Author's note: I had a friend who was suppose to write a story about Van and Hitomi that would go with Redemption, but she just decided not to. So don't ask me about what's going to happen between those two lovers and to write more about them. This story is really about Celena and Dilandau.

Asturia - chapter II *The Moon*

- "Lady Celena hasn't been out of her room for two days and sir Allen is growing weary," whispered a page in the dinning hall.

- "Also, Princess Millerna has been restless all night. She didn't close her eyes once, only continually read her diaries of the Great Gaean War," replied a maid.

- "It is odd! They dare not speak or remind themselves of such events... especially near Lady Celena. A simple slip of those days could bring upon great consequences to the one who spoke of it."

- "Here he comes," warned the young girl.

Allen was not pleased with all of the rumours that have been spreading around the castle since the night of shock. Everywhere he turned, whispers followed, but they would die at the sound of his footsteps. Princess Millerna had told him about what happened in the garden and it could not be pushed away. The matter was serious and triggered the most distress and worry in his mind. Losing his sister once again was not something he could bear. He couldn't be alone, not again.

The page exited the room with a parchment under his arm and the girl continued to dust the table and chairs with an old rag.

True, his sister hadn't left her room since she was brought there that night. No food nor water entered the secrecy of her sanctuary. No person nor service received an answer when a knock was placed upon her door. It was dead silence, as if no one was there. Some even began to doubt the idea that Celena was even in the kingdom, but Allen knew that her questions were still unanswered and she wouldn't leave until he spoke of them.

He had tried several times to speak with his sister, but there was nothing but tranquillity on the other side. Even if it sounded peaceful, Allen had a sensation that his sister was not consciously there, that she could hear and see everything, but not understand it. Like a child set on unknown streets and expected to survive there.

Talking to her was the only way he could reach peace of mind. He had to speak to her, but to answer her questions were another matter. He wasn't sure what to do, for the first time in his life, he didn't know which path to follow.

His steps lead him to an enormous room with nothing but chairs, small wooden tables and a fireplace.

- "What do you pull out of all of this?" came a voice.

- "I heard that Lady Celena was a murdered in the Great Gaean War. Somehow, sorcerers used their hypnotic powers to make her forget. That night, she was getting flashbacks from all the sins she had done ," replied the voice an old woman.

- "How dare you accuse my sister of such barbaric assumptions," Allen's voice rang angrily as he paced around the corner.

- "Sir... I... it isn't..."

- "QUIET!" his yell was deafening.

The two maids were frozen. They knew that holding their tongue was the best thing they could do at the moment. Holding their words from the beginning wouldn't of even brought them in this mess.

Allen Schezar was always one to be polite to women and treat them with much respect, even though sometimes it would turn out to be his flirtatious ways... but he was never one to raise his voice to a miss, even if she had insulted him. On the other hand, it seems as if word of his sister brought forth the anger that he often holds back.

- "You're words have every importance to me. You insult my family, then you call me an affront. She IS NOT A KILLER!"

The two women stepped back a bit at his harsh tone.

- "I will not allow this to continue to spread in these walls. Whatever crimes she has done in her past are mine as well, but you're theories have gone too far. If my ear is to catch either of you once more, you will be out on the streets so quickly that you will not even have enough time to beg her majesty to keep you."

Allen suddenly realized his actions and the frown his face beared uncramped. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be so..." he couldn't finish his sentence. He was too ashamed of himself.

Whirling around on his heals, his eyes travelled up and met the soft face of Princess Millerna, who stood there in shock.

- "Princess..."

But she didn't answer, she only dashed away, holding the front end of her dress with her hands to prevent tripping over. Allen couldn't let her go with such terrible ideas of him in her head. His pace followed her, going faster and faster. A hand reached out and he twirled her around not letting go of her arm.

- "Allen," she began pulling herself away from him. "Of all the things I thought you wouldn't dare to do... I was originally only scared of Celena and what she might become, but now I'm more afraid of what she's doing to you."

