, suprised at himself. What am I doing? Why am I being so nice to her?
The door to Kalila's hut was suddenly thrown open. In rushed Lina and Somei, followed by the doddering Mialera. All were breathless and had flushed faces, as though they'd been running a great deal. "Kalila-elder!" the girl with the red stripes gasped. "Rawnie-sister is..."
"There was this light, and..."
"She disappeared!" they exclaimed in unison.
The elder rose with surprise and alarm. "Disappeared? Are you sure?"
Lina nodded emphatically. "It happened right in front of our eyes! She just...disappeared! We don't know what happened!"
"Oh, no! Poor Rawnie-san!" Amelia looked stricken. "What are we going to do?"
Kalila looked very concerned. She took charge and began to bark out orders like a drill sergeant. "Assemble all of our strongest spellcasters! Check area for invaders! And someone tell slave of Rawnie-sister! He may worry!"
Lina almost started to laugh at the thought of Xelloss worrying about anything. He was Mazoku, so that was highly unlikely. Lina paused. Wait a minute...
One of the younger Miwagi girls stuck her head in the door. "Kalila-elder, I not find slave of Rawnie-sister! He is not here!"
Lina's expression darkened. He was probably the cause of all this, no doubt. He'd been after Rawnie from the beginning, for unknown reasons. That namagomi Mazoku...
The Trickster Priest watched the commotion in the Miwagi village with much amusement, undetected by the native spellcasters. So much confusion and worry and chaos...humans were so prone to such things! They were such amusing toys, these humans. Playthings for the Mazoku. Few humans had the potential to become more than a Mazoku's toy. Xelloss himself had only met a few in his life. The Knight of Cefied was one, of course, though she could hardly be considered human anymore. Lina Inverse was another, what with her tendencies to kill off Mazoku lords. But the one that interested him the most was the Knight of Shabranigdo. Her power alone was not the reason he was interested in her, though, unlike his master and unlike other Mazoku. No, he'd been enchanted by her large golden eyes and her small form from the start. He claimed her as soon as he set his eyes upon her, those thousands of years ago when her village had been burned to the ground.
Xelloss felt a jolt of power through his staff, his master calling him back to her lair. So she'd finished. He promptly teleported himself to her, for the Beastmaster insisted upon timeliness and considered it disrespectful to be late. "My Lady called?" he inquired good-naturedly, bowing to the golden-haired woman.
Zelas acknowledged him with a nod. "It seems that Knight-sama and I are finished here, Xelloss. You may continue with your...other mission. Dismissed."
He bowed respectfully to her, then turned his attention to the green-haired Knight, offering a gloved hand. She accepted his hand without disdain, but there was no mistaking the betrayal in her eyes as they teleported back to their hut in the Miwagi village. Xelloss tried to make light of the situation. "Yare, yare, that must have gone well for Juuou-sama to be calling you Knight-sama." She didn't answer. He tried again. "What did you do, compliment her on the decor?"
That brought a smile. "Actually, yeah," she admitted. "I suggested she add some firepits to go along with that lava wall of hers."
Xelloss nodded understandingly. "Juuou-sama appreciates an eye for good art."
Rawnie frowned at him. "But you left me there. You left me alone with her in that strange place."
"Gomen. Juuou-sama would be angry if I disobeyed her."
"True...Zelas-sama has a tendency to fry her subordinates, ne?"
He laughed. "So what did you talk about, anyway?"
"Not too much, actually. Basically, Zelas-sama wanted to ensure that I'd inform her of any plans Shabranigdo may have before the other Mazoku lords." Rawnie shrugged. "I told her I liked her better than Grouchysherra and that psycho Dolphin, anyway, so she didn't have to worry. Zelas-sama is pretty cool...for a Mazoku, no da," she added airily.
