Disclaimer: I do not own Escaflowne or any of the characters therein. I am only dabbling in their universe for a little while to tell a story.
The Tale of A Cat: Prologue
"Tell me a story Mama." Merle looked up from the letter she was penning to regard the little girl standing in front of her. She was young with pink hair, dark eyes and a pleading look on her face. Her hands were playing with a fold of the nightdress she was wearing, worrying the edges into a small fray.
"What kind of story?"
"A long one! About the Lady Hitomi." Merle smiled a little sadly. Ever since little Varie had learned in school about the relationship the Lady Hitomi had with Merle, she had been relentless in her pursuit of information. Lady Hitomi was a legend among children these days, which led Merle to believe that the standard of legends was going down. Back when she and Lord Van were children, their legends were of great heroes of the past, not of girls who dressed like boys and caused more trouble than they were worth. Merle wished that Hitomi were here to set everyone straight. Merle rolled her eyes; like that would help. If Hitomi were here, everyone would be so happy, and the legend would only grow, no matter how many times Hitomi would say it was nothing. Oh well. At least one child in Fanelia would get the true story of Hitomi Kanzaki. Merle narrowed her eyes at this child.
"Have you brushed your teeth?"
"Yes Mama."
"Brushed your hair?"
"Yes Mama."
"Washed your paws?"
The little girl giggled. "I don't have paws!"
Merle grinned openly.
"Just checking. You can never be too sure you know."
Varie stood beside her mother, with a look of intense concentration on her face, one that Merle knew from years of exposure to it meant that the little girl was trying desperately not to fidget. To be patient, whatever that meant to a child. It was the same look that Van used to give to his advisors when he became the Crown Prince of Fanelia.
"Ok, I'll tell you a story. The Lady Hitomi was actually a girl who was easy to provoke. Her face would turn the colour of a tomato if you made her angry, which I did as often as I could just to see it. You should have seen it, it was hilarious, there was this one time I stole her…" Merle trailed off as she noticed Varie's young lips forming into a tight pout. "What?"
"That's not a story." Varie's eyes narrowed in the precise way that Merle's sometimes did when she wasn't getting her way.
"What? Of course it is. Don't you want to hear about the Lady Hitomi?"
"I want to hear the story."
Merle sighed. She knew what Varie was asking for. She wanted the story about the great Lady Hitomi, Saviour of Gaea. Merle hated that story. It made Van and Hitomi heroes. It made Merle herself seem larger than life. Worst of all, the popular story made it seem like there was a contented ending, if not a happy one.
"Kid, I'll give you a story. It will be a true story, one you should pay close attention to. That means no fidgeting." Varie's head snapped up guiltily, and she stilled her hands in her lap. "I'm not going to lie to you. Hitomi Kanzaki was a real person with real hopes and real flaws. She was even known to have a bad hair day now and then."
Varie looked up at her mother with wide eyes.
"No!"
"Yes!" Merle grinned; this was going to be fun. "When I first met Hitomi Kanzaki she was a scrawny little girl, not even five rotations older than you are right now. I thought she was a boy, escaped from an asylum. Her clothes were ridiculous, not practical for the weather at all. Balgus and Rhum both treated her like a lady, which got me ticked off right away. I had lived in the palace all my life, and was treated as a little girl, one that was just the teensiest bit annoying, and she waltzes in and receives the royal treatment. Just who did she think she was? Worse than that, she didn't seem to know who Lord Van was, treated him like an equal. Like there was nothing special about him at all. Well, I warned her right off that she wasn't to go near him."
"Mama?" The voice was cautious.
"Yes?"
"My teacher always starts stories with 'Once upon a time'."
"Are you questioning me little girl?" Merle got down on all fours and started prowling towards Varie, hissing and spitting like a dragon. It was an old game, one they had played countless times when Varie was younger, one that Merle and Van had played when all they needed was each other. Varie shrieked and ran to the corner like the damsel in distress she was supposed to be. She stood there uncertainly, looking awkward in her own skin.
"I'm a little old for games Mama."
"We all need to play. I'm twenty-eight rotations: ancient compared to you, and I still play."
"But you're a cat. Cats are supposed to be playful."
"What's that supposed to mean? You better watch yourself kiddie, or there will be no story, once upon a time or otherwise." Varie gulped.
"I'll be good! I promise!" Merle stifled a grin at the sight of the little girl, wide eyed in front of her.
"Ok then. Have a seat." Merle sat down on the plush chesterfield in her living quarters. Varie scrambled up next to her, not nearly as high of a scramble as it used to be, Merle thought with nostalgia. She was growing up so fast, unaware of the dangers of the world and the responsibilities it would hold for her.
Varie curled up close to her mother, in an impulsive move that was distinctly feline. 'Well,' thought Merle, 'Maybe she isn't growing up that fast after all.' She placed her furry arms around the small form and began her tale.
