Separation (Part 5)

Here we go!!! Yippee a fifth part. Is Van going to come to the rescue? Who knows? J Maybe, maybe not guess you have to read to find out. Thanks for all the great reviews; I'm so glad you're enjoying my story. I'm so sorry I took so long!! So very sorry, I've been busy as was having trouble getting this part done. But I did finish it so here it is. So keep reading and reviewing.

Separation (Part 5)

Tsani paced, something she had found herself doing a lot of lately. Her thoughts were in turmoil; she felt real shame at leaving Hitomi behind. Yet as she replayed the memory over and over again she couldn't find any possible solution other than to do as Cryton said. She stopped pacing and dropped down into a lightly padded chair, she couldn't do it any more; she couldn't follow Cryton and still keep her soul. He would expect nothing else; he would have never wanted her to follow Cryton simply to protect him.

Tsani stood swiftly and swept out of the room, she had plans to make.

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Hitomi struggled as Garad dragged her along, but it was no use. The man was a trained soldier and twice her size. Even as Hitomi fought, she felt a warm glow of satisfaction, sure she was being tossed in the dungeon, but at least she had managed to punch the bastard.

Hitomi soon found herself being dragged down stairs, the climate was slowly getting damper and darker, causing Hitomi to shiver, more from the appearance than from the actual cold. Garad dragged her down a long corridor light by torches, Hitomi spotted guards posted along the way but none of them looked very alert. Most perked up a little when Garad walked by, giving Hitomi the impression that Garad was a very important person.

Hitomi was jerked to a stop in front of a thick wooden doorway with a small barred window, a guard was standing a few feet away. Garad shoved Hitomi behind him and called the guard over. A furious discussion took place between the two, it seemed that Garad was extremely upset that this was the only available cell, but although the guard looked terrified he stated repeatedly that this was the only cell. Finally a very disgusted Garad shoed the soldier back to his post. Hitomi was apprehensive; this must be something very wrong with this cell if Garad was so angry about having to use it.

Garad seemed to have gotten over his anger and he grasped the door with one hand, the other maintaining a tight grip on Hitomi's wrists, and pulled the door open, it squealed loudly and Hitomi thought she heard sounds coming from the cell next to hers but she didn't have time to wonder about it before Garad roughly shoved her into the dark cell.

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Van walked quietly along with the rest of the soldiers as they marched through the arched gateway that led into the palace. His disguise had worked perfectly, the armour easily disguised the fact the he didn't have the proper uniform. He had joined the back end of a column and was extremely pleased to discover that this group was heading right towards the palace.

As the group marched Van listened to the soldiers talk, soldiers in the city had joined the group and a low rumble of conversation had been passing between the men. Van listened over the rumble of boots marching together, the men whispered that the king had brought a girl with mystical powers into the castle and he was going to use her to assure his stay in power. The rumour worried Van but he still wasn't quite sure it was Hitomi they were talking about until he heard the men whispering that the girl had punched the king right in the face and called him a bastard.

That clinched it for Van; it was definably something Hitomi would do. From what little he could understand the girl had been thrown in the dungeons. He marched quietly along until two soldiers chatting in front of him captured his attention.

"I heard Frenc was found a mile in the bush, passed out with his pants around his ankles." One soldier said.

The other soldier snickered before replying, "Yeah, once they tossed him in the river to wake him up he stated yabbering on about Draconians coming to get us all." The soldier made a few mystic motions with his hands to go along with the comment. The first soldier burst out laughing at this news and struggled to keep up with his column.

"Oh God," he mumbled tears streaming from his eyes as he struggled to get his breath back. "That Frenc always good for a laugh. Draconians, ha. That guy shouldn't be allowed within a foot of any type of alcohol." His partner laughed at that announcement, before nodding his head in agreement.

Van felt himself flush a little; he was glad nobody was taking what he did seriously but felt a bit sorry for poor Frenc. The group marched on and Van found his eyes wandering over to the castle walls; he needed a way into the dungeon.

The soldiers walked into the barracks, the ranks dissolved as they entered the courtyard. Groups of men headed for the rooms to get some rest while others moved towards the mess hall. Van followed the latter group, as his stomach demanded he put some food in it.

Van found himself packed into a large room filled with benches and lots of big smelly men. He grabbed a tray, feeling thankfully he had taken the time to see what barracks life was like. Without the experience gained from traveling down to the barracks to socialize with the men he probably would have been lost.

He wadded through the jumbled mass of men, grabbed some food and found a table. The food was hardly passable but Van was hungry enough to not even care. He wolfed down the food, since he wanted to get out of this highly public situation as soon as possible. He had barely finished off the last of some unidentifiable slop, when he noticed a large man had climbed up onto a table near the entrance.

The man began to wave his arms and whistle until the hall quieted a bit. Once he realized he had everybody's attention he yelled out, "O.k men, we need some volunteers to work in the dungeon."

Silence met his request before a blurry blond man with a tray heaped with food yelled out, "What for? The king's already got men posted down there." Rumble agreement met with that announcement, and the man on the table looked a tad uncomfortable.

"The king ordered an increase in the dungeon guards, and it's not my job to contradict the king. Now I need some volunteers, any man who volunteers will be given a 5% raise." That announcement was met with a few snorts of laughter. Meanwhile, Van felt like jumping with joy, this was the perfect excuse. But the fact that nobody seemed willing to volunteer meant that it would be suspicious if he did. Van's hopes crumbled as still nobody stepped forward. The perfect chance was going to be ruined. His eyes darted around the room as he prayed for someone to volunteer.

