The Vision of Escaflowne: A Vision of Forever
Version 1.0: March 22, 2001
Version 2.0: April 18, 2004
By: Persephone of Abydos
Version 2.0 Author's Notes: This, I dug out of the catacombs of my archive of personal fanfiction. I forgot I had it and, more importantly, I forgot it was complete. I read over it, was horrified, and decided to clean it up. I've left the original Author's Notes intact for sentimental reasons, though it frightens me that I once used phrases like the ones I used.
Version 1.0 Author's Notes: This is my first Escaflowne fanfiction, and I hope all of my readers enjoy it! First, I would like to take the time to say that this story may contain some sexy kissy-kissy, lovey-dovey content…it depends on my mood (~_^). For the most part, it is my continuation of the series—so, mostly it'll be a story (complete with a plot ;), but it WILL be centered on the development of Van and Hitomi's relationship, with a few new relationships as well. Also, unlike in the original series where Hitomi's visions are EXACTLY what will happen, the visions she receives in this story are not as "for sure." They contain the PRODUCT or EFFECT of what various timelines will produce—with the timeline in her vision not necessarily being the timeline in actuality. You will notice this the most with her second vision containing bloody feathers. Anyhoo, onward….
Disclaimer: Me no own.
Thoughts (italics) Vision or dream (bold)"Speech"
- location-
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Prologue
-On Earth-
It had been only a year since Hitomi Kanzaki's return to Earth. Although she no longer believed in predetermined fate, she still kept her Tarot cards with her. Especially one card in particular: The Luce—the one that always represented Van.
Van… Hitomi thought, staring up at her ceiling, upon which she had affixed an enlarged version of The Luce. It was about two in the morning as the illustrated dragon stared down at Hitomi; she just couldn't fall asleep. She had a track meet she knew she should sleep well for, but she knew that if she fell asleep now, the horrible vision would plague her again.
VISION
"Is this Fanelia?" she asked into the wind. The land looked familiar. Just as she thought she might have been here before, the whole area was engulfed in flames.
She cried out, again into the wind.
And then the scary part came.
A familiar white feather came floating downwards to Hitomi. "Van…" she sighed aloud. Then she gasped. The feather was matted in blood! "VAN!!!!" she screamed, her eyes welling with tears. Does this mean Van's going to die?
Then she saw a figure falling from the sky. Is it Van? Is he dead? Please…no…
Before she could get a decent look at the person, the flames suddenly grew brighter and seemed to laugh maniacally, while leaping and teasing with the charred grass, the blackened statues, and the collapsed buildings.
END VISION
And that was the end of the vision. Van…please be ok… Hitomi sobbed quietly into her pillow. Soon, however, she cried herself to sleep, and once again was tortured by her horrendous vision.
-On Gaea-
Hitomi…I miss you, my sweet Hitomi…
King Van Slanzar de Fanel was once again dreaming of his beloved. His beloved, though he never let her know that she was such to him. It was his opinion that he had been an idiot to let her go back to the Mystic Moon without telling her how much he loved her, but even so he puzzled over the reason. Hitomi…why did I never tell you how I felt?
He sighed as he looked out his window, gazing at the blue and green orb and absently grasping for Hitomi's pendant that hung from his neck, as he did every night, ever since she had returned to her home planet one year ago. He had accomplished a lot; Fanelia was on its way to being nearly completely rebuilt. The structures were still in crude form, of course, but they would acquire the homely knickknacks that Fanelia had been known for in due time. However, it was getting harder to focus strictly on restoration, since his Royal Council was urging him to take a step for Fanelia's future: to marry and produce an heir. They acknowledged that his majesty was indeed still young and would be in his prime for years to come, but marrying would ensure the people of Fanelia that their country would continue on.
Or so they said. It wasn't so much the political marriage but the thought of producing an heir with a politically arranged wife that disgusted Van to no end. Princess Calis of Curanse was the choice of the Royal Council. They would never dare say it, but even the Fanelian public had to admit that Calis was a bit callous and pompous. Van could see only one logical choice for Fanelia's Queen and his wife: Hitomi. She would make a lovely queen; she was warm and caring, and her green eyes sparkled with life. To him, she was the most beautiful woman to grace her presence on any planet.
