Disclaimer: I do not own Escaflowne or its characters. Escaflowne is the property of Sunrise and Bandai Entertainment. I'm just an innocent person who happened to write a fanfic on Escaflowne.
Chapter 9
Sweet Nostalgia
"Dilandau, my boy. You are my perfection. The perfect soldier," said the tall, sinewy looking man in a soft silky voice. The other Madoushi scientists had exited the room. "It is such a shame you take a great interest in dancing with fire. Who knows when the flames will take away my prized possession?"
The man's black robe was marked with golden letterings, incantations of some sort. He paced around the high platform with short even steps. He extended his large rough hands over the pale, unconscious figure on the metallic table and touched the boy's delicate flaxen hair. The man's face contortedas a grin emerged from under the layer of rough blotchy skin. He felt the boy's soft supple skin and longed to exploit it,to markthe flawless skin with a sharp scalpel. To dig under the skin and produce hideous lumps, pock marking the boy's only flaw. The man sighed and moved over to the tray of surgical tools.
"I've always despised your skin, Dilandau. It is brittle like a woman's. But I am afraid I will ruin you if I remove that filthy hide. I have searched for years for a way to fix it, and I am sadly disappointed. If only I knew. You mustn't squirm now. I will be gentle."
Dilandau's eyes snapped open. Bright, white lights were blinding his sensitive eyes. He tried to reach up and cover them, but his hands were strapped down with thick leather binds. He lifted his head and saw that his feet too were bound. He realized that he was completely and obscenely naked. Not an inch of cloth was covering his body. He shivered. Someone was touching his stomach. Dilandaus eyes followed the hand up to the man's face. Instantly, Dilandau felt his body grow numb with hatred and fear.
"Get your filthy hands off me, you sick bastard," he growled angrily. He jerked at the straps on his arms and legs.
"Now, now, Dilandau. Is that how you treat your father?" the man asked, his amusement clearly evident in his eyes.
"You are not my father! Touch me again and I'll kill you!" Dilandau roared. He desperately wrestled with the stupid binds, growing ever more frustrated and furious.
The man leaned down over Dilandau, caressing his skin. "Why must you resist so? You should know that even you cannot break from these confinements. It pains me to see you so wild. Tell me, my boy, what is it that makes you act like this?"
"Kiss my ass, shitface. You perverted horse fucker! Stop touching me!" Dilandau wriggled and writhed with all his might trying to prevent the man from further violating him. He would never admit it to anyone but he was more afraid of this man than anything in the whole world. This man could lure him into the world of unconsciousness where he would never know if he would wake up or not. Trap him inside his mind and do numbers on him and he would never know.
The man now grew angry, and jumping on top of Dilandau, gripped Dilandau's head in his hands and banged it down on the table. He drew his face close to Dilandau's and whispered in a harsh, black voice, "You listen to me, boy. And listen good."
Dilandau had the intention of rolling his eyes. It's well, fucker. But he only stared stubbornly at the white placid wall behind the man.
"You know very well that I have in my hands the power to skin you alive, literally, and make you watch as I remove another man's skin and sew it onto your raw body. I may very well do it now but I prefer to watch you shrink in fear at the very mention of it. You are fortunate that Folken watches over you like he does. He has forbid me to continue my 'bizarre' experimentations on you. But you understand, do you not? I'm only doing it because I care for you. A father's dream to make you the best of the best. Isn't that what you want?"
"No. Right now I want you out of my face," Dilandau replied coldly. "And I want you to release me."
"Very well, my dear boy. Until next time." The man touched him a final time, running his hands down Dilandau's thighs. And there was no one to hear Dilandau's cries of anguish and humiliation.
Where was he? Dilandau got up on his knees and looked agitatedly around. How long had he lain there on the ground? It was now daylight. He must've fallen asleep but how did he end up here? It was no where near the Fanelian castle. He wasn't even remotely aware where he was. Without registering it, it all came to him now. As the images again flooded his mind, he clutched his head as it began to throb with an unbearable ache. He clenched his teeth. Slowly the pain ebbed and he straightened up. He shuddered from relief. While staggering into the unknown forest, he loosened his collar and found it much easier to breathe.
