Dryden was still in Ezgardia. She found him at his offices, supervising the packing of some marble statues.
'Whoa, careful there! You nearly had the arms off that one. Hey, sis!' He hugged her. 'You're lucky to have caught me. I'm heading off in a couple of days.'
'Where to?'
'Back to Asturia.' He picked up a bundle of papers and shoved them into a briefcase.
'I've just come from there,' she groaned.
He shrugged.
'You don't have to leave the ship if you don't want to. Though I may be there for some time.'
'Why are you going home?' She leafed through some of the paperwork remaining on his desk. 'Profits look good; not in any trouble, are you?'
He pulled a face.
'I'm twenty-one; legally a full, one-hundred-percent, certified adult. And I'm engaged to a girl I haven't seen more than twice in the past five years. I thought it was about time I went home to claim my bride.'
'Millerna?'
'Yeah. I wonder what's she's like these days? She was a real little spitfire last time I met her, but of course she was only eleven then...'
'Dryden, I really need to tell you why I left Palas.' She glanced around, but the packers had left the room. In a low voice she explained about her brief but disastrous liaison with Folken, and Millerna's reaction. 'She thinks I betrayed Asturia to Zaibach. I'm afraid I haven't done you any favours with your fiancée.'
'Aw, she'll come round eventually. How could she resist me?' He grinned. 'Hey, do you remember that time at the picnic when I tried to get a kiss out of Eries and Millerna beat me up? Maybe she'll jump me again...'
'Dryden!'
Carenza spent most of the next few days in the library of the Parunachian, brushing up on her English. When Dryden turned up with his own baggage ready to board, she discovered they would have another passenger, one who required special accommodation.
'I bought her from a trader down south,' he said, blowing a kiss to the mermaid as she was carried on board in a well-soaked canvas sling. 'I just couldn't bear to think of her spending the rest of her life in some tiny algae-encrusted tank in a rich man's menagerie.'
'Ugh, no, that's barbaric,' Carenza agreed. 'So, what are you going to do with her? Keep her in a large, well-maintained tank in your own private zoo-cum-harem?'
'No! What do you take me for?'
'I'm sorry - that was unkind. Recent events have made me very...cynical.'
'Actually I was planning to let her go,' Dryden said. 'Just don't tell anyone. I haven't told my accountant yet, and he's gonna go ballistic when he finds out.'
The flight back to Asturia took another three days; contrary winds slowed the Parunachian's normally swift pace to a crawl. As night fell on the third day the ship's intercom crackled into life.
'Mister Fassa? This is the captain. Please come down to the observation deck immediately.'
Carenza jumped up from her book and headed out into the corridor, but Dryden was already halfway down the stairs. His rat-like assistant approached.
'Young master, you paid so much for that mermaid, and now you're just going to let her go? The old master will have my head for this.'
'Don't be such a penny-pincher. Beautiful things belong in their natural environment.' They walked over to the wide viewport. A small leviship had docked with the Parunachian. 'That's the Crusade, isn't it?'
'They're asking to meet with you.'
Carenza approached the top of the stairs and leant over the balcony. What was the Crusade doing out here? Had they rescued Hitomi from Zaibach? She hoped so; it had been nearly two weeks since her own precipitate departure from Palas.
A familiar voice floated up from the room below.
'You're Dryden, aren't you?'
Princess Millerna? Carenza stepped back, unwilling to be seen by her former friend.
'Who are you?' asked Dryden.
'She's Millerna, third princess of Asturia,' his assistant explained.
Dryden grinned.
'My apologies, your highness, I really didn't recognise you after all these years. How are you?'
'I'm fine,' Millerna said curtly. Reluctantly she added, 'And you?'
'Couldn't be better. C'mon into my study,' he purred. He looked round at his assistant. 'Hey, some tea for the princess, will ya?'
A while later Dryden came upstairs to see Carenza.
'I gotta go over to the Crusade,' he said. 'Seems they have an Ispano guymelef needs fixing.'
'Escaflowne?'
'You know about it?'
She nodded.
'Zaibach are after it. Or Van. Or both. You haven't told anyone I'm here, have you?'
''Course not. Your secret's safe with me, sis.' He pecked her on the cheek and made to leave.
'Dryden?'
'Yeah?'
'If you find out anything about Hitomi and whether she got back safe, you will let me know? I feel sort of responsible for what happened to her.'
