Disclaimer: I do not own the The Vision of Escaflowne, nor its characters. I take credit only for the plot, and theOCs.
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Episode #1
Touched By An Angel
By Firefrost
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Notes: "Speech"
'Thoughts'
~*~*~*~*~*~ = Dreams (beginnings/ends)
* * * * * = Time passage/scene change
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How often I think of him. How far away he seems from my empty arms at night, when my desires fly up to the sky like his gossamer white wings sore him high into the air. I am incomplete. Each day, I feel a little bit closer to loneliness. I would do anything to be with him again. We need each other, each of us is the other's angel. Both of us have been touched by an angel.
Sitting on the soft, green covers of her bed, Hitomi looked up at the sky through the window beside her bed. The stars twinkled brightly on that clear spring night. It had been half a year since Hitomi returned from Gaea. Her poor mother watched, in sorrow, as each day brought her daughter closer to madness... And no reason could be given why.
Many times, Hitomi's mother had guessed that her daughter was suffering from the need of someone to love. She was half right on that account, but whenever she tried to hook Hitomi up with some cute college boy, Hitomi always turned her head and walked away. Hitomi wouldn't tell her what was wrong.
Hitomi awoke from her magical stare at the shining stars when she heard a knock on her bedroom door.
"Hitomi?" called a voice.
Her mother opened the door and stepped into the room reluctantly. She was tall, with green eyes, fine, brown hair, and a worried expression on her face.
"Hmm?" Hitomi replied, her expression was that of someone who stayed up all night.
"Are you all right? You've been up here for hours," her mother asked.
"I'm fine, mum. Honestly," Hitomi said, her eyes only half open.
"All right... You call grandma or me if you need anything," her mother replied, standing in the doorway now, looking back at Hitomi over her shoulder.
"OK," Hitomi nodded, forcing a smile to cross her face.
Indeed, Hitomi felt like having any other emotion on her face instead of happiness or joy. How could she be happy? She was so very far away from the one she loved. She turned to look at the stars again. The star that Millerna had given to Van and her (as a symbol of their love) just before she had left Gaea was shining brighter then all of the stars in the sky.
"Oh, Van!" Hitomi whispered. "I want to be with you again...!"
"Hitomi!" called a voice at her door that was certainly not her mother's.
"Shingo! Go away!" Hitomi yelled at the door.
"Mum says it's time to go to sleep!" Shingo, her little brother yelled back.
"All right, all right! I'm going!" Hitomi growled, curling herself up under her comforters for a 'good' night's sleep. She stared at the moon, it's pale light reflected so well the look on Van's face as she was carried away by the beam of light for the last time, back to Earth. Just as she was closing her eyes, she whispered up to the moon.
"Van, sleep well. Where ever you are, you'll be in my heart always. I'll never forget that smile of yours. Too bad it was the last I ever saw on you."
* * * * *
Van shivered in the cold dawn air as he sat high upon his steady mount. He wore a black shirt and green pants with the Fanelian crest stitched on the front of both, instead of his usual red shirt and tan pants because they were "unacceptable for a King to wear". He looked up at the two moons hanging high above him. He wondered whether his beloved Hitomi was looking up at their star at that moment. How he missed her...!
His train of thought was interrupted by a most aggravated Merle. Ever since Hitomi and he had become lovers, Merle always tried to stop him from thinking about her, but he thought about Hitomi anyway. Though he did not like the way she tried to make him hate Hitomi, she was still a friend who he cared for.
"Lord Van!" Merle said with a scowl on her face. "The day's wasting away, and we're nowhere near Palas yet!"
A small band of Fanelians, containing Van, Merle, Damen (Van's advisor), and a dozen knights of Fanelia, were headed to Palas to negociate a trade system between the two countries. The meetings would last at least a week, leaving Van with plenty of time to dream about Hitomi while he was supposed to be listening in on the situation. Besides, Damen did most of the talking in these matters anyway, so Van was allowed to waste his own time. The only times Van would have to pay attention was if he didn't agree with something in which Damen would tell him to object, and when he makes an agreement and shakes hands with King Dryden Aston: successor of the late King Aston, husband of Queen Millerna Sara Aston.