Grinning, Xelloss opened his mischevious feline eyes, bent his head, and kissed her. She pulled back in suprise, but he advanced forward and pressed his lips to hers again. He could sense the flow of emotions running through her: inital surprise, fear, fear of him, fear of what he might do, fear that she didn't mind what he might do, and finally a general acceptance of the situation. The kiss lasted for some time. Rawnie finally pushed the Mazoku away and stepped back, her face flushed with embarrassment. "I...I...the others are probably looking for us. I'd better go..." She ran from the hut, Xelloss staring after her with a mysterious grin.
Kami-sama... she thought to herself as she ran. I...I just... Rawnie's breath came in trembling gasps. She slumped against the side of a tree, her heart pounding in her chest. This is dangerous...it's not right! I shouldn't... But somehow, she felt that it was right. She'd never before felt such raw, elemental fervor for a man. For a Mazoku, she thought, reminding herself that he was not human. He fed off of the pain and suffering of others, relished in their anger, lived to trick and manipulate. He was manipulating her. It was seduction, wasn't it? Or did he really care for her? Rawnie almost screamed in frustration. Back in her world, she and her otaku friends had discussed Xelloss's character at length, but had come up with several possible personalities for him. One was that he was pure evil and lived only to torture others. Another was that he was evil and lived only to gain more power. And another was that he was evil, but still retained some human characteristics. Rawnie didn't know which to believe, or if any of them were correct. She feared his true motives. But what have I to fear? I'm the Knight of Shabranigdo. She was, wasn't she. Then it dawned up on her. I'm more powerful than him...
A sharp voice interrupted her thoughts. "Rawnie-sister! Where have you been??? We have looked all over for you!!"
"I...I...'disappeared' for awhile."
Somei skulked through the underbrush of the forest, trying to make it look like she wasn't searching for Zelgadis. In fact, she was, but there was no need for him to know that. She soon spotted him lounging in the crook of a tree, chewing on a piece of frass and looking quite bored. Some almost giggled; he was really quite cute. "Greetings, Zelgadis."
He almost fell out of the tree at the sound of her voice. "Shh!" he insisted, scanning the area with a careful eye. "They might hear you!"
She shook her head. "No. They all are looking for Rawnie-sister and her slave, who are disappear."
"Disappeared? Damn. So Xelloss has pulled the wool over our eyes once again."
"Xelloss? Is that slave of Rawnie-sister?" The chimera nodded in response. Somei considered this. "He is problem. I not know shadow ones so much trouble. And Amelia-sister's slave is also shadow one. I wonder if he be this much trouble, also."
"Amelia's...slave?" Zelgadis sweatdropped at this. "Don't tell me she ended up capturing Kalen..."
Somei nodded. "Yes, she did. She claim it was accident, but Kalila-elder disagree. She say Amelia-sister now own shadow one."
"Shadow..." The chimera paused for a moment, thinking. "Somei-san. You continue to call Kalen-san a 'shadow one', the same name you call Xelloss with. What does it mean?"
The girl blinked her beautiful orange-flecked eyes. "Shadow ones are evil and dark...what was word Lina-sister used? Ma-something. Mazoku, that was it."
Zelgadis's eyes went wide. "Mazoku? Are you saying Kalen-san is a Mazoku?!!"
She looked slightly taken aback. "Yes. Did you not know this? I felt it as soon as I saw him."
The chimera wasn't listening. "Mazoku...what does he want with us? There has to be some reason he led us here. And why didn't Xelloss notice he's a Mazoku? Unless he's in league with Xelloss...or unless he was somehow able to disguise himself..." He turned back to Somei. "You say he's with Amelia right now?"
"Yes," she answered, giving him an odd look. "They are preparing for the ceremony of joining. This will make him Amelia-sister's forever, as is customary for Miwagi."
Zelgadis jumped out of the tree. "Then she may be in danger. I've got to go back there."
Somei grabbed his arm to stop him. "But my sisters will try to capture you!"
He shook his head. "I know that. But I can't just leave her alone with a Mazoku. He might do something to her."
Somei spoke softly. "You love her, then?"
He shook his head again, a little surprised at the question. "No. She's like a...a little sister to me. I feel the need to protect her."
