Loose Ends An Ending is Always a New Beginning
Summary: Six months have passed since Hitomi returned to the "Mystic Moon" since then her days have been laced with sadness, confusion, and loneliness she can't even tell her mother about what had happened in the world of Gaea though she is closer to her than even Yukari. Hitomi has started ballet again, she had been injured to the extent that she couldn't hold a pose very long but after training with track she was able to take her status as a Prima Ballerina once again. It seems the only time Hitomi feels at peace anymore is when dancing. Lately she has been having strange dreams. Meanwhile in Gaea there is unrest without any plain signs of trouble. During a dinner of the old war buddies Folken comes to Van and the others warning of a new force more powerful than the Zaibach was. The only way Gaea can survive is if the Dragon Priestess "leads the Dragon Guymelef down the path of light."
I do not own Escaflowne-sob- Sorry no van point of view in this one/ thanks for the reviews I alway appearciate them!!
Chapter Two: Black Feather
-Hitomi
Hitomi looked tiredly up at her house as she stepped off the sidewalk. It was a mile walk from the bus stop to her house. She would have taken a taxi but she hadn't had enough money on her to make the trip.
She would be alone tonight her mother would be working late. The door was locked; typical Hitomi had forgotten her key. Standing on tip toe she reached to the top of the door frame and located the extra key. When she entered the house she sighed in relief while sinking into the cushy couch in the living room. The only sound in the house was the ticking of a clock that hung above the doorway to the kitchen. While she stared absently, her mind wandered. She found herself thinking of the night she had returned. Clearly there was a time difference in Gaea since it had only been midday when she left it.
The house had been dark and through the big window that was in the dinning room -which usually had its curtains closed- she could see her mother slumped on the table sleeping in the hard wooden chair. Hesitantly Hitomi had approached the house as if a stranger and not someone that lived there. With in five seconds of knocking, Hitomi was pulled into the house and embraced so tightly by her mother that she could hardly breathe. Hitomi had been waiting for the lecture to start, but they only sat on the couch her mother crying softly into Hitomi's shoulder. When she had finally calmed down enough she had only asked, well the most obvious question.
"Where were you?" Hitomi had stalled for about a minute before responding in what she hoped was a convincing voice.
"I really don't remember, mom I was so scared, I woke up alone in an ally it took me a while to get here. I don't know what happened."
Hitomi had started crying then. Not fake tears but real ones that she had been holding in ever since she had left Van. After that breakdown her mother had never talked of it again. She never mentioned the absence or Hitomi's depression. She acted like nothing had happened, and most of the time Hitomi preferred it that way.
'Stop Sulking' she reprimanded herself before standing. She gave a fake smile hoping it would better her mood and walked to hallway, up the stairs to her room.
Her room hadn't changed since she had left it all those months ago, other than two things. On her walls now where drawings of Gaea, Guymelef, and most of all her friends from the mystical land she had traveled to. Van was in every picture he was tightly tied to Gaea she couldn't even think of it without it leading in his direction. He had taken her there it was fitting. Also another change the diary her grandmother had given her was no longer empty. When she was about 12 her grandmother had given a dairy to "record her adventures in" At the time Hitomi hadn't known what her grandmother had meant. Now she knew her grandmother had known her granddaughter would follow in her footsteps and travel to the world of Gaea. When Hitomi had returned she wrote every detail of her adventure down in that book and at night when she felt lonely or lost she would read it and remember the wonderful and dangerous world of Gaea. Its creatures, it Guymelef, and most of all, a certain king that had a bad temper.
Hitomi brought herself yet again to the present and walked over to the window to look out at the trees. Her hand rested on her tarot deck. She no longer did readings having learned the future was better unseen and that it was better to let it take its own course. She missed the habit to tell the truth but she had been good and hadn't done a reading since leaving Gaea.
She sighed and walked over to her bed and slumped down on it. Lying on her back she pulled a pillow from under her and held it tightly. Last night she had the same dream she had been having for three months, now that she thought of it ever since she had started dancing again.
In the dream she was in Gaea. On her back was an elaborate tattoo of wings, sometime during the dream she would jump into the air and somehow sprout gorgeous white wings much like Van's had been. She would fly jubilant and even though she knew it was coming it still surprised her, something would hit her wings and she would go crashing down. Just before hitting the ground Van would appear and safe her. The dream always ended there, never going farther. 'Is it a prophetic dream?' Though it wasn't quiet like the jumbled dreams she usually had that would come true, there was a mystical edge to it she could never seem to understand. Hitomi crumpled into a ball fully dressed and fell asleep. The dream haunted her once again.
Slowly Hitomi came to consciousness; she could tell it was too early in the morning for her to really consider waking up. She brought her head up to look at her alarm clock on the bedside table. It read 4:00, in the morning; predawn light was shinning dimly through her window.
"Ugh."
Her head dropped back the pillow, but she was to uncomfortable to get to sleep again so she dragged herself out of bed changed into the tank top and shorts she wore to bed and crawled back under the covers. She didn't notice the large black feather that lay on top of her tarot deck, she fell asleep again and for the first time in a long time had dreamless sleep.
The next day was a quiet one, Yukari and Hitomi hung out at the local park laughing and discussing what Yukari should get Amano since he had gotten her something so expensive. For some reason Hitomi felt like there was something she had forgotten something important she should have done. She shrugged it off and tried to have a good day with Yukari.
"Bye Hitomi, it's your sixteenth birthday tomorrow lets have fun alright!" Yukari squealed happily. Hitomi gave a quiet smile and said.
"Yes, let's have fun."
Hitomi managed to get better sleep than the night before and then it was her birthday. She woke up early to get dressed. She chose to put on a cute pink skirt with a pink tank top and a periwinkle blue jacket with long selves. She hadn't really wanted to wear it but Yukari had bought it for her the week before and she thought she might as well humor Yukari for today. She was just fastening the clip to her hair to hold several curls when she saw the feather. She froze, she had seen feathers like that before stepping forward she touched it hesitantly. There was a light and there before her stood Folken, smiling down at her.