Disclaimer: *sigh* Yes, I know and I'm sure you know it too, I don't own Escaflowne.... Hey, what's
this letter, did I get ownership of Escaflowne?? Nope...*sighs* Just junk mail....
AN: I wanted to write a fic w/ Folken without having it happen inside the series, or bringing him
back to life (frankly, I can't come up w/ an original way for him to come back to life, or I'd have
done it...but I don't wanna copy ~_~')...so, I came up w/ this idea.... Just read ^_^, and I hope
the characters turn out right.... Then again, as this is before the series and Van and Folken are
kids...their personalities at that age were never really shown...at least not that I saw ~_~'''
The First Stranger
Chapter 1 - The Ring and the White Column
Achaia stared up at the moon in the sky, the stars shining in the background. She wondered if anything
else was out there. She knew there were the nine planets, stars, asteroids, quasers, and even the
invisible black holes, but all because science told her that. She wanted to know for real, some part
of her wanted to soar among those billions of stars above her. Maybe that's why she wanted to be an
astronaut, or at least an astronomer. Ever since she could remember she'd been facinated with the
night sky. Achaia sighed, and wished somehow she could leave the Earth and soar into the depths of
the dark blanket above her.
A voice from outside her door called her back to reality, her mother telling her to get to bed. Achaia
sighed and left her window, wishing she never had to go to sleep. That night she dreamed that she
grew angel wings and flew in the sky, gazing upwards at the stars she loved. She was sorry to wake
up, wishing she could stay lost in the dream forever, or better yet, that it would become reality.
Achaia sighed as the morning sun shone through her window. She glanced at the clock, 8 o'clock am,
too early for a Saturday, especially a summer break Saturday. Achaia groaned and rolled over
trying to go back to sleep, unfortunatly it didn't work. Achaia finally gave up with a sigh and rolled
herself out of the bed. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and changed into a tank top that showed
part of her stomach and a pair of baggy pants. She pulled her long, dark brownish-auburn hair
back into a ponytail. Then she donned her small, thinly framed glasses. Behind the lenses of her
glasses were a pair of beautiful blue eyes that had a greenish tint.
Achaia sluggishly went downstairs to the kitchen in her house to rummage for something to eat. She
brushed some stray strands of her long bangs out of her face as she finally decided on a brand of
cereal to eat. She had poured milk into it and was just about to eat when her hyper younger sister,
Katerina, Kati for short, plopped into a vacant chair. She rocked the table in the process and sent
some of Achaia's cereal and milk flying out of it's bowl. Achaia gave her a glare that could've almost
killed and continued eating silently.
" What's your problem?" the hyper 11 year old Kati asked.
" You," was Achaia's reply.
Kati stuck her tongue out at Achaia and then went to make herself a bowl of cereal. Then she plopped
down at the table again, this time spilling some of her cereal as well as Achaia's.
" Can't you sit down without spilling some of whatever is on the table?!?!" Achaia asked in exasperation.
" Quiet down, girls," their mother ordered, as she came into the room, stopping their daily argument.
Achaia got up from the table, " I'm going down to the soccer field."
" Be home for lunch, dear," her mother called after her as Achaia left the house.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
13 year old Folken Lacour de Fanel laughed gaily as he towed his three year old brother, Van Slanzar
de Fanel, on his back. A little cat girl, a baby who was about a year old was in his arms. Her
hair was pink in color and was short and unruly, sticking out wildly.
The little cat girl, Merle, giggled happily as Folken tickled her. They continued into the
gardens. There wouldn't seem to be a happier group in all of Fanelia, or even all of Gaea.
The trio walked along, playing games in the large gardens of Fanelia's castle and just enjoying
themselves. Once they reached the fountains that littered the center of the gardens they, or rather Van
and Folken, had a large water fight. After the fight all three were drenched, and Merle a little
irritated at the fact that her fur was wet (AN: *shrugs* I didn't say Merle didn't get caught in
crossfire), and lay looking at the clouds in the sky. They lay for a few minutes and then Folken
unpacked the picnic lunch they had brought. Then the group settled down to eat the lunch that
the castle cooks had packed them. It was delicious, and after finishing it off the three headed back
to the castle, after all, it was about Van and Merle's naptime.
Later that night, when Merle and Van were sleeping Folken was standing on the balcony that extended
from his room. He stared up at the sky, the double moons floating there, with stars in the background.
