Chapter 2: Returning to You
Note: The characters of Vision of Escaflowne do not belong to me ^_^ I am
just borrowing them for a short period of time and as always, standard
disclaimers apply. Please don't sue because I'm just a poor college
student. Happy reading everyone!
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The weather was beautiful. The summer sun shone brightly down upon the crowds milling about the local Fanelian marketplace, their cheerful voices carried along the by the mild breeze as the people continued to mingle and go about their daily business. Not a single cloud marred the heavens, and the flawless sky created an endless canopy of azure that stretched beyond the horizon. From the parapet of his castle, Van Slanzar de Fanel gazed pensively at the striking picture his kingdom presented. Dismissing the gentle wind that continued to ruffle his dark hair, the young monarch leaned forward and folded his arms on top of the balcony's railing, allowing the air's warmth to wash over him in a rare moment of peace.
Ten years had passed since the fateful war against Zaibach, and it had taken nearly just as long to rebuild the entire country of Fanelia. The planning and laboring was endless, with one problem popping up right after another, almost driving Van and his newly appointed advisors to the brink of insanity. But the Fanelian people were resilient, managing to persevere even through the most difficult times - and now the moment had come when they could sit back and enjoy the results of their hard work. What had been burned to the ground only a decade earlier was now completely rebuilt, and somehow Fanelia had managed to rise from the ashes of war to become one of the most prosperous and peaceful countries in Gaea. The king couldn't have been more proud.
But despite the joy, Van also couldn't shrug off the nagging suspicion that something was missing. He knew the idea seemed ludicrous. Wealth, power, success...as the King of Fanelia, he had them all. What else could he possibly ask for? Without warning, his mind veered straight to an in image of a young girl with sandy brown hair and crystal-clear emerald eyes, who could run like the wind. Even after ten years, he could still picture exactly what she looked like, and hear the exact tone and pitch of her voice in his mind. Uncomfortable with the direction his thoughts were taking, Van closed his eyes, releasing a sigh at the exact same time a familiar voice broke the silence.
"Van-sama?"
Giving silent thanks for the interruption, Van turned to find a young cat-woman looking at him worriedly, her head cocked to the side as she regarded him with wide eyes.
"What is it, Merle?"
"Crispin sent me to tell you that the advisors are all assembled and waiting for you in the Great Hall." A mischeivous smile appeared on Merle's face. "It seems you've got tons of work ahead of you."
"Tell them I'll be there in a moment," Van replied, not moving from his position next to the balcony's railing. Merle nodded and headed towards the door, but suddenly stopped after a few steps, turning back to examine her childhood friend with a thoughtful gaze.
"You're thinking of her, aren't you?"she asked, her voice filled with silent understanding.
Van said nothing, his silence revealing a great deal more than any words could have.
"You know," continued Merle calmly, "it's okay to admit that you miss her. Nobody would think any less of you, Van-sama."
"Thank you, Merle," came the whispered reply. Shrugging off his somber memories, Van gave her a wry grin, shoving a lock of dark hair back from his face in a careless gesture. "I suppose I'd better meet the advisors before they decide to send someone else after me. Come on, let's go." With that said, he turned on his heel and headed for the door, giving Merle only a brief second to process the abrupt change of topic as she followed him out of the room.
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Akemi blinked as she stared at her surroundings in shock. Resisting the urge to pinch herself in order to find out whether it was all a dream, she settled for rubbing her eyes instead. Everything around her was green, the tall trees providing some shade from the fading evening sunlight. Squinting, Akemi looked up at the sky and her mouth dropped open in shock. The sky not only featured a sun, but two moons as well, one of which looked extremely familiar.
"Oh my god," she murmered to herself numbly. "I'm hallucinating. That must be it."
"You're not hallucinating, Akemi." Whirling around, Akemi found Hitomi calmly standing next to her, her eyes scanning the area around them as if looking for something - or someone.
