Zozobra

Author: Suten Net Title: Zozobra Chapter 3

Part Two: Zozobra

Chapter [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

The Dark Lemon Trilogy: Zozobra: Chapter Three
By: Sat-Isis/Suten Net
Xellos returned to the inn when the sun was setting. Lina and the others were still out looking for Filia. They would not return until tomorrow at first light.
He placed Filia, wrapped in his cloak, on her bed. He looked at her for a moment and noticed how the black of his cloak faded the color from her flesh.
He turned on his heel and left her room, his feet unusually loud as he stepped with determination down the hall and stairs. He located the innkeeper behind his desk and flipped him a large gold coin from the bottom of his purse. The man caught the coin with wide eyes as Xellos ordered,
"Fetch a hot bath with all the fixings upstairs to room seventeen."
"Yes, Sir!" The innkeeper replied, but Xellos was already walking away. The innkeeper looked at the coin and his jaw dropped. It was an ancient coin, over a thousand years old and extremely valuable. Where had that mysterious priest gotten it? Furtively, so no one saw he pocketed the coin close to his heart and went off to find his housekeeper.
Xellos headed back the way he came and entered her room. He did not close the door all the way; he left it just a crack open allowing some light into the windowless room. He paused and looked at the gas lamp that hung on wall next to the small table and chair to the left of the door. It sprung to life and its glow illuminated the face of his sleeping enemy. She must have moved slightly since he had been gone. He had laid her on her back and now she was on her side, facing him. She really did look pitiful.
Xellos grabbed hold of the chair and dragged it to the darkest corner of the room. He placed his staff and purse against the wall. His eyes caught the small fireplace opposite the bed. In the blink of an eye it was roaring, casting the room in an eerie crimson darkness.
"Hm, rather homey," Xellos said aloud to no one in particular. He went to Filia on the bed and picked her up gently. He sat in the chair, facing the rest of the room, with Filia cradle his his lap and swaddled in his cloak. He waited until the housekeeper's maids began to bring all that he had requested.
The housekeeper opened the cracked door and peered into the darkness. She was to supervise the maids in the preparation of this bath. At first she saw nothing in the room. Then her eyes caught what was in the darkest corner of the room and she nearly started.
There sat a man whose eyes flashed in the dim light of the fire. In his arms he held a pale, sleeping young woman. He looked for all the world a demon holding a fallen angel captive.
The woman jerked herself away from his silent gaze and moved from the doorway to admit the maids carrying the oval tub. More maids followed carrying towels, soaps, washcloths, and all other sundry toiletries.
"The hot water will be but a moment more, Sir," the housekeeper told the man who sat in half shadow. Unexpectedly, he asked,
"Bring another tub. A wide and round one that is low to the ground." His tone brooked no argument. The housekeeper gave a slight bow when she nodded,
"As you wish." As the maids left to retrieve the last requested item, the housekeeper went with them. Anything to get away from that man's presence.
Xellos smiled slightly at the woman's discomfort. He turned his attention back to Filia and adjusted his hold on her. He slid his gloved fingers through one of her bangs as he brushed it off of her face. She did not look so good, she was far too pale, her skin almost gray. He watched as her lips parted to breathe more easily.
The housekeeper returned with three maids, who were carrying the second tub, and five others, who were carrying buckets of hot and cold water. As the maids set down the remaining bath items and were about to leave, the housekeeper asked,
"Will that be all, Sir?" Xellos did not look up as he replied with quiet menace,
"That will be all. Now go." The housekeeper hastily nodded and swiftly closed the door behind her. The door locked behind her from the inside. Xellos rose from the chair, still holding Filia, and strode to the bed. He lay Filia on it again and went to the round tub that was brought up. He pulled it next to the fire and began to mix the hot and cold water. Xellos grabbed a wash cloth, soap, shampoo, and a large fluffy yellow towel and placed them by the low tub before he returned to Filia.
He set her headdress on the night table and unwrapped her from his cloak. He let it drop to the floor by the foot of the bed and then he slipped off her white boots. He unhooked her cloak and picked her up to get it off. He threw it on top of his. Xellos laid her back on the bed. He noticed the mace strapped to her thigh with a quirked brow and unfastened it. He propped it up against the night stand and slid the garter from her thigh with an impersonal hand. Xellos put that on the night stand as well.
