Forbidden Chains

by rainjewel

*Complete * This is my very first shot at writing, so please take it easy!! ^.^ This was a large project for me, but the chapters are thankfully short, though some are pretty long! Anyways, it's a very interesting tale about the wonderous Chid zar Freid.

19. A Glass Devil

Forbidden Chains

By: rainjewel

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Chid sat on the ground, staring at the man who lay in arms. A few feathers drifted onto Mahad's body, and the small glaring wisps reacted with something in Chid's mind. He got a grip on himself, and gradually recognized his surroundings. Slowly the Prince retracted his wings, feeling the stinging pressure of the cut. He hugged Mahad closer to his chest and stood up. Chid gathered the Duke in his arms and slowly began walking to where he thought the group was. As he sluggishly emerged from the grove of trees, he saw the group. Shail was standing up, and Van had a hesitant arm around his shoulders. They're heads were bowed together, so Chid assumed that they were still talking. Allen was crouched by the dead Eries, placing her arms across her chest. He looked over in Chid's direction briefly, then stood up and ran to Chid's side. The Knight's manner was hesitant.

"Chid, what happened?" Allen asked. Chid stared straight ahead. His body was so tired, so full of pain. Answer, a voice prompted him.

"He...tried to kill her," Chid said distantly. He furrowed his brows and tried to concentrate on his voice. "But he hit me instead. Oh, but he loves me. I know he does...or he did," Chid said. His voice was thicker. The Duke felt so heavy in his arms. Allen caught the tiredness of the Prince. He leaned forward and took Mahad from the Chid's arms. Chid let out a slight cry of protest and tried to clutch the Duke closer to him, but he couldn't keep a hold of him.

"Shh, Chid. You can't do anything for him. Think about yourself, and think about Akaro. Tell me where she is and I'll go and retrieve her," Allen said. Chid could tell that Allen was using every scrap of his training to keep his composure. The Prince's blue eyes sparked at the remembrance of Akaro.

"I...I left her with Dilandau. Don't worry, I shall go and get her," Chid said. He felt a small surge of energy that slightly revitalized his frame. Allen began to protest, but Chid silenced him by spreading his wings. He grimaced inwardly, feeling the feathered flesh tear where his wounds were.

"Damn it! You shouldn't do this! Gods, you have your mother's stubbornness!" Allen said angrily, his composure breaking. Chid smiled and rose gently into the air. The wind caught his hair and made it dance, the blonde strands and the blood-coated strands entwining about one another.

"I have too, and I want too," Chid said simply. Allen frowned at him, but his eyes gleamed with understanding. After all, he knew better then anyone the chains of love.

"Well, leave Dilandau there. I want to be with him when he wakes," Allen said, his voice strong with forced anger.

"I shall leave you with that pleasure," Chid said grandly. He turned to leave.

"Hold on," Allen said. He took his sword from his hilt and tossed it to Chid.

"I don't think I'll need this, but better safe then sorry," Chid said. Allen smiled, then waved a hand at the winged Prince, to tell him to leave. Chid smiled then turned in the air, and fluttered off towards the trees where Akaro and Dilandau were located. Chid could feel his body's weakness sharply now. So much blood...the Prince thought to himself.

The flight was short and quick. Chid flew to the stand of trees, then plummeted headfirst down through the treetops. He stopped in midair and righted his body. Akaro was sitting against the trunk of the tree, her knees drawn in to her body. She had gently placed her chin on her knees, and her emerald eyes were blank and staring. Dilandau was sitting next to her, his back tot he tree's trunk. His hands were bound in front of him, they were laying limply across his knees. The silvery-haired boy was staring out in front of him, his rosy irises warm for once.

Chid flapped his wings a few times, lowering his body to the ground. When the Prince felt his feet touch the soil, he thought his knees would give out, but he held himself. Chid felt his wings slide softly into his skin. He smiled inwardly at the relief that came from the wings' disappearance. The Duke's dagger wounds were not helping Chid's pain situation.

