Disclaimer: I don't own The Vision of Escaflowne or any of the characters in this fic.
Author's Note: First of all I'd just like to thank everyone for the great reviews. This is part 3 of Cruel Fate, its in Van's POV, it's a little surreal and it's also kind of confusing. This fic focuses entirely on Van and Hitomi, there will probably be no action. I'll try to avoid the use of dialogue, I stink at dialogue. I'll warn you now that this is probably the biggest load of garbage I have ever written, you have been warned.
Cruel Fate: Hope
The days went by in a haze, he didn't know when one began and the other ended. He felt lost, alone, was he dreaming right now? Everything seemed to be shrouded in mist, people were talking and yet he couldn't hear them. Their voices were drowned out by the anguished cries of his tortured soul. He had tasted bliss when he was with her, his mind and soul craved for more, he yearned for her.
They were all talking to him, each trying to be heard above the other. He didn't care about what they had to say, why couldn't they just leave him alone? Their voices were a maddening crescendo, gradually pushing him towards the brink of insanity. They were talking about marriage, his marriage to some princess he had never met. He didn't want some princess, he only wanted her, why couldn't they understand that? It was ironic, he was the King of Fanelia, and yet the thing he wanted most was beyond his grasp. He was exhausted, he didn't know if he could hold on to his sanity much longer.
Hysterical laughter echoed throughout the chamber. They gazed at him in shock and fear. There was no joy in his laughter, only pain and despair. It was the joyless laugh of a broken soul, the laugh of a man who had just lost everything dear to him. He slowly made his way out of the chamber, his tortured laughter lingering in air, silently echoing in the hearts of those who heard it.
Where was he? He didn't know, he remembered hearing her voice, calling out to him. Her silent cries were distant and yet they echoed so clearly in his ears, they were gone now. He needed her, without her he was an empty husk, a lost vessel drifting down the stream of existence.
His hysterical laughter had become choked sobs. No, he wouldn't give in, he was the King of Fanelia he had to be strong. Frustration gave away to anger, anger only led him back to despair. He was sobbing openly now, he tried to stop but it was all in vain. The black vice around his heart tightened as the suffocating despair settled upon him.
The ground beneath him gave away, his world shattered like a glass vase dashed among jagged rocks, there was only darkness. He was falling, falling into the black depths of his despair. The darkness greedily devoured him as he drowned in the murky depths of his misery.
A single white feather drifted by him, it's light offered him a moments respite from the suffocating darkness. Through the thick haze he conjured her image in his mind's eye, her smile, her sandy locks, her soft lips; he borrowed strength from it, renewing his hope. A faint ray of hope shone brightly in this dark abyss... it was her, she was his hope, his light.
There was a flash of white and a rush of snowy feathers. A pair of white-feathered wings unfurled, a tribute to the Draconian blood flowing through his veins. The feathers danced in the shadows, piercing the darkness with their light. He sped off to find her, her light was distant and yet it burned so brightly in his heart, guiding him.
The darkness, reluctant to let it's prey escape, bore down on him, hindering his movements. Though his body was exhausted, grim determination and his deisre to be with her drove him on. Her hand was extended, reaching out to him. He reached out and clasped it in his own. The sensation of her skin on his, her nostalgic aroma, sent him spiralling towards the heights of ecstasy. The pendant glowed brightly, the darkness was gone.
His body ached as he struggled to stand up. The moon smiled down on him from it's perch high in the heavens. It was all just a dream, he wished it could have lasted an eternity. A frown marred his face, there was only one moon, that could only mean that... he heard someone gasp behind him. He turned to face whoever it was.
It was a young woman, she stared at him in shock and anxiety. He didn't understand why she was looking at him like that, did he know her? Her sandy brown hair went down to her shoulders, gently ruffled by the cool autumn breeze. The moon bathed her in an ethereal light, outlining every curve, she truly was a vision of beauty. But that wasn't what had capitvated him, it was her eyes, those same eyes that always captivated him so. It was her...
"Hitomi..."
I can't believe I just wrote that load of crap, I'm just too lazy to change it, don't ask me what I was thinking. Should I bow my head in shame and disgrace? Please review, flame me all you want.