Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ The Shadow of a Demon ❯ The Simple Truth ( Prologue )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

/Is the desire to be greater stronger than the
risk of failure, or is the risk of failure enough
to stop the desire of being greater? Or would you
choose option 3, 4, or 5?/



- Conversation between
the Darker Dragon, Kurai Tatsu
And
the Chaos Dragon, Kaosu Tatsu


The Shadow of a Demon
Prologue: The Simple Truth
By: Silver Star


"Mommy, where is Daddy going?" asked the little
blond girl, big blue eyes shining in puzzlement.
"When is he coming back?"

The woman beside her looked down and smiled,
but that smile did not reach her eyes. The woman's
eyes looked almost dead, as if something had sucked
all the life out of them, but when she looked at
the little blond girl, a little of her normal
liveliness came back to her. The woman knelt down
and hugged the little girl tightly, eyes shut, lips
smiling, yet she felt no joy. Only an emptiness
where He used to be.

"I'm sorry, honey, but Daddy won't be coming
back any more," the woman whispered, not looking up
or letting the little girl go.

"Why, Mommy?" the little girl cried, jerking
away from the embrace, wide eyes pleading for an
answer. "Why won't Daddy come back? Is it because
of me? Did I do something wrong? Please, Mommy,
tell me! I promise I'll be good then he can come
home again!" The little girl began to cry, fat
crystal teardrops rolling down her cheeks.

The older woman let her fake smile drop and
hugged the little girl again, rubbing the small
child's back in a comforting motion. "Shhh, honey,
it's alright. It's not your fault that he left us.
Not your fault, you hear?" The woman closed her
eyes, feeling her own tears coming. "Your father
and I were not meant to be together. He has his
duty, and I have mine. We cannot be together, no
matter how much we want to. It's not your fault,
honey, it's not." The woman looked down and smiled
a bright but fake smile through her tears. "And
remember this, little one, both of us are very
proud to have you. It's not your fault, and it
will never be your fault."

The woman looked up over the little girl's head
and saw the dark dot moving steadily away, fading
until it became nothing. He was finally gone,
disappearing from both His wife and His child's
life.

Three years ago, the woman had made the mistake
of falling in love with the servant of a powerful
demon lord. But they were not meant to be
together. No, the Golden Dragons and the Demon
race were not meant to be together at all, no
matter how much they loved each other. They had
tried, of course, running away, hiding their
identities, assuming different names, even changing
their outward appearance. But in the end, they
were found anyway. Now there was nothing she could
do any more, except watch Him walk out of her life
forever.

Slowly, the woman stood up and linked hands
with the little blond girl. "Come on, honey, let's
go inside. It's getting a bit cold out here." The
little girl sniffled and then nodded, wiping her
eyes with the back of her hands.

"Mommy, you won't leave me as well, will you?"
the little girl asked hesitantly, peering up
timidly, afraid of the answer, yet afraid of not
knowing the answer even more.

The woman smiled down slightly. "No, honey, I
won't leave you. Not now, not ever." The little
girl began to smile and then she started to walk
slowly toward the house behind them. The woman
watched the retreating back of her child and felt
tears coming. It was almost as if not only her
Husband, but her Child was walking away from her as
well. She shook her head roughly, setting her long
silver white hair swishing right and left almost
wildly. Then she opened her eyes and looked at her
daughter sadly.



~ * * ~

Several miles away from the woman, a lone man
with long blond hair and emerald green slit-pupil
eyes walked down the dusty path. His dark, simple,
yet elegant traveler's garb marked him as someone
rich and powerful, yet, he was alone. Strapped to
his belt is a long slender sword. The carving of a
skeleton head could be seen clearly, despite the
fact that it was covered within the shadow of his
black cloak. He didn't have to walk. He could've
just teleport to wherever he wanted to go, but he
did not. His powers came from the fact that he
was, and still is, a Mazoku, and it was this very
reason that he had just left his wife and child.
He didn't want to be reminded of this fact. He
didn't want to remember that he had just left the
only two people he cared for behind, probably to a
pain filled death.

The blond man, or rather Mazoku, did not hold
the illusion that his master will spare them. No,
his master would probably kill them just to punish
him for defying her.

The blond Mazoku stopped abruptly then fell to
his knees in shock and pain. His head felt as if
it's going to explode as the mental attack came in
waves after wave. He knew whom it was from, of
course. The signature of that attack was way too
obvious.

A few seconds later, the dusty path was once
again empty of life. The man was gone.