It had been close, perhaps, too close. He had nearly lost control. Nearly killed himself. He had never lost control. Not once in his life. But this time was different. Someone had interfered. Someone incredibly stupid.
He sighed heavily and rubbed his face. Dilandau stood up and stared at the dark mass of glarl leaves. He didn't know how he had wound up here. His thoughts had taken a hold of him, again. The forest was eerily silent. He continued staring at the leaves. The loud, dull cracking of a tiny branch ended the silence, grating his nerves just when he had found peace and quiet. He whipped around.
Standing before him was a boy wearing a large dark green cloak like thing. He was rather small looking, weak. Dilandau hadn't realized it was cold. He sniffed the air and smelled a thunder storm approaching in the distance. An icy wind whipped past him. The boy was now staring at him with his large green eyes.
"What the hell are you staring at?" he snarled at the boy.
The strangely rosy, fair skinned boy flinched as Dilandau had smacked him. "Your—your voice! Is that why you came for the leaves? They're supposed to cure about anything."
What? Nothing was wrong with his voice. And what about his? The boy sounded like he hadn't hit puberty yet and it sounded as if a frog jumped down his throat. It was grinding his nerves. "What are you talking about, boy?"
The boy's eyes widened for a moment and then narrowed. "Aren't you here for the leaves, girl?"
GIRL? Was this boy stupid? Him, Dilandau, a petty little girl. Dilandau looked menacingly into the boy's eyes. "You think I'm a girl?"
The boy nodded harmlessly, his short hairs swishing forward.
Dilandau's irritation began to rise and he had to ball his fists to simmer down. So this little weasel thinks I'm a girl. "And why do you think that?"
"Well, you certainly look like one," the boy began, placing a small, shapely hand under the side of his face.
Dilandau felt insulted. "I most certainly do not."
The boy merely shrugged and bent down to gather a handful of glarl leaves. "Yes, you do . . . do you have a sore throat?"
"No," he snapped. What was the kid trying to get at?
The boy now looked uncertain. "Are you sure? Take some of these leaves, crush them, and smear the paste onto that cut on your face. It's bleeding, girl. Here, let me do help you."
Something inside him snapped and he wanted to hurt the boy with an utmost desire. Break his goddamn arms, ribs, legs. Dilandau seized the boy's arms and gripped it tight. The weak muscles under his fingers made him cringe with scorn. This boy was weak! Dilandau had no tolerance for weakness. He gave the boy a violent shake. The boy gasped at his head snapped back, and the cloak parted, revealing the boy's unusual outfit.
Dilandau gasped as well. This boy . . .
Hitomi was growing irritably tired of the girl's stupid and pointless questions, but when Hitomi had mentioned the cut on her face, she hadn't anticipated the girl to assault her with such forceful strength. It deemed unnatural. Now the girl's eyes were wide, either with astonishment or horror, Hitomi couldn't tell. The look in her eyes was almost—almost—maniac.
"You're just a girl!"
Hitomi drew her head back, confused. "Of course I am! What'd you think I was? You should've known. You're one yourself."
The girl's iron grip on Hitomi's arm tightened to the point where Hitomi could almost hear bones cracking. "Impossible . . . "
"You really should get your throat checked. It sounds odd. A high sign of strep throat!" Hitomi looked concern at the girl, and was given another violent jerk.
"Oh goddammit! Can't you recognize a male when you see one? You stupid girl," the girl growled in that low, manly voice of hers.
Hitomi winced. "You mean you're a boy."
"Yes, damn it. It wouldn't have taken a half dead dumb ass that long to have figured it out. Gods . . . " The girl, now boy, let go of Hitomi's arms and spat viciously on the ground.
Hitomi narrowed her eyes. "It's not my fault you look like a girl!"