Van shivered again: it was not a day to be riding all the way to Palas, but it couldn't be helped. The two kings had agreed to this day and they were bound to stick to it's agreed date, even though the weather complained.
"My King, what's the matter?" Damen asked, swaying his horse to move beside Van's. Damen was the kind of person — blue eyes, short blonde hair, and a relatively small torso — who was fitted for nothing else but scholarship.
"Last night, I dreamt of her again," Van said miserably.
"My Lord, you must get this witch of the Mystic Moon from your mind," Damen replied with as minimum an amount of compassion as he could stand.
"She's not a witch!" Van yelled. "She's an angel... And to think, I've been touched by an angel."
"Forgive me...," Damen sunk back behind Van's visual range.
* * * * *
Sun shone in brightly through the window of Hitomi's room. It hit the floor, bounced off the ceiling, and landed down on Hitomi's body. She opened her eyes to greet the sunshine from outside. She moved her hand in front of her to block the sun from hurting the green pools of deep leaves.
Hitomi sat up slowly, every part of her body ached. Her shoulders were sore, her back was tightened up like a whip would slash down on it, and her head was spinning with morning problems: foggy eyes, groaning when you have to wake up, etc.
She made her way to the bathroom to shower. The warm water felt good on her bare skin as it sprayed down on her from the shower head. She didn't want to get out accept that her mother called her to come down for breakfast and so that Shingo could shower too.
She dressed herself in her school uniform. Gray coat, white shirt, brown skirt, white socks, red bow, and multi-coloured running shoes. She grabbed her duffle back off the floor beside her door and ran downstairs. Her mother was standing at the kitchen counter while her father sat at the table reading the newspaper.
With an effort, Hitomi smiled kindly and said, "Hi!"
Her mother looked at her and replied, pointing her finger at the table. "There's muffins and cereal ready for you."
Hitomi snatched up two muffins and one of the two bowls of cereal on the table and began to gobble them up. At that moment, Shingo came bounding down the stairs, ravenous for his breakfast. All three family members stopped what they were doing to stare at Shingo as he nearly dived into his cereal! Hitomi, seeing Shingo do such a disgusting thing, put down her muffin and spoon.
"Well, I'm full," she added.
She then picked up her duffle bag, said goodbye to all of them, and rushed out the door, waving as she did.
* * * * *
Echoing through the hall was the sound of metal against metal. Two figures, standing in the middle of the room made their swords collide, and the ring rang through the hall. One was clothed in a uniform of honour. The other, in an Astorian dress.
"Allen, you're going easy on me!" one said angrily.
"I... like to give my opponents the upper hand. More of a challenge for me that way," the figure of the famous Allen Schezar replied very unconvincingly.
"You're just going easy on me because I'm a girl and I'm your sister, aren't you!"
"No, I'm not, Celena," Allen denied lamely.
"Yes, you are!" Celena said, turning away from Allen.
Allen stood silent for a few moments. Then, with all the courage he could muster, he said:
"Have you heard? Van is coming for an audience with Dryden to arrange a trade system between the countries. They'll be here a week, so we can catch up with each other in the meetings and maybe after them for a time."
"Really! That's so wonderful! Now they can see how easy you make sparring for me!" Celena replied, her eyes full of venom.
"All right! I won't go easy on you anymore!" Allen gave in.
"Good," Celena said happily. "I wonder if Van will make a good system with Dryden."
"Not if he doesn't pay attention. Which we can almost be sure he won't. He's probably going to dream about Hitomi the whole time!" Allen laughed between words.
"No, he has more sense than that... doesn't he?" Celena asked, glancing at Allen.
* * * * *
'Hmm, where is she?' Yukari thought. 'She's gonna make me miss the train along with her!'
Yukari was standing at the station, waiting for Hitomi so they could go to school together, just as they always did. She looked around to see whether Hitomi was running up the road. Hitomi wasn't there.
"Looking for me?" said a voice from behind Yukari.
Yukari nearly jumped out of her skin and turned around to see Hitomi standing behind her with her mouth curving into a smirk.
