DisClaimer: I don't own Escaflowne or any of the people in it. Please
don't sue.:0) - Attention- this chapter is making more sense of
chapter one.
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Chapter 2: Rumors
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-Breathe in right away, nothing seems to fill this place. I need
this every time, take your lies get off my case. Someday i will find,
a love that flows through me like this. This will fall away, this
will fall away.-
- 3 doors down-
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Fanelia the next day
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" I have it! " Van said excitedly. " You have what, Van ?" Allen
said frustrated. " We will start a rumor. The night Atrea disappeared
there was a bright white light in Zaibach " Van said happy. " But
there wasn't a white light " Allen said confused. " I know there wasn't
but if Dilandau thinks that there was, and that Atrea went back to the
mystic moon, then he will stop looking for her. He will wait until she
comes back. And soon, we will have a note sent to Zaibach from her
stating she wants nothing to do with him and she's going home " Van
said pleased. " That's brilliant Van " Allen now sharing his optimism.
" We will have to have something of hers to send with the note
though to make it more real " Van said thinking. " How about that
serpent ring ?" Allen said. " But how will we get it from her
willingly"? Van inquired. " We can send her a note from Dilandau saying
that he was tired of her, wants Ziola, and wants her to stay away from
him ". Allen said very pleased. " I like the way you think Allen " Van
said overly confident. " Then she will stay here willingly, and i can
get her to trust me again " Van said pondering the idea.
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West Wing
-------------------
Bastards! They think they can kidnap me? They will never get away
with it. Dilandau will find me and kill them all. Atrea thought.
Door opens " You bastards, you will never get away with this " she
yelled. " Atrea, we were ordered to take you from the castle, by
Dilandau himself " Allen stated sadly. " What?!, why would he do that.
Why would he want be to be taken away and locked in here " She said
confused. " He said to give you this sealed letter with the Zaibach
crest and only allow you to read it " Van said pretending to be sorry.
" Give it to me " she shouted.
Letter Dearest Atrea, i hope you are well, this is a hard letter
to write. I have loved you for a long time but i am afraid to say that
the love i felt is gone. I fell in love with another. Ziola Princess
of Ispano, we are to be married soon. I had to have you taken because
of the scene you would have caused. They will take care of you in
Fanelia. There is also something else i must tell you. Do you remember
Celena? She is me and i am her one in the same. Dornkirk did i fate
alteration experiment on Celena as a child, i am that product. I could
change back to her at anytime. I wanted you to know all this so there
would be no secrets between us, i hope you don't hate me. Please send
me back your engagement ring so i know you have received this. Also
take care. Dilandau.
" What?!, What the hell are these lies?" I shouted. " Atrea, his
royal seal was on there untampered with, what more proof do you want?"
Van said. " Fine, that jackass doesn't want me anymore, i want you to
take him a letter i will write, with this ring " i said shaking. I was
angry, pissed because Dilandau was going to die if i ever got my hands
around his bloody neck.
" Ok finished, now leave me " i said. I gave Van the ring and my
letter, and they left. I was shaking so bad. I never thought he would
do this to me. I never doubted him. But the way he got angry about
Ziola, well it was a little too angry. I hate him. I hate myself more
for falling for his lies. It took him this long to tell me he was born
a woman? I feel sick, and numb. I can't stop shaking. I better lay
down and think about this later. I can't handle it right now, it is too
much. To much emotion. I am too overwelmed. I need to sleep. She took
4 sleeping pills.
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Van's Study
-------------------
" How did you get Zaibach's wax crest ?" Van asked Allen. " I
lifted it at the party, i figured it may come in handy someday " Allen
said joyfully. " Nice..... You think he will believe the letter ?" Van
inquired. " With this ring and and return letter with a Zaibach crest,
it should not be a problem. It also clears up where his wax stamper is
too. Atrea did something with it " Allen said happy to stick it
Dilandau. " Ok then lets send a messenger that is tied to Zaibach and
not us " Van said.
They sent the message. Dilandau received it the next morning.
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Zaibach
--------------------
" Dilandau sir, this report just came in " A planted gaurd said.
" What is it " Dilandau yelled. " Rumors are cropping up all over
the city, the night Atrea disappeared there was a bright light " the
plant stated. " She. She. She went back to the mystic moon?" Dilandau
said shocked. " There can be no other explantion sir, sightings of
the light, her leaving all her things in her room, and no one has seen
her or asked for ransom demands " the plant said. " No other reason?
Why would she leave me? WHY? " Dilandau yelled. Just then the other
planted gaurd ran in. " Sir, this was just found in Atrea's room "
the gaurd hands Dilandau the box. " What is this? " Dilandau demanded.