His head dropped as he could feel his dignity being stripped away.

- "I don't know what's happening, but everyday you become harsher and colder. I don't know what to think of you anymore. This secret is now running your life and it is obviously something that can not be left. You don't think before acting or speaking and you begin to forget how everything was before she began to lose control. You're beginning to scare me."

He was scaring her! It was as if a huge rock had hit him and his life had ended right there.

- "I'm sorry!"

- "Sorry is not always enough. I heard what you said: Whatever crimes she has done in her past are mine as well! I believe it is time that you let her know what the both of you have been up to."

- "I can't! She won't be able to take it. Her innocence will be lost..."

- "She knows, Allen."

His breath was held.

- "She knows about her purity. She looks at her hands as if they are tainted with blood. She will soon find out, I can guarantee it... but I believe that she should find out from you, not a dream."

- "Now is not the time."

- "Then when will the time come? When she has lost her sanity? When she loses control of herself and possibly leave us forever?"

Allen froze at the realization that he could lose her. He had thought about it, but never to the point where it truly hit him. He was going to lose her, and it was fact.

- "I can't let that happen. I hate to bring pressure upon people, but the situation is critical. If you won't tell her by night fall, then by Gaea I will."

- "Tomorrow night," he urged.

- "What?"

- "Tonight is the secret arrival of Van and Hitomi, I don't want her to be guilty for what she has done around them. Tomorrow will be the right time."

- "All right, tomorrow... but how do you intend to bring your sister outside of her room?"

- "I'm not sure," he answered bringing down his head.

* * * *

It was blank, absolutely everything. Seeing they're shapes meant nothing to her. In a way they weren't even there. The table, the bed, the chairs... none of it was real. If real was something you could see, touch and smell... then even a vivid dream can be real when you're in the deepest of sleeps. So many things she once used everyday, became distant memories standing before her.

Listen, listen, listen...

The light quill pen fell to the ground with less grace than a normal feather. The ink inside the stem leaked out onto the wooden floor, forming a black puddle. As the last drops slowly dripped out, the ink soaked into the white feather, forever tainting it.

Celena crouched down to her knees and placed the ink well on the floor. Her delicate fingers picked up the quill and smoothed out the excess liquid. It flowed ever so slowly against the palm of her hand and onto her wrist. The small black river seemed to captivate her so easily, but she found no sense in it. The river simply continued to stream down her arm as she picked up the two small writing objects and stood up to where she had left off.

Listen, listen, listen...

Taking a slight step back, Celena glanced around her, absorbing for the first time her surroundings. None of her furniture had been moved, except for the wooden chair that locked her door. The afternoon sun shone faintly through the light purple curtains cloaking the room into darkness.

The walls, now consumed with black ink, read the word listen a thousand times. Some of the letters bled the blackness and it would flow until the floor was in its reach. Even though some words were smudged or leaked, the message was still clear.

Celena stepped forward once more.

Listen, listen, listen...

The corset holding her waist did not seem to hug her curves as much as before. After spending two days without food or water, except for the cold Purple Yin tea Princess Millerna had left days ago, her stomach starved and hungered for anything Celena could stuff down her throat, but the confused mind overpowered the human cravings by far.

The ink well ran empty, not allowing Celena to write over the left free space. Her blistered and tired hands dropped the well and feather as her body slid down to the floor on an empty space on the wall. The lack of sleep and food she suffered was rendering her weak, and if she wouldn't listen to her body. The confusion was going to kill her.

Her open eyes travelled up the wall on the other side of the room. By now, the ink should be dry, but it did the most peculiar things. The words began to gather together, circling around and mixing into each other like a whirlpool. The spinning pattern began to dizzy her. Slowly, the black spot lost its round shape and lengthened.

A feather, it was drawing a feather. A black one.

The shape slowly drifted down the flat surface, as if someone in the picture dropped it. A soft whistled tune followed.

- "What do you want?" she asked calmly in barely a whisper.

