Dragon Slave (Xellos/Filia version)

Disclaimer: The Slayers are owned by Hajime Kanzaka; Rui Araizumi; Kadokawa Shoten; TV TOKYO; SOFTX; Marubeni. A good portion of thest cst chapter follows the first ten minutes or so of the fifth episode (\"A Wild Rumor?\") of Slayers TRY.

      This fanfiction has heavy BDSM and D/s elements, as well as suggestions of past abuse. This is the Xellos/Filia version. There is also nonsensual sex with mind-control elements in thcondcond chapter, although that will, at current planning, be the only noncon scene in the story.


Archiving: If I\'ve not contacted you personally in the past to grant you blanket archival rights, ask me first.

Dragon Slave

by Zanne Chaos

Chapter One


I never thought I\'d ever find myself missing having to put up with Queen Martina, Xellos thought sourly as the blonde next to him started arguing again.

\"No!\" Filia protested, pointing firmly in the way she wanted to go. \"We simply must take the path to the right!\"

\"Oh, really?\" Xellos asked calmly, years of practice enabling him to keep a patronizing tone from leeching into his voice. \"I think we should take the one to the left.\"

\"Oh, no.\"

There was something sly and self-righteous about her tone that cracked his carefully disciplined mask of calm, and he twitched. Yes, Martina was far easier to deal with than this spoiled brat! \"Oh, no?\" he echoed incredulously.

\"No Mazoku is going to trick me that easily!\" she snapped, smirking smugly as if she\'d pulled one over on him, and planted her fists on her hips.

Dimly, Xellos was aware he was mirroring her posture, but for the love of L-sama! If he didn\'t do something with his hands, well, they were wondering what a Dragon\'s neck would feel like while being throttled. \"Oh?! You\'re just going to dismiss me out of hand?!\"

She turned her nose up at him. That stupid, foolish Dragon child! I don\'t believe this! I\'m actually trying to keep them out of trouble, and she\'s demanding to just march headlong into it!

\"Raw garbage like you have no sense of direction!\" Filia retorted disdainfully.

Oh, that did it. Xellos barely remembered that they still needed her, at least for a while longer yet, and Beastmaster would not be too happy at the additional complications it would bring if he killed the haughty little bitch on the spot. \"Raw garbage?! Why raw garbage?!\" he shouted. \"Where the hell do you get raw garbage from?!\"

Threat to the world be damned, it was becoming increasingly appealing to just let her go wherever the hell she wanted. He could hardly believe it. There he was, trying to get them on a path that would actually keep everyone in the party safe, and she was fighting him for no other reason than... How dare she call me that?!

Lina\'s voice from below cut through their arguments. \"So, your way is the shortest way to the temple of the Fire Dragon King you told us about, right?\" she asked Filia.

\"I don\'t know!\" Filia replied. Xellos choked back an incredulous sound. She didn\'t even know where she was going, but she said he had no sense of direction? If she had any sense, she would not go down that road to that town!

\"Don\'t you understand?\" Filia continued. \"I\'m a priestess of the Fire Dragon King.\" She shot Xellos a smug, haughty look, smirking at him in a condescending manner. She would pay for this, oh yes. \"As such, I simply can\'t lower myself to agreeing with some Mazoku who serves some decrepld dld dark lord who\'s covered in ice in the mountains of the North!\"

That clueless, brainless, stupid child! She can\'t even keep her dark lords straight, or who serves whom! He was so furious that the sheer effort of choking down his rage made him tremble. Somehow, he forced a tight grin. \"Oh my,\" he said, struggling to regain his equilibrium over the situation. \"You\'re such a selfish person, eh, Filia? Oh.\" He looked back over his shoulder at her, opening one eye slyly. \"I meant Dragon, not person. Guess you can\'t help being what you are.\"

Score! he thought smugly at her enraged expression. Her tail popped out stiffly from under her dress. \"Who are you calling selfish?!\" she shouted. Then suddenly her entire demeanor changed as quickly as if someone flipped a switch. \"No, stop that! Making us waste time here is just what this evil Mazoku wants us to do! I have an important duty to perform! There\'s the approaching threat, after all, a duty to save the world!\"

Oh, spare me! he thought in disgust, and rolled his eyes, pulling down his lower lids as he stuck his tongue at her immaturely.

