Author's Note: Yay! Disclaimer: Slayers doesn't belong to me . . . or so you think! But yeah, really, I don't own it . . . yet; but once I take over the world, you'll all see who really owns this series! Mwa-ha-ha-ha!

Things Change - An X/F Christmas
Chapter 1 - Rememberance

Filia lay in her bed; her eyes still closed as she slowly awoke from sleep. The air was cool around her face; it had snowed last night. The cold air on her face was refreshing in contrast to the comfortable warmth surrounding Filia's body. Her bed was warm, and it was only so much more comfortable being rapped in her slumbering husband's arms. She could hear him softly breathing, feel his chest rise and fall on her bare back as his warm breath touched at her shoulder rhythmically. She smiled to herself as her eyes crept open. She wished she could stay here forever. Frost touched at the windowpanes across the room from the bed as a wintry light snuck through the glass causing the room to take on a pale glow. Light snow still fell, though the golden dragon could see the crisp blue sky through the flurries.

Light footsteps in the hallway caught in Filia's ears. Someone was trying to sneak past her bedroom door. Filia smirked as she snaked her way out of her husband's embrace. The cold air took her breath away and she longed to crawl back into bed with the handsome man who had shifted onto his back to finish out his sleep. Fighting off the urge to join him Filia donned a heavy robe and opened the bedroom door, managing to escape to the hall without waking him.

She turned toward the stairs in time to see a bit of blonde hair disappear around the corner. She smiled as she descended the stairs herself. The blonde hair belonged to a young girl. Most would assume she was six or seven, which mentally she was, though she had been born only two years ago. The child was still half asleep, her violet-tipped golden hair was a tangled mess, and her purple nightclothes two sizes too big hung off of her shoulder haphazardly and her pant cuffs dragged on the ground. She turned her large blue eyes to her mother as she heard the woman coming down the stairs behind her. Rubbing her eyes with her sleeve, she smiled, "Morning, Mama."

"Good morning, Sole," Filia smiled and picked her daughter up, fixing her pajamas absentmindedly, "We need to get you some that fit. What are you doing up this early?"

"I like my jamas, Mama." She replied happily, and then pointed to the large bay window at the end of the kitchen, "It snowed. I wanna get up and go out and play. Will you play with me, Mama?"

"We'll see. Let's get some breakfast ready." Filia answered as she set the girl on the counter top and reached for a pan.

As breakfast cooked and her daughter explained the intricacies of building a snow fort Filia found herself looking out the windows. The garden, long since harvested, was covered in over a foot of snow and icicles hung from the overhanging roof of the shed. The trees on the edge of the yard leading into the forest were white cones and a trained ear could pick out the distant cracking of branches under the weight of the snowfall.

How long had it been since there had been a single snowfall this heavy? It had been before her daughter Sollex was born, when she had just married. The beautiful house she sat in had been a wedding gift from her mother-in-law. The night of Filia's wedding it had snowed fiercely, almost three feet of snow. It had been a late snow, when winter refuses to give into spring and the snow comes as a distant reminder of winter memories. Filia sighed; it had been almost three and a half years since she had come to live here. She remembered well, thanks to Sollex, her little calendar. Sollex had been conceived on the night of that snowfall.

Her mother-in-law said that Sollex would be good luck, a child of good omens. Conceived on the last snow of winter, born under the Blood Moon. It would make for a powerful hunter, she had said.

"Papa!" Sollex's happy exclamation brought Filia out of her memories. The little girl ran to her father, "Papa, look, it snowed! Would you play with me today?" She tugged at his pant leg and he patted her on the head.

"Would you like some breakfast?" Filia smiled warmly at her husband.

Xellos shook his head and kneeled down to look at his daughter, "I'd love to play with you, but I've got this little problem, you see, I can't seem to find my daughter. She's just a baby and I'm afraid I've lost her. Have you seen her, Miss?"

'I guess he has been thinking of the past as well,' Filia thought as she piled pancakes onto plates for Sollex and herself.

"It's me, Papa! I'm your daughter!" Sollex laughed and threw her arms around his neck, "I'm not a baby!"

"Well, indeed you're not!" Xellos picked the girl up and set her at the table where she dove into her pancakes, "Well, I'll play with you as soon as you're finished eating."

As Filia ate alongside her daughter she thought about her family. This was not what she had dreamt of as a girl. She had dreamt of a strong brave golden dragon that would protect her and their family. She smiled slightly. Instead she had a powerful brave Mazoku who protected her and her family. She wondered what had drawn her to such an odd companion. In the time she spent traveling with Miss Lina and the others she found his demeanor detestable at best. He had annoyed and infuriated her at every turn, and she had responded likewise. However when Dark Star had been destroyed and the prophecy fulfilled she had been alone.

Her dreams had been shattered. She was the last of her kind, doomed to spend the rest of eternity alone. There were no other dragons, no strong handsome ryuzoku to protect her. Then he had come. His intention was pure spite, he wished to annoy her and drive her even further into her depression. Yet he had been with her, had comforted her as best as he could, and she came to rely on him. She had grown fond of him, no doubt, but the proposal had still been a shock, but a welcome one. In their time together they had both grown to accommodate each other's needs, wants, and eccentricities.

"Mama, I wanna go out and play with Papa, now." Sollex informed as she dropped her fork on an empty plate.

"Alright, let's get you dressed," Xellos held his hand out to the girl who giggled and took it, "Oh, Filia," he added as he began up the stairs, "I want to talk to you about something later."

Author's Note: Alright, that was really fluffy, eh? Well, I needed some establishment and there it is. We'll start getting more humor and the like, especially when Lina and her assorted lackeys come into the picture, but there will be more fluff, too! Everyone needs a fluffy story, eh? R&R and I'll answer any questions you have, too!