"I see."
Zelgadis paused again, forming a plan in his mind. "Somei-san. I have a favor to ask of you. I want you to pretend that you have captured me so I can get back into the village."
"What?" The girl took a step backwards, surprised. "You want me to 'lie' to my sisters?"
"Well, yeah. I need to be near the others in case Kalen or Xelloss decide to ry anything."
"But to lie..."
He grabbed her hands. "Don't be difficult! Do you know what will happen if Kalen decides to attack the village?! You'll all be destroyed! And if Xelloss decides to do something, it will be even worse!" The girl was blinking with surprise. "Please, I'm begging you to do this! If you want to save your village, then help me!"
There was a short silence. "All right. I will do this. But only to save my village. I am not interested in stopping these shadow ones."
Zelgadis breathed a sigh of relief. "That's all I ask."
Little Rawnie stood under a large red gap in the sky, looking into it
without fear, even though lighting crackled around it and dark power coursed
at its edges. She turned and looked back at the purple-haired boy behind her,
her eyebrows wrinkled slightly. "You want me to go through there?"
Young Xelloss nodded and gave her a reassuring pat on the head. "You'll
be safe there. Nobody will try to kill you in the place I found. There are no
Ryuuzoku or Mazoku there."
The little green-haired girl hugged him impulsively. "But there's also
no YOU there."
He hugged her back awkwardly. "It's more important that you're safe,
Ra-chan. Don't worry, I'll come back for you. I promise."
Rawnie watched all this from a few feet away, hugging herself as though
chilled somehow. She spoke to the Dark Lord, who she knew was watching her
every move. "Why are you showing me this? Why do you care what goes on with
Xelloss and I?"
"What goes on with my Knight and one of my most powerful servants is
very important to me," He answered. "Your power combined would be of great
proportions."
"Our power...combined..." she mused. "But I am afraid of him."
Shabranigdo was sitting on a throne of bones now, inspecting His
fingernails and watching the memories before Him. "Why? You are more powerful
than he."
"That's true, but..." Rawnie looked at her feet. "I don't know what he's
trying to do."
The Dark Lord snorted. "That should be fairly obvious."
She raised her eyebrows. "I know THAT, I just don't understand why! Is
it because I'm the Knight, or for other reasons? Is he going to hurt me?"
"Does it matter?"
She was growing impatient. "Yes, it does!"
"Then look." Shabranigdo pointed to the young children saying goodbye in
the memory. "Was he not your friend? Did he not take care of you? Did he not
protect you from all things that tried to harm you?"
"Well, yeah, but..."
"Then there is your answer."
Rawnie awoke with a start, clutching her cloak to her chest. That had been a really weird meeting with Shabranigdo, more weird than was usual. She heard the hum of an annoying tune and turned her head to see what it was. Xelloss sat cross-legged on his bed with his shirt off, humming softly and playing with a Rubix cube. She gulped; he hadn't been there when she'd decided to nap. Shimatta...
"Bad dreams?" he inquired.
"No..." she answered carefully, sitting up and pushing her cloak to the side. "About the same as usual. Boring, even."
"Is that so," Xelloss mused, setting his cube aside and making his way over to her. "Then perhaps we'll have to make things a little more...interesting," he murmured, pushing her back down onto the bed.
A thousand emotions rushed through Rawnie as the Mazoku began to kiss her cheek, her neck, her collarbone... She felt fear and anxiety and anticipation all at once, not knowing if she should push him away or let him continue. Never before had she felt this way...her heart beating mercilessly and the blood pounding in her ears. She was both afraid and ecstatic at the same time. She heard him chuckle softly as he swung his leg over her, and...