'No problem! See you later!'
Carenza watched from the observation deck as Dryden walked out across the docking gantry to the Crusade, then ordered a pot of tea for herself. She was just about to go back up to her room, when the sky outside began to glow blue-white, and the air was filled with a rumble that she felt rather than heard. Rushing to the window she saw a monstrous ship descend from a rent in the sky, and a swarm of tiny ships emerge and buzz over to the Crusade. An attack? But there was no weapons fire, and the Crusade made no attempt to get away. Besides it was so...enormous. Even Zaibach had nothing like it, she was sure.
She wandered into Dryden's study, biting her lip in concentration. If anyone had information on a ship like that, it would be her brother. He was fascinated by ancient mysteries, especially the technology of their ancestors. He even liked to claim that the Parunachian used ancient anti-gravity devices instead of the more primitive levistones, but Carenza thought it more likely that the ship was of Zaibach manufacture, with levistones concealed in the bowels of its mechanism.
The study was in disarray, piled with objets d'art and books. Two porcelain tea-bowls sat amongst the clutter, stained with tannin scum, and next to them lay a large manuscript tome. Its age-stained pages bore a drawing of a ship just like the one outside...
"Thee auncient knowledge of Atlantys was not lost, howsoever. They built them creatures of flesshe and machine, callynge them Yspanoe, and gave unto them the secrets of Atlantys. Manie were the cunnynge devyces and engines of warre wroughte thereto bye the Yspanoe, y-bounded by blode curse to ther captaynes, yea, even unto deth. So yt was that battaille raged yn alle the realms of the auncients. When thee city of Atlantisse suffer'd destrucion, the Yspanoe withdrew them ynto the shynynge void and hidde from the eyes of Men. Yet yt ys sayd that their devyces may call unto them atte need, summonynge the mighty shippe from thee void."
In the margin Dryden had scribbled "Emergency repairs - communication device?". It looked like Dryden had called out the Ispano to fix Escaflowne, which must mean that Van had taken some serious damage. She just hoped that he had managed to rescue Hitomi in the process.
'Whoa, time to batten down the hatches, sis!'
Carenza looked up sleepily to see Dryden standing in the doorway, looking flushed but excited. She had fallen asleep on the sofa, reading the ancient manuscript. The red light of dawn flooded in through the door to the observation deck.
'W-what's happening?'
'Zaibach guymelefs! Van's fighting them in Escaflowne!'
'Oh no, not again!' She struggled to her feet, feeling drowsy and disoriented. 'What about Hitomi?'
'She's fine! I tell ya, that little lady knows a whole lot...' He trailed off thoughtfully. 'Time to hide this ship. Now I have no fleet, it'll be much easier to keep out of Zaibach's way.'
She snapped awake.
'What happened to the fleet?'
'I traded it in to the Ispano for the repairs on Escaflowne,' he said, wandering out onto the observation deck. Carenza stumbled after him.
'You did what? Half my savings were invested in your fleet.'
He hung his head.
'I'm sorry...I-I'd totally forgotten. I just - I just wanted to make Millerna happy.' He stared out of the window at the Crusade docked alongside.
'You threw away my dowry to please Millerna?'
'I said I was sorry...'
'Never mind,' she sighed. 'But you owe me big time, you hear?'
She went up to her room, washed her face and changed into fresh clothes. She was just brushing her hair when there was a knock on the door, and Dryden poked his head round.
'I have someone here who'd like to see you,' he said.
'Who is it?'
He tapped the side of his nose and winked at her. Princess Millerna came into the room.
'Your highness?' She flashed Dryden a look that said, I don't know what you're trying to do here, but it won't work. He just winked again and left.
'Please, Carenza, hear me out,' said Millerna. 'I've come to apologise.'
'Apologise? To me?'
Millerna sat down.
'I've spoken to Hitomi, and...well, it appears that Zaibach weren't behind the kidnap attempt at all.' She swallowed hard. 'It was my father.'
'What?'
'I've talked it over with Hitomi and Allen and Mr Mole, and there's no doubt about it.'
'But why? What would he have to gain?'
'It seems that my father - and I have to say here that he was encouraged by your father in this - had decided to keep Escaflowne for himself. He knew, of course, that Van would never give it up willingly, so they intended to hold Hitomi hostage for it. They would hand Van over to Zaibach and he would have to say that Escaflowne had been destroyed; otherwise they would kill Hitomi.'
