DIVINE FATE

Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne but I do own the characters and plot I have created.

The Black Angel

"Look, mother a white angel."

"Nonsense! If there was one why are we like this?"

She was speaking the truth. The fall of Dornkirk was the collapse of the Zaibach Empire. Everyone was devastated with no leader and no home. Some of the lower Zaibach soldiers who worked for Dornkirk took over the position temporarily trying to get the people back on its feet, but the blow had hit everyone hard. I wrapped my arms around me as I avoided some crushed limestone. I was headed straight for Dornkirk's palace. The place had been left untouched mainly because of the supposed-magic occurring there. A Zaibach soldier around my age greeted me half way.

"You the healer?" he asked.

I nodded. He looked at me for a minute and then started leading me into the building. It was dark everywhere except for a few lit torches.

"So can you do all that hocus-pocus like the sorcerers," he probed.

"Harold, stop flirting and get back to work," a voice shouted to him.

I smiled at the figure approaching, Keith, the lieutenant in charge of evacuation of Dornkirk's palace was a friend. He had come to my defence when I had offered to take care of the patients. He always had a twinkle in his ice blue eyes.

"How's my favourite doctor?" he said bending over for a hug.

"And you're not flirting?" I smacked him lightly on his arm.

"How are you Shayla?" he inquired leading me to where the patients slept.

"I'm fine and you," I replied.

"Alright, most of them have been taken out but Dornkirk's laboratory has been untouched," he told me as I examined the rows of injured.

"Do you know if anybody was with him?" I inquired as he led me into another dark room.

I gasped as I caught the sight of a pile of green liquid lying in the age-generated machine that Dornkirk supposedly used to keep his body alive. I sank to my knees feeling emptiness in my stomach. I took short breaths exhaling out slowly.

"What's that?" I pointed out at a distance as I caught a golden glint.

"Hey wait!" he shouted as I left without him to find my treasure.

All the while, my necklace pulsed with light as I followed the glint of metal. I followed the faint and strong beats of flashes until my foot hit something hard.

"Keith, I need some light, I think I found something," I ordered.

He blindly rushed over as I reached out in the dark to find out what it was.

"Who could have survived such a fall," he wondered holding up the torch near my face and then to the platform above us.

"Him," I grimaced making out the body's face. He had the most interesting paintings on his face; a purple teardrop beneath his left eye and purple streaks underneath his eyelashes. He had spiked blond white hair and golden rings in both of his ears, which I had seen from the top. His tunic was peeled off revealing his upper body. The strangest part was his right arm was metal.

"Black wings? A draconian!" Keith exclaimed.

"What?" I asked moving across to check for some sign of life.

"The cursed people of Atlantis, he's one of the last," he recalled as reading from an ancient text.

"Move the light closer to him," I demanded as I saw that he was wounded.

I reached my hand over the pointy tip of a sword that was impaled into his chest, near his heart.

"When I pull this out, you have to put pressure on the wound with this cloth," I said as I handed him the square cloth.

I yanked the metal by placing two fingers on both sides and discarding it on the ground. Keith quickly followed by putting pressure on the opening and I wrapped his chest with bandages to stop the bleeding.

"He's breathing," he yelled out as the injured man stirred slightly.

"I have to get him out of here," I concluded placing his left arm around my shoulder.

"How?" he asked dumbly.

"With your help of course," I pointed that he could give me his horse and wagon.

"Do you know the price you just put on my head?" he shouted at me.

"Look, if the people hear of this, who knows how they are going to react. Are you going to help me or not?" I directed my eyes at him.

"Alright wait for me," he sighed as he ran out the room.

I attempted to stand but he was limp and very tall. I kept swaying from his weight pressed against my side.

"I told you to wait," he emphasized as he came to my aid by relieving some of the unconscious man's weight on to his side. Slowly we made our way outside where there was wagon waiting for us.

"Man he's tall," he groaned as we lifted him onto the back.

"What are you doing?" he demanded as I climbed into the driver's position and grabbed hold of the reins.

"You don't know the way to my house," I mentioned as he sat down beside me.

"What do you expect a man like me to do?" he questioned.

"See that he's still alive," I ordered starting the horses.

It got even darker as we approached my stone cottage and even more trouble to get the mysterious man through the door.

"Can you move that table away from the wall," I asked as we made our way into the kitchen.

"Why?" he naively.

"So his wings won't get crushed," I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, right." he replied moving the wooden table.

We propped him rather hard on the table. I slipped a pillow under his head and a light blanket over him.

"I'll ask around if anyone knows who he is," he offered as I walked him to the door.

"Listen but don't say anything," I advised.

"Good idea," he stopped abruptly. "Wait a minute, what's going on?"

"What I said before, people will pry if they hear of this, especially the sorcerers," I hinted.

"You're not telling me everything. I thought we were friends," he sounded hurt.

"Do you trust them?" I asked referring to the sorcerers.

"Not exactly, that's why I was so freaked out when you wanted to take that man out of there," he clarified.

"Sooner or later people will have to realize that what they're doing is wrong. What makes them think they're in charge!" I said crossly.

"You're are probably right, but I need some answers Shayla. Sooner or later they are going to be suspicious," he reminded me.

"I will tell you some day," I relayed.

"You don't mind if I stop by to check up on things?" he inquired.

"Let me have a least a warning," I complied and said goodbye to him.

I let out a sigh as I looked over at the table. The wings were going to be a problem and on top of that Keith was asking questions. I quickly changed and climbed into bed blowing out the candle. Starring at the ceiling, I could hear the crickets chirp and the creaking of my windows as the wind blew. I turned on my side and stared at my door. I could feel his presence there. His draconian blood might be the reason I could sense him. He was dead when I found him but something told me that I could save him. I closed my eyes and drifted off. The questions could wait until tomorrow.