Author's note: Hello minna!! I finally wrote a Xel/Fi fic!!! *cheers* It's kinda dark and angsty. Rated R for that and heavy romance stuff. Don't read if you don't think you can handle it. Please review, praise, questions, and constructive criticism are welcomed. Flames will be given to the ones you offend with your mean words. If you want, e-mail me at [email protected]. Also the more reviews I get the quicker I'll write.

Disclaimer: I don't own Slayers. I don't own Filia and Xelloss or Val. *cries* But if I did…A few original characters might pop up. They belong to me.

Untitled

The tears wouldn't stop. It was gone. Gone. The light that had always resided within her had vanished from her reach. She was so empty now, so different. What made her her, the dragon she had been for so many years, was gone. 'Why?' her mind cried. 'Why? Why did they do this to me? I didn't do anything wrong! Why?!' she cried in her sleep. She thrashed out in the arms holding her.

*~Flashback~*

All was quiet. Not a dragon in the room dared to breathe too loudly, let alone move. No one knew exactly what was going on, but they had a good idea. They all stared at the young woman in the middle of the room. She was standing proudly in front of the Council of Elders, dressed in a simple white dress. She was wearing no jewelry, save a simple pair of gold hoops in her ears. Her long mane of blonde hair fell below her back and her blue eyes held her pride for all to see. She stood tall, awaiting her fate.

" Filia Ul Copt," the eldest Ryuuzoku intoned. The young woman fixed her gaze on him. " Do you know why you have been called before this Council?"

Filia glared at the dragon. " I have no reason to be here. I am no longer a part of this clan, let alone a priestess of it. I made it clear that I wanted nothing to do with this clan or its ways after my journey," she replied coolly. There was respect in the tone but no obedience.

The Eldest seemed to ignore her words, for he moved on. " Filia Ul Copt, you have been accused of a relationship with a Mazoku, Xelloss Metallium, the priest of the Beastmaster. What have you to say?" The emphasis on the word "relationship" hinted at something more.

Filia didn't move. She opened her mouth to speak, but the words wouldn't come out. Her voice was stuck in her throat and her mind screamed. What…how did they know? How did they know Xelloss visited her shop? She tried again to speak, but her mouth only opened and closed.

" We take your silence to mean you have nothing to say to contest the accusation. Am I correct?"

Filia again tried to speak, and this time was successful. " No you are not correct!" she exclaimed anger clearly evident in her voice. Her tail popped out as well, as it usually did when she managed to work herself up. " I have no "relationship" with the Namagomi. Xelloss merely likes to make me angry by hanging around my shop."

A junior member of the Council stood. " You will not yell at the Council, Miss Ul Copt. You also keep your anger in check," he ordered.

Filia calmed herself down in time to answer the next question put forth by the Eldest. " So do you, or do you not, admit to having a relationship with Xelloss Metallium?"

" We are friends, nothing more," Filia replied calmly.

" And yet he is at your home frequently. And you were seen kissing him," the Elder replied just as calmly.

Filia paled at the Elder's words. Kissing him? When had she kissed him? That day a week ago, a voice in her mind replied, after you saw him put Val to bed. No, that was an accident. It wasn't supposed to happen. A fluke. That's all it was, they were both caught in the moment. But you certainly enjoyed it, the voice insisted. You didn't try to stop him. You even kissed him back. Filia remembered how his lips had felt on hers, his tongue in her mouth, how his hands had made her feel…'No. Stop thinking like that Filia,' she scolded herself. She put her mind back to what was happening, but couldn't think of anything to say.

" Your silence means you admit to it," the Elder announced. " You do not contest the accusation? This is your last chance." Filia nodded numbly. There was no way she could deny they kissed. The Elder's voice was harsh as he continued. " Therefore, this will be your punishment." The words struck Filia like a slap in the face. Punished? Because the Namagomi Mazoku wanted to annoy her? She began to tremble, and the Elder started speaking again.

" For your unforgivable crimes, Filia Ul Copt, you are banished and excommunicated from the clan. You will retain all your power, including long life, except the power to transform back into the form of a dragon. You will live out the rest of your life in the form of a human. You will have no contact with any dragon of any clan, except your 'son' who is a disgrace anyway." The Elder paused shifting his glance from Filia to he back of the room. " This lady will collect her belongings and then be shown to my study, after which she will escorted from clan lands and left to herself. This Council is dismissed." With that, the Council of Elders filed out of the room without so much as a glance at the girl they had just condemned.

Filia was numb. They were kidding, right? It's a joke. Very believable, but a joke nonetheless. 'They wouldn't banish me! I'm a priestess!' she thought. Was a priestess the little voice in her mind reminded her. Your not a priestess anymore. She couldn't move. Her body wouldn't respond.

" Well, don't sit there all day. Come on," a guard snarled. " Do you have any belongings anywhere?" Filia nodded no. She had just arrived this morning. " Then you are to be taken to the Elder's before you leave."

She felt her arms being taken none too kindly and suddenly her feet remembered how to walk. They left the council room and she was marched down the hall to the Eldest Elder's private study. The guard knocked on the heavy, yet intricately carved, wooden door. A junior Council Member immediately opened it. Filia was pushed into the room and the door closed behind her.

Filia stumbled slightly, the not-so-nice push given to her by the guard had set her a little off balance. She looked up and saw she was surrounded by Elders on all sides; she was in the middle of a circle of Elders. This was not good. The Eldest began to speak.

" You are not here to be honored, you are here for punishment. Step forward into the center of the pentagram."

Filia was still not thinking clearly. She didn't resist the command, and instead looked down. She noticed a magic pentagram had been drawn on the plush carpet and obediently stepped into the middle. She began to get a nagging feeling that something was wrong, but her befuddled state of shock wouldn't allow her to listen to herself.

Suddenly, she felt an enormous pressure build upon her and she felt extremely heavy as she regained her ability to think straight. She couldn't move. It wasn't the numb feeling of earlier, more like an outside force preventing her from moving. She managed to look up and saw the faces of the Elder's twisted in concentration, their mouths moving in a chant. A horrified look passed over Filia's face as she realized they were the ones holding her down. Magically.

Then she felt "it". The feeling she had unconsciously been dreading. She felt the Elder's magic flow through her and she tried to expel it, groaning with the effort, but they were stronger than she was. They quickly smashed her resistance and found her center, where her power dwelt within her. She screamed. They seemed to concentrate on a part of it and grasped it. Then they took it. She screamed again. They separated it and wrapped it in their magic, sealing it away from her, and she screamed yet again. It was gone. Still in her, yet beyond her reach. She screamed a final time and began to fall to the floor as their magic left her.

As Filia faded from consciousness, she felt a familiar presence. Warm arms broke her fall and lifted her up, locking her body to his in almost an embrace. The arms, body, and scent were familiar to her, comforting. " Xellos?" she asked softly almost hysterically, her voice raw from screaming and exhausted from the efforts of the day. She moved closer to him.

He tightened his grip on her and brought her closer. " It's okay now Filia-chan. I'm here now," he whispered. She nodded and then slipped into unconsciousness. Then, the Trickster Priest disappeared from the Elder's study with the condemned Dragon in his arms, silent tears streaming down her face as she contemplated and questioned what had just happened.

Well, what'd you think? Review review review. Just click the button at the bottom of the screen. You can do it. Good.

In case you're kinda confused, the first paragraph happens just after the last. The arms belong to Xelloss. Filia's asleep, passed out, etc.