Faerie (working title)
A Slayers AU fanfic by majo-chan
Chapter 1 (status: Rough, rough draft...)
Warnings: AU, OOC, Future Xel/Filia-ness....
**
Once upon a time, there was a King and Queen of the Faerie Folk. The King and Queen of these particular faerie are kind and just, and ruled their people wisely. These human sized faeries also had peaceful relations with the humans that lived at the outskirts of their land, and all is well in their lands.
The King and Queen had a daughter, a beautiful fairy by the name of Filia. Her beauty and kindness dazzled both her own people and the humans, and many sought to win her hand.
Much to their dismay, the Demon King heard of her beauty and demanded that she be made his bride. The Faerie of the Dark Woods refused, and a bloody and terrible war was started. They fought bravely, and managed to hold back the hordes of darkness through the powers the forest granted them. But the Princess knew that her people could not hold the stalemate forever, especially in the face of the oncoming winter.
The air burned in her lungs as she ran as fast as she could. She could feel occasional stings as branches scratched across her face or tugs as they caught and pulled at her hair, but she didn’t care too much about how she looked at the moment.
The moon was high and cold in the sky, too bright for her comfort. The chill seeped into her even as her blood raced and pounded through her veins, its creeping advance aided through the unbreakable ties she had with this land and this forest.
If only winter isn’t coming on! She thought in frustration as she almost tripped. The land was quiet and sluggish under her, its power waning rapidly with the oncoming cold weather. From behind her, she could hear the demonic howls of the Demons as they continued to give chase.
This was a dumb idea, she thought as she kept running. This was a stupid, stupid idea! You’ve REALLY outdone yourself this time, Filia! She screamed at herself as the dark forest continued to pass her as she ran. Coming out here alone, when you KNOW the winter is almost here and that your powers are almost all gone. Without telling anyone. Without taking anything...
The epitome of stupidity indeed.
But she had no choice. To stay at the Faerie Stronghold was to wait for certain death. The Demons are not deterred by the advancing cold like her own people were. They had managed to hold off the progress of the armies until now, only because the forest had been alive and their powers intact. But now…if her own power had already died down so much…
They were running out of time.
And so was she. She could hear the sounds getting closer. Taking a deep, gulping breath, she put on an extra burst of speed. “I hope this works..” she muttered as she cupped her hands together in front of her. Without her arms to shield her face as she ran, the stinging slaps from the branches became more frequent and painful. At this rate, I’d lose an eye, she thought ruefully as she called out to the Earth’s power.
The green responded slowly. She knew it was only because she was of royal blood, a descendent of the few privileged with the deepest bonds to this forest, that she could summon any power at all. And just by being here, she was depriving the Faerie of the Dark Woods their only defense against the demons…
She shook that thought aside. After all, the demons want her. They don’t want her people…only her. So at least, by doing this, she would be buying them some time.
Finishing up the last words to the incantation, she took a deep breath and prayed to all the gods she knew that this would work. It was a last ditch effort…if she failed, then she was as good as dead. Or captured, depending on the level of intelligence of the beasts chasing her.
She had a feeling that to be captured would mean a fate worse than death.
The rumble started off quietly, so quietly that she almost didn’t hear it. But she felt it under her feet as she ran, and smiled, because that meant the spell was working. She really, really, really hoped that this would work.
The rustling and snapping of the underbrush was growing louder, and she knew that they were gaining. The dark, shadowy auras were becoming more and more pronounced as she ran. It didn’t matter now, as she chanted the last of the incantation in the old tongue out loud. It didn’t matter now.
She could hear one of the shadow-beasts snarling, but a larger roar drowned out the sound, and the Faerie princess smiled grimly. Soon, the sound became deafening, as if the very heavens was crashing down upon their heads. She kept running, though, even as the earth began to tremble, and then buckle, under her feet. Somehow, she didn’t lose her footing, even as the more surefooted wolves were tossed to the ground.
Almost…she thought, panting as she kept going. The roar crested and then there was a giant splitting sound. This time not even her light feet could keep her up, and she went sprawling as the earth jerked violently beneath her. Frantically, she looked back.
For a second her mind didn’t understand what she was seeing, but then realization set in, along with a profound sense of relief. The earth was still moving…away, it seemed, from the other half, for a huge chasm had opened between her and the last of her pursuers. A few of the wolves attempted the jump, their shrieks loud in the night as the gap widened even as they leapt, gravity asserting its presence and pulling them down into the bottomless pit. She instinctively grabbed for something to hold on to as the ground continued to shake, but there was no need. The earth quieted after a few more seconds.
The remaining wolves loped to the cliff’s edge, howling loudly. She felt a shiver go down her spine and scrambled to her feet. That little stunt bought her some time…it would be wise to use it now.
Exhaustion gripped her as she started running again, but she ignored it. The chasm would only delay her hunters for a day at most…she would have to find somewhere safe to be before the time is up. The forest was so quiet…and cold. She shivered, staggering slightly as her knees went weak. That spell had drained most of her strength. Normally, she could catch her breath again in minutes, but the war with the demon beasts had worn down her reserves of power until they were almost completely depleted. She fought against losing consciousness, knowing that she would not be able to wake again anytime soon if she did.
