Chapter 7 Dornkirk
"You have done well. Fanelia is now under my control. Soon, with the King's power and influence, I will have my chance to control the future of this world. Having the girl from the mystic moon will be a bonus." Dornkirk said as he met up with Dilandau and the others after they had raided the palace and placed the King under mind control.
"Dilandau, find the girl from the mystic moon and bring her to me. After that, you can start a war if you want." Dornkirk said as he turned to the young man. Dilandau just smirked and nodded. He liked the idea. But he wanted to make the girl from the mystic moon suffer first before handing her over to Dornkirk. Yes. That idea appealed much to him. He decided that he will find the girl from the mystic moon and would have fun torturing her first before finally handing her over to Dornkirk.
Dilandau left and met his men. "We are now going in invade Fanelia." He said and the men cheered. As the men hurried to their ranks, Dilandau looked the moon. It gave off a reddish glow, the glow of blood. He smirked and said softly, so only he could hear, "This is going to be a great game. When that old man's gone, the real fun begins."
It's been days since the castle has been invaded and the princes and their friends had fled Fanelia. Merle was a little agitated. She was left behind again and on top of that she knew that Fanelia was now in the hands of enemies they weren't even sure who. Balgus and other high ranking officers knew that there was something wrong with the King but had no way as of yet to find out what it was.
Merle was walking by the corridor when she happened to pass by the briefing room and the king was there. The door was slightly open. It was a good thing that she had cat's ears so she was able to hear what they were talking about in there.
"Wouldn't it have been easier to have killed the King in the first place and then have turning yourself into him?" Dilandau addressed Dornkirk as the old man was re-enforcing the mind control placed on the King. The old man ignored him as he continued on with his chanting. Dilandau seemed genuinely annoyed. He quickly stood from where he was seated. Dornkirk seemed done and saw the younger man about to leave or turn the room upside down. "Yes. It would have been easier but then you would be dead by now. Besides, it's easier to manipulate the king like this and have him turn the power over to me than by taking it by force. The people would be obliged to follow."
"If you ask me it's less bloody. It hell too nice of you." Dilandau replied, somewhat disgusted at what the old man was telling him. His lust for blood was really evident. Dornkirk knew that Dilandau was just itching to kill somebody. "Soon we won't need the king anymore. Once he hands the power of this kingdom to me, I'll freely control the army. Then you may kill the king if you wish. But the fact remains that his two worthless sons are still out there. They are still threats on my claim to the throne. So make yourself useful and find them. Kill them quickly or torture them, I don't really care. Just go and take care of them." The suggestion seemed to appeal to Dilandau. He quickly took his leave.
Before Dilandau left the room, Merle hid herself. She had heard everything. She bit her lip. How in the world was she going to be able to tell Folken and Van that they were being hunted, not to mention about the king? She didn't know what she could possibly do. Balgus. She thought. Merle hurried on to tell Balgus what she had just learned. She knew that he was only one she could trust.
When Merle was certain that the coast was clear, she quickly made her way to find Balgus. She needed to find him and fast. "Balgus. Balgus!" Merle said when she had finally seen him. Balgus was alone and Merle was thankful for that. He watched the cat girl run towards him. He could sense that she had something very important to tell him. He waited for her to start telling him what was wrong.
"Balgus. The King…Prince Folken…Prince Van…hunt…Dilandau…" "Calm down, Merle. Now tell me what happened." He said. "An old man has control over the king's mind. Soon he will have His Highness give the crown over to him. He send Dilandau to kill Prince Van and Prince Folken!" Merle said hastily. She knew that every second counted. The royal family of Fanelia was in danger. Something needed to be done.
Balgus face grew serious. He said nothing. He closed his eyes and leaned back. "What are we going to do, Balgus? Prince Van and the others had ran away to find that mystic moon girl." "It's him." "What?" Balgus opened his eyes and said, "I'm sure they will make contact with us soon. When they do, they have to know that Dornkirk is behind all of this. He did this once before, with Allen's parents. He killed Allen's father to gain the knowledge he has on the mystic moon. Soon after, it also killed his mother. It's a must that we find Hitomi Kanzaki." "Why? Why do we need that girl?" "That girl is part of Fanelia's salvation. If Dornkirk is doing what I think he is doing, we need the assistance of the girl from the mystic moon. She must be the key to all of this."