Carenza could only stare at her, aghast.
'It's awful, I know,' the princess went on. 'That's why I had to come and apologise to you. I still don't agree with what you did, regarding the Strategos, I mean, but that was your business. To be honest, I was surprised to find out that you were here and not with him.'
'We...we split up,' Carenza said, through the lump in her throat. 'He lied to me about Van, so the day before the kidnapping I...told him I never wanted to see him again.'
'I'm so sorry.'
Carenza looked up; the princess had sounded genuinely sympathetic.
'I know what it's like to be in love with someone and not be sure if they love you back.' She blushed. 'I'd better go.'
'You're going where?'
Dryden was sorting through a stack of old maps, unrolling them and then tossing them aside.
'I can't pass this up, sis. How many times in a man's life does he get an excuse to search for the Mystic Valley? Aha!' He carried his find over the desk and began weighting down the corners.
'You're still trying to impress Millerna, aren't you?'
Carenza picked up the discarded maps and started putting them back in the chest. Dryden turned around and leant back against the edge of the desk.
'No! Well, maybe a bit. Dammit, if we're going to get married, I would rather she got to like me first.'
She straightened up.
'Dryden, I don't know how to tell you this, but-'
'She's in love with Allen. I know,' he said sadly.
'You do?'
'I'm not stupid. I've seen the way she looks at him. But I'm not going to give her up. She's...so beautiful - and clever too. Do you know she's training to be a doctor? She even operated on Allen and saved his life.'
She saved your rival's life and you're just proud of her skills? Oh, little brother; why do we both fall in love with the wrong people?
'I hope you'll be very happy together,' she said.
'Don't say it like that. Look, I'd like you to do something for me. Actually, quite a few things.'
'Like you don't owe me a whole heap already!'
'And I've never done anything for you, right? No picking you up in Freid, or trips to Fanelia...?'
Not something she wanted to think about right now. She gave in, just to get him to drop the topic.
'All right, what is it?'
'First, could you take Sylvie to the ocean for me? We'll be flying too far north, or I'd do it myself.'
'I thought you'd gotten rid of your other ships?'
'The fleet may be gone, but I still have a couple of skimmers in the hangar here, and I can spare a pilot for you. We can rig up a holding tank in the Mayfly; she has the lift, though it'll slow her down quite a bit.' Carenza nodded; Dryden must be serious if he was planning to leave his favourite skimmer behind. 'And...' He took hold of her hand. 'I know this is asking a lot...but could you please go to Father and ask him to start making wedding preparations? We haven't set a date yet, but there must be some paperwork and stuff that can be drawn up in the meantime. And I trust you to organise guest lists and get quotes for printed invitations and all that stuff.'
She pulled her hand away.
'I don't know, Dryden. This is all very sudden. Shouldn't you wait until you get back?'
'Did you wait?'
'Touché. All right, but I won't stay in Palas an hour longer than I have to.'
'That's all right. I have one more thing to ask of you.'
'Go on,' she sighed.
'Sandro is renting a villa on the coast. Would you go to him and ask if he'll paint our wedding portrait?'
'Very well,' she said, and smiled. 'As long as you don't expect him to make an honest woman of me.'
Dryden blushed.
'Boy, was I naïve in those days! Actually I'm glad I was; I don't think I could have sat for that painting if I'd known. You at least will be perfectly safe with him.'
'So were you. He's a decent man.'
Dryden nodded. Carenza gave him a peck on the cheek, then looked around the study.
'Hey, what happened to the other painting?'
'I never did get around to putting it up in here.' He shrugged. 'Oh, there it is, over in the cor- oh shit, you don't think Millerna saw it when she was in here, do you?'
'Probably not, otherwise she would have either slapped you or jumped your bones by now.'
'You think?' he said, grinning wickedly.
She gave him an old-fashioned look.
'No. Hide it. In a big, locked crate. At the back of your darkest storeroom. Or you can kiss your oh-so-pretty princess goodbye.'
* * * * * * * * * * *
Author's Note: Writing these chapters in which the protagonist is not directly involved in the main action has proved much the hardest part so far. Apologies if it makes for somewhat disjointed reading. Still, not long to go now...
P.S. Sorry for the bad Venus de Milo joke in the opening scene :)