"I'll do it, ain't got anything better to do," a man leaning against the wall said. The man standing next to him, snorted. "Butt kisser," he mumbled, which earned him a glare from the man who volunteered and laughter from the rest of the room. That one was enough, another soon offered his services and Van quickly stood and raised his voice to indicate his volunteering.

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Hitomi fell forward and landed hard on her hands and knees, she cursed loudly but it was drowned out by the sound of the heavy cell door slamming shut. Hitomi climbed to her feet and turned to glare at the door while she rubbed her hands on her pants.

Her temper finally cooled enough for her to examine her surroundings. Thankfully the cell wasn't too dark since the torch light shone in through the barred window, but what little she could see didn't impress her. There was a pile of straw over in one corner but Hitomi wasn't going to go any where near that, to many little critters might have found it inviting. Other then the hay there was a small bench and off in the corner a hole. Hitomi cringed as she examined the hole in the floor. She was glad that this cell hadn't been used in a while or the smell that would have been coming out of that hole probably would have turned her green.

Hitomi edged over to the bench, which was thankfully on the far side away from both the hole and the straw, and plopped down letting out an exasperated sigh. She realized she shouldn't have punched the king but she sure as hell didn't regret it. At least I haven't seen any rats down here, she thought as she looked around the cell with sharpened interest.

Of all the people in the world how did she always end up in these types of messes? And Tsani, what about Tsani? There was so much going on below the surface that Hitomi didn't know about. She let her hand dangle over the edge of the bench as she lightly brushed the wall. After all these years the visions were coming back, and the gut feelings.

She huffed slightly as her toe scuffed the cell floor. What was she suppose to do now? She froze when she felt something grasp her hand. Oh my God.

*********************

Van followed the men, as they were lead down into the dungeons. Surprisingly he hadn't been questioned at all, he figured that meant he wasn't getting a 5% raise either. The thought brought a tiny smile to his lips that he quickly crushed in case somebody asked what was so funny.

He was so close; soon he would be able to find Hitomi. But what he wouldn't give to be sitting in Escaflowne instead of marching with these men. He could only hope that the surprise would be enough to get them both out safely.

The dungeon was not a nice place but he was pleased to see that it wasn't that bad, Hitomi couldn't have been down here that long. The man in front raised his arm, calling for a halt and the group stopped. He soon had them split up as he posted them in guard positions. Van found himself positioned next to a very young looking man, and almost felt like rubbing his hands in glee.

The man was already posted so that probably meant this was a regular station for him and he may know where Hitomi was, he also looked extremely bored and it wouldn't take much to coax some information out of him. Then come night when the guards let down their guard he would be able to get Hitomi out, even if it meant fighting his way through the whole damn kingdom. He settled back, leaned over and started the conversation that would set into motion his plan. Now he could only pray his roughly made plan would work.

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Hitomi stared in shock at the large hand covering her own, her eyes trailed up the arm and her first thought was, Oh my God, there is a arm coming out of the wall, the goddam wall. But as she looked at the wall where the arm was coming from she realized it wasn't a cell wall she was looking at but a hole. And the hand that grasped hers didn't seem to be trying to harm her. Then she heard the whispers.

"Lady, please say something, are you okay? I would love to have somebody to speak with, it's been a very long time since I've had a polite conversation with anybody." Hitomi's mouth moved but no sound came out, she tried once more and a tiny squeak escaped. The voice was male and surprisingly polite and kind, but it sounded a bit harsh as if the man had had very little water or had been using his voice a little too much lately.

Perhaps it's both, her mind whispered. She shuddered slightly as she pictured some of the creations that had been in Cryton's room. She crouched down beside the bench and looked through the hole to meet a pair of glittering eyes. They were dark eyes, yet the held flecks of brightness and they were the kind of eyes that inspired trust.

"Hello," Hitomi said quietly, feeling extremely aware of the fact the there were guards just outside the door. The eyes brightened, and the voice answered back just as quietly.

"Hello, what are you doing down here? You don't sound like you'd be much of a danger," the man said. He sounded simply curious but something about the way he asked made Hitomi think that he was also worried about her. She found herself liking this man already, and she had yet to even know his name.

"I kind of punched this really important guy, but he's a jerk and deserved it," Hitomi realized how childish she sounded when a low laugh came from the hole in the wall. "I'm Hitomi," she said when the laughter had died down.

There was a slight pause before he answered, "You can call me Syt."

"Sight?" Hitomi asked, trying out the unusual name.

The low laugh sounded again, "Yes, S-Y-T, Syt." Syt released Hitomi's hand and shifted slightly so he would have better access to the gap. "So what are you doing in this cursed kingdom, especially with Cryton running rampant?" Syt sounded truly curious but undertones in his voice made Hitomi wonder if there was more to the question then what was obvious.

She wasn't sure if she should tell this stranger what had happened, but once again she was getting the urge to trust this strangely named individual, so with a deep breath she spilled out her whole tale.

There it is. Once again, I'm sorry it took so long, but this story just seems to be getting longer and longer. J I'll try really hard to get the next part out soon. I hope everybody has been enjoying my story, and don't forget to review with any comments. Anyways, it's been fun. J Bye!!