"I don't understand." Merle replied. "You will when the time comes. For now, let's just do some damage control. Your priority is getting information without being detected. But I would like you to stay here in this room in the mean time. I have a feeling the princes will try and make contact soon. I will need to do some rounds for now and check up on the king, see how bad things are." Balgus said as he left the young cat girl in the room. Merle was annoyed. Her concern was Prince Van and Fanelia and not Hitomi. But she knew that she was important and that Van loved her. She knew that there was no other way.
Minutes passed. It seemed like forever. Balgus said that he was going to do some rounds. Merle knew that it was really going to take a while. Balgus has left his phone there. Merle was getting a little bored but rather agitated. Suddenly the phone rang. Merle decided to leave it alone. It wasn't hers so she thought that it was useless to answer. But it kept on ringing and ringing. Soon, Merle couldn't stand it. She picked up the phone and screamed at the person at the other end. "Balgus is out. What do you want?" "Merle?" Came Folken's voice from the other end.
Merle did a double take. "Prince Folken?" She said, a little uncertain. "Merle. Yeah it's me. Listen we-" "Prince Folken you are in danger. You and Prince Van are marked. Dilandau just left to find you and kill you. Balgus said that you must find this Hitomi Kanzaki. It is outmost important he said. He also said that Dornkirk is behind it. Also,-" Merle was relaying everything with great speed but suddenly she thought she heard shots being fired. With her ears, she knew the direction of it. It came from the King's quarters. She knew what it meant. Soon, shots exploded on the halls and people were shouting. Merle quickly got out and made her way to the woods. She hid herself, seeing what was happening. It was chaotic. It was just like the night when they were raided only it was bloodier.
"Merle? Merle!" Came Folken's voice. But Merle had hang up and bid the phone in silent mode. On the other end, Folken didn't know what to make out of it. Merle had just told him that they were marked. Dilandau was going to kill them. They needed to find Hitomi. "What happened?" Van asked. Folken turned to him and replied, "I'm not sure. Merle said that we are marked and Dilandau had left Fanelia looking for us. She also said that Balgus told her that we needed to find Hitomi. Lastly, she said that Balgus believes that Dornkirk is behind all of this." With the mention of Dornkirk's name, Allen reacted. Folken knew about it but not Van. They said nothing about it.
"What happened to Merle?" Allen asked. "I don't know. I've been trying to call back but she doesn't answer." Folken replied. Just then the phone rang. "Merle?" Folken answered hopefully. Then came Merle's whispered responses. Folken could tell that something bad had happened and that she was at shock. "Prince Folken, they've just killed Balgus." "Balgus?" Folken almost faltered in saying his name. Did he hear right? "Yes. I just saw them take his body somewhere. And Prince Folken, the King…" "What happened to Father?" "He's…" "Merle!" "He's dead, Prince Folken. They killed him. They don't need him anymore. They have taken over Fanelia." Merle said. Folken was stunned.
"Merle, listen to me. You have to be our eyes there. I know it's going to be hard but I need you to do this for me. It's up to us now, Fanelia's future." Folken said before finally ending the phone call. His companions were looking at him with anxiousness. Folken gathered his strength. He looked at Van and said, "Father's dead. Dornkirk has taken over Fanelia. Dilandau is out here somewhere looking for us, to kill us. We need to find Hitomi." Folken then started on his way again. Van and the others were stunned but then started to follow him. Folken suddenly stopped. He then turned at Yukari, "I think it's safer for you if you went home. We are marked. You are not safe with us. We will find Hitomi and we will send word." Yukari was about to argue but she knew he was right. They had just lost their father, their homeland and were running against time to find the truth before Dilandau caught up with them.
"Allen, take Yukari home. Meet us in Paris." Folken said before walking again. Van followed silently behind his brother. They were no longer mere teenagers. They were warriors and Folken stood as the rightful heir to the throne. They needed to do something to get things back the way they were. But Folken knew that he had to earn the right to rule. A pact with Escaflowne, Guardian of Fanelia. Now that the royal family was harmed and Fanelia was in chaos, Folken knew that with Dornkirk responsible, he must have used magic and have upset the balance. Now they had to work to get the balance back. He knew Van had an idea about that but now he had to understand the full extent.
As Folken and Van continued on their way to Paris to meet up with Amano and Allen taking Yukari back home, Folken decided to explain everything to Van. It was now or never. Van needed to understand, in case something happened to him. Van needed to be prepared. From then on, it was a giant leap of faith.
(to be continued…)
Sorry guys for the rather later update. Major writer's block. Anyway, please do review. The end is near so I would like to know what you guys think. Thanks.
Michiko
