Slayers, From Now On Ch. 10

"Hope for the best. Expect the worst. Life is a play. We're unrehearsed."
~Mel Brooks

Chapter 10. Be Our Guest.

Avoch would have normally taken two weeks of heavy traveling to reach from Achaea. But a mere four days of light travel later, Xellos and Filia were very nearly in the highlands. Xellos's wind-powered carriage had certainly saved them a lot of time, and all in all it should've been a nice, leisurely trip, but the appearance of the dragons had sapped all of the picturesque, picnic feel from the expedition.

Filia watched the trail behind them flee. Xellos was sitting on the driver's platform and she was sitting with her back to him. "You don't think…" Filia began, "that they'll show up again."

"Hmmm," Xellos hummed thoughtfully. "I don't think it's very likely. For the time being at least our reptilian friends have decided that assassination is not their best option. It would be impossible for them to kill you or spirit you away as long as I'm around. They've made their offer which they could've only hoped to use to plant a seed in your mind at best… I don't think they'll make another move for a long while. Their options are limited and the best they can do at this point is wait and see."

"Are you saying that because that's the strategy you monsters are using?" Filia asked harshly.

Xellos said nothing for a minute and then said: "I think waiting is all that any of us can do."

That was, unfortunately, the truth. Filia slumped against the side of the carriage and stared over the edge as the trail flew by.

"Look at it this way though," Xellos continued. "Our situation hasn't really changed when you think about it. We have the same problem to deal with concerning… this child as we already had with Val. Everyone has their eye on him… but they're willing to wait before they act."

Filia was glad, at least, to hear that 'we' had the problem and not simply 'you,' but his comment soured her already depressed mood. It was sometimes so easy to forget that Val was one of the most powerful creatures in this world… and of course garnered the attentions of both the dragons (who had had and royally messed up their chance) and the monsters (who shouldn't be given chances in the first place). He was just a kid… she wanted him to be able to opt out of that world, but would he be allowed to? Would the baby be allowed to?

She looked away from the road, gritted her teeth and crossed her arms. "I said it before and I'll say it again," she said firmly. "My children will never join you monsters or the dragons. I won't let them be drawn into that!"

Xellos sighed. "Hope for that, Filia. Hope as hard as you dare."

Filia turned around, but his back was to her as he watched the road. "What do you hope for?" she challenged.

"Me?" Xellos returned. "Well, I'm sorry to say that is—"

"If you say 'that is a secret,'" Filia said dangerously, "I'm going to throw your staff in the next river I see."

There was a silence as Xellos considered the fact that he'd left his staff in the body of the carriage with the rest of the luggage and contemplated Filia's excellent arm.

"I hope for the best," Xellos he finally said.

Filia scowled. She'd had it with his hidden motives and vague answers. "And what exactly is 'the best?'" she asked.

Xellos didn't turn around, but he did lift his hand, index finger pointing upwards in lecture-mode. "That is the million dollar question."

Filia frowned. "…What's that supposed to—"

The carriage slowed for a few feet and then lurched to a stop. What had been rough woodland only a short distance ago had been transformed into… well, rough woodland to be honest, but rough woodland with a few houses.

"We're here," was all Xellos would say in answer.

*****

Once in Avoch, Filia was a bit uneasy. She wasn't down on small towns or the countryside in any way; she liked the countryside, but at first glance there didn't seem to be a room in sight that she'd want to give birth in. She prayed that the witches understood what 'sanitary' meant… particularly in the surgical sense.

She was also profoundly displeased with Xellos, but that was nothing new. As far as she was concerned he should've had a room booked, directions to the inn, the room key in hand, and a list of area restaurants. He had none of those things and had the nerve to be completely blasé about it. He told her that the witches would take care of everything.

Well, first they had to find the witches and that took a lot of ambling around the downtown (or what passed for downtown) and asking around. The locals were far more interested in what they called the 'self-moving carriage' then in giving them directions. But finally they stumbled on one of the witches.