Unfortunately, her reaction was slight, and not all that satisfying. She turned away. \"Come, let us be off, Miss Lina! The world is waiting for you!\"

\"Bravo!\" Gourry shouted, applauding.

Lina echoed Xellos\' own thoughts. \"Oh, enough already,\" she declared in annoyance.

He watched them depart, opening his eyes slightly as he smirked at the Dragon\'s back. I tried to warn you, but no! Oh, look who knows so much. You need to be taught a lesson, you silly Dragon, and just imagine! You\'re going straight into a town that will be more than happy to teach you that lesson. I won\'t have to do a thing.

As his anger gradually faded, so did the allure of the notion that he could very well be of of her permanently. No, she was entertaining at times, and the truth of it was, they did need her, at least for a little bit longer. But she needed to learn her place. If she could just get it through her head that maybe, just maybe, discounting all the years and far more extensive experience he had over her might be a bad idea, then things could go a great deal more smoothly.

No, he had no desire to see her permanentlrmedrmed. He would allow things to proceed far enough to give her a good scare, and sweeten the pot with a bit of humiliation, but he would step in before it got too far out of hand.

Xellos shot a dark smirk at the party as they disappeared around the bend, and vanished.

*****

\"All right! The wait is finally over! You\'ve been waiting for me! You delicious-looking food, you!\"

For once, Zelgadis was in agreement with Lina that getting something to eat sounded like a good plan. He hadn\'t eaten all that much after they arrived on land -- he was more concerned with first finding out their location, and then trying to find a cure. But as long as they were committed to this, however unwillingly, and after that hike to get here, he was hungry.

\"Really! Oh, it\'s wonderful!\" Amelia said, echoing Lina\'s sentiments.

For a change, his three traveling partners were eating more like sane, rational people and not like sharks in a feeding frenzy. Now if only this would set a trend...

Hey, he could dream, couldn\'t he?

Gourry leaned over to the only person at the table who wasn\'t eating, the blonde Dragon seated between them. \"Your path really turned out to be the right one, Filia!\" he complimented enthusiastically.

Filia looked at him in dismay. \"This isn\'t the reason I chose it,\" she weakly protested.

\"Hey, hey!\" Lina shouted, and Zelgadis looked over to see her holding up a menu. \"What sort of food is Dradora Surprise?\"

\"Y-you want to order more?\" Filia stammered in disbelief. Before anyone else could speak up, they were approached by the chef.

\"You certainly set your sights high,\" he told Lina. \"If you don\'t try Dradora Surprise in this town, you\'ll regret it for the rest of your life.\"

Here we go again, Zelgadis thought.

\"It\'s that good?\" Lina asked.

Zelgadis didn\'t particularly like the looks of the guy, but decided it was hypocritical of him to voice that opinion. Besides, the spread before them was admittedly delicious. Just because he looked more like a criminal than a cook...

\"We take a fresh, whole dradora, and then cit uit up in a sumptuous soup stock,\" he said. \"The mixture of flavors are perfectly matched with the essence of the dradora. The taste is simply stupendous!\"

\"I dunno what any of that means, but it sounds good!\" Lina said. \"All right, add that to our order, please!\"

\"Happy to oblige.\" The chef smirked, and disappeared into the kitchbr>

\"And hurry up with that!\" Lina hollered after him.

The table rattled as Filia slammed her fists down. \"Miss Lina! Don\'t you understand that time is passing?!\" she shouted. \"While we do this, what are Valgaav and those other Mazoku up to? Which is more important? A dinner surprise or a threat to the world?!\"

That poor woman, Zelgadis thought as he continued eating. Oh well. She\'ll learn soon enough. When it comes to Lina and food, nothing\'s more important than food.

\"Right now, the dinner surprise,\" Lina said predictably. Zelgadis smirked a bit as Filia thunked her forehead on the table, and Lina continued talking. \"Look, if they need the Sword of Light for whatever they\'re doing, then they\'ll come to us no matter where we go. However, you can only get Dradora Surprise in this town.\"

Gourry and Amelia voiced their hearty agreement to her view of things, and they were backed up with a voice that never failed to make Zelgadis twitch, however slightly.

\"Her logic is impeccable!\" Xellos declared, walking up to their table. \"Well-argued, Miss Lina.\"

Filia got to her feet and pulled her mace off her garter, and pointed it at Xellos. \"This is your fault!\" she declared.

Zelgadis rather enjoyed the look of confusion on Xellos\' face at that moment.

