When Lina looked back at the start of all, boredom seemed to have been the culprit.
Life on a island you never leave has it's perks, but grows wearisome quickly and when the only entertainment you have is seeing what the weather will be like each day, you can see why Lina was bored out of her mind.
It also didn't help that her companion/lover/father of her only child was often away, popping in now and then for a quick tumble, then gone again faster then the eye could blink. Lina was starting to resent that, resent the adventure he lived while she vegatated at home with a crazy Mazoku and a baby who, while cute, was not much for conversation. When was the last time she had used her magic? When was the last time she had had fun? WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME SHE'D HAD A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP, DAMNIT???
It all came to a head sometime in April.
Lina and Xelloss, who happened to be home for the moment, were relaxing on their bed, basking in the afterglow of good sex. One thing Lina couldn't fault Xelloss for, no matter how hard she tried, was the fact that he was a fantastic lover. He knew practically every position in the book, and even though they had gone through all of them the first week they were sleeping together, he was constantly coming up with variations on the same. So, all and all, it was always Very Good Sex.
"What's the matter pet?? You look perplexed," Xelloss inquired sweetly. His head was resting comfortably in Lina's lap, the rest of him hidden under the silk sheets of their bed. Lina was sitting up, staring off into the distance.
"Hmm? Oh, nothing, nothing," she replied, idly running her fingers through the soft strands of his hair. Xelloss purred at the attention, shifting so he lay face upward. His hand reached up to play with a breast, and Lina swatted him, then went back to staring.
"Oh come now. I have eyes in my head and ears on the side. I know that when you repeat yourself you're thinking about something. So, do tell."
"It's really nothing."
"Could it be that you're not sated?" His pointed pink tongue darted out and licked her caressing hand. "I can fix that."
Lina's fingers tightened momentarily in his hair, then automatically smoothed the strands off his face with short, neat movements. "It's NOT that."
Xelloss sat up and moved behind her, resting his chin on the top of her head, his hands encircling her waist, seeing if he could get his fingers to touch. They did.
"Well, if you don't tell me, I can't help, now can I?" he whispered in her ear. His teeth gave the lobe a quick, sharp tug. "Contrary to popular belief, I am not omniscient," he giggled, then kissed her temple.
Lina tilted her head back obligingly, and allowed him to lick her neck. "This is your solution for everything," she told him without any real reproach, her eyes on the ceiling, as slick and gold as butter.
"But it feels so good doesn't it?"
"Mmmmmm......."
Xelas Metallium stood with one long ear pressed to the doorway of the inner chambers and frowned. "They're at it again."
"Adadadadada??"
"And your mother too."
"Brrrrrrrrbbbu!!"
"For L-sama's sake, you could at least talk without spitting," she exclaimed, brushing some of her golden hair out of the baby's reach.
Miyu ignored Xelas' stern words, her violet eyes fixed on the black crystal that hung temptingly from a tanned and pointed ear. She made a grab for it just as Xelas shifted her to her other hip.
"Waaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!"
"Shush!!" Xelas retorted. She pressed back against the door after a few breathless moments. "Be a good girl and I'll give you some juice."
"Jejejee."
"And a cracker too."
"Ooooooooo."
"I really wish you would learn to talk."
Lina woke up, feeling disoriented. Then she felt the space next to her. Empty.
Throwing on a robe, she made her way down the hall to Xelas' chambers. Miyu was sitting on the floor, with Xelas crounching over her, teasing the baby with a golden tassel of her hair as if she were a cat.
"Did Xelloss leave again?" Lina asked bluntly, crossing the room to sit on an embroidered footstool.
"Mmmm-hmmm," Xelas replied. "Business as always, m'dear."
Lina said nothing, and instead picked up a hairbrush from the dressing table besides her. After turning to the mirror and staring at herself for a few moments, she began to brush her hair in long strokes, taking the knots out.
"Something the matter?" Xelas inquired, picking Miyu up and bringing her over to where Lina sat.
"Nothing's the matter," Lina replied slowly. She brushed her hair in silence for a few more moments, then put the brush down. "Come here," she said, holding out her arms for the baby. Miyu happily squirmed into Lina's arms, and Lina kissed the plump pink cheek before settling Miyu in her lap.