"Glad to see you made it," a short woman in dusky black observed, approaching them with a ten-year-old girl trailing uncertainly behind her. She didn't give Xellos's magic carriage a second look, in fact she didn't seem much inclined to look at Xellos at all. Instead she gave Filia a kind smile and extended a hand for her to shake. "You must be Miss Filia? How are you, dear? I'm Mrs. Duffy. The m—that is, your husband spoke to me when he arranged matters here."

"Nice to meet you," Filia said, with her own private doubts over how much Xellos had arranged.

"Well," Mrs. Duffy said brightly, "I've gotten one of our coven to lodge you. I'd do it myself, you understand, but, with Marzipan already 'pprenticing, I haven't the space."

"Isn't there an inn?" Xellos asked, eyebrows furrowing. He hadn't expected this annoyance.

"Certainly," Mrs. Duffy said. She pointed down the road. "About three hundred miles that way. You're welcome to it. But if you'd prefer something a little more convenient then you may follow me." She turned and walked down the path she'd come from.

Filia gave Xellos a very pointed look behind the witch's back. He merely shrugged. They followed her. She'd never doubted that they would.

"I don't mind telling you that I had a dickens of a time trying to find someone to lodge you," Mrs. Duffy commented as they walked. "Oh, not because of you, dear," she said with somewhat more warmth in Filia's direction. "But you understand that most of our number aren't particularly happy with the idea of a monster in their household."

"Oh, I do understand," Filia returned because Xellos definitely deserved some ribbing.

"I'd think pregnant dragons would be much more of a nuisance," Xellos said lightly. "But perhaps you don't mind replacing chairs."

"It was quite aggravating," Mrs. Duffy cut across them as steamed rose from the top of Filia's head. "Mabel Ansom volunteered, but of course Delores wouldn't have that, which caused another fight. And it was clear that, no matter how much she had to say on the subject, Delores wasn't about to lodge you herself. The Pensey twins said they'd be willing and had quite a lot of space but they really have too many cats. 'Twouldn't be safe with you in your condition, dear. So finally Mother Hazel agreed—though I must admit she wasn't particularly pleased about it."

Mrs. Duffy turned slightly and said: "You've already met her, Mister Xellos, at the meeting you called."

It was certainly possible, Xellos admitted. He'd seen quite a few witches but hadn't gotten very many names. He would've hoped that Mother Hazel didn't turn out to be one of the more unpleasant witches, but to do that he'd have to rank them in terms of unpleasantness and that was an impossible task.

"Which one was she?" Xellos asked.

"Mother Hazel is getting a bit on in years and wears a pointed black hat," Mrs. Duffy said, her stunning descriptions doing almost nothing at all to narrow things down. But Xellos let it pass.

"Anything you want to warn us about?" Xellos asked, causing Filia to give him a rather worried look.

"I don't have the faintest idea what you're going on about, Mister Xellos," Mrs. Duffy said loftily, her tone not hiding that fact that her idea was rather clearer than she'd indicated.

"Hmm," Xellos mulled. "And what do you say, Miss Marzipan?" he asked, startling the girl with his direct address. "What do you think of Mother Hazel?"

Marzipan took a minute, her eyes flicking back and forth between the demon she'd been warned to be wary of and the hawk-like look that Mrs. Duffy was giving her. "I…" she began. "I wouldn't say a word against Mother Hazel," she came out with.

Certainly not within earshot, Xellos decided.

*****

When they first came to the witch's house, Xellos couldn't place Mother Hazel from their prior meeting. She was of the same hunched over, wrinkled, wart-speckled mould that most of the witches in Avoch came from. But the moment she opened her mouth and Xellos got a look at her browning dental arcade he had no doubt who she was.

It was the pickle witch! Or rather, it was the witch who'd interrupted him by snacking from an open jar of pickles as though that was the acceptable serving size. In fact, it looked like the evidence of that snack was still lodged between her teeth. Oh, Xellos supposed the residue could've been from a more recent pickle munch-fest, but he wasn't feeling very generous toward witches at the moment.