Dilandau looked at Chid and smiled, or frowned. Chid couldn't tell which. He had never understood Dilandau. The blonde-haired boy didn't think anyone ever had, save Serena. Dilandau leaned over slightly and nudged Akaro softly with his alabaster shoulder. Akaro looked at the soldier indignantly, but then her eyes caught Chid in her peripheral vision.

"Chid!" Akaro cried. She scrambled from the tree, giving Dilandau a hug. The albino stiffened visibly at the touch, but he didn't say anything. Akaro ran to Chid, and instead of stopping at his feet, threw her arms around him and almost knocked him to the ground. Chid dropped his sword and caught her by the waist and held her for a few seconds, burying his face in her hair. She smelled of gardenia. Gardenias and blood. How poetic. Pity I never noticed how she smelled until she was covered in blood, Chid thought to himself. He set Akaro back on the ground. Her eyes widened as she saw the full extent of Chid's wounds.

"Don't worry, I'm alright. Nothing life threatening, or so I think," Chid said. He looked Akaro up and down (for once without the thought of romance crossing his mind) to check for wounds. She had bloodstains on her dress, but he could tell they weren't hers. It was the same stain from the beginning, and the new ones were his.

"Does it hurt?" Akaro asked, looking at Chid's neck and torn torso. Like you wouldn't believe, Chid thought to himself. I

"Not too bad. I think I've passed physical pain by now. I've lost to much blood to feel much," he said, which was the half-truth. All he could feel was the impending danger of falling on the ground in weakness. Chid heard Dilandau laughing quietly in the background. The DragonSlayer knew exactly what condition Chid was in. Chid shot him a glance when he felt his knee buckle. Luckily, he caught himself before he hit the ground.

"Would you stop being so chivalrous and accept the fact that you're hurt for once in your entire life?" Akaro asked. She frowned at Chid a little. Chid felt his eyes widen at the comment, but he laughed softly. Chid picked Akaro up and kissed her as lovingly as he knew how. He felt the adrenaline flood his body, rejuvenating him.

"Does that hurt?" Chid asked as playfully as he could muster. Akaro shook her head once, then planted a light, dewy kiss on his lips. She settled herself to the ground.

"We need to get back," Akaro said. She kissed Chid's ear. "And, we have to deal with the moodiest psychopath on the planet," she finished. Chid nodded and turned to Dilandau. The bound boy looked at him coolly, like a cat would.

"Well, as much as I liked that little display of affection, I would appreciate it if we could get on with it," Dilandau said. His eyes were icy, yet contained. Chid sighed. He thought Dilandau would be a bit warmer if Akaro was there. He seemed to open up to the cat girl. Obviously this wasn't to be the case.

"Alright Dilandau. Now, if you don't mind, behave until we get back to the main group so I don't have to carry you. I'm tired and you're not exactly what I want to be lugging around with me," Chid said with a sigh. Allen would not have the "privilege" of waking Dilandau up. Chid would have to bring Dilandau back with him whether he liked it not. It was too dangerous to leave him unattended.

"Don't worry. You couldn't carry me in that condition anyway. Not unless you flew, and judging by the condition of your wings, I don't think you could do that without spurting blood all over the place. How gruesome," Dilandau said, with mock horror. Chid felt a small amount of anger course weakly through his bleeding body.

"Serena's controlling him. And he is literally incapable of kindness, unless he puts himself through excruciating pain. I'll explain later," Akaro whispered hurriedly in Chid's ear. She was standing right behind him, and her presence was momentarily distracting. Chid made his mind blank so that he could concentrate.

"Yeah...well. Uh, we need to get back, now," Chid said, picking up Allen's sword. He slowly walked over to where Dilandau and pulled him to his feet. Dilandau grimaced at the touch, but stood up, almost without Chid's help. Suddenly Dilandau leaned in and spoke to Chid in his velvet purr.

"I could break these bounds quicker then you can blink. I'm being nice, so you be nice," Dilandau said. He took a step back and looked at Chid with slight condescension. Chid stared at him wide-eyed, then regained his composure. Chid then slowly reached out and slipped the ropes from Dilandau's wrists. The soldier was right. The knots weren't hard to undo.