"Sensei! Where are we?" The young girl bit her lip in a valiant effort, trying to hang on to the last shreds of her composure as hysteria threatened. She felt an incredible urge to scream in fear and stomp her feet in frustration, both of which she knew would do her no good at the moment. Akemi's wide eyes searched Hitomi's green ones, begging for an explanation.
Laying a hand on Akemi's shoulder, Hitomi gave her a reassuring squeeze. "We're on the planet Gaea. And if I remember correctly, we should be in the forests surrounding the kingdom of Fanelia."
"Gaea? Fanelia?" Akemi stared at her coach, dumbfounded. "Wait a minute, you've been here before, sensei?"
Hitomi smiled weakly. "It's a very long story. I was about your age then, but it's been ten years since I've seen this place." Closing her eyes, she silently willed her instincts to point her towards to Fanelia - and though she refused to acknowledge it, towards Fanelia's king as well. "I think we should go that way."
Akemi's eyes followed the direction of Hitomi's finger, trying concentrate on what was happening while keeping her confusion at bay. "How do you know, sensei?"
"Call it a wild guess," Hitomi replied with a small grin that lit up her emerald eyes. "Besides, it's dangerous to sit around these woods without any way to protect ourselves. Who knows what we might find?"
"Halt!" As if on cue, the shout was heard mere seconds before both Hitomi and Akemi found themselves surrounded by a large number of soldiers, each with a hand poised on the hilt of his sword. Armor gleamed threateningly from underneath the navy blue tunics of each man, and Hitomi instinctively pushed Akemi behind her. A flame-haired individual sporting a mustache stepped forward, drawing his sword in an ominous gesture. His dark eyes examined to the two strange-looking females with suspicion.
"Identify yourselves. Who are you and what are you doing, sneaking around the woods like this?"
Grabbing the arm of her student, who for the moment seemed to be at a loss for words, Hitomi stepped forward. "My name is Kanzaki Hitomi, and this is Miyazaki Akemi. We don't mean any harm; we were just on our way to Fanelia when we lost our way."
The man's eyes narrowed as he contemplated Hitomi's answer. Next to him, another dark-haired soldier whispered, "General Valdone, they could be spies sent to infiltrate the city."
"We're not spies!" Cried out Akemi in disgust as she pushed her way forward before Hitomi could stop her. "We're from Earth! And who would want to infiltrate your lousy city anyway?"
The soldier next to General Valdone glared at Akemi in outrage. "That's blasphemous! How dare you insult our city?"
Valdone grimly held his subordinate back, giving him a warning look. "Calm down, Ian." Turning back to Hitomi, he examined her carefully. "Did you say your name was Kanzaki Hitomi?"
Hitomi nodded uncertainly. Though her senses told her that Valdone seemed a practical man who wouldn't harm either her or Akemi without reason, she refused to make an unwise move and remained silent.
"Kanzaki Hitomi...the girl from the Mystic Moon who helped to win the war against Zaibach ten years ago?"
Akemi's eyes grew round as she stared at Hitomi in shock. A war? The situation was becoming more surreal every minute.
"They could be lying, General," declared Ian indignantly as Akemi shot him a dirty look.
"Regardless, we have no way of finding out the truth," spoke Valdone as he slid his sword back into the scabbard at his side. "Our only choice is to take them back to the castle with us. We'll let Crispin-sama question them, and if he believes these two speak the truth, then he'll inform the King."
"If you'd just let me see Van, I'm sure all these misunderstandings could be cleared up," spoke up Hitomi as she calmly looked the General in the eye.
"There's still the chance that you may be spies, or even murderers sent to
assasinate our King. We can't allow you near Van-sama until we're sure you
pose no threat to him or Fanelia. Now come along. If you're speaking the
truth, then no harm will come to you or your friend." With those final words,
he motioned the other soldiers forward and both Hitomi and Akemi found themselves
carefully surrounded as the large group made its way through the woods towards
the city.