"So you're the one, eh?" Mother Hazel said, squinting at Filia in a nearsighted way. She looked her over. "I'd prefer it if you had put a little more weight on, but you look healthy enough."

Filia wasn't entirely sure how to respond to that and Xellos would've made a comment about the difficulty of judging a dragon's actual weight from their human appearance, so it was fortunate that Mrs. Duffy was the one to speak.

She put a hand lightly on Filia's shoulder. "Mother Hazel is an excellent mid-wife and she'll take good care of you. Me and the rest of the ladies will be along periodically to see how you're doing so don't worry yourself over anything." She nodded to Mother Hazel as she and Marzipan drifted toward the end of the porch. "Billy will be along with their luggage shortly. And I'll be by tomorrow, June."

With Mrs. Duffy gone Mother Hazel focused her sharp little attention on Filia. "I suppose you'll be wanting to rest after your journey, m'dear. I'll show you to your room."

Filia followed Mother Hazel up the stairs and Xellos, even though he hadn't been explicitly invited, trailed after her.

"Here it is," Mother Hazel said, turning an old brass door handle and walking into a sunlit room. "This used to be my Leanne's room and it should fit your needs."

Filia walked over the loved-to-death throw rug and into a room which would certainly fit her needs, though not necessarily her wants. There were three items of furniture in the room: a crusty-looking easy chair, a wooden bedside table, and the bed itself which was quilt-strewn, smelled like cough syrup and was impossibly narrow.

Xellos noticed Filia trying to blink her frantic disapproval to him in Morse code, expecting him to be the one to lodge a complaint and earn Mother Hazel's disdain. He might've bowed out if it weren't for the fact that it was obvious that the witches already didn't like him but had no such bias built up toward Filia.

"I don't suppose this is your only guest room, is it?" Xellos asked delicately.

Mother Hazel glared at him with such intensity that her eyes nearly disappeared under a tidal wave of angry eyebrows. "'Course it is." She folded her arms over her chest and stuck out her jaw. "I aint about to waste my time providing bread or bed to a creature that doesn't need either. I'd keep that in mind if I was you."

Xellos was a forced to be reckoned with, but not an unstoppable force. He recognized Mother Hazel for the immovable object that she was and instantly figured out his chances.

"Duly noted," he said.

Mother Hazel turned to Filia and it was like the storm clouds vanished. "I'll send Billy up with your things when he gets here, but you can take it easy for now. Supper is at six." She turned her hook-like nose toward Xellos and summoned the terrifying cumulonimbus once more. "For those that need to eat that is," she finished, and stepped out into the hall closing the door behind them.

Xellos sank onto the bed. The mattress was as hard as he'd expected. He lifted his gaze up toward Filia who was looking out the window with an uneasy expression.

"So…" he began, "…where are you going to sleep?"

She brained him with a pillow.

*****

The second floor was hot. Filia had known it would be and had conscientiously left the window open before she settled down to go to sleep. It was only ten minutes later when she threw the covers onto the floor. After all, she didn't need them and the bed was so narrow that they were just taking up unnecessary space.

…And she really couldn't sleep. She was tired from their journey and was glad that they could rest awhile, but she just couldn't sleep. It might have been the summer night, it might have been the hard mattress, it might have been the limited space and the fear that she'd roll over and fall out of bed, it might have even been the simple fact that she was in a guest room and guest rooms always smell like unfamiliar people…

…Though if she was honest, it probably wasn't any of those things.

She sighed. It wasn't as though she hadn't been used to sleeping apart from Xellos at a certain point. He'd been away for long stretches of time pretty much since their marriage began. But… well, basically ever since they'd found out she was pregnant, minus a few trips to consult with experts and set things up, he'd been there the whole time. It was just… odd now. Even more odd because he wasn't gone. He was in that very room, sitting on the crusty, old easy chair. He was probably watching her with those eyes to which darkness meant nothing.

She opened her own eyes to let them get accustomed to the shadows. She listened for sounds but only heard a cicada humming outside the window. She rose from the bed and moved hesitantly outward and into the room to a patch of more solid darkness where the chair sat. She stared at it for a moment at the place where she knew Xellos's eyes were—looking up at her curiously, expectantly.