\"Because of her association with a filthy Mazoku like you,\" Filia explained, \"Miss Lina\'s personality has become twisted.\"

\"Hey! What\'s that supposed to mean?!\"

Filia ignored Lina\'s protest. \"I can\'t put up with this any longer!\"

Zelgadis raised an eyebrow in shock as Filia touched the large blue brooch secured over her cloak ties, and a tremendous wave of magical energy began surging through her as the brooch started to . T. The table was blown over, and everyone was knocked to the floor.

\"Hold it!\" Lina shouted, with no avail. \"Hold it!\"

\"You\'re going to transform in here?!\" Zelgadis demanded incredulously.

\"Think about where you are!\" Amelia pleaded.

None of it seemed to get through to her. Just when Zelgadis began to debate the merits of telling them all to run for it, Xellos spoke up. He suddenly stopped debating and started thinking that all of them running for it would be a very good idea.

But Lina rarely ran from any fight, and certainly not when her dinner was interrupted. So much for that.

\"Oh, my,\" Xellos said snidely. \"So you transform when you get a little irritated? You\'re not very well-trained for a priestess of the Fire Dragon King, are you?\"

Zelgadis thought that comment for certain would push Filia over the edge. Instead, she abruptly halted the spell and dropped to her knees as she lost her grip on her mace.

\"Using brute force when they can\'t get something by arguing for it.\" Xellos\' tone was laced with malicious glee. \"The Dragon race loves to resort to violence, doesn\'t it?\" He burst out laughing, but Filia didn\'t respond. She stared at the floor, a wounded expression on her face.

\"You\'ve been saving that one since she made that crack about serving a decrepit
old dark lord, haven\'t you?\" Lina asked him dryly, barely able to be heard over his
laughter.

It suddenly ceased when Filia covered her tear-filled eyes with her hand, and grabbed her mace, stumbling to her feet as she ran for the door.

\"Filia!\" Lina shouted.

Gourry called the Dragon\'s name, moving to stop her, but she blindly swung her mace in his directiconnconnecting with his head. Again.

\"Please leave me alone!\" she sobbed, running out of the building.

\"Oh, brother,\" Lina muttered in annoyance.

\"It looks like Miss Filia took that last comment really hard,\" Amelia observed, looking out the door worriedly.

\"Yeah.\" Lina got to her feet and righted the table again. \"Well, she\'ll come back when she gets hungry.\" She grabbed a chair and sat down. \"Until then, we can enjoy the Dradora Surprise!\"

Zelgadis knew that trying to appeal to Lina with emotion when she had her mind set on food would fail miserably, so he went afereferent route. \"And who\'ll pay for it? The only one of us with local currency is Filia.\"

\"So, you mean, we don\'t have a coin to our name right now?\" Amelia asked uneasily. \"What are we going to do about the bill here?\"

Lina smacked her fists on the table and stood. \"I can\'t believe this! How could we let Filia wander alone and heartbroken in a strange town?\"

Zelgadis concealed a smirk. Goal.

\"Is that how you people treat friends?! Well, that\'s not my style! I won\'t abandon Filia when she\'s feeling down! Come on, everyone! Let\'s go to her right now!\"

Amelia looked at their friend warily at her sudden shift in tune. \"Uh, Miss Lina?\"

\"There is no need to concern yourself, Miss Lina,\" Xellos interrupted. \"I do find currency useful at times, and this is one of them.\" He tossed a small sack on the table, and it jingled, full of coins. \"This will be sufficient to pay for your meal.\"

Zelgadis glared at Xellos.

\"But, what about Miss Filia?\" Amelia asked.

\"As Miss Lina said, she will undoubtedly return later.\"

\"What are you up to, Xellos?\" Zelgadis asked, crossing his arms.

\"Would I be up to anything?\" Xellos inquired.

\"Yes!\" Zelgadis snapped.

\"Miss Filia\'s determination to get you involved in this is not misguided. She may shudder at the thought, but I do happen to agree with her on this matter. If you\'ll recall the fate of Hellmaster, it\'s foolhardy for a Mazoku to actively seek the destruction of the world, and I do have a vested interest in this of my own.\" He smiled in that annoying way of his. \"She will return, do not worry.\"

\"Well, maybe one of us should go look for her,\" Amelia ventured.

\"I will see to it that she doesn\'t get into undue trouble. Unlike the rest of you, I can avoid trouble without leveling an entire town in the process.\" He turned and walked to the door.

