As Sure As the Dawn
Chapter 14
An Escaflowne fan fiction by:
The characters of Escaflowne used in this are property of Bandai entertainment. The writing and original characters are my own. This is my first Fan fiction so please e-mail and tell me what you think. Only constructive criticism please.
Spendil cautiously opened the door to Dilandau's study to find it empty.
'That's strange' he thought. He went out into the hall and walked towards one of the many doors he'd never opened, he hadn't been told to and never thought twice, so he opened the closest room to see a couple researchers. That was even more strange, Dilandau had made sure their were only strategists and war captains in this place, no researchers or people working on all the things Dornkirk had brought. He apologized and closed the door.
He walked over to the message relay room where Dasuko got all the messages and sent out others, she was good at planning and he hoped that would help them get out. Dasuko was there but there was no sign of Dilandau, and there were more people he knew hadn't been there the day before. Spendil checked the Harem as well, when he couldn't think of anything else, but Dilandau wasn't even there. He had to be behind one of those thousands of door some where. He went back to his room reluctantly to find a note.
Spendil,
Dilandau is in need of our assistance. He won't be needing your advice for the time being, relax for now.
Sorcerers,
Thelron and Phelgan
"Sorcerers?" Spendil pondered that for a moment, "Oh man, I don't like this." He finally realized what this would mean. The sorcerers had always had a strong hold on Dilandau, he was just their pawn and if the didn't want him around it was sure he'd be kicked out or dead within a matter of hours. Spendil ran to the message room.
"Dasuko! I need to talk with you, now!" he huffed when he reached her.
"Spendil, I don't have time right now, there are several messages to send and deliver and I still have room of concubines to comfort." She walked back to her desk and began translating a message that was in Morse code. Spendil pulled the head set away from her.
"Now!" he commanded everyone in the room stopped and looked their direction. She stood and nodded; Spendil rolled his eyes and stormed out of the room.
"I can't believe you! Why the heck did you make such a big deal about that?" Spendil grabbed her shoulders and shouted in her face. She stifled a giggle and the burst out laughing.
"What is so funny!"
"You, are." She continued to laugh.
"I don't know why I care what happens to you." He pushed her aside and rubbed his forehead. "Since I could be dead in couple hours anyway, why should I care?"
Dasuko took his hand away from his brow and held it between her own. "What's going on Spendil?" she whispered.
"The sorcerers are back, and Dilandau's with them, they're probably doing something do him right now. I got a note that said he wouldn't need my advice for a while and to relax for a while, but in Ziabach, resting is a sign of weakness. It'll leave me vulnerable and drive me insane, that's exactly what they want." Spendil put his hands on her waist. "I wish you hadn't said no." Dasuko shuddered.
"What good would that do? It'd just make things worse." She said quietly. He pulled her into and embrace and she leaned against him.
"You know, I might just be kicked out, then I'd be able to get help and come back for you."
"No, that won't do, we can't wait for them to decide, you have to get out now." Dasuko was still leaning against him when Thelron rounded the corner from an area Spendil hadn't explored yet.
"Dasuko, get back to work. Spendil, please come with me." Thelron commanded. Spendil nodded to Dasuko and she returned to the room. Thelron lead Spendil back down the hall he'd come up, they entered the door at the end of the hall. Spendil let his eyes adjust to the brighter lighting to see Dilandau lying on a table in the middle of the room. His stomach tightened when he realized, it wasn't Dilandau at all but Celena.
"Now, we are using Celena to bring Allen here, we'll set a trap and then capture Hitomi before he can get here. Van will bring Escaflowne and we'll wipe out Van, Hitomi, Escaflowne and Allen all in one blow." Thelron beamed at the genius of his plan.
"What'll we do if things don't go as planned." Spendil looked skeptically at Celena, she wouldn't want to harm Allen; it was only Dilandau who hated him.
"Things will go as planned, we're using the bond between the to contact Allen with some of Dornkirk's technology." Phelgan assured him.
"What does all this have to do with me?" Spendil asked, trying to ignore the empty table next to Celena.
"You are Dilandau's adviser, we wouldn't keep our plans from you now would we?" Phelgan paced around Spendil like a vulture waiting for its victim to die and rot in the sun. Spendil was unnerved, to say the least.
"I suppose not." Spendil walked over to the table to avoid their scrutinizing stares.
"There is one other thing," Thelron came around the other side of the table and looked straight into Spendil's eyes.