"Nice," Chid said simply, softly. Dilandau rubbed his wrists together. Chid gave Dilandau a meaningful look.

"I won't go anywhere. I have nowhere to go," Dilandau said quietly. He kept his eyes on Chid. Even when he's hurting he still has class, Chid thought, returning his stare. He heard Akaro walking towards to him and Dilandau. The blonde-haired prince slowly turned his torso slightly, keeping his blue eyes locked to Dilandau's red ones. Chid extended his right arm and reached out to Akaro, wrapping his arm around her waist. He pulled her to his side. Akaro caught her breath at the unexpected embrace.

"So, I suggest that we get back now," Chid said, keeping his voice level. He rubbed the hilt of Allen's sword not so much as too keep Dilandau under control, but for his own comfort. It made Chid feel stronger then he actually was.

"Then for the love of Gaea, let's get on with it," Dilandau snapped. His voice sounded strangely forced. The ghostly boy turned and began walking off through the trees. Chid slipped his arm from Akaro's waist and caught the retreating Dilandau with his hand. The Prince moved in front of Akaro.

"We're going together, and I'm not letting you out of my sight, no matter if how angelic you act," Chid said. Dilandau looked at his immured wrist with extreme dislike. The silvery-haired soldier said nothing, which rattled Chid even more. He perceived a quiet Dilandau to be a dangerous Dilandau. The albino was like a cat—stealthy, beautiful, and lethal. Strangely now, the eyes seemed dim. Chid vaguely wondered if he was injured.

"Come with me," Akaro said, startling Chid out of his worries. The cat girl stepped up to Dilandau's right side and took his hand gently. Chid felt fear course through his veins. He reached out to pull her away from Dilandau, but she sent him a look that stated "I know what I'm doing, don't intervene". Chid snapped his hand back to his side in puzzlement.

Akaro pulled Dilandau's arm slightly, almost as if a she were a small child. Surprisingly, Dilandau didn't speak or try to pull away. He very slowly took a few steps forward and began walking, slightly slower then he had only moments earlier. Chid hurried his own two feet, and soon fell into rhythm with Akaro and Dilandau.

The trio slowly made their way through the gardens. Thoughts nagged Chid. He knew he was taking a risk at having Dilandau unbound, but for now, at least, the pale soldier looked more like an angel then a bloodthirsty ghost. Dilandau's garnet eyes had lost the maniac gleam, and he looked like a broken thing. Chid finally discovered that he was really too weak and too tired to care. He looked at his shaking hands. Their usual golden-toned skin was considerably lighter, and he was almost as pale as Dilandau.

Finally Allen and the others came into view. The Knight was walking slowly towards Escaflowne. Van was now at the controls of Escaflowne, which was now positioned directly by the ruins. The ivory dragon looked extremely out of place in the shadows. Shail sat on the shoulder of the great guymelef. As Chid drew nearer, he could see Shail's blue-violet eyes staring dully into space. The Fanelian Prince's shield of indifference had been completely shattered. Chid hoped that Shail could cope with himself.

Akaro stiffened significantly as the trio neared Escaflowne. She looked nervously from Van to Dilandau, then back to Van. Chid looked at the soldier nervously. Dilandau was simply staring straight ahead. His eyes were still half glazed, and his demeanor was unusually calm.

Suddenly, Allen stopped in his tracks, then whirled around, causing his golden hair to toss grandly about his body, catching the rays of the sun. He began briskly walking towards Chid, Dilandau, and Akaro. Chid smiled half-heartedly as the Knight walked across the grass. He wondered how Allen had known they were behind him.

Allen stopped in front of trio and looked first at Akaro and then to Dilandau. His eyes stopped and he frowned slightly as he saw Dilandau's calm, uncanny expression. Briefly the Knight flicked a puzzled look towards Chid, who smiled weakly at him in reassurance, but offered no help concerning Dilandau. Chid felt he couldn't speak on matters he didn't understand.

"Dilandau?" Allen asked in a deep yet small, satin voice. His entire demeanor was gentle, yet apprehensive. Dilandau's eyes slowly widened, and his vision seemed to focus. Suddenly his eyes flamed with something that looked suspiciously like surprise.