" I don't know sir, a hand maid found it while cleaning " the 2nd plant
said. Both gaurds left then.
Dilandau opened the box containing Atrea's ring and one letter
sealed with the crest of Zaibach. He stared at the ring for awhile then
opened the letter. He could tell right away that the handwriting was
hers, except at the end it was a little different. It did not matter
though the contents were the same.
Letter You lying jackass! Did you think i would be ok with the
little secrets you kept? Huh Dilandau? Or should i call you Celena?
And Ziola..... You should marry her you 2 are perfect for each other.
You better hope i never see you again because if i do i will kill you!
( this is the part with the " off " handwriting ) I am returning to
the mystic moon and i am never coming back. Atrea.
His face went white. He never wanted her to find out about Celena,
and now she left him because of that secret. Has was he going to deal
with this? He had to be a king to his country and he had a dealine to
be married, he couldn't try to go the mystic moon and appeal to her,
there wasn't time. It could take him months before the god's would
grant him safe passage there. He had less than 2 months to marry. But
how could he ever love another? How could he ever live without her?
After 3 hours of thinking he made a decision. He sent word to Ziola
of Ispano that he requested her hand in marriage. He knew she would not
say no, and his country would have a queen. And he would have a broken
heart. Maybe someday Atrea will come back, then they can live happily
ever after. Oh who was he kidding the letter was quite clear on the
feelings she had for him. If not for his country he would have died of
a broken heart.
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West Wing
-------------------
Atrea's room. Middle of the night. A man wearing all black, steps
out of the shadows and walks up to Atrea's bed. She is out cold from
the sleeping pills. He picks up the pills and puts them in his pocket.
He would make sure she would not die this or any other day. He loved
her too much for that. He had heard the news about Dilandau, and
confirmed that there was to be a wedding. How could he do that to her.
How could any man deny Atrea anything? It was up to him to make sure
she was well and safe. He could not and would not reveil his true
identity to anyone. He could not protect her if they knew who he was.
He brushed a few stray hairs from her cheek, and let his hand linger
there for awhile. Then he left through the secret passage from which
he came. It is a good thing no one knew about it because then he would
be caught or worse he couldn't protect his best friend. His love.
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Van's Study
------------------
" Well we did it Van. Dilandau has annouced his engagement to
Ziola, and Atrea hates him. So now what do we do with her ?" Allen
asked. " I feel guilty about what we did. i know it was for her own
good, but i still feel bad " Van said shaking his head. " i don't
feel bad at all after what he did to Celena " Allen said angry. " Yes,
Allen, he did that to Celena, but look at we did, we made Atrea suffer
for our own selfish interests " Van yelled at him. " I'm sorry Van,
i know how you feel, so what do we do "? Allen said apologetically.
" Well we ask her what she wants to do, if she wants to leave the
castle, then we leave her in the west wing. If she agrees to stay,we
do nothing and let her roam free. We can't let her leave Fanelia "
Van said worried. " I agree, it is in our best interest to keep her
here " Allen said.
-------------------
West Wing
-------------------
Atrea wakes up to find Allen and Van standing over her. " What is
it now? More bad news? " she asked them. " We came to see how you were
and wanted to know what you were going to do now ? Van asked
uncomfortable. " Can you come back and ask me in a week or so? I want
to be left alone to think " she said sadly. " Ya, thats fine. See you
in a week " Van said and him and Allen left.
Now where did those sleeping pills go? Oh well i will ask the hand
maid to bring me more. Right now i will keep a clear head. So i can
plan Dilandau's death. If God is going to take everything from me, then
he shouldn't mind if i fight back a little bit.
-------------------
The mystery man somewhere close by
-------------------
Sad..... They broke her. If she never came to Gaea, she would not
be this way. Who knows how she would have turned out. I miss her. I
miss the person i knew. Shy, quiet, kind and loving person. But then
again thats only after she opened up to Dilandau. Then she left. I
wish i could have gone with her to the mystic moon. I wish i could
heal her pain. I wish i had the courage to tell her then, how i felt.
Her pain would have been spared. But now...... Now she is unpredictable
and a loose cannon. I will have to keep both eyes on her. And an eye
on this situation. There is something not quite right about this
situation. Not right at all. I am going to figure out what it is,
before something horrible happens. Maybe then bloodshed will not occur.
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West Wing
-------------------
At least they took that chain off. I can roam freely around the
room. Back to more important thinking. What can i do to Dilandau and
his little bride Ziola. I still owe her for the hut situation. I never
did get to kill her. First i think i will tie them both up. Then i will
let Dilandau watch as i hurt his pretty new little pet. I will teach
him a very good lesson in THE right way to make someone suffer. After
what he did to me.... the gloves are coming off.
