***Disclaimer. I do not own Escaflowne. I have borrowed the characters, but this story is entirely out of my imagination***
- I wrote this as a possible 'prequel' to the Vision of Escaflowne series. Just a few thoughts running amok in my brain after I watched the series to answer the question of what could be Hitomi's relation to Gaea, why she would have been sent there of all other possible worlds. Hope you like it, and feel free to review!!!***
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The past; How it all started.
Gaea. A beautiful, peaceful planet where the Moon, and the Mystic Moon - Earth - hang side by side in the sky. Ruled by an alliance of powerful kings from many countries, Gaea was kept from war and hunger.
One such king, Takeru of Torushina and his wife Hialeah, had a daughter named Arianne. When she was born, a pillar of light appeared over the palace, and it was prophesied that the princess Arianne was destined to help bring peace to Gaea with the aid of the white dragon.
As Arianne grew up, her parents soon realized that she was no ordinary child. She had powers such as being blessed with the gift of the third eye; the ability to see the future through dreams and visions. Although this was a very rare and special gift for someone on Gaea to possess, very few knew of her abilities.
Arianne was always a very happy, yet curious little girl. So curious about people and the world that she would always find a way to sneak out of the palace grounds and go wandering into town. One day when she was eight, she snuck away on one of her such adventures. Finding a little stone path behind some trees far behind the palace, she followed it through a little forest and came out on the other side in a beautiful garden. Stepping forward with her left hand shielding her eyes from the sun, Arianne saw she was surrounded by hundreds of flowers. She did not realize it, but she was standing in the garden owned by the queen of Fanelia, Varie. They had a 'home away from home' in Torushina that they stayed at while the king attended to business with her own father. She walked around admiring the sculpted trees and smelling the beautiful flowers she'd never seen before. As she came into a clearing, she noticed a young boy with black hair, about twelve years old, practicing with his sword against an imagined enemy.
Arianne stood there, hidden by a large bush trimmed to look like a rabbit, just watching him. He lunged forward and tripped on a root and fell to the ground in a most ungraceful manner. She tried to stifle a giggle but he must have heard her anyhow, as he quickly got up and raised his sword.
"Who's there? Show yourself. I have a sword so watch your moves!" he yelled out, looking all around him.
Arianne slowly came out from behind the bush, and found herself to be standing about twenty feet from the boy. He held his sword with both hands in front of him, pointing her way, and his dark eyebrows frowned over beautiful brown eyes.
As he looked at her, the frown disappeared, only to be replaced by a look of confusion. He lowered his sword and asked her
"Aren't you the Princess of Torushina? What are you doing here?" He might have been only four years older than her, but he seemed much older in the manner with which he carried himself and spoke to her, which of course she did not appreciate, and she let him know it.
"No I'm not. I can go wherever I want. And you can't talk to me like that."
"Well this is my mom's garden, and no one is allowed in here."
"So? YOU are in here, and I'm not the one stepping all over the flowers." she replied.
He looked down at the grass and flowers under his boots, then looked back at Arianne.
"So!?"
"So if you can be here, so can I!"
She turned and walked over to a vine covered in orange flowers that resembled a half-opened rose with pink edges and purple specks, and knelt down to smell them.
"The flowers here are all so beautiful, but I think these are my favourite."
The boy came to stand beside her, and touched the petals of one of the orange flowers.
"My mom was the only one around here who could grow them . She loved her garden.' he said softly.
"I can see why!" Arianne then stood up and turned to leave. "Well, I should go now. I'm sorry I came into your mom's garden without asking."
"Wait!!"
She stopped and turned around to face him. He picked up one of the orange flowers from the vine and handed it to her.
"Here. This is for you." he said. Arianne just looked at him handing her the flower. "Take it."
She reached out to grab the flower, brought it to her nose, and smiled at him.
"Thank you, but why are you giving this to me?" she asked shyly.
"Umm…" he looked down and passed a hand through his unruly hair, face turning slightly red. "Umm, I know they're your favourite, so… there. I, uh, have to go now. Bye"
Arianne stood there alone in the garden, heart pounding, and cheeks blushing as she watched the dark-haired boy run off and almost trip once again. She smiled again, and when she could no longer see him anymore, she turned and started making her way back to the path leading into the little forest back home.
