Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Slayers Inheritance ❯ Dragons are Cute? The Return of Valgaav! ( Chapter 3 )

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

SLAYERS INHERITANCE �Dragons are Cute? The Return of Valgaav!� by
Michael Hopcroft

�Hello again, Anya Inverse here! My mother; is the world�s most powerful
sorceress, and my father its greatest swordsman. I like to think I�m not
bad myself. Anyway, my family and I met this girl in an inn who turns
out to be the daughter of a powerful Mazoku. But she�s not a bad person,
really. Anyway, now we�re the Mazoku�s target and we�re going to have to
keep moving if we�re going to stay one step ahead of him. Still, we can
do this! I think...�

In the back of the wagon, Titania had laid out ingredients. �Now here�s
the secret � chop up the dill pickles really, really fine. That way
their flavor isn�t concentrated, but spreads throughout the whole salad.�

�Like this?� Anya took her knife and began to cut the pickle in front of
her into nearly-microscopic chunks.

�Good. Now stir it in with the tuna and mayonnaise. And don�t forget the
dill and basil.� Anya did as she was told.

�Let me taste it now.� Titania reached her finger in, took a dainty
little portion and put it to her lips. �Splendid! This is a great tuna
salad!�

�Thanks,� said Anya, �Now what do I to with it?�

�Cut some bread and spread it on it, and then tell your parents lunch is
served.�

Anya and Titania cut apart four loaves of bread and spread the tuna
salad across the inner faces of half of them. �Wait!� Titania said. �Now
slice some cheese, play it over the tuna salad, and put the other halves
of the loaves of bread on top of them.� Anya did so. �There!� she said.
�Four foot- and-a-half-long tuna salad sandwiches with fine Derlis
cheddar are ready to be served.�

A few minutes later the wagon had been stopped near a clearing, a
blanket laid out, and the Inverse/Gabriev family and Titania was
enjoying the sandwiches. �This is really good, Titania!� said Lina. �You
two made these together?�

�Yep!� said Anya. �Though Titania did most of it.�

�Did not!� said Titania. �I only directed. You did the work.�

Gourry smiled between bites of his sandwich. �You two make a good team.
I haven�t had a tuna sandwich this good in years.�

Titania gave a wan smile. �Just wait until I get her into a real
kitchen. One of the first things Master taught me was a really good dish
with long noodles in a cream and cheese sauce. Easy to make, really
delicious, and one of the hottest things at the inn.� A tear formed in
Titania�s eye. Gourry noticed it, and so did Anya.

�You really miss him, don�t you?� Anya asked.

�Master was more than a Master to me. When my mother was expelled from
her shrine for getting pregnant, he took her in and helped her out, set
her up in a house, and gave me work as soon as I was old enough. He was
a really good man � better by far than that accursed Mazoku who says
he�s my father.�

�It�s OK for you to mourn,� Said Anya, �because he was good man and
didn�t deserve what happened to him. But I�m sure that if he were beside
you he�d want you to go on without him.�

Titania gave her a wan smile. �Thank you.�

At that moment a huge, dark shape zoomed overhead. The four clutched
their sandwiches as the wind from its passage hit them.

�A dragon?� asked Anya.

Lina nodded. �We are in those parts. But it doesn�t look like any type
I�ve ever seen before.�

The shape came back and settled in front of them. To Anya�s surprise,
its skin was not dark but pure white. It looked over the party and then
its shape began to change in a swirling wind. Soon a young man with
white hair stood before them. His features were sharp but handsome, his
eyes dark and brooding.

�Wow!� said Anya. �You are a hunk!� But then she noticed that Gourry had
his hand on the hilt of the Blast Blade. �What�s wrong? Daddy?�

�I know this guy. He almost destroyed the world 25 years ago.�

�Easy there,� the man said, �I have no intention of harming anyone,
especially friends of the family.�

Lina smiled. �Then you are Valgaav?�

�Huh?� asked Gourry.

�When Dark Star was destroyed, Vagaav�s egg floated down to the ground
into the arms of Filia. She decided she was going to foster him. You
mist be the dragon who came out of the egg.�

�That�s right.� He said. �Filia is my foster-mother, and she decided to
let me keep the name Valgaav, but I assure you there�s not a trace of
Mazoku in my bloodline.�

�But you�re a dragon?� Anya asked.