"Don't do that!" Yukari yelled with a smile on her face.
"All right, all right. Here comes our train," Hitomi said, pointing at a yellow train with blue letters on either side saying: "Japan Rails Co."
The two girls hopped on the train when it stopped and sat down near the back of the cart they entered. Both were silent for a time. Hitomi was looking out the window at the scenery that rushed by, and Yukari was rapidly finishing an assignment she hadn't fully completed.
"So, how's Shingo? Did he ask that girl out yet? Did you ask Amano out yet?" Yukari blurted out suddenly.
"Yukari!" Hitomi said, slightly slapping Yukari's head.
"Well, you can't blame a girl for asking!" Yukari replied, rubbing her right hand over the bruise Hitomi had caused on the back of her head.
"Let's see... Shingo's fine. No, he hasn't asked Sakura out yet. No, I haven't asked Amano out, and I don't plan to," Hitomi said, her eyes closed.
The train stopped and they heard a pleasant voice from the speakers in the cart say: "Tokyo High School. This stop is Tokyo High School." At that, nearly half the cart piled off the train. Hitomi was one of the last ones to get off. Suddenly, she felt a pulling feeling in her heart, as if something or someone was calling her
'Somebody's calling me,' Hitomi thought as she walked up the stairs to enter the school with Yukari. 'Is it you, Van?'
* * * * *
Cold wind pierced Van's shirt with an icy grip as he stood in the middle of their camp made in a clearing. It held him high in his saddle like he was a string puppet. His back was like a board, his hands tiny icicles. He felt as if he would die right here, on the spot. In the corner of his mind, he heard a soft, familiar voice call out, 'Is it you, Van?'
'Oh, Hitomi!' he thought. He couldn't see her, or touch her, but he could sense her. Every little part of her body was there, inside his own limbs. She was in his fingers, his toes, everywhere! Her presence made him feel warm and safe. He imagined her kissing his fingers. At the thought, his fingers tingled with sensation. He looked down to see Hitomi's pendant glowing. There was a beam of light a kilometer to the north of where they were, and then, the pendant's aura ceased. All went still again.
* * * * *
Yukari stared in horror at Hitomi. Hitomi looked at her in puzzlement.
"What's the matter, Yukari?" Hitomi asked.
"Y-you're disappearing!" Yukari replied, fainting at the last word.
"Huh?" Hitomi looked down at herself. She could see right through her flesh! She saw that same beam of light that first took her away appear and carry her into the sky. Leaving behind an unconscious girl, lying on the school's steps.
* * * * *
The forest was lush and green. Hitomi felt a haze of confusion wash over her body. Dark, ominous trees blocked the light from the sun. Leaving the poor girl in darkness. She didn't even have her pendant to tell her which direction to go! What was she supposed to do? Just, lay down and die here? Certainly not!
"Oh, no! Where am I? I can't even tell whether this is Gaea, the stupid trees are blocking me from seeing the two moons!"
Out from the distance, Hitomi heard the stamping of paws on earth coming towards her fast! She heard wolves howl from not as far away as she'd have liked them to be. She saw, in horror, as five wolves came rushing out of the trees! Hitomi was off in an instant, her legs moving back and forth in a never ending motion. Her heart raced like her legs moved. In her mind, she could hear her voice and Van's speaking the seconds as her pendant swung, second by second.
Shrubbery brushed every part of her body, she pushed it aside in a frenzy, never stopping. She saw a clearing ahead. She dashed for it in a flurry. Her uniform kept getting snagged by stray branches. The wolves, not far behind, kept trying to use that problem to their advantage. They stopped at the edge of the clearing, while Hitomi dashed into it.
Hitomi bounded through the camp and, accidentally, into Van's horse! Van fell straight onto the ground.
"What the—?!" he screamed angrily.
Hitomi looked down at her feet. She didn't want to know who she hit. What if it was Dilandau!?
"Oh, I'm very, very sorry!" she said.
Hitomi looked up. She froze in amazement. Van looked down at her after he jumped back on his horse. The both gasped at the same time.
"Hitomi!?" Van gasped.
