The fruitcake Mazoku leaned lazily in the doorway to the girls' bath, knowing quite well how attractive he looked in that half-unbuttoned shirt, most of his chest showing through the opening. He stretched languorously in Amelia's line of vision as he waited for Lina to pick her chin up off the floor. Mission accomplished; the princess turned several shades of red and nearly got a nosebleed from the notions that ran rampant through her head. Xelloss resisted the impulse to laugh out loud; she was simply too adorable!
The other expert on blatant expression of emotion was finally beginning to gather her wits. She swung her head from Amelia to Xelloss to Amelia again, struggling to find her voice. "You?!" she sputtered. "And him?! How?! Why...when...?!!"
Making a little 'tsk' sound, the Mazoku waggled his finger at her. "That is a secret, Lina-san. Since when did you become so nosy?"
"Since when did you start taking advantage of innocent girls?!" Lina practically screamed back, having regained her speech control.
Xelloss's grin widened. "I'd hardly call Amelia-chan innocent. Now," he added. Double the bonus, a blush from both parties!
"I can't believe you!" the red-haired sorceress blurted out, trying to hide the fact that her cheeks were a furious red. "Using Amelia like that for your own sick purposes!!" What a bastard. What a bastard! Amelia...poor Amelia...how could he do this to her?! Innocence ripped away. That shining white purity stained. And it was all his fault...
"Using?" The Mazoku feigned a look of surprise. "Why, I'm not using her! Amelia-chan and I are in love!"
"Love???"
"We are?"
"Of course!" he exulted, waving his arms around dramatically and striking a pose. "We're in love! Blazing love that pierces through the gloom and darkness! Love that is blessed by the powers above and below! Love that - "
"Enough already!!" Lina briefly wondered if he'd been influenced a bit too much by the justice-speech queen. "What are you up to, Mazoku?" she demanded, naturally not taking his outburst too seriously. "What are you planning?"
Xelloss smiled at her with closed eyes. "Lina-san, you're much too suspicious. You should relax more often."
"RELAX?????!!!!! I'D RELAX MORE IF SOME BLOCKHEADED MONGREL OF A WHORESON WASN'T - "
"Lina-san," Amelia shakily interrupted. "Xelloss-san. Please don't fight."
The sorceress stared at her emotionally troubled companion in a moment's hesitation and bit her lip. Sensing she wasn't going to win this round, she made a disgusted sound and, grabbing her clothes off the wall, stomped over to the open door. Gourry, Zelgadis, and Filia would surely have something to say about this. As she passed the target of her anger, she glared menacingly. "If you hurt her, I will kill you."
He merely smiled and closed the door after her. Oh, he loved a good meal of anger. He'd get another one once the others discovered what he'd done with the princess. Speaking of whom...Xelloss strode to the water's edge. Amelia looked up at him with quivering eyes, blushing brightly when she noticed she could see up his shirt from that position. He wasn't wearing anything underneath.
The Mazoku knelt down and stroked her soft hair. "How do you feel?" he asked.
"Sore," she admitted quietly, feeling uncomfortable.
"I know." Concern flashed momentarily through his mind. "Sit back," he instructed, "facing away from me."
"What for?"
"Just trust me. Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you."
She complied with some hesitation. That faded away as soon as the Trickster put his hands on her shoulders and began to massage them, his expert digits loosening her muscles. Amelia sighed and settled back into his gentle touch. Hell, he'd already had access to the rest of her body, so why object to this?
That brought her mind back to the previous night, and with it the shame that she'd felt when she woke up. Why had he done that to her? Why was he doing this to her now? Had he just wanted a bit of fun for one night, or was there something else? Hmph, yeah right. Something else. He's a Mazoku, Amelia reminded herself. There could never be 'something else.' Tears began to drip down her pale cheeks as the shame and despair stomped mercilessly on her heart. She'd been seduced. She'd allowed herself to be seduced, reacting to primal instincts. Like an animal. She'd given in to the Mazoku not out of love, but out of primitive desire. Not love. There could never be love for her.
"Now, now, what's this all about?" Xelloss asked with soft surprise, noticing the streaks of liquid staining her cheeks.
Amelia began to sob quietly, her senses flooding with a terrible feeling she couldn't describe. "I..." Her eyes overflowed with tears. "I can't believe I..." She choked back on the words. "I'm so ashamed..."
"Of what we did?"
"Yes," she answered between sobs. "Because I don't love you."
"Hmm." He seemed to consider that, stroking his chin thoughtfully before turning that infuriating smile upon her. "I recall you saying the opposite last night."
"I did?" She shook her head. "That was probably because of..."
"The sex? That's where you're wrong, little one." He wiped her tears away. "You forget that Mazoku can sense emotions, any emotions. I know what you're feeling every second of every day. Here," he said, placing a hand over her heart, "is where the truth lies. Here is where you surrendered. Not here," pointing to her forehead.
