Non Compos Mentis
Disclaimer: I do not own Escaflowne or its fantastic characters. This is only done for fun and the only profit earned is reviews.
Note: Happy Birthday, Dilandau!
As is my tradition, I've decided to post a new fanfic for my favorite Escaflowne character on his birthday!
I know I've already posted final chapters to two existing stories but I've had the idea for this one-shot for a while, and there's really no better opportunity to post it than today.
But I'm pressed for time and I would really like to do this idea justice. So I won't be posting the whole thing right now, just a short first chapter even if this was originally meant to be a one-shot. Just so I get to post something on the right date. And I promise that it won't be a very long fic, just one or two more chapters after this one.
Sorry for being a bit mysterious but the title of the fic should already be a minor spoiler for what comes next. And we'll get to see more characters as the story progresses.
The next two weeks or so will be jam-packed for me so I don't know how soon I'll get the whole thing posted. But I am determined to write this story!
In the meantime, enjoy and do let me know what you think.
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Many had advised against it but since none had offered any suitable alternative, Allen Schezar decided to push through with his plan.
After all, he had made a promise to his sister. And having spent more than a decade away from the last remaining member of his family, he could not refuse her. Even if her request was to somehow rescue Dilandau Albatou from the scaffold.
The war had ended and everything had begun to settle down in Gaea. The countries involved had started to pick up the pieces and rehabilitate themselves after the ravages of Zaibach, and all manner of repairs were being initiated.
Allen had sought the help of various brilliant minds in Asturia to alleviate his sister's condition and after some struggle, she had been successfully rid of her violent alter ego. Celena Schezar and Dilandau Albatou were now two separate beings.
But the procedure had been a grueling one and it took its toll on them both. They were alive but significantly weakened by what had transpired and they still needed some time to recuperate before they could resume their lives.
Celena was under the care of the Asturian princesses with Millerna taking charge of the medical aspects while Eries acted as the young woman's legal guardian. Allen was profoundly grateful for their help.
Dilandau's was a different case as he was a former soldier of Zaibach who had been responsible for a number of particularly violent attacks on different countries. These countries wanted to hold him accountable for these crimes and had insisted he be incarcerated and called to face a trial at the earliest convenience.
Never mind that Allen and others had argued that the soldier was in no state to face a trial. The date had been set, and Dilandau had to face justice.
In her more lucid moments, Celena had elicited a promise from her brother to somehow save Dilandau. While there was no way to avoid a trial altogether, there was a chance at least that his sentence could be reduced, that he could be spared from an execution. And so Allen had racked his brains for some way to address the court, for some means of creating sympathy for one of the most feared soldiers of Zaibach.
Then, after much struggle, he came up with a plan, albeit a very risky one. And he could only hope that it would work.
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"He will surely protest," Folken had warned.
The former Strategos of Zaibach had mysteriously returned battered but alive from his mission to destroy Emperor Dornkirk. He was currently a ward of Asturia, still being investigated, though not as harshly as Dilandau, for his involvement in Zaibach. And he had been instrumental in reversing the Fate Alteration in order for Celena and Dilandau to be separated at last, so Allen had consulted him about his plan.
"Well, he does not really have any say in the matter," Allen had argued stubbornly, "Besides, I'm not doing this for him but for Celena. She made me promise to try and save him, and this is the only way I can think of."
Folken sighed but did not argue further since he saw that the knight was as stubborn as the soldier he was trying to protect. But he knew Dilandau well enough to know that Allen's plan might only lead to disaster.
He truly wished that Allen would listen to reason and that others could somehow convince him to change tactics. But the princesses were too preoccupied with their many duties and would only be around to attend the trial itself. And Dryden Fassa had admitted that there was some chance that this might work though he was also too busy to spend too much time analyzing the possible consequences. No one else could really be involved in the preparations. Even Dilandau could not be consulted before the trial began.
Folken sighed again, not seeing anyway out of this, for the moment.
"I suppose we will just have to hope for the best," he thought.