Everyone else looked as disgruntled as Zelgadis felt, but none of them tried to argue otherwise. It looked as though everyone had decided to remain at the inn, and Zelgadis wasn\'t that concerned that he felt like wandering around among strange people and get stared at like a freak for a snobby Dragon who probably wouldn\'t appreciate it.

\"In the meantime...\" Xellos paused at the door, looking back over his shoulder at Lina with a smirk Zelgadis did not like in the slightest. \"Do enjoy your Drodora Surprise, Miss Lina.\"

It wouldn\'t be until much later that Zelgadis would realize that Xellos had neatly avoided answering his question.

*****

As the afternoon stretched into a dark, overcast evening, Filia found herself in the town square, standing beside a massive, but concealed statue. A small pup scampered by her, and she managed a faint, sad smile. Bracing a hand on the statue\'s base, she crouched and held her hand out to the puppy.

It yipped and readily scampered over, craving attention and adoration, which she was happy to give. The pup was someone who appreciated her, for whatever the reason, and right then, she needed that. They both ignored the rain as it started to fall, a few drops at first, then increasingly faster.

It seemed like a rather appropriate way to spend the night. Getting soaked and rained on seemed the perfect conclusion to a horrible day. At least the day was consistent, if nothing else.

\"Why must I keep enduring these hardships?\" Filia asked the puppy, and continued, not expecting any answer. \"Is Miss Lina really going to save the world? Someone who traffics Mazoku?!\" Rage began to replace the depression. \"With that Xellos. Xellos! Xellos!\"

When the puppy yipped in fear and tore off for cover, Filia realized she was losing control. Oh, dear! she tho. <. Did I just reveal myself? All this human contact is getting to me.

\"Are you the Dragon priestess?\"

Filia looked up, startled by the sudden nearness of a male voice, and realized for the first time she was surrounded by a group of men, armed with various weapons, some of them clearly homemade. A mob.

\"Uh, yes, I am,\" she confirmed nervously.

\"Just like the report said,\" the first speaker sneered.

\"Welow aow about this. Lookie here, we finally got ourselves another one after all this time,\" someone else said. \"She\'ll go for a good price.\"

\"Wh- What do you mean?\" Filia stammered. \"What are you talking about? I was just--\"

Yet another man spoke up, leering at her. \"Don\'t play dumb! We know why you\'re really here.\"

Filia felt a chill that had nothing to do with the rain soaking her clothes. \"Why I\'m really..? I think there\'s been some mist--\"

A strong gust of wind caught her off guard and she ducked her head as her wet bangs lashed her face. Movement out of the corner of her eye drew her attention, and the massive tarp which had concealed the statue earlier had blown off.

It was a statue of a man and a Dragon. The Dragon\'s wings were shown tiy boy bound in a harness, incapable of being opened and spread for flight. Around the legs, thick, heavy shackles had been carved, and iron chains were affixed to the rock, chaining down the stone Dragon. Another chain was secured between the stone man\'s hands, attacked to a heavy-looking shackle around the Dragon\'s neck, just behind the head.

\"What\'s that?\" Filia asked, feeling ill.

\"Long ago, this town was besieged by Dragons,\" the first man explained. \"They killed our people, took our food, and treated us like servants, no, like slaves! A lone hero devised a method for turning the tables! From that day forward, no Dragon who entered this town left free!\"

She shot him a horrified look. \"I can\'t believe such a legend! It must have been a misunderstanding!\"

\"You think that will work, you fool?!\" someone further back in the crowd shouted. It sparked them all into action, and she cried out in fear as they surged around her like a wave of bodies, brandishing their weapons, grabbing her arms. She started struggling andppedpped her mace free from her garter, holding it up threateningly. They would not take her without a fight!

\"Stop this at once!\" she shouted. \"I said it was a misunderstanding!\" Then in her mind, she recalled e sce scathing words from earlier. The Dragons love to resort to violence, don\'t they? She would prove that Mazoku wrong! Filia dropped her mace, and was forced into shackles. \"Very well, then,\" she said, hoping her voice didn\'t betray the fear she felt. \"I will neither run nor hide. I am not like a Mazoku! I\'m sure we can reach an understanding.\"

\"You sure are an easy one,\" the first man said. \"Yeah, we\'ll come to an understanding real good. Take her away!\"

to be continued...