She eased herself onto his lap. He curled a stabilizing arm around her back and laid his other hand on her knees. He thought about making some sort of comment; perhaps something along the lines of her crushing him? But no. He'd been using a lot of weight-related insults lately. Better not to get repetitive. He said nothing instead.

She exhaled, slowly and contentedly, and rested her head in the crook between his shoulder and neck. She closed her eyes and waited for sleep.

*****

"Excuse me?" Xellos said the next morning. Though his words might suggest that he wanted the last statement someone made repeated to him, his tone made it clear that he'd prefer if the speaker rethought their proposal altogether.

"I said for you to tend to the goats out back," Mother Hazel repeated, undeterred.

Xellos grimaced. His morning hadn't been off to a great start and there was an obvious downward slope to events. "But Mothe—" He caught the dangerous gleam in Mother Hazel's eyes and abruptly changed that to: "Mrs. Hazel, I was made to assume that we were guests in your home. I don't see why we should—"

"Well, I don't see why you shouldn't," Mother Hazel returned, her fists balled on either side of her black dress. "Here I am, taking you in out of the goodness of my heart—an old woman too—and you aren't even willing to lend a hand when it's needed?"

Xellos adopted a light-hearted, polite tone and began with: "I'm very sorry there's been some sort of misapprehension, Mrs. Hazel, but you see…" He paused. Mother Hazel wasn't the only one who knew how to exploit a dangerous eye-gleam. "…I never agreed to take orders from you."

There was a pause that should've contained a foreboding musical cue. Mother Hazel didn't seem to be feeling the threatening atmosphere because her expression didn't change. "Well, you ought to, you ungrateful whelp," she returned, effectively bitch-slapping his aura of menace. "I'm already providing you with free room and board."

That was too much. Not only were Xellos's tried and true methods of polite intimidation simply bouncing off the dumpy old woman, she had the nerve to claim— "What room and board?" Xellos asked. "You won't give me so much as a cup of tea and last night you felt the need to yell at me for walking on the floors."

Mother Hazel gave Xellos a very, very steady look. "I've already shown you your room, young man. ...Would you like to see the board?"

This time Xellos could swear that he actually did hear a foreboding musical cue. The hag had a better aura of menace than he did.

"Oblige Mother Hazel and help out a bit," Mrs. Duffy lilted as though Xellos was being completely unreasonable. She and several other witches had shown up that morning ostensibly to check on Filia. "You know we just don't want you underfoot while we speak with your wife. Never mind making a fuss over such a small task."

Xellos looked to Filia, but there was absolutely no help there.

"The shovel's in the garden shed," Mother Hazel prompted smugly.

"But wait… is this really such a good idea?" one of the younger witches put in. "I mean… animals are so much more in tune to the true nature of people's spirits. They'd probably run out of control if a demon came near."

"Is that the case, Mister Xellos?" Mother Hazel asked. "Does your presence spook animals?"

Xellos recognized a life-line when it was being tossed to him. "Why, yes. In fact that has been known to—"

"He's lying," Filia interrupted traitorously. "He gets along fine with animals. In fact, there's a squirrel in the neighborhood that attacks everyone else, but will take food from Xellos's hand." She paused for a minute to think about this. "…Although it might be that it attacks everyone because Xellos has been feeding it," she added.

"Well, there you are!" Mrs. Duffy said brightly. "Off you go then, Mister Xellos," she said, waving a hand dismissively. "I'm sure honest work will do you no harm."

Xellos was not assured that this was actually true. What's worse it seemed that the witches considered it a done deal. He knew he could just… wander off and not actually do what he'd been assigned but… there wasn't much else for him to do. He had to stick close to the house to see that Filia was well protected anyway… What was worse, he wasn't sure what Mother Hazel would do if she found out he hadn't tended to the goats. Probably make him stand in the corner or eat steamed broccoli or rip out his intestines or something.

He wandered off to find the shovel, but not without feeling a certain amount of shame and resolving to do the job poorly.