She was thinking of the boy she met, and dreamily twirled the flower between her fingers, so did not notice the dark shadow pass overhead. Suddenly there was a bright flash behind her and a large explosion sent her flying to the ground. She looked up and saw a Zaibach floating fortress blasting everything around her, burning it all. She looked back and saw the beautiful garden engulfed in flames, and she hoped the boy was alright. She quickly got up and started running, but a tree splintered in front of her, pinching her skin and losing her footing, fell and started rolling down a small hill to the side of the path.
When she stopped rolling, she just lay there crying, covering her ears, trying to stop the awful sounds, when a pillar of light materialized around her and lifted her off the ground.
Crouching under the stairs to a small house, the dark-haired boy noticed the pillar of light just before it disappeared, and wondered what it was.
Arianne opened her eyes, and found herself back in her palace. Actually in her father's council room. She could hear screams coming from everywhere, and felt rather than heard, blasts shake the palace's walls. She looked around and noticed her father running toward her. When he got closer, she saw his clothing was dirty, torn and bloodied, as if the walls had all crumbled over him.
"Oh thank the gods you are still alive!" he cried as he grabbed her in his arms.
"Fa-father? What's going on?!?" she cried.
"We have been betrayed by Zaibach. More than half the palace has been destroyed. We have to get you out of here, to safety."
"Where's Mother? Wha-?" her father cut off her questions.
"I'm sorry," Another blast sounded, extremely close this time, and part of the ceiling started to collapse. "I have to hide you. I can't let them get to you. You're too important to Gaea. I will send for you as soon as it's safe again."
"NO!!! I'm not going anywhere without you!! PAPA!!!"
"Be good my little princess. Your mother and I love you…" he cried as he hugged his daughter. Then he let her go and backing away from her, pulled out a pendant with a pink stone and held it up in front of him.
"Be safe…." he whispered, as light radiated from the pendant surrounded her, and became the now familiar pillar of light, and lifted her off the floor.
"PAPA!!! FATHER, NO!!!!" Arianne cried, as the light became so bright as to blind her, but the last thing she saw before everything went white, was the rest of the ceiling collapse on top of her father.
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Arianne woke up in a warm soft bed, but the ceiling and walls looked different. She heard a door open and quickly closed her eyes. She heard soft footsteps come closer, then a shift in the bed as the person sat beside her.
"I know you're awake." an older woman's voice whispered.
Arianne opened her eyes again and looked at the woman sitting on the edge of her bed. She was older than her own mother, yet there was a familiarity to her.
"My, you have grown up, little one. It has been so long. Do you remember me?" the woman asked. Arianne just slowly shook her head no. "Well that's understandable. I am your grandmother, Yuri. Your mother's mother. The last time I saw you, you were only a year old, of course you wouldn't remember that."
"Where am I?"
"You're on the Mystic Moon, my dear. Your parents sent you here to keep you safe. I will protect you until it is time for you to return home. Sleep now. You have been through so much, you need to rest. We will talk later."
Yuri stood up, and tucked the blankets around the girl, then turned and walked out of the room, and closed the door behind her. Arianne got up and went to the window, pulled the curtain aside and looked out. It was night, yet it was so bright out, there were lights everywhere, and looking up into the sky, she saw the moon, but could find no sign of the mystic moon at all. She slowly returned to the bed, and crawled back in, and her sight settled on the bedside table, which held a small lamp. There beside the lamp was an orange flower with purple specks, that she must have kept a hold of during everything without realizing it. She picked the flower up, and brought it to her nose. She finally fell asleep like this, holding the flower, tears rolling down her cheeks onto her pillow.
She would become close to her grandmother, and apart from being told that she had to keep the events that happened secret, for her safety, she was to go by her middle name, Hitomi, so that none from Gaea would track her down to the Mystic Moon, slowly forgetting about her past, until that fateful evening at the school track when the pillar of light reappeared, and she was sent back to Gaea. And the rest is history, as they say!
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I hope you enjoyed this little fic. I like to think that this story could continue after the series, with the idea that Hitomi would start to remember her past and then find that she really did help bring peace to Gaea with the help of the white dragon, as was prophesied at her birth, and that she was finally back home. All reviews welcome!!