"And that would be?"
"We'll need your complete compliance, in anything and everything we say. I don't care whether you agree or not, you will follow our orders first and Dilandau's second." Thelron broke his hypnotic gaze and looked towards the empty table. "Even if we have to use, a particular force." Spendil shuddered.
"Yes sir." He managed to say with a small amount of confidence.
"Good then, you'll be contacted when he's back to normal." Phelgan showed Spendil to the door. Once in the hallway Spendil leaned up against the wall and sighed, both out of relief and distress. He wasn't going to die but living could be worse.
* * *
Hitomi woke up to the sound of the church bells, the wedding wouldn't be until that afternoon but the entire kingdom was bustling with preparations. It was a holiday, shop owners would open for a short time that morning and then the festivities would begin.
Van felt her stirring and opened his eyes; he'd heard the bells and realized that it was likely that they had awakened Tara as well.
"You'd better go see to Tara," Van sat up and yawned.
'Attractive' Hitomi teased.
'Why thank you, I am the king after all." Van smiled and Hitomi rolled her eyes.
"All right King Van, take this!" She grabbed a pillow and threw it at him, bracing herself for the impact. Van fell backward and laughed as he mindlessly tossed it back at her, he missed.
Hitomi got up and stood in front of his mirror for a while, he watched her admiring herself, she sucked in her stomach slightly and seemed satisfied with the results but when she breathed again it returned. He smiled and shook his head in wonder.
"It's your wedding day, I'm marrying you because I can't live with out you and your worried about your stomach?" He asked with a smile and strode towards her
"I just think if I could lose a few inches I'd…"
"You're perfect just the way you are." He wrapped his arms around her waist.
"You're just saying that cause you love me."
"And if I do?"
"Hmhm," she laughed, "you're to good." Hitomi stepped towards the door; Van opened it for her and waved as she disappeared into her own room.
"Not after tonight." He thought, with a hormone filled grin.
* * *
Dilandau cackled gleefully after he heard all that the sorcerers told him. Allen was going to be sent a message the next day, from Celena, pleading for him to return they'd mentally connect Allen to the message he'd created that morning and soon the plan would be set in motion. What the sorcerers didn't tell him was that they'd also be 'altering his fate' while he relayed the message to Allen.
Spendil entered his office and stood there for a while.
"You can't tell me the plan that Phelgan Thelron have come up with isn't perfect." Dilandau fidgeted happily.
"It is a good one, but do you think all this science is really necessary?" Spendil wondered.
"I admit I didn't like the idea at first but I have to admit, it's come in handy." Dilandau pressed his fingertips together and smiled maliciously.
"So how's Dasuko?" Dilandau smirked, knowing he'd struck a cord of anger in Spendil.
"She's just fine, I think she's finally getting over the trauma off her last position." Spendil sneered.
"Good, good, I hope you're happy, etc, etc." Spendil nodded, struggling to keep his temper from flaring.
"Well then tell me how plans will work out for our capture of Hitomi and Escaflowne." Dilandau sat back and Spendil outline the basic plan. Soon Dilandau dismissed him and Spendil was free to explore those other rooms.
* * *
Hitomi was dressing for the wedding, the morning had flown by and soon she was standing in front of a mirror as Merle lace her corset.
"Okay breathe in and suck in your stomach." Merle instructed. Hitomi did and Merle pulled the strings tight until Hitomi thought she'd turn blue. Merle quickly tied the laces and Hitomi gasped for air.
"Do I have to wear this thing?" Hitomi complained.
"Only if you want to fit into the wedding dress, it's a corset style, you picked it, you got it." Merle took Hitomi's slip from a hanger and handed it to her. Hitomi put it on and waited for the next piece, merle tossed her a garter. It had a red and gold ribbon that was attached to the lace so she could adjust it. She smiled and slid it up high on her thigh, knowing Van would be a bright shade of red. Merle handed her the underskirt that would fill the dress. It had several layers of a lace like material and an outer layer of silky fabric. Hitomi sat down on the bed and grabbed a cucumber sandwich off the tray they'd been brought for lunch. Tara was playing with Van for another hour and then he'd be getting ready. She looked out the window and saw Tara hiding behind one of the bushes, Van was looking for her, although it was obvious he already knew where she was. He peaked over the bush and she ran across the yard. Merle smiled and watched them play for while.
"I am so terrified," Hitomi sighed, Merle glared at her but then softened her gaze.