The melody did not desist, nor did it grow louder. Celena slightly turned her head and focussed her best on the shadow in the corner near the window.

- "I... I know you," the miss voiced a little louder.

The whistling kept on singing as the stranger turned his head. The last note faded out as it was cut by a deep and wise voice. "What are you listening for, Celena?"

- "A click... a voice... a word of the past. I'm listening and waiting for the moment where everything will make sense."

- "Everyone in this world waits for that moment, but to some it isn't as urgent as your cry."

- "You're a part of it, aren't you?" she suddenly realized.

- "More than you could possibly know."

He stepped out of his corner and paced to an area where the faint sun managed to reveal his face. A pair of thoughtful mud red orbs absorbed her frail features as he kneeled down to her eye-level. A strong hand softly stroke the side of her cheek. "I'm so sorry! I'm sorry for what they've done to you."

- "The only reason why someone like you would be in here is to tell me something. What do you have to say?" she questioned brushing away his hand.

- "I have nothing to say... only something to show you."

His name, it somehow rang in her mind. She knew him, but from where was unknown. Somehow, his identity wasn't left faceless. "Lord Folken."

Celena closed her eyes as two fingers came resting upon her forehead. A powerful wave of heat blasted into her scull and the world began to spin in complete darkness. _______________________________________________________________________

Everything felt so hot. It was strange! In a place of obscurity you would believe to feel the cold, but the air was warm and heavy around her, barely enough to breathe. Steps faintly clicked towards her louder and louder, but there was no one in front.

- "Why do you result in such irrational ways?" a darker Lord Folken voiced.

- "'Cause it's the best way to get rid of the evidence. No witnesses means no trouble," a familiar voice rang.

It was him! The man she had seen in her dreams, even when she was awake. The one with the fire and thirst for blood in his eyes and the psychotic laughs and grins that scared her.

A flood of memories washed over her. Fire, voices, faces, ashes... blood! Thousands and thousands of scenes she had never known flashed before her eyes, dizzying her. So much crimson was shown, so much of it. Men and children screamed out for mercy, but couldn't be heard by Gaea. He was there, every single time, his presence surrounded it all.

Silence.

Her breathing was all that could be heard. The beat of her heart raced faster and faster, but not in the painful ways she often went through. The rhythm slowly faded as her eyes opened.

«Oh Gaea! Oh no!»

Bodies of men, women, and children lay down at her feet as far as the eye could see. Some on top of the other. Some with fatal wounds of leaking blood and others with open eyes, but they were surely dead.

Warmth wrapped around her hands and fingers, wet and sticky warmth. Her wide open eyes glanced down, unprepared for what was to hit her. The blood, she was responsible for everything. The man was her. His entire life and history of events now became her memories.

She was a monster. _______________________________________________________________________

Her eyes shot open.

He was gone. Lord Folken had shown her what he wanted and now left her alone once more.

- "All alone," she whispered to herself clasping at her dress. "I thought I was all alone... but you slipped in."

The wall in front carried no strange designs or patterns. It was just as Celena had left it, with the word listen covering one end to the other. There was no evidence of anything that had just occurred.

Her eyes gazed up at the dresser beside her. She had to see her face. She had to see who she really was and what was to become of her. Celena was no longer the little girl who suddenly disappeared, she had changed, but not for the better.

Her tired hands gripped against the edge of the dresser and pulled her to her feet. A few more inches and she could reach the mirror. Her reflection was not the one she had wanted to see. Her confused eyes stared back in shock at the scar across her face. It was there for good! She had a demon inside of her and there was no possible way to get him out. In that moment of utter stillness, reality came in check and she had the answers to all of her questions.

Celena couldn't stand it, she couldn't look at herself. For when she saw her eyes and features, the only thing reflecting back was the monstrous Dilandau. The mirror would never cover her face with a mask ever again. It didn't lie such as those around her did, and for that she hated it.

The glass shattered into large and tiny pieces as she felt absolute dirt and blood over her every inch. She never wanted to see her face ever again.