"Van!?" Hitomi gasped
TO BE CONTINUED...
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Episode #1
Touched By An Angel
By Firefrost
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notes: "Speech"
'Thoughts'
~*~*~*~*~*~ = Dreams (beginnings/ends)
* * * * * = Time passage/scene change
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How often I think of him. How far away he seems from my empty arms at night, when my desires fly up to the sky like his gossamer white wings sore him high into the air. I am incomplete. Each day, I feel a little bit closer to loneliness. I would do anything to be with him again. We need each other, each of us is the other's angel. Both of us have been touched by an angel.
Sitting on the soft, green covers of her bed, Hitomi looked up at the sky through the window beside her bed. The stars twinkled brightly on that clear spring night. It had been half a year since Hitomi returned from Gaea. Her poor mother watched, in sorrow, as each day brought her daughter closer to madness... And no reason could be given why.
Many times, Hitomi's mother had guessed that her daughter was suffering from the need of someone to love. She was half right on that account, but whenever she tried to hook Hitomi up with some cute college boy, Hitomi always turned her head and walked away. Hitomi wouldn't tell her what was wrong.
Hitomi awoke from her magical stare at the shining stars when she heard a knock on her bedroom door.
"Hitomi?" called a voice.
Her mother opened the door and stepped into the room reluctantly. She was tall, with green eyes, fine, brown hair, and a worried expression on her face.
"Hmm?" Hitomi replied, her expression was that of someone who stayed up all night.
"Are you all right? You've been up here for hours," her mother asked.
"I'm fine, mum. Honestly," Hitomi said, her eyes only half open.
"All right... You call grandma or me if you need anything," her mother replied, standing in the doorway now, looking back at Hitomi over her shoulder.
"OK," Hitomi nodded, forcing a smile to cross her face.
Indeed, Hitomi felt like having any other emotion on her face instead of happiness or joy. How could she be happy? She was so very far away from the one she loved. She turned to look at the stars again. The star that Millerna had given to Van and her (as a symbol of their love) just before she had left Gaea was shining brighter then all of the stars in the sky.
"Oh, Van!" Hitomi whispered. "I want to be with you again...!"
"Hitomi!" called a voice at her door that was certainly not her mother's.
"Shingo! Go away!" Hitomi yelled at the door.
"Mum says it's time to go to sleep!" Shingo, her little brother yelled back.
"All right, all right! I'm going!" Hitomi growled, curling herself up under her comforters for a 'good' night's sleep. She stared at the moon, it's pale light reflected so well the look on Van's face as she was carried away by the beam of light for the last time, back to Earth. Just as she was closing her eyes, she whispered up to the moon.
"Van, sleep well. Where ever you are, you'll be in my heart always. I'll never forget that smile of yours. Too bad it was the last I ever saw on you."
* * * * *
Van shivered in the cold dawn air as he sat high upon his steady mount. He wore a black shirt and green pants with the Fanelian crest stitched on the front of both, instead of his usual red shirt and tan pants because they were "unacceptable for a King to wear". He looked up at the two moons hanging high above him. He wondered whether his beloved Hitomi was looking up at their star at that moment. How he missed her...!
His train of thought was interrupted by a most aggravated Merle. Ever since Hitomi and he had become lovers, Merle always tried to stop him from thinking about her, but he thought about Hitomi anyway. Though he did not like the way she tried to make him hate Hitomi, she was still a friend who he cared for.
"Lord Van!" Merle said with a scowl on her face. "The day's wasting away, and we're nowhere near Palas yet!"
A small band of Fanelians, containing Van, Merle, Damen (Van's advisor), and a dozen knights of Fanelia, were headed to Palas to negociate a trade system between the two countries. The meetings would last at least a week, leaving Van with plenty of time to dream about Hitomi while he was supposed to be listening in on the situation. Besides, Damen did most of the talking in these matters anyway, so Van was allowed to waste his own time. The only times Van would have to pay attention was if he didn't agree with something in which Damen would tell him to object, and when he makes an agreement and shakes hands with King Dryden Aston: successor of the late King Aston, husband of Queen Millerna Sara Aston.