There was a knock at the door. Xelloss grunted in annoyance and proceeded to ignore it, hoping the person would take the hint and go away. But the knock came again, this time louder and more demanding. Thoroughly irritated, the Mazoku rose and opened the door while Rawnie vainly tried to collect herself. The caller was a rather young-looking Miwagi girl, wearing a slightly altered version of Rawnie's outfit. She handed a piece of paper to Xelloss and ran off. The Trickster unfolded the paper and skimmed it briefly. "You are formally invited to the joining of Amelia-sister and her slave Kalen at the Sacred Temple, etcetera, etcetera..." he tossed the invitation aside and gave the green-haired girl a naughty grin, advancing upon her once again.
There was another knock at the door, this one strong and impatient. Xelloss growled angrily and threw open the door, ready to pummel whoever dared to disturb him. He was confronted by a pair of ice-blue eyes surrounded by pale rocky skin. "Why, Zelgadis," he spoke through a forced smile, "what brings you here?"
The chimera glared daggers at him. "Perhaps you could answer that question, Mazoku."
"Why, whatever do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb with me, namagomi," the chimera seethed, pushing his way into the hut. He noticed Rawnie sitting there on the bed and looked back at the shirtless Xelloss, even more suspicion creeping into his voice. But he didn't dwell on that. "You knew that Kalen is a Mazoku, and you didn't tell any of us! What are you trying to do here, lead us into some kind of trap?" he demanded. "What do you want from us?"
Xelloss smirked irritatingly at him. "Sore wa himitsu desu!"
Rawnie was clutching her cloak to her chest. "Kalen is Mazoku? Xelloss, you didn't warn me?" She paused and thought about that for a moment. "Ah, damn. Damn, damn, damn. I can't even blame you for that, since I should have know anyway. And he's no threat to me, since I'm the Knight of Shabranigd - " She quickly clamped a hand over her mouth. "Uh, disregard that last bit, Zel..."
Zelgadis started to say something, but found that he was speechless. So that was why Xelloss had been after her, why he'd brought her from that other world. He couldn't believe she'd kept something that important from her companions...and he wondered where her loyalties lay now. "You're the...Knight..." he managed to say, "of Shabranigdo???"
"Eh...hehe...well, yeah..."
Amelia glanced uncomfortably over at Kaltier, who sat cross-legged on the floor with his eyes closed, looking peaceful. They were supposed to be involved in some kind of 'joining' ceremony at the Sacred Temple the next day, and she was expected to keep him as her mate. No one believed that she really didn't mean to capture him, except Lina. But Lina told her that this was the best way to get to the treasure they were searching for. She spoke up. "Kalen-san?"
"Hmm?" He opened one eye to look at her, bearing a startling resemblance to Xelloss in that instant. "What is it?"
"I...I want to apologize for this whole mess. I didn't mean to catch you, really!"
Kaltier waved her apologies away. "Don't worry about it. I'm just glad none of those other girls caught me. Besides, this way we can get a good look at that temple."
"Yeah, Lina-san said the same thing..." Amelia looked down at her feet. "How are your injuries?" she asked brightly.
"Eh? Oh, they're all better now."
"Oh." All better now? He healed that fast? Impossible! But upon inspecting him from afar, she found it to be true. It frightened her; no human could ever heal that fast. What kind of creature is he??
Meanwhile, Rawnie leaned against the closed door and sighed loudly. "Thank L-sama he's gone...I thought he'd never stop interrogating me!" Zelgadis had been highly upset that she'd kept such a secret from her companions. He was also highly suspicious of what she planned to do from that point on, and what part they would have to play in it. He didn't understand that even if she was the Knight of Shabranigdo, even if she did have a Mazoku...almost-lover...she was still human.
Xelloss smiled darkly. "Yes, it's good that he's gone..." the Mazoku murmured as he crossed the room to his green-haired female. He took hold of her by her shoulders and firmly kissed her, not at all surprised when she wrapped her arms around him and began to kiss back.
Both heard a faint rapping noise at the door and broke the kiss, twin expressions of annoyance on their faces. Xelloss sighed audibly. "Seems as though no one wants to leave us alone, ne?" A wicked grin spread across his face. "Perhaps we will have to go elsewhere for our entertainment," he murmured into his ear as he held her and teleported them both away.