I'm
soooooo soorrrryy!!!! I know it's been ages since I've updated this story and I
hope that everybody will forgive me. I just couldn't seem to write anything on
this story, I actually had to erase 4 or 5 paragraphs and rewrite them because
they just didn't work. Anyway I clear up some things in this chapter, so if
anybody out there is still reading this fic I hope you enjoy it and don't
forget to review!!
Oh and I want to thank sorrow for sending
in that last review and reminding me that I had this fic to finish. And thanks
so very much to all you other reviewers I'll try my hardest to get the next
chapter out soon and the more reviews I get, the more motivated I'll feel to
get busy and finish it.
Enjoy
the story!
Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne, and
I'm not worth suing unless you want a total of $0.68.
Separation (Part 9)
The group moved quickly and
silently down the halls, however than ran into no resistance. It was almost as
though with Cryton's death all his men had disappeared.
"Sure is quiet," Van whispered. Syton nodded
sharply, his sword held up in defensive position as they rounded another
corner. Tsani walked at his side, holding a pouch of sleeping dust. Van had his
own sword out and was staying protectively close to Hitomi.
Rounding
another corner Syton raised an arm to tell them to stop. Up ahead a large
entrance loomed before them. Bright light was shining through and Hitomi
figured that night had passed by unnoticed by the group.
Syton raised the arm without the
sword to block the light; his eyes unused to the sunlight after so much time
spent in the dark dungeons. He turned his head and pitched his voice so that
Hitomi and Van could hear.
"This doorway leads out into the courtyard.
I'm not sure what to expect when we get out there but we need to move fast.
Once we get out the door we head left towards the barracks, if I know Cryton
that's where he'll have put all the soldiers he was unsure of." His voice
dropped an octave. "It may be dangerous," his eyes turned to meet Tsani's, "I
want you to stay back with Hitomi."
Tsani's only reply was a nod, with a few steps back she
was beside Hitomi and Van moved forward to stand at Syton's side, his sword
raised defensively.
"Nothing going to get by us," he said
forcefully and Syton nodded grimly in reply.
Quickly the group moved towards
the door, within seconds they had burst outside but nothing prepared them for
the sight before them.
A small
group of soldiers were standing together conversing just in front of the
doorway, one man was pointing towards the castle and the rest looked as thought
they were preparing to move out but that wasn't what had stopped the team.
It was the large group of men tied in the
middle of the courtyard that really caught everybody's attention. Hitomi
recognized Garad tied up with a distinctively unhappy expression on his face,
and Van spotted Frenc guarding the restrained men, Van took a moment to note
that Frenc didn't seem at all inebriated like the last time they'd met and he
seemed to have found a new suit of amour and a sword. He was looking pretty
proud of something.
A movement from the group of men in front
drew everybody's attention back. A blond man, the one that had been pointing
towards the castle was walking towards them. He walked with the bearing of one
used to being in charge but once he was only a stone's throw away he dropped to
one knee.
"Your majesty, we are so pleased to see that
you are alive," he waved an arm back at the men standing behind him, "we had
hoped that the news of your escape was not false. We've regained control of the
castle, my lord." This statement was accompanied by a large triumphant grin.
Out of the corner of his eye, Van could see
Syton smiling in response. Knowing what the situation was now he ran an
appraising eye over the courtyard. By now all the men had turn to face the
group and large grins were appearing on everybody's faces. A few men even
prodded the bound prisoners in celebration. All the loyal soldiers must have
just been waiting for a chance to stage a rebellion.
"Your
majesty…" there was a pause as though the blond soldier was searching for the
right words. "We have been unable to find your brother. But we're sure that he
is some where in the pala.." the words trailed off as he noticed the grim looks
in the faces of his king and these strangers.
With a
small shake of his head Syton replied, "My brother is no longer with us. He
would not renounce his ways and I had no other choice."
Silence
rang across the courtyard; some of the soldiers seemed happy at the news while
others understood the tone of regret in Syton's voice, both groups understood
that now was not the time to celebrate. The prisoners had a very dejected look
as they realized their last hope was gone.
"Mathew, rise. Haven't I told you before you
need not bow before me?" Syton voice held undertones of humor as if this was a
long running joke between the two.
The blond
man, Mathew, rose gracefully to his feet. With this movement the group that he
had been directing moved forward to stand behind him in an artful way that
demonstrated their ability to move as a unit. Now that it seemed most of the
important issues had been dealt with he turned his attention to the people
gathered behind his king.