"I thought we'd never get rid of him," Mother Hazel said when he was almost out of earshot.

"I can hardly ever get him to do chores," Filia said, brows furrowed. "And when he does do them I always end up having to clean up broken glass afterward."

"Goats are pretty durable," Mother Hazel said, unconcerned.

"I must say, he's a bit of an odd duck," Mrs. Duffy commented. "Not what I expect of a demon."

"You don't know the half of it," Mother Hazel returned in full-on gossip mode. "I came into the guest room this morning to set down some clean sheets and what do I see?" She pointed to Filia. "Them two on my grandmother's easy chair, all cuddlin' up together."

"Demons oughtn't to be cuddly," the witch known as Gladys said gravely.

"Oh, but he gave me such a glare when I came in," Mother Hazel continued. "Haven't seen a look that nasty on anyone since Mother Midnight wasn't invited to the princess's christening."

The other witches chattered appreciatively. That had been a difficult mess to sort out. Avoch was still short on spinning wheels.

"And I could tell full well he expected me to back off while whimpering an apology," Mother Hazel scoffed. "The cheek!"

"He thought he could out-glare a witch?" Miss Pierce asked incredulously.

"I'm sure you embarrassed him," Filia said, feeling rather embarrassed herself. "He's been embarrassed a lot lately and he's not really used to it."

Mrs. Duffy gave her a speculative look. "If you don't mind my asking, Miss Filia, why are you two actually together? Oh, Mister Xellos made it clear to us that it began as some kind of accident, but he wouldn't enlighten us any farther than to say the obvious, that one thing led to another. Would you care to be a little more specific as to why you're with him?"

Filia stared at the wood-grain. "Well…" she trailed off. "I suppose it's difficult to explain," she finished. How could she possibly explain her and Xellos to a bunch of women with their emotional dials stuck permanently on disapproval?

Mrs. Duffy watched her for a moment. "You love him, don't you?"

Filia sighed and nodded.

"Well, that's not hard to explain," Mrs. Duffy responded. "It's just hard to say. Does he know?"

Filia took a sip of her tea. "I'm sure he knows, but I haven't told him. And telling makes the difference. As for him," she went on, as Mrs. Duffy opened her mouth to ask the next logical question, "who even knows?"

"If you're in doubt about his love for you then surely that raises questions about his intentions toward the child," Gladys sniped. "Perhaps his intent is merely to stay close to you so that he can deliver the child to the demons."

"That's what the dragons have been saying," Filia nodded miserably. "And honestly, they probably have a point, but…"

"But he's the daddy and the fact that you're in doubt isn't necessarily a negative. Usually with demons you know where you stand and it's nowhere good," Mrs. Duffy mused.

"Xellos is good at making people unsure," Filia said bitterly.

"And what do you think he'll do, m'dear?" Mother Hazel asked.

"I don't think he knows," Filia said honestly. She ran a hand along her stomach. "The thing is… it's all abstract to him right now. How can he think of the child as anything more than a chess piece when he can even think of it as a person? I just hope that when it's actually born he'll… Well, look," she said, "Back when I was training to be a priestess I worked for a little while in the nursery at the temple and I remember it even now. When I held those hatchlings it was like… like the world was suddenly made up of only them, and like I had to make myself a better person for them. And they weren't even mine."

"And you hope that when the child is born and it's a real thing in his arms that everything will change and suddenly the idea of trading his own babe to the rest of the monsters will be unthinkable?" Mrs. Duffy asked.

Filia's face fell. "I suppose it's a lot to expect of him."

"Doesn't even always happen with humans, to be perfectly honest," Mother Hazel said grimly. "Bonding, I mean."

Filia twirled her fingertip around her tea cup. It all came down to uncertainty yet again. And even if her probably-too-high expectations of him came to pass, they'd always have stronger pressures weighing down on their decisions. In the end Xellos caring could just make what he had to do harder on him. But still… she didn't want to give up on him.

"I still have hope," Filia said, a fond smile on her lips. "After all, he can be rather cuddly for a demon."