It was said that people lived on the bluish moon, the mystic moon. He wondered what they were like.
People said they were cursed, did that mean they had wings like him, like all Draconians? He wished he
could meet one, and didn't notice when the ring he wore strung around his neck gave off a slight bluish
light.
He remembered when he had first recieved the ring, on his 13th birthday. His mother, Queen Varie, had
given it to him, telling him to keep it safe and never to lose it or give it to anyone. She had
trusted him with it and he intended never to betray that trust. The ring was obviously important,
and he would keep it safe.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The soccer field was deserted when Achaia got there, but she didn't care, she just wanted to be by
herself for a little while. She placed the soccer ball she'd brought with her on to the field and
started to kick it around, pretending she was in the middle of a game.
Achaia had been playing ever since she was 5, when her father had introduced her to the game. That
was 8 years of experience. She was quite skilled, and had worked hard to get to where she was. But
sometimes she wondered why. Her intrest did not lie in sports, it lay in the skies above and in her
drawings. But somehow she found something in the game, something that alowed her to escape from
everyday life. She kicked the ball harder, it was her way of relieving the stress that would otherwise
threaten to overwhelm her.
Achaia kicked the ball around a little while longer before she sat down in the middle of the field, soccer
ball in her lap and sighed. She was bored, and her friends were out of town for the summer, so she
had nothing left to do.
All of a sudden her eyes widened as she saw a blue light flash above her head. She gazed upward in
wonder as she watched a column of white light decend from a point directly above her head. Her mouth
parted in suprise and her eyes widened. She gasped as the light surrounded her and she started to
rise off the ground. As she rose higher her stomach knotted, as she realized she really didn't like
heights at all. Then everything went black.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Folken woke up the next morning to two faces, Merle and Van's. He jumped at first and then asked what
they were doing there. In reply he got two impish grins.
" We just wanna pway with you big bwother," Van replied.
" Oh, alright," Folken replied, thinking to himself, " I swear, with those two around a person can
never sleep in!"
" Yay!!" Van said, Merle's clapping accenting his cry as he jumped up and down. Merle giggled at
Van.
" So, where do you two wanna go today?" Folken asked, sitting up in his bed.
" Da fowest!!!" Van eagerly cried.
" Okay, go ask mom and dad, if they say okay then we'll go to the forest," Folken said with a wink.
" Kay!" Van cried, " Come on, Merwle!" Then he raced out the door, scooping Merle up as he left.
Folken chuckled to himself as the two left. Then he quickly took advantage of the few moments of privacy
he had to change. He wore comforable brown pants and a dark blue tunic. He had just finished when
the two hyper kids returned. He could tell, even before the exited Van told him, from the looks on his
little brother's face that his parents had said yes.
" Momwy and dwaddy said yes, but day wanna tawk to you fwist," Van told him, the excitment rising in
his voice.
" Alright, I'll meet you in the courtyard," Folken told them, grinning as the two scampered off once again.
He already knew what his parents wanted with him. The usual lecture of "not to go to far into the forest",
"make sure Van and Merle are with you at all times" and so forth. Folken sighed, wishing he didn't
have to go through with this again.
About 15 minutes later, after a lecture from his parents, he met Van and Merle in the courtyard.
" Are you guys ready?" he asked, which recieved an enthusiastic "yeah" from Van and giggling from
Merle at Van.
The trio headed to the lush forests of Fanelia, Merle on Folken's back, and Van walking beside him.
Folken took a deep breath, letting the smells and sounds of the forest wash over him. With Van and
Merle he knew, as was always the case with them, it was going to be a long day. They walked to Van
and Merle's favorite place, a small pool about 15 kilometers into the forest. Folken sat down, his
back resting against a really tall, and old tree. Van and Merle were playing in the pool, splashing
water everywhere, including on Folken.
Folken just leaned back and sighed, wiping some water out of his face. At least they hadn't dragged
him into the pool...yet. Then he blinked, did he see what he thought he saw? A weird column of light.
He wanted to check it out, his curiosity greatly aroused, but he couldn't desert Van and Merle. He
wondered if they had seen it.
Van soon answered the latter of his questions, " Big bwother, did you see dat wite? What is it?"
" I don't know, Van," Folken answered, " Want to go check it out?"
" Yeah!" was Van's enthusiastic reply.