�Ancient Dragon, last of my kind I�m told. My foster-mother heard you
might be passing through, and thought she might invite you to stay with
us for a while.�

�We�re kind of busy right now,� Lina answered, �and we�re also a bit of
a target. We�ve got a powerful Mazoku on our tail.�

�Sounds like we can help then. I can carry your wagon. I can even secure
your horses so they won�t fall off.�

Gourry frowned. �Just don�t eat them.�

�My foster-mother runs a bed-and-breakfast now. I know better than to
serve the customers horsemeat.�

After a few hours in the air, Valgaav set the wagon down in front of a
neat, but large building in the middle of a pasture by a roadside. He
then alit beside the wagon and resumed human form. �There it is � the
Mace and Teapot, serving travelers for ten years now.�

Anya felt a little woozy climbing out of the wagon; Valgaav saw this and
helped her regain her feet. �Are you all right, young lady? Wouldn�t
want you to fall down.�

�Thank you, I�m fine.� Anya said. She then looked up at Valgaav and saw
just how handsome he really was, and her knees became weak again.
Valgaav looked a little concerned. �No, really, I�m alright. Are you
sure you�re a dragon?�

A voice from the porch called out �Valgaav! Why don�t you bring our
guests over here?� Lina stepped out and saw the familiar figure standing
in the doorway of the house.

�Filia! Long time no see! Anya, this is our old traveling companion
Filia ul Copt. We toured the Outer World together before you were born.�

�This is your daughter?� Filia asked. Then suddenly Filia began to
bristle and Anya could see a golden tail with a pink ribbon tied around
it poke out of her dress. �I sense a Mazoku!� Filia said.

�That�s just Titania. She�s a half-Mazoku, and sort of why we�re on the
run.�

�Are you sure she�s not one of those filthy...�

Anya saw Titania was backing away from Filia and Valgaav with an
expression approaching terror. �You�re frightening her!� Anya said.
�Titania doesn�t want to be a Mazoku. That�s why we�re taking her to
Seyruun, so we can find a way to seal off her powers.�

Filia calmed down. �I see. Well, in that case, I have no reason not to
welcome my old friends. I apologize for frightening you, Titania. It�s
an old prejudice I�ve tried to work hard to overcome.�

�It�s alright,� Titania replied. �I�ve never met dragons before.�

�Titania didn�t used to get out much.� Anya explained.

A few minutes later everyone was in the common room, and Filia was
treating everyone to tea.

�Interesting blend,� Titania said. �Quite tasty. Did you blend it yourself?�

Filia smiled. �Yes, I did. I�ve been blending my own teas for years,
both for flavor and for medicinal purposes. I have a blend that will
cure a sour stomach in both humans and dragon, a blend that�ll bring
down a fever, all sorts of things. You know tea?�

�I was apprentice to an innkeeper. I learned all about all kinds of food
and drink. I�m told I make a mean Whiskey Sour, but I wouldn�t know. Too
young to drink.�

Filia smiled. �I don�t drink either. Oh, that reminds me. Time to tend
the egg.�

�Egg?� Anya asked.

Filia got up and walked over to a table where a large gold egg sat in a
gold cup. �Valgaav, there�s a fresh, warm blanket in the kitchen. Can
you get it for me?�

�No problem.� Said Valgaav. He departed into the kitchen, and came back
with a blanket. Filia took the blanket that had been wrapping the egg
off and replaced it with the fresh one. �There. That should keep it nice
and warm for another six hours.�

Lina looked at the egg. �This one yours?� she asked.

Filia blushed. �Yep. Laid it five months ago. In about seven more months
it�ll hatch.�

�Who�s the father?�

�You may know him. Milgasia of Dragon Peak, back in your neck of the woods.�

Lina grinned. �Why, that sly old dog, how long have you been together?�

�He came by right before Valgaav hatched. He offered to help me raise
him to be a proper Dragon and, well, one thing led to another. We fell
in love.�

Gourry blurted out, �Congratulations. Where is he now?�

�He divides his time between Dragon Peak and here. We haven�t decided
whether he should move in here permanently once this baby hatches.�
Filia said, blushing slightly.

�I wonder if he can help us,� Lina said. �We have an old friend of yours
on our tail. Someone who used to always get your goat.�

Filia finished wrapping the egg and turned to Lina. �You mean Xellos?
What does he want with you now?�

�It�s Titania he wants. And if he gets her, there�s going to literally
be Hell to pay.�

�Milgasia�s coming over tonight to check on Valgaav and the egg.� Filia
said. �I�ve always wanted to get back at Xellos for everything he did to
me in the old days. In the meanwhile enjoy yourselves here. We have a
good library here and a nice card room if you want to play cards. No
gambling, of course.�

Soon afterwards, Anya found herself walking in the woods. The trees were
unfamiliar, but she liked them.

�Lovely trees, aren�t they?� said a voice behind her. Anya turned around
to see Valgaav standing behind her. �Mother chose this location for her
inn because the countryside was so beautiful. Of course, the trees
aren�t the only pretty things around here.�

Anya blushed. �Thanks, I think. But shouldn�t you be chasing some dragon
girl?�

�Who says I�m chasing anybody? I just said you were pretty. There are a
lot of pretty human girls in these parts, and I don�t chase them. So why
should I be chashing you?�

Anya�s blush turned into a crimson of anger. �Why you � I ought to...�
Under her breath she began to utter an incantation.