The extremely pale boy whirled at her, fists clenched and ready to sock her. "I do not look like one! If you hadn't stumbled upon me wearing that unsightly cloak, resembling a stupid boy, this wouldn't have happened!"
For a while the two didn't say anything. Hitomi's arms felt so bruised she didn't think she could touch it without wincing. But she touched it anyway and wasn't surprised that she flinched from the tender pain. She looked over and saw the boy's cut bleeding shallowly. He, however, didn't seem to notice. He was that absorbed in his thoughts.
"It's bleeding," she said softly. The boy looked up. "Your face."
His hand slowly reached up to touch the wound. The bright blood coated the tips of his white fingers. An angry cloud passed over his eyes and he muttered, "Fuck." And then he was gone through the forest.
Hitomi glanced up at the spot where the boy had just been. She thought he was a mysterious son of a gun. She couldn't figure why he had suddenly run away like that. After collecting the necessary quantity of glarl leaves, she returned safely to the castle. There she found Merle and Van arguing like a bunch of fighting chickens. It was something about who should stay in bed while the other would go get something to eat. They both didn't look well enough to do the latter.
"Can it, you load of sick beetles!" Hitomi barked in an orderly voice. "Get back in bed and wait patiently. If either of you get worse I will put you through hell."
They immediately stopped and obediently climbed back on to their pallets, not used to hearing Hitomi yell with such authority, while murmuring "Yes, ma'am."
Hitomi stationed herself in a chair facing them and began to extract the leaves in a round clay bowl. It took some time to do so and she wondered how much time had passed. Every once in a while she would lift her eyes to see if either Van or Merle woke up. Her next task was to crush the seeds separately from the leaves. She sighed. It was going to take a while. Her thoughts wandered back to the strange encounter. She hadn't sensed any extremely evil vibes from him but then again he could've been masking it from her. And she could not believe that he was a boy! He had such feminine facial appearances.
But was worse was that he thought she was a boy. For gods' sake, she had a freaking sore throat. She couldn't have sounded like a man . . . could she? Hitomi groaned. Her cold was getting to her. It was messing up her mood, turning her into a PMSing bitch. There—she had used bitch. She never used bitch, much less said it. Hitomi went over to Merle with the bowl of slaughtered leaves and gently dabbed the paste onto her wound. Merle's eyes immediately opened, pained but angry. Obviously, she hadn't expected it to sting so much.
"Gods, could you do it any harder?" Merle hissed through clenched teeth.
"Would you like me to?" Hitomi hissed back, slightly glad Merle's vigor still remained.
Merle pointedly closed her eyes, ignoring Hitomi's remark, and went to sleep again. Hitomi moved on to the resting Van. She pulled down his blanket to reveal a fairly long gash on his chest. Merle was lucky hers was just a graze. Van's was going to hurt like a mother. Hitomi scooped a small amount of the glarl paste and applied it to his injury. Van's face registered the searing pain but he didn't move or make a sound. She continued until she was finished. Van touched her hand and opened his eyes. She thought he was going to thank her.
"Will you get me some water?" he asked innocently, eyes twinkling.
It occurred to her that he knew she was expecting a word of gratitude and used it to his advantage. Jerk. She came back with a glass of water and stiffly handed it to him. He drank it with a feeble attempt at a grin.
"Thanks, Hitomi," he said appreciatively this time. He lay back down and closed his eyes, exhausted from the exertion.
Hitomi heard a rustling behind her and turned around. Eni was standing at the door way looking like she didn't know what to do. Hitomi went over to her and was shocked to find tears trickling down Eni's face. "Eni, what's wrong?"
She shook her head and covered her face. Then in a muffled voice, "I'm sorry . . . sorry."
"What are you sorry for?" Hitomi asked in a soft voice.
"I—I couldn't help them. I am useless. I wanted to impress you . . . but I couldn't do anything," she cried miserably. She hastily wiped her eyes with the sleeves of her shirt. "I am pathetic. You mustn't listen to me."
Hitomi handed a tissue to her. "It's not your fault. Anyone could have been in your situation. Let's get you cleaned up."