" All right," Folken said, picking up Merle, as he and Van walked towards the source of the light.
this letter, did I get ownership of Escaflowne?? Nope...*sighs* Just junk mail....
AN: I wanted to write a fic w/ Folken without having it happen inside the series, or bringing him
back to life (frankly, I can't come up w/ an original way for him to come back to life, or I'd have
done it...but I don't wanna copy ~_~')...so, I came up w/ this idea.... Just read ^_^, and I hope
the characters turn out right.... Then again, as this is before the series and Van and Folken are
kids...their personalities at that age were never really shown...at least not that I saw ~_~'''
The First Stranger
Chapter 1 - The Ring and the White Column
Achaia stared up at the moon in the sky, the stars shining in the background. She wondered if anything
else was out there. She knew there were the nine planets, stars, asteroids, quasers, and even the
invisible black holes, but all because science told her that. She wanted to know for real, some part
of her wanted to soar among those billions of stars above her. Maybe that's why she wanted to be an
astronaut, or at least an astronomer. Ever since she could remember she'd been facinated with the
night sky. Achaia sighed, and wished somehow she could leave the Earth and soar into the depths of
the dark blanket above her.
A voice from outside her door called her back to reality, her mother telling her to get to bed. Achaia
sighed and left her window, wishing she never had to go to sleep. That night she dreamed that she
grew angel wings and flew in the sky, gazing upwards at the stars she loved. She was sorry to wake
up, wishing she could stay lost in the dream forever, or better yet, that it would become reality.
Achaia sighed as the morning sun shone through her window. She glanced at the clock, 8 o'clock am,
too early for a Saturday, especially a summer break Saturday. Achaia groaned and rolled over
trying to go back to sleep, unfortunatly it didn't work. Achaia finally gave up with a sigh and rolled
herself out of the bed. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and changed into a tank top that showed
part of her stomach and a pair of baggy pants. She pulled her long, dark brownish-auburn hair
back into a ponytail. Then she donned her small, thinly framed glasses. Behind the lenses of her
glasses were a pair of beautiful blue eyes that had a greenish tint.
Achaia sluggishly went downstairs to the kitchen in her house to rummage for something to eat. She
brushed some stray strands of her long bangs out of her face as she finally decided on a brand of
cereal to eat. She had poured milk into it and was just about to eat when her hyper younger sister,
Katerina, Kati for short, plopped into a vacant chair. She rocked the table in the process and sent
some of Achaia's cereal and milk flying out of it's bowl. Achaia gave her a glare that could've almost
killed and continued eating silently.
" What's your problem?" the hyper 11 year old Kati asked.
" You," was Achaia's reply.
Kati stuck her tongue out at Achaia and then went to make herself a bowl of cereal. Then she plopped
down at the table again, this time spilling some of her cereal as well as Achaia's.
" Can't you sit down without spilling some of whatever is on the table?!?!" Achaia asked in exasperation.
" Quiet down, girls," their mother ordered, as she came into the room, stopping their daily argument.
Achaia got up from the table, " I'm going down to the soccer field."
" Be home for lunch, dear," her mother called after her as Achaia left the house.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
13 year old Folken Lacour de Fanel laughed gaily as he towed his three year old brother, Van Slanzar
de Fanel, on his back. A little cat girl, a baby who was about a year old was in his arms. Her
hair was pink in color and was short and unruly, sticking out wildly.
The little cat girl, Merle, giggled happily as Folken tickled her. They continued into the
gardens. There wouldn't seem to be a happier group in all of Fanelia, or even all of Gaea.
The trio walked along, playing games in the large gardens of Fanelia's castle and just enjoying
themselves. Once they reached the fountains that littered the center of the gardens they, or rather Van
and Folken, had a large water fight. After the fight all three were drenched, and Merle a little
irritated at the fact that her fur was wet (AN: *shrugs* I didn't say Merle didn't get caught in
crossfire), and lay looking at the clouds in the sky. They lay for a few minutes and then Folken
unpacked the picnic lunch they had brought. Then the group settled down to eat the lunch that
the castle cooks had packed them. It was delicious, and after finishing it off the three headed back
to the castle, after all, it was about Van and Merle's naptime.
Later that night, when Merle and Van were sleeping Folken was standing on the balcony that extended
from his room. He stared up at the sky, the double moons floating there, with stars in the background.