�Hey, no fire spells! If you start a fire, mother will be furious!�

�You should know better than to get an Inverse mad! FREEZE ARROW!� A
spear of ice shot out of Anya�s hands. Valgaav dodged it effortlessly,
and it hit a tree which was immediately encased I ice. Valgaav flew a
few feet above the air until he was standing right in front of Anya.
�Why you! What I�ll do to you...� Anya said.

�No more magic, OK? Don�t want to damage the forest. Why, I bet you�ve
never even had a boy chasing you.�

�I don�t WANT a boy to chase me! I�m fine on my own!�

�Really?� Valgaav looked straight in her eyes, and Anya suddenly felt
weak in the knees. �My mother told me about someone who was just as
self- sufficient as you. Someone who felt she didn�t need anyone, who
was annoyed when anyone acted like they were paying attention to her.
Someone who used to react to anyone who even looked at her with extreme
violence.�

�Is that so? Did she tell you that girl�s name?�

�Of course she did. Do you want to know it?� he said teasingly.

�Not really.�

�Well, I�ll tell you anyway. The girl�s name was ... Lina Inverse.�

Anya looked at him with shock. �Mom? That�s not possible! You�re just
teasing me!�

�I swear it�s true. I swear on the graves of the Ancient Dragons.�

�Get out of here!�

Valgaav put a finger to her lips. �hush.� He said in a quiet tone. �I
sense something approaching.�

Anya calmed down long enough to concentrate and felt its approach too.
�Mazoku.� She said. �Are you sure it�s not Titania?�

�Positive. My mother taught me all about Mazoku. Each one has a distinct
magical signature. When you get more experience with them you�ll
recognize it too. We�ll go get our parents.�

�It�ll be on us before we get out of these woods,� said Anya.

�Ever fought a Mazoku before?� Valgaav asked.

�Have you?�

Suddenly Valgaav�s hair stood on end. �MOVE!� he cried, leaping away
from Anya as a flight of arrows flew between them, embedding themselves
in the tree behind where Valgaav had been standing.

Anya and Valgaav looked in the direction from which the arrows came
from. �I don�t see anything,� Anya said, �but that doesn�t mean
nothing�s there.�

�Look for a fringe,� said Valgaav. �Anything that looks out of focus.
That�s where it�ll be.�

Anya scanned the scene, concentrating until she noticed that one of the
trees looked a little blurry. �Gotcha!� she said, and began an incantation.

�What are you doing?� Valgaav said. �You aren�t thinking of...�

Anya nodded at him but continued the incantation. Finally she pointed at
the tree. �RAH TILT!� she cried. Energy flared from her hands, and
almost struck the tree, stopping right in front of it. A creature
appeared, a monster with horns on its head and arrowheads on its
fingers, and then collapsed. Anya ran over to the body.

Valgaav walked up to her and shook his head. �I think it�s safe to say
you got him.�

�He almost got us. You made me careless!�

Valgaav looked at her. �-I- made you careless?�

�If you hadn�t distracted me...�

�So you admit I distracted you?�

�No, I don�t! Who�d be distracted by a thoughtless, arrogant, brat like
you?�

�I am not arrogant! And if I hadn�t warned you to move, that thing
would�ve made short work of both of us!�

Anya started to laugh, first a soft chuckle than out loud.

Valgaav stared at her. �What�s so funny?�

�Do you know who we sound like? We sound just like my Mom and Dad when
they fight!�

�We do not!�

�Come on, Valgaav! Don�t you see how funny we sound?� And then Anya
started laughing again, loud enough to fill all the woods.

Valgaav sighed. �I�ll never hear the end of this from Mother...�

From the chair of his lair on Wolfpack Island, Xellos watched the scene
with amusement. �How interesting. So Lina�s little girl has discovered
the difference between boys and girls. And Valgaav bears watching too.
He could be a real fly in the ointment. Gorian had better hurry up or
he�ll lose out.�

A female-looking Mazoku in human form walked up behind Xellos and
smiled. �What are you watching?� she asked.

�Ah, Kuria, I may have a job for you.�

�The boy?�

�Exactly. If we can find a way to dispose of him, then the girl will be
more vulnerable to Gorian�s efforts.�

�He looks delicious. This sounds like a fun assignment, General Xellos.
If you like, I can dispose of him by nightfall.�

�You do that. And make sure you do it in such a way that the girl can�t
interfere.�

�I�ll think of something.�

�That�s my Kuria.�

�Why are you so interested in this girl, anyway?� Kuria asked.

�She stands between me and something I want very badly. And nobody
stands between me and what I want � not for long, anyway...� Xellos
began to chuckle. �Just you wait, Titania. You�ll be mine in the end, no
matter how hard your friend fights for you.�

TO BE CONTINUED...