Author's Notes- This is the first chapter of the first book of my story. It starts off pretty slow but it'll pick up. GO TO MY WEBSITE to get quicker updates and to see some images I've worked on (link in profile). And I love reviews, so don't hold back! I'll only be posting one disclaimer for the entire first book.
Disclaimer- I do not own Escaflowne and I do not profit from the use of its content. New original characters and plot belong to me.
The Journey of Escaflowne: Book One
PrologueThe wind was warm and indulgent as it flowed untamed through the towering trees of old caressing Mother Nature's pride and joy with nimble fingers. The darkness of night held the forest in a quiet hush as it cradled the young moon in the star spangled sky. Not even the crickets dare orchestrate their restless melodies in fear of waking the great protector. Only in silence would it find its sleep dreamless and peaceful. But there were whispers. Whispers that slipped through the air with a startling finesse undetected. But oh the whispers.
They foretold of a great power that would creep upon its prey with sly eyes and ready feet. And surely the prey would fall to the predator's false comforts only to be bitten by jagged teeth. The hunters would become the hunted, and the lost would become the found. And all of Gaea would tremble.
End Prologue
The Journey of Escaflowne: Book One Chapter One
The heat baked earth seemed to endlessly stretch to the four winds with no signs of change or expectation. Nothing but sand and the occasional rock littered her path as she trudged despairingly onwards. The cloths she wore stuck to her skin, and her feet burned inside sand filled shoes and throbbed from the relentless pace. Four days. The days were sweltering and the nights chilled her bones to the core.
She raised a burned hand to her brow, wiping off the offending sweat that had accumulated there over the past three minutes. Her legs stilled and she scanned her golden surroundings with inconsolable eyes. Breaths came out in short pants of exertion, lungs begging for her to rest. There was nothing and no one in sight and deep down she knew that there never would be. It was an unrelenting path she took with no hope forthcoming in any form.
And not for the first time tears collected in her eyes as her knees sunk into the scorching sand. Hitomi was lost. She was utterly and completely lost. Allusions of being safe at home in her cool, cozy bed dreaming of 'what ifs' and the 'good ol' days', and her greatest worries were what she would wear to the dance next Friday floated through her minds eye. But alas, like everything else in her life she was lost without comfort. Or food or drink for that matter.
Tears trailed down her cheeks to mingle with bitter sweat. She would die here in this barren lot of hell. A barren lot of hell she didn't even know that name of. Her parched, cracked lips parted in the tiniest of smiles. She had really done it this time hadn't she? For the past years all she had yearned for was to return to Gaea. To the land that had born her love and brought her thrills. Well…here she was! And she hadn't even been here for a week and already wished to go back to the Earth she knew. She'd always told herself that she was a fickle girl.
The Mystic Moon hung in the sky taunting her with its blue and green swirls of paradise. However, the longer she stared the twirler the blue and the green became. And soon all she could see was a mesh of color dancing in her vision as a large blur.
Oh God, she was dying. This was it. She was going to die before seeing her friends again. She was going to die…without seeing Van again. This thought brought a choked sob to her throat. Goodbye.
Then everything went out of focus as her eyes shut in painful acceptance. She fell the rest of the way to the ground with a quiet thud. Oh you fickle, fickle girl.
Soft whispers twisted and turned around strained ears forebodingly. Numb fingers attempted to snatch them from the quickly thinning air desperate to know their secrets. But, they were always just beyond the reach of the flailing, outstretched arms.
As minutes flew by the whispers became more like distant murmurs and quickly faded to nothingness and only silence remained. The black abyss had no up or down, and right or left were meaningless. The nothingness seemed to press on the person from all sides without reservations.
But wait…in the darkness…
A pinprick of light flashed into being. It began to grow larger and larger and it's green hue became brighter and brighter. And from the light stepped….
Emerald eyes flashed open in frigid shock as the dream left her now awake mind. Where…? What…? She turned her head to the left and right hoping to find some sort of recognition in her surroundings. Perhaps if she was lucky she was lying on a very uncomfortable cloud and that ringing in her ear was the sound of a trumpet welcoming her to the after life. And if she wasn't so lucky…well, fire and brimstone couldn't be that bad.
Hitomi tried to sit up but thick leather straps pinched her arms tightly to the mat she was lying on. That couldn't be good. She was lying tied up, alone, and now her arms hurt. Pain….she felt pain! So she wasn't dead…yet. She swallowed the lump of relief and fear that threatened to rise in her throat. Where the hell was she? She struggled to free herself for a few more moments before giving in with a small sigh. So escape didn't seem to be the most open option at the moment. She took a deep calming breath and kept herself form panicking.