Syton
took his queue and the next half an hour was filled with introductions and
information. Syton retold Hitomi's story then Van told his part of it gaining
laughs as he recounted his run in with Frenc, who turned a bright red but
laughed along with every body else. The soldiers nodded appreciatively as the
two kings shook hands as total equals. They fell silent as Syton spoke of his
own escape and battle against his brother. By now many of the soldiers were
casting glances behind Syton at Tsani as she stood a little behind the group,
her face expressionless. Syton turned to her, his eyes lighting up. He reached
out a hand and Tsani slowly placed her own in his. He pulled her forward, a few
soldiers muttered, knowing that she had worked closely with Cryton but if what
Syton had told was true there was much more to her then the soldiers suspected.
A few of the older soldiers cast look at each other, remembering her as a young
girl and the closeness she had had to Syton.
"Without Tsani none of this would have been
possible. She was forced into slavery to Cryton out of fear for me, her bravery
go beyond any I thought possible. She willing took any pain my brother forced
on her all in the hopes that in those moments I would be free of any such pain.
She is the only woman I would ever wish to rule at my side; the second half of
my soul." Shocked gasped rang throughout the courtyard as the king dropped down
to one knee at looked up at the stunned face of his beloved.
"Will you marry me and be at my side for as
long as this world exists?"
Tsani green eyes opened wide in
astonishment, but they were no longer as cold as the glaciers instead they
glittered like emeralds with unshed tears. She looked deep into the his gold
flecked eyes and felt all the coldness that had allowed her to survived these
last few months melt away. Her mouth moved as she searched for the words before
throwing up her hands and lunging in to give Syton the most soul searing kiss
either of them had every felt.
Minutes
passed before the couple separated, Syton smiled, "Is that a yes?"
Tsani threw her head back and
laughed, "Of course it is! I love you more than my very life and I'll love you
until the very end." With that the two leaned into for other kiss. The soldiers
broke out into cheering, with scattered wolf whistles and plenty of stamping.
The noise resound throughout the courtyard, clearing away the last few
lingering echoes of despair. Even the prisoners found themselves thinking that
the new couple looked well together.
Hitomi
smiled at Van, entwining her fingers with his. Van turned and was met with her
radiant smile, he pulled her close and the two looked into each other's eyes. The
love that glowed in each filled them with unbelievable joy as the two met in a
gentle kiss that conveyed the emotions that they could never vocalize for lack
of words.
The
cheering died down slowly as the king turned to face his subjects, a radiant smile
on his face and his hand tightly clasped in Tsani. "I think this calls for a
little celebration!" Cheers swelled up again, and Syton turned to Van and
Hitomi, Hitomi was still cradled within Van arms. "You will stay for the night
at least."
Hitomi and
Van glanced at each other before nodding together. "Perfect! Tsani darling do
you think you could lead them to their rooms?" Tsani nodded and smiled at
Syton. "The ones in the east wing should be perfect," Syton said with a grin,
he almost looked giddy and every few seconds he would glance at Tsani.
Almost regretfully the two
released each others hands, they shared once last kiss before Syton left to
join his soldiers and Tsani gestured towards the door on the east side of the
courtyard and lead Hitomi and Van over and into the palace. Congratulations
were yelled out to Tsani and she flushed at the delight everybody was showing
at the news of Syton's proposal. Eventually the group reached a hallway
relatively empty of people and silence descended on the group.
Hitomi watched Tsani as she walked
in front, her shoulder brushed against Van as the two walked closely together.
Hitomi's mind buzzed with questions and with no one around she figured that now
would be the perfect time to get some answers.
"Tsani, how did all this happen?" Hitomi asked bluntly then blushed,
however Van looked interested as Tsani stopped and turned to look at the two.
She wasn't surprised that Hitomi had asked, she had actually expected her to
ask much early, and in her opinion they more than deserved the whole story.
She smiled at Hitomi to let her
now that it question was okay than sighed as she tried to figure out where to
start. "I guess it started when the old king died…" she paused, "No that's not
right, the rivalry between Syton and Cryton had begun long before that it just
all came to a head when King Gyton died. On his deathbed he decreed that his
oldest son would not take his place and that he wished Syton to rule. Cryton
was so angry he would not even speak to his father but when King Gyton died
Cryton seemed to accept that Syton would rule. At first Syton was cautious, but
as the weeks went by he began to believe that Cryton had really accepted what
had happened and was overjoyed. Syton had always hated the rivalry between his
brother and him. So when Cryton invited Syton to join him on a hunt Syton
accepted and when he went out with only a small-armed guard he was captured, at
the same time Cryton gathered the soldiers loyal to him and they attacked and
took the palace. Cryton shunted all the soldiers loyal to Syton into the
barracks and left some men to make sure they stayed put."
"But why did you kidnap me?" Hitomi asked and Van clenched his
fists.