~ * * ~

The blond Mazoku appeared in a soft flash of
gold and knelt down immediately. His right hand
was holding his head but his right arm was across
his chest in a sign of respect and obedience. He
screwed his eyes shut, feeling the pain intensified
instead of lessen, but he let out no sound at all.

"Mistress," he finally managed, gasping
slightly at the effort. "You called me?"

For a long moment there was no sound except for
the blond Mazoku's occasional gasp of pain, and the
clinking of ice against glass. A puff of smoke
drifted down and the Mazoku fought against
coughing.

"You really disappoint me, Zain," the voice was
feminine and cold, yet sensual at the same time.
"You not only defied my orders, but also married
that little Dragon bitch. And had a child, no
less."

Zain fought against whimpering as the pain
intensified even more.

"I believe you should be punished." There was
a smug tone to the feminine voice and Zain cringed
at the possibilities.

In a flash of darkness, a young man dressed in
a dark cloak appeared beside him. "You called for
me, Mother?" There was a teasing tone in the young
man's voice and Zain gritted his teeth in
annoyance. Then he decided that it was a bad thing
to do when it simply made the pain in his head
worse.

"Why, yes," the woman said, letting out another
puff of smoke. "I have a little job for you to
do." There was a short pause and Zain felt the
cold eyes of his Mistress on his form. "I believe
there are some garbage for you to take out." The
blond Mazoku snapped up his head in shock then he
fell forward with a scream of pain. It felt as if
his mind was being torn apart, and he knew that it
was true. He writhed on the cold ground; every
nerve on his body was fired up with white, hot
pain. A few seconds later, the blond Mazoku's body
stopped moving.

The young man looked down slightly and smiled
in disdain. He then bowed down before his Mother
and Mistress, dark straight purple bangs covering
his eyes. The crimson orb on top of his staff
glowed red for an instant as his eyes opened.
Piercing amethyst jewels looked up and he smiled a
wicked smile. "Your wish is my command."

~ * * ~

Up in the dark night sky, a lone Golden Dragon
flew toward a destination only she knew. Blood
covered one of her wings as well as her silver
white hair. Within her claws is a small bundle,
and within that bundle is a golden haired child,
sleeping peacefully, unaware of her mother's
suffering.

The Golden Dragon could see it now, and if she
continue to fly at this speed, she should arrive at
her destination within an hour. She felt relieve
fill her, even as her lifeblood continued to flow
from the wound on her wings and her back. But she
didn't care about herself, only the child within
her grasp.

She should have known they would come to kill
her and her child. She should've expected that,
but she didn't, and now she must pay the price for
her stupidity. She was dying. She knows that, of
course, and she accepted it, but it didn't stop her
from feeling the pain deep in her heart.

The silver towers of the Temple of the Fire
Dragon King came closer and closer toward her. She
used to be one of the elders of that Temple, one of
the most powerful ones, in fact, but she had given
that position up for Him. No one had known that
she had given it up for the love of a Mazoku, of
course. They all had thought that she simply
couldn't take the pressure any more, so she knew
that her child, with her Mazoku side bound and
blocked, would be safe here.

Slowly, the Golden Dragon descended, landing
clumsily because of the stiffness and pain on her
wings. A bright golden light flashed and the
female screamed in pain as she turned to her human
form, feeling the bones and the flesh in her body
rearrange themselves, tearing the wounds apart even
further.

The scream brought the attention of the dragons
that lived in the Temple and within seconds, a
dozen guards emerged from the entrance. Behind
them came the Elders of the Temple, with Saichiro
at the very front. All of them were surprised at
the sight of her, but what was even more surprising
was the fact that she was beaten to near death.

The woman fell forward with another strangled
scream, arms clutched tightly to the now much
larger bundle. The two-year-old blond girl inside
slept on despite the screaming since her mother had
laid a sleep spell on her hours ago.

"Philaris!" Saichiro called out as he run over
and knelt beside the dying dragon. "Philaris, what
happened? Why are you like this?" Several of the
Elders, Saichiro included, began to chant a healing
spell, but Philaris knew it won't do much good.
The poison had been in her system for several
hours, now, and it's impossible to get rid of the
poison after it had spread.

"Take- take her," Philaris choked out, tasting
blood in her mouth, some trailing down her chin.
"Take my child...and let no-" she paused, coughing
up even more blood. "Let no danger come to
her...please... Her- her name is...Filia...Filia
Ul Copt."

~ * * ~
To be continued...
~ * * ~