Author's Note: Heh! I told you it wasn't gonna take me long to post another chapter! I'm stuck home by myself everyday for the next few weeks with nothing better to do (except read that stupid book for school...), so I thought I would work on my story a little more! (nn I just hope people are actually reading it. Oh well, even if they aren't I'm going to keep writing it anyway! (nn
There weren't any reviews on the last chapter so I guess we can just move on to the disclaimer.
Disclaimer: Nope. I still don't own Escaflowne. You can tell because there has only been one movie and it had nothing to do with the end of the series. (--;;;;
Chapter 4The girl screamed.
"I knew it!" she cried, in terror. "It's a demon! Get it away from me!" She dropped the child onto the bed, causing it to start screaming as well, and moved as far away from it as she could.
The old woman, quite displeased with the girl's behavior, snatched up the baby in her arms again. "What on Gaea are you doing!? You can't treat a newborn like that! And I had just got him to stop crying too...!" She began rocking the infant and trying to hush its cries. "He's your child!"
"No! No!" the girl screamed. "It's a demon! Just look at it!"
"Shhhh!" The old woman glared harshly at the upset young girl, then turned her gaze to the toddler's face. "Now calm down. He's not a demon simply because he has white hair. Some children are born like that. It's not that rare an incident."
"It's eyes! Look at it's eyes!"
"I see them." The woman replied, annoyed. "There's nothing wrong with them either."
"They are the color of blood!"
"So is the cover of that book over there and you aren't afraid of it, are you?"
Getting no response, the old woman continued. "Now listen. The child may look a little different compared to others, but that does not change the fact that he is your child." Finally succeeding in getting the baby to fall asleep again, she placed him gently in an empty cradle she had set up in the room. She covered him carefully with a soft blanket, then turned back to his mother, her voice quieted so as not to disturb him. "You are exhausted. Forget about all this for the night, and tomorrow we can start over. Sleep now."
The girl nodded, still pale from her encounter with the "demon." She lay her head down slowly on the pillow, pulling the blankets up to her chin and curling up. She was fast asleep in seconds. The old midwife shook her head, retiring silently to her quarters.
The next night, Dune searched frantically all over Fanelia for the girl. He checked all of the places she usually spent her time, he checked the old midwife's home, he even listened into the homes of some of her past customers. He left food for her to come and find, but she never came to collect it. She was nowhere to be found. He knew how much she hated the child. He just prayed she wouldn't do anything stupid before he was able to find her.
That morning, the girl had been lectured on the care-taking of infants for well over two hours. She hardly even pretended to be listening, and certainly didn't retain any of the information. No matter how hard the old woman tried to get through to her, her efforts never seemed to have any effect on the girl. She had made up her mind the night before. She would have no use for the information the woman was trying to give her.
By the time the sun set, the woman finally ceased her attempts to enlighten the girl. She wrapped the child tightly in blankets to keep it warm, and, almost reluctantly, handed him over to his mother. This time, though, the girl did not scream. She took him willingly, holding him properly in the crook of her arm only after having it positioned by the old woman, and looked into his pale, ghostlike face. Oh yes, her mind was made up. She finally knew what she was going to do.
Dune's desperate search continued into the late hours of the night without yielding any result. He didn't know where else to look. He had searched the entire city. Except one place... It occurred to him that he had overlooked only one area of the city, but it certainly had not been unintentional. Surely she wouldn't go there, he thought. Everyone knows that the beastmen... but maybe... maybe that's what she's counting on... oh Gods... I better hurry...
He began running towards the city's waste disposal site. It was a place that was always avoided by civilians. It was common knowledge among the citizens of Fanelia that the beast tribes dwelling in the forest surrounding the city often visited the location to search for food. But, based on the savage reputation given to these creatures, the Fanelian people were terrified at the very thought of encountering one. Instead, they avoided the place like the plague. The king allowed the beast people to scavenge in the dump only as a way to prevent them from attacking the city. If Dune's hunch was right, and the girl really was bringing the baby there, who knows what would happen to it? He had to hurry. He had to stop her.
By the time he reached the dump, however, his hopes were dashed. He caught a glimpse of the girl, but she was not entering the dump, she was leaving it. She had a small smirk on her face.
And there was nothing in her arms.
Dune ran toward the dump. He was staring at the girl with wide eyes, but she hardly seemed to notice. Despite the many times he had seen her, she had never laid eyes on him, and she couldn't care less about him right now. She was too relieved about her latest accomplishment to observe some little cloaked boy. For all she knew, he was dropping some garbage off too.
But he knew and his gaze was never taken from her. He slowed down a bit when passing her. "What have you done...?" he whispered, but she heard him loud and clear. Although he had continued running, the girl stopped dead in her tracks. By the time she turned around to get a closer look at the boy, he had disappeared. Spooked, she now hurried away from the area, as if to escape from what both she and he knew she had done.
Dune raced through the dump, searching anxiously for any sign of his newborn half-brother. As he made his way deeper and deeper into the landfill site, the faint sound of crying began growing louder and louder. He followed the noise until he was close enough to see its source, and the target of his search: a newborn child wrapped tightly in a light blue blanket.
Unfortunately, he was not the only being in the dump that night that had heard the child's blood-curdling screams. Towering over the bundle was a very large, well-built looking creature who stood like a man but possessed the face of a dog. His body was covered with magnificent long, golden fur. His clothing, however, did not do it justice, being little more than rags.
But his eyes were what interested Dune the most. They were not at all what he had expected. Instead of wild and dangerous, the creature's eyes had a curious and gentle look. It was for this reason Dune hesitated from recklessly attacking the beast. He decided to stay hidden and watch for a moment instead.
After observing the screaming infant for a minute or so, and glancing around several times to find any trace of its mother, the dog man bent down slowly, and, with more care and tenderness than Dune thought the large creature could possibly possess, he lifted the child into his arms, rocking it gently in his arms, making soft hushing noises. What surprised Dune even more than the beast taking this action, was the fact that it actually worked. Instead of scaring the child and making its cries worse, the man had actually managed to quiet him. Dune watched in amazement as the toddler began playing with the creature's soft fur, and actually smiling.
Maybe this was the answer then. Dune watched the dog man closely, observing how he handled the child with so much caution and care as if he was holding something as fragile as a butterfly. He watched the beast laugh softly as the child tugged on his fur. It seemed quite obvious that he meant no harm to the child, and, now that Dune thought about it, there was really nothing he could do with it. In the past hours of the night, he knew that he was going to rescue the baby, but he hadn't really planned on what he was going to do with it after he did. So maybe this was the best course of action, then. To allow the beast man to take it. It seemed like it would be the best thing for all of them.
With a small, content smile, Dune backed silently away from the scene and made his way back home.
Author's Note: YAY!!!!! Another chapter, finished! I think this is my longest chapter yet, too! And next chapter, Dilly won't be a baby anymore! Sorry setting whole thing up took so long, but it was kind of important. Ok, I don't really have much to say, except R&R, and I'll see you next time! (nn