"Once upon a time in a land similar to Gaea, but very different, there was a girl. At first glance she seemed to be a plain girl with steady green eyes and dark blonde hair. Her face was unremarkable, save for the frequent occasions in which she gave in to temper or any other of the passionate emotions. On those occasions, the girl's face flamed with an inner light, both beautiful and volatile.
Not much is known about the Lady Hitomi before she came to Gaea. Some believe that she was sent as a Priestess of the Mystic Moon, some believe that she is a goddess who comes to us in times of need. But the Lady Hitomi had a family on the Mystic Moon. She hardly ever spoke about them, but every time she looked into the sky you could tell that she missed them fiercely.
One day, Hitomi was taking part in a competition, like our Tournaments. She was one of the runners, even though she was a girl. She once told me that the whole team was girls, but I think she was telling a tall tale. Anyway, she was running in her race, when all of a sudden she ran right through Lord Van."
"She ran through the King?"
"He wasn't the King yet, silly. And she didn't know it was Lord Van anyway."
"I bet she was scared."
"So scared she passed out. She woke up, and found out that no one else had seen the boy she had run into. She was told that she fainted during the race."
"That would be weird."
"Very weird. Everyone thought she was crazy. But a few days later she was running again and Lord Van showed up for real this time. They started yelling at each other right away."
"But the story says they fell in love!" Varie was indignant.
"They didn't figure that out until much later. At first they couldn't stand each other. Lord Van was hunting the dragon for his king-making, and Hitomi just ran smack into him. Both of them were pretty peeved, not to mention the fact that they thought it was pretty weird that the other had just appeared out of no where. But then the dragon came, and Hitomi and her friends freaked out." Merle watched the emotions play over the younger girl's face, knew she was deciding which question was the most important to ask.
"Her friends were there?"
"Oh yeah… Yes, her friends were there. One she was practically in love with and the other was her best friend."
"But she's supposed to be in love with the King."
"You know what, I don't think I'm going to tell anymore today." Merle stretched and gave a fake yawn. She rolled over on the chesterfield and pretended to snore. She heard Varie gasp, and then felt small hands shaking her back.
"No! I'll be good." Merle turned her head towards Varie and quirked an eyebrow. Well, she tried to, but it never seemed to work, and both her eyebrows quirked. Merle felt this ruined the effect, but managed to get a flush out of the little girl. "I promise."
Merle resumed her former position, and her storytelling voice.
"Alright then. Where was I? Right, the dragon. It showed up, and Hitomi and her friends had never seen a dragon before. Lord Van says it wasn't all that big, but Hitomi said it was huge, and I don't really know which one was telling the truth. Anyway, Lord Van was fighting the dragon, and Hitomi suddenly saw that if he stayed where he was, that he would die. She warned him about it, and she saved his life. Lord Van killed the dragon and took its energist like I knew he would. But then a pillar of light surrounded him and Hitomi and transported them to just outside Arzaz."
"But that's near here! Near Fanelia!"
"That's right. They came to Fanelia right after that, and that's when Lord Van was made King of Fanelia."
"And that's when the War started, right?" Varie's eyes held the excitement of one who had never seen war; who only thought of the adventure and romance in the stories she heard and not of the pain and suffering that went along with it. Merle hoped desperately that Varie would learn that war was not an adventure without having to experience it firsthand.
"The war did start that day, but you'll learn about that in school. The war was terrible Varie, don't ever think it was exciting, or noble. One man thought that if he could give everyone what they wished for, then there would be no more fighting. But he was wrong." Merle's voice sounded strained, and Varie's eyes became serious. Merle looked at her daughter and smiled. "But the war ended because Lord Van and Hitomi chose to love each other instead of fight. Love is very powerful you know. Just as powerful as your wishes."
"But she went back to the Mystic Moon."
Merle nodded. "Yes, she went back." Varie was silent for a moment.
"I wish I could meet her." Merle held the girl a little bit tighter.
"Keep wishing Kiddie. You never know what your wishes can accomplish."
They sat in silence for a long time, mother and daughter. When Merle was certain that Varie had fallen asleep, she picked her up to take her to bed. At 10 rotations, Varie was still small for her age, but Merle wasn't worried. Children grew at their own pace, and Merle had stayed quite small throughout her adoloescence.
"Mama?" Varie whispered just as Merle was carrying the lamp out of the room.
"Yes?"
"Did you like the Lady Hitomi?" Merle was quiet for a moment. It was no secret in Fanelia that Merle had been very jealous of the girl from the Mystic Moon.
"I did, and that's what made everything so hard."
"What?"
"Go to sleep. Count mice if you have to. I won't have you falling asleep in school tomorrow."
"Goodnight Mama."
"Goodnight Varie. Sweet dreams."
Merle sat at her desk that night staring listlessly at the unfinished letter on her desk, wondering what made everything turn out this way. It just wasn't fair.
She looked out her window and saw the Mystic Moon hanging full and ripe in the sky, a brilliant orb of blue, white and green. She knew that somewhere in the palace, He was staring at the same moon.
"Oh Hitomi."