Second i will cut off all of her black hair, and possibly a finger
or two. no wait maybe i should carve my name on her back. no wait
maybe i will just do both. And then to make him pay..... there is so
much to do and such little time to plan. I have less than 2 months.
No time to think about my broken heart, i will use my pain to fight
harder, fight faster, and more clear headed then i have ever been. I
will make him pay for what he did to me!!!!!!!!!hahahahahahahahaha.
-------------------
-You called me strong, you called me weak, but still your secrets
i will keep. You took for granted all the times i never let you down.
You stumbled in and bumped your head, if not for me then you would be
dead. I picked you up and put you back on solid ground.-
- 3 doors down -
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West Wing that night
-------------------
Atrea looking out the barred window to the ground outside. Her
thoughts dwelling on things she knew she could not change. But yet
the thoughts were unrelenting. She felt as though she was spinning
out of control. It was hard for her to remain balanced. Her feelings
and emotions were very erratic. Teetering on the edge, wondering if
she'd fall or be pushed. Love is a dangerous thing. It causes one to
feel and do things they would not normally do. She thought about her
lust for blood, and her compassion. They were both extremes on both
sides of the line. What a fine line it was. Love and hate. How easily
she crossed over to either side without a second thought. Was she
really that unstable? How to get control.
As she was thinking she noticed a figure outside. One of many
people down there. For some reason he was set apart from them. He
stopped just below her window and stood there looking down wearing
all black. Unmoving. She watched him as she was sure he was watching
her. Who was he? This is the second time she was sure she had seen him.
Ahhh yes, Zaibach. The balcony. Why was he always there in the shadows?
What was she to him? Another killer perhaps, laying in wait to try to
kill her? A friend ? Or just a guy? She looked up at the clear sky.
When her gaze fell upon the ground he was gone. Was it all in her
delusional mind? Did he actually exist outside her thoughts?
What am i going to do? i thought. I am seeing things. It is like
i am in a dream, no, a nightmare that is neverending. Why do these
things happen to me? Flashback " You should just accept things the
way they are, not they way that could have been. Only then you will
realize your true destiny ". The guy from the temple told her. Maybe he
was right. Maybe if i accept all that has happened, i will be in
control. If i move on instead of killing Dilandau and his new
plaything. I will feel better. What am i thinking? I will feel better
after they suffer. Then i can walk the line for the rest of my life.
Good plan. Kill them then be happy. I snickered at the idea.
-------------------
5 Weeks later
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West Wing
-------------------
Atrea is mindlessly painting another picture. No thoughts running
through her head. When she finished this one, she was surprised. She
had painted a red circle with little triangles an inch around it. It
was just like her tatoo, except it was bigger, and bright red. The
color of blood. She dismissed it and sat down on the bed. It was a
beautiful day out today, sunshining clear skies. the wedding was a week
away. That was supposed to be her wedding. Then it hit her. She needed
to escape Fanelia. She had some unfinished business to take care of
before the wedding. Dilandau would see her soon. Van and Allen would
most likely not let her out of her GUEST quarters though. But she
would find a way.
At the same time Van and Allen were going over Atrea's stay. They
both knew they could not keep her locked up forever. They were talking
about the way she came to be there. The kidnapping and everything they
had gone through to get her there. Someone was listening in the
shadows. He had now heard the final piece of the puzzle. The man in
the shadows now knew of the betrayel of Faneila and Dilandau's
betrayel. Tonight he would reveil himself to Atrea and tell her of the
secrets and the rumors. He knew what she would do. She would go
ballistic. It was the only way to fix the damage that was done. He was
worried about the after effects though. Her actions will shape Gaea
for a long time to come. He had to break it to her in a way that she
would understand but not go crazy. Both options were bad. Do nothing
and there will be bloodshed. Do something and there would be bloodshed.
No win situation. He hoped honesty would be a better way in the end.
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Zaibach
-------------------
" Sir, Princess Ziola has arrived " the gaurd said to Dilandau.
"Very well show her in" he said depressed. He was unhappy with this
situation. He hated Ziola, but knew that her love for him would make
a great ally for Zaibach. Then nothing could stop him. He missed Atrea
but he knew that his lie would keep her away forever.
Ziola and Dilandau exchanged pleasantries over dinner. The final
plans for the wedding now finished. Now they wait until the wedding,
which was only a week away. He hoped he would not have to spend any
time with her. She was bothersome.