Must…find…a safe place… It was no good…the edges of her vision was beginning to blur, and her eyes refused to focus correctly. She stumbled to the base of an enormous tree, feeling its rough bark against her cheek as she leaned against it for support. Through the chill, she felt a tiny tendril of awareness brush hers.
Mother…may I…?
Her mind gave out before she could finish the request, but she felt the familiar touch of consent from the great tree as she slipped into oblivion.
**
Something was off.
Her mind rose in the layers of awareness, gradually working its way to the top as she turned over and frowned slightly.
What was it?
Maybe it was the light behind her eyelids. It was too orange to be natural, unless it was the light of a setting sun. But it was nearly impossible for the light of a setting sun to hit her right in the face, especially in the forest. So it can’t be natural.
She opened her eyes, feeling slightly disoriented as she was greeted with the sight of the night sky…or half of one, at least. The other half was stone, softly lit with orange.
Blinking, she focused, and finally made sense of what her eyes were seeing. She was lying on her back partially under an overhang, thus explaining the sight of the night sky and the rock…the orange light was coming from…
It was a fire, she realized.
“Wha-!?” She gasped as the thought hit her and she sat upright frantically. She was in a small clearing. There was a small fire crackling merrily a few feet from her. There was a long cover of gray cloth over her, serving as a blanket and with the fire as a ward against the slight chill in the air. Wasn’t she under that tree? Wasn’t she being pursued by the demons? What was going on?!
“Oh, you’re awake.” There was a rustle to the left and she spun to face the sound, instinctively scrambling away. Her right hand bumped against something hard and she grabbed the fist-sized rock. It was a poor weapon, but better than nothing.
“Who are you!? Why am I here?” She bit out harshly as she tried to get to her feet. No luck, her legs were still feeling a bit rubbery. But she tried looking as threatening as possible anyway.
“…” The human man was looking at her with a mix of surprise and curiosity, and much to her annoyance, not much fear. “I’m sorry, my lady.” He was of average height, maybe a little bit taller, now that she could see him better in the light. He straightened and then bowed briefly, and she noted that he was dressed like a traveler…but the high collared robe reminded her of something…what was it? “I did not mean to startle you, and I certainly don’t mean you any harm.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it.” She retorted. Usually her manners were a lot better than this, but her nerves were very strained right now. “Now, who are you?”
He smiled and held up his hands to demonstrate his harmlessness. “ I am just a traveler, madam…a wandering priest, to be more precise.” Priest…ah, now that made more sense…she recalled seeing humans that called themselves ‘priests’ wearing a similar style of clothing. “ As to how you got here, I was heading south when I saw you passed out against a large tree.” She stared at him suspiciously and he chuckled nervously. “I do apologize…but it simply wasn’t right to just leave you there. I couldn’t wake you, and there were wolves out.” If she hadn’t been so strung out, she might have described his smile as ‘charming’. But for now, she just felt her suspicion fade a little. “So I looked for a good place to stop around here, and found this place.” He scratched his head. “I would’ve worked up some light spell instead of the fire, but it’s getting very cold.” She couldn’t argue with that. It is really cold…but he did have one flaw in his story, and she worked with that instead.
“I’m not human.” She said, meeting his eyes and holding the gaze. “I’m sure you knew when you found me.” It was impossible to miss her long, pointed ears. “And you’re telling me you went out of your way to help me, just because it was the right thing to do?” Her eyes narrowed. “Forgive me for being suspicious, but I trust that you understand my position and why I would be so disagreeable.”
He didn’t look away, much to her surprise. Usually humans were more eager to get away from her gaze. His eyes were serious as he waited for her to finish, and when she did, he nodded. “I understand why you are suspicious, ma’am. And I don’t blame you for it. There are many things afoot, and nothing is ever what it seems.” She watched as he shrugged helplessly. “I do not know how I might convince you of my good intentions. All I can say is that I do not believe in needless deaths, be they human or fey lives on the line.”
She had to smile a bit at that. If she got a token for every time someone mistook for her an elf, the Demon king would want her for her money rather than her looks. “I’m not an Elf.” She said, softening her voice. For some odd reason, she felt he could be trusted…for now, at least.
He smiled. “Forgive me. I’m afraid I’m quite new to this land and am not familiar with all its inhabitants.”
“I’m a Faerie.” She said in reply to his unvoiced question. “We’re at the edge of the Dark Woods, my home.” The man gave her a concerned look when her expression saddened.
“Is anything the matter, ma’am?”
“Nothing.” She quickly shook off the gloom and also set down her rock. In retrospect, it was pretty silly to be trying to threaten him with a rock… “I apologize for my rudeness, Mister…?”
He smiled and sketched another quick bow. “I am Xelloss, the wandering priest, at your service, Miss…?”
She hid a smile at his smooth maneuvering. There was no point in not using her real name…even the old human inhabitants of this place knew nothing of the Princess of the Faerie…much less her name. “My name is Filia.”
***
(draft chapter 1, 12/25/01)