"Yes, just who was responsible for taking Hitomi?" Van practically
growled, as he grabbed Hitomi's hand as if to insure that she wasn't going
anywhere.
Guilt ran across Tsani's face,
"That was me." Silence rang out in the hallway, and she glanced at their faces
to see what they thought of that little revelation.
Hitomi
smiled gently, "Hey don't worry, we now that you didn't do it voluntarily. You
just wanted to protect Syton." Van nodded in agreement, he wasn't one for an
overdose of words and that one nod indicated his total forgiveness.
Tsani
smiled back, "Thank you," she said softly. "I guess you'll want to know how I
brought you here, especially since I'm going to send you back the same way."
Both
Hitomi and Van nodded, and Tsani tilted her head to indicate they should keep
walking and continued with her story.
"As you know Cryton threatened me
with Syton. I've always been a sorceress; although a lot of what people think
is magic is just a type of science. I had a teacher since I was young who
taught me all about the different substances that could be created and I
learned how to worked my will on objects. It was Syton who actually gave me the
power to transport you. The day he was captured, just before he left, he gave
me a large purple gem he said had been found high up in the mountains, some how
this gem was able to enhance my powers enough for me to focus them into a beam
and move things from one place to another, with the proper calculations of
course.
"When Cryton took the throne he wanted to be
sure that it stayed his, and when word came that the girl from the Mystic Moon,
the one with the power to see the future, had retuned, he decided that he with
your power he would never have to worry about somebody taking him by surprise."
Hitomi looked
dismayed and choked out, "But that isn't how it works at all." A memory came to
her and she asked, "Is that what he
meant when he told you to go prepare the necessary equipment?"
Tsani nodded, a grim look in her
face. "He wanted your powers transferred to him. So he demanded that I bring
you here and I had to obey. But somehow when I tried to bring you here, Van
must have gotten caught up in the transport." She shook her head, "It was the
strangest thing, by all rights he could have been tied to you and you still
would have come alone. It was almost like even magic couldn't separate you. But
the extra mass threw off the calculations and you guys both know what happened
after that. And that's pretty much how things stood when you arrived."
Tsani faced
Hitomi, "Once I saw you, dressed in your wedding gown looking so alone yet not
willing to back down I realized that Syton would be so angry at me for bowing
down to his brother even if it was for done to keep him safe." She grasped
Hitomi's hand, "Thank you for giving me the strength needed to do the right
thing." She released Hitomi's hand and faced Van, "You are a very lucky man and
you two deserve all the happiness in the world."
Hitomi flushed, and Van nodded his
thanks at the blessing, his eyes showing that he knew very well that he was
lucky to have Hitomi.
They had been so deep in
conversation that they barely realized they had reached the east wing. Tsani
stopped in front of a large oak door and smiled at the couple who were still
holding hands. "Here's your room, I suppose I'll see you in the morning.
Perhaps Syton and I will be able to persuade you to stay a little longer."
Van shook
his head, "No, we have friends at home that must be worried sick about us."
"Yeah," agreed Hitomi, thinking of
Merle and Allan.
Tsani smiled a little sadly,
"That's what I thought you'd say. Well then I guess until tomorrow. Good
night." She turned and began walking way.
"Hey!"
Tsani turned around at Hitomi's
yell.
"Tell Syton we said good night,"
she said with a sly glint in her eye, Tsani blushed and turned, walking off
quickly.
Hitomi grinned up at Van, as she
cuddled up against his side and he embraced her. "I'm so glad that everything
worked out," she said softly.
Van
smiled lovingly down at Hitomi, "I agree."
Hitomi looked up with a grin, and
moved out of his embrace, pulling Van towards the room, "Come on husband. Time
for bed." A grin accompanied the last word and Van laughed. And without another
word the happily married couple entered the room and just before the door
closed Hitomi's voice asked with humor, "Hey Van, how many couples do you know
whose honeymoon involves evil brothers and sword fights?"
Their
joined laughter rang out as the door closed shut and the two headed off to bed to
celebrate their honeymoon.
******
CHAPTER 9 IS FINISHED!!!!! Party time!!
Only one more chapter to go, I was considering writing a lemon chapter of what
happened once Hitomi and Van got into the room but that's not going to happen
unless every person who reads this fic asks me for it. But only ONE more
chapter to go. Then maybe I might write a sequel but it will deal with Van and
Hitomi's kids and you won't really have to read Separation unless you want to
know how Hitomi got back to Gaea in order to marry Van and have kids. I'll put
more info about the sequel at the end of the last chapter then you guys can
tall me what you think.
Bye
for now and don't forget to review and tell me what you think!!!