Three Candles Glowing in the Dark – Part One, Trust

Disclaimer: I don’t own Slayers or anything related to that.

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"Lina-chan…"
Lina felt a significant source of warmth behind her. She snapped her eyes open, gasping slightly when she felt his arm rest around her stomach. "What are you doing here Xelloss?" she asked him in a calm voice.
He moved closer to her, much to her discomfort. "Sore wa himitsu desu," he replied, his breath hot on her cheek.
She blushed faintly and let out a small whining sound, indicating that she wanted him to leave her alone and let her sleep. She placed her hand over his, lifting finger after finger away from her stomach, and then his entire hand.
Xelloss sighed. "Are you sure you want me to leave, Lina-chan?" he asked in a hurt voice, scooting away from her.
Lina went silent, as if she were having a hard time deciding her answer, then replied, "You can . . . stay," hesitantly.
Xelloss smiled, thinking, "She’s losing at this game." He moved up beside her again and threw an arm over her casually causing her to tense up. "Oyasumi, Lina-chan," he whispered into her ear.
Lina relaxed after a while, her breathing matching his, her heartbeat slowing down to match his own. "Oyasumi, Xel," she whispered, yawning into the pillow and slowly drifting off into a deep slumber.

When she awoke the next morning, she flipped over and found herself staring straight into Xelloss’s sleeping face. "I didn’t know mazoku slept . . ." she thought, brushing a stray strand of hair away from his eyes. He looked so peaceful and honest like that . . .
And it was enough to trick Lina.
She found herself absorbed into the atmosphere. It was warm, especially with Xelloss in her bed, and the sun was just starting to peek through the window. Being careful so as not to wake him up, she kissed him lightly on the cheek, letting it linger there before returning to her normal position beside him. She kept watching him, completely unaware of her stomach for once.
Xelloss blinked a couple of times before completely opening his eyes. Lina found herself awed by those amethyst jewels. They were entrancing, and she didn’t even notice when he kissed her good-morning, and she didn’t respond at all.
Xelloss then put on his usual grin and said, "Ohayo, Lina-chan. Did you sleep well?"
She shook her head, clearing her thoughts before nodding. "I slept very well last night."
Xelloss chuckled and said, "Good. I thought you would be cranky this morning."
Lina then slipped out of bed, leaving him behind and headed towards the shower. Xelloss smiled inwardly and whispered, "Much easier than I had originally anticipated…"

Lina was walking in the forest alone. She didn’t know where Xelloss went after her shower. He seemed to have disappeared altogether. She had been disappointed by this surprisingly, but continued the day as she normally would have done.
"Xelloss…why did you do that?" she wondered, walking past a group of trolls. They picked up her scent and followed her unnoticed.
"Doushite…" Her thoughts were interrupted when a troll attacked her. She hadn’t been expecting this, and barely dodged the hit. Another one came up from behind her and succeeded in making a large cut in her arm. She fell down in pain and quickly attempted to cast a recovery spell on herself while dodging the other attacks.
"Lina-chan," Xelloss said quietly while watching the action from the trees. "You’re becoming weak because of me," he continued before teleporting. He reappeared before Lina, staff raised in defense.
"Xelloss!" she shrieked, relieved. "Did he come to protect me?" she wondered to herself.
"Konnichiwa Lina-chan!" he said, slicing a troll in half through the middle with his staff. "It looked like you needed some help," he continued, blasting another.
"Yeah I did. Thanks!" she said happily, getting up after finishing the spell. She formed a fireball between her hands and threw it at the remaining trolls, accidentally starting a fire. "Achaa…Akua kureito," she said, forming water to douse the flames. After that was finished, she turned to Xelloss. "Konnichiwa Xel!" she chirped. She stepped forward, but her leg collapsed beneath her causing her to fall and grasp it in pain.
Xelloss frowned. "What’s the matter Lina-chan?" he asked, kneeling down in front of her.
She casted a healing spell on her leg, answering, "One of those trolls tripped me during the fight. I didn’t realize that it broke my leg at the time…"
"Meaning you can’t walk," Xelloss concluded, interrupting her statement. Lina nodded sadly. She had wanted to be out of the forest and in a restaurant inn by evening, but that seemed to be out of the question now. As if he were reading her thoughts, Xelloss picked her up and carried her as he walked.
Lina blushed furiously. "No I’m fine! Just wait a little while for me to get my leg healed up!" she refused.
He chuckled at her. "Even if you don’t like it, I’m carrying you to the next town or at least until you get your leg healed up," he stated, holding her closer.
She pressed her right hand against his chest, blushing all the while. "Umm…ok, fine…" she murmured, resting her head against his shoulder and continuing the healing spell.
Xellos smiled secretively and thought, "Round one, Lina loses."

A flame on a white candle flickered violently before going out, leaving a thin line of smoke in the air.