"Why are you always sending him on these missions?" Lina finally asked, her eyes fixed on Miyu's round head. "Three of the Dark Lords are dead. You have no reason to compete with the Mazoku anymore."
"Because there is still one Dark Lord, loony as she may be, left," Xelas replied tartly. "Plus, Xelloss does keep me informed and connected to the outside world. And lastly," a thin smile stretched the Beastmaster's mouth into a slick red crescent, "it's fun."
"Well, if it's so much fun, why don't you go on these missions instead of him?" Lina snapped. "He kinda has other obligations besides you now."
"My, we're in a sour mood, aren't we?" Xelas purred. Then she turned and faded out, only to reappear on her bed. "Come here sweetling and I'll brush your hair."
Lina hesitated. "I just brushed it."
"Not very well. The back's still a mess of snarls and tangles," Xelas said airily. "Besides, won't you indulge me for once? It's been a while since I've brushed anyone's hair besides my own and yours is so nice."
Lina walked over after a few more silent moments, bringing the hairbrush along. Xelas took it and beckoned Lina to sit in front of her. She did, shifting Miyu into a more comfortable position as she went. Miyu seemed to be falling asleep, her eyes half open.
"I wonder how your hair will look," Lina remarked absently, petting the fine strands of purple-red covering Miyu's head.
"Like yours, but more purple," Xelas replied. "Tilt your head back please."
Lina soon relaxed under the steady pull of the hairbrush. The Beastmaster's body exuded a pleasent warmth much like Xelloss' and as she brushed, she talked to Lina.
"One thing you will have to learn, sweet," she began, gathering Lina's hair to hold in her hands, "is that my word is law to Xelloss. His loyalty is to me, then you and the baby in exactly that order. Don't make him choose, for it will be me he goes with every time."
"Mmmmm," Lina replied, half-listening, half-drowsing in a pleasent fog of hair and warmth.
"Secondly, he should be back shortly. Twas only a bit of information gathering I sent him to do. It is the precursor to another mission though."
"Is it?" Lina said, enjoying the slow tug of the brush. Miyu was fast asleep against her breast.
"It is," Xelas replied, tucking Lina's head under her chin. She was only a few inches taller then Lina and her head just fit. She pulled the smaller girl against her and they sat there for a few moments, eyes closed.
"I wanna have another baby," Lina mumbled a few seconds later, startling the Mazoku.
Beastmaster was silent for a minute. Then she wrapped her arms around the pale girl.
"It'd be nice if you did. I wanted to have another baby too but I was too afraid of what Xelloss would do," she whispered, but Lina's eyes were closed, her mouth slack.
A light snore jolted Xelas out of her thoughts and she stretched carefully. After a brief check to make sure Lina was really asleep, she pressed her lips to the gleaming locks she had just smoothed and sighed.
"You're so cute. I almost wish he hadn't seen you first....."
Xelloss popped into the room about five seconds later. Lina wasn't there and he frowned, before letting his natural smile reassert itself. Casually drifting into the next room he found.....
"What are you doing here?" he asked, bemused. She looked at him and laughed.
Xelloss grinned, floating down until he was at eye level with his daughter. "Does Mommy know you're doing this?"
Miyu cooed, pleased that her papa was talking to her. She pulled a few more tissues out of the box and scattered them like snow across the room. The floor was covered with a litter of shed tissues, many of them pulled to shreds by Miyu's fat little hands.
Xelloss cupped his chin in his hand and gazed down at her. She looked very much like Lina had when she was a baby, and he had no doubt in his mind that she was going to look like Lina when she grew older. Lina protested this idea vehemently, saying it was nonsense, ridiculous, she's-a-baby-you-can't-tell-yet. He wondered why Lina seemed to be so against the idea of Miyu looking like her. It was rather plain that the only thing Miyu had inherited from him were her eyes.
"Dadada," Miyu babbled happily, trying to stand up. The tissue box empty at her feet, she rose unsteadily, then promptly fell back down again. She had mastered crawling a while ago and now it was only a matter of time before she started walking on her own.
Xelloss touched a finger to her pert nose. "Does Mommy know that Miyu-chan made a mess?" he teased. She grabbed his finger and shrieked happily and he smiled back. It was rather amazing that something so small could be so amusing. Then again, she was his first and only child (that he knew of anyway) and the experience had been..interesting so far to say the least.