Amelia sniffled, not quite sure what to make of his riddled words. "And you?" she asked, subconsciously clinging to an obscure hope. One that she previously didn't know existed.
Xelloss fixed her with the most wicked stare he could muster. "Mazoku don't feel love." He let that one sink in for a moment, relishing the horrified expression on the girl's face before adding, "...is what I'm supposed to say."
She nearly fell over. "Xelloss-san!"
He chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Really, Amelia-chan, I'm very fond of you. I've been waiting for you to realize that Zelgadis isn't the one for you. You know that, don't you?"
Then who IS the one for me? Amelia suddenly burst into fresh tears and threw herself against his warm chest. She didn't quite know why she was crying, but her pent-up confusion and loneliness came out all at once. The Mazoku just let her cry, let her release the feelings that tormented her. Mmm. He was feeding himself quite well that morning. After a few minutes she pulled away, clumsily wiping her face.
"Feel better?" he asked.
"A little. But I still don't know if I...you...I..."
"I know. Give it time, and your heart will know what's right." He looked her over critically. "Now, let's take care of this bathing business. Stand up."
She slumped against him. "I can't. I'm too tired."
The Trickster squelched a grin and shrugged out of his shirt, slipping into the water. "Then we'll do it this way." He picked up the stray soap and began to scrub her back and shoulders with it, working up a thick lather. Amelia closed her eyes and let him wash her body, savoring the soothing feel of his hands. Gentle.
"You did what???" The travelers stared at the Mazoku priest with humongous eyes, two of the four falling out of their chairs with a resounding WHUMP!
Lina buried her face in her hand and tried to scratch out the too-vivid image that came to mind. "Xelloss, we don't need to hear the details!!" she yelled.
"But Lina-san, you asked!"
WHAM! His face made sudden contact with a familiarly spiked object. "Namagomi!!" Filia screeched at him. "Stop dirtying our ears with such filth!"
Xelloss, now on the floor, rubbed his nose ruefully. "Come on, Filia-san. Don't tell me you've never thought of doing that before."
"Of course not!!!" the dragon maiden sputtered, her face aflame.
"Ah, sweet denial."
"Xelloss, leave Filia alone," the red-haired sorceress ordered, heading off another violent outburst. "And stop telling us about your perverted activities!"
"But isn't that what this conversation is all about?"
"No," Zelgadis countered from across the table, his eyes dark. "This is about you taking advantage of a defenseless little girl."
Xelloss arched an eyebrow at the chimera. "You sound so sure that I took advantage of her. How do you know that she wasn't completely willing?"
"Amelia's a good kid," Zelgadis stated. "She wouldn't do something like that."
The Mazoku's smile widened as memories flickered through his mind. "But she did."
Gourry leaned back in his chair, putting his feet up on the table. "I still don't see why this is such a big deal. I mean, no one made a fuss when Lina and me got together." The others didn't say anything. "So how is this different?"
"It just is," Lina informed him.
The swordsman looked at her oddly. "That doesn't seem like a very sound argument, Li - "
"Shh!" Filia interrupted, waving her hands frantically. "She's coming! Act like nothing's going on!"
The group fell silent as Amelia descended the stairs, her footsteps quiet and submissive. She stopped short when she reached the bottom, her heart dropping to her feet as she noticed her comrades. They were staring at her. They were all staring at her. They knew. Her legs began to shake. She couldn't do this. She couldn't face them, their accusing eyes, questions resting on their lips. So she froze.
After several uncomfortable seconds, Xelloss got up from his seat and went over to her. "Amelia-chan? Do you want to sit down with us?" Numbly, she allowed him to lead her over to the breakfast table and sat in what she hoped was a chair. The others coughed nervously and tried to busy themselves with their food while Amelia glued her eyes to the floor.
Xelloss gently gripped her hand beneath the table, snapping her out of the self-induced trance. Shit. What was she going to do? Better to act as if nothing was wrong. Yes, this was just an ordinary morning with her ordinary friends... Well, scratch that last part.
Meanwhile, Lina was also trying to move the conversation elsewhere. "I think we'll move on today," she announced loudly. "The next town is a three-day's walk from here, so we should get started right after breakfast." There was another long silence. "...is that all right with everyone?"
"It's fine with me," Zelgadis answered, his eyes hardening, "but perhaps Amelia and Xelloss will object. They might want to spend another night in a place that has beds."
Amelia's eyes snapped up at the hurtful comment, shocked. Filia took the opportunity to smoosh the chimera with her mace for being so insensitive. That was just the topic they were trying to stay away from! "Hush, Zelgadis-san."
He rubbed his head and scowled. "One of you was going to bring it up sooner or later. Why did you think we were discussing it before?"