"Allen," Dilandau gasped sharply. His entire body was abruptly shaken, causing his head to tilt back radically, and his eyes to close with pain. Chid instinctively steadied the soldier, using his waning strength to catch him. Dilandau breathed heavily and rolled his head back around. His body was trembling slightly, although the day was rather balmy. Slowly Dilandau opened his eyes, and Chid saw that the wine-colored irises were glazed, but he couldn't tell whether or not Dilandau was aware of what was going on.

"Brother," Dilandau breathed. His face had an awed sheen to it, like a child in a candy shop. Dilandau shook his head fiercely, then lowered his head slightly. "No, no I have no brother," Dilandau said softly. He seemed to be speaking to himself. "No, I have no one." His lips curved into a well-known smile and he started to laugh softly to himself. The laugh was brittle wounded. It reminded Chid of a dying bird.

Dilandau tossed his head with his trademark arrogance, sending his silver hair flying. His eyes shone brightly in the sunshine. Wet tears started to stream slowly done his face as he continued to laugh.

Chid backed away from Dilandau and grabbed Akaro by her hand. She was staring at Dilandau with a look of amazement and fear upon her face. When he grabbed her hand she jerked with surprise, but recognized him and retreated.

"Shh...I don't know what's going on, but I think we'd better watch," Chid said. He felt that something was very wrong here, and for some reason, he knew that only Allen could fix it. Chid wondered if Allen knew how to fix it, whatever "it" was.

Allen took the shaking soldier by the shoulders with an uncertainty that Chid had never seen before. Dilandau shrieked in frustration and stopped laughing. He tried to flinch out of Allen's grip and partially succeeded. Dilandau brought his hands to push the golden-haired man away, but Allen grabbed his wrists. He froze at the touch and recovered himself, though silver tears still coursed down his face.

Dilandau looked at Allen with twisted amusement. "I am surrounded by people and yet I have no one. What do you call that? Irony?" he said.

"Dilandau stop," Allen said warningly. He looked extremely off-balance. Dilandau seemed to notice Allen's discomfort and hissed at the blonde-man's admonition.

"But," He pursued bitingly, "What you don't realize is that I am Serena, and she is me. We are one. Don't you get it? I am her anger, and she is my calm."

"No!" Allen said fiercely, cutting him off. He shook Dilandau and repeated himself. "No!"

"Ah yes, Allen Schezar. I'm afraid it is true," Dilandau snarled. He shook his face free of tears, raining them down like droplets of hate.

Allen looked stung. His face was a painting of agony. Chid felt himself taking a step to go smack Dilandau for talking this way, but Akaro pulled him back. The sudden movement made his head swim and vision darken. He stumbled and Akaro steadied him.

Allen didn't even flick his gaze towards Chid. His eyes were watery, almost as if he was going to cry, but suddenly he drew himself up to his full height, regaining his composure.

"Then," the Knight said deeply, "If you and Serena are one, then you are not alone, for you shall always have me." Allen then pulled Dilandau to him, pinning the shaking soldier's wrists to his chest. Allen wrapped his arms around Dilandau and laid his head upon Dilandau's cheek. Dilandau struggled violently, and his red eyes were huge with surprise. He shrieked wordlessly a little, his voice shrill.

"Hush, my little brother," Allen said softly. He lovingly stroked Dilandau's hair. Dilandau ceased his noise, then finally went limp and collapsed against Allen's chest, tears once again streaming down his cheeks.

"I don't want to be alone," Dilandau moaned softly, his eyes wide and watery.

"You never will be," Allen said. He kissed Dilandau's head gently and hugged him tighter. Dilandau closed his eyes and sobbed quietly.

Chid stood staring at the two men. He couldn't believe the chain of events that had led to this. His head was pounding, and the incessant roar of his weak heartbeat was in his ears. Akaro stood beside him pensively, joyful tears streaming down her cheeks. Chid felt like the emotion that the scene was creating was overpowering him. Bearing down like a swirling wave of love, hate, sadness, anger, and hope. Chid looked to the soldier and the knight, smiled, then collapsed into oblivion.