Van shivered again: it was not a day to be riding all the way to Palas, but it couldn't be helped. The two kings had agreed to this day and they were bound to stick to it's agreed date, even though the weather complained.
"My King, what's the matter?" Damen asked, swaying his horse to move beside Van's. Damen was the kind of person — blue eyes, short blonde hair, and a relatively small torso — who was fitted for nothing else but scholarship.
"Last night, I dreamt of her again," Van said miserably.
"My Lord, you must get this witch of the Mystic Moon from your mind," Damen replied with as minimum an amount of compassion as he could stand.
"She's not a witch!" Van yelled. "She's an angel... And to think, I've been touched by an angel."
"Forgive me...," Damen sunk back behind Van's visual range.
* * * * *
Sun shone in brightly through the window of Hitomi's room. It hit the floor, bounced off the ceiling, and landed down on Hitomi's body. She opened her eyes to greet the sunshine from outside. She moved her hand in front of her to block the sun from hurting the green pools of deep leaves.
Hitomi sat up slowly, every part of her body ached. Her shoulders were sore, her back was tightened up like a whip would slash down on it, and her head was spinning with morning problems: foggy eyes, groaning when you have to wake up, etc.
She made her way to the bathroom to shower. The warm water felt good on her bare skin as it sprayed down on her from the shower head. She didn't want to get out accept that her mother called her to come down for breakfast and so that Shingo could shower too.
She dressed herself in her school uniform. Gray coat, white shirt, brown skirt, white socks, red bow, and multi-coloured running shoes. She grabbed her duffle back off the floor beside her door and ran downstairs. Her mother was standing at the kitchen counter while her father sat at the table reading the newspaper.
With an effort, Hitomi smiled kindly and said, "Hi!"
Her mother looked at her and replied, pointing her finger at the table. "There's muffins and cereal ready for you."
Hitomi snatched up two muffins and one of the two bowls of cereal on the table and began to gobble them up. At that moment, Shingo came bounding down the stairs, ravenous for his breakfast. All three family members stopped what they were doing to stare at Shingo as he nearly dived into his cereal! Hitomi, seeing Shingo do such a disgusting thing, put down her muffin and spoon.
"Well, I'm full," she added.
She then picked up her duffle bag, said goodbye to all of them, and rushed out the door, waving as she did.
* * * * *
Echoing through the hall was the sound of metal against metal. Two figures, standing in the middle of the room made their swords collide, and the ring rang through the hall. One was clothed in a uniform of honour. The other, in an Astorian dress.
"Allen, you're going easy on me!" one said angrily.
"I... like to give my opponents the upper hand. More of a challenge for me that way," the figure of the famous Allen Schezar replied very unconvincingly.
"You're just going easy on me because I'm a girl and I'm your sister, aren't you!"
"No, I'm not, Celena," Allen denied lamely.
"Yes, you are!" Celena said, turning away from Allen.
Allen stood silent for a few moments. Then, with all the courage he could muster, he said:
"Have you heard? Van is coming for an audience with Dryden to arrange a trade system between the countries. They'll be here a week, so we can catch up with each other in the meetings and maybe after them for a time."
"Really! That's so wonderful! Now they can see how easy you make sparring for me!" Celena replied, her eyes full of venom.
"All right! I won't go easy on you anymore!" Allen gave in.
"Good," Celena said happily. "I wonder if Van will make a good system with Dryden."
"Not if he doesn't pay attention. Which we can almost be sure he won't. He's probably going to dream about Hitomi the whole time!" Allen laughed between words.
"No, he has more sense than that... doesn't he?" Celena asked, glancing at Allen.
* * * * *
'Hmm, where is she?' Yukari thought. 'She's gonna make me miss the train along with her!'
Yukari was standing at the station, waiting for Hitomi so they could go to school together, just as they always did. She looked around to see whether Hitomi was running up the road. Hitomi wasn't there.
"Looking for me?" said a voice from behind Yukari.
Yukari nearly jumped out of her skin and turned around to see Hitomi standing behind her with her mouth curving into a smirk.
"Don't do that!" Yukari yelled with a smile on her face.