"Hitomi, your marrying Van because you love him, you should be happy. I know he loves you, how else could he be Tara's father? How else could he live, you didn't see him before you came back, he was a wreck." Hitomi looked at Merle and then down at Van in astonishment.
"I guess you're right, I know this is right," Hitomi finished lunch and pulled the underskirt on. Merle spent another hour just lacing all the laces that would keep it on her waist. Hitomi wondered how the heck she'd get out of all this but decided against dwelling on the thought.
Van knocked on the door to bring Tara back.
"Can I see you? Or are you in your gown yet?" Van asked from the other side of the door.
"Come in for a second." Hitomi needed to see him one last time before the ceremony. Tara ran in and jumped on the bed; Van wrapped his arms around her waist and smiled.
"Are you ready?" He asked. She nodded and gazed into his eyes, she knew right then that it was all right; things would be perfect.
'Good, Queen of Fanelia' He cupped her cheek in his hand and felt a tear slide onto it.
"Okay, break it up, we still have plenty to do before the ceremony." Merle shooed Van out and helped Hitomi into her gown. She fastened the cape/ train to her shoulders and handed Hitomi a brush.
"One hundred times." She then put on her own dress, it was red as they'd planned and came down to her ankles, it was simple and had no underskirt to billow it. She took the necklace they'd also chosen and put it around her neck. Hitomi smiled and set the brush down after she finished.
Merle parted Hitomi's hair in the middle and then pulled the back half away from the front; she braided the top half of that, and wrapped it into a bun. Hitomi put the Tiara in and arranged her hair so if fell over the edges and around her face. Merle then saw to Tara, who had a white dress with a red ribbon around the waist and sleeves. Hitomi smiled when Tara put on the tiara Millerna had given her, it was to big for her little head but looked cute even as she kept pushing it back. Merle took the tiara, set it a side, and put her nail file around Tara's neck.
"Keep it, I have another." Merle smiled and patted her cheek. Merle took Hitomi's veil and draped it elegantly over her hair, attaching it to the tiara.
"Mommy, you look like the princesses in the fairytales" Tara came and crawled into Hitomi's lap.
Hitomi looked into the mirror, "I guess I do," she smiled, "go make your Dad get out of here so I can go grab a snack from the kitchen." Hitomi smiled as Tara left, giggling all the way.
* * *
Van was on some kind of adrenaline rush. Folken and Dryden were prepping him.
"She'll probably be in tears and you will be too, don't worry about it." Dryden fixed Van's cape and made sure his royal uniform looked right. With all the buttons, and buckles Van felt awkward, he'd always dressed simply, being sure to keep himself comfortable. So being decked out in full royal grab made him slightly uncomfortable. The outfit consisted of a long sleeve shirt (not unlike the ones worn by marines) It was red with gold trim and buttons, over that was a red cape that was fastened just below his left shoulder with a pin that had the royal seal on it. His pants were white and pressed and most strangely of all he had white gloves. To finish it all he wore a new, polished pair of black boots. Folken handed him his sword and Van shakily placed it at his hilt.
"You look as ready as your going to get." Dryden smiled; they'd been successful. Dryden and Folken both wore similar outfits except that theirs were blue and Dryden didn't have a cape.
"Daddy!" Tara ran in the room and wrapped her arms around Van; he nearly stumbled but caught himself and picked her up.
"Does mommy want us to leave?" he asked and tickled her under her chin, she giggled.
"Yeess." They left and walked to the main court where the ceremony would take place.
Hitomi peaked out of her door as they walked down the hall and waited until they were out of sight.
"I'm getting a snack Merle, as if I could eat anything right now." Hitomi looked down at her trembling hands.
"Hang on, I'm coming too," Merle stepped out into the hall after her and handed her the long white gloves she'd forgotten. They went to the kitchen where there was a batch of cookies cooling. Merle smiled at Hitomi and snatched two from the plate.
"Nothing like sugar to warm cold feet." Hitomi ate half of her cookie in one bite.
"Cold feet?" Merle was confused.
"It's term for on earth, when a bride or groom is having last minute second thoughts it's called 'cold feet.'" Hitomi tried to explain.
"What ever Hitomi, we have to get you over there and now, the ceremony starts in five minutes." Merle grabbed Hitomi's hand and stuck the last piece of her cookie in her mouth. They ran across the palace grounds and made it just in time.