Hitomi placed a supportive arm on Eni's shoulder and led her down the corridor. Hitomi was surprised that Eni was the same height as her. She didn't remember Eni being that tall. Perhaps, Eni had a tendency to slouch which would explain this sudden change in height. Anyway, Hitomi brought her to into the kitchen and sat her down in a chair. The kitchen was unusually void of the cooks and maids. Hitomi shrugged, thinking that they were on break, and dampened a cloth. She handed it to Eni, who used it to clean her tear stained face.
Suddenly a cool hand slipped over Hitomi's mouth and she tried to bite the hand but it clamped tightly on to her mouth. Before another attempt could be made, she was quickly blindfolded and muzzled. At least her arms were free. As soon as that thought entered her head, her arms were tied in the back and a string was attached to her tied feet. She felt like she was being treated like an animal. From some where in the room, she heard Eni's stifled cries and wondered if she too was being bound.
Hitomi could not believe her luck. It was a strange coincidence that no one was there to come to their aid. As if this was planned out to every detail. The villains had to know the exact schematics of the castle in order to have carried it out so successfully. There was a traitor inside the walls of the castle. But who? She couldn't imagine Merle being the traitor. She was too rambunctious. Obviously Van was out of the question. And Eni too. Balgus . . . he too could not be the traitor. Balgus was out of town and most trusted by Van. The fat head advisor? He seemed like a fickle, impertinent old man but he was brutally honest. Who could it be?
It had to be one of the servants, but that would mean death for them if someone found out. And most of them were too frightful to loose their jobs and they seemed terribly moved by Van's sudden illness. Hitomi couldn't think anymore. She was lifted and thrown over someone's shoulder like a bag of rice. The air was knocked out of her. She couldn't help but squirm aggressively when they placed their hand under her butt to keep her from falling. She felt immensely violated.
Promptly, a door opened and the open air rushed through her hair. She was carried for a few feet and tossed over something curved and lumpy. The wind was knocked out of her again. Where were the bastards taking her? Something landed on the side of her. It was warm. Before she had time to figure what it was, she was propped up against someone. So that was what it was. It was a human. Hitomi vaguely wondered if it was Eni. She nudged the human with her shoulder, who gave an angry grunt. She immediately stopped. Obviously, that was not Eni.
The human muttered something to someone, and leaned forward against Hitomi. They started moving forward in a lolling sort of way. Hitomi's legs brushed against a soft, stiff material and she realized she was sitting on a horse. A horse could go for hours. Hitomi would never know which way she was going. A warm cinnamon-y aroma sifted under her nose. It was coming from the human's breath. Hitomi made a face. The human was breathing into her face!
She sighed through the gag. She struggled against the bonds but found it entirely useless only to wear her out. She had tried to throw herself off the horse but the human grabbed her before she could slide down and jammed her back onto the horse. Not once did the human utter a word. Hitomi did not know how much time had elapsed since they had ridden on the horse. This is quite depressing.
"Let's stop here for tonight. Spread out. Don't stay too close to each other," the human's voice rumbled in a soft silvery voice. Hitomi's head perked up. She recognized the voice but she couldn't place where she had heard it. There was a movement and the human wasn't beside her anymore. Suddenly she was propelled forward and found herself sitting awkwardly on the soft ground. There were more shuffling and galloping until the sound slowly faded away.
I'm alone now. They probably took Eni somewhere else so that we wouldn't be able to talk to each other. How stupid. It's not like we could escape in this deserted place. Hitomi's legs were starting to numb. Her arms ached from being tied for so long. An owl hooted loudly near her.
"Do not scream or bite me when I remove your gag, or I will starve you until the brink of insanity.Do I hear an agreement?" the same voice asked.
Hitomi nodded vigorously. She was so hungry. Nothing else mattered at the moment. Her gag was removed and she obediently remained silent. "And the blindfold?"
"What about it?"
"I need to see what I'm eating."
The human uttered a sharp laugh. "Do you think I'll poison you?"