It was said that people lived on the bluish moon, the mystic moon. He wondered what they were like.
People said they were cursed, did that mean they had wings like him, like all Draconians? He wished he
could meet one, and didn't notice when the ring he wore strung around his neck gave off a slight bluish
light.
He remembered when he had first recieved the ring, on his 13th birthday. His mother, Queen Varie, had
given it to him, telling him to keep it safe and never to lose it or give it to anyone. She had
trusted him with it and he intended never to betray that trust. The ring was obviously important,
and he would keep it safe.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The soccer field was deserted when Achaia got there, but she didn't care, she just wanted to be by
herself for a little while. She placed the soccer ball she'd brought with her on to the field and
started to kick it around, pretending she was in the middle of a game.
Achaia had been playing ever since she was 5, when her father had introduced her to the game. That
was 8 years of experience. She was quite skilled, and had worked hard to get to where she was. But
sometimes she wondered why. Her intrest did not lie in sports, it lay in the skies above and in her
drawings. But somehow she found something in the game, something that alowed her to escape from
everyday life. She kicked the ball harder, it was her way of relieving the stress that would otherwise
threaten to overwhelm her.
Achaia kicked the ball around a little while longer before she sat down in the middle of the field, soccer
ball in her lap and sighed. She was bored, and her friends were out of town for the summer, so she
had nothing left to do.
All of a sudden her eyes widened as she saw a blue light flash above her head. She gazed upward in
wonder as she watched a column of white light decend from a point directly above her head. Her mouth
parted in suprise and her eyes widened. She gasped as the light surrounded her and she started to
rise off the ground. As she rose higher her stomach knotted, as she realized she really didn't like
heights at all. Then everything went black.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Folken woke up the next morning to two faces, Merle and Van's. He jumped at first and then asked what
they were doing there. In reply he got two impish grins.
" We just wanna pway with you big bwother," Van replied.
" Oh, alright," Folken replied, thinking to himself, " I swear, with those two around a person can
never sleep in!"
" Yay!!" Van said, Merle's clapping accenting his cry as he jumped up and down. Merle giggled at
Van.
" So, where do you two wanna go today?" Folken asked, sitting up in his bed.
" Da fowest!!!" Van eagerly cried.
" Okay, go ask mom and dad, if they say okay then we'll go to the forest," Folken said with a wink.
" Kay!" Van cried, " Come on, Merwle!" Then he raced out the door, scooping Merle up as he left.
Folken chuckled to himself as the two left. Then he quickly took advantage of the few moments of privacy
he had to change. He wore comforable brown pants and a dark blue tunic. He had just finished when
the two hyper kids returned. He could tell, even before the exited Van told him, from the looks on his
little brother's face that his parents had said yes.
" Momwy and dwaddy said yes, but day wanna tawk to you fwist," Van told him, the excitment rising in
his voice.
" Alright, I'll meet you in the courtyard," Folken told them, grinning as the two scampered off once again.
He already knew what his parents wanted with him. The usual lecture of "not to go to far into the forest",
"make sure Van and Merle are with you at all times" and so forth. Folken sighed, wishing he didn't
have to go through with this again.
About 15 minutes later, after a lecture from his parents, he met Van and Merle in the courtyard.
" Are you guys ready?" he asked, which recieved an enthusiastic "yeah" from Van and giggling from
Merle at Van.
The trio headed to the lush forests of Fanelia, Merle on Folken's back, and Van walking beside him.
Folken took a deep breath, letting the smells and sounds of the forest wash over him. With Van and
Merle he knew, as was always the case with them, it was going to be a long day. They walked to Van
and Merle's favorite place, a small pool about 15 kilometers into the forest. Folken sat down, his
back resting against a really tall, and old tree. Van and Merle were playing in the pool, splashing
water everywhere, including on Folken.
Folken just leaned back and sighed, wiping some water out of his face. At least they hadn't dragged
him into the pool...yet. Then he blinked, did he see what he thought he saw? A weird column of light.
He wanted to check it out, his curiosity greatly aroused, but he couldn't desert Van and Merle. He
wondered if they had seen it.
Van soon answered the latter of his questions, " Big bwother, did you see dat wite? What is it?"
" I don't know, Van," Folken answered, " Want to go check it out?"
" Yeah!" was Van's enthusiastic reply.
" All right," Folken said, picking up Merle, as he and Van walked towards the source of the light.