He had dreamed many times of how he would wish hard enough, and she would come back to him, bathed in that blue light that made her look ethereal. Then he would sweep her off her feet, spread his wings that he knew she loved, and fly her up to his bedchamber in his castle. He would kiss her, tell her that he loved her over and over again knowing that she would never tire of hearing his affections, and finally, he would propose to her.
He longed for the day when he could make the dream a reality.
Van was snapped out of his reverie with the hastily made creaks of the door opening. A frantic guard ran into the room and started talking so fast that Van didn't understand a word he was saying. "Slow down, slow down! What is the problem?"
"Your majesty! It's awful! It's horrible!"
"What's awful? What's horrible?" Van was starting to get worried.
"It's…It's…."
"It's what?"
"Freid has been destroyed!"
Chapter One: The Blue Light
-On Gaea-
Van could only stare. "Is…?"
Before he could finish his question, the guard answered, "No, your majesty. Duke Chid is alive and well, but he and a female servant are the sole survivors. He would have gone to Austuria to seek shelter, but…."
"…that's exactly what whomever the enemy is would expect him to do," Van finished. "I understand completely," he continued in a more kingly tone of voice. "Send a message to Duke Chid that both he and his companion are free to come here. It's the least I can do for an ally of Fanelia." Who could've done such a horrible thing? Who is our new enemy?!
"Yes sir!" And with that, the guard rushed out the room.
Van took another look at Hitomi's pendant. It seemed to glow, but not a good glow. It was more like an eerie, destruction-is-coming glow. This only worried him more. Hitomi…he thought, and gently kissed the pendant. He fell fast asleep moments later, pushing his fears aside, once again dreaming of his one and only love….
-On Earth-
"Ready…set…GO!" shouted the referee as the starting pistol sounded.
Hitomi ran, and ran fast, but her mind was elsewhere. She was thinking of Van, and praying with all her might that he wouldn't be—or already was—the victim in her vision.
She was almost to the end of the track now, and the audience was cheering her on. She was about to come in first, and shatter the district record. But she wasn't thinking of winning. Van…her mind sounded.
And then it came. A feather. A pure white feather. A Draconian feather. Van's feather…He's calling me… She stopped running. The audience gasped. Yukari was fuming. Amano was shocked.
She grasped the feather. She slowly brought it to her face, and gently kissed it.
And then she felt it. That warmth of the Light, the blue light that always brought her to Van. His name resounded in her head, and soon came forth from her lips, "Van!"
And she ascended, leaving behind the ground, the Earth, and a very baffled and panicked crowd in the bleachers….
-On Gaea-
"Van-SAMAAA!" cried out Merle, who attacked Van with one of her high-speed embraces.
Van stifled a grunt of pain. "What is it, Merle?"
"Oh nothing. Just happy to see you!" she chirped.
Van weakly smiled. Merle gleefully bounded out of Van's bedchamber, her Hug-For-the-Day having been completed. Merle and Van were still the best of friends, but Merle was growing up and had met a dog-man for whom she was head over heels for. Van was simply grateful that Merle was happy.
Van returned to what he was originally doing, which was gazing down at the gardens below his balcony. There were many flowers, all which were beautiful, but only one flower would he admire for hours: the Emersidian. A native of Fanelia, its color was uncannily similar to the color of Hitomi's eyes. It was the one flower that Van forbade the gardeners to so much as even look at, let alone care for. But as he looked upon his pampered Emersidian, he noticed something was different. There's another one sprouting beside it! How…? He ran down the stairs to the right of the balcony, and rushed over to his Emersidian and its new companion. It's an Emersidian too, but…it's different somehow…
It was indeed different. The baby Emersidian was gently speckled with a brownish red, a seemingly odd yet quite beautiful mixture. "Who's the father-flower of this Emersidian hybrid?" Van mused quietly, amazed, as he began foraging through the flower bed. One of the gardeners looked on with laughter; it was a humorous sight to see the King frantically searching for the flower that helped produce this new specimen.
And then Van saw it. The Rubithyst. The royal flower of Fanelia. This had to be the hybrid's 'father.' Only the Rubithyst had that beautiful brownish red for petals. Van blushed as he considered a mixture of his and Hitomi's eyes.
His train of thought came to a screeching halt when he saw what he longed to see. About a mile away, it touched down. The Light. The blue light. The one that he instinctively knew carried his heart's desire. He dared not say her name, dared not jinx his fortune.
And he ran, ran with all his might….
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Tell me what you think, please. And if it's worth posting the rest of the chapters.