"Where is Mommy anyway?" he asked, gently jiggling his finger in her little fist. "It's awfully careless of her to leave you alone....why did she do that?"
A door slammed in the distance, and a few moments later Lina appeared, dressed in one of his favorite outfits; a short white dress he had brought (stole actually) from one of the most well-known clothiers in the land.
"MIYU!!" she shrieked and swooped down on the baby, grabbing her away from him. "What did you do? Bad girl, bad girl!!!" Miyu started crying noisily.
"Whyever did you leave her alone Lina-chan?" Xelloss asked mildly over the din of crying baby and yelling mother.
"Because I had to go to the bathroom and Xelas disappeared again. I thought she'd behave, but..." Lina finished, glaring at Miyu.
"I thought you weren't ever supposed to leave babies alone," he commented.
"I was gone for five minutes! The place is spell and baby-proofed. She can't burn herself, electrocute herself or any of that other stuff. She can, however," Lina fixed Miyu with the Eye of Doom, "make a mess."
"WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" Miyu screamed.
"Oh, I need a vacation," Lina moaned.
After that little crisis was averted, quiet settled down over the house. Miyu had been banished to the nursery, Xelas was still AWOL, and Lina and Xelloss retreated to the bedroom. To "talk".
"Are you leaving again?" Lina demanded.
"Urrrrgggggg....Lina-chan, please..." Xelloss begged.
"Well?" Lina snapped, putting more pressure on his neck.
"Yes.....but it's only for a few days.....LINA-CHAN!!"
Lina snorted and released him, dusting off her hands. "If you would stop being so secretive, I wouldn't have to beat answers out of you."
"Who said I wasn't enjoying it??" Xelloss grinned, smoothing out his rumpled clothing. That earned him another punch.
Lina turned away and folded her arms, staring out the window. "I really hate this."
"Hate what?"
"You leaving all the time. I'm tired Xelloss, really tired of this. You're never around and you're the reason I came here in the first place."
"Well, don't blame me, blame Juuou-sama," Xelloss said cheerfully. "Duty calls and all that."
Lina neither answered, nor turned around. "Lina-chan?" he asked tentatively, drifting over to where the girl stood. Her eyes were wide and unblinking, her shoulders squared and he recognised the defiant stance as one humans use to hold back tears.
Xelloss placed a feather light hand on her hair, torn between sneakily enjoying her pain and wanting to soothe it.
"Don't.....don't.." he said hesitantly. "It's only for a few days Lina-chan, a simple mission and I'll be back before you know it."
"And then you leave again," she replied softly.
He had nothing to say to that.
Lina pulled away from his hand and sat on the bed. "What's this mission?"
"Ahhh...Juuou-sama wants a magic book the king of Sandidia possesses," he said slowly.
She had never asked what he was doing before.
"It's a simple mission, ne?"
"Yes."
"Then let me go with you," she said, her eyes shining in the dim light.
"Why are you all so against me going? Xelloss said it was an easy mission, ne? It's not fair that he gets all the fun."
Lina paused to take a bite out of the roast leg of lamb she was wielding like a weapon. Gravy splatters the length of the table attested to Lina's enthusiasm, and as she began waving the lamb around again, both Xelas and Xelloss began to resemble smallpox victims.
Unbeknownst to Lina, Xelloss and Xelas were holding a silent, pained conversation via mental link.
She's your mate, you speak to her.
Juuou-sama...
DON'T Juuou-sama me!! Didn't I raise you to take responsability?? You knocked her up and brought her home. She is your concern. Besides, you know perfectly well I can't compel her to obey me.
All right....
"I hear the king of Sandidia employs some of the best chefs in the world," Lina said calmly into the silence. She took a large forkful of roast potato and serenely chewed it, a beatrific expression on her small face.
"Lina-chan.." Xelloss began with a pained smile.
She helped herself to another heaping forkful. "If you say no, I will take Miyu, book passage to Sandidia on one of those new steamers, and once there, will attach myself to you like a jellyfish, never leaving your side. You will be unable to rid yourself of me, and I will make your life a living hell. What do you say?"
Xelloss stared at her. She smiled back, a nasty smile of pure satisfaction shining through the potato.