From what she could see in her position on the floor, she was in some sort of dome-shaped hut. The walls were thatched and the ground was compact dirt and a large piece of hanging cloth could only be the door. Strange bottles and foreign trinkets littered a makeshift shelf and strange feather contraptions hung on the walls. The smell of acid hung in the air masked by the heavy sent of perfume. All in all it had the appearance of a deranged voodoo home.
Uneasiness knotted in Hitomi's stomach as she assessed her situation. One: She didn't know where she was. Two: She was immobile. Three: She felt slightly disoriented and her body ached. Four: She was alone-
Smoke began to come into the hut from around the door, curling into the room like an impatient snake. Oh no. Alarm bubbled up inside of her as she noted that there were no windows or vents in the room. And what if…?
A bony hand wrapped around the curtain and slowly pulled it back to reveal a shadowy figure. She couldn't make out the face through the smoke, but the form drew itself fully into the room closer to where she lie. She tried to shrink away from the pale outstretched hand in fear. She could then see the thin lips turn upwards in a cruel smile. And then-
Wheeze! Cough. Cough. Sharp intake of breath. Cough!
"Magna, would ya turn that retched thing off before ya burn the house down! I can't see a damn thing in all this smoke!" The hand batted at the fumes violently.
"Lesternine Luke Fragler! I'll not stand for that foul language in my home! And if you gonna talk to me ya come do it in person. I will not have that shoutin' in my home either!"
"And just what ya think your doin' right now? You shoutin' just as loud as I am! And don't forget who built this here house, Woman!"
Hitomi could only stare in shock when the scary figure leaning over her was revealed as a short old man. She blinked several more times when an even shorter old woman appeared at the door shooing the smoke away with her apron. What in the world was going on?
The woman stepped up next to the man and shook a wrinkled finger at him in reprimand. And though she was very thin and short, she still managed to give an intimidating scowl. Several strands of her white hair were strung with wooden beads and blue feathers and a blue tattoo of the sun marked her brow. She was garbed in pale yellow robes that dragged on the ground as she moved. She said in a high raspy voice, "You may have built this disaster, but who fed ya so that ya could build? Who gave ya sons so that ya could dig the well!"
"Uhg, always with the well!" he accused. The balding man had about three inches over his wife and was a great deal wider. Large, round spectacles enlarged his eyes a great deal and sat funny on his crooked nose. He waved his arms around as he spoke, unlike his wife whose hands stayed firmly planted on her hips. His dress was also very different in style. His tailored brown pants and vest though worn were more sophisticated looking (if not a little ahead of his time). His face bore no markings save for several wrinkles.
"The well is a very impor-" The woman's attention was turned to Hitomi as she seemed to notice her for the first time. The frown melted off her aged face and was replaced with a warm smile as she clapped her hands together excitedly.
"Oh, my dear, ya've gone and woken up, haven't ya? I was startin' to worry that ya would go on sleepin' forever. Oh, I'm sorry dear that must be uncomfortable I reckin'."
She made quick work of the straps holding Hitomi down and the young woman immediately tried to stand and further the distance between herself and the elderly couple. But her knees could not hold the unexpected weight and gave beneath her. Hitomi watched warily as the woman came over to help her back onto the cot.
"O wouldn't get to close, Magna. She probly got some sorta disease."
"Oh, nonsense. I sense nothin' but goodness and confusion from the poor girl."
"Well your sense aint exactly something to brag about now is it?"
If Magna heard the mumbled comment she decided to ignore it because she continued on without skipping a beat.
"Now, leave us be, Lester, so that she can dress properly."
"Now this is my house and I aint goin nowhere unle-"
"Lester!"
"Fine. Fine. But don' come crying to me when she bites ya."
Magna's attention focused back on Hitomi and started to speak to her with exaggerated pronunciation of words. "My-name-is-Mag-na." She pointed to herself several times. "What-is-ur-name?" She pointed to Hitomi and spoke very loudly as though the brown haired girl didn't understand Gaean. Hitomi remained silent still speculative of their motives.
"The girl aint deaf, Woman."
"Now didn' I tell ya to leave, Lester?"
The two began to squabble again, but Hitomi didn't pay them any mind. She was too confused and lost. Who were these strange people? And what did they want from her? And even a better question…What'd she have to lose?
"Hitomi. My name's Hitomi."
End Chapter One