"All right, all right. Here comes our train," Hitomi said, pointing at a yellow train with blue letters on either side saying: "Japan Rails Co."
The two girls hopped on the train when it stopped and sat down near the back of the cart they entered. Both were silent for a time. Hitomi was looking out the window at the scenery that rushed by, and Yukari was rapidly finishing an assignment she hadn't fully completed.
"So, how's Shingo? Did he ask that girl out yet? Did you ask Amano out yet?" Yukari blurted out suddenly.
"Yukari!" Hitomi said, slightly slapping Yukari's head.
"Well, you can't blame a girl for asking!" Yukari replied, rubbing her right hand over the bruise Hitomi had caused on the back of her head.
"Let's see... Shingo's fine. No, he hasn't asked Sakura out yet. No, I haven't asked Amano out, and I don't plan to," Hitomi said, her eyes closed.
The train stopped and they heard a pleasant voice from the speakers in the cart say: "Tokyo High School. This stop is Tokyo High School." At that, nearly half the cart piled off the train. Hitomi was one of the last ones to get off. Suddenly, she felt a pulling feeling in her heart, as if something or someone was calling her
'Somebody's calling me,' Hitomi thought as she walked up the stairs to enter the school with Yukari. 'Is it you, Van?'
* * * * *
Cold wind pierced Van's shirt with an icy grip as he stood in the middle of their camp made in a clearing. It held him high in his saddle like he was a string puppet. His back was like a board, his hands tiny icicles. He felt as if he would die right here, on the spot. In the corner of his mind, he heard a soft, familiar voice call out, 'Is it you, Van?'
'Oh, Hitomi!' he thought. He couldn't see her, or touch her, but he could sense her. Every little part of her body was there, inside his own limbs. She was in his fingers, his toes, everywhere! Her presence made him feel warm and safe. He imagined her kissing his fingers. At the thought, his fingers tingled with sensation. He looked down to see Hitomi's pendant glowing. There was a beam of light a kilometer to the north of where they were, and then, the pendant's aura ceased. All went still again.
* * * * *
Yukari stared in horror at Hitomi. Hitomi looked at her in puzzlement.
"What's the matter, Yukari?" Hitomi asked.
"Y-you're disappearing!" Yukari replied, fainting at the last word.
"Huh?" Hitomi looked down at herself. She could see right through her flesh! She saw that same beam of light that first took her away appear and carry her into the sky. Leaving behind an unconscious girl, lying on the school's steps.
* * * * *
The forest was lush and green. Hitomi felt a haze of confusion wash over her body. Dark, ominous trees blocked the light from the sun. Leaving the poor girl in darkness. She didn't even have her pendant to tell her which direction to go! What was she supposed to do? Just, lay down and die here? Certainly not!
"Oh, no! Where am I? I can't even tell whether this is Gaea, the stupid trees are blocking me from seeing the two moons!"
Out from the distance, Hitomi heard the stamping of paws on earth coming towards her fast! She heard wolves howl from not as far away as she'd have liked them to be. She saw, in horror, as five wolves came rushing out of the trees! Hitomi was off in an instant, her legs moving back and forth in a never ending motion. Her heart raced like her legs moved. In her mind, she could hear her voice and Van's speaking the seconds as her pendant swung, second by second.
Shrubbery brushed every part of her body, she pushed it aside in a frenzy, never stopping. She saw a clearing ahead. She dashed for it in a flurry. Her uniform kept getting snagged by stray branches. The wolves, not far behind, kept trying to use that problem to their advantage. They stopped at the edge of the clearing, while Hitomi dashed into it.
Hitomi bounded through the camp and, accidentally, into Van's horse! Van fell straight onto the ground.
"What the—?!" he screamed angrily.
Hitomi looked down at her feet. She didn't want to know who she hit. What if it was Dilandau!?
"Oh, I'm very, very sorry!" she said.
Hitomi looked up. She froze in amazement. Van looked down at her after he jumped back on his horse. The both gasped at the same time.
"Hitomi!?" Van gasped.
"Van!?" Hitomi gasped
TO BE CONTINUED...