"Since you said you'd be gone a few days I'm assuming this is not a just pop in and grab the book mission," Lina remarked. "Therefore, I'm sure I can arrange matters so I am at your side within a day or two."
Xelloss put his fork down and Xelas took a long draught from the decantur of wine at her elbow.
"I'll....."
"Oh bloody hell!!" Xelas exploded. "Go then. But leave the baby here."
"Juuou-sama!!"
"You'll take her. It shouldn't hamper you too much to have her along and I'm sure Lina has earned a vacation anyhow. I'll watch the baby."
Lina blinked, a long smile stretching the corners of her mouth wide. "You mean it."
Xelas smiled then, slow and tight. "But you'll have to have a disguise..."
"The king of Sandidia likes pretty girls. Likes them a lot. Ever since his wife died he's been a bit of a lech."
"Is he really?"
"Oh, he's not a bad man. But girls are his weakness. The queen was much younger then him and it's generally agreed he adored her. They married, and nine months later she was dead, died giving birth to their daughter."
"So you want me to dress up."
Xelas looked up from where she was pulling gowns out of a ancient armoire in one of the spare rooms. "Yes. I think we'll pretend you two will be there on a visit."
Lina pouted prettily into a cracked mirror hung on the wall. Of course! I see it now. Obviously I still haven't lost it, even after the baby. I'll be the pretty girl that distracts the king, while Xelloss snatches the book. She twisted and turned, preening, unaware that Xelas was watching her with an amused smile on her face.
"Here," Xelas said, shaking out a dusty gown of rose brocade with deep bands of lace. "What do you think? It's rather old fashioned, but it's pretty."
Lina took the gown and held it up against herself, pulling the wide skirt out with one hand. She frowned. "It's kinda low cut isn't it?"
Xelas came to stand beside her, peering over Lina's shoulder at the dim green reflection in the mirror. "Well, ever since you had the baby, you're not so flat anymore," Lina grimaced, but surprisingly refrained from killing Xelas, "and the more you show, the more you distract after all."
"I guess," Lina replied. Feminine wiles had never really been her strong point. Most men were convinced she was some sort of devoring, hateful monster, so cute girl tricks had been useless from the time she had hit puberty. "This looks like what Ameria used to wear."
"The justice obsessed princess? That whole family was nuts. She was the sanest one in it, but she had awful taste. I like pink and all, but I know where to stop."
"Yeah, well, at least Corinna is a bit more sensible then her grandmother was." Corinna was Ameria's second granddaughter, now installed on the throne as Queen Ameria the II.
Lina was always surprised and rather saddened to see how Corinna could look so much like Ameria and yet act so differently.
"Oh well," she finally said. "Where's Xelloss? I want him to see this."
"Behind you, my dear," a soft, sweet voice replied.
Lina whirled around, and came nose to nose with a slight young girl. The girl blushed demurely, long lashes drifting over deep violet eyes.
"What...what??" Lina stammered. To the side, Xelas was laughing, fist jammed in her mouth, tears running down her cheeks.
The girl smiled hesitantly. Her skin was pure and clear, her eyes perfect amethysts set in a face as round and white as a small moon. Long lavender hair tumbled down her back.
Lina put a hand down to steady herself.
"Lina-chan, I thought you'd know me in any form," the girl finally said. Instead of answering, Lina put a trembling hand up to the girl's ample bosom, and after a moment, squeezed. The girl blushed again, but there was a sparkle dancing in the depths of her eyes.
"They're real," she muttered, her face stark white. "Real breasts...and you're Xelloss...and you're a girl...."
Miyu stared. And stared some more, her little forehead wrinkling in frustration.
"It's okay, Miyu-chan. It's me."
"Bbbbeehh," Miyu muttered in confusion. Who was this person that smelled like her papa but had the two soft things her mother had? Miyu looked up at Xelloss and cried, one of her hands slapping Xelloss on the breast.
"Ouch," Xelloss said, wincing slightly. No one had told her breasts were that sensitive. In that case, maybe she'd be a bit more considerate with Lina-chan's in the future.
Poor Lina-chan. After her introduction to the new Xelloss, she had began babbling nonsense. At that point, Juuou-sama had taken her off, supposedly to dress her, but in reality to give her a good talking to.