"It's possible."
"Why in the name of gods would I poison you after hauling you all that distance? It would be incredibly stupid of me. I could do much better."
"I know you. You're that boy I saw in the forest!" Hitomi exclaimed.
"Does it matter?" he asked snappishly after a moment's hesitation.
"Why'd you kidnap us?"
"That's none of your business."
"Fine, but remove the blindfolds. There's really no point in leaving it on. I already know who you are," Hitomi reasoned. It was true. She was far enough from the castle to not know how to get back to it.
He cursed under his breath before complying with rough movements. She blinked her eyes in the darkness, waiting for them to adjust. She couldn't believe how much time had passed. She held gestured to her hands. "Untie them too." And added, "Please."
The pale boy scowled. Hitomi sighed audibly. "Unless you want to feed me with your own hands then be my guess."
He looked as if he wanted to hit her and seemed to be doing a very poor job of restraining himself. Once Hitomi's hands were free, she relaxed a little. She had persuaded him to free her from the blindfold and ties but he would not be so willing if she asked again. Hitomi decided not to push her luck. She would untie her legs herself.
The boy was now stoking the fire, adding small dry twigs every now and then. The flames kept growing and growing until Hitomi felt as if it would leap in her face and burn it. She backed away. "Don't you think that's enough?"
He grunted a reply. "No. It's harmless at this stage."
"It doesn't look like it. We don't need a forest fire. It's pretty warm outside."
"Whatever." He continued coaxing the fire.
"What are we eating anyway?" she asked as she peered over at his bag.
"You'll see," he said distantly.
Hitomi sighed again. He was a horrible companion to be around with, but there was something familiar about him. There was that déjà vu feeling again. She looked at his face and saw a nicely healing scar. Too bad it had to be on his face. "What happened to your face?"
"A curious little mite, aren't you?" he sneered. He grabbed something out of the bag and threw it at her.
Hitomi unwrapped it and saw that it was a rice ball. She took a huge bite out of it. "Yes, I'm curious."
"What makes you think I'll tell you?"
She looked intently at him. "You're the one Van calls Dilandau . . . yes?"
His eyes flashed. "What makes you think it's me?"
She shrugged, slightly perturbed by his sudden anger. She was surprised he hadn't hit her yet. "I was just guessing. But now I know you're Dilandau because you sort of gave it away. There was no need to get all touchy about it. Anyway, who gave you that scar?"
"Didn't you hear me say it was none of your business?"
"No." She finished her rice ball and threw the wrapping into the fire. The flames leaped eagerly for it and calmed down after claiming its prize.
"Well, I did."
"No . . . you didn't."
"Are you stupid as well as incredibly deaf?" Dilandau jumped to his feet, scaring the crap out of the horse by the sudden movement. Its legs lashed out and kicked him in the head and then it ran away deep into the forest. Hitomi went over to the unconscious Dilandau and frowned. He was more trouble than even she herself was.
She would blackmail him into taking her back home to the castle. What would Merle do if she was in Hitomi's feet right now? Merle would definitely beat him to a pulp and then drag him by his hair through a field of nettles. Hitomi had to admire Merle's fierce intuition. It was there to protect her against danger. Hitomi eyes flickered to the pile of ropes on the ground. She could tie him and wait until he woke up again but she needed to clean herself up. Her arms and legs were marked with soot, probably from Dilandau's dirty gloves. But mostly to clear her head with cold water.
She had to find a stream but she couldn't leave him there. He would probably sneak up behind her and kill her before she would even realize it. This was a worst case scenario. What could he possibly do besides kill her? Torture her? He had no reason . . . did he? Why was she even kidnapped anyway? Hitomi decided that she would make him tell her the minute he regained consciousness. Since the horse had disappeared she would have to drag him to the stream. She quickly erased the thought. That would only make him sink deeper into unconsciousness and who knows when he would wake up. She didn't think she could wait that long. She could carry him . . .