He picked her up again and carried her to the tub. Kneeling, Xellos held her with an arm and used his teeth to remove the glove of his free hand. He tested the water with his fingertips. Nodding to himself, Xellos lifted Filia and placed her in the warm water.
He let go of her for a moment with the back of her head resting against the rim of the tub. His sleeves had gotten wet and he lifted them dripping from her. He watched the ripples in the settling water as he held out his arms. He watched as Filia slid lower and lower into the tub. Any lower and she would be completely submerged. Then she would drown.
Xellos watched as small bubbles began to rise to the surface of the water. His breathing took on a raggedness, Just a little longer and...
He had to pull her up now. Grasping Filia under her arms, he hoisted her slight frame out of the water and placed her arms over the sides of the tub. She was still out cold, not knowing how close she had just come to death.
If he was going to properly bathe her and succeed in not killing her, Xellos would have to get into the tub as well. He untied the sash at his waist and untucked his shirt. He shrugged it off and threw it by the fire. The sash followed and then he began to slide off his boots. After the ankle ties came off, Xellos shed his pants and socks all at once. He stood before the tub in the buff.
Had anyone burst into the room at that moment they would have seen Xellos, with the fireplace behind him, cast in a scarlet silhouette as he loomed ominously over the pallid form of Filia, naked in the tub.
Reaching down, he picked up Filia under her arms again, allowing himself enough room to kneel in the warm water. He pulled her onto his lap and grabbed all her hair to tie it into a messy, half-wet knot at her crown. Xellos leaned Filia against his chest, her cheek on his shoulder and her face under his jaw. He reached behind himself with his free hand and grabbed the wash rag. He reached back for the soap as the washcloth slowly sank into the red tinted water before picking it up again. Then he passed the soap through the surface of the water, wetting it thoroughly and lathering the soap between his palms and the washcloth. He could feel her breathing against him.
Xellos dropped the soap into the water and let it float as he passed the soapy rag over Filia's face and neck. For the first time he noticed the bite mark on between her shoulder and neck. He cleaned that area very carefully. Sliding the cloth lower, he washed her shoulders, breasts, and stomach. He moved then to soap up each arm. Tilting her forward to rest against his one arm, Xellos passed the rag from over her shoulder blades to the small of her back.
Xellos let the washcloth drop back into the water and lowered Filia off his lap. He dipped her back into the water to rinse the soap off her body. mos most of the suds on the water and not the rag, he smoothed the soap away from Filia's face with the rag.
Repositioning Filia against the rim of the low tub with her arms over the sides, Xellos picked up her lower body by her hips. Scooting forward, he placed her buttocks against his thighs with her legs spread out on both sides of him. He carefully washed between her thighs using the wash rag gently. After a small examination he determined that there was only light amount of tearing and that she would be physically fine.
Xellos lathered the washcloth once again and began to wash her thighs and hips. Reaching under and lifting her by the small of her back, Xellos washed Filia's buttocks. Settling her back down he washed her feet. Splashing most of the soap off of her, Xellos sat her upright in the low tub.
Due to the heat of the water, her skin had taken on a healthy looking flush. Most would have found it to be an improvement from the corpse-like greyness her skin was toned from before.
He pulled her onto his lap with one arm secured beneath her shoulders and Xellos took Filia's hair out of the messy bun. He tilted her head back and splashed her hair with a cupped hand until the whole of it was wet. He swished her hair softly in the water to loosen the small patches of matted blood. Dipping her head even further down, he ran his nails lightly over her scalp to wash out the stale scent of fear sweat. Filia moaned slightly and turned her head toward his slowly moving hand.
"I wonder, did your mama use to wash your hair like this Filia?" Xellos asked, knowing he would receive no answer. He scratched Filia behind an ear and lifted her up again.
Xellos reached behind himself with his free hand and grabbed the shampoo. He leaned Filia against his chest again, her cheek on his shoulder and her face under his jaw. He could feel each breath she took as her breasts moved against his chest. Xellos dropped the shampoo bottle behind him on the floor and began to scrub his fingers through Filia's golden mass of hair. After it was sufficiently sudsy, he dipped her head back again and rinsed her hair.
