A Fate Averted
DISCLAIMER: The Vision of Escaflowne is not legally mine. If it was, Folken and Eries would have been together.
NOTE: Remember that Folken/Eries chapter story I planned to write after "No Such Luck"? This isn't it. This is a huge crackfic that bubbled up from my crazy imagination that would not let me go. While there will be chapters for this (for the sake of a better organized story), it is only a one-shot and all these short chapters shall be posted at the same time.
I hope you enjoy this whimsical little piece, starting from an unlikely premise into a full-blown story. It's also quite fast paced since it was supposed to be a one-shot and I didn't want to dwell on it so much. It's random but please do let me know how you find it.
PROLOGUE
Everything was still now, so still and quiet.
A soft breeze blew against the trees and all was lit up by the rays of sunlight.
And he lay there, bloody and trembling, breathing his last, and thinking about how he had failed more than just a succession ritual.
"I'm sorry, father, mother, Van."
He had let them all down. He had let Fanelia down. He was not worthy of becoming king.
The dragon had left quite some time ago, left him alone to die. And as he remembered the look in the creature's eyes as it had faced him, he came to understand something that generations of crown princes probably never reaized.
But it was too late. That valuable lesson would have to go un-learned, passed from this world along with his frail body and soul.
Everything was beginning to blur, and he felt life ebbing away from him.
He was thankful to be able to die here, on the ground of his native land, amidst the beauty of nature, the beauty he would never see again.
As he closed his eyes to rest, something disrupted the silence. A voice.
"I think he's still breathing. Hurry," the stranger shouted.
He could not get up but he felt someone kneel down beside him.
The face of a young girl with emerald eyes and golden hair, gazing at him in worry and concern.
Was he hallucinating? Was this what death was like? And yet, he was still aware of pain. He must still be alive.
"Sir, sir, can you hear me," she cried frantically.
He managed to make some soft noise in way of a response. The girl looked extremely relieved.
"Don't worry," she said gently, "help has arrived. You're safe now."
He could not believe what he was hearing. It was too good to be true.
"Hold on," she urged him as he began to lose consciousness.
"Hold on."