Miyu was still sobbing, but Xelloss could tell they were fake tears, not the red-faced screaming that accompanied real distress. Miyu had learned early on that if she cried people gave her things. Xelloss was proud she had learned so quickly. And so young too! She bounced Miyu up and down a bit to distract her. Miyu continued to cry though, one hand pulling at the robe Xelloss wore.
"Oh, you're hungry," Xelloss murmured, a bit put-off. "I'm sorry baby, but only Mommy has the milk. These are just for show."
She magicked a bottle filled with apple juice, Miyu's favorite. "Go on," she urged, but Miyu just spat the nipple out and yelled, quickly turning to real tears. Xelloss sweated. "Come on!"
Lina had been trying to wean Miyu from her breast for a few weeks now, claiming the baby was getting too big to hold comfortably. She had stated explicitly that Miyu was to be given to her only if she would take nothing else. But Lina was not in the best of moods right now..
"Please sweetling, just take it. Mommy's unbalanced enough right now without this adding to it," Xelloss pleaded. Miyu continued to howl. Xelloss began to sweat, nervously glancing towards the door, fearful that an angry Lina would be looming behind it, ready to bash her brains out.
"Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Miyu wailed as Xelloss tried cuddling her, bouncing her, and tickling her all to no avail. Her little face was beginning to resemble a small squashed tomato and Xelloss was starting to feel something she'd hadn't felt in...well, ever. Appprehension.
"Miyu-chan..." she began, heedless of the fact that Miyu was both desperate and resourceful and was now burrowing underneath the collar of her robe. "Maybe..oh boy."
Miyu was trying to suckle, her mouth working desperately at the nipple of Xelloss' brand new breast, turning the pale skin an angry red as she pulled, trying to bring milk out of a dry teat. Xelloss watched her in amazement for a few moments. Her first reaction had been to pull Miyu away, but then her curiosity decided to let the baby try. After all, when else would she get an opportunity to experience something like this? Interesting to see what Lina-chan felt when she nursed......"IYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Unfortunately, Lina had not mentioned one critical reason she wanted to wean Miyu off her breast. Sometime between her arrival at Wolf Pack Island and now, the child had cut herself a wicked set of teeth. And Lina never mentioned that sometimes, just sometimes, Miyu had a tendency to bite.
Must have been the Mazoku in her..
"ITAIIIIIIIIIII!"
"Oh hell!" said Xelas, sweeping into the room, and snatching Miyu away from her wailing parent, whose hands were now clutching her injured breast protectively. Xelloss was not handling this well, she noted.
"Owiee, owiees, owieees..." Xelloss whimpered in mock pain from the floor. "Where's Lina-chan to kiss it and make it all better??? Owiee owiee owiee..."
"Taking a bath, you twit," Xelas reprimanded. "Don't you have sense enough not to let a hungry half Mazoku baby near sensitive parts?"
Xelloss only whimpered. Miyu gulped down the juice Xelas had given her, then threw the bottle on the floor, narrowly missing Xelloss's head.
"Now you're against me too?" Xelloss whined, both hands over her chest. "What did I ever do to you?"
"Nothing," Xelas replied, handing Miyu back to Xelloss. However, since Xelloss was still clutching her breasts as if they were rare, breakable objects, she changed her mind and set Miyu down on the floor besides Xelloss instead. The baby made a angry noise, then grabbed a strand of Xelloss's hair and dropped it. "Eh ehe eh!!" she commanded, slapping Xelloss on the head. "Eh!"
"Now what?" Xelloss groaned.
"She's saying "Daddy, stop whining like a little girl and give me a bath," Xelas translated.
"Must I?"
"DA!" Miyu snarled.
"Ohhh....." Xelloss sighed. "Oh well. Does Miyu-chan want a bath?"
Miyu bounced happily and grabbed Xelloss's neck as Xelloss bent to pick her up. Xelloss walked over to the bathroom, grumbling all the way.
"Well, I must say, you're certainly becoming an evil little munckin," Xelloss commented as they reached the bathroom. "I'm very proud. But it would be nice if you could refrain from attacking me from now on."
Miyu patted Xelloss's neck. "Dabababa," she said sweetly.
"Was that a yes?" Xelloss wondered.
Onward | Fanfiction