When he was done with that task he stood up in the tub and brought Filia up with him. Bending over he reached for one of the buckets that had had hot water in it. Its bottom scraped against the wood floor as Xellos brought it near. He tested the water and, seeing that it had cooled to pleasant warmth, dumped it over Filia and himself. It was sufficient in rinsing all the soapy water from them. Setting the bucket back down, Xellos also spread out the yellow towel on the floor before the low tub.
With Filia's knees now over his other arm, Xellos stepped from the water and onto the towel. Walking over to the high-backed oval tub, he deposited Filia there and reached for another towel. Wrapping it around his waist, he moved behind Filia to gather up her hair. Reaching for a yellow towel, he wrapped her dripping hair up in it.
Moving to the remaining buckets of hot water, Xellos tested their warmth and found them to be satisfactory. He brought two at a time to the oval tub and slowly poured the water in by Filia's feet. When the water was up to her armpits, Xellos started to rummage through all the scented bath products.
Finding an intricately detailed pink glass vile, he uncorked it and sniffed. It was a very strong musk that reminded him of Juu-ou-sama. Perhaps he would give it to her at a later date. He pocketed the vile and searched through others. Finding a yellow and gold one he uncorked it and smelled vanilla. He shook his head as he replaced the vile. Not for Filia; not anymore. Finally, he spied a purple vile a bit larger than the others. This one had silver and gold flowers on it and a glass top that screwed into the bottle. After carefully unscrewing the top, Xellos sniffed the scent. It was a pleasant combination of peach, mango, sunflower, and morning glory. It was perfect.
He poured a small amount into Filia's bath water and decided to just let her soak for a while. He went to sit directly in front of the fire, to watch the flames dance. He could watch those flames for hours, imagining anything within their fiery depths.
He could see her there, dancing in the fire. Xellos could see Filia in the inferno. Her hair floated around her as he made out the curves of her body as she moved. She turned a certain way as if to face him and her hand moved before her. It looked as if she was pointing at him and her face swung towards his. Then she opened her eyes and looked at him.
Jerking himself from the trance, Xellos blinked and she was gone. Xellos reached out his hand toward the flames, putting his hand inside the fire. The blaze licked against him like the wind; a teasing touch and nothing else. It was just an ordinary fire, but for a moment, he had thought it was something more. He pulled his hand out, unharmed.
Sliding his gaze over to Filia in the tub, he could tell that the water was beginning to chill. Grabbing the largest towel he could, Xellos lifted her from the tub. He wrapped her up in the towel and sat once more before the hearth while he cradled Filia in his lap. Xellos rubbed his hands over the towel to dry Filia. He took off the yellow towel he had wrapped around her head. Her damp hair tumbled from its confines and ticked his arm. It was a shame that he did not know where she kept her comb. Xellos would have to hand-comb her hair for the time being. He ran his fingers through her hair, loosening the tangles as best he could as her hair dried from the warmth of the fire.
Finally, Filia was dried, groomed, and ready for bed. Setting Filia on the floor, Xellos went and dressed himself. He had no clue if Filia had any clothes with her or not so he just left her in the towel for the time being. When he called the maids back to remove the bathing items he would ask for a nightgown for Filia. For the time being he just unwrapped her from the towel and placed her under the bed sheets.
Once again Xellos left the room and descended the staircase in search of the innkeeper. His request to have the tubs and whatnot removed was soon taken care of and the innkeeper's daughter loaned him a nightgown for Filia.
Back in Filia's room, after all the maids had left, Xellos pulled the sheets down from Filia and dressed her in the long-sleeved, high necked, white nightgown. He was glad for the high neck of the nightgown, even if its virginal color no longer suited Filia, for it would conceal the nasty and bruised bite mark on her neck. After settling her in bed once more, Xellos dragged the chair that he had left in the corner of the room to Filia's bedside.
Xellos would sit by her bed all night with his staff cradled in his lap until the others returned. He had to keep a close eye on her. He wondered how all hell would break loose tomorrow at first light. There was still time though, for him to come up with a convincing story for Filia to tell them. Naturally, he would back up her story with a bit of his creative truth telling, but still they were all walking a very fine and dangerous knife-edge at the moment. There was no way of knowing what might happen next.
End of Chapter Three

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