Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Prince Charming ❯ Chapter 5

The songs for this chapter are: (the completely apt) Kill Hannah's `I want to be a Kennedy'

And Tiger Army's `Power of Moonlight.'

 

 

 

 

 

The smells of alcohol and cigar smoke were very thick in the small tavern. Naga wrinkled her nose is distaste, but made no comment to the bar tender or the men playing cards a few yards away from her. She drank a little more out of her glass and tried not to think about who had just left the bar.

 

The sorceress looked deeply into her glass, as though contemplating the meaning of life. This whole town was depressing. It reminded her of the place where she had been born and grew up in. That little burg…

 

As she leaned backwards to stretch out her back, she overheard the men at the table nearby talking. Gossiping to be more exact. Naga heard the words `prince' from one of them and glanced nonchalantly at them. They were huddled up, discussing something quietly (a remarkable feat considering how much alcohol they'd consumed), cards forgotten momentarily.

 

 

Naga sipped her drink and took little looks around the room occasionally as she listened in on the nearly-intoxicated men. One of them, this one wearing a faded brown hat atop his balding head, mumbled something about Saillune's capital. Another whispered the words `travelling' and then `prince.' The tall woman, feeling something close to dread in her bones, leaned backwards a bit.

 

 

As the five men talked amongst themselves for a few more seconds, Naga leaned backwards a bit more. A prince? From Saillune's capital? She had no idea why anyone would want to come all the way from a place like Saillune to a shitty town such as this. No one in their right mind…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wait, right mind? Whom did she know that was crazy, a traveller, and someone on a mysterious mission from Saillune. She dropped her glass, spilling the remains of it all over the already dirty counter (that had a strange head-shaped hole) and spun around in her chair. The stool, already under stress, gave out one last miserable creak that sounded like a moan before breaking and dropping the sorceress on her behind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As Naga hit the dirty ground of the tavern, Phil was busy discussing monsters with the mayor of this town. The short, white-haired man was telling the prince how bad things had gotten. They were at the older man's home, a modest two-story house complete with a white picket fence that needed painting.

 

 

“The children! Every few days we lose another one and no one will, can, help us.”

 

Phil nodded, feeling anxious and as upset as the mayor. These monsters were taking children! Innocent little kids! The whiskered man could feel his blood boiling with righteous anger. Those fiends would pay!

 

“I promise you, good mayor, that I will not stop until those monsters have faced justice.” He clenched his fist and posed dramatically. “In fact, I found a sorceress who would gladly help us…”Phil blushed and sheepishly looked at his hands. Miss Naga…

 

 

The mayor, (whose name was actually Mister Claw Swill, Phil had forgotten) waved a hand at the younger man. “That will not be needed. I've already hired a sorcerer for this trip.” The small man beamed. “He's the best. The neighbouring villages' mayors have used him to rid themselves of their demons.” Those demons, unknown to Claw Swill, were other politicians opposing the mayor.

 

 

The door nearest to the two men opened unexpectedly. Outstepped a man dressed completely in black, his hair a eye-bleeding shade of red, was short and spiky. One of his eyes was covered with an eye-patch and the other was as clear and bright blue as Naga's were. Phil stared at him, missing his new crush and wondering how she was doing. He hoped she wasn't in any danger. Those men at the table had seemed a little shifty…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Naga grabbed the man's hat and attempted to shove it down his throat.

 

“What do you mean, the prince of Saillune is supposed to be here?!” She snarled, eyes narrowed and fangs suddenly appearing in her mouth. All the men, thinking she looked dangerous and demonic, began to wonder if this was one of the monsters.

 

 

One of the group, this one slightly overweight, began to stammer.” He-This prince guy, he's supposed to be here any day now. The,” He swallowed audibly. “The mayor managed to get him along with some weird sorcerer to help defeat those demons in the mountains.”

 

 

 

The sorceress turned her wrath upon his and grabbed him by his shirt. “What sorcerer?”

 

His Adam's apple bobbed in his throat like a monkey on a stick. “This nasty guy. Wears all black. He came out of no where.”

 

“Nasty guy..”Naga mused on this for a few seconds before remembering where she was and what she was doing. “What else do you know?” Her voice had dropped to a silky near-whisper.

 

“I, I think he might be some kind of…you know, assassin.”

 

“Assassin?” Her eyes, half-lidded were entirely focused on the man in her tight grip.

 

“Yep…say, how about you and I-“He got no further as Naga slapped him, breaking his jaw with a loud crunch. The woman, clad in just a leather bikini, let the man fall to the ground.

 

“As assassin.” She bit her lip, paying no attention to the moaning man on the floor trying to clutch his face. Instead, she began to head for the door.

 

 

Right before leaving the tavern, (now full of shocked, frightened people who'd heard the screaming) she turned to the people inside. More than five now due to all the commotion. Naga smirked and asked a terrified waitress where the mayor's house was.

 

The frightened girl whimpered and pointed to the left with a shaking hand.

 

“Thank you.” Polite as always. I'm such a good person to the hard working type she thought, once again ignoring the moans and shouts behind her.

 

The black sorceress began to run towards the nicer houses in the small town, laughing her horrible laugh.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The red-haired man sweat dropped, something he'd never done before. The `prince' he was supposed to take care of was very different than what he had expected. Instead of a willowy, blond, slightly effeminate young man, the assassin had gotten an ogre. Sure, he had heard of inbreeding with the royals but…

 

 

“How are you?” The prince guy was holding out a hand to him. Not wanting to, but unable to resist, the black-garbed man took his hand and gave it a firm shake that Phil returned with interest.

 

 

This guy wasn't as scary as I'd thought. Phil nearly hit himself. Sure wearing black was something bad people did, but Naga dressed in black as well. And he knew it was wrong to judge a book by it's cover. Plus, this guy had eyes like Miss Naga…

 

 

While Phil day dreamed a little bit over the leather-wearing woman he's met earlier that day, the dark sorcerer looked to the mayor.

 

“Is he always like this?”

 

“I really don't know. We just met..”

 

The red-haired man sighed. “Of course. “

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Naga took a deep breathe, relishing the cool night air. The night was perfect. The stars were clearly visible and as she glanced up, the woman noticed some of the constellations. This whole town is soooo much nicer at night. Naga thought, drowsily. Damn, I should have had all that..

 

She took a few woozy steps forward before realizing she had no idea where to go. The mayor's? She couldn't find the tavern or the gate at this point. How she'd gotten lost was something she'd never know. Naga took another deep breathe and tried to get her bearings straight. Assassins? Phil, she decided after remembering those bandits they'd fought earlier, could take care of himself. He was a big boy…The tall, drunk woman giggled and managed to stagger to the large house with a sign proclaiming `Inn.' Her new princely friend could wait until tomorrow. Right now, Naga needed her sleep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As Naga drunkenly paid for her stay at the inn (that was only two houses away from the mayor) Phil was trying to talk to the sorcerer. So far, the dark man had revealed very little besides his name, which was Hallos.

 

 

Hallos, meanwhile, was experiencing something Naga could've related to. He had to put his shaking hands in his pockets in order to stop from strangling the prince. Not now, Hallos re-assured himself, wait `till tomorrow. Tomorrow.

 

 

As Phil began to tell Hallos about how he felt about the monster's nefarious deeds, the shorter man dug his nails further into his palm. Tomorrow…