Hitomi lifted his arms and staggered from the weight. She would have to take off his armor. After throwing the armor some where in the dark, she was finally able to carry him on her back. Holding tightly the ropes in her hand, she took a few steps. She didn't know where she was going but she kept on walking anyway. As soon as she heard the gentle trickling sound of running water she hurried up. When she reached the bank, she threw Dilandau off her back and heard him land with a loud thump. She distinctly heard him groan.
She kneeled in front of the stream and cupped her hands under the ice cold water. She splashed some on her face and gasped from the cold. She drank a little and found it very refreshing. She waded in the rest of the way, ignoring the numbing water. Dawn was slowly approaching in the distance. So far, it hadn't begun to rain yet. Hitomi was glad. She had not shelter to stay under for the rain to stop. She tied Dilandau's arms and legs and dragged him toward the water and dumped his head under.
His body jerked awake and his mouth opened, which was a very bad idea. He immediately sat up, sputtering and coughing. "What the hell did you think you were doing? Drowning me? I do not go down that easily."
He began wrestling with the ropes on his arms and legs. "Did you bind me?"
Hitomi merely nodded and sat down near him.
"Where's my freaking armor? What the hell are you? Some sort of female rapist?" Dilandau furiously struggled against the ropes some more. Finally he gave up with a defeated slump of his shoulders. "What do you want with me?"
"Well, I decided that we need to negotiate an agreement. We could help each other," she said slowly.
He gestured to his legs. "And you call this a negotiation? Untie me first, woman."
"Or I could leave you in the stream to freeze to death."
He gave her a dirty look. "Fine. What do we need to 'negotiate.'"
"I was thinking that you take me back to the castle and I free you."
Dilandau gave a loud snort. "And I will just kidnap you again. Come on, what kind of a negotiation is this?"
Hitomi sent a wave of water into his face. He flinched from the cold, turning even paler than he already was. The moonlight made him look so pale. He shook his head as a way to wipe his face and get the water out of his hair. "Like you have one that's better."
"Of course," he said in a haughty voice. Very girl like. Hitomi felt another déjà vu coming on. Had she some how met him before?
"So what is it?"
"Just wait til morning. I'm tired now. Goodnight." Dilandau turned his back and curled into a ball.
"Queer," she muttered under her breath. Hitomi also turned her back and lay on her side. The dream came again. There was the heavy fog and the invisible being calling to her in a lilting voice. The same thing happened. She was dressed in the white toga like gown, wading into the water. The being recited the same riddle to her and Hitomi still did not understand the meaning of it. However the dream ended differently.
"Hitomi, find me."
Her dream self frowned in confusion. "But I don't know where to look."
"Silly, I'm right here."
"Where?" Hitomi felt a soft silky material brush past her arm.
"Don't look too hard." The being laughed.
"I don't see you," Hitomi cried as she ran all over, as her head swiveled from side to side.
"Come closer," the being whispered in a papery voice. "Closer."
Hitomi followed the voice, ears straining. Her feet slipped against the slippery rocks. She couldn't see where she was going. She couldn't stop her feet from moving. Her hands instinctively reached out to make contact with anything but it felt nothing but air.
The being laughed again, echoing lightly. "Don't fall now."
She couldn't breathe. The warning came too late. She was falling. Too soon to stop, too fast to see.
Dilandau woke up shivering like a wet dog. He looked around. There was that wretched girl who had tied him up. She was still sleeping. Where was he? He guessed that the girl had managed to drag him here but how far had she traveled? Where was his horse? Then he remembered. The white stallion had knocked him out cold. It must've run away right after.
He sighed heavily and tried to look for something to cut the ropes with. He spotted an abandoned spear sticking out of the rocks. He crawled and wriggled toward it, glad the girl was not awake to see him look like a fool. He cursed at her and continued crawling. At long last he reached the spear and placed the sharp spear head between the ropes on his hand and began moving his hand up and down in a sawing motion. Moments later the spear cut through and Dilandau moved on to free his legs.
He stood up and stretched his cramped legs and arms. "Gods, this feels good."
He glanced at the sleeping form. He was going to get her for this. He hadn't though she was smart enough to take advantage of her situation. But apparently, he was wrong. She was so annoyingly curious. He would be glad to get rid of her once he reached his destination, how ever long that may be. Without his horse the trip was going to take a while.
Why in the living hell did she have to mention the wound on his face for? Couldn't she have been satisfied with just staring at it? No, she had to ask about it. Damn. His hands unconsciously went to his cheek. The images came quick and sharp.
"What are you doing here, Dilandau?" Van asked in a grave voice.
Dilandau turned from the bushes and faced the king. He stood up and crossed his arms. "Well, well, well. So the king has finally decided to show himself."
"Cut the crap. I asked, what are you doing here?" he asked in the same voice.
"My, someone's feeling crabby." Dilandau smiled wryly at Van. "How'd you know I was here?"
"I have my sources," Van answered vaguely. "Are you going to tell me or should I cut off your hands?"
Dilandau laughed softly. The Van he knew was back. "Who was the girl, Van?"
"No one you know," Van spat.
"Hah. Are you saying that because you want to keep her away from me . . . or perhaps to protect her from me?"
Van's face hardened. "You still haven't answered my question, Dilandau."
Dilandau bent over a cluster of wild poppies. "I didn't know poppies were still blooming." He felt the tip of Van's sword at the nape of his neck.
"Answer me."
Dilandau moved easily from the blade. "You're planning something, Van."
Van's raised arm dropped for a second. "What?"
"Don't pretend you don't know. I heard you and that girl discussing it."
"I don't know what you're talking about." He raised the sword again.
"Your pretense is unusual, Van. You're planning to invade Vione."
Van gave a sharp laugh. "You're crazy."
"Am I?"
Van eye's hardened. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Dilandau pulled a poppy free from the dirt. "I was just checking to see how the king was doing. And I got more than that. You are planning to invade Vione. I heard it loud and clear."
"Stop it, Dilandau. I already told you I don't know."
Dilandau drew his sword and swung it at the king who countered it with a swing from his own. "I know what I heard."
"Well, you clearly heard wrong!" Van pushed Dilandau back and slashed him across the face.
Dilandau touched his cheek with an unsteady hand. When he looked at his fingers they were bright with blood. He sent a look of hatred at Van. Never had he felt such anger. He wanted to rip the king's heart with his bare hands and throw it into the fire. He howled with rage and lunged at Van, who dodged.
Van pointed his sword at him. "Get out."
Dilandau was now blind with rage and he hacked wildly at Van. Van evaded every attack and kicked Dilandau to the ground. He left him there. Dilandau continued lying on the ground way after Van had left. He didn't remember getting up and moving around but the next thing he knew he was laying beside a shrine.
It was there that he had met the girl. At first glance, Dilandau saw a tall boy but he soon found out later that he was actually a female. The same thing went for Dilandau himself. The girl had thought he was a girl but her mistake was corrected. He felt quite insulted by this.
Now he looked back at the girl and he prowled toward her. She didn't have the sense to wake up. He laughed silently with scorn. How sweet his revenge would be. The king would find out much too late to do anything.
A/N: Oooo yay! Reviews, reviews, reviews! Can't you tell how excited I am? Lol. Man, I feel an inspiration coming on. How'd you like this chapter? There's not much on VH. Well, anyway. Thank you all for taking the time to read and review! I read every single one of them and they are very much appreciated. There hasn't been much fluff I must admit. Lol. But who knows? That might change. Very soon in the near future.
School is starting! I might not be able to update as frequently but have no fear. I will up as soon as possible. Summers been great. I was going to make this fic a summer thing but I guess it's going to stretch on.
You know . . . now that I look back on it, the beginning of chapter 1 is freaking corny. Lol. I cringe from the corniness when I read it. It makes me laugh with scorn. Hahah. I must repost it one day . . . maybe when I'm done with the fic. Thank you again everyone. Such dedication! (extreme tears).