Amelia squeezed Xelloss's hand tightly, feeling a combination of embarrassment and anger rise within her. "You've been sitting here discussing my personal life behind my back?" There was a long pause.
"Not exactly," Lina mumbled, twiddling her fingers. "We've been discussing Xelloss's personal life."
The princess clenched her teeth together, not knowing why she suddenly felt so angry. "His personal life is my personal life," she spat. Amelia immediately blinked in surprise, not expecting that to come out of her mouth. Her companions were just as shocked as she was; her statement must have sounded really bad. But her Mazoku - her Mazoku? When had she started thinking of him like that? - squeezed her hand in support, affirming her words.
The chimera nearly dropped his coffee mug. "You mean...you two are..."
"A couple?" Xelloss flashed him a wicked grin. "Of course we are! Like I was telling Lina-san before, we're in love!"
Lina covered her face with both hands this time. "Not again..."
Amelia leaned tiredly against the great tree behind her, glad to get away from her companions for a few minutes. The past couple days of of traveling had been really rough, what with all the awkward silences and such. Her turmoiled emotions weren't making the trip any easier, either. She'd come to the conclusion that she no longer loved Zelgadis - and perhaps never had loved him in the first place. He was so cold to her, so distant and unresponsive to her advances. Besides that, he'd lately been terribly preoccupied with watching the dragon maiden when he thought no one else was looking. Amelia sighed. Perhaps it was better that way.
"Boo."
Amelia nearly jumped out of her skin. "Xelloss-san!" she admonished the ever-smiling priest. "Don't do that!"
The Mazoku wrinkled his brow. "Xelloss-san? Come now, Amelia, I think our relationship has been just a bit more intimate than that."
Her face reddened slightly. "I suppose."
He scooted next to her and began to nuzzle her neck, his voice a soft whisper. "You know, everyone else is back at the campsite, and we're all alone. Just us and the stars." He nibbled at her jawline.
The princess's indigo eyes grew wide, and her lower lip began to tremble. "You said you'd give me time! You said I would decide!" she whispered accusingly.
"Of course! But that doesn't mean we can't have a little fun in the meantime." Xelloss kissed her teasingly.
Amelia began to whimper. "Please, Xelloss-sa...Xelloss. I still hurt..."
"I know. But there are other ways to go about it, Amelia-chan." His eyes twinkled with mischief. "And I'm dying to teach them all to you."
Trembling, the princess allowed him to undress her, his hands caressing her soft body and his voice reassuring her that everything was all right. They lay together for many minutes on top of the Trickster's thick cloak, merely touching and kissing each other. It was very nice, Amelia decided, almost nicer than the pleasure she'd wrought from the last time they'd been together. It was almost as if he was savoring each moment with her.
After a while the Mazoku rolled onto his back, pulling her with him. At his urging, she obediently reached between his legs and began to stroke his length. Xelloss propped himself up on his elbows to watch, groaning softly at each of her movements. Amelia liked that, it made her feel empowered. As if he wasn't the only one who could do the manipulating. He could only stand a few minutes of such teasing and hastily prodded her to take the next step.
Amelia blushed heavily at what he wanted her to do. It's not like she had a lot of experience in that area or anything. Timidly, she lowered her head below her lover's waist and opened her mouth slightly, letting her tongue briefly taste him. Strange, but not bad. Feeling even bolder, she tentatively wrapped her tongue around him, causing him to moan and shift around a little. That is what he had done to her before. Did he like it as much as she had? Amelia wondered this as she licked along the underside of his manhood. Guess so, she decided, watching him grasp frantically at his cloak, trying very hard not to lose his sanity. "Don't be...such a tease," he gasped, shuddering with anticipation.
The princess suppressed a grin (goodness, he was a bad influence on her), wrapped her lips around him and sucked hard. She experimented with different techniques and tongue strokes, each movement bringing a pleasing reaction from her lover. Very shortly thereafter she found herself struggling to contain the results of his pleasure, a little of it spilling out the sides of her mouth before she could swallow. The Mazoku lay limply on his back, hands still clutching his cloak from the previous effort not to grab her by the hair and force her to go faster. Amelia watched him silently, wiping her mouth and chin with her hand. He really was beautiful.
Xelloss pushed himself into a sitting position, took one trembling breath, and smiled. She'd done well on her first 'lesson'. And now it was his turn. He nuzzled her breasts affectionately, taking in the scent and flavor of her skin as his hands moved down her sides to grasp at her hips and caress her thighs. She was already weak with desire and gave no fight against his attentions, even when he bent his head between her legs, where the soreness was greatest.
Amelia moaned and settled back onto the softness of his cloak. Perhaps she could learn to love him. Perhaps she already did. But for